Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File W 25638, Robert Wright, Va.
Page 1

(3 - 1776)
SERVICE                                                Number
 Va                   Wright, Robert              W25638
                       Goodwin, Mary              BL.Wt.96061-160-55
                                  Former widow
Page 2

6.477
Tennessee     Nash
Mary Goodwin, formerly
widow of Robert Wright,
Va
who served in the Revolutionary war
as a private,
Inscribed on the Roll at the rate
of 80 dollars and 00 cents
on the3d February, 1853 Deducting
former payments at the rate of $80.00 per annum, made
to her under the name of Mary Wright
Certificate of Pension issued
25th day of October 1858
and sent to
A. Fergusson
Carthage Tenn
Recorded on Roll of Pensioners under act
February 3, 1853, Page 43 Vol. H
 
309825 bounty land all'd 160 acres Nov 21/60
Page 3

1853 Oct 21,
Transferred to Nashville
beginning, note to A Ferguson
33. 163 Nashville
Tennessee,
Robert Wright, dec'd,
of Marion Co in the State of Tennessee
who was a private the ------commanded
by Captain-------of the----- commanded
by --------in the Revolution
for two years
Inscribed on the Roll of Knoxville
at the rate of 80 Dollars 00 Cents per
to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
S En&g  August 1831
Certificate of Pension issued the 6th day of
Sept 1833 and Sent to
A. Fergusson
---
Arrears to the 4th of Carthage
Semi anl. allowance ending Tenne
⎨ Revolutionary Claim,}
{Act June 7, 1832.}
Merchant Weightman Clerk
Book E . 2, Vol 7,  Page 78
Page 4


Act Mar 3/18
309825-Oct 10/60
Mary Goodwin
former wife of
Robert Wright
Pensioner
Va Mil
Rev. War
6477-'53
All'd 160 acres Nov. 21-60
N.H.W.
M
A Furgusson
Carthage
Tenn
Ed Butts
Vol H 2 page 150.
Page 5

State of Tennessee}
Macon County ⎬ On this day personally appeared
Mary Wright before mentioned and before me William
Robinson one of the acting Justices of the Peace in
and for the County aforesaid duly authorized by law
to administer oaths and to be acknowledge[illeg] of Power
of Attorney and acknowledged the foregoing Power of
Attorney to be her act and deed I further certify
that owing to bodily infirmity and sickness she cannot
appear in open court to make this declaration
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set
my hand and affixed my official signature
this 16 day of March 1853
[signed]  William Robinson {Seal}
Justice of the piece[sic]

State of Tennessee ⎬
Macon County⎬
I William Robinson one of the
Justices of the County Court of Macon County of hereby
certify that the annexed record containing the age of
William Wright was this day cut out of the family
bible of Mrs Mary Wright and contains the age of
oldest son the rest of the leaf was torn and
destroyed the same being done in my presence I do
hereby certify the same
In testimony whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and official
Signature this 16th day of March
1853 [signed] William Robinson {seal}
Justice of the piece[sic]
*NB The above record of
William D Wright was by mistake
attached to her declaration under act
of 7th June 1832 See that Declaration
to which reference is here made
[signed] A Fergusson att.
Page 6

Declaration under act of 3d February 1853
State of Tennessee Macon County
On this 16th day of March 1853 personally
appeared ^before me William Robinson the undersigned one of the
acting Justices of the peace in and for the
County aforesaid and one of the acting Justices of the
County Court being a Court of record Mary Wright
a resident of the County of Macon and State aforesaid
aged sixty years who being first duly sworn
according to law makes the following declaration
in order to obtain the benifits[sic] of the provision
made by act of Congress passed 3d February 1853
allowing pensions to widows of officers and Soldiers
of the Revolutionary War who were married since
1800 That she is the widow of Robert
Wright who was a private in the Continental
line of the State of Virginia and served under
Captain Thomas Hord of said line in the 10th Virginia
Regiment and ^served for three years and was honourably
discharged She further declares that she was
married to the said Robert Wright on the 9th
or tenth day of April eighteen hundred and sixteen
in Amelia County in the State of Virginia by
Parson Spencer She has a record of her childrens
ages which she will show if the record cannot be found
That her said husband Robert Wright died on the
Seventh day of August 1831 as appears from the
inscription on his Tombstone thus "Robert Wright
"born in 1753 died on the 7th August 1831
"served under Washington and Green and lived
"and died an honest and honorable man, That
she was married to him at the time above
stated. She further swears that she was a
widow at the passage of the act and is
still a widow and that she has never made application
for a Pension only a small ballance[sic] or arrears
Page 7

due her late husband under act of June 7th 1832 from
the 4th March 1831 to the 7th August 1831 the
day of his death which she has filed in the Pension
office Sworn to and subscribed before me the
day and year above written
before me
Mary her  X  mark Wright
[signed] William Robinson {seal}
Justice of the piece[sic] for said county
Know all men by these presents that I Mary Wright
a resident of the County of Macon and State of Tennessee
widow of Robert Wright a soldier of the Revolution
do hereby nominate and appoint Adam Fergusson
of Carthage Tennessee, my true and lawful Attorney
^irevocable for me and in my name to establish my claim to a
Pension and procure from the Secretary of the Interior
my pension certificate when allowed for my benefit and
further to do and perform any act or acts thing or
things necessary to be done in and about the premises
in as full and ample a manner as if I were present
and doing the same, with some one or more Attornies[sic]
to appoint under him to act hereby ratifying and
informing all that my said Attorney shall lawfully do
By virtue hereof Witness my hand and seal this
16th day of March 1833
                                       Mary her  X  mark  Wright {seal}
attest
John L Wright
Mary Wright
Mark
H. W. Fergusson
[here is inserted the paper torn out of the family bible]
William G Wright
was born in the year
1816 October 3
Page 8

State of Tennessee Macon County
On this day to wit 11th June 1860 personally
appeared before me Anderson Bratton one of the
acting Justices of the peace in and for
the County aforesaid Mary Goodwin a resident
of said County aged about seventy years who
being duly sworn accordin[sic] Declares that she is
the identical Mary Goodwin formerly the widow
of Robert Wright who is now a Pensioner
of the United States under act of February
3d 1853 Section 2d That by reference to her
Pension papers all the proof necessary to identify
her claim and her right thereto ^all files in the Pension office. That she
was first the widow of Robert Wright a private
in the Virginia Continental line as papers
referred to will show and that having intermarry
with Francis Goodwin one remained a widow
for the last twenty or more years she under the
provisions of the above recited act being a
Revolutionary Pensioner acquired a right
to 160 acres of bounty land and make
this declaration for the purpose of obtaining
the same
 Mary  her  X  mark Goodwin
Sworn to and subscribed
before me on the day and year first
above mentioned and I further certify that I am
not interested in the prosecution of this
claim either as attorney agent or otherwise
and I further certify that I am personally
acquainted with said Mary Goodwin
and have been so acquainted for the last
thirty years and upwards and that I am fully
satisfied that she is the person she represents
herself to be
Anderson Bratton {JP} Justice of the
Peace
Page 9

Know all men by this presents that I Mary
Goodwin a revolutionary Pensioner of the United States
hereby constitute and appoint Adam
Fergusson of Carthage Tennessee my true and
lawful attorney for me and in my name
to prosecute this my claim to Bounty land
and to received from the commissioner of Pensions
my bounty land warrant hereby ratifying and
confirming all the lawful acts of my said
attorney as fully as if I were present and
done the same, witness my hand and seal
this 11th June 1860
Mary her  X  mark Goodwin {seal}
attest to the marks above
Moses Rhoads

Acknowledged
before me on the day year
his last above mentioned
Anderson Bratton {JP} Justice of the peace
State of Tennessee
Macon County
On this day personally
appeared Nathaniel M Clayborne a resident of
the County and State aforesaid before the Anderson
Bratton one of the acting Justices of the peace in
and for said County and made oath in due form
of law that he is well acquainted with Mary
Goodwin who is now present and that she in
presence of himself and the Justice of the peace
acknowledged the foregoing signature to be her act
and deeds at the time the same bears date
That he has been acquainted with her for twenty
years past and the identical person who is now
a Pensioner Sworn to and subscribed before me
this 27th day of September 1860
[signed] Anderson Bratton JP  [signed] N. M. Claiborne
Page 10

State of Tennessee}
Macon County}
I George L Walton
Clerk of the County Court of Said Macon
County do hereby certify that Anderson Bratton
whose name appears to the foregoing affidavits
and certificates is now and was at the different
times the same bears date one of the acting Justices
of the peace in and for the County of Macon
in the State of Tennessee aforesaid duly commi-
issioned and qualified and fully authorized by law
to administer oaths and that full faith and credit
are due all his official acts as such and that
his signatures thereto are genuine
In testimony whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and the seal of said
Court at office in Lafayette this
28th day of September 1860
[signed] G L Walton {Clk}
Page 11

No. 38.588
Robert Wright dec'd
Tenn

Act 7 June 1832
Page 12

State of Tennessee Macon County
On this 11th day of February 1853 personally
appeared Mary Wright a resident of the County
of Macon and State of Tennessee aged sixty
years who being first duly sworn according 
to law makes the following Declaration in
order to obtain the benefits of the provisions made
by the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832 and
the amendatory act passed    day of
allowing allowing pension to the officers and
Soldiers who served in the war of the Revolution
and allowing to the widows of such officers and Soldiers
who acquired a right to the Pension or arrears of Pension
that should have been allowed and paid during their
lifetime under said act if living after the date at
which such Pension commenced that she is the widow
of Robert Wright deceased who was a private in the
Virginia Continental line in the war of the Revolution
and served as a soldier in said line for three years
and was honourably discharged which discharge
has long since been lost or mislaid that he served
under Washington & Green in the regiment commanded
by Col Richard Stephen under Captain Thomas Hord
She further declares that she was married to the said
Robert Wright on the tenth day of April 1816
eighteen hundred and sixteen in Amelia County in
the State of Virginia by Parson Spencer she has no
record of the Marriage unless the same is in the clerks
office in Amelia County Virginia She has a record of her
childrens ages in a bible who is in the possession of one of
her sons and will if not destroyed furnish it That
her said husband Robert Wright died on the 7th
day of August 1831 as appears from the following
inscription on his Tombstone together with her own
recolection "Robert Wright born in 1753 and
in 7th August 1831 Served under Washington and
Page 13

State of Tennessee Macon County
On this day personally appeared Mary Wright before
mentioned and before me Washington M White one of the
acting Justices of the peace in and for the
County aforesaid duly authorised by law to administer
oaths and take acknowledgement of power of attorney
and acknowledged the foregoing power of attorney to
be her act and deed
In testimony whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and seal this 11th day of
February 1853
[signed]  W. M. White {seal}
Justus[sic] of the peace

State of Tennessee}
Macon County ⎬        I Jefferson B Short Clerk of
The County Court of said Macon County do
hereby certify that Washington M White
whose name appears to the foregoing Declaration
of Mary Wright and the accompanying certificate
was at the time their several attestations purport
to bear date one of the acting Justices of the
peace in and for the County of Macon aforesaid
duly commissioned and qualified to act as such
and to administer oaths and that full faith and
credit are due his official acts as such and
that the foregoing Signatures purporting to be
his are genuine
In testimony Whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and affixed the seal
of said Court at office in the
Town of Lafayette in the County
aforesaid this 27th day of May
1853
[signed] J.B. Short Clerk
Page 14

State of Tennessee Macon County
On this day personally appeared Mary Wright before
mentioned and before me Washington M White one of the
acting Justices of the peace in and for the
County aforesaid duly authorised by law to administer
oaths and take acknowledgement of power of attorney
and acknowledged the foregoing power of attorney to
be her act and deed
In testimony whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and seal this 11th day of
February 1853
[signed]  W. M. White {seal}
Justus[sic] of the peace

State of Tennessee}
Macon County ⎬        I Jefferson B Short Clerk of
The County Court of said Macon County do
hereby certify that Washington M White
whose name appears to the foregoing Declaration
of Mary Wright and the accompanying certificate
was at the time their several attestations purport
to bear date one of the acting Justices of the
peace in and for the County of Macon aforesaid
duly commissioned and qualified to act as such
and to administer oaths and that full faith and
credit are due his official acts as such and
that the foregoing Signatures purporting to be
his are genuine
In testimony Whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and affixed the seal
of said Court at office in the
Town of Lafayette in the County
aforesaid this 27th day of May
1853
[signed] J.B. Short Clerk
Page 15

Carthage Tennessee
October 1854
7th
In the case of Mary Wright Widow of
Robert Wright who was placed on the Pension
list under act 3d February 1853 I deem
it my duty to inform you that since she
was placed on the Pension roll a fact has
come to my knowledge that if known at
the time would in my opinion be a bar
to her receiving a pension. The facts were
these. Robert Wright served faithfully as
the papers on file will show She was
legally married to him and every way
entitled But after her husbands death say
about one or two years she intermarried
with a man by the name of Goodin which
proved to be very unfortunate so much so that
they separated in about ten days or two weeks
some say she drove him off and he went
to parts unknown and has not been
seen or heard from for upwards of twenty
years Report says he is dead, She was so
much ashamed of this frolick for it is said
it was a drunken frolick that imediately[sic]
she assumed the name of Wright from her
first husband and avowed she never would
be called or known by any other name and
Page 16

and consequently she has always been known
and called Mary Wright or widow Wright. This
second husband never benefitted her one cent either in
property or character. When I drew up her papers
asked her particularly whether she had ever been
married since the death of her husband Robert
Wright and she positively denied that she ever
had been married since the death of her
husband Robert Wright. I had been acquainted with
Robert Wright her husband in his lifetime
he employed me to get his land in Virginia for
his Revolutionary services but had little
or no acquaintance with her as she lived
about thirty miles from me. I knew nothing
about the second marriage I drew up her declaration
as she directed me and Esqr Washington M White
qualified her to the same, I never heard or knew
anything about her second marriage until the
latter part of August and since then I became
satisfied of the foregoing facts. I have also procured
the certificate of the Magistrate who was as
ignorant at the time, as I was and he showed
me his Docket Book where she had been sued
answered and been answered unto in actions
of debt and Security as far back as 1843
Now the question with me is whether she
is entitled to a pension. I told her she had
better not attempt to draw any ^more money
until the Department was informed of
Page 17

the facts I do not believe she had any design in
concealing the second marriage other that she did
not want to be called by any other name and
wished and hoped the matter would rest concealed
I therefore take the earliest opportunity after
I became satisfied of the mistake to make it known so that
you could take any course you saw proper in
the premises and if she was not entitled to stop
any further payments. I have charge of the
Pension certificate and no attempts will be
made to draw any money until further ordered
by you  Holding myself responsible for any claim
I may present I would be doing myself great
injustice not to disclose any fact touching the
legallity[sic] of any claim presented by me
If there has been any mony done I have had no
hand in but acted as any other attorney would
have done under the same circumstances
Be pleased to inform me as soon as convenient
whether my conduct has met your
approval and whether her pension will be
stopped or continued. This letter was partly written
at Carthage but I gathered part of the facts
since I left home and consequently mailed this
at Nashville Please address me as formerly
at Carthage Tennessee
Respectfully  [signed] A Fergusson
L P Waldo Esq
Commissioner of Pensions
Page 18

State of Tennessee Macon County
On this day personally appeared before me
William Roark one of the acting Justices
of the peace in and for the County aforesaid
Green Wright a resident of the County of
Smith in the State of Tennessee age
Sixty nine years who being first duly
Sworn according to law deposeth and says
that he is the son of Robert Wright
mentioned in the annexed Declaration of
Mary Wright that he was born in the
year 1784 and is a son by the first
Marriage of his father that he well recolects
the marriage of his father with Mary
Goodwin and has a personal knowledge
of all the facts in regard to the Marriage
They were married in Amelia County State of
Virginia on or about the 9th day
of April 1816 That afterward he and
his father and their families moved to the
State of Tennessee about the year 1820
and his father died on the 7th day of
August 1831 and this affiant has no
hesitation in saying they were lawfully
married and that the said Mary Wright
is the same identical woman who was
Married to his father at the above date and
now applies for a Pension
Affiant further states that his ^father often told
him in his lifetime that he enlisted under
Captain Hord in the
year 1777 and served three years as a regular
Soldier in the Virginia Continental line
and believes it was in the tenth Virginia
Regiment under Richard Stephens and
Page 19

was honourably discharged at the close of the
War and his name is returned as entitled to land
bounty but owing to his never applying for it
he never received it previous to his leaving the
State of Virginia
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 26th
day of May 1853
[signed]  Green Wright
[signed]  William Roark {JP}
Justice of the peace

State of Tennessee}
Macon County ⎬      I William Roark one of the
acting Justices of the peace in and
for the County aforesaid do hereby certify
that I am well acquainted with Green Wright
who has made the foregoing affidavit before
me that he is a man of truth and veracity
and full faith and credit are due his statements 
and I hereby certify the same
In testimony whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and official
Signature this 26 day of May
1853
[signed]  William Roark  {JP}
Justice of the part
Page 20

State of Tennessee}
Macon County}        I Jefferson B Short Clerk of
the County Court of said
Macon County do hereby certify that William
Robinson and William Roach whose names
appear to the foregoing declaration of Mary Wright
and the accompanying affidavit and certificates
are now and was at the time their several attestations
purports to bear date acting Justices of the peace
in and for the County of Macon aforesaid duly
Commissioned and qualified to act as such and to
administer Oaths and that full faith and credit
are due all their official acts as such and
that the foregoing signatures purporting to
be theirs are genuine
In testimony whereof I have
hereunto set my hand and affixed
the Seal of said Court at office
in the town of Lafayette in
the County of Macon and State
aforesaid this 27th day of
May 1853
[signed]  J. B. SHORT Clerk
Page 21

Know all men by these presents that we Robert
Wright and Lewis Goodwin are held and firmly
bound unto Willson C. Nicholas Esq Governor or
Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia
in the just and full sum of One
hundred and fifty Dollars well and truly to
be made to the said Governor and his successors
for the use of the Commonwealth we
bind ourselves our heirs & jointly and
severally firmly by these presents, Sealed
with our seals and dated this 9th day of
April 1816
The Condition of the above obligation is
such that whereas there is a marriage
intended to be shortly had and solemnized
between the above bound Robert Wright and
Mary Goodwin Now if there be no lawful
cause to obstruct the same then the above
obligation to be void or else to remain in
full force and virtue
Teste,
B Miller
Robert  his  X  mark  Wright {seal}
Lewis Goodwin {seal}
State of Virginia}
Amelia County Sct.}
I Edward H. Coleman Clerk
Protem of the County Court of Amelia in the
the State of Virginia, hereby certify that the above
is a true copy of the Marriage Bond of Robert
Wright & Mary Goodwin the original of which now
filed among the records of the office.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto
set my hand & affixed the seal of said
Court this 15th day of April AD 1853
[signed]  C. H. Coleman Clk
protem
Page 22

Rev. & 1812
Wars Section
ILL 
Rec'd
June 17, 1930.
Mrs. E. Cox Griffith
2200 Nineteenth Street,N.W.
Washington, D.C.
Dear Madam:
I advise you from the papers in the Revolutionary War
pension claim, W. 25638, it appears that Robert Wright was born
in 1753, place not stated. 
He enlisted in 1777 and served three years as a private
in Captain Thomas Hord's Company, Colonel Stevens' Tenth Virginia
Regiment.
Soldier married, April 9 or 10, 1816, in Amelia County,
Virginia, Mary Goodwin, his second wife (name of the first wife not
shown).
About 1820, soldier and his family moved to Tennessee.
He died August 7, 1831.
His widow, Mary, married a second time in 1832, Francis
Goodwin, a cousin. They separated in three or four weeks, and she
was always known as the widow Wright.
She was allowed pension on account of the services of
Robert Wright on her application executed March 16, 1853, while a
resident of Macon County, Tennessee, aged sixty years.
In 1860, said widow was living with one of her sons
in Macon County, Tennessee.
Children are referred to but the only names shown are
Page 23


Green Wright, ^born in 1784 son by the first wife, and a resident of
Smith County, Tennessee, in 1853, and William D, oldest son by the
second wife.

Because of the very large member of requests for information
in regard to Revolutionary War soldiers, and the lack of a clerical
force available for the purpose, only records of two soldiers of that
war are furnished each person.
Very truly yours,
E. W. MORGAN,
Acting Commissioner.
Page 24

1853
Oct. 24. Transferred
from Knoxville to Nashville
from 3 Feb. '53-
A. Ferguson Oct 23 /54
To J.M. Smith Paid.  Oct 23 '54

Reg 3 m 55  153151

1770 Nashville
Tennessee.
Mary Wright
widow of Robert
who served in the Revolutionary 
war, as a private
Inscribed on the Roll at the rate of
80  Dollars  00
Cents per annum, to commence on
the 3" February 1853
Certificate of Pension issued the
6th day of Sept /53
and sent to 
A Fergusson
Carthage
Tenn

Recorded on Roll of Pensioners under act
Page 187  Vol A
1Feb'y 3rd/53
1832
Page 25

1913 La??? 18 Hist to
Young V.L.M.
1930 June 18 - Hist to
Mrs. E. Cox Griffith
Sent letter James Cox, S2441.
same date. I.L L.
---
Revy WIDOW, &c.
File No. 25,638
Mary Goodwin
formerly wid of
Robert Wright
Pri Rev. War
---
Act: Feb 3d 1853.
Index: -- Vol. A, Page 282
[Arrangement of 1870.]
Page 26

RECORD DIVISION.

3 - 525.
W.F. 25638
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
BUREAU OF PENSIONS.
Washington, D. C., 19----
In reply to your request of______,received__________
a statement of the military history of Robert Wight
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.
DATES OF
ENLISTMENT OR
APPOINTMENT. 1777

LENGTH OF
SERVICE. 3 yrs

RANK.  Pvt

OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED.
CAPTAIN.  Thomas Hord
---
COLONEL.  Stevens

STATE.  Va

Battles engaged in,______________
Residence of soldier at enlistment,__________
Date of application for pension, Mch 16 1853 Her cl was al
Residence at date of application, Macon Co., Tenn
Age at date of application, he was 60 yrs old
Remarks: was born in 1753 and a soldier.  Mar April 9 or 10 1816 in Amelia Co. Va. Mary
Goodwin and died Aug 7. 1831. Children are referred to
but no names are stated other than Green Wright born 1784 son by
1st Marriage and William D. oldest son by second wife name of first wife not stated
Widow after the death of Robert Wright   Mar Francis Goodwin
her cousin
Very respectfully,
6 -- 2856
William D. b Oct. 3. 1816
Commissioner.
Page 27

SAM M. YOUNG
DIXON SPRING, TENNESSEE
January 12th, 1913.
Bureau of Pensions,
Dear Sir:-
Washington, D. C.

Robert Wright, a Virginian born 1759, died in Macon
County, Tenn. 1831, was a Revolutionary Soldier. He is said to
have served under Gens. Washington and Greene. Please give me all
the data contained in your records concerning him. What year did
he apply for pension, was it allowed, and is there anything in your
records to show just where in Virginia he was born, and where he
enlisted? Who was his Colonel and who his Captain. Was he an officer
or a private all thru the war?
Likewise, will you be so kind as to give me this same
information about William Burton a Virginian. I do not know
whether he ever removed to Tennessee.
Respectfully,
S.M. Young
Page 28

96061

160 Acres
Page 29

June 11. 1853
App of Mary
Wright widow of
Robert
Tenn
Act 3d Feby 1853
Rev.
allowed $80 per annum
Com. Feb 3, 1853
A. Ferguson
Carthage
Tenn
Pension Office, Official Busine[ss]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
Page 30

No. 2279 June 11. 1853
Appl
of Mary 
Wright of
Robert Wright dcd
June 11. 1800
11d 2 yrs pri $80 per annum
Com'g 4 March 1831 & end'g 7 Aug.
1831. payable to Mary Wright, his
widow
Tenn  .
Act of July 4, 1836
place on roll act 7 June 1832
Rev.
Allowed $34
Aug 27, 1853
-
A Fergusson
Carthage
Tenn
Page 31


Union Mo April
10th 1838-
Sir  I have endeavored to ascertain
if Goodin or Goodwin is a resident
of this county, do find no
Such person living in this county
as far as I can at this time
ascertain
Yours Respty
C.S. ?effa??  clk
Ca???y Can??
[ink smudges in two lines above]
Page 32

Know all men by these presents that I Mary Goodwin of
the County of Macon and State of Tennessee do nominate
and appoint Adam Fergusson of Carthage Tennessee
my true and lawful attorney for me and in my name to
prosecute my claim for the restoration of my Pension
to procure all proof necessary to establish the same and
further to do any act or acts necessary in the premises with
power one or more attorneys to appoint under him to act
hereby ratifying and whatsoever my said attorney shall
lawfully do by virtue hereof as fully as if I was present
and doing the same witness my hand and seal this 18th
day of March 1858
attest          her
           Mary  X  Goodwin
                 Mark
acknowledged before me on the day and
year last mentioned for the purposes
therein contained
Wilson Y Adams  {JP}
for Macon County Ten
Page 33

The certificate
of R. White &
his widow sho'd have
been made payable
at Nashville to
which Agency
Macon Co. belongs
Macon was
doubtless mistaken
for Marion
which does belong
to Knoxville-
Make transfer
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Carthage Tennessee
11th September 1853
Sir
Inclosed herewith are the two pension certificates
issued in favour of Mary Wright Widow of Robert Wright
which I return to you for correction. By some
mistake the pensions are made payable at Knoxville
by Isaac Lewis Esq when they should have been
made payable at Nashville by Joel M Smith Esq
agent for paying pension in Nashville Tennessee
By reference to the papers on file on which her
pension was granted you will see the mistake for
Macon County the result of Mrs Wight is within
sixty miles of Nashville Whereas Knoxville is
in East Tennessee two hundred miles distant
Be pleased to have the mistakes corrected and I
Supose[sic] you had better issue new certificate and see
the pension Agent at Nashville has notice to pay the
amount I respectfully call your attention
to this business as soon as convenient
and forward the certificates to this place without
delay
Respectfully [signed]  A Fergusson
L P Waldo Esq
Commissioner &c
Page 35

Mary Goodwin
Wid: of for;
Ro: Wright
Tenn
Admit for 80 under the 2nd
Act 3 Feb 1853. correcrting
former part: at the [ink blot]
Nashville Agenc[ink blot] in the
name of Mary Wright,
Cert to
A. Fergusson 
     Carthage Tenn.
Page 36

I have the honor to submit herewith a
Statement of the legislation of Congress, in relation
to the Flying Camp & the allusions which Genl
Washing made to it from time to time divine
its existence together with the action
Page 37

Payment to be made of
Knoxville by
Isaac Lewis Esqr
Agent for paying Pensioners, in the
Agency of Tennessee
Payable on the 4th September and 4th
March
Recorded in the Pension Office on the
Roll of Pensioners under act February
3d, 1853, Page 187.  Vol. A
Clerk.
H.R. Weightman
Page 38

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
WIDOW'S PENSION.
I certify that in conformity with the 2d section of the act of 
February 3, 1853
Mary Wright
widow of
Robert Wright
who was a private in the revolutionary war,
is inscribed on the pension list at the rate of Eighty
dollars per annum, commencing on the
of February, 1853, and continuing for life, unless she should again
marry; in which was Set Pension is not payable after the time of such
marriage.

Given at the Department of the Interior
this Sixth day of September
one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three
[signed] R McClelland
Secretary of the Interior
Examined and Countersigned.
[signed] R Cole
Acting Commissioner of Pensions
Secretary of the Interior.
Page 39

Carthage Tennessee
30th May 1853
Sir Inclosed you will find the application of Mary
Wright for a small pension under act of 7th June
1832 from the 4th March 1831 to the 7th day
of August 1831 the day of his death which please
allow and send on her certificate for that small
amount as soon as convenient
On this day also I inclose to you her
papers compleat as to identity and proof for
a Pension under act of 3d February 1853
to which reference is here made for a more full
Statement of facts
Respectfully
[signed] A Fergusson
[signed]  L P Waldo Esqr
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington City
Page 40

Carthage Tennessee
30th May 1853
Inclosed please find the papers in support
of the claim of Mary Wright for a Pension
under act of 3d February 1853 together with
the certificate of service and marriage all of
which is identified by proof a full Pension is
claimed for three years service in the continental
line in the State of Virginia. Having presented
the claim to land by the heirs and finding
the office at Richmond closed I ascertained
in 1845 that this identical Robert Wright
served three years and his heirs are entitled to
Land bounty from the State of Virginia
Be pleased to allow the claim and forward
on her certificate at as early a
day as convenient
Respectfully
[signed]A. Fergusson
[signed]L P Waldo Esqr
commissioner of Pensions
Washington City
Page 41

Carthage Tennessee
30th September 1858
Sir Inclosed you will find the Declaration of
Mary Wright asking to be restored to her former pension
her name appears to be Goodin having married a
man by that name. The papers on file and my
letter informing the pension office of the mistake
as well as the new Declaration now sent and the
proof of Respectable witnesses will show the whole
history of the case. I inclose also the Pension
certificate to undergo such alterations as may be
practicable upon having her pension restored to
her. I have also used the best exertions in my power
from the time her pension was stopped until the present
to ascertain what has become of Goodin but have
heard nothing about him The only place she directed me to
write to was Franklin County Missouri and the inclosed
letter from the clerk shows that he is not there I am fully
satisfied this is all the information Mrs Wright alias Goodin
has about her last husband. But I have greater reliance
upon the information received by me from persons who
lived in Missouri and their friends visiting them than
any other source of information and from all that
I can find out Goodin is certainly dead or lives in
parts unknown. I therefore rely upon the lenth[sic]
of time she has remained separate and apart from her
husband he having abandoned her or the him as the
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case may be with the facts of the case fully authorising the
Department of the Interior to restore her pension to her from
the time it was stoped[sic] and continuing for life as was
first intended, & I am not mistaken the decision of
Pension Office has been and now is that seven years wilful
and malicious absence in part unknown by the husband
constitutes a divorce or widowhood. If this be correct
(for I have not the decision before me) I see no objection
whatever to the restoration of the Pension
By an unintentional mistake the power of attorney
and letter from Missouri was not attached by a piece
of ribon[sic] coming under the Seal: but each of these
papers show for themselves to wit, the Pension certificate
letter from Union Missouri and power of attorney
By companion of the signature of Wilson Adams
the Justice of the peace with his other signature
you will see that the same is genuine. If it is
thought however that these two papers ought to be
certified and attached together you can send them
back and the same shall be done but they
can have no bearing on the general merits of the
case and of course I send them as they would
have to be sent to a neighboring county to be
Certified upon the whole case I see no other way
than for the Department to restore her pension
from the time it was stopped by altering her name
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to that of Goodin or any other made by which
she could draw it in the name of Mary Wright
I have thus given the fact of the case as they can be
clearly established and leave the decision to the
Department, I will further add that if the Pension
office shall decide that a divorce is actually necessary
the same can easily be done; but as the facts
show that every circumstance has tended to settle
the question in the neighbourhood that her name
is Mary Wright I can see no use in a
Divorce   Respectfully
[signed]  A Fergusson atty in fact
NB In her former papers will be
found a power of attorney
which is sufficient for me to
act under aside from the
one now sent A.F
George C Whiting Esqr
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington City
Page 44

3d Auditor's office
Oct. 21. 1838.
Sir
Mary Wright
appears to have been
paid on the Nashville
Tenn. Roll, under act of
July 1. 1853, at $80 per
to March 4, 1834 from
commencement there
were no payments
on the Knoxville roll.
Very Respy
RJ??????
Geo C Whiting Esqr
Commr of Pensions
Page 45

Pension Office
Oct. 20 1858.
Sir Be pleased to certify the time to
which the within named Mary Wright
was paid at the Knoxville Tenn Agency
& if she ever received any that the
Nashville agency. be pleased tostate
what time.
Yours Respectfully
[signed] John Robb
For Lt Commissioner
R. J. Atkinson Esqr
Third Auditor ?????y
Page 46

Brief in the case of Mary Wight widow of Robert
Marion County and State of Tennessee
act of Feb. 3rd 1853
Claim, (original, or for increase
Proof exhibited, (if original.)
Is it documentary, traditionary, or supported by rolls? If either, state the substance.
Husband a private in the Va continental line
Service proved by certificate of Aud of pub. Accts
of Va made in pursuance of an act of Gen Ass.
passed Nov. 1781
Has additional evidence been filed since the admission of the claim? If so, what?
Death, proved by Er Witts
Marriage bond & or Witts
Identity cr. witts
Admitted $80 per annum
Name and residence of Agent
A Ferguson
Carthage
Tenn
Examining Clerk.
JF Gray
Page 48


Carthage Tennessee
4th October 1860
Sir
Inclosed please find the claim of
Mary Goodwin formerly widow of Robert
Wight a Revolutionary Pensioner on your
rolls. By reference to her Pension papers
all the proof necessary to establish her claim
can easily be seen consequently it is only
Necessary here to allude to it
Be pleased issue her land warrant and
forward the same as soon as convenient
Respectfully
[signed]  A. Fergusson

[signed]  Geo Whiting Esqr
Commissioner of Pensions
Washington City
Page 49

Oct 23 '54
payment suspended
at suggestion of
F. Triplett Examiner
Page 50

Nashville Tennessee
13th October 1854
Sir
In the case of Mary Wright widow of Robert
Wright a Pensioner under act of 3d February 1853
about which I wrote you on the 7th instant and
mailed at this place I further state lest I should
do her any injustice that when I investigated the
case on my way here I conversed with several of her
most respectable neighbours who were decidedly of opinion
that she could have no design in misleading myself
or the Magistrate who qualified her in not telling us
about her second marriage. But was on the ground that
she did not intend for the last twenty years to be known
by any other name but the widow Wright and knowing
that her husband had served faithfully in the Revolution
fully believed she ought to be placed on the Pension
list as she had been lawfully married to him. When I
called to see her ^lately,  I found her on her sick bed from which perhaps she will never rise again being taken about
a month ago with a severe attack of palsey and a
later attack has reduced her to a loss of the use of
herself and consequent loss of memory  Whether she was
laboring under any sytoms[sic] of this disease at the time
of making her Declaration I know not nor have I any
knowledge from others only at times she was fond of
ardent spirits. It seems to me as some of the acts
of Congress gives pensions to widows who were married
Page 51

second time that in equity and justice the Department
would be justifiable to continue her pension provided she could
show she was still a widow. I further appears to me
that an absence of more than twenty years Wilfully on
both their parts without hearing from each other and her
fixed determination never to cohabit or live with her last
husband again constituted a compleat separation. Perhaps however
I am entering into these details uselessly I have only further
to add the act of 1853 last section which embraces widows
of her class is to be construed as former pension laws
which allows pensions to certain widows although they have
been married a second time as stated in my letter of the 7th
instant I hold myself responsible for the legallity of all
claims presented by me as far as an honest attorney ought
to do and I think it is his bounden duty to prevent
any fraud from being practised[sic] as much so as if he was an
officer of the Government. I therefore have given the manual fact
in the case in my letter of the 7th and also in this ^and hope I
have discharged my duty as an attorney and agent. I repeat
also what I stated before that such a mistake in failing
to give all the material facts hapens[sic] frequently even in courts
of Justice and that in this case as can be clearly shown
none of the parties are to blame but are entirely inocent[sic]
of any error committed. If it shall be decided that the money
was illegally or improperly drawn and constitutes a debt
against her I have no doubt she or her son will be
ready to refund the same and I will aid and assist
in causing them to do so which I think ^they would
do without any trouble whatever I shall therefore
Page 52

wait until I hear your decision in the case unless
you wish further particulars. I have only to add that Robert
Wright her first husband was a man of high honourable
feelings and left Some very respectable children and
grand children all of which live in Tennessee. He was a
true patriot and deserved weill of his country which the
papers on file in your office establishing the Pension
will clearly show to which I hope you will refer
Be pleased to address me at Carthage in answer to
this and my other letter of the 7th as before requested as
shall be at home by that time
Respectfully
[signed]  A Fergusson
SP Waldo Esq
commissioner of Pensions
Washington City
Page 53



Brief in the case of Mary Goodwin formerly widow of Robert Wright
Macon County and State of Tennessee,
act 3d Feb 1853

Proof exhibited, (if original)
Is it documentary, or supported by rolls?  If either, state the substance.
Claimant was pensioner under said act in the name of Mary Wight,
on the 6" of September, 1853.  She married after Ro: Wrights death
a man by the name of Francis Goodwin, with whom she lives four
weeks & then they separated. Her husband was a dissolute man &
immediately left for parts unknown after their separation in 1832.
He has not been heard of since their separation. The proof is conclusive
that Francis Godwin has been absent over twenty five years & unheard
of same[?] a report that he died shortly after he left the
County in which he was married.
Has additional evidence been filed in the admission of the Claim?  If so, what?
The claimant has frequently been
sue & has sued, pleaded & been impleaded in the name of Mary
Wright, since her husband left. She does not desire to be put to the
trouble of procuring a divorce. The pension heretofore allowed Claimant
in the name of Wight was stopped that a Certificate might issue to her in the
name of Goodwin,
Claim is allowed at $80. per an; being the amt: of her
first husband's pension, deducting former payments in the name of Mary Wright ^at the Nashville Agency.  The Pens: Cert: has been surrendered.
[signed]  A. Ferguson Esqr
Name and residence of Agent
Carthage
Tennessee,
[signed]  J. C. Barton
Examining Clerk.
Page 54

THIS IS TO CERTIFY That it appears from a list in this office of such Officers and Soldiers
of the Virginia Continental Line as settled their accounts and received certificates
for the balance of their Full Pay, according to an act of assembly, passed the November
session 1781, directing the Auditors of Public Accounts to settle and adjust the pay and
accounts of the said Officers and Soldiers from the 1st January 1777 to 31st December 1781,
(see Hening's Statutes at Large, vol. 10, p. 462,) that a settlement was made on the 20th
day of May 1783 in the name of Robert Wright-
as Sol'r of Infy and evidence of the indebtedness of the State to him for
L 16, 0, 0 delivered to Capt Hord
but as the original settlements or copies thereof are not to be found in this office, the term of
service embraced therein cannot be stated.
Given under my hand at the East Auditor's Office, Richmond, this 9th
day of May -- 1853.
I further certify, that it appears from a
book on file in this office, that Thomas
Hord served in the 10th Regiment from 1777 to
1781. Given under my hand at the Auditor's
office this 9th day of May 1853
-
[signed]  Ro Johnston
Aud'r of Pub Accts

Your letter of 23d Apl was rec'd this morning 
                                                                ELL
Page 55

Declaration
State of Tennessee}
Macon County ⎬ On this 18th day of March in the year
1858 personally appeared before me Wilson Y Adams
the undersigned one of the acting Justices of the peace in
and for the County and State duly authorised by law
to administer oaths Mary Goodwin formerly Mary Wright
with whom I am personally acquainted a resident of the
County of Macon in the State of Tennessee aged seventy
one years who being first duly sworn according to law
make the following declaration in order to obtain
a restoration of her pension under act of February
3, 1853 That she is the identical Mary Wright
who was placed on the Pension list roll of the Nashville
Tennessee agency at the rate of Eighty Dollars per
Annum and whose pension was discontinued by
order of the Department of the Interior, under the
following fact and circumstances. Declarant states that
at the time of drawing up her Declaration in right
of the services of her former husband she did not inform
her attorney A Fergusson that she had married a second
time and he living remote from her neighbourhood by
about twenty five miles could not have known the fact
himself as she fully believes. Declarant will here give a
full explanation of the whole facts and first having refer-
ence to her Declaration now on file in the Pension Office
she again states that her first husband Robert Wright
died about 7th day of August 1831 and that
she remained a widow until about the      day of
1832 when she intermarried with one Francis
Goodwin who was a resident of Wilson County and a cousin
of hers who was a man of property and was well acquainted with
him in his youth in Virginia but had ^not seen him for a long time
Declarant was not acquainted with ^the habits of the said
Page 56

Goodwin at the time of her marriage and was
greatly disapointed and deceived in the chance she had made
for in a few days after their marriage he took to drinking
and was drunk and she now had the mortification to see was
this was an old habit of his which he had studiously concealed
previous to her marriage with him  He then began to abuse and
mistreat Declarant become wholly abandoned to intoxication
from drinking ardent Spirits until her life was greatly
Jeapordised and finding that she could not live with
him in so miserable a condition she proposed to him that
unless he heeded her as he ought to do and quit his habits
of drinking she could not live with him and he finding
that he had acted so basely left the country and abandoned
her after living with her only about three or four weeks
taking all his negroes and property  She understood he went to
same place in Missouri. When she came to reflect upon her
own folly for entering into so hasty a Marriage the bad & ^cruel
treatment she has received and the degraded feelings she suffered
reflecting on the former virtue honour and high reputation
of her first husband Robert Wright she unhesitatingly
Resolved to consider the marriage as nul[sic] and void never
again to live or countenance the said Francis Goodwin
and assume her former name of Mary Wright 
nor would she allow her friends and acquaintances to
call or recognize her by any other name. It has now
been about twenty six years since she saw the said
Goodwin during the whole of this time her neighbours
have kindly complied with her wish and her name as the
Widow Wright firmly established as if she had never allowed
or changed the same by a second marriage  She has sued
and been sued plead and been impleaded ^answered &
and ^was answered unto before the legal tribunals of the country
and transacting all her business in the name of Mary
Wright. She further declares that she has lived in and
about the same neighborhood, ever since the death
Page 57

of her first husband Robert Wright and since the marriage
of herself and said Goodwin and she is fully persuaded
that she can support the above facts by the most respectable
citizens of her neighbours that has known her for thirty years
It will thus be seen by the Department of the Interior
that she had no design whatever to mislead or commit a
fraud of any kind. That she was ignorant of the law, That
she had enjoyed a good reputation as the widow of Robert
Wight who served his country faithfully in the Revolutionary war
and never once thought that legally her name
was still Mary Goodin  Declarant further states that
she drew her pension not knowing that she ought to assume
the name of her last husband  Declarant further states
that she was preparing her papers to draw her Pension
when her son who was present reminded her that her
name ought to be Goodin and her attorney Fergusson
who was fixing her power of attorney enquired strictly
into the matter and advised her to stop drawing until
the mistake could be corrected observing at the same
time that he would inform the Commission of
Pensions of the facts in the case and ask their advice
which she is informed he did and her pension was
accordingly stopped upon condition as she is informed
and believes that if her last husband was dead that
that then be pension would be restored to her
Declarant has used all the means in her power to find
out where Goodin lives and whether he is dead and
all the information she can obtain is that he went
to some parts of Missouri and reports say that he
is dead but of this she cannot say for certain
Declarant further states that she is advised that
by Decision of the Pension Office when a husband
abandons his wife for more than seven years and
lives in part unknown the same is considered a Divorce
or death and the widow can claim under a
Corner[?]
Page 58

former marriage but if the Pension Office shall decide
that she must be regularly Divorced or establish further the
death of said Goodin then she will in the mean time use
all means in her power to find out whether he is living or promise
a divorce in case he is alive. She further declared that she
considers herself now and forever released from said marriage
and so considered herself from the time of her separation as
she will be fully able to prove by the most respectable
Citizens of her neighbourhood  She further Declares that she
and her attorney A Fergusson or Washington while ^nor either
of them knew of making any mistake as to her true name
nor did she think once of her marriage with Goodin while
preparing the application of her pension and that they
and herself are entirely inocent[sic] of any design to make
such mistake  The premises considered she prays that
her pension be restored to her at the same rates as before
being Eighty dollars per annum and she further asserts
so far as is material the facts contained in her Declartion
and proof now on file in the Pension Office and because
Declarant is old and infirm and cannot appear in
open court she has caused this Declaration to be made
at her sons house being her place of residence
Mary her  X  mark Goodwin
Sworn to and subscribed before
me on the day and year first
above mentioned and I further
Certify that I am not interested
in the prosecution of this claim
Wilson Y. Adams {JP}
for Macon County Ten
-
Page 59

State of Tennessee Macon County
On this 23d day of September 1858
personally appeared before me Wilson Y Adams
one of the acting Justices of the peace in and
for said County Moses Rhoads aged Seventy
two years and Anderson Bratton aged fifty
one years both residents of Macon County and
to me well known to be men of good character 
and fully entitled to credit who being
by me duly sworn according to law depose
and say: That they were well acquainted with
Robert Wright in his life time and lived in
sight of his plantation whereon he lived. That
he died on or about the day of August 1831
which we believe is engraved on his Tombstone
That he left a widow whose name was Mary
Wright and that sometime ^say within or about two
years afterwards she intermarried with a man
by the name of Goodin which marriage was an 
unfortunate one for they separated in a short time. we
were not present at the marriage but have no
doubt from reputaton they were married This
man Goodin went off to parts unknown It
was understood that it was a final separation
in the neighbourhood and we have no knowledge
from that time until the present where he
lives or whether he is yet alive [struck through {the only
infomation we recolect is that he was heard of in Missouri}]  we cannot state what has become of
him. After the separation she assumed the
name of Mary Wright after her first husband
and refused to be called by any other name
She transacted her business in that name
was said and she answered by the name of the
Mary
Page 60

Mary Wright we have known her ever since
and she has lived within the distance of ten
miles ever since principally with one or the
other of her sons of late years and now lives
within three miles. We think from the best of
our recolecton Goodin has been absent from this
County about twenty five years or upwards
The forgoing parts are well understood in
the neighbourhood although they all called her
Mary Wright we are not interested in her claim
[signed]  Moses Rhodes {seal}
[signed]  Anderson Bratton {seal}
Sworn to and subscribed
before me on the day and year
first above written and I
further certify that I am not
interested in the prosecution of
this claim either as attorney or
agent or otherwise
Wilson Y Adams  {JP} Justice of the peace
Page 61

State of Tennessee}
Macon County ⎬ I George L Walton Clerk
of the County  Court of said Macon
County do hereby certify that Wilson Y. Adams whose
name appears to the foregoing Declaration of Mary
Goodin formely Mary Wright and the affidavit of
Mosses Rhoads and Anderson Bratton was at the
time his several attestations bear date and now is one of the
acting Justices of the peace in and for the
County of Macon aforesaid duly Commissioned and sworn
and full faith and credit are due all his official
acts as such and that the foregoing signatures 
purporting to be his are genuine
In testamony[sic] whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and affixed the Seal
of said Court at office in the
Town of Lafayette in the
County aforesaid this 24th day
of September 1858
George L. Walton Clerk
of Macon County Court