Articles

Benjamin Cole (alias Bennett Coleman)

A Revolutionary War veteran with ties to Cattaraugus County.

A notable figure with a unique military history, described as a member of the Irish nobility and a graduate of Trinity College.

Background: Born August 1, 1754, in Thurles, Ireland. He was reportedly the grandson of the Earl of Linster and a cousin to Lord Fitzgerald.

Military Service: Originally came to America in Lord Howe’s British Army but deserted after the Battle of White Plains to join the American cause.

Benjamin Chamberlain (alias Benjamin Chambers)

A Revolutionary War veteran with ties to Cattaraugus County.

Birth: April 1756.

Death: February 4, 1847, in Great Valley, NY. Buried in Willoughby Cemetery.

Military Service: Served as a private in the Massachusetts Line. He fought in several major engagements, including Lexington, Yorktown, Bunker Hill, Stillwater, and Valley Forge. He was captured at Quebec and "confined in irons."

Pension: Granted a pension in July 1819.

John Camp

A Revolutionary War veteran with ties to Cattaraugus County.

Life Dates: Born July 31, 1754, in Middletown, Conn.; Died May 26, 1841, in Lodi (near Gowanda), N.Y.

Burial: Broadway Cemetery, Persia, N.Y.

Military Service: His gravestone identifies him as a soldier of the Revolution.

Family: Married Eunice Bennett (1765–1843).

Data provided by W. S. Camp of Gowanda, New York.

Cornelius Brooks

A Revolutionary War veteran with ties to Cattaraugus County.

Life Dates: Born March 17, 1758, in Amwell, N.J.; Died May 9, 1837, in Olean, N.Y.

Burial: Pleasant Valley Cemetery (moved from old Oak Lawn Cemetery).

Military Service: Enlisted July 9, 1776, as a fifer in the "Flying Camp." He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island and held in the Old Dutch Church in N.Y. City.

Legacy: A pioneer settler of Olean (1806), where he held many offices of trust. Married Mary Hyndshaw in 1778.

John Ash

A Revolutionary War veteran with ties to Cattaraugus County.

Service & Settlement: Served as a private in the Rhode Island Continental Troops. He likely settled in Conewango, Cattaraugus Co.

Pension: Granted a pension from Genesee County, N.Y., on May 17, 1833. At the time of his application, he was 71 years old and received $47.77 per annum.

Major Adam Hoops

Known for being a prominent Revolutionary War officer and the founder of Olean, NY. 

Biographical Overview

Born: January 9, 1760, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Died: June 9, 1846, in West Chester, Pennsylvania (Aged 86).

Burial: North Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.

Military Career

Major Hoops served extensively during the American Revolution and beyond:

William E. Jones was born in 1838 in Wales, Great Britain. His family came to the United States in the early 1850s and settled in the Village of Sandusky, Town of Freedom, where there was a sizable Welsh community. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Jones was 23 years old and apprenticed to a wagon maker in Elma. He enlisted on Aug. 26, 1862, in the Town of Freedom, joining the 154^th NY, one of the so-called “Welsh Boys” of Co. F. He fought in the Battle of Chancellorsville and was captured on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The following information was already compiled and presented in brochure form and on the St. Bonaventure Archives website - Archives.sbu.edu/buildings/statue_mobile. On the Archives website, you can explore the history of even more sites on campus or look for an additional walking tour of the buildings of St. Bonaventure and the plantings. There is also great information on the people, the athletics, the folklore and the collections of The University on the Archives website. They can be reached by calling 716-375-2322.