Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 3147, Thomas Childress, Ga (Va. Residence)
Page 1

Ga.
(Va. residence) Childress, Thomas  S 3147
carded
Page 2

7410
WEST TENNESSEE
_____________________________________________-
Thomas Childress
of Lincoln [County] in the State of W. Tenn
who was a Sergeant in the company commanded
by Captain Walton of the Regt commanded by Col Elbert in the Na [n/a]
line for 2 years
________________________________________________
Inscribed on the Roll of W. Tenn
at the rate of 120 Dollars ___ [zero] Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
---------------------------------------------
Certificate of Pension issued the 9 day of April 1855 and Sust to Robert S. Inge,  Fayetteville
_________________________________________
Arrears to the 4th of March             [$]240,00
Seim-anl. allowance ending 4 April      60.00
                                                           _______
                                                           $300.00
                                                     
Revolutionary Claim,
Act June 7, 1832

Recorded by Daniel Boyd     Clerk
Book E      Vol. 7  Page 74
Page 3

State of Tennessee
Lincoln County } SS

On this Sixteenth day of October 1832 personally appeared before the Court of pleas and quarter Sessions of the County of Lincoln Thomas Childress a resident of the County and State aforesaid aged Eighty two years who being first duly Sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832  That he Enlisted in the army of the United States in the year 1777 with Captain Jessee Walton of the Continental line and Served in the Second Regiment of the Virginia line under the following officers Captain Littleberry Moseley Major Edward Wood Colonel Samuel Elbert all of the Second Regiment of General John Habershams brigade  and he marched through North Carolina and South Carolina to Savannah in the state of Georgia where we arived [arrived] in the fall of the year and in the following Spring was ordered on an Expedition against Saint Augustine under the Command of General Robert Howe the Expedition failed at Saint Marys river and we returned back to Savannah and remained at that place untill it was taken in the year 1779 by the British troops under the Command of Colonel Campbell ^when I was taken a prisoner by the British 
after remaining Six months a prisoner with the British I found means to Escape to General McIntosh ^ of the american army who was at Augusta in Georgia from whom I obtained a discharge or permit to return home to my residence in the state of Virginia after a service of three years

This applicant hereby relinquishes every claim 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

This applicant states that his entitlement was for the term of three years  This applicant further states that he was born in Chesterfield County State of Virginia And has no record of his age but his parents always told him that he
Page 4

was born in the year 1750 that at the time of his Enlistment he resided in Charlotte County Virginia and since the close of the revolution war he has lived in the State of South Carolina Edgefield District for Thirty years and then lived in Alabama Maddison County and now lives in Lincoln County Tennessee

This applicant States that William Edens and William Childress are known to him in his neighborhood and can state testify as to his veracity  Sworn to and subscribed the and year above stated 
Thos Childress

State of Tennessee
Lincoln County } Jf

This day being the Sixteenth day of October in the year 1832 personally appeared in open Court William Childress and after being duly sworn deposeth and saith That he was intimally acquainted with Thomas Childress in the year 1777 at the time he Entered the army of the United States and that he was absent from his friends three years and then returned and that the present applicant is the Identical person who enlisted in the State of Virginia in the year 1777 as aforesaid and that he was during all the time of his absence from home reputed & believed to be in the army and that said Thomas Childress in the neighborhood in which he resides is reputed to have been a soldier of the revolution as stated in his declaration in which opinion this deponent concurs.

Wm Childress
Page 5

State of Tennessee
Lincoln County } 

We William Eddins Senior a Clergyman &c. & Joel G Pinson a citizen of the county & state aforesaid do certify that we are well acquainted with Thomas Childers [Childress] who has subscribed & sworn to the foregoing declaration that we believe him to be of the age stated in his declaration that he is reputed & believed in the neighborhood in which he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution & that we concur in that opinion  Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid 
William Eddins Senior
Joel Pinson

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 applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier served as he states and the court further certifies that it appears to them that William Eddins Senior who has signed the foregoing certificate is a respectable Clergyman in the neighbourhood & that Joel [Joel is superimposed over another name which is illegible] Pinson & William Childress who have also subscribed the foregoing certificates are are credible person & that their statements are entitled to credit Given under the hand & seal of the court this 17th October 1832
TH Shaw
Jacob E Waggoner
Wm Edminston
Page 6

State of Tennessee
Lincoln County Court October Term 1832
I Robert S Inge Clerk of the court of pleas & quarter session for the county aforesaid do certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of said Court in relation to the matter of the application of Thomas Childress for a pension

In testimony where of I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of said court at office this 17th October 1832
Robt S Inge clerk

Thomas Childress
17337
Page 7

17,337.
Th: Childress, of Lincoln County, Tennessee

Geoa or Va Roll
from 1777 Sergent
3 years #120
on Geoa Roll


Robert S. Inge, Clk., Lincoln County, Tennessee.
Page 8

BRIEF in the case of Thomas Childress, County of Lincoln, in the State of Tennessee.
(Act 7th June, 1832.)

1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge?
2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?
3. How old is he? Eighty-two years.
4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed.
=============
[column Headings]
Period. (in 17_); Duration of Service. (Years, Months, Days.); Rank. (As a ___); Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served. (Gen.)
Enlisted 1777. 3 years. Sor.   Cap. Jesse Walton, cap. Littleberry Moseley, MAjor Edward Wood  Col. Samuel Elbert

5. In what battles was he engaged? None.
6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Charlotte County, Virginia.
7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Traditionary.
8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? No.

I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agrees with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
[signed] W.R. Turner, Examining Clerk.
Page 9

September 29, 1938.

ccccccccccccccccc
Mr. William C. Moore
42 Chesterfield Road
Stamford, Connecticut

BA-J/ady
Thomas Childress
s.3147

Dear Sir:

Reference is made to your letter relative to Thomas Childress, a soldier of the Revolutionary War.

The data contained herein were obtained from  the papers on file in the Revolutionary War claimfor pension, .3147, Based upon the military service of Thomas Childress in that war.

Thomas Childress was born in Chesterfield County, Virginia, in 1750, day, month, and the names of his parents are not shown.

While a resident of Charlotte County, Virginia, Thomas Childress enlisted in 1777, marched through North Carolina and South Carolina, thence to Savannah, Georgia, served as segeant [sergeant] in Captain Littleberry Mosby's Company, Colonel Samuel Elbert's Regiment (this was the Second Georgia Regiment); was in General Robert Howe's expedition to St. Augustine, returned to Savannah, where he was taken prisoner and after six months made his escape to Augusta, Georgia, where he was discharged by General McIntosh of the American Army and returned to his home in Virginia, having served three years.

After the Revolutionary War he lived in Edgefield District, South Carolina, thirty years; he then moved to Madison County, Alabama.

He was allowed pension on his application executed September 16, 1832, at which time he was a resident of Lincoln County, Tennessee.

In 1832 one William Childress made affidavit in Lincoln County, Tennessee, his age and relationship to soldier not stated. There are no further family data.
Page 10

In order to obtain the date of last payment of pension, the name of person paid and possibly the date of soldier's death, you should apply to The Comptroller General, General Accounting Office, Records Division, Washington, D.C., and cite the following data: "Thomas Childress, Certificate No. 7410, issued April 9, 1833, rate $120.00 per annum, commenced March 4, 1831, Act of June 7, 1832, West Tennessee Agency".

Very truly yours

A.D. HILLER
Executive Assistant
to the Administrator
Page 11

[stamp stating REC SEP 28.1938]
[handwriting] Had been mailed when this was rec. -F

42 Chesterfield Road
Stamford, Connecticut,
September 26, 1938.

Veteran's Administration,
Washington, D.C.
Gentlemen :-

Not having had a reply, I presume that my letter of August 25 did not reach you. I an therefore writing again to ask for a copy of the Revolutionary War record of THOMAS CHILDRESS (CHILDERS) who was on the Pension List of 1830-1832 and at that time was living in Lincoln County, Tenn.

Thanking you for your courtsey in this matter,
Sincerely,
[signed and typed]
William Cabler Moore.
Page 12

42 Chesterfield Road
Stamford, Conn.,
August 25, 1938.

Veteran's Administration, 
Washington, D.C.
Gentlemen:-

I am writing to ask for a copy of the Revolutionary War service record of 
THOMAS CHILDRESS,
who appears in the list of pensioners of 1832-1825, and is there recorded as having served in the Virginia line but in 1832 resided in Lincoln County, Tenn.

Thanking you for your courtesy in this matter,   Very truly,
[signed and typed]
William Cabler Moore.

[Stamp stating RECEIVED AUG27 1938
MAIL SUB-DIV.
VETS. ADM. [rest illegible]]
Page 13

1938 Sept.29. Hist. to Wm.C. Moore .A.D.y

RevWar
3147
INVALID.

File No. 3147
Thomas Childress
Sergt. Va. line

Act: June 7, 1832
Index:-- Vol. A, Page 64
[intentional bracket as printed]
[Arrangement of 1870.]
[end intentional bracket]
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 Thomas Childress, which require further proof or explanation.

1. 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?

V. *Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled?

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?

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 revolutionary service?

XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining 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 a 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? And, if not, which of them is not so answered?

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 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.
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 [italics] about three or four months [end italics] is too indefinite, 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 the service. This form of a declaration is highly objectionable. It must in every case be clearly shown under what officers the applicant served; the duration of each term of engagement; the particular place or places where the service was performed; that the applicant served with 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.

+QUERE XIV. [italic] Proof of Service [end italics]
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 magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.

++QUERE XVI. [italics] Mode of authenticating papers. [end italics]
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 certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the ends or 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.

[stamp of finger pointing] 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.

[handwritten and crossed out]
Not found on the Roll a Private If he seved [served]
Page 17

Fayetteville & Tenn
Nov 1

Can. Lewis Cass
Secretary of War
Pension Bureau
Washington City