Born: June 17, 1749
Died: December 25, 1834
Married: Abigail Cleveland Perkins (August 7, 1745 - October 14, 1837)
Children: Elias Goodspeed
Nathaniel Goodspeed was a Revolutionary War Veteran. He is buried in Goodspeed Cemetery, St. Armand. He was great-uncle to Nathaniel Goodspeed.
History of the Goodspeed Family, by Weston Arthur Goodspeed, p. 208 (at FindAGrave)
Nathaniel spent the greater part of his life in Mass. and Conn. During the Revolution, he served in the Connecticut militia or line, as shown by the records. He enlisted at Woodstock, CT May 11, 1775 and was discharged Dec. 14, 1775; he was a private in Capt. Ephraim Manning's Woodstock company, which was raised under the first call of the Conn. Legislature for troops. This company was the "Seventh" of the Third Regiment, Col. Israel Putnam, all of which except one company was raised in Windham County.
History of the Goodspeed Family, by Weston Arthur Goodspeed, p, 211
In May, 1775, the Third regiment* marched by companies to the camps at Boston. A portion participated in the engagement. at Bunker Hill June 17, and it is a tradition in this branch that Nathaniel actually fought in that battle. He enlisted several other times, and served with entire credit. He was pensioned under the Act of March 20, 1833, the pension to date from March 4, 1831, and was granted $80 per annum. At the time of his death in Dee., 1834, he had drawn a total of $240. He was a blacksmith and possessed great strength and activity. Though weighing nearly 300 pounds, he could leap over a string held about five feet from the ground. Just preceding the Revolution he lived in Conn. On July 14, 1788, Nathaniel (88), of Rowe, Mass. "yeoman" for the consideration of £160 transferred to his brother Judah (89), also of Rowe, "yeoman" about 51 acres "off of the east end of the lot formerly owned by Thomas Brown," but which Nathaniel (33) had bought of Joseph Steele in 1779. In Feb. 1810, "Nathaniel, of Hawley," sold a lot in Hatfield to Obediah Smith. In 1815 and 1818 he sold other tracts at Hawley. About this time, in a sale for $700 to William Sanford, his wife Abigail signed the deed with him and his son Elias witnessed it. In 1827 Nathaniel and Abigail sold to the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Co. a tract situated "in Hawley near the meetinghouse." In Nov., 1829, they sold to Nathaniel Jr. (534) and his wife Polly A., for the consideration of $1 a tract of seventy acres, the same being a part of Lot 107. This was no doubt the old homestead, and its sale meant the retirement from care of Nathaniel (88) and Abigail. They passed their old age with Nathaniel (534). When he moved to St. Armand, Essex County, N. Y., they went with him, but soon died there, he in 1834, and she in 1837.
