Jonathan Gillett (February 4, 1738 - December 9, 1779) was the grandson of Joseph Gillett, Jr., one of the early settlers of West Hartford. Along with his son, Jonathan Gillett, he was a prisoner of war during the American Revolutionary War.
Life and Death[]
Jonathan Gillett was born on February 4, 1738 to Jonathan Gillett (1696 - c. 1743) and Mehitable Dickinson (1700-1741) in West Hartford, Connecticut. In 1758, he married Elizabeth Bradford Steel. When the American Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, he enlisted in the Continental Army and served in the Battle of Long Island against the British in August 1776. During the battle, Gillett was captured by the British and confined on a prison ship for two years, where he suffered torture and beatings, hastening an inevitable death.
On December 9, 1779, after being released to his home in West Hartford due to poor health, he died and left his children:
- Jonathan Gillett (1759-1759)
- Elizabeth Gillett (b. 1760)
- Jonathan Gillett (1762-1855)
- Flora Gillett (1763-1845) - m. Shem Stoughton
- Almerin Gillett (b. 1765)
- Hymen Gillett (1767-1777)
- Corinna Gillett (b. 1772) - m. & d. Russell Loomis
- Esther Gillett (b. 1775)