Witter, Jonah, 1759 - 1847
Jonah Witter was born on April 20, 1759 in what was then Pomfret, Connecticut (now Brooklyn), the son of Nathan and Keziah Witter. In December of 1776, at the tender age of 16, he was drafted into the 8th Company of the 21st Regiment of the Connecticut Militia. After his three- month tenure with the 21st, he would continue in service, this time under Col. John Douglas for another 8 months before returning home. Several years later, on January 16, 1783, Jonah would marry Eunice Cady in Brooklyn CT. The young couple would soon move to Norwich, Connecticut and reside there until 1786 when they established a home in nearby Preston. Jonah and Eunice would eventually have nine children. In addition to running a farm, Jonah Witter served as a representative from Preston to the State Legislature and was a prominent Justice of the Peace.
The Witter farm was near to the Mashantucket Pequot lands and over the years Witter interacted with individual members of the community and with the state appointed overseer to the tribe. In late December 1796 Witter appears in the accounts of Preston merchant Ebenezer Punderson as purchasing and delivering staple food products to Immanuel Simons, a prominent Pequot man. In the summer of 1808, he oversaw the inquest of Esther Miller, a Pequot woman. Later in the mid 1820s Jonah Witter is recorded as purchasing timber from the Pequot lands.
Jonah Witter died on July 8, 1847, at the age of 88, in the Town of Preston.
Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010; Ancestry.com. Early Connecticut Marriages [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012; findagrave.com; Ebenezer Punderson Account Books, 1772-1811. CHS, Mss. 69156, v. 12; Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Sources for this biography also come from the Related Digital Heritage Items listed below.
Born:
April 20, 1759Died:
July 8, 1847Ethnicity