Thomas Thaxton’s other pension application – 1823 Simpson Co., Ky
When Hannah Williamson Thaxton, widow of Thomas Thaxton (b. 1744-1747 probably Goochland Co., Va., d. 1824 Allen or Simpson Co., Ky), sought a pension for her husband’s Revolutionary War service, she said that her husband had hired an attorney to pursue a pension, but he then died and nothing was ever done with it. Perhaps unknown to her, the first steps had in fact been taken: Thomas went before the Circuit Court in Simpson County, Kentucky, and described his service, his assets, and the children who were then living with him. This is a pretty exciting document, for several reasons: It gave us a previously unknown daughter (Jemima), it tells us that Thomas had 21 children, and it gives us a first-hand summary of his service. We also should look into the witnesses as to his assets; are they related? I will be posting a photocopy of the court statement; because of its importance, I am also posting the best transcription I could make:
Simpson County, Kentucky, Circuit Court order book A-1, pp. 81-82, Tuesday, 22 Jul 1823, seventh day [of the current session. Note: document erroneously says April in a couple of places]. This book is unindexed; I skimmed the entries from 1822 through 22 Jul 1823 and found that a day earlier, Thomas had served on a jury that found Susanna Kelley to be of unsound mind.]
Commonwealth of Kentucky Simpson circuit & County ct At a circuit court began and held for the county of Simpson on the second Monday in April 1823 personally appeared in open court on the eight day of said court it being a court of record before the Honorable Henry P Broadnax Judge of the Sixth Judicial district for said commonwealth Thomas Thackiston age seventy five or six years resident in Simpson County who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath represent and declare that he served in the revolutionary war as follows that he volunteered sometime in the year 1780 in a company commanded by captain Robert Moore in the Regiment of Conl James Thacston of Hillsborough N. Carolina that he with the Regiment was marched to and stationed at Halifax courthouse Va where they remained about two months and there being no immediate use for them they where permitted to return home but to wait in readiness subjeck to a call at any time that they had not long been at home before they were called out to support General Lincoln in compelling the British to raise the siege of Charleston That on the march their officers were deposed regular officers plaised in command over them that from the critical situation of the country at that time they where detained in the servis about nine or ten months during which time he fought in the Battles of Stones ferry and several other slight engagements he thinks he was discharged from this service in the winter following my inlistment That some time in the next spring or summer as well as he recollects when Lord Cornwallis was overstriding our Country another call was made on the militia of our state No Carolina for a reinforcement that he among others under the command of Major Hall or Henry D__n tho in regular order joined Genl Greene a short time before the battle at Gilford courthouse in which he also fought that he remained in the servise for something like two months and was again permitted to return home where he was engaged against the Tories and Indians until the cloas of war. And I solemnly sware was a resident citizen of the UStates on the 18th day of March 1818 And that have not since that time by gift sale or any other wise disposed of my property or any part thereof with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself with the provisions of an act of congress entitled an act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the ustates in the revolutionary war passed on the 18th day of March 1818 And that have not nor has any person in Trust for me any property or secret contracts or debts due to me nor have any income other than what is contained in the schedule hereto on ___t and by me subscribed have no real property and live on rented land which I am myself unable to still from a strain got in my thigh during service in the revolutionary war which in my old age has rendered it almost useless – have a mare and clott worth about $40 five head of cattle worth about $25 or 30 and three head of hoggs worth $3 or 4 – have had twenty one children seven of whom are living with me the eldest a daughter about 16 years of age named Jemima Williamson a boy about Fourteen years of age can do some work George about eleven years old a sprightly boy & able to help me some Matilday about nine years old Thomas seven years old Milly between five & six – Phebe four & Sally about eighteen months of age sworn to and declared on the twenty second day of April 1823 Thomas Thaxston [T - his mark] and which declaration and statement was duly sworn to and it is moreover Ordered to be certified that it is proven to the satisfaction of the court by the oaths of Robert Rankins and Allen Jones Junr two credible witnesses that he total value of the property exhibited in the foregoing schedule of Thos Thackston is seventy four dollars a certificate of which endorsed on said declaration is in the words and figures following, To wit,
State of Kentucky Franklin To wit, I Henry P Broadnax one of the circuit judges in and for the state aforesaid, and presiding judge of the circuit court held for this county of Simpson do hereby certify the amount and value of the property contained in the within schedule was proved in open court by two witnesses to be all that this applicant was worth and I am satisfied with the testimony of the said witnesses. Given under my hand & seal this 22 July 1823. Henry P. Broadnax.
Simpson County, Kentucky, Circuit Court order book A-1, pp. 81-82, Tuesday, 22 Jul 1823, seventh day [of the current session. Note: document erroneously says April in a couple of places]. This book is unindexed; I skimmed the entries from 1822 through 22 Jul 1823 and found that a day earlier, Thomas had served on a jury that found Susanna Kelley to be of unsound mind.]
Commonwealth of Kentucky Simpson circuit & County ct At a circuit court began and held for the county of Simpson on the second Monday in April 1823 personally appeared in open court on the eight day of said court it being a court of record before the Honorable Henry P Broadnax Judge of the Sixth Judicial district for said commonwealth Thomas Thackiston age seventy five or six years resident in Simpson County who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath represent and declare that he served in the revolutionary war as follows that he volunteered sometime in the year 1780 in a company commanded by captain Robert Moore in the Regiment of Conl James Thacston of Hillsborough N. Carolina that he with the Regiment was marched to and stationed at Halifax courthouse Va where they remained about two months and there being no immediate use for them they where permitted to return home but to wait in readiness subjeck to a call at any time that they had not long been at home before they were called out to support General Lincoln in compelling the British to raise the siege of Charleston That on the march their officers were deposed regular officers plaised in command over them that from the critical situation of the country at that time they where detained in the servis about nine or ten months during which time he fought in the Battles of Stones ferry and several other slight engagements he thinks he was discharged from this service in the winter following my inlistment That some time in the next spring or summer as well as he recollects when Lord Cornwallis was overstriding our Country another call was made on the militia of our state No Carolina for a reinforcement that he among others under the command of Major Hall or Henry D__n tho in regular order joined Genl Greene a short time before the battle at Gilford courthouse in which he also fought that he remained in the servise for something like two months and was again permitted to return home where he was engaged against the Tories and Indians until the cloas of war. And I solemnly sware was a resident citizen of the UStates on the 18th day of March 1818 And that have not since that time by gift sale or any other wise disposed of my property or any part thereof with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself with the provisions of an act of congress entitled an act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the ustates in the revolutionary war passed on the 18th day of March 1818 And that have not nor has any person in Trust for me any property or secret contracts or debts due to me nor have any income other than what is contained in the schedule hereto on ___t and by me subscribed have no real property and live on rented land which I am myself unable to still from a strain got in my thigh during service in the revolutionary war which in my old age has rendered it almost useless – have a mare and clott worth about $40 five head of cattle worth about $25 or 30 and three head of hoggs worth $3 or 4 – have had twenty one children seven of whom are living with me the eldest a daughter about 16 years of age named Jemima Williamson a boy about Fourteen years of age can do some work George about eleven years old a sprightly boy & able to help me some Matilday about nine years old Thomas seven years old Milly between five & six – Phebe four & Sally about eighteen months of age sworn to and declared on the twenty second day of April 1823 Thomas Thaxston [T - his mark] and which declaration and statement was duly sworn to and it is moreover Ordered to be certified that it is proven to the satisfaction of the court by the oaths of Robert Rankins and Allen Jones Junr two credible witnesses that he total value of the property exhibited in the foregoing schedule of Thos Thackston is seventy four dollars a certificate of which endorsed on said declaration is in the words and figures following, To wit,
State of Kentucky Franklin To wit, I Henry P Broadnax one of the circuit judges in and for the state aforesaid, and presiding judge of the circuit court held for this county of Simpson do hereby certify the amount and value of the property contained in the within schedule was proved in open court by two witnesses to be all that this applicant was worth and I am satisfied with the testimony of the said witnesses. Given under my hand & seal this 22 July 1823. Henry P. Broadnax.
HANNAH WILLIAMSON THAXTON
(1789 – 1861)
Hannah Williamson Thaxton, widow of Thomas Thaxton,
applied for a Revolutionary War Pension from the United States in 1856. Since she stated herself to be an uneducated
person, this is a valuable source of family history as it is her reporting of
the facts in the case making it a primary source of information. Transcript taken from actual records by
Carolee Moncur,PT,PhD on 14 Feb 2006.
!MILITARY
PENSION. Hannah Thaxton applied for a
Revolutionary War pension as a widow of Thomas Thaxton. Following is a transcript of the entry in the
Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files of the Daughter of the American
Revolution (DAR) p. 3455.
THAXTON, Thomas, NC
line, Hannah, R10482, sol m Hannah Williamson 19 May 1807 in Pendleton County,
SC, sol lived in Hillsboro Dist of NC during the Rev & about 1788 he moved
to Pendleton Dist SC & in 1811 he moved to Allen Co KY where sold 29 Aug
1824 aged 80 yrs & his wid appl 23 Apr 1856 Allen Co KY aged 67, wid referred
to children in 1856 as; Williamson Thaxton who if then living was in IL aged
about 47, George T. Thaxton who d at age of 20 in Allen Co KY, Matilda who m
Wm. Logan & was then living in IL, Thomas Thaxton a res of Logan Co KY,
Milly Thaxton who d in Simpson Co KY, Phebe Thaxton a res of Allen Co KY, Sarah
whom Reuben Logan & was then a res of IL & James H. Thaxton aged 34 a
res of IL, in 1856 a Joseph Frost aged 60 a res of Allen Co KY stated he was b
in Pendleton Co SC.
Following is
a transcription of the Revolutionary War Pension Records from the actual
document by Carolee Moncur, Ph.D. on 15 Feb 2006.
THAXTON,
THOMAS
State(s) : NC
Series:
M805 Roll: Image: 672 File: R10482
State of
Kentucky
County of
Allen
Be it known that
on this twenty third day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand-eight
hundred and fifty six before me the subscriber, a Justice of the Peace, within
and for the County and State aforesaid, (duly authorized by law to administer
oaths,) personally appeared Mrs. Hannah Thaxton, aged sixty-seven years, a
resident of said County and said State, who being first duly sworn according to
law, Declares---that she is the widow of Thomas Thaxton, deceased, who served
in the Revolutionary War. That her said
husband always told her, in relating the early history of his life, That during
the Revolutionary War, he resided in the County or District of Hillsboro, in
the State of North Carolina, and that he was in several bodies of Militia and
other troops raised for the State of North Carolina, and that during his
service he was in the States of South Carolina and North Carolina with the army
of General Green,---That she has many times heard him relate the history and
particulars of his service, in which he often stated that he had served during
the Revolutionary War, a period or tour of eighteen months, and that on some
occasions or tours, it had been his duty to take charge of bagage (sic), or
Bagage (sic) waggons,--and at other times he was in the ranks of a private
soldier, and was in many skirmishes. That
he was in the Battle of Eutaw Springs, in Sept. 1781. That he was in the service, and present at
the hanging of Sarjeant Gornell, for mutinous conduct, shortly before the
evacuation of Charleston of the British, and she well remembers his description
of the scene. That he was also in the
service when the American Army took possession of Charleston, after its
evacuation by the British in 1782. And
that he was honorably discharged from the service, and returned on foot in
company with a number of his companions, to the place of his residence in
Hillsboro District, North Carolina. That
she has frequently heard him name the immediate officers under whom he served,
but their names have gone out of memory, and she cannot state them,--and that
she mainly relies on such evidence as the Records at Washington, D.C. &
Raleigh, N.C. will afford, as to the particular service her said husband
rendered, and the name of his officers.
That her said husband continued to live in Hillsboro District North
Carolina, untill (sic) after the close of the Revolution, when about the year
one thousand seven hundred & eighty eight (1788), he moved to the County or
District of Pendleton, In the state of South Carolina where she married
him. That she was married to the said
Thomas Thaxton, by Rev. Moses Holland on the 19th day of May in the year of our
Lord, on thousand eight hundred and seven, (1807) in the County of Pendleton
South Carolina. That her name before her
said marriage was Hannah Williamson, and that she has (after making diligent
enquiry) no knowledge of any public or private record of her said
marriage,--and that she and her said husband being uneducated, kept no family
record. That she and her said husband
continued to live in Pendleton District, South Carolina, up to about the of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and eleven (1811) when they moved to Allen
County Kentucky, where she continued to reside with her said husband, as his
lawful wife, up to the time of his death.
That her said husband shortly before his death employed an attorney in
the person of William Crow, Esq. of Allen County, Kentucky, to prepare his
paper in order to assert his claim for his Revolutionary Services, but before
anything was accomplished in the premises, her said husband died. And his Attorney, the said William Crow, Esq.
having also since died, the papers, or memoranda then made in the case, have
now been lost or destroyed.----That her said husband died in Allen County,
Kentucky on the 29th day of August, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight
hundred and twenty four (1824) being as the time of his death, eighty years of
age,--leaving her his widow, --and that she has not married, since the death of
her said husband, but continues his widow.
That she had in the bonds of lawful wedlock by her said husband, the
following named children, to wit---Williamson Thaxton, who, if now living,
resides in Illinois, & is about 47 years of age--George T.Thaxton, who died
at 20 years of age in Allen County, Kentucky--Matilda Thaxton, who married
William Logan, and resides in Illinois--Thomas Thaxton, a resident in Logan
County, Kentucky---Milly Thaxton, who died in Simpson County, Kentucky,--Phebe
Thaxton, now resident in Allen County, Kentucky,--Sarah Thaxton, who married
Reuben Logan, now living in Illinois,--and James H. Thaxton, is thirty-four
years old, and lives in Illinois. That
she is entirely uneducated, and having kept no family record she is unable to
tell accurately the ages of any but her/ his first & last child. That she relies upon such facts and
circumstances, respecting her said husbands services, his death, her marriage,
identity, as she may be able to procure and present, which this her
declaration, and claims to be allowed a Pension under such acts of Congress, as
she may be entitled, under the proofs/facts herewith presented. That she is
aged and infirm and unable to attend Court, and makes her mark because she
never learned to write.
James G. Austin, of Washington, D.C. is
hereby authorized as my friend and attorney to prosecute this my claim and
receive any Pension certificate, which be issued thereon.
Hannah "X"Thaxton
(her mark) [seal]
We, Joseph Bennett and Jordan Evans, citizens of Allen County, Kentucky,
being sworn, declare upon oath that we have been for many years acquainted with
Mrs. Hannah Thaxton, widow of Thomas Thaxton deceased, and know her to be a
respectable person and worthy of credit, That she is the identical person she represents
herself to be and that she signed (by making her mark) and acknowledged the
foregoing Declaration in our presence and that are not interested in the
results of the case or engaged in its prosecution.
Jos.
Bennett
Jordan Evans
Subscribed
and sworn to before me-----------for above written by the above Hannah Thaxton
and Joseph Bennett and Jordon Evans and certify that they are all respectable
persons and worthy & certify that Mrs Hannah Thaxton who made the foregoing
declaration is well known to me and is too infirm to attend Court and says she
makes her mark because she ---------to write and further that I am not in the
results of the case, or engaged in its prosecution.
William Mansfield, J.P.A.C.
State of
Kentucky
County of
Allen
On this 23rd day of April, A.D. 1856
personally appeared before and the district, a Justice of the Peace, in and for
the County & State aforesaid (duly authorized by law to administer oaths)
Mr. Joseph Frost, who being next duly sworn according to law, does on his oath
declare--That he resides in the County of Allen and State of Kentucky and is
sixty years of age--That he was born in Pendleton County, South Carolina, and
during his boyhood, while a resident in South Carolina, he was familiarly
acquainted with Hannah Williamson & Thomas Thaxton, That he lived near
these persons, and his Father's plantation joined that of the said Thomas
Thaxton in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and seven, (1807),
when the said Hannah Williamson was married to the said Thomas Thaxton, That he
well remembers that event, though but a boy from the reason that he lived near
the parties, and the match was very unequal as regarded their respective
ages. That he frequently heard the said
Thomas Thaxton relate, while living in South Carolina, the history and
hardships of his revolutionary service, and he was generally respected to be,
while living there, a revolutionary soldier.
That in about the year one thousand eight hundred & eight, he
(aff-----), moved with his Father's family to Allen County, Kentucky---and
about the year one thousand eight hundred and eleven (1811) said Thomas and
Hannah Thaxton, emigrated from Pendleton County, South Carolina, and settled in
the Allen County, Kentucky in his immediate neighborhood, where after having
grown to manhood, he again heard the said Thomas Thaxton relate the history of
his Revolutionary Service, and where he, the said Thaxton again became a
reputed revolutionary soldier, none seeming the least to doubt, but that he had
served exactly as he represented. That
said Thomas and Hannah Thaxton continued to live together as man and wife, and
were so respected, in their neighborhood, up to the 29th day of August, 1824,
when the said Thomas Thaxton died, at the reputed age of eighty years. That he was present & saw his corpus, and
assisted in the internment of his remains, and that said Thaxton was considered
while living, respectable, industrious & truthful man. That he is still acquainted with the said
Hannah Thaxton, who has not remarried since the death of her said husband, but
continues his widow and that she is the identical woman who made the foregoing
declaration. That he was acquainted with
Williamson, George, Matilda, Thomas, Milly, Phebe, Sarah and James Thaxton, who
were recognized in the neighborhood, as being the children born in lawful
wedlock of the said Thomas & Hannah Thaxton, and that he is not interested
in the result of the case, or engaged in its prosecution, and that he signed
his mark because he never learned to write.
Joseph "X" Frost
(his mark)
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