Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Olney, Jeremiah

OLNEY, Jeremiah, soldier, b. in Providence, R. I., in 1750; d. there, 10 Nov., 1812. His ancestor, the Rev. Thomas Olney, was a founder of the Baptist church in this country. He joined the patriot army at the beginning of the Revolution as lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Rhode Island regiment, and was subsequently colonel and frequently chief officer of the state forces. He also participated in the battles of Red Bank, Springfield, Monmouth, and Yorktown. After the war he was collector of customs at Providence for many years, and was president of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati. — His brother, Stephen, soldier, b. in North Providence, R. I., in October, 1755; d. there, 23 Nov., 1832, entered the Revolutionary army in 1775 as a lieutenant, participated in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, was in the Jersey retreat, wounded at Springfield, and promoted captain for his gallant defence of Red Bank. He was then detached to join Lafayette, and served with him at Yorktown, where he was active in the capture of a British redoubt, and received several bayonet wounds. He subsequently represented North Providence in the legislature for twenty years, besides holding town offices. See “Lives of Barton and Olney,” by Catherine Williams (Providence, R. I., 1839).