My Revolutionary War Patriots, Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts

 

The Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial

This is #5 in a series of posts I am publishing this year for the 250th Anniversary of the USA. 

My 5th great grandfather Levi Younger was born on 7 February 1756 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the son of William Younger and Lucy Foster.  He was the second of three sons, and his sister was the famous Thomasine AKA Tammy Younger, "The Witch of Dogtown".  All three brothers were mariners. 

On 17 July 1784, after the Revolutionary War, Levi married Mary Wotten in Gloucester.  She was the Daughter of John Wotton and Mary Hall of Gloucester. Mary was one of nine children in the Wotten family.  Together they had five children of their own, and I descend from their eldest son, Levi Younger, Jr. 

There is very little known about Levi's life in Gloucester.  I know he was a mariner, but was he a sailor?, a fisherman? a whaler? On 13 January 1776, when he was almost 20 years old he enlisted in Captain Bradbury Sanders' Company for a service of 7 months and 18 days.  This company was stationed at Gloucester for defense of the seacoast.  Gloucester is at the tip of Cape Ann, north of Boston, and a strategic seaport for New England.

At some point after his initial enlistment Levi must have re-enlisted in the militia, or perhaps he served as a privateer with a contract with a ship captain.  I can't find any further information on a re-enlistment.  However, he was apparently a seaman captured during the war, imprisoned on a prison ship Favorite, and later sent to prison in England and later exchanged. I found him listed as a mariner aboard the ship General Glover, captained by Nicholas Bartlett, with a crew of 66, captured on 18 October 1779 by the British navy. 

In the book Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution, Volume XVII, page 1039: 

Younger, ------, List of prisoners to be returned in exchange for British Prisoners sent to New York in the cartel "Favorite" as returned by Robert Pierpont, commissary of Prisoners (year not given); said Younger, Seaman, to be exchanged for James Price, Seaman.

To confirm that this was actually Levi Younger, I was able to find this document in the Franklin Papers:

From Daniel Edwards et al.

als: American Philosophical Society

L’Orient April 8th: 1782.

Sir

Haveing had the good fortune to make our Escape from Forton Prison in England on the 13th March last and to take a small Sloop from Portsmouth in the Night in which 32 of us landed safe at Cape Bellflour from whence we marched to Le Hague where we met with a French Gentlemen a Commissary who gave us a Pass a pair of Shoes & 10 Livres each to go as far as St. Maloes. When we arrived there 19 of us being not able to travell any farther they went on board a Privateer for a Months Cruize 5 got Passes and have gone to Nantes in order to make the best of their way to America & 8 of us came here for the like purpose wanting to get home as soon as Possible haveing been a long time prisoners some of us sent to England from the West Indies & some from New York. We arrived here the 25th: Ultio. & the American Agent not being here nor no Continental Ships we were Obliged to take Lodgeings for 11 Days before we could get a Vessell to go on Board off & the Capt. has it not in his power to give us any thing but our Victuals for our Work he haveing his Complement of hands already Shipped however he has promissed us a passage home but cannot give us any Money untill he Arrives in Philadelphia. And as there is no other Vessell in the Harbour Bound to America that will Sail this 3 or 4 Months and this Ship being almost Ready to sail we have thought it best to come on Board of her upon them Conditions.

And as we are destitute of both Money and Clothes we have made bold to apply to your Excellency requesting (If you please) some Assistance that will enable us at least to satisfy the Gentleman who was so kind as to take us in and Board us for the above mentioned time. (his Name is John Dager)

Two of us belong to Continental Ships Joshua Goss Midshipman belonging to the Boston Frigate was taken in one of her Prizes on the 8th: of July 1778 by the Porcupine Ship of War of 24 Guns and Carried to England where he has been a Prisoner ever since untill this present Escape.- The Other Eliphalet Rogers belonging to the Alliance Frigate was taken in one of her Prizes the 18th: Septr. 1779 and has likewise been a Prisoner in Forton Prison untill this present time. Therefore they would be extremely Obliged to your Excellency (if in your Power) to advance them a trifle of their Wages as their Necessities at present are very Pressing- Your Excellencie’s granting this our Humble Petition would be gratefully Acknowledged by your Excellencies Most Obdt. Humble Servts.

Daniel Edwards Joshua Goss George Clark James Fuller Elipalet Rogers Robert Fulton Isaac Allen William James His Mark

p.s. There is two more prisoners arived here that wrote to your Excellency from Havre de Grace and two of their Companions that Escaped in the Cartell with the french are detained in the [Kian] at Brest who would be glad of your assistance in setting them at Liberty. their Names are Levi Younger & Bartholemew Cashwood

His Excellency Doctr. Franklin Esqr.

Addressed: His Excellency / Doctr. Franklin Esqr. / At / Paris.

Notation: [torn: Edwar]ds Daniel, [torn: Goss J]oshua, &c. L’ori-ent [torn] 1782.

It appears that when the ship General Glover was captured, the seamen were imprisoned by the British at the imfamous Forton Prison in Gosport, England. Some of the prisoners made an escape in March, and were taken to the Netherlands, and later to St. Malo.  They were separated, and some made it back to the colonies. It must have been quite an adventure, but by 1782 they were back home. This document addressed to Benjamin Franklin, who was the ambassador to Britain during the war, asks for Levi Younger to be released from the cartell in Brest, France. We know that Levi made it home, because in 1784 he married Mary Wotten in Gloucester. This is interesting to me because Benjamin Franklin is a cousin on my paternal side, and Levi Younger is on my maternal side of the family tree. 

Forton was an infamous prison.  It was originally a naval hospital, but later used during the American Revolution and the war of 1812 as a prisoner of war camp. The conditions were brutal, and many prisoners died or were hanged as traitors and pirates.  Most of the prisoners had spent time on prison ships in New York Harbor before being transferred to Forton.  

In the Salem Gazette, 11 March 1806, page 4, there was a notice for the estate of Levi Younger of Gloucester. "Notice is hereby given that the subscriber has been duly appointed administratix of the estate of Levi Younger of Gloucester, mariner, deceased, and has taken upon herself that by giving bends, as the law directs.  All persons having demands against the said estate, are requested to exhibit them for settlement- and those indebted to make payments to: Mary Carter, Admin'x Gloucester, Feb. 4th, 1806."  The Essex County Probate records state that Levi Younger died intestate.  His wife, Mary, had remarried to John Carter on 24 October 1801 in Gloucester.  We have not found a death record for Levi Younger, but he must have died sometime before 1801, leaving Mary with five children between the ages of 6 and 15 years old. 

I find the story of Levi Younger to be fascinating for many reasons. First, although we know almost nothing about his personal life, his harrowing capture, imprisonment and escape survive through federal records.  He must have had a very hard life, as a mariner in New England and died young. Perhaps he died at sea? Perhaps he died from his hardships as a prisoner of war.  Perhaps we will never know? 

In a twist of fate, Levi Younger, Jr., my 4th great grandfather, was also a privateer during the War of 1812, and he was also captured by the British.  He was held on board the prison ship Royal William. I'm not sure of how he was released, but by 1816 he was back in Gloucester and married my 4th great grandmother Catherine Plummer Jones on 23 October 1816.  She was the sister of Mary Lambert Jones Dominis, the mother-in-law to Queen Lili'oukalani. 

For the truly curious:

Kaminkow, Marion and Jack. Mariners of the American Revolution. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1996 

 Franklin Papers, Volume 37, page 116, letter from Daniel Edwards about the Escape from Forten Prison

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution, Vol. XVII, page 1039

The first blog post in this series

Patriot #1 Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html   

The Younger family:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/12/surname-saturday-younger-of-gloucester.html   

Tammy Younger, the Witch of Dogtown:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/02/tammy-younger-witch-of-dogtown.html  

A blog post on Levi Younger, Jr. and his capture during the War of 1812:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/levi-younger-mariner-and-prisoner-of.html  

Also,

An interesting article about Forton Prison during the American Revolution:

https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/01/plight-of-the-seamen-incarceration-escape-or-secured-freedom/  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots, Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 14, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-levi.html: accessed [access date]).