Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 13546, for Rufus Johnson, Rhode Island
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(3-1776)
SERVICE | [blank] | NUMBER
R.I | Johnson, Rufus | S.13546
Vt. | [blank] | [blank] 

carded

CONTENTS
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Death Not in A.13

4246
New York
Rufus Johnson
of Hoosick in the State of New York
who was a Pr. Serg & Lt in the Company commanded
by Captain Johnson of the Regt. commanded
by Col Varnum in the Rhode Island
line for 11 months private 1 month a
Sergeant and 1 month Lieutenant

R.I. and Vt Service Records corrected
Inscribed on the Roll of New York Feb 20 '04
at the rate of 54 Dollars 99 Cents per annum,
to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831

Certificate of Pension issued the 17th day of Jany
1833 and sen to John Fitch
Hoosick Falls N.Y

Arrears to the 4th of Sept 1832 $ 82.48 1/2
Semi=anl. allowance ending 4 March 33 27.49 1/2
[total] $109.98
Revolutionary Claim,
Act June 7, 1832
Recorded by Jno Cromwell Clerk,
Book D Vol. 5 Page 102
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In the matter of Rufus Johnson application for a Pension
N. 6783
admitted
1 mo Lieutt
1 mo. Sergt
11 mo. private
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[illegible seal]
State of New York
Rensselaer County ss
[personally] appeared before me the undersigned Justice of the Peace in and for the said County of Rensselaer Rufus Johnson, 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 [obscured] to the best of his recollection he served not less than the Periods mentioned below in the following grades; For eight months 8 I served as a private soldier in Captain Edmund 1st Johnsons Company For one month I served as a second Sarjeant [sic] in Captain William Roy's company 3 For three months I served as a private soldier in a company of Militia commanded by Captain Benjamite Green and for one 1st month I served a second Lieutenant in a company of militia commanded by Captain Joseph Briggs and for such service I claim a pension, that I am positive as to the length of all my service except those under Captain Benjamite Green ad as to those I am confidant they were not less than the time of three months above stated
Rufus Johnson
Dated Nov 27th 1832
subscribed and sworn before 
me this 27th day of November 1832
Harry Patterson Justice Peace

[obscured] that he received no written discharge
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State of New York
Rensselaer County ss
I hereby certify that Harry Patterson Esqr before whom the written affidavit purports to have been sworn was on the day of the date of the same one of the Justices of the Peace in and for the said county of Rensselaer and that I am well acquainted with his hand writing and verily believe the signature Harry Patterson within subscribed to be his proper hand writing and signature.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said County this fourth day of December 1832
Archibald Ball Clerk
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State of New York
County of Rensselaer ss
On this fifth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two personally appeared in open court before Daniel Gardner Esquire Recorder of the City of Troy in the county of Rensselaer aforesaid and presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas called the Mayors Court in and for the city of Troy aforesaid now sitting Rufus Johnson a resident of the town of Hoosick in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York aged seventy eight years last november 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 stated. That in the month of April in the ear 1775 the day of the month he cannot recollect he enlisted for eight months  in a company of State Troops commanded by Captain Edmund Johnson and of which Josiah Gibs was Lieutenant and John Holden Ensign. The Regiment to which said company belonged was commanded by Colonel Varnum. thinks his given name was James M and the majors name was Christopher Green and the Generals Nathaniel Green, that he enlisted at Coventry in the county of Kent in the State of Rhode Island, that from Coventry he was marched to Jamaica Plains near Roxbury & there pitched their tents and remained until after the battle of Bunker Hill. That the regiment to which he belonged was in Roxbury at the time of the Battle, that after the battle they removed to Prospect Hill and remained stationed there until discharged, that another Regiment commanded by Colonel Prescott was stationed a little before them, that he was discharged at Prospect Hill the first of January 1776. that when he enlisted his time was to commence on the first of May 1775, that he received no written discharge
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That in the summer of the ear 1776 the precise month or day he cannot recollect he again enlisted for the term of one month in a company commanded by Captain William Roy and received his bounty that he was marched to Tinestown Rhode Island and efforts were there made to pass over to the Island but were not successful. that in this months service he thinks his colonels name was Nathaniel Brown and his Majors name Alvin Wait, that he remained at Tinestown until his time expired & he was discharged, no written discharge - That he was a number of times during the war drafted in the Militia of Rhode Island to go to Greenwich  Newton and along the east for the purpose of guarding the shore. that he was usually drafted for fifteen days at a time. that he was drafted & went in a company of Militia commanded by Captain Benjamite Green and Nathaniel Brown was his colonel. That he has no memorandum of the number of times he was so drafted nor the aggregate amount of time which he spent in the service of the United States when so drafted nor the exact time or times at which these drafts took place and can therefore only state from memory that he was drafted as shone after his last enlistment and before the enemy left Rhode Island and that the whole amount of time spent by him in service during such drafts was at least tow months and from the best of his recollection he [illegible] think three months

That in the year 1778, he moved to Pownal in the State of Vermont and while there in 1780 he turned out with the militia of Vermont and went to Castleton in Vermont in a company of Militia commanded by Captain Joseph Brigs of which Elisha Parkes was Lieutenant that he was then a second Lieutenant in said company this commission in herewith handwritten that his colonels name was
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Lemuel Robinson and his generals Ethan Allan who had command of them while there that he was gone in that expedition one month and then dismissed that he has no documentary evidence except his commission whatever of any of the above services, nor is there any person living that he knows of who is personally knowing to his having served as a soldier of the Revolution at any of the times above specified other than those persons by the certificate hereto annexed.
1. That he was born in Coventry in the county of Kent in the State of Rhode Island in the year 1753
2d That he has a record of his age in his family Bible at home
3d That he was living when he entered the service in Coventry aforesaid and that he has lived since the Revolutionary War all the time in Hoosick in the County of Rensselaer and State of New York & at which place he still continues to reside.
4th That he entered the service as a volunteer & by enlisting
5th That the names of all such regular officers as were with the Troops where he served and such continental and militia Regiments as he can recollect and the general circumstances of his service are as fully and particularly stated in the above declaration as he can possibly state the same.
6th That he never received a written discharge at any time during the war
7th That the names of the persons to whom he is known in his present neighborhood and who can testify as to his character for veracity and their belief of his services as a soldier of the revolution are Israel Keach Joseph Dorr Freeborn Sweet & John B Ryan
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He hereby relinquishes any claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the agency of any State in the Union
Rufus Johnson
Sworn to & subscribed the day and year aforesaid
Archibald Bull Clerk

We Israel Keach a clergyman residing in the town of Hoosick in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York and Freeborn Sweet residing in the same place hereby certify that we are acquainted with Rufus Johnson who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be seventy eight 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
Israel Keach
Freeborn Sweet
Sworn and subscribed the day & year aforesaid
Archibald Bull Clerk

And the said court 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 Israel Keach who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman resident in the town of Hoosick in the County of Rensselaer and State of New York, and that Freeborn Sweet who has also signed the same is a  resident in the same place and that Job Green who has also signed the certificate hereto annexed is a resident in the town of Brunswick in the said county of Rensselaer & state aforesaid and are both credible persons, and that their several statements are entitled to credit
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I Archibald Bull Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas called the Mayors Court in and for the city of Troy in the county of Rensselaer aforesaid, do certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said court in the matter of the application of Rufus Johnson for a Pension
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this fifth day of September 1832
Archibald Bull Clerk

I Job Green of the Town of Brunswick in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York do hereby certify that I am well acquainted with Rufus Johnson the above named applicant that I have known him for more than sixty years past that I well remember of the said Rufus Johnson enlisting for eight months in Captain Edmund Johnsons Company that this enlistment was the last of April or first of May 1775. that I enlisted in the same company with him, and that I also remember that he served out the full term of eight months in said company as a soldier of the Revolution and was discharged together with myself on the first of January 1776
Job Green
Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid in open court
Archibald Bull Clerk
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October 19, 1936
Rufus Johnson, S.13546
BA-J/MCS

Mr. Samuel H. Crowl
1729 Ford Building
Detroit, Michigan

Dear Sir:
Reference is made to your request for information relative to Rufus Johnson, a Revolutionary War soldier who was pensioned while living in Hoosick, New York.

The data which follow were obtained from papers on file in the pension claim, S. 13546, based upon military service of Rufus Johnson.

He was born in November, 1753, at Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island. The names of his parents were not given.

While a resident of Coventry he enlisted and served with the Rhode Island troops as follows: From April, 1775, until January 1, 1776, as a private in Captain Edmund Johnson's company in Colonel James M. Varnum's regiment: in the summer of 1776, one month as second sergeant in Captain William Roy's company in Colonel Nathaniel Brown's regiment; then at various times, amounting to three months in all, as private in Captain Benjamite Green's company in Colonel Nathaniel Brown's regiment. He moved to Pownal, Vermont, in 1778, and on February 20, 1780, he was commissioned second lieutenant in Captain Joseph Briggs' company in Colonel Lemuel Robinson's Vermont regiment and served one month.

He was allowed pension on his application executed September 5, 1832, at which time he was living in Hoosick, Renselaer County, New York, where he had lived since the Revolutionary War.

The papers in this claim contain no data relative to the family of Rufus Johnson.

Very truly yours

A.D. Hiller
Executive Assistant
to the Administrator
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THOMAS CHITTENDEN, Esq; Captain General, Governor and Commander in Chief, in and over the State of Vermont.

To Rufus Johson gentleman
You being elected 2d Lieutenant [unreadable] Regiment of the Militia of this State; Reposing special [unreadable] and confidence in your Patriotism, Valour, Condict and Fidelity, I do by these Presents, in the name of the Freemen of this State authorise and impower You to take charge of said Company as their 2d Lieutenant. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of 2d Lieutenant of said Company by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging: And I do Strictly charge and require all Officers, and Soldiers, under your command, to be obedient to your orders as 2d Lieutenant and you are to observe and obey such orders and directions from time to time as You shall receive from me the Governor of this State for the time being, or other your superior Officers, according to the rules and Discipline of War, and the Laws of this State. 
Given under my hand, and the Seal of this State, in Council, this 20 Day of Feb 1780
By his EXCELLENCY's Command
Thos. Chrittenden
Joseph Trayer

S. File 13,546
Page 13

[left third of page obscured]

[center of page]
13546
INVALID
Rev War
File No. 13,546
Rufus Johnson
2d Lieut &c
Serg: Rev War

Act: June 7" 1832
Index: Vol. 1, Page 197
(Arrangement of 1870.)

[right side of page]
1893 Mch 13 Hes
AP Corse New/o
Aug 10 '99
E F Johnson
New Haven
Mch 7 1900 Histy to
L.E. Fuller N.Y City
May 25, '08 Hist to H.B. Crowl F.W.
(& enclosures)
1926 June 17 Hist
to Mrs. U.B. Strong
WCS
1931 May 20 hist to 
Mary A Haswell, MCS
1936 Oct 19 Hist to Mr 
Samuel H. Crowl M.C.S
Page 14

6783
Rufus Johnson
admitted
Page 15

6783
BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Rufus Johnson which require further proof of explanation.

I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? It did

II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? He did

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? [not applicable]

IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? He has

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? He has not.

VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? He has

VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension that the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? He has.

VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? It has

IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? He has

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? It is, & it is distinguishable
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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? He has

XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? [not applicable]

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? [not applicable]

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? He has

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? It dos.

XVI. ++ Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? They are not.

XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not answered? They are.

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 [blank] year [blank] months and [blank] days, I served as a [blank]. For [blank] months and [blank] days, I served as a [blank]; 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 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 affidavits must be properly authenticated, as above directed.

++ 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 to the certificate.
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United Service Club
New York

February 25
Col. Armstrong
United Service Club

My dear Sir-
The information I wish from the pension bureau in Washington and of which I spoke to you yesterday is the regiment and state in which served Rufus Johnson as private, sergeant and lieutenant in the revolutionary army
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and to whom pension papers were issued on January 17, 1833 and recorded in Book D, Vol 5, page 102
With thanks for your favor I am
Very truly yours
A.P. Corse
P.O box 2608 NY City

[stamped] 
[illegible] NAVY
MAR 13 1893
Page 20

Plaza Hotel
New York Feb 28 1900
Department of the Interior
Bureau of Pensions
Washington D.C.

Gentlemen:
I respectfully return herewith the record of services in the Revolutionary War of Rufus Johnson of Avon N.Y. I think there must be some mistake in mailing this to me as I asked for the record of the Revolutionary Service of Rufus Johnson who resided at Hoosick, N.Y. at the time he applied for a pension & which was granted in 1832. He was born in Coventry Rhode Island in 1753 and enlisted from there as I
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am informed, as a private in 1775 in Capt Edmund Johnson Co; Col Varums Regt of R. I. and again in 1776 in Capt William Roy's Co Col Brown's Regt of R.I. afterwards. I think in 1780 in a Regt in Vermont. 
Will you kindly send me the official record of the above Rufus Johnson's service & greatly oblige.
Yours truly
L.E. Fuller
Page 22

United Service Club
New York
January 31, 1893
To
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington D.C.

Dear Sir-
I would like a record of the state and regiment in which served Rufus Johnson as private, sergeant and lieutenant according to pension paper of the U.S. dated January 17, 1833
(Revolutionary Claim)
Page 23

If there is any expense in the matter, will remit on receipt of memorandum of arrears.
Respectfully
Aug. P. Corse
P.O. Box 2608
New York City

[stamped]
US PENSION OFFICE
FEB 4 1893
Page 24

[stamped]
TO CHF. O. W . & N. DIV.
ACTION ANSWER
FEB 10 1893
COMMISSIONER.

1)
Hon. (Gen.) Raum
Com of Pensions
Dear Sir:
I have the honor to refer the accompanying note of A.P. Corse an old citizen of New York which he addresses to my late guest here Col. F. W. Armstrong (late N.Y. Car Vols.) The object of the [illegible] is to obtain information as "to whom pension papers were issued on January 17, 1833 and recorded in Book "D." Vol. 5. Page 102" to Rufus Johnson as private, sergeant, and Lieutenant in the Revolutionary Army
Page 25

2)

It is not designed to found a [illegible] of any Kind against the government. What the request is made but to as certain the direction of the papers etc. [illegible]

If not inconsistent with the rules of Zone Office to
"A.P. Corse,
Care of Clinton Rice
Post Office Box 177
Washington D.C.

Washington D. C
March 9th 1893
No. 201 "C" Lt. Mr
City
Page 26

[letterhead seal of the Daughters of the American Revolution]

Daughters of the American Revolution
Butler-Johnson Chapter
Sutton, Nebraska
Organized - June 17, 1915
Chartered - June 30, 1916
Regular Meeting First Friday of the Month
[stamped]
U.S. PENSION OFFICE
H
APR 8 1926

April 5 - 26

Commissioner of Pensions
Interior Department
Washington D.C.
Dear Sirs:
Will you please send me the war record of Lieut. Rufus Johnson a Pensioner from Coventry R.I. I would like a complete line of his service. Thank you in advance
Very truly yours
Mrs. N.B. Strong
Sutton, Nebraska
Page 27

7 John St. Hoosick Falls, N.Y.
April 25th, 1931

Veterans' Administration,
Bureau of Pensions,
Dept. of Interior,
Washington, D.C.

Commissioner of Pensions:
Kindly give me any record which you may have of Revolutionary War service of Rufus Johnson. A headstone marking his grave on his farm on Johnson Hill near Hoosick Falls bears the following inscription: Capt. Rufus Johnson Died June 9th 1832, Aged 83 uears 7 months. As our Hoosac-Wallommsac Chapter, D.A.R. are marking Revolutionary soldiers graves whose record can be proven, any information you may be able to give will be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you for an early reply,
I remain Yours truly
Mary A Haswell
Mary A. Haswell, Chairman of Committee on marking of Rev. Soldiers Graves

[stamped]
U.S. PENSION OFFICE
O
APR 27 1931
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I 13546
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All quotations subject to change without notice. All orders accepted subject to delays over which we have no control.
THE MONITOR OIL CO.
Refiners and Manufactures of 
PETROLEUM AND ITS PRODUCTS.
109 Jones Street,
Phone Main 472
Main Office and works, Cleveland, O.
H.B. Crowl,
Mgr. Michigan Branch.
Detroit, Mich., May, 17, 08

Comisior of Pensions,
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
Please read enclosed letter to the War Dept and their reply. You will see what information I wish. If you have such pension record of Rufus Johnson on file, please give me a certified copy of same. Kindly return enclosed papers to me and greatly oblige. Thanking you in advance for your attention in this matter, I am
Yours very Respectfully
H.B. Crowl
830 Second Ave

[stamped]
U.S. PENSION OFFICE
A
MAY 19 1908

Papers returned 
May 25 '08
F.W.