Genealogy Richard Remmé, The Hague, Netherlands » Benjamin Montanye (1745-1825)

Personal data Benjamin Montanye 

• He was born on January 13, 1745 in New York City, New York County, New York, USA.
• He was baptized on January 16, 1745.

  New York Reformed Dutch Church

• Profession: Blacksmith, Baptist minister/.
• He died on December 25, 1825 in New Vernon, Orange County, New York, he was 80 years old.
• He is buried in Old School Baptist Church Cemetery, New Vernon, New York.
• A child of Thomas de la Montagne and Rebecca Bruyn
• This information was last updated on December 4, 2022.

Household of Benjamin Montanye

(1) He is married to Elizabeth Norris.

They got married on April 14, 1768 at New York Reformed Dutch Church, he was 23 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Thomas B. Montanye  1769-1829 
2. Rebecca Montanye  1770-1807 
3. Elisabeth Montanye  1774-1848 
4. Nancy Agnes Montanye  1779-1862 
5. Benjamin Montanye  1781-1848 

Event (Alt. Marriage) on April 14, 1768: New York City.

(2) He is married to Cornelia Cooper.

They got married about 1787 at New York City, New York County, New York, USA.

Notes about Benjamin Montanye

Benjamin MONTANYE #255, youngest son of Thomas Montanye #53 and his wife Rebecca Bruyn, was baptized on 16 January 1745 at the NYRDC.  His baptismal sponsors were his own brother and sister, Petrus Montanye, Jr., #243 and Ariantje Montanye, j.d., #244.

As a young man, Benjamin trained to be a blacksmith. ; He was working as a blacksmith in New York City at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth Norris on 14 April 1768 NYRDC.  Not much is known about Elizabeth Norris.  She was called Betsy and she died shortly after the birth of her youngest child, Benjamin Jr.

Benjamin Montanye was raised in the Reformed Dutch Church, joining that church as an adult member in 1767, but he became interested in the Anabaptists.  After the outbreak of the War of Independence [1776, he followed Washington's army up the Hudson River to Newburgh, where Washington made a stand and established his headquarters.  Benjamin Montanye stopped on the opposite side of the river at Fishkill.  Here he continued to work as a blacksmith and apparently did some preaching; on Sundays he crossed the river in a rowboat and preached to Washington and his army.

Benjamin also served on several occasions as a post rider for the patriot troops.    In her application #141450 for membership in the DAR, Florence Rose King wrote in 1919:

My family tradition of Benjamin Montanye is that he was a Baptist minister at the time he responded to his country's call.  Not wishing to bear arms against anyone, he became a "Messenger", "Post Rider", "Dispatch Carrier" for General George Washington and he was the Post Rider who carried the so-called "Intercepted Letter" which misled the British as to Washinton's intentions and which no doubt had a great influence in the early termination of the war.

On his last and most important mission in 1781, Benjamin Montanye had reached the Ramapo Valley and was heading toward Sloatsburg when he was halted by British soldiers, made to get off his horse and submit to a search, at which time the deliberately misleading dispatch was found in his stocking.  He was at once declared a prisoner, sent to New York City, and thrown into the old sugar house, which the British used for their prison.  This message led Lord Howe to call in his outposts in preparation for battle, thus permitting Washington and his army to move through the Ramapo Mountain passes without hindrance and join General Greene on the Delaware.  The ensuing battle at Yorktown was the last major battle of the war.

When Benjamin Montanye was released from the sugar house, he brought his wife and five children back to New York City and continued to work as a blacksmith in the city for several more years.  Elizabeth Norris died in 1786, and Benjamin Montanye married a second time in 1787. His second wife was Cornelia Cooper who joined the Reformed Church at that time.  In the same year, 1787,  his son Thomas was licensed to preach in the Baptist Church, but Benjamin did not officially leave the Reformed Dutch Church until 1789.

Benjamin Montanye was still living in New York City and listed as a blacksmith, living on Prince Street, in the NY City Directory of 1790.  Riker states that he became pastor of the Oliver Street Baptist Church in 1791.  He continued to work at his forge at 8 Prince Street during the week and preached on Sundays.

In 1794 the Rev. Benjamin Montanye had a call from a congregation at New Vernon, Orange County, New York.  This pulpit he filled up to the time of his death in 1825. ; Four of his children also moved to Orange County, New York.  His oldest son Thomas had become the pastor of the Baptist Church in Warwick, Orange County, New York, in 1788,  and his two youngest children, Nancy and Benjamin Jr.,  lived at home in New Vernon until reaching adulthood.  Rebecca had married William Ustick in NYC in 1793 but they evidently joined the rest of the family in Orange County before Rebecca died in New Vernon in 1807.

Cornelia was still living when the Rev. Benjamin Montanye died on 25 December 1825 at New Vernon, Orange County, New York.  He is buried in the Old School Baptist Church Cemetery there.

Do you have supplementary information, corrections or questions with regards to Benjamin Montanye?
The author of this publication would love to hear from you!

Timeline Benjamin Montanye

Click on the names for more info. Symbols used:  grandparents    parents    brothers/sisters    children