Pension Application

S.22971
Awarded pension of $41.61 per annum
State of New York
Montgomery County SS.
            Personally appeared in open court before the Court of Common Pleas in the saith County of Montgomery on this 19th day of September 1832 Philip Servoss of Florida in the County of Montgomery aged sixty five years who being duly sworn saith that John Servoss of Florida to who he has subscribed and sworn to the annexed declaration is a brother to this deponent that the said John served during the Revolutionary War as a private soldier in a company of Militia commanded by Captain David McMartin, that the said John Servoss in said company as he believes four or five years. That he cannot remember the particular place to which he was called, but has heard the declaration made by the said John Servoss and that this deponent resided in Florida during the war & from his knowledge of the service performed by the said John & the fact which an therein set forth the same is substantially true what I see on the rolls Sept. 1832.. (Signed) Philip Servis
            Geo: J. Ferguson, Clerk
State of New York
Montgomery County SS.
            On this nineteenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred thirty two personally appeared in open court before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in & for the County of Montgomery now sitting John Servoss a resident of Florida in the County of Montgomery and State of New York aged seventy two 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.
            That he the said John Servoss was born at Johnstown in the County aforesaid (then Tryon) on the 25 day of December 1760, that he moved from thence to Charlotte river now Otsego County in the State of New York where he resided until the year 1778 when he removed to the town of Florida & where he has resided ever since the war. That in the said year 1778 in the month of April at Florida aforesaid he entered the service of the United States as a private soldier as a volunteer in a company of Militia under the command of Captain David McMaster, Lieutenant James McMaster & Ensign David Beverly and that he served in the said company as a private soldier for more than four years or from the time he so entered until the close of the war in the year 1783. That this company was attached to a Regiment Commanded by Col. Frederick Fisher Lieut Col. Volkert Veeder & Major John Newkirk that he once had a record of his age in a Bible but that it was burnt with his house in the year 1782 in Florida which was set on fire by the Indians & Tories, that during the time he so served, the company to which he belonged like most of the other companies in the same regiment who were called the Militia of Tryon County, were divided into small parties & kept in turns upon guard at different stations along the Mohawk river & the adjacent country except when alarms were given of approaches of parties of British, Indians & Tories. When they were mustered by Companies & Regiments that he recollects the names of the Captain of Companies belonging to the same Regiment to wit Captains Degraaf, Yeomans, Hodges, Snookje Maybe that he recollects Col. Willett that he saw him at Johnstown after the battle at that place that Captain McMasters Company which had been ordered there were met about a mile from Johnstown by Col. Willett’s Regiment just leaving the field & That this war was near the dusk of the evening. That he was in no particular battle during the time he served that he is unable to recollect the order of Marches or Movements. That they were stationed along the Mohawk river at Florida, Fort Hunter, Fort Plain, Caughnawaga, Johnstown, Fish House, Fort Stanwix & Herkimer, that he was discharged with the rest of the company after the close of the war but cannot recollect the month he has no written discharge now documentary evidence of his service. He can prove his service by Daniel McGraw, George Stien & Philip Servoss and that from the manner & nature of the services which he performed he is unable to compute the amount of actual duty under arms or to follow the events or incidents that they were called out for the period of about nine months in every year. Nearly or about one half the time in periods of one day two three five ten days & two weeks to guard the stations & parts above named, he can lastly testify that during the period he belonged to the said company he was under arms & in active duty eighteen months. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever except the present for a pension or annuity and declares that his name is not on the Pension of the agency of any state. (Signed) John Servoss
            Subscribed and sworn to the day and year aforesaid. Geo. G. Ferguson, Clerk

Letter of inquiry dated May 12, 1938 found in the pension folder.
            The data which follow were obtained from appears on file in the pension claim W.22971, based on the military service of John Servoss.
            He was born December 25, 1760 in Johnstown, then in Tryon County but later Montgomery County, New York. The names of his parents were not given. He moved from there to Charlotte River which was later Otsego County, New York, and lived there until 1778 when he moved to Florida, Montgomery County, New York.
            He enlisted at Florida in April, 1778, and served as private and sergeant with the New York troops at various times until the close of the Revolution, amounting to about eighteen months in all, under Captains David McMaster, Solomon Woodworth and Garrett Putnam, and Colonels Frederick Fisher and Marinus Willett. He stated that in the summer of 1779 he served as a substitute for his cousin, Christian Servoss.
            He was allowed pension on his application executed September 19, 1832, at which time he was a resident of Florida, Montgomery County, New York.
            In 1832 his brother, Philip, was sixty-five years of age and was living in Florida, New York. There are no further data relative to the soldier’s family.

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