George Zimmer Jr.’s Final Battle of the Revolution

This article in a 4 part series celebrates the Chester Zimmer Collection and the ongoing construction of the Chester Zimmer Library at the Old Stone Fort Museum Complex in Schoharie as well as taking note of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America.

By Mark Stolzenburg

WRIGHT – I had known George Zimmer Jr., in a way, since I was a child, purely from visiting his grave on frequent walks from end to end of our farm on Abrams Road in the Town of Wright. His remains lie in the small Forsyth family graveyard on a scenic hilltop with the best view of the rest of the farm. Only when I got a little older did I understand the significance of George having a much larger grave marker than the others interred there, and the importance of the inscription on his stone: “A soldier of the Revolution.” What I did not know at that time was how he had struggled for years to gain recognition from the U.S. government for his service in the form of a Revolutionary War pension payment.

My family learned about George’s time served in the American Revolutionary War and his difficulties in securing his veteran’s pension when doing research in preparation for the 2016 rededication of his grave by the local Schoharie-Leatherstocking Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is thought to have been the last to die of the Schoharie men who fought for independence, (more on that later). He passed away August 5,1857. The 2016 placement of a roadside marker and a new gravestone put his little piece of burying ground on the map. Most would consider his military service record during the Revolution unremarkable, except for the fact that George Zimmer was just a boy at the start of the war. His longevity and memory have enabled us to learn from his recollection of time during the war as he testified to apply for his pension late in his long life. From his words and those of his many friends, we get a glimpse of the type of man he was, how he viewed his wartime service, and his way of handling frustration and disappointment.

Now let’s fast forward to October 8, 2024, when our Chester Zimmer Collection researcher at the Old Stone Fort Museum in Schoharie, Dave Pelepzuck, tossed in front of me a copy of an 1850s portrait photograph from that collection. Right away I knew whose face I was looking at, even though I never dreamed I would see George Zimmer Jr. eye to eye, so to speak. Photographs of Revolutionary War veterans are a special part of our nation’s history. Although I am not at all surprised that Chester tracked one down, the limited period of time that early photographic technology overlapped with the lifespans of our nation’s first soldiers makes such photos uncommon. From that fact and seeing the expression on George Zimmer’s face in that photo, I felt like his pension story needed to be told.

Family

When the first shot of the American Revolution in 1775 at Lexington, Massachusetts was heard ‘round the world, George Zimmer was nine years old. He was born November 5, 1765, the youngest of nine documented children of Jacob Zimmer and Catherina Bader. The family lived at that time in the Fox Creek Valley near present-day Gallupville, NY. Early in his life, mention of George’s name usually included the suffix “Junior” to distinguish him from his grandfather, George, (or Jurrie), Zimmer, who lived at least until 1788.

The Zimmer family were successful farmers, land speculators, and, during the Revolution, staunch Patriots. Jacob was elected as a member of Schoharie’s first Committee of Safety in May 1775, served in other local leadership roles for the cause of Liberty, and was briefly a prisoner of local Tories (Loyalists) in August 1777. His five sons all served in the Schoharie District’s Albany County Fifteenth Regiment of Militia, mostly in Capt. Christian Stubrach’s company. The war took a toll on the Zimmer family. George’s brother, also named Jacob, was killed and brother, Peter, was taken to Niagara as prisoner in a raid on his father’s farm by the Tory, Adam Crysler, in July 1781.

The Schenectady Reformed church recorded the marriage of George Zimmer and Catharina Zettle (Settle) of “Hellenbergh” (the Helleberg area was in today’s western Albany County) on Jan. 8, 1788 and they had at least four children by 1795. He bought land from his father on lower Zimmer Hill, south of today’s Gallupville, in 1791. That parcel would become his lifelong home and various pieces of land near there became his farm. George’s elder son, John G. Zimmer had bought most of the farm from his father and occupied the house by the 1840s. George lived in his retirement with John G. and his extended family.