Josiah Gould

Josiah Gould was a Revolutionary War veteran from Caldwell, NJ, born on May 22, 1761, according to the family Bible. He was born to Stephen and Rachel Spier Gould of Caldwell. Josiah was a brother of Samuel Gould, a nephew of Joseph and John Gould, and a cousin of Thomas, Joseph, Timothy, Robert, and General William Gould, all fellow Revolutionary War veterans, most of whom are also buried in the Old Burying Ground. Along the Green Brook, in what is now North Caldwell, Josiah owned a tan bark mill. The mill’s primary function was to grind hemlock bark to be used to tan hides.

On June 7, 1832, Congress enacted an expanded Pension Act providing pensions to veterans who had served at least 2 years. The following is from Josiah’s Pension Application. From 1777 to 1782, Josiah served as a Private in the Essex County Militia. He first was called up when he turned 16, in May 1777, and served with Captain Cornelius Spier. His unit was sent to Belleville to guard Refugees and smugglers. They captured traders herding cattle. Sergeant Timothy Gould, a recruiting sergeant, called him to Newark in December where he was involved in guarding the camp and ferry. He was again called in April. In June, 1777, he marched to New Brunswick, Monmouth and back to Newark. The British were on the march from New York. December found him in Lieutenant John Crane’s company in Pollyfly (now Hasbrouck Heights/Wood Ridge) the Gaslands and New Barbadoes (now Hackensack). Refugees there were “troublesome”. His unit attacked a unit of British Light Horse in Hackensack.

In 1778, he served in January, April, July and October mostly in Newark on guard duty. 1780 had his unit capturing smugglers with horses and “Negroes” on the Passaic in Belleville, and with butter, meat and eggs in April. In June, was another alarm. The British had landed at Elizabethtown. The company formed at Springfield and marched to Vauxhall. He was involved in the Battles of Springfield and Connecticut Farms – where Hannah Caldwell was shot through a window and killed. He saw Moses Smith and Harmon Brown killed by cannon fire. He was dismissed after July 4^th, but was immediately called back to Elizabethtown for another month.

In January 1781, he was in Newark on guard duty, but found that fishing with Harmon Van Riper was good. He was called up again in May, August and November and captured prisoners, beef, pork and eggs along the Hackensack River.

On October 6, 1782, at the age of 21, Josiah Gould settled down and married Elizabeth Colier. They had seven children together: Elizabeth (1783), Eleanor (about 1785), Rachel (1785), Susanna (1790), Sarah (1794), Stephen J (about 1801), and Abigail (1809). Josiah was an active member of the Horseneck community; in 1799, he became the Overseer of the Poor. Josiah Gould died on May 25, 1845, and records show that he was buried in Old Burial Ground.