Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 16,343, John Cook, N.C.
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N.C.  Cook, John  S. 16.343


carded
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Georgia   16.813
John Cook   (5)
of Elbert in the State of GA
who was a private in the company commanded by Captain Leak of the -- commaanded 
by -- in the N. Car. line for 1 year

Inscribed on the Roll of Georgia
at the rate of 40. Dollars ___ Cents per annum,
to commence on the 4th day of March 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 5 day of Oct 33
     and [illegible] Hon: W
Thompson. Elberton Ga

Arrears to the 4th of Sept 1833  100
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Mar. 34   20-
$120-
(Revolutionary Claim )
Act June 7, 1832.       )
Recorded by Nath: Rice Clerk, 
Book E Vol. 6 Page 87
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13.774
John Cook
Application for
a pension

Amount as a 
Private 12 mo
$40-

Hon: W. Thompson.
Elberton
Ga.
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Superior Court September Term 1832
State of Georgia  )
Elbert County      ) ss
On this Eighteenth day of September peronally appered in open Court before Wm H Crawford Judge of the Superior Court of the northern circuit of said state now sitting for the County of Elbert. John Cook aged Seventy years and about ten months, (who was born the ninth day of December seventeen hundred & Sixty one according to the Register kept by his father which is now in his possession) 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 June the 7th 1832 ........... That he entered the service of the united States under the following named officers and served as herein stated, twowit, the ninteenth day of July 1776 I entered the service of the united states as a volunteer under Capt. John Leak, Lieut. John Davis Thomas Owens was our Majr. - Genl. Rutherford Commanded.  I started from Guilford North Carolina. We went through Salisbury and up to the head of Catawba near a fort Called Catheys fort, from that fort we crossed the mountain & went down the Swanona river, thence to the Indian Town, upon the Tennessee & its waters, and destroyed sixteen of their Towns, I remained three months in that Tour, and returned home.
2d. Tower I volunteered for three months, Richard Vernon was my Captain Robert Vernon my Lieut. and joined Gen. Davidson in the state of North Carolina near the line of South Carolina but do not recollect the County or the name of the place, it was called Headquarters (2) not far distant from where Cornwallis and his army was stationed  I continued with Genl. Davidson. during the time there was a little Scrumiage in Charlott N.C --  the army sometimes advanced and often retreated being unable to come in contact with Cornwallis, Genl. Davidson discharged us when the time of service had expired, on the other side of the Adkin river and I went home -
3d. Tower - In a short time after I returned home from the last tower I volunteered under Capt Thomas Cook, - a Mr. Oneal was our Major John Pacely our Colonel, we marched down upon deep rivers and dispersed a large body of Tories said to be under the command of Col Fanning. I volunteered for three months, but did not stay all the time in service the whole Company was sent home until called for. but held ourselves in readiness (as Ordered) when Called upon
4th Tower.  I volunterred again in about one month after May third tower was out under Capt. Thomas Cook, started from Gilford N.C. marched down Dan River to a place called the red House where the British had taken quarter our Col. was James Martin - under Command of Genl. Green.-  the British had dispersed from the red House Genl Green followed them and I continued with the army under his Command during this service (three months)
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5th.  I volunteered again (being unwilling to be drafted) for another Tour of three months under Capt. Richard Vernon we rendevoused at Guilford Court House N.C - equipped and prepared for the service - but was ordered to return to our homes and hold ourselves in readiness when Called upon, we were not called upon in this Tour any further - my residence was, during the whole war of the Revolution, in Guilford County in the State of North Carolina. I was born in the State of Virginia I now reside in the state of Georgia Elbert County. The year after the treaty, at Shoulderbone, I removed to the State of Georgia and have resided in said County & State ever since - (I hae no documentary evidence of any service) - He (the said John Cook) 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.
John Cook
Sworn to and subscribed, the day   )
and year aforesaid in open Court    )
[illegible]
Benajah Houston Clk

We Thomas Hearn & James Davis residing in the State and County first aforesaid (Georgia Elbert County) hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with John Cook who has subscribed and sworn to the above Declaration; That we believe him to be Seventy years of age (or upward) that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a solider of the Revolution and that we concur in that opinion.
ThoS Hearn  )
James Davis  )  Clergymen
Sworn & Subscribed the day        )
and year aforesaid in open court  )
Benajah Houston Clk
  Supr. Court Elbert County Ga

And the said court do hereby declare their opinion after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogarories prescribed by the War Department, that the abovenamed applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states - And the court further certifies that it appears that Thomas Hearn & James Davis who has signed the preceeding certificate are clergymen resident in the state and county aforesaid, and are creditable persons, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
18th Sept. 1832 -
Wm H Crawford
JSCNC
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Mr John Cook is now and has been many years a citizen of this county. His character [illegible] high credit with those who are acquainted with him none whom I presume doubt his right to the pension which he seeks by the foregoing application
Wiley Thompson
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State of Georgia  )
Elbert County      )
I Benajah Houston clerk of the superior court of said County do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the Original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of John Cook for a Pension.  In testimony whereof I have herewith set my hand and seal of office this Eighteenth day of September
in the year of our Lord
one thousand Eight
hundred and thirty
two
Benajah Houston
Clk
Supr. Court Elbert
County Ga
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In reply to your request of ____, received ____ for a statement of the military history of John Cook, (6) a soldier of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, you will find below the desired information as contained in his application for pension on file in this Bureau.
S. File 16.343
Date of Enlistment or Appointment:  Gilford Co., N.C. July 19.76
Length of Service:  3 mos.
Rank:  Pri.
Officers under Whom Service Was Rendered
Captain:   John Leak
Colonel. :  Maj. Thomas Owens
                  Genl. Rutherford
State:  N.C.
Date:  Aug. 80
Length:  3 mos.
Rank:  Pri.
Captain Richd. Vernon  Genl. Davidson
State:  NC
Date:  [illegible] 81
Length:  3 mos.
Rank:  Private
Captain Thos. Cook
Co. John Pacely
State:  N.C.
Date:  1 mo. after [illegible] 81
Length:  3 mos.
Rank:  Private
Captain Thos. Cook
Colonel James Martin
State:  N.C.

Battles engaged in, ______
Residence of soldier at enlistment, Guilford Co., N.C.
Date of application for pension, Sept. 18. 1832
Residence at date of application, Elbert Co., Ga
Age at date of application, born in Hanover Co., Va Dec. 9 1761
Remarks:  Allowed
No aud. for death name of beneficiary
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John Cook

March 7th 1833
objections
5. L 13.
[illegible] see let. Wiley Thompson
Aug 17. 1833

P. 284.

Hon. Willey Thompson
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(4)
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 Cook. which require further proof or explanation.
I.  Does the declaration show where the applicant resides?  yes
II.  Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides?  yes
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 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 amout of pension he is entitled?  No:  only 3. Tours are mentioned with precision.
VI.  Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations?  yes
VII.  Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832?  yes
VIII.  Has the Court given their opinion?  yes
IX.  Has the Clerk given his certificate?  yes
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?  yes
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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?  yes
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?  yes
XVII.  Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily?  And, if not, which of them is not so answered? yes

EXPLANATORY NOTES.

*QUERE V.  In a casae 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.
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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 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 their service. This form of a declaration is highly objectionable. It must in every case be clearly shewn 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. 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 magistrate
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 certificate
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.
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REVOLUTIONARY SERVICE.
O.W. & N. Div.
MEMORANDA.

Please supply as much as possible to the date called for below.
Full name of soldier:  John Cook
Place of residence before service:  (Town, county, and State, if possible.)  
Hanover Co. Va. (?)
Guilford Co, N.C. (?)
Place of residence after service:  (Town, county, and State, if possible.)
Henry Co; Georgia (?)
Date of death (as near as possible):
Apr. 1841 {?}
Christian name of widow:
?
Did either he or his widow receive a pension?
?
Remarks?
Your name and address:
David A. Rowe
219 Lorraine Ave.
Upper Montclair
N.J.
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16.343
INVALID.
File No. 16343
John Cook
Pri Rev War
---
---
June 7 "32
Index: --Vol. A, Page 439
Arrangement of 1870.}
1917 Sept. 13. History to
David A. Rowe c
1933. Aug. 9. Hist.
to Mrs. Jas. M.
Anderson, through
or Sam Jared. See
┃ (illegible) in Jas
Connel S11047
M.C.S.
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(3)
State of Georgia   )
Elbert County       )  SS.
On this fifteenth day of July in the year One thousand eight hundred and thirty three personally appeared in Open Court before William A. Beck, Dilliard Herndon, Isaac Almand & Robt. B Christian Justices of the Inferior Court now sitting for Elbert County.  John Cook a resident of the County of Elbert and State of Georgia aged Seventy One years, who being first duly Sworn according to Law, doth on his oath, make the following declaratin, in Order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
  That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein Stated: that he volunteered into the service of the United States for three months as a private on the nineteenth day of July in the year One thousand Seven hundred and Seventy Six, in Guilford County State of North Carolina his place of residence at that time, under Captain John Leak and Lieutenant John Davis, in a detachment Commanded by Major Thomas Owens, all commanded by General Rutherford, joined his regiment at Guilford in the State of North Carolina marched from there through Salisbury in the state of North Carolina to the head of the Catawba River near a fort called Cathey's, from the Fort crossed the mountains and went down the Swanona River, thence to the Indian Towns upon the Tennessee River and its Waters, and destroyed Sixteen Indian Towns and after serving three months as a private was discharged from the service of the United States in the month of October Seventeen hundred and Seventy Six. 
  That he also Volunteered into the service of the United States for three months as a private on the ____ day of August in the year One thousand Seven hundred and eighty in Guilford County State of North Carolina his place of residence at that time under Captain Richard Vernon and Lieutenant Robert Vernon, joined General Davidson near the line of North and South Carolina but does not recollect the County or the name of the place, it was called Headquarters, not far distant from where Lord Cornwallis and the British Army was stationed under the command of Lord Cornwallis, the troops sometime advancing and often retreating, not being able to come in contact with the British Army, which was hovering
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around us, after Serving three months as a private in the United States Service was discharged by General Davidson in the year Seventeen hundred and eighty and returned home, but does not recollect precisely the day or month when he was discharged.
   That he also Volunteered into the Service of the United Stated for three months as a private on ___ the day of ___ in the year One thousand Seven hundred and eighty one, in Guilford County State of North Carolina then the place of his residence, under Captain Thomas Cook in a Regiment Commanded by Major Oneal and Colonel John Pacely, marched down upon Deep River in said State and dispersed a large body of Tories said to be under the Command of One Colonel Fanning, after remaining for some time in the service, the whole company was marched back to Guilford County, where he remained until after the expiration of three months, where he was discharged after having served three months as a private in the Service of the United States in the year Seventeen hundred and eighty one, the day or month he does not recollect when he was discharged
   That he also Volunteered into the Service of the United States for three months as a private on the ___ day of ___ in the year one thousand Seven hundred and eighty one, in Guildord County State of North Carolina, then the place of his residence, under Captain Thomas Cook in a Regiment Commanded by Colonel James Martin, marched from Guilford to Dan River to a place called the Red House, where the British were quartered, at that place joined the American Army Commanded by General Green, the British retreated from the Red House, and was pursued by the main Army, Commanded by General Green, and that he continued with the army commanded by Green in all its various marching and countermarching through the States of North Carolina and Virginia, with the expiration of his three months Service as a private in the United States, then was discharged in the Year Seventeen hundred and eighty one, the day or month when he was discharged he does not precisely recollect. Making in all at the different periods twelve months which he served as a private in the United States service during the Revolutionary War.
   That during the first period and third Tours of duty which he served in the United States Service, he only served with the Militia, the fourth Tour of duty that he done, he served with the Army under the Command of General Green but does not at this late date recollect the
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different names of the Continental Regiments or Companies nor the names of Regular Officers except General Green, Colonel Washington & Genl. Morgan - That he has no documentary evidence, and that he knows of no person, whose testimony he can procure, who can testify to his services as a Soldier of the Revolution.
   Says that he was born in Hanover County State of Virginia on the ninth day of December in the year One thousand Seven hundred and Sixty One, and that he has a record of his age which is now in his possession that when called into Service each time, that he lived in Guilford Couty State of North Carolina, and that he removed to Wilks County (now Elbert County) State of Georgia, the year after the treaty with the Indians at Shoulderbourne about, forty four years since, and has resided in Elbert County ever since and now resides there and that he Volunteered into the Service of the United States.  He states that the first second and third tours of duty which he performed in the service of the United States, that he served with no other Regiments but with the Militia regiments to which he was attached that the fourth time that he entered into the service of the United States he served with the Army commanded by General Green composed of Continentals and Militia, but does not disinctly at this late date recollect the different Regiments and Companies composing that Army and that the Regular Officers who were with the Troops where he seved were General Green, Colonel Washington & Genl. Morgan; and that the general circumstances of his service has been before mentioned in this declaration.  That he received no written discharges from the service they were all Verbal discharges or disbanded from the service.
   He states that the names of the persons to whom he is known in his present neighbourhood, and who can testify to his character for veracity and their belief of his services as a Soldier of the Revolution are Thomas Hearn, James Davis, George Cook, Jeptha V. Harris and the Honorable Wiley Thompson late a member of Congress.
  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 any State
John Cook
  Sworn to, and subscribe,
the day and year aforesaid
attest
Benjamin W. Fortson Clk
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We Robert L Edwards a Clergyman residing in Elbert County State of Georgia, and Green W Smith residing in the same place hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with John Cook, who has subscribed and Sworn to the foregoing declaration that we believe him to be Seventy One years of Age; that he is respected and believed, in the neighbourhood where he resides, to have been a Soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.
RL Edwards
Green W Smith
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day and year aforesaid
attest Benjamin W. Fortson Clk J.C.

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interogatories 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 Robert L Edwards who has signed the preceeding certificate is a Clergyman resident in Elbert County State of Georgia, and that Green W Smith who has also signed
Wm. A Beck J J.C.
Dillard Herndon JJC
Isaac Almand J.J.C
Robt. B Christian J.J.C.

I Benjamin W Fortson Clerk of the Inferior Court in and for Elbert County State of Georgia, do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of John Cook for a pension.
(Seal)
  In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and Seal of Said Court this 15th day of July 1833
Benjamin W Fortson Clk J.C. E.C. Georgia