Charlemagne Project
Roberts-Barnes-Taft-Sutherland Line
By Don Taylor

Several years ago, I discovered that Charlemagne might be my wife’s 34^th great-grandfather (see my post of February 26, 2021). Earlier this year, I learned that Charlemagne might also be my 32^nd great-grandfather. How fun, if true. I’ve heard that most people with Western European ancestry can trace their ancestry back to Charlemagne, but now that my wife and I might be cousins, I suppose I’ll examine that possible lineage a bit more closely.

Actually, it appears our most distant common ancestor might be Charlemagne’s granddaughter, Gisela Carolingian (Gisela from Cysoing), making my wife and me 32^nd cousins, twice removed. My wife descended from Gisela’s son Berengar I (who became the King of Italy) and descended from Gisela’s daughter Heilwig (or Hatwige).

Roberts/Barnes – Ancestor #86

• 5. Essie Pansy Barnes (1903-1982)
• 10.  Joel Clinton Barnes (1857-1921)
• 21. Mercy Eliza Taft (1822-1884)
• 43. Tamise (Fanny) Sutherland (1796-1864)
• 86. Reuben Sutherland (ante 1755-1799)
• 173. Hannah Sutherland (1747-1810)
• 346. Col. David Sutherland (1711-1794)
• 692. William Sutherland (1690-1772)
• 1385. Margaret Toshach (1656-1710)
• ….
• Charlemagne (748-814)

Reuben Sutherland (c. 1755-1799)

I get the sense that there may be a couple of Reuben Sutherlands being confused by different researchers. So, many of the “facts” I am finding about my 4^th G-Grandfather, Reuben C. Taft, are confusing.

Birth

Ante 1755 – Horseneck, New York.

The History of Allegan and Barry Counties, Michigan, has an excellent profile of Justus B. Sutherland.[1] Justus was the son of Reuben C. Sutherland and probably had direct knowledge of his father’s birthplace. He said Reuben “was born at Horse Neck, on the seacoast, in the State of New York.” Horseneck, New York, was a contested area that is now Greenwich, Fairfield County, Connecticut. Although in a 1731 agreement, New York gave up its claim to the “Connecticut panhandle,” and New York was granted a strip of land known as “The Oblong” that consisted of Winchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties, but it was still a source of disorder and local disputes between the two colonies in 1755. The final legal status of the land wouldn’t be fully settled until 1881.[2]

Ante 1755 – Greenwich, Fairfield, New York.

Several researchers indicate that he was born in Greenwich, Fairfield County, CT, which makes sense, as Horseneck was incorporated as the Borough of Greenwich in 1854.

c. 1768 – New York.

Some researchers suggest that Reuben was born in 1768, as a 71-year-old Reuben Sutherland died in Canandaigua, New York, on June 1, 1839. However, that would have made him eight years old when he enlisted in the 6^th regiment in 1776. Also, Justus indicated his father lived at Horse Neck, where he “grew to manhood” and located to Dutchess County at his majority (age 21). His residing in Dutchess County when he enlisted on 1 April 1776 suggests he was born before 1755.

I prefer using the name of a location when an event took place, so I prefer Horse Neck, NY, as Reuben’s birthplace, and his birth is sometime before 1755.

Military Service

Rufus enlisted on 1 April 1776 in the town of Dover, Dutchess County, N.Y., in Capt. Child’s Co., in the 6th regiment (commanded by Col. Henry Livingston), where he served until 1 January 1777.^[3]

He enlisted again on 1 August 1781 at Dover, Dutchess County, N.Y., in Capt. Chepherd’s Co., 6th regiment (commanded by Col Weisenfelt) until 1 January 1782.

Marriage

Reuben C Sutherland married Mary Lewis (c. 1771-c. 1809) on 11 May 1788 at the First Stanford Baptist Church in Bangall (hamlet), Town of Washington (now Stanford[4]), Dutchess County, New York.[5]

Children of Reuben C and Mary (Lewis) Sutherland

Death/Burial, etc.

Reuben C. Sutherland died on 10 September 1799 in Broome County, New York.

Events by Location

• New York, Broome County – Death 1799.
• New York, Dutchess County, Dover – Military Enlistments 1776, 1781.
• New York, Dutchess County, Washington Town, Bangall (hamlet) – Marriage 1788.
• New York, Horse Neck, New York – Birth – ante 1755.

Conflicts

Need to confirm that David Sutherland (b. 1785) was born before Reuben and Mary were married in 1788.

Need to confirm that Elizabeth Sutherland (b. 1787) was born before Reuben and Mary were married in 1788.

Conclusion.

Reuben C. Sutherland lived a life that bridged the tumultuous era of colonial unrest and the birth of a new nation. Born before 1755 at Horse Neck—now Greenwich, Connecticut—he came of age amid frontier disputes and political uncertainty. His service as a militiaman in the 6th Regiment of the New York Line during the Revolutionary War reflects both his courage and commitment to independence. Following the war, he built a family with Mary Lewis in Dutchess County, raising children who would spread across the growing nation. His death in Broome County, New York, in 1799 marked the end of a man whose life mirrored the early American experience—rooted in perseverance, faith, and the promise of a new beginning.

His story adds another step along my path to Charlemagne.

Actions / Follow-up

• Confirm the BMD information of Reuben’s children.
• Find Reuben (& Mary) in the 1790 Census.
• Do a deep dive into Reuben’s life (will, property, etc.).
• Confirm Elizabeth never married.

Endnotes

[1] The History of Allegan and Barry counties, Michigan (Philadelphia, PA, D.W. Ensign & CO., 1880), Internet Archive, Page 236 – Justus B. Sutherland.

[2] Akin Free Library (Pawling, NY) website. “The Oblong” https://www.akinfreelibrary.org/2019/12/03/the-oblong/

[3] New York in the Revolution as colony and state (Albany, N.Y., Press of Brandow Printing Co., 1898), Internet Archive, Page 247 & 251 – Dutchess County Militia (Land Bounty Rights) — Sixth Regiment – Sutherland, Reuben.

[4] Wikipedia “Bangall, New York” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangall,_New_York.

[5] Sutherland Records, Douglas Merritt (1918), Page 50 & 51Reuben Sutherland (Chapter: William Sutherland of Chatham, N. Y.).; Various, Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=C01WAAAAMAAJ).