Lois Devereux, War of 1812 heroine

Stories of females in my family history are more recent and very rare in from the 1700 and early 1800s.  I feel lucky when I find the surnames of my female ancestors.  Often I only have the male ancestor's name and apparently recorded history would have me  believe he had children and raised his family without a wife as there is no mention of even her first name.

In researching my great-great-grandmother's family, I did find interesting story of a female ancestor's bravery in during the War of 1812.  Her name was Lois Ingerson Hibbert.  Lois was born  in Manchester, Massachusetts on January 23, 1747, the daughter of Joseph and Lois (Ingersoll) Hibbert.  She was obviously named after her mother, but the name of Ingersoll being corrupted  to Ingerson.  She married Ralph Devereux on September 12, 1765 in Manchester.  In 1775 she came to district of Maine and settled in what is now Penobscot, Maine.  Her husband as well as her father served in the American Revolution. Her husband serving in the Penobscot Militia.   Lois had ten children with her husband between 1767 and 1785.

During the War of 1812, the British attempted to conquer Maine and remake it into the colony of New Ireland.

Major John Sherbrooke, Governor
of Nova Scotia led the British expedition in Maine

In August 1814 a British squadron sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia down the coast of Maine capturing settlements and towns along the coast.  On September 1, 1814, the British fleet entered Castine Harbor.  The local militia melted away at the sight of the British force, blew up their magazine and moved to North.  The British now had control of Maine, east of the Penobscot River which became the new International Boundary.

The British started invading the private homes, to search for American soldiers, their weapons and ammunition.  Inside the Devereux home there was a closet in which four kegs of powder had been stored by the American soldiers.  Mrs. Devereux put her ironing board against the closet door and ironed during the time while the British searched their house.  She was about 65 years old at the time, and the enemy soldiers thought it was be disrespectful to make the old woman move so they could look in the closet behind her.  Thus she saved ammunition for American soldiers.  

From the Fall of 1814 to the Spring of 1815, the British occupied the area of Castine.  On April 25, 1815, the British evacuated Castine and with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, the British gave up their claims on Maine.

Sadly, Lois again is lost to history as there is no record of her death or grave marker for her burial.  Only her husband has a gravestone in the Devereux Family Cemetery.  But to the quick thinking of Lois Devereux, she saved valuable ammunition for the American soldiers and became a local legend in the area and family history lore.