I previously posted Henry Dorton’s Revolutionary Pension Deposition (completed in 1834, retroactive to 1831).  However, I thought a transcript of the document would be helpful given the difficulty of reading the old script.  That transcript is below.

The handwritten Revolutionary War Pension statement of my maternal grandmother Lula Cook Wilder’s third-great-grandfather, Henry Levi Dorton.  He was a “person of color,” born in 1750 as the “base child” of a single woman sentenced to transportation from England to America.  She was forced, after giving birth, to give him up as an indentured servant until he was 21. Amazing story. He later moved to Monongalia (West) Virginia and was one of the initial “Chestnut Ridge People” of what is now Barbour County, WV.

Rev War Pension Deposition dated 21 Nov 1832 in Mon Co Va.:
“Appearing before the Court Of Monongalia County Wva, Henry Dorton a resident of this county aged 84 yrs and first Duly sworn according to law,doth on this oath make the declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of congress passed June 7 1832 that he was drafted in the fall of 1777 at the Redstone settlement near Brownsville Pennsylvania in a company of Militia commanded by Capt Foard and immediately marched to Fort Pitt where Foards company was placed under the command of Col. John Gibson of Viriginia,who was an officer in the regular army,that while at Fort Pitt he was transfered to a company that was not full,from the south branch of the Potomac river commanded by Captain Foreman. That Foreman was soon transfered to a fort a Grave Creek on the Ohio River twelve miles below Wheeling.When arriving they found the fort burned and we commenced a march back to Wheeling along the banks of the river–in the narrows of Grave Creek we were attacked by about 70 Indians and Capt Foreman and twenty of his men were killed .Twenty two were saved.That he made good his escape Wheeling and in ten days they went with others to bury the dead putting 14 in one hole and seven in another.That he then returned to Fort Pitt where at the end of the month the term of which he was drafted he was discharged by Capt Foard which discharge he has preserved and is hereto presented.”“That he cannot recollect the month but from some circumstances brought to his recollection he believes it was during the month if July in 1778 he was again drafted for a six months tour at Redstone in Captain Foards company and immediately marched to Fort Pitt where Captain Gibson commanded the regiment and General Hand the troops.That soon General McIntosh arrived at Fort Pitt the troops descended the Ohio to near the mouth of Big Beaver Creek to which we built a fort.That some time after the troops were ordered all but a few left at Fort McIntosh to the Tuscarawa a branch of the Muskingen where we built Fort Larwence and from Fort Lawrence we were marched back to Fort McIntosh,and thence to Pittsburg he was discharged a week before Christmas by a written discharge signed by Capt Foard which he has lost.That from the western country he removed back to the place of his birth and in the month ofMay 1781 he was again drafted near Bladensburg in Maryland in Capt Cross’s company of militia .That in June we marched to Annapolis where we were revived and remained a week. That we had seventy five men in our company,marched to Falmouth –other troops were marching the same direction but taking different roads on account of provisions from Falmouth. We continued our march through Virginia to a place called Savannah below Yorktown and was there stationed with five other companies under General Smallwood to keep the enemy from retreating from Yorktown that after the surrender of Lord Cornwallis we were all discharged that he served upwards of five months and recieved a written discharge from Captain Cross which he has long since lost.

That at present he knows of no person by whom he can prove his service,that he was born the year of 1748 near Bladensburg Maryland and resided in Prince Georges Co Maryland about nine years after the Revolution ,that he then removed to this county where he has ever since resided.That he doesnt know where the record of his age was,but he recalled Captain David Scott,a regular officer of the 13th Continental Virginia Regiment stationed at Fort Pitt as well as Lt Dent of the same regiment that he has known for many years Reverend Joseph Shackelford,Thomas Haymond Esq.Matthew Gay,and Colonel Samuel Hanney residents of Monongalia County and that he believed they could attest to his characterand veracity as well as his service. “