Captain Elihu Yale (17471806) was an American military commanding officer, and one of the first manufacturers of

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

s in Connecticut. He served during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and later became the grandfather of penny press pioneer Moses Yale Beach.

Biography

Elihu Yale of Wallingford was born in 1747, to Theophilus Yale and Azubah Wolf, members of the

Yale family Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. His grandfather, Capt.

Theophilus Yale Captain Theophilus Yale (1675 – 1760) was a British people, British military officer, magistrate, and one of the early settlers of Wallingford, Connecticut. His grandnephew, Lyman Hall, Dr. Lyman Hall, became one of the Founding Fathers of th ...

, was a magistrate of the city, while his great-grandfather, Capt. Thomas Yale, was one of the founders of Wallingford, Connecticut. He also served as a magistrate. Yale was an early settler of Wallingford with his family and joined the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the

. He served as Sergeant in Col. Thaddeus

Cook's Regiment of Militia Cook's Regiment of Militia was called up at Wallingford, Connecticut on August 26, 1777, as reinforcements for the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. The regiment marched quickly to join the gathering forces of Gen. Horatio Gates a ...

, in New Haven and Fairfield, Connecticut. The regiment served as reinforcement during the

Saratoga Campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...

to Gen. Horatio Gates. He served as Sergeant in the New Haven Alarm regiment of the Connecticut State militia, a unit organized for the costal defense between New York and New Haven. He also served at Tryon's Invasion of Connecticut, led by British Gen. William Tryon. Yale was then under the orders of Capt. Abraham Stanley, his brother-in-law, who had served in the

10th Continental Regiment The 10th Continental Regiment was a unit of the Connecticut Line in the 1776 establishment of the Continental Army. It began as Parson's Connecticut Regiment (also known as the 6th Connecticut Provincial Regiment), which was part of the 1775 esta ...

, part of the

Connecticut Line The Connecticut Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Connecticut Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Connecticut at various times by the Continental Congress, the size of its allocation de ...

.Rolls and Lists of Connecticut Men in the Revolution, 1775-1783
Connecticut Historical Society, Volume VIII, Hartford, 1901, p. 194 On August 27, 1777, from Wallingford, Yale's regiment was sent to assist Gen. Enoch Poor's brigade. Yale eventually became a commanding officer, reaching the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

.Record-Journal
17 Aug 1916, Thu ·Page 4Yale, Elihu, Connecticut, Captain
Daughters of the American Revolution, Genealogy Research, Accessed January 24, 2024 He was a member of the 15th Continental Regiment of Gen. William Heath, who were involved in the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

during the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town ...

. Initially a blacksmith, he became wealthy from his ventures.The Yale Family: Or the Descsendants of David Yale
Storer & Stone Printers, Harvard College Library, New Haven, 1850, p. 57-58 He was among the first manufacturers in Connecticut at the time, being a pioneer in the manufacturing of

s and scythes.The Stanley families of America
Israel P. Warren, B. Thurston & Co., Portland, Maine, 1887, p. 76-77 Bayonets were used as ancillary weapons at war while scythes were used by farmers for mowing grass and harvesting crops. He also became one of the largest landholders in Wallingford. For his role in the war, he is recognized as a Patriot of the Revolution by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

. His son Ira Yale would follow in his footsteps and become a pewter manufacturer. He was the pewter master of Lemuel Johnson Curtis and William Elton. They acquired his enterprise in 1835 and started the firm Curtis & Hall, German silver and

Britannia Ware Britannia metal (also called britannium or Britannia ware) is a specific type of pewter alloy, favoured for its silvery appearance and smooth surface. The composition by weight is typically about 92% tin, 6% antimony, and 2% copper. Britannia ...

manufacturers.New England Manufacturers and Manufactories
Volume 2, J. D. Van Slyck, Van Slyck & Co., Boston, 1879, p. 441 Manufacturer Ashbil Griswold would also acquire land in the Northern part of

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.tin business. Ira Yale's third cousins were Union Army major general William Tecumseh Sherman, Judge Charles Taylor Sherman, United States Senator and United States Secretary of State John Sherman, Warden Thomas Mott Osborne, and United States Attorney General T. McKeen Chidsey. Capt. Yale's brother was also a blacksmith. The brothers were the uncles of Eliza Yale, grandmother of philanthropis
Laura A. Wood
who married the son of Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Julius Catlin, and of fur merchant

James Murray Yale James Murray Yale ( – 7 May 1871) was a clerk, and later, a Chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company, during the late North American fur trade, as they were competing with the Montreal based Northwest Company and the American Fur Company of ...

, who had his name given to Yaletown in Downtown Vancouver. They were also the granduncles of Boston sailmaker Rufus M. Yale. Another of Capt. Yale's brother, Nathaniel Yale, became the great-grandfather of Judge George Edwin Lawrence, partner of Lt. Col. and Congressman

Charles Herbert Joyce Charles Herbert Joyce (January 30, 1830November 22, 1916) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Vermont. Biography Joyce was born near Andover, Hampshire, England to Charles Joyce and Martha E. Grist ...

. He was the father of Vermont state attorney Robert A. Lawrence, who married the granddaughter of Senator Augustus P. Hunton.Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography
edited by Prentiss Cutler Dodge, 1912, p. 232-323

Personal life

Capt. Elihu Yale married on November 24, 1774, to Lucretia Stanley, daughter of Capt. Abraham Stanley, and descendant of Capt. John Stanley of the

Stanley-Whitman House The Stanley-Whitman House is a historic house museum at 37 High Street in Farmington, Connecticut. Built ca 1720, it is one of the oldest houses in Farmington. A well-preserved saltbox with post-medieval construction features, it was designat ...

. He died on May 12, 1806, on a Sunday, after having attended the church. His wife died on April 30, 1813. They had 7 children together. *Lois Yale (1776-1814), wife of

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

and tavern owner Jared Kirtland, became the aunt of Judge

Jared Potter Kirtland Jared Potter Kirtland (November 10, 1793 – December 10, 1877) was a naturalist, malacologist, and politician most active in the U.S. state of Ohio, where he served as a probate judge, and in the Ohio House of Representatives. He was also a ph ...

, cofounder of Western Reserve University. Their daughter, Lois Yale Kirtland, married to Dr. Eli Mygatt, son of the President of the City Bank of Cleveland, and their granddaughter became the mother-in-law of Pennsylvania politician Ira Franklin Mansfield, owner of coal mines, board director of the First National Bank of Rochester, and president of Beaver College. *Lucretia Yale (1778-1800), married County Surveyor and Deputy

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Moses Sperry Beach, and became the mother of newspaper entrepreneur Moses Yale Beach, who, at one point, owned the largest newspaper in America. The William street, Meadow Street and Orchard Street, in Wallingford, are named after Moses Yale Beach's estate. His son, abolitionist

Moses S. Beach Moses Sperry Beach (October 5, 1822 – July 25, 1892) was an American newspaper editor and politician from New York. His papers were the Boston Daily Times and the New York Sun. Life Beach was born on October 5, 1822 in Springfield, Massachuset ...

, would sell his paper the New York Sun to a friend of Karl Marx named Charles Anderson Dana, Assistant Secretary of War of Abraham Lincoln, and stayed a stockholder. *Ira Yale (1783-1864), became

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and

of Meriden, landowner, pewter manufacturer and owned a general grocery store. His son Elihu Yale Jr. became Judge of the Probate court and

of Cheshire, Connecticut, then member of the City Council of New Haven, Chief of Police,

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

and

. He was also a marble manufacturer and the author of the Yale genealogy book published in 1850. Capt. Yale's cousin, Rev. Thomas Yale, became the first of the Yales to graduate from Yale College in 1765. The past member being Deacon David Yale, educated at Cambridge University, England, who received an honorary degree from Yale in 1724. This was the David Yale initially considered to inherit the fortune of Elihu Yale, benefactor of Yale College, but the man's whole estate, made from the diamond mines of Golconda, India, went to the British branch instead, and was lost through corruption with no living descendants past his grandchildren. Another cousin of Capt. Yale was Capt.

Josiah Yale Captain Josiah Yale (1752 – 1822) was a politician and military officer from Massachusetts. He became an early settler and pioneer of Lee, Massachusetts, and was made Justice of the Peace and Minister Treasurer. He also fought in the Stillwate ...

and abolitionist

Levi Yale Levi Yale (April 11, 1792 – February 19, 1872), of Meriden, Connecticut, was a postmaster, justice of the peace and abolitionist, who worked as an agent of the Underground Railroad. He was a member of the state legislature, cofounded the abolit ...

, cofounder of the anti-slavery political party of Connecticut named the Liberty Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yale, Elihu 1747 births 1806 deaths Beach family Yale family People from Wallingford, Connecticut American manufacturing businesspeople Patriots in the American Revolution Connecticut militiamen in the American Revolution