Robert Magaw
Encyclopedia
Robert Magaw was a lawyer from Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...

 who served as a colonel in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

Robert was born in Philadelphia, PA, in 1738. (His parents, William and Edward Magaw, had earlier migrated from Strabane, County Tyrone, Ireland, to the eastern shore of Maryland.) He later settled in Carlisle, PA, and practiced law there. His brother was the Rev. Samuel Magaw
Samuel Magaw
Samuel Magaw was a clergyman and educator from Pennsylvania. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society and served as Vice Provost of the University of Pennsylvania ....

. Robert Magaw served several years in the militia, and when the war broke out he was made a colonel in command of the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion.

During the New York campaign he was in command of the American garrison at Fort Washington
Fort Washington
Fort Washington may refer to:In the United States:* In California:** Fort Washington, California, census-designated place* In Maryland:** Fort Washington, Maryland, census-designated place...

. He was forced to surrender it, and became a prisoner on November 16, 1776. Based on his parole he was set at liberty in New York City, but could not leave the city until he was exchanged. This did not happen until October of 1780.

While a prisoner on parole, Magaw met and courted Marritje Van Brunt (1762-1803) of Kings County, New York. They married in April 1779, and would later have two children. After he was exchanged, he returned home to New Carlisle and continued his law practice. He served two years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1781-1782) and was for many years a trustee of Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...

. He died at home in Carlisle on January 7, 1790. After his death, Marritje returned to New York to live with their son, Robert Van Brunt Magaw, at Gravesend.
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