Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 7,379, for John D Reeves, North Carolina
Page 1

N.C.

Reeves, John D.

S.7379

Carded
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(left panel)
Order to pay 11 April 1837

Certificate to H.K. Waugh on the 12th June 1833 that the certificate in this case was issued as Stated on the envelope

(right panel)
12.021

North Carolina
John D. Reeves of Surry in the State of N. Caro. who was a priv in the --- commanded by Captain ---  in the Regt commanded by Caswelle in the N. Caro. line for 20 mos 20 days 

Inscribed on the Roll of North Carolina at the rate of 65 - Dollars 88 - Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 15 day of March 1833 and sent to DM Gaute Huntsville N.C.

Arrears to the 4th of March 1833             137.76
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept 1833  34.44
                                                                     $172.20

{Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832.}

Recorded by Nathan Rice - Clerk,
Book E Vol. 6 Page 53 -
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Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832

State of North Carolina
Surry County

On this 12th day of February 1833 personally appeared in open court aforesaid Wm P. Dobson Chairman of the County Court of Surry now sitting John D Reeves a resident of Surry County North Carolina aged 74 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 entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein after stated that he volunteered as a private in the year 1780 in Halifax North Carolina under Col Levi Lane & Gen’l Wm Caswell for the term of six months. Marched to Camden in South Carolina, thence to Monks Corner near Charleston

He then enlisted for four months in Halifax aforesaid under Col. Whitmel Hill he believes, was at the battle of the Utaw Springs. He then became a substitute for a man by the name of Chatham
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Speers for the term of three months in Halifax aforesaid, was commanded by Col. Mabane joined the troops under Smallwood near Charlotte in N Carolina
He afterwards became a substitute for one Wm Brantly in the year 1781 in Halifax aforesaid for the term of three months and was in the battle of Guilford and was also wounded a short time before the said battle when he was taken He then enlisted in Halifax aforesaid for 12 months under Capt De Courts and joined Smallwoods Army under the Commission of Lieutenant and was near York Town when Cornwallace was taken That his discharges have been lost or mislaid and that he knows of no one whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his service He hereby relinquishes every claim whatsoever to a pension or annuity except the present & declares his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any states he further states he has no documentary evidence He further swears 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 hereinafter
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mentioned belowand in the following grades For fifteen months he served as a private. For five months & twenty days he served as Lieutenant and for such service he claims a pension.

Sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid
X his mark
John D Reeves

His answer to the first question required to be prescribed by the court is that he was born in Halifax N Carolina in the year 1759 His answer to the 2nd question is that he has a record of his age in a bible at his home in Surry County N Carolina

Sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid
X his mark
John D Reeves
Jno Wright CC

On duty me Wm Hanes a clergyman & Jonathan York residing in Surry NCarolina residing in the same County hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John D. Reeves who has subscribed and sworn to the foregoing declaration that we believe him to be 74-years of age 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 & subscribed the day & year aforesaid 
William Hanes
X his mark
Jonathan York
Jno Wright CC

And the said court do hereby declare their opinion after the investigation of the matter and after putting the interrogatories presented by the War Department that the above named applicant was a soldier of the revolution & served as he states and the court further states that it appears to them that Wm Hanes & Jonathan York who have signed the preceding certificate are residents of the county & the county of Surry the former is a clergyman that they and that their statement is entitled to credit
Jno Wright CC

Wm P Dobson Chairman CC
Wm Gillarhir JP
Mallory Smith JP
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I John Wright Clerk of the County Court of Surry County N Carolina do hereby certify that the forgoing contains the original proceedings of the said court in the matter of the application of John D Reeves for a pension

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of office this 16th day of February 1833
Jno Wright CCC
By F.K. Armstrong DC
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John D. Reeves
Surry County
N. Carolina
2988

admit for 20 and 20 days 
as pri 118.88
from 1780

Gen Caswell  NC
and unto Mr Danl De Courts that [?] can prove that [held and acted under a Lieut. Cmm. pen an allowance may not be (?) not since.

V. XII.
Int. 12
Let Nov 22.1832
D DeCourts 
Huntsville N.C.
Page 82.
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BRIEF in the case of John D Reeves of Surry County 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? 76 years

4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed.
6 column table
|Period | Duration of Service. Years. | Duration of Service. Months. | Duration of Service. Days. | Rank. | Names of General and field Officers under whom he served. |

|in 1780 | --- | 6 | --- | private | Gen Wm Caswell, Col Levi Lane |
| ? | --- | 4 | --- | private | Col Whitmell Hill |
| ? | --- | 3 | --- | private | Col Lyttle |
| 1781 | --- | 6 | --- | Lieut | Gen’l Smallwood
               12.  4 

5. In what battles was he engaged? Battle of Utaw Springs - Guilford/was wounded a short time before

6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Surry County N.C.

7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Supported by no evidence whatever

8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect?

I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Henry H Sylvester 
Examining Clerk.
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Wyatt

(stamp)
PENSION
U.S.
FEB 12
1917
OFFICE
Page 10

Durham N.C.
413 Cleveland Rd
Feb 10th 1917

Pension Dept.
Washington D.C.

     Will you please give me the data you have of John D. Reeves he I think belonged to the 10 Regiment of the Continentals - He received a pension - I would like to know all your records show. Thanking you
Very truly
Mrs. Marshall Wyatt
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Aurora, N. C.,
May 12, 1915.

Department of the Interior,
Washington,

Dear Sir:-

Please send me a statement of the military history of JOHN D. REEVES, who was on the pension list of N. C. in 1835.

Yours truly,
AW Baker
Aurora, N. C.

Rev. War 1
HH

(stamp)

PENSION
MAY
13
1915
U. S.
OFFICE
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1915 May 17 Hist to Mrs. A.H. Baker Lett
1917 Feby 20 Hist to Mrs. Marshall Wyatt

7379
Rev War

File No. 7379
John D. Reeves
Priv Rev War

Act: June 7th 1832
Index:-Vol. 1st, Page 312

[Arrangement of 1870]
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BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claims of John D Reeves which requires 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 amount of pension he is entitled? no

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
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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 obtaining 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? No

XIV. ** If the applicant has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility?  
And is the official character and signature of the magistrate certified by the proper office under his seal of office?

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? No. 3 & 5 [?] are answered in the declaration, Quest No 1 not answered.

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, but reason of old age, and 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.”
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3
It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the 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.

**QUERE XVI. 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 the 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 authenticated 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 end of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached in the certificate.
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORDS SECTION.
3-525
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
BUREAU OF PENSIONS.
Washington, D.C., ---. 19---

S. 7379

     In reply to your request of ---, received --- for a statement of the military history of John D. Reeves a soldier of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, you will find below the desired information as contained in his (or his widow’s) application for pension on file in this Bureau.

6 column table
|DATES OF ENLISTMENT OF APPOINTMENT.| LENGTH OF SERVICE.| RANK. | OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED. CAPTAIN. | OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED COLONEL. | STATE. |
|1780| 6 mos| Pvt| Levi Lane |---| N.C.|
|unknown| 4 mos| --- |Whitmell Hill | --- |---|
|unknown| 3 mos | --- | --- |Col Lyttle | --- |
|1781| illegible| Lieut | illegible | --- |illegible|

|illegible|

Battles engaged in, Guilford, Eutaw Springs,
Residence of soldier at enlistment, Vol. in Halifax North Carolina
Date of application for pension, Aug (illegible)
Residence at date of application, Halifax North Carolina
Age at date of application, Born 1739 in Halifax N.C.
Remarks: There is no data as to his family.
Respectfully,

Commissioner
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No 2.988
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Declaration in order to obtain the benefits of the act of Congress passed June 7, 1832

State of North Carolina
County of Surry

On this 14th day of August 1832 personally appeared in open court before William Martin Jonathan Whitaker Wm Mackey the Court in the County now sitting John D Reeves a resident of Surry County and State of North Carolina aged 74 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 7, 1832. That he entered in service of the United States under the following named officers & served as herein after stated that he volunteered in the year 1780 in Halifax North Carolina under Col. Levi Lane & Genrl. William Caswell for the term of six months marched to Camden in said Carolina thence to Monks’s corner near Charleston Then enlisted for four months in Halifax aforesaid under Col. Whitmell Hill be believes, was at the battle of Utaw Springs He then became a substitute for a man by the name of Nathan Speers for the Term
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of three months in Halifax aforesaid was commanded by Col Lytte joined the troops under Genl Smallwood near Charlotte in N Carolina He became a substitute in the year 1781 in Halifax aforesaid for one William Brantley for the Term of three months and was in the battle of Guilford and was wounded a short time before said battle when he was taken.

He then enlisted in Halifax aforesaid for 12 months under Capt. DeCourts and joined Smallwood’s army under the Commission of Lieutenant and was near Yorktown, under Smallwood when Cornwallis was taken That his discharge here were lost or mislaid he hereby relinquishes every claim whatsoever to a pension or annuity except the present & discloses his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state or (if any) only on that of the agency of North Carolina

sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid 
X his mark
John D Reeves

John Wright CCC
by FK Armstrong

We Jesse Briggs a clergyman residing in the County of Surry North Carolina and --- residing in the same hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John D Reeves who has subscribed
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bed & sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be 76 years of age 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 to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid.
                           Jesse Briggs
                           William Burch
John Wright CC
By F.K. Armstrong

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinions after the investigations 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 Jesse Briggs who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman-resident in the County of Surry aforesaid and that William Burch who has signed the same is a resident in the county of Surry aforesaid and is a credible person and that their statement is intitled to credit.
                    Wm C. Martin JP
                    J Whitaker J.P.
                    Wm. Mackie JP

John Wright CC
by F.K. Armstrong DC
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I John Wright Clerk of the Court of Surry N. Carolina do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of John D. Reeves for a pension.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of office of this 14th day of August 1832.
                       John Wright CC
                       By F.K. Armstrong DC

No. 2.988