It seems appropriate that as we salute our veterans, I return to trying to learn the stories of the men from Southborough who served in the American War for Independence. When I originally began, I intended to focus on the men who are buried in Southborough’s Old Burial Ground, but as I started to do research it seemed appropriate to begin with the three men who died during the war. As it happens none of them is buried in the Old Burial Ground, probably because of the impracticality in the 1770’s of transporting bodies long distances. I have already examined the lives of Private Jesse Amsden and Major Josiah Fay, and their families. The third Southborough casualty of the war was Private Joseph Fay. Unfortunately, since he died during the war and he was unmarried, it is much more difficult to piece together his life. One of the great sources for learning about the veterans of the Revolutionary War era are the pension applications of either the veterans themselves or those of their widows. Neither of those sources exists for Joseph Fay because he died during the war and did not leave a widow. The few records of his military service, give a much more skeletal view of his life than the pension applications often offer.
We know that Joseph Fay was born into a large family, one of Aaron Fay’s 18 children. Joseph was born on August 19, 1756 in Southborough, the oldest son of Aaron Fay and his second wife, Eunice Bradish Farr. Aaron Fay and his first wife Thankful had ten children, three of whom died as infants. Aaron and his second wife Eunice had eight children, one of whom died as a child. Four of Joseph’s older half-brothers, Aaron Jr., Elijah, Heman, and Nathan, as well as his younger brother Francis also served during the American Revolution. The Aaron Fay family obviously believed in the cause of American independence.
Joseph marched to Concord on April 19, 1775 as a member of the Southborough militia in Captain Josiah Fay’s Company. He also served for three months fifteen days in 1775 during the occupation of Dorchester Heights. On May 15th 1777, Joseph enlisted in Captain Aaron Haynes Company of the 13th Regiment of the State of Massachusetts, under the command of Colonel Wigglesworth. Joseph received a twenty-dollar bounty for enlisting, some of which may have helped support his younger siblings. He reported for duty on September 19, 1777 and served for a total of eighteen weeks and one day before his death was reported at Valley Forge on May 4, 1778. He was 21 years old. The total pay for his service in 1777/78 was $44.17. As in the case of fellow Southborough soldier Jesse Amsden, who also died at Valley Forge, we do not know where Joseph is buried. We are uncertain as to where in New York City, Joseph’s second cousin Major Josiah Fay, is buried. There is a plaque at the Old Burial Ground commemorating the service of the three men from Southborough who died during the Revolutionary War.
We are grateful for all those who served during the War for Independence and to the military veterans who have served through out our history.