Using the ABC method described in Using Artificial Intelligence In the Ancestor Biography Creation (ABC) Process, here is another ancestor couple biography using the Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 AI tool.
3) The Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 biography (lightly edited) is:
The Life and Legacy of Isaac Buck (1757-1846)
Revolutionary War Veteran and Massachusetts Pioneer
Early Life and Unusual Beginnings
Isaac Buck entered the world on September 27, 1757, in Southborough, Massachusetts, under circumstances that marked him as different from the very start. His birth was recorded with a notation that would follow him throughout his life: he was born to Mary Richards, an unmarried woman, and was "reputed by her to be a son of Isaac Buck." In an era when such situations carried significant social stigma, this unconventional beginning shaped Isaac's early years.
Young Isaac likely spent his childhood in the household of his maternal grandparents, Joseph and Mary Richards, raised alongside his mother Mary, who had been born to the Richards family in 1733. This extended family arrangement provided stability during his formative years in Southborough.
When Isaac was about seventeen years old, his life took another turn. His mother Mary married John Phillips, a widower from Shrewsbury, in 1774. Isaac presumably moved with his mother to Shrewsbury, joining a blended household that included Phillips's four children from his first marriage to Hannah Brown. Among these step-siblings was Martha "Patty" Phillips, who would later become a central figure in Isaac's own story.
A Young Patriot in the Revolution
The drums of revolution were beating across Massachusetts when Isaac Buck, barely eighteen years old, answered the call to serve his country. His military service during the Revolutionary War was both extensive and varied, spanning nearly the entire conflict and taking him through multiple roles in the Continental Army.
In 1775, young Isaac joined Captain Benjamin Hastings' company of Bolton, serving under Colonel Asa Whitcomb's regiment. The following year, 1776, found him in a specialized role as a matross in Captain James Swan's company, Colonel James Craft's regiment. A matross was a private soldier who performed the dangerous and physically demanding work of assisting artillery gunners -- loading, firing, and sponging the great guns that thundered across Revolutionary battlefields.
Isaac's service continued through 1776-1777 in Captain Philip Marett's company, and in 1778 he served in Captain John Houghton's company under Colonel Josiah Whitney's regiment. He also saw action with Captain Zebedee Redding's company in the 14th regiment, serving among the Bolton Continental Soldiers from 1777 to 1779 under Colonel Gamaliel Bradford.
Perhaps his most significant service came in 1780 and 1781, when he served in Captain Thomas Jackson's artillery company, part of Colonel John Crane's Third Artillery regiment, under the overall command of General Henry Knox. According to his own later testimony, Isaac entered the Continental establishment in December 1779 and served continuously until June 1783, when the army was disbanded at West Point. He served as a private throughout the war, witnessing the final triumph of American independence after years of hardship and sacrifice.
Marriage and Family Life
On May 18, 1780, during a brief respite from his military duties, Isaac Buck married Martha "Patty" Phillips in Lancaster, Massachusetts. The ceremony was performed by Reverend Reuben Holcomb. Patty was Isaac's stepsister, the daughter of John Phillips by his first wife, Hannah Brown. This marriage united two young people who had shared a household during Isaac's teenage years, and it would prove to be a lasting partnership.
Isaac and Martha established their family life in the Worcester County communities of Sterling, West Boylston and Holden, moving between these neighboring towns as Isaac pursued his occupation as a farmer. Between 1782 and 1810, Martha gave birth to nine children, creating a bustling household that reflected the couple's deep roots in central Massachusetts:
- Polly Buck (born about 1782, probably in Sterling) married Moses Davis on April 20, 1803, in West Boylston. She and Moses had eight children together. Polly's life took her far from her Massachusetts origins -- she died on June 14, 1863, in Cambridge, Lamoille County, Vermont, having lived through more than eight decades of American history.
- Silas Buck (born April 16, 1784, in Sterling) followed in his father's footsteps as a farmer, but also became skilled as a carpenter and millwright. He married Deborah Beaman on April 18, 1810, in Sterling, and they had nine children together. After Deborah's death, Silas married Mary Boynton on November 28, 1831, in Winchendon. He died on September 27, 1863, in West Boylston -- exactly seventy-nine years to the day after his birth, and on what would have been his father's 106th birthday.
- Martha Buck (born December 2, 1787, in West Boylston) married John Peirce on March 2, 1815, in Holden. They had seven children and Martha lived a long life, passing away on November 29, 1872, in Springfield, Hampden County, at the age of eighty-four.
- Pliny Buck (born December 8, 1790, in Sterling) married Betsey Perry on November 29, 1815, in Holden. They had ten children -- the largest family among Isaac's descendants. Pliny died on March 12, 1874, in West Boylston, having lived eighty-three years.
- Sally Buck (born about 1794, probably in Sterling) married Jesse Amsden on May 31, 1815, in West Boylston. Unlike her siblings, Sally and Jesse had no children.
- Sophia Buck (born May 3, 1797, in Holden) had the most eventful marital history of Isaac's children. She first married Lambert Brigham on February 12, 1817, in Sterling, and they had three children. After Lambert's death, she married Thomas J. Newton around 1835, probably in Springfield, Vermont, and they had one child. Sophia married a third time to Jonathan Stone on July 17, 1862, in Westborough. She died on January 6, 1882, in Westborough, at the age of eighty-four.
- Dennis Buck (born March 18, 1802, in Sterling) married Isabella Colburn on August 26, 1843, in West Boylston, and they had five children. After Isabella's death, he married Maria Harwood on July 29, 1854, in Worcester. Dennis died on May 23, 1873, in West Boylston.
- Isaac Buck Jr. (born March 4, 1808, in Sterling) carried on his father's name. He married Sylvia Ann Hosmer on November 18, 1830, in Sterling, and they had two children. Isaac Jr. died on May 10, 1871, in Leominster.
- Leander Howe Buck (born September 15, 1810, in Sterling) was the youngest of Isaac and Martha's children.
Life After the War
The post-Revolutionary years brought both the joys of family and the struggles of frontier farming life. The 1790 census found Isaac Buck in Sterling with a household that included one male over sixteen (himself), three males under sixteen, and three females -- a snapshot of his growing young family.
By 1810, the household had evolved considerably. The census recorded two males aged 0-10, one male aged 10 to 16, Isaac himself (now over 45), one female age 10-16, one female aged 16 to 26, and Martha (also over 45). This census captures the Buck family in the midst of their child-rearing years, with children ranging from very young to young adults. Two children had married by 1810.
The Struggle of Later Years
As Isaac grew older, the hardships of his early life and years of military service began to take their toll. On April 8, 1818, at the age of sixty, Isaac applied for a Revolutionary War pension in Worcester County. His application paints a poignant picture of a aging veteran fallen on hard times.
Isaac testified that he had entered Continental service in December 1779 and served continuously as a private in Captain Jackson's artillery company of Colonel Crane's regiment under General Knox until the army disbanded at West Point in June 1783. He noted sadly that his discharge papers had been "lost from my pocket many years since and is not in existence."
The pension was granted at eight dollars per month -- a modest sum, but vital for Isaac's survival. The 1820 pension file provides a detailed glimpse into the family's circumstances. At that time, Isaac and Martha were both sixty years old, with their son Isaac Jr., then fourteen, as their only child still living at home.
The inventory of Isaac's property tells the story of a man living in genuine poverty: one cow, one clock, one table, one looking glass, one chest, a shovel, tongs, crockery, glass stemware, an old axe, a hoe, an old plough, an old wagon, a pot, a kettle, a pair of andirons, three old chairs, six knives and forks -- total value just $30.25.
Isaac's statement to the pension board reveals the depth of his struggle: "The said applicant is a farmer, but wholly unable to labour the present season on account of a wound in his shoulder in May last - and never expects to perform much labour hereafter. His wife named Patty Buck is aged 60 years - is barely able to do the work of her house."
The 1820 census confirms this household of aging parents with a teenage son at home and one additional female over 45 -- possibly an older daughter or relative assisting the elderly couple.
Final Years
Martha Phillips Buck, Isaac's faithful companion through more than four decades of marriage, appears to have died sometime after 1820 and before 1830, though no death or burial record has been found. She simply vanishes from the census records, leaving Isaac to face his final years as a widower.
The 1830 census shows Isaac, now aged 70-80, living in a household that included a male aged 30-40 (likely his son Isaac Jr. or another son), a female aged 5-10, another aged 10-15, and a female aged 30-40 -- suggesting he was cared for by family members in his declining years.
By 1840, Isaac was eighty-three years old. While he no longer appeared as a named household head in the census, he was specially noted in the list of Revolutionary War veterans residing in Sterling -- a recognition of his service to his country more than half a century earlier.
Isaac Buck died on February 7, 1846, in Sterling, Massachusetts, at the remarkable age of eighty-eight years, four months, and eleven days. The cause of death was simply recorded as "old age." His death certificate noted his status as a "Revolutionary Pensioner" but also included the sad annotation "Illegitimate" -- the stigma of his birth following him even to his grave.
He was buried in Legg Cemetery in Sterling, under a tree in the left front of the graveyard. His gravestone bears a simple inscription befitting a soldier:
Isaac Buck12 MassRegtRev. War
The Sons of the American Revolution later placed a commemorative placard at his grave, honoring his service in the fight for independence. Notably, there is no gravestone for his wife Martha -- her final resting place remains unmarked and unknown.
Legacy
Isaac Buck's life spanned nearly nine decades of American history. Born in colonial Massachusetts before the Revolution, he lived to see the young republic he had fought for mature into a growing nation. He witnessed the presidencies of George Washington through John Tyler, saw the Louisiana Purchase double the nation's size, and lived through the War of 1812.
His descendants spread throughout Massachusetts and beyond, with his children and grandchildren settling in Vermont and across New England. Through families bearing names like Davis, Beaman, Peirce, Perry, Amsden, Brigham, Newton, Stone, Colburn, Harwood, and Hosmer, Isaac's legacy continued -- a testament to the Revolutionary War veteran who overcame the stigma of illegitimacy to build a substantial family and serve his country with honor.
No probate records exist for Isaac or Martha Buck, suggesting they died with little material wealth to pass on. But their true inheritance was not measured in property or possessions -- it was found in the nine children they raised, the dozens of grandchildren who followed, and the knowledge that Isaac had stood among those who secured American independence.
Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.
Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver
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