Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 17947, Abel Farar, Va.
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Va.
Farar, Abel
Number S.17947

carded
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Virginia 23.763

Abel Farar of Meckling. in the State of Va.

Who was a Private in the ___ commanded by Captain___of the Reg. commanded by Col. Stevens in the Va. line for 2 years 

Inscribed on the Roll of Virginia at the rate of 80 Dollars 00 cents per annum to commence on the 4th of March , 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 4th day of Apr. '34 and Sent Jno Baptist. Boydton Va.

Arrears to the 4th of March 1834     240
semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept    40

                                                  $280.

{Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832}

Recorded by Nath Rice Clerk,

Book C  Vol. [illegible]  Page 15
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Let to L. Webb. Apr. 26 1836
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State of Virginia  
Mecklenburg County to wit: 
     On this day January 21st 1834 personally appeared in open court before John Pelles, William Taylor, George Tarry & Alex: S Jones, 
Abel Farer a resident of the said county aged 71 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 y the act of congress passed the 7th day of June 1832. 
That about 16 or 18 months, the exact time from age and lapse of memory he cannot 
recollect, before the battle of Camden he enlisted as a private soldier in the Regular army of the United States for the balance of the war under a Captain Anderson in the 
town of Camden North Carolina in the regiment (he believes the 9th) commanded by Col Stevens and from that period until the 
close of the war. That he was attached to the division of the army commanded by General Gates and afterwards by General Green. That he was with the baggage wagons in the neighborhoods of the battle of Guilford when it was fought. That he has a confined recollection of many officers but being exempt from drill duty, and chiefly employed in driving the baggage wagons he found no acquaintances with them and cannot not [sic] now name any of them with certainty on oath except those under whom he immediately served. That before he enlisted as above he had for 8 months been acting as a 
substitute for his brother William Farer who had enlisted in Virginia and that when that term of service expired he was in Camden when he himself enlisted. That the whole term of his service from the date of his enlisting the same as a substitute to his discharge was 2 years and 7 months. That he was discharged at Guilford. That his discharge he gave to his brother many years ago who afterwards informed him it had been sent to the war office. That during the time of his service he was engaged in the field and was not Employed in any civil pursuit. That he was born 
and raised in the County of Mecklenburg State of Virginia and lived there until he joined the 
army as the substitute
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of his problem that after the toll of the war he returned to the said county in which he resided for a short time where he remained to the Sate of North Carolina where he resided for about 20 years when he returned to the said county of Mecklenburg where he has resided ever since. that he has no authentic register of his age but from the information received by his parents and family, he believes he was born in 1761 That Bartlet Cox and William Coleman are the only surviving witnesses he know of who can testify to his actual service as a revolutionary soldier. He hereby relinquishes every claim 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 of any state. Sworn to & subscribed the day & year above written. 
                       Abel Farar

 
Mecklenburg County to wit 
Personally appeared before me a Justice of the peace for the County aforesaid Bartlet Cox and made oath that the above named Abel Farer and himself were raised in the same neighborhood & that he knew him from childhood – that the said Abel was a soldier in the revolutionary Army and served in the Southern Army commanded at different times by General Gates, Green and Stevens – he knows from his own personal knowledge that the said Abel was in the Army at the 
battle of Guilford and high rock (or Camden) – he knows that the said Abel served twelve 
months, and believes much longer, but having left the Army in consequence of the loss of a leg before the close of the war he cannot speak positively after that time – And I do hereby certify that Bartlet Cox is I believe a man of good character & his statements are entitled to full credit.   

               Will C Wall JP
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Mecklenburg County to wit 
This day personally appeared before me a Justice of the peace for the County aforesaid William Coleman a revolutionary soldier and resident of said County who made oath that he is well acquainted with Abel Farer who hath signed the preceding declaration for a pension – that he knows from his own knowledge that the said Abel was a soldier in the Revolutionary war – that he recollects distinctly having seen him about 8 months before the battle of Guilford, marching through the County of Prince Edward Virginia to join the Army in the South, & he believes the Colonel under whose command he was at that time was Colonel Munford, he cannot from the lapse of memory recollect the number of the Regiment to which he belonged – he also states that he again saw the said Abel at Guilford Ct H in the month of November several times before the battle at that place, though he cannot recollect from the loss of memory the Regiment to which he belonged though he knows that he was a Regular & I do also certify that the said William 
Coleman is a man of credibility.  Given under my hand this 20th day of April 1834
                                    D F Hicks JP

State of Virginia Mecklenburg county to Wit
     I John G. Baptist Clerk of the County Court of Mecklenburg County do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said court in the matter of the application of Abel Farer for a pension. & I do also certify that William C Wall & Daniel F. Hicks who have signed the preceding certificate are Justice of the peace for the county aforesaid & that the foregoing signatures purporting to be theirs are genuine.
     In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of Office this 22nd of Jany 1834.
               J. Baptist CC
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P
17947
INVALID.
AWN
File No. 17.947
Abel Farar
Pri Rev War
Act: June 7 32
Index:- Vol. 1, Page 122

[Arrangement of 1870]
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Abel Farar Ap; 25
Bartlett Cox
Jno Bennett
Wm Coleman
(faded)

FREE
(stamp) 
RICHMOND APR 22 VA

J.L. Edwards Esquire
Commissioner of Pensions 
Washington City
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Abel Farar Ap; 25
Bartlett Cox
Jno Bennett
Wm Coleman
(faded)

FREE
(stamp)
RICHMOND APR 22 VA

J.L. Edwards Esquire
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington City
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             Richmond Va April 22nd 1834

JL Edwards Esquire
Dear Sir
Enclosed I send you 4 pension claims.  The pensioners having omitted to state in the powers of Attorney that they are United States pensions.  The Agent here does not consider himself authorized to pay them in their present form. but would be both troublesome & expensive to the pensioners to have their papers made me anew. I conclude it bet to send the papers to you, expecting you will instruct the Agent here to pay them in their present form.
                   I am very respectfully
                   Yr obt. servt
                             Lewis Webb
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27.430
Abel Farar

Admt. as private
 2 years $80
J

Jno G. Baptist
Boydton Va
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WAR DEPARTMENT, 
Pension Office,

Sir:
     The evidence in support of your claim under the act of June 7, 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 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 shew 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 compling with this request, greatly facilitate the investigation of your claim.

A Statement, shewing the Service of

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.

                   I am, respectfully,
                       Your obedient servant,

                          J.L. EDWARDS,
                          Commissioner of Pensions
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 2
         REGULATIONS UNDER THE 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. Teamsters, Boatmen, &c.  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 Naval 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 offices, 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 

     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 first being 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 served 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, if 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.]
      
     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 or any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of the Agency in the State of _____.                         A.B.
     Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
     [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 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 (i) this ____day of ____ &c.

     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 and 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) herby 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. and that C.D., who has also signed the same is a 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.

Every applicant will product 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 applicant, 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 product 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 or 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 ex-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 now live?
     How were you called into service;  were you drafted, did you volution, 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.
     Whenever any official act is required to be done by a Judge or Justice of the 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 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.

(The following are small type footnotes at the bottom of the page.)

[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 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 claim cannot be had.  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 Just of the Peace, &c. A.B. who, being duly sworn deposeth and saith, that, by reason 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." 
     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 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 in 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 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 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 papers authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbons, 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.
     [j]  The notes from [a] to [i] are 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 indispensable 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.

(margin note)
not on the rolls - must prove his service