Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 9566, Joseph Hays, New Jersey

SERVICE
NUMBER
New Jersey
Hays, Joseph
S9566
Carded
CONTENTS

Ohio 29. 648
Joseph Hays
of Warren Co. in the State of Ohio who was a Private in the company commanded by Captain Bunnell of the Regt. commanded by in the N. Jersey mil. time for 8 1/2 months
Inscribed on the Roll of Ohio
at the rate of 28 Dollars 33 Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1834.
Certificate of Pension issued the 26 th day of Jan, 1835 and sent to Hon. Thos. Corwin M.P.
  Arrears to the 4th of Sept. '34.  98.16    Semi-ann. allowance ending 4 March '35.  14.16     $112.32  
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by D. Brown Clerk, Book C. 2 Vol. 8 Page 26

We heard. Preaching a sermon on the death of the late General Andrew Jackson. The General of the same name, a great hero, early in life was an acquaintance of the late Joseph Hays who was deceased and seemed to be the above mentioned; and that we believe him to be sixty eight years of age that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood in which he resides to have been a faithful servant of the Revolution and that we concur in that opinion.
Given under our hands this day and year aforesaid. Wyllys Pierson Associate judge
John C. Brantley Prothonotary Public
I do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the original of the matter and of the proceedings therein had before me by the late Department that the above applicant was a resident of the county of Warren and State of Ohio at the time of said proceedings and that the foregoing certificate is a true and correct copy of the original thereof and that the original thereof is now in the hands of the said applicant and that the said applicant is a resident of the county of Warren and State of Ohio and is a creditor and that the foregoing certificate is entitled to credit and I do hereby certify that the applicant cannot prove before the said court the said.
Wyllys Pierson Associate judge
The State of Ohio } Warren County } ss. I, Jonathan H. Wild, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas within & for the county aforesaid do hereby certify that Wyllys Pierson Esq. who signed the foregoing proceedings in the matter of the application of Joseph Hays for a pension was at the time said proceedings were had there is an acting associate judge of said court duly commissioned & qualified & that his signature thereto are genuine —
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of the court aforesaid at Lebanon this 18 th October A.D. 1832
J. H. Wild Clerk

Joseph Haydn

State of Ohio Warren County
On the 15th day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty three personally appeared before me one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Warren and State of Ohio, being first sworn, deposes and says that the information above is true to the best of his knowledge and belief. The foregoing information was made to return the true copy of the original hereunto affixed June 10th 1834
That he was enlisted in Superior Company in the State of New- Jersey in February in the year 1782 by Capt. James Brunnel for Eight months and a half, the Regimental name was Col. C. Clark's in that he was recruited to the frontiers to a place called the Manayunk and the borders of the State of New York that he was in several skirmishes in no battle, that he returned with Brunnel with whom he enlisted again in the regular Continental Army and that he was enlisted to serve a campaign for the purpose of invading the frontier, that Peter Van Brunt was the officer who reported the information but that the Company of Capt. Brunnel was not in the service of the General until after the Battle of Red Bank, that he was recruited at Manayunk and that he never had any written discharge. That in every other respect as to his service up to the time of his enlistment
He hereby relinquishes any claim whatever to a pension except the present, and declares that he is not at the present time entitled to any other pension or reward than the one already provided
Myhlys Viersen Associate judge
Joseph Root

32.540
Joseph Hays. Ohio
Surgeon Genl C. S. A.
Return before
Can offer for 84 mos. p.
with a pension, entitled, were such as state.
Thos. H. Morrison
House of Representatives
J. H. Miller
Lebanon
Ohio

WAR DEPARTMENT,
Pension Office.
Sir:
The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has been examined, and the papers are herewith returned. The following is a statement of your case in a tubular form. On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed. The notes and the regulations will shew what is necessary to be done. Those points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you will find marked in the margin with a brace, (thus: { ). You will, when you return your papers to this Department, send this printed letter with them, and you will, by complying with this request, greatly facilitate the investigation of your claim.
A Statement, shewing the Service of Joseph Hays
   Period when the service was rendered. Duration of the claimant's service. Rank of the claimant. Names and rank of the Field officers under whom he served. Age at present, and place of abode when he entered the service. Proof by which the declaration is supported.   Years. Months. Days.     1782 8 15 pr Col. Bunnell 18 years. New Jersey Traditionary and living Witnesses  
I am, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
J. L. EDWARDS,
Commissioner of Pensions.
The justice before whom the amended declaration is made, is not certified to by the Clerk under his seal of office. The same objections exist as to the deposition of Hays & Gustin. The justice is more than required to certify as to the credibility of the deponents.

REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832.
The following regulations have been adopted:
This law has been construed to extend, as well to the line, as to every branch of the Staff of the Army, and to include under the terms "Continental Line," "State troops," "militia," and "volunteers," all persons enlisted, drafted, or who volunteered and who were bound to military service, but not those who were occasionally employed with the army upon civil contracts, such as Clerks to Commissaries and to Store Keepers, &c., Teamsters, Boatmen, &c. Persons who served on board of private armed vessels are also excluded from the benefits of the law, as well as persons who turned out as patrols, or were engaged in guarding particular places at night, and were not recognized as being in actual military service.
Four general classes of cases are embraced in this law:
 1. The Regular Troops.  2. The State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers.  3. Persons employed in the Naval Service.  4. Indian Spies. 
As rolls of the regular troops in the Revolutionary War exist in this Department, all persons claiming the benefit of this law as officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians or privates, will, in the first instance, make application by transmitting the following declaration, which will be made before a Court of Record of the County where such applicant resides. And every Court having by law a seal and Clerk is considered a Court of Record.
DECLARATION,
In order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of the 7th of June, 1832.
State, Territory, or District of } ss. County of }
On this _____ day of _____ personally appeared (a) before A. B. a resident (b) of _____ in the county of _____ and State, Territory or District of _____ aged (c) _____ 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 provision made by the act of Congress, passed June 7th, 1832. That he enlisted in the Army of the United States in the year (d) _____, with _____ and served in the _____ (e) regiment of the _____ line, under the following named officers:
[Here set forth the names and rank of the Field and Company Officers; the time he left the service; (and if he served under more than one term of enlistment, he must specify the particular period, and rank and names of his officers;) the town or county and State in which he resided when he entered the service; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country through which he marched. This form is to be varied so as to apply to the cases of officers and persons who belonged to the militia, volunteers, navy, &c.]
He hereby relinquishes every claim (f) whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of the Agency in the State of _____
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
A. B.
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion (g) that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states.
I _____ of the Court of _____ do hereby certify (h) that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of _____ for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office (i) this _____ day of _____ &c.
If, on examination of the proper record, the names of applicants, making such declaration, cannot be found, they will produce such proof as the rule given in note (j) points out.
Every applicant who claims a pension by virtue of service in the State Troops, Volunteers or Militia, except those who belonged to the New Hampshire Militia and State Troops of Virginia, will make and subscribe a declaration similar to the foregoing, with the following additions, viz:
(k) We, A. B., a Clergyman, residing in the _____ and C. D. residing in (the same) _____, who has hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with _____, who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be _____ 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 days and year aforesaid.
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]
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 A. B. who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, resident in the _____ and that C. D., who has also signed the same is a resident in the _____ and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
I, _____ Clerk of the Court of _____ do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of _____ for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this _____ day of _____ &c.
Every applicant will produce the best proof in his power. This is the original discharge or commission; but if neither of these can be obtained, the party will so state under oath, and will then procure, if possible, the testimony of at least one credible witness, stating in detail his personal knowledge of the services of the applicant, and such circumstances connected therewith, as may have a tendency to throw light upon the transaction.
If such surviving witness cannot be found, the applicant will so state in his declaration (l) and he will also, whether he produce such evidence or not, proceed to relate all the material facts, which can be useful in the investigation of his claim, and in the comparison of his narrative with the events of the period of his

alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person will be indispensable to a favorable action upon his case. The facts stated will afford one of the principal means of corroborating the declaration of the applicant, if true, or of detecting the imposition, if one be attempted; and unless, therefore, these are amply and clearly set forth, no favorable decision can be expected. All applicants will appear before some Court of Record in the County in which they reside, and there subscribe and be sworn to, one of the declarations above provided, according to the nature of his case.
The Court will propound the following (m) interrogatories to all applicants for a pension, on account of service in the Militia, State troops, or Volunteers, except the Militia of New Hampshire and the State troops of Virginia.
 1. Where and in what year were you born?  2. Have you any record of your age, and if so, where is it?  3. Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary war, and where do you now live?  4. How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? And if a substitute, for whom?  5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers, who were with the troops, where you served; such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your services.  6. { To 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? { To an Officer. } Did you ever receive a commission, and if so, by whom was it signed, and what has become of it?  7. State the names of 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. 
The Court will see that the answers to these questions are embodied in the declaration, and they are requested to annex their opinions of the truth of the statement of the applicant.
The applicant will further produce in Court, if the same can be done, in the opinion of the Court, without too much expense and inconvenience to him, two respectable persons—one of whom should be the nearest clergyman, if one lives in the immediate vicinity of such applicant, who can testify, from their acquaintance with him, that they believe he is of the age he represents, and that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood to have been a Revolutionary soldier, and that they concur in that opinion. If one of these persons is a Clergyman, the Court will so certify, and they will also certify to the character and standing of other persons giving such certificates.
The traditional evidence of service is deemed very important, in the absence of any direct proof, except the declaration of the party. And the Courts are requested to be very particular in the inquiry whether the belief is general, and whether any doubts have ever existed upon the subject.
Applicants unable to appear in Court, by reason of bodily infirmity, may make the declaration before required, and submit to the examination, before a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record of the proper county, and the Judge or Justice will execute the duties, which the Court is herein requested to perform, and will also certify that the applicant cannot, from bodily infirmity, attend the Court.
Whenever any official act is required to be done by a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or by a Justice of the Peace, the certificate of the Secretary of State or Territory, or of the proper Clerk of the Court or County, under his seal of office, will be annexed, stating that such person is a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that the signature annexed is his genuine signature.
No payments can be made on account of the services of any person, who may have died before the taking effect of the act of June 7, 1832; and in case of death subsequent thereto, and before the declaration herein required is made, the parties interested will transmit such evidence as they can procure, taken and authenticated before a Court of Record, showing the services of the deceased, the period of his death, the opinion of the neighborhood respecting such services, the title of the claimant, and the opinion of the Court upon the whole matter.
[a] The declarant must appear in open Court, unless prevented from doing so by reason of bodily infirmity; in which case the declarant will follow the rule laid down for his guidance.
[b] The declarant must make his declaration in the county where he resides. If he should fail to do so, he must assign a sufficient reason for not conforming to the rule.
[c] The age of the claimant must invariably be mentioned.
[d] The declarant must mention the period or periods of the war when he served.
[e] Every continental officer or soldier must give the name of the Colonel under whom he served; otherwise a satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had. Every claimant must state, 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. 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 that they served two years in the militia, &c. without specifying the years, 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.
[f] The law makes the relinquishment indispensable.
[g] The opinion of the Court is always required.
[h] The Clerk must give his certificate in every case.
[i] The Clerk must fix his seal, and if it has no device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal, or if he 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.
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 papers 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.
Proof of Service.
[j] 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 claimant's 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.
[k] The notes from [a] to [j] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops. The proof required by rule in note [j] applies to continental troops only.
[l] This traditional evidence is indispensable in militia cases.
[m] If a witness cannot be found, the declarant must state the fact.
[n] The answers to the interrogatories must all be written, and sent to the War Department, with the declaration.

Rev. War
9566 INVALID.
File No. 9566
Joseph Hays Prv Rev War
Act: June 14 1832
Index:—Vol. 1 , Page 162
[Arrangement of 1870.]
✓

State of Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, Sept- ember Term in the year Eighteen Hun- dred and Thirty Three.
Warren County ss
Personally appeared in open court on this Twentieth day of September in the year Eighteen Hundred and Thirty Three, William Hays, aged sixty eight years, who being duly sworn deposeth and saith, that he is a brother of Joseph Hays, an applicant for a pension and who subscribed the supplemen- tary declaration sworn to before David Crane, a justice of the peace, which said supple- mentary declaration is now present before deponent, - that said Joseph Hays enlisted in Greenwich Township, Sussex county and state of New Jersey, in the year Seventeen Hundred and Eighty Two, and in the latter part of winter or early in the spring. Said Joseph Hays immediately after- wards left his home, in said Township of Greenwich, to join his company and was absent from home during the time for which he enlisted and from the best of his recol- lection this was eight or nine months Deponent further states that James Burn- nell was the captain of the company in which said Joseph enlisted, Anthony Black- ford was lieutenant of said company and the name of the colonel deponent understands to be Hopkins, but deponent does not know that he ever saw said Hopkins Deponent further states, that he lived with

Said Joseph Hays for about two years in said county of Luzerne and then moved with him to Washington county Pennsylvania, where deponent lived in the same neighborhood with said Joseph for about ten years, from whence deponent moved to Ohio, and the said Joseph landed at Maysville, Ky., where said Joseph lived for about two years when he moved to Ohio, where deponent has lived ever since the year 1785. Deponent further states the said Joseph was reputed and be- lieved to have been a soldier of the revolution and further deponent saith not.
William Hays
Sworn to & subscribed in open Court 20 th Sept. 1855 J. K. Wilds Clk
The State of Ohio (Warren County) } I Jonathan K. Wilds clerk of the court of Common Pleas within & for the county aforesaid do hereby certify that the above deposition was sworn to & subscribed in open court on the date last above set forth —
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of the court aforesaid at Sebanum this 27 th Dec. 1855
J. K. Wilds Clk

The State of Ohio } Warren County } ss I Matthew K. Wilds clerk of the Court of Common Pleas within & for the county aforesaid hereby certify that at a term of said Court begun & held at Lebanon on the 2nd Monday of August A. D. 1834 It was by said Court ordered to be certified that William Hays who signed the annexed affidavit is a resident of Dark County in said State that he is a credible person & that his statements in said affidavit are entitled to credit
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of the Court aforesaid at Lebanon this 8th day of January A. D. 1855
M. K. Wilds clerk

Additional statements made by Joseph Hays, a resident of Clearcreek Township in the County of Warren and State of Ohio, in explanation of a declaration made by him, on the 13 th of October 1832 before Wyllys Pearson one of the associate judges of the Court of Common Pleas for said County and State, for the purpose of obtaining a pension under an act of Congress passed on the 7 th day of June 1832.
State of Ohio Of Warren County Joseph Hays, a resident of the Clearcreek Township in the said County and State, being by me the Subscribers one of the acting justices of the Peace within and for the Township of Clearcreek, County and State aforesaid, duly sworn according to law, do hereby upon his corporal oath make the following declaration in explanation of the original declaration by him here- tofore made on the 13 th of October 1832 before the aforesaid Wyllys Pearson judge as aforesaid: That on the  13 th day of in the month of February in the Year One thousand eight hundred and eighty two in the Township of Greenwich, County of Sussex and State of New Jersey (where affiant then was) he enlisted into the service under one Captain James Bunnell for the period of eight and a half months, one Capt. Hopkins was the lieutenant of said Capt. Bunnell, that after the Company was raised, we were marched by said Captain Bunnell to a place called Mannas- sante on the border of the State of New York, at which place we arrived, as well as affiant can from the lapse of time remember, on the 1 st of April following his enlistment, and at which place he was dis discharged the fifteenth day of December 1782 and dismissed from the service by said Captain Bunnell, after he did not receive a written discharge. He further states that, from the lapse of time, he is unable to state the day of the month on which he enlisted, but he is positive it was in the month of February 1782, and that he served as a private under said Captain Bunnell, in the manner stated in his original declaration, for the full period of eight and a half months, being all the time actually spent in service. That said Captain Bunnell's company was never at any time during the period of its service, long attached to any regiment or Battalion, nor did affiant ever see or know the name or names of any Colonel or other field officer except one Major, Peter Hopkins, who on one occasion inspected the Company at Harnady's Creek; that said

company was raised for the sole purpose of guarding the frontiers and was all the time engaged in that service and none other. He further states that one Anthony Blackford was the captain of said company. He further states that he has no documentary evidence of his service and that he has no knowledge of any witness by whom he can prove his service during the revolution war, except one Benjamin Kuskin, a resident of Clermont Township, Ohio, by whom affiant believes he can prove that he served as a soldier in said Capt. Darnell's Company, during the revolutionary war, but whether he can prove by said witness the time of his service he cannot say; he will, if possible procure the testimony of said Kuskin, & forward the same with this declaration. He further states, that this declaration is made at his residence, for the reason that he is unable to travel from home by reason of  in consequence of a severe rheumatic affection pervading his whole system; that he has a record of his age in his family bible now present from which it appears he was born on the 13th day of January 1763 and is now upwards of seventy years old. The place of his birth was Greenwich Township, County & State of New Jersey, from whence he continued to reside after his discharge from service until he removed from thence about the year 1785 or 1786 to Western Pennsylvania, from which place he removed to the town of near the town of Washington in Mason County Kentucky from whence he removed to near Cincinnati and from thence to his present residence where he has lived for the last thirty five years. During the period of his service he never saw any of the regular officers except except those before mentioned, all of whom he then understood were of the regular army, but of this he may possibly have been misinformed.
Joseph Hays
The subscribers are acting just within and for the County of Warren and State of Ohio, do certify that Joseph Hays the above affiant, subscribed his name to the above declaration, and was by them sworn to the truth of the contents thereof on the 11th day of April 1833. In testimony whereof I have here to set my hand & seal this 11th day of June last.
David Evans J.P. Clerk

The State of Ohio Warren County / Personally came before me the undersigned a Justice of the peace for Warren County aforesaid Benjamin Gustus who being known said that he is well acquainted with Joseph Hays a resident of War- ren County Ohio who has applied for a pension under the law of the United States of the 7 th of June 1832 That he knew said Hays in the State of New Jersey & in the service of the United States in the revolutionary war in the year 1782. That the aforesaid Hays in a company comman- ded by Capt James Burnell of which Capt Hopkins was Lieutenant & Anthony Blackford Ensign, That said Hays was a private soldier in said Company & was, as aforesaid cut understood regularly enlisted. Aforesaid Hays he was actually in the service as aforesaid & he believes he served 8 or 9 months under said Hopkins. That he has no doubt that said Joseph Hays is the same man making his application whom aforesaid Hays was in the service. He further saith not
sworn & subscribed before me this 20 th of Oct 1833 Benj. Blackburn J.P.
Benjamin Gustus
(The State of Ohio Warren County) I Jonathan H. Wilds clerk of the Court of Common Pleas within & for the county aforesaid do hereby certify that Daniel Crane & Benjamin Blackburn Esquires who appear to have taken & signed the aforesaid & attached affidavits were at the time the same appear to have been taken & now are acting Justices of the peace within & for the county aforesaid duly commissioned & sworn into office & that the signatures pur- porting to be theirs are genuine
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the Seal of said Court at Savannah this 21 st Dec. A.D. 1833
J. H. Wilds clerk

State of Ohio Warren County ss I Benjamin Blackburn one of justices of the peace within and for said county do certify that the affidavit on the other side of the paper was sworn to and subscribed before me on the 30th of October 1833 as heretofore certified before me, and I further certify from my own knowledge of said Benjamin Gestetting reputation, that he is a man of veracity
and entitled to credit under oath Given under my hand and seal this 8th day of Jany 1835 Benk Blackburn Justice
The State of Ohio Warren County ss I Jonathan H. Wilds clerk of the Court of Common Pleas within & for the county aforesaid hereby certify that Benjamin Blackburn Esq. who appears to have signed the above certificate was at the time of the date thereof now is an acting Justice of the peace within & for the county aforesaid duly commissioned & sworn into office that full faith & credit are due to all his official acts as such -
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of the Court aforesaid at Lebanon this 8th Jany 1835
J. H. Wilds Clk