William Ezekiel Appelgate

Other Events:

• Voress Number: XN

Notes:

XN William Ezekiel Applegate; b. abt. 1781, d. 31 May 1849 or 1 June 1850 at Southampton, Burlington Co., NJ. He married 13 October 1808 in Burlington Co., NJ, Phebe Clinton, b. abt 1871, d. 7 June 1863 in Southampton, Burlington Co., NJ.

Discussion

The identification of this Ezekiel rests on his widow’s application for bounty land based on his service in the undeclared war with France at the end of the 18th Century.

There is a stray piece of paper in the War of 1812 bounty land application of Irene, widow of Derrick Applegate 5F2B5 that refers to Ezekiel. It appears to be some sort of file divider:

Applegate, Ezekiel BLReg 30796-50
Phebe

Not War with 1812
War with France
1799-1807

I have no idea why this document is in Derrick’s file.

Bounty land claim number 30796 is the bounty land claim of Phebe (Clinton) Applegate. In the application, dated 25 January 1851, Phebe Applegate states that she is 80 years old and that she married Ezekiel Applegate in Burlington Co., NJ, in 1808. Her maiden name was Phebe Clinton. She states that Ezekiel enlisted in the Light Horse and Infantry commanded by Col. Hanlein (another witness in the application, Allen Joyce, gives his name as “Hanley”) in 1799 at Buns Tavern, Monmouth Co., NJ. She further states that Ezekiel was discharged in 1807 at “Washington City”--probably Washington D.C. Finally, she states that Ezekiel died on 31 May 18 1849 at Southampton, Burlington Co., NJ.

Notes in the file indicate that the muster rolls for this unit were destroyed by fire in 1814.

There is a reference to a marriage of Phebe Clinton in H. Stanley Craig, “Burlington County Marriages” (undated, reprinted 1977 by the Gloucester County Historical Society), p. 11. The date of the marriage is 13 October 1808. However, Craig states that the name of the groom is William Applegate, not Ezekiel. I was able to obtain a copy of the relevant page of the Burlington County Marriage Book (Marriage Book B, p. 95), and it clearly states the groom’s name is William Applegate and the bride’s name is Phebe Clinton. The Justice of the Peace who performed the wedding (Joseph Budd) identified in the Marriage Book is the same as the one Phebe claimed performed her wedding in her bounty land application.

There is a William Applegate who appears on the Death Schedule for the 1850 Census for Southampton, Burlington Co., NJ. He as listed as 68, married,, born in NJ, and died in June. His occupation was “Laborer” and his cause of death was “Debility”. There is a matching death record for a William Applegate in the New Jersey-EASY database. ("New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FZC9-NPD : accessed 8 April 2012), William Applegate (1849)). This gives his death date as 1 June 1849, death place as Burlington Co., NJ, occupation as “Laborer”, and married. His age at death on the 1850 Death Schedule gives us an approximate birth date of 1781

While the first name of the husbands differ, it seems clear that Phebe is referring to the same person in her bounty land application. I do not know why Phebe called her husband “Ezekiel” in her bounty land application, when he seems to have used the name William in all other circumstances.

I suspect I have located Phebe in the 1850 US Census in Burlington County. There is a household headed by a Phebe Applegate enumerated in Southampton Township. In the household are Phebe Applegate age 6x (the second digit is illegible and could be a ‘5’ or a ‘9’), born in NJ; William Applegate, age 22; Phebe Applegate, age 17; Lorenzo Applegate, age 35; Samuel Applegate, age 24; and Henry Applegate, age 14. (1850 US Census, NJ, Burlington Co., Southampton Twp., 436/445). Based on her stated age, her birth year was either 1795 or 1791 Given the tendency to inflate the ages of widows in pension and bounty applications, this could be Phebe the widow of William/Ezekiel.

Phebe seems to have remained in Southampton. I believe I found her in the 1860 Census, still living there as head of household. “Phoebe” was 70, and born in NJ. Also in the household were Elizabeth Applegate, age 35, born in NJ; and William Applegate, age 28, born in NJ. (1860 US Census, NJ, Burlington Co., Southampton Twp., p. 60, 37/424)

I believe this Phebe was the Phebe Applegate who died on 7 June 1863 in Southampton, Burlington Co., NJ, at age 72. She had been born in Monmouth Co., NJ. This gives a calculated birth year of 1791 for her. ("New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720-1988," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FZD9-FL5 : accessed 8 April 2012), Phebe Applegate (1791)).

William married Phebe Clinton 13 Oct 1808, Burlington County, New Jersey, USA. Phebe was born Abt 1785, New Jersey, USA; died 07 Jun 1863, Southampton Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, USA. [Group Sheet]

1. Lorenzo D Applegate was born Abt 1825, New Jersey, USA; died 17 Feb 1864, Island Number 10, Tennessee, USA.
2. Samuel Applegate was born Abt 1826, New Jersey, USA.
3. William Applegate was born Abt 1828, New Jersey, USA.
4. Phebe Applegate was born Abt 1833, New Jersey, USA.
5. Henry Applegate was born Abt 1836, New Jersey, USA.