Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 3259, Joseph Edwards, N.C.
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Service Number
N.C Edwards, Joseph R.3259

Born in Md.
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Joseph Edwards 10369

Edwards, Joseph (N.C) R-3209
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Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress, passed June the 7th 1832 

State of Georgia S'S 
Franklin County 
On this third day of September 1832. personally appeared in open court, before the Court of Ordinary of said County, now sitting, Joseph Edwards  resident of Captain Newells District, in the County aforesaid, aged about seventy seven years, who being first duly the 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, to wit. He entered the service in the year seventy six as a volunteer in Surray County in the State of North Carolina under Capt Shepherd in Colo. Armstrongs Regiment, and was marched to cross creek but the battle was fought the day before we got there, he remained there for some time guarding the British & Tories, he was marched from cross Creek to Hillsborough, from thence he went home to recruit his horse & get cloathing, but was soon called into service again, & continued in service with short intermissions for about three years, was in no [inserted] - he was marched at one time to the indian nation after the Indian & Tories-particular engagement, but was in a great may skirmishes does not recollect that he received any discharge from Capt Shepherd but if he did has lost [it] - He then moved into Wilkes County in the same state where he was drafted to serve in Capt Martins Company, under Colonel Cleveland & was march down in the lower part of North Carolina after Colo. Fannin & the Tories-- but was in no engagement, he seved forty five days, as well as he can recollect & was discharged-- He was afterwards drafted & served thirty three days under
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Captain Isbell, in Colo. Isaac Regiment, was in
no particular engagement & was discharged at the
end of the term by Capt Isbel, which said discharge
is herewith enclosed - He was again drafted &
served fifteen days under Capt Sloan and
Colo Cleveland, & was marched near the Virginia
line after a tory Capt Cose & his Company, we took
Capt Cox, but could not find his company-- and
was then discharged & returned home
served under Capt. Shepherd these years as a Light
Horseman & found his own horse served three or
four months afternded as a fort private
Does not know any person convenient, that knew of
his service positively
I was born in Maryland, and to the best of his recollection
in the year 1756
2 does not know that there is any record of his age
was
3 when he first called into service he was lived in Surrey
County North Carolina and from thence removed
to his present residence in the year 1784 where he
has remained ever since
He was a volunteer the first three years in a light
horse company & was drafted when he served
afterwards
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joined the Regular Troops at Cross Creek now
Fayetteville, when they were commanded by one
Armstrong. does not recollect the names of others
. Received several discharge, (one inclused, which
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are lost, and does not recollect by whom signed
Brown to Dozier Thornton
and to John Honeypher
preacher of the Gospel
in his present neighborhood
who can testify to his character for veracity and to their
belief of his having been a soldier of the Revolution
he hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension, except the present & declares that
name is not on the pension roll of any agency of any state within his knowledge or belief
Sworn to & subscribed in open Court
the day & year first above written
Mr King Clk
Joseph Edwards
mark
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We Dozier Thornton a clergyman and John Stoneypton residing
in the County and State first aforesaid hereby
Certify that we are well requainted with Joseph Edward
who has subsribed & sworn to the above declaration; That
we believe him to be seventy seven years of age. That
he is reputed and believed, in the neighbourhood where
he resides to have been a soldier of the revolution
and that we concur in that opinion & the said Stoneypton
saw him once on a march in the army while in the service
sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid
Jst Thos King Clk}
Dozier Thornton
his mark[large leaning T]
John Stoneypton
his mark [large X]
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 mentioned applicant was a revolutionary
Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court
further certifies that it appears to them that Dozier
Thornton who has signed the preceding certificate,
is a Clergyman resident in the said County, and
that John Stoneypton who has signed the same
is a resident of the neighbourhood of the said Joseph
and is a creditable person, and that their statement
is entitled to credit
Jst Thos King Clk
William Turk J.H.
Thomas Farmer JH
Charles Denker JH
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I Thomas King Clerk of the Court of Ordinary, do hereby Certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings in the matter of the application of Joseph Edwards for a Pension- In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of office this 11th day of Sept 1832 Thomas King CCO
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Georgia Franklin County 
Personally appeared before me the under signed a Justice of the Peace in and for said County Joseph Edwards to whose original Declaration this is attached, and who being again duly sworn on his oath saith & deposeth 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 period mentioned below & in the following grades. As a private he served in 1776 under Capt Shepherd in Col. Armstrongs Regiment forty two days & was discharged to recruit his horse & get clothing. 
In May 1776 he entered under the same officer as a private and served fifteen days was marched to Chisels lead mines and guarded some waggons loaded with lead back to Survey Court House & was discharged.
In August 1776 under Capt Shepherd & Col. Williams he served as a private four months and twenty days in a campaign against the Cherokee Indians to the lower Towns on the Tennessee river which we burnt.
In 1777 as a private he served one month against the Tories under Capt Shepherd & Col Armstrong.
In 1778 he served one month as a private under Shepherd & Armstrong.
In 1779 he done no service the Indians & Tories being quiet.
In 1780 he volunteered as a private under Capt Martin as a footman and served three months, under him and Col Cleveland after the British & Tories and was marched to Hickory Land ford on the Adkin & was discharged in August.
In Septr 1781 [1780] he was drafted and served thirty days as a private under Capt. Isbell & Col. Isaacs & was marched after a tory Col Fannin to Deep river & was discharged at Moravian Town same year served as a private 33 days under same, & send his discharge annexed [awarded]
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In March 12 1782 he was drafted under Capt Sloan & Col Cleveland and served fifteen days as a private, was marched to New River after a tory Capt Coxe & returned home & was discharged by Capt Sloan.
In 1776, 1777, and 1778 he says he served as a private Horseman under Capt. Shepherd three years except about Two weeks he had leave of absence to see his family, he has just above attempted to give a statement of each tour but cannot from want of memory. When not out on duty for the three years aforesaid he was kept in Garrison at Surrey Court house North Carolina aforesaid. And for such service or so much thereof as the Law will allow him he claims a pension He 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, except the two weeks aforesaid. That he knows of no person (except his brother who was living in North Carolina a year ago) by whom he could prove his service, but could prove by him if he is alive, but deponent is a cripple & unable to go & see whether he is alive 
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 11th day of September 1833  Joseph his mark Edwards C Addison JP
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State of Georgia
Franklin County
I Thomas King Clerk of the Inferior Court of said County, do hereby certify that Christopher Addison before whom the foregoing affadavit was made, was at the time a Justice of the peace as there represented, and that the foregoing signature purporting to be his is genuine. In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my seal of office, and for this subscribed my 2 d [smudged] day of September 1833 
Wm. King CLC
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Mr. Knonson [illegible]
J.Jenkin Prial [illegible]
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State of Georgia 
Lumpkin County 
Know all men by these presents that I Abel Edwards of Whitfield County State of Georgia son of Joseph Edwards deceased who was a soldier in the war of the Revolution do hereby constitute and appoint Thomas Lumpkin of the city of Washington my true & lawfull Attorney for me & in my name to examine the papers on file in the Pension Office the better to enable him to find out the reason that my deceased father did not get the Pension due him for his services in the State of North Carolina in the Revolutionary War 
Given under my hand and seal this the 27th day of May 1853 Abel Edwards Seal 
W.B. Morgan 
State of Georgia 
Lumpkin County 
I W. M. Varnum Notary Public in and for said County Notary do hereby certify that Abel Edwards whose signature appears to the above power of Attorney acknowledges the same to be his act and deed for the purposes therein contained 
Given under my hand & seal of Office 27th May 1853 W. M. Varnum N.P
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Edwards, Joseph
(NC.) R-3259
Joseph Edwards
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Wilkes County Decem 23 1781
this is to Certify that Joseph
Edwards has served a soldier
33 Days in my Company
under the command of Col Isaacs against the Tories
Andleton Isbell
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Washington DC
August 20th 1853 
Sir
Enclosed please find  the Certificate of the Comptr of N.C showing payments to Joseph Edwards whose application has been suspended for proof of his services in the Revolution. Proof of his identity I trust may be regarded sufficient from the fact that Capt Pendleton Isbell afforded him a certificate that he the said Joseph Edwards did serve in his Company 33 days which was found in the possession of his papers in 1832 when he made application see the same attached his Declaration 
I have the honor
Th Lumpkin
Hon J P Waldo
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Acts of July 14, 1802, and March 3 1873 [crossed out]
3259
P. O. Joseph Edwards 
Service: of Geo
Enlisted, __18
Discharged: Rejected [stamp], 18
Application filed: __18
Alleges:
Re-enlisted:
Attorney:
P.O.
Recognized.
Contract.
[cut off]
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Joseph Edwards
Certificate
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State of North Carolina Comptroller's Office 

I, William J. Clarke, Comptroller of Public accounts in and for the State aforesaid, do hereby certify that it appears of record in my office among the payments made by said State to sundry persons for Military services in the Revolutionary War, as follows, to wit: 
Joseph Edwards Book 33 [ZZ] page 16 "private for pay from 10th November 1778 to 10th August 1779 the sum of £26S9 D6" specie Book No. 1 page 22  £1S7 specie, April 3d 1781
In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal of office this 2d day of August 1853 Wm J. Clark, Compt
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Joseph Edwards
Rev nd Spec Suspended [light pencil]
Suspended, Ga lch
15 Oct 1833 to J. R. Stanford
Carnesville GA
3259
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Brief objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Joseph Edwards which 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 
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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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? 
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? Yes 
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? Yes
Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct? yes 
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? Yes
XVI. Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? No.
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? Yes 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.
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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 objection
able. 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
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 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 in all
office, the certificate of a member of congress, proving the official character and signature of the
certifying officer, should accompany the papers.
The applicant
must specify his service
required above