Daniel F. Bakeman
| Daniel Frederick Bakeman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 9, 1759 |
| Died | April 5, 1869 (aged 109) |
| Buried at | Sandusky Cemetery, Freedom, New York |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America |
| Service/branch |
 Continental Army |
| Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War |
| Relations | 8 children |
| Other work | Farmer |
Daniel Frederick Bakeman (October 9, 1759 – April 5, 1869) claimed to be the last surviving veteran of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).
Biography
He claimed to be born on October 9, 1759 in Schoharie County, New York. He claimed that at the age of twelve he married Susan Brewer of New Jersey (who was fourteen and a half) on August 29, 1772. Their marriage, at 91 years and 12 days, is the longest claimed on record and also the only marriage claimed to have exceeded 90 years. Together they had eight children: Phillip, Richard, Christopher, Betsey, Margaret, Susan (born 1804), Mary and Christine. His wife died on September 10, 1863 at the age of one hundred and five years.
Records have shown that in 1825 the Bakemans settled in Arcade, New York, in a home on the north side of the County Line Road.
In 1845 he moved to Freedom, New York. He appears in the 1860 United States Census as "Frederick Bakeman" living in Freedom with his wife and his daughter, Susan, and a grandchild, Jacob N. Bakeman (born 1838). He lists his birth year as 1758 and that of his wife as 1760.[1]
On February 14, 1867, the United States Congress passed a special act which granted a Revolutionary War pension to Bakeman. The act was required because Bakeman could not prove that he had served in New York. While on a four day trip from central New York to Albany, New York for wheat and other supplies, Bakeman's home burned down with nothing salvageable. This would occur two more times in his life. At the time, the longest surviving veterans who were on the pension rolls were Lemuel Cook of Clarendon, New York (died May 20, 1866), and Samuel Downing of Edinburgh, New York (died February 19, 1867).[2] They resided for over 42 years in Herkimer County, New York, and part of the time in the town of Stark, New York where he owned a farm. George Fruits also claimed to be the last surviving veteran of the Revolutionary War (by the Daughters of the American Revolution), but was never on the pension rolls.
Bakeman died six months before his 110th birthday on April 5, 1869 and is buried in Sandusky Cemetery in Freedom, New York.
See also
- Last surviving United States war veterans
- List of centenarians
- List of people with the longest marriages
References
- ↑ "Bakeman in the 1860 United States Census". 1860. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
- ↑ Reverend E.B. Hillard, The Last Men of the Revolution (1864), republished 1968 with additional notes by Wendell Garrett.
