Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 1598, William Trotter, Va.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Va.
Trotter, William
S. 1598
carded.
CONTENTS

22268 East Tennessee
William Trotter of Sevier Co in the State of Tennessee who was a Private in the Comp y commanded by Captain Smith of the Reg t commanded by Col d Sevier in the Va t line for 6 Mo th s
Inscribed on the Roll of East Tennessee at the rate of 20 Dollars 00 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 18 day of Oct 1833 and sent to James Haire Knoxville Tenn
Arrears to the 4th of Sept 33 $ 30.00 Semi-ann. allowance ending June 4. 34 10.00
$ 40.00
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by Dan Boyd Clerk, Book E Vol. 7 Page 63
Date of death not on A.B.

Application of Wm Brother for a pension 12.976
✓
Direct To James Hair Knoxville Tennessee

State of Tennessee on this 3 rd day of September 1832.
Sevier County } Personally appeared in open Court before us William C. Maples Elijah Cate and Randall Hill
Three of the acting Justices of the court of pleas and quarter sessions in and for said County of Sevier and state of Tennessee now sitting William Trotter a resident of said County and state in the said County of Sevier and state of Tennessee aged sixty nine years last Christmas 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 7 th 1832 That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated He lived in Augusta County Virginia at which place in May 1781 he substituted in the room and stead of Richard Trotter for six months under Capt Thomas Smith, in Col Samuel Lewis's Regiment of militia Rendezvoused at Widow Beans and South River Marched to Portsmouth River crossed it and lay on the bank about a week Thence to James River crossed James River in the boats of the French Thence to Williamsburgh there Genl Mulingburgh took the command of us as a brigadier Genl Washington met us there and acted as commander in chief Thence to York town he was in the siege of York helped to take Cornwallis Thence back to Williamsburgh lay there some time waiting for supplies of provision we were honorably but verbally discharged he served six months
He has no documentary evidence and he knows of no person whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his actual service 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 of said
W. Trotter
Sworn to in open court
3 rd September 1832
Genl Conrad Bleck

We Elijah Rodgers a clergyman residing in the said County of Sevier and state of Tennessee and Randal Hill one of the Justices of the peace residing in the said County hereby certify that that we are well acquainted with William Brother who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be fifty nine years of age last Christmas that he is reputed and believed in the neighbourhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the revolution and that we concur in that opinion and that we have never heard said report contradicted or its truth questioned
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid
Sworn to in open court 3 rd September 1832 Geo. M c Connelley
Elijah Rodgers Randal Hill
And the said Court (being a court of Record) 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 Elijah Rodgers who has signed the proceedings certificate is a clergyman resident in the said County of Sevier and state of Tennessee and that Randle Hill who has also signed the same is a resident in the said County and state and is one of the acting Justices of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions resident the said County and is a credible person and that their statement is entitled to credit
Wm. C. Rogers Randal Hill Elisha Gats

I George M c Cowan Clerk of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in and for the said County of Sevier and state of Tennessee do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of William Brother for a pension and that the said Court is a Court of Record In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office At office in Sevierville this 3 d day of September 1832
Geo M c Cowan Clerk

Amended Declaration of William Trotter
Adopted James Hair Knoxville Tennessee

State of Tennessee Sevier County
On this 23 day of July 1833, personally appeared before me Isaac Love an acting Justice of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions in and for said county William Trotter, a resident of said county and State, in the said county of Sevier, and State of Tennessee who being first duly sworn according to law, both on his oath make the following amendment to his pension declaration, which declaration was made in the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for said county and bear date Sept 3. 1832, and was numbered in the War department No 12976, and sent back for amendment. That he was born on the - day of December 1763 the day of the month not recollected he thinks in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia Pennsylvania He has no record of his age at this time He continued to live in Augusta County Virginia about twelve years after the Revolutionary war was over he then moved to Jefferson County Tennessee lived there about three years he then moved into Sevier County and has lived there ever since and still lives there He can not recollect the names of any of the regular officers who were with the troops where he served nor the names nor numbers of any Continental or militia Regiments nor the general circumstances of his service further than what he has stated in his declaration He never did receive a written discharge from the service neither did he ever receive a commission during the revolutionary

war He is acquainted in his present neigh- bourhood with Col Alexander Robertson Capt William Robertson Robert Kenny Matthew Kenny John Seckran Sehabald Seckran Col Andrew Anderson Maj James Paitie Sheriff George Rodgers Col M C Rogers and Colm Canterbury all of whom he believes would testify that he is a a man of veracity and that they believe he served as a soldier of the Revolution Sworn to and subscribed this 25 th day of July 1833 before me
Isaac Love Justice of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for said Frank County Tennessee
M c Whorter
State of Tennessee } Frank County } I George M c Lean Clerk of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for and for said County, do hereby certify that Isaac Love before whom the foregoing amended pension declaration

of William Trotter, was made, is an acting Justice of the Court of Pleas and Quarters Sessions in and for said County, duly commissioned and sworn as such and that full faith and credit is due and should be given to his official acts, and that the foregoing signature, purporting to be his, is his genuine signature. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office at office in Lewisville Thursday of July Eighteen hundred and thirty three 1833
Geo. M. Cowen Clerk

12,976.
W m Trotter, of Shinn County, Tennessee.
from 1781 private Cutter #20.
Earl
James Hair, Agent, Knoxville, Tenn.

BRIEF in the case of  William Potter  of  Henry County,  in the State of  Tennessee.  (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? A court.  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? 69 years.  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.     Enlisted In 1781. — 6. — As a sub- stitute for Rich and Sct. Tro. Gen. Capt. Th. Smith, Col. Lewis  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? None.  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Augusti County, Va.  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? No traditionary.  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? No. 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
W. R. Turner, Examining Clerk.

December 19, 1938.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mr. F. E. Seaton 3814 Flora Avenue Kansas City, Missouri
William Trotter S.1598
Dear Sir:
The data contained herein were obtained from the papers on file in the Revolutionary War claim for pension, S.1598, based upon the military service of William Trotter in that war.
William Trotter was born in December, at Christmas time, 1762 or 1763, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The names of his parents are not shown.
While a resident of Augusta County, Virginia, William Trotter enlisted in May 1781, served as a substitute for Richard Trotter, no relationship stated, six months as private in Captain Thomas Smith's Company, Colonel Samuel Lewis' Virginia Regiment and was at the siege of Yorktown and taking of Cornwallis.
About twelve years after the Revolution he moved from Augusta County, Virginia, to Jefferson County, Tennessee, and about three years later he moved to Sevier County, Tennessee.
He was allowed pension on his application executed September 3, 1832, at which time he was a resident of Sevier County, Tennessee.
No reference was made to wife or children and there are no further family data.
In order to obtain the date of last payment of pension, the name of person paid and possibly the date of soldier's death, you should apply to The Comptroller General, General Accounting Office, Records Division, Washington, D. C., and cite the following data: "William

Trotter, Certificate No. 22268, issued October 18, 1833, rate $20.00 per annum, commenced March 4, 1831, Act of June 7, 1832, East Tennessee Agency".
Very truly yours
A. D. HILLER Executive Assistant to the Administrator

Rev char.
✓ 1598. INVALID.
File No. 1598 William Trotter, Pro. Va. Sen.
Act: June 7, 1892.
Index:—Vol. 2 , Page 378
[Arrangement of 1870.]
1916 Nov. 4. Hist. to Miss Byrd Blankenship, 34 Lombardy Way, Atlanta, Ga. (see her letter in Joel Keck's 14365.) aw 1927- Acc. 4- Hist. to H. L. Turner 1938 Dec. 19. Hist. to P. E. Seaton.

Wm Brattle

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims , of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of
William Trotter, which require further proof or explanation.
I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? 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? 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? VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? 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? IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? 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?

XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? He has no citizen.
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? Yes
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?
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?
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered?
1, 2, 5, 6, 7.
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.

December 19, 1938.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
BA-J/ady
Mr. F. E. Seaton 3814 Flora Avenue Kansas City, Missouri
Dear Sir:
Reference is made to your letters relative to soldiers of Revolutionary War and War of 1812,
Revolutionary War data furnished by this office are obtained from claims made to the United States for pension and bounty land based upon military service of soldiers in that war.
A careful search of the records fails to show such a claim on file on account of the services of Benjamin Seaton, all spellings of the names searched.
The records of William Trotter , Revolutionary War soldier, and James Seaton , a soldier of the War of 1812, are furnished you herewith.
Very truly yours
A. D. HILLER Executive Assistant to the Administrator

mmjv
August 4, 1927
W.T. Kennerly Knoxville, Box 694 Tennessee
Sir:
I have to advise you that from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim S. 1598 it appears that William Trotter was born in December (at Christmas time) 1762 or 1763 near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
While a resident of Augusta County, Virginia he enlisted in May 1781 and served six months as a private in Captain Thomas Smith's Company, Colonel Samuel Lewis' Virginia Regiment and was at the Siege of Yorktown. His services were as a substitute for Richard Trotter, no relationship stated.
About twelve years after the Revolution he moved to Jefferson County, Tennessee, and about three years later to Sevier County, Tennessee where he was allowed pension on his application executed September 3, 1832.
There is no reference to a wife or to children.
Respectfully,
Date of death not seen at B-
WINFIELD SCOTT Commissioner.

S1598
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF PENSIONS.
Washington, D. C., _____, 19_____
In reply to your request of _____, received _____ for a statement of the military history of William Trotter 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.
   DATES OF ENLISTMENT OR APPOINTMENT. LENGTH OF SERVICE. RANK. OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED. STATE.   CAPTAIN. COLONEL.     May 1781 6 mos Pvt Thomas Smith Samuel Lewis Va.                                                   
Battles engaged in, Siege of York Residence of soldier at enlistment, Augusta Co. Va. Date of application for pension, Sept. 3, 1832. This cl. was al. Residence at date of application, Scioto Co. Tenn. Age at date of application, born in Dec 1762 or 1763 near Phila. Pa. Remarks: No family data.
Respectfully,
Commissioner.
not Pensions

November 7, 1938,
Kansas City, Mo.
Veterans Administration,
Washington, D. C.
Gentlemen,
Re: William Trotter , pensioner of the Revolutionary War, listed in the census of 1832 and of 1840 as receiving a pension, from Sevier county, Tennessee.
Wanted to know service; place and date of enlistment, and birth; the name of his wife and date of marriage; date of death; whether son John or other children are named in the application papers; names of parents.
I know that it is unlikely that you will have all of the information asked for, but anything you have will be gladly received.
Sincerely,
A handwritten signature in cursive, reading "F. E. Seaton".
F. E. Seaton, 3814 Flora Ave., Kansas City, Mo.

R. O. RAGSDALE DEPT. ADJUTANT
W. T. KENNERLY DEPT. COMMANDER
GUY E. BENNETT DEPT. QUARTERMASTER
HEADQUARTERS United Spanish War Veterans DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE
July 20, 1927.
706 ARNSTEIN BUILDING, KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.
Hon. Winfield Scott, Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
I wish to ask information about the following Revolutionary soldiers who were residents of Sevier County, Tennessee, when pensioned:
William Robertson, placed on the rolls October 16, 1833, aged 71 years, service in the Virginia line.
William Trotter, pensioned October 16, 1833, aged 71 years, service in the Virginia line.
I wish to inquire, first, in what regiments and for what length of time they served, and second, the names of their respective wives and children, if this information is shown by the pension records.

R. O. RAGSDALE DEPT. ADJUTANT
W. T. KENNERLY DEPT. COMMANDER
GUY E. BENNETT DEPT. QUARTERMASTER
HEADQUARTERS United Spanish War Veterans DEPARTMENT OF TENNESSEE
706 ARNSTEIN BUILDING, KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.
#2.
July 20, 1927.
I am asking this information by reason of the fact that both of these former soldiers are ancestors of my wife, and she wishes this information with the intention of applying for membership in the Daughters of the Revolution.
With kindest personal regards to you, and hoping to meet you again personally at the Detroit Reunion, I am,
Very truly yours,
Box 694.
WTK-OP.
P. S. If there is any charge for making this search of the record, I shall be glad to make payment upon having bill sent me.