Richard Falley Jr.

Richard Falley Jr.
BornJanuary 31, 1740
St. George, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America (now St. George, Maine, U.S.)
DiedSeptember 3, 1808 (aged 68)
Westfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
SpouseMargaret Hitchcock
Children11
Relatives

Richard Falley Jr. (January 31, 1740 – September 3, 1808) was a soldier who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Early life

Falley was born on January 31, 1740, in St. George, Maine. He was the son of Richard and Anna (Lamb) Falley. His father was born on Guernsey, but was reputedly kidnapped as a boy and brought to Nova Scotia.[1]

Career

At age 16, Falley joined the Provincial Army and was among those captured by Native Americans at the surrender of Fort Edward. He was taken to Montreal and adopted into the tribe. Later he was ransomed from the tribe by a woman[1] for 16 gallons of rum and returned to Westfield.[2] He later joined Captain Park’s company as an ensign and commanded a company at the Battle of Bunker Hill where his 14-year-old son, Frederick, served there as a drummer,[2] and reportedly "drummed all through the fight."[1] During the American Revolution, Falley made guns for the Continental Army at an armory at the foot of Tekoa Mountain in Montgomery, Massachusetts.[2] For many years he supported the Arsenal as Master Armorer and later the Armory at Springfield, Massachusetts.[3]

On May 27, 1775 after the Battles of Lexington and Concord Falley was appointed as Massachusetts Armorer on order of the Provincial Congress [1].  In 1777 George Washington with the suggestion of Henry Knox established an arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts to store muskets, cannon, and other weapons. Falley witnessed the surrender of British General John Burgoynea and Hessian General  Friedrich von Adolf Riedesel Continental Army to American General Horatio Gates after The Battles of Saratoga on October 17, 1777. [4] On December 8, 1798 Falley was awarded a contract to produce 1,000 Charleville type pattern muskets for the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts

Personal life

On December 24, 1761, Falley married Margaret Hitchcock (b. May 25, 1741, Westfield, MA - d. February 11 or 18, 1820, Volney (now Fulton), NY) in Westfield, Massachusetts. Together they had 11 children, 10 of whom survived.[1]

  1. Lovisa Falley, b. Dec 3, 1763
  2. Frederick Falley, b. Jan 2, 1765
  3. Margaret Falley, b. Nov 15, 1766
  4. Richard Falley III, b. Sept 15, 1768
  5. Russell Falley, b. Oct 5, 1770
  6. Daniel Falley, b. Dec 3, 1772 (did not survive)
  7. Daniel Falley, b. Nov 15, 1773
  8. Ruth Falley, b. Dec 7, 1775
  9. Lewis Falley, b. Jan 15, 1778
  10. Samuel Falley, b. Oct 9, 1780
  11. Alexander Falley, b. Apr 4, 1783

Death and legacy

Falley died on September 3, 1808, in Westfield, Massachusetts. He was buried at the Old Burying Grounds off of Mechanic Street in Westfield.

Through his daughter Margaret, Falley was the grandfather of Richard Falley Cleveland, who was the father of Grover Cleveland (twice President of the United States).[2][5]

Falley Drive in Westfield, Massachusetts, is named for him.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Excerpts From The Hitchcock Genealogy, Compiled for the Register by H. G. Cleveland, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio.
  2. ^ a b c d Roberts, George Simon. Historic towns of the Connecticut River Valley. Robson & Adee, Schenectady, New York, 1906. convenience link
  3. ^ Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. Vol. 5. Boston: Wright and Potter Printing Co. 1898. p. 486.
  4. ^ Rev. John Hoyt Lockwood, D.D. Westfield and Its Historic Influences, 1669-1919: The Life of an Early Town ...
  5. ^ The New York Times, 20 August 1884. "Gov. Cleveland's Grandmother; Something about His Family on the Maternal Side". Retrieved May 31, 2011.

Bibliography

`Madison, Robert R. (2022). Biography of Lt. Richard Falley, Jr.: General Washington’s Secret Armory. Silver Street Media.  ISBN  9781542206877.

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