The Simmons family offer two generations of service in the war.
(1) John, Sr. was a prominent New York City tavern keeper who was forced to evacuate his family as the British began their occupation of the city. His service record shows two possible tours: He
enlisted in Captain Daniel Roe's Company, 2nd Regiment of New York Troops commanded by Col. James Clinton in the spring off 1776. The regiment was a provisional Patriot organization formed in March and disbanded in May. The DAR Patriot Lookup Index lists John's service with the 5th & 6th NY Regiments under Col. William Humfrey and the Dutchess Co. Militia.
(2) John, Jr. enlisted in Captain Jacob Onderdonk's militia unit at Clarkstown [part of Haverstraw] in 1778. [Onderdonk's company served in Hay's NY Militia Regiment from 4 April 1778 until 9 August 1780.] He then served with the militia for two years, primarily guarding the west shore of the North Hudson between Tappan and Paulus Hook. Part of the Shore Guard's duty was to repel British or Tory landings along the Hudson. The Guard lit signal fires on top of High Tor to warn neighboring communities of danger. John finally spent six months during 1781-82 under Captain Bowman [or Bowan] in Col. Friedrich Weissenfels' Regiment of New York Levies [militia drafted to regulars].
Staying within the family, Peter Jennison [father-in-law to John William Simmons, son of John Jr.] served a brief nine days with Captain John Growl's militia company attached to Col. Learned's regiment. Peter Jennison was at Lexington, Mass. on 19 April 1776 to witness the opening clash between British regulars & Colonial militia.
Peter's father-in-law, Amos Singletary, served in the Provincial Congress for four years, representing Sutton, Massachusetts.
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