Charles was the 8th of ten children, born at Norwich, CT on May 23, 1752 to William and Orange Tozer Bentley.
Charles was a blacksmith and seems to have been quite a character.
His first marriage was an elopement with Abigail Rainsford (Raynsford) of Westminster (Canterbury) Connecticut. However, war was coming, and in August 1776 , Charles enlisted in the Connecticut Militia for three months. His company had reached West Chester, New York, when his enlistment expired. He then enlisted in the Continental Army for a period of six months, and was stationed on York Island (New York) until it was captured by the British. His unit escaped across The North River (Hudson) to Hackensack Bridge, New Jersey and thence to Morristown, New Jersey , where he was taken sick and placed in a hospital. His enlistment expired, and after recuperating at a private home in the Village, he returned home. In May 1777 he enlisted again - this time for eighteen months. He rejoined his unit in Morristown and marched with them back across the North River, and thence to West Chester (White Plains) again. Later he was ordered to Fishkill, where he spent the rest of his service working on the forging of the chain which was strung across the Hudson River to prevent the British Fleet from proceeding north to meet General Burgoyne who was coming down from Canada. That ended the war for Charles, and in 1779 he returned home.
Abigail died in 1783, after four children, and Charles then married Phoebe Pember. She had two children and died in 1787. Charles then moved to Skenesboro (Whitehall) New York, where he lived with his older brother Richard. On August 6, 1787 at Cambridge, New York, he married for the third time to his cousin, Hannah Wilson of Wells (Castleton) Vermont. They later moved to Arlington Vermont, and then to Tyringham, Massachusetts, where he died on October 16, 1834.
The four children born to Charles and Abigail Rainsford were: Hannah, Ruth, Elisha (Vigo, IN) and John (Deacon John of Tyringham, MA).
The Revolutionary War pension file for Charles Bentley states that although Charles lived at Tyringham, Massachusetts, he actually died at the home of his son Roswell in New Marlborough, Massachusetts. The complete pension file (PDF) is attached in the Memories tab of the FamilySearch ancestor profile (see image 19, 21, 23 - page 23 is easiest to read).
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/LHL1-PC9
This source also confirms his death was in 1833, not 1834 as appears on his tombstone (that error appears to have been from his son John who stated in an affidavit in the pension file (image 15) states that Charles' death "was in October 1833 or 1834".
Charles was the 8th of ten children, born at Norwich, CT on May 23, 1752 to William and Orange Tozer Bentley.
Charles was a blacksmith and seems to have been quite a character.
His first marriage was an elopement with Abigail Rainsford (Raynsford) of Westminster (Canterbury) Connecticut. However, war was coming, and in August 1776 , Charles enlisted in the Connecticut Militia for three months. His company had reached West Chester, New York, when his enlistment expired. He then enlisted in the Continental Army for a period of six months, and was stationed on York Island (New York) until it was captured by the British. His unit escaped across The North River (Hudson) to Hackensack Bridge, New Jersey and thence to Morristown, New Jersey , where he was taken sick and placed in a hospital. His enlistment expired, and after recuperating at a private home in the Village, he returned home. In May 1777 he enlisted again - this time for eighteen months. He rejoined his unit in Morristown and marched with them back across the North River, and thence to West Chester (White Plains) again. Later he was ordered to Fishkill, where he spent the rest of his service working on the forging of the chain which was strung across the Hudson River to prevent the British Fleet from proceeding north to meet General Burgoyne who was coming down from Canada. That ended the war for Charles, and in 1779 he returned home.
Abigail died in 1783, after four children, and Charles then married Phoebe Pember. She had two children and died in 1787. Charles then moved to Skenesboro (Whitehall) New York, where he lived with his older brother Richard. On August 6, 1787 at Cambridge, New York, he married for the third time to his cousin, Hannah Wilson of Wells (Castleton) Vermont. They later moved to Arlington Vermont, and then to Tyringham, Massachusetts, where he died on October 16, 1834.
The four children born to Charles and Abigail Rainsford were: Hannah, Ruth, Elisha (Vigo, IN) and John (Deacon John of Tyringham, MA).
The Revolutionary War pension file for Charles Bentley states that although Charles lived at Tyringham, Massachusetts, he actually died at the home of his son Roswell in New Marlborough, Massachusetts. The complete pension file (PDF) is attached in the Memories tab of the FamilySearch ancestor profile (see image 19, 21, 23 - page 23 is easiest to read).
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/LHL1-PC9
This source also confirms his death was in 1833, not 1834 as appears on his tombstone (that error appears to have been from his son John who stated in an affidavit in the pension file (image 15) states that Charles' death "was in October 1833 or 1834".
Gravesite Details
The tombstone has an incorrect death date of 1834- Revolationary War Pension files has the date of 1833.
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