Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 13,022, Amos Finch, Green Mt. Boys. New York
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(3 - 1776)
SERVICE
Green Mt. Boys.
New York.
Finch, Amos
NUMBER
S.13.022
carded
CONTENTS
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1463[illegible]  New York
Amos Finch 14,633
Greene, in the State of N York who was a private in the Comy commanded by Captain Stanton of the Reget commanded by Col Graham in the N. York line for 17 months as private
Green Mountain Boys and N.Y.
Records completed Mch 6/06  [illegible initials] 

Inscribed on the Roll of N. York at the rate of 56 Dollars 66 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831

Certificate of Pension issued the 6t. day of June 1833 and  sent to Lewis Wakeley. Greenville Greene Co. N.Y.

Arrears to the 4th of March 1833.    $113.32
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept 1833  $23-33
[Total]   $141.65
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Amos Finch
24607
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State of New York
County of Greene

On this 5th day of February 1833 personally appeared in open court before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for said county, now sitting Amos Finch, a resident of the town of Cairo, in the county of Greene and state of New York, aged seventy-seven years, who being duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the provisions made by the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832,

That he entered the service of the United States under the following officers and served as herein stated:

That on or about the first day of January of the year 1776 at Nine Partners in the county of Dutchess in the state of New York, he enlisted into the company commanded by Captain Stanton in the regiment commanded by Colonel Warner of the period of seven months

That Eli Benton was Lieutenant of said company and enlisted this applicant that soon after his said enlistment he marched with said company to Albany, and from thence to Fort George and from thence they marched to Ticonderoga and proceeded acrost Lake Champlain upon the ice to St. John's in Canada  That his company joined Colonel Warners Regiment in Canada 

That he continued in the service in Canada aforesaid until the landing of General Burgoyne when they were obliged to retreat

That in the retreat they made the first stop at the River Sorelle  That they soon after came to St. John's on the Isle of Noah where they soon took boats to Ticonderoga  That he was discharged at Ticonderoga by Captain Stanton aforesaid on or about the first day of August of the same year

That Col. Warner's regiment was raised mostly for five months and was dismissed in Canada but that many of Captain Stanton's company were raised for seven months and were not discharged until afterwards  That when Col. Warner's regiment retreated from Quebec in Canada on the landing of Gen. Burgoyne, this applicant was sick with the smallpox and suffered many hardships in the retreat

That in November next ensuing this applicant enlisted again at Nine Partners aforesaid with the company commanded by Captain Heermance in the regiment of Col. Gayham for the period of one month  That he marched with
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his said company to Peekskill in said county and was regularly discharged on the first day of January of the year 1777, that from the last mentioned service he returned home sick and remained sick for several months:

That in the spring of the year 1778 he volunteered at the Nine Partners aforesaid into a company commanded by Captain James Talmadge in the regiment commanded by Colonel Southerland, that the said company was chiefly employed in arresting and confining Tories in a large Log Gaol erected near the line of the State of New York and Connecticut:

That in this service he continued for a period not less than six months, when he was regularly discharged

That in the fall of the year 1779 he was to the best of his recollection drafted into a company commanded by Captain Waters into a regiment commanded either by Colonel Southerland or Colonel Hopkins

That he served in the said company a period not less than two months when he was regularly discharged at Fishkill in the said county of Dutchess

That in the fall of the year 1780 he volunteered into a company commanded by Captain Talmadge above mentioned in the Regiment commanded by  Colonel Southerland for one month, that he served out his time and was regularly discharged at Fishkill aforesaid.  He hereby relinquishes every claim to a pension but the present & declares that his name is not on the Pension Rolls of any State

To the questions proposed by the court the applicant answers That he was born in the year 1755 at Bedford in the county of Westchester in the state of New York  That he has a record of his (illegible) Cairo where he now resides, that during the Revolutionary War enlisted at the Nine Partners in the county of Dutchess, that he has resided in Cairo where he now lives about forty-eight years:

That he ever served on his own account and never a substitute  That he recollects of having received but one written discharge which was given him by Captain Stanton, that the said discharge was several years since destroyed, that he recollects there of being several regiments in Canada, at the landing of Genl. Burgoyne.  He distinctly recollects that Earl Woorcester was there and he thinks Genl. Arnold was likewise present  He would mention the following person who can testify
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to his character for [illegible]ly and [illegible] belief of his services as a Soldier of the Revolution Wessel Sartsbury Esq, John Pine & James Pierce, that he has no documentary evidence of his service nor does he now know of any person who can testify to the same
Signed:  Amos Finch his mark   

Sworn & subscribed in open court the day and year aforesaid. 
Signed:   Wm, B. Heermance, Clerk

We Wm. Stewart a clergyman [illegible] and Benjamin Story, residing in the same place  hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Amos Finch who has subscribed and sworn to the foregoing declaration, that we believe him to be seventy-seven years of age, that he is generally reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution and that we concur with that opinion.

Signed:  Wm. Stewart (mark), Benjamin Story

Sworn and subscribed in open court the day and year aforesaid.  The deponent Wm. Stewart made his mark in consequence of blindness.

Signed: Wm. B. Heermance, Clerk

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 said court further certifies that it appears to them that William Stewart, who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman resident in Greenville and that Benjamin Story, who has signed the same, is a credible person and that their statement is entitled to credit.

Signed: (illegible), Perkins King

I Willaim F. B. Heermance, clerk of the Court of Common Pleas aforesaid, do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of said court in the matter of the application of Amos Finch for a pension. 
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of the office this fifth day of February 1833.

Signed:  William B. Heermance, Clerk
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS SECTION  3-525
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF PENSIONS
Washington, D. C., ________, 19____

In reply to your request of _______, received______for a statement of the military history of Amos Finch a soldier of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, you will find below the desired information contained in his (or his widow's)[crossed out] application for pension on file in this Bureau.  S. 13022.
[The following represents a table containing the following column headings:  Dates of enlistment or appointment.; Length of Service.; Rank.; Officers under whom service was rendered-Captain, Colonel; State.]

Jan 6 1776; 7 mos; Pvt; Stanton, Warner; Gr. Mt. Boys

Nov 1776; 1 mo; Pvt; Heermance, Graham; N.Y.; 

Spr. 1778; 6 mos; Pvt; James Talmadge, Southerland; N.Y.

Fall 1779; 2 mos; Pvt; Waters, Hopkins; N.Y.

Fall 1780; 1 mo; Pvt; Talmadge, Southerland; N.Y.

Battles engaged in,  None Stated

Residence of soldier at enlistment, Nine           Partners, Dutchess Co. N.Y.

Date of application for pension, Feb 5, 1833 His claim was allowed

Residence at date of application, Cairo, Greene Co. N. Y.

Age at date of application, b. in 1755 at Bedford, Westchester Co. N.Y.

Remarks:  there is no family data on file
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13,022
INVALID
Filed No. 13,022
Amos Finch
Pri. Rev. War
Act: June 7th 32

1914 - List to Mr. M. O. Finch M.B.H.
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24,607
Amos Finch 
Green Co. New York.


Lewis Wakeley
Greenvill
Green Co
New York.
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Sir,
The evidence in support if your claim, under he act of June 6, 1832, has been examined, and the papers are herewith returned.  The following is a statement of your case in a tabular form.  On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed.  The notes and the regulations will show what is necessary to be done.  These points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you will find marked in the margin with a brace, (thus: } ).  You will, when you return your papers to this Department, send this printed letter with them; and you will, by complying with this request, greatly facilitate the investigation of you claim.

A Statement, shewing the Service of Amos Finch, Green Co New York
[The following represents a table with the following column headings:  Period when the service was rendered.; duration of the claimant's service. Years. Months. Days.; Rank of the claimant.; Names and rank of the Field officers under whom he served.; Age at present, and place of abode when he entered the service.; Proof by which the declaration is supported.]

Jan 1776; 7 months; Priv; Col Warner, Cap. Stanton; 77 years, Dutchess Co. N.York; Traditionary [same for all the rest of entries]

Nov 1776; 1 month; Priv; Col. Graham, Cap Heermance; 

Sp. 1778; 6 months; Priv; Col Southerland, Cap. Talmadge;

Fall 1779; 2 months; Priv; Col. Southerland or Hopkins, Cap. Waters

Fall 1780; 1 month; Col. Southerland, Cap. Talmadge.

I am, respectfully, Your obedient servant, J. L. Edwards, Commissioner of Pensions
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This is a printed document and it does not need to be transcribed.
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3
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 exexpected. 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 now 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 of 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 giving 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 enquiry 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.
When ever 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 the services of any person, who may have died before the taking effect of the act of June 7, 1832; and in the 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 period 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 invariably be mentioned.
[d] The declarant must mention the 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 laid. 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 three or four months, is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions merely state that 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 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.
[f] The law makes the relinquishment indispensable.
[g] The opinion of the Court is always required.
[h] The Clerk must affix 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 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.
Mode of authenticating papers.
In ever 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 papers 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.
Proof of Service.
[j] 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 claimant's 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. 
(symbol of a hand pointing to the right) The notes from [a] to [(illegible)] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops. The proof required by rule in note [j] applies to continental troops only.
[k] This traditionary evidence is indispensible in militia cases.
[l] If a witness cannot be found, the declarant must state the fact.
[m] The answers to the interrogatories must all be written, and sent to the War Department, with the declaration.
(signature) Joseph Rowen
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Pueblo Colo., March 4", 1914.

Hon. Commissioner of Pensions,
Washington D.C.

Dear Sir:
My Grand-Father, Amos Finch, Served in the War of the Revolution in Hopkin's Regiment of N.Y. Militia and served in said Regiment at
Peekshill and at Fishkill, in 1779.
For the benefit of my family, I am very desirous to have as full a Record of his service in the War of the Revolution as possible, and by
giving me this record, you will do me a very great favor.

Thanking you for whatever you may do in the matter, I am,
Very Sincerely Yours,
[signature] William O. Finch
late Lieut. Co. "H", 23d. Regt.
Ill. Inft. Vol.

P. O. Address,
#215, Block "I",
Pueblo Colorado.
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Re[illegible]r Section.
February 3. 1914.
Mrs. Sam Clegg.
Ottawa.
Illinois.
Madam:-
In response to your letter dated the twenty-sixth instant, you are advised that the Revolutionary War records of this Bureau fail to afford any information in regard to Amos Finch described by you.
[# handwritten in the left margin]
The only Amos Finch found on the Revolutionary War pension records was born in [underlined]1755 at Bedford. New York. and lived in that state when he enlisted and after the War. and is not identical with Amos Finch born in 1747. 
Very respectfully.
 [signature] G M Saltzgaber
Commisioner.