Events in the life of Moses Van Campen and those which provide historical reference.

1757  >

January 21 - Moses Van Campen is born in Kingwood Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey to Cornelius Van Campen and Wyntje (Depue) Van Campen. See Birthplace of Moses Van Campen Narrowed

1757 > Cornelius Van Campen purchases land on the Delaware River in Northhampton County, Pennsylvania at little above the Water Gap and relocates his family to the location where Moses spends his childhood years.
1761 > Margaret McClure, Moses' future wife, is born to James McClure and Mary (Espy) McClure.
1769 > Cornelius Van Campen purchases land on the Susquehanna River in the Wyoming Valley. Moses Van Campen travels with his Father, Cornelius, to the Wyoming Valley to cultivate the family's newly purchased farm. The First Pennamite War leads Cornelius Van Campen to believe it unadvisable to bring the rest of the family to the farm. Cornelius Van Campen would later sell the property in 1775.  
1773 > Cornelius Van Campen purchases land on Fishing Creek eight miles above the North Branch of the Susquehanna River and relocates his family from their home on the Delaware River.
1775 > Moses Van Campen, 18 years old, is chosen Captain of a group of young men his age to collectively practice the skills of soldiers as hostilities with Britain escalate.
1775 > December - Moses Van Campen enlists in the company of militia under Colonel William Plunkett and participates in the Second Pennamite War in the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. The Battle of Rampart Rocks takes place very near the land that Moses' Father, Cornelius Van Campen purchased in 1769.
1776 > Moses Van Campen enrolls in a regiment raised in Northumberland County under Colonel Cook designed for the Continental Army under George Washington then stationed near Boston. James McClure, Moses' future father-in-law and a member of the Committee of Safety for the county, convinces Moses to resign his commission and remain at home anticipating the Indians would join forces with the British and attack the frontier settlements. 
1777 > Moses Van Campen enlists as Orderly Sergeant in a regiment of militia commanded by Colonel John Kelly in the company of Thomas Gaskins. The regiment is ordered to take station at Reid's Fort on the West Branch of the Susquehanna near present day Lock Haven, PA. The order follows the Council at Oswego where four of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Mohawk, declare they will fight for the British. 
1778 > Moses Van Campen is appointed Lieutenant of a company of six month's men (approximately 20 men), raised under the authority of the State and under the superintendence of Colonel Samuel Hunter. 
1778 > April - Moses Van Campen builds Fort Wheeler on the farm of Isaiah Wheeler and the banks of Fishing Creek. The Fort is attacked by Indians in May of the same year with no loss of life. The Fort is attacked again by Indians in June of the same year with Moses killing the leader of the Indian party. 
1778 > June - Moses Van Campen is ordered by Colonel Hunter to take prinsoner three Tories living in a log shanty deep in the forest. Moses nearly loses his life in the process of taking the three men prisoner. A gun shot directed at his head and in close proximity to his face leaves powder burns that remained visible the rest of his life.
1778 > July - Moses Van Campen is ordered by Colonel Hunter to take charge of a company of militia from Lancaster County and circuit about the settlements and look for any Indians planning attacks. This order came immediately after the July 3rd Battle of Wyoming (also known as the Wyoming Massacre) in which more than 100 American Patriots were killed by British Loyalists and Iroquois attackers.
1779 > Moses Van Campen serves as Quartermaster in Sullivan's Campaign.
1780 > March 29 - Moses Van Campen, his father, Cornelius, and his brother, Nicholas, are attacked by Indians while working the family farm on Fishing Creek. His father, Cornelius, and brother, Nicholas, are killed. Moses is taken prisoner. See 1780 Attack, Capture & Escape , His Thrilling Adventures, and Early Settlements in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.
1780 > April 2 - Moses Van Campen and two fellow captors escape captivity, killing nine of ten Indians and wounding the tenth near present day Wysox, PA. See 1780 Attack, Capture & Escape , His Thrilling Adventures, and Early Settlements in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.
1780 > April 8 - Moses Van Campen is commissioned Ensign of Company of Rangers, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania as part of the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army. 
1781 > February 10 - Moses Van Campen commissioned Lieutenant of Company of Rangers, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania as part of the Pennsylvania Line of the Continental Army. 
1781 > Early in the year, Moses Van Campen stockades the home of Mrs. James McClure, on the bank of the Susquehanna and one mile above the mouth of Fishing creek. The fortification is named Fort McClure. See Fort McClure Chapter DAR Honors Moses.
1781 > November - Moses Van Campen is ordered to Reading, PA to serve as Adjutant (administrative assistant to a commanding officer). Moses Van Campen is placed in charge of the Hessian prisoner camp from late December, 1781 until late March, 1782. After Burgoyne's surrender in 1777, German mercenaries, mostly Hessian, were held as prisoners at various places until end of war. Those brought to Reading in 1781 were encamped there until 1783 in huts.
1782 > April 16 – Moses Van Campen is captured by Seneca Indians, keepers of the western door of the Iroquois confederacy, at Bald Eagle Creek, PA. Marched north to the "Pigeon Woods," his life is spared through the secrecy of Horatio Jones. At Caneadea, he is forced to run the gauntlet thirty rods west to their ancient Council House (now preserved in Letchworth Park). At Fort Niagara, Moses Van Campen is delivered into the hands of the British under the command of Colonel John Butler. He is ceremoniously adopted into the family of Colonel Butler by the Seneca to make good for the loss of Colonel Butler's son who had been killed in a battle with the Americans. Refusing to abandon the American cause and join the ranks of the British, Moses Van Campen is placed on a vessel bound for Montreal and a British prison. He is thankful for not being delivered back to the Seneca who have plans to torture and kill him having learned his identity.
1782 > November - Moses Van Campen is freed by the British in a prisoner exchange in New York.
1783 > March - Moses Van Campen rejoins his company in Northumberland County.
1783 > September 3 - The Treaty of Paris is signed ending American Revolutionary War.
1783 > November 16 - Moses Van Campen and company are discharged from duty.
1783 > December 10 - Moses Van Campen marries Margaret McClure.
1784 > October - Mary Van Campen is born to Moses Van Campen and Margaret (McClure) Van Campen. She is baptized on October 10.
1786 > October - Anna Van Campen is born to Moses Van Campen and Margaret (McClure) Van Campen. She is baptized on October 29.
1789 > September - Priscilla Van Campen is born to Moses Van Campen and Margaret (McClure) Van Campen. She is baptized on September 15.
1792 > April - Elizabeth Van Campen is born to Moses Van Campen and Margaret (McClure) Van Campen. She is baptized on April 3.
1794 > March - Lavina Van Campen is born to Moses Van Campen and Margaret (McClure) Van Campen. She is baptized on March 3.
1796 > Moses Van Campen relocates his family to McHenry Valley (near Almond, NY).
1806 > Moses Van Campen begins service as member of the Highway Commission. He serves in this capacity in the years 1806, 1808-1813, 1815-1817, 1818-1822, 1825, and 1830.
1807 > Moses Van Campen begins service as Highway Overseer. He serves in this capacity in the years 1807, 1812, and 1814.
1807 > August 12 - Moses Van Campen is appointed Judge of Common Pleas, Allegany County, NY.
1807 > November 10 - Moses Van Campen serves as lead Judge and charges the Grand Jury at the first Court in Allegany County, NY.
1808 > January 9 - Moses Van Campen and a number of other Masonic brethren formulate a Petition to the Grand Lodge of New York to establish the Angelica Lodge. The choice of recommended Officers included Moses Van Campen as Senior Warden.
1808 > Moses Van Campen begins service as Freeholder. He serves in this capacity in the years 1808, 1809, and 1811.
1808 > March 11 - Moses Van Campen, John Gibson, and William Higgins are commissioned to build the Allegany County Courthouse and Jail on one of the public lots near the square of the village of Angelica, NY.
1808 > August 25 - Moses Van Campen and a number of other Masonic brethren gather for the installation of the Angelica Lodge; their Petition of January 9 of the same year having been granted by the Grand Lodge of New York.
1809 > Moses Van Campen completes building his home in Angelica, NY. The home later takes the name "Van Campen Place." 
1810 > Moses Van Campen begins service as Licensee. He serves in this capacity from 1810-1813.
1811 > Moses Van Campen begins service on Commission of Excise. He serves in this capacity in the years 1811, 1812, and 1814.
1812 > Moses Van Campen beings service as Justice of the Peace. He serves in this capacity from 1812 to 1814.
1812 >  May 6 - Moses Van Campen, Margaret Van Campen, Prudence Johnson, David Chamberlain, Elizabeth Chamberlain, and James Renwick, under the leadership of Rev. John Niles of Bath, NY, organize the Presbyterian Church in Angelica, NY. Moses Van Campen was then elected and ordained ruling Elder. He served in this capacity from 1812 to 1831.
1814 > Moses Van Campen begins service as County Treasurer, Allegany County, NY. He serves in this capacity from 1814 to 1826.
1815 > Moses Van Campen serves as Constable. He serves in this capacity in the year 1815.
1816 > March - Margaret Van Campen, Moses' wife, dies in Dansville, NY at the age of 54.
1824 > Moses Van Campen begins service as Assessor. He serves in this capacity in the years 1824 and 1826.
1824 > Moses Van Campen begins service as Election Inspector. He services in this capacity in the year 1824.
1828 > Moses Van Campen serves as Deputy County Clerk, Allegany County, NY. He serves in this capacity in the year 1828.
1831 > Moses Van Campen moves from Angelica, NY to 13 Ossian Street, Dansville, NY.
1842 > Sketches of Border Adventures in the Life and Times of Moses Van Campen, A Surviving Soldier of the Revolution (First Edition) by John N. Hubbard, grandson of Moses, is published.
1845 > February - Moses Van Campen takes ill and is stricken with paralysis.
1847 > Moses Van Campen makes partial recovery, having been cared for by his forth Daughter, Elizabeth Hubbard.
1848 > May - Moses Van Campen moves to the home of his grandson Joseph Lockhart, son of his first daughter, Mary Lockhart, in Almond, NY.
1849 > June - Moses Van Campen moves back to his "old place" in Angelica, NY (Van Campen Place) to live with his second Daughter, Anna Burr.
1849 > October 15 - Moses Van Campen dies in Angelica, NY at the age of 92 years and 9 months. He is laid to rest in the Until the Day Dawn Cemetery, in Angelica, NY.
1893 > Sketches of Border Adventures in the Life and Times of Moses Van Campen, A Surviving Soldier of the Revolution (Second Edition) by John N. Hubbard and John S. Minard is published.
1907 > April 10 - The Fort McClure Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), donate a stone marker and plaque commemorating the site of Fort McClure. See Fort McClure Chapter DAR Honors Moses.
1908 > August 25 - The Catherine Schuyler Chapter of the Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR), donate a boulder marker and plaque commemorating the site where, in 1782, Moses Van Campen was forced to run the gauntlet thirty rods west to the ancient Council House of the Seneca Indians by whom he was being held captive. See Catherine Schuyler Chapter of DAR Stone Marker and Tablet.
1915 > The Moses Van Campen Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) dedicate a stone marker and plaque commemorating the site of Fort Wheeler. The marker was relocated in 2015 to Lightstreet Park. See Moses Van Campen Chapter of the DAR
1933 > Named in his honor, the Hotel Moses Van Campen opens in Benton, PA, replacing the Benton Hotel known as the McHenry House which was lost to fire. See Hotel Moses Van Campen.
1948 > May 8 - The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) dedicates a historical marker commemorating the building of Fort McClure in 1781 by Moses Van Campen. See Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Honors Moses.
1948 > May 10 - The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) dedicates a historical marker commemorating the building of Fort Wheeler in 1778 by Moses Van Campen. See Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Honors Moses.
2009 > Three Journeys to the Genesee, The Life of Moses Van Campen, A Frontier Biography by Molly Beer, a native of Angelica, NY, is published. See New Biography Published.
2009 > Website "Moses Van Campen ... In Tribute" is launched.

“His Christianity was pure,
his views of religion sound
and scriptural, and his fidelity
and integrity of character
were like his own well aimed rifle,
true to the mark.”

 

– Rev. Thomas Aitken

Obituary of Moses Van Campen

"I was nurtured in the school of the rifle and the tomahawk."

 

- Moses Van Campen

“The notes of war are hushed,
The rage of battle o’er,
The warrior is at rest,
He hears our praise no more.
The soldier nobly fought
For all we dearly love,
He fought to gain a heavenly crown,
And now he reigns above.”

 

- Rev. Thomas Aitken
Inscription, Moses Van Campen's Headstone