Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 11850, Cornelius Wickoff, Penn.
Page 1

(3-1776)

SERVICE
Penn.

Wickoff, Cornelius

NUMBER
S.11850.

CONTENTS

CARDED.
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[Right Page]

20.786
NEW YORK
CORNELIUS WICKOFF
of Ontario Co. in the State of New York
who was a Private in the [illegible], commanded by Captain [illegible] of the Regt. commanded by  Col. Anti in the Penna line for full term.
  
Inscribed on the Roll of New York at the rate of 80 Dollars [blank] cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.  

Certificate of Pension issued the 28th day of Sep 1833 and sent to Thos. Beals [illegiblel]

$200                Arrears to the 4th of Sept 33
   40  semi-anl. allowance ending 4 [illegible]
______
$240   {Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832

Recorded by G. C, Stiles  Clerk

Book  E   Vol. 4.   Page   40

[illegible]

[Left Page written sideways]


Lett to Thos. Beals, Dec. 18th 1834.

Hon J. Dickerson Feby 23d 1835
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Cornelius Wickoff

19822

Thomas Beals agent

Canandaigua 

prisoner

[illegible]
 
24 mo [illegible]
Page 4


State of New York }
Ontario County SS}

On this  twentieth day November 1832personally appeared in open court before the Judges of the County Court now sitting, Cornelius Wickoff, a resident of the town of Hopewell, county and State aforesaid, aged sixty nine 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 7th 1832. 

 That he entered the service of the United States, under the following named officers, and  served as herein stated.  

At Muncy, then County of Northumberland in the state of Pennsylvania, on or about the first April 1779, he was [illegible] in Captain David    Berry's company, in Colonel Henry Ante's Regiment, and on duty in Wallace Fort, in the 
Four following and was sent out with [ink stained] and was surprised by a body of Cayuga, Delaware and Lenape Indians at Loyalsock Creek, about two miles above the mouth of the creek, where it empties into the west branch of the Susquehanna river, and was there taken prisoner, five of the party were killed, one wounded and afterwards killed and he the declarant with the other survivor among them his father, were taken up the Lycoming to 
     and then to the place now called Newtown, and there stayed until after planting, and this declarant labored with the Indians, and was then taken to the head of Seneca Lake
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Albany - at Albany drew provisions from the Public Store, and was sent down the river to New Burgh, and then to Super Court House in New Jersey where his uncle lived, and then went to Readington in Hunterdon County, and 
after living there some time, he the declaimant went back to Muncy -- there was a pension more than two years, and was taken which  in the service of the country.

He was born 11 October 1763 at Readington,
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 is a brother of this deponent.  That he lived in Muncy with the said Cornelius at their fathers house in the year 1778. That in the same year, he, this deponent was taken prisoner by the Indians and was taken into the Indian country by said Indians -- That he was released from captivity and arrived at Readington in New Jersey on the 26 October 1779 he there found his mother, and heard from her, that his father, Peter Wycoff and his brother Cornelius Wycoff were taken prisoners by the indians at Muncy, on the 25 April 1779 --- and that he was at Readington in New Jersey about the 1 October 1781 when his father and his brother Cornelius Wickoff returned home from Montreal, having been then released from their captivity - and that they were then taken and held captive as herein set forth, was believed in the neighborhood where we resided  and never questioned or doubted as he this deponent ever heard    
Sworn + subscribed the}
day and year  aforesaid }  William Wykoff
in  open  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 Ebenezer Benham who had signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, and that Robert Hughes and Daniel Black who have signed the same and also William Wickoff who has made the next preceeding certificate are credible persons that they all reside in the town of Hopewill and that there inspective statements are certified to credit.  

I, Charles Crane, Clerk of the said Court do hereby certify, that the foregoing contains the [illegible] proceeding of the said court in the matter of the application of Cornelius Wickoff for a pension.  

In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this twenty-first day of November 1832.  

Charles Crane
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No. 19822
Cornelius Wickoff
Ontario Co. N. York


[illegible]

[Illegible]

Thos. Beale Agt
Canandaigua N.Y.
Page 8



WAR DEPARTMENT,
Pension Office.
183

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 subscribed notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed.  The notes and the regulations will show what is necessary to be done.  These points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you wil find marked in the margin with a brace (thus: } ).  you will, when you return your papers to the 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 Cornelius Wickoff Ontario Co. N. Y.

[This is in table form, it's transcribed with each heading and  column info.]

Period When The Service Was Rendered.
[Illegible] aid 1779

Duration of The Claimant's Service.
Years - 2
Months - Days - 
 More than a  [illegible]

Rank of the Claimant
Private

Names and Ranks of the Company
Officers Under Whom he Served.
Cap. Barry 
  
Names and Ranks of the General
and Field Officers.
Col. Ante's Reg.t

Battles in Which the Applicant
Was Engaged .
[Blank]

Country Through Which He
Marched.
Wallace Fort
Lycoming
Kutztown
Ft. Niagara
Montreal
St. Johns
Ticonderoga
Vermont
New Burg
[illegible] Ct. 
[illegible] in New Jersey
Big [illegible]
Place of Abode When
He Entered the Service, 
and Age at the Present
Period.
Age 69
Muncy, Northumberland Co. Pa.

Evidence by Which the
Declaration is Supported.

{illegible]


I am, respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 
     J. L. Edwards,
Commissioner of Pensions,
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2

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 in 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 Trops, Militia, and Volunteers.
   3.  Persons employed in the Naval Service.
   4.  Indian Spies.  

As rolls of the regular troops in the 
Revolutionary War existed in this Department, all persons claiming the benefit of this law as officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, or privates will in the first instance, 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 [blank] day of [blank] personally appeared (a) before [blank]       AA.B. a esident (b) of [blank] in the county of [blank] and State, Territory or District of [blank] aged (c) [blank] 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 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) [blank] , with [blank]  and served in the [blank]
 (e) regiment of the [blank] line, under the following names officers:  

{Here set forth the names and rank of the Field and Company officers, the time hel eft 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 .    [pointing hand symbol] This form is to be varied so as to apply to the cases of officers and persons who belonged to the militia, volunteers, navy, etc.)

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 on that of the Agency in the State of [blank].  

Sworn to 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 (g) that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states.  

I [blank] of the Court of [blank]  do hereby certify (h) that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of [blank] for a pension.  

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office (i) this [blank] day of [blank] &c. [blank].

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 [blank] and C. D. residing in (the same) hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with [blank], who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be [blank] 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 putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named application was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states.  And the Court further certifies that it appears to them that [blank]
 who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, resident in the [blank]and that C. D. who has also signed the same is a resident in the [blank] and is a credible persone, and that their statement is entitled to credit.  

I, [blank] Clerk of the Court, of [blank] do hereby certify that the following contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of [blank] for a pension.  
 
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal [blank] of office, this [blank] day of [blank] &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 (f) 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 alleged service, as they are known at the Department.  A very full account of the services of each person
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3 [Page Number]
alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person will 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 what 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 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 the 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. If 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 m ake 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 is a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that the signature annexed is 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 the declaration herein required is made, the parties interested will transmit such evidence as they can procure, taken and authenticated before a Court of Record, showing the services of the deceased, the period 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 decision 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 his 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 __________; and for such service I claim a pension."
It is important, to all cases, to determine with precision the period for which each applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the person 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 years in the militia, &c. without specifying the [illegible], 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 order 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 time 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 [?] 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.
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State of  New York} In the matter of Cornelius
Ontario County SS} Wickoff application for pension

Personally appeared before the subscriber a Notary Public in and for said County, Cornelius Wickoff who being duly sworn according to law doth depose and say that when he made his application for a pension before the County Court on the 20th day of November 1832, under the act of 7 June 1832 he supposed he had complied with the rule of the War Department in all aspects. He is now required to give some evidence of his service, and he now says that Daniel McKinney now present was in the same company with him and that they were taken prisoner together and was parted at the place now called Newtown and that late in the fall, he  this deponent being at Fort Niagara a prisoner, the said Daniel McKinney was brought there by the Indians, and they continued there together until about the 1st June 1780 when this deponent was ordered down the Lake with a part of the  prisoners, and the said McKinney was left at Fort Niagara, and they did not meet again until after the Peace, when they met at all Muncy, and he further saith  that he was a prisoner as set forth in his original declaration for more than two years for which he claims declaration for more that two years for which he claims a pension--

Sworn to and subscribed this 17 day of June 1833 before me   Cornelius Wickoff [Signature]


[Illegible signature]
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State of New York }
Ontario County SS}

In the matter of Cornelius Wickoff's application for a pension--

Personally appeared before the subscriber a Notary Public in and for said County Daniel McKinney aged 69 years, residing in the town of  Bloomfield in said County who being duly sworn according to law, doth depose and say that he is well acquainted with Cornelius Wickoff, now present and says that he lived at Muncy in the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1779, and that the said Cornelius Wickoff belonged to Captain David Berry's company, in Colonell Henry Ante's Regiment, and he, this deponent, belonged to the same company and that they were on duty in the month of April, and on or about the 25th day of April they were [illegible] by a body of Indians and taken prisoners together, and were taken by the Indians to the Western Country to Chemung River, and then this deponent was taken to the 
Seneca Village and parted with the said Cornelius at what is now called Newtown, and the fall of that year he was taken by the Indians to Fort Niagara, and there the said Cornelius came with the Indians soon after, and they soon arrived at Fort Niagara during the winter of 1779 and 1780 and about the 1st  June 1781 the said Cornelius was with 
other prisoners taken down the [illegible], and he this deponent did not see him again until after the peace, when he again saw him at Muncy , and he believes and has always understood that the said Cornelius was taken to Montreal and was there detained  until some time in the year 1781 and he believes he was a prisoner more than two years --

Sworn to and subscribed this seventeenth day of June 1833 before me 
[illegible signature]  Notary Public

[signature] Daniel McKinney


I certify that the above named Daniel McKinney is a credible person
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State of New York }
Ontario County SS}   I, Charles Crane, Clerk of said County, do hereby certify that Thomas Beals whose  name is subscribed to the several certificates upon this sheet written, is a Notary Public in and for said county; and that I am well acquainted with his hand writing and verily believe the said signatures to be his proper act and deed.  

 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seat of office this seventeenth day of June 1833.  

Charles Crane
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11850

[Rev War]

INVALID.

File No.  11,850

Cornelius Wickoff

Priv Rev War

Act:  June 7"1832

Index:--Vol. A  ,  Page  412

{Arrangement of 1870.}

Pa