Colonel Samuel Tidd?

One of the more interesting new datasets available online today are FamilySearch’s war pension applications from the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Over the past few days, I’ve looked at references to any and all Tidds.

Three documents might relate to Samuel Tidd, b1759 in Woburn, the direct ancestor of all Georgetown Tidds.

In 1832, Josiah Converse swore that in 1780 he gave Samuel Tidd and two others a boat ride to and/or from the privateering vessel “Viper”. This trip fits neatly between Samuel Tidd’s two tours with the Continental Army recorded in the Massachusetts Muster Rolls. There was another Samuel Tidd of Woburn, age 15 in 1780, so this is not definitively my ancestor.

In 1871, Elizabeth P. Beers filed a war pension application from Kennebec Maine claiming her deceased husband, William, served in the War of 1812 under “Capt. Isaac Richardson and Capt. Samuel Tidd.” The second Samuel alive in 1780 died in 1804. All other Samuel Tidd’s in Massachusetts that might have been militia captains had also died. There were Beers in Woburn but I found no record of a William Beers (didn’t look too hard).

In an 1842 application for Daniel Bigelow, Woburn’s Town Clerk, Martin Converse, reported a record from 1824 that stated: “Col Samuel Tidd one order in full for articles furnished Dan Bigelow $4.20”. In 1824 there were two men named “Samuel Tidd” living in Woburn: Deacon Samuel Tidd and Samuel B. Tidd. I can’t think of any reason either would have a “Col” preceding their name.

Assuming “Col” stands for Colonel, these records combine to create a trajectory for my Samuel Tidd’s militia career. The private soldier and mariner during the Revolution became a militia captain during the War of 1812 and, ten years later, bore the title of Colonel, presumably for services rendered during peacetime.

The problem: I can’t find any Woburn militia records from the War of 1812 to corroborate the claims. The pension office rejected the application from Widow Beers for lack of any record of a company commanded by Captain Samuel Tidd.

A second problem is the absence of any Samuel Tidd of the right age in any US Census Records.

On the flip side, there is no other Samuel Tidd it could be.

Perhaps a note to the Woburn Historical Society will shed some light on this topic. If there was one reference to “Col Samuel Tidd” there might be more.