Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 23280, for Samuel Johnson, New York
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(3-1776)
SERVICE
New York

Johnson, Samuel
NUMBER
S.23280
CONTENTS
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New York 24.801
Samuel Johnson
of Orange co in the State of New York
who was a Private in the Compy commanded 
by Captain Rose of the Regt commanded
by Col. Hardenburgh in the N.Y. ma line for o6 mo 24 days

Inscribed on the Roll. of New York at the rate of 23 Dollars 21 Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 7th day of march 1834 and sent to Walter Cade Newburgh, Orange co N.Y.

Arrears to the 4th of March, 34,           $69.63
Semi-anl allowance ending 4 Sept. 34.  11.60

                                                              $81.23
{Revolutionary Claim,
Act June 7, 1832.}

Recorded by Elr. Brown. Clerk.
Book E. vol. 4 Page 63

[second column]

Date of death not on AB

25
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Samuel Johnson


Walter Case
New York
Agent
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[handwritten]

State of New York}
Orange County} ss
On this Third day of December in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty two personally appeared in open Court before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Orange aforesaid now sitting at the Court House in so therein said County said Court being a Court of Record Samuel Johnson resident of the Town of New Windsor in the County aforesaid a free Coloured man aged about seventy seven years who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7th 1832   That he entered the service of the United States under the officers therein after named and served as herein after stated namely thus Deponent some time about the month of June in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven entered a company of Militia commanded by Captain Jacob Rose of the Town of New Hurley in the County of Ulster as a substitute for Marcus Ostrander now deceased who had been drafted in said Company to serve as a private soldier six months
Jonathan Hardenbergh was first Lieutenant and Isaac Hardenbergh his brother was the Ensign of said Company and continued to command in said Company in those offices respectively untill said Company was disbanded - That deponent commenced his service in the said Town of Platte Falls and continued to serve as a private in the same Company six months and an half when he was honorably discharged at Herdburgh [Hardenburgh] in the County and State aforesaid and returned home after said discharge on Christmas Eve in the year
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[handwritten]

last aforesaid that immediately after this deponents tour said Company it was ordered to fort Montgomery in the Highlands on the west side of the Hudson river to keep in check a detachment of the British army which was expected up that on their way down said [illegible lined out] Company marched through Newburgh and rendezvoused at Colonel Jonathan Hasbroucks afterwards Washingtons head quarters at which place they were joined by two other companies of Militia and Companies proceeded to Fort Montgomery by the way of West Point to which place they were transported by water from West Point they marched to Fort Montgomery. here they remained untill  after the battle which was fought on the sixth day of October in the one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven  Deponent was together with said Company engaged in that battle   The Captain was wounded and taken prisoner and afterwards died of his wounds in prison in New York - after said battle said Company was ordered to march to New Windsor - they marched also to the mountains where they remained untill after the enemy had passed up the river during which time Generals George & James Clinton were there & General Putnam came there from Continental village. during the time deponent was there Taylor the spy who taken and afterwards hung at Hurley near Kingston deponent was one of his guard on the road from the Rosendale Hill to Kingston   Deponent was present when he was hung -  [illegible and the page underneath was cut off on the bottom but still shows partially.]
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[handwritten]

Hill to Kingston deponent was present when he was hung - he faint away and appears to be dead before he was [?] off from Hurley said Company marched to Kingston   we arrived there soon after it was burned by the British   The ruins were still smoking and deponent further saith that at the battle of Fort Montgomery Colonel Hardenbergh commanded the Regiment to which deponent belonged   That General George & General James Clinton commanded Duboises Regiment or a part thereof under his command was present. Captain John Belknaps Company Captain Stewart Company & Captain Moodys Company of Artillery were present at the battle. After the expiration of six months and an half said Company was marched from Plattekill to Newburgh and there discharged and deponent also saith that he lost his discharge - That Thomas McCollum whose affidavit is annexed belonged to said Company and served with deponent as stated in his affidavit and deponent also saith that in the year 1777 he served against the Indians at Mamakating in a Company commanded by Isaiah Robison afterwards General Robison That the tour for which said Company
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[handwritten]

ny was bound to serve was seven months - The Company was divided into three classes which took [?]their regular tour of duty [? alternately] deponent served on the Indian frontier with the class to which he belonged his regular tour but does not know any person now living who served with him and deponent also saith that Moses Nicoll and Porter Nicoll of the said Town of New Windsor aforesaid whose affidavits are annexed were well acquainted with deponents character for veracity. 
And in  answer to the Interrogatories put to deponent by said Court agreeably to the request of the Secretary of War he says that he was born in Kingston in Ulster County in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty five or thereabouts That he has no record of his age That he lived at Platte Kill in the County of Ulster & State aforesaid when called into service since the Revolutionary War he lived in said County of Ulster untill [sic] within four years last past some which time I have lived in the Township of New London County of Orange & State aforesaid for [bottom of suceeding page which I now live That the [illegible]]
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[handwritten]

[illegible] 
lived in the Township of New London County of Orange & State aforesaid for which I now live that he entered the service as a volunteer substitute for [illegible lined out] Marcus Ostrander of the Town of Platte Kill aforesaid That he has already stated the names of the Regular and Militia officers who were with the troops when he served as aforesaid and also such continental and Militia Regiments as he now recollects and the General circumstances of his service. That he [illegible lined out] recollects to have received a written discharge from the service [illegible lined out] but t has lost it but deponent states with certainty that he served out the term of his enlistment which was six months and one fortnight over. 
He hereby relinquishes every 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
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid}
Samuel his X mark Johnson
Asa Dunning Clerk
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[handwritten]

Samuel Johnson
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[handwritten]
[New York]
Orange County} ss
Thomas McCollum of the village of Newburgh and County aforesaid being duly sworn deposeth and saith that he served in the company of Captain Rose of the Town of Platte Kill in the County of Ulster & State aforesaid in the Revolutionary War from the fifth day of June 1777 untill [sic] the week before the Battle of Fort Montgomery which took place on the sixth day of October in the year aforesaid. That a few days before said battle deponent was taken sick and sent home and his brother John McCollum now deceased took deponents place and served out deponents time in said Company as his substitute and deponent also saith that Samuel Johnson a Coloured man the Identical Samuel Johnson named on his affidavit herein to annexed belonged to said Company and served therein as a private & as a Substitute for one Marcus Ostrander (who lived in the Neighbourhood with deponent at that time but is now deceased) from sometime about the middle of June in the year aforesaid untill [sic] deponent left said Company as aforesaid & continued to serve therein untill [sic] said Company was discharged some time in the latter part of the month of December in the year last aforesaid - as deponent has been often informed and believes to be true and deponent also saith that [illegible lined out] he is seventy nine year of age is very feeble and infirm and is not now able by reason thereof to appear in Court nor will he be able to ap-
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[handwritten]

year at the next Court of Common Pleas to be held at the Court House in Goshen on the third day of December next and further saith not
Sworn to and subscribed this 1st day of November 1832 before me} Thomas his X mark McCollum
Ward M. Gurley Justice of the Peace

I Asa Dunning Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Orange aforesaid do hereby certify that Ward M Gurley before whom the preceding affidavit of Thomas McCollum and the succeeding affidavit of Alex M C Nicoll were respectively sworn to and subscribed is a Justice of the Peace in and for the said County of Orange - That the name Ward M Gurley subscribed to said affidavits is the proper hand writing of said Justice and that the said Ward M Gurley was a Justice at the time when said affidavits were respectively subscribed
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of said Court this third day of December 1832 -
Asa Dunning Clerk
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[handwritten]
[State of New York]
Orange County} ss Porter ^[insert] Alex McC Nicholls to me personally known to be a credible witness  Personally appeared before me and made oath that his is personally acquainted with Samuel Johnson in the annexed affidavit named  That said Johnson is reputed in the Neighborhood where he lives to be an honest man and credible witness & I believe it to be true
Sworn this 1st day of December 1832 before me} Alex Mc C Nichols
Ward M Garlay 
Justice of the peace

Orange County ss - Samuel Nicholl of the town of New Windsor in the County aforesaid being duly sworn ^[insert] saith that he is well acquainted with Samuel Johnson [illegible lined out] named in the above affidavit & that he is a credible witness -
Sworn to and subscribed this 3d day of [February lined out] December 1832 in open Court
Samuel Nichols
Asa Dunning Clerk
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[handwritten]

I Asa Dunning Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas before whom the preceding affidavit of Samuel Nicolls was subscribed and sworn do certify that the said Samuel Nicolls is a respectable man and credible witness.
Asa Dunning [signature]

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion after investigating the matter and after hearing the proceeding affidavits of Thomas McCollum and Porter Nicoll read that the said Thomas McCollum is unable by reason of bodily infirmities to attend this Court and also that the said Samuel Johnson Thomas McCollum Porter Nicoll & Samuel Nicoll are credible witnesses and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the war department they are of opinion that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier and served as he states

I Asa Dunning Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Orange do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of said Court in the matter of the application of Samuel Johnson Johnson [duplicate] for a pension
In Testimony whereof I have herein set my hand and seal of office the third day of December 1832
Asa Dunning Clerk
[written vertically]
Samuel Johnson
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[handwritten]

Samuel Johnson
21856

[written vertically]

State of New York
discharge on
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[handwritten]

State of New York}
Orange County-} ss
Personally appeared before me Samuel Johnson a Coloured Man to me known to be a credible witness & on his oath with that in the year 1777 he served six months ^[insert] and one half at fort montgomery in the company of Captain Bosc as stated in his original affidavit hereunto annexed that in the same year he served at Mamakating on the Indian frontier in a company commanded by Isaiah Robinson from the month of November untill [sic] some time in the month of December ^[insert] there after but the precise time deponent cannot now distinctly recollect Deponent served on this tour according to the best of his recollection & belief one fortnight - and deponent also saith that in the time of the Revolutionary war he lived at a place called Plattskill about sixteen miles from his present residence that he lived there long after said War - That there is no person in the Neighborhood where he now lives who was acquainted with him in the revolutionary war personally or ^[insert] (except Thomas McCollum whose affidavit is annexed hereunto) or acquainted with his services as a soldier by Common Report - That there is no Clergyman living with whom deponent is [illegible lined out] acquainted or who knows any thing about his services in the Revolutionary war -
discharge on Christmas Eve in the year
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[handwritten]

Sworn & Subscribed this 20th day of June 1833 before me} Samuel his X mark Johnson
Ward M Garlay
Justice of the peace
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[handwritten]

State of New York}
Orange County} ss
Personally appeared before the subscriber Jacobis Ostrander of the Town of New Burgh in the County aforesaid late of the Town of Shawangunk in the County of Ulster to me known to be a credible witness (it having been satisfactorily proved before me by the oath of [?] Hasbrouck a respectable man and credible witness with whom I am personally acquainted) and having been by me duly sworn doth depose and say that he is sixty five years of age and is the son of Marcus Ostrander named in the annexed affidavit of Samuel Johnson the ^[insert] said applicant for a pension under the law of Congress of June 7th 1832 - that the said Samuel Johnson is a Coloured Man and before the Revolutionary war and during the same belonged to the said Marcus Ostrander the father of deponent aforesaid. That the said Samuel Johnson served in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven in the Company of Captain Jacob Rose or Colonel Hardenburgs Regiment as a substitute for the said Marcus Ostrander and was at the battle of Fort Montgomery as deponent has been informed and believes to be true - deponent cannot now state how long the said Johnson was in the service aforesaid as a substitute for his said father but  thinks the said Johnson was absent in the service as aforesaid a considerable length of time Deponent has been personally acquainted with said Johnson upwards of forty years and believes him to be a man of good character and a credible witness -
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has no the least doubt but the statement of the said Johnson in the aforesaid affidavit is that by true - And deponent also saith that he well Recollects that said Samuel Johnson was in the service in said war against the British on the Indian Frontier but in what Company or Regiment Deponent does not recollect but Deponent well remembers that he served and that he was absent from home a considerable time in service at [illegible] near [illegible] on the Indian Frontier And deponent also saith that he lived with his father the said afforsaid Ostrander during the Revolutionary War and thereunto [illegible] that he should be mistaken as to the service of the said Samuel Johnson before stated
Sworn to and Subscribed
before me this 28 day
of December 1833 -
[signed] Samuel Ostrander
Ward M Garlay
Justice of the Peace
Asa Dunning Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Orange aforesaid do hereby Certify that Ward M Garlay before whom the preceding affidavits of Samuel Johnson and Samuel Ostrander purport to have been sworn and subscribed was on the respector days when said affidavits porport to have been sworn a Justice of the Peace in and for said County and that his name inscribed to said affidavits respectfully is his signature
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal this this 2 day of January in the year 1834
[signed] Asa Dunning Clerk
[written on the bottom left perpendicular to the clerks statement] Samuel Johnson
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[handwritten] No 21 856
Samuel Johnson
Orange Co -
N.Y. --

Admitted
Pnvate 6 mo & 29 days

Walter Case-
Agent
Orange Co-
NY
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WAR DEPARTMENT,
Pension Office,
183

Sir:
The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has been examined, and the papers are herewith returned.   The following is a statement of your case in a tabular form. On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed. The notes and the regulations will show what is necessary to be done.   Those points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you will find marked in the margin with a brace, (thus: }). You will, when you return your papers to this Department, send this printed letter with them; and you will, by complying with this request, greatly facilitate the investigation of your claim.
Orange County  N. Y. 
A Statement, showing the Service Sam'l Johnson 
[table typed column headers with handwritten entries] 
Period when the service was rendered. About middle of June [illegible] 1777 | Nov 77
Duration of the claimant's service. 6 Months. 15 Days. | indefinite 
Rank of the claimant. Private 
Name and rank of the Field officers under whom he served.
Capt. Rosen
Genals George V Clinton
Genal Putnam
Col Hardin Burgh
Genal Robinson
Age at present, and place of abode when he entered the service. 77 Years Ulster County Town Plateville N.Y.
Proof by which the declaration is supported. 
[illegible] stated credible by the court and traditional evidence likewise. 
[typed] I am, respectfully, 
Your obedient servant,
J.  L. EDWARDS,
Commissioner of Pensions.
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2

REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832.

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

Four general classes of cases are embraced in this law:
1. The Regular Troops.
2. The State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers.
3. Persons employed in the Naval Service.
2. Indian Spies.

As rolls of the regular troops in the Revolutionary War exist in this Department, all persons claiming the benefit of this law as officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians or privates, will, in the first instance, make application by transmitting the following declaration, which will be made a Court of Record of the Country where such applicant resides. And every Court having by the 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 provion 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 lie served under more than one term of enlistment, he must specify the particular
period, and rank and names of his officers;) the town or county and State in which he resided
when he entered the service; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country
through which he marched. This form is to be varied so as to apply to the cases of officers
and persons who belonged to the militia, volunteers, navy, &c.]
He hereby relinquishes every claim (f) whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the
present, and he declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of any Agency in any State, or (if
any) only on that of the Agency in the State of [——]
Sworn to and subscribed the dad rear 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 State Troops of
Virginia, will make and subscribe a declaration similar to the foregoing, with the following
additions, viz:
(k) We, A. B., a Clergyman, residing in the [—— —— ——] 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; that he is reputed and believed, in the neighborhood where he resides, to have been a
soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.
Sworn and subscribed the day 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 appears 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
[sic] of for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal [seal
embossed onto document] 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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3
alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each persou will be indispenable 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 ex-expected. 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) interriogatories to all applicants for a pension, on account of service in the Militia, State troops, or Volunteers, except the Militia of New Hampshire and the State troops of Virginia.
1. Where and in what year were you born?
2. Have you any record of your age, and if so, where is it?
3. Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary war, and where do you now live?
5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers, who were with the troops, where you served; such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your services.
6. {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?
7. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character for veracity, and their belief of your services as a soldier of the Revolution.
The Court will see that the answers to these questions are embodied in the declaration, and they are requested to annex their opinions of the truth of the statement of the applicant.
The applicant will further produce in Court, if the same can be done, in the opinion of the Court, without too much expense and incovenience 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 durites, which the Court is herein requested to perform, and will also certify that the applicant cannot, from bodily infirmity, attend the Court.
Whenever any official act is required to be done by a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, 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 or Justice of a Court of Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that the signature annexed is his genuine signature.
No payments can be made on account of the services of any person, who may have died before the taking effect of the act of June 7, 1852; 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] The 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 to served; otherwise a satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had. Every clamant must state, with precision, the length of his serve, 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 her served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
"Personally appeared before one, 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---year---months, and---- ----days, I served as a ------. For ----- mouths 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 pensiouer 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. 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 hs not 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 Congress, proving 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 on 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 their affidavits the time of 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.
(Finger pointing to the right) The notes from [a] to [,] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops. The proof required by rule is note. [j] applies to contiuental 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.
John Nathan
Page 23

No 21856
Samuel Johnson
Orange Co.
N.Y_ _

C C
Admitted
Private 6 mo & 29 days

Walter Case -
Agent
Orange Co. -
N.Y -

[on far left of page in faded writing]
Battle of Fort Montgomery 5th June 1777 - Fort taken by British
Page 24

Revolution
23280
INVALID.

File No. 28,280
Samuel Johnson
Per Rev War

Act: June 7th '32
Index:-Vol. 2, Page 212

[Arrangement of 1870.]