Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 14,616, for Reuben Stearns, Massachusetts
Page 1

Mass

 Stearns, Reuben

 S. 14,616

  carded
Page 2

Date of Death not on A.B.

Vermont, 18,719

Reuben Stearns of Windham co. in the State of Vermont who was a private in the Company commanded by Captain Richardson of the Reg't commanded by Col. Durkie in the Mass Ma (sic)  line for 7 mo. 12 da

Inscribed on the Roll of Vermont at the rate of 24 Dollars 65 Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 27 day of Sept 1833 and sent to J. Elliott, New Fane, VT.

Arrears to the 4th day of Sept. '33         $61.63
Semi-anl allowance ending 4 Mar. '36      12.32
                                                          $73.95
                                                                                                                                         

Revolutionary Claim,
Act June 7, 1832
Recorded by Elz Brown Clerk
Book E Vol 3 Page 92
Page 3

State of Vermont
County of Windham

Probate District of Marlboro 
at the Probate Count within and for said District, being a court of record.

On this 2d day of August A.D. 1832 personally appeared in open court at Brattleboro in said District Present Hon. Marshall Miller Esquire Judge before the said Probate Court within and for the said District now sitting comes Reuben Stearns a resident of Brattleboro in the County of Windham and State of Vermont aged seventy three 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 7, 1832.

That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated--that in the month of July 1776 I enlisted into the service of the United States at the town of Paxton in the State of Massachusetts & marched from there to Worcester, Shrewsbury, Northbridge, Sudbury, West Town (sic.  Should be Weston) Waltham, Watertown, Newtown (sic) & Roxbury where the company remained for some time.  I enlisted there for three months and served out the whole time.  The name of the Captain under whom I served was Benjamin Richardson & the Colonel Nicholas Dyke--I recollect no other officers--I had no discharge but a verbal one  Again in the month of December I think about the middle I enlisted for three months into a company commanded by Capt. Ralph Earl & Lieutenant Whiting and Ensign Shattuck--I enlisted this time at Holden in the State of Massachusetts & went through Hartford and [Far]mington in Connecticut to Peekskill in New York where we remained several days and then marched to King's Ferry where we crossed the Hudson River on the ice to Morristown New Jersey & then to Bound brook where we were stationed during the winter--I served out the whole three months for which I enlisted & then returned home--the Brigadier General under whom I served was Warner of Hardwick Mass. the colonel of the regiment [continued on next page]
Page 4

[continued from prior page] was Sparhawk of Barre Mass.   The Lieut Col was Jonathan Grout of [Crossed out:  Shrewsbury] Petersham Mass The Major was John Cushing of Shrewsbury--Again in July or August 1778 I enlisted for six weeks into the service under Capt Joshua White and went from Paxton Massachusetts to Newport Rhode Island and then to Providence & was stationed five miles below Providence until the expiration of my term--the Col of the Regiment was Whiting of Harvard Mass.  I [several illegible words] received any written discharge. The first time I enlisted & also the last I was living at Paxton Mass==the other time at Holden.  I was a volunteer in each case.  Since the revolutionary war I lived at Holden Mass until forty five years since when I removed to Brattleboro in the state of Vermont where I have lived ever since- I refer to people in my neighborhood who know me-Reuben Church, William Harris, Lani (?) Goodenough, Jane [illegible] Samuel Elliot.  He was born in 1759-has no record of his age-He hereby relinquishes all title or claim to any pension, except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.  Signed and subscribed to the day and year aforesaid.

[Signature]  Reuben Stearns
Marshall Miller Judge of Probate

We Stephen Greenleaf [clergyman, crossed out] Town Clerk  residing in the Town of Brattleboro afd (aforesaid) and Income Jones of sd Brattleboro hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Reuben Stearns who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be seventy three years of age that he is  respected and believed in the neighborhood where resides to have been a soldier of the revolutionary war and that we concur in the opinion

[Signatures:]
Stephen Greenleaf
Income Jones
Sworn and subscribed to the day and year aforesaid.

Marshall Miller, Judge of Probate
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Claim of Reuben Stearns

Admit
7 mos 12 days

James Elliott Esq
New Fane, VT
Page 6

War Department
Pension Officer
19th April, 1833

 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 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 show what is necessary to be done.  These 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. 

[the remainder of this page is in the form of a table, as noted in the above text. In order to connect the handwritten information with the relevant printed column label, the column labels will be repeated as necessary even though they only appear once in the form itself]

Period when the service was rendered: 1776
Duration of the Claimant's service:
Years- Months 3 Days -
Rank of the claimant:  Private soldier
Name and rank of the Field officers under whom he served:  Colo Nicholas Dyke
Age at present and place of abode when he entered the service.  74 Paxton, Mass
Proof by which the declaration is supported:
Joseph Clark

Period when the service was rendered: 1776 & 1777
Duration of the Claimant's service:
Years- Months 3 Days -
Rank of the claimant:  Private soldier
Name and rank of the Field officers under whom he served:  G. Warner; Colo Sparhawk
Age at present and place of abode when he entered the service.  74 Paxton, Mass
Proof by which the declaration is supported:
Daniel Stewart

Period when the service was rendered: 1778
Duration of the Claimant's service:
Years- Months 1 Days -14
Rank of the claimant:  Private soldier
Name and rank of the Field officers under whom he served:  Governor Hancock Colo Whitney
Age at present and place of abode when he entered the service.  74 Paxton, Mass
Proof by which the declaration is supported:
Nathan Brigham Newton

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

Mr. Reuben Stearns
Page 7

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 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 offices, 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 

     On this _____day of______personally appeared (a) before _____A.B. a resident (b) of _____in the county of_____and State, Territory or District of _____aged (c)_____years, who first being 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)_____, with_____and 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, if 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 or any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of the Agency in the State of _____.                         A.B.
     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_____ of the Court of _____ do hereby certify (h) 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 (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 _____ and C.D. residing in (the same) herby certify, that we are well acquainted with _____, who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be _____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 days 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. 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 _____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 product 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 product 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
Page 8

 3

will be indispensable to a favorable action upon his case.  The facts stated will afford one of the principal means or 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 ex-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?
     How were you called into service;  were you drafted, did you volution, 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 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 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 the 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.

(The following are small type footnotes at the bottom of the page.)

[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 claim cannot be had.  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 Just of the Peace, &c. A.B. who, being duly sworn deposeth and saith, that, by reason 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 _____; 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, as 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 years 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 ribbons, 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.
     [j]  The notes from [a] to [i] are 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.
Page 9

No 2884
Reuben Stearns
Page 10

Brief in the case of Reuben Stearns of Windham Co in the State of Vermont
(Act 7th June, 1832)

1.  Was the declaration made before a court of a Judge:  Probate Court

2.  If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disable by bodily injury?

3.  How old is he? 73 years

4.  State his service, as directed in the form annexed

Period:  In 1776 July 
Duration of Service:-Years 3 months - days
Rank:  As a Private
Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served:  Gen. Warner Mass Troops  Capt. RIchardson; Colo Durkie 

Period:   In 1776 Dec 
Duration of service:- Years 3 months - days
Rank:  as a private
Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served:  Capt Earl, Col Sparhawk

Period:   In 1778 July or Aug 
Duration of service:- Years 1 months 12 days
Rank:  as a private
Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served: Whitney

5.  In what battles was he engaged?

6.  Where did he reside when he entered the service?  Paxton, Mass

7.  In his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls?  traditionary, & living, not certified to be credible.

8.  Are the papers defective as to form or authentication and if so, in what respect?  Improperly attached.

I certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above-mentioned.

D. Brown
Examining Clerk
Page 11

November 12, 1936

Mrs Carl H Wisewell
1740 Pacific Ave
San Francisco CA



Ruben Ste Stearns
S. 14616
BA - J / MLB

Dear Madam

You are furnished herein the record of Ruben Stearns as found in pension claim, S 14616, based upon his service in the Revolutionary War.

Ruben Stearns was born in 1759 , place of birth and names of parents not given.

While a resident of Paxton, Massachusetts, Reuben Stearns volunteered in July, 1776, served three months as private in Captain Benjamin Richardson's company, Colonel Nicholas Dike's Massachusetts Regiment.  He again volunteered about the middle of December 1776, at Holden, Massachusetts, where he was then living, and served three months as private in Captain Ralph Earl's company, Colonel Sparhawk's  Massachusetts Regiment. While residing again in Paxton, Massachusetts, he volunteered in July or August 1778 and served six weeks as private in Captain Joshua Whitney's Company, Colonel Whitney Massachusetts Regiment.

After the revolution The soldier resided in Holden, Massachusetts until about 1787 when he moved to Brattleboro Windham County Vermont.

Ruben Stearns was allowed pension (sic) on his application executed August 2, 1832, while residing in Brattleboro, Vermont.

There are no family data shown in the claim.

In order to obtain date of last payment of pension, the name of person paid and possibly the date of death of this soldier, you should write to the Comptroller General, General Accounting Office, Records Division, this city, and cite the following data: Ruben Stearns, [continued on next page]
Page 12

Certificate #18719, issued September 27, 1833, rate $24.65 per annum, commenced March 4, 1831, Act June 7, 1832, Vermont Agency.

Very Truly yours

A.D. Hiller
Executive Assistant
to the Administrator
Page 13

[illegible] Windham Co Vermont
Reuben Stearns. Declaration for Pension

August 2, 1832
No 2, 884
Page 14

I Joseph Clark of Brattleboro in the County of Windham and State of Vermont do on oath depose and say--that I am in my seventy seventh year--that in July 1776 Reuben Stearns now of sd (said) Brattleboro and myself enlisted into the service of the United States into a company of State troops for three months-the company was commanded by Captain Benjamin Richardson & Lieutenant Kelly-the name of the ensign I do not recollect--the Colonel of the regiment was Nicholas Dyke--the company first went to Roxbury in the State of Massachusetts and remained there until the barracks were built at Dorchester--We were sometimes called Massachusetts troops and were raised for the purpose of defending the country after the British had left Boston--I remained in the service until three or four weeks before the expiration of the three months and knew [illegible] Reuben Stearns to be in the same service & left him in the company at the time when I was taken sick and obliged to quit it.  I [illegible] add that the lieutenant's name was Kelly according to the best of my recollection.


[signature] Joseph Clark

State of Vermont
Windham County
Brattleboro August 2d 1832

Then personally appeared Joseph Clark and made solemn oath that the foregoing deposition by him subscribed contains the truth and nothing but the truth and nothing but the truth Before Wm R . Hayes Justice of the Peace

I hereby certify that the above named Joseph Clark [several illegible words] for truth & veracity.  Wm R Hay3s Justice Peace (sic)

State of Vermont
Windham County Clerk's Office
New Fane, August 3d A.D. 1832
I certify that Russell Fitch & Wm. R. Hayes, Esquires are Justices of the Peace within and for the County of Windham aforesaid, and that the within and above, respectively, are their signatures.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my had, and affixed the Seal of said County Court, on the day and year above written.  James Elliot, Clerk.
Page 15

I Daniel Stewart of Brattleboro, in the of Windham (sic) and State of Vermont, aged seventy six years, do testify and say that Reuben Stearns and myself in the month of December AD 1776 he the said Stearns went from Holden in the State of Massachusetts and I the said Stewart went from Paxton in said State of Massachusetts as Soldiers in the State Troops into the State of New Jersey and there served as soldiers in the Service of the United States until about the middle of March following which made three whole months from the time we left home until we were discharged in the Town Bound Brook in the State of New Jersey--We served in Captain Earls company of Infantry and in Col Sparkhawk Regiment.  [Signature]:  Daniel Stewart

State of Vermont
Windham County ss
Brattleboro June 21, 1833

Then Daniel Stewart personally appeared and after being carefully examined and duly cautioned made solemn oath to the foregoing deposition by him subscribed to contain the whole truth nothing but the truth Before me  Russell Fitch, Justice of the Peace

State of Vermont
Windham County ss
Brattleboro June 21st, 1833

I hereby certify that Daniel Stewart who signed & made oath to foregoing affidavit is a credible witness.

Russel Fitch Justice of the Peace.
Page 16

And the said court do (sic) hereby declare their opinion after the investigation of the matter and after putting the witnesses on oath 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 Stephen Greenleaf Who has Signed the preceding certificate is [clergyman, crossed out]  Town Clerk Resident in the said town of Brattleboro and that Income Jones who has also signed his name is a resident of Brattleboro in said county and is a credible person And that this statement is entitled to credit. 

I James Elliot Register of the Probate Court Within and for the district of Brattleboro Aforesaid  do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said court in the matter of the application Ruben Stearns for a pension--in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this 2d day of August AD 1832

James Elliott Probate Register

[the following is written at the bottom of this page, at right angles to the main body of the document]:

[illegible] Windham Co Vermont
Reuben Stearns. Declaration for Pension

August 2, 1832
No 2, 884
Page 17

I Aurin Bugbee of Brattleboro in the County of Windham and State of Vermont, a clergyman, depose and say, That I am well acquainted with Reuben Stearns of said Brattleboro, who subscribed and made oath to a declaration for a pension on the 2d day of August AD 1832 that I believe him to be seventy four years of age, that he is reputed and and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the revolution And that I concur in that opinion.

[signature]:  Aurin Bugbee
[illegible] June 18 - 1833

Subscribed and sworn the day and year last above written. Before me Marshall Miller Justice of the Peace. I hereby certify that above named Aurin  Bugbee is a credible witness- 

Attest Marshall Miller Justice of the Peace
Page 18

State of Vermont

Windham County Court Clerk's office

New Fane July 8: 1833

I certify that Marshall Miller and Russell Fitch Esquires are Justices of the 
Peace within and for the County of Windham aforesaid And That the within and annexed respectively are there signatures - witness my hand and the seal of said Court

James Elliott, clerk

[Written vertically  in the right margin:  "The Clergyman's Certificate."
Page 19

I Nathan B Newton of Royalston County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts Yeoman do testify and say that Ruben Stearns of Paxton Massachusetts, formerly, but now of Brattleboro Vermont enlisted as a soldier in the revolutionary Army in the year 1778, (as near as I can recollect). He enlisted for the term of six weeks under the command of Captain Joshua Whitney of Worcester a captain of the militia in Colonel Whiting's Regiment Of the Town of Harvard. I was with said Stearns, and [illegible] knowing to his serving the six weeks above.

[signature]:  Nathan B. Newton


Worcester ss July 27, 1832. Nathan B Newton above appeared and made solemn oath to this deposition by him subscribed before me 
[signature]:  Stephen Batcheller Jus. Peace (sic)

And I further certify that Nathan B Newton who subscribed and made oath to the foregoing is a credible witness- dated at Royalston County of Worcester (Mass) June 21 1833

[signature]:  Stephen Batcheller Jus. Peace (sic)
Page 20

Nathan B. Newton
Deposition
Page 21

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Worcester Ss

I, Joseph G Kendall, a clerk of the Judicial Courts, within and for the County of Worcester, do hereby certify that Stephen Batcheller Esquire, within named, is a justice of the peace in and for said county  and was such justice on the 27th day of July AD 1832 and that his signature to the certificate of the Oath &c of Nathan B Newton as written, appears to be in his own proper handwriting.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand and fix the seal of the Court of Common 
Pleas for said county at Worcester this 26th day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eighteen hundred and thirty three.

[signature]  Jos. G. Kendall, Clerk
Page 22

LEFT SIDE OF PAGE
Dec 3 '96 to
Stoughton Walker
St. Joseph MO

May 8-1902
J. C. McCall
Bath, NY

1909 Nov. 6 Hist. to Mary Isadore Wadell 


1911 Apr. 17 Letter [illegible]
Mrs. N.M. Pakeley (?)

1936 Nov 12-Hist to Mrs. Carl H. Wisewell 

RIGHT SIDE OF PAGE
14616
INVALID

File No. 14,616
Reuben Stearns
Priv. Rev. War

Act:  June 7th, 1832
Index:--Vol. 1, Page 361
Page 23

This Bureau can furnish the military record of only such Revolutionary soldiers as were pensioned or whose widows were pensioned for their services.

Such of the original muster and payrolls of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 as are now in the possession of the government are on in the Record and Pension Office, War Department. Original rolls and other records pertaining to service in the Revolutionary War may also be found on file in the archives of many of the original states.
O.W. & N. Div
Revolutionary War.

3-076
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Pensions,
Washington, D.C ------189---

In reply to your communication of a recent date, you are informed that the courtesy of furnishing information relative to Revolutionary War soldiers, on account of whose service pensions were granted, is extended by this Bureau only to the descendants, and to them only when it is desired for historical or genealogical purposes.

In view of the large number of such inquiries now being made, and of the length of time required to make a proper search of the records in each case, information will not be given to applicant concerning more than two soldiers.

In order that the claim of the soldier concerning whom you desire information may be identified, it is requested that you furnish as as possible of the data called for below.

[The following is a stamp applied at the end of the above passage]:

Old War & Navy Files
April 12, 1902
P. B.
 
Very respectfully,

Commissioner

18719-32

Full name of soldier, Reuben Stearns

Place of Residence before service, Holden and Paxton, Worcester Co. Mass

Place of residence after service, Brattleboro

Approximate date of death:  Jany (sic) 29, 1845

Given name of ["widow" crossed out] wife Anna Stewart Stearns died September 4, 1839

Did either the soldier or his widow receive a pension?  Family tradition that soldier did

Additional Information, Information is desired for historic and genealogical purpose.  A grand daughter, now 57 years old furnishes to genealogy that he was for some time in Revolutionary army and drew a pension till death.  She of course gets this story from her father & mother.

Signature 
(Mrs. or Miss is to be prefixed if a lady signs)
Post-office address, including street and number, town, county and State:

[signature}:  James McCall
a great grandson
Bath,
1186 Steuben St.
Steuben Co NY


[written vertically in the left margin]:

Cannot learn whether he was in regular army of in militia  Probably serve (sic) Massachusetts co
Page 24

[Stamp on back of what appears to be an envelope]:

Pension Office
D
U.S.
April 11, 1902
Page 25

3-871

RECORD DIVISION
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Pensions

Briefed by George M. Moore

Nov. 4, 1909

Certificate No,...........
Claimant............
Soldier  Reuben Stearns
Service  Mass    Rev

Additional Service

No .....claim. State records....., 190...

Remarks:

No [illegible string of letters) as above except

I.F. No 14616,
Page 26

[The first part of this transcription is a business letterhead]

John L. Brittain Dry Goods Co.
Importers, Jobbers & Manufacturers
St. Joseph, MO.

New York Office
338 Broadway

[illegible] Agents for
Weed Manufacturing Co's
Shirts, Pants and Overalls

Nov. 10th, 1896

United States Pension Bureau

Washington, DC



Please furnish me with a copy of the sworn statement made by Ruben Stearns, who was reported on the Revolutionary Pension Rolls at Brattleboro, Windham County, Vermont in 1840, aged 81

By furnishing this information, you will greatly oblige, yours very truly
[signature]:  Stoughton Walker
Page 27

[There are two stamps on this page, superimposed]:

Old War & Navy Files
November 16, 1896

U.S. Pension Office
November 18, 1896
Page 28

Will you please send me the Revolutionary record of Ruben Stearns of Holden Mass.  He drew a pension until his death. He died at Brattleboro Vt:  Jan 29 1845

Respectfully yours
Mary iIsadore Wodell

Adams, N.Y.
Jefferson Co.
Nov 1st 1909
Page 29

[Stamp]:

Pension Record

Nov 4, 1909
Page 30

[Stamp on top right corner]:

RECEIVED
October 13, 1936 1:15 p.m.
Mail Sub-Div.
Vets Adm
Reader #37

1740 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, 
California
October 6,1936

Veterans Administration,
Dear Sir,

It has been suggested to me that I write to you concerning the following names of ancestors upon whose family lines I am working.

Will you please let me (sic) if any of them have had pensions or have you any information about them which would assist me in learning more about them, their children or their parents?



Any help you can give me will be most gratefully received, as I have written to the eastern states without any result.

SIMPSON ELLAS or ELLIS, Brattleboro, Vermont. Was a physician, assessor In Ludlow Vt.  Town clerk in 1779, married Mary Smith.

Prentis Field, lived in Lockport, New York about 1790 to 1820.

Henry Wisewell, Whiting, Vermont, 1751 - 1814 m. Johanna Thayer.

Ephriam (sic) Sawyer,  1756 - 1827 Lancaster, Mass m. Abigail ---? 1778

Ruben Stearns, 1758 - 1845 Brattleboro Vt m. Anna Stewart 1779

Nathan Loomis, 1762 - 1851, Stafford, Conn. m. Dorcas Pratt 1785.

William Hobart, 1751 - 1801 Groton Mass, m. Patience Flag 1777 
Dolly Smith 1787

Samuel Wisewell 1707 Dorchester, Mass m. Elizabeth Franklin 1733

Aaron Thayer, 1715 - Mendon, Mass. m. Jemima Cook 1738 Mendon

Caleb Sawyer, 1720 Lancaster Mass d. 1780 Harvard. m. Lydia?

William Ellas or Ellis, living in Brattleboro 1770 Who was his wife and parents?

Thomas Simpson,  1752 - 1849 Sturbridge Townsend Vt. M Susanna 1765
m2, Sarah Plimpton 1786

Seth Smith, 1736 Hadley Mass. 
m. (2) 1773 Eunice Clark 
m. (1) Thankful Day 1773

Nathaniel Stearns 1718-1776 Holden Mass m.. 1747 Grace Hammond.

Col. Daniel Stewart, 1756-1834 Holden, Mass. m.  1779 Dorothy Maynard.

Jonathan Maynard 1717----?  Framingham, m. 1742 Martha Gleason

Nathaniel Loomis, 1731 Stafford, Ashford, Whiteboro, NY m. 1753 Hanna White m. 1759 Sarah Rockwell

Elisha Pratt, lived Hartford, Connecticut m Lucy  Fletcher, had dau (sic) Dorcas

[continued on next page]
Page 31

Israel Hobart, 1722 1796 Groton, Mass m. 1749 Anna Lawrence

Thomas Smith, lived Haverhill m. in Marlboro 2-6 - 1744 to Elizabeth Taintor

Cornelius Van Horn 1715 Bushwick N.J. m.1737 Elizabeth Van Orden. 

Jedediah Jewett, 17 19 1804 Ipswich Mass m. 1745 Elizabeth Shattuck

Joseph Lawrence, 1749 - 1829, Groton Mass m. 1771 Lydia Shattuck

Jeremiah Shattuck 1726 -1815, Groton Mass m. 1749 Lydia Lakin

Mathias How, 1706----- Marlboro Mass m. 1732 Elizabeth How



I know this is a great many to ask about all at once but I am grouping the names from  ladied (sic  ladies?) Of my chapter and sending them all at once



 Very sincerely yours

Edna L. Wisewell

Mrs. Carl H. Wisewell
1749 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, Calif
Page 32

Information as contained in his (0r his widow's ) application for pension on file in this Bureau. Reubin Stearns, [illegible] File 14616

[the following appears in a grid.]

Dates of Enlistment or appointment

July 1776
Dec 1776
July or Aug, 1778

Length of Service
3 mons
3 mons
6 week

Captain
Benjamin Richardson
Ralph Earl
Joshua Whitney

Colonel
Nicholas Dike
Sparhawk
Whitney

Mass

Battles engaged in,  [blank]

Residence of soldier at time of enlistment: Holden Mass.

Date of Application for pension, August 2, 1832 [illegible]

Residence at date of application:  Brattleboro, Windham Co. Vt

Age at date of application, born 1759, date of death not stated

Remarks: No data as to family

1st enlistment at Paxton, Mass
Page 33

November 12, 1936


Mrs. Carl H. Wisewell
1740 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, California

Reuben Stearns,  S. 14616
William Hobart,  R.     5070
Thomas Simpson, W   15336
HA-J/MHF:MLB 

Dear Madam:

Reference is made to your letter of October 6th, 1936, in which you request the Revolutionary War records of Simpson Ellas or Ellis, Prentis Field, Henry Wisewell, Ephraim Sawyer, Ruben Stearns, Nathan Loomis,  William Hobart, Samuel Wisewell, Aaron Thayer, Caleb Sawyer, William Ellas or Ellis, Thomas Simpson, Seth Smith, Nathaniel Stearns, Daniel Stewart, Jonathan Maynard, Nathaniel Loomis, Elisha Pratt, Israel Hobart, Thomas Smith, Cornelius Van Horn, Jedediah Jewett, Joseph Lawrence, Jeremiah Shattuck and Matthias How.

There are no claims for pensions on file based upon service in the Revolutionary War of Ephraim Sawyer, Samuel Wisewell, William Ellis, Seth Smith, Nathaniel Stearns, Daniel Stewart, Jonathan Maynard, Thomas Smith, Cornelius Van Horn, Jedediah Jewett, or Joseph Lawrence, as described by you nor of any Simpson Ellis, Prentis Field, Henry Wisewell, Nathan Loomis,  Aaron Thayer, Caleb Sawyer,  Nathaniel Loomis, Elisha Pratt, Israel Hobart, Jeremiah Shattuck or Matthias How. These names were searched under all spellings.  The records of Reuben Stearns, S14616, William Hobart, R. 5070, and Thomas Simpson, W. 15336 are furnished you herewith.                         

 Very Truly Yours,

A.D. Hiller
Executive Assistant
to the Administrator