Daniel Broadhead was one of the unsung heroes of the Revolutionary War. Born in Ulster County and reared in Pennsylvania, he was commissioned as a Lt. Colonel in the Pennsylvania State Rifle Regiment, and fought in the disastrous Battle of Long Island, where he was recognized for his bravery and leadership by George Washington himself.

He commanded Fort Pitt for a time, and led a successful expedition against the Lenape at Coshocton, in what is now Ohio. It was a brutal campaign, and it left the Native Americans vowing to seek vengeance.

Eventually breveted by George Washington to the rank of General, at the war’s end Brodhead retired to Milford, PA, and served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He became Surveyor General of the state, and held the position for 11 years. In 1783, he was one of the founders of the Society of the Cincinnati, a fraternal, hereditary society whose membership is restricted to descendants of military officers who served in the Continental Army.

Although Daniel Brodhead likely never set foot in the area that would eventually become Sullivan County, his legacy includes a significant contribution to the county’s history, as well.

One of General Brodhead’s grandsons, William Franklin Brodhead, was the first Supervisor of the Town of Forestburgh upon its creation in 1837, and another grandson, Daniel Mifflin Brodhead, would serve as Supervisor of both the Town of Forestburgh (1846 – 1850) and the Town of Bethel (1858 – 1859), one of just a few men to have been elected Supervisor of more than one town in the County’s history.

Both of the Sullivan County Brodheads were successful businessmen as well as elected officials and were living examples of Abraham Lincoln’s famous advisory that “you have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

“The Brodheads were natives of Milford, Pennsylvania, and claimed a distinguished ancestry,” James Eldridge Quinlan wrote in his 1873 “History of Sullivan County.”

“Their father was Daniel Brodhead, at one time Surveyor-general of the Keystone State, and their grandfather was General Daniel Brodhead of the Revolution. In early life Daniel M. removed to Philadelphia, where he was a lawyer of acknowledged ability; but was obliged to relinquish his profession on account of a defect in his vocal organs. Being ambitious, he turned his attention to politics and became a leading democratic politician. He was advanced from position to position until he was chosen Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; but ultimately lost the confidence of his party by favoring one of the financial schemes of Nicholas Biddle.”

Biddle served with Brodhead in the Pennsylvania Assembly, and became heavily involved in the banking industry. It was in his tenure as the president of the Second National Bank that he ran afoul of U.S. President Andrew Jackson, who refused to renew the bank’s charter. Subsequently, and unrelated to the charter controversy, Biddle was indicted on fraud charges in connection with his operation of the bank, and although the charges were later dropped, he was plagued by civil lawsuits for the rest of his life. Many of his friends and colleagues, including Brodhead, were tarnished by their association with him.

Although Quinlan doesn’t mention it, while practicing law in Philadelphia, Brodhead had also owned and operated the American Sentinel, a leading Democratic newspaper of the day. He was acquainted with numerous men of influence, including Martin Van Buren.

“In May, 1842, he removed to Forestburgh, and subsequently to Black Lake, in the town of Bethel,” Quinlan wrote. “At both places he engaged largely in the lumber business, and for many years was prominent as a local politician. He was remarkable for suavity of demeanor.”

One of Daniel M. Brodhead’s sons, Daniel M. Brodhead, Jr. was an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, and was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia in May of 1864. According to several sources, including Quinlan, it was largely the grief over his son’s death that led to the elder Brodhead’s death less than five months later.

Daniel M. Brodhead is buried in Port Jervis.

William F. Brodhead had preceded his brother to Sullivan County by several years and was successfully engaged in business in the area when the town of Forestburgh was formed from Thompson and Mamakating in 1837.

Quinlan notes that in addition to being chosen as the town’s initial Supervisor, he “was twice a Member of Assembly from Sullivan. Although of respectable attainments, he was not the equal of Daniel M. in ability. Frank, as his friends loved to call him, was of excellent repute, and died with an untarnished character.”

The Brodhead family continued to contribute to society in succeeding generations, and it was not a family trait to capitalize on the attainments of their ancestors, as lofty as they might be.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.