My Revolutionary War Patriots - Abner Poland, Jr. of Essex, Massachusetts

 

Abner Poland's Badge of Merit certificate

signed by General George Washington

This is #9 in my series of Revolutionary War Ancestors. 

Abner Poland, Jr. was born on 17 May 1761 in Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, Massachusetts (now the town of Essex),  the son of Abner Poland and Dorothy Burnham.  Last week I featured Abner Poland, Sr. in  sketch #8 because he was also a Revolutionary War veteran.  Abner, Jr. married Sarah Burnham on 20 March 1783.  She was the daughter of Westley Burnham and Deborah Story.  In a funny twist, Sarah's brother was Westley Burnham, another of my Revolutionary War ancestors.  Also, her sister Deborah was Abner Poland Sr.'s second wife (his first wife was also a Burnham).  Abner Poland was a mariner and fisherman in the coastal town of Essex, which is on the Essex River. 

Abner, Jr. and Sarah had eight children, four boys and four girls.  I descend from their eldest daughter, Sally, who married Henry Burnham (another Burnham!).  

As a young man, before his marriage in 1783 at the age of 22, Abner Jr. enlisted in the local militia on 15 January 1776 (he was barely 15 years old) as a private in Captain Abraham Dodge's Company under Colonel Moses Little's 12th regiment.  He was discharged on 14 May 1776. 

The following year Abner Jr., was listed on the muster rolls of the Continental Army under Colonel Joanthan Cogswell's 3rd Essex Regiment under Brigadier General Farley.  He joined Capt. Burnham's company (another Burnham!) under Colonel Jackson for a term of 3 years. He was listed as "Corporal, age 19 yrs, stature 5 feet 8 inches complexion fair; hair, dark; occupation, farmer, birthplace, Ipswich; residence, Ipswich; enlisted 17 Dec 1779 by Lt. Michael Jackson at West Point".  He ended up serving in the Continental Army for seven and a half years all the way to the Battle of Yorktown!  

Abner Poland, Jr. applied for a pension at age 57 years from his farm in Enfield, New Hampshire.  On his application found in the National Archives he stated "he first enlisted for one year, re-enlisted for three years, re-enlisted for a third time, serving seven 1/2 years total.  He received an honorable discharge in writing at Newburgh, NY.  He was in battles at Hubbardston, Stillwater, Monmouth, and Yorktown.  He received the Badge of Merit, the highest decoration.  W-152-B.L. Wt 48 71-100 1795  George Washington." 

I was excited to learn that he recieved the Badge of Merit from General Washington, and I found the award online, but it was a poorly scanned copy. I couldn't make out the signature.  So I actually took a trip to the National Archives in Washington, DC to see the document for myself. It was really signed by George Washington!  You can read all about this adventure in another blog post (see below for the link). 

The Battle of Yorktown was in 1781, with the surrender of the British on October 19th.  General Washington went to his headquarters at Newburgh, New York, and Abner received his certificate from Washington there in 1783. He married in 1783, probably upon returning home to Chebacco Parish, Ipswich.  

In the Registry of Deeds, Grafton County, Woodsville, New Hampshire, Book 57, page 162, we can read that Abner Poland, 2d of Ipswich, Massachusetts purchased a farm at Enfield, New Hampshire on 4 May 1812 for $850 from William Williams, Jr. of Enfield. Abner is listed in the 1830 census as living in Enfield.  He died at Enfield on 14 January 1835 and is buried in Lot 46 of the Oakgrove Cemetery, bhind the Community Church in Enfield.  

Abner Poland, Jr. became a pensioner, but was removed from the rolls for possessing too much property! Later he was placed back on the pension rolls.  His widow, Sarah, applied for a pension on 1 February 1837 and received $88 per year, which began on 4 September 1837 [Pension number 1586]. She died testate in Canaan, new Hampshire at the home of her daughter, Endor and son-in-law Elijah Gove.  [See The Polands of Essex County, Massachusetts by Lloyd Orville Poland, page 225, and also see The History of Canaan, NH by W.A. and J. B. Wallace].   

Abner and Sarah Poland

Enfield, New Hampshire

For the truly curious:

My trip to the National Archives to see Abner Poland's certificate from George Washington:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-archives-good-news-bad-news.html  

George Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, NY:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/03/george-washingtons-headquarters-at.html  

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

#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  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Abner Poland, Jr. of Essex, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 28, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/05/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-abner_0416714129.html: accessed [access date]).