Margaret FALLEY

Margaret married Deacon William CLEVELAND on 19 Dec 1793 in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts. William (son of Rev Aaron CLEVELAND, IV and Abiah HYDE) was born on 20 Dec 1770 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, USA; died on 18 Aug 1837 in Black Rock (near Buffalo), New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Francis CLEVELAND was born on 28 Dec 1796 in Worthington, Massachusetts; died in 1877 in Portsmouth, Ohio.
2. Willam Falley CLEVELAND was born on 19 Sep 1798 in Salem, Massachusetts; died on 13 Feb 1801 in Salem, Massachusetts.
3. Margaret CLEVELAND was born on 19 Jan 1801 in Salem, Massachusetts; died on 13 Sep 1880 in Buffalo, New York.
4. Susan CLEVELAND was born on 06 Jan 1803 in Salem, Massachusetts; died on 06 Feb 1805 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, USA.
5. Rev Richard Falley CLEVELAND was born on 19 Jun 1804 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, USA; died on 01 Oct 1853 in Holland Patent, New York.
6. Susan Sophia CLEVELAND was born on 07 May 1809 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, USA; died on 30 May 1838 in Norwich, New London Co., Connecticut.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Son of Richard Falley and Ann Lamb

Notes:

Name:
He served as ensign in Capt. Park's company, Col. Donaldson's regiment: also as Lieutenant in the same company and regiment, in 1775. Later in the year a report was made by a committee appointed to consider the expediency of appointing him as an armorer, setting forth that he was a complete master of the business, recommending that he be employed in said capacity and be allowed 40 shillings per month in addition to his pay as ensign. He went to Boston with a company of seventy men on hearing of the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775. He took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, and was a witness to the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne to Gen. Gates at Saratoga, October 17, 1777. In a list of officers dated 1776, his name appears as first lieutenant in Capt. Jedediah Southworth's company, Col. Lemuel Robinson's regiment. As first lieutenant, with other officers in Capt. Josiah Smith's company, he was granted beating orders by the Provincial Congress on April 11, 1776, for enlisting men to serve in a regiment to fortify the town and harbor of Boston. He was further granted beating orders for Hampshire County, Mass.

Mr. Falley was the son of Richard and Anna (Lamb) Falley, and was born in Cushing, Jan. 31, 1740; died in Westfield, Mass., Sept. 3, 1808. He married Margaret Hitchcock at Westfield, Dec. 24, 1761 or 1762. She was born may 25, 1741; died in Volney (now Fulton), New York, Feb. 11 or 18, 1820. At the age of sixteen he was a drummer in the French and Indian war, and at the capture of Fort Edwards, on the Hudson, was made prisoner by the Indians, adopted by an Indian chief, taken to Montreal, and was finally bought by a woman for sixteen gallons of rum, and by her was sent home to Westfield.

He lived in the old Mt. Tekoas homestead in Westfield, and in a secluded ravine close by, unobserved by the British soldiers, he made the celebrated Falley muckets for the American army. One of the muskets, with "R.F." engraved on it, is still extant, and was presented to President Cleveland a few years before his death. The old foundations of the gun factory are still standing. Nearby is the site of the Falley glassworks. Mrs. Thomas B. Mosely of Westfield, a descendant of the Falleys, owns a solid glass rolling pin, a wine glass and goblet, all made in the Falley glass factory nearly 150 years ago.

The old gunmaker lies in the ancient moss-grown Mechanic street cemetery inWestfield, where Gen. William Shepard, another Revolutionary patriot, is buried. A few years ago a fund was raised to put the cemetery in repair, to which fund his great-granddaughter, Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, made a contribution. A few months before her death Miss Cleveland visited the Isle of Guernsey, seeking information concerning the Falley family. The name is Norman-French, and was originally spelled Failley, but later was corrupted to the present form of spelling. During her absence in Europe I wrote Miss Cleveland at her New York address for additional information concerning her family, but no reply was made to my communication. Lieutenant Falley was for many years superintendent of the armory at Springfield, Mass., and was noted as a man of powerful physique and great strength. One of his chief claims to fame is that he was the great-grandfather of President Cleveland. All his children were born in Westfield or Springfield.

Richard married Margaret HITCHCOCK on 14 Jan 1762 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Margaret was born on 25 May 1741 in Springfield, Massachusetts; died on 20 Mar 1820 in Volney (Now Fulton), New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Daughter of Samuel Hitchcock and Ruth Stebbins