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Facts and Events
Silas Crain was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia
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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. 1, compiled by Patrick G. Wardell, Lt. Col. U.S. Army Ret. :
Crain, Silas - entered service 1780 in Cherain District, South Carolina; born 1762 in Botetourt* County, Virginia; resided in Montgomery County, North Carolina, after Revolutionary War, thence to Wilkes County, Georgia, to 1807, thence to Robinson County, Indiana, to 1811, thence to Greene County, Illinois, where he was granted Pension in 1832, when a cripple; father moved abt. 1781 to Montgomery County, North Carolina. R678.
- Botetourt County was formed in 1768 from part of Augusta County, Virginia, so Silas would have more accurately been born in Augusta County.
References
- Graves, William T. Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters.
Pension application of Silas Crain S32190 fn16SC/NC
Transcribed by Will Graves 6/5/11
State of Illinois County of Greene: SS
On this 5th day of December A.D. 1832 personally appeared before the Judges of the
County Commissioners Court of Greene County & State of Illinois Silas Crain a resident of the County of Greene & State of Illinois aged seventy years who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the
provision made by the Act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
That he volunteered on the 18th of March 1780 and entered the service of the United
States under the command of Colonel Hicks, Captain Charles Evans 1st Lieutenant Thomas
McManes, 2nd James Holmes, in Cheraw district South Carolina marched to Orangeburg on
Edisto River, there was put under the command of Colonel Simmons Captain Charles DeWitt
was marched to Coosawhatchie Bridge1 and there was under the command of General Bull in a
battle in which Colonel Lawrence [sic, John Laurens] was wounded in his wrist, and served four months and 15 days. That shortly after under the command of Charles Evans went in pursuit of the Tories served 25 days. About 1781 his father moved to Montgomery County North Carolina.
That he volunteered under the command of General Davidson Captain James Fletcher in 1781
and marched from Montgomery County North Carolina to Colson Hill against the Tories and
served between 30 and 40 days. That in 1782 as near as he can recollect, he volunteered and
marched under the command of General Rutherford, Captain James Fletcher to Davis' Ford and
there was stationed while General Rutherford went to Wilmington, that when General Rutherford came back he was marched home and discharged having served about 55 days. And that also he was on various other scouts in pursuit of the Tories, serving from 5 to 10 days at a time. That he was seventy years old the 5th day of last February according to the best of his knowledge. That he had three discharges which were given him by his captains and that the discharges were destroyed by getting wet in crossing a River, also that he had a receipt of James Crump for $64 of beef furnished for General Greene's Troops when on his march to Charleston which was
destroyed at the same time and in the same manner. That he has no documentary evidence and
that he knows of no person whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his service. That 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.
Sworn to & subscribed the day and year aforesaid
S/ Silas Crain
Interrogatories put by the Court to the said Silas Crain
1st Where and in what year were you born?
Ans. I was born in Botetourt County State of Virginia in 1762 as I have been told.
2nd Have you any record of your age and if so where is it?
Ans. I have no Record.
3rd Where were you living when called into service: where have you lived since the
Revolutionary War and where do you now live?
Ans. I was living in Cheraw District South Carolina when I first volunteered after when I
volunteered I lived in Montgomery County North Carolina. After the war I moved to Wilkes
County Georgia resided there till 1801 thence I moved to Robinson County Tennessee [likely s/b Robertson County, TN] lived till 1811 then moved to the now Green County Illinois and which place I have lived since till now.
4th How were you called into service; were you drafted; did you volunteer or were you a
substitute, and if in substitute, for whom?
Ans. I volunteered each time as stated in my declaration.
5th State the names of some of the regular officers who were with the troops when you served, such Continental and militia regiments as you can recollect and the general circumstances of your service.
Ans. I recollect General Lincoln and Colonel Lawrence I think they were both regular officers. I also recollect Major Simmons and I served as I have stated in my declaration.
6th Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given and what has become of it?
Ans. I received 3 discharges and from my captains lost them as I stated in my declaration.
7th State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood and who
can testify as to your character for veracity and their belief in your services as a soldier in the revolution.
Ans. I am well known to many persons in my neighborhood among which I would name Judge
Brown and Isaac Darneil Esq.
S/ Silas Crain
[John Brown & Isaac Darneil gave the standard supporting affidavit.]
State of Illinois Greene County: SS
Silas Crane [sic] being duly sworn doth depose and say that by reason of old age & the
consequent loss of memory he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned in the foregoing declaration & he for the cause aforesaid is unable to state the time or nature of his service or the names of his officers & the name or number of the Regiment or Corps in which he served with any more exactness than his declaration specifies. He verily believes that the military expeditions in which he served were ordered or sanctioned by public authority but he never saw the orders under which his officers acted nor is he able to bear the expanse of investigating this question & that during his service he was not employed in any civil pursuit.
Subscribed & sworn in open court this 3rd day of June 1833
S/ Silas Crain
[Veteran was pensioned at the rate of $20 per annum commencing March 4th, 1831, for 6 months
service as a private in the South Carolina militia.]
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1 May 4, 1779 http://gaz.jrshelby.com/coosawhatchie.htm
http://revwarapps.org/s32190.pdf
- United States. 1820 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M33).
Name: Silas Crane
Home in 1820 (City, County, State): Turkey Hill, St Clair, Illinois
Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 1
Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1 [b. 1775 or before]
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15: 1
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over: 1 [b. 1775 or before]
Number of Persons - Engaged in Agriculture: 1
Free White Persons - Under 16: 2
Free White Persons - Over 25: 2
Total Free White Persons: 4
Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 4
- ↑ Find A Grave.
Silas Crain, Sr
Birth 1762
Death 1842 (aged 79–80)
Burial: Lax Cemetery
Jersey County, Illinois, USA
Inscription: Continental Line, Rev. War. Presented by Ninian Edwards Chapter NSDAR, Alton, IL, Apr 30, 1983.
CRAIN, Silas. REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIER. SILAS CRAIN, Sr. was born in 1762, died in 1842 and is buried in LAX CEMETERY. SILAS CRAIN, His father, was born in 1730 in Virginia, died in Jersey Co., Illinois in 1812 and was a Revolutionary War Soldier and was buried in the old cemetery in Jerseyville, Illinois. His tombstone is now located in the Jersey County Historical Society Museum and contains the following inscription:
SILAS CRAIN, A NATIVE OF VA AND A REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER, DIED IN JERSEY CO., ILL JAN 1812, AGED 82 YEARS
It was the belief of a few of the members of our society that there surely was at least one Revolutionary War Soldier buried in the Old Cemetery in Jerseyville. The stone located in the Historical Society Museum is prove that these beliefs were correct.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22962955
- ↑ Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees: (Note: not considered a reliable primary source).
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