Private John Carter: Revolutionary War Pension File (R1749)

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John Carter

North Carolina line
10 Regmt Col Davidson
20 July 1778 - 9 mo
Certified by [faded]
that Carter stayed on
the [faded] mustered for
nine mo----
Dead. See letter from Saml
Gerock dated Newbern, July 10, 1828
Said letter not on file on
this claim. Oct. 1, 1918
Thos Watson
Newbern N.C.

Declaration

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United States of America ) Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions District of North Carolina  ) Septr Term 1820
Craven County                    )
On this 13th Day of Septr 1820 personally appeared in open Court the said Court being a Court of Re-
cord proceeding to the course of the Common Law with a jurisdiction unlimited in point of [           ] keeping a record of its proceedings and having power to fine and imprison, John Carter aged--Sixty six years who being first duly sworn

according to Law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order

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to obtain the provision made by the Acts of Congress of the 18th March 1818 and the 1 May 1820, that he the said, John Carter, enlisted for the term of nine months on the ------ day of------in the year -----in the State of No Carolina in the company commanded by Capt Quinn--in the 10th Regiment commanded by Colo Davidson in the line of the State of North Carolina--on the Continental Establishment, that he continued to serve in the said Corps until Nine Months. when he was discharged from the said service in at Halifax in the State of North Carolina -- deponent is unable to State the time of his enlistment or discharge -- he was not in any encampment but was in some skirmishes, near West Point and at Kings Ferry. He has no other evidence of his services in his power except the adjoined deposition of Asa Spelman -- And I do solemnly swear that I was a resident Citizen of the United States on the 12th March 1818 and that I have not since that time by gift sale or any manner disposed of my property or any part thereof with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself within the provisions of an Act of Congress entitled "An act to provide for certain persons Engaged in the Land and Naval service of the United States in the Revolutionary War." --passed 18th March 1818 and that I have not, nor has any person in trust for me any property or securities contracts or debts due to me, nor have I any income other than what is contained in the schedule hereunto annexed & by me subdivided.  if His apparel & biding his only property. Declarant is by occupation a Cooper, but age & infirmity have

rendered him for some years unable to work. He has no family & lives with his sister Margaret Fenner ----             
                                   John   X   Carter [his mark]
                                          
[       ] Sworn to and declared on the 13th day of September
AD 1820 before J G Stanly CC

Affadavit of Asa Spelman

Asa Spelman a Citizen of Craven County in No Carolina, maketh Oath that he was a Soldier in the Revolution, in Capt Quinns Company, tenth Regiment Commanded by Colo Davidson, No Carolina line, Continental establishment & served nine months in said service & deponent knows that John Carter did enlist and serve in the same Company &
Regiment for the period of nine months.
[      ] Sworn and declared on the                                         
13th day of September                       Asa  X  Spelman [his mark]
AD 1820 before                                                                
J G Stanly CC

Certified Property Schedule

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 State of No Carolina

Craven County

I, James G Stanly, Clerk of the

Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Craven County, do hereby certify that the foregoing oath and the schedule thereunto on record, are truly copied from the records of said

Court: and I do further certify, that it is the opinion of this said Court, that the total amount in value of the said property exhibited in the aforegoing schedule, is considerably less than one hundred Dollars.

In testimony hereof I have hereunto 

set my hands, and affixed the seal of the said Court, on the 13th day of September

AD 1820.

J G Stanly  Clerk

of the Court of Pleas & Quarter

Sessions of Craven County March

Term AD 1821---

Affadavit of Frederick Jones Esq.

Frederick Jones Esq solemnly and sincerely declared and affirmed that he [has] made acquaintance with John Carter the petitioner for a pension, that said John Carter is at this time

and has been for many years a resident of the County of Craven and State of North Carolina affirmed & [           ] before me 13th March 1821)                     Fredk Jones in open Court                                                                    

                             J G Stanly                                                                          

And it is ordered that the Clerk Certifies to the secretary at War of the United States that the Witnesses in support of the

petition of said John Carter are worthy of credit

Witness     Jas G Stanly  Clerk of said Court under the [           ] of said Court at Newbern this 13th day of March 1821---

J G Stanly

Certification 

State of North Carolina Secretary's Office 12th Dec 1820
I William Hill Secretary of State in & for the State aforesaid do hereby certify that it appears from the muster rolls of the Continental line of this this State in the Revolutionary war that John
Carter a private in Capt Quinn's Company of the 10th Regt was mustered on the 20th July 1778 for nine months. The date of his discharge is not mentioned.

Given under my hand the date above

Wm Hill

[vertical]                                                [horizontal]               free
John Carter                                            [post mark] NewB. N.C.
     -----                                                                         APR 14
Thomas Watson                              Honorable J C Calhoun, Agt          Secretary at War
Newbern, N.C.                                  Washington, DC
Recd 24 Apl 1821
                       Dead.
             Ex'd
                 19 June [18]21

                              1749

1749                         [stamped] REJECTED
P.O. John Carter

Service:
Enlisted: [blank]
Discharged: [blank]
Application Filed: [blank]
Act 1818 claims not
recorded in List of suspended & rejected claims, printed in 1852.

Honoring our Ancestors: Free Black Patriots of the Revolutionary War

When I was first contacted last October to assist in some research for a member of the DAR who was looking for the burial ground of her ancestor, Isaac Carter, I had no idea it would lead to such a wonderful tribute--with full honors--to our free black ancestors of Craven County, North Carolina.

Nor would I have guessed that I would be meeting together with Ms. Maria William Cole, National Vice Chairman Insignia, of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and a host of other dignitaries, from the highest officials of the SAR to state and local political and community service leaders, to pay tribute to these patriots.

The turnout exceeded my expectation when this event proceeded on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon, with close to a hundred and fifty people or more, seated on folding chairs under three canopy tents.

The microphone cable lay along the wet grass and soon died out, and we, the speakers, were asked to use our "mother's voices" to make our presentations heard. Usually I record and transcribe the speeches at events such as this, but I had to forego it on this occasion. So, it is from memory that I share with you today the events of this past Sunday afternoon.

Perhaps the most memorable of all the speakers for me was Marion T. Lane, Ed.D., Commander in Chief, Society of the Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge, and descendant of free black patriot, Martin Black, Private, Second North Carolina Regiment. Educator and author, she illustrated her message with descriptive cues which left one imagining how the patriotic free men of color had enlisted for the duration of the war, unlike the average white patriot, who had enlisted for only an average of nine months.

She depicted five northern regiments of free black patriots, including sailors, cavalrymen, and foot soldiers...fighting on the Continental Line and in the states militias. And then there were the free blacks of North Carolina. Their regiments were not segregated. Whites and blacks fought side-by-side for the freedom of a Nation, and of an oppressed people.


My presentation followed immediately after Dr. Lane's.

I am honored to be here on behalf of my husband, Cedric Carter, who is a descendant of six of the fourteen free black patriots we honor here today. 

Isaac Carter, his 3rd great grandfather

Joshua Carter, his 3rd great grand uncle

John Carter, his 3rd great grand uncle

George Perkins, his 4th great grandfather

Isaac Perkins, his 3rd great grand uncle, and

William Dove, the father-in-law of Charity (Carter) Dove, his 1st cousin four times removed.  

When we speak to our cousins and friends here in North Harlowe about our free black ancestor who served their country so gallantly, their minds turn to the Civil War; but, the Carter family has a rich history! 

The Carters were not freed slaves who enlisted for service. No, they had been free since 1684! There have been several studies and books dedicated to the Carters and the Georges, and they have a rich history...a history of freedom...of land owners who worked together with their white neighbors to build this community of North Harlowe. 

And even before these patriots served, the Carters' father, Abel Carter, and their Uncle Isaac Carter, had served in the North Carolina State Militia as early as 1754 [French and Indian War]. 

When our children grew up and attended school in Massachusetts, they were taught about the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry...and they were taught about the freed slaves and contraband who joined the Union forces during the Civil War...but they were never taught about the free blacks of North Carolina who volunteered to fight in the War of Independence...the American Revolution.

I am honored to be here today, and urge you to tell your children of the free black patriots of Craven County who dedicated their lives to independence for all Americans, black and white.

As I spoke of the years of freedom our ancestor had enjoyed nearly two hundred years before the outbreak of the Civil War, I could see the smiles of pride among family, and the nods of agreement among researchers, historians and dignitaries.

Following the Retirement of the Colors, several members of the SAR approached me with hand shakes and warm regards of thanks for my participation.

"Without you," said Guy Higgins, the initial researcher who had contacted me about the Forgotten Patriots project, "none of this would be happening today. Thank you."

Gary O. Green, whom I had assisted in identifying relationships among those buried in the George Family Cemetery, also gave me kind words of appreciation.

And lastly, I was surprised to be awarded a pin representing the SAR Outstanding Citizenship Award. I knew then that my departed 1st cousin once removed, Ralph Allen Cangson, former President of the Orange County Chapter of the California Sons of the American Revolution, would have been proud that I had continued in his footsteps.

As a family historian and researcher, I learned several things throughout this five-month project, but none more important than the humbling recognition that sometimes our family ties can be just as, if not more valuable, than what we know and can share about our family history. In all, it takes everyone working together...reenactors...researchers...family historians...and the multitude of cousins still on the home place...to accomplish an act of honor which will be represented in the community long after the speeches are over.

Maria William Cole,
National Vice Chairman Insignia
National Society DAR

Blog Caroling 2013: Mary Did You Know

by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene

Sung by CeeLo Green, on The Bible

The Christmas Season is once more upon us, and what is it that we hear? 

Is there anything positive out there? 

Or is it all squabbling over who said this, or who did that? 

Is there any peace in our homes...our communities...our towns, cities and nations? 

Or is this a time of unrest? 

Do you have that same child-like expectancy of Christmas morn as when you were a child? And were they really "the good old days?" 

And if so, for whom?

I am finding more and more the older I get that Christmas was just the beginning...

A time at the end of our calendar to help us to refocus on the true meaning of our existence. 

And as we enter a new year...2014...will it bring us closer to the Reason for the Season?

It is my earnest prayer that we...my family...my friends...and my brothers and sisters in Christ...will rekindle that flame that once burned with a Passion...so that all may see your light shine that they, too, might know Him...Jesus.

Mary did you know...

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will make a blind man see?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.

The lame will leap, the mute will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.