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Subject: [MDSTMARY-L] Nevitt--Revolutional War Veteran
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 19:12:54 EDT

Dear Researchers:

Since I received several comments about the Washington Post article regarding
Revolutionary War veteran Joseph Nevitt, which I posted yesterday, I thought
some of you would also like to read the following article which appeared in
the July 6, 2000 edition of the Catholic Standard (Volume 50, No. 27, Page
28) by Gerard Perseghin.

Joann Ellis Humphries

=============================================================
The Catholic Standard
Washington, DC

One of our nation's first heroes, a Revolutionary War veteran who
was a Catholic and a resident of the Washington area, will be remembered in
a special way four days after the Independence Day fireworks display in the
nation's capital. At 2 p.m. this Saturday, July 8, the Daughters of the
American Revolution will unveil a memorial to Joseph Nevitt, a Revolutionary
War soldier who has lain buried for almost 166 years in Holy Rood Cemetery
near Georgetown. Back then after the British gave up the American colonies,
Nevitt's passing was accorded no fanfare.

Nevitt, a Catholic patriot from Southern Maryland, was known as a
Minuteman during the Revolutionary War period, as he joined those defending
Maryland against the raids of Lord Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia.
According to Carlton Fletcher, a Glover Park artist and historian who became
curious after finding Nevitt's grave in the upper Georgetown neighborhood,
the ultimate goal of the royal governor of Virginia was to "sail up the
Potomac, occupy Alexandria, and divide the colonies in two."

But Fletcher says, "Dunmore's plan was thwarted by the resistance he
met in Southern Maryland. Minutemen assembled wherever the governor's fleet
appeared, and after the battle of St. George Island where Nevitt saw action,
Dunmore withdrew."

Nevitt, who was born in 1752 in St. Mary's County, eventually came
to the District of Columbia where he married and settled down. Fletcher
said when Congress enacted legislation to give pensions to veterans of the
Revolution, Nevitt applied, and among those vouching for his claim was
Jesuit Father Stephen Dubuisson, then pastor at Holy Trinity Parish,
Georgetown.

The research of Fletcher began about two years ago when he studied
the old grave marker in Holy Rood cemetery, owned by Georgetown University.
He began researching Nevitt's background at the university's archives. He
also researched Nevitt in the archives of Holy Trinity Parish, the National
Archives, and the DAR library. In that research, he spotted Nevitt's name
among people drawing pensions for Revolutionary War service. "There hasn't
been a new Revolutionary War soldier uncovered in the District in 50 years,"
said Fletcher, discussing the project.

Georgetown University's Daniel Wackerman, assistant vice president
for communications, said of the discovery, "It's a wonderful find. We
consider this a great contribution to the history of the area."

Eventually after he took his research as far as he could, Fletcher
turned over the story to the local chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution, who have facilities for researching the genealogy of early
Americans.

Margaret MacKenzie, an area resident who is a member of the DAR and
was state historian in 1998, began the process, first checking for
permission from Georgetown University to go forth with a marker. After that
was given, Mrs. MacKenzie sent on the Nevitt information to the DAR's
genealogy department, which confirmed that indeed he had been an early
Revolutionary War soldier. According to Fletcher's research, Nevitt came to
the District of Columbia in 1791 and married Barbara Willet, whose family
operated inns on River Road and in Tenleytown. Nevitt was a member of Holy
Trinity Parish, Georgetown, where he had been married.

When Nevitt applied for his military pension in his old age, he said
on his application that he volunteered as a Minuteman when news of the
battle of Bunker Hill reached St. Mary's County. Nevitt then served in the
First Regiment of Maryland Militia under Colonel Jeremiah Jordan--that is,
whenever he was needed due to British raids.

The Nevitt grave in Holy Rood Cemetery is a hard-to-find one, off
alone almost level with the ground, surrounded by vines, and back against a
chain link fence. The marker which the DAR placed there is a bronze one on
a granite block 20 inches wide and 16 inches high. It says:

Revolutionary War Soldier
Joseph Nevitt
Private of Maryland
Born 1752 in St. Mary's County, Maryland
Died October 25, 1834 in Washington County,
District of Columbia

Marker placed by
The District of Columbia State Society, NSDAR

MacKenzie observed the process completed, "It's been quite a journey."

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