Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S 29707, James Cheever, Mass.
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(8-1776)

SERVICE Mass.
Cheever, James
NUMBER
S. 29707
CONTENTS
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10.648
Massachusetts
James Cheever
of Salem in the State of Mass who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain Ward of the Reg't commanded by --- in the Mass line for 16 months Private 
5 " 16 days [illegible] mate

Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 78 Dollars 23 cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.

Certificate of Pension issues the 18th day of April 1833 and sent Joseph G. Bates Salem Mass

Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $156.46
Semi-anl allowance ending Sept 39.12
-----
$195.58

{Revolutionary Claim,
Act June 7, 1832.}

Recorded by DD Addison Clerk, 
Book E Vol 20. Page 10
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2180 James Cheever
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Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress, passed June 7, 1832.

STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS: COUNTY OF ESSEX, ss.
On this fourteenth day of August A.D. 1832, personally appeared in open court, before the HONORABLE DANIEL APPLETON WHITE, Judge of the Court of Probate for the County of Essex aforesaid, not sitting, James Cheever, a resident of Salem, in the County of Essex and State of Massachusetts, aged 79 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 Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832:
That he entered the service of the United States, under the following named officers, and served as herein stated:
That he enlisted as a volunteer in the Company of militia commanded by the late Cap.n Benjamin Ward of Salem on the first day of November AD Seventeen hundred & seventy five, and served in said Company till the first day of march AD 1777.  While a member of the Company he was employed in erecting fortifications on the Salem neck, and in the month of April AD 1776 he marched to Boston, in his said Company, and remained there several weeks in building the batteries, on Noodle's Island in the harbor of Boston _ He was constantly on military duty from the time of his enlistment in said Company till the first day of March AD 1777.  On the thirteenth day of said March 1777 he enlisted as gunner mate on board the States Brig of War Tyrannicide commanded by Jonathan Harraden, and served in said capacity on board of said Brig till the twenty ninth day of August AD 1777 when he was discharged -
Several valuable prizes were captured during the Cruise, and the Brig being compelled to go into Bordeaux, to repair the loss of her armament thrown over aboard during a chase, took in a valuable cargo off goods for the United States and arrived some time in the month of August of that year.  The first Lieutenant of the Brig was the late Israel Thorndike of Boston _ Jonathan Neal and Joseph Waters of Salem were likewise on board of said Brig during the whole cruise. Said Cheever was born at Lynn in the County of Essex on the sixth day of October AD 1758 and lived at said Lynn till he was five or six years old, then removed to Salem, where he has ever since continued to reside.
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And the said Cheever further states, that he has no record of his age, neither can he produce any discharge from either the military or naval service in which he was engaged, as the only discharge he ever had was a verbal one _ He would refer to the testimony of Jonathan Neal & Jospeh Waters for his character for veracity

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 the agency of any State.
[signed on right] James Cheever

Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid D A White JUDGE OF PROBATE.
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And the said Court hereby declares its opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the abovenamed applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states.

And the court further certifies, that Jonathan Neal, who has signed an affidavit annexed, is a respectable merchant, and Joseph G. Waters, who has signed the same is also a respectable merchant that they both reside in said Salem, and are credible persons, and that their statement is entitled to credit; also that John Ingersoll who has signed another affidavit hereto annexed, is a credible person, and that his statement is entitled to credit.
[signed on right] D A White Judge of Probate

I, NATHANIEL LORD Junior, Register of the Court of Probate for the County of Essex aforesaid, do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the appplication of James Cheever for a pension and I further certify that Joseph Waters, before whom the foregoing affidavit were taken & sworn to is a justice of the Peace for the said County of Essex, duly qualified to administer oaths, and that the signature of said waters to said affidavit is his genuine signature

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this fourteenth day of August, A.D. 1832.
[seal affixed on left]
[signed on right} Nathaniel Lord jr.

Signed and sealed anew this ninth day of
January, A.D. 1833
Nath.l Lord jur.
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James Cheever
2180

1 year 4 Mos.

detective[?] in the 16th Interrogatory 

Gunners Mate 5 Mos. 16 days
Private 16 mos.

78.23

Jos G Waters 
Salem
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BRIEF in the case of James Cheever of Salem in the state of Mass.
(Act 7th June 1832.)

1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Court

2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?

3. How old is he? 79 years

4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed.

Period | Duration of Service | Rank | Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.
[blank] | Years, Months, Days. | As a | Gen.
Nov 1st In 1776 | 1 4 " | Private | Capt B Ward.
March 13th 1777 | " 5 " | Gunners Mate | Capt Harraden the Brig. Tyrannicide

5. In what battles was he engaged? none stated.

6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Salem

7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Living witnesses & documentary proof

8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? defective tape doe not [illegible] under the seal

I certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned. 

DD Addison
Examining Clerk
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This Bureau can furnish the military record of only such Revolutionary soldiers as were pensioned or whose widows were pensioned for their services. Such of the original muster and pay rolls of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 as are now in the possession of the Government are on file in the Record and Pension Office, War Department. Original rolls and other records pertaining to service in the Revolutionary War may also be found on file in the archives of many of the original States.

O. W. & N. Div.
REVOLUTIONARY

M.K.C.
Inv. 29,707.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF PENSIONS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
July 26, 1897.

Sir:
Replying to your request for information concerning James Chever, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, you are advised that he made an application for pension on August 14, 1832, at which time he was seventy-nine years of age and residing in Salem, Mass., and his pension was allowed for sixteen months' actual service as a private in the Massachusetts troops, and five months and sixteen days' service as a Gunner's Mate on the Brig Tyrannicide, Revolutionary war. A part of the time he served under Capt. Ward and Capt. Harraden. He resided at Salem, Mass., when he entered the service.

Very respectfully,
Commissioner.
Col. A. S. Hubbard,
1170 Market St., 
San Francisco, Cal.
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Hand 
29 707
INVALID
Revy

File No. 29,707
James Cheever
Prv Rev war

Act June 7 32
Index:-Vol. 2 Page 70
[Arrangement of 1870.]

July 26/97 Col. A. S. Hubbard San Francisco, Cal.
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BOARD OF MANAGERS
Edwin Bonnell, Secretary
101 Montgomery Street.

Sidney M. Smith, President 
125 Market Street.

Col. A. S. Hubbard, Registrar
819 Market Street,
California Historical Society

California Society

Col. J. C. Currier, Senior Vice-President
320 Sansome Street.

Hon. Horace Davis, Junior Vice-President
1800 Broadway.

Chas. H. Warner, Treasurer
322 California Street.

Wm. Schuyler Moses, Marshal
Masonic Temple.

Roberts Vandercook,
26 Turk Street.

W. M. Bunker
238 Montgomery Street.

Z U. Dodge
508 California Street.

M, L, Requa
79 Nevada Block.

Dr. C. J. Burnham
936 Haight Street.

A. B. Paul
1032 Broadway

Instituted October 22, 1875 Constitution Adopted August 7, 1870

"The first body in inception, institution and organization, to unite the descendants of Revolutionary patriots and perpetuate the memory of all those who took part in the American Revolution and maintained the Independence of the United States of America."

San Francisco, July 15th 1897.
Hon. H. Clay Evans
Pension Office
Interior Department
Washington D.C. 

Sir
Will you please furnish for use in this office the record of James Chever of Salem Mass a Revolutionary soldier in his application for a pension.

[illegible]
yours,
A.S. Hubbard
Registrar California Society Sons of the American Revolution

1170 Market St
San Francisco, Cal.
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James Cheever 
2180

Joseph G Waters
Salem Mass
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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 James Cheever 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? Yes

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 in entitled? Yes

VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with 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? ---

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 has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility? Yes
Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper office under his seal of office? 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? And if not, which of them is not so answered? Yes

------
EXPLANATORY NOTES
*QUERE V. In a case where an 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 &e. 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."

# See next page
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3
it is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the 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.

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 many 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 authenticated 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 end 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.
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J. Cheever
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Secretary's Office, August 10th 1832.

I hereby Certify, That, from an examination of the Books and documents, relating to Military Services in the war of the Revolution, which remain in this Department, it appears that James Cheever enlistedon board the Brig Tyrannicide, Jonathan Haraden, Commander in the capacity of Mate, on the 13th day of March A.D. 1777. and served on board in said capacity, till his discharge  on the 29th of August 1777.
[signed on right] Edward D Bangs Secy
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We the undersigned Jonathan Neal and Joseph Waters merchants, both of Salem in the County of Essex, on oath severally depose and say, that we are each of us, well acquainted with James cheever of Salem, who has made the foregoing application for a pension. That we were Seamen on board of the States Brig of War Tyrannicide commanded by Capn Jonathan Harraden_ that we entered on board of said Brig on the twenty sixth day of February AD 1777, and that said Cheever likewise was on board of said Brig during the whole time of his enlistment, from the thirteenth day of march AD 1777 to the twenty ninth day of August AD 1777 - We further depose and say, that we have known said Cheever from the time of his enlistment as aforesaid to the present time, having a daily intercourse with him - and said Cheever has always resided in said Town of Salem since said period of enlistment and we further state that said Cheever character for veracity is unquestionable
[signed on right
Jon Near
Joseph Waters

Essex ss. Salem Aug 11th 1832 Then personally appeared the above named Jonathan Neal & Joseph Waters and made oath to the truth of the above affidavit by then subscribed
Before me
[signed on right] Joseph G Waters
Jus Pac
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I John Ingersoll of Salem in the County of Essex mariner depose on oath and say, that I am well acquainted with James Cheever who has made the foregoing application for a pension, on account of his services in the war of the American Revolution_ In the month of April AD 1776 I was a member of the military Company Commanded by the late Benjamin Ward of Salem - said James Cheever was then a private in said Company and continued a member of said Comapny with me, till I enlisted as seaman on board of the States Brig of War Massachusetts Cap. Southern, which was about the first part of August 1776. Said Cheever remained in said company, as I have understood, and believe, till a short time before his enlistment as gunners mate of the Tyrannicide -
[signed on right] John Ingersoll