Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 8,802, for Joshua Knapp, Pennsylvania
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(S-1776)

SERVICE NUMBER
Penn. Knapp, Joshua S.8802

Carded
CONTENTS
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26.435
Joshua Knapp
Ohio

Return (cross out)
Adm 2 years $80

Hon. J. Sloan
Ho Rep
Hiram Griswold
Canton
Stark County Ohio.
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REGULATIONS UNDER THE3 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. {Etc.}, Teamsters, Boatmen, &c. [Etc.].  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 Navel 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, mucicians [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 of} 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 ________ aged (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 provision 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 serve3d 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 entered the service; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country through which he 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. {Etc.}]

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 he 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. {Etc.]

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 an 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 days 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 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 application of ____________________________ for a pension.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this ________ day of ________ &c. [Etc.]

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 application, 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
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alleged service, as they are known at the Department.  A very full account of the services of each person 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 not 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?
{To an Officer.{Did you ever receive a commission, and if so, by whom was it signed, and what has become it 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 the 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 given 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 inquiry 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 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 periods 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 invariable be mentioned.
[d]  The declarant must mention 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 of the claim cannot be had.  Every claimant must state, 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.  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 services 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 year and four months, is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable.  Some persons who apply for pension merely state that served two years in the militia, Etc. without specifying the tours, the names of the officers, and other particulars respecting their 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 at 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 fix 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 publich seal of office, the certificate of a Member of Congress, proving the official character and signature of the certifying officers, should accompany the papers.



T
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Original Claim

State of Ohio
Columberland County Ss} 
On this thirteenth day of April 1830, personally appeared in open Court, being the Court of Common Pleas in session at their April Term, being a common  law Court with power of fine and imprisonment and a Court of Record, Joshua Knapp, aged seventy two years on the 15 of October last, and a resident of Stark County in said State of Ohio who being first duly sworn according to law; doth on his oath make the following declaration, in order to obtain the pension made by the Acts of Congress of the 18th of March 1818, and the first of May 1820 (as well as of all other laws upon the subject:) that he the said Joshua Knapp enlisted for the term of during the war (underlined) some time in the month of Dec. in the year 1778, in the State of Pennsylvania, in the company commanded by Capt. Thomas Robinson, ( the subattery in said company being, Lieutenant, Moses Vancamp and Ensign Thomas Chamber, but what  Col. he was under he is unable to say, there being only three companies of Rangers in the neighborhood where he was stationed, and he knows of no officer higher than Captain) in the line of the State of Pennsylvania on the said Continental establishment, and he continued to serve in the said corps until the end of the war and something near three months
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thereafter when he was discharged from the said service in said Northumberland County Penn.  That he was in the battles of Freeland Fort in said Northumberland county, and that he has no other evidence, now in his power of his said services except the depositions of John Carmody and William Iddings herewith transmitted.
And in pursuance of the act of the 1st May 1820. I the said Joshua Knapp do solemnly swear that I was a resident citizen of the United States, on the 18th day of March, 1818: 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 under the provisions of an act of Congress, entitled "An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval services of the United States, in the Revolutionary War," passed on the 18th day of March 1818: 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 other than what is contained in the Schedule hereto annexed and of me subscribed.  It is also stated by said declarant that he is by occupation a labourer, but that from his increased and decrepit old age, he is unable to do but very little labor: that his family consists of himself, his wife, aged 68 or 69 years, and a grand Son, aged 10 years and who is an orphan boy with no other relatives
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nearer than myself to protect or take care of him.  His name is Andrew Jackson Scene, and his wife's name is Mary Knapp.  These are all the family that reside with said Knapp.  The old lady, to do herself Justice, is able to do no work scarcely, so that if said Knapp should not succeed in obtaining the relief now about to be solicited, he and his family cannot be supported  otherwise than by private, so some other charity.
Attest. Wm D. Ewing
[illegible] Knapp's [illegible]
 8
The property of said applicants is all contained, except necessary clothing and bedding, in the following schedule
One horse valued at $35.00
1 Cupboard "               $6.00
1 Table "                       $1.00
Supper ware "              $1.00
1 gun "                           $2.00
1 wheel "                            .25
1 grubbing how             $1.75
Two cows "                   $15.00
2 pots and 2 kettles       $6.00
2 calfs "                            $2.00
1 loom"                              $4.00
1 pair [illegible] "                    .50
6 chairs"                            $1.50
1 axe "                               $2.00
                                          -----------
                                         $78.00
And said Knapp states that the value of the whole of said property is not greater than as specified in the above list.
Attest W.D. Ewing

Joshua Knapp's [illegible] 8
Sworn to and subscribed and declared on the thirteenth day of April 1838 in open Court
C.D. Coffin. Clk
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Ohio.  Columbiana County  Ss
I Charles D Coffin, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for said County do certify, that the foregoing oath and the schedule thereto annexed, are truly copied from the record of said Court: I do further certify, that it is the opinion of the said Court that the total amount in value of the property in the aforesaid schedule is Seventy Eight Dollars.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the seal of the said Court on this 16th of July A.D. 1830.
Charles D Coffin Clk. Com. Pleas
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Joshua Knapp-
26.435
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The State of Ohio
Stark County}Ss

On this sixth day of August 1855 personally appeared before the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County and State appeared Joshua Knapp a resident of Brown Township, in said County (last two words crossed out) Carroll County and State aforesaid aged Seventy seven years the 15th day of last October who being duly sworn according to law doth depose (last word crossed out) on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress dated [illegible] 7th. 1832.
The said Joshua Knapp being so sworn as aforesaid doth depose and  say that as near as he can recollect  [illegible] lives [illegible]  of May  in the year 1779 he enlisted as a private into the State Troops of Pennsylvania-that at the time of his enlistment he resided in the Township of Salisbury in the County of Northumberland and State of Pennsylvania--that  he enlisted into a Company having the following Officer to wit; Captain Thomas Robertson, Lieutenant Moses Van Campen, Ensign Thomas Chambers and Orderly Sergeant William Doyle ---that said company was raised for the purpose of resisting the aggressions; and preventing the invadz of the Indians, in said County for Northumberland--that it was thus engaged, and remained in said County for the term of two years and   nine months, and that during all that time this Deponent was with said Company and engaged in actual service, and attended to no private buildings-This deponent thinks said Company was attached to no Regiment or Battalion, but was commanded exclusively by the  officers of the law.
(Crossed out paragraph illegible)
This deponent saith that during the time of his service different detachments of said Company were engaged in skirmishes with the Indians, in  two of which this deponent was engaged and that in our of these encounters, the Indians and a few Whites--British and Toniz-
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took  Freeland Fort, and fifteen out of the company were killed; and at another the Indians took fifteen prisoners, including the said Van Campen, and killed five-that said Company during the raid was stationed at no particular place, but was in different parts of the Country menaced one part or, another--that  was different numbers of the Company were killed or taken prisoners.  Enlistment were [illegible] the vacancies so occasioned, so that the company was generally nearly or quite full.  This deponent further saith that when he was discharged, which took place in Northumberland in said Northumberland County, he received a written discharge, but lost it soon afterward, and has no documentary evidence of service, and knowing of no one by whom he can prove his service except his brother Samuel Knapp of Tompkins County New York.
He knows of no Clergyman in his neighborhood, a [illegible] ] where who can testify as to his character for truth and veracity-, or who knows that in the neighborhood where he resides he is refuted and believed to have been a Soldier of the Revolution.
He hereby relinquishes any Claim whatever to a pension or annuity expect the adjustment and says that his number is not on the pension of any Agency of any State.
The said deponent further saith that the [illegible] why he makes his declaration in Stark County  and not in the Court of Carroll where he lives is that Brown Township when he really was, prior to the last Session of the Ohio Legislature in Stark County but was there attached  to a County than  
assigned by the [illegible] of Carroll and as he had previously made his declaration in Stark County and employed an Agent on in Canton, in said Court to [illegible] his [illegible] in this respect, for him, he found it was convenient to make the present declaration in the same,
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Samuel Knapp's Affidavit
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Pension Office
August 10th 1830
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The State of Ohio,
Columbiana County

I Charles D. Coffin, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for said county do certify that Samuel Creswell, Esquire, before whom the within affidavits were made and whose signature is to the certificate of the same, was at the time thereof a Justice of the Peace in and for said County of Columbiana, duly commissioned and qualified, to whose official acts as such full faith and credit are due.

Witness my Signature
and the Seal of said court, at my office,
in [illegible] in said county the 29th day of 1830

[signed] Charles D. Coffin
Clerk, Court of common Pleas
[hand-drawn seal]

[Note:  written across bottom lefthand corner - Viz 2 - 26060]
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Joshua Knapp,
Reno, Ohio
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Rejected.  See letter to W. D. Ewing, August 11, 1830.  See letter to Honorable J. Gilmore H. R. January 15, 1831.
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8802
Revolutionary War
INVALID.
--------------------

file No. 8802
Joshua Knapp
Private, Revolutionary War
--------------------

Act:  June 7th, 1832
Index:--Vol. [illegible], Page 210

[Arrangement of 1870.]
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[lefthand side - Ohio]
[righthand side - Honorable J. Slaon]

J. l. Edwards, Esquire
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington
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House of Representatives
Washington, February 12, 1834

Sir,

Enclosed are the papers of Joshua Knapp - Please do advise me an answer as soon as convenient.

If the pension should be received, please make it payable at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Yours respectfully,

J. Sloane

J.L. Edwards, Esquire
Commissioner of Pensions