Barzillai Lew
Encyclopedia
Barzillai Lew was an African American
soldier who served with distinction during the American Revolution
.
, a former servant of Captain Jonathan Boyden and Margret Lew, a former servant of Samuel Scripture. As free-blacks, Primus and Margret Lew married in 1742 and they had two sons and two daughters. Primus served as a musician in the French and Indian War in 1747. In 1752, Primus married again, Rose Canterbury and bought a farm on the west side of Nashua River in the Pepperell section of Groton, Massachusetts and they had two children.
Primus and Margret Lew's oldest son Barzillai often called "Zeal" or "Zelah," was born a free-black in Groton, Massachusetts November 5, 1743,. Following in his father’s footsteps, Barzillai Lew was a fifer in Captain Thomas Farrington’s Company from Groton, which marched northward for “the total reduction of Canada." From March 10, 1760 to December 1, 1760, he served with the English forces against the French and Indians and was probably present at the capture of Montreal, Canada by the British. Lew was known as "big and strong with an extraordinary talent as a musician."
In the mid-1760s, Lew sold his family farm in the Pepperell section of Groton and moved to Chelmsford, Massachusetts
where he worked as a cooper making barrels. About 1766, he bought the freedom of Dinah Bowman (1744–1837), born a slave, who was fair skinned and described as "bleached by the sun," from Major Abraham Blood for 400 pounds (today's value about $28,000) and married her.
At the opening of the American Revolution, Lew's skills and talents were called upon again and he enlisted May 6, 1775 in Captain John Ford's Company, 27th Regiment, Chelmsford, Massachusetts. As soldier, fifer, and drummer Lew fought on June 17, 1775 at the Battle of Bunker Hill
on June 17, 1775. In the military records, Lew is described as "cooper by trade, and quite dark-colored, a large man, six feet tall." Bunker Hill was one of the most important battles in the American Revolution; inexperienced colonial forces fought a highly trained army of British soldiers. Less well-known were the approximately three dozen African American soldiers including Barzillai Lew, Phillip Abbot (killed at Bunker Hill), Alexander Ames, Isaiah Bayoman, Cuff Blanchard, Titus Coburn, Grant Cooper, Caesar Dickenson, Charlestown Eaads, Alexander Eames, Asaba Grosvenor, Blaney Grusha, Jude Hall, Cuff Haynes, Cato Howe, Caesar Jahar, Pompy of Braintree, Salem Poor
, Caesar Post, Job Potama, Robin of Sandowne, New Hampshire, Peter Salem
, Seasor of York County, Sampson Talbot, Cato Tufts, and Cuff Whitemore, who also took part in the battle.
During the bloodiest battle of the war the British lost 226 troops, with another 828 wounded, and the Colonists/Americans counted 140 dead, 301 wounded, and 30 captured. It was said that during the battle, Lew kept morale high with his fife version of "There's Nothing Makes the British Run like 'Yankee Doodle Dandy.'" The powder horn used by Barzillai Lew in the Revolutionary War is now in collections of the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois; it was donated by Gerard Lew, the great-great-grandson of Barzillai Lew and a co-founder of the DuSable Museum.
In 1777, on his return home to Chelmsford, Lew joined Captain Joseph Bradley Varnum
's company of volunteers, Dracut, Massachusetts
. In September 1777, Varnum's militia was ordered to Fort Ticonderoga
and the company marched to reinforce the Northern army. Joseph Bradley Varnum’s son Jonathan wrote in his diary on November 1, 1777, Zeal is selected as "a fifer and fiddler for the grand appearance the day that Burgoyne's Famous Army is to be brought in. A Wonderful Show. . . This "wonderful show" was the surrender of British General John Burgoyne
to American General Horatio Gates
at Saratoga
, after the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777). During the American Revolution, African Americans from Massachusetts served as freemen or as slaves with their masters in many local militias.
, Commander-in-Chief, excluded African Americans from serving in the Continental Army
, until finally on January 2, 1778, Washington responded to a letter from General James Mitchell Varnum
(born in Dracut, Massachusetts and brother of Joseph Bradley Varnum) recommending that Rhode Island's troop quota should be completed with blacks.
Washington urged Rhode Island Governor Nicholas Cooke to give the recruiting officers every assistance. In February, the Rhode Island legislature approved the action — giving slaves their freedom
in return for military service. The resulting black regiment, commanded by white Quaker Christopher Greene was the 1st Rhode Island Regiment
also known as the Varnum Continentals.
in Dracut (now Lowell, Massachusetts
.) They build a house near Varnum Avenue on Zeal Road named for Barzillai (now called Totman Road.) After the war, Lew returned to his farm in the Pawtucketville section of Dracut. In addition to farming, Lew continued to work as cooper, making barrels for the Middlesex Canal Company. The Lews were both active members of their community and the Pawtucket Society Church (Congregational) on Mammoth Road
. They raised 13 children, Zadock (1768) Amy (1771), Serviah (1773), Eucebea (1775), Barzillai II (1777), Peter (1779), Rufus (1780) – impressed at sea by the British in 1808, Eri (1782), Dinah II (1784), Zimri (1785), Phebe (1788), Lucy (1790) married Thomas Dalton
, and Adrastus (1793).
Barzillai, Dinah, and several of their sons and daughters sang and played wind and stringed instruments all over New England. They were noted throughout the 19th and 20th centuries as well-educated, skilled, and talented musicians. It was said "no family in Middlesex County from Lowell to Cambridge could produce so much good music." They formed a complete band in their family and were employed to play at assemblies in Portland, Maine
, Boston, Massachusetts, other large cities and towns, as well as commencement exercises at several New England colleges. They kept an elegant coach and fine span of horses and came on the Sabbath to the Pawtucket Society Church in as much style as any family in the town of Dracut. Dinah Bowman Lew may have been the first African American woman pianist in American history. Barzillai Lew died in Dracut on January 18, 1822 and was buried in Clay Pit Cemetery. Years later, Dinah Bowman Lew petitioned and received from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a pension for her husband's military service in the American Revolution.
. They purchased and cleared a piece of woodland off Riverside Street and built a house which still stands on Mount Hope Street. In 1912, at the age of 91, Elizabeth Freeman Lew recounted in an interview with the Lowell Sun: "The house where I live was, one of the houses which in slavery times, formed one of the underground railroad where runaway slaves word come for shelter and protection on their way to Canada. Those were terrible times."
Adrastus and Elizabeth Lew had five sons and one daughter. James, moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
, formed a popular dance band, and served as the music advisor to the Cambridge School Committee. William and Fred opened a successful dry-cleaning and dyeing business in Lowell.
In 1874, William married Isabell Delaney of Virginia and had four children: Harry, Theresa, Marion, and Gerard. After graduating from Pawtucketville Junior High School, Harry Lew
entered the family's dry-cleaning and dyeing business. He was recruited to join Lowell’s Pawtucketville Athletic Club "P.A.C." of the New England Professional Basketball League and was the first to integrate professional basketball in 1902. Theresa Lew, graduated from Lowell High School as Class Salutatorian
in 1912. After finishing Lowell Normal School, she taught at the Bartlett School for 25 years. Marion Lew, also graduated from Lowell High School and the Lowell Normal School music program, she taught piano to generations of Lowell children. Gerard Lew, also an outstanding athlete, graduated from Lowell High School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was interviewed by the Lowell Sunday-Telegram in June, 1913, about his experiences teaching in a poor, rural, segregated school in Gloucester County, Virginia.
In 1943, musician Duke Ellington
wrote a piano piece in honor of Barzillai Lew. It is believed that Ellington learned about Barzillai Lew from his high school teacher, African American historian Carter G. Woodson
at the Armstrong Manual Training School, Washington, D.C.
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
soldier who served with distinction during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
Family history
Barzillai Lew's story began with Primus Lew of Groton, MassachusettsGroton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
, a former servant of Captain Jonathan Boyden and Margret Lew, a former servant of Samuel Scripture. As free-blacks, Primus and Margret Lew married in 1742 and they had two sons and two daughters. Primus served as a musician in the French and Indian War in 1747. In 1752, Primus married again, Rose Canterbury and bought a farm on the west side of Nashua River in the Pepperell section of Groton, Massachusetts and they had two children.
Primus and Margret Lew's oldest son Barzillai often called "Zeal" or "Zelah," was born a free-black in Groton, Massachusetts November 5, 1743,. Following in his father’s footsteps, Barzillai Lew was a fifer in Captain Thomas Farrington’s Company from Groton, which marched northward for “the total reduction of Canada." From March 10, 1760 to December 1, 1760, he served with the English forces against the French and Indians and was probably present at the capture of Montreal, Canada by the British. Lew was known as "big and strong with an extraordinary talent as a musician."
In the mid-1760s, Lew sold his family farm in the Pepperell section of Groton and moved to Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 33,802. The Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate for the town was 34,409, ranking it 14th in population among the 54 municipalities in...
where he worked as a cooper making barrels. About 1766, he bought the freedom of Dinah Bowman (1744–1837), born a slave, who was fair skinned and described as "bleached by the sun," from Major Abraham Blood for 400 pounds (today's value about $28,000) and married her.
Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
on June 17, 1775. In the military records, Lew is described as "cooper by trade, and quite dark-colored, a large man, six feet tall." Bunker Hill was one of the most important battles in the American Revolution; inexperienced colonial forces fought a highly trained army of British soldiers. Less well-known were the approximately three dozen African American soldiers including Barzillai Lew, Phillip Abbot (killed at Bunker Hill), Alexander Ames, Isaiah Bayoman, Cuff Blanchard, Titus Coburn, Grant Cooper, Caesar Dickenson, Charlestown Eaads, Alexander Eames, Asaba Grosvenor, Blaney Grusha, Jude Hall, Cuff Haynes, Cato Howe, Caesar Jahar, Pompy of Braintree, Salem Poor
Salem Poor
Born into slavery in Andover, Massachusetts, Salem Poor managed to buy his freedom in 1769 for £27. Poor soon married a free African American woman named Nancy. In 1775, he enlisted in the militia, serving under Captain Benjamin Ames in Colonel James Fryes' regiment, opposing the British troops...
, Caesar Post, Job Potama, Robin of Sandowne, New Hampshire, Peter Salem
Peter Salem
Peter Salem was an African American who served as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, a slave of Jeremiah Belknap. Salem was later sold to Lawson Buckminster, who gave him his freedom. At least one record calls him "Salem Middlesex"- Military...
, Seasor of York County, Sampson Talbot, Cato Tufts, and Cuff Whitemore, who also took part in the battle.
During the bloodiest battle of the war the British lost 226 troops, with another 828 wounded, and the Colonists/Americans counted 140 dead, 301 wounded, and 30 captured. It was said that during the battle, Lew kept morale high with his fife version of "There's Nothing Makes the British Run like 'Yankee Doodle Dandy.'" The powder horn used by Barzillai Lew in the Revolutionary War is now in collections of the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois; it was donated by Gerard Lew, the great-great-grandson of Barzillai Lew and a co-founder of the DuSable Museum.
Fort Ticonderoga and Burgoyne's surrender
Joseph Bradley Varnum
Joseph Bradley Varnum was a U.S. politician of the Democratic-Republican Party from Massachusetts.-Biography:...
's company of volunteers, Dracut, Massachusetts
Dracut, Massachusetts
Dracut is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 29,457. Dracut is primarily a suburban community, belonging to Greater Lowell and bordering southern New Hampshire...
. In September 1777, Varnum's militia was ordered to Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
and the company marched to reinforce the Northern army. Joseph Bradley Varnum’s son Jonathan wrote in his diary on November 1, 1777, Zeal is selected as "a fifer and fiddler for the grand appearance the day that Burgoyne's Famous Army is to be brought in. A Wonderful Show. . . This "wonderful show" was the surrender of British General John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
to American General Horatio Gates
Horatio Gates
Horatio Lloyd Gates was a retired British soldier who served as an American general during the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga – Benedict Arnold, who led the attack, was finally forced from the field when he was shot in the leg – and...
at Saratoga
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
, after the Siege of Fort Ticonderoga (1777). During the American Revolution, African Americans from Massachusetts served as freemen or as slaves with their masters in many local militias.
African Americans in the Continental Army
General George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, Commander-in-Chief, excluded African Americans from serving in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
, until finally on January 2, 1778, Washington responded to a letter from General James Mitchell Varnum
James Mitchell Varnum
James Mitchell Varnum was an American legislator, lawyer and a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.-Early life:James Mitchell Varnum was born in Dracut, Massachusetts...
(born in Dracut, Massachusetts and brother of Joseph Bradley Varnum) recommending that Rhode Island's troop quota should be completed with blacks.
Washington urged Rhode Island Governor Nicholas Cooke to give the recruiting officers every assistance. In February, the Rhode Island legislature approved the action — giving slaves their freedom
in return for military service. The resulting black regiment, commanded by white Quaker Christopher Greene was the 1st Rhode Island Regiment
1st Rhode Island Regiment
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a Continental Army regiment from Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War . Like most regiments of the Continental Army, the unit went through several incarnations and name changes. It became well-known as the "Black Regiment" because, for a time, it had...
also known as the Varnum Continentals.
After the American Revolutionary War
During the war, with wages earned from his years of service, the Lew family purchased a large tract of farmland on the far side of the Merrimack RiverMerrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
in Dracut (now Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
.) They build a house near Varnum Avenue on Zeal Road named for Barzillai (now called Totman Road.) After the war, Lew returned to his farm in the Pawtucketville section of Dracut. In addition to farming, Lew continued to work as cooper, making barrels for the Middlesex Canal Company. The Lews were both active members of their community and the Pawtucket Society Church (Congregational) on Mammoth Road
Mammoth Road
Mammoth Road is a north–south road in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The road runs from its origin in Lowell, Massachusetts to its northern end in Hooksett, New Hampshire, a suburb of Manchester. The total length of the road is...
. They raised 13 children, Zadock (1768) Amy (1771), Serviah (1773), Eucebea (1775), Barzillai II (1777), Peter (1779), Rufus (1780) – impressed at sea by the British in 1808, Eri (1782), Dinah II (1784), Zimri (1785), Phebe (1788), Lucy (1790) married Thomas Dalton
Thomas Dalton and Lucy Lew
Thomas Dalton and Lucy Lew were African Americans in Massachusetts.- Lucy Lew :Lucy Lew was born in Dracut, Massachusetts on May 7, 1790 one of 13 children. Her father, Barzillai Lew , born a free black, was a Revolutionary War soldier and a talented musician...
, and Adrastus (1793).
Barzillai, Dinah, and several of their sons and daughters sang and played wind and stringed instruments all over New England. They were noted throughout the 19th and 20th centuries as well-educated, skilled, and talented musicians. It was said "no family in Middlesex County from Lowell to Cambridge could produce so much good music." They formed a complete band in their family and were employed to play at assemblies in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, Boston, Massachusetts, other large cities and towns, as well as commencement exercises at several New England colleges. They kept an elegant coach and fine span of horses and came on the Sabbath to the Pawtucket Society Church in as much style as any family in the town of Dracut. Dinah Bowman Lew may have been the first African American woman pianist in American history. Barzillai Lew died in Dracut on January 18, 1822 and was buried in Clay Pit Cemetery. Years later, Dinah Bowman Lew petitioned and received from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a pension for her husband's military service in the American Revolution.
Legacy
After his death in 1822, Barzillai Lew's Pawtucketville farm went to his sons, Zadock and Zimri. Zadock, a well-known musician, died in 1826 without a will and his property was sold at auction. Zimri died in 1847 in a tragic train accident in Lowell on Fast Day. A few years earlier in 1844, Zimri's son, Adrastus, married Elizabeth Freeman of Derry, New HampshireDerry, New Hampshire
-Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 33,109 people, 12,537 households, and 8,767 families residing in the town. The population density was 924.8 people per square mile . There were 13,277 housing units at an average density of 143.2/km²...
. They purchased and cleared a piece of woodland off Riverside Street and built a house which still stands on Mount Hope Street. In 1912, at the age of 91, Elizabeth Freeman Lew recounted in an interview with the Lowell Sun: "The house where I live was, one of the houses which in slavery times, formed one of the underground railroad where runaway slaves word come for shelter and protection on their way to Canada. Those were terrible times."
Adrastus and Elizabeth Lew had five sons and one daughter. James, moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, formed a popular dance band, and served as the music advisor to the Cambridge School Committee. William and Fred opened a successful dry-cleaning and dyeing business in Lowell.
In 1874, William married Isabell Delaney of Virginia and had four children: Harry, Theresa, Marion, and Gerard. After graduating from Pawtucketville Junior High School, Harry Lew
Harry Lew
Harry Haskell Lew African American, was the first to integrate professional basketball in 1902.-Family History:Harry "Bucky" Lew was born in Dracut, Massachusetts the son of William and Isabell Lew. A member of an African-American family with a long history in Massachusetts...
entered the family's dry-cleaning and dyeing business. He was recruited to join Lowell’s Pawtucketville Athletic Club "P.A.C." of the New England Professional Basketball League and was the first to integrate professional basketball in 1902. Theresa Lew, graduated from Lowell High School as Class Salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...
in 1912. After finishing Lowell Normal School, she taught at the Bartlett School for 25 years. Marion Lew, also graduated from Lowell High School and the Lowell Normal School music program, she taught piano to generations of Lowell children. Gerard Lew, also an outstanding athlete, graduated from Lowell High School and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was interviewed by the Lowell Sunday-Telegram in June, 1913, about his experiences teaching in a poor, rural, segregated school in Gloucester County, Virginia.
In 1943, musician Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
wrote a piano piece in honor of Barzillai Lew. It is believed that Ellington learned about Barzillai Lew from his high school teacher, African American historian Carter G. Woodson
Carter G. Woodson
Carter Godwin Woodson was an African-American historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Woodson was one of the first scholars to study African American history. A founder of Journal of Negro History , Dr...
at the Armstrong Manual Training School, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
See also
- Thomas Dalton and Lucy LewThomas Dalton and Lucy LewThomas Dalton and Lucy Lew were African Americans in Massachusetts.- Lucy Lew :Lucy Lew was born in Dracut, Massachusetts on May 7, 1790 one of 13 children. Her father, Barzillai Lew , born a free black, was a Revolutionary War soldier and a talented musician...
(Lew family member) - Harry LewHarry LewHarry Haskell Lew African American, was the first to integrate professional basketball in 1902.-Family History:Harry "Bucky" Lew was born in Dracut, Massachusetts the son of William and Isabell Lew. A member of an African-American family with a long history in Massachusetts...
(Lew family member)
External links
- Adams, Gretchen. "Deeds of Desperate Valor: The First Rhode Island Regiment."
- African American Registry Peter Salem Biography.
- Dracut's Oldest Burying Ground: A Forgotten History.
- Mayo, Martha. Profiles in Courage: African Americans in Lowell.
- Neil, William Cooper. The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution: With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons.
- Woodson, Carter Godwin.