Benjamin Tallmadge

1754 - 1835  (81 years)

• Name	Benjamin Tallmadge  [1]
  Nickname	Culper Spy Ring
  Birth	11 Feb 1754	Setauket, Suffolk, New York, British Colonial America
  Gender	Male
  Burial	Mar 1835	East Cemetery, Litchfield, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States
  Death	7 Mar 1835	Litchfield, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States
  Person ID	I1454	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	12 Oct 2024

  
  

  Father	Benjamin Tallmadge, Sr.,   b. 31 Dec 1725, New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States d. 5 Feb 1786, Rye, Westchester, New York, United States (Age 60 years)
  Mother	Susannah Smith,   b. 5 Oct 1729, White Plains, Westchester, New York Colony, British Colonial America d. 21 Apr 1768, Brookhaven, Suffolk, New York Colony, British Colonial America (Age 38 years)
  Marriage	16 May 1750	Rye, Westchester, New York, British Colonial America
  Family ID	F8701	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Mary Floyd,   b. 1764   d. 1805 (Age 41 years)
  Marriage	16 Mar 1784	NY   [1]
  Children	1. Benjamin Tallmadge,   b. 10 Sep 1794, Litchfield Twp,Litchfield,Conneticut d. 20 Jun 1831, Connecticut (Age 36 years)   2. Frederick Augustus Talmadge,   b. 29 Aug 1792, Litchfield, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States d. 17 Sep 1869, Litchfield, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States (Age 77 years)   3. Harriet Wadsworth Tallmadge,   b. 3 Apr 1797, Setauket, Suffolk, New York, United States d. 9 Jul 1856, Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States (Age 59 years)   4. Maria Jones Tallmadge,   b. 25 Mar 1790, Litchfield, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States d. 19 Mar 1878, Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States (Age 87 years)   5. George Washington Talmadge,   b. 13 Sep 1803, Litchfield, Litchfield, Connecticut, United States d. 8 Sep 1835, Warren, Trumbull, Ohio, United States (Age 31 years)
  Family ID	F757	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Mar 2026

  
  

  Family 2	Maria Hallett,   b. 19 Feb 1776, New York, British Colonial America d. 18 Sep 1838, Connecticut, United States (Age 62 years)
  Marriage	4 May 1808	Litchfield, Connecticut, United States
  Family ID	F33541	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Mar 2026

  
  

• Notes

  In December 1778, General George Washington's chief of intelligence—and Culper Ring spymaster Major Benjamin Tallmadge—recruited Jonas Hawkins as a clandestine courier to bring messages to Setauket from New York City, where the group's leader, Abraham Woodhull was gathering information. From there, the coded correspondence could be relatively easily forwarded to Tallmadge.[3] At first, the ring employed just Hawkins in the role, but by early summer, Roe had joined the group as an alternate rider, who would take messages the 55 miles (89 km) between the group's two major centers of operation, Setauket, New York, and New York City.[1] At the time, both cities were occupied by the British.Work as spy [edit] Roe and Hawkins passed the messages from New York City to operative Caleb Brewster on Long Island.[3] Brewster would take them across the Sound to Tallmadge at Fairfield, Connecticut. From there, Tallmadge forwarded the messages to Washington.[4] Roe served the Culper spy ring as a courier by secretly relaying its messages beginning in early 1779. He claimed to be conducting business as a merchant in order to avoid suspicion and pass through the British checkpoints.[3] Roe became the sole dispatch carrier for the ring after July 1779, when Tallmadge gave Roe–but not Hawkins–a code number in his code index.[3] Hawkins increasing paranoia had led him to abandon the mission at that time.[3]In historical records

  
  

• Sources

  [S44] Various, WorldConnect Multiple Databases (RootsWeb.Com. The individual databases at this internet site regularly change, and therefore a reference to a specific database may not be valid at a future date. This general reference to Rootsweb Worldc.