This is Patriot #6 in my series of blog posts about ancestors in the Revolutionary War. Nathaniel Treadwell, my 5th great grandfather, was baptized in Ipswich, Massachusetts on 28 October 1753. He was the son of Jabez Treadwell (1713 - 1780) and Lucy Haskell (1715 - 1769) of Ipswich. There were many Nathaniel Treadwells in the Ipswich records, inclusing another cousin named Nathaniel Treadwell who owned another inn in Ipswich. It was not fun unraveling all these different men from the records!
Nathaniel's father, Jabez, died on 22 December 1780 when Nathaniel was a young man and before he married. Nathaniel received bequests from his father, Jabez', Last Will & Testament, "I give and devise to my two sons Samuel Treadwell & Nathaniel Treadwell and to their heirs and assigns forever, my new barn, my land at Timber Hill so called & my little pasture (so called) my upland and salt marsh at the Hundred, one old upland Right at Jeffries Neck my lot of marsh at Plumb Island called Staniford's Lot, one half for quantity and quality, of my thatch bank adjoining pine creek called Staniford's Bank, to be equally divided between them. Provided notwithstanding, if my said son Samuel, who is now absent, shall never return, my will is, that the one half of my new barn and orchard above given to my said son Samuel, shall be and remain to my said son Nathl and to his heirs and assigns forever;" (Note: Samuel did return). He also received a share of his father's church pew in the First Parish Church at Ipswich and a share of the "husbandry tools". [Will of Jabez Treadwell, 13 Nov 1780, Ipswich, Essex Co., MA: Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, Essex - Probate Records, Roll:Treadwell, E-Treadwell, J, 1828-1991: Published at Ancestry.com.
On 17 July 1786 Nathaniel married Mary Hovey in Ipswich. She was born about 1751 and died 15 January 1832 in Ipswich, outliving her husband by about ten years. Her parents and ancestry are a mystery to me. There were many Mary Hoveys in the records, too, in Ipswich and other Essex County towns. I have not been able to figure out her history, even though my Mayflower lineage papers back to Isaac Allerton pass through Nathaniel Treadwell and Mary Hovey. My lineage was accepted, and I'm still working on finding out more about Mary Hovey.
On 19 April 1775 Nathaniel was part of the local militia under Captain Nathaniel Wade. They answered the Lexington Alarm and marched to Mystic on the 21st and then to Cambridge, serving for 3 weeks. They returned home to Ipswich on 5 June 1775. Nathaniel Treadwell then reenlisted on 1 August 1775 in Colonel Little's regiment, and again he reenlisted in his cousin William Treadwell's company for three years. He was discharge on 10 October 1780 and marched home 240 miles. The DAR lists Nathaniel Treadwell as patriot #A116294.
Nathaniel and Mary had five children, all sons. Nathaniel, Jr., born in 1787 served in the War of 1812 and was a prisoner in Dartmoor Prison. Jabez, the second son born in 1788, is my 4th great grandfather, and he married Elizabeth "Betsey" Jillings Homan in 1811. John, born in 1790 removed to Boston as a cabinet maker. Samuel was born in 1793, and William was born in 1797.
In 1806 Nathaniel Treadwell built an inn at what is now 26 North Main Street in Ipswich, across from the Congregational Church and common. He kept his tavern until 1818 and passed the business on to a cousin, Moses Treadwell. This in was renovated in the mid 1800 with Victorian trim, a new roof line, front porches, and a eventually a Victorian style tower. At that time it was known as the Agawam Inn. It is still standing. Under the ownership of theTreadwell family, the inn entertained many dignitaries such as Daniel Webster, President Monroe, and General Lafayette, who dined there on 3 August 1824.
On 12 July 1820 Nathaniel Treadwell applied for a Revolutionary War Pension, under file number S33827. The file reads: "enlisted on the first of January 1776 in Capt. Abraham Dodge's Company & Col. Moses Little's Regiment on the Continental establishment for one year and served the whole of that term and was discharged in 1777. enlisted in Capt. William Treadwell's company & Col. Cranes Regiment of Artillery on the Continental establishment & both in the Massachusetts line for three years & served the whole of that time & was discharged. And after that served three months in the militia at West Point. was in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth & Stony Point, is aged sixty eight years, infirm & unable to labor, his wife Mary is aged sixty nine years, and cannot perform much labor, his family consists of himself and wife only".
Nathaniel Treadwell died in Ipswich on 2 January 1822 and is buried in the Old Burying Ground. His wife died on 15 January 1832 and is buried nearby in the same cemetery. Both gravestones survive and are legible.
For the truly curious:
A blog post on my TREADWELL lineage: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/surname-saturday-treadwell-of-ipswich.html
A blog post on my brickwall ancestor, Mary Hovey, wife of Nathaniel Treadwell: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/08/surname-saturday-hovey-another.html
My ALLERTON lineage which passes through Nathaniel Treadwell and Mary Hovey (descendants of Isaac Allerton, Mayflower passenger): https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/07/surname-saturday-allerton-mayflower.html
To read more about the Nathaniel Treadwell Inn AKA Agawam House: https://historicipswich.net/agawam-house-26-north-main-street/
Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors of the Revolutionary War ["Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors of the Revolutionary War", Vol. 16, Pg. 35, (Compiled from the Archives) Prepared & Published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth..., Wright & Potter Printing Co., State Printers, Boston, 1896. Published online at Archive.org
New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Volume 60, July 1906, page 294
Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, The National Archives, NARA M804. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. Roll: 2411: Treadwell, Nathaniel #S33827. Published on Fold3. Accessed Jun 2019
#1 in this series, Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html
#2 in this series, Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html
#3 Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html
#4 Daniel Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-daniel.html
#5 Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-levi.html
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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 21, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-nathaniel.html: accessed [access date]).
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