Ancestor Birthday - February 3rd - Reuben Fitzrandolph 1733/34-1784

Reuben Fitzrandolph, my 5th great-grandfather, is one of those ancestors on my website with just the barest amount of information; birth, death, marriage and names of children. Most of this information comes from a family history: The Descendants of Edward Fitz Randolph and Elizabeth Blossom 1630-1950, by Louise Aymar Christian and Howard Stelle Fitz Randolph, published in 1950.

He was born at Blazing Star in Middlesex County, New Jersey, on 3 Feb 1733/34, the son of Jacob Fitzrandolph. Jacob apparently married a cousin Mary, but that seems to be after the birth of Reuben. Reuben married Elizabeth Moores at Woodbridge 31 Mar 1754. They had six children, four of whom died while young. Reuben's will named a wife Elizabeth, a son Reuben and a daughter Martha who had married Elias Marsh. Martha is my 4th great-grandmother. Apparently he wrote his will on 6 Aug 1784, before his death on 18 Aug 1784. The will was proved 7 May 1785.

He had died before the first U.S. census in 1790, but that didn't make much difference because the 1790 census for New Jersey no longer exists.

By looking at the dates you can see that Reuben lived during the time of the Revolutionary War. In the past, as least two women have joined the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) as his descendants. Both claimed he was captain of the 2nd regiment, one saying in Monmouth County N.J. and the other Middlesex County N.J. The family history I've used gives no comment about any military service for him. So I need to do more research about this.

An interesting fact about Reuben is related in the family history. He "was the founder of the Blazing Star ferry from Rahway Neck, N.J., to Staten Island, N.Y." His will indicates he was then living on Staten Island. The location on Staten Island formerly called Blazing Star is now known as Rossville. So far, he is my only ancestor who established a ferry line.