Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 16413, John Hills, N.C.
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Service N.C.  

Hills, John  

Number S.16413  

carded  

Contents
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13,897 

Indiana 

John Hills of Dubois Co. In the State of Indiana who was a private in the company commanded by Captain Harris od the regt commanded by Col Easton in the [illegible] line for 1 year from 1777. 

Inscribed on the Roll of Indiana at the rate of 40 Dollars – Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831. 

Certificate of Pension issued the 11 day of July 1883 sent to Simon Morgan, Jasper IN 

Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $80-- 

Semi-anl. Allowance ending 4 Sep “ $20-- 

$100 

{Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832} 

Recorded by WMS Allison Clerk 

Book 6 Vol. 7 Page 114  

Date of death not [illegible]
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No. 25496 

John Hills Dubois County Indiana 

From 1777 private 1 yr $40 

[illegible] in charge of a [illegible] ways not allowed for. 

Simon Morgan, Jasper, Indiana
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War Department,  

Pension Office, Mcu 183 

Sir: 

The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has been examined and the papers are herewith returned. The following is a statement of your case in a tabular form. On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjoined notes, you will readily perceive thar objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed. The notes and the regulations will shew what is necessary to be done. These points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you will find marked in the margin with a brace, (thus: }). You will, when you return your papers to this Department, send this printed letter with them; and you will, by complying with the request, greatly facilitate the investigation of your claim. 

[chart, as follows:] 

Period when the service was rendered | Duration of the claimant's service [years | months | days] | Rank of the claimant. | Names and Rank of the Company officers under whom he served. | Names and Rank of the General and Field officers. | Battles in which the applicant was engaged. | Country through which he marched. | Place of abode when he entered the service, and age at the present period. | Evidence by which the declaration is supported. 

Entered Oct 1777 | [ | 6 | ] | private | Cap Harris, Col Easton | 72 years Warren County N Carolina | Traditionary evidence – paper correct 

Entered Jany 1780 | [ | 3 | ] | “ | Cap Harris | |  

Entered July 1782 | [ | 3 | ] | “ | Cap Thornton, Gerl. Easton | | 

Vol. Nov. 1782 | [ 1 |  | ] | [illegible] | Cap Gamel | | 

| [  |  | ] | | | | Battle of Guilford Court House 

I am, respectfully, 

Your dedicated servant,  

J. L. Edwards,  

Commissioner of Pensions.
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REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832 

The following regulations have been adopted: 

This law has been constructed to extend, as well to the line, as to every branch of the Staff of the Army, and to include under the terms “Continental Line,” “State troops’ “militia,” and “volunteers,” all persons enlisted, drafted, or who volunteered and who were bound to military service, but not those who were occasionally employed with the army upon civil contracts, such as Clerks to Commissaries and to Store Keepers, &c, Teamsters, Boatmen, &c. Persons who served on board of private armed vessels are also excluded from the benefits of the law, as well as persons who turned out as patrols, or were engaged in guarding particular places at night, and were not recognized as being in actual military service. 

Four general classes of cases are embraced in this law: 

The Regular Troops. 

The State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers. 

Persons employed in the Naval Service. 

Indian Spies. 

As rolls of the regular troops in the Revolutionary War exist in this Department, all persons claiming the benefit of this law as offices, non-commissioned officers, mucicians or privates, will, in the first instance, make application by transmitting the following declaration, which will be made before a Court of Record of the County where such applicant resides. And every Court having by law a seal and Clerk is considered a Court of Record. 

DECLARATION, 

In order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of the 7th of June, 1832. 

State, Territory, or District of County of }ss. 

On this day          of personally appeared (a) before                 A. B. a resident (b) of                 in the county of                     and State, Territory or District of                    aged (c)                  years, who being first duly sworn, according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the act of Congress, passed June 7th, 1832. That he enlisted in the Army of the United States in the year (d)                 , with           and served in the                 (e) regiment of the line, under the following named officers: 

[Here set forth the names and rank of the Field and Company Officers; the time he left the service; (and if he served under more than one term of enlistment, he must specify the particular period, and rank and names of his officers ; ) the town or county and State in which he resided when he entered the service ; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country through which he marched. This form is to be varied so as to apply to the cases of officers and persons who belonged to the militia, volunteers, navy, &c.] 

He hereby relinquishes every claim (f) whatever to a pensioner an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of the Agency in the State of  

Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.                          A.B. 

[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.] 

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion (g) that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states. 

  

I                           of the Court of                                   do hereby certify (h) that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of                                                              	for a pension. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office (i) this                      day of                               &c. 

If, on examination of the proper record, the names of applicants, making such declaration, cannot be found, they will produce such proof as the rule given in note (j) points out 

Every applicant who claims a pension by virtue of service in the State Troops, Volunteers or Militia, except those who belonged to the New Hampshire Militia and the State Troops of Viginia, will make and subscribe a declaration similar to the foregoing, with the following additions, viz: 

(k) We, A. B., a Clergyman residing in the                                                        and C. D. residing in (the same) hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with                                 , who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be                          years of age; and that he is reputed and believed, the neighborhood where he resides, to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion. 

Sworn and subscribed the days and year aforesaid. 

[And then will follow the certificate of the Court] 

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certifies, that it appeals to them that A. B. who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, resident in the                                           and that C. D., who has also signed the same is a resident in the                                          and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit. 

I,                                Clerk of the Court of                                          do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of                                      for a pension. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this                               day of                                        &c. 

Every applicant will produce the best proof in his power. This is the original discharge or commission; but if neither of these can be obtained, the party will so state under oath, and will then procure, if possible, the testimony of at least one credible witness, stating in detail his personal knowledge of the services of the applicant, and such circumstances connected therewith, as may have a tendency to throw light upon the transaction. 

If such surviving witness cannot be found, the applicant will so state in his declaration, (l) and he will also, whether he produce such evidence or not, proceed to relate all the material facts, which can be useful in the investigation of his claim, and in the comparison of his narrative with the events of the period of his
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alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person will be indispensable to a favorable action upon his case The facts stated will afford one of the principal means of corroborating the declaration of the applicant, if true, or of detecting the imposition, if one be attempted; and unless, therefore, these are amply and clearly set forth, no favorable decision can be exexpected. All applicants will appear before some Court of Record in the County in which they reside, and there subscribe and be sworn to, one of the declarations above provided, according to the nature of his case. 

The Court will propound the following (m) interrogatories to all applicants for a pension, on account of service in the Militia, State troops, or Volunteers, except the Militia of New Hampshire and the State troops of Virginia. 

Where and in what year were you born? 

Have you any record of your age, and if so, where is it? 

Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary war, and where do you now live? 

How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? And if a substitute, for whom? 

State the names of some of the Regular Officers, who were with the troops, where you served; such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your services. 

{To a Soldier. { Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given, and what has become of it? 

{To an Officer. { Did you ever receive a commission, and if so, by whom was it signed, and what has become of it? 

State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character for veracity, and their brief of your services as a soldier of Revolution. 

The Court will see that the answers to these questions are embodied in the declaration, and they are requested to annex their opinions of the truth of the statement of the applicant. 

The applicant will further produce in Court, if the same can be done, in the opinion of the Court, without too much expense and inconvenience to him, two respectable persons – one of whom should be the nearest clergyman, if one lives in the immediate vicinity of such applicant, who can testify, from their acquaintance with him, that they believe he is of the age he represents, and that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood to have been a Revolutionary soldier, and that they concur in that opinion. If one of these persons is a Clergyman, the Court will so certify, and they will also certify to the character and standing of other persons giving such certificates. 

The traditionary evidence of service is deemed very important, in the absence of any direct proof, except the declaration of the party. And the Courts are requested to be very particular in the enquiry whether the belief is general, and whether any doubts have ever existed upon the subject.  

Applicants unable to appear in Court, by reason of bodily infirmity, may make the declaration before required, and submit to the examination, before a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record of the proper county, and the Judge or Justice will execute the duties, which the Court is herein requested to perform, and will also certify that the applicant cannot, from bodily infirmity, attend the Court. 

Whenever any official act is required to be done by a Judge or Justice of a Court or Record, or by a Justice of the Peace, the certificate of the Secretary of State or Territory, or of the proper Clerk of the Court or County, under his seal of office, will be annexed, stating that such person is a Judge of Justice of a Court of Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that the signature annexed is his genuine signature. 

No payments can be made on account of the services of any person, who may have died before the taking effect of the act on June 7, 1832; and in case of death subsequent thereto, and before the declaration herein required is made, the parties interested will transmit such evidence as they can procure, taken and authenticated before a Court of Record, showing the services of the deceased, the period of his death, the opinion of the neighborhood respecting such services, the title of the claimant, and the opinion of the Court upon the whole matter. 

[a] The declarant must appear in open Court, unless prevented from doing so by reason of bodily infirmity, in which case the declarant will follow the rule laid down for his guidance. 

[b] Tho declarant must make his declaration in the county where he resides. If he should fail to do so, he must assign a sufficient reason for not conforming to the rule. 

[c] The age of the claimant must invariably be mentioned. 

[d] The declarant must mention the period or periods of the war when he served. 

[e] Every continental officer or soldier must give the name of the Colonel under whom he served; otherwise a satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had. Every claimant must state, 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. 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 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.” 

It is important, in all cases, to determine with precision the period for which each applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three of four months, is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions merely state that they served two years in the militia, &c. without specifying the tours, the names of the officers, and other particulars respecting their service. This form of a declaration is highly objectionable. It must, in every case, be clearly shown under what officers the applicant served; the duration of each term of engagement; the particular place or places where the service was performed; that the applicant served with an embodied corps called into service by competent authority; that he was either in the field or in garrison; and for the time during which the service was performed, he was not employed in any civil pursuit. 

[f] The law makes the relinquishment indispensable. 

[g] The opinion of the Court is always required. 

[h] The Clerk must give his certificate in every case. 

[i] The Clerk must affix his seal, and if it has no device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal, or if he has no public seal of office, the certificate of a Member of Congree, providing the official character and signature of the certifying officer, should accompany the papers. 

Mode of authenticating papers. 

In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticates the papers is not written in the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other papers authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the ends of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate. 

Proof of Service. 

[j] 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 the affidavits the time if the claimant's entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office. 

The notes from [a] to [i] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops. The proof required by rule [illegible] [j] applied to coutinential troops only.  

[k] This traditionary evidence is indispensable in militia cases. 

[l] If a witness cannot be found, the declarant must state the fact. 

[m] The answers to the interrogatories must all be written, and sent to the War Department, with the declaration
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John Hills 

To Declaration 

25496
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State of Indiana 

Dubois County On this 14th day of May in the year of our lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty three personally appeared in open Court before the judge of the Court of Probate now setting John Hills of the County of Dubois was born in the year Seventeen hundred and sixty one on the 16th day of May in said year aged seventy two year, who first being duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declarations in order to obtain the benefits of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832, that he entered the service on the 10th of October [illegible] in the year seventeen hundred and seventy seven under Captain Brittain Harris. that his Colonel was named Thomas Eaton. that at that time he resided in Warren County North Carolina. that he was marched through south Carolina to the state of Georgia that he was engaged in a battle with the British at the Mouth of Briar Creek, from there he was marched back to south Carolina [illegible] to a place called Panybanglo, from there to a place called the black swamp in which campaign he served six months, and on the 10th day of March 1778 he received a discharge from Colonel Eaton, which discharge is lost, afterwards in the month of January seventeen hundred and eighty, entered the service under Captain Jordan Harris was in the battle of Guilford North Carolina from there he was marched to a place called [illegible] Milo on deep river at which place my tour ended in the [illegible]  he served three months and received a discharge from General Butler, which discharge there lost then in the month of July seventeen hundred and eighty two entered the service under Capt Frances Thornton and was stationed at General Thomas Eaton, Terry or Roanoke river where I remained three months  and was discharged in the month of October seventeen hundred and eighty two which discharge I have lost, he then on the month  of November in the year 1782 volunteered under Edmund Gamel and was stationed at Salisbury North Carolina during the [illegible] of [illegible]  mouths having charge of a baggage waggon. he was the discharged by Capt Edmund Gamel which discharge was given to the [illegible] [illegible] to hay the [illegible] [illegible] near in North Carolina, he states that he has no documentary evidence that he knows of no living [illegible] or [illegible] by which he can [illegible] his services, [illegible] Robert Hill John Barns + John Thompson who served with him and was discharged at the same time he was, he hereby relinquishes very claim [illegible] to a pension or annuity except the present and that he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of any agency in any
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John Hills [signature] 

Sworn to + subscribed in open Court 

Simon Morgan ClL
State of Indiana 

Dubois County I Henry Barker a Clergyman residing in said County and Thomas C Hills residing in the neighborhood hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John Hills who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be seventy two 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 

Henry Barker [signature] 

Thomas C Hills [signature] 

Sworn to a subscribed 

The day + year afoursd 

And the said Court as hereby declares his opinion after the [illegible] of the matter and after pulling the [illegible] [illegible] by the war department that the above named [illegible] was a revolutionary soldier and that he served as he states and that the Court further [illegible] that it appears to know that Henry Barker who has signed the preceding  [illegible] is a Clergyman residing in the County and that Thomas C Hills is a [illegible] person and that there [illegible] is [illegible] to exact 

Bazil B Edmonston [signature] 

State of Indiana  

Dubois County I Simon Morgan [illegible] of the Court of Dubois County do hereby certify that the [illegible] contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the [illegible] of John Hills for a pension 

In February whereof I have hereunto set my hand on a seal of office at [illegible] this 14 day of May 1833 

Simon Morgan ClL
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Record Division 

Department of the Interior 

SF. 16413 Bureau of Pension,  

Washington, D. C. , _________, 190__ 

In reply to your request of ____________, received ___________ for a statement of the military history of John Hills 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. 

[chart, as follows:] 

Dates of enlistment or appointment. | Length of service. | Rank. | Officers under whom service was rendered. Captain. Colonel. | State. 

Oct 10, [illegible symbol] | 6 mos | Prt | Brittain Harris Thomas Eaton | N. C. 

Jany [illegible symbol]| 3 mos| | Jordan Harris|  

July 1782 | Oct 1782 | | Frances Thornton |  

Nov 1782 | 1 year | | Edmund Gamble |  

Battles engaged in, Brier Creek Mar 3 1779, * Guilford Mar 13. 1781 

Residence of soldier at enlistment, Warren Co. N. C. 

Residence at date of application, Dubois Co Ind 

Age at date of application, b. May 16, 1761 

Remarks: No data as to family 

Very respectfully, 

*Dates are omitted as the battles described here in 1779 and 1781 and dates [illegible] soldier gave were incorrect. 

Commissioner.
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John Hills SF. 16413 

A.6. 

May 24 1912 

Miss Stevenson 

Bloomington   

Services
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Veteran Administration Washington December 22, 1933 

Ha-J/MMHF/eel 

Honorable Louis Ludlow 

House of Representatives 

Washington, D.C. 

 

My dear Mr. Ludlow: 

 

Reference is made to your letter in which you request to know the names of the wife and children, date of death and place of burial of John Hill, a pensioner of Dubois County, Indiana, in 1833. 

The papers in the above noted pension claim have been examined and the name of the soldier has been found to be John Hills. No reference is made to wife or children and the date of death and place of burial are not shown. The name Thomas C. Hills is shown as of Dubois County, Indiana: no relationship to the family was stated. 

In order to obtain the date of last payment of pension, the name and address of person paid and possibly the date of death of the Revolutionary War pensioner, John Hills(S.16413), you should address The Comptroller General, General Accounting Office, Records Division, this city, citing the following dates: 

John Hills, Certificate No. 13897, issued July 11, 1833, rate $40 per annum, commenced March 4, 1831, Act of June 7, 1832, Indiana Agency 

Very truly yours 

A. D. Hiller 

Assistant to Administrator.
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16.413 

Invalid 

File No. 16,413 

John Hills 

Pri Rev War 

Act: June 7th 32 

Index:__Vol. A, Page 174 

[Arrangement of 1870] 

1912 May 25 Hist. to Miss Steveson. V.L.U  

1916 Jany 27 Hist. to Robt W McBride. 

1933. Dac 22.Ad. Hon to Lous Ludlow to mile 6.5. to obtain date of death etc 

MM H7/ eae
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State Bar Association of Indiana 

Robert W McBride, President State Life Building Indianapolis, Indiana 

William A Hough, Vice-President Greenfield, Indiana 

Geo H. Batchelor, Secretary State Life Building Indianapolis, Indiana 

Elis D. Salsbury, Treasury Merchants Bank Building Indianapolis, Indiana 

Office of the President 

January 21, 1916. 

PERSONAL: 

Hon. Gaylord M. Saltzgaber,  

Commissioner of Pensions 

Washington D.C. 

Dear Sir: - 

As one of the officers of the Indiana Society of Sons of the Revolution, I am interested in learning something of the Revolutionary service of two men who lived in Dubois County in this State, and who drew pensions as Revolutionary soldiers as late as 1840. Their names were Lewis Powers and John Hills. They were probably Virginia soldiers in the Revolutionary War. What, if anything, do the records in your office show concerning the service of these men? If you can give us any information form the records of your office covering this ground, you will very greatly oblige,  

Sincerely yours,  

Robert W McBride 

[stamp “Bureau of Pensions Jan 22 1916 Commissioner”]
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Louis Ludlow 12th District Indiana  

Subcommittees: Post Office and Treasury Legislative 

House of Representatives 

Committee on Appropriations 

Seventy-Third Congress 

Washington, D. C. 

December 19, 1933. 

[stamp “received Dec 20 1983] 

Dear Mr. Breining: 

John Hill of Dubois Conty, Indiana, was a private in the North Carolina Militia of the Revolutionary War. He was placed on the pension roll July 11, 1833, pension commencing March 4, 1831. I believe the amount of the award was $40. 

This man served in Colonel Thomas Eaton’s regiment. On October 10, 1778, he enlisted for six months under Captain Brittain Harris; in January 1781, he enlisted for three months under Captain Jordan Harris; from July, 1782, until October, 1782, under Captain Francis Thornton, and in November, 1782, he reenlisted for one year under Captain Edmund Gamble. He was engaged in the battles of Brier Creek and Guilford. At the time he enlisted he lived in Warren County, North Carolina. He applied for a pension while living near or in Jasper, Dubois County, Indiana, about May 14, 1833. 

What I am desirous of knowing is the place and date of his death and the name of his widow and children. If place of interment is shown, I would like to have that information. If there was an administrator, attorney or agent in the case after his death, I would like to have his name. 

In short, if you will send me any information shown in the files of your office, I shall be grateful.  

Sincerely, 

Louis Ludlow 

Hon. Harold W. Brening, 

U. S. Veterans Administration,  

Washington, D. C.