Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R 11221, Bennett Watts, Va.
Page 1

SERVICE
Va.

Watts, Bennett
Susan

NUMBER
R11221

CONTENTS
Page 2

Susan Watts Dec
widow of Bennett
Tenn
Page 3

State of Tennessee 
Smith County 
on this 14 day of October 1831
personally appeared before the
undersigned an acting Justice of the Peace in and
for said County & State Thomas Walls aged Fifty
one years and made oath to the following declaration
in order to obtain the benefit of the provision of the
Acts of Congress passed July 7th 1838 & 3rd March
1843. 17th June 1844 that he is the Administrator
of his Mother Susan Walls Deceast who was the
Widow of Bennett Watts late of Jackson County
State of Tennessee that his Father Bennett Watts
as declarant allways understood from him was a
private Soldier from the State of Virginia in the
Revolutionary war that he was an enlisted Soldier
either for five years or during the war but declarant
cannot State which nor can he state whether he
belonged to the State or Continental line of Virginia
or the names of the officers under whom he served but
declarant distinctly recollects that shortly after the
Act of Congress of the 18th March 1818 his Father
the said Bennett Walls made out his declaration
and papers for a Pension under said act of
Congress which aplication was forwarded to
Washington City, by Genl Samuel Smith at this
date his Father Resided in Jackson County Tennessee
but which claim was not allowed but to which
papers for all the particulars in relation to his
Father's said service declarant now refers declarant
further states that he allways understood from his
said Father and Mother the said Bennett and Susan
Watts that they were legally Married in Ogle Sharp
County State of Georgia some time in the year
Seventeen hundred and Eighty Eight that previous to
the Marriage of declarants mother that her name
Page 4

was Susan Thornton that his Father the said
Bennett Watts died in Jackson County Tennessee
on the 2d day of April 1823 that at the time
of his death he left his said widow the said
Susan Watts who survived him and still remained
his widow untill on the 5 day of October 1839
when she died that at the time of her death she
left the following named children to wit
Mary Roberts and affiant all of whom are still
living and are the only surviving children of her
the said Susan Watts Decst declarant further
States that agreeable to the family record kept
by his Father and Mother that Mary Watts decst
the first child was born on the day of
1790 but which Record has long since been lost
and affiant cannot produce it that he has no
other documentary or Record proof in support of
his claim declarant therefore makes this declaration
in order to record the amount of Pension that
was due to his said Mother in his [illegible] and
which since her death [illegible] to her children
Sworn to and subscribed
before me the day and
to above written
Thomas X his mark Watts
Adm of Susan Watts Deceast
Stephen Petty JP
Page 5

Know all men by these presents that I Thomas Watts
of Tennessee do hereby constitute and appoint Smith & Jones
of Nashville Tennessee my true and lawful attorneys for me
and in my name as Administrator to present and
prosecute my claim as Administrator against the United States
to a pension that was due my Mother Susan
Watts but since her death has decended to her heirs
ratifying and confirming all thus [illegible] in the premises
Witness my hand and seal this 14th day of October
1857
Thomas X his mark Watts 
Administrator of Susan Walls decst
Attest x S.H. Davis
attest x Thomas L Watts⎬
Acknowledged before me this 14 day of October 1851
Stephen Petty JP

State of Tennessee County of Smith
I William V R Hallum Clerk of the County Court of
said County do hereby certify that Stephen Petty Esq
whose signatures appears to the foregoing affidavit and
Acknowledgment is and was at the time of signing the same
an acting Justice of the Peace in and for said
County duly Commissioned and qualified and that the
Signatures thereto purporting to be his are genuine.
In testimony whereof I have hereto
set my hand and afixed my seal
of office this 27 of October 1851
William V R Hallum Clerk
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V. L. M.

Rev. War Section.

July 10, 1917.

Mr. J. H. Watts,
Cookeville, Tenn.
Sir:
In response to your letter dated the 3d instant,
you are advised that Thomas Watts, a resident of Smith
County, Tennessee, aged 51 years, applied for pension Oct.
14, 1856 on account of the Revolutionary War services of
his father Bennett Watts, whom he alleged was a Private
in the Virginia Troops names of officers and dates of
enlistment and discharge not stated.
He married in 1788 in Oglethorpe County, Georgia,
Susan Thornton, and died April 8, 1825, in Jackson County
Tennessee. She died in September or October 5, 1839, in
the same County and State. In 1851 the only surviving
children were Thomas Watts and Mary Roberts.
The claim was not allowed there being no proof
of service as required by the pension laws.
Very respectfully,
G M Saltzgaber
Commissioner.
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Mr. J. H. Watts,
Cookeville, Tenn.
Sir:
In reply to your letter of the 20" instant, you are
advised relative to the rejected Revolutionary War pension
claim R. 11,231, it was not proved that Bennett Watts was
the person who rendered service as a soldier of artillery,
or otherwise, in the Va. Troops.
Very respectfully,
G M Saltzgaber
Commissioner.
Page 8

1917 July 10 Hist. to J. H.
Watts
1917 Oct. 27 J.H. Watts infd
identity not proved

REJECTED

11,221
P. O.____
Susan Watts
Service: Bennett

Enlisted:- 1 - 0, 18
Discharged:____, 18

Application filed:____, 18
Rejected list of claims
is endorsed, "no correspondence
Alleges: & there is no record of
Re-enlisted: this on printed list
of rejections.
.and there is no record
anywhere of the alleged
Attorney: claim filed by soldier
in 1818; but as it was the
P. O. practice under that Act to
return papers in claims
that were not allowed it is
supposed that it what
____Recognized. happened. Contract.
AW.
____Cert. of Dis. Searched for ____,18
Page 9

No 14.729
Susan Watts dec
widow of Bennett
Tenn

11221

July 7 1838
Page 10

In the matter of Susan
Wales widow of
Bennett

Sept 22/52

Niles

Joseph Bryan
[illegible]
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State of Georgia         
Oglethorpe County⎬ 
I Henry Britain Ordinary in and 
for said County in said state do
hereby certify that after diligent search
I cannot find any Record of the marriage of Bennett Watts
and crossed out: Elizabeth] [inserted:] Susan Thornton in my office _
Given under my hand and seal of office at office
this 17th day of September 1852-
Henry Britain Ordinary _
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Auditor's Office
Richmond Jany 17th 52

Wm E. Jones Esq
[Illegible]
Enclosed you will find.
certificate of service for Bennett Watts
Yours Respectfully
Ro Johnston
First Aud'r
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THIS IS TO CERTIFY, That it appears from a list in this office of such Officers and Soldiers
of the Virginia State Line as settled their accounts and received certificates
for the balance of their Full Pay, according to an act of assembly, passed the November
session 1781, directing the Auditors of Public Accounts to settle and adjust the pay and
accounts of the said Officers and Soldiers from the 1st January 1777 to 31st December 1781,
(see Hening's Statutes at Large, vol. 10, p. 462,) that a settlement was made on the 17th
day of September in the name of Bennett Watts
as Soldr of Art and evidence of the indebtedness of the State to him for
£ 74.18.6 delivered to Jno Kay
but as the original settlements or copies thereof are not to be found in this office, the term of
service embraced therein cannot be stated.
Given under my hand at the First Auditor's Office, Richmond, this 17th
day of January 1852,

Ro Johnston
First Auditor

[No Seal of Office.]
Page 14

Brief
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July 7 1838 &c
Susan Watts decd widow of Bennett Watts
of Tenn pri va _ enlisted for 5 yrs or during the
war _ not recollected which.
Mariner in 1788.
Watts died in 1825 (Cert of Court)
Wife died 5 Sept 1839 (do)
children left,
Mary Roberts
Thomas Watts⎬(do )
Certificate of Va Auditor showing payments of
£ 74.18.6 as Sold of Art-
affidavit of Jas W Smith, who knew Bennett
Watts in 1812, and that he had the reputation of
having been a soldier of the Revolution.
No proof of Marriage, no identity
Triplett
Page 16

Bennett Watts
claim _
to be filled as soon
as a certificate is
[illegible] from Richmond
Va
certificate and
claim filed 19 Jay 52

Original

Cole

Smith & Jones
attns
Nashville
Joseph Bryan [illegible]
Page 17

Rev Sec

J. H. Watts
Druggist
Cookeville, Tenn.

July 3, 1917
The Hon. the Commissioner of Pensions-
Washington, Tenn
Dear Sir
I write for information as to whether
the records of your office show the service
of Bennett Watts and Louis De Ressett,
as soldiers of the American Revolution
in the Virginia line,
Thanking you in advance for
this information
Yours truly
J H Watts
Page 18

Rev Sec
NI

J. G. Watts
Druggist
Cookeville, Tenn.

Hon G.M. Saltzgaber,
Commissioner etc
Washington

Dear Sir:
In your letter of July 10, you state
that Thomas Watts (my father) [inserted: to "letter"] this not stated in Bureau letter AW applied for
pension Oct. 14, 1851, on account of the
Revolutionary War service of his father
Bennett Watts, and that the claim was
not allowed, there being no proof of
service as required by law -
I am advised by the Adjutant
General that the records of his office
[inserted in margin to AW:] This does not prove anything nothing to prove identity AW
show that Bennett Watts served in the
Revolutionary War as a soldier of
Artilley. His name appears in a
book containing a list of soldiers
of the Virginia Line, who received 

US. PENSION OFFICE.
D
OCT 26 1917
Page 19

D. H. Watts
Druggist
Cookeville, Tenn.

certificates for the balance of their
full pay, agreeably to an act of
Assembly passed November session,
1781. It is also shown on
said record that on the 17 day of
Sept. 1783, he drew £ 74-18-6 as the
balance of his full pay.
Yours truly
J. H. Watts
Page 20

Tennessee
Smith County
At a County Court begun and held for
Smith County in the State of Tennessee at the Courthouse in
Carthage, on the first Monday it being the 6" day of
October Anno Domini 1851. and of the independence
of the United States the 76'' year present the worshipful
John R. James, Nathan Ward, Lipscomb P. McMurry
Joseph C. Dickens, Miles F. West. Daniel Smith, James
Heynie, Edmund S. Bradly, Thomas Carman, Drury
Cornwell, Willis Dean, Josan R. Sloan, Lorenzo D. Ball,
Benjamin E. Towns, William Kearly, Joseph J. Carter
John Simpson, Solamon Dice, William B. Whitty
William Shoemake, Josiah R. Smith, Francis P. Gill
Daniel A. McEachern, Isaac Janes, Francis Dowell
Jesse H. Baird, Coleman S. Sampson, Thomas Drime
Jonathan Dedman, and John S. Mason, Justices
proclamation being made Court was duly opened.
It is hereby certified that satisfactory proof has
been exhibited in open court to prove and did from
to the satisfaction of the Court, that Bennett Watts was a
regular Soldier in the revolutionary war and died in
Jackson County State of Tennessee on the 2d day of April
1825, leaving a widow named Susan Watts, who survived
him and continued his widow, until the September 1839
when she died in the State of Tennessee, Jackson County
leaving the following named and only children of herself
and the said Bennett Watts to wit, Thomas Watts and
Mary Roberts, all of whom still survive, and that Thomas
Watts is the administrator of the said Susan Watts and
duly qualified as such according to law. All of which
is ordered to be entered upon the record of said Court
and certified by the clerk.
Page 21

Tennessee
Smith County
I William V R Hallum Clerk of
the County Court of Smith County, do hereby certify
that the foregoing transcript is a true copy of the
order, relative to Benjamin & Susan Watts.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand
and affixed the seal of said Court at
office this 29th day of October 1851
W. V. R. Hallum Clerk
Page 22

Smith & Jones
attorny,
Nashville
Ten
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State of Tennessee  On this 6th day of December 1851
Jackson County     ⎬Personally appeared before the
undersigned a Justice of the Peace in and for
said County & State James W Smith Aged between
Eighty one & Two years with whom I am personally acquainted
and made oath in due form of law that he became
acquainted with Bennett Watts [Illegible] about the year
1812 and that he would suppose that said Watts
from his appearance ten or twelve years older than
he himself was at their first acquaintance the said
Watts then lived near where Declarant now resides
in Jackson County Tennessee and continued to
Reside near Declarant until his death though
at diferent places Declarant further States from
his best recollection that said Bennett Watts
departed this life about the year 1825 leaving a
Widow whose name was Susan Watts an aged
woman who lived amongst their children after his
death and remained his widow until her death
which declarant thinks was about the year 1839
leaving the following named children and only
Surviving heir at law to wit Thomas Watts and
Mary Roberts who still survive declarant further
States that he has heard said Bennett Watts
at various times speak of his being a Revolutionary
Soldier in the army of the United States and that
his best recollection is that said Watts allways
spoke of his service as being in the Regular or Continental
Service but as to this declarant is not certain but
from what he has heard said Watts say at various
times in Relation to said service as a Revolutionary
Soldier in the army of the United States that he
has no hesitation in believing that said Bennett Watts
Page 24

was a faithful Soldier in said Army but as to
particulars as detailed by said Bennett Walls
in Relation to occurrences whilst in the service he is
unable to declare with acruacy at this time declarant
Further States that said Bennett Watts & his wife
Susan were allways called and believed to be persons
of truth and veracity Said Watts was a farmer and
what might be called a poor man Lived on Rented
land and made a support for himself and family and
Raised his children in a Respectable manner and
that said Bennett Watts was esteemed by the old
men then living in this neighborhood now dead
Excepting my self as a Revolutionary Soldier
Jas W. Smith
Sworn to and subscribed
before me the day and
year above written

D. G. Shepherd JP

State of Tennessee Jackson County
I David G Sheperd a Justice of the Peace in
and for said County hereby certify that I am
well acquainted with James W Smith who has
this day appeared before me and made oath to the
foregoing affidavit that he is a man of truth and
veracity and that full faith and credit is due and
of wright ought to be given to his statements
In testimony whereof I hereunto
set my hand and seal this
4th day of December 1851
D. G. Shepherd JP
Page 25

State of Tennessee County of Jackson [crossed out: County]
I Sampson W Cassettyl Clerk of the County Court of
said County do hereby certify that D. G. Shepherd
Esq whose signatures appear to the foregoing affidavit
and certificate is and was at the time of Signing the same
an acting Justice of the Peace in and for said
County duly commissioned and qualified and
that the signatures thereto purporting to be his
are genuine
In testimony whereof I have hereto
set my hand and affixed my seal
of office this 11th day of Decr 1851
Sampson W Cassetty Clerk