Deborah Sampson was born in the town of Plympton, Massachusetts, on December 17, 1760. She was the oldest of 6 children of Jonathan and Deborah Bradford Sampson, both of old Colonial stock. The elder Deborah was a descendant of William Bradford, once Governor of Plymouth Colony. Her siblings included Jonathan, Elisha, Hannah, Ephraim, Nehemiah, and Sylvia. The family lived in Middleborough, Massachusetts, during her youth. Her family was poor, and when Jonathan Sampson abandoned them, Deborah became an indentured servant. Jonathan Sampson told the family that he was going to England. However, some sources say that Jonathan Sampson instead sailed to Maine and remained there for the rest of his life.
Deborah lived in several different households: first with a spinster, then with the widow of Reverend Peter Thatcher, and finally, in 1770, she ended up an indentured servant of Deacon Jeremiah and Susannah Thomas. There she lived for many years. It was from the age of 8-17.
When she turned eighteen and was released from her indentured servitude with the Thomas family, she became a school teacher.
[edit]Army

In 1778, she felt the need to go on adventures and to explore the world so she enlisted in the army as a Continental soldier. In that day and age, women were not allowed to enlist, so she disguised herself as a man. She had little trouble doing this, since she was tall and educated. Even her own mother failed to recognize her while she was disguised as a man. In disguise, the local recruiting office enlisted her under the name of "Robert Shurtliff" of Carver. Because of the notable manner in which she held a quill pen, she may have been recognized and did not report the next day for service. On May 20, 1782, she tried again, this time successfully enlisting in the army on the master of Master Noah Taft of Uxbridge, under the name of her deceased brother, Robert