Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 12333, Henry Brinckerhoff, New York

SERVICE
NUMBER
New York
Brinckerhoff, Henry
S. 12333
carded
CONTENTS

New York
Henry Brinckerhoff Duties in the State of New York who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain Butler of the 2d Regt. commanded by Col. Swartout in the War of the for 24 mos
Inscribed on the Roll of New York at the rate of 50 Dollars 00 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 6th day of May 1833 and sent to John Packer Houskeeper
Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $160 00 Semi-ant. allowance ending Sept. 40 00
200.00
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by W. L. Williams, Clerk, Book E Vol. 4 Page 44

13.123
Henry Bruckhoff walcher 6' 11" y. old
admitted.
24 mo. Private.
John L. Jackson

BRIEF in the case of Henry Brinckerhoff of Dutchess Co in the State of New York (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Open Court  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? 74 years -  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.     Service In 1776 5 Private Gen. Col Schenck Col Sackett   Spring 1777 During the war served 5 or 6 years " (Col Butler Col Place Col Faulkner Col Van Schoick)  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? White Plains - Trenton - Princeton - Brandywine Monmouth - Saratoga - Red Bank  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Trinity Hill N York  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Traditional  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? Correct 
X  Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Nathaniel Catts Examining Clerk.

Declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the "Act of Congress" passed June 7th, 1832.
State of New York.
Dutchess County ss: On this twenty-fourth day of September personally appeared in open court before the Court of Common Pleas now sitting Henry Brinckerhoff a resident of the Town of Fishkill, County of Dutchess and State of New York aged seventy four 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 your Applicant, who was sometimes called Hendrick Brinck, was born in Fishkill, County & State aforesaid, in 1758 as appears by his family record and at the service of the United States in the Town of Fishkill, County & State aforesaid in the summer of 1776 as a volunteer in the militia under Abraham Schenck as Captain, John Langdon as Lieutenant, Cornelius Van Wyck as Major, James Swartout as Colonel and were commanded by James Clinton. That your applicant was marched to Kings Bridge, thence to Long Island, thence to York Island, thence to White Plains where he was engaged in the "Battle of White Plains", thence down the river & crossed near Tarrytown, thence to New Jersey, where he was engaged in two battles, which were fought (according to the best of his knowledge & belief) at Trenton & Princeton, and in both of which the Americans were successful, thence to New Windsor, thence to Constitution Island where he remained about a month in Garrison and until discharged after a service of about five months. That in the course of a month or two thereafter he again entered the service in Fishkill as a volunteer in the Militia under ———— Butler as Captain ———— Crane as Lieutenant and (as he believes) ———— Place as Major. That he entered the service for nine months, but after marching north to the Mohawk and remaining a short time he enlisted into the regular army for three years or for during the war into the New York Line early (as he believes) in the Spring of 1777. under Capt ———— Faulkner, Lieut ———— Hunter

and the War. I further certify, that in _____ Van Schoick's regiment and James Clinton General. That he cannot particularly set forth his various services, nor with absolute certainty the order of time in which they occurred. But (according to the best of his knowledge and belief) he enlisted into the regular army somewhere on the river Mo- hawk in the State of New York, was afterwards at Tioga Lake, thence down the Susquehannah to Scranton or the Great Bend into the Genesee Country to Geneva, thence back to the Great Bend, thence into the State of Pennsylvania. thence into the State of New Jersey, thence to the South. was at the Battle of Brandywine under command of Captain _____ Frankner, afterwards in New Jersey, thence again to the South, was at another battle under General _____ Green when the British were commanded (as he believes) by _____ Clinton, thence to New Jersey. That he was at the battle of Monmouth, was at the storming of Stony Point under General _____ Wayne, thence to New- Jersey. That he was engaged in a skirmish at (as he believes) Springfield. That he was (as he believes) at Woodbridge in New Jersey when he first learned of the treason of Arnold and the execution of Andre. That he was in Van Schoick's at the surrender of Cornwallis, thence went to Philadelphia, thence to New York where he remained until he received his discharge. That he preserved his discharge, (which was signed "James Clinton") for five or six years when he lost it. That he now resides in the Town of Fishkill, County of Dutchess and State of New York. That he can produce no documentary evidence of his service and knows of no person whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his service. That those Clergy- men who are located near him have been but recently settled and therefore he produces other witnesses to make the required certificate to wit: Joseph J. Jackson, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in & for the County of Dutchess & State of New York and Abraham Myles, Sheriff of said County of

Dutchess & state aforesaid.
And your Applicant 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 and further he declares with Henry Brinckerhoff Sworn to, and subscribed the day { and year aforesaid before me } Henry Brinckerhoff
We, Joseph S. Jackson, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Dutchess and State of New York and Abraham Myers Sheriff of the same County and State aforesaid, residents of the Town of Fishkill in said County hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with Henry Brinckerhoff, who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be seventy four years of age; that he is reputed and believed, in the neighbourhood 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 before me } Henry Brinckerhoff { J. S. Jackson Abraham Myers
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 Joseph S. Jackson who has signed the preceding certificate is a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in & for the County of Dutchess and State of New York and that Abraham Myers who has also signed the same is Sheriff of the same County & State aforesaid and residents of the Town of Fishkill in said County and that their statement is entitled to credit.
And I, Henry J. Trauer, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Dutchess and State of New York, do hereby certify, that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Henry Brinckerhoff for a pension.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of Office this twenty-fourth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & thirty two.
Henry J. Trauer Clerk
Aug 11.102
Pension Papers. In the matter of the Application of Henry Brinckerhoff.
12.120
admitted. 24 no. Private.

Perham
12333 INVALID.
File No. 12,333
Henry Brinckerhoff
Briv. Rev. War
Act: June 7 th 1832
Index:—Vol. a , Page 48
[Arrangement of 1870.]

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims; of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of
Henry Brinckerhoff  Retchell  Wyatt 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? no XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? yes 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? 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? 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?
 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.