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CHAP. CCLXXIV.—An act for the encouragement of manufacturing salt, at the public salt springs, in the United States military district.

1. Be it enacted, &c. That Azor Sturdevant, of the town of Delaware, in Delaware county, or any other person whom he may nominate and appoint, be authorized to make a complete examination of the salt springs in the first quarter of the fifth township in the eighteenth range of the united States military lands; and in order to ascertain the quantity and strength of the water that probably may be had at the said salt springs, the said Sturdevant or his agent is hereby authorized to sink wells and erect a furnace for the purpose of manufacturing salt.

2. That the aforesaid Azor Sturdevant, or such person as he shall appoint, shall have the privilege of taking timber off the quarter section aforesaid, for fuel and for making the necessary buildings for those who may be employed in making salt at the salt springs aforesaid, and that the said Sturdevant shall have the use and occupancy of the wells and furnace aforesaid seven years, free from rent, as a remuneration for the expense and trouble he may be at in making the experiment.

3, That the aforesaid Azor Sturdevant shall make report to the next general assembly, within ten days after the commencement of the session, of is discoveries and proceedings, of the situation of said springs, the strength and quantity of the water, ana such other information coucerning the premises as may be in his power to give.

4. That the act entitled 'an act giving encouragement for manufacturing salt, at the public salt spring, in the United States military district,' passed the thirty-first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seven, be, and the same is hereby repealed. This [act] shall take effect and be in force from and after the passage thereof. [Passed, February 14, 1812.]
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[willsturdevant1650 2.ged]

History of Prattsburg, New York-pg 465-(supplied by John S. Sturdevant

"John Sturdevant was born in Norfork, Connecticut, USA, April 12, 1776. He served in the war of 1812, a s colonel of United States troops quartered at New York, in which city he was for several yea rs a merchant, also a marshall, and keeper of a state prison. He removed to Virginia, afterw ard to Bristol, N.Y., and in 1824 to Prattsburg. He died September 22, 1854. His son Josep h Grover Sturdevant, a leading citizen of the town, died August 25, 1872."[willsturdevant1650 3.ged]

History of Prattsburg, New York-pg 465-(supplied by John S. Sturdevant

"John Sturdevant was born in Norfork, Connecticut, USA, April 12, 1776. He served in the war of 1812, as colonel of United States troops quartered at New York, in which city he was for several years a merchant, also a marshall, and keeper of a state prison. He removed to Virginia, afterward to Bristol, N.Y., and in 1824 to Prattsburg. He died September 22, 1854. His son Joseph Grover Sturdevant, a leading citizen of the town, died August 25, 1872."
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The Braintrem Baptist Church in Laceyville. Let the pastor know that you are a descendent of Samuel (the founder of that church) and ask if you could see his old bible. It is the one he carried in the Revolutionary War and is kept in a safe there.

Samuel Sturdevant, 1775, was a private in Capt. Noble Benedict's company and 1777 he served at Danbury. He died in 1828 at the age of 88. See Image.

When the Lexington alarm was sounded Danbury was quick to respond. A company of 98 men was formed under the leadership of Capt. Noble Benedict, Samuel was one of the 98. He enlisted as a Private on May 13, 1775. In late May or early June the company joined the Fifth Regiment of Connecticut State Troops commanded by Col. David Waterbury. Stamford, the home of Col. Waterbury, was the place of rendezvous for the regiment. On the Sunday before their departure they marched in a body, dressed in their simple uniforms, to the meeting house where an eloquent and patriotic sermon was preached by the Rev. Ebenezer Baldwin, the minister of the Congregational Church.

In the latter part of June, at the request of the New York Provincial authorities and the Continental Congress, the regiment marched to New York and encamped at Harlem. Late in September Congress ordered the regiment, now part of the forces under the command of General David Wooster, to march to the Northern Department, where General Richard Montgomery was leading the attack on the British forces in Canada.

The troops from Danbury were employed in the siege of St. John’s, a fort on the Richelieu River, about 30 miles from Montreal. The fort was stubbornly defended for nearly two months, but on November 2, the British forces surrendered, leaving the way open to Montreal. On the 6th General Wooster led the advance on that town with his Connecticut regiments. The roads were unbelievably bad, and the march of thirty miles took them a week to complete. One of the Connecticut soldiers recorded in his diary that, “The Land is all flat in this Country and a great part of it drowned Lands for 50 and an 100 miles on End. Our People have lived in mud and mire most of the time since they began the Siege.”

The American troops entered Montreal without opposition on November 13, 1775, and prepared to move down river for the assault on Quebec. However, a large part of the rebel forces including the company from Danbury, were nearly at the expiration of their enlistments and could not be persuaded to serve another day to fight on foreign soil. They were miserably clothed and otherwise ill—equipped to fight a war in the Canadian winter.

The Danbury contingent completed its six-month enlistment early in December and was discharged in Montreal, The records show that Samuel Sturdevant was discharged on December 6, 1775. Notwithstanding that they were employed in several sieges, and throughout the campaign were exposed to great hardship and fatigue, every man of the company returned to his home before the first of January.

Most of the Danbury soldiers re—entered the service to take further part in the struggle for independence, and Samuel Sturdevant may also have done so. Some of the historians claim, with no evidence and little likelihood, that he served until after the battle of Yorktown in 1781. Connecticut military records show that a Samuel Sturdivant enlisted in Capt. Granger’s company, Second Regiment of the "Connecticut Line”, on February 20, 1777, for the duration of the war, but deserted five days later. Also a Samuel Sturdevant enlisted on February 5, 1777, in Capt. Beardsley's company in the Seventh Regiment. He deserted on June 3, 1782. Whether either of these was our subject is not known. No other military records of Samuel Sturdevant have been found, and further research is necessary.

The first election of officers in Danbury after the burning of the town by the British under General Tryon in April, 1777 took place at a town meeting held on December 15, 1777. Samuel Sturdevant was one of 21 men who were elected to the post of Surveyor of Highways. This was the only public office he is known to have held.

In 1780 Samuel and Phebe began to look for new land to farm. On May 30 1780, he sold 10 acres of land to Joseph Brush for 15 pounds. On June 7th of that year he sold their farm of 70 acres on Huckleberry Hill for 300 pounds. The next month, on July 3, he bought a 70-acre farm in Kent, Litchfield County, Connecticut, from Thomas Beeman for 300 pounds. The farm was located in Kent Hollow, “in the Society of New Preston.” Their youngest son, Jesse, named after Phebe’s brother, was born soon after they moved, on August 15, 1781.