Mentor’s story is deeply rooted in the soil of American independence. Long before our city took shape along the shores of Lake Erie, the Western Reserve offered the promise of opportunity for those who had fought to secure our nation’s fledgling freedom.
As part of our contribution to the America250 commemoration, it is our honor to share what we have learned about the seven veterans who once called Mentor home or found their final resting place here.
From the battlefields of the American Revolution to the forests and fields of the Western Reserve, they traded muskets for plows and helped build the foundations of our community. Their stories of courage and determination continue to inspire us today.
BENJAMIN BLISH
Benjamin Blish was born on February 22, 1753, in Tolland County, Connecticut Colony. In 1774, he married Phebe Skinner, sister of Captain Abraham Skinner (later of Painesville).
Blish served as a private in the Revolutionary War, one month and nineteen days, in Capt. Micah Hamlen’s Co., Col. Thomas Marshall’s regt. from June 13, 1776, to Aug. 1, 1776; also twenty-five days, from Aug. 1, to Aug. 26 at Castle Island; also thirty-one days in Capt. Sylvanus Martin’s Co., Col. Williams’ regt., from Sept. 29 to Oct. 30, 1777, in Rhode Island; and again at an alarm at the same place for six days under Capt. Israel Hicks, Col. Thomas Carpenter’s regt., from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6, 1780.
About 1780 he moved his family to Middlefield, Hampshire Co., Mass., where they resided until 1805.
On June 20th of that year, Blish, his wife, and their eight children began an arduous journey which would not be completed until they reached Captain Skinner’s home on the Grand River on July 30th.
Along the way, they encountered sickness, bad roads, dwindling supplies, and other hardships. After their arrival, all ten members of the party lived in one room of a log house belonging to Esquire Merry until their own home was completed in December 1805 on land that would long be known as the Blish farm.
Blish died on March 11, 1825, at the age of 72. He and his wife are both buried in the Blish Cemetery on Mentor Avenue in Painesville.
GARRIT BRASS
Garrit Brass was born in New York City, British Colonial America on March 29, 1766. His father, Hendrick Brass III, was 33 and his mother, Mary Maria Oakes, was 35.
He enlisted for the Revolutionary War from Westfield, Massachusetts in early 1781 and served with the Massachusetts Troops as a Private in Captain Banister’s Company, Colonel Newel’s Regiment and in Captain Smith’s Company under Colonel Vose.
Brass likely marched into New York City on Evacuation Day, when 6,000 British left New York City after the American Revolutionary War. November 25, 1783, marked the end of the war and the beginning of General George Washington’s triumphant entry into the city.
He was released from service on Dec. 21, 1783.
Brass married Lucy Matthews on April 19, 1792, in Chester, Massachusetts. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 6 daughters. The family moved to Mentor Township, coincidentally, on the day the War of 1812 was declared according to an account by his daughter Esther.
Their property was located along the western side of what is today Garfield Road between Mentor Avenue and Johnnycake Ridge Road. He and his family were among the founding members of the Mentor Methodist Church.
Brass applied for a pension on June 14, 1828, and died on November 25, 1837, at the age of 71. The cause of his death was under suspicious circumstances and will be shared at a later date. He is interred at the Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
ROGER ASCHAM CRAINE
Roger Craine was born in Mansfield, Connecticut Colony on May 4, 1762. He enlisted in the Revolutionary War from Medway, Massachusetts Colony in 1777 and served with the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, Continental Army until December 1783. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Bunker Hill, New York Campaign, Battle of Trenton, Battle of Princeton, Battle of Saratoga, Battle of Monmouth and the Battle of Rhode Island.
During his enlistment, he served under Captain John Fuller, Colonel William Shepard, Colonel Samuel Wylllys, Colonel Henry Jackson, and a Colonel Hollister.
A granddaughter reported that he was with Washington at Valley Forge through the winter and that he was one of forty men under Colonel Barton who surprised and captured Major-General Prescott in his own quarters on the night of July 10, 1777, on the Prescott Farm in Rhode Island. Prescott was later exchanged for General Charles Lee. He also participated in the battle at White Plains.
After the war, Craine married Sarah Whiton in Ashford, Connecticut, on May 20, 1784. Their children were Abigail, Cyrus, Ahira, Eleazer, Tower, Horace, Avin, Samuel, Alexis and Ruth.
The family settled in Groton, New York, where he was a farmer. He applied for and received a pension in May 1818.
They later moved to Painesville, Ohio, where he died June 3, 1841. His remains were moved to the Mentor Cemetery in 1857.
According to one of his descendants, “Grandfather Craine had repeatedly refused to sign the temperance pledge, saying, he was not a drinking man, and didn’t care to sign away his liberty. One training day an old drunkard cried out, ‘Here comes Roger Craine, he is one of our set, for he will not sign his liberty away either!’ Grandfather signed the pledge that day.”
ISRAEL FOX
Israel Fox was born in Glastonbury, CT, in 1755. Records indicate that he served four enlistments in the Revolutionary War. He enlisted in 1776 for three months with Colonel Elizur Talcott. In 1777, he enlisted for three months with Captain Hale under Colonel Woodbridge. In 1779, he enlisted again for three months, perhaps with Captain Hale under Colonel Woodbridge. In 1780, he enlisted for six months with Captain Phelps.
Fox was a member of the 19th Connecticut Regiment known as “Wolcott’s Regiment” which participated in the Siege of Boston as well as the Battle of Long Island.
Fox witnessed the execution of Major John Andre, the British officer who was hanged as a spy on October 2, 1780, in Tappan, New York. Andre was caught attempting to enable Benedict Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point to the British.
Fox was listed as a resident of Mentor in 1832 from which he secured his pension. The circumstances and date of his death are unknown. He was buried in Mentor Pioneer Cemetery and later interred at the Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
JOHN REYNOLDS
John Reynolds was born in Norwich, Connecticut Colony, on March 16, 1761, to Gamaliel Reynolds and Sarah Hazen.
He enlisted in the spring of 1776 at the age of 15 as a musician. The army used fifes and drums not only to boost morale but also for communication during battle. He served until December of that year in Captain Joshua Huntington’s Company as a part of Colonel Samuel Selden’s Connecticut Regiment and was likely part of the Lexington Alarm. Family tradition states that he fought at Bunker Hill as well.
Reynolds re-enlisted on March 9, 1777, for the duration of the war and served in Captain Jedidiah Hyde’s Company, Colonel John Durkee’s Fourth Regiment, Connecticut Line Troops, formation 1777-81. He was promoted to Sergeant on January 1, 1780.
As a member of the Fourth Regiment, he participated in a number of major battles including the Battle of Long Island where a bullet tore a large half-circle from the top of one ear and he suffered a wound to the leg. Accounts also attribute to his presence at Valley Forge.
While still in service, Reynolds married Mary Morgan on June 1, 1780. They were the parents of at least seven sons.
He was honorably discharged from George Washington’s Army on June 7, 1783, and was “honored with the Badge of Merit for years of faithful service.”
After the war, he was described as a man of “much more than average intelligence; [he was a] judge in New York State and filled other offices with credit”.
Reynolds and his family moved from Connecticut to Broome Township, New York, where he applied for his pension in 1818, and from there to Mentor in September 1820 by way of an ox-team. His Mentor Township farm “near Little Mountain” is now a part of Kirtland Hills.
He later married Mary Van Pool on September 10, 1832.
Reynolds died in Mentor on March 3, 1840, and was buried alongside both wives at Blish Road Cemetery (today’s King Memorial Road) on what is now private property. The inscription on his headstone read: “In memory of John Reynolds Esq., a Revolutionary soldier who entered the Army in the year 1776 and continued in the service of his country during the War. He died March 3, 1840.”
In 1959, a headstone was placed for him in the Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
JACOB TYLER
Jacob Tyler was born in Branford, Connecticut Colony, on October 20, 1760, to Phineas Tyler, 23, and Abigail Harrison, 24.
Tyler enlisted in the Revolutionary War from New Haven, Connecticut, in the spring of 1779 for three months under Captain Mix (of the New Haven Alarm) and Colonel Sabin. He enlisted again in 1781 for six months under Captain Enoch Staples. His third enlistment was for six months in 1782 for six months under same Captain. He later was stationed on the coast as guard, serving as sergeant in Captain Aaron Foot’s company, in Colonel Hooker’s regiment of Connecticut militia.
Tyler married Abi Wheeler on September 11, 1789, in Catskill, NY, and they were the parents of at least three sons and two daughters.
He was listed as a member of the Zion Church Parish in Branford, CT, in 1812.
Tyler applied for a pension in 1834 while residing in Broome, NY, and settled near Little Mountain in 1839. He died in Chardon on February 19, 1847, at the age of 86. He is interred at the Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
EBENEZER WILSON
Ebenezer Wilson was born in Swansea, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on May 16, 1745, to David Willson, 31, and Sarah Eddy, 31. He married Anna Austin on March 29, 1770, with whom he had six children.
Wilson enlisted on December 8, 1776, to serve in an alarm in Rhode Island, in Capt. Robert Crossman’s company, Col. George Williams’ regiment.
He lived in Pittstown, NY in 1800 and in Troy, NY, for about 10 years. He came to Mentor in 1812 after buying a large tract of land.
Legend has it that his son, Samuel, who was stationed in Troy, NY, during the War of 1812 is the “Uncle Sam” of popular parlance.
Wilson died on July 22, 1829, in Willoughby. He is interred at the Mentor Municipal Cemetery.
* * *
The city will dedicate a monument located along the memorial promenade at the Mentor Municipal Cemetery inscribed with the names of our Revolutionary War veterans in late 2026. Each veteran is also being recognized with a day in their honor for their contribution to our nation and our community.
Residents are warmly welcomed to visit their place of final rest at the Mentor Municipal Cemetery with the exception of Benjamin Blish who is interred at Blish Cemetery on Mentor Avenue near Nye Road in Painesville Township.
| NAME | LOCATION |
|---|---|
| Benjamin Blish | 2-1-11 |
| Garritt Brass | 8-63-3 |
| Roger Craine | 2-29-6 |
| Israel Fox | 8-63-4 |
| John Reynolds | 3-88-4 |
| Jacob Tyler | 3-90-1 |
| Ebenezer Wilson | 2-11-1 |