Revolutionary War Pension File of William Young

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Pension No.: S. 4,742 (also written S.F. No. 4,742; "Invalid" file No. 4742) Certificate No.: 26,726 Service credited: Private / officer, South Carolina line (the file itself shows officer service; the cover and ledger card abstract it as "Private, S.C. line") Act: June 7, 1832

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Agency: West Tennessee NARA: RG 15, M804; Fold3 file 28473795

Transcription conventions

• [word] — my best reading where the original is faint, abbreviated, or ambiguous.

• [word?] — a reading I am genuinely unsure of.

• [illegible] — I cannot read it at the available resolution.

• [blank] — blank or unfilled space on a printed form.

• [sic] — error or unusual spelling preserved as written.

• Original spelling, capitalization, and obvious errors are preserved. I have not silently modernized.

• Long printed boilerplate (pages 6–7) is summarized rather than transcribed verbatim, and flagged as such; the printed text on those pages is the standard, identical-across-files "Regulations under the Act of June 7, 1832" form. Say the word and I'll transcribe it letter-for-letter.

 

A general caution: several manuscript pages (2, 3, 17, 25, 26) are badly faded or stained, and the readings there carry more uncertainty than the clean clerical pages. I have flagged the worst cases inline rather than guessing confidently.

SERVICE: S. C. [Name]: Young, William NUMBER: S. 4,742

CONTENTS b[orn] York Co. Pa. Oct. 15, 1744 [Dec. 1833?] res[ident] of Perry Co. Tenn.

Carded

Treasury / pension ledger brief (faint; stained at top and left edge)

26726 West Tennessee William Young 3[d] of Perry Co. in the State of Tennessee who was a private in the corps commanded by Captain Bobo of the reg[imen]t commanded by Col. Brandon in the South Carolina line for 1 year

Inscribed on the Roll of West Tennessee at the rate of 40 — Dollars — Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.

Certificate of Pension issued the 6 day of May 1834 and sent to W. C. [Dunlap?] H.R.

Arrears to the 4th of March — 120.00 Semi-an[nu]t. allowance ending [Sept.?] — 20.00 — 140.00

{ Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832. }

Recorded by [illegible — clerk's name] Clerk, Book E Vol. 7 Page 102

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Editorial note: this is the standard pension-roll abstract. Note the contradiction between this card's "private … for 1 year" and the declaration's officer service (Lieutenant, then Captain) — the abstract is a clerk's compression, not a corrected finding. Worth flagging in any proof argument.

Filing note (very faint)

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[See] letter 28 July 1834 to W. [C. Doherty?] [Perryville?]

Editorial note: the addressee is uncertain. It may read "W. C. Dunlap" (the congressman who appears elsewhere in the file), but the surname here does not clearly match "Dunlap." Treat as unresolved.

Endorsement / wrapper

William Young [of Tennessee?] Perry Co. [c. j. ~? — clerk's notation]

$40 per ann[um]

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Hon. W[illia]m C. Dunlap H.R.

[____ Johnson?] H.R.

Editorial note: the second name reads as "[?] Johnson H.R." The Tennessee House delegation of this period included Cave Johnson; that is a plausible but unverified reading I am flagging as conjecture, not a confident transcription.

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War Department, Pension Office: examiner's letter and tabular statement

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 tabular form. On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjoined 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.

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[Marginal note 1:] The applicant has not stated what has become of his commission as required by the 6th interrogatory[. As an?] officer[.] [Marginal note 2:] The applicant should prove his service as a commissioned officer as required in note [j?]: He could not have been drafted to serve 18 months. It should be stated by what authority he took command of a Block House.

I am, respectfully, Your obedient servant, JAMES L. EDWARDS, Commissioner of Pensions.

Editorial note: this is the key examiner's worksheet. The three objections it raises (no account of the lost commission; service as an officer must be proved, not merely declared; and the impossibility of an 18-month draft) are exactly what the February 1834 supplementary declaration (pp. 25–28) and the Wood/Randal affidavits are answering. The documents are in dialogue.

Printed boilerplate, headed "REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832." It lists the four classes of service embraced by the law (1. Regular Troops; 2. State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers; 3. Persons employed in the Naval Service; 4. Indian Spies), sets out the form of the DECLARATION to be made before a Court of Record, and the clergyman/witness certificate. This is identical, standard government text reproduced in essentially every 1832-Act file.

Not transcribed verbatim — Continuation of the same printed form, containing the seven prescribed interrogatories the court was to put to every applicant (where/when born; record of age; residence when called into service and since; manner of entry — drafted, volunteered, or substitute; names of regular officers and regiments; discharge; and persons who can vouch for character and service), followed by the notes (a)–(m) on authenticating papers and proof of service.

Not transcribed verbatim — standard boilerplate. Available on request.

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Declaration of William Young (opening)

State of Tennessee } Perry County } On the 23[d]. day of October 1833. personally appeared in open Court before the Justices of the Peace of Perry County [court] now sitting William Young a resident of Perry County & State of Tennessee aged about eighty nine 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.

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That he entered the service of the United States under the following named Officers and served as hereinafter stated —

That he entered the service as a Lieutenant in a militia company commanded by Cap[tain] Lewis Bobo in the district of Ninety Six in the State of South Carolina and belonged to Colonel Thomas Brandon's Regiment & that Andrew Williamson was their Brigadier General in the year 1776 to the best of his recollection —

 

That he was marched under the said Captain Lewis [Bobo] to [Ellis?] fort where they met Col. Brandon & two other companies, one commanded by Captain Gordon, the other by Captain Lisle — That they marched from thence to the Cherokee station to a place called Keeowee [Keowee] — There we joined our General Andrew Williamson's Brigade — from thence marched up into the nation met the Indians & defeated them — We were to have met at or near where we had the skirmish with the Indians Col. Rutherford & his troops from North Carolina but did not meet him till we had defeated the Indians & then this declarant was discharged having served nine months at this time —

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He further states that after he returned home Captain Bobo turned tory & was broke of his commission & that he this declarant was elected Captain of the company in his place and that his commissions both as Captain & as Lieutenant were signed by Gov[erno]r. Rutledge of South Carolina — That he was again ordered out & marched from the district of Ninety Six to the siege of Savannah about the middle of Sep[tembe]r. 1779 under the command of Col. Thomas Brandon who was his Col. while he had the command of a Captain in said Regiment & Gen[era]l. Williamson was the Brigadier, Gen Lincoln commanded the Americans, Count De Esting [d'Estaing] the French & the allied troops made a charge on the British redoubts & after being exposed to the fire of the enemy for some time were repulsed with great loss & this declarant was in the siege & also in the battle of the same — That Maj. Danie[l] Williams of North Carolina of the continental service was well acquainted with him as was also Col. Marion in the regular service —

 

That during this term he served two months as Captain of the company —That about two months after his return home he was again ordered out with his company to range the frontiers & continued in this service till the British took the Town of Ninety Six at which time he was in the battle under Col. Brandon — That afterwards Brigadier Williamson taking protection under the British & being turned out Gen[era]l. Andrew Pickens took command of the troops or over the brigade to which he belonged — That during this time he served seven weeks as Captain of the company — That about two months afterwards he was ordered to take the command of a Block house called Brandons Block house on Fair forest Creek, which he did as Captain and continued there until peace was made & during this time served eighteen months —

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That he has no documentary evidence to which he can refer nor does he know of any living individual (except the testimony of Crawford Goodwin which is hereto annexed) [whose?] [before/above?] evidence he can procure who can testify to his services — That he hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present & declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state —

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1. When, & in what year were you born? I was born in York County Pennsylvania in the year 174[4]. the 15. of October —

2. Have you any record of your age? I have only my age in my own Bible transcribed from my fathers bible when I was about 24 years of age & which I believe is correct —

3. Where were you living when called into the service; where have you lived since the revolutionary war, & where do you now live? In South Carolina. in Ninety six district. From South Carolina I moved to East Tennessee about the year 1807. from thence to Dixon [Dickson] County Tennessee & from thence to Perry County where I now live.

4. How were you called into the service; were you drafted, did you volunteer or were you a substitute, & if a substitute for whom — I was called into the service always by being drafted

5. State the names of some of the regular officers who were with the troops where you served; such continental & militia regiments as you can recollect & the general circumstances of your service — I have no recollection at this late period of time, of the names of the Officers connected with the regiment other than those of Col. Brandon [Captains Gordon & Lisle?], Gen Williamson, Gen[era]l. Lincoln, Count De Esting [d'Estaing], Maj. Williams Col Marion & Gen[era]l. Pickens & Gen[era]l. Green the commander in chief

6. Did you receive a discharge from the service & if so by whom was it signed & what has become of it — I received discharges signed by Col Brandon but they are all lost or mislaid —

7. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighbourhood & who can testify to your character for veracity & good behaviour & your services as a soldier of the revolution — I refer to [the ___ , crossed out] [Jeremiah?] Wood Esq[uir]e & Fanny [Stanly?] who can testify as to my veracity & their belief as to my revolutionary service

Editorial note on the surname: I read the witness as "Fanny Stanly" (or Stanley). 

Declaration close; clergyman/witness certificate

[—] there being no clergyman in my neighbourhood to whom I can refer who can testify as to my veracity and their belief as to my revolutionary service —

William [F.?] Young [his mark]

Sworn to & subscribed in open Court [—] Test: Jese [Jesse] Taylor Clerk

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We the [Rev[eren]d?] Jeremiah Wood, clergyman, resident of Perry County State of Tennessee & Fanny [Stanly?] also a resident of Perry County State of Tennessee hereby certify that we are well acquainted with William Young who has subscribed & sworn to the above declaration and that we believe him to be eighty nine years of age & that he is reputed to be & so believed in the neighbourhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the revolution & that we concur in that opinion —

Jeremiah Wood [Fanny Stanly? — signature/mark, indistinct]

Sworn to & subscribed this day & year aforesaid in open Court Test: Jese [Jesse] Taylor Clerk

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Court's certification

And the said Court do hereby declare after the investigation of the matter & after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War department that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier as a captain in the same and served as he states & it [the Court] further certifies that it appears to them that [Jeremiah?] Wood who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman resident in the County of Perry and that also Fanny [Stanly?] who has also signed the same is a resident in the said county & State aforesaid and are both credible persons and that their statements are entitled to credit —

W[illia]m Ward [J.P.] [R.?] Houston [J.P.] John Sheppard [J.P.]

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Affidavit of Crawford Goodwin (stained; some lines uncertain)

​State of Tennessee } [Perry] County } This day came Crawford Goodwin before me E[noch]. Hooper one of the acting Justices of the peace in & for sd County and made oath in due form and says on his oath that [Richard Bryant — interlined?] being sworn before me says that he served two tours of duty under Captain William Young in the Revolution war in South Carolina under Cor[o]nel Thomas Brandon and says that he was a true friend to [his/the] Country — I do testify that I was acquainted with Captain William Young in the time of the war and saw [Capt?] Young take a man out of guil [gaol/jail] and hang him by [General/Jest?] [order?] — Sworn to and Subscribed before me this 6 day of August 1833 E. Hooper J.P. [Crafford] Goodwin

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Editorial note: this page is internally confused — it appears to mix Goodwin's own testimony with an interlined reference to a "Richard Bryant," and the supplementary declaration (p. 26) later complains that "the affidavit of Goodwin … was not taken as it ought, that is in [not?] proper form." Read it as a defective affidavit the applicant himself flagged, not as clean evidence.

Justice-of-the-peace authentication

I certify that E[noch]. Hooper whose name is signed to the within certificate was at the time of signing the same an acting justice of the peace for Perry County Tennessee. W[illia]m C. Dunlap [?] April 21st 1834

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Hooper's credibility certificate + Dunlap authentication

State of Tennessee } Perry County } I Enoch Hooper one of the acting Justices of the peace in & for the County of Perry aforesaid do hereby certify that Crawford Goodman [Goodwin] whose affidavit [oath] is attached to the declaration of William Young for a pension is a credible witness & that his statements are entitled to credit given under my hand & seal this 29th March 1834 E. Hooper J.P. Justice of the peace for Perry county

I certify that the above named E[noch]. Hooper is an acting justice of the peace for the County of Perry & State of Tennessee and was at the time of signing the same. 30th April 1834 W[illia]m C. Dunlap

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Editorial note: "Goodman" vs. "Goodwin" — Hooper writes it "Goodman" here, but it is the same Crawford Goodwin of p. 14. Spelling variants of a single individual.

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Clerk's certificate of proceedings (badly stained on left half)

State of Tennessee } Perry County } I Jese [Jesse] Taylor Clerk of the County Court for s[ai]d County do certify that the foregoing contains the true proceedings in the matter of the application of W[illia]m Young for a pension & further that Enoch Hooper is an acting Justice of the peace for said County & that his signature is genuine. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal of office at office this 26th Dec[embe]r 1833 Jese [Jesse] Taylor Cl[er]k Perry County Court

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Bureau of Pensions abstract letter (typed, 1925)

Rev. & 1812 Wars Section.

October 10, 1925.

Mrs. Mary Young Garlington, ℅ Mrs. Mary Mangum, Hendersonville, N.C.

Madam: I have to advise you that from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim, S-4742, it appears that William Young was born in York County, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1744.

While residing in Ninety Six District, South Carolina in 1776 he was commissioned Lieutenant of Captain Lewis Bobo's Company, Colonel Thomas Brandon's South Carolina Regiment, was in a skirmish with Cherokee Indians and served nine months.

He was commissioned Captain and so served from September 15, 1779 for two months in Colonel Thomas Brandon's South Carolina Regiment and was at the siege and battle at Savanah [Savannah].

He served seven weeks as Captain in Colonel Thomas Brandon's South Carolina Regiment and was at an engagement at Ninety-Six.

Bureau abstract letter (continued)

Two months later he was placed as Captain in command of Brandon's block house on Fair Forest Creek, by order of Colonel Thomas Brandon and continued there eighteen months until peace was declared.

He was allowed pension on his application executed October 23, 1833 while residing in Perry County, Tennessee.

He stated he had a family during the Revolution but no names are on record.

Respectfully, WINFIELD SCOTT, Commissioner.

Editorial note: "he stated he had a family during the Revolution but no names are on record" — for genealogical purposes this is a dead end inside the file: the federal record names no wife or children for this William Young.

"Invalid" file cover

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[Marginalia, left:] Oct. 12, 1904 [letter?] to Miss Sarah S. [Telford?] Waycross Ga 1925-Oct 10 Sent to Mrs Mary Young Garlington [—]

[Rev. War] INVALID. File No. 4742 William Young 3[d]. Pr[i]v[a]t[e], S.C. line Act: June 7[th], 1832 Index:—Vol. A, Page 420 [Arrangement of 1870.]

Bureau of Pensions to Auditor (typed, 1918)

Rev. War Section. 3—1865 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF PENSIONS WASHINGTON April 10, 1918. [stamps:] RECEIVED APR 13 1918, PENSION SECTION

Auditor for Interior Department, 14" and B Streets S.W., Washington, D.C.

Sir: For use in the Revolutionary War pension claim of William Young S.F. No. 4,742 you are requested to furnish this Bureau with a report showing date and place of death, date of last payment of pension and to whom it was paid.

"certificate No. 26,726 issued May 6, 1834, $40. per annum, from March 4, 1831, under Act June 7, 1833 [sic — the Act is June 7, 1832], West Tennessee Agency."

Very respectfully, E. C. [Sieman?] Acting Commissioner.

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Editorial note: "Act June 7, 1833" is a clerk's slip; the enabling act is June 7, 1832 (as written correctly elsewhere in the same file).

Treasury / Auditor reply (typed, 1918)

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TREASURY DEPARTMENT WASHINGTON April 17, 1918. OFFICE OF AUDITOR FOR INTERIOR DEPARTMENT

The Commissioner of Pensions. Sir: In reply to your letter of the 10th instant, you are informed that the records of this office show last payment of pension to William Young, War of the Revolution, certificate No. 26726, Act of June 7, 1832, West Tennessee Agency, for the period from March 4, 1834 to September 4, 1834, to J. H. Marshall, Attorney for the pensioner. There is nothing in the record to show date or place of pensioner's death. Your letter returned herewith. Respectfully, [signature illegible], Acting Auditor.

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Editorial note — likely terminus: the last pension payment ran only through September 4, 1834, and was paid to an attorney (J. H. Marshall), not the pensioner. That, combined with "nothing in the record to show date or place of death," is consistent with (but does not prove) death in or shortly after 1834. The certificate had only just issued (May 6, 1834). This is the closest the file comes to a death window.

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Supplementary declaration (faded; right margin frayed)

State of Tennessee } Perry County } A Declaration Supplementary to a declaration made by William Young on the 23[r]d day of October 1833. in Order to Obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June the 7th 1832

This declarant would further state that his Commissions for Lieutenant & Captain had both been lost long since or mislaid he does not know how

This declarant further states that he was ordered to take Command of Brandons Block house by Col. Brandon[;] that he was drafted as his answer is to the 4th Interrogatory but will here say that his Term of service had long expired before he left the Block house when he had Command[,] but that as he had sent his family away from home to the whig settlements & being determined to serve his country so long as was necessary he at the request of his Col. who had stationed him there continued to serve till the end of the war & did here serve the full term & time of Eighteen Months — at the end of which peace was made when [either?] he this declarant found himself without money or any thing else but his land & it occupied by a tory[;] as all of his property had been taken by the tories & put to their own use[,] the tory who had his land in possession was named [Hawell / Howell?]

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Editorial note: this paragraph directly answers Commissioner Edwards's objection (p. 5) that an 18-month draft was impossible — Young explains he was drafted to the blockhouse but stayed voluntarily, at his colonel's request, past expiration of his term.

Supplementary declaration (continued) + oaths (faded)

This declarant would further Represent that since his declaration was made[,] to which this is a Supplement[,] he has found out one Moses Randal who was a boy in time of the war whose affidavit is hereto annexed. he would here add that the affidavit of Goodwin which is annexed to his former declaration was not taken as it ought[,] that is in [not] proper form as he is not [aware/proper?] & he will further state that he has [no — ?] [moved/come?] from this Country so that a recommendation of him cannot be had & that he knows of no person else by which he can make the necessary proof as required at this time —

Sworn to and Subscribed before me this 10th day of February 1834 [Test] Jeremiah Wood, Justice of the peace [for Perry county] William [his mark] Young

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State of Tennessee } Perry County } This day personally appeared before me [William? — struck] Jeremiah Wood one of the Acting Justices of the peace in & for said County[,] William Young who [assigned/signed] the above declaration and made oath that the facts there set forth are true as stated. Sworn to and Subscribed before me this 18th February 1834 [Test] Jeremiah Wood, Justice of the peace for Perry county William [his mark] Young

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Question by the Justice of the peace[:] did you ever receive a Commission and if so by whom was it signed & what has become of it[?] Answer[:] I have received two[,] one for Lieut[enant] & one for Capt[ain][,] both signed by Gov[ernor] Rutledge of South Carolina & have long since both been [tore?] or mislaid

Wood's certificate + Moses Randal affidavit (begins)

State of Tennessee } Perry County } I Jeremiah Wood, before whom the above Supplement was sworn to[,] do hereby Certify that I am well acquainted with Cap[tain] William Young & have been for a long time[,] to wit more than twenty year[s] or as long ago as I can recollect — I have always heard him reputed an honest man and that he was a captain in the Revolutionary war & [concur in?] that belief & believe what he here states to be true[,] and I the s[ai]d Wood Justice of the peace as aforesaid do hereby certify that the s[ai]d William Young is not able owing to old age & bodily infirmity to attend to make his Supplementary declaration in open Court[,] given under my hand & seal this 18th Feb[ruar]y 1834 Jeremiah Wood Justice of the peace [for] Perry county

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State of Tennessee } Perry County } I Moses Randal do hereby Certify that in the time of the Revolution my father lived in South Carolina in the District of ninety six within three miles of Cap[tain] William Young & that [I have heard it said?] that he was a Captain in the Revolution[,] as he states[,] in the neighbourhood where he lived & I do further certify that when I can first recollect he was a Cap[tain] in the Militia in the s[ai]d District & I do further certify that this is the same William Young —

Randal affidavit (concluded) + JP and Clerk certifications

that I then knew[,] who is now present & whom signed this supplementary declaration[,] and I do hereby further certify that Cap[tain] William Young has always been called an honest man and an excellent whig & that I do believe from what I know of myself & from what I have heard from respectable sources that he was Commissioned as he here states[.] Sworn to & subscribed before me this 10th Feb[ruar]y 1834 [Test] Jeremiah Wood [J.P.] Moses [Randal] [mark/signature]

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State of Tennessee } Perry County } [Jeremiah —] This day personally appeared before me Jeremiah Wood Justice of the peace for said County[,] Moses Randal[,] with whom I am personally acquainted and who is a man of repute for honesty & probity & whom is a credible witness & made Oath that the facts set forth in the above certificate[,] as stated of his own knowledge[,] are true & those not of his own knowledge he [believes from information & otherwise?] to be true[.] Sworn to & subscribed before me this 10th Feb[ruar]y 1834 Test: Jeremiah Wood Esq[.], Justice of the peace for Perry county

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State of Tennessee } Perry County } I Jese [Jesse] Taylor Clerk of Perry County Court do hereby certify that Jeremiah Wood[,] as [aforesaid?][,] is an acting Justice of the peace in & for said County[,] duly Commissioned & qualified as such & that due faith & Credit is and ought to be given to all his Official acts[,] given under my hand & seal of office at office this 11[th] day of Feb[ruar]y 1834 Jese [Jesse] Taylor Clerk Perry County Court

 

Summary of extractable facts (with confidence flags)

High confidence (stated consistently across multiple pages, including the typed 1925 abstract):

• Born York County, Pennsylvania, 15 October 1744 (his own Bible, copied from his father's Bible ~age 24).

• Resided Ninety Six District, South Carolina when called into service.

• Migration: South Carolina → East Tennessee ca. 1807 → Dickson County, Tennessee → Perry County, Tennessee (residence at application).

• Service: Lieutenant (1776, Capt. Lewis Bobo's co., Col. Thomas Brandon's S.C. regiment; Cherokee campaign, ~9 months) → elected Captain after Bobo "turned tory" → Captain at the siege/battle of Savannah, Sept. 1779 → service at the fall of Ninety Six → command of Brandon's Block House on Fair Forest Creek (~18 months to peace).

• Commissions signed by Gov. [John] Rutledge of South Carolina; all lost/mislaid.

• Declaration executed 23 October 1833; supplementary declaration February 1834.

• Pension: $40/annum, certificate No. 26,726, issued 6 May 1834, effective from 4 March 1831, West Tennessee Agency.

• Last payment covered the period to 4 September 1834, paid to attorney J. H. Marshall.

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Low confidence / genuinely uncertain:

• The clerk/recorder name on p. 2; the addressee on p. 3; the second congressman on p. 4.

• The fort name on p. 8 ([Ellis?]) and the tory's surname on p. 25 ([Hawell/Howell?]).

• The witness surname I read as Stanly/Stanley (Fanny). Flagged so it is not assumed to be "Talley."

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Dead ends / cautions for a proof argument:

• The file names no wife or children for this pensioner ("no names are on record," p. 19).

• No death date or place is in the federal record (pp. 19, 24); the September 1834 payment terminus is the only indirect indicator.

• The cover/ledger abstraction of "private … 1 year" contradicts the body of the file (officer, multiple terms); trust the declaration over the abstract.

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