Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 21,785, for Richard Laiten, Massachusetts

SERVICE
WAVE
Laiten, Richard
NUMBER _____
R. 21. 785
CONTENTS

Richard S. Lyman
Seattle
14031

State of Maine.
LINCOLN, ss—I NATHANIEL COFFIN, Clerk of all the Judicial Courts within and for the County of Lincoln, do hereby certify that the annexed paper, signed by the Judge and attested by the Clerk, contains the original proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Court of Common Pleas , at a special session thereof holden at Wiscasset in said county, by the Hon. Prentiss Mellen one of the Judges of said Court on the eighteenth day of September A. D. 1832, in the matter of the application of Richard Sails for a Pension. IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of said Court this sixth day of October A. D. 1832.
Nathl. Coffin CLERK.

DECLARATION.
In order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of the 7th June, 1832.
STATE OF MAINE, } ss. COUNTY OF LINCOLN, }
ON this eighteenth day of September 1832 personally appeared in open Court, before Prentiss Mellen Chief Justice of the Court of Supreme Judicial Court now sitting, Richard Lavelle a resident of New Castle in the County of Lincoln and State of Maine, aged
eighty three 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 7th, 1832. That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as herein stated, as follows, to-wit - That in the first
of January 1776 enlisted at New Castle aforesaid in Capt John Lemont's company for a tour at Cambridge, near Boston to relieve the troops that were then going into the service - went to Boston were stationed at Cambridge near the colleges where they remained until the last of April following, being four months & then were discharged verbally - does not remember by whom discharged but recollect they all had liberty to go home.
In the year 1777 enlisted at New Castle aforesaid into Capt Joseph Jones company to go to Rhode Island - the time does not recollect, but thinks it was four months , - marched to Boston, thence to Providence, thence to Tiverton, where they were stationed to prevent the enemy from coming off the Island - were stationed at Fogland's Ferry & Howland's Ferry - served the time out & was verbally discharged by the Captain.
In the Spring of 1779 enlisted at New Castle aforesaid into Capt Archibald McAlister's company in the expedition to Penobscot, called the Bayadue expedition - does not remember whether the enlistment was for a particular time or for the expedition - went & served the expedition through, & was discharged on their return (at George's River) at the end of it being four  four or five months, verbally by Genl. Macdowall.
And to the interrogatories propounded under the instructions of the War Department he answers, that he was born in Rowley, in Massachusetts in 1749 - has no recollection of his age - lived in said New Castle when called into service, lived there since the Revolution any war, & now lives there - thinks he was drafted on the Bayadue expedition - in the remaining services, he enlisted - Any of his neighbors will testify as to his character for veracity & their belief of his Revolutionary services; but particularly refers to Thomas Harley & Matthew Harley, both of said New Castle.
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State.
Sworn to, and subscribed, the day and year aforesaid.
Richard Lavelle Before Prentiss Mellen Chief Justice of said Court

WE, Thomas Harley residing in the Newcastle hereby certify, that we and Matthew Harley residing in the Newcastle who has subscribed and sworn are well acquainted with Richard Seighton to the above declaration; that we believe him to be eighty three 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. Matthew Harley Thomas Harley
State of Maine.
LINCOLN, ss....Sworn and subscribed this eighteenth day of September .
A. D. 1832.
Before me, Isaac Lunt. Pense
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 Thomas Harley who has signed the preceding certificate, is a resident in the Newcastle and that Matthew Harley who has also signed the same is a resident in the Newcastle and are credible persons, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
Printers: Helen C. Justice of said Court Attest Nathl Coffin Clerk
State of Maine.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
LINCOLN, ss....I NATHANIEL COFFIN, Clerk of all the Judicial Courts within and for the County of Lincoln, do hereby certify that Isaac Bailey Esq. whose name is affixed to the above certificate, as a Justice of the Peace is legally commissioned and duly qualified to act as such, and that the name so affixed is his own proper signature, to me well known.
IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Court of Common Pleas this Eighteenth day of September A. D. 1832
Nathl Coffin CLERK.
Richard Seiton

Rev
No. 21.785
, Ex'r.
OLD WAR INVALID.
Richard Laiton, of Maine P. O. Pri, Capt Lemont Mass troops
Service :
REJECTED
Enlisted : _____ , 18 .
Discharged : _____ , 18 .
Application filed : _____ , 18 .
Alleges : _____
Re-enlisted : _____
Attorney : _____
P. O. _____
333

16031
Richard Laiten
N. Coffin Esq. Muscatel Maine

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 Milton 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? 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 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? No clergyman yet to others  XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? no  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? yes   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? yes  Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct? yes    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? yes  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 except 2 d 
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.
Application should be made to the Secy of the State of Miss for evidence of the claimants service

Rich d Laitem.
of me Capt Lement Maly truck
June 6 1836
Rev Tension
Mr Bailey
24

24 Congress
1 Session
Congress of the United States In the House of Representatives
June 6th 1836
On motion of Mr Bailey.
Resolved, That the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions be instructed to enquire into the expediency of granting a pension Richard Saiton, of New Castle, in the County of Lincoln, State of Maine, and that the accompanying documents relating to his revolutionary services be referred to the Committee.
Attest,
W. F. Franklin
Clerk.

I John Harley of Newcastle in the County of Sagadahoc State of Maine aged seventy nine years, on oath testify & say that I am now, & for a long time have been well acquainted with Richard Scitton of said Newcastle - we were brought up together from boys - he is now about eighty three years old. At the first of January 1776 said Scitton & myself enlisted at Newcastle into the Company of Captain Larnont to go to Boston - we enlisted together & travelled on foot together one hundred & seventy miles to Boston, where we were stationed at Cambridge near Boston - we were stationed about twenty rods from the Colleges - I cannot remember for what time we enlisted, but said Scitton & myself served four months in said Company, where we were discharged at Cambridge the last of April 1776. I will remember that said Scitton was discharged with myself & the rest of the Company, & that he returned home with me. —
During the revolutionary war, it was always said in our neighbourhood that said Scitton went as a soldier to Rhode Is- land, & I have no doubt but he did, he was absent from our neighbour- hood, & it was said by all that he had gone to Rhode Island, a soldier. -ing. —
In the year 1779. he was gone all summer, & I then understood he went as a soldier to Penobscot on the Bangobene expedition so called. —
I know from my own personal knowledge of his

Boston & Cambridge going to Rhode Island as I have before stated. Although I was not with at Rhode Island, and in the Bagaduce ex- -pedition, yet from what I heard at the time, & from what I have always understood ever since, I have no more doubt that he went to those places, than I have that he went to Boston & Cambridge with me.
John Harley
State of Maine Union, Oct. 8. 1852 — Personally appeared the above-named John Harley before me Jeremiah Bailey one of the justices of the Peace within & for the County of Lincoln aforesaid & after due examination & caution to testify & declare the whole truth, maketh oath to the truth of the foregoing deposition by him signed in my presence. The aforesaid deponent is a disinterested person of good credit in whose testimony confidence may be placed.
J. Bailey Justice of the Peace

State of Maine.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
LINCOLN, ss— I NATHANIEL COFFIN, Clerk of all the Judicial Courts within and for the County of Lincoln, do hereby certify that Saml Bailey Esq. whose name is affixed to the annexed paper, as a JUSTICE OF THE PEACE is legally commissioned and duly qualified to act as such, and that the name so affixed is his own proper signature, to me well known.
IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Court of Common Pleas this eighth day of October A. D. 1832.
Nathl Coffin CLERK.
[Faint vertical handwriting on the right edge, possibly bleed-through from the reverse side]

I Timothy Cunningham of Colycombe in the County of Lincoln State of Maine, aged seventy seven, on oath depone & say, that in former times I was acquainted with Richard Saiten of Newcastle in said County, and I believe him to be as much as eighty three years of age. I have seen his statement of services in the revolutionary war, and I can say, that I do not know any thing of his being at Cambridge, because from the time he states that he was there, it must have been just after I left there; recruits were then coming in daily. —
As to his service at Rhode Island it is all very true to my knowledge — he & myself were in the same Company (Capt. Jones) and served there four months. — I well recollect we were allowed four months pay, and that said Saiten went as a private soldier there & served the whole time in said Company — I have a distinct recollection of him —
As to the Bagaducee expedition to Penobscot, I have not now any distinct recollection of said Saiten, I have been trying to recollect my old comrades, but do not think I could speak with certainty about more than two or three — I cannot re- collect only now & then one. But I have no doubt but he was then served in that expedition, from what I have heard & from what has been told me —
Timothy Cunningham

State of Maine. in Lincoln Co. Sep. 29. 1832. Personally ap- peared Timothy Cunningham aforementioned before me Jeremiah Bailey Esq. one of the Justices of the Peace within & for the County of Lincoln, & after due examination & election to testify & declare the whole truth, affirmeth under the pains of penalty of perjury to the truth of the foregoing deposition by him subscribed in my presence. The aforesaid deponent is a disinterested person & of good credit, in whose testimony con- fidence may be placed -
J. Bailey Justice of the Peace -

State of Maine.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.
LINCOLN, ss— I NATHANIEL COFFIN, Clerk of all the Judicial Courts within and for the County of Lincoln, do hereby certify that Rev. Bailey Esq. whose name is affixed to the annexed paper, as a JUSTICE OF THE PEACE is legally commissioned and duly qualified to act as such, and that the name so affixed is his own proper signature, to me well known.
IN TESTIMONY whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Court of Common Pleas this sixth day of October A. D. 1832.
Nathl Coffin
CLERK.