Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R,1222, Claudius Britton, Vt.
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(3-1776)

SERVICE
Vt.

Britton, Claudius
NUMBER
R.1222

CONTENTS
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Territory of Michigan
Washtenaw County fs On this twelfth day of March A.D. 1835 personally appeared in open court before the Circuit Court of the Territory of Michigan for the County of Washtenaw aforesaid now sitting Claudius Britton a resident of the Township of Pitt in said County & Territory aged Seventy four 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 Congrefs pafsed June 7th 1832 = that he was born as he is informed & verily believes in Windham in Windham County in the State of Connecticut on the 15th day of September A.D. 1760 where he thinks it probable his birth was recorded - that his parents removed  to Salisbury in said State before he was one year old where he resided until A.D. 1773 when they removed Waybridge now in the County of Addison & State of Vermont then called The Hampshire Grant where he resided until the fall of A.D. 1778 That in the month of January A. D. 1777 he enlisted in to a company of Rangers which was raised at the instigation of General St. Clair who then commanded at Ticonderoga from the inhabitants residing in the vicinity of the Eastern side of Lake Champlain near its head that the conditions of enlist-ment were that heads of families should only be called upon to perform scouting duty & not be withdrawn from their own part of the country but that single men were liable to be attached to any part of the United States Army & stationed & removed at
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pleasure - that he enlisted during the war - that Zadoc Averis was Captain of said company of Rangers Solomon Burnham Lieutenant & - Dudley (deponent believes his given name was Martin or Gideon) Ensign It was the duty of said company to keep out a scouting party of three or more constantly & report to General St Clair as the Commanding officer at Ticonderoga once or more each week & said scouting party was obliged to watch the Lake shore for more than forty miles That said company did keep out scouting parties (the members of it serving by towns) & report as aforesaid until the evacuation of Ticonderoga by the American army, July 5 1777 & continued to keep out & this deponent always did his duty [illegible] in his order & frequently [illegible] & made reports -Scouting parties for several months thereafter This deponent does not know that said company was attached to any regiment nor if so to what Regiment Brigade or Division it belonged but said company was raised & required to perform scouting duty because its members being inhabitants of the vicinity were better acquainted with the country than any others could be This deponent does not now recollect the names of any field officers stationed at Ticonderoga while he was in the service except Gen'l St Clair & Major Udney Hey (a Scotchman) to whom this deponent frequently made him reports This Deponent further saith that on the 6th of November A.D. 1778 this deponent &  about forty others his neighbours were taken prisoners by a Canadian Scouting party commanded by Major Carleton & taken to Quebec where he was confined in prison for about three years Deponent next was detained as a prisoner for four years & seven months mostly at Quebec & most
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of the time in close confinement & was twice confined in the dungeon for attempting to escape In July 1783 preparations were made for and Exchange of prisoners & about 380 prisoners in Canada were exchanged Deponent Signed the Exchange Bill at St Johns July 14 1783 & was marched into Vermont & discharged immediately after in the same manner as the other prisoners who were exchanged at the same time After this Deponents return he was never called upon to enter the service or to do duty in said company of Rangers Deponent never was in any general action & was not detached from the company in which he listed & in the performance of his duty he [illegible] country about the head of Lake Champlain but was seldom ordered to a greater distance than about forty miles from Ticonderoga  Deponent has no documentary evidence to show that he enlisted served or was discharged from the Army & does not know of any person whose testimony he can procure relative to his service After deponent was exchanged he removed to & resided in Tinmouth Rutland County Vermont until 1812 when he removed to Batavia Genessee County New York & resided there until he removed to Ann Arbor Washtenaw County Michigan Territory in May 1825 where he has resided until that time given Deponents return from Quebec in 1783 he has never seen Capt Averis nor has he heard of him in many years Lieut Burnham was killed during the war Ensign Dudley afterwards removed to Canandaigua New York
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where he died a few years since as deponent is informed Deponent does not recollect the name or know the place of residence of the Orderly Sergeant of said company nor whether he is living Joseph Averis a brother to the captain was a Sergeant in the company but deponent does not know the present place of residence of a single member of said company Deponent does not recollect if he ever knew the description of any of the companies or regiment stationed at Ticonderoga & the slight acquaintance which he formed with the officers when making his reports did not fix the names of many of them very strongly in his mind - He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present & declares that his name is not on the pension rolls of the agency of any State Territory or District sworn & subscribed this day & year aforesaid
Claudius Britton
Jas T. Allen 

Territory of Michigan
Washtenaw County I John Beach a clergyman residing in the village of Ann Arbour in said County do hereby certify that I am well acquainted with Claudius Britton who has subscribed & sworn to the above declaration that I believe him to be seventy four years of age that he is reputed & believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution & I concur in that opinion Sworn & subscribed this day & year aforesaid before me John Beach
Jas T. Allen Clk
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O. W. and N. Division.

M.B.H.
S Rej 1.222
Rev War

3-525.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Bureau of Pensions,
Washington, D.C., April 25 1906

Madam:
In reply to your request for a statement of the military history of Claudius Britton, a soldier of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, you will find below the desired information as contained in his (or his widow's THIS PORTION HAS BEEN CROSSED OFF) application for pension on file in the Bureau.

DATES OF ENLISTMENT OF APPOINTMENT.
Jan. 1777

LENGTH OF SERVICE.
1777

RANK.
Private

OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED.
CAPTAIN.
Capt. Zadoc Averis Co of Rangers`
COLONEL.
----

STATE.
Vt.

Battles engaged in, None stated.

Residence of soldier at enlistment, Weybridge, Addison Co. Vt. then called The Hampshire Grant.

Date of application for pension, March 12 1835.

Residence at date of application, Pitt Township, Washtenaw Co., Mich.

Age at date of application, born Sept 15 1760 at Windham, Windham Co. Conn.

Remarks: He was captured Nov 6. 1778 and taken to Quebec where he was held 4 years and 7 mos.
His claim was rejected on the ground of no proof of 6 mos service.

Very respectfully,
Mattie Bogardus, Commissioner
 #1400 Wilton Ave
Chicago
Illinois

20581b3m11-05
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1906 Apr 25 - History to Mattie Bogardus M.B.H.

Acts of July 14, 1862, and March 3, 1878. THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN CROSSED OFF

REJECTED

1222


P.O. Claudius Britton

Service: ______

Enlisted: _____, 18

Discharged: _____,18

Application filed: ____,18

Alleges: List of rejected (or suspended) claims, printed in 1852.

Re-enlisted: shows cause of rejection (or suspension) as follows: "Not six months service."

Attorney: ____

P.O. ____

____ Recognized. ____ Contract.
____ Cert. of Dis. Searched for ____, 18
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Rejected

See letter 1 Apl 
35 to C. Thayer
Ann Arbor

1222
Page 9

Chs Thayer
Apl 1. 1835

Record. Vol, 26. - p. 474
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War Dept. Pen Affairs
April 1. 1835

Sir
The declaration of Claudius Britton has been [illegible]. He claims for services as a scout for the shores of Lake Champlain for January 1777 and several months more and after the evacuation of Ticonderoga. During said period the applicant did not perform six months actual service within the [illegible] of the act of 7 June 1832. The circumstances under which he was taken a prisoner in 1778 and carried to Canada, was not of such a character as to entitle him to the benefits of the above mentioned act. The claim has therefore been rejected and the papers filed in this office.

Charles C. Thayer, Esq
Ann Arbor
Mich. Territory
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32.913
Claudius Britton
Michigan

Rejected, did not serve six mo.

Ann Arbor Mich
March 15
J L Edwards Esq
War Department
Pension Office
Washington D.C.

Mich. Mar 30
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Ann Arbor 14th March 1835 Washtenaw Co. M T.

J. L. Edwards Esqr

Sir

I herewith enclose the application of Claudius Britton for a pension under the act of June 7th 1833. which you will please to act upon with as little delay as possible, and inform me of the result.
I am with much respect
your obedient Sevt (Servant)
Charles Thayer
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Territory of Michigan
Washtenaw County fs
We John Allen of Ann Arbor & Lewis Barr of Pitt in said County & Territory do hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Claudius Britton who was subscribed & sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be Seventy four years of age that he is reputed & believed in this neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution and that we concur in that opinion - that he has resided in the townships of Ann Arbor & Pitt in said county for nearly ten years that he is a credible person & that his statements are entitled to credit  And the said Lewis Barr says that he has known the said Claudius Britton for more than twenty years last past & for more than ten years during his residence in Genessee County New York & that during all that time he was reputed & believed to have been a Revolutionary soldier
Lewis Barr
John Allen
Sworn & Subscribed before me in open Court by the said John Allen & Lewis Barr this 18th day of March A.D. 1831
Jas Y Allen Clk

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion after the investigation of the matter and after putting the Interrogations 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
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to them that John Beach who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman resident in the village of Ann Arbor in said County & that John Allen & Lewis Barr who have signed the above certificate reside the said Allen in Ann Arbor & the said Barr in Pitt and that they are credible persons & that their statements are entitled to credit

I James T Allen Clerk of the Circuit Court of the Territory of Michigan for the County of Washtenaw do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of said Court in the matter of the application of Claudius Britton for a pension

In testimony whereof I have have herewith set my hand and the Seal of said Court this thirteenth day of March A.D. 1833
Jas. Y. Allen Clerk

32.913
Claudius Britton
Michigan Territory

Rejected
not [illegible] six mos
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D. W.

Stamp mark
O. W. [illegible] Apr 16 1906 FIL

Chicago April 13th 1906
U. S. Com. of Pensions.

Dear Sir
Will you please
send military history
or certificate of service
of revolutionary
soldiers _ [illegible----]
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for Claudius Britton_
This will greatly 
[illegible]

Mattie Bogardus
1400 Wilton Ave
Chicago
Ill.

[Stamp mark]
U. S. PENSION OFFICE.
Apr 16 1906