By: Karl F. Pfeiffer
Wantagh American Revolution Bicentennial Committee
(Bellmore Library, Bellmore.N.Y.)


	The oldest cemetery in Wantagh, the JACKSON Cemetery,
which lies just north of St.Frances de Chantal Church on Wantagh Avenue.

	Sixty-three graves are recorded in this cemetery, about half of those
are JACKSONs, while most of the others are the graves of SEAMAN'S & ALTHAUSE'S.

	Not far from the JACKSON Cemetery stands one of the oldest houses
in Wantagh, that being the home of Captain Richard JACKSON, who
commanded the Jerusalem Company of the Queens County Militia in the
Revolutionary War.

	From that house is told the story of a Revolutionary War romance,
that of Richard's daughter Jane falling in love with a Hessian soldier
named John ALTHAUSE & eloping with him.  The story says that a black
slave carried Jane on his back across the Jerusalem swamp in the back
of the house to a spot where ALTHAUSE waited with two good horses.
Jane's father pursued them towards East Rockaway & he caught them
just after they were married there but before they could hire a boat
for a honeymoon on the bay.  Her father forgave them on the condition
that John would give up his Hessian uniform & become an American
patriot.  John agreed to do so, & they all returned to Wantagh.
Is this story fact or fancy?  Many believe that there were no
Hessian soldiers in this area, & that John ALTHAUSE was a Tory of
German descent.  The ages of the John & Jane ALTHAUSE who are buried
in the JACKSON cemetery (if they are the same John & Jane) do not
confirm the story: they were too young.


	Searching the Internet I came across the above story about 
John ALTHOUSE  /  ALTHAUSE and Jane JACKSON daughter of Capt. Richard JACKSON
I don't know how long ago it was written or where Mr. Pfeiffer is today
but I'd like to answer his questions and tell him the real story of John
and Jane as researched by William Henry ALTHAUSE (1841-1826) he was the
gr- grandson of John ALTHAUSE and Jane JACKSON

	William Henry ALTHAUSE started his research abt 1910 , He wrote many
letters to New Brunswick to Rev. W.O.Raymond and D.R.Jack both members
of the N.B. historical society (his N.B. and Loyalist of New York
research is available on-line at http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/halew/Ray_Index.html
From this correspondence William learned the true story of John and
Jane, until then he had believed that John and Jane had never left New
York. He also learned of John's father Capt. John ALTHAUSE and John's
sisters one of which was Elizabeth the widow of John Ludwig DeBeck,
there was also a sister Catherine Althouse who married a Hamilton and a
sister Jennet (Janet)

	From Rev. Raymond William learned descendants of Elizabeth’s son George
DeBeck had left N.B. for British Columbia and he stared correspondence
in 1913 with George DeBecks son and from those letters the Canadian
ALTHAUSE descendants learned the story of John and Jane and of the
ALTHAUSE family of Hempstead New, York .The letters to Rev. Raymond are
in the New Brunswick Archives, the letters to the DeBeck family are in
the B.C. Archives in Victoria B.C. William ALTHAUSE's Journal and
papers  are in the possesion of his gr.grandaughter in New York..


The Real Story

	The John and Jane ALTHAUSE  buried in the JACKSON Cemetery on Wantagh
Ave are the John and Jane of  Elopement story . John ALTHAUSE Jr. was
not a Hessian , he was born in Scotland of a German father and Scottish
mother , John ALTHAUSE and Eleanor Dargavil .He  fought with his father
for the English King , we believe they were among those sent from Europe
not among those already living in New York. John ALTHAUSE Sr. and John
ALTHAUSE Jr. joined Lt. Col. Andreas Emmericks Chasseurs on May 26 1778.
John Jr. was only 13 years old. This company was said to have suffered
an outbreak of Smallpox according to a letter I have from Rev. Emmerick
a gr.grandson of Lt.Col.Andreas Emmerick. After Emmericks Chassuers
disbanded in 1779 Capt. John  ALTHAUSE Sr. was given his own Company of
New York Volunteers .John ALTHAUSE Jr. was promoted to Ensign ,his
brother -in-law. John Debeck was a Lieutenant . This Rifle Company set
sail for "The Siege of Charleston " in 1780 and became separated from
the rest of the fleet in a storm and ended up in England * They spent
the rest of the year there and upon their return to New York they were
sent to Virginia under Brigidier General Benedict Arnold, They were
captured in Yorktown I have a muster roll dated Lancaster April 24
1782."Muster roll of detached corps under the Charge of Lieut. DeBeck
New York Volunteers it lists Capt. ALTHAUSE Sr. .Lt. DeBeck and John
ALTHAUSE Jr. he is listed sick at Fredrictown . The prisoners were sent
back to Long Island this must be when John ALTHAUSE met Jane JACKSON
daughter of Richard and Rosetta JACKSON . John at this time was 18 years
old and Jane we believe was 13 . They obtained a marriage license July
26 1783 ,I've seen the date of their marriage as Sept 3 and Sept. 13. I
have no idea if the elopement across the swamp was true but I'm sure Mr.
and Mrs. JACKSON were not too happy that their very young daughter was
running of with the enemy ,especially since John was among those being
sent to St. John's New Brunswick.

	Their honeymoon on the Bay was really a ten to twelve day trip on one
of the  ships of "The Fall Fleet" heading North to Canada .They left New
York on Sept 15 1783 and most ships had arrived by Sept. 27. Poor
little  Jane JACKSON ALTHAUSE didn't know what was in store for her,they found 
scarcely any prepareations had been made for their coming.

	Coming late in the season they had no time to build houses before the
harsh N.B. winter set in . One woman who lived there wrote "my heart was
filled with pity and affection for them when I saw them in a strange
land without house or home and many of them were sick and
helpless."**Being an officers family maybe the ALTHAUSEs found shelter
with settlers- but many delicately reared woman cared for their
children  under canvas tents rendered habitable only by banks of snow
which lay six feet deep in open spaces in the forest** ,food was also in
short supply . Many died this first winter and among them was my 5 x
great grandfather John Ludwig DeBeck, husband of Elizabeth ALTHAUSE.

 John and Jane ALTHAUSE lived through their first New Brunswick winter .
They are found on a muster roll  titled Roll of the present state of
late New York Volunteers who have obtained lands at Madame Keswick
(River) dated Sept 1784 .The roll lists John ALTHAUSE Sr. ,wife ,son,
daughter. John ALTHAUSE Jr. with wife and a son and Elizabeth ALTHAUSE
,widow of J.L.DeBeck and 2 children .*** What happened to the son listed
here is unknown ,it may even have been Richard JACKSON ALTHAUSE
,although he gives his birthdate as 1786 ,but there is no documented
proof and I have found many instances of ancestors not be accurate on
the dates of their own births. John and Jane ALTHAUSE were still in New
Brunswick in June of 1786 he was present at Fredricton and is
particularly mentioned by Ed Steele the registrar on the 26 inst. in
taking the acknowledgement . ***

	John and Jane ALTHAUSE returned to New York sometime after this before
1800, John does not appear on the census of 1790 but that could be
because he was not allowed to own land in New York being a Loyalist.
Jane in 1790 although the cemetery records do not agree with this .John
remarried in 1791  ,he married Martha Seaman daughter of Benjamin Seaman
and Letitia Allen . They had a son Elwood ALTHAUSE.

	Richard JACKSON ALTHAUSE,  Jane JACKSON and John ALTHAUSE’s son married
Elizabeth Birdsall daughter of Col. Benjamin Birdsall and Freelove Jones
they had 2 children Samuel Birsall ALTHAUSE and Jane Elizabeth Althouse
Jane Elizabeth married John Gilbert Seaman , Elwood Althouse married his
sister Sarah Seaman ,they were both children of John Seaman and Mary
Whitson. Samuel Birdsall ALTHAUSE married Helen Welling Sealy , he
apprenticed with his grandfather Col. Benjamin Birdsall at his Ironworks
and took over the company after Benjamin retired , Samuel B. ALTHAUSE
moved to Brooklyn was among the weathiest New Yorkers in 1850 ,he died
in 1862 and his sons including William Henry ALTHAUSE  ran the Iron
Works until 1900 when it closed.

	John ALTHAUSE married again after Martha Seaman’s death to Rachel
Montgomery according to William Henry ALTHAUSE’s research and had
another son John Jacob ALTHAUSE. John ALTHAUSE died Dec of 1850  of a
diseas of his limbs Elephantitis ( according to William Henry ALTHAUSE)
at his home in Jerusalem South (now Seaford ,on the South side of Long
Island the home was still standing as of 1915 He and Jane are  buried at
the JACKSON Cemetery

Linda Harper
A complete ALTHAUSE family tree

The name ALTHAUSE is also shown as Althouse on many records·

 * from Loyalist institutes pages you can find ALTHAUSE on   muster rolls

 ** from  Rev. W.O. Raymonds scrapbook

 *** from letters to William Henry ALTHAUSE from Wo. O Raymond and D.R. Jack  will be online one day

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