Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 6,300, for William Frederick Lenss, New York
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(3-1776)

SERVICE
New York

Lenss, William Frederick

NUMBER
R. 6.300

CONTENTS
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 State of New York 
St. Lawrence County } ss. Adam Millious of the Town of Oswegatchie in said County being duly sworn says that he this Deponent is well acquainted with William Frederick Lenss who resides in the said Town of Oswegatchie & who is the applicant for a Pension under the act of June 7 1832 & who has subscribed & sworn to the annexed Declaration & has been well acquainted with him for the Term of Thirty four years last past. That he the said William Fredrick Lenss has always been reputed to have a Soldier of the Revolutionary War that this Deponent never heard any one express any doubt of this fact - during his acquaintance with him as aforesaid he has frequently heard said Lenss detail his said services in the Revolutionary War and he this Deponent firmly believe him to have been a Soldier in the Revolution he has always understood him to be such & has no doubt of it his 
[signed] Adam Millious  X his mark
Subscribed & Sworn before me this 12th day of June 1833 
[signed] A C Brown Justice Peace

I Anthony C Brown the undersigned Justice of the Peace hereby certify that I am well acquainted with Adam Millious who testified to the above affidavit before me & have been acquainted for the term of Eighteen years last past and I further certify that he
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is a man of truth & veracity and that he is a man of a good morale character & a good & worthy Inhabitant of the said Town of Oswegatchie & a respectable Farmer possessing & owning an Independent property that he does not write his name but always makes his mark to papers Executed by him ever since undersigned Knew him as far as the knowledge of the undersigned extends & is a creditable witness 
[signed] A. C Brown Justice Peace 

State of New York 
St. Lawrence County } ss
I Alvin C Low Clerk of the said County do hereby certify that Anthony C Brown before whom the foregoing affidavit purports to have been sworn and whose name appears to the preceding Certificate was at the date of the same a Justice of the Peace in & for the said County duly Elected & sworn and that I am well acquainted with the hand writing of the said Justice of the Peace and verily believe that his name subscribed to the said affidavit and Certificate to be his proper hand writing & signature 
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of Office this 1st day of July 1833
[signed] A Dorr Clk
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State of New York
St Lawrence County } ss  William Frederick Lenss a resident of the Town of Oswegatchie in said County being duly sworn maketh oath and Saith that he is the applicant for a Pension in the annexed papers named and in addition to his former Declaration further Saith that this Decarant has no Documentary Evidence other than the papers hereunto annexed to prove his services in the Revolutionary War nor does he know of any living witness by whom his said services could be proved and that such proof cannot be had 
That he is unable to write his name and that he affixed his mark to his former Declaration & that he supposed untill the return of said Declaration that that the Clerk of St Lawrence County wrote his full name to said Declaration but it appears that Frederick Lenss is all that was written by said Clerk which was a mistake of his which is corrected by the order of this Declarant 
[signed] William Frederick Lenss  X his mark
Subscribed & Sworn before me this 27th day of June 1833 
[signed] A. Brown Justice Peace

I Anthony C Brown the undersigned Justice of the Peace do hereby certify that William Frederick Lenss is a man of truth & Veracity & of a good moral character & that I fully believe him to have been a Solder of the Revolutionary War
[signed] A C Brown Justice Peace
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State of New York
St Lawrence County } ss. 
I, Alvin C Low Clerk of the said County do hereby certify that Anthony C Low before whom the foregoing last mentioned deposition of William F Lenss purports to have been taken and whose name appears to the preceding certificate was at the date of the same a Justice of the Peace in & for the said County duly elected & sworn and that I am well acquainted with the hand writing of the said Justice of the Peace and verily believe his name subscribed to the said deposition and certificate to be his proper hand writing and Signature 
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and and affixed the seal of said County this 1st day of July 1833 
[signed] A C Low Clk
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War Department 
Pension Office 16. June 1828. 
Sir
In reply to your enquiry of the 7th instant I have to state that the claim of William Frederick Lenss was rejected on the 8 July 1825, and information of that decision communicated in my letter of that date to M. B. Hitchcock Esq, Ogdenburg, New York, an extract of which is herewith enclosed. 
I am very respectfully 
Your Obt. Servt 
[signed] J. L. Edwards

Baron S. Doty Esq.
Ogdenburg 
N. York
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Extract of a letter from the Pension office, dated the 8th July 1825, to M. B. Hitchcock, Esq. Ogdensburg New York.

"Frederick Lenss' claim has also been examined, and rejected, the service set forth in his declaration, not having been on Continental establishment. Col. Willet under whom he states to have served, was not a continental officer. The declaration will remain on our files agreeably to the regulations of the Department."

I am very respectfully
Your obt. Servant
J. L. Edwards

(Signed)
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Wm. Frederick Lenss
21485
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Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7, 1832: 
State of New York 
St Lawrence County } ss
On this nineteenth day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and thirty two - Personally appeared in open Court, before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of St Lawrence now sitting, William Frederick Lenss a resident of Oswegatchie in the County aforesaid and State of New York, aged Eighty five years the Eleventh day of April last past, an applicant for a pension under the act aforesaid, being unable to appear in Court by reason of bod who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress, passed June 7th 1832: That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as herein stated. That he the said William Frederick Lenss sometime in the fore part of the month of April, 1782, at Nobletown, in the County (now) of Columbia and State aforesaid enlisted in the company commanded by Capt Pierce in Col John McKinstry's Regiment, for the term of three years or during the war, and received a bounty of forty dollars in money. 
That he was immediately thereafter ordered to march to Albany in said State, to which place he accordingly marched under the immediate command of Lieut Richardson of the said Company where he was mustered. That shortly after, he and his said company were assigned and attached to Colonel Willet’s Regiment, and was marched up the Mohawk River to a place called Fort Plain, where the said Company and Regiment aforesaid, remained until sometime in the month
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of September. In the same year the company was ordered to march to Owego on Lake Ontario, to which place they commenced their march and had proceeded to some distance on the River and Lake towards Oswego but did not arrive there, by reason of bad weather and storms, and returned to Fort Plain on the Mohawk aforesaid, for winter quarters, and there he the said William Frederick remained doing duty as a soldier in the said Company, in the United States Service until some time in the month of October 1783, when he was "furloughed,” by a written furlough, for the term of one month, and on the back thereof was written an honorable discharge, subject however, if required further to serve, to hold himself in readiness, and he the said William Frederick Lenss saith that he was not called upon thereafter - that he was discharged by Colonel Willet. And the said William Frederick, further saith, that during the time he was so stationed at Fort Plain, he and his company were almost continually in action in skirmishes with the Indians and Tories: that one battle was fought at French Creek near Fort Plain in which he was and in which Butler, the Indian Commander, it was said was killed; and further that he was well acquainted with almost all the officers of Colonel Willets Regiment, to wit; Colonel Willet - Major Wright, Adjutant Moore- Capt Pierce, (of his Company). Capt Tierce, Capt Newell, Capt Carnon, and Capt Harris 
And this deponent further saith, that he verily believes and supposed that those Regiments of which Col John McKinstry and Col Willet were Commanders, were on the Continental Establishment, until by an extract from a letter from the Pension Office hereunto annexed, it appears that Col. Willet’s Regiment in which he served, was not in that service, but State Troops of the State of New York;-
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And this deponent further says that he was born in Germany, in the year 1747, as appears by the Record of it in his Bible and Day Book at his place of Residence, which is all the Record thereof to his knowledge; That at the time of his enlistment he resided in Great Barrington in the State of Massachusetts and after he was discharged as aforesaid, he returned to Great Barrington and resided there about two years. That he removed from that place to Philipstown, now in the County of Rensselaer and State of New York, where he resided for the space of three years - thence he removed to Arlington in the State of Vermont, where he resided for the space of ten years, and from thence he removed to Grindstone Island in the River St Lawrence, on the United States’ side, where he has resided principally since the Revolutionary war, until lately, and lastly in the town of Oswegatchie aforesaid, partly on the charity of a connexion of his at that place. And this deponent saith unto the seven Interrogatories propounded by said Court 
Firstly - That he was born in Germany.
Secondly - That he knows of no other Record of his age than what is noted in his Bible and Day Book at 
Thirdly - That he was living at Great Barrington, in the State of Massachusetts, adjoining Nobletown in the County of Columbia and State of New York when he was first called into service as aforesaid, and that in the Revolution he has lived at Great Barrington aforesaid - at Philipstown aforesaid - at Arlington aforesaid at - Grindstone Island aforesaid, and at Oswegatchie in the County of St Lawrence aforesaid 
Fourthly - That he enlisted into Capt Pierce’s Company, in the United State service 
Fifthly - The names of the Regular Officers or of the State Troops under which he served were Col. John McKinstry
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Col Willet, Major Wright - Adjutant Moore, Captains Pierce - Tierce, Newell, Carnon and Harris,, and the circumstances of my said services are as near as I can recollect, as above stated 
Sixthly - That he had received a discharge from the service but the same is lost or destroyed 
Seventhly - That he this deponent is known in his present neighborhood by Ira Butler James Harrington & Anthony Lenss who can testify to his character for veracity, and their belief of his service as a Soldier of the Revolution. 
And this deponent doth hereby relinquish every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, and declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State and that he is unable to write his name 
[signed] William Frederick Lenss X his mark
Sworn the day and year aforesaid 
[signed] A C Low Clk 

We Ira Butler James Harrington & Anthory Lenss hereby certify that we are well acquainted with William Frederick Lenss who has subscribed & sworn to the above Declaration that we believe him to be Eighty five years of age - that he is reputed & believed in the Neighborhood where he resides to have been a Soldier of the Revolution & that we concur in that opinion & that he is a man of truth & veracity according to our knowledge & belief 
[signed] Ira Butler   Anthony Lenss  James Harrington
Sworn & Subscribed the day & year aforesaid 
[signed] A C Low clk 

And the said Court hereby declare their opinion after
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at the said Court do herby declare their opinion after the investigation of the matter and after putting the interrogations prescribed of the War Department that the above named applicant was Revolutionary Soldier and served as he states 
And the Court further certifies that it appears to them that Ira Butler, Anthony Lenss and James Harrington who have signed the preceding certificate of resident of the Town of Oswegatchie in the County of St Lawrence and are Credible persons and that their statement is entitled to credit 
I Alvin C Low Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the said County of St Lawrence do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Frederick Lenss for Pension
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal of Office at Canton the 19th day December 1832 
[signed] A C Low Clk
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54.
56.
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State of New York 
St Lawrence County } ss  John Lenss of Augusta in Upper Canada Fifty four years of age & a son of William Frederick Lenss being duly sworn says that William Frederick Lenss his Father has ever since his recollection been reputed to be a Revolutionary Soldier that he has at all times that any thing has been said on the subject by any of the family or other persons heard it stated that said Lenss was a soldier in the Revolution & never heard it contradicted or disputed. And that he this Deponent can recollect the time that his father returned home to his family after the revolutionary war was over in the fall of the year after peace took place in the year 1783 - And that his father has been latterly verry deaf & his recollection has failed him 
[signed] John Lenss X his mark
Sworn before me this 23d day of November 1833 
[signed] A C. Brown J.P.
I the undersigned Justice of the Peace of the Town of Oswegatchie in & for the County of St Lawrence Do hereby certify that John Lenss who made the foregoing affidavit before me is a creditable witness that satisfactory proof has been exhibited to me on oath that he is now & allways has been a man of a good moral character & full credit ought to be given to his statements 
[signed] A. C. Brown J.P.
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State of New York 
St Lawrence County } ss Mary Haly of Augusta Upper Canada a Daughter of William Frederick Lenss Fifty Six years of age being duly sworn says that she is a Daughter of said Lenss & that she can distinctly recollect of her Father being a Soldier in the revolutionary war That they resided then in Great Barrington in Massachusetts that he came home twice & returned again to the army that he was as much as two years from home in the service after she become old enough to recollect him That he returned after the war was over in the fall of the year in 1783 That he has ever since been reputed to be a Revolutionary Soldier 
[signed] Mary Haly  X her mark
Sworn before me this 23 day of Nov 1833
[signed] A C Brown J. P.
I the undersigned Justice of the Peace of the Town of Oswegatchie in & for the County of St Lawrence Do certify that Mary Haly who made the foregoing affidavit before me is a creditable Witness That satisfactory proof has been made before me on oath that she is a woman of a good moral character & ever has sustained such character & that her Testimony is entitled to full credit.
[signed] A C Brown J.P.
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Ogdensbugh 23 Nov 1833 
St Lawrence County 
Clerks Office } ss  I Alvin C Low Clerk of the said County, do hereby certify, that Anthony C Brown Esq before whom the foregoing affidavit purports to have been sworn was at the time of taking the said affidavit a Justice of the Peace in and for the County aforesaid duly elected and sworn And further that I am well acquainted with the hand writing of the said justice of the Peace and verily believe that his name subscribed to the said affidavits to be his proper hand writing & signature 
Witness my hand and seal of Office this 29th day of November 1833 
[signed] A. C. Low clk
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21485 
Wm. Frederick Lenss 
N.Y.
i  authn. & proof 
Lenss is now sick & will not live long may I urge an immediate attention to his claim he is very needy. 

A. C. Brown Esq 
Ogdensburg 
St Lawrence Co.
N.Y.
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WAR DEPARTMENT. 
Pension Office, 
183

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. Those 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, shewing the service of Wm. Frederick Lenss. St Lawrence Co N.Y.

[BEGIN TABLE]
Period when the service was rendered  |  Duration of the service Years. Months. Days.  |   Rank of the claimant.  |  Names and Rank of the Company officers under whom he served.  |  Rank of the General and Field officers.  |  Battles in which the applicant was engaged.  |  Country through which he marched.  |  Place of abode when he entered the service, and age at the present period.  |  Evidence by which the declaration is supported.  |
Enlisted apl ’82 N.Y. Line State Troops to Octr ‘83  |  1 Year 4 Months  |    |  Cap Pierce  |  Col McKinstry Col Willets  |    |  N.Y. &c  |  85 Columbia Co N.Y  |  Trady  |
The discrepancy in the name must be allowed
[END TABLE]

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

There are no rolls of this service & it must be [acceptable?] of proof
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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 } 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 ___  ages (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 provion 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 enered the service; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country through which 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 applicacation 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 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 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 alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person
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3 
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?}
6. {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 he 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 in 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 claim cannot be had. Every claimant must state, with precision, the length of his 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 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 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 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 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.  [handwritten comment illegible]
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 [i] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops, The proof required by rule in note [j] applies in 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.

The clerks letter is good with us - but it would not answer as a paper to file & [illegible] - Should an investigation take place 20 years from this it would not answer –
[signed] W. L. Williams Ex clk
Page 22

[crossed out: Acts of July 14, 1862, and March 3, 1873.]

6300.
P.O.  Wm Frederick Lenss
Service: 
[stamp] REJECTED
Enlisted:  , 18  .
Discharged:  , 18  .
Application filed:  , 18  .
Alleges: 
Re-enlisted: 
Attorney: 
P. O. 
Recognized.   Contract.
Cert. of Dis.   Searched for  , 18  .
Page 23

New York 
Revo:   Ienss
Frederick Lenss 
Suspended 
Cor. A C Brown 6 Nov 1833 
6300
letter to Hon L. Cass 
31 Decr ‘33 

Act 7 June ‘32
Page 24

rejected 
not content 
see letter to M. B. Hitchcock 
July 8, 1825
Page 25

19.087.

Frederick Lenss.

New York

Myrtle B. Hitchcock,
Ogdensburg
New York
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State of New York 
St. Lawrence County ss. On this seventh day of June 1825 personally personally appeared in open Court of Common pleas in and for the County of St. Lawrence being a Court of record for the said County in the said State of New York Frederick Lenss aged Seventy eight years who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the provision made by the act of Congress of the 18th March 1818 and the 1st May 1820, that he the said Frederick Lenss enlisted for the term of three years in the month of May 1781 in the State of New York in the Company commanded by Captain Pearce in the regiment commanded by Colonel Willett in the line of the State of New York on the Continental establishment that he continued to serve in the said Corps until the month of October 1783 when he was discharged from the said service at Fort Plain in the State of New York  That he was in the battle against the Indians at Caughnawaga and Canada Creek and in the expedition to Oswego and that he has no other evidence now in his power of his said services, having worn out his discharge and lost it - And in pursuance of the act of the 1 May 1820 I do solemnly swear that I was a resident Citizen of the United States on the 18th day of March one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and that I have not since that time by gift sale or in any manner disposed of my property or any part thereof with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself within the provision of an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the Revolutionary war passed on the eighteenth day of March one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and that I have not nor has any person in trust for me any property or securities contracts or debts due to me nor have I any income or
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property other than my clothing 
This declarant has no real or personal property of any description, and nothing but his clothing 
And this declarant doth further say that he is a farmer by occupation but is unable to labor 
That he has a wife aged Eighty four years who is also unable to labor and that they have been maintained for several years by their children who now reside in Canada and are also in indigent Circumstances - That none of his children are living with him 
(signed) Frederick Lenss
Sworn to and declared on the 7th day of June 1825 before me 
[signed] M. B. Hitchcock Clk. 

I Myrtle B. Hitchcock Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in the County of St. Lawrence & State of New York do hereby certify that it appears to the satisfaction of the Court that the said Frederick Lenss did serve in the Revolutionary war as stated in the preceeding declaration against the Common Enemy for the term of nine months under one engagement on the Continental establishment. I also certify that the foregoing oath is truly copied from the records of the said Court 
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said Court this 30th day of June 1825 
[signed] Myrtle B. Hitchcock Clk. of Com. Pleas St. Lawrence Cy.