Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 11072, for John Miller, Pennsylvania
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SERVICE   Continental   Penn.
Miller, John
NUMBER   S. 11072
b. [born] 1761
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8308
New York
John Miller 
of Southport in the State of N. York who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain -  of the -  commanded by Col. Stroud in the Penna line for 14 months – 
Inscribed on the Roll of N. York the rate of 46 Dollars 66 Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831  
Certificate of Pension issued the 1st day of April 1837 and sent to Tho Maxwell Elmira
Arrears to the 4th of Mar ‘33   $ 93.32
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sep ’33  $23.33
$116.63
{ Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832.}
Recorded by Geo C. Stiles Clerk
Book  E. Vol. 4, Page 25
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No. 8772
John Miller
p. 59
5:16
Detail of Tours required 
No allowance for service in French Army
8 Sep 1832
14 Nov 1832
Tho Maxwell
Elmira N. Y.
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BRIEF in the case of John Miller of Southport in the State of N. York 
(Act 7th June, 1832.) 
1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? in open Court 
2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity? 
3. How old is he? Seventy one years 
4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed. 
Period. Years,    Duration of Service.   Rank,    Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.  
In 1780 & 1781 Served as a Private in Col. Strouds Regt Penna Militia for a term not less than One Year
States that in March 1782 he received a commission from Count Rochambeau as a conductor of Artillery, with the rank and pay of a Capt of Artillery, and continued with the French Troops until their embarkation at Boston for the West Indies in Decemr 1782 and was discharged in the following Spring by Gen Wadsworth - having been in service about 14 months 
5. In what battles was he engaged? none named 
6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? County of Northampton Penna 
7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? By traditionary evidence, and the testimony of three living witnesses 
8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? the papers are defective in authentication 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case 
Wm Gordon 
Examining Clerk
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John Miller
8772
25 m a
14 mo pre
73.32
3.33
46.62
Post office Elmira N. Y. 
care Th. Maxwell Agent
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State of New York 
Tioga County Ss}  
John Miller of Southport in the said County the applicant named in the annexed declaration being duly sworn by the undersigned a Justice of the peace in and for said County, deposeth & saith in addition to & in explanation of the detail of his services therein contained in the said declaration, that in consequence of his advanced age, and the lapse of time since the said services were rendered he cannot with precision detail all the various tours of duty by him performed during the war of the Revolution but according to the best of his recollection, after mature reflection on the subject, he served not less than the periods & in the grades herein mentioned viz    
In the year 1777 in the company of Capt Christopher Keller in Col. Stroud's Regiment of Northampton (Penna) Militia engaged as a private in scouting and ranging along the Northampton or Minisink Indian frontier - in four different calls, not less than two months.} 
mos days  2.00 
In 1780, the Indians commenced their depredations in March the deponent then volunteered as a private in Capt Huston company in Strouds Regiment as aforesaid & performed in that year of actual service, in scouting & guarding various points along the Minisink frontier, 7 months. }  
7.00
In 1781, as a private in similar service, under Capt Fish in the same regiment - 5 months }  
5.00
As a private - 14. mo. 
In 1782 & 1783 as a captain in the French Artillery as detailed in his declaration 14 months}   
14. – 
Making in all his service fourteen months as a private in the Northampton Militia, and fourteen months as a frontier referred to, particularly during the years 1780 & 1781 as
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Captain in the French Army fourteen months for which he claims a pension- 
In explanation of his services in the French Army he states that he received his pay monthly as the other French officers did – 
John Miller 
Sworn & Subscribed the 4th day of Feb 1833 Before me. 
Hiram Gray J.P.
Tioga Co. N.Y.
State of New York 
Tioga County Ss}
I  Green M Tuthill Clerk of the said County do hereby certify that Hiram Gray Esq. before whom the foregoing affidavit was made was on the day of the date thereof a Justice of the peace in & for said County duly qualified That I am acquainted with his signature & verily believe the above signature of Hiram Gray to be genuine. Witness my hand & seal of office the 4th day of February 1833 
Green M Tuthill
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At a Court of Common Pleas held at the Village of Elmira in and for the County of Tioga in the State of New York, commencing on the First Tuesday in September 1832, the same being a Court of Record, so declared by the Constitution & laws of the said State, by which it is constituted & having a Seal and Clerk 
Present Hon G. B. Baldwin First Judge 
Esquires Judges }
Darius Bentley 
Joseph L. Durling 
John R Drake  
Elijah Shoemaker 
State of New York 
Tioga County Ss} 
On the 5th day of September 1832 personally appeared, in open Court, before the Judges above named, now sitting  John Miller, a resident of the Town of Southport, in the said County, aged Seventy one years and upwards, 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 during the war of the Revolution, he resided in the County of Northampton in the State of Pennsylvania; that the said County composed a part of that section of country, then known & distinguished as the "Minisink Indian Frontier". That during the whole of the Revolutionary contest, the inhabitants of that frontier were subject to the depredations of the Indians, and during the summer Seasons, it was necessary to be constantly on the guard, and all their watchfulness, could not & did not prevent the most horrid outrages, which frequently occurred along the frontier. After the Indian expedition of Gen Sullivan, in the year 1779, had terminated, the Indians were very troublesome about the frontier referred to, particularly during the years 1780 & 1781 as
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were influenced by a spirit of retaliation for the destruction the villages and crops by the troops under Gen. Sullivan the militia of the County of Northampton were consequently organized & kept in a state of Constant readiness to repel such attacks, and to more to the relief of the defenceless in habitants as occasion required - The deponent therefore entered as a private in a company commanded by Captain Huston in the Regiment commanded by Col Stroud, & continued in the said Company in the performance of such military duties as the State of the country required, for a term not less than a year. That during the said term of service the said deponent was out on one occasion for about a month when there was a general call of the Northampton Militia who marched under Col. Stroud, & were stationed a few days at Minisink, & were employed along the Frontier in pursuit of the Indians: That in the summer of 1780 he was out about ten days with the said company at the time of the murder of Larned family at Pokona mountain by the Indians. That they were engaged in various expeditions of shorter periods, and in their respective neighborhoods were constantly on the alert - In the month of March 1782 as near as he can recollect, he received a commission from Count Rochambeau through Genl Wadsworth of Connecticut, who had the charge or superintendence of the Commissary & artillery Department of the French Army as a "conductor of Artillery”, with the rank & pay of a Captain of Artillery; & received orders to enlist a company in the County of Northampton to be employed as drivers & take the charge of the horses attached to the French Artillery. He enlisted the company and
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marched with them to Yorktown in Virginia where they were attached to the Regiment under command of Col Dupon & continued there until the army took up its line of March for the North when he proceeded with it, in command of the said Company to Baltimore, where they remained some time, thence to Philadelphia, from whence after remaining 5 or 6 days they marched to Peekskill in New York , crossed the Hudson near Verplank's point & thence proceeded to Boston. That he remained with the said army until it embarked at Boston for the West Indies in December ‘82. He continued in charge of the Horses with a part of the said company which he had so enlisted, took them to New Lebanon, New Canaan & New Concord in the State of New York, where they were kept during the winter and in the following spring in the  month of may as he believes he proceeded with them to Hartford where they delivered up to Gen Wadsworth from whom he received a written discharge, having been in service about fourteen months. That during all the time he was so attached to the French Army he had the command of the said Company & the charge of their horses; that they were regularly mustered, and daily returns, & morning & evening reports made by himself to the commandant or the adjutant, and monthly pay rolls regularly made out. That during the said term he received pay as a Captain in the line and ranked as such. That a part of the time before the army marched to the north he was engaged in pursuit of deserters, he having been assigned to that duty from his acquaintance with the German language, which afforded him facilities in
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the lower counties of Pennsylvania & in Maryland where he was sometimes required to go.
In reply to the questions propounded by the War Department not included in the foregoing statement, he says that he was born in the Township of Hamilton in the County of Northampton in the State of Pennsylvania on the 30th of January 1761 as appears by the Record in his father's bible, that he continued to reside in the said County of Northampton until 1786 when he removed to Tioga Point in the then County of Susein, & in 1788 removed to Elmira in the said County where he continued until 1805 when he removed to Clark County Indiana where he continued to reside until the last spring when he returned to the said Town of Southport where he now resides. That the documentary evidence of his services such as his commission, discharge &c have long since been lost, supposing there was no particular inducement for preserving them – 
That the persons who can testify to his services are Col. John Hendy & Capt Samuel Shoemaker of the town of Elmira said Elmer & David McCormick in the County of Tioga 
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present & declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the agency of any State –
(The word "Elmira" interlined)
 John Miller 
Sworn & Subscribed the day & year aforesaid Before me – 
Green M Tuthill Clk
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Personally appeared in open court on the day & year aforesaid before the above named Judges, Samuel Shoemaker a resident of the Town of Elmira in the said County of Tioga aged Seventy years & upwards  who being duly sworn says that he is well acquainted with John Miller the above named declarant now present in Court, that he knew him in the said County of Northampton during the Revolutionary war: that he has heard his declaration read, & from personal observation of a part of the Services he details, and his general knowledge gathered from others at the time in regard to the rest, he has no doubt of the truth of the statements of the said John Miller as above detailed – 
Saml Shoemaker  
Sworn & Subscribed day & year aforesaid 
Green M Tuthill Clk 
We Simeon R. Jones a Clergyman resident in the Town of Southport in the said County of Tioga and Caleb Baker a resident of the same town do hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John Miller who has subscribed & sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be Seventy one years of age, that he is reputed & believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the revolution & that we concur in that opinion. 
Simeon R. Jones 
Caleb Baker
Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid 
Green M Tuthill Clk
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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 Simeon R. Jones who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman resident of the Town of Southport in the said County of Tioga and that Caleb Baker who has also signed the same is a resident of the same town and is a credible person & that their statement is entitled to credit. 
The said Court further certify that David McCormick, John Hendy and Samuel Shoemaker who have subscribed & sworn to the foregoing affidavits are reputable and disinterested witnesses, entitled to credit- 
J. B. Baldwin First Judge
I Green M. Tuthill Clerk of the said Court do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of John Miller for a Pension In testimony whereof these hereto subscribed my name & affixed my seal of office the 6th day of September 1832. 
Green M Tuthill 
Ribbon attached 19 Dec 1832 
Green M Tuthill Clk
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Rev War 
11.072 
OWN
INVALID. 
File No.  11,072 
John Miller 
Pri Rev War  
Act: June 7th 32 
Index:- Vol. A. Page 258 
[Arrangement of 1870.]
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John Miller
8772
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BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of John Miller which require further proof or explanation. 
I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? Yes 
II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? Yes 
III.  If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason as signed for his not doing so? 
IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? Yes 
V. Has he mentioned 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? - no detail of his tours as required by the regulations – 
service in the French Army not embraced by the act 7 June- 
VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? Yes 
VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832?   Yes 
VIII. Has the Court given their opinion?  Yes   
IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate?  Yes 
X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal? Yes
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XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? Yes 
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? 
XIII.  If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had? 
He states the he has no documentary proof, but adduces the evidence of three living Witnesses to his services 
XIV.  If the applicant has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility? the Court has And is the official character and signature of the magistrate certified by the proper officer under his seal of office? 
XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age, as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service?  Yes 
XVI. Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? No 
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? 
The Court certify that the interrogatories were put to the applicant 
EXPLANATORY NOTES. 
QUERE V. 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 . For months and days I served as a - For months and for such service I claim a pension."