06/13/2026
Samuel Forman of Middletown Point was born on November 13, 1713, married Helena Denyse in 1752, and died 1792 at age 78. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Matawan, and had long been credited by multiple organizations, including the DAR, with service as Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of the Monmouth County Militia during the Revolutionary War.
With at least seven men of the same name living in Monmouth County during the Revolution, the military service of Colonel Samuel Forman had been mistakenly attributed to the Samuel Forman buried in Matawan. We are so proud to finally have his service corrected and a new marker with the correct service was dedicated this past Saturday.
At the time Colonel Samuel Forman was commissioned in 1777, Samuel (1713 - 1792) was already 63 years old, making it unlikely that he was selected for such an active military command. Additionally, “Samuel Forman of Kildare” was the man commissioned as the colonel of the 2nd regiment. Tax records and land advertisements show that this colonel was a resident of Upper Freehold Township.
Samuel Forman (1713 - 1792) was a well-to-do merchant and consistently appears in Middletown Township records. Not only did Samuel pay supply tax, but as the business partner of Patriot John Burrowes, Sr., and head of a family of active Patriots, he was known as an ardent supporter of the Patriot cause. It is an under-appreciated fact that in the raid on the Burrowes Mansion in May 1778, the mills and warehouses burned by the Tories were jointly owned by both Burrowes and Forman. And, in a skirmish in 1779, wounded Patriot soldiers were cared for in the nearby Forman home, which then became known as the “Old Hospital.” That house still stands today on Ravine Drive.
The Forman family was prominent in Monmouth County during the Revolution. As far as we know, all of them sided with the Patriots. The best known was Samuel’s first cousin Gen. David Forman, a member of both the Militia and Continental Army. He was known for his zealous (perhaps overzealous) persecution of the Loyalists.
Samuel’s children were notable. Jonathan, the eldest, born in 1755, served in many battles with Washington, including Valley Forge, Germantown, and Monmouth. Denise, born in 1761, fought at the battle of Germantown and engaged in raids with the British at Sandy Hook. He was taken prisoner with Philip Freneau and incarcerated in the British prison ship Scorpion.
Samuel’s youngest son, was born in 1765 and was too young to fight in the Revolution. However, In his memoir, Samuel S. Forman gives a first-hand account of the depredation his father faced:
“At one time, they made a descent upon the village of Middletown Point. There was a mill at this place, which was well known; and some of these Tory invaders had been employed in the er****on of this mill, and were personally well known to the citizens, and it would appear that their object was, at least, to capture Samuel Forman, if not to kill him. They plundered the houses of the settlement, destroying what they could not carry off, boasting that they had aided in building the mill, and now assisted in kindling the fire in the bolting box to burn it down. Samuel Forman eluded their vigilance, but lost heavily by this invasion, for he owned almost all of one side of Middletown Point, and part of both sides of Main Street.”
It should be noted that, in 1763, Samuel Forman deeded over an acre of land to the Presbyterian church for use as a burial ground. This is the cemetery land in which Samuel is buried.
His story serves as a reminder of the challenges of Revolutionary War research and the importance of carefully distinguishing between individuals with similar names. We are happy to finally have Samuel’s service record correctly identified and dedicate a new marker giving him proper credit for his service.
