Person:Lucy Rockwell (2)

From web page at http://www.michaelrmurphy.com/Hovey.htm:

The following appears in the Azel Hovey Revolutionary War Pension File: "On this eighth day of March one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, personally appeared Lucy Hovey before me a County Justice within and for the County and State aforesaid. Aged seventy-seven years, a resident of said County and State, who being duly sworn according to law declares that she is the widow of Azel Hovey who was a Private in the revolutionary war, that neither the Captain or Colonel, under whom he served, are now known to her, that her said husband was drafted in the year A.D. 1777 or 1780 and served (she believes) about nine months, that she knows nothing about his discharge. And she further saith that she was married to the said Azel Hovey in Nanticook in the State of New York on the fourth day of March A. D. 1795 by Isaac Martin a Presbyterian Minister, then residing in said town of Nanticook, and that her name before her said marriage was Lucy Rockwell, that her husband died in Newark, Tioga County and State of new York on the fourteenth day of September A.D. 1838, that she has not since married but remains widow. And she further declares that she has heretofore made application for and received a pension of twenty-eight dollars per year, commencing on the 4th of March 1848 (To which application she now refers for further evidence) (see "Record in the Pension Office on the Roll of Pensions under Act 1848 Page 163, Vol 1, Book D"). She further declares that she has not received nor applied for bounty lands under any act of Congress. She makes this declaration to obtain the bounty land to which she may be entitled under the act of Congress approved the 3rd day of March 1855."

When Lucy Hovey made her application for a widow's pension based on her husband's Revolutionary War service, she provided several pages from the family Bible with family data as proof of her statements. The pages included birthdates for herself, Azel, and all of their children. In addition, the Bible provided spouses and marriage dates for several of their children. A statement is contained in the pension file that states that Azel Hovey himself maintained the family Bible and recorded all of the information. Lucy apparently was not able to read or write; she signed her pension deposition (above) with an X.

The DAR Library contains a series entitled Illinois Genealogical Records (GRC). Volume II of this series was compiled by Mrs. Edward J. Filbey in 1938-1939. This volume contains many pages (pages 193-224) reporting the history of the Hovey family. Included in this series is the summary of a letter dated December 5, 1848 in which "Ephriam Schult writes Henry Hovey at Newark in regard to his mother's (Lucy Rockwell Hovey) pension. (She was the wife of a Revolutionary soldier, Azel Hovey, the daughter of another, Abner Rockwell, and the Daughter-in-Law of another, Nathan Hovey, a solider at Valley Forge.) Said Schutt agreeing to get pension for her for 1/2 pension for 2 years. It is $28.00 per annum."