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Note: Will administered 6 May 1811. Widow living at Berne. SRC Source: Vol 3, The Waterman Family, Descendents of Richard Waterman of Providence, Rhode Island; 1954; Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman. It is possible that he is descendent of Ephraim; #13,208 who is not linked. Also, Duxbury vital records and Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families; William T. Davis; 1899.
Revolutionary War soldier according to grandaughter Margaret.
FromStephen-Picek Family History by Vincent E. Falter; copyrighted 2003:
"Oliver Waterman (about 1755-1811) Our earliest proven Waterman ancestor is Oliver who was living in Duchess County New York in 1775, and later in Albany County, New York. He was probably born about 1750, plus or minus five years, but his birthplace is unknown. As an adult, he was a resident of Duchess County, New York and in 1775 he was living in Beckman's Precinct. It was there that he refused to sign the General Association pledge to support the revolution against England.
Despite his initial reluctance to rebel against English rule, Olive became a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was probably the Oliver Waterman who served under Lt. William Bemble in Captain Joshua Hazen's company. That company was a part of Colonel Wood's regiment which marched to Dresden on the shores of Seneca Lake in Yates County, New York during the alarm at Newbury in March 1781. An American Colonel, Thomas Johnson, was captured during the attack on Newbury. Oliver married Elizabeth Esmond (or Ismond), probably in Albany County, New York. They were living in Beekmantown in Duchess County at the time of the 1790 census. The family was enumerated as consisting of Oliver, five males younger than 16 years of age, and four females, one of whom was Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Esmond poses another puzzle since her ancestry is also unknown and even her surname is ambiguous. Some records spell it Esmond and others spell it Ismond. The uncertainty extends to her descendants, some of whom took the Esmond and Ismond surname as their given name. For example, she and Oliver have a grandson named Ismond Waterman, born about 1809 in Albany County, New York, as well as a great grandson named Esmond Waterman who was born on 23 November 1838 in Oneida County, New York.
An examination of the 1800 census reveals no Ismonds, but there are two Esmond families living in Albany County, New York. An Isiah Esmond, age 21-45 with a wife the same age was enumerated. The second Esmond family was that of Thomas, age 16-20 with a wife, age 21-45. If either of these families were Elizabeth's parents, it could only have been that of Isiah, and the younger George could well have been a brother. The fact that she and Oliver named one son Isiah lends some credibility to that possibility.
By 1800 Oliver and his family had moved farther north, into Albany County. This area had been part of the patroonship awarded to Kilien Van Rensselaer by the Dutch West India Company in 1629, and his descendants still owned much of the land. On 13 August 1795 Oliver leased some land from Stephen van Rensselear and, in 1799, he sold his land lease to Ezekiel Mulford. On 25 January 1800 he bought the "Helderburg property." He was listed as a trustee of the Watervliet Methodist Society which was located between Albany and Schenectady. In the 1800 census Oliver was enumerated at Berne, Albany County, New York. His family, according to that census, consisted of himself, over 45 years of age, a female 26-45 years old (undoubtedly his wife), three males 16-26 years old, two females 10-16 years old, and two males under 10 years of age."
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