| 8. | Ithamar HIBBARD was born on 7 Jun 1745 (son of Elisha HIBBARD and Mary PALMER); died on 2 Mar 1802 in Hubbardston, Rutland County, Vermont. Notes:
He was buried by the Masonic order of which he was a member and which he highly commended to the day of his death.
He became interested in the subject of religion in his youth under the preaching of the noted George Whitefield and entered the ministry while young. He became the first Congregational minister in Poultney, Vermont. He was a self-made man of much independence, and is remembered as an orator of great power. His presence was attractive, as he had a handsome form, rather larger than the average stature, and a fine musical voice. He wrote hymns, and among them there may be found in The Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, by Joshua Smith and others, eighth edition, 1797, Hymn 163, dedicated to the hills, or "The Mountain Song." His well-worn leathercovered hymn-book, used by himself for many years, is in the possession of his great-grand daughter, Ellen Lucretia Douglas Hibbard, of Boston, Massachusetts.
He was a man of strong and enduring attachments. As a politician he was a most uncompromising Whig in the days of the Revolution. He served as Chaplain of Col. Samuel Herrick's Regiment, and was Brigade Chaplain at the time of the famous retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, and was also present at the battle of Bennington.
By the rules of the army service he was entitled to a servant, but when orders came to retreat from Ticonderoga his servant was sick, unable to do more than walk. Chaplain Hibbard took his servant's baggage in addition to his own upon his shoulders. When the army moved at night from the fort to the floating bridge upon which they were to cross the lake, Gen. St. Clair, who had command, came riding through the ranks as they were marching on the bridge and running against the Chaplain knocked him off into the water. He was loaded with two old-fashioned saddle-bags full of clothing and provision, a heavy cartouch-box, full of ammunition, belted to him, and a heavy musket on his shoulders. His bodily strength, coolness and energy were such that he gained the bridge and lost nothing of his load but the musket.
He always took a great interest in public affairs, and in the History of Vermont, by [Ira] Allen, published London, England, 1798, there is an account of interviews upon questions of importance with him. He was often called upon to counsel with Ethan and Ira Allen, Seth Warner, Remember Baker and others of the leading men of Vermont. He was elected representative to the Legislature, or General Assembly, in 1778, and served several years. A gallant soldier, a man of noble spirit, faithful in all religious duties, without bigotry or superstition.
NOTE: Ira Allen's book, THE NATURAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY OF VERMONT, published in London in 1798, is available online at the following address: http://members.aol.com/chalidze/vermont.html
Ithamar Hibbard fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill with his two brothers, Ebenezer, who at age 20 lost his life at Bunker Hill and Elisha, who joined Ithamar and fought in Vermont / New York State (Battle of Fort Ticonderoga)
Ithamar was a chaplain and advisor to Ethan Allen and his brothers and was a member of the Bennington Congregational Church (1772) from which he and a small group of followers moved north to Poultney, Vermont. They established a Congregational Church in Poultney, Vermont, with Ithamar Hibbard as its minister.
The History of Poultney by Joslin & Frisbie to commemorate the Bicentennial of Vermont's Statehood (1791-1991) was originally printed in 1875 by the Journal Printing Office, Poultney, Vermont. The book has many details about Ithamar Hibbard.
The Poultney Historical Society, Inc sells a reprinted copy (1990) by the Journal Press with many clarifications of the role of Rev. Ithamar Hibbard. It follows Ithamar from 1772 (Bennington, VT) to 1802 (death burial in Hubbarton, VT).
Personally, I, Ora Wry, am a descendent of Elisha Hibbard (b. 1749), brother of Ithamar. They came from Connecticut, fought in the Revolutionary War, and apparently lived together for a while in Poultney. Elisha went north to the Hero's, his family settling in North Hero (Hibbard's Point and Hibbard's Bay).
Ithamar married Esther HASKINS on 9 Mar 1768 in Norwich, Connecticut. Esther was born on 14 Jan 1747 in Norwich, Connecticut; died on 28 Jun 1785. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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