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| Metro Louisville, Jefferson County, KyGenWeb Project |
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| Joseph Smith |
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On the seventeenth day of March in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and thirty five personally appeared in Jefferson
County court of Louisville, Kentucky, Joseph Smith, a resident of said
county, who being duly sworn on the Evangelist of the Almighty God, makes
the following declaration: that in the year seventeen hundred
and seventy eight he was then a resident of Rockingham County and State of
Virginia and in the same year he received a commission as First Lieutenant
of the Militia signed by His Excellency the Governor Patrick Henry and was
sworn into the office by the Clerk of the court of the said county, which
commission he safely kept and this day produced in open court and is dated
May 21, 1778, signed P. Henry. He, Joseph Smith, went into the army
as a volunteer holding his commission and office as Lieutenant and was
under the command of Colonel William Wark up to the date of his discharge.
He also produced the discharge in court, and also his discharge he
received from the hands of his commanding officer, Colonel William Wark,
by order of General Stephens being discharged at camp near West Point
August 17, 1781. He served his country one year and eight months and
held the commission and office of First Lieutenant during the whole time.
His mind is so much impaired that he cannot remember a single man now
living who served with him and by whom he can prove his services.
The above declaration was made before J. M. Merrill March 17, 1835. John L. Wilson, a clergyman and Phillip Johnston, citizens of Jefferson County, Kentucky made certifications of well standing acquaintance with Lieutenant Joseph Smith, and state that he is a man well respected in his neighborhood for his truth and veracity, and believe his statements worthy of credit. J. M. Merrill certified the statements of the above declarents. Upon further questioning Joseph Smith made the following, to wit: That he was born in Orange County and state of Virginia in the year 1754 or 1755, and that the records of his father in which his age was preserved was lost or burned. he was residing in Rockingham County, Virginia at the time of his enlistment and lived there until 1794 when he moved to Fayette County, Kentucky. He then moved to Shelby County where he lived until February 1835, and since then has lived in Jefferson County, Kentucky. He was called into the service by orders of Colonel Hall who commanded the militia of Rockingham County of which I belonged. Edmund Pope, Clerk of the Circuit Court certified the foregoing statements, and further declared that they had been made in the open court of Jefferson County, Kentucky. |
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