PENSION: Peter A. Shaver; Livingston, Columbia co., NY submitted by Donald E. Lampson (dlampson @ earthlink.net) ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** State of New York} }Ss. Columbia County } On this 17th day of November 1832 personally appeared before me, J. W. Fairfield, one of the Justices of the Justices Court of the City of Hudson, County aforesaid, Peter A Shaver, aged seventy two years, a resident of the Town of Livingston, who being unable through bodily infirmity to attend in the open Court, & who being duly sworn according to Law, makes the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832. That he was born in the Town of Livingston in said County in March of the year 1760; that he resided in said Livingston till the War of the Revolution. That he has no record of his birth other than memory & tradition. That in the year 1776 in the fore part of October of that year he enlisted for three months in the Company of Captain Peter Gaasbeck, in which Company Samuel J. Ten Broeck & Sam'l Thorne were Lieutenants. He enlisted as a private & marched from Clermont, where they *******, to Fishkill, via Poughkeepsie, and served in actual service till January 1777, & was discharged at the expiration of said three months, at Plumfield or Pocquaick. This was a Company of Rangers. Again about the first of August in 1777 he volunteered in the Company of Capt. John Fonda & Regiment of Colonel Peter R. Livingston. They marched thence to Albany, on to Van Schaicks Island & then were under the Command of Major Sam'l Ten Broeck, Col. Livingston not being out at this time. When General Gates arrived in place of Gen'l Schuyler, he thinks the first part of September, he was discharged, but as soon as he arrived home he volunteered in the Company of Capt. Marcus Blatner. He came home of Sunday, returned on the Monday following in the Company of said Blatner. They marched through Albany , on to Bemis Heights, & were there under the command of Lieut. Colonel Henry Livingston. They lay there till Burgoyne retreated or then failed (sic.) to retreat. This applicant was sick with the fever & ague & & was carried with several others to the Hospital at Lansingburg. He insisted in staying with the army, but the Captain thought him too ill, & insisted in sending him to the Hospital. There he refused to stay on account of the filth, & came home, where he arrived about the first of November or the last part of October, making three months of actual service in said companies of Fonda & Blatner. Previous to this said service, in the same year, he was ordered out, about the first of May, in the Company of Capt. John Shaver to apprehend the Tories. They went to Dutchess County & made some ******* there. He was out on this service till the first of Aug. making three months. Major Sam'l Ten Broeck had the command of the detachments sent on this Service. This was very severe service as they had to be out all night long most of the time. Again about the later part of July in the Year 1778, he volunteered in the Company of John Shaver, Capt. in the Regiment commanded by Major Ten Broeck. They Marched to Albany, Schnectady & Saratoga. This applicant was one of the guard over the baggage on the march from Balltown to Saratoga while the troops scoured the woods. He was **** this ******** at Saratoga about the first part of September, having been out six weeks at this time. Again about the first of October 1779, he volunteered in the Company of Capt. Teale (Diel) Rockefeller , in the Regiment of Col. Livingston aforesaid for three months . Marched directly to Fishkill & lay there till discharged, which was after New Year of 1780, making the full three months. And this applicant further declares that by reason of age & consequent loss of memory he cannot swear positively as to the time of his further service, but as to the service he can swear positively that during the War of the Revolution he was drafted to go with his team to go into the vicinity of Fishkill & there foraged for the Army six weeks. And he further positively declares that he went to Albany & other places to the North, four other services what are above stated, of a ******** at a time making full two months, but he cannot for reasons above stated, tell the year or month. And he further declares that in all his said ****** he was in active service Seventeen months, & for this he prays a pension. And he further says that he has always lived in Livingston aforesaid. That he never held any commission , but always served as private & a volunteer, except six weeks when he was drafted into service. That he never had any written discharge & has no documentary evidence. That he has no ***** witnesses of his said service other than those of Samuel Ten Broeck, David Potts, William Snyder & John Salpaugh, whose testimony is herewith annexed. That he hereby relinquishes all claim to any pension or annuity except the present, and that his name is not on the pension roll of the Agency of any State, That he has been confined to his bed fifteen months & is unable to write his name & must therefore make his mark. That the officers whom he served are all stated above as far as he can recollect. His /s/ Peter X Shaver mark Subscribed & sworn to the Day & year aforesaid. /s/ J. W. Fairfield, Justice aforesaid. _____________________________________________________________ State of New York} }Ss.: Columbia County } Samuel Ten Broeck being duly sworn according to Law says he is now eighty seven years of age: that he held a Major's Commission during the Revolutionary War. That he was & always has been acquainted with Peter Shaver, the above named applicant. That the said Shaver belonged to his regiment & was always ready & good soldier. That he recollects that Capt. Gaasbeck's Company were ordered to the South at the time said Shaver states in his above declaration & that Shaver belonged to that Company. And he further says that said Shaver, to the best of his recollection, was with him at Van Schaicks Island & at Bemis Heights at the time he states in his above declaration. And he further says that said Shaver was with him for six weeks on a march to Schenectady, Balltown & Saratoga. , but this deponent thinks Shaver is mistaken as to the year. He thinks it was 1776, but is not certain. Of the service he is positive. And he further says that he recollects the service of said Shaver in pursuit of the Tories, & this deponent was a part of the tour bring a Committee for their trial. And he further says that he frequently rec'd orders to impress men & teams for the military service, & he doubts not that said Shaver was pressed in service as he states; & he further says that detachments were frequently ordered out on small excursions to the north from his regiment, & he believes that said Shaver served as he states the last two months, & further says not. /s/ Samuel Ten Broeck Subscribed & sworn to the day & year aforesaid. J. W. Fairfield, Justice aforesaid. _____________________________________________________________ (John Salpaugh) State of New York} }Ss. : Columbia County } John Salpaugh being duly sworn according to Law, says that he is above seventy years of age. That he has always been acquainted with the above named applicant Peter Shaver. That he, this deponent, always served in the Company of Teale Rockefeller (Diel Rockefeller) & Regiment of Col. Peter R. Livingston. That Major Sam'l Ten Broeck usually commanded the Regiment. That in the year 1779, about the first of October the Company of said Rockefeller was ordered to Fishkill. That he, this deponent, was in service there three months, & he knows that said Peter Shaver was there all that time & he has no doubt that said Shaver served as he stated, & further says not. His /s/ John X Salspaugh Mark Subscribed & sworn to the Day & year aforesaid. /s/ J. W. Fairfield, Justice as aforesaid. _____________________________________________________________ (William Snyder) State of New York} }Ss.: Columbia County } William Snyder being duly sworn according to Law says that he is seventy two years of age. That he served in the War of the Revolution & mostly in the Company of Capt. Teale (Diel) Rockefeller. That about the first of October in the year 1779 the said Company was ordered to Fishkill & this deponent served till the expiration of three months, & he knows that the above named Peter Shaver was there in said Company during that time. That he went to the north, Schenectady, Balltown & Saratoga under Capt. John Shaver, & was gone six weeks, & he recollects that said Peter Shaver was there all that time. & he knows that said Shaver was out in pursuit of the Tories in the year 1777. He does not now recollect distinctly the year he was out to the north. That he has no doubt that said Shaver served as he states in his above declaration, & further says not. His /s/ William X Snyder Mark Subscribed & sworn the Day & year aforesaid. /s/ J. W. Fairfield, Justice as aforesaid. _____________________________________________________________ (David Potts) State of New York} }Ss.: Columbia County } David Potts being duly sworn according to Law says that he has always been acquainted with Peter Shaver the aforesaid applicant. That he, this deponent, is now seventy five years of age. That during the War of the Revolution he was frequently in service. That in the year 1776 he distinctly recollects that said Shaver was a soldier in the Company of Capt. Gaasbeck & he recollects that said Company was ordered to Fishkill about the first of October of that year, & was gone three months or more. Again this deponent was out in the Company commanded by Capt. Jacob F. Shaver, & Regiment commanded by Major Ten Broeck in the year 1777. They went about the last of April to Fort Edward & ****** there some time, & on the retreat to Van Schaicks Island. He recollects he found said Peter Shaver who had arrived there about the first of August of that year, & he knows that said Shaver was in service for that time till the taking of Burgoyne. And he further says that he was frequently out with said Shaver in pursuit of Tories, & on short excursions with him to the North. And he doubts not that said Shaver served much longer than he has stated in his above Declaration. His /s/ David X Potts Mark Subscribed & sworn the Day & year aforesaid. /s/ J. W. Fairfield, Justice as aforesaid. (Certifications by the Justice and Clerk of the Court omitted.) _____________________________________________________________ (Conrad Petrie [Patrie) State of New York} }Ss.: Columbia County } Conrad Patrie of Consville in the County of Schoharie & State of New York, aged ninety years, who being duly sworn , doth depose & say, that he served in the War of the Revolution in 1777 under John Shaver. To this deponent has before testified in proving the service of said John Shaver. On the application of Abraham Gardner, Executor of Mary Shaver's will, widow of said John Shaver. I knew Peter Shaver. We were boys together. I knew Peter Shaver in the War of the Revolution. In the year 1777, when I was in service from a little after planting time until Burgoyne surrendered, which was about five months in John Shaver's Company, Peter Shaver was along, either in the same Company or in one of the companies of the same regiment of Militia. At that time we lived about two miles apart & we were well acquainted with each other, & we had been schoolboys together. Peter Shaver was the brother of John Shaver, who was my Captain in 1777. The said Peter Shaver was in service in the year 1777 as much as four months certain. Deponent is certain he was out in 1777 before Burgoyne was taken & until he was taken, commencing say about the 1st (of) June & ending about 1st (of) November 1777. Deponent further says that a part of the Militia went home to take care of things & deponent served a short time in Diel Rockefeller's Company. Deponent lived in the Manor of Livingston, Columbia County until about 1790, & since has lived here which was until ******* Broom, Schoharie County; the name of the town has been changed. /s/ Conroth Petrie (sic.) Sworn & subscribed before me this 10th day of December 1847 by said Conrad Patrie who is a Credible person & ******> /s/ Wheeler H. Clarke Commissioner of Deeds (Emphasis supplied.) (This document was submitted in the application of Barbara Shaver, widow of Peter Shaver.) _____________________________________________________________ Note - This file adds quite a bit of information to what is known about the 10th Albany Militia regiment of Livingston Manor and Germantown: 1. During the Loyalist disturbances in May 1777 there was a separate Ranger Company from the Manor Militia in service dealing with the Tories in addition to Capt. Diel Rockefeller's Company. Historians have assumed either that no Company turned out or that only Rockefeller's Germantown Company turned out. It even has been suggested that there was a mutiny in the Livingston Militia and they refused to turn out against their neighbors. That view seems belied by the two Companies engaged in apprehending Tories, plus the men serving in the North with the Continental Army at this time. Pension files and other records show that men had also been drafted from the Manor militia as drivers and guards for wagons to serve with the Continental Army, drafted to fill out the NY Continental Line Regiments, as well as men called out from the Regiment to serve in Militia Companies at the north at such places as Fort Edward, as indicated in other pension files of the veterans of the 10th Albany Militia Regiment. 2. Peter Shaver served in Capt. Fonda's Militia Company with the Continental Army in August 1777 at Van Shaicks Island before it moved to Bemis Heights to oppose Burgoyne. He was home only one day when he returned to the Continental Army at Bemis Heights in September 1777. No records whatsoever appear to have survived for Fonda's and Blatner's Companies. However Peter Shaver's Declaration shows that both Companies were in service to meet Burgoyne's invasion which culminated in the Battles of Saratoga. 3. Conrad Petrie affidavit clearly states that "part of the of the militia went home", indicating that part stayed. This explains why pension files show some men returning home in August 1777 "for harvest" while others in the same Companies remained with the Army. It was not a loss of memory on the part of some. Some simply did not go home. However, he does not say exactly when they went home or when they returned. They may have done so at different times. Nor does not say when it was that he was with Rockefeller's Co. The Rockefeller payroll in the National Archives contains a four day pay period extending over Sept. 15th to Sept 19th, 1777, for Rockefeller, his 2 Company Lieutenants, an Ensign, one Sergeant, and 16 Privates. Other pension files indicate that was a return march to Gates' Army. Still other pension files indicate that some of the men in Rockefeller's Company also had stayed with the Army. Had Rockefeller left his Company with the Army with a Sergeant or another officer in command? His State payrolls for 1777 show more than one Sergeant. In addition, in a subsequent year Diel Rockefeller, and other officers of the 10th Albany, with a number of the Livingston Militia, served a tour with the 8th Albany. The State Payroll for the 8th Albany shows Capt. Rockefeller's brother Peter as one of the officers on that tour. Additionally, other pension file indicates that his brother, Philip Rockefeller, Regimental Adjutant, also acted as a Lieutenant with the Company in the Campaign against Burgoyne. Throughout the pension files there are names of individuals acting as officers who are not in the list of Commissioned Officers in Fernow. John Shaver and Peter Rockefeller are simply two examples of that. So, someone may have been appointed as an temporary Captain or Lieutenant. Since the pay for the Militia while actually with the Army at Saratoga had been assumed by the Continental Congress, it would have been helpful if the Continental records for Saratoga had survived. However, they did not. 4. The sworn statement of David Potts shows that he was in service in the Company commanded by Capt. Jacob F. Shaver from the last of April 1777 to the surrender of Burgoyne. They went to Fort Edward, were then on the retreat of the Continental Army to Van Shaicks Island. Whether it was part of the Company or the whole Company is not stated. (There were two Captains Shaver, John and Jacob F. - Jacob F. was one of the originally commissioned Captains of the Regiment. John originally was commissioned as an Ensign, but statements in his pension file indicate that in fact he acted as commander of Fonda's Company at Saratoga since the men regarded the Lieutenants as Loyalists. Of course, John Shaver had also acted as Captain in one or more of the Livingston Ranger Companies prior to Saratoga. So, he undoubtedly had more experience. On a number of subsequent occasions he also served as an acting Captain. (John Shaver finally did replace Fonda as Captain late in the War, and after the Revolution was Colonel of the Regiment.) 5. One other interesting matter is illustrated by this file. Not all the men signing with a mark were necessarily illiterate. Peter Shaver explains why he was unable to sign his signature. It sounds rather like a stroke. Also, Conrad Petrie (Patrie) says that he went to school with Peter Shaver. On wonders how many of them were forced to sign with a mark simply because of some physical condition, such as arthritis. They were elderly and most were farmers or in other occupations working with their hands outdoors.