Morrison's Pensions

Pension Application for William Hawkins

S.44900
State of New York
City & County of Schenectady SS.
            William Hawkins of the City and County aforesaid being duly sworn deposeth and saith that for the purpose of procuring his pension under the Law of congress passed in March 1818, for Revolutionary Services, he did on the sixth day of April in the Year one Thousand Eight Hundred & Eighteen, appear before James Hildreth Esquire then one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Montgomery, and make his declaration under oath agreeable to the provisions of that act, of his services and discharge from the army of the Revolution,--That at the same time William Wallace (1) who had been a Lieutenant in the Company commanded by Capt. Hansen (2) appeared before the said Judge Hildreth as a witness to this deponents service.—That after the said Declaration & affidavit of the said Wallace were taken & sworn to before the said Judge—This Deponent went to the office of the clerk of said County of Montgomery & procured the Certificate of said Clerk under the seal of the court of Common Pleas of the county that the said Hildreth was at the time a judge for the said Court, & the name subscribed his signature, that on or about the thirteenth of April in the year aforesaid he handed the said Declaration proof &c to John K. Paige of the said City of Schenectady to forward to the War Department—
            This Deponent further says that in addition to his foregoing declaration, that sometime, he thinks in the Month of November in the year 1780 at Verplank’s Point in the State of New York the Regiment commanded by the said Colonel James Livingston (3) was broken up and the non commissioned officers & privates transferred to different Regiments in the United States Service.  That this deponent was at that time transferred to a company commanded by Captain Erastus Wolcott in the first Connecticut Regiment commanded by Colonel Zebulon Butler (4) on the Continental Establishment, that he remained attached to said company & Regiment until the time of his discharge at West Point mentioned in his foregoing declaration.—Further this Deponent says that sometime he thinks in the month of June 1818, he was informed by the said John K. Paige, that his papers had been returned from the War Department, with a memorandum that his name was not found on the Rolls, and that it was necessary for this deponent to procure two credible witnesses of his said service.—That this Deponent then went to the town of Hadley in the County of Saratoga and procured the testimony of one Phineas Austin, who had been a sergeant during the whole time of this deponent’s service in the said company commanded by Capt. Wolcott and attached to the said Company—That the affidavit of the said Phineas Austin was taken & sworn to before Judge Prior then one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the county of Saratoga.  That to procure this testimony he was obliged to travel about eighty miles—That he then went to the County of Green and procured the testimony of one William Porter (5) who was a Sergeant in Captain Wolcotts (6) company and was transferred at the same time with this deponent from the said Hansens to the said Wolcotts company and was always attached to the same company with this deponent.  That the affidavit of the said Porter was taken & sworn to before Judge Adams then one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Green.  That in order to prove this testimony he was under the necessity of traveling about eighty four miles.—That after procuring the testimony of the said Austin Porter, he went to the office of the Secretary of State of the State of New York & procured the Certificate of the said Secretary under the seal of said office, that the said Prior and Adams before whom the original Declaration was made, having since the making thereof  died, this deponent went before David Boyd one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Schenectady who certified as to this deponents indigent circumstances, and that he needed assistance from his country for support, and also that the said Judge Hildreth since the taking of said Declaration had died.  That the certificate of the Clerk & the Seal of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Schenectady that the said David Boyd was at the time one of the Judges of the said court was annexed.  That after his said papers had again been sent to the War Department & returned, he went to the Judges Prior & Adams & procured their certificates, that the witness Austin and Porter respectively sworn before them were credible witnesses.—That after this which was sometime in January 1819—the said papers were again handed to the said John K. Paige to be resent to the War Department—This Deponent further says, that previous to his enlisting for “during the war” as specified in his Declaration he was in service near two years, and was in the expedition to Canada commanded by General Montgomery—That during the Revolutionary War, he was in service upwards of eight years and was a Sergeant during the whole of his service after the last enlistment.  And further he saith now.  (Signed) William Hawkins
            Sworn before me this 28th day of September 1819.  Eliud L. Davis, Justice of the Peace.

Reply to a letter of inquiry.
            Reference is made to your letter relative to William Hawkins, a soldier of the Revolutionary War.
            The data which follow were obtained from the papers on file in pension claim, S.44900, based upon the military service of William Hawkins in the Revolutionary War.
            William Hawkins served as sergeant about two years and was in the expedition to Canada commanded by General Montgomery, date of enlistment not given.  He enlisted sometime in February, 1777, at Fort Stanwix, New York, served as sergeant in Captain Dirck Hansen’s Company, Colonel James Livingston’s New York Regiment, and was in the battles of Saratoga and Rhode Island.  (7) Sometime in November, 1780, he was transferred at Verplanck’s Point, New York, to Captain Erastus Wolcott’s company, Colonel Zebulon Butler’s Connecticut regiment, and was discharged June 4, 1783.
            He was allowed pension on his application executed April 6, 1818, in Montgomery County, New York.
            In 1820 he was aged about sixty-five years and living in Schenectady County, New York.
            On May 14, 1785, William Hawkins was a resident of Danbury, Connecticut, and was appointed by the Probate Court of Dutchess County, New York, administrator of the estate of Isaac Hawkins who served as a private in Colonel VanSchaick’s (8) Connecticut regiment; relationship to soldier not stated.
            In 1820 the solider referred to the following family:
            Mindvil (?) married and moved 35
            Stephen Hawkins, son, moved remote 30
            Peter Hawkins, son moved Holland purchase 27 (?)
            Joseph Hawkins, son, Cayuga 22
            There are no further family data in the claim.
            The foregoing history is that of the only soldier named William Hawkins, who served or was pensioned from the State of New York, found in the Revolutionary War records of this office.

End Notes—William Hawkins S.44900

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