Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 16932, for Joseph Mann, Connecticut

SERVICE
NUMBER
bonn
Mann, Joseph
S16932
banded
CONTENTS

Connecticut N o 28,236
Joseph Mann
of Hebron in the State of Connecticut who was a private in the Company commanded by Captain Phelps of the Regt. commanded by Col. _____ in the Connecticut line for 7. mo.
Inscribed on the Roll of Connecticut at the rate of 23 Dollars 33 Cents per annum, to commence on the 14th day of March, 1834.
Certificate of Pension issued the 19 th day of April 1834 and Judge A. Hendee, Hebron Ct.
Arrears to the 14th of Mar. 1834. 69.99 Semi-ant. allowance ending 4 th Sep. " 11.66 $ 81.65
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by R. Rundell Clerk, Book 62 Vol. _____ Page 27

27. 4. 71. Joseph Manns Application.
Return to Abner Hende Hebron Ct.

State of Connecticut, TOLLAND COUNTY, SS. HEBRON PROBATE DISTRICT.
On this Ninth day of September A. D. 1833, personally appeared in open court before Abner Hendee, Esq. Judge of the Court of Probate, for the District of Hebron, now sitting, Joseph Mann a resident of Hebron in the County of Tolland and State of Connecticut, aged 73 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, 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as herein stated.
That in the month of February 1779 he volunteered for a tour of duty of four months in the vicinity of New York in a Company commanded by Capt Solomon Phelps and marched through Hartford to the vicinity of New York & remained until our term had nearly expired when we were marched to Sharon where we remained a short time & were marched to  there  there there discharged having served four months as a private
In July 1780 he was drafted for a tour of duty of three months at New London in a Company commanded by Stephen Palmer Capt & Asaph Trumbull Lieut & was marched to New London where we remained & kept guard until our term of three months had expired when we were discharged having served three months as a private

He has no documentary evidence to show his service. He furnishes the deposition of Andrew Mannoy who served with him in 1780 — He knows of no one who served in 1779 except Silas Crowell of Hebron & he was taken with apoplectic fit in July 1832 from which he has not yet recovered sufficiently to give a deposition or this application would have been forwarded before. He has waited in hopes of his recovery to enable him to obtain the benefit of said Crowell's testimony but he has lost his speech entirely.
State of Conn. Tolland County ss Hebron Probate Court
Personally appeared in open Court before Abner Hildreth Esq. Judge of the Court of Probate for Hebron District Joseph Mann & made oath that in his statement of his service in July 1780 he finds he has mistaken the year & upon the examination of the records at Hartford he believes that he performed the same commencing in July 1779 & served three months. His Colonel's name was Experience Storrs & he furnishes the certificate of the Comptroller which is all the documentary evidence he can procure of his service. — In his service for four months in 1779 he does not recollect that he was attached to any Regt. but was employed in guarding prisoners while at Sharon & in the vicinity of New Britain. He was employed in scouting the country to protect it from the enemy.
Joseph Mann
This 7th day of April 1834
Cyrus Mann Clerk

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, and declare that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State.
He answers to the interrogatories propounded by order of the War Department, as follows:
1. Where, and in what year were you born? He was born in Hebron AD 1760
2. Have you any record of your age, and if so, where is it? He has no record of his age
3. Where were you living when called into service, where have you lived since the revolutionary war, and where do you now live? He lived in Hebron when called into service, has lived there since the Revolutionary war, and now lives there
4. How were you called into service? Were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? and if a substitute, for whom? in 1779 he volunteered in 1779 he enlisted was drafted
5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers who were with the troops where you served, such Continental and Militia Regiment as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your service? He has stated the names of his officers & the general circumstances of his as well as his own recollect.

6. Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so by whom was it given, and what has become of it?
He does not recollect that he ever had a written discharge if he had he has lost 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?
He is known to the Alphus Geer & Charles Post of Hebron who can testify as to his character for veracity & their belief of his services as a soldier of the Revolution.
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
Joseph Mann
We, Alpheus Geer a clergyman residing in the town of Hebron in the County of Tolland, and Charles Post residing in s d Hebron hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with Joseph Mann who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be 73 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.
Alpheus Geer Charles Post
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 the Rev. Alpheus Geer who has signed the preceding Certificate, is a Clergyman resident in the town of Hebron and that Charles Post who has also signed the same, is a resident in the town of Hebron and is a creditable person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
I, Cyrus Mann, clerk of the Court of Probate for the District of Hebron, do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of Joseph Mann for a Pension. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of Office, this 9 th day of September A. D. 1833.
Cyrus Mann Clerk.
Joseph Mann

I Andrew Mann of Hebron in Tolland County & State of Connecticut aged 78 years do testify & say that in July 1779 I was drafted for a term of duty at New London of three months in a Company commanded by Capt Stephen Palmer & Lieut Asaph Greenbull & were marched to New London & there stationed & kept guard until our term had expired when we were discharged & I well remember that Joseph Mann was a private in the same company with me & was discharged at the same time having served three months as a private. The word 79 was written on an erasure and attested afterwards. Andrew Mann
State of Connecticut Tolland County ss Hebron Probate District
Personally appeared in open Court before Abner Hendee Esq Judge of the Court of Probate for said District Andrew Mann Esq signer of the foregoing affidavit & made oath that the same contains the truth & nothing but the truth & that this Court certifies that the said Andrew Mann Esq is a man of truth & that his statement is entitled to credit. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of office this 9 th Day of September AD 1833
Cyrus Mann Clerk

16932 INVALID.
1909 Dec. 15. Hist from catalogue to F. C. Bissell - letter in file 16,934 Andrew Mann.
File No. 16,932
Joseph Mann Pr. Rev. War
Act: Same 7" 32
Index:—Vol. 1 , Page 240
[Arrangement of 1870.]

Joseph Mann
7 th January 23. 33,
Athdee Hebron

WAR DEPARTMENT,
Pension Office,
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 subjjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed. The notes and the regulations will shew 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.
A Statement, shewing the Service of
Joseph Adams
   Period when the service was rendered. Duration of the claimant's service. Rank of the claimant. Names and rank of the Field officers under whom he served. Age at present, and place of abode when he entered the service. Proof by which the declaration is supported.   Years. Months. Days.              
I am, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
J. L. EDWARDS,
Commissioner of Pensions.

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. 4. 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 before a Court of Record of the County where such applicant resides. And every Court having by 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 } ss. County of }
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 provision 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 he 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 (s) 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 day and year 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 days 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 of _____ for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal 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, (1) 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
The regiments in which claimant served should be stated in order that services may be traced. If this cannot be done, it should be shown from the documents in actual service and in what period.

alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person will be indispensable 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 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) interrogatories 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?  4. How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? And if a substitute, for whom?  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 inconvenience 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 traditional 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 inquiry 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 duties, 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, 1832; 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 he served; otherwise a satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had. Every claimant must state, 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. 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 _____; 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 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 fix his seal, and if it has no 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.
[k] The notes from [a] to [j] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops. The proof required by rule in note [j] applies to continental troops only.
[l] This traditional evidence is indispensable in militia cases.
[m] If a witness cannot be found, the declarant must state the fact.
[n] The answers to the interrogatories must all be written, and sent to the War Department, with the declaration.
in the State Archives at Hartford that the Captains were