Hezekiah Dayton
b. ca. 1749 Newport, RI d. May 30, 1823 Hudson, NY
Revolutionary Service: Lieutenant in unit from Providence, RI
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“Unreasonable,” Inspector of the Hudson Water System, Hudson Proprietor
Hezekiah Dayton, one of the original Proprietors, came to Hudson from Rhode Island. The advertisement to the right in the August 23, 1773 Newport Mercury shows him to be a merchant dealing with goods from around the world. The notice states that Dayton “Has to Sell”. Was he having economic difficulties? A few years later did he hear from Rhode Island businessmen including Thomas Jenkins about plans for a new settlement? Did he envision greater success there?
In the 1850 Random Recollections of Albany 1800-1808 Gorham A. Worth described Dayton as “a good citizen and an upright man, fond of argument, reasoning upon all things, but in all things unreasonable…never convinced and never convincing.” Gorham, who did not have the most positive view of Hudson, seems to be viewing Dayton as a minor civil servant, who is both foolish and laughable. There is no evidence that Dayton was a judge.
Dayton worked for the Hudson Aqueduct Company, as “Inspector and Collector,” whose system “fountainhead” can still be seen along Route 23 just east of Hudson at the base of the Becraft Mountain ridge on the south side of the road. He had a store of some sort in the first block of Warren Street, east of Front Street, on the south side of the block.
Anna Bradbury, in History of the City of Hudson, New York, describes Dayton’s job at the Aqueduct Company: “It was the custom of Squire Dayton "to detect leaks and waste, by entering the cellars of shareholders and listening for the sound of trickling or dropping water, and reporting the offenders at headquarters."
“He presided for many years as a judge of the common pleas; and, although not bred to the law, his decisions were marked by that correctness and justice, evincing the acuteness of his mind, and benignity of his heart. He was a whig of ‘75, and a firm and undeviating republican to the close of his earthly career. He loved his country to enthusiasm, and rejoiced in whatever conduced to its prosperity.” - Obituary, Washington, June 25, 1825
Verification of Service from 1779-1780 requested by Hezekiah Dayton
Due to the lack of record keeping during the Revolutionary War, veterans had to prove their service to request pensions.
Abstract from the Revolutionary War Accounts and Claims (Series A0200), from New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, 3d ed., 2 vols. (Albany: 1904).
Hezekiah Dayton’s Grave,
Section 1C, Hudson Cemetery
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Additional Resources:
Manumission of Bill by Hezekiah Dayton (links to New York Heritage record)
Columbia County Deed Book Collection, Columbia County Clerk’s Office, Hudson, NY