|
|
Facts and Events
Military Service
- American Revolutionary War Veteran
Revolutionary War Pension Information
Information from “Virginia/West Virginia Genealogical Data from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Records”, Vol. 4, compiled by Patrick G. Wardell, Lt. Col. U.S. Army Ret. :
Renfro, John - born 11/12/1760 in Bedford County, Virginia; entered service 1777 in Henry County (area later Franklin County), Virginia, where he resided, as drummer in Virginia regiment; entered service 1778 in Captain Joseph Renfro's (no kinship given) Company, Virginia Regiment; moved in 1787-88 to Union County, South Carolina, thence in 1802 to Barren County, Kentucky, where he was granted Pension 1832; died there 4/22/1846; married 2/1781 to Esther Peach in Virginia; widow granted Pension abt. age 84 in Barren County, Kentucky, 1847; died 5/6/1851 leaving children Jesse, John, William, Joshua & Joseph; children's births: Isaac 5/3/1783 or 7/4/1783, Jesse 7/8/1785 (married 12/24/1806 to Polly Mitchell, Rowan County, Kentucky), John 8/20/1780  s/b 1790, William 2/23/1792, Joshua 1/3/1796 & Joseph 6/21/1801; son Joseph applied for Pension 1851 in Barren County, Kentucky for self & surviving siblings & mother's Pension arrears granted to them. F-W9250, R2024.
References
- Graves, William T. Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters.
Pension Application of John Renfro W9250 Esther Renfro VA
Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris. Revised 22 July 2014
State of Kentucky, Barren County Sct
On the 15th day of October [1832] personally appeared in open court before the Justices of the County Court of Barren County John Renfro resident in the County of Barren state of Kentucky aged 72 years next 12th day of Nov’r. who being first 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 entered the Service of the United States in the Virginia Militia under the following
named officers & served as herein stated. He lived in Henry County Virginia, now called Franklin just below the blue Ridge at the time he first entered the Service. The first time he went into the Service he volunteered at the Long Island of Holson [sic: Long Island of Holston River at present Kingsport TN] to go against the Indians under Cap. Peter Harston (alias Harston) [sic: Peter Hairston], Col. Evan Shelby, Father to his excellency Isaac Shelby, Col. William Chrysty [sic: William Christian], Col. William Preston. He entered the Service about April 1777 & continued in Service three months. On this tour He marched from Henry County Virginia into N. Carolina crossing the Blue Ridge, thence to Fort Henry [at present Wheeling WV]. He does not remember ever having a written Discharge, but remembers being Discharged the 15th or 16th of July.
In 1778, about the 1st of April he volunteered under Cap. Joseph Renfro, & Lieutenant David Hedans, & the first orders were to go to Point Pleasant at the mouth of Kenhawa [sic: Kanawha River], but when the company arrived at Bottetourt Court House [sic: Botetourt Court House, now Fincastle] orders were received from Col. Preston to go to the mouth of Greenbrier River [near present Hinton WV] to David Garrand’s Fort, where He staid about 3 or 4 months to protect the county against the Indians. He then received orders from Col. Preston to go to Potts Fort, on the waters, he thinks, of James River, where the Indians were committing depredations, where he staid out the time of 6 months, & was discharged on the 6th of Oct. He has no recollection of getting a written Discharge. From this place he went home to Henry County.
Afterwards (in the same year Cornwallis was taken [on 19 Oct 1781]) he thinks it was 1781, he
volunteered under Cap. James Perteete [sic: James Poteet], Lieutenant Samuel Harston or Hurston [sic: Samuel Hairston], in a mounted company of Horse men, every man furnishing his own horse, equipage, Gun, &c. He assembled at & joined this Company at Henry Court House [now Martinsville VA], & marched through Surry County in N. Carolina, in a direction to where the Battle of the Cow Pens was fought [Cowpens SC, 17 Jan 1781] & was attached to a part of Col. [Daniel] Morgan’s men to take care of the sick & wounded & to carry them on to Henry Court house. He served this time under Col. James Lyon & Major Stephen Lyon. From Henry Court House, after staying about 3 days he marched to join Genl. Green [sic: Nathanael Greene] at Guilford near to which place He arrived after the battle was fought [Battle of Guilford Courthouse NC, 15 Mar 1781]. He was then discharged by Col. Lyon & went home. On this tour he, although he volunteered for sixty days, served only about half that time. He has no recollection of receiving a written discharge at this time.
Afterwards He volunteered in Octr ‘81 in a mounted company under Cap. [John] Dillard for one
month, marched from Henry County Va. to Surry County N. Carolina after the Tories & outlyers on the Yadkin River. He served out the month, returned to Henry County about the same time his father returned from York at Cornwallis's surrender & was there discharged. He has no recollection of receiving a written discharge here either. If he ever received written Discharges he can not now tell where they are.
This is all he served except about two weeks after the Tories. He has no Documentary evidence of his service, nor does he now know of any person living whose testimony he can procure, who can testify to his Services. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension Roll of the Agency of any state.
In answer to the
interrogatories presented by the War Department, He saith that he was born in Bedford County Virginia 12th Nov’r 1760. He has a Record of his age at his home. When called into the Service he was living in Henry County Virginia, now Franklin Va. He moved from Henry County to Union County South
Carolina, he thinks about the year '87 or '88. He moved from Union County Carolina 19th day of March 1802 to Barren County Ky, where he arrived on the last day of April 1802 & has lived there ever since.
When he entered the Service he volunteered. Being a Militia Man he has no acquaintance with the
Regular officers or the Continental Regiments. He has no recollection of ever receiving written
Discharges, if he did, he now knows nothing of them.
I answer to the 7th question he would name Joseph Ralston, John L. Woodson, Hardin Davis, Obadiah Britt, Geo. Davis, Saml Murrell Sr. Jas. Matthews, Anthony Drane Sr. Elijah Mitchell James Gullock, James Frazier, & Thomas Winn. He could name besides many others.
Sworn to, & subscribed, the day & year aforesaid
[Signed] John [his X mark] Renfro
We Zachariah Emmerson a clergyman residing in the County of Barren Ky & John Woodson
residing in the same county hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John renfro who has
subscribed & sworn to the foregoing Declaration, that we believe him to be 72 years of age; that he is reputed & believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.
Sworn to and Subscribed the day & year aforesaid. (signed) Zach Emerson Jon L. Woodson
(Followed by affidavit from William Logan, clerk of the court. 15 Oct 1832)
State of Kentucky } ss.
County of Barren }
Personally appeared before me, the undersigned a Justice of the Peace in and for the County
aforesaid, John Renfro, who being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that he heretofore, to wit, on the 15th day of October, 1832, (the year being left blank in the Declaration) made out his Pension Declaration before the Justices of the County Court or said County, and sent the same on for the consideration of the War Department for the purpose of obtaining a Pension; that the same has been considered by said Department & returned for amendments in this, that the Affidavit did not state “with prescision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served in language so definite as to enable the Department to determine to what amount of Pension he is entitled”; that for the purpose of obviating said objection Affiant now appears before the proper authority to make this Affidavit. That by reason of old age and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the prescise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below and in the following grades, to wit, when he volunteered the first time at the Long Island of Holson under Captain Peter Harston (alias Hurston) he served for the period of at least three months as a master Drummer. In 1778 about the 1st of April when he volunteered under Captain Joseph Renfro & Lieutenant David Hedans, he served as a Private at least 6 months, and not, as is stated in his Pension Declaration, 3 or 4 months only, he served on this Tour to the best of his recollection from the 1st April 1778 to the 6th Oct’r 1778, and conceives that it was erroneously stated in his Pension Declaration, from mistake or otherwise, that it was only 3 or 4 months. That when he he volunteered under Cap Perteete & Lieutenant Samuel Harston or Hurston in a mounted company of Horsemen, in the year Cornwallis was taken he served at least thirty days, as a Private. When he volunteered under Captain Dillard in a mounted company of Horsemen in Oct’r 1781, he served to the best of his recollection one month as a Private. He afterwards served two weeks in a little excursion after the Tories. He served in all at least eleven months, exclusive of the last mentioned two weeks and is willing to receive a Pension for said eleven months only as above set forth if the Department is of opinion he is entitled thereto. And for such services I claim a Pension.
Sworn and Subscribed this 19th}
[Signed] John [his X mark] Renfro
day of March 1833, before me}
Jas Murell J.P.B.C.
NOTES:
On 16 Sep 1847 Esther Renfro, said to be 84, applied for a pension stating that she married John
Renfro in 1781, and he died on 22 April 1846. With her application she submitted the family record from John Renfro’s Bible, certified by Joseph Renfro and transcribed below. Also in the file is a certificate of the marriage of Jesse Renfro and Polly Mitchell on 24 Dec 1806 by Rev. Cornelius Dewees in Barren County.
On 14 Aug 1851 Joseph Renfro stated that his mother died on 8 May 1851 leaving the following
children: Jesse Renfro, John Renfro, William Renfro, Joshua Renfro, and Joseph Renfro. Joseph Renfro submitted his own family record transcribed below. It agrees with the record from his father’s Bible except that the date of birth of Isaac Renfro is said to have been 3 May 1783. In addition, Joseph Renfro’s record gives his mother’s maiden name as Esther Peach.
[From John Renfro’s Bible:]
John Renfro & Esther Renfro was married in the year 1781 in the month of Febuary
John Renfro was born November 12th 1760
Easter Renfro his wife was born January 1st 1764
The births of their Children
Isaac Renfro was born July 4th 1783
Jessee Renfro was born August 8th 1785
John Renfro was born August 20th 1789
William Renfro was born Febuary 23rd 1792
Joshua Renfro was born January 3rd 1796
Joseph Renfro was born June 21st 1801
John Renfro died on the 22nd of April 1846
[Joseph Renfro’s family record:]
John Renfro died on the 22nd of April 1846
John Renfro and Esther Peach were married 1781
Isaac Renfro was born May 3rd 1783
Jesse Renfro was born Aug 8th 1785
John Renfro was born Aug 20th 1789
Wm Renfro was born Feb 23rd 1792
Joshua Renfro was born Jan 3rd 1796
Joseph Renfro was born June 21st 1801
http://revwarapps.org/w9250.pdf
|
|
