Pension Application

S.9986
Pension was awarded, $65.86 per annum.
State of New York
Montgomery County SS.
            On this twentieth day of September one thousand eight hundred & thirty two personally appeared in open court before Aaron Harin, Abraham Morrell, Henry J. Dievendorff, John Hand & Samuel A. Gilbert Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, now sitting Abraham Philips of the town of Ephratah, County of Montgomery & State of New York aged eighty year & 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. That he belonged to the Militia and served under Captain John Davis and draughted to go to Ticonderoga in the winter of 1776 & 1777 while there was under the command of General Arnold and was there about three months in actual service all this time when he returned he was draughted again to Captain Davis company of Militia & Commanded By Col. Veeder. Then they was marched to Oriskany and was in that battle on the 6th day of August 1777—at this battle Captain Davis was slain & his company dispersed, that he this deponent then enlisted into the naval or Batteaux service under Captain Simon Degraff and served in that company our campaign of nine months, that he was employed in this service on the Mohawk River between Schenectady and Fort Stanwix and on the Hudson River from Albany to Fishkill and Kings Ferry, that he helpt ferry Washingtons army over the river at the latter place which he thinks was in the year 1778 under said Degraff—That after this he was enrolled in Captain Volker Veeders Company of Militia and served in said Feeders company until the end of the war. This deponent further says that his service was of various kinds, part of the time he transporting provisions with his team, part of the time he ran scouts & keeping the Indians & Tories from Committing depredations on the inhabitants over the then Frontier & that this deponent further says that he served more than two years in the war of the revolution in active service alternately & he knows of no other proof that will [blot] any more than he has set forth—He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state—to the questions [?] to be propounded he answers he was born in the Town of Johnstown then called Caughnawaga in the month of March 1752. That his uncle had his record of his age but is not certain that it is there now. That he lived in the town of Johnstown in said County there & has lived in said county ever since the war & living now in Ephratah. That he was called into the service as is stated in said declaration was principally by volunteering & being ordered out by his non-commissioned officers—That he was acquainted with the following officers, General Arnold, General Schuyler, Genl Renselaer, General Herkimer, Col. Willet, Col. Cox, Col. Jacob Klock. That he never had any discharge but a verbal one. That he is acquainted with Samuel Waters, Peter Getman, Thomas R. Burdick, Charles Getman & many others that will attest to his veracity. (Signed with his mark) Abraham Philips
            Sworn & Subscribed the day & year aforesaid.
Letter of inquiry dated August 1, 1939.
            Reference is made to your letter in which you request the Revolutionary War record of Abraham Phillips of New York.
            The data which follow were obtained from papers on file in pension claim S.9986, based upon service in the Revolutionary War of Abraham Philips, and in the record of the only Abraham Philips of New York found in the Revolutionary War pension files.
            Abraham Philips was born in March, 1751, or 1752, in “Caughnawaga” now Johnstown (then Tryon County) New York. Names of his parents are not shown.
            While a resident of Johnstown, Tryon County, New York, Abraham Philips enlisted in September 1775, served at various times as private and batteauman to 1783, amounting in all to more than two years, in captains John Davis’, Samuel Pettingill’s, Simon DeFraff’s, Dockstader’s, and Volker Veeder’s companies, Colonels Frederick Fisher’s Ebenezer Cox’s, Wayne’s, Veeder’s, Willet’s and Klock’s New York Regiments, and was in the battle of Oriskany.
            The soldier was allowed pension on his application executed September 20, 1832, at which time he was a resident of Ephratah, Montgomery County, New York.
            No reference was made to wife or children. In 1832, he referred to an uncle and cousin, their names not stated, and no further family data are shown.

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