Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters

Pension application of Sion Cooper R2302 Mary fhl5SC

Transcribed by Will Graves 6/2/11; contributed to South Carolina Genealogy Trails by Dolores Pringle, GGGGG-granddaughter

[Methodology: Spelling, punctuation and/or grammar have been collected in some instances for ease of reading and to facilitate searches of the database. Where the meaning is not compromised by adhering to the spelling, punctuation or grammar, no change has been made. Collections or additional notes have been inserted within brackets or footnotes. Blanks appearing in the transcripts reflect blanks in the original. A bracketed question mark indicates that the word or words preceding it represent(s) a guess by me. Only materials pertinent to the military service of the veteran and to contemporary events have been transcribed. Affidavits that provide additional information on these events are included and genealogical information is abstracted, while standard, 'boilerplate' affidavits and attestations related solely to the application, and later nineteenth and twentieth century research requests for information have been omitted. I use speech recognition software to make all my transcriptions.
Such software misinterprets my southern accent with unfortunate regularity and my poor proofreading fails to catch all misinterpretations. Also, dates or numbers which the software treats as numerals rather than words are not corrected: for example, the software transcribes "the eighth of June one thousand eighty six" as "the 8rh of June 1786." Please call errors or omissions to my attention.]

To the Honorable the President and other members of the Senate and the Speaker and other members of the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina. The petition of Sion Cooper Humbly sheweth That he was during the War of the Revolution an inhabitant of the State of North Carolina but was in the Army and served about half his time in this State. He served the half of two tours of three months each and one of eighteen in South Carolina. He served the first tour of three months under Captain Lane and under the command of General Butler - He served the second tour of three months under the command of Captain Bryant under Major John Humphreys and under those officers at the battle of Eutaw [Eutaw Springs] under General Greene during the tour of eighteen months while he was in South Carolina peace was made. He saith that he was about sixteen years of age when he entered the Army. That he served about eighteen months, the tour of eighteen months he entered for he was discharged before that time was expired as peace was made. He says he never received any pay or clothing or any compensation whatever for his sendees. He has resided in this State about twenty-seven years. That he is now about sixty-six years of age very poor, has no land and but little property of any kind as to labor hard to maintain himself and wife and two daughters who live with him. He is not able to labor much now and has lost his hearing very much. He therefore prays your Honorable Body to grant him a pension or such other relief as in your wisdom & charity shall seem meet [sic?] and in duty bound he will ever pray
Pendleton 6 November 1826
In presence of Joseph Grisham S/ Sion Cooper, X his mark

State of South Carolina Spartanburg District: Personally came Daniel Amos Senior before me Joseph Camp one of the Justices of the peace for said District and after being duly sworn deposeth and saith that Sion Cooper was drafted as a Soldier in the Revolutionary War in the State of North Carolina Wake County and served two three months towers [tours], and was again drafted in the eighteen months sendee and marched and this deponent states that he believes his sendees was rendered mostly in South Carolina but what officers he served under or the exact time he was drafted he cannot tell but it is in his opinion it was some time between 1776 & 1781 as well as he recollects.
Sworn to and subscribed this 13th day of December 1825 before me
S/ Joseph Camp, JP S/ Daniel Amos
[Elizabeth Byars of Spartanburg District gave an affidavit similar to that given by Daniel Amos.]

To the Honorable Members of the Legislature of the State of South Carolina the undersigned respectfully shows that she is the widow of Sion Cooper late of Pendleton District and a pensioner of the State on account of revolutionary sendees - That she is aged & infirm and in indigent circumstances. She therefore prays to be allowed the provision made by your Honorable body on such occasions by receiving her amount of pension. She also shows that she is the qualified executrix of the said Sion Cooper. That he died on the 6th of March 1831 having received from the Treasury Department an order on the Tax Collector for Pendleton payable on the first of March preceding but without having presented or received any part thereof. She therefore prays that the Treasurer may be directed to pay to her as executrix the amount of pension due her testator. Respectfully submitted.
Vouchers in the hands of B. Barton, No. 38 treasury Office Columbia December 1830 two Ezekiel Hands Esquire Tax Collector for Pendleton District, us Sir, you will be pleased to pay to Syon Cooper [sic] $60 and for one-year annuity due first day of March next 182_ not having paid any more from this office to him for the same time; and taking his receipt upon the back of this order, you will be credited for the amount in the settlement of your next General tax return. S/ B. H. Saxon, Treasurer upper division
[fn p. 5: George Field Senior gave testimony that Sion Cooper died a resident of Pickens District
on March 6, 1831.]

[fn p. 6]
State of South Carolina Greenville district On this 27th day of April A.D. 1852 Personally appeared before the Court of Ordinary for Greenville district, (it being the court, nearest the abode of the applicant) in the district and State aforesaid, Ansell Cooper a resident of Pickens district in the State above mentioned aged seventy-three years, who being duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed July 4th A.D. 1836, declares that he is the oldest son of Sion Cooper and Mary Cooper deceased, late of the district last mentioned and state aforesaid that Sion Cooper his Father was a Soldier of the Revolution and in his lifetime drew a pension of $60 per annum from the State of South Carolina as the paper is hereunto annexed sheweth, that his Father, the said Sion Cooper aforesaid died on the 6th day of March A.D. 1832. That his mother Mary Cooper subsequent to the death of her husband was placed on the pension roll of the State aforesaid and drew half pay up to her decease which occurred on the 8th day of February A.D. 1852. That this deponent is the oldest child of the said Sion and Mary Cooper aforesaid and according to traditions was born on the 16th of June in the year A.D. 1779, that he has brothers and sisters children of the said Sion and Mary Cooper aforesaid as follows (viz.) Lewis Cooper, Nancy Smith, (formerly Nancy Cooper) Polly Kilby (formerly Polly Cooper) Rahab Fields (formerly Rahab Cooper) and Delila Ferguson (formerly Delila Cooper).

That by tradition his Father and mother the aforesaid Sion Cooper & his mother whose maiden name was Mary Brantley were married in the State of Virginia (the County he does not now remember) in the year A.D. 1778, by a man by the name of Ricks - he makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining the arrearages of pension that may yet be due to his Father and his widow deceased for the military sendees rendered by his father in the War of the Revolution by the act of Congress aforesaid. Sworn to and subscribed before the court of ordinary for the district and State aforesaid the day and year aforesaid. S/ Ansell Cooper, X his mark