Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 7478, for Noah Shirtliff, Connecticut
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SERVICE   Conn.
New York
Shirtliff, Noah
NUMBER  S. 7478
carded
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25.970
Ohio Pittsburgh Agency
Noah Shirtliff 
of Portage Co.  in the State of  Ohio  who was a  Pri. in the Company commanded by Captain  Wells of the  Regt  commanded by Col McClelland   in the N. York*  line for 7 Mo Pri  $23.33
*N. Y. and Conn 
Records Completed Aug 12 / 04  P.A.
Inscribed on the Roll of Ohio. at the rate of  23   Dollars 33 Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.  
Certificate of Pension issued the 30th day of July ’34 and Sent to Pensioner, Franklin Ohio 
Arrears to the 4th of Mch ’34   70.00 
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sep. 11.66  ½ 
$81.66
{Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832. } 
Recorded by J. T. Sprague  Clerk, 
Book E. Vol.  8   Page 128  
Certificate ret’d [returned] as a dead letter 6 March 1835 and sent to Cyrus Prentiss Esqr Ravenna, Portage Co., Ohio.  
Sent 11 March ’35 to Hon J. Sloane
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Found on record in the agreement in my Fathers old Book dated in year 1777 agreement made betwixt my brother Leonard Rogers and Noah Shirtliff  for the inlistment in the United States Servis for three years the said Leonard, was to serve the first half of his inlistment and Noah Shirtliff to serve the last half of three years and that are to serve for the Classing of Hartford Rigment so called the name of the Class N6  
Attest a true copy of my Fathers record
Mount Vernon Tulare Court
December AD 1829 
Brier Brenton 
Geear Simons
Jabiz Rogers
Daniel Smith
A Swift
Jabiz Rogers
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Noah Shirtliff
Pension Application
459
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The State of Ohio 
Portage County ss.}   On this fifteenth day of September AD. 1832. Personally appeared before me George B De Peyster one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of said County, Noah Shirtliff a resident of Franklin Township in said County aged 72 years who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7. 1832.   
I was born in the year 1760 in Chatham Hartford County Connecticut, (now called Middletown) moved to Hartford in 1774 I think.  In May 1777 I went to Hoosack in the State of New York, to work for a man by the name of Pain, said Pain was drafted as a militia man, and I turned out as his substitute under Ensign McRouse or McRose, and joined the Brigade under General Arnold, and was in the engagements under him. The company being mostly killed and disabled, I was transferred to Capt Smith company under the command of General Gates and was in two engagements before Genl Burgoin [Burgoyne] Surrendered.   I was disbanded in November 1777 and returned to Hartford County Connecticut.   
In the year 1776 or beginning of 1777. A class furnished a Continental Soldier for three years. One Leonard Rodgers enlisted and served by agreement one half of the time, in Captain Bissels Company, Colonel Seymours Regiment from Hartford County Connt  - And then by agreement I took his place at White plains in November of the year 1778.  I served as orderly Sergeant, and in 1780 I was
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sent to Charlestown in South Carolina, that the place being taken before I arrived, then I was ordered back to White Plains and was discharged by Lieutenant Trawl in the absence of the Captain.   I always drew my cloathing for the continental stores in the spring and fall, and drew my Gun and cartridge box when I joined the Army. In October 1781 I went in the Militia under Capt. Wells to Groton, Connt served as orderly sergeant  and served two months, after that time I enlisted for one year as a Sergeant in Capt. Latham Company, Col McClellans Regiment was sent of Connecticut State Troops and was sent to Stoney point in a repel to guard some prisoners into Groton that were taken by Privateers, and while we had the prisoners in charge we were taken by the privateers, had my shoulder broken in the skirmish and was sent into New York and kept there as a prisoner six weeks.   When I was exchanged, returned to Groton Connt and was discharged by Capt Latham in the year 1782 as near as I can recollect, the said discharge was handed to the Hon. Elisha Whittling Member of Congress and I suppose the same is now in the War offices.  I reside in Franklin Portage County, Ohio - Have served the United States as a soldier three years and one month;  two years and eight months of said time I served as orderly Sergeant.   I hereby relinquish every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity except the present, and I declare that my name is not on the pension roll of any agency in any State.  
Noah Shirtliff 
Subscribed and sworn to this 17th day of September AD. 1832 Before me 
Geo  B De Peyster Assoc. Judge
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We George Sheldon a Clergyman residing in the Township of Franklin in the County of Porter and State of Ohio, and Dudley Williams and George Haymaker,  Farmers, residing in the same place hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Noah Shirtliff who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be 72 years  of age, that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.   
George Sheldon 
George Haymaker 
Dudley Williams 
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid  Geo B. De Peyster Assoc Judge 
I certify that the foregoing declaration and the affidavit of Geo. Sheldon and others were again sworn to 
I certify that the foregoing declaration was again sworn to in open Court in Court of Common Pleas of the County of Portage aforesaid this sixteenth day of October A.D. 1832. Geo. Kirkum Clerk 
The State of Ohio 
Portage County ss }  I, George Kirkum, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for said County do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original procedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Noah Shirtliff for a pension. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this seventeenth day of October Anno Domini one thousand Eight hundred and thirty two 
Geo Kirkum Clerk
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459
Noah Shirtliff
Portage Co. Ohio
From 1777 for 7 Months
[unreadable] on N.Y. Roll
$23 33/100
Allow as above.  See letter from ‘77
Pensioner 
Franklin
Portage Co Ohio
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WAR DEPARTMENT 
Pension Office, 
Sir. 
The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has been examined, and the papers are herewith returned. The following is a statement of your case in a tabular form. On comparing these papers with the following rules and the subjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed before a pension can be allowed. the notes and the regulations will shew what is necessary to be done. Those points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you will find marked in the margin with a brace, (thus: }). You will, when you return your papers to this Department, send this printed letter with them; and you will, by complying with this request greatly facilitate the investigation of your claim. 
A Statement, showing the Service of   Noah Shirtliff, Portage Co., Ohio
Period when the service was rendered.  1777   Duration of Claimant’s Service.  5 Months 21 Days    Rank of claimant.  Pri   Names and rank of the Officers under whom he served.  Genl Arnold, Genl Gates, Capt Smith  Age at present and place of abode when he entered the service.   72 Years, Hoosack N. York  Proof by which the declaration is supported.  Traditionary.  Supposes his discharge is in the war office.
Period when the service was rendered.  Nov 1778   Duration of Claimant’s Service.  +   Rank of claimant.    Names and rank of the Officers under whom he served.   Col. Seymour, Capt Bissel    Period when the service was rendered.  Oct 1781   Duration of Claimant’s Service.  2 Months   Rank of claimant.  Pri   Names and rank of the Officers under whom he served.  Capt Wells, Col. McClellan, Capt Latham   
I am respectfully 
Your obedient servant 
JAMES L. EDWARDS, 
Commissioner of Pensions.
+ See applicants letter dated June 2, 1834
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REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832.            
The following regulations have been adopted:                  
This law has been construed to extend, as well to the line, as to every branch of the Staff of the Army, and to include under the terms "Continental Line," "State troops," "militia," and "volunteers," all persons enlisted, drafted, or who volunteered and who were bound to military service, but not those who were occasionally employed with the army upon civil contracts, such as Clerks to Commissaries and to Store Keepers, &c. Teamsters, Boatmen, &c. Persons who served on board of Private Armed Vessels are also excluded from the benefits of the law, as well as persons who turned out as patrols, or were engaged in guarding particular places at night, and were not recognized as being in actual military service.              
Four general classes of cases are embraced in this law:  
1. The Regular Troops.  
2. The State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers.    
3. Persons employed in the Naval service.             
4. Indian Spies.                 
As rolls of the regular troops in the Revolutionary War exist in this Department, all persons, claiming the benefit of this law as officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians or privates, will in the first in stance, make application by transmitting the following declaration, which will be made before a Court of Record of the County where such applicant resides. And every Court having by law a seal and Clerk is considered a Court of Record.             
DECLARATION.                        
In order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of the 7th of June, 1832.           
State, Territory, or District of 
County of } ss.
On this day of A.B. a resident (b) of personally appeared (a) before in the county of and State, Territory or District years, who being first duly sworn, according to law, doth on his oath make the in the benefit of the provision made by the act of Congress, passed June 7th, 1832. That he enlisted in the Army of the United States in the year (d) served in the (e) regiment of the line, under the following named officers:    
[Here set forth the names and rank of the Field and Company Officers; the time he left the service; (and if he served under more than one term of enlistment, he must specify the particular period, and rank and names of his officers;) the town or county and State in which he resided when he entered the service; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country through which he marched. This form is to be varied so as to apply to the cases of officers and persons who belonged to the militia, volunteers, navy, &c.]            
He hereby relinquishes every claim (f) whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of any Agency in any State, or (if any) only that of Agency in the State of    
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. A. B. 
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]            
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion (g) that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states. 
I of the Court of hereby certify (h) that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of for a pension.               
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office (i) this day of & c.            
If, on examination of the proper record the names of applicants, making such declaration, cannot be found, they will produce such proof as the rule given in note (j) points out.          
Every applicant who claims a pension by virtue of service in the State Troops, Volunteers or Militia, except those who belonged to the New Hampshire Militia and State Troops of Virginia, will make and subscribe a declaration similar to the foregoing, with the following additions, viz: (k) We, A. B., a Clergyman, residing in the hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be and C.D. residing in (the same) who has years of age; that he is reputed and believed, in the neighborhood where he resides, to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.                 
Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.                 
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]     
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certifies, that it appears to them that A. B. who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, resident in the and that C.D., who has also signed the same is a resident in the and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.               
I, Clerk of the Court of contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of for a pension. do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this day of & c.         
Every applicant will produce the best proof in his power. This is the original discharge or commission ; but if neither of these can be obtained, the party will so state under oath, and will then procure, if possible, the testimony of at least one credible witness, stating in detail his personal knowledge of the services of the applicant, and such circumstances connected therewith, as may have a tendency to throw light upon the transaction.            
If such surviving witness cannot be found, the applicant will so state in his declaration (l) and he will also, whether he produce such evidence or not, proceed to relate all the material facts, which can be useful in the investigation of his claim, and in the comparison of his narrative with the events of the period of his
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alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person be indispensable to a favorable action upon his case. The facts stated will afford one of the principal means of corroborating the declaration of the applicant, if true, or of detecting the imposition, if one be attempted ; and unless, therefore, these are amply and clearly set forth, no favorable decision can be expected. All applicants will appear before some Court of Record in the County, in which they reside, and there subscribe and be sworn to, one of the declarations above provided, according to the nature of his case.            
The Court will propound the following (m) interrogatories to all applicants for a pension, on account of service in the Militia, State troops, or Volunteers, except the Militia of New Hampshire and the State troops of Virginia.    
1. Where and in what year were you born?                
2. Have you any record of your age, and if so, where is it?          
3. Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary war , and where do you now live?               
4. How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? And if a substitute, for whom?              
5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers, who were with the troops, where you served; such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your services.           
6. To a Soldier. { Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given and what has become of it? 
To an Officer. {Did you ever receive a commission, and if so, by whom was it signed, and what Town officer has become of it?              
7. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character for veracity, and their belief of your services as a soldier of the Revolution.                 
The Court will see that he answers to these questions are embodied in the declaration, and they are requested to annex their opinions of the truth of the statement of the applicant.         
The applicant will further produce in Court, if the same can be done, in the opinion of the Court, without too much expense and inconvenience to him, two respectable persons -one of whom should be the nearest clergyman, if one lives in the immediate vicinity of such applicant, who can testify, from their acquaintance with him, that they believe he is of the age he represents, and that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood to have been a Revolutionary soldier, and that they concur in that opinion. one of these persons is a Clergyman, the Court will so certify, and they will also certify, to the character and standing of other persons, giving such certificates. 
The traditionary evidence of service is deemed very important, in the absence of any direct proof, except the declaration of the party. And the Courts are requested to be very particular in the enquiry whether the belief is general, and whether any doubts have ever existed upon the subject     
Applicants unable to appear in Court by reason of bodily infirmity, may make the declaration before required, and submit to the examination, before a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record of the proper county, and the Judge or Justice will execute the duties, which the Court is herein requested to perform, and will also certify that the applicant cannot, from bodily infirmity, attend the Court.        
Whenever any official act is required to be done by a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or by a Justice of the peace, the certificate of the Secretary of State or Territory, or of the proper Clerk of the Court or County, under his seal of office, will be annexed, stating that such person Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that the signature annexed his genuine signature.          
No payments can be made on account of the services of any person, who may have died before the taking effect of the act of June 7, 1832; and in case of death subsequent thereto, and before declaration herein required is made, the parties interested will transmit such evidence as they can cure, taken and authenticated before a Court of Record, showing the services of the deceased, the person of his death, the opinion of the neighborhood respecting such services, the title of the claimant, and the opinion of the Court upon the whole matter.        
[a] The declarant must appear in open Court, unless prevented from doing so by reason of bodily infirmity; in which case the declarant will follow the rule laid down for his guidance.    
[b]   The declarant must make his declaration in the county where he resides. If he should fail to do so, he must assign a sufficient reason for not conforming to the rule.     
[c] The age of the claimant must invariably be mentioned.    
[d]  The declarant must mention the period or periods of the war when he served. 
[e]  Every continental officer or soldier must give the name of the Colonel under whom he served; otherwise a satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had.        
Every claimant must state, with precision, the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the Department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words: 
"Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service; but, according to the best of his recollection, he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades:--For---year - months , and days , I served as a - months and --- days, I served as and for such service I claim a pension."   
It is important, in all cases, to determine with precision the period for which each applicant served, and the particular rank he held the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or four months, is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions merely state that they served two in the militia, &c. without specifying the tours, the names of the officers, and other particulars respecting their service. This form of a declaration is highly objectionable. It must, in every case, be clearly shown under what officers the applicant served; the duration of each term of engagement; the particular place or places where the service was performed; that the applicant served with an embodied corps called into service by competent authority ; that he was either in the field or in garrison; and for the time during which the service was performed, he was not employed in any civil pursuit.    
[f]  The law makes the relinquishment indispensable. 
[g]  The opinion of the Court is always required.  
[h]  The Clerk must give his certificate in every case. 
[i]  The Clerk must affix his seal, and if it has no device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal, or if he has no public seal of office, the certificate of a Member of Congress, proving the official character and signature of the certifying officer, should accompany the papers.               
Mode of authenticating papers.              
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticates the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other papers authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the ends of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.         
Proof of Service.         
[j]  In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimant's entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office. 
The notes from [a] to [i] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops, The proof required by rule in note [j]  applies to continental troops only.     
[k]  This traditionary evidence is indispensable in militia cases. 
[l] If a witness cannot be found, the declarant must state the fact. 
[m] The answers to the interrogatories must all be written, and sent to the War Department, with the declaration.  
Joseph Rowen
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7478
Rev War INVALID
File No. 7478
Noah Shirtliff
Priv Rev War
Act: June 7th 1832
Index:- Vol.  1st, Page 338
[Arrangement of 1870.]
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THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES 
Form VAM-51 
12-5-41 
BOUNTY LAND WARRANT RECORD CARD* 
Division of Veterans' Administration Archives 
NAME   Shirtliff, William   GRADE  Private    LINE    Massachusetts
WARRANT NUMBER   4997   ACREAGE  100   ISSUED  Mar. 25, 1790 
To ---- not shown ---
The information concerning the issuance of warrants carded on this form is found in volumes 2 to 4 of "Land Warrants Issued Prior to 1800" which are Information concerning warrants surrendered to the Federal Government is to be found in General Land Office records in The National Archives. registers of bounty land warrants issued to non-commissioned officers and privates under congressional resolutions of September 16, 1776, and subsequent dates. Other records relative to the applications for warrants appear to have been destroyed in the War Department fire of November 9, 1800.  Information concerning warrants surrendered to the Federal Government is to be found in General Land Office records in the National Archives.