Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 4,015, for Benjamin Suddoth, Virginia

SERVICE
NUMBER
Va. Sea Service
Suddoth, Benjamin or Suddath
S. 4015
Carded.
CONTENTS

Death date not on A.B. J.L.L.
25131 East Tennessee
Benjamin Suddoth Resides in the State of Tennessee who was a private in the com d commanded by Captain Mason of the reg t commanded by Col l ————— in the Shenandoah line for 1 year
Virginia Service. Records at. Mar 19 th
Enscribed on the Roll of East Tennessee at the rate of 40 Dollars — Cents per annum, to commence on the 4 th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 28 day of Nov 1833 and Nov 9 Shenandoah Present
Arrears to the 4 th of Sept 900 00 Semi-ant. allowance ending March 20 00
1120 00
{ Revolutionary Claim, Not June 7, 1832.
Recorded by Dan Boyd Clerk Book 8 Vol. 7 Page 61

State of Virginia } Circuit Court September Roan County } term 1832
On this 11 th day of September personally appeared in open court it being a court of Record before Charles G. Smith Judge of the Circuit Court of Law and Equity for the County of Roan and State aforesaid now sitting Benjamin Inddath a resident of the County of Roan aforesaid aged about 72 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 Jan y 7 th 1832 that he entered the service of the United States under the following names.
Officers to wit, Captain William Mason Lanna Kirbist or Lieutenant & when I was a Lieutenant, that he entered the service in Septem r 1860 that he resided in the district of Columbia Virginia when he entered the service, that he went as a volunteer, put in the place of William Sipeon, marched from said County to Colechester Town, thence to Manassas, then to Richmond, then to Fredericksburg, then cross roan oak to Hillsborough North Carolina, then to Guilford Court house, then cross the Yadkin river at the ford, then to Salisbury, Charlotte, then

Whereupon Redd at the Clinch hills, from thence to South Carolina about 25 miles this side of Charles town where he found the main army commanded by General Green & General Morgan remained there during the winter except when out on scouting parties, in the spring of the year Green army retreated from Cornwallis, went back to the same route  the way before described, that Cornwallis army overtook our army at the Yadkin river where we had some  some advantage, that he continued in service until the term of six months expired was kept in service about 2 months after his term of six months had expired, that he then was discharged by Capt. William Mason a foray, that he also saw a term of four months, under Col. West who commanded the regiment & Col. Benford a captain the captain's name not recollected marched from Loudoun county to to mouth of Hockley creek town, thence by the following route to Williamsburgh, then to Little York then found Washington army remained there during the siege of York, then we found the British prisoners back near the same road to Richmond they, then the Maryland troops took

the prison and was then discharged after serving four months, then on other town of about two months under lock. River or Rign reconstructed from Fredericksburg up and down the Potomac river, then served four months under captain Wilson Victory on a vessel by the name of Viper which was laden with flour for the support of the Americans on the Chesapeake Island was then taken prisoner by the British, was put in irons and carried to New York at that time it was in possession of the British, was then put on the British sloop of war Ann Friggit and was kept by the British until that he served in all upwards of seven months the war was over that he has no claim mental, and that it is out of his power to procure any living testimony of his services, that he is acquainted with the following persons, his neighbours and who believes he is a man of veracity and that he served as above stated, to wit Noah Swisher, James Bennett, Theodore Green, Michael Wooster, Richard John Brown etc etc 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 Benj & Ladd Sworn and subscribed to in open court the day and year aforesaid C. Lewis etc.

We Charles Galloway clergymen residing in the county of Roan and Alexander Duggin residing in the same county certify that we are well acquainted with Benjamin Suddeth who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be about seven or eight 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.  Given to and subscribed Charles Galloway in open court the day Alexander Duggin  each year above written  H. S. Purvis
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 Charles Galloway who has signed the foregoing certificate is a clergyman residing in the county of Roan and that Alexander Duggin who has also signed the same is a resident of the same county and is a respectable person and that their statement is entitled to credit.  Charles Galloway
Presiding Judge of the
I Mr Brown Clerk of the Circuit Court for Roan County do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said court in the matter of the application of Benjamin Suddeth for a pension. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal of office the 18th day of September 1832
Mr Brown Clerk His deputy Henry S. Purvis
11.258

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
BUREAU OF PENSIONS.
Washington, D. C., _____, 19_____
In reply to your request of _____, received _____ for a statement of the military history of Benj. Suddoth a soldier of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, you will find below the desired information as contained in his (or his widow's) application for pension on file in this Bureau.
   DATES OF ENLISTMENT OR APPOINTMENT. LENGTH OF SERVICE. RANK. OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED. STATE.   CAPTAIN. COLONEL.     Sept 1780 7 mos Pvt Wm Mason Va   1781 4 " West   ✓ 2 " Brig Gen Rign   ✓ 5 " Victory on ship "Trium"   captured by British & held until after war was over  
Battles engaged in, Yackaw River, Siege of York Residence of soldier at enlistment, Alexandria Fairfax Co. Va. Date of application for pension, Sept. 11, 1832. His cl. was at Residence at date of application, Roane Co. Tenn. Age at date of application, 72
Remarks: No family data
Respectfully,
Commissioner.

I certify that William Brown is Clerk of the Circuit Court of Roan County & Henry S. Purvis is his deputy & that the signature of the said Henry S. Purvis is genuine. I further certify that to my knowledge there is no Public seal of office for said County
January 22 nd 1833
James Monroe M c C

11.258
Suddoth
Benj Suddoth Term.
From 1780 private 1792 $40
can only allow as above
Standifer
Wm. J. Standifer Present.
Raun Co.

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Benjamin Suddoth 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?
No seal of office, but his official character is certified by a member of Congress.

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? yes
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? No
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?
Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct?
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?
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? 1. 2. 6.
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 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.
†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.

March 8, 1935.
Mrs. Emma Suddath Jones Harriman Tennessee.
BA-J/ILL Cur Benjamin Suddoth S. 4015
Dear Madam:
Reference is made to your letter in which you request the Revolutionary War record of Benjamin Suddath, a pensioner, in 1835.
Benjamin Suddoth, while a resident of Alexandria, Fairfax County, Virginia, enlisted in September 1780, served as a private in Captain William Mason's Virginia company, marched through Virginia, then to North Carolina, thence into South Carolina, was in an engagement at the Yadkin River, and continued until expiration of service of between six and eight months. Subsequently, he served a tour of four months under Colonel West and was in the Siege of Yorktown, following which he served two months under Colonel Hine or Rign. He then went on board the vessel "Viper" under Captain Vicory and served five months, was taken prisoner by the British, carried to New York and held on a British sloop until after the end of the war.
He was allowed pension on his application executed September 11, 1832, at which time he was a resident of Roane County, Tennessee. He was then aged about seventy-two years; the date and place of his birth and names of his parents are not shown. He was pensioned Suddoth.
There are no data whatever relative to the family of the soldier.
Very truly yours,
A. D. HILLER, Executive Assistant to the Administrator.

1920. Apr 20. W. S. Suddarth wife of history of soldier and 1925. March 2. Dist. to Mrs. Emma S. Suddarth
Pen Tran
4015
INVALID.
File No. 4015
Benjamin Suddarth
Port. Hill line
Act: June 14/32
Index: — Vol. 4 , Page 364
[Arrangement of 1870.]
Virginia Service. Records corrected, Mar. 19, 1932

Harriman Tenn.
Feb 28. 35.
Pension Bureau.
Washington D.C.
Dear Sir.
I wish all facts. contained in your Report, concerning the record of Benjamin Suddath whose name appears in the 1835: pension roll of Revolutionary Soldiers, as a private in the South-Carolina Continental Line. Published in Washington by Duff- Green. 1835:
Thanking you.
I am most sincerely.
(Mrs.) Emma Suddath Jones
Harriman
Roane Co.
Tennessee

Subject:
Rev Sec 1st
Post Office Department
W. E. Suddarth, OFFICE OF INSPECTOR Inspector
CASE No.
Chicago, Illinois, March 29, 1920.
The Commissioner of Pensions, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.
Sir:
It would be very much appreciated if you would furnish me with any information in the files of the Pension Office concerning the war records and family histories of
110293 John Suddarth, already furnished Dec. 16, 1912 Benjamin Suddoth, S 4014-0 Jared Sudduth, S 32001
members of my family who were in the Revolutionary War.
Very respectfully,
W E Suddarth
Address:
Post Office Inspector, 327 Federal Building, Chicago, Illinois.