Morrison's Pensions


Henry Smith Application for Pension

W.6126
State of New York
Montgomery County
            This 20th day of September 1832 personally appeared in open court Hon. Aaron Haring, Abraham Morrell, Samuel A. Gilbert, Henry Dievendorf and John Hand of the court of Common Pleas in and for said County now sitting Henry Smith a resident of the Town of Ephrataj in said county and state of New York aged sixty eight years and six months, 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.
            That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated:--
            In the year 1778 this applicant then fourteen years of age enrolled himself as a volunteer in the militia company of Capt. Nicholas Richtor. (1) This company was located in the north part of (what was then) the town of Palatine. And the inhabitants were in continual alarm from the mauradering parties of Indians and Tories that were then infesting Tryon County. Captain Richetor (2) and his company had frequent skirmishes with those parties in one of which a number of his men were killed and he himself was wounded and remained a number of years to the time of his death a pensioner to the United States.
            That this applicant served in this company two years during which time he knows of no officer higher in command than his captain.  That once while in this company they were ordered and marched from the fort at Stone Arabia to assist in repelling an alarm at Fort Stanwix but their principal duty was to guard the inhabitants in there own immediate vicinity until the latter part of his service in this company when being overpowered by the enemy the company and the inhabitants were obliged to seek refuge in the block house and at the fort at Stone Arabia.
            That about the 1st part of April 1780 (3) he enlisted into the company of rangers under Captain John Casselman and served in said company nine months the period of his enlistment and was discharged about the 1st January 1781.
            The service in this company was ranging the country in small parties (called scouting parties) whose duty was to give an alarm in case of danger and was of much service to such of the inhabitants as were obliged leave the forts to attend to agriculture and other pursuits.
            That about the 1st of April of the latter year viz 1781 (4) he enlisted into the company of nine months men under Captain Lawrence Gross under Col. Marinus Willett’s regiment that his service while in this company was also guarding the frontiers from Fort Hunter in the Mohawk River to Fort Stanwix and the interior of Tryon County.
            That he fought at the Battle at Johnstown on the 22nd of October 1781 (5) he was at this time in Captain Gross’s Company in the immediate command of Col. Willett.
            That on the day preceding the battle he was sent express by Col. Willett to the Commander of the fort at Stone Arabia (6) ordering him to advance what force he could spare toward Johnstown.
            That after the battle he returned with his company to Fort Plain and continued in the service until the first of Jan'y 1782 when he was discharged and was again enrolled in the Militia Company now under the command of Captain Henry Miller and continues to do duty in said company at the fort at Stone Arabia until the close of the war.
            That he knows of no more or other testimony than the affidavits hereunto annexed. That he hereby relinquishes every claim whatsoever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the roll of any agency of any state.
            To the questions directed to be responded he answered:
            He was born in the town of Cattskill in the county of Green State of New York on the 31st day of March 1764. He has at present no record of his age, that he formerly had one recorded by his father in his Bible it was burnt several years since at his brother’s house in Ephratah. He lived at Stone Arabia when he entered the service after the Revolutionary War he has ever lived where he now lives in Ephratah, Montgomery County.(7) He entered the service as a volunteer under Captain Nicholas Richtor and afterward enlisted into the companies of Captain Casselman and Gross as stated above. He served along with Col. Willett, Col. Brown, (8) Col. Klock, Major Fink and the officers in the stations along the Mohawk River and in Tryon County.

Sworn and subscribed this 20th day of September 1832
Signed with his mark, Henry Smith.
In open court, Geo D. Ferguson, C. Clerk

After Henry’s death May 3, 1840, his widow Nancy Smith applied for his pension.

End Notes for Henry Smith W.6126
By James F. Morrison

  1. Henry’s name does not appear on Captain Nicholas Richter’s Company [Rechtor] in Colonel Jacob Klock’s Regiment of Tryon county Militia [Second Regiment]. As he states he was only fourteen which means he was not old enough to be legally enrolled to serve.
  2. Henry is referring to April 20, 1779 when a party of Indians attacked the Tillegorough settlement.  Tilleborough also called Dillenburg, Dillenboro, etc. is in the present day Town of Ephratah, Fulton County.   In this raid Jacob Apply [Epply etc.] and Henry Hart were killed.  Captain Richtor and his wife was wounded and their son was killed.  After this incident the settlement broke up and most moved away and the company no longer existed.  Henry Miller who replaced Captain Christopher W. Fox now added this area to his company beat.
  3. Henry is listed as enlisting on the 12 May 1780 in Captain John Casseelman’s Company of Rangers.
  4. He is listed as enlisting on the 22 of May 1781 and being discharged on the 31 of December 1781.  He is serving inCaptain Gross’ Company in colonel Marinus Willett’s Regiment of New York State Levies.
  5. The Battle of Johnstown was fought on the 25th of October 1781.
  6. Fort Paris was built in 1776 and named after Isaac Paris.
  7. Ephratah became part of Fulton County in 1838.
  8. Colonel John Brown and Brigade Major Andrew Fink.

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