This is Patriot #2 I have written about for this series on my Revolutionary War ancestors. Major Andrew Munroe was born 31 March 1764 in Lexington, Massachusetts, the son of Andrew Munroe (1718 - 1766) and Mary Mixer (1727 - 1783). His mother was married three times, first to Daniel Simonds, second to Andrew Munroe and third to Caleb Simonds. Caleb had been married three times, too, and with his second wife, Susanna Converse had a daughter named Ruth Simonds. Ruth was Andrew Munroe's step sister, and they married 22 March 1785 in Burlington, Massachusetts.
Andrew Munroe was the great grandson of William Munroe ( about 1625 - 1718), a Scots Prisoner of War who was captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1650 and sent in chains to be sold into servitude on the docks of what is now Charlestown, Massachusetts. He lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts briefly and then removed to Cambridge Farms, now known as Lexington, Massachusetts in a part of town near the Woburn line that became known as "Scotland". He had fourteen children by three wives, and left many descendants in Lexington and Middlesex County who eventually fought in the Revolutionary War.
When Andrew was only eleven years old the Battle on Lexington Green took place. Many members of his Munroe family were at this battle, including his uncle William Munroe who was captain of the Lexington Militia. Several family members were killed including his two uncles, Robert Munroe (1712 - 1775) and Jonas Parker (1722 - 1775), who was married to his father's sister, Lucy Munroe. I'm sure that this event shaped Andrew's life in many ways, since he enlisted in the war very young. At age 16, on 15 July 1780, he enlisted in the Continental Army for six months under the command of Capt. James Cooper in the 16th division. He served under Brigadier General Patterson at Camp Tottoway on 25 October 1780 for another six months. Later Andew enlisted as a private in the Danvers Militia Company, where he served from 1796 to 1817. He applied from Danvers for a pension on 14 August 1832.
Andrew and Ruth were married in Burlington, and had two chidlren born in Woburn. His next two children, twins Andrew and Ishmael, were born in New Grafton, New Hampshire on 1 April 1789. Andrew had been given a land grant in New Grafton for his military service. It doesn't appear that he stayed very long in New Grafton, but returned to Danvers, Massachusetts where seven more children were born.
I couldn't find his being promoted to Major in his military records, but his gravestone at the King's Burial Ground in Peabody (formerly part of the town of Danvers) read:
"In the memory of Major Andrew Munroe Formerly of Lexington Soldier of the Revolution who died Aug. 7, 1836 aged 73 Erected by his daughter Mrs. Mary T. Taylor."
I descend from the youngest child of the eleven children, Luther Simonds Munroe (1805 - 1851) who married Olive Flint, daughter of John Fint and Phebe Flint (second cousins), on 3 September 1826 in Reading, Massachusetts.
More information on Major Andrew Munroe for the truly curious:
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution
History and Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusetts Munroes by Richard S. Munroe, 1966
Report of the Committee Appointed to Revise the Soldier's Record by Danvers, Massachusetts, 1895 (see page 142)
other blog posts about Andrew Munroe and the Munroe family:
2012 "Surname Saturday - Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts" https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html
2012 "5 November 1789, George Washington Dined Here!" https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/5-november-1789-george-washington-dined.html
2013 "He married his step sister?" https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/he-married-his-step-sister.html
2015 "The woeful life of a colonial woman" (about Mary Mixer Munroe) https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-woeful-life-of-colonial-woman.html
#1 in this series Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html
-----------------------
To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 10, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html: accessed [access date]).
No comments:
Post a Comment