From: LaRueMartin at aol.com (LaRueMartin at aol.com) Date: Wed, 9 May 2001 23:25:43 EDT Subject: No subject Aaron Lake, USCT 127th Civil War soldier. The 127th U.S. Colored Infantry trained at Camp William Penn in Montgomery County, Pa. Most of the soldiers serving in that regiment were recruited from the North, primarily Pennyslvania and New Jersey. The 127th served in Virginia in the closing days of the war, liberating Richmond VA and being at Appomattox when Lee surrendered. After the war's end, the 127th, with many Black troops, were shipped to Texas, to guard the border--the Rio Grande--against the Emperor Maxmilian's attempt to establish a Mexican Empire. Aaron Lake was discharged at Brazos Santiago TX. His name was included with a number of other Princetonians in an old list of Black Civil War vets. Also, the database of Civil War troops at http://www.itd.nps.gov lists only one Aaron Lake, who served in the 127th USCT. From: LaRueMartin at aol.com (LaRueMartin at aol.com) Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 00:50:48 EDT Subject: No subject Here is most of what I have about Black Lakes. I compiled this information while researching my great great grandfather, Aaron Lake of Amwell / Hopewell, NJ, who has been described by some cousins as part Indian, which I have never been able to confirm. ---------------------------------------------------- The 1790 census of Somerset County shows a Joseph Lake listed as a negro single man living in the western precinct. Will # 979 R: Jacob Lake 1795 Somerset Co. bequeaths to wife Arreante: bed, bedding, cubboard, negro girl named Sall. To son Garrit - one negro boy named Joe To son James - all plantation and real estate and negro man named Tom inventory of Arreante and James Leake (it's spelled Leake here) ... there is a very large inventory, ending with: Negro man Tom 100//___//___ Negro man Joe 100//___//___ Negro girl Sal 35//___//___ Negro wench Such 35//___//___ There were several Lake families in Princeton NJ that may have descended from a slave named Aaron Lake, who was manumitted Dec 16, 1815. The Somerset Co Historical Society lists his master as Elisha Clark of Montgomery in Somerset Co. Aaron and Mary Lake had at least 3 sons (names of daughters unknown) after 1815: Albert, Joseph, and David (or Davis). 1. Children of Albert and Jane Lake: Aaron, Alexander, Eliza, Jeremiah, Ann. (Aaron was in the US Colored Troops 127 and fought in the Civil War. Married to Sarah Jackson.) 2. Children of Joseph and Letti Lake: Charles, Anna. 3. Children of David and Rachel Jones Lake: David. The 127th U.S. Colored Infantry trained at Camp William Penn in Montgomery County, Pa. Most of the soldiers serving in that regiment were recruited from the North, primarily Pennyslvania and New Jersey. The 127th served in Virginia in the closing days of the war, liberating Richmond VA and being at Appomattox when Lee surrendered. After the war's end, the 127th, with many Black troops, were shipped to Texas, to guard the border--the Rio Grande--against the Emperor Maxmilian's attempt to establish a Mexican Empire. Aaron Lake was discharged at Brazos Santiago TX. His name was included with a number of other Princetonians in an old list of Black Civil War vets of that area. The database of Civil War troops at http://www.itd.nps.gov lists only one Aaron Lake, who served in the 127th USCT [Reply from Princeton Library] Aaron Lake From: LaRueMartin@aol.com Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 00:50:48 EDT Here is most of what I have about Black Lakes. I compiled this information while researching my great great grandfather, Aaron Lake of Amwell / Hopewell, NJ, who has been described by some cousins as part Indian, which I have never been able to confirm. ---------------------------------------------------- The 1790 census of Somerset County shows a Joseph Lake listed as a negro single man living in the western precinct. There were several Lake families in Princeton NJ that may have descended from a slave named Aaron Lake, who was manumitted Dec 16, 1815. The Somerset Co Historical Society lists his master as Elisha Clark of Montgomery in Somerset Co. Aaron and Mary Lake had at least 3 sons (names of daughters unknown) after 1815: Albert, Joseph, and David (or Davis). 1. Children of Albert and Jane Lake: Aaron, Alexander, Eliza, Jeremiah, Ann. (Aaron was in the US Colored Troops 127 and fought in the Civil War. Married to Sarah Jackson.) 2. Children of Joseph and Letti Lake: Charles, Anna. 3. Children of David and Rachel Jones Lake: David. The 127th U.S. Colored Infantry trained at Camp William Penn in Montgomery County, Pa. Most of the soldiers serving in that regiment were recruited from the North, primarily Pennyslvania and New Jersey. The 127th served in Virginia in the closing days of the war, liberating Richmond VA and being at Appomattox when Lee surrendered. After the war's end, the 127th, with many Black troops, were shipped to Texas, to guard the border--the Rio Grande--against the Emperor Maxmilian's attempt to establish a Mexican Empire. Aaron Lake was discharged at Brazos Santiago TX. His name was included with a number of other Princetonians in an old list of Black Civil War vets of that area. The database of Civil War troops at http://www.itd.nps.gov lists only one Aaron Lake, who served in the 127th USCT [Reply from Princeton Library] Aaron Lake Date: 9/9/99 From: refstaff@princeton.lib.nj.us (Princeton Public Library) We have found very little about Aaron Lake. Two sources confirm that he was a Civil War soldier. History of Princeton and Its Institutions by John Hageman includes Aaron Lake in a list of 45 "colored volunteers" ... recruited in Princeton and states that the total number was about fifty and that they enlisted chiefly in the Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment. Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War by William Stryker shows that Lake in fact served as a private in Company F, 127th Regiment and indicates that he was "mustered in" on September 1, 1864 and mustered out on September 8, 1965. I hope the historical society will be able to find additional information. REFERENCE STAFF Princeton Public Library http://www.princeton.lib.nj.us e-mail:refstaff@princeton.lib.nj.us