Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 14808, Thomas West, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Mass.
West, Thomas
S. 14808
Carded
CONTENTS

20. 340 New York Thos West
at Madison in the State of New York who was a Private in the Comp y commanded by Captain Hall of the Reg t commanded by Col. Willard in the Mass s due for 3 Mo. 20 d S ts 48.80 8 " S ts } 40
Inscribed on the Roll of New York at the rate of 88 Dollars 80 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1834.
Certificate of Pension issued the 29 day of Aug. 1833 and unto J. B. Eldridge Hamilton
Arrears to the 4th of Mar '33 $177.60 Semi-ant. allowance ending Sept 33 44.40 $222.00
Recorded by J. O. Stokes Clerk Book 6 Vol. 4. Page 39 { Revolutionary Claim, Age June 7, 1832 }

N o 12,133
Thomas West
adm d
5-11- 04 May 3 rd 183
P. 369
J. B. Eldridge Hamilton Ny

BRIEF in the case of  Thomas West  County of Madison  in the State of Ky  (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Judge  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity? bodily infirmity  3. How old is he? 78  4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed. 
   Period. Duration of Service. Rank. Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.   Years, Months, Days. As a Gen.     Immediately after the battle of In 17 Lexington } to the first of February } " 70 Aug. to the last of Decem. Sergt. Capt. Kempton   Lieut. Col. Willard, Capt. Hall  
 5. In what battles was he engaged?  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Dartmouth Mass  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Documents & tradition  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Levin Pell Examining Clerk.

ABm d 3 mo 20 Liut. 8 mo. Serjt.
70/20 70/120/144 1/3 60 88 40 7 29.80 40

State of New York      2      Thomas West the declarant named Madison County      1832 in the with declaration to which this is all each being sworn in due form of Law doth on his oath depose and say, that from old age and the consequent loss of memory he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his services in each Campaign, but from what he can recollect and from the computation and other papers he had in his possession which are affixed to said declaration he believes that he served not less than is set forth in the following statement (Viz)
In the year 1775 in one Campaign as a sergeant      8 months and before his return and after his enlistment was out the same year      8 months as orderly sergeant.
In the year 1776 in one Campaign as Lieutenant      3 20 days or more for which he claims a pension.
And this deponent doth further depose and say that the reason why he was not obtained a Clergyman to testify as to his character and the reputation and their opinion of his having been a soldier in the revolution is that the Clergymen residing in the Neighbourhood where he lives have all removed or died within a few years, and that he has been so much infirmed by old age and sickness, that he has remained at home the greater part of the time for a number of years and has found no acquaintance with any Clergyman in Town
Thomas West
Subscribed and sworn before Me May 27th 1833 James B. Walbridge J.P.
Exemptions Commission from the Council of Massachusetts

State of New York } Madison County } ss. I Nathaniel Latham a clergyman residing in George Town in said County Do hereby certify that heretofore I resided in Hamilton in said County in the same society with Thomas West the subject named in the affidavit declaration hereto attached that I believe him to be seventy nine years of age that I have heard it reported when I lived near said West that he was a soldier in the Army of the Revolution and I am in that opinion that said West is a man of good character for veracity. Nathaniel Latham Subscribed and sworn before On May 29 th 1833 and I hereby certify that the above named Nathaniel Latham is a man clergyman in good standing and his statement is entitled to credit. James B Eldredge, J.P.
State of New York } Madison County Clerk's Office } ss. I Andrew S. Sloan, Clerk of the said County, do certify that James B. Eldredge before whom the two preceding Affidavits purport to have been sworn, was, at the dates of the same, One of the Justices of the Peace in and for the said County. And that I am acquainted with his hand writing and verily believe his name subscribed to the said Affidavits to be his proper hand writing and signature. Witness my hand and Seal of Office this 10 th day of June 1833. A. S. Sloan Clk.

Declaration of Lieutenant Thomas West
In order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832
State of New York On the 15th day of August 1832 personally appeared Madison County ss before me James B. Eldredge first judge of said County at his office in Hamilton Thomas West a resident of New York aforesaid aged seventy eight years who being first sworn in due form of law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as here in stated:
That during the Revolutionary War he lived in the Town of New Bedford in the State of Massachusetts. When news came of Lexington Battle to New Bedford they raised a company of volunteers without having them regularly appointed and he volunteered as one of the company they March toward Boston but before they got to Boston were discharged and returned. Immediately there after this declarant enlisted as a sergeant into a company commanded by Thomas Preston Captain Bryant Lieutenant Ensign not recalled that when he was first enlisted he by order of the Governor was employed some days in collecting Arms for the company they Mustered at New Bedford which was in the Town of Dartmouth. that they Marched first to Roxbury near Boston and joined a Regiment commanded by Colonel Timothy Dexter They removed Station at Roxbury the greater part of the time during the campaign was there when Bunker Hill Battle took place. a part of their Regiment was taken down to a place called Dorchester and Stationed there for a time That the term for which he enlisted was eight months and expired about the first of January 1776. That when the time of service there was an urgent request for the men and new commissioned officers to remain in service and many of them did so and this declarant stood as an enlisted man enlisted man that he received his discharge the first of Feb- ruary which is here to certify.
That in the Month of August 1776 the declarant received Commissions Commission from the General of Massachusetts

and immediately upon the receipt of said commission he has obtained together with the company to which he was attached which was commanded by Captain Noah Hall March for Green Bay where they found a Regiment commanded by Colonel Aaron Wollard . They were stationed encamped near what was called the Old Mills near the outlet of Lake George where they built themselves Temporary Barracks, where they remained until they were discharged which was on the last of December when he returned home.
That he has no other documentary evidence of his Services than are all attached here to and that he knows of no one by whom he can prove any part of his Services.
That here by relinquishes every claim to a pension or annuity whatever for the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State. Subscribed and sworn to before J. L. M. or West My this 15 th day of August 1832
J. B. Rockledge first judge Madison Co.
And the said Thomas West did then and there upon his oath make the following answers to the several interrogations put to him by the said Judge as prescribed by the War Department. 1 st That he was born at New Bedford in the State of Massachusetts on the 26 th day of May 1754. 2 d He has had a record of his age but don't now know where it is. 3 d was living in the Town of Dartmouth in the Village of New Bedford when called into service both times. 4 th The first time he was called into service he enlisted and served as a Sergeant the second time he was called into service he was appointed a lieutenant and served as such. 5 th That he has set forth all he can recollect of the officers under whom and the troops with which he served and the details of his services as far as is in his power. 6 th He received a discharge the first campaign which is here to mentioned and he thinks he also received a discharge at Green Bay but he can't say where it is or who signed it if he did receive one.

That after the Revolutionary War he moved from there same years from there moved to Milton near Boston from there to Lenoxborough Berkshire County Massachusetts then to Fairpale in Herkimer County in this State from there moved to where he now resides which was thirty four or five years ago
8th That Thomas Dible and Joseph B Pugh are well acquainted with him for many years and can testify to his character for veracity and as to its having been reported that he was a Loyalist in the Revolution And I the said Judge do hereby declare upon the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department. (to which the answers last above set forth were given by the said Thomas West, upon his oath,) that the said Thomas West was a Revolutionary soldier and served as he states. And I the said Judge do further certify that I am personally acquainted with Thomas Dible and Joseph B Pugh who have subscribed and sworn to the certificates hereto attached and that they are men of respectable standing in society, the said Pugh being a substantial farmer and an upright moral man and the said Dible being also a substantial farmer, and late a justice of the peace, Supervisor of the Town and Member of the State Legislature. And that their statement is entitled to full credit. and I further certify that from both the said West is unable to appear in court to make his said Declaration.
Given under My hand and seal at Hamilton in said County of Madison this
August 1832
James B Dredge, first judge of Madison Co.

I Joseph B. Pule do here by affirm that I have been intimately acquainted with Thomas West who has subscribed and sworn to the foregoing Declaration, for thirty seven years, that many years before any pensions were granted to the soldiers of the Revolution I have heard the said West recount his services in the Revolution and that he then state in all respects as near as I can recollect the same as they are set forth in his Declaration that I distinctly recollect that he then mention a campaign to Ticonderoga, as Lieutenant and also a campaign to Roxbury near Boston that it has always been talked and understood in the family of the said West that he was a soldier in the Revolution and also a Lieutenant in the Revolution that it is so reported and believed in the Hingham house where he resides and I fully concurs in that opinion, that the said West has always been a man of respectability and of an impeccable character for veracity.
Joseph B Pule
Subscribed and sworn before on August 20th 1832
James B Rice first judge of Middlesex Co.

I Thomas Dible do certify that I have been acquainted with Thomas West who has subscribed and sworn to the foregoing for more than thirty years, and further that I have had no reason to doubt the veracity to which this is attached, and that I believe him to be seventy eight years of age that it is reported and believed in the neighborhood where he resides that he was a slave in the Revolution, and I remain in that opinion that Many years ago I have heard the said West recount his services in the Revolution as a sergeant a Lieutenant and otherwise. That the said West has always sustained a fair and impeccable character for truth and veracity and other were respectable in every respect. That from a knowledge of the good character of the said West and from what I have here to you learned from said West in relation to his services in the Revolution I have full confidence in the facts set forth in the said declaration as said West.
Thomas Dible
Sworn & subscribed
before me this 25 th day
of August 1832
J. B. Eldridge first judge
Word. Lea
I certify that the above named Thomas Dible who took and
State of New York Madison County
Clerk's Office J. Andrew S. Sloan Clerk of the said County do certify that James B. Eldridge whose name appears to the three preceding affidavits, as the person before whom the same were taken and also whose name appears to the preceding Certificate was at the date of the same, the first Judge of the  the County Courts, in and for the said County and that I am acquainted with his hand writing and verily believe his name subscribed to the said affidavits and Certificate to be his proper hand writing and signature. Witness my hand and seal of office this 27 th day of August 1832
A. S. Sloan Clk.

Camp in Roxbury Nov. 2 nd 1861 I permit Thomas West a Serj. in Capt. Phillips Company in Col d D'Arusson's Bg y to pass to Dedham and be absent from camp ten days ————— J. W. Chapman Lt. Col d

Roxbury Camp to Delaware January 11 1776 First Regt Mass Amara Jopun etc Go 1 Peabody Lane no 4
Mr. Phil. Thompson
Thomas West - Mass. S. file 14808

5 May y e 24 th 1775
This is to Desire any Person or Persons that have Guns to Let John Chadwick or Thomas West Sergeant have them and I Will set that they  are Returned or Paid For Pr Me Capt Thomas Kempton

[Faint, mirrored handwritten text, likely bleed-through from the reverse side of the page. The text is mostly illegible but appears to be a formal letter.]
Thomas West Mass. P. file 14808

Thomson West. St. ass. S. file 14808.

Prospect Hill Feb. 1: 1777
Sergt Thomas West of capt. m Egery's company, who engaged to serve in the Continental Army till the last of Jan r ult. is now dismissed from the service
W m Bond Col

Colony of the Massachusetts-Bay, }
The Major Part of the COUNCIL of the Massachusetts-Bay, in New-England,
To our right worshipful Gentlemen Greeting.
YOU being appointed first Lieutenant in a Company commanded by each here in the Regiment where Aaron Willard Esq. is Colo
By Virtue of the Power vested in us, WE do by these Presents, (reposing special Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage, and good Conduct,) Commission you accordingly.— You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the Duty of a first Lieutenant in leading, ordering, and exercising said Company in Arms both Inferior Officers and Soldiers; and to keep them in good Order and Discipline: And they are hereby commanded to obey you as their first Lieutenant: and you are yourself to observe and follow such Orders and Instructions as you shall from Time to Time receive from your Superior Officers
GIVEN under our Hands and the Seal of the said Colony, at Watertown the 30 Day of August in the Year of our Lord, 1776.
By the Command of the Major Part of the Council }
John Adams
Genl. Powell Caleb Cushing W. Mitchell Richd. Dube J. Cushing John Whetcomb Gabe Fisher Beoyl Austin Eben Thayer Jr J. Cushing J. D. D. D. D. S. Hotten Henry Gardner J. Hopkins D. Sewall

Rev. War
17808 INVALID.
File No. 17808
Thos West
St. Rev. War
Act: June 7 th 1832
Index:—Vol. 1 , Page 400
[Arrangement of 1870.]

No 12133
Thomas West
Amended as under stated to be required
5-11
J.B. Eldridge
NY
Hamilton
Certif 22 S.

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Thomas West which require further proof or explanation.
I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? yes II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? yes III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason assigned for his not doing so? IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? doubtful V. * Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled? no  length - as of the different grades of service - must be more definite to obtain a pension VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? yes VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? yes IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? yes X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal? yes

XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? no
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it?
XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had? yes
XIV. †If the applicant's name is not found on the rolls of military service, has he produced a witness or witnesses as to his service?
If he has produced direct proof as to service, has the magistrate who administered the oath, certified to the credibility of the witness or witnesses?
Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct?
XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age, as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service?
XVI. ‡Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? yes
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? yes
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
* QUERE V. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
"Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades; For _____ 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 or four months is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions merely state 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 shewn 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.
† QUERE XIV.  Proof of Service.
In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
‡ QUERE XVI.  Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticates the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the 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.
¶ In every case where the clerk of the court, or other certifying officer, 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.