Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 15,891, Elijah Hodges, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Mass.
Hodges, Elijah
S. 15891
CONTENTS
Carded

15357.
Massachusetts
Elijah Hodges
Bristol in the State of Mass who was a Private in the company commanded by Captain _____ of the Regt commanded by Col Wary in the Mass line for 6 Mos (23 Days)
Inscribed on the Roll of Mass at the rate of 22 Dollars 56 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 10 th day of June 1833 and sent Hon E. J. Hodges Present
Arrears to the 4th of Mar 1833 $45.72 Sem-ant. allowance ending 2 Sep 11.28 $56.40
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by J. H. H. Main Clerk, Vol. 2. Page 33.
87 Bristol

10260
Elijah Hodges
Print 6 Mr v 23 days
$22.56.
5-14 06
May 1833
P. 372
A Bapete E Tawnton Mass

10.262
BRIEF in the case of Elijah Hodges of Worton in the State of Mass (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Court of Probate  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? 80 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.     In 1775 — about 14 Private Gen. Bellows { Major State Volun.   1 st July — 1776 — 5 do Lieut M. Knap , Co. { Cont. Col  S. Carey 's Regt { enlist   Summer 1778 — 1 do Capit S. Hodges — Co. { disch. Col  J. Rugg 's Regt {  
6 23.  5. In what battles was he engaged? none  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Worton Dist t of Mansfield  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? by Witnesses — Documentary evidence & by the traditional evidence of two other witnesses — one a Clergyman — The latter Certif d by the Court to be credible persons  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? 
Correct
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
E. Stephens
Examining Clerk.

10. 262 Elijah Hodges.
Hodges, Elijah Mass S15891

Res 7
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, } BRISTOL, ss.
At a COURT OF PROBATE holden at Taunton - in and for said County on the twenty eighth day of August - one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, before the Honorable HODIJAH BAYLIES, Judge of the Probate, &c. for said County, personally appeared Elijah Hodges a resident of Norton - in the County and Commonwealth aforesaid, aged eighty - years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath, in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress, passed June 7th, 1832, make the following declaration.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein after stated, I volunteered under Lieutenant Moses Knapp about the time of Lexington fight . and marched to Braintree near Boston and there served until the first part of May of that year 1775 - it being about two weeks . I was then discharged by Lt Knapp & returned home. I have no documentary or other evidence to prove the above service & must depend on my own statement & herein support. I will state further particulars of my service in my answer to the fifth interrogatory.
and further declares as follows, in reply to the interrogatories propounded by the Secretary of War; to wit:
1. Where, and in what year were you born?
Ans. That he was born in Mansfield then in the County of Bristol and State of Massachusetts in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty two - and on the fifth day of April of that year .
2. Have you any record of your age; and if so, where is it? Ans. There is a record of my age in the hand writing of my Father & in the family Bible.
3. Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary War, and where do you now live? Ans. I was living in what was then called the District of Mansfield, but was then Norton , is now Mansfield . Since the war I have lived in Thorborough in the County of Norfolk , & in the above said Norton . I now live in Norton .
4. How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? and if a substitute, for whom? Ans. I was once drafted, I enlisted at my own campaign. I was never a Substitute.
5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers who were with the troops when you served; such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your service. In the year 1776 and on the first of July of that year I enlisted for five months under Captain Samuel White of Mansfield , & Lts John Allen and William Copeland were our other company officers, and we were mustered & then marched from Norton to Attleborough & then to Providence and from there to New Haven in Connecticut , and thence on to New York & we were placed in Col. Simon Caine's Regiment we remained a few days in the city and then marched out a little distance and moved from place to place near the city. we were on Harlem heights near Fort Washington a part of the time, we marched to a number of places in that vicinity and we were at White Plains about the time of the Battle at that place but were not in the engagement we were marched to a number of places near the Hudson river , and I think that Major Paine of Rehoboth was our major, we were in General Mott's Brigade and at the expiration of said five months I was honorably discharged by my officers and returned home. I refer to Thomas Banfield affidavits to prove this campaign.
month 1776 to ordered ordered

1 30
on Rhode Island
I was drafted about the time of Sullivan's expedition for one month it was in the summer of 1778 I marched to Tiverton in the State of R.I. & guarded the Shoals about that place. and it was at the time of Sullivan's expedition (so called) on the Island I was in a company commanded by Captain Isaac Hodge of Boston, and I am not certain but that we were in Col John Daggett's Regiment we were a part of the time on the Island but was not in the engagement, and at the expiration of said term I was verbally discharged by Capt. Hodge and returned home. I refer to Benjamin Brannan affidavit to prove this last above service. I also refer to the old roll of order from Col Daggett to Captain Hodge which is herewith annexed, and on which my name is borne as Elijah Hodges as it then was, then my Father's living. And at my campaign at New York, I well remember Col. Crary, and I was also acquainted with General Putnam. I saw many other officers during my service whose names I have now forgot.
all the services which I rendered, were as I understood Militia or State Troops, except my five month campaign & that I suppose was Continental Service.
Hodges, Elijah Mass S15891

6. Were you a Soldier or an Officer ? if 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 ? if an Officer, did you ever receive a commission, and if so by whom was it signed, and what has become of it ? ans. I was a Soldier, I never had a written discharge, I never was an officer
7. State the names of the 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. I refer to the Rev. Pitt Clarke & Cromwell Leonard both of Norton
And the said Elijah Hodges doth further declare that he hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, and 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 Elijah Hodges
Sworn to and subscribed, the day and year aforesaid.
H. Baylies , Judge of Probate.
WE Pitt Clarke a Clergyman - residing in Norton and Cromwell Leonard residing in the same Town hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Elijah Hodges - who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration ; that we believe him to be about 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. Pitt Clarke, Cromwell Leonard
Sworn to and subscribed, the day and year aforesaid.
H. Baylies , Judge of Probate.
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 abovenamed applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certifies, that it appears to them that Pitt Clarke - who has signed the preceding certificate is a Clergyman - resident in the town of Norton - in said County of Bristol, and that Cromwell Leonard who has also signed the same is a resident in said town, and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
H. Baylies , Judge of Probate.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, BRISTOL ss.
I Anselm Bassett - Register of the Court of Probate in and for said County do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Elijah Hodges - of Norton - in said County, for a Pension.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of the said Court the day and year first above written.
Anselm Bassett -

Elijah Hodges. S. F. 15,891.
A roll of Capt. Isaac Hodges' co., Col. John Daggett's 4 th regt., dated, Attleborough, July 27, 1778, has been removed from this case in order that it may be sent to the War Dept.
May 29, 1909.
F. W.
Sent to War Dept.
Jany. 16, 1913.

T
15891
INVALID.
File No. 15891
Elijah Hodges
Dis. Pen. War
Act: June 7 th 82
Index:—Vol. 1 , Page 180
[Arrangement of 1870.]

10.202
BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims , of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Elijah Hodge which require further proof or explanation.
I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? 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? 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? not all — VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? 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?

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 ? 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? 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? — no Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct? — no 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 ? 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.
V. See additional affidavit
XIV. Certificate -

I Benjamin Braman of the Town of Norton in the County of Bristol & State of Massachusetts being Seventy eight years of age do hereby testify & say that I have been well acquainted with Elijah Hodges of the same Norton for a great number of years and that he the said Hodges served as a private soldier in the Army of the American Revolution one campaign of one month in a company commanded by Isaac Hodges. I do not certainly recollect our Colonel but think we were placed under Col John Daggett of Attleborough George H. ... it was in the year 1778 and we were a part of the time on Rhode Island & a part of the time in Diverton & on the shores near the Island and our troops were called State troops or militia I served in the same company at the same time
Dated at Norton this 22 day of August 1832
Benjamin Braman

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bristol } ss. Before me one of the Justices of County } the Peace within and for the county of Bristol personally appeared Benjamin Brannan subscriber to the above affidavit and made oath that the same is true (according to the best of his knowledge and belief) in all its parts - In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and quality This 22 nd day of August A D 1832 Groom L d Leonard Justice of Peace
Bristol } ss. Norton May 16 th 1833 I certify that Benjamin Brannan who signed the within affidavit is in my opinion a disinterested & credible witness. Groom L d Leonard Justice Peace

I Thomas Danforth of Norton in the county of Bristol & State of Massachusetts being seventy one years of age do hereby testify and say that I have been well acquainted with Elijah Hodge of said Norton for a great number of years and that he served as a private soldier in a company with me in the army of the American Revolution one campaign of five months in said company was commanded by Capt. Samuel White & in Col. Caneys Regiment and in the year 1776 & William Copeland was our Lieutenant, we were stationed in & about the city of New York and we were under the continental establishment, I was a first major at said campaign.
Dated at Norton this 15 th day of August 1832
✓ Tho s Danforth
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bristol } ss. Before me, one of the Justices of the Peace County } ss. By me, one of the Justices of the Peace within and for the county of Bristol Personally appeared Thomas Danforth subscriber to the above affidavit and made oath that the same is true in all its parts - In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name & quality this 15 th day of August A 1832 Colonel Leonard Justice of Peace

Bristol } Commonwealth of Massachusetts county } ps Before me one of the Justices of the Peace within and for the county of Bristol personally appeared Thomas Davenport subscriber to the within affidavit and made oath that the same is true in all its parts. In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and quality this 15 th day of August A 1832.
Bristol ps May 16 th 1833 I certify that Thomas Davenport who signed the within affidavit is in my opinion a disinterested & credible witness Crown. Leonard Justice Peace.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bristol ss. I Amos Barrett Register of the Court of Probate in the said County of Bristol, do hereby certify that Cornwall Leonard is a Justice of the Peace for said County & that the signatures to the foregoing certificates purporting to be his are genuine — In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said Court this seventeenth day of May Eighteen hundred thirty three — Amos Barrett

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Bristol ss.
I, Anselm Bapst, Register of the Court of Probate for the County of Bristol, hereby certify that Cromwell Leonard before whom the foregoing Affidavit was taken is a Justice of the Peace in for said County, and the signature purporting to be his, is his genuine signature.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & the seal of said Court this twenty first day of May eighteen hundred & thirty three.
Anselm Bapst

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned a Justice of the Peace within & for the county of Bristol Elijah Hodges of the Town of Norton in said county, who being duly sworn, deposeth & saith, that by reason of old age & the consequent loss of memory he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service as a private soldier in the army of the American Revolution at his first campaign or alarm under Lieutenant Moses Knapp in April 1775 at the time of the alarm Lexington fight — but according to the best of his recollection and belief he served not less than fourteen days. And for such service I the said Elijah Hodges claim a pension. And I the said Elijah Hodges do further testify & say that I served at one other alarm which I did not recollect when I made my Declaration for a pension under the act of the 7 th of June 1832, and for which I now claim a pension, said alarm was in the month of August in 1780 on the Island of Rhode Island, in a company commanded by Capt Israel Snow and it was for nine days & in the war of the American Revolution.
Elijah Hodges
Bristol ss May 20 th 1833, Sworn and subscribed Before me — Comd Leonard Justice Peace
I Comd Leonard hereby certify that I have seen the name of the above said Elijah Hodges on an ancient muster roll of Israel Snow's company and for nine days service, in the year 1780 and in the month of August of that year as he has stated, above.
Comd Leonard