Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 15,555, for Abel Pettibone, Massachusetts
Page 1

SERVICE: Continental. Mass. Vt.
Pettibone, Abel
NUMBER: S. 15.555
carded
CONTENTS:
Page 2

1834 Samuel

Vermont...No 28.341
Abel Pettibone... Manchester in the State of Vermont. who was a private in the Compy. commanded by Captain Barns of the Regt. commanded by C. Powell in the Massachusetts line for 2 years and Continental & Vermont
Died June 9th 1833
Children.

Inscribed on the Roll of Vermont at the rate of 80 Dollars - Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 10th day of May 1832 and Hon. H. Hall, H. R.

Arrears the 9th of June 1833 . . 181 . o 5
Semi-anl. allowance ending . . . . . .
$181.05
{Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832.}
Recorded by R. Burdine - Clerk,
Book E . . Vol. 3 . . . Page 85 . . . 

Let 5 Sept
Swift -
Page 3

State of Vermont
Bloomington County ss} On this 7th day of August A.D. 1832 personally appeared in open Court, before the Hon. Myron Clark Judge of Probate Court for the Probate District of Manchester in the County of Bloomington & State of Vermont now sitting Abel Pettibone of Manchester in said County of Bloomington, aged 77 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 Act of Congress passed at June 7 1832.
That he was born at Gordon in the County of Clarkfield, & State of Connecticut on the 6th day of October, 1754. That according to his best recollection & belief removed to Landsborough in the County of Berk in the State of Massachusetts in the spring of the year 1766 or 1767. That he [illegible] that his birth was recorded in the Town Records of said town Gordon, that he has no certain knowledge of that fact, or of any other records of his age except the family Record.
That he enlisted the service of the United States under the following Affidavit, and served as herein stated.
That soon after the dawn which was excited through the Country after the Battle at Lexington in the spring of the year 1775, he turned out at said Landsborough as a volunteer under Capt. Asa Banns & went to Bainbridge in the State of Massachusetts, [illegible] of that State & under the command of Col. Miles Pavad that he joined the Army at said Bainbridge according to the best of his recollection about the latter part of June in the same year 1775 when his said Company was attacked and under the command of Col. Woodbridge in the said Massachusetts and that he continued to serve in the said Company & Regiment stationed for the rest of the time at said Bainbridge until the first day of January 1776 when he enlisted at said Bainbridge for the term of one year in the same Company & under the same Capt. which was then attacked  to & placed under the command of Col. Sargeant in the said Massachusetts line which was the first Regt. which [illegible] Boston after the [illegible] that during the same year in or about the month of ____ privilege having been granted by Congress to Col. K Sutton to enlist a Regiment of Rangers out of the troops of the regular line of the Army, he enlisted into said Regt & he served in said Company & Regiment until in or about the month of Nov. in the same year 1776 they were taken Prisoner at Fort Washington then commanded by Col. McGrace in the State of New York, after a severe Battle in which he was engaged nearly the whole day, & conveyed on board of Sutton, Grandon [illegible] one ship by lying off the City of New York. that he was also in the same season periodically in what was called the Monday Battle on New York Island, in which Col. Hawthorn was killed. that he remained on board of the said prison ship under severe trials suffering & was kept until about the 6th or 7th of Jany AD 1777 when he with the others was were exchanged and liberated under a pledge that they would not serve again in the Revolutionary Army during the war, & was then sent underaged to the line of the State of Connecticut
Page 4

where he was met by his Cousin Eli Pettibone now living in said Manchester & who was sent by his Parents to carry him home at Lamsboro' which he marched about as towards the latter part of the said month of Jany 1777 & where he remained until some time in the June according to his best recollection of the same year 1777. a Company was raised at said Lansburough for the purpose of marching to Ticonderoga to defend the Fort at that place, - that at the request & procurement of Asafort Burk of said Landsburough who had been drafted into said Company, he enlisted as his substitute in his place & stead into sd. Company under the command of Capt. David Wheeler * Regiment commanded by Col Miller or Col. Bower By reason of the pledge which he had before given not to serve again during the war, he requested the Capt. suffer the name of teh said Burk to stand upon the Roll of sd. company, & Thereunto answer to that name which was so done - that they then marched thro' a part of the State of New York to Fort [illegible] in said State, where they heard of the surrender of the Fort at [illegible] & the retreat of the American Army - that he was whilst there engaged in a very severe skirmish about 1 mile below the mouth of Fort Arm that they were stationed to Fort Edward thence back toward Sandy Hill when another skirmish took place in which he was engaged that at this place orders came, that one half of the troops there should be dismissed & sent home, & that he was amongst the number & returned to his home at Landsburough having been about upon said service according to his present recollection about six weeks - that soon after there was another alarm & a call for men to do to Bennington in Vermont & defend the place & the stores collected there, - that he again turned out as a volunteer, & enlisted under the command of the said Capt. David Wheeler & Lieut Nash & Prindle, & Col. Miles Powel - that they marched to said Bennington & were engaged therein the Bennington Battle so called on the 16. August under Genl. Stocke - that he was said Battle during the day = that the sd. Lt. Nash was killed & the said Lt. Prindle wounded & afterwards died - that Danl. Burk afterwards a Member of Congress from Vermont, was in the same Company with him & was wounded & lost an arm in that Battle - that after which he was dismissed & returned again to his home at said Lanesburough, having been absent upon said service according to his best recollection about 3 or 4 weeks - that according to his present recollection, in the spring of the year 1778. he removed to the said Town of Marshes where he now that ever since resided - that as his memory served him, in the forefront of the month of June in the year 1779, he again enlisted at said Mancheston in the Company commanded by Capt. Thos. Barney & Leiut. John White in the Vermont Militia from thence marched to Castleton in the State of Vermont, & was stationed at the Fort at that place then under the command of Genl. Ethan Allen, where he served as a  Sergeant in said Company thro' that season, & as long, as he now believes, as 4 or 5 months, when his Company was dismissed & he returned home - that in the spring of the year 1780 according to his present recollection he again enlisted at said Manchester for the Term of six months in the Company commanded by Capt. George Sexton, & in the Regiment commanded by Col. Ebenr. Walbridge in the Vermont Militia that he thence marched to Skinsburough at the head of Lake Champlain, where he was stationed for the principal part of the time - That he at first went out & served for a while as an orderly Sergeant, in said Company, & until he was appointed a Quarter Master, Sergeant in said Regiment, & that he afterwards did the duty of Quarter Master in said Regiment for the remaining part of his said tour of service, & continued therein until said Company was regularly dismissed and discharged by paid at said Skinsburough & he returned home - he also says
Page 5

that he was also at other & various times called out on other short terms of duty during the continuance of the revolutionary war, & was also engaged in several other skirmishes at different times, not herein before particularly detailed as inferred to - He also further states that at the session of the Supreme Court of the State of Vermont, holden as believes at Manchester in & for the said County of Bennington in February AD. 1829. He made his Declaration in order to obtain a pension under the Act of Congress of March 18, 1818 & also of the Act of 1820. & his application pursuant thereto was immediately forwarded on to the Sec'y of War of the U. S. but was rejected or deferred for the time as he understood & surely believes solely one amount of his property - that he has no documentary evidence whatever to corroborate his aforesaid statements or any part thereof - & that he knows of no living witnesses whom he can procure to prove his above enlistments & services except Eli Pettibone a Cousin of his, who resides in said Town of Manchester, who was born in the same town, & who has ever since lived for the most part of his life a neighbor residing in the same town with him - who served for a part of the time in the same Corps & Company with him, & who was sent often & came home with him after his enlistment his imprisonment on board of the said Prison ship, & had a general knowledge & understanding of his other services above detailed, as he believes
He hereby relinquishes 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. - Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid
Attest. Henry Robinson Register Abel Pettibone
I Eli Pettibone of Manchester in the County of Bennington & State of Vermont, aged 76 years, do testify & say that I have been acquainted with the above named Abel Pettibone from my earliest years - that we are Cousins - born in the same Town, & have ever lived for the greater part of our lives, lived neighbors residing in the same town  that I was knowing to his services generally during the Revolutionary war, as by him detailed above, altho' we were mostly engaged in different Corps, on different stations, & in different departments of the service yet we were frequently at home together, & I fully believe that his above statement of his sd services to be substantially correct - I further say that in the winter of 1777 as I now believe, I was employed by his father to go with a lost horse from said Lansborough into the State of Connecticut & being home the said Abel, who, I understand had then been lately [illegible] as a Prisoner on board of a prison ship at New York, - that I found him according to directions in said State of Connecticut in a very sickly & feeble state of health, & came home with him to said Lanesburough where he remained out of health for some time - that we afterwards in the spring of the year 1779 or 1780 according to my best recollection, both enlisted in Capt. [illegible] Company & Col. Walbridge's Regiment of Vermont troops - that we served together & were discharged together under said enlistment at Skinsburough now White hall at the head of Lake Champlain - that for a short [illegible] after the said enlistment he served in sd. company as orderly Sergeant & then was appointed Quarter Master Sergeant, & did the duty of Q. Master in sd. Regt. during the remainder of sd. campaign & that I understood that he had previously served as a sergeant in the army
Eli Pettibone
Sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid - And I further certify that the said Eli Pettibone who subscribed & swore to the foregoing Affidavit is a credible person to me well known & that his statement is entitled to full credit, by & before me
Myron Clark Judge of the State Court
Page 6

We Abraham Brownson a Clergyman residing in the Town of Manchester in the County of Bennington & State of Vermont & Richard Skinner residing in the same place, hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Abel Pettibone who has subscribed & sworn to the above Declaration & that we believe him to be 77 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
R. Skinner
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES
Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid by & before me Myron Clark Judge of Probate
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion after the investigation of the matter & after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named Applicant was a revolutionary soldier & served as he states - and the Court further Certifies that it appears to them that Abraham Brownson, who has signed the preceding Certificate is a Clergyman resident in the town of Manchester in said County of Bennington & that Richard Skinner who has also signed the same is a resident in the same town & is a credible witness and that their statement is entitled to credit
Certified by Myron Clark Judge of Probate Court
I Henry Robinson Register of the Probate Court do hereby certify that the foregoing Contains the original proceedings of said Court in the matter of the application of Abel Pettibone for a Pension-
In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name & have affixed the Seal of our Said Probate Court at Manchester this seventh day of August AD. 1832 - & of the Independence of the United States the Fifty Seventh
Henry Robinson Register

Abel Pettibone
Declaration
No. 5235.
Page 7

State of Vermont
Bennington County ON this 27th day of May 1833 personally appeared before me the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace within & for the County of Bennington & State of Vermont, Abel Pettibone of Manchester in said County of Bennington, who being duly sworn deposeth & saith that by reason of old age, & 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 & in the following grades towit,
For Nine Months I served as a Private 
For one year & six months I served as a Sergeant tho not all stated in my Declaration
For five months I served as a Quarter Master
Abel Pettibone
Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid, by & before me
Leonard Sergeant Justice of the peace

State of Vermont
Bennington County ss.
To all whom these presents shall come or may concern, Greeting-
I Henry Robinson Clerk of the County Court within & for the County of Bennington, do hereby Certify that Leonard Sargent Esq whose signature appears to the foregoing was at the date thereof & still is a Justice of the peace for sd. County, duly qualified by Law to act as such, & that his signature is genuine - In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my Official signature, & affixed the Seal of Our sd. County Court at Manchester this 28th day of May AD. 1833
Henry Robinson Clerk
Page 8

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES
State of Vermont
Bennington County SS Be it remembered that on this 13th day of February, AD 1829 at a regular Term of the Supreme Court of Judicature of the State of Vermont holden at Manchester within & for the County of Bennington in said State, being a court of record, which proceeds according to the course of the Common laws, with a jurisdiction unlimited in point of amount, keeping a record of their proceedings & which has power to fine & imprison, personally appeared in open Court Abel Pettibone resident of Manchester in said County, aged Seventy four 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 & the 1st May 1820 - that he the said Abel Pettibone enlisted at several different times & served nearly five years in the whole, during the revolutionary war, but for no one period for a longer time than one year. And particularly he enlisted for the term of one year in the fall of the year 1775 or winter of the year 1776 according to the best of my present recollection at Bartow in the state of Massachusetts in the Company commanded by Capt Asa Barns in the regiment commanded by Colonel Sargent in the line of the state of Massachusetts on the Massachusetts Continental establishment, that he continued to serve in the said corps until sometime towards the fall of the same year he enlisted by consent of his officer into a Company of Rangers commanded by Capt. Holmes in the Regiment commanded by Col. Knowlton & he continued to serve in the said Corps including his former service for
Page 9

more than one year in the whole & until he was taken prisoner & confined on board of a prison ship at New-York & when released from there, he went home without obtaining any regular discharge - that he hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension, except the present that his name is not on the roll of any state except the state of Massachusetts & Vermont. - And that the reasons why I have not made earlier application for a pension are that until lately I did not consider myself embraced within the Act of the 18th March 1818 & that my circumstances were not so reduced as to need the aid of Government of my Country, as I now conceive they are. And in pursuance of the Act of the 1st May 1820. I do solemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the 18th day of March 1818, & 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 provisions of an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land & naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war", passed the 18th day of March 1818, & 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 other than what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed & by me subscribed to wit, 43 acres of land with an old house & barn on it - 1 horse, 1 Cow, 1 pr four year old cattle 1 hog, 1 half of our horse waggons, 1 old one horse waggon harness, 2 old kitchen chairs, 1 old Pipe Cask 1 vinegar Cask 1 old plough, 1 hoe, 1 axe, 1 Draft Chain, 10+ yoke 1 oxsted 100 sap tubs 1-30 gallon
Page 10

gallon cauldron, 1 fire pail kettle, 1 broken pot, 1 Spider 1 pitchfork, 1 fire shovel & tongs - 1 old brass kettle - Abel Pettibone

That since the 18th day of March 1818 the following changes have been made in my property, to wit, five years ago the ensuing spring I sold a farm which I then owned & possessed, containing about One hundred & ten acres of land for sixteen hundred & nineteen dollars - that I then owed to different persons different sums to a considerable amount; the whole of which & the persons to whom due I am not able now particularly to state - that a part of the avails of said property I gave to my children & with the residue I purchased the place on which I now live - about six hundred & fifty dollars of which sum I paid to Joseph Burr & Aaron Baker of Manchester aforesaid for debts due to them, besides many other smaller sums to a considerable amount - that some changes have also taken place in my personal property, the particulars of which I can not now able particularly to state, but say that the avails thereof have been appropriated to the payment of former debts, for the support of myself, & family & have been changed into the property which I now possess, & that but a very small proportion thereof has been distributed to my children.
That I am by occupation a farmer, but have now become old & very little able to labor - that my family at present consists, of two daughters Olive about thirty five years of age & Jerusha about twenty four years old which two at present keep my house & one son Knowlton S. twenty two years old - which are all the family which I have at present & all of whom generally enjoy good health - and are able to labor except my oldest daughter
Page 11

who has not usually enjoyed good health - And that I consider myself unable to support myself, without the assistance of my Country Abel Pettibone
Sworn & declared this 13th day of February AD 1829 before me Hilamal Hall Clerk
I Hilamal Hall Clerk of the Supreme Court within & for the County of Bennington, do certify that the foregoing is truly copied from the original declaration, schedule & oath of the above named Abel Pettibone now on file in my office, & that the said Supreme Court at the Term aforesaid did adjudge the value of the property contained in the aforesaid schedule to be Four Hundred & thirty eight dollars & Seventy cents, & also that the said Abel Pettibone did serve Nine Months in the army of the revolution, on the continental establishment agreeable to his aforesaid declaration. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my official signature & caused the seal of our said court to be affixed this 17th day of February AD 1829
Hilamol Hall Clerk of Sup. Courts
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES
Page 12

State of Vermont
Bennington County SS I Myson Clark Judge of the Probate Court within & for the Probate District of Manchester in the County of Bennington & State of Vermont, do hereby certify, that it has been satisfactorily proved to said Court, that Abel Pettibone late of Manchester in said Probate District, died on the 9th day of June AD. 1833 - that he had in his lifetime applied to be placed on the Pension Roll of the United States, under the law of the 7th June 1832. - that he left no Widow & that his Children who survive him are Parthina Chapman Wife of Israel Chapman - Dinah Truair Wife of Titus Truair - Hannah Hines Wife of Calvin Hines Lucy Webb, Wife of Simon Webb - Eliann Hall wife of John Hall - Olive Pettibone - Samuel Pettibone - Jerusha Pettibone & Knowlton S. Pettibone - Attest
M Clark Judge of Probate Court
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, & affixed the seal of said Court at Manchester this 29th day of November AD. 1833.
Reuben H. Blackman Register
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES
Page 13

P 15555
INVALID.
File No. 15,555
Abel Pettibone
Pri Rev War
Act: June 7" 32
Index:-Vol. 1, Page 294
Arrangement of 1870.
Page 14

Saml Swift
for [illegible] of Abel Pettibone pension
FREE
The Hon. James L. Edwards,
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington
D.C.
MANCHESTER JUN 19
dft. June 23d
Page 15

Manchester June 18 1834
To the Hon. J. L Edwards, Comr. &c.
Hond. Sir, I recd. sometime since thro' the hands of the Hon. Mr. Hall, the Pension Certificate to the Children of Abel Pettibone decd. - I am inclined to believe, that there was an inadvesture in making out the Certificate, as it was made for services wholly in the capacity of Private Soldier - whereas if his own statement was discredited, & wholly rejected, on the ground of a [illegible] believe his orig. & his supplementary or amendatory Declaration, as to the time of his service as a Sergt. The Affidavit of Eli Pettibone, (a man of strict veracity) which is adjoined to the origl. Declaration, proves (if I mistaken not) his service for the Term of six months as a Sergt., acting also in the capacity of Qr. Mr. as Adjt. of the Regt. &c - this Affidt. I think was probably overlooked at the time of making out the Certificate - for which reason, I should have returned the Certificate immediately, but thot. best in the first place, to consult the family - I have since seen a part of them, & they request me to suggest to you the fact, & if upon examination it appears, that there was an actual mistake, on notice thereof, I can hereafter return the Certificate, a new one can be made out for the additional sum, if so found. as may be judged in the most expedient & proper- 
I also herewith enclose the origl. Declaration of Jona. Fenton which I had heretofore overlooked & forgotten that it was in my hands, or that I had not previously returned it - Since the receipt
Page 16

of your last communication in relation to his case, a second application has been made to the Comptroller's Office of the State of Cont. for a new [illegible] for the Certificate - the Comptr. himself was not at home, but the Agent called upon Mr. Kingsbury, who formerly held that Office, who informed him, that whilst he held that Office, he had been applied to & had examined the Books, for the same purpose, & that all that appeared upon them was, the furnishing supplies from time to time for those Boats - If such a Certificate will afford any corroborative proof, as will be of any avail, to the allowance of Mr. F's Pension, such a one may probably be procured - but as the Certificate heretofore forwarded states, the names of the men aboard, nor of the Officers who commanded those Boats, do not appear upon those Books. 
I had intended also to have forwarded herewith the Affidavit which has been obtained by Lewis Heard, from two Surgeons, to prove his wounds &c in order to procure his restoration to the invalid Pension Roll, but the Certificate & Seal of the County Clerk, who now resides in the south part of the Country, more than 20 miles from this, is wanting & it must be deferred, till that can be annexed - But I would here suggest a differently which is presented to my mind in relation thereto - The former fact of the printed form, which was sent to me, appears to be a Certificate, or the form of one, originally made out & signed, as intended to be made out & signed by the Sergeant who first examined the wounds &c. These are all now dead, as Capt. Heard tells me, as he is informed; & no Certificate was originally given by them to him, but upon their Report, a Certificate was made by the Inspector Genl. of the Army, by which he was placed formerly on the Pension Roll of the State of Cont. & afterwards of the U. S. - In this case, the form has been followed, & the regulation complied with, as far as could be done, consistently with truth - Very respectfully, I am Hond. Sir, Yours &c. - S. Swift.
Page 17

20.898
Abel Pettibone
Vt. Revo.
Rejected. See letter to John S. Pettibone
31 March 1829.
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES
see let - S. Swift-
Sept. 21, 1833
Page 18

War Dept
Pension Office,
March 28. 1829
Sir,
In reply to your letter of the 6th. inst. I have to inform you that the regulations of the 26th. of December last, in relation to revolutionary claims, have been suspended. Peter Walters, therefore, in order to get his name restored to the Pension List, must proceed according to the made pointed out in the enclosed printed sheet: it is proper, however, for me to observe to you, that if his property has not diminished Since the exhibition of his last Schedule, it will be unnecessary for him to make application for a removal of the pension.
Page 19

Admit as private
2 years $80
Certificate to be issued to Parthena Chapman, wife of Israel Chapman, Dinah Truair wife of Titus Truair; Hannah Hines, wife of Calvin Hines:
Lucy Webb, wife of Simon Webb; Eleanor Hall wife of John Hall; Olive Pettibone, Samuel Pettibone, Jerusha Pettibone and Knowlton S. Pettibone, children & heirs at law of Abel Pettibone decd. And due up to - June 9 1833
$181:05
Hon Holard Hall
HR
Page 20

Manchester Sept 26th. 1833.
To the Hon. J. L. Edwards, Comr. &c.
Hond. Sir, Enclosed I forward to you the requisite Certificate of the Secy of State of the State of Massachusetts, to prove the enlistment & services of Israel Reach & also his original Declaration returned-
Incd. last coming the original Papers in the Case of Abel Pettibone once was returned - this is another of those unhappy cases, where the Applicant has not lived to enjoy their merited award of his services in the revolutionary war nor can he now supply any depositions, in his statements of those services, heretofore made - he died very suddenly within a short time after he made & forwarded his supplementary Declaration, & I know not of any living Witnesses to whom I can apply to corroborate his statements, or to supply the requisite information & proof except the one who has already given his Affidavit - But at the time of his service, this State was in its infancy, it is well known, or generally understood, that very few of the Sergeants were furnished with Warrants, & indeed some of the commissioned Officers lacked Comms. How it was in his case, I cannot say, any farther than he himself has stated, that the same was the case with him, or if he had a Wart. or Comr they are doubtless at this time worn out or lost - but if the genl. understanding & opinion of his neighbors would be satisfactory, his statements might be substantiated by all the respectable part of this vicinity & indeed as far as I am acquainted, no doubt exists but what his claims were as mentioned as any other case - the proof of that kind, if requisite or satisfactory I can readily supply, but as to personal Knowledge of his services, any farther than already furnished, I know hot where to apply - Under these circumstances I have thought best to send back the Papers as they are & commit them with others of a like character & [illegible] to the distinctionary case of your Department - I know not what such may be as has been adopted in like cases, but the family of the decd. I presume altho I have not consulted with them, will be willing, tho' they very much need the pittance now due for his services, that deduction should be made for all such as are not sufficiently substantiated for a part of them & an important part, I presume his name is to be found on the Rolls at the seat of Govt. another part is proved by the testimony originally forwarded, if no more - Very respectfully I am Hond. Sir, Yours &c. Samuel Swift
Page 21

P.S. I received from the Affidavit of Eli Pettibone he is not very explicit as to the term they served together if it is considered as not sufficiently so, as to the term which was 6 mo. & some part there past of his service I can supply it by his further Affidavit as I have conversed with him today - but as there can be little doubt but that he served at least 2 years in the whole, no question can remain, except as to the time he acted in the capacity of a Sergt. & if as to that, the genl. understanding of his neighbours will supply that proof, I will presume & forwd. that testimony &c &c S Swift

The Hon. James L. Edwards
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington
D. Columbia
Name not found on Mass Rolls-
Page 22

Manchester Vt free
Dec 2. 1833
The Hon. James L. Edwards,
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington 
D.C.
Page 23

To the Hon. J. L. Edwards Comr. &c
Hond. Sir, Enclosed I forward to you the Certificate of the Judge of Probate, proving the time of the death & the names of the Children &c. of Abel Pettibone deceased - His Son, who is Admr. on his estate, has taken some pains to procure further proof of his services as requested, but is unable to find any definite proof, except the general understanding of Eli Pettibone, (whose Affidavit has heretofore been taken & sent on with the origl. Declaration) & some other old neighbours still alive, that he, Abel P. was appointed a Sergt. immediately after his return home after having been confined on board of a Prison Ship, at N.Y. & was afterwards in that or a higher grade - that the said Eli was not personally knowing thereto, except during one six months Campaign, when they served together - & to which he has already testified. but through the whole of the War, they lived near Neighbours, & were frequently conversant with each other, tho' in difft. Corps, & that his understanding was as above stated, & as stated by the said Abel, in his Declaration - but, as far as I without, his former testimony is to about the same amount, & as his personal knowledge extends no farther than as above stated, I concluded it would be of little use to take it anew, & therefore hope that, best to submit it upon the statements & proofs already exhibited.
Very respectfully, I am Hond. Sir,
your most obedt. servt. &c
S. Swift.
Manchester Nov. 30. 1833