Biography
John Pulsipher was born 19 July 1749 in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, United States to David Pulsipher (1708-1775) and Elizabeth Stowell (1719-1786) and died 4 July 1827 Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont, United States of unspecified causes. He married Elizabeth Dutton (1752-1838) 1773 in Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont.
History taken from Pulsipher Book written by Nora and Terry Lund and from Zera Pulsipher’s history:
In the year 1769 John Pulsipher went to a new state called Vermont. Later he went up the Connecticut River to Bellows Falls. Then went five miles back to a place that was afterwards called Rockingham, Vermont. This was an entire wilderness country where seldom a blow had been struck by a white man. There he selected and obtained 500 acres of land and prophesied or predicted things that would take place in years to come. He talked of a site for a meeting house, a burying ground back of it, and a town site where water power was erected. He cleared some land, built a Public House or Tavern. He helped establish a settlement and converted the wilderness into a fruitful field.
American Revolution
When the American Revolutionary War commenced he was very young, but being away from home one day he heard that the British Army had destroyed some military stores at Concord, Massachusetts and being fired with indignation he sought for a recruiting officer and enlisted for one campaign. When he returned home and informed his father of the circumstances, the old gentleman told him that he was too young and that he would enlist and go with him. Accordingly he did, and they both went to Boston, Massachusetts.
In the memorable Battle of Bunker Hill, the 17th of June 1775, there they stood side by side and fought with about 1500 Americans against 3000 of the British for about two hours. When the enemy, after firing Charleston and wending around under the smoke, had nearly surrounded that wing of their army, they saw a small gap of retreat through, even though the British was then continually shooting cannon balls from their ships. While they were trying to get out, Father David saw one of their men wounded and crawling away on his hands and knees. As he tried to get to him he saw a British Soldier run him through with a bayonet. Being filled with indignation at such rank breach of the laws of all civilized nations, he immediately stopped, amid scenes of death and carnage, loaded his gun and shot that man down before he retreated. (Zera says he speaks of this to let my posterity know that our ancestors were clothed with that steady unshaken determination in time of the most immanent dangers that are incident to human life.) John served his time out and returned home to attend to the cares of a family.
Post-war Life
He married Elizabeth Dutton and raised a family of seven sons and three daughters. John was absolute in his family government, kind and affectionate to all his friends. His common practice was to make a feast once each year and invite some of the poorest people that were in the town and seemed to take pleasure in their company. Zera says he never knew him to turn a beggar away. He was one of the founders of the first Baptist Church in Rockingham in 1789. He lived to the age of seventy-eight and died 4 July 1827 in Rockingham.
Elizabeth was born 24 December 1752 in Lunenburg, Worcester, Maryland, the daughter of Thomas Dutton and Mary Hill. She was a descendant of the Thomas Dutton (1622-1687) and Susannah Palmer (1626-1684) who settled in Reading, Massachusetts and who were the fourth great-grand parents of the Prophet Joseph Smith. This same Dutton Family is said to be the family of Duttons who came to Chester, England in 1066 with William the Conqueror. Elizabeth joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints in 1832. She was then living with her son, Zera, and his family, her husband having died earlier. She died 2 December 1838, at Far West, Missouri, Caldwell County, Missouri, from persecutions in a land of liberty.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Oliver Pulsipher (1774-1826) | |||
| David Pulsipher (1776-1832) | 13 September 1776 Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont | 3 July 1832 Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont | Terzah Newton (1780-1809) |
| Elizabeth Pulsipher (1778-1829) | |||
| Polly Pulsipher (1780-1851) | |||
| John Pulsipher (1782-1840) | |||
| Elias Pulsipher (1784-1788) | |||
| Solomon Pulsipher (1786-1812) | |||
| Zera Pulsipher (1789-1872) | 24 June 1789 Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont, United States | 1 January 1872 Hebron, Washington County, Utah, United States | Mary Randall (1789-1812) Mary Ann Brown (1798-1886) Prudence McNamara (1803-1883) Martha Ann Hughes (1843-1907) |
| Elijah Pulsipher (1791-1873) | |||
| Sybil Pulsipher (1793-1870) | |||
| Anannah Pulsipher (1798-1893) | |||
| Fidelia Pulsipher (1803-1898) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Mary Pulsipher (1744-1827) | |||
| Esther Pulsipher (1747-1842) | |||
| John Pulsipher (1749-1827) | 19 July 1749 Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, United States | 4 July 1827 Rockingham, Windham County, Vermont, United States | Elizabeth Dutton (1752-1838) |
| David Pulsipher (1751-1754) | |||
| Elizabeth Pulsipher (1754-) | |||
| David Pulsipher (1756-1835) | |||
| Ebenezer Pulsipher (1759-1806) | |||
See Also
- John Pulsipher - Wikitree
- John Pulsipher, Sr - Geni
- John Thomas Taylor (1842-1897)
- Pulsipher Family
- Pulsipher in Windham County, Vermont
- Pulsipher in Windham County, Connecticut