Humphrey Bigelow

---

Humphrey Bigelow was born in Shrewsbury, MA on September 4, 1761 to Samuel Bigelow Jr. and Phebe Rand. He was their fifth child and only son.

He served in the Revolutionary War as a private under many different captains from 1776-1781.  Humphrey was only fifteen years old during his first term in Captain Moses Harrington’s Company in Colonel Dike’s Regiment (and probably lied about his age) beginning in December of 1776.  His last service was in Capt. Daniel Bowker's Company in Col. Webb's Regiment from September through December of 1781.

On December 20, 1786 he married Mary Underwood of Westford, and they had two boys: John and Samuel.  Mary and Samuel both died in October 1789 just two months after Samuel's birth.  Two years later on October 26, 1791 Humphrey married Hannah Whipple. They had ten: Samuel, Catherine, Hannah, Mary, Silas, Moses, Susan Whipple, Miriam, Whipple, and John. Three of their children moved to settle in Ohio, and one went to Iowa.

The Bigelows lived in Shrewsbury until 1804, when they moved to Charlton, then Sutton, then Westford, and finally back to Shrewsbury.  Humphrey died there on October 2, 1842 of dry gangrene at the age of 87.  At the time he was a laborer and received a pension for his large amount of service during the Revolutionary War. Hannah continued to collect on the pension until her death in 1848.

Humphrey and Hannah rest in Hope Cemetery in Worcester. It is likely they were initially interred elsewhere since Hope Cemetery did not open until 1854.