Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 2033, John Alspach, Penn.
Page 1

(S - 1776)

SERVICE                          NUMBER
Penn        Alspach, John       S. 2033

CONTENTS      carded
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(document with handwritten and printed information)
Ohio 13.  081
___________________________________
John Alspach
Fairfield in the State of Ohio
who was a Private in the Compy. commanded
by Captain Farren of the Regt. commanded 
by Col. Gher in the Penna.
line for two years.

$80.
___________________________________
Inscribed on the Roll of Ohio
at the rate of 80 Dollars 00  Cents per annum,
commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
_____________________________________
Certificate of Pension issued the 10 day of May
1833 and sent to Hon. W. W.
Irwin. Lancaster, Ohio
_____________________________________
Arrears to the 4th of March. 1833. 160.00
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept.  40.00
1833.                                                   $200.00
{Revolutionary Claim,
Act June 7, 1832.}
Recorded by Wm. R. Palmer Clerk,
Book E Vol. 8.  Page one
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J Alspach

John Alspach

Declaration
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State of Ohio Fairfield County
            On this fifth day of November A.D. 1832  personally appeared in open court before the  Honorable Frederick(?) Grenke(?) [illegible, presi?]dent and his associats(?) [associates] judge of the Court of Common Pleas in and for said county now sitting, John Alspach a resident of Bloom Township in said Fairfield County and State of Ohio, aged about eighty 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 7th 1832
             That he was born in Berks county in the state of Pennsylvania about the year seventeen hundred and fifty two - That he entered the service of the United States in about the  of the year seventeen hundred and seventy five and served as herein stated during the term of one year and nine months - That he belonged to the state Troops of the State of Pennsylvania, and served in a company commanded by Capt Lewis Fanner, 1st Lieutenant George West and 2nd Lieutenant John Davis - That he marched from Berks County, where he entered the service to Philadelphia, the said company consisted of one hundred and eight men - That from there he was sent to Mud Island, where he remained about one month and assisted in sinking(?) the Schevoux de juis(?) - men that plan - That from there he marched to Sandy Hook where he remained about one month after which he again returned to Philadelphia. That he was here discharged from the service aforesaid after having served thru the aforesaid term of one year and nine months and returned to his native place in Berks County - That he recollects of having rec'd another discharge, from the Army a Company in which he served, but it has been long since lost nor has he any knowledge where it is
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that he again entered with the service of the State of Pennsylvania as a volunteer in the Militia of that state some time in the spring of the year AD 1777 and regularly served as such during six months in a Company commanded by Cap Godfrith Seidle, which was attached to a Regiment under Colonel Bolger Gehr, that he march with said company to Amboy, from whence he returned home after serving out the term of six months as [illegible]said - that he does not recollect of receiving any discharge in writing -
That immediately after returning home and late in the same Fall he again volunteered and served one month under Colonel Lindermute That he again volunteered and served two separate tours against the Indians, who came into the neighbourhood and were destroying life and property - That he has no documentary evidence of his service aforesaid, nor does he know any person now living acquainted with his services as aforesaid except his Brother whose deposition is herewith transmitted
That he hereby relinquishes any claim whatever to a pension or anuity [annuity] except the present, and declares that his name not on the pension roll of the agency of any state
Sworn to and subscribed this 5th day of November AD 1832 in afore(?) court -
Attest Hugh Boyle Clk
his mark
X
John Alspach
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We John Smalls a Clergyman residing in Bloom Township in Fairfield County and State of Ohio and John Chaney a resident of the same Township hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John Alspach who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be of the age he therein states himself to be - that he is reputed and believed in the neighbourhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution and that we concur in that opinion
Sworn and subscribed this day & year aforesaid -
John Smalls
John Chaney
Attest Hugh Boyle Clk

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion after the investigation of the mother and after putting the interrogators prescribed by the War Department that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier and served as he states - And the Court further ciertify that it appears to them that John Smalls who has signed the preceding certificate is a Clergyman residing as stated in his certificate and that John Chany who has also signed the same is also a resident as stated and is a credible person, and that this statement is entitled to credit
J Hugh Boyle Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas aforesaid do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said court in the matter of the application of John Alspach for a pension
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal this 5th day of November AD 1832
Hugh Boyle Clk
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13,081.
John Alspach
Fairfield Co
Ohio

Adm for 2 years.

Hon. W. W. Irwin
Washington City [Crossed out]
Lancaster Ohio
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WAR DEPARTMENT,

Pension Office,

183

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 following rules, and the subjoined notes, your 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. Those 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 your claim.
-
A Statement, showing the Service of John Alspach Fairfield Co Ohio

Period when the service was rendered.
Sp. 1775
Sp. 1777
Fall "

Duration of the claimant's service.
Years./Months./Days.
1/9/"
"/6/"
"/1/"
"

Rank of the claimant.
Priv
"
"
"

Names and rank of the Field officers under whom he served.
Col.
Cap Farran
Lieu. West
Col. Ghee
Cap Seidle
Col. Lindermute
Not stated.

Age at present, and place of abode when he entered the service.
80 years
Berks Co Penn.

Proof by which the declaration is supported.
Traditionary.
Witness M. Alspach
-
I am, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
J. L. EDWARDS,
Commissioner of Pensions.
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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 officers, mucicians [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 Couty of } ss.
On this [blank] day of [blank] personally appeared (a) before [blank] A. B. a resident (b) of [blank] in the county of [blank] and State, Territory or District of [blank] aged (c) [blank] 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 by the act of Congress, passed June 7th 1832. That he enlisted in the Army of the United States in the year (d) [blank], with [blank] and served in the [blank] (e) regiment of the [blank] 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, in 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 of any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of the Agency in the State of [blank]
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
A. B.

[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 [blank] of the Court of [blank] do hereby certify (h) that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of [blank] for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office (i) this [blank] day of [blank] &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 [blank] and C. D. residing in (the same) hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with [blank], who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be [blank] 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 name applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certifies, that it appears to them that A. B. who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, resident in the [blank] and that C. D., who has also signed the same is a resident in the [blank] and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
I, [blank] Clerk of the Court of [blank] do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of [blank] for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this [blank] day of [blank] &c.

Every applicant will produce 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 produce 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 alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person
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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(sic). 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?
5. 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
Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it giv-
6.
a Soldier, and what has become of it?
Did you ever receive a commission, and if so, by whom was it signed, and what
To an Officer 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.
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 a Court of Record,
the certificate of the Secretary of State or Territory, or of the proper
of Justice of the 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
mit such evidence as they can prothe
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
cure, 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 declarant must appear in open Court, unless prevented from doing so by reason of bodily inarmity; in which case the declarant
window declaration is the county where he resided. The should fall to do so, he must say smittenton for a
to the claimant must invariably be mentioned.
The declarant must mention the period or periods of the war when he served.
ance or is now the sum of the Colonel under whom he served here to mission of th
man at three men are
to enable the Department to determine to what amout of pension he is entitled. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the
he served, he should amend his declaration by making an athdavit in the following words:
of men had each year to a
and the contenuation of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise furth of his service; but, according to the best of his
days, I served and for such service I claim a pension
neath the peris move on to
a car when her or which each applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law
tendent here from
issue one so from the
his ninth in an arm
and the case, to me with me the sun or in
the service was performed; that the applicant served with an embodied corps called to service by competent
that he was other is the old or in garrison; and for the time during which the service was performed, he was not employed in any
The law makes the relinquishment indispensable.
2
The Clerk must give his certificate in every case.
device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal, or if he has no pub-
The Clerk must affix his seal, and
one, there none are
papers.
Mode of authenticating papers.
inte where the cerit cries were
not one pane one or more
the face of ten or a
Proof of Service.
in her the name of the plot of no mean order
and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well
who are required to set forth in the
and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibilty of the witcertified
by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
me, and the official character and signature of the magistrates
all the main or
ent indispensable in militia cases.
consent or a
Joseph Rowen
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Affidavit of John +
Michael Alspach
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Sate of Ohio, Fairfield County
On this 5th day of November in 1832 personnally 
came and appeared in open [illegible] in
the Court of Common Pleas for said County, [illegible]
[illegible] Michael Alspach and [illegible] 
in due form [illegible] , That so much of the 
attached[?] declarations of John Alspach as relates to his six months tour of service in 
the volunteer company then in [illegible]
he knows to be correct and true [illegible] this
deponant being Leutenant of said company
during said times- That so Much
of said declarations as relates to the tour of one year nine months, this deponant knows, that said John Alspach
entered the service at the time and in
the manner [illegible-smudged] declarations 
described, that he knows him to have been
absent during the time mentioned and
confidently believes to have have(sic) 
served as therein stated and [illegible]
[illegible] deponant[?] [illegible]
Sworn and Subscribed
in open Court this day and
[illegible][illegible]
[illegible] Hugh Boyle [illegible]

[Added notation in different handwriting:]
I know Michael Alspach the
[illegible] [illegible] I have no 
hesitation in [illegible]
[illegible] that he is a man of [illegible]
truth & veracity [illegible][illegible]
Mr. W. Jones[?]
8th January, 1833
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James L. Edwards
Pension Agent
War department
Page 14

Washington 10 June 7 1833
Sir
May I again ask your attention 
in the case of John Alspach. It [Illegible]
to me that his testimony is as [Illegible]
as it could be- Leut. Michael Alspach
states, that his brother entered at the
time and in the manner stated in his 
declaration, that he was absent
during the time mentioned, and that
he verily believes him to have  
served in the manner stated-
In the application of Michael 
Alspach. I have sent the affidavit
of John Alspach to Ohio, for proof
of the character of the witness, as he
is unknown to me
Very Respectfully
your sev.
W. W. Irvin
Page 15

2033
Rev War
INVALID
File No. 2033
John Alspach
Prvt Rev War
Act: June 7, 1832
Index: Vol. A Page 5
Arrangement of 1870