My Revolutionary War Patriots - Abner Poland of Essex, Massachusetts

 

Essex, Massachusetts - The former Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts

This is blog post #8 on my series of stories about my Revolutionary War ancestors.

Abner Poland, baptized 17 October 1736 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich (now the town of Essex), on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, was the son of John Poland (1693 - 1777), a weaver from Chebacco Parish,  and Abigail Davis of Gloucester.  She was the daughter of James Davis (1685 - 1742) and Abigail Mettcalfe.  

Abner married Dorothy Burnham on 3 April 1761 and had seven children, three boys and four girls.  I descend from the oldest son, Abner Poland, Jr. (1761 - 1835) who was also a Revolutionary War veteran. Dorothy was the daughter of John Burnham and Rachel Smith, baptized on 26 June 1737 in the Chebacco Parish, and died on 7 April 1789.  Abner remarried for a second time to Deborah Burnham, the widow of Nathaniel Emerson, on 5 December 1792.  She was the daughter of Westley Burnham and Deborah Story.  Deborah Burnham Emerson Poland was denied a widow's pension under Abner's name because she had already filed under Nathaniel's name! I have not found a gravestone for Abner, Sr. or his wives. 

Abner Poland, Sr. served as a private from 1 January 1777 to 1 February 1777, in the Chebacco Parish company of Captain Abraham Dodge, in the 12 regiment of the Massachusetts line under Colonel Moses Little.  Later he served in the militia at Newport, Rhode Island and was at the taking of Burgoyne and his Army, in the Battles of Long Island, White Plains and Harlem Heights.  he was honorable discharged in New Jersey. 

Abner Poland received a pension for his service, number 10,055 at $8.00 per month beginning on 6 April 1818.  His pension application lists that he owned 18 acres of pasture land and tillage, a small house, a small barn and 2 cows in Essex.  He signed his will on 17 May 1804, which was probated on 20 July 1824.  At age 84 years (in 1822) he was blind.  He died on 9 February 1824 at age 86. 

Since both Abner Poland's were in the same war, and both lived in the same town.  The records are sometimes hard to untangle.  An Abner Poland was an American prisoner of war at Forton Prison, England, imprisoned on 2 April 1778.  He was kidnapped off the ship "Hawk".  I'm not sure if this was Abner, Sr. or Abner, Jr.  The older Abner Poland was not in the military records in 1778.  The younger Abner Poland was in the Continental Army from 1 March 1777 to 31 December 1779. There was an Abner Poland, III, but he was not born until 1781. 

 I'll be writing up Abner, Jr.'s sketch for next week's blog post. He will be Patriot #9 in this series. 

For the truly curious:

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution, Vol. XII, p. 490 for the line about Abner Poland.

New England Historic Genealogical Society Register Vol. 33, p. 37 ["American Prisoners at Forton Prison, England, Abner Poland, prize of ye Hawk.  Comitted to prison 2 Apr. 1778"]

A blog post with Abner Poland's will:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/10/last-will-and-testament-of-abner-poland.html 

My Poland lineage: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/04/surname-saturday-poland-of-essex-county.html  

This series about Revolutionary War Patriots

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

#2  Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, MA:  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  

#6 Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-nathaniel.html  

#7 Captain Westley Burnham of Essex, Massachusetts   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-captain.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Abner Poland of Essex, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 21, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/05/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-abner.html: accessed [access date]).