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Of
this list Major Joseph
Finley has a separate sketch herein.
He and
John
Killin, another
revolutionary soldier, are the only ones
known to be buried in the old cemetery in
West Union. The graves of both are
marked. Most of the revolutionary
soldiers in Adams County who obtained
pensions, did so through Wesley
Lee, who acted as pension agent in West
Union from about 1823, so long as pensions
were obtained.
Daniel Copple served as a
private in the German battalion of the
continental troops, revolutionary army.
He was a member of Capt. Daniel
Burchart's company, between Oct. 4,
1776, and July, 1777. He was on the
rolls of Capt. Peter Boyer's company,
from Aug., 1777, to June, 1779. His
name appears as Daniel Kettle on the rolls
of Capt. Michael Boyer's company,
from Nov., 1799, to De-
Page 332 -
cember, 1780. He
was enlisted for the war. This
battalion was raised from the several
colonies. There were four companies
from Pennsylvania and four from Maryland.
Daniel Copple, a former resident of
Liberty Township, Adams County, Ohio, was
his grandson and Mrs. M. J. Earley,
of Red Oak, Ohio, is his
great-granddaughter. He is buried in
the Dutch graveyard, in Liberty Township,
together with his wife, and his grave is
unmarked. He could speak only a few
words of English and that with great
difficulty.
Thomas Kincaid was a
sergeant in Capt. William Henderson's
company, colonel in Daniel Morgan's
rifle regiment, in July, 1777, and till
after Nov., 1777. He was born Dec. 13,
1755, near Richmond, Virginia, and died in
Adams County, Ohio, July 3, 1819. His
wife, Mary Patterson, was born in
Virginia, Sept. 20, 1757, and died in Adams
County, Mar. 10, 1824. Both are buried
at Winchester.
Henry Aldred
was born in
Germany. He was one of the first
settlers on Brush Creek. He died
in1835, and is buried in the McColm
Cemetery on Brush Creek. He has
descendants living in the county.
John Treber, father of
Jacob Treber, who has a separate sketch
here under the Treber family, was a
revolutionary soldier. He located
where William Treber now resides, in
1796, and there he died. He is buried
in the family cemetery on the farm.
Benjamin Yates, a soldier
of the revolutionary war, died in Manchester
on Jan. 30, 1849, and is buried in the old
graveyard there. He is said to have
been over one hundred and fourteen years old
when he died. He came from Meadville,
Pennsylvania. He has no descendants
living, nearer than great-grandchildren.
He enlisted March, 1778, for one year as a
private in Captain Pichett's company,
from Maryland, colonel not stated. He
re-enlisted May, 1781, in Captain Murdock's
company; colonel not state. He was
wounded at the battle of Yorktown by a piece
of shell. He resided in Frederick
County, Maryland, when he enlisted. He
applied for a pension May 10, 1834, at which
time he was eighty-eight years of age.
His claim was allowed. He died Jan.
30, 1849, leaving a widow, Sarah Robinson,
whom he married July 16, 1835. She
obtained a pension as his widow.
Rev. Wm. Baldridge, pastor
of the Cherry Fork U. P. Church, 1809 to
1830, was a revolutionary soldier. He
has a separate sketch herein. He
enlisted from North Carolina in the cavalry
and is said to have served seven years.
None of his numerous and distinguished
descendants could be interested in this work
and hence we are unable to give his official
record. He and his first wife rest in
unmarked graves in the Cherry Fork Cemetery
and the location of their graves has been
lsot. He served longer than any of
whom we have obtained a record.
Rev. William Williamson,
who has a separate sketch herein, was a
revolutionary soldier. Eight of his
descendants are represented in this work and
hence we have a full account of him.
He is buried at the Manchester Old Cemetery
and his grave marked.
Edward Evans was a
revolutionary soldier, great-grandfather of
one of the editors of this work. He
has a separate sketch herein, and
Page 333 -
is buried
in the village cemetery at Russelville and
his grave is marked as that of a
revolutionary soldier.
John Killin was born, 1755
near Carlisle, Pa. He enlisted in Feb.
1776 for fourteen months in Capt. Robert
Adams' company, Col. Irwin's
regiment. In the fall of 1777, he
enlisted for two months in Capt. James
Poweres' company, Col. Watt's
regiment. In the spring of 1778 he
served two months in Capt. Thomas Clark's
company, Col. Watt's regiment.
July, 1778, he enlisted for two months in
Capt. Grimes' company, Col. Dunlap's
regiment, and in the fall of 1778, he served
two months in Capt. James Powers'
company, Col. Dunlap's regiment.
In the winter of 1778, 1779, he served two
months in Captain Thomas Clark's
company, Col. Watt's regiment.
All these were Pennsylvania organizations.
In all these services he was enrolled as a
musician. He was in the battles of
Three rivers and Crooked Billett. He
died Sept. 10, 1844, aged eighty-seven
years, and was buried in West Union
cemetery. He was a pensioner.
His wife, Rachael Harper, to whom he was married
Nov. 19, 1797, survived him and was
pensioned. He owned a large tract of
land east of West Union, and laid out
Killenstown. William and George
Killen were his sons and his daughter,
Mary married William Carpenter.
William Falls, a
revolutionary soldier, is buried near the
Cedar College school house on the hill just
opposite the mouth of Beasley Fork.
Richard Woodworth was born
in Ireland in 1758. He enlisted in
1775 and served during the entire war.
He married in Adams County, in 1802,
Sarah Ann Robinson. His children
were: Laban, Mary, wife of
J. N. Timmonds; Wheeler; Nellie, wife of
William Gilges; William, James, Richard,
Sarah, wife of Samuel Shaw; Rebecca,
wife of John Sparks. He has a
grandson, George Sparks, at Rome, two
granddaughters at Little, Ky., Mrs.
Harriet A. Little and Mrs. H. C.
McCoy, and others in Kansas and
Illinois. He died in 1841 or 1842 and
is buried on Blue Creek.
Peter Platter, the son of
Joseph and Anna Barbara Platter, was
born in the town of Saarbruck, duchy of
Nassau, Germany, on the twenty-first of
September, 1758. He was seven years
old when his parents came to America and
settled in Frederick County, Md. He
was eighteen yeas of age when the struggle
began between the colonies and the mother
country. He enlisted as a soldier and
served during the war of the revolution,
participating in the battle of Brandywine
and other engagements, and after seeing much
service was honorably discharged at the
conclusion of the war. At or near the
close of the war his father, Joseph
Platter, removed to Washington County,
Pa. In the archives of Pennsylvania,
second series, Vol. 14, page 768, is a
record of Peter Platter, a private in
Captain Robert Ramsey's company from
Washington County, doing service on the
frontiers from 1782 to 1785. In 1787,
he was married to Sarah Crabs and in
1793, in company with Peter Wickersham,
who had married his sister Mary, he
emigrated to Kentucky, and from there came
to Adams County, Ohio, about the year 1800.
He settled about a mile southwest of Locust
Grove and lived tehre about ten years,
removing in 1811 to Twin
Page 334 -
Township, Ross
County, Ohio, where he spent the remainder
of his life. He died Jan. 2, 1832, at
the ripe age of seventy-three years, and his
remains now rest in the city cemetery at
Chillicothe, Ohio. He was a man of
sterling integrity of character, and a
devout Christian. He left behind him a
memory highly cherished by his children and
his children's children.
Jesse Edwards was born
Apr. 3, 1754, in the state of Maryland.
When a boy he was bound out to a farmer by
the name of Clulls, living in West
Virginia. He enlisted as a soldier of
the revolutionary war, May, 1776, for two
months, as a private of Capt. William
McCalla's company; colonel not stated.
At the time of this enlistment he was from
the state of Pennsylvania, July, 1776, for
six months, as a private in Capt. Thomas
Craig's company, Col. Nathaniel
Baxter. He enlisted a third time
from the state of Virginia, July 17, 1781,
for two months, as a private of Capt.
Beaver's company; colonel not stated.
He was engaged in the battles of Staten
Island and Fort Washington, at which place
he was made a prisoner. At the time of
his first enlistment he was a resident of
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and at the time
of his last enlistment a resident of Loudon
County, Va. He applied for a pension
Oct. 25, 1832, and at that time resided in
Jefferson Township, Adams County, Ohio,
being the age of seventy-six years. He
obtained a land warrant and exchanged it for
land near New York City, which he leased for
ninety-nine years. After the
Revolution he first came to Kentucky and
married a widow by the name of Skilman.
She was a slave holder and he and she
separated and were divorced. He then
came to Adams County and married a Miss
Beatman. He settled on Scioto
Brush Creek on the site of the village of
Rarden in Adams County, but a re-survey of
the county put the place in Scioto County.
He reared a large family and his wife died
in 1840 at Isma Freeman's near Otway.
From that time until his death he made his
home with John Edwards, a grandson.
His death occurred the second day of
November, 1856, at the great age of 101
years, 7 months and 29 days. His
descendants made an effort to recover his
New York property, but failed on account of
being unable to establish their identity.
John R. Mehaffey was born
in Sussex County, New Jersey, Aug. 31, 1759.
He removed to Cumberland County,
Pennsylvania, in 1774, and to Westmoreland
County in 1776 and to Adams County, Ohio, in
1799. On July 3, 1778, he enlisted for
four months as a private in Captain James
Moore's company, Capt. John Shields'
regiment from the state of Pennsylvania.
He enlisted again Apr. 1, 1779, for seven
months as a ranger; captain and colonel not
stated, but from the state of Pennsylvania.
He enlisted again Apr. 1, 1780, for seven
months from the state of Pennsylvania in a
company captain not stated, under Major
James Wilson, from Westmoreland County.
He applied for pension Oct. 5, 1832, then a
resident of Adams County, at the age of
seventy-three years.
John Baldwin was
born in 1756 in Frederick County, Maryland.
He enlisted in the military July, 1776, for
four months, as a private in Captain
Jacob Goode's company, Col. Griffin,
from the state of Mary-
Page 335 -
land. He
enlisted again Sept. 2, 1777, for two
months, as a private, in Captain W.
Peppel's company, Col. Johnson,
from Maryland. He was engaged in the
battle of Germantown. He died Oct. 4,
1848, in his ninety-second year and was
buried in the Kirker Cemetery in
Liberty Township.
John Stivers was the grandfather of A. J.
Stivers, of Ripley, and
great-grandfather of Frank Stivers,
the banker, of Ripley, and also of Emmons
B. Stivers, one of the editors of this
work. He enlisted May, 1780, at the
age of fifteen, for five months, as a
private, in Captain Robert Daniel's
company, Col. Spencer, from the state
of Virginia. He enlisted again June,
1781, for three months, as a private, in
Robert Harris's company. At the
time of his enlistment he was a resident of
Spottsylvania County, Virginia. He
applied for pension Oct. 25, 1832, and
resided at that time in Sprigg Township,
Adams County, Ohio. He died at the age
of sixty-four eyars, and is buried at
Decatur, Brown County, Ohio.
William Pemberton was a private in Capt.
Thomas Meriwether's company, 1st
Virginia State Regiment, commanded by
Col. George Gibson. He enlisted
for three years. His name is first on
the roll Sept. 1, 1777. He served to
Oct. 1, 1777, sixteen days, and last appears
on the roll for March, 1778, without remark,
but it is known that he was in the siege of
Yorktown. He was present at the
surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
He is a great-grandfather of Ezekiel
Arnold, of Locust Grove, and an ancestor
of all the Pembertons of Franklin and Meigs
townships.
Charles McManis was a private in Pennsylvania
militia, company and regiment not
designated. His name appears among the
official pensioners of Pennsylvania, war of
the revolution, Pennsylvania archives, third
series, page 583. He was born in 1754,
and came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1817.
He died near Cherry Fork in 1840, in his
eighty-sixth year. H entered the
revolutionary army in 1776. After his
location in Adams County, he was a farmer,
and is buried in the Cherry Fork Cemtery.
He is an ancestor of Ex-Sheriff Greenleaf
N. McManis.
James Williams was born on the twenty-second day of
February, 1759, in Chester County,
Pennsylvania. At the outbreak of the
revolutionary war he resided in Washington
County, Maryland. In the fall of 1777
he enlisted in Captain Jacob Louder's
company of the state of Maryland, for a term
of four months. The colonel of this
regiment is not stated. In the year of
1778 he removed to Washington County,
Pennsylvania, and in October, 1780, he
enlisted as a private for two months in
Captain Eleazer Williamson's company;
Col. David Williamson, from
Pennsylvania. he enlisted a third time
May, 1781, for four months as a private in
Captain Timothy Downing's company;
Col. William Crawford, state of
Pennsylvania. He was with Crawford
against the Indians on the Sandusky River.
This is the same Col. Crawford who
was burned by the Indians at the state,
June, 1782. He lived in Washington
County, Pennsylvania, for three years, when
he removed to Ohio County, West Virginia,
and resided there until 1793, when he
removed to Adams County, Ohio. He
applied for pension on the twenty-fifth of
October, 1832, and it was granted the
following
Page 336 -
year. He first settled on
Ohio Brush Creek, nearly opposite the
residence of Mr. George Bayless.
how long he lived here is not known, but
he sold or traded the land for the farm on
Scioto Brush Creek, where he lived until his
death, in 1844. He is buried in the
Copas Cemetery, near the hotel of
Charles Copas. He has many
descendants in the states of Ohio, Illinois,
and Iowa. He is a great-grand-father
of James G. Metz, present sheriff of
Adams County.
William Cochran came to the colonies as a
British soldier with his two brothers during
the Revolutionary War. They deserted
soon after they came over, and joined the
Revolutionary army, but we have been unable
to obtain the Revolutionary record of
William Cochran. There is no
doubt, however, but what he served in the
Revolutionary War, but in what capacity we
are unable to learn. The facts as to
his service are known through his family.
Richard Grimes. The records show that one
Richard Grimes served as a private in
Captain Henry Darby's company of
Colonel Hazlet's Delaware regiment,
revolutionary war. He enlisted Jan.
31, 1776, and he was discharged Jan. 31,
1777. He was the uncle of the late
Greer B. Grimes, of Monroe township,
Adams County, Ohio.
Benjamin Piatt was born in 1763 in
Virginia. He came to Adams County in
1810, and bought land in Tiffin Township.
He was a first lieutenant under General
McCullough. He married Polly
Waddle in Virginia, and was a psioner.
He died in 1851, at the age of ninety-eight,
and is buried near West Union, probably in
the Trotter Cemetery. No stone
marks his grave. He is a son,
Benjamin, who was living in 1898, near
West Union. A daughter, Margaret
Denning, lived near Stone Chapel in
1898. He had six children, three sons
and three daughters. His son Jacob
married Polly Trotter. His son
John married Hester Black.
Benjamin married Myra Bayless.
Margaret married Newton Denning.
Elizabeth married Lewis Trotter.
Polly married John Black.
Thomas Jack enlisted Mar. 1, 1776, for ten months and was
sergeant in Captain William Butler's
company of Colonel Arthur St. Clair's
regiment form Pennsylvania. He
enlisted again in January, 1777, for four
months, and was sergeant in Captain
Thomas Butler's company under Colonel
Thomas Craig from Pennsylvania. He
was engaged in the battles of Short Hills,
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth.
He was born in 1749, in Westmoreland County,
Pennsylvania. After his colonel became
a general, his regiment was commanded by
Col. Joseph Wood. He served under
Generals Henry Knox and Daniel
Morgan. He was married to Jane
Kincaid, June 7, 1787, and he died Aug.
9, 1831. He was a pensioner of the war
of the revolution under the act of Mar. 18,
1818, and his widow also received a pension.
Henry Oldridge, or Aldred, is buried on
Ohio Brush Creek, either in the Foster
or McColm Cemetery.
William Falkner and Thomas Waters are buried
in Monroe Township.
Charles Fields, a revolutionary soldier, was
born in Ireland in 1739. He served
during the entire war. He married
Grizzel Hemphill, and moved to Ohio in
1798, and was one of the first settlers on
Page 337 -
Beasley's Fork. He never had any
children. He died in 1822 at the age
of eighty-three. He never applied for
a pension, and could not have obtained it
for reasons hereinafter shown.
His wife died the day before he did, and
both are buried on the Miller farm in
Monroe Township.
James Miller was born in County Tyrone in
Ireland, in 1740. He emigrated to this
country just before the revolutionary war,
and served throughout the whole of it.
He was six feet two inches tall, without
shoes. He served in the artillery.
He was never taken a prisoner or wounded.
He never applied for a pension. Said
he fought for liberty and obtained it, and
that was all he wanted. He was married
to Elizabeth Hemphill in New England.
He located in Adams County, in 1798.
He had been a sailor, and knew the business
of milling. He built the first mill in
Monroe Township, and it is still standing.
He twice walked to Philadelphia and back,
and one trip brought two flower shrubs,
which are growing and blooming yet. He
had a large family of children, but only
three reached maturity. His son
William married Jane Morrison.
His daughter Elizabeth married
Christopher Oppy, and resided on Scioto
Brush Creek. His daughter Hannah
married William Stevenson, and
lived on Beasley's Fork. Miller
was a prosperous man. He was a
Presbyterian, and walked five miles to
church every Sunday. He died on
Christmas day, 1830, at the age of ninety
years. Here is his official record:
Member of Captain Thomas Clark's
artillery company, continental troop,
commanded by Gen. Henry Knox and
Col. Thomas Lamb. He enlisted as a
private December 25, 1776, for three years,
was a driver, May, 1777, and was Matross in
June, 1777. The last record of him on
the rolls is Jan. 3, 1780 He is the
great-grandfather of Miss Mary Stevenson,
of Beasley's Fork, who has taken more
interest in preserving the memory of the
revolutionary soldiers who died in Adams
County than any person in the county.
He is also the great-grandfather of Prof.
James A. Oppy, of Portsmouth, Ohio
Charles Stevenson was born in Glasgow,
Scotland, on Jan. 1, 1759, and came to the
United States in 1761. He enlisted May
1, 1759, and came to the United Sates in
1761. He enlisted May 1, 1776, for two
months, as a private in Capt. Savages'
company, in Col. Ross's regiment.
He enlisted again July 1, 1776, for six
months, as a private in Capt. William
McCaskey's company and in Col.
William McCollister's regiment. He
enlisted again July, 1778, for two months,
as a private in Capt. McMaster's
company, regiment not stated. All
these were Pennsylvania organizations.
His residence was in York, Pennsylvania, at
his enlistment. He was in the battle
of Staten Island. He married
Margaret Kain, Sept. 24, 1791. He
was captured at fort Washington, November,
1776, and was a prisoner until November,
1777. The British gave him bread with
lime in it to eat, and he picked out the
lime and eat the bread. He spent the
winter of 1777, after released from prison,
at Valley Forge. While a prisoner, the
British offered him money to renounce his
allegiance and to enlist in their army.
He scorned it. After the war he
purchased 300 acres of land in Venango
County, Pennsylvania, and resided there till
1818, when he came to Ohio. He was a
weaver by trade, and followed it in
Page 338 -
Pennsylvania. Margaret Kain
went with some other girls to see him weave.
He fell in love with her on first sight, and
afterwards married her. He had four
children, three sons and one daughter.
His son William married Hannah
Miller and lived on Beasley Fork.
His daughter Elizabeth married
Charles Mashea and lived in West Union.
His son George married Christina
Collings and lived on Beasley's Fork.
Our subject was a devoted Presbyterian, and
would walk five miles every Sunday to
church. He died the thirteenth of
April, 1841, and is buried in the Ralston
graveyard. He is the great-grandfather
of Miss Mary Stevenson, of Beasley
Fork, of Adams County, who has furnished the
editors of this work more information in
regard to the revolutionary soldiers than
any other person.
William Faulkner was born in Ireland. He
was said to have been a captain. He
was married, and lived at the mouth of Brush
Creek. He was a Catholic, and is
buried near his former residence.
William Floyd was born in Virginia in 1739.
He was a recruit under General Daniel
Morgan, and was said to be his
illegitimate son. He was made a
prisoner and confined in Quebec, but
escaped. A hue and cry was raised
after him, and he joined in the chase, and
cried out "here he is." He made
good his escape and followed the stars.
He went around Lake Champlain on foot.
He married Elizabeth Goodie.
They had a daughter, who married a
Taylor. Floyd located on Brush
Creek. He died Dec. 9, 1833, and is
buried on P. Young's farm near the
Cedar College school house. A rail pen
marks his grave.
Ephraim Cole, father of James M., Leonard,
and Allaniah Cole, and grandfather of
George D., Alfred E.,
and Allaniah B. Cole,
all of whom have sketches herein, was born
in Maryland. He enlisted Nov. 16,
1777, in Captain Jonathan Drown's
company, Col. Wm. Lee's
regiment of Mary land troops, for three
years. During his service he undertook
to act as a spy, and got inside the British
lines. He accomplished his errand and
was leaving, when he was arrested. He
managed to create doubt in the minds of his
captors as to his real character, and showed
up his masonry. There being Free
Masons among his captors, he was given the
benefit
of the doubt, and he was released and
sent out of the lines. So we are
spared a Capt. Nathan Hale's story,
which, but for his masonry, Ephraim Cole's
would have been. He was buried in the
Collings Cemetery, south of West
Union.
James Collings was a private in Capt. John
Lynch's company, 5th Maryland regiment,
commanded by Col. Wm.
Richardson. He served from Jan.
18, 1777, until Aug. 16, 1780. He
removed to Adams County in 1794, and is
buried in the Collings Cemetery, east
of West Union.
Nathaniel Foster was born Feb. 7, 1760,
in Morris County, New York. He removed
to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1776, and
thence to Hampshire County, Virginia, in
1780; thence to Bourbon County, Kentucky, in
1791, and to Adams County, Ohio, in 1798.
He enlisted in Hunterdon County, New Jersey,
in August, 1776, in Capt. Tom
Broeck's company. In 1777 he
enlisted in Capt. Bubonah's
company, Col. Moore, from
Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In April,
1781, he enlisted from Hampshire Company,
Virginia, and served six months
Page 339 -
in all; two
in Capt. Thos. Anderson's
company, two in Capt. McCarty's
company, and two in Capt. Isaac Parson's
company.
He applied for pension Oct. 25, 1832, at the age of
seventy two yeas. He did in 1842, and
is buried on the banks of Brush Creek, in
the Foster Graveyard. He was
twice married. He had three sons and
two daughters by his first wife - Samuel,
Isaac, and Nathaniel, sons, and
Mary and Anna, daughters.
His daughter Mary married Samuel
Lockhart, and Anna married
David Young.
His second wife's maiden name was Cleveland, a
native of Connecticut. She first
married Henry Smith, a revolutionary
soldier; and after his death, Nathaniel
Foster. Of this marriage there
were four sons and one daughter. The
sons were Nathan, Moses, Jedediah,
and Asa. We have not obtained
the daughter's name.
Henry Smith was born in Connecticut, in 1760. He
died in Adams County in 1802. He was
buried in a field near his home, and a stone
marks his grave, placed there by his son
Oliver. He came to the Northwest
Territory in 1799, and bought 300 acres of
land at the mouth of Beasley Fork.
After his death his widow became the second
wife of Nathaniel Foster above.
As to revolutionary pensions. The act of Sept.
29, 1789, gave to the wounded and disabled
soldiers the pensions granted by the several
states, for a period of one year.
On July 16, 1790, congress provided that the pensions
paid by the states to wounded and disabled
soldiers should be paid by the United States
for one year.
The act of Mar. 23, 1792, required the soldiers to go
before a court and produce a certificate
form an officer of the regiment or company
in which he served, that he was disabled, or
he had to produce two witnesses to that
effect. Also he had to have the
evidence of two freeholders of his vicinity
as to his mode of life and employment and
means of support for the twelve months
preceding. The court was required to
examine and report his disability to the
secretary of war.
the act of Mar. 3, 1803, gave pensions to officers,
soldiers, and sailors disabled by wounds,
and also who did not desert the service.
The district judge took the evidence and
forwarded it. The act was enlarged
Mar. 3, 1805. Apr. 10, 1806, another
act was passed for those wounded in the
service. The procedure was the same as
under the former acts, but expired in six
years. The pension was $5.00 per month
to a private and half pay to an officer.
The act of Mar. 18, 1818, gave to every officer and
soldier who served nine months or longer and
who was in need of assistance from his
county, $8.00 per month for a private and
$20.00 for an officer for life. So
many claims were made under this act that on
May 1, 1820, congress passed the Alarm Act
(a standing disgrace to our country), by
which each person receiving a pension under
its provisions was required to go before a
court and take an oath was to his estate and
income, and that he had not given away his
property to bring himself within the act of
1818, and the pension was to be dropped, if
this was not done.
Page 340 -
After the pensioner
forwarded his evidence, the secretary of war
was required to revise the lists and drop
all he did not deem indigent. This did
not apply to any who had been wounded.
Major Finley elected not to
take the oath and was dropped, but was
restored in 1828.
The act of June 7, 1832, granted pensions to all the
officers and soldiers who had served for one
or more terms, a period of two years,
whether in the continental line or militia.
In the list herein have all those pension
certificates were dated prior to June 7,
1832, were pensioned under the act of Mar.
18, 1818, and those who were placed on the
pension roll at a date subsequent to June 7,
1832, received pensions under the law of
that date.
The celebrations of Independence Day for the first
twenty-five years after the revolutionary
war were solemn and imposing affairs.
At these the survivors of the revolutionary
war were honored by important places in the
parades, processions, and in the seats at
the public dinners.
Whenever it was practicable, the soldiers of the
revolution were buried with military honors
conducted by the nearest militia
organization. The last surviving
revolutionary soldier of Adams County passed
away in 1851. The last surviving in
the whole country died in 1869.
The generations which knew them hardly appreciated
their service. Now that the last of
them has been dead for fifty years, and that
we begin to understand the greatness of our
country, we appreciate their services.
It is to be hoped the people of Adams County
will see that the grave of every one of them
is properly marked, preserved, and honored,
once a year, on Memorial Day, so long as our
Republic shall continue.
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