David Dutcher was born in 1758 in Hopewell, Dutchess, NY, the son of William Dutcher and Elizabeth Brevoort. David is #344 in Griffin's 1910 Dutcher list. David married Helena Freer, born in 1753 in Poughkeepsie, daughter of Abraham Freer and Lena Van der Bogart. Their son Helemus is the William Dutcher married to Nicena Warren and is my husband's ancestor.

David Dutcher and Helena Freer had the following children:

Notes:

• Several sources have “Helena” as the child born 22 Mar 1787. The original baptismal record, available on microfilm, clearly says “Helemus,” short for Wilhelmus, which is Dutch for William.
• Poughkeepsie newspaper reports (Helena), "wife of David Dutcher," died of consumption May 30, 1804.
• David Dutcher census records: Poughkeepsie 1790 and 1800; Catskill 1810 and 1817.
• David Dutcher joined Catskill Baptist church in 1807; married Deborah, a widow with children, before 1810. Deborah joined Catskill Baptist Church in 1811.
• David Dutcher died in 1818; Deborah removed from the church (or died) in 1819.
• The names and namesakes of the first four children of William and Nicena are:

• Deborah – William’s stepmother

• Helen – William’s mother

• Rachel – Nicena’s mother

• David – William’s father

• In 1852, William’s daughter Parthena wrote a letter to her sister Helen in Pennsylvania, responding to Helen’s request to know when she was born. Parthena wrote the birthdates of the family members, copied from “Father’s familey record.” The family record, which includes William’s birthdate of “March the 21 1786,” was probably started at the time he married Nicena if not later. As noted in the letter, even one’s own date of birth was not necessarily known in those days.
• There are two David Dutchers in the Poughkeepsie RDC. David Dutcher was baptized in 1791, the 7-month old son of David Dutcher and Helenah Frair. David D. Dutcher became a church member Jan 12 1815 and was born Mar 15 1792. The table above presents them as the same person, but birthdates and middle initial make it suspect. This, along with the other suppositions regarding David and Helena's son David, needs to be further investigated.