David Janes (1762-1848) was born in 1762, a descendant of William Bradford III, the first Governor of the Plymouth Colony. In the spring of 1783, at age 20, David enlisted at Brimfield, Massachusetts. He served for a year in Captain Killom's Company of Colonel Rufus Putnam's Fifth Massachusetts of the Continental Line. Jane's service was in time for him to guard the 7,247 soldiers and 840 sailors taken prisoner at the British surrender at Yorktown. He then transferred to Colonel Joseph Vorst's Regiment, also of the Continental Line. He was discharged at Philadelphia in October or November 1783, after the signing of the September 3, 1783 peace treaty.

In 1843, David Janes certified before a Milwaukee Justice of the Peace that he intended to spend his remaining years with his son, Lewis, in Walworth County. He died in LaGrange Township on September 29, 1848, at age 86. Janes is buried in the little Prairie Cemetery, located in Section 6, Town of Troy, Little Prairie, Walworth County.

To locate the Janes grave from Madison, take I-94 east to the Highway 67 exit to Dousman. Turn south and go about 15 miles to a wide spot in the road, called Little Prairie, and just after the curve in the town, turn east one block. A Methodist church is on the south side and he cemetery on the north side. Janes' grave is in about 30 yards on the right.

GPS coordinates -- N42.83655°; W087.95383°

(Portions reprinted from Solders of the American Revolution Buried in Wisconsin by Robert G. Carroon, who was Curator of Research Collections for the Milwaukee Country Historical Society in 1975.)