Abijah Rockwell

     Abijah Rockwell was born on 1 July 1751.¹ He married Lydia Burchard, daughter of Isaiah Burchard and Sarah Betts, on Thursday, 30 September 1773. Abijah lived in Ridgebury, CT. Abijah Rockwell received minor damage to his property when the British Army under Tryon passed through Ridgebury on their retreat from the Danbury raid in April 1777. In a report to the Connecticut General Assembly by a committee appointed in May 1777 to evaluate losses in Ridgefield due to the “hostile incursions” of the British the previous month, Abijah Rockwell appears on the list, with his losses given as £4 17s 9d. [From CT Archival papers viewed at the State Library, Hartford] When the state eventually got around to compensating the “fire sufferers” in 1792, his loss was evaluated to total £3 5s 2d. The state compensated the victims not in cash but in grants to land in an area of the future Ohio. [CtAR3 I-63n] Abijah also acquired shares of his father’s claims and purchased that of his brother David. On 7 May 1811 Abijah sold his rights to land in the township of Ridgefield, Huron County, Ohio.² He died on 19 August 1825 at age 74.