Claudius Smith

1735 - 1779  (44 years)

• Name	Claudius Smith  [1]
  Birth	1735	Brookhaven, Suffolk Co., New York, USA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Death	22 Jan 1779	Goshen, Orange Co., New York, USA   [1]
  	Cause: Hanged
  Notes	VES wrote in 1950: "David [Smith] (b 1707, d 1787, wife unknown) moved from Brookhaven, L.I. in 1747 and acquired land which includes the present village of Monroe, Orange County, New York....[His] children had a record of indictment for horse stealing assault, etc., including sedition in 1778....David made his son Hophni (who remained unmarried) executor of his will. "Claudius was a black sheep; he joined the forces of the British. David Sr. was fined 20 pounds for having a son who went over to the enemy. Claudius married Jerusha Rumsey.... Claudius was a Tory and a notorius guerilla during the Revolutionary War; he and his gang, the Ramapo cow boys, were charged with many robberies and murders. He was hanged at Goshen, N.Y. on January 22, 1779 for the robbery of the house of John Earle....After the execution of her husband Jerusha lived with Mr. & Mrs. Henry Youngs...." There is apparently some evidence (which I have not seen), that Claudius Smith had Rumsey brothers-in-law, which had led to the belief that his wife was Jerusha Rumsey, and that she had been omitted from her father's will because of his notorious reputation. But she became his step-mother instead, by marrying his father David, while Claudius probably married Abigail Rumsey, one of her younger sisters. It was reported that Claudius Smith kicked off his boots before he was hung, because: "My mother said that I would die like a trooper's horse, with my shoes on. I want to make her out the liar that she is." He was apparently referring to his step-mother Jerusha. JME, who has Smith ancestry, has worked on this problem for many years, so I am inclined to accept her version, though I do not have access to such proof as she has found. In 1986 she sent me a photo of "Tool house on Rumsey Farm in East Division in which Claudius Smith locked the Rumsey family when he took off with their daughter & went to Oxford where he married her in 1762. Located in back of the house. Myrtle Edwards" [1]
  Person ID	I4935	Rumsey/Ballou Family Tree
  Last Modified	3 Oct 2011

  
  

  Father	David Smith,   b. 5 Apr 1707, Brookhaven, Suffolk Co., New York, USA d. 1787 (Age 79 years)
  Mother	[Unknown] Galloway   d. Yes, date unknown
  Marriage	Bef 1730  [1]
  Family ID	F1949	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Harriet Hulse   d. Yes, date unknown
  Children	+ 1. Samuel Smith,   b. 1755   d. Between 1835 and 19 Sep 1836, Monroe, Orange Co., New York, USA (Age 80 years)
  Family ID	F1986	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	9 Nov 2004

  
  

  Family 2	Abigail Rumsey,   b. 1738, Goshen, Orange Co., New York, USA d. Yes, date unknown
  Marriage	1762	Oxford, Orange Co., New York, USA   [1]
  Family ID	F3403	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Oct 2011

  
  

  Family 3	[Unknown] Tuthill
  Family ID	F3404	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Oct 2011

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 1735 - Brookhaven, Suffolk Co., New York, USA Death - Cause: Hanged - 22 Jan 1779 - Goshen, Orange Co., New York, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S636] Jean Rumsey, Descendants of Simon Rumsey, (Jean Rumsey), SR7-11.