JOHN CRONK REV WAR PENSION, WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK Copyright (c) 2001 by Donald E. Lampson (dlampson@earthlink.net). ************************************************************************ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submittor has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ************************************************************************ JOHN CRONK, REV WAR PENSION, WESTCHESTER & YATES, NEW YORK. State of New York) ) ss. Yates County ) On the 28th day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and thirty two personally appeared in open court before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Yates and State of New York now sitting John Cronk a resident of the Town of Benton in the County of Yates and State aforesaid aged sixty eight years who first being duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress per June 7th 1832. That he was born the (now) Town of Greenburg, Westchester County New York in the Year 1764 as he believes, but this deponent cannot tell the precise time as his father was taken and died a prisoner during the Revolutionary War and the family of this deponent never after that lived at home. This deponent resided during the Revolutionary War in the town of Sing Sing in the said County of Westchester. In the Spring of 1778 this deponent volunteered as a private in a Company Commanded by Captain Arsor (Orsor), John Oakly (Oakley), Lieutenant, in Colonel Cortland regiment and proceeded to a place called Rumbout South East of Fishkill with cattle horses and sheep and pastured them during the season on the farms of Tories. In the beginning of the winter we moved the cattle etc. back to the North part of Westchester County and this deponent was dismissed and returned home. Was engaged at this at the time seven or eight months. During the season this deponent suffered severely for want of wholesome provisions particularly bread and salt, and the meat provided was often tainted and unfit for use. In the Spring of 1779 this deponent volunteered again in the Company aforesaid and was occupied as aforesaid in the safe keeping of horses and cattle and the property of the unprotected inhabitants & to prevent the British in New York from obtaining supplies and the Tories from stealing them and taking them to the British was (illegible word) the season all Summer. This Deponent never had a written discharge. Knows of no person living by whom he can prove his actual services. No minister of the Gospel resided in the vicinity of this deponent. This deponent has resided since the Revolutionary War in Westchester, Dutchess and Columbia Counties until about two years ago when he removed to Benton, Yates County where he now resides. I hereby relinquish every claim whatsoever to pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state. Subscribed and Sworn This day & year aforsaid. /s/ John Cronk /s/ T. P. Nevins, Deputy Clerk State of New York} } Yates County } Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace in and for said County, John Cronk, to me known as the person making the application for a Pension, and whose papers are hereunto annexed, who being duly sworn deposeth and saith that by reason of age and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to precise length of his services, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following (illegible word) ; For seven months he served as a private in 1778 under Capt. Ausar, as set forth in my declaration hereunto annexed. And for three months I served as a private under the aforesaid Captain, as set forth as aforesaid - making in the aggregate ten months service, and for such service I claim a pension. /s/ John Cronk And this deponent further declares that there is no minister of the Gospel residing in his vicinity, or whom he is acquainted. /s/ John Cronk Sworn and subscribed this 8th day of February 1833, before me. And I further certify that there is no clergyman in the vicinity of Mr. Cronk, but that the character of Mr. Cronk for truth and honesty is good /s/ (signature illegible), Justice of the Peace. _____________________________________________________________ War Department Pension Office Apr. 15, 1833 Sir, I have the honor to inform you that the Claim of John Cronk has been examined. As it appears that he was in his fourteenth year when he rendered the principal part of his alleged services & in his fifteenth when he rendered the balance it should be supported by some proof, - Boys of that age were not admissible in the ranks agreeably to the regulations of the service. In the case of George Green there were two terms of service amounting to 8 months asserted agreeable to the regulations, to which he adds 12 months which is in no respect set forth as the regulations require e/o service can be taken into the computation of a pension, which is not alleged & established in conformity to the regulations. This claim is suspended & their papers placed in file. /s/ (illegible) Jane (To) Hon. W. Babcock _____________________________________________________________ (NOTE: 1. JOHN CRONK'S FAMILY: The records of the Sleepy Hollow Dutch Reformed Church show that John Cronk was baptized on Oct 22, 1765. So, he may have actually thirteen years of age when he entered service. However, he may be correct that he was born the previous year. He was the third son of Garret Cronk (Cronkhite, Cranckhet) & Lea Ecker (Acker). His father's name appears in the payroll of Capt. Globe Requa of Col. Joseph Drake's 1st Westchester Militia Regiment for July 1776. His oldest brother, Garret (Jr.) served in the Continental Dragoons and the middle brother served in both Col. Morris Graham's Regiment of Levies and in the 4th NY of the Continental Line. Both also has a pension files. John Cronk is buried in the old rural West Woods (Cronk's) Cemetery in the Town of Benton, Yates County. See: Vol. One, Cemeteries of Yates County, by Dumas & Conybeare. 2. REJECTION OF HIS CLAIM: The rejection of his claim because "boys of that age were not acceptable in the ranks agreeably to the regulations of the service" is questionable, and is based on ignorance of what occurred during the Revolution. Records indicate that those both under and over the age for compulsory service did in fact serve as volunteers. The pension office failed to consider the distinction between between compulsory service and service as a volunteer. Records of the 1st NY Regiment of the Continental Line show that another Cronk, John Patrick Cronkhite (Cronk) enlisted in that Regiment in 1777 at age 11 along with a Richard James Baker, age 12. There is nothing in the "regulations of service" prohibiting service as volunteers of those under 16 years of age. The applicable regulations were the those adopted by the NY provincial Congress in August 1775 for militia service, as recommended by the Continental Congress. It deals with compulsory military service for all able bodied men between 16 and 60 years of age who were to furnish them selves with arms. [Those from 50 to 60 subsequently were placed in a special category, "associated exempts" who could only be called out in limited circumstances. Even some entitled to that classification voluntarily served in regular militia duty. See the pension file of Jacob Hagedorn in the Columbia County NY GENWEB Archives. He was at the Battles of Saratoga at age 55, and was 60 in his last tour of service. Moreover, one of Burgoyne's Hessian officers described men in their sixties in the militia ranks at Burgoyne's Surrender.] Not only did the Militia Regulations not preclude volunteers below the age of 16, at another point it uses broader language in placing "all persons * * * able to bear arms" under the orders of the officer commanding the area in time of actual invasion or insurrection". Westchester County was in that state from 1776 to the end of the War. 3. WESTCHESTER & DUTCHESS COUNTIES: What became the Town of Greenburg after the Revolution was then known as Phillipsburg Manor, which was in the territory of the 1st Westchester Militia Regiment. That is where he lived with his father until his father died as a British prisoner. His father served in the 1st Westchester Militia Regiment. See: Roberts, New York in the Revolution as Colony and State, 2nd Ed., p. 204, and Revolutionary War Payroll of Capt Glode Requa (1776) in the Westchester County NY GENWEB Archives. Sing Sing was in the adjacent Manor of Cortland in the territory of the 3rd Westchester Militia Regiment. During the Revolution Rumbout was a precinct in Dutchess County that included Fishkill. Fishkill was a base for American troops and supplies were stored in the area. From 1776 onwards Westchester County was in a Sate of constant warfare. The British occupied the southern part of Westchester. The balance of the County was subject to constant British invasions and raids. In fact the British had one regiment, De Lancey's, that specialized in raiding Westchester for livestock to provision the British Army in New York City. While Dutchess County also was subject to British incursions, they were less frequent. That is why the livestock was sent to Dutchess County a guarded during the campaign season. 4. JOHN CRONK'S REGIMENT: John Cronk appears to have been confused as to the Colonel of the Regiment he served in. Sing Sing, where he lived after his father's death, was under the territory of Colonel Van Cortland's 3rd Westchester Militia Regiment. However, The company officers he names (Capt. Jonas Orsor (Orser, Arsor) & Lt. Oakley of the Upper Phillipsburg Company) were of the 1st Westchester Militia Regiment (Col. Joseph Drake & Lt. Col. Hamman). His father served in the 1st Westchester and his home before the dispersal of his family was in the territory of the 1st Westchester. It seems likely that John was part of a small detachment from Capt. Orser's Company. His application does not mention who actually commanded the detachment. In the pension applications the company officers were named to identify the unit whether or not those officers actually served in a particular tour with the pension applicant. Accordingly, it would seem that he did serve in a detachment from the 1st Westchester. Two matters should be noted. One is that pension files and various histories show that, as a result of the British burning their homes, many of those serving in the 1st Westchester Militia Regiment lived outside of geographic territory of the Regiment. A second is that pension files and records show a heavy demand on the 1st Westchester to supply men to man the lines in southern Westchester facing the British. That they used boys to supply detachments for other purposes is hardly surprising. In fact, some histories mention that on occasion even women participated with the men in the Militia patrols in Westchester County. - D. E. Lampson)