Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 23,050, John Verner, Penn.
Page 1

SERVICE
Penn

Verner, John

NUMBER 
S23050
Page 2

Left side

Pittsburgh 18.350

John Verner
Allegheny Co. in the State of Pennsylvania
he was a private in Company comman [torn]
Captain Ross of the Regt. command [torn]
Col. Hand in the Penna
[li]ne for 1 yr

Inscribed in the Roll of Pittsburgh 
the rate of 40 Dollars 00 Cents per annum
commence on the 4th day of March 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 14th day of Augt.
1833 and sent to
W. McCandless Pittsburgh

Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $80.00
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept         20.00
                                                     $100.00

{Revolutionary Claim}
{ Act June 7, 1832}
Recorded by W. L. Williams Clerk,
Book E  Vol 5  Page 94
4 Mar 37

Right Side
Let: Hon W. H. Dimmick  Jany 18/61
"      T. L. Foster                March 15 "
Page 3

State of Pennsylvania
Allegheny County  Ss.

On the 28th day of November Anno Domini One 
thousand eight hundred and thirty two, personally
appeared before the Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas, John Varner [Verner] resident in St Clair
Township in the county & state aforesaid aged
seventy three years, who being first duly sworn
according to law doth in his oath make the
following declaration in order to obtain the benefit
of the pension of the Act of Congress passed
7th June 1832. That he enlisted in the army
of the United States in the year 1775 in the
month of June or July, with Captain James
Ross and served in First Regiment of Riflemen
under the following named officers, viz Col
Thompson, commanded the Regiment when we
first went out. Captain Ross the commander of
the Company, James Hamilton First Lieutenant, 
Hubley Second Lieutenant, Jacob Lach [Latch]
Third Lieutenant, Edward Hand Lieutenant Colonel. The same persons and officers who I was 
discharged, except that the Regiment was commanded
by Colonel Hand, my discharge was in
his handwriting & signed by him, but is long
since lost. I served in the regular service
one year, one term of enlistment, &  a ?
in the militia & I enlisted at Lancaster,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in which county
I lived, being the county of my nativity. I
marched from Lancaster to Boston, where we 
remained from August 1775, until March 1776
on the 15th of March, whilst we came at  Prospect
Hill Fort, Cambridge, the British sent out 
their flag of truce & capitulation. They were to
evacuate Boston on the 18th March, but we
marched on the 17th before evacuation to
Page 4

New York, where we remained for three weeks
and was at the end of that service ordered
& marched to Long Island, where I continued
l the until the expiration of my enlistment. I rec'd a
written discharge from Col Hand which has
been since worn out & lost before the end of the
war.  I was at Long Island when the fleet
came in with Hessians who were landed at
Staten Island - my name may be entered as "Warner" written
as Varner on the Roll - I was ?
before Wm Henry Esq. 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 any agency in any state.

Signed and Subscribed }    John Verner [signature]
before me in open court}
this 28th November 1832
Wm M.Candless Pry [Prothonotary]

And the said Court do hereby declare their
opinion that the above named applicant
was a revolutionary soldier and served as
he states. 
Wm M. Candless Pry [Prothonotary]

State of Pennsylvania }
Allegheny County ss.  }    I William
Mc Candless prothonotary of
the Court of Common
Pleas aforesaid do hereby
certify that the foregoing
contains the original proceedings of said court
in the matter of the application of John Verner
for a pension.  In testimony whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of
the said court this 29th December  1832
Wm MC. Candless Pry. [Prothonotary]
Page 5

Supplementary Declaration of John Verner a
Revolutionary Soldier in the army of the
Revolution, to obtain a pension by virtue of
the Act of Congress passed the 7th June
1832.

In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny 
County in the State of Pennsylvania, in
open Court, on the  [blank] day of April Anno
Domini One thousand eight hundred and
thirty three, personally appeared John Verner
& who being duly sworn deposeth  and saith
that by reason of old age and loss of
memory in consequence thereof 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 previous
mentioned before and in the following ?
For One Year I served as a private in the
Regular army of the Revolution; For six
months I served as a private in the
Militia of the Revolution; and for such
service I claim a pension. He further swears
that he entered the service in the month of
June A D 1775; and continued in active
service until the 29 June 1776, that during
that time he was not occupied in any
civil pursuits, that he entered the militia in 
August 1776 and continued in service for two
months, that he entered the service as a militia 
man under Capt Slaymaker again in Lancaster County 
Pennsylvania in the month of July 1778 and 
continued in active service for four months, guarding
the prisoners in Lancaster & York County, until November
A D 1778. the last two months he served as a
Page 6

Substitute for Geo Withers under Capt Hubley.
He swears that he has no documentary evidence 
of his service, that he cannot procure the evidence
of any living witness to his service, having removed
from Lancaster County to Washington in Allegheny 
County in the year 1784, and knows no person 
living who can depose to his service.
John Verner [signature]
Sworn & Subscribed in    }
open court this 27th April}
1833.}
W. McCandless Prtry [Prothonotary]

The following Interrogations were then propounded by said court and answered as follows.
1. Where and in what Year were you born?

Answer. I was born in Strasburg Township La [ncaster - paper is mutilated]
County Pennsylvania on the 26th January A. [paper is mutilated]

2. Have you any record of your age, and if so
where is it?

Answer. I have no such - The Bible of my father
in which my age was recorded was burnt.

3. Where were you when called into service,
Where have lived since the Revolutionary war
and where do you now live?

Answer - When called service, I was living
in Strasburg Township, Lancaster County, Penna
I removed from there in 1784 to Washington
[now Allegheny] County, Pennsylvania where
I have resided ever since & where I now reside.
Page 7

4. How were you called into service; were
you drafted, did you volunteer, or were
you a substitute? And if a substitute
for whom?

Answer  The first year of my service I enlisted as
a private. The two months service in 1776 I
volunteered. [Crossed out] I was drafted as a
militia man in July 1778 when I served two
months, and I served the succeeding two
months as a substitute for Geo Withers.

5. State the names of some of the regular Officers
who were with  the['you' crossed out]  troops where you served;
such continental and militia regiments as you 
can recollect and the general circumstances of 
your service?

Answer -  Capt Craig, Capt Nagle, Capt Lowden
from Northumberland, Capt Doudel from York
County Penna. 1st Lut Miller. Capt Hendricks
from Manheim, Capt Crissip [Cresap] from Maryland,
Capt Morgan of Virginia who passed through
Lancaster on his way to Boston, two days before
we left Lancaster on our way to the same place.
Capt Smith. His 1st Lieut  Smith who was wounded 
at Quebec.
 Col Thompson & Lieut Col Hand. The
general circumstances of my services in
my declaration.

6. Did you receive a discharge from the service;
if so by whom was it given, and what
has become of it?

Answer - I received a written discharge in the following
words which from frequently reading it I now
recollect. By Edward Hand Esq Colonel
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commander of the First and Rifle Regiments of the
United States of America. This is to certify that
John Verner, a private in Capt James Ross'
company for the term of one Year from the time
of his enlistment, is hereby honorably discharged.
Under my hand and seal in in the state of
New York on Long Island, this 29th day of June
1776.
Frdk [Frederick] Hubley
2nd Lieutenant.

The service discharge was worn out and lost.

7. State the names of person to whom you are known
in your persons in your neighborhood, and
who can testify as to your character for veracity,
and their belief of your services as a soldier of the 
revolution.

Answer - Rev T V Baird & H Wightman Esq

We 
Thomas V Baird a clergyman late residing in the
Township of Jefferson and H Wightman residing in
St Clair Township
doth hereby certify that we are well acquainted with
John Verner who has subscribed and sworn to the above
declaration; that we believe him to be [blank] years of age;
that he is reputed in the neighborhood where he
resides to have been a soldier of revolution, and that
we concur in that opinion. 
Thomas V. Baird [signature]
H. Wightman [signature]
Sworn & Subscribed the
day and year aforesaid
[interlineation first made.]
Wm McCandless proty [protonotary]
Page 9

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, after
the investigation of the matter and after putting the
interrogations 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
the Rev Thomas V Baird who has signed
the preceding certificate is a clergyman residing
lately in the Township of Jefferson adjoining the
 Township of St. Clair and now in the city of
Pittsburgh, and that H Wightman Esq
who has also signed his name is a resident of
St Clair Township in the county aforesaid, and
is a credible person and that their statement is
entitled to credit.   By the court
W McCandless Prothonotary

State of Pennsylvania }
Allegheny County      }  ss
I Wm McCandless
prothonotary of the Court of Common
Pleas of said county do herby 
certify that that that the foregoing
contains the original proceedings
of the said court in the matter
of the application of John Verner
for a pension. In Testimony 
whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of office
this 27th day of April A D 1833
Wm McCandless Pry [Prothontary]
Page 10

Revolution
23.0 50
INVALID

File No. 23.050
John Verner 
Pri Rev War

Act; June 7th 32
Index:-Vol. 2, Page 432
[Arrangement of 1870]
Page 11

? Pa. Jary [January] 29, 1861

Hon Geo C. Whiting 
Cmr of Pensions

Dear Sir,

? date Jary
18, 1861 I received through Hon ? H. Dimmich the following 
reply to inquiries whether anything was due to the Heirs
of John Verner a Pensioner.
"John Verner Pittsburg Pa Rolls Act June 7, 1832
at $40 per annum appears to have been paid to March 4, 1837"
From this report [of Third Audit of the Treasury]
your letter proceeds to state that in the case of "John Verner
if now dead his heirs are entitled to arrears of a pension to
the date of his death, "If he left a widow at the time of
his death she is entitled to arrears of pension due him
and to a pension in her own right to this time if still living
but if he left no widow his heirs are entitled to the arrears
due if any"

From this I infer that at the death of John Verner
his right to arrears of Pension vested in his widow [who
succeeded him a few months] and at the death of the widow
her right to such arrears and also such amount as was
due her in her own right vested in her heirs, who are
the children of John Verner.

These Heirs are all of age and have been
Page 12

[continued from previous page] importuned by "Pension Agent" for letter of Attorney to "present
this claim" for a consideration of 15 p ct [percent]" &c  and it was through
such a paper sent here to be signed that the heirs resident
here at my suggestion requested the information which 
you communicated through Hon W. H. Dimmick  M. C. [Member of Congress]
 
I suggested that the information could be obtained from
the department without the intervention of a 15 p ct [percent] Agent
and if anything were due there unto be no necessity for
"prosecuting the claim" as stated in the "Agents'" circular.

John Verner died five or six years ago leaving a widow who survived him a few months and six children
all in their majority.
I desire now for these Heirs to know what 
proceedings are necessary to enable them to draw these arrears
from the proper department without the intervention of
an agent and also such blanks of forms or instructions
as may be necessary. 
With many thanks for the information so
promptly and fully communicated ?

I remain
Yours Very Respectfully

L. S. Foster [Lafayette S. Foster]
Page 13

Please return this

Service of 6 mos.
stated for first in ?
dec. & no proof

1 year
$40.

W. Mc. Candless Esq
Pittsburgh
Page 14

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those
answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of
John Verner which require
further proof or explanation.

I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides?

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

III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason
assigned for his not doing so?

IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served?     No

V. *Has he mentioned with provision 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 amout [sic] of pension
he is entitled?    5 No

VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations?

VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of 
June 7, 1832?

VIII. Has the Court given their opinion?   No

IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? 

X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished 
from any other seal?
Page 15

2

XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to
their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolu-  
tionary service?    No

XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produce, is there any reason assigned for not obtain-
ing it?

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

XIV.  ^If the applicant's name is not found on the rolls of military service, has he produced a witness
or witnesses as to his service?
  If he has produced direct proof as to service, has the magistrate who administered the oath, 
certified to the credibility of the witness or witnesses?
  Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the 
regulations direct? 

XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age,
as to have personal knowledge of the applicant's service?

XVI. **Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct?

XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily?
If not which of them is not so answered?    No

EXPLANATORY NOTES. 
*QUERE V.  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 his service, but according to the best of his recol-
lection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades;  For ___
year ____ months, and ____ days, I served as a ____  For ____months
and ____ days, I served as a ____; and for such service I claim a pension.
Page 16

3
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 in-
definite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions
merely state 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 objection-
able. 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 late 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 em-
ployed in any civil pursuit.
QUERE XIV. Proof of Service.
 In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must
prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of 
the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the
regiment, company, and line to which 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 magis-
trate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
**QUERE XVI.  Mode of authenticating papers.
  In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticates the papers is not
written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the cer-
tificate 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.
>In every case where the clerk of the court, or other certifying officer, 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.
Page 17

[postmarked envelope - top is cut off]

[Postmark] PITTSBURGH Pa APR 29
[Addressee] Maj. J. L. Edwards
Pension Bureau
War Department
Washington City
DC

[Note on left side] Pa ret'd [sideways] mail
Page 18

Pittsburgh April 27th 1833

Sir
I herewith send the pension papers
of Wm Wightman & the supplementary Declaration
of John Verner which I hope will prove
satisfactory.  Will you have the generosity to
to advise me as to the result.

Your Obet Sevt [Obedient Servant]
Wilson McCandless

Maj. J L Edwards
Page 19

John Verner