Revolutionary Soldiers

Charles Weeks

On April 2, 1842, the Fort Wayne Sentinel carried an obituary headed �Another Hero Gone�. It announced the death of Charles Weeks, �a soldier of the Revolution�.

He was born in 1759 on the South Branch of the Potomac River in what was then Hampshire County, Virginia, now West Virginia. Nothing is known of his early life, but apparently his father was involved in some form of military service because when Charles was sixteen years old he is supposed to have enlisted in a company commanded by his father. He seems to have been actively engaged throughout most of the Revolutionary War. He claimed to have served under the immediate command of General George Washington at one time and was very proud of this connection. In spite of his contributions to the war effort, he refused to accept a pension for his services.

Following the Revolution he participated in skirmishes against the Indians on the Virginia and Kentucky frontier. By 1800 he had begun to move into the sparsely settled western country, and his was one of only six families in what is now Athens County, Ohio. However, the spirit of adventure impelled him to move on, and he lived for a time in both Miami and Shelby counties, Ohio, often helping to repel attacks on his neighbors by unfriendly Indians. He claimed to have seen action in the War of 1812, having been present at the surrender of Hull at Detroit.

As more and more settlers arrived in the rapidly growing state of Ohio, Weeks felt the urge to seek less crowded surroundings. So, in 1822 he moved into Indiana, locating on the Maumee River near the site of the present city of Fort Wayne. However, after about ten years in this location he again felt himself being �crowded� by the growth of the new settlement springing up near the old fort, so he again moved �into the woods,� taking up residence on a branch of Cedar Creek. The Federal census of 1840 lists him as a resident of Allen County and a veteran of the Revolution.

Charles Weeks died after a lengthy illness on March 28, 1842, at the home of his son, Martin, and he was survived by a large family.

References:
1840 Census, Allen County, Wayne Township, Indiana(microfilm)

Fort Wayne Sentinel, April 2, 1842

O�Byrne, Mrs. Roscoe C., comp. & ed. Roster of Soldiers and patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Indiana. n.p., Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution, 1938

© 2008-2011 Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR