Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 11028, for Silas Maxon, Connecticut

SERVICE
NUMBER
Conn
Maxon, Silas
S 11028
carded
CONTENTS
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No. 565 New York Silas Maxon
Bennington in the State of New York who was a Serjt. in the Corp. commanded by Captain Palmer of the Regt. commanded by Col. Ely in the At. ★ Stand line for 9 M. Ser. 28 45 9 .. priv. 30 $75 Conn. ★
1823.23.1905 Records corrected &
Inscribed on the Roll of New York at the rate of $5 Dollars — Cents per annum, to commence on the 14th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 21 day of Sep. 1833 — and Sutto a. P. Hannan Berlin
Arrears to the 14th of Sep. 33 $187.30 Semi-ant. allowance ending 4 Mar. 34 37.50 $225.00
{ Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by G. Gillette Clerk, Book 6 . Vol. 1 , Page 69 .

In the Matter of { Niles Mason } Application for a Pension
14552
v.
Adm'd
9 mo. Sergt.
9 mo. priv
$75

Declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress of June 7, 1832.
Form for State Troops, &c.
Printed & Sold by Kemble & Hooper, 8 State-st. Troy, N.Y.
State of New York, } 88. County of Rensselaer
On this Ninth — day of August 1832 personally appeared in open Court, before the Judge of  the Court of  Henry Mays County, now sitting, Heas Master — a resident of Peterborough / county of Rensselaer and State of New York, aged Eighty two 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 Year 1776 he resided in the Town of Westerly in the State of Rhode Island. That the first of March of that Year, he enlisted in the Connecticut State troops for Nine Months under Major Oliver Smith who served as a Captain in Colonel Ely's Regiment his Lieutenant was John Beecher, he thinks they were stationed at Stonington point during their enlistment when they built a Fort, and a since, & he remained there until his term of enlistment expired when he was discharged on the first of December of the same Year. That in the Year 1777 on the first of March he again enlisted in the Connecticut State troops into the same Regiment under Captain Nathan Palmer. That he enlisted and served for Nine Months as an orderly sergeant. That his Lieutenant was a man by the name of Chapman & his Ensign by the name of Griswold. He was stationed at Stonington point until about September, when he was engaged in General Spencer's expedition against Rhode Island and marched to a place then called Fogland ferry. His regiment was stationed from Stonington point to Serbrook. After General Spencer gave up his expedition he (his Lieutenant) with his troops to Stonington, about the time they heard of Burgoyne's surrender they were called with their Regiment to Norwalk to join Colonel Webb's Continental Regiment. His Regiment was then for called together at New London and he (his Lieutenant) having been a Sailsman was ordered on board the armed State sloop Schuyler which then lying at New London to take her to Norwalk. It was said the expedition was to go on to Long Island to take a party of about one hundred of the enemy and destroy their forage and horses. The said Sloop Schuyler as soon as her crew was taken and she (his

Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress of June 7, 1800.
The expedition was to go on to Long Island to take a party of about one hundred of the enemy and destroy their forage and horses. The said Sloop Schuyler and her crew was taken and he (the deponent) with three others escaped by swimming ashore and after great suffering in frozen clothes on Long Island near a place called Huntington they escaped after four days and three nights of constant exertion. This was about the first of December 1777 and about the 8 th of the same month he arrived at home having been discharged after a faithful performance of his said last term of enlistment. That he has no documentary evidence of his services and that he knows of no person whom testimony he can procure who can testify to his services except what is herein contained.

To the several Interrogatories, put by the court he answers
 1. He was born in the Town of Westly in the State of Rhode Island in the Year 1750  2. He expects there is a record of his age in the Town Clerk's office in the said Town of Westly -  3. He resided in said Town of Westly when he entered the service and continued so to reside till 1778 when he removed to where he now lives in the Town of Petersburg County of Penn. Mear & State of New York where he has since resided -  4. He entered the service & served as above stated  5. As this interrogatory refers to the above statement  6. He never received a written discharge  7. He is known in his present neighbourhood to Gen. Aaron 
Wittington Esq. B.S. Lieutenant Esq. who can testify as to his character for veracity and his belief of his services as a soldier of the Revolution - He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity except the provision she declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State  From to subscribe the Deed & seal aforesaid Archibald Bull Clerk
Silas Mason
State of New York
Rensselaer County ss
Caleb Hakes of Petersburg in the State last aforesaid being duly sworn deposes and says that he was well acquainted with the above named Silas Mason during the revolutionary war that he was in the same company & served with him in 1776 & and also in 1777, that during this last year he the said Silas acted as an orderly sergeant & that he knows he the said Silas enlisted as he has above stated & served two terms of Nine Months each and he believes the whole of the above statement to be true - and further says not -
Caleb Hakes
Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid
Archibald Bull Clerk
I hereby Certify that the general reputation of Caleb Hakes character for truth and veracity is good
Archibald Bull

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State, or (if any,) only on that of the agency of the State of
Sworn to, and subscribed, the day and year aforesaid.
We, William Dattileo a Clergyman, residing in the town of Darlin and Alonzo G. Hammond residing in town of Darlin hereby certify that we are acquainted with Silas Mason who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be Eighty 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.
Archibald Bull Clerk
Wm. J. Potter A. G. Hammond
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 William Dattileo who has signed the preceding certificate, is a Clergyman, resident in the town of Darlin and that Rev. Alonzo G. Hammond who has also signed the same, is a resident in the town of Petersburgh & Darlin and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
I, Archibald Bull Clerk of the Court of  Stacy Mayers Court do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Silas Mason for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this ninth day of August 1832.
Archibald Bull Clerk

14652
Silas Maxon Rensselaer county New York
adm a
16 th Ob.
P 377 \begin{matrix} 150 \\ 3750 \\ \hline 18750 \end{matrix}
A. G. Hammond Berlin New York

BRIEF in the case of  Silas Maron  of  Peru  in the State of  New York  (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? court  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? 82  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. As a Gen.     Enlisted In 1776 9 Private Maj Smith, Col Ely   do 1777 9 ordnly ser Capt Palmer,  
 5. In what battles was he engaged?  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Westerly, Rhode Island  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Living witnesses and tradition  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? not corrected as required 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
J. W. Bradford Examining Clerk.

MDG
July 31, 1925.
Mrs. Helen M. Turner 91 Park Street Malone, New York.
Madam:
I have to advise you, that from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim S-11028, it appears that Silas Maxson, who was pensioned as Maxon, was born in Westerly, Rhode Island in 1750.
While residing there he enlisted March 1, 1776 and served nine months as a private in Major Oliver Smith's Company, Colonel Ely's Connecticut Regiment.
He enlisted March 1, 1777 and served nine months as Orderly Sergeant in Captain Nathan Palmer's Company, Colonel Ely's Connecticut Regiment.
He was allowed pension on his application executed August 9, 1932 while residing in Petersburg, Rensselaer County, New York.
There is no family data on file.
Respectfully,
WINFIELD SCOTT Commissioner.

Rev War
11028 INVALID.
1925 July 31. Heir to Mrs. Helen M. Kurder. m. 29.
File No. 11028
Silas Moxon Sergt. Rev War
Act: June 7 th 1832
Index:—Vol. 2 , Page 288
[Arrangement of 1870.]

91 Park St. Malone, N.Y. June 6-1925-
U.S. Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, D.C. Dept. Rev. War Records -
Dear Sir,
Will you please send me a copy of the Pension Application of Silas Maxson (Maxon) who was my great-great-grandfather -
He was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, in 1780 - Was a resident of that State during the Revolution, but later removed to Petersburg, N.Y. (Rensselaer County).
Was granted a pension about 1732-33 -
Yours truly,
(Miss) Helen M. Turner

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Silas Maxon of Rensselaer county New York 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? yes 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?
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? No — * Amendment
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? all answered
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.