Israel Ellsworth (1755–after 1832): A Young Green Mountain Boy
When Israel Ellsworth was a young man growing up near what is now Pittsford in Rutland County, Vermont, the excitement surrounding the Green Mountain Boys was impossible to ignore. One of the children of Samuel and Aimee Holliaday Ellsworth, Israel came of age in the turbulent years when the settlers of the New Hampshire Grants were fighting to defend their hard-won homesteads against New York’s competing land claims. Stories of these bold young men—who patrolled the frontier, resisted outside authority, and protected their neighbors—must have stirred the imagination of fifteen-year-old Israel and helped set the course for his early life.
Drawn by both duty and the spirit of adventure, Israel joined the ranks of the Green Mountain Boys, the militia that would soon have an outsized impact on the opening chapter of the American Revolution. In May of 1775, the unit achieved its most famous victory with the surprise capture of Fort Ticonderoga, securing artillery that would later prove vital to the Continental Army. Family tradition holds that Israel was among the men present during this celebrated operation. Like many of the Boys, he later served in the rugged borderlands between Lake Champlain and Canada, where patrols, scouting missions, and foraging parties frequently brought small detachments into contact with British forces.
During one such mission, Israel and the men under his command were captured by a British officer. As was common for prisoners taken along the northern frontier, they were marched into Canada, where soldiers were often quartered in private homes or improvised facilities. Israel may have endured similar conditions before eventually being freed through a prisoner exchange. Once released, he returned to the cause without hesitation, rejoining comrades from his earlier service and taking part in the Battle of Hubbardton in 1777, the only major Revolutionary War battle fought on Vermont soil.
Israel Ellsworth’s wartime experiences place him among the early defenders of the region and link his life to the dramatic story of Vermont’s formation. His service with the Green Mountain Boys reflects the courage, hardship, and frontier resolve that helped shape not only the history of his community but also the legacy carried forward by his descendants
Israel Ellsworth is Jill Ellsworth Scott’s 4th Great Grandfather. He was born in 1 April 1755 in Simsbury, Hartford Co., Connecticut and died after 15 Oct 1832 Fairfax Co., Virginia. He married Hopestill Stevens in Nine Partners, Dutchess Co., New York on 15 Nov 1778.
