Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 7449, for Samuel Morton, Maryland
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Service
MD

Name
Morton, Samuel

Numbe
R.7449
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State of Maryland Saint Mary's County

On this fourth day of April 1834 personally appeared before me Henry Fowler a Justice of the Peace of the state and for the county aforesaid, Samuel Morton a resident of Saint Mary's County in the state aforesaid aged seventy-seven 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 provisions made by the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832. That he enlisted in the army of the United States in the year 1777 with George Adams and served in Col. Marbury's regiment of the Maryland line under the following named officers; Gen Smallwood, Col Marbury, and Capt. Wm Wilkinson under whom he served the full space of two months and was a sergeant in the said Capt. Wilkinson's company during which service he was in the battle of Germantown, that he resided in the county of Prince George's in the state of Maryland at the time of his entering said service - that after he was discharged from the aforesaid service he was pressed by the same officers to guard the baggage from Philadelphia to Baltimore in which service he remained ten days when he was discharged.

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity except the present and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency in any state.

Samuel Morton

Sworn to and subscribe the day and year aforesaid before me.

Henry Fowler
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State of Maryland Saint Mary's County to wit

I hereby certify that Henry Fowler Gentleman before whom the within affidavit was taken and made and whose name appears thereto signed was at the time thereof an still is one of the Justices of the Peace of the state of Maryland in and for the county aforesaid duly commissioned and sworn and to all act by him done in that capacity full faith and credit are and ought to be given as well in courts of justice as thereout.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of my office this tenth day of April eighteen hundred and thirty-four.

Jo Harris - Clerk
Saint Mary's C.C.

SEAL
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Brandon Vt May 25th 1853

Attn Court of Pension

Dear Sir

James Morton of Sudbury, Vt made application for arrears of pension as heir to Samuel Morton in 1850 as he informs me; through Daniel Broughton a sort of traveling self-constituted agent but has heard nothing from it for two years past.

The only communication which he ever received as he tells me from the Department was in 1850 requiring from him the time of the death of his Father Samuel Morton" his age at the time he died. The evidence asked for he does not know whether it had ever been forwarded to the Department or not.

Samuel Morton Father to the applicant was a soldier in the War of the revolution 7years & engaged in 17 general battles. He died in the poor house in that Athol, Mass. March 13th, 1837, aged between 90 and 100 years.

The object of this inquiry is to ascertain if Hames Morton's application has been paid?

What further proof is required to prove the service of the soldier & his death, age, and to entitle his only son to pension from 1835 to the time of his father's death in 1837.

Very respectfully

B Davenport - Agent
for James Morton
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REJECTED
7449
Saml Morton
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District of Columbia
County of Washington, viz

On this 21st day of July 1831 before me the subscriber one of the Justices of the Peace in and for the county aforesaid personally appears Geroge Adams and makes oath on the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God that in the year 1777 he turned out as a volunteer in the state of Maryland with Sergeant Samuel Morton and joined the revolutionary army by entering the company commanded by Capt. William Wilkinson in the Regt commanded by Col. Marbury in the line of the state of Maryland, on the Continental Establishment and that he served for and during the space of two months in one continued service and that during that period, he was in the Battle of Germantown. That he is now seventy-two years old, residing in Georgetown in the district of Columbia and that the reason of his not making an earlier application for a pension is that he was ignorant of any provision having been made by Congress for that description of troops to which he belonged.

Sworn to before

Edmund Brooke
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Revolutionary Claims

[B.]

Form of a declaration to be made by the Non-Commissioned Officers, Musicians, and Privates

For the purpose of obtaining the benefits of the act entitled "An act for the relief of certain surviving Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Revolution" approved on the 15th of May 1828, I Samuel Morton of t blank in the County of St. Mary's in the state of Maryland do hereby declare that I enlisted in the continental line of the Army of the Revolution as a volunteer in 1777 and continued in its service for the space of two months which I was discharged at which period I was a Sergeant in Capt. Wm Wilkinson's company in the Gen Smallwood Regt of the Maryland Line. And I also declare that I never received certificates for the reward of eighty dollars; to which I was entitled under a resolve of Congress passed the 15th of May 1778.

And I further declare that I was not on the fifteenth day of May 1828 on the Pension List of the United States.

Witness my hand this twenty-second day of October in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.

Samuel Morton

Note: The most convenient Branch Bank of the U.S. is at Washington
The most convenient Post Office is at Charlotte Hall, MD.

Before me Edmund Brooke a Justice of the Peace in the county of Washington in the District of Columbia personally appeared this day George Adams & Walter Smoot of the said county persons known to me as credible witnesses who did severally make oath that Samuel Morton by whom the foregoing declaration was subscribed is generally reputed and believed to have been a soldier in the army of the revolution in manner as therein stated.

Witness my hand this twenty-second day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.

Edmund Brooke

District of Columbia County of Washington 
I William Brent clerk of the court for the county of Washington in the District aforesaid do hereby certify that Edmund Brooke Esq before whom the foregoing affidavits were sworn was at the time a Justice of the Peace for the county aforesaid and duly empowered to administer oaths.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the court this third day of December 1831.

Wm Brent - Clerk
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State of Maryland Saint Mary's County to wit

February the 11th 1834 then came Samuel Morton before the subscriber a Justice of the Peace in and for the county and state aforesaid who after being duly sworn deposeth and sayeth that he is the identical man referred to in the deposition of George Adams of the District of Columbia as having been a Sergeant in Captain Wilkinson's company which company was attached to Colonel Marbury's Regiment upon the continental system.

Sworn to before
Charles C Egerton
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War Department
Pension Office
March 8, 1834

Sir

I hereiwth return the papers of Samuel Morton together with a printed form of the declaration required under the act of June 7th, 1832.

I will here observe that in the affidavit of George Adams it is there stated through inadvertence no doubt that the applicant seved for and during the space of two months.

It is required by the Department that the credibility of all witnesses should be certified to by the Magistrate before whom an affidavit is made and also the official character and signature of the magistrate shall be certified to by the clerk of the county.

I have the honor to be
your obt servant
J.L. Edwards

Hon. J T Stodert
House of Rep
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Samuel Morton
Maryland
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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 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.

A Statement showing the Service of

Period when the service was rendered:

Duration of the claimant's services in Years, Months and Days:

Rank of the Claimant:

Name and rank of the Field officers under whom he served:

Age at present and place of abode when he entered the service:

Proof by which the declaration is supported:

I am respectfully
Your obedient Servant

J.L. Edwards,
Commissioner of Pensions
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-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 officers, 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 County of }ss. 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 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 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, in 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 of any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of the Agency in the State of Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. A. B. [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) hereby 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 day 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. who has signed the preceding certificate, is a clergyman, resident in the 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 produce the best proof in his power. This is the original discharge or commission; but it 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 produce 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 will be indispensable to a favorable action upon his case. The facts stated will afford one of the principal means of 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 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? 4. How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, 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 a 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. [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 satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had. Every claimant must state, 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. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words: " Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of bis service; but, according to the best of his recollection, he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades: For year months, and days, I served as a ; For mouths 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 au embodied corps called into service by competent authority that lie 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 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 ribbon, 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. The notes from [a] to [j] are all 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.