Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 10974, Teunis Vrooman, New York

SERVICE
NUMBER
New York
Vrooman, Dennis or Vroman, Tunis
R. 10974
CONTENTS
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[Lined area for contents entry]

In the matter of the ap- plication, Success Vrooman for pension for Revolutionary Services -
Act 7 June 1832
Rejected.
let Oct 9. 1851.
Presented by N. S. Benton, Rockton Herki- mer County N. York -

State of New York - { Schuylkill County }
On this 8th day of February A D 1851 before me personally appeared Jeremiah B. Vroman of said County. To me well known who being by me duly sworn, deponeth & saith that he was personally acquainted with Jeremiah Vroman in the War of the Revolution that the deponent is eighty one years old and this deponent further says that Jeremiah Vroman on the 9th day of August 1780 was taken Prisoner together with the deponent and his Brother Bartholomew B. Vroman, his Father Lieutenant Ephraim Vroman, Bartholomew Vroman, Solomon Vroman and several others including Horatio. They were taken Prisoners by a Party of Forces and Indians commanded by Joseph Brant at or near the upper Fort in said County of Schuylkill. That the Prisoners above named were taken to Fort Niagara, from there to Brooks Island where the deponent and Jeremiah Vroman were Prisoners about one month - From there they were taken to Montreal in Canada, confined in Jail and remained Prisoners as near as this deponent recollects in all about one & a half years & were then exchanged for British Prisoners taken by the Ameri- cans. Jeremiah Vroman the Father of the said Jeremiah above named was a Captain in the American Army at the time this deponent and Jeremiah the son were taken Prisoners and the said Capt Vroman & wife were at the same time killed by the Enemy.

And this deponent further says that at the time Me & Josiah Vroman were exchanged there were many other American Prisoners also exchanged. He recollects of one of the crews of Oliver Moore. Oliver Moore and a number of Vromans. & Henry Hager. This deponent has resided since this exchange near the place where Me & Josiah Vroman and others were made Prisoners in the neighborhood of Vromans Landing & now resides near the then Frontiers and within one mile of the upper Fort and further this deponent says that he has subscribed to this 8th day of February 1851 before me Charles Watson Charles Watson Justice of the Peace
I certify that I have been acquainted with the above named Josiah B Vroman who subscribed to the above affidavit for over thirty years, & know him to be an alwayys true man of truth & veracity. & that he is fully entitled to belief Charles Watson Justice
State of New York Seneca County 3 d I hereby certify that Charles Watson Esq., before whom the foregoing affidavit was taken was at the time of so doing a Justice of the Peace in and for the County aforesaid, duly commissioned and sworn, and that his signature thereunto subscribed is genuine. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Seal of Seneca County Court this 8 th day of February 1851.
Loring Andrews, Clerk

State of New York, Herkimer County 3 ds .
On this Fourteenth day of June A. D. 1851. personally appeared in open Court, before the County Court of the County of Herkimer in the State of New York now sitting, Dennis Kooman or Kooman a resident of the town of Columbia, and County and State aforesaid, aged Eighty one 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 7 th 1832; or to obtain the benefit of some act that may be passed for his relief.
That on or about the fourteenth day of August in the year one thousand Seven hundred and Eighty and which he this declarant was living with his father Dennis Kooman at a place then called Koomans land in the County of Schoharie in said State, and at what was then called the Rappier Fort on the Schoharie Creek or river, he this declarant was captured by a party of Indians under the too celebrated Seneca Chief and carried as a prisoner with other persons captured and taken prisoners at the same time to Fort Niagara then in possession of the British forces and from thence this declarant was taken with other prisoners to Montreal where he was detained as a prisoner until the following year Seventeen hundred and Eighty one when he with others were exchanged and permitted to return home. That the whole term of his absence from home or the place that was his former home and detention as a prisoner as above stated was about one year.
That this declarants father Dennis Kooman was at the time of the above capture a Captain

of the Militia and commanded at the said Upper Fort, that declarants said father and his mother Mary Vrooman and declarants brother Peter Vrooman were all killed by the Indians at the time of this declarants being captured as above stated.
That Peter Vrooman an uncle of this declarant was a Militia Colonel and commanded at the Middle Fort so called.
That Ephraim Vrooman and his two sons Isaac E. Vrooman and Bartholemew Vrooman, John Vrooman, and his son Martin Vrooman, this declarant and his two brothers John Vrooman and Barney Vrooman, were exchanged at the same time and left Montreal together & returned to Schoharie. All the above named persons were taken prisoners by the Indians at the same time this declarant was and came with this declarant during the time he was a prisoner in Canada and that to the best of this declarants knowledge and information all the above named Vroomans are now dead except Isaac E. Vrooman, but he heard of Bartholemew Vrooman about three years ago and he was then living some where in the western part of this state.
That at the time when declarant was taken prisoner as aforesaid and his said father, mother and brother was killed, all his said fathers personal property was destroyed or carried away by the enemy, houses and barns burned up and crops destroyed. That declarant was detained at and near Montreal as prisoner of war and had provisions issued to him with the other prisoners and that some of the prisoners of war, who were with this declarant were a part of the time at Montreal enlisted in the British Service and

remained in Canada and did not return with with this declarant -
That after declarant returned from Canada he lived with his family connections and lived with them and at Posenans land until he was twenty one years old, from there he moved to Sharon in Schoharie County and lived there about fifteen years, from there he went to Warren in Herkimer County now, where he lived about one year, and then returned to Sharon again where he lived about twelve years and from there he removed to the town of Constantia now Oswego County where he lived about nine years, and then he moved to Columbia Herkimer County where he now lives, and has lived there and at Constantia with his children upwards of twenty two years and he cannot more definitely give the times of his said several residences owing to his age and in- firmities.
That he has no documentary evidence, and that he knows of no person except Josiah B. Posenan whose affidavit is hereto annexed, whose testimony he can procure, who can testify to or by which he can prove the facts stated in the foregoing declaration.
He hereby relinquishes every claim what- ever to a pension or annuity except the present, and declares that his name is not on any pension roll of the agency of any state or Territory in the United States.
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid in open Court }
R. S. Clark Dep. Clerk
J. W. J. Clark

State of New-York
Herkimer County
We Mather C. Brown residing in the town of Columbia, in the said County and Josiah Tilden residing in the town of Warren in said County hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with Samuel Woodman who has sworn and subscribed to the above declaration; that we believe him to be eighty one years of age; that he is respected and beloved in the neighborhood where he resides to have been taken prisoner during the Revolutionary and carried into Canada by the enemy and there detained; and that we concur in that opinion.
Sworn & subscribed to day & year aforesaid in open Court
Mather C. Brown Josiah Tilden
N. S. Clark Clerk
I was in the town of Schoharie in the County of Schoharie in the year Sixteen hundred and Sixty nine or Seventeen hundred and Seventy.
I have no record of my age and have never seen one
When taken prisoner I was living in the now County of Schoharie
I have lived in Schoharie County Herkimer and Otsego as stated in my declaration since the war.

I now live in the town of Columbia Herkimer County.
I was at a place called Koomans land in the County of Schoharie.
My father Francis Kooman was a Captain of the Militia at the time I was taken prisoner, Peter Koo- man was a Colonel of Militia, there was a Captain Jacob Snyder commanded at the lower Fort.
I know Josiah Tilder & Matthew C. Browne who will testify as to my truth and their belief of my having been a prisoner during the revolution- ary war. I also know Philip Hauer John Golden, William C. Crain who also know me and would testify to the same facts.
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, after investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named applicant was a revolutionary, that is, that he was taken a prisoner during the revolutionary war by the public enemy and served and was detained as he states. And the said Court does further certify that it appears to them that Matthew C. Browne who signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman residing in the town of Columbia and County of Herkimer and that Josiah

Tilden is a credible person; and that their statement is entitled to credit.
I, Standard Borne Clerk of the County Court at the County of ... do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter as to application of Dennis Broome for a pension
In testimony whereof I have here- unto set my hand and seal at ... the 14 th day of June 1905
Standard Borne Clerk By R. D. Clark Deputy

Rev. and 1812 Wars Section AWF/eel
August 16, 1929
Eva J. Sommers Lock Drawer #106 St. Johnsville, New York
Dear Madam:
I advise you from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim, R.10974, it appears that Teunis (Tunis) Vrooman (Vroman), the son of Tunis Vrooman, was born in 1769, or 1770, in Schoharie, Schoharie County, New York.
He applied for pension June 14, 1851, at that time a resident of Columbia, Herkimer County, New York, and stated that in August, 1780, he was living with his father in the "Upper Fort" in Schoharie County, New York, and was taken prisoner by a party of Tories and Indians commanded by Joseph Brant, was carried to Fort Niagara, later to Montreal, Canada, and held in jail there more than a year when exchanged.
The claim was not allowed because when he was taken prisoner he was not in the service of the United States.
He stated that his father was a Captain of Militia and commanded at the Upper Fort, and that his father,

mother (Mary), and brother, Peter, were killed at the time he was taken prisoner, and all their property was destroyed, also that his brothers, John and Barney, were taken prisoners and exchanged at the same time with him.
The above noted is the history of the only soldier named Tunis Vrooman, all spellings searched, found on the Revolutionary War records of this bureau.
It does not appear that Barney Vrooman ever applied for pension.
In order to identify the particular record of a John Vrooman, who might be the subject of your inquiry, some of the following data pertaining to him is essential: approximate dates of birth and death, places of residence at enlistment and after service and given name of widow.
Very truly yours,
EARL D. CHURCH Commissioner.

1929-Aug. 16- Hish to Eva J. Sommers area.
Acts of July 14, 1862, and March 3, 1873.
REJECTED
10.9 th P. O. Travis Thompson
Service: _____
Enlisted: _____, 18 .
Discharged: _____, 18 .
Application filed: _____, 18 .
Alleges: _____
Re-enlisted: _____
Attorney: _____
P. O. _____
_____ Recognized. _____ Contract.
_____ Cert. of Dis. Searched for _____, 18 .

St. Johnsville, N. Y.
May 23, 1929
Lock Drawer #106
Pension Department, Washington, D. C.
Gentlemen:
I would like to know if any of the sons, namely, John, Barney - none and only Tunis, of Tunis Vrooman were ever granted pensions, and if so if you have and can advise me the dates of their birth, deaths and to whom they were married. I am particularly interested in obtaining data relative to Barney Vrooman.
Tunis Vrooman served during the war of the Revolution as Captain of the Home Guards or Associate Exempts, and had command of the Upper Fourth in Schoharie County, New York.
Thanking you in advance for any information which you may be able to give me, I remain
Yours very truly,
Eva G. Summers.

No 38.210
Francis Vrooman
NY. 11"
Act 7 th June 1832
Rejected
To N. S. Benton Oct 9/51 " B. F. Sweet Feb 17/58
10974

Providence Office, Feb: 17 th 1858.
Sir:
In reply to your letter of the 19 th Ultimo, You are informed that Mr. Brann has never prosecuted the claim of Francis Brooman for a pension. On the 19 th of Oct: 1851. Mr. B. the claim of Brooman, was rejected for the reason that he was not in the service of the United States when captured by the Proven- sals. N. S. Benton, Esq: was informed of such rejection & the cause thereof. Since such rejection no correspondence has been had
P. F. Sweet, Esq:, Ondawa re ville, Herkimer Co., N. Y.

October 9. 1851
H. S. Benton, Esquire. Rockton - Herkimer Co. N.Y.
Sir:- The application of Dennis Vrooman for a pension under the Act of 7 th June, 1832, has been examined & filed, but no allowance can be made, inasmuch as the applicant was not in the service of the Government or State, at the time he was cap- tured by the Indians. The papers will remain here subject to your order, whenever you shall think fit to apply to Congress for relief.
Truly
John Wilson
Copy
Aug. 14 1929
awt.

Sir Sir, By the request of Janice Vrooman I write these few lines to inform you that his health is quite good, and he is very anxious to hear what has been done respecting his Pension he has employ'd Josiah Tilden to get the pension for him, Tilden employ'd A. H. Brain Attorney and Counselor at Law to transact the business for said Tilden, This Vrooman has sent quite a number of times to said Brain to know what he has done about the pension and he does not give them any satisfaction Respecting the Pension and it is the request of Mr. Vrooman that you write the full particulars what has been done Respecting the Pension, the old Gentleman has been quite out of health, but at present his health is quite good and is capable of doing business at present therefore he is anxious to know what has been done about the Pension You will do him a kindness in so doing Your Obedient Servant B. F. Sweet
Direct yours B. F. Sweet Jordanville Herkimer Co.
N.Y.
January 19 th 1858

Rockton / late Little Falls / June 18 th 1851
J. E. Heath Esqr. Commr. Pensions
Sir
I hand you inclosed an application by Jeremiah Vrooman for a Revolutionary Pension. It seems from the papers that the applicant was taken prisoner during the war of the Revolutionary War, carried to Canada and there detained as a prisoner of war more than one year and was then exchanged as a prisoner of war and allowed to return home. Whether his case comes within any of the acts of Congress is for your Department to determine, but I suppose the case is within the spirit and equity of the Pension Laws. He was made as much subservient to the public interests as though he had been a regular soldier in the service of the United States at the time. It is the intention of the applicant

friends, I believe, to present the case to the consideration of Congress in the event of the rejection of the claim at the Pension office, I have therefore to request, the papers may be preserved in your office or returned to me in case of such rejection.
It seems to me the case is covered by the joint resolution of July 16 th 1832 - It certainly would have been so had the applicant been in service but one day and then taken and detained as prisoner of war. However I don't desire to argue this question to you on paper at this time - I suppose the applicant might, by being at great expense, procure more evidence on the subject, but this I presume you will not deem needful because the facts stated are corroborated by the traditional history of the times - I am respectfully
Your abt Servt N. J. Norton