Here’s a story that Francis Libby probably repeatedly told his children. While a soldier in the Revolutionary War, he rowed General George Washington across the Hudson River and back. He received a drink of liquor for his service.
Francis Libby, whose grandfather, John Libby, came to America in 1637, wasn’t very old when he partook in high spirits. He enlisted in the army in December 1776 at age 15 and served for three years.
Lest we forget, drinking was rampant during the Revolutionary War, even among what would now be considered underaged consumers. Fifteen was considered old enough to drink back then. Drinking while on duty was aided and abetted by the Continental Congress, which voted for supplies of distilled beverages for the army.
A majority in Congress thought liquor might help soldiers deal with the danger of war. Most colonists believed that a stiff drink was good for what ails you, not a pathway to addiction. Yet the average colonist may have consumed as much as 6 gallons of alcoholic beverages annually, compared to the 2.2 gallons a year imbibed by Americans today.
Unfortunately, it was hard to find a drink. The commerce of the colonies had been cut off due to the war; it had lost access to foreign beer, wine, and rum. Domestic farmers stepped up their whisky production in a valiant attempt to “fill the void.” But they used so much grain to make distilled beverages, grain that might have otherwise fed people; there was a fraction of concern that the Revolutionary forces might not have enough to eat.
We’ll probably never know whether Libby’s early taste of liquor resulted in a life-long addiction. But we do know this: many years later, on May 29, 1835, Libby’s service in the Revolutionary War netted him a 200-acre land grant in Buxton, Maine. He was one of many people who applied for a bounty after the fact, though not all who applied served in the war.
Francis Libby served in several war regiments, often with a family member. He is listed as a private in Captain Mayberry’s company within Colonel Benjamin Tupper’s regiment. He also appears in Captain Roger Libby’s company, under Colonel Reuben Fogg’s (3rd Cumberland Co.). This company was a real family affair—another Libby was listed as an ensign.
After the war, Francis lived with his father, Peter Libby, for almost ten years. Francis, born in Scarborough on March 17, 1761, married his first wife, Lucy Moulton, on March 18, 1784, according to The Libby Family in America, an indispensable genealogical guide.
Francis and his wife later settled in Buxton, Maine, on a 100-acre farm that he purchased from Captain Daniel Eldridge. His family occupied a house on the property until 1800 when he built a new one. He lived there until he died on January 24, 1847.
Lucy, the mother of his children, died on 21 Aug. 1819. Four years later, Libby married a second wife, Dorcas, the widow of Mattew Higgins, on September 23rd, 1823. She was the daughter of Lydia (Libby) Plummer. She died on January 9, 1871.