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My 5th-Great-Grandfather Lt. Nathaniel Haskell in the American Revolution

Thomas Jay Kemp
Photo: Nathaniel Haskell’s gravestone, Lower Corner Cemetery, New Gloucester, Cumberland County, Maine. Source: Find a Grave.

My fifth-great-grandfather Lieutenant Nathaniel Haskell (1742-1794) was a Revolutionary War veteran from Maine. From my notes, I knew he was born in 1742 in Hampton Falls, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, and an Internet search led me to HaskellFamilyHistory.com, where I learned a bit more about his life and military service:

“Nathaniel Haskell moved, as a young man, from Hampton Falls, Rockingham Co, NH, to New Gloucester, Cumberland Co., ME, and served in the Thirty-First Regiment of the Revolutionary Army from that town.”

–Source: HaskellFamilyHistory.com

I knew that regiment was commanded by Col. Edmund Phinney – so next, I searched for Col. Edmund Phinney’s name in GenealogyBank to see what else I could learn about the regiment.

Source: GenealogyBank

In the “Government Publications” collection I found an American Historical Association report that mentioned a book about Phinney’s regiment, written by Nathaniel Goold.

Source: GenealogyBank, Annual report of the American Historical Association for the year 1905, 30 June 1906, page 245

I then searched the Internet and found that Goold’s book has been scanned and put online by the Internet Archive. I have written about them before here.

Source: Archive.org. Goold, Nathaniel. “History of Colonel Edmund Phinney’s Thirty-first regiment of foot, eight months’ service men of 1775, with biographical sketches of the commissioned officers and rolls of the companies.” Portland, Maine: Thurston Press, 1896.

Goold’s book gave me more information about Nathaniel’s service in that regiment:

“Second Lieut. Nathaniel Haskell entered the service from the same town, May 15, 1775. He married at Falmouth, Aug. 30, 1763, Deborah Bailey, and probably moved to New Gloucester before the war.”

Source: Archive.org. Goold, Nathaniel. “History of Colonel Edmund Phinney’s Thirty-first regiment of foot, eight months’ service men of 1775, with biographical sketches of the commissioned officers and rolls of the companies.” Portland, Maine: Thurston Press, 1896. Page 44.

Nathaniel died in 1794 in New Gloucester, Cumberland County, Maine, and was buried in the Lower Corner Cemetery. I found his gravestone on Find a Grave.

Photo: Nathaniel Haskell’s gravestone, Lower Corner Cemetery, New Gloucester, Cumberland County, Maine. Source: Find a Grave.

The time-worn inscription reads:

In memory of
CAPT. NATHANIEL HASKELL,
who was an officer in the American Revolutionary war.
He died Feb. 14, 1794. AEt. 52

“The graves of all his saints He bles’d,
And soften’d ev’ry bed:
Where shall the dying members rest,
But with the dying Head?”

I’m lucky to count Nathaniel as one of my many Revolutionary War veteran ancestors.

Genealogy Tip: Get additional information on your Revolutionary War veterans by searching the names of their commanding officers for more information about their military service.

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