Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 6537, John Ashcraft, Penn.
Page 1

(S-1776)

SERVICE NUMBER

Penn. Ashcraft, John S. 6537
or
Ashcraft

carded
CONTENTS
Page 2

2131
Virginia
===========================
John Ashcraft*
of Harrison in the State of Virginia who was a Private in the company commanded by Captain Ashcroft of the Regt. commanded by Col. _____ in the Virginia line for 12 months.

Dead John Ashcraft* June 2/04
Pa Line. 
Records Corrected.
============================
Inscribed on the Roll of Virginia at the rate of 40 dollars per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
=============================
Certificate of Pension issued the 19 day of Nov. 1832 and deld. to J. Johnson.
==============================
Arrears to 4th of Sep '32                    $60.00
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 May 37 20.00
                                                           _______
                                                           $80.00
{Revolutionary Claim,}
Act June 7, 1832}

Recorded by Gee. C. Stiles Clerk,
Book D, Vol. 7 Page 60.


(illegible): Agent 12th March 1835.
Date of death recd M.A. 13.
Page 3

John Ashcraft
Declaration
Page 4

Virginia
Harrison County

On this 28th day of July in the year 1832 personally appeared before me, Joseph Johnson, a justice of the peace in and for the county aforesaid, John Ashcraft, aged ninety-five years, who being first sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following statement in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7 1832.

That he was drafted into the service of the United States and placed under the command of Capt. Ashcraft of the county of Fayette, Pa. in the spring of 1781; that he marched to Fort Pitt, joined the army under General Clark, (illegible) the Ohio River to Wheeling where he was put under the command of Capt. Jacob Cline, from thence to the mouth of Kanawa where he was discharged having served six months. 

Soon after his return home he was again drafted in a company commanded by Capt. Moses Sutton, marched to Fort Pitt, from thence to Hannah Town, thence to Barro Fort where he was discharged, having served one month.

Soon after his return hone he was again ordered into the service under Seargeant Bown and went up the Monongahela River to guard the provision sent to a block house near Morgantown, Virg. after which he was discharged having served one month. 

After this he was frequently called out and sent in pursuit of the Indians who continued to harass the frontier settlement.  He cannot recollect how long or how often he served in that way but is confident it must have exceeded four months.
Page 5

He has lost several discharges long since, they having been considered of no value.  That he has no documentary evidence but relies upon the affidavit of his son, Uriah Ashcraft.  That he is very infirm and has been totally blind for the last eight years; that he is in indigent circumstances and needs the aid of his country.  

And the said John Ashcraft hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension role of any agency of any state.
Sworn and subscribed to the day and year aforesaid.
Signed:  John (his X mark) Ashcraft

Uriah Ashcraft, being sworn, saith that he is the son of John Ashcraft who hath signed the above declaration, that he is 67 years of age.  That he recollects that his father was drafted and served under Gen. Clark but does not remember the year or the length of time he served.  He further states that he knows that his father served at Hannah Town and Barro Port as he states.  And also upon the Monongahela River at (illegible) Block House and that he was in the service at other times but does not know how long he served.  
Signed:  Uriah Ashcraft

J. Johnson, J.P.
And I the said Joseph Johnson do hereby declare my opinion after this investigation of the matter and after putting these interrogatories prescribed by the War Department that the above named applicant was a soldier of the War of the Revolution and that he served as he states.  It is also my opinion that he is ninety-five years of age.  I furthermore certify that he is blind and unable to attend at the court house of this county. Given under my hand this 28th day of July, 1832.
Signed: J. Johnson J.P.U.L.
Page 6

   I David Davisson Clerk of the Court of Harrison County do hereby certify that Joseph Johnson who hath signed the above certificate was at the time and still and acting magistrate in and for the County aforesaid and that full faith and credit are due to all his acts and due as such.

   In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this 2nd day of November 1832. 
                                              //s//
                                    D. Davisson C.H.C.

    I ______ presiding justice of the court of Harrison County do hereby certify that the above-named David Davisson was and is the Judge of the County of Harrison and that full faith and credit are due to all his acts and deeds as such given under my hand this ___ day of August 1832.
Page 7

1st Brief

No, _____

John Ashcraft







Agt.
Page 8

BRIEF in the case of John Ashcroft of Harrison County of _____ in the state of Virginia.

(Act 7th June 1832.)

1.  Was the declaration made before a Court or Judge?  Before a Justice of the Peace.

2.  If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  Yes.

3.  How old is he?  95 years.

4.  State his service as directed in the form annexed.
============================== 
Period/Duration of Service/rank/Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.

Spring in 1781/6 months/As a __/Gen. Clark
             "  /1 month/As a __/Capt. Ashcroft
             " /1 month/As a __/Capt. Moses Sutton 
             "/4 months/As a__/Sergeant Brown

5.  In what battles was he engaged?  (None stated)

6.  Where did he reside when he entered the service? (No answer)

7.  Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls?  By our living witness & documentary.

8.  Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect?
They appear to be in due form.

CERTIFY that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.

                                        //s//
                                   James Orr 
                                  Examining Clerk
Page 9

May 23, 1934
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
John Ashcraft - S.6537
BA-J/AWF

Mrs. L. S. Houston
Hartselle
Alabama

Dear Madam:

    Reference is made to your letter on which you request the Revolutionary War record of John Ashcraft.
    The data furnished herein were obtained from the papers on file in pension claim, S.6537, based upon the Revolutionary War service of John Ashcraft (Ashcroft) that is found on file in the Revolutionary War record of this office.
    The date and place of birth of this soldier are not shown in the claim, nor are the names of his parents given.
    He enlisted in the spring of 1781 and served in Captain Ashcraft's company, marched to Fort Pitt and joined General Clark's expedition to Wheeling, where he was put under Captain Jacob Cline and went to the mouth of the Kanawha, where he was discharged, having served six months; this Captain Ashcraft under whom he served was of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, no relationship to the soldier given.  John Ashcraft again served (date not given) one month under Sergeant Brown; the last month was as guard to protect provisions at a blockhouse, near Morgantown, Virginia. He served up the Monongahela River.   He was also out on frequent alarms against the Indians, amounting to about two weeks.
    The soldier, John Ashcraft, was allowed pension in his application executed July 28, 1832, then aged
Page 10

ninety-five years and living in Harrison County, Virginia.

Uriah Ashcraft, son of the soldier, John Ashcraft, was sixty-seven years of age in 1832, and then in Harrison County, Virginia.

There are no further data in this claim concerning the family of John Ashcraft.

In order to obtain the date of the last payment of pension, the name and address to whom sent and possibly the date of death of this pensioner, you should apply to the Comptroller General, General Accounting Office, Records Division, Washington, D. C., citing the following data:

John Ashcroft (as he was pesnioned)
Certificate # 2132
Issued November 19, 1832
Rate $40.00 per annum
To commence March 4, 1831
Act of June 7, 1832
Virginia Agency.

Very truly yours

A. D. HILLER
Assistant to Administrator
Page 11

6537
Revolutionary
INVALID

File No.  6537
John Ashcraft*
Pri Rev War

Act: June 7th, '32
Index:-Vol. A, Page 11

(Arrangement of 1870.}

*John Ashcraft, June 2/04.
Records corrected.  ss

1929 - MCH 19 - Hist to H.M. Heavner   AWY
1932 - July - 10 - Hist to Mrs. E. H. Ashcraft   AWY
13th - May 22 - list to Mrs. L. S. Houston    AWY
Page 12

2nd. Brief

No. ______

John Ashcraft








Agt.
Page 13

N.

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 Ashcraft which require further proof or explanation.

I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides?
No.

II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides?
_

III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason assigned 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?
Yes. _

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?
The Justice has.

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 _
Page 14

2

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?
No.

XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it?
No.

XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had?

________________________________________

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?
And is the official character and signature of the magistrate certified by the proper officer under his seal of office?
No.

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?

XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered?
1st 2nd 3rd & 4th not answered _

__________

EPLANATORY NOTES.

QUERE V. In a case where the application 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 undesigned, 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 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."
Page 15

8

It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the 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.

QUERE XIC. Proof of Service.
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 claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which be belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.

QUERE XVI. Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticated the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the end 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.
Page 16

HOMER M. HEAVNER W. GUY TETRICK

HEAVNER & TETRICK

CLARKSBURG, W. VA, March 14th. 1929.

U. S. Pension Officer,
Washington, D. C.

Gentlemen:

On August 20th. 1928, I wrote you for some information about the service of John Ashcraft or Ashcroft, who served in the Virginia Militia during the American Revolution, and was granted a pension while residing in Harrison County, West Virginia.
I also asked for similar information about Joseph Britton who served with the Virginia State Troops during the Revolutionary War, and who was likewise granted a pension while residing in Harrison County, So far I have had a reply from you, will you not let me have the information asked for at an early date?
Thanking you in advance for an early reply, I am.
Yours very truly.
H M Heavner.
H. M. Heavner.

P. O. Box 267.

[stamped PENSION
O
March
U. 18 S.
1929
OFFICE]
Page 17

HOMER M. HEAVNER W. GUY TETRICK

HEAVNER & TETRICK

CLARKSBURG, W. VA, August 20th. 1928.

United States Pension Office,
Washington, D. C.
Gentlemen:
Will you please send me a certificate showing the Revolutionary services of John Ashcraft or Ashcroft, who served in the Virginia Militia during the Revolutionary War, and drew a pension while residing in Harrison County, (West) Virginia, also any genealogical or family data that may be found in his application or supporting affidavits for his pension.
Also the same information on Joseph Britton, who served with the Virginia State Troops, and was granted a pension while residing in Harrison County, (West) Virginia.
Thanking you in advance for this information and hoping that you will let me hear from you at an early date, I am,
Very truly yours.
H. M. Heavner
H. M. Heavner,
P. O. Box 267.

[stamped PENSION
F
AUG
U. 23 S
1928
OFFICE]
Page 18

June - 14 - 1931

Pension Bureau, Rev Section,

   Will you please send me the pension record of John Ashcraft, private, Harrison Co. Va. Militia - pensioned 1832.

Thank you,
Mrs. E. H. Ashcraft
2008 Taylor St.
Amarillo, Texas.
Page 19

Lewis H. Houston
John L. Houston

PEOPLES DRUG COMPANY
Prescription Druggists
The REXALL Store
Phone 
Hartselle, Alabama 5/8/34

(date stamp)
Received
May 11 1934
Mail Sub Div
Vets Adm 
Reader #22

Veterans Administration
Washington, D.C.

Dear Sirs:

   Will you kindly give me the full war record of John Ashcraft, who marched from Penna. to Monroe, N.C. with General Marion in the Revolutionary War.  I wish to join the D.A.R. and need this record to complete my chart.  He came from Scotland and settled in Penn. later joining General Marion's Company.
    Your courtesy in helping me will be appreciated.

                                    Respectfully,
                                    Mrs. L. H. Houston
Page 20

Rev. and 1812
War Section
AWF col
xxxxxxxxxx
July 18, 1931

Mrs. E. H. Ashcraft         Rev. & 1812 War Section
2008 Taylor Street         AWF
Amarillo, Texas

Dear Madam:

    You are advised that it appears from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim, S. 6537, that John Ashcraft enlisted in the spring of 1781 and served in Captain Ashcrat's Company of Pennsylvania Troops, marched to Fort Pitt and joined General Clark's expedition to Wheeling, where he was put under Captain Jacob Cline and went to the mouth of the Kanakha, where he was discharged, having served six months.  Soon after this, he served one month under Captain Moses Sutton's Company, and one month under Sergeant Brown.  He was also out on frequent alarms against the Indians. amounting to about four months.
    He was allowed pension on his application executed July 28, 1832, at which time he was living in Harrison County Virginia, and was aged ninety-five years. 
    His son, Uriah Ashcraft, was sixty-seven years in 1832.  There are no further data as to family.
    The above noted John Ashcraft is the only soldier of that name found in the Revolutionary War records of this office and said records fail to afford any information in regard to any Dick (Richard) Sisco.
                                           Very truly yours,
                                            A. D. Hiller
                                            Assistant to 
                                                Administrator
Page 21

H. M. Heavner
P. O. Box 267
Clarksburg, West Virginia

Sir:

I advise you from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim, S. 6537, it appears that John Ashcraft or Ashcroft enlisted in the spring of 1781 and served in Captain Ashcraft's Company of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, marched to Fort Pitt, and joined General Clark's expedition to Wheeling and was under Captain Jacob Cline and served six months. Soon after this, he served one month in Captain Moses Sutton's Company and one month under Sergeant Brown. He was also out on frequent alarms against the Indians amounting to about four months.
He was allowed pension on his application executed July, 28, 1832, at which time he was living in Harrison County, Virginia, aged ninety-five years.
His son, Uriah Ashcraft, was sixty-seven years old in 1832.
There are no further family data.

Respectfully,

E. W. MORGAN
Acting Commissioner.