Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 6813, William Edmundson, N.C.
Page 1

service N.C.  Edmundson, William number 6813
Page 2

7141
North Carolina
William Edmundson
of Halifax Co in the State of N. Carolina
who was a private in the Company commanded
by Captain  --- of the regt. commanded
by --- in the N Ca Ma
for 8 mo from '80

Inscribed on the Roll of North Carolina
at the rate of 26 Dollars 66 Cents per annum
to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 6 day of March
1833 and Sent to
J. H. Harwell Halifax, N.C.
---
Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $53.32
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept 1833 13.33
$66.65
-
Revolutionary Claim, ┃
Act June 7, 1832.
⎬
Recorded by W.L. Williams Clerk
Book E Vol. 6 Page 39.

Date of death not on D.B.
Page 3

Wm Edmund 19383[light]
Petition for Pension
William Edmundson
Statement for pension
Filed for Sep 1832
Page 4

State of North Carolina
Halifax County ⎬ Nov. [?] 1832
On this 20th day of November 1832. personally appear
in open Court before the worshipful the justices of the
Court of Pleas &. Now sitting, William Edmundson a
resident of said County & state aforesaid aged sixty eight
years, who being first duly sworn according to Law, doth
on his oath make the following declaration, in order to
obtain the benefits of the act of Congress passed June 7
1832.
That he entered the service of the United States in
the month of May 1780 & served the first part of his time
under Capt William Hert & the last past under Capt John
Petes & Liutenant Bagby - That marched from Halifax County near the
South Carolina line remained there about two months
then marched into South Carolina, when he joined the
army he was commanded by General Gates until after
his defeat, then was commanded as he thinks by
Sumpter or Sumner (but is not certain as to the name) that
at the time of Gates' defeat he was garding prisoners at
Ramsey's Mills. that in this term of service he served
five months. entered in May & was discharged in October
of the same year, the day not recollected) at the time of entering
the service he lived in Hall County aforesaid where he has remained ever since
He further states that after the British pass through the
Town of Halifax he entered the service a second time
he thinks this was about the first of June 1781. He was discharged
about the first day [day crossed out] of September of the same year, that he marched
from Halifax aforesaid near Wilmington in said State
passed by the Cross Creek in said State, was commanded
by Major Hogg of Halifax & Ensign John Walden
Page 5

That the first mention term of service he served five months
& the second he served three months that in both instances
he received written discharges, the first one was he thinks he
left with Luitenant Bagby who is dead -  the other he brought
home but it is lost & that at this time they are both out of
his power. that he knows of no person whose testimony he can procure who can testify heretoby
to his service, that he was Drafted in both instances.
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a
pention or annuity except the present, & declares that his
name is not on the pention roll of the agency of any
State
Sworn to, and subscribed, this day and year aforesaid
W.H. Pettway Clk

Wm. Edmundson his mark X

Re Miles Smith, a clergyman, residing in the County
aforesaid & Warwick Hockaday now residing in (the same)
hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with William
Edmundson who has subscribed & sworn to the above
declaration; that we believe him to be sixty Eight years
of age, that he is reputed & believed, in the neighborhood
where he resides, to have been a soldier
of the Revolution, & that we concur in that opinion
Sworn, & subscribed the day & year aforesaid
W.H. Pettway Clk

Miles Smith

Warwick Hockaday his mark X

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion,
after the investigation of the matter, & after putting
the interrogatories. prescribed by the War Department,
that the above named applicant was
Page 6

Revolutionary soldier, and served as he states.
And the Court further certifies, that the appears to them
that Miles Smith who has signed the preceding certificate
is a Clergyman, residing in the County & State aforesaid
and that Warwick Hockaday who has also signed the same,
is a resident in the said County & State, and is a credible
person and that their statement is entitled to crediting.
M H Pettway Clk
Thos Garey [?]
Mason J Wiggins J. P.
I Mark H. Pettway Clerk of the Court of Pleas & quarter
Sessions for Halifax County and State of North Carolina
do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the
Original proceedings of the said Court, in the
matter of the application of William
Edmund for a pension
In Testimony whereof
I have hereunto set my hand and seal of
office, at Halifax, this
3rd day of December AD
1832
J H Pettway Clk
By [illegible]
Page 7

19383
William Edmundson
Halifor
N.C.
from 1780 private
8 months
$26.66
100
J. H. Harwell
Halifax
N.C.
Page 8

BRIEF in the case of William Edmundson
of Halifax in the State of North Carolina
(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? 68
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.  
                             | Years, Months, Days   |       As a  |   
Enlisted In 1780               5                       |      Private | Gen. Gates, Gen Sumpter
1781                                 3                       |      do       |  Maj Hagg

5. In what battles was he engaged? None
6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Halifax Co. NC.
7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by
incidental evidence, or by the rolls? traditionary
8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? Perfect
Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above
JG. Bradford.
Examining Clerk.
Page 9

February 4, 1936.
Mr. William H. Bason                            
North Carolina Historical Society
Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dear Sir:

BA-J/ILL
William Edmundson
S. 6813

Dear Sir:
Reference is made to your letter in which you request the
record of William Edmundson, listed as a Revolutionary War pensioner
from North Carolina, in the North Carolina State Records, Volume 22,
page 64.
The record of only one soldier named William Edmunsdon who
received pension for service in the Revolutionary War while residing
in North Carolina has been found; his record is furnished herein as
found in the papers on file in his claim for pension, S. 6813. It
may be the soldier in whom you are interested.
William Edmundson, while a resident of Halifax County, North 
Carolina, enlisted and served two tours as private in the North 
Carolina troops, shown as follow: from sometime in May 1780, five
months under Captains William Hert and John Pitts; and from June 1,
1781, three months under Ensign John Walden and Major Hogg, against
the British when they marched through North Carolina.
He was allowed pension on his application executed November
20, 1832, at which time he resided in Halifax County, North Carolina.
William Edmundson gave his age then as sixty-eight years, but did not
state the date and place of his birth, nor the names of his parents.
He made no reference to wife or children.
In order to obtain the date of last payment of pension,
name of person paid, and, possibly, the date of death of this pensioner,
you should address The Comptroller General, General Accounting Office,
Page 10

Records Division, this city, and cite the following:
William Edmundson
Certificate #7146
Issued March 6, 1833
Rate $26.66 per annum
Commenced March 4, 1831.
Act of June 7, 1832.
North Carolina Agency.
Very truly yours,
A. D. HILLER,
Executive Assistant to the Administrator.
Page 11

MEMBER
North Carolina Society
Sons of American Revolution
North Carolina Historical Society
WILLIAM H. BASON
GENEALOGIST
RALEIGH, N. C.
Genealogical and
Historical Research
Specializing in North Carolina
State and County Records
January 25, 1936
Bureau of Pensions
Washington, D.C.
Gentlemen:
One William Edmundson is listed as a Revolutionary Army pensioner
from North Carolina, in the North Carolina State Records,
Volume 22 Page 64.
Please refer to your records and advise me what is shown
therein; his residence, to whom pension was paid, etc.,
and oblige
Yours very truly,
W.H. Bason

[stamp showing received Jan 27, 1936]
Page 12

1836 Feb. 4 - Hist to Wm H. Bason - 
6813
INVALID. Rev War
No
File No. 6813

William Edmondson
Priv. Rev. War
---
Act: June 7th 1832
Index:-- Vol. 1st, Page 109
{Arrangement of 1870.}
Page 13

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which these
answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of
William Edmonson of Halifax N.C. 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 amout of pension
he is entitled? Yes
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
Page 14

2
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 obtain
ing 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? Yes
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?
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?
Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the
regulations direct?
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?
XVI. Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? Yes
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And,
if not, which of them is not so answered? 12
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.
Page 15

3
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 objectionable. 
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 employed
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, 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.