Elias Haven
File:Patriots' Grave, Old Burying Ground, Arlington, Massachusetts.JPG
Elias Haven (June 18, 1742-April 19, 1775) was a militiaman from Dedham, Massachusetts who died at the battle near the Jason Russell House in Menotomy after the battles of Lexington and Concord.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=153}} He was the only man from Dedham who died on that day.{{r|central}}{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}
Battle at Menotomy
{{main|Battles of Lexington and Concord}}
{{Seealso|Dedham, Massachusetts in the American Revolution}}
On April 19, 1775, news of the fighting at Lexington reached Dedham via a messenger who stopped at the home of Samuel Dexter, who was so overcome he nearly fainted.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=152}} Church bells rang and signal guns were fired to summon the town’s minutemen and militia.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=155}} At the time, Haven was harrowing in a field on the George Ellis Chickering.{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}
Dedham’s companies assembled quickly, and Captain Joseph Guild silenced anyone who attempted to dismiss the alarm.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=155}} Within an hour, nearly every male between sixteen and seventy had departed with their minister’s blessing.{{sfn|Worthington|1869|p=26}} A total of over 280 men left from Dedham’s four parishes, under leaders such as Captains Aaron Fuller, George Guild, William Bullard, Daniel Draper, William Ellis, and David Fairbanks.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=153}} Haven marched under Ebenezer Battle's command.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=154}}{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}
Dedham’s companies joined others from surrounding towns in an ambush near the Jason Russell House in Menotomy.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=153}} There, a British flanking maneuver drove the colonists back, killing ten, including Haven.{{sfn|Hanson|1976|p=154}} Fighting next to him next to the Arlington Meeting House at the time he was shot was his brother-in-law, Aaron Whiting.{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}
He was buried with the others who fell that day in Patriots' Grave at the Old Burying Ground.{{r|winkler}}{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}
Personal life
Haven was born in Hopkinton on June 18, 1742 to Joseph Haven, a deacon in Dover, and his wife, Miriam ({{nee|Bayley}}).{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}{{sfn|Adams|1843|p=41}} He moved to Dedham, and settled on Farm Street.{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}} On June 14, 1764, he married Jemima Whiting.{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}{{efn|Jemima was the daughter of Jonathan and Anna ({{nee|Bullard}}) Whiting.{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}}} Together they had three children: Elias, Abigail, and Jemima.{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}{{efn|Elias later moved to New York and one of his daughters married a Bacon.{{sfn|Adams|1843|p=41}}}}
He worked as a cordwainer as well as husbandman.{{sfn|Smith|1909|p=35-36}}
Haven was a first cousin, once removed, of Jason Haven.
Notes
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References
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Works cited
- {{cite book| last = Adams | first = Josiah | year = 1843 | title = The Genealogy of the Descendants of Richard Haven: Of Lynn, Massachusetts, who Emigrated from England about Two Hundred Years Ago; Among Whom Through His Sons John, Nathaniel, and Moses, of Framingham, are All the Graduates of that Name at Cambridge, Dartmouth, Providence, and Amherst. | publisher = W. White & H. P. Lewis | url = https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Genealogy_of_the_Descendants_of_Rich/mNEUAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 | accessdate = March 31, 2025 }}
- {{cite book| last=Hanson|first=Robert Brand |title=Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4oslAQAAMAAJ|year=1976|publisher=Dedham Historical Society}}
- {{cite book| last = Smith | first = Frank |year =1909 | title = Biographical Sketch of the Residents of that Part of Dedham, which is Now Dover, who Took Part in King Phillip's War, the Last French and Indian War, and the Revolution: Together with the Record of the Services of Those who Represented Dover in the War of 1812, the War with Mexico, the Civil War, and the War with Spain | url = https://www.google.com/books/edition/Biographical_Sketch_of_the_Residents_of/_WJAAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 }}
- {{cite book|last=Worthington|first=Erastus|authorlink=Erastus Worthington | title=Dedication of the Memorial Hall, in Dedham, September 29, 1868: With an Appendix|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2W8WAAAAYAAJ|accessdate=June 13, 2021|year=1869|publisher=John Cox Jr.}}{{PD-notice}}
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Category:Military personnel from Dedham, Massachusetts
Category:United States military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War