596327

[phelps.FTW]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #3857, Date of Import: Oct 22, 1998]

He followed the sea as a young man till 1753, when, to please his father, he moved with him to Plympton. Soon after, the French and Indian War began, and in 1755, he joined the expedition to Crown Point, returning home in 1756. In this campaign he became a commissioned officer. He also, in 1755, represented Plympton at a Provincial Congress held at Watertown. Later he was a Representitive at the General Court. He was a member of the Convention to form a new Constitution in 1779, which was ratified in 1780. He was a field officer in the Militia during the whole of the Revolutionary War, in which he received three commissions, being Captain in 1774-75, 2nd Major in 1776, 1st Major in 1777; and received his commission as Colonel July 1, 1781. This last commission he resigned in 1786, after the declaration of peace with Great Britian. He was a friend of Washington and entertained him at his home. He was prominent, also, in civil affairs. On July 11, 1774, a town meeting was held at Plympton, at which a committee of seven was appointed to consider the condition of the colonies as it related to the "Stamp Act", imposing taxes on the necessaries of life. Captain Seth Cushing was one of this committee. On the first Monday of August, the Committee made the following report: "We the undersigned, being chose as a Committee to undertake consideration the precarious state and dangerous situation in which the public affairs of this Province are now under, which threaten great distress through all the Colonies on the Continent. In the first place, we recommend it unto allto be deeply humble before God under a deep sense of the very aggravated sins which abound in the land in this day of our calamity, which is the foundation cause of all the sorrows and calamities that we feel or fear, and repent and return to God with our whole heart, and then we may humbly hope that God will graciously be pleased to return unto us and appear for our deliverance and save us from the distress we are now laboring under, and prevent heavier calamities coming upon us, we also recommend to this town by no means to be concerned in purchasing or consuming any goods imported from Great Britain after the first day of October next, and until our grievances, are removed, and in regard to entering into combination respecting purchasing goods from Great Britain, we humbly conceive it would be very prudent to act any thing of that nature until the result of Congress shall be made public, and flourishing state of the same."
Signed:
Captain Geo. Bryant Captain Seth Cushing
Mr. William Ripley Dea. Samuel Lucas
Dea. Thomas Savery Mr. Benj. Shurtleff
Mr. Josiah Perkins