Captain Jonathan Pasco

When Jonathan Pasco was born on September 29, 1760 in East Windsor,
George II sat on the throne of England, and the thirteen original colonies –
still under British control – were sixteen years from their independence,
George Washington was 28 years old, and Abraham Lincoln would not be born
for fifty years, America was a new and developing country and Jonathan Pasco
would be part of that development.

In 1776 Jonathan Pasco enlisted in Colonel John Patterson; Massachusetts
regiment. He fought with that regiment in the battle of Trenton, known
as the Christmas campaign, it was an important victory because it renewed
the spirit of the British. The battle was fought in the early morning of
December 25, after the commander-in-chief of all the Continental forces,
George Washington, crossed the Delaware River. They marched to the enemy’s
camp at Trenton and took the Hessians by surprise. Nearly one thousand British
prisoners were captured.

Legend contends that sometime during the Revolutionary War, Pasco and
several other soldiers were captured by the Indians. An unsuccessful escape
attempt was made, resulting in their recapture. As an example, one of the group
was singled out, tortured and skinned alive.

In order to establish his parole not to escape, Pasco was given a pocketbook
made of the tortured victim’s skin and was force to take an Indian woman
for a wife. Pasco eventually did escape and returned to East Windsor. He named
his second daughter Cleons, after his Indian wife. The pocketbook has been
handed down through the generations.

After returning from the Revolutionary War, Captain Pasco constructed his
home at 31 South Main Street in East Windsor. He married a local woman,
Elizabeth Allen, and fathered eleven children while residing there.

Events and happenings occurred, history was made and changed and
Jonathan Pasco’s house continues at 31 South Main Street
moving through the centuries.