Esther Sumner Damon

Esther Sumner Damon (August 1, 1814 - November 11, 1906) was cited as the last widow of the American Revolutionary War to receive a state pension.

Early life

Esther was born in Bridgewater, Vermont. The family had eight or nine children. Esther's father was killed by a fallen tree when she was eight years old. Esther attended school during the winter and worked during the summers to help support her family. At the age of seventeen, Esther became a school teacher in Plymouth, VT.

Marriage

Esther Sumner married Noah D. Damon on September 6, 1835, in Bridgewater, when she was 21 and he was 75. The couple had met two weeks prior.

Husbands war enlistment

Noah Damon enlisted in the Continental Army on April 19, 1775. He was intermittently enlisted over the next five years. Noah applied for a war pension, as a resident of Plainfield, New Hampshire on November 13, 1848.

Noah was penniless, though Esther may have thought he was a hardworking landowner. Esther supported him for three years before financial necessity forced him to move in with his daughter in New Hampshire.

Esther supported herself by sewing and nursing. She also leased a farm near Reading

War pension

After Noah's death, Esther received his pension. The pension was increased to $24 a month by the United States Congress on February 28, 1905.

Towards the end of her life, Esther received additional financial support from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Death

Esther died on November 11, 1906, aged 92, she is buried at Plymouth Notch Cemetery in Plymouth, Vermont. The gravestone was paid for by the Daughters of the American Revolution.