Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File W. 24,514, for Thomas Leavitt, New Hampshire
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(3-1776)

SERVICE
N.H.

Leavitt, Thomas 
Mary

NUMBER
W. 24,514

CONTENTS
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5274
New Hampshire Portsmouth
Mary Leavitt Deceased
widow of Thomas who died on the (blank) of (blank) in the State of N. H. who was a Lieut & Qr Mr. in the (blank) commanded by Captain (blank) of the (blank) commanded by (blank) in the Revolution for 7 mos Lieut  3 mos 8 days Qr Mr

Inscribed on the Roll of Portsmouth at the rate of 158 Dollars 66 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831, & endg 1s May 1840

Certificate of Pension issued the 2d day of March 1834 and sent to Freeman Bradford

Arrears to the 4th of present 
Semi=annual allowance ending

Revolutionary Claim, Act July 4, 1836, Section the 3d

Recorded by H R Weightman Clerk
Book D. Vol. 2, Page 337
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Freeman Bradford
Present
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State of New Hampshire 
Secretary's Office, Concord
February 16, 1854

I hereby certify, That at the date of the annexed attestations John S. Hobb was a Justice of the Peace for the county of Rockingham in the said State, duly commissioned and qualified; and that to his acts and attestations, as such, full faith and credit are and ought to be given, in and out of Court. 
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed the Seal of the State, the date above written.
John S. Hadley
Secretary of State.
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State of New Hampshire County of Rockingham
Be it known that on this fourth day of February AD 1854 before the undersigned a Justice of the Peace in and for the County and state aforesaid personally appeared Mary Marston a resident of North Hampton in the County aforesaid aged seventy seven years who on oath states that she is one of the surviving children of Mary Leavitt late of North Hampton deceased, - That her said mother Mary Leavitt was the widow of Thomas Leavitt who was as she believes an officer in the Army of the Revolution, that her father was a Lieut, and Quarter Master and served seven months or more. She further states that her mother Mary Leavitt made application for the benefit of the provisions of the Act of July 4yh 1836, in her life time to wit - in 1837, that her claim was not allowed, for the reason as she believes that the whole of her fathers service could not be proved, that since that time new evidence has been discovered which is herewith addressed. She refers the Commissioner of pensions to the evidence of her mother's marriage now on file in the Pension Office and to other proof in the case, and she alledges that her mother was married prior to the service of her father in the war of the Revolution, She further states that her mother the said
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Mary Leavitt died on the first day May AD 1840 and that she the said Mary Marston, Abigail Lawrence and Clarissa Lovering are the only surviving children of said Mary Leavitt deceased. And I Mary Marston do hereby constitute and appoint Freeman Bradford Esquire of Portland Maine my true and lawfull Attorney for me and in my name and for my use to prosecute this my claim for a Pension and to receive from the Commissioner of Pensions the Pension Certificate that may be issued on this application. said certificate to be made payable at Portsmouth N.H. hereby revoking all powers of attorney heretofore made by me in relation to this claim.
Mary Marston X her mark

Signed and sworn to by the said Mary Marston on the day and year first above written who acknowledged the above Power of Attorney for the purposes therein specified, Before me
John S. Hobbs, Justice of the Peace
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I Jonathan French of North Hampton in the County of Rockingham and State of New Hampshire, depose & say, that I am senior Pastor of the Congregational Church of North Hampton in the County and State aforesaid, and was the sole pastor of said church, & its clerk for fifty successive years commencing with my ordination, Novr. 18, 1801; and that I have free access to the records of said church, as made by my predecessors & my self from Octr. 22 1766 to the present time. I also depose & say, that I find in said church records the following entry in the hand writing of one of my predecessors in this pastorate, viz "Marriages" "prme. J. S. Hastings" "1767" "April 14 Thomas Leavitt and Mary Fogg both of North Hampton."I also certify that I was well acquainted with the said Col. Thomas Leavitt & Mary his wife, who survived him; and that I was a boarder in their family nearly two years, and that my acquaintance with them continued till they deceased. I further say that or several years in the former part of my ministry I did not usually record the dates of deaths, but recorded the dates of burials of the persons who deceased among us; I also testify that the burial of Col Thomas Leavitt aforenamed took place according the records above named, as made by my own hand in A.D. 1830 March 22d aged about 85, and that the burial of Mary Leavitt widow of the above named Thomas Leavitt took place May 3, 1840, as was recorded by me in said records, she being aged about 90. The only surviving children of the before named widow are as I have reason to believe Mary, widow of Jonathan Marston, Abigail the
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wife of decd. Ebenezer Lawrence; and Clarissa the wife of Ebenezer Lovering.
I hereby also testify that I have no interest in any claim to which this deposition may have reference this 4th of Feby. 1854 North Hampton. N. H. Attest Jona. French

Rockingham SS, North Hampton, Feb. 4th 1854
Then personally appeared the above named Jonathan French, a man well known to me as a man of truth & made oath to the truth of the above named affidavit by him signed
before me John S. Hobbs Justice of the Peace
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I Abraham Leavitt of North Hampton in the County of Rockingham and State of New Hampshire, on oath state that I am seventy five years of age and have known the family of Thomas Leavitt & Mary Leavitt his widow for more than fifty years last past. Thomas Leavitt was represented to have been in the Revolutionary war, and he died about twenty years ago - He left Mary Leavitt his widow and she died about thirteen years ago. The children & only surviving children of Mary Leavitt are Mary Marston, Abigail Lawrence & Clarrissa Lovering - I have no interest in this claim
Abraham Leavitt

County of Rockingham SS February 4th 1854
Then personally appeared the above named Abraham Leavitt well known to me as a man of truth and made oath to the truth of the above affidavit by him signed-
Before me, John S. Hobbs, Justice of the Peace
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Declaration
In order to obtain the benefit of the 3d section of the Act of Congress of the 4th July 1836

State of New Hampshire Rockingham SS
On this thirteenth day of September AD 1837 personally appeared before the Hon John Harvey Judge of Probate for said County at a Probate Court then holden at Exeter in said County.
Mary Leavitt a resident of North Hampton in said County and State aged 87 years who being first duly sworn according to law doth on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the Act of Congress passed July 4, 1836:
The she is the widow of Col Thomas Leavitt late of said North Hampton deceased who was an officer in the Revolutionary Army of the United States and served in the war of the revolution, and, according to the best of her recollection and belief, as follows: He served as a Lieutenant at Portsmouth in this State two months in the year 1776 to guard that town and the neighboring forts. The applicant believes that he was twice stationed at Portsmouth once in the winter and once in warm weather and that he was there at one time two months and at another nearly as long. He was also repeatedly called upon to guard the sea coast in the neighborhood of North Hampton, and always obeyed the call, and was for a very considerable part of the year 1776 and 1777 engaged as an officer in the service of his country, but the applicant is unable to specify the several periods of his service upon the seacoast, or the amount of the whole. In the summer of 1777 he was appointed Quarter Master in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Abraham Drake and served as Quarter Master in that Regiment, and was
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with it at the taking of Burgoyne and he served out the time for which Drake's Regiment was engaged and for several weeks after it was discharged or dismissed during which time he was engaged in settling up the affairs of his department as Quarter Master, and in seeing to the sick and wounded. The applicant well recollects that her husband, after Colonel Drake came home, remained a long time with the army - she cannot remember how long, but thinks about two months. He joined the Regiment as Quarter Master in the summer of 1777 and returned home in the winter following. The precise time of his going or returning she cannot state but believes he was from home, on that tour of duty, between five and six months. She is unable to give dates precisely but is positive that her husband remained in the army settling up the affairs of the Regiment several weeks after Colonel and soldiers from North Hampton came home and for the term of service of the Regiment she refers to the rolls and records in the department of war. The dwelling home of her said husband was consumed by fire in the spring of the year 1822 and his papers were mostly burnt therein, leaving none that she is able to find dated so far back as the Revolutionary war.
She further declares that she was married to the said Thomas Leavitt in the month of April in the year1767 by the Rev Josephh S. Hastings  then the settled ministree of said North Hampton; that she had four children by him before he joined Col Drakes Regiment; that her husband the said Thomas Leavitt died at said North Hampton on the 20th day of March 1830 and that she has remained a widow ever since that period as will more fully appear by reference to the proof hereto annexed
Mary Leavitt X her mark

Witness John Kelly
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Sworn to and subscribed the day and year first aforesaid
John Harvey Judge of Probate

And the said Court does hereby declare the opinion that the above named applicant was married to the said Thomas Leavitt and that he died at the times in her declaration mentioned and that she hath ever since remained his widow
John Harvey Judge of Probate

I John Kelly Register of Probate for said County do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the Court of Probate for said County in the matter of the petition of Mary Leavitt for a pension. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of said Court this thirteenth day of September AD 1837
John Kelly Register of Probate