Another Patriot

State of North Carolina }
Bucomb [sic] County }

On this 3o day of October One Thousand Eight-hundred & forty three (1843) before me James Sharp one of the acting magistrates and a number of the Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions in & for the County & State aforesaid personally appeared Jacob Martin a resident of the County of Buncomb [sic] & State aforesaid aged Eighty four Years. Who being first duly sworn according to Law doth in his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions made by the act of Congress passed (?) June 7th 1832. Granting pensions to soldiers of the War of the Revolution.

That he lived in the County Lincoln North Carolina and was drafted into service from that County the first was a Tour of three months, under Captain Henry Whitener [probably Widener] for which he was drafted and was placed under Capt. McDowell he [ill.] marched on to Monks in South Carolina where he spent some time & his term of service expire & he was discharged from service without anything of note occurring which he thinks was in the year of Seventeen hundred & seventy nine.

The next was a Tour of six months he was drafted under Capt. Whitener & was placed under Capt. McDowell by order of General Rutherford who had the Command the [ill.] marched on to South Carolina again with the intention of joining the main Army and going against the British at Charleston, but before they reached Charleston they were met by the American Army who had been defeated by the Brittes [sic] at Charleston & they turned their course towards No Carolina and was at the Battle at Ramsours Mill against the Tories at which time Capt. Falls was killed which was in the Year of 17 hundred & Eighty sometime in the summer of that Year & soon after which he was discharged from that tour of duty after having served six months.[1]

The next and third Tour was for three months he substituted himself in the place of Jacob Wetzel and was placed under Capt John Sigman, Cols. Cleveland and Campbell & others he was scouting about in different parts of the Country & was in the Battle of Kings Mountain which was the fall of the Year of 17 hundred & Eighty and soon after that Battle his time of service expired & he was again discharged.[2]

The fourth & last Tour was for three months he was drafted he was marched down to Fayetteville by order of Genl Rutherford & at that time they announce at the aforesaid place peace was declared & they were soon discharged which was soon after the talking of Corn Wallis [sic] at York Town in the Year of 17 hundred & Eighty one, which was the last of his services in the War of the Revolution. X

He also declared that has not nor Either does he know, of any documentary Evidence, in support of his services that from old age and loss of Memory he cannot give all the particulars of his services that he knows and very well recollects that he served in all fifteen months as set forth in the foregoing declaration. That he knows of no one now living that was in service with him.
He further declared that by reason of old age and bodily infirmity he is unable to go to the Court House to make this his declaration --- Furthermore I do hereby relinquish all and Every claim to a pension or Annuity excep the present whatever and declare my name is not on any pension Roll of any State.

Sworn to and subscribed on the day and Year first-above written


(signed) Jac Sharp (seal)

Jacob X Martin (his mark)

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Footnotes:

Jacob Martin is my great-great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side.

[1] The Battle of Ramsours Mill was 20 June 1780. This would place the start of his second tour sometime in January 1780, assuming a discharge sometime in the end of June or early July.

[2] The Battle of King’s Mountain was 7 October 1780. Three months prior would have been August or July, so there was little time between his second term and this third time serving as a substitute.