Noah Phelps

Major General Noah Phelps (January 22, 1740 – November 4, 1809) served with the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and afterward was selected as a major general. He also served as justice of the peace and judge of probate in his home state of Connecticut for twenty years. He was chosen as a delegate to the 1788 state convention that ratified the Constitution of the United States.

Biography

Noah Phelps was born on January 22, 1740, the fourth of nine children, to David Phelps and Abigail Pettibone. David Phelps was the son of Joseph Phelps and his third wife, Mary Case. David married Abigail Pettibone on April 25, 1731 and died of smallpox on December 9, 1760.

Noah married Lydia Griswold of Windsor, Connecticut on June 10, 1761 in Simsbury, Connecticut. They had six children: Noah Amherst (May 3, 1762), Lydia Griswold (February 25, 1764), Chandler Conway (October 22, 1766), George P. (August 18, 1773), Elisha Phelps (November 16, 1779), and a son (November 18, 1783, died at birth).

He held a variety of essential positions, including Surveyor of Lands in the greater Simsbury area in 1772 and 1783. After the war, he was selected as Justice of the Peace for Hartford County in 1782, Judge of Probate in 1787, and Major-General of the Militia, 1796-1799.

Noah Phelps was a leader within the Simsbury community. He chaired the town meeting that passed the Articles of Confederation in January 1778. In November 1787, the meeting picked him and Daniel Humphrey Esq., as delegates for the Convention of the State of Connecticut, set to convene in Hartford in January and vote on whether or not to adopt the federal constitution. They were directed to oppose it, but "one of the delegates though voting as instructed by the town, took occasion to state that his personal convictions led him to favor the proposed constitution." This may have been Phelps.

Phelps died in Simsbury on November 4, 1809. On his tombstone is inscribed: "A Patriot of 1776. To such we are indebted for our Independence."

While returning through the fort, the commander accompanied him talking with him about the rebels, their object and movements. Phelps, upon seeing a portion of the exterior wall in a dilapidated condition, remarked that it would afford a feeble defense against the rebels, if they should attack in that quarter. The commander replied, "Yes, but that is not our greatest misfortune. All our powder is damaged, and before we can use it, we are obliged to dry and sift it." In that role, he had to provide troops with all manner of supplies, including guns and bayonets, clothing, "victualing and liquor," and lodgings for his troops and horses. After the war he was chosen Maj. Gen. of militia.