Pension Application

R.9275
Marine Court of the City of New York
            In the matter of Hercules Schureman who applies for a pension under the act of Congress of 7th June 1832 for revolutionary services as a soldier of the revolution.
            State of New York City and County of New York SS:
            On this eleventh day of August in the year afores said one thousand eight hundred and thirty two personally appeared in open court before the Justices of the Marine Court now sitting Hercules Schureman a resident of the City of New York in the County of New York and State aforesaid aged seventy seven years who being first duly sworn according to to [sic] Law, doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed 7th June 1832. That is to say, that he entered the service of the United States in the Revolutionary War under the following named officers and served as herein stated that is to say, this deponent and declarant saith he was born at Younkers [Yonkers] in the County of Westchester and State of New York and he saith that at the commencement of the war he was a Slave to Jonathan Archer who was a Tory and disaffected to the government and welfare of the United States of America and attached to the Government of Great Britain and it was on this account and in this way that deponent came to be a soldier in the service of the United States—Deponent saith he well [?] the time the Asia fired on the City of New York he and he thinks three others he is not certain that it was about two years after this attack he entered the service, and at the time he entered the service some American troops being round his master’s house [?????] –after the time his master had gone away, he [?] on account of his character and for fear of being death [?] as a Tory. That at this time he was applied to by about [?] of the American Troops [???] had a furlough to pilot their families from his masters house at Sugar Loaf valley to the house of one Robbie about twelve or thirteen miles below his master’s house in Sterling [?]which he did [?] & for a serviced given, deponent saith that the next day is was discovered that they were deserters, deponent was apprehended and then manifested his innocence & truth by showing Captain Crane the American officer the place he guided the [??] to, when Captain crane & the men under his command took the above mentioned [?]who found to be defecting prisoners with about a dozen Tories & besides, which was accomplished by the management of the deponent. That deponent was then questioned in relation to the principles of his master as [?] deponent informed Captain Crane of the facts and deponent was taken into the service from his said quarters, and General Smallwood declared him free, that he entered the service in Captain Cranes Company, the Colonels name he doth not recollect but thinks it was Brogan, the General of Brigade was General Smallwood and he continued in the service between two and three years and was finally discharged from this service at Chester and the army went on to Middlebrook. That he thinks he entered the service as much as two years before the battle of Fort Montgomery. The first affair this deponent was engaged in was a skirmish with the enemy between Sterling and Ringwood in Sterling Mountains in the night and deponent further saith that he continued in the army from the time he entered the service until discharged when the war was all but to a close and was with General Smallwood at the time he was discharged. The place called Sugar Loaf is four mi9les nearer to New York than Chester and Chester is west about eight or nine miles from Goshen in the State of New York.—Deponent after this enlistment continued scouting backwards and forwards in Sterling Mountains, and to Smith’s Clove and near to Fort Montgomery for some time, he can’t say justly how long and was then ordered to English Neighborhood Neighborhood [sic], passing through Rammabrough and Paramus and Hackensack and lay for some time at English Neighbourhood, was wounded by a Bayonet in a Skirmish at Paramus, passing down, and from thence marched back towards Goshen and was discharged as aforesaid at Chester. While in the service he went with two Regiments under General Smallwood to Brandywine, but was too late for the battle, that was over before they got there from that they marched to Springfield and then they had an engagement with the British, from Springfield, they marched back to Chester—when discharged he got his freedom pass—That after the war was over he went back to the place where he used to live to Sugar Loaf and then a person by the name of William Ellison asked him for a sight of his discharge and freedom papers and he gave them to his master Jonathan Archer and his master then took him and sold him to one John Hinchman and he sold him to Zacharias Price and he swopped him away for a younger man with his brother Francis Price and then deponent purchased his freedom from Francis Price the aforesaid brother of Zacharias Price and he further saith that he never could get his freedom papers from his old master Jonathan Archer, and his discharge papers and before this saith stretch he hath had a stroke of the palsy and hath in a great [?] lost his memory is very decriped and unable to earn a living by his labor, and has not done a days work in three years—deponent saith that at the time he purchased his own freedom from Francis Price, he also purchased his then wife’s freedom and his son’s freedom his first wife’s name was Rose and his second wife’s name is Phoebe and is aged sixty eight years on ther4eabouts. That while he was in the service under General Smallwood while at Sugar Loaf, he was rewarded for his bravery and attachment to the cause of his country and was made free while in the service that he might be used as a witness against deserters and Tories and was respected and credited while in the army and considered a good Soldier—That by his bravery he understood he was on the war list—deponent saith the amended exhibit attached A is the bill of sale executed by Francis Price at the time time[sic] he purchased his freedom from him & that of his wife and child and the exhibits B & C the certificates of the proof made of his freedom recorded in the office of the Clerk & Register of the City and County of New York, that he has no documentary evidence of his services, the same having been lost [?] kept from him as aforementioned and that he knows of no person whose testimony he can procure, who can testify to his service other than that of Thomas Coleman, who was in the service with him a part of the time that he is very poor, and that all his household goods would not bring fifteen dollars if sold today. 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. That in addition to the testimony of Thomas Coleman he hath obtained to be annexed hereto in addition as testimony the certificate of the said Thomas Coleman and of Samuel Todd a clergyman residing number 13 Anthony Street in the City of New York, that he hopes and expects to obtain the additional testimony in his favor of Abraham Macks of the City of New York and of George Degrasse in his favor if these certificates should also count as they have [?????] and further saith not. (Signed with his mark) Hercules Schureman
            Sworn to and Subscribed the day and year aforesaid in open court. John Barberie, Clerk.

Copyright © 1998, -- 2008. James F. Morrison and Berry Enterprises. All rights reserved. All items on the site are copyrighted. While we welcome you to use the information provided on this web site by copying it, or downloading it; this information is copyrighted and not to be reproduced for distribution, sale, or profit.