Baughman Revolutionary War Pension File
An American Adventure
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The George Baughman Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File, Warrant 9062 (Pension File W4632, National Archives Microfilm M-804, Roll 178, and National Archives Microfilm M-805, Roll 63) provides a fascinating glimpse into their lives and times. We are fortunate to have this documentary evidence from times past. Selected documents in the file are described below; additional noteworthy Baughman pension file documents are available for downloading. The compete digital file is available from Footnote.com (subscription required).

George Baughman Declaration
George Baughman provided a declaration on 26 September 1832 to Aurora Buttler, an Associate Justice of the Franklin County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, in order to obtain a Revolutionary War pension.

On the first page of his statement, George describes his service and mentions the Flying Camp in New York, and Morristown, Rareton, and Brunswick in New Jersey.

On the second page, George describes guarding British prisoners in Upper Socken, Northampton County, Pennsylvania and then gives the following impressions of his participation in the Battle of the Brandywine. "Declarant and others of riflemen lay in a hollow between two fences and the enemys and American canon were fired over them. The riflemen were as declarant supposes placed there to prevent the British from advancing and they not advancing was the reason why as declarant supposes the riflemen had no orders to fire and did not fire. After the battle went to Valley Forge and lay about two miles from Valley Forge until time expired." He concludes by saying simply, "returned home to Upper Socken after time expired."

On the third page, George describes his personal history after the war: Upper Socken, Bucks County until 1785; Shearman Valley; Cumberland County for about 6 years; then Washington County on Ten Mile Creek; and then on to Franklin County, Ohio, where he has resided in Mifflin Township for the last nineteen years.

Barbara Baughman Declaration
Barbara Baughman provided a declaration on 6 September 1844 to a Judge of the Court of Common Please, Franklin County, Ohio, to obtain a pension under the Act of Congress of the 7th of July 1838, an "act granting half pay and pension to certain widows."

On the first page of her statement, Barbara declares "that she was lawfully married to said George Baughman in June in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty one (the day of the month not recollected) by George Weigert Esq., a Justice of the Peace at a tavern house (keeper's name not recollected) in or near Springfield of Quaker Town in Northampton County, Pennsylvania."

On the second page, Barbara declares "that she has no documentary or written evidence of her marriage only the two leaves of family record hereto attached which was kept by her husband in his own handwriting and written near the times of the births and deaths of her several children, on the blank leaves in an old family German Prayer and Hymn Book and now taken out to forward to the Pension Department."

Baughman Hymn Book
Two pages from the Baughman family prayer book recording the births and deaths of her children, as described in Barbara's pension declaration. Translated and transcribed by 23 July 1919 by Fred J. Braendle.