Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 4,672, for John Simmons, North Carolina
Page 1

(3-1776) 
SERVICE
N.C. 
Simmons, John 
NUMBER
S. 4,672
carded
CONTENTS
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See letter 21
Feb 1835 to J. Cade
& Pen Agt
U. Manly Feby 13, 1857.


26931
East Tennessee
Grainger Co. in the State of Tenn who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain Buster in the Regt. commanded by Col. Martin in the N. Carolina troops Militia
8./6 5 Is. Jr. $27.21

Inscribed on the Roll of E Tenn at the rate of 20 Dollars - Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 16 day of July and Sent to John Cocke Rutledge

Arrears to the 4th of Mch. '24           81.63
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sep    13.60
          $95.23

{Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 132.}

Recorded by JT Sprague Clerk,
Book E2  Vol. 7  Page 74
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John Simmons 
Declaration

289S8
Pension Declaration of John Simmons
No
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State of Tennessee 
Grainger County 
     On this 18th day of November 1833 personally appeared in open Court, John Simmons a resident citizen in the County of Grainger and State of Tennessee aged eighty years on the first day of December last past (1832), 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 in the Army of the United States in the 
year 1776 and under Captain John Buster in the Regiment commanded by General Rutherford and Colonel James Martin and Colonel John Pastley.  I resided in the County of Guilford and State of North Carolina when I was drafted for and served a three months tour under Captain Buster and was marched from Guilford Court House to Salisbury in the state of North Carolina.  From Salisbury we marched against the Cherokee tribe of Indians upon the Tennessee River where we remained until I term of service had expired and 
then we returned home.  In the fall of the same year (1776) I volunteered and served one month under Captain Buster Colonel Paisley and Major
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Owans in an expedition against a party of Tories encamped on the Haw River – and after dispersing the Tories we returned home. 
In the year 1779 I was elected and served as Lieutenant under Captain Glenn's Company 
in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Paisley at Rockingham Court House in the State of North Carolina and marched from thence to Guilford Court House where we rendezvoused; we marched from Guilford Court House to Deep River in Randolph County where we were stationed for a few days, and after remaining there, some short time we returned home.  We were 
gone in this expedition against the Tories five or six weeks.  In the year 1781 – I was again called into service (then retaining my commission as Lieutenant) by Colonel Paisley and served three months under Captain William Glenn in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Paisley at Guilford Court House and from thence we marched to Salisbury where we remained until I was discharged.  He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of any agency in any State. 
Sworn to and subscribed 
the day and year aforesaid 
           John Simmons
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Interrogatories required to be propounded by the Court (to wit) 
1st Where and in what year were you born? 
Answer.  I was born in Bertie County in the State of North Carolina on the first day of December 
1752. 
2nd Have you any record of your age and if so where is it? 
Answer.  I have a record of my age at home in my Bible. 
3rd Where were you living when called into service: where have you lived since the 
Revolutionary War and where do you now live? 
Answer.  [Illegible word written over] first tour of service I lived in Guilford County afterwards 
Rockingham and State of North Carolina then during the rest of my tours I was living in 
Rockingham County until the termination of the War, when I moved to Greenville District and State of South Carolina where I resided until sometime in March 1801 when I moved to Grainger County and State of Tennessee where I have lived ever since. 
4th How were you called into service; were you drafted; did you volunteer or were you a 
substitute, and if in substitute, for whom? 
Answer.  For the first 3 months tour I was drafted, for the second tour I volunteered and for the third and fourth times I was commissioned by Colonel Paisley as a Lieutenant under Capt
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Glenn. 
5th State the names of some of the regular officers who were with the troops when you served, such Continental and militia regiments as you can recollect and the general circumstances of your service. 
Answer.  The Officers under whom first I served were General Rutherford, Colonel Martin, 
Colonel Paisley, Major Owens and Captain Buster and Captain Glenn.  For the general 
circumstances of my service I would refer to the body of my declaration. 
6th Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given and what has become of it? 
Answer.  I did receive my discharge from my Officers under whom I served but I have long since lost or mislaid them. 
7th Did you ever receive a commission as Lieutenant and if so by whom was it given and what has become of it? 
Answer.  I received a commission as Lieutenant from Colonel James Martin but I lost or mislaid 
it so that I am unable now to find it. 
8th . 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 in your services as a soldier in the revolution.
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Answer.  I will state that I am known to Thomas Brown, Jarrett Norris, John Love and many 
other respectable persons to whom I could name if necessary. 

We Charles McAnally a clergyman residing in said county and John Chesney residing in the same hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John Simmons who has subscribed & sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be eighty years of age and that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to be a soldier of the revolution and that we concur in that opinion. 
                 C McAnally
                 John Chesney
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid

And the said Court hereby declares him a pension after the investigation of the matter and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the war department and the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier & served as he states and the Court further certifies that it appears to them that C McAnally who has signed the preceding
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certificate is a clergyman resident of the County of Grainger and that John Chesney who has also signed the same is a resident in County of Grainger and is a credible person and that their statement is entitled to credit.

     I John Cocke Clerk of the Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions of the County of Grainger do hereby certify that the above & foregoing contains the original preceding of the said Court in the matter of the application of John Simmons for a pension.
     In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this 18th day of November 1833

(seal)
John Cocke Clerk
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28968
John Simmons
Tennessee
Pension Office

June 16 1834
Pension Office
from 1776 for 8 mo
5 days
               $27.21/100

John Cocke
Rutledge
Tennessee
Clk
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WAR DEPARTMENT.
Pension Office.

Sir:
     The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has been examined, and the papers are herewith returned.  The following is a statement of your case in a tabular form.  On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed.  The notes and the regulations will shew what is necessary to be done.  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, and 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 John Simmons
Period which the service was rendered.
1776
"
1779
1781

Duration of the claimant's service.
Years. Months. Days.
-3-
-1-
-1  5
-3-

Rank of the claimant.
Pr.
"
Lt.
Lt.

Name and rank of the Field officers under whom he served.
Cap. Buster
Col Martin
do do
Capt Glenn
Col Pasely
do do

Age at present and place of above when he entered the service.
80
N.C.

Proof by which the declaration is supported.
Traditionary

In the opinion given by the court the blank are not filled up.
Unless it can be proved that the applicant was commissioned and served as a Lieutenant, he can only be allowed at the rate of a privates pay.
                     I am, respectfully,
                          Your obedient servant,
                          JAMES L. EDWARDS,
                            Commissioner of Pensions.

The proof of the applicants services as a Lieutenant can not be obtained only by his own statement of the matter - as he has long since lost his commission.
                         John Cocke
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       REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832
     The following regulations have been adopted:
     This law has been construed to extend, as well to the line as to every branch of the Staff of the Army, and to include under the terms "Continental Line,"  "State troops,". "militia", and "Volunteers," all persons enlisted, drafted, or who volunteered and who were bound to military service, but not those who were occasionally employed with the army upon civil contracts, such as clerks to Commissaries and to Store Keepers, &c. Teamsters, Boatmen, &c.  Persons who served on board of private armed vessels are also excluded from the benefits of the law, as well as persons who turned out as patrols, or were engaged in guarding particular places at night, and were not recognized as being in actual military service.
     Four general classes of cases are embraced in this law:
       1.  The Regular Troops.
       2.  The State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers.
       3.  Persons employed in the Naval Service.
       4.  Indian Spies.
     As rolls of the regular troops in the Revolutionary War exist in this Department, all persons claiming the benefit of this law as officers, non-commissioned 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
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alleged service, as they are known at the Department.  A very full account of the services of each person 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 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.
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Rev War
4672
INVALID.

File No. 4672
John Simmons
Pvt. N.C. Line

Act:  June 7 32

Index: - Vol. A, Page 341

[Arrangement of 1870.]
Page 15

Treasury Department
Third Auditors Office
Feb'y 12. 1837

Sir:
     I return the papers in the case of John Simmons, East Tennessee roll, under Act of June 7, 1832, at $27.21 per annum, enclosed in your enquiry of the 10th inst. & in reply.  I have to state that his pension appears to have been paid to March 4, 1838.
                     Very Respectfully
                     Your obt. servt.
                          Rob. J. Atkinson
                               Auditor

Geo. C. Whiting Esq.
Commr. of Pensions
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                Marshall Ill
                Jan. 12th 1857

Sir:
      The heirs of John Syman or Simon inform me that their father was allowed a Pension under act 7 June 1832 and that for some reason, the certificate was with held -
     He made application from Grainger or Claiborne Co. Tennessee
     I will thank you for information on the subject in order that they may know whether it is worth while to apply for the arrears or not.
                  Very Respectfully
                   Uri Manly