Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 18,272, Benning Wentworth, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Mass.
Wentworth Benning
S. 18,272
carded
CONTENTS

Ohio. 13. 492.
Benning Wentworth of Chillicothe. in the State of Ohio. who was a Re Drum me the C o commanded by Captain Wentworth of the Reg t commanded by _____ in the Warre. time for two years. Mass.
21 mos. No. - 72. 00 3 do Summer. 11. 00 24  81.
Inscribed on the Roll of Ohio at the rate of 81. Dollars 00. Cents per annum, to commence on the 14th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 27. day of July. 1833 and sent to Hon W. Creighton. Chillicothe Ohio.
Arrears to the 14th of March. 1833, 162. 00 Pens-ant. allowance ending 4. Sept 33, 40. 50
$202.50
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by Wm. H. Palmer Clerk, Book E Vol. 8. Page 28.

Declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress, passed June 7 th 1832. —
State of Ohio } Ross County } ss On this Sixteenth day of October 1832 personally appeared in open court, before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, now sitting, Bensing Wentworth, a resident of Huntington Township in the County of Ross & State of Ohio, aged sixty nine 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. —
From the information from his Parents, and as also appears of Record in the town of Kittery, County of York  now State of Maine, in the office of the Township Clerk of said Town, he was born in said Town, in the month of Oct r 1763 — and remove to Cape Elizabeth, in said State where he resided when Portland was Burned, his Father, John Wentworth was ap- pointed a Captain of Militia in the spring of 1776 in the Revolutionary War, It was ordered to march to Dorchester, in Massachusetts; there  he  deposed enlisted in the Company commanded by  in the Company commanded by  his father  his father ; and was attached to Col d Francis Reg t commanded by Gen l Heath; having remained there a short time he was marched with his father's Company, to Tienderoga; in the State of New York — and joined Col d Willards Reg t — about Aug t 1776, and were stationed in a fort called Mount Hope, until sometime in Dec r 1776, when he was discharged and returned home having been in the service about 7 or 8 months; the Commanding Gen l of the army at this place was Gen l Gates — In the spring of 1777 he again entered the service as a drafted Militia man of the United States in the Company commanded again by  his father  his father , who was still a Captain of Militia; and was stationed at Fort Hancock, at the mouth of Portland harbor (then Falmouth). Col d Peter Noice was commandant; he remained there about 8 months and was discharged, & returned home; In the spring of the year 1778 he again entered the  as a drafted service of the United States in the  Militia , man from Cape Elizabeth, (then in Massachusetts), as a soldier in the Company commanded by his Father, John Wentworth as Capt: Lt Christopher Graves — and was marched to Prospect Hill, near Cambridge, Massachusetts; and was

attached to Col t Gervishes reg t to guard prisoners taken from Burgoyne's Army; where he remained on duty about nine months, part of the time as a common soldier, and the remainder as a drummer, when he was discharged and returned home; having been in the service of the United States in the Revolutionary War, altogether about two years - he resided at Cape Elizabeth, Kittery and Freeport, in Maine from the close of the War till the fall of the year 1816 when he removed to Ross County, Ohio where he now lives, that his discharges were all lost or destroyed and he cannot now produce any of them - Shortly after he left the service, he has no documentary evidence of any of the aforesaid facts, and knows of no person whose testimony he can procure, who can testify to any of his services - 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 in Open Court this 16 th Oct r 1832.
Benning Wentworth
Humphrey Fullerton Clerk
We Thomas Scott a Clergyman residing in Chillicothe, in the County of Ross and state of Ohio, and Isaac Bradford of Huntington Township in said County, do hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with Benning Wentworth, who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be 69 years of age, or thereabout; 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, and believe him to be a man of truth -
Sworn to and Subscribed in Open Court this 16 th Oct r 1832
Thomas Scott
Isaac Bradford
Humphrey Fullerton Clerk

Interrogatories Propounded by the Court to the said Benning Wentworth on his Oath in Open Court, and his answers to the same.
1. First. When and in what year were you born? Ans. In Hitting Township York County State of Maine the 2 nd Oct r 1763
2. Have you any record of your age, if so, where is it? Ans. I have a record of my age which is here enclosed -
3. Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary War; & where do you now live -
Ans. In Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland County in State of Maine Since Revolutionary War I lived in Free Port in Maine, until 1816, when I removed to Pott County Ohio, where I now live
4. Did you ever receive a discharge, if so when is it - I never did - to my recollection, if I did I can't tell what has become of it.
5. Did you ever receive a commission of so by whom was it signed - Ans. Never rec d any in the Revolutionary War
6. Did you ever receive a discharge? Ans. NO - not to my recollection, if I did it has been lost by time or accident.
Examined & settled Benning Wentworth Sworn to and Subscribed in Open Court this 17 Oct r 1832 Humphrey Fullerton Clerk

In the matter of Bunning Wentworth for a pension the court do hereby declare their opinions after the investigation of the matter and 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 Thomas Vatt who signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman resident in Chillicothe in the county of Ross and that Isaac Bradford who has also signed the same is a resident of Huntington Township in the county of Ross and is a credible person and that their statement is entitled to credit.
The State of Ohio
Ross County ss } I Humphrey Fullerton Clerk of the court of Common Pleas in and for the county aforesaid do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Bunning Wentworth for a pension
In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this day of 11 th day of December 1832 & of the State the 31 st (Humphrey Fullerton Clerk)
Pension
Bunning Wentworth
Res: Col. O.

Benning Wentworth Nov. 2. 1763 Phoebe Wentworth Decemr. 11. 1771
Benning Wentworth & Phoebe Wentworth Was
MARRIED
CHILDREN BORN.
I Andrew Joseph Wentworth Decemr. 10. 1792 II Sally B. Wentworth Decemr. 3. 1794 III John Wentworth Febt. 27. 1797 IV Benjamin S. Wentworth June 2. 1799 V Mary H. Wentworth Febt. 12. 1802 VI Phoebe Jordan Wentworth April 2. 1804 VII Wanniah Jordan Wentworth June 2. 1807 - & died Jan'y 15. 1808 VIII Benning Wentworth June 17. 1809 and deceased Decemr. 3rd 1811 IX Cassan Hooper Wentworth Sept. 3rd 1812 X Abigail D. Wentworth Sept. 18. 1814

INVALID.
File No. 18272
Bennings Westwood
Summer Rev War
Act: June 7 th 39
Index:—Vol. 1 , Page 401
[Arrangement of 1870.]

Benning Wentworth 18492
Adm - 2 years - three months thereof as drummer. —
88 44 72 11
Hon Mr Creighton Chillicothe Ohio

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims , of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Bennings Wentworth 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? [Blank]
IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? Yes
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
The exact period of his service as a drummer should be stated -
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? Yes
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 ?
Yes
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it ?
[Handwritten line]
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 has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility ?
Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper officer under his seal of office ?
[Handwritten line]
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 ?
[Handwritten line]
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 the 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.
†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 authenticated 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 end 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.

Declaration of Benning Wentworth of Huntington Township in the County of Ross and State of Ohio, Supplementary to a Declara- tion by him made before the Court of Common Pleas in and for said County, on the sixteenth day of Oct r 1832, in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7 th 1832 -
State of Ohio
Ross County } ss Be it known that on the twenty first day of May 1833. before me Peter Patterson a Justice of the Peace in and for the County aforesaid personally appeared the above named Benning Wentworth, and made oath in due form of law, that the actual service by him performed in the Army of the United States, in the Revolutionary War, was, in his first tour of service, in his Declaration in the year 1776 at least seven months; that the actual service performed by him on his second tour was at least eight months as stated in his Declaration; that the actual service by him performed in his third tour in the year 1778, as stated in his Declaration, was at least nine months, the last three months of which tour he served as a Drummer, from the best of his recollection; and in the company as stated in his Declaration making altogether at least two years actual service, for which he claims a pension under the act aforesaid — —
Benning Wentworth
Sworn to & subscribed before me
This 21 st day of May 1833 —
Peter Patterson J. Peace
The State of Ohio
Ross County ss
I Humphrey Fullerton Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for the County aforesaid do hereby certify that Peter Patterson Esqr before whom the foregoing declaration was sworn to was at the time & now is an acting justice of the peace in the County aforesaid duly commissioned & qualified
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the Seal of said Court this 21 st day of May AD 1833 & of this State the 31 st Humphrey Fullerton Clerk.