Pension Application of John and Mary Whitten Kitchen W2737
Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris
State of Tennessee }
Anderson County } Circuit Court at August Sessions 1832
On this 20th day of August 1832 at a Circuit court opened and held for the County and State aforesaid, being a Court of record, and having the power of fine and imprisonment, before the Hon. Edward Scott one of the Judges of said Court, personally appeared in open Court John Kitchen residing in said County, aged 74 years, who having been duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of an act of Congress passed June 7th 1832 — That he was born in Bedford County Virginia on the 25th of April 1757 [sic] that he continued to live there untill sometime after the commencement of the Revolutionary war, when he moved to Henry County Virginia where he was when he was drafted sometime in February 1781 at said Henry Courthouse and was enrolled at Marrowbone Creek in said County into a company commanded by Captain George Haston [sic: George Hairston], and Lieutenant Joshua Renfro, which company was under the command of Major Skipworth [sic: Henry Skipwith], and marched on to Guilford N. C. Hendersons old house on Dan river in Guilford County [now Rockingham County] N.C. where we were on the day the battle at Guilford was fought [Guilford Courthouse, 15 Mar 1781] — here all the militia from Henry County remained a few days, when they marched to troublesome old iron works, where they met the main American Army under General [Nathanael] Green. A few days after reaching the main army, it left troublesome old iron works, and marched to Ramseys mill [in Chatham County NC], where we occupied the same camp which the British army had left in the morning. after remaining at Ramseys Mill one or two nights the main army marched on to the south, and from the mill applicants Company under the command of the said officers were ordered to leave the main army and march down Deep river to join Col. [Henry] Lee who at that time lay down on the Cape fear river. After joining Col. Lee he told captain Hasten that if he could get twelve of his Hastons men to join his, Lees, Regiment of horse, he would discharge the balance of his company. In conformity with this arrangement twelve men out of Captain Hastons company joined Lee and the remainder, of which applicant was one, were marched home under the ensign Jesse Corn, and there discharged. applicant states that he had been drafted for three months, and oweing to the arrangement above mentioned with Col. Lee he got home a few days before his three months had expired. Applicant states that sometime in the first of August following he was again drafted for a tour of three months and was enrolled at Henry Courthouse into a company commanded by Captain Owen Ruble [Owen Rubell] & he thinks, Lieutenant William McVeaty [possibly William McVity], which company was under the command of Major George Waller — under the command of the said Major Waller applicant and his company marched on to Petersburg and on to Swanns point or old Jamestown where they crossed James river. from thence they marched on through Williamsburg and on to Yorktown where Cornwallis with the British army then lay. here applicant remained several days after the surrender of Cornwallis [19 Oct 1781] when he was discharged and returned home. applicant states that he was in the service in this campaign between three and four months from the time he was drafted untill he reached home making the whole period of his service in the Revolutionary war at least six months. he states that he continued to reside in Henry County 10 or 15 years after the close of the war, when he moved to Tennessee, and has been living in the neighbourhood in Anderson County where he now lives thirty three years. he has a record of his age in his family bible. he states that he received a written discharge at the termination of both his said campaigns but he has lost them. he states that he has no documentary evidence whatever of his service nor does he know of any person whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his services. he hereby relinquishes every claim to a pension or annuity whatever, except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state John his X mark Kitchen
NOTE: On 23 Aug 1851 Mary Kitchen, 90, applied for a pension stating that she married John Kitchen in Jan or Feb 1796, and he died 29 Aug 1845. She made her application by a Justice of the Peace rather than in court, because she was “unable to get out of bed by herself.” A document in the file states that her name before marriage was Mary Whitten.