Sons Peter, Garret, John, and Thomas appeared in these records as well (Peter is also shown in the 1787 tax record with his mother Mary above).  By the time of the 1790 census, they had all left for frontier Ohio, except for Garrett, a Revolutionary War veteran, who lived out his life in Fayette County.  This page shows all the records found for this family in this area during this period.  They will be listed chronologically by subject - military; tax; property; pension; and family - to show the baseline information as it appeared. 

The historic Clawson research debate is whether that first 1776 militia reference in this area for Garret Clawson was of the father in this family, and that Mary was his wife and by 1781 his widow - with the children Peter, John, Garret, and Thomas listed in the records of the time.  I have always wanted to believe this.  Yet, there is limited evidence on this point and one of the purposes of this page is to use records to see if any light is shed on this question.

The basic research questions will be to identify where the family lived when these records were taken.  Who lived around them and what can be learned from that?  Is there any way to draw conclusions about family members and their lives from this information?  What was the story of their area as they lived there?

Our Clawson ancestors were most likely from a Dutch line that originated into New York and New Jersey.  The Frank Crosswhite page, also under the Clawson tab, summarizes the link between the southwest Pennsylvania Clawsons and their New York and New Jersey Dutch ancestors.  The Covalt Station web page, also under the Clawson tab, includes all known records of Clawson family members in frontier Ohio, where almost all the Southwest Pennsylvania Clawsons went about 1790. This page details these Clawsons during the period between the New York - New Jersey history, and the frontier Ohio history.  There will likely be future pages to detail the Clawsons as they moved to frontier Indiana and beyond.

Historical Background.  This page covers what we know about the Clawsons between 1776 and 1790 on the Pennsylvania and Virginia frontier.  In this period this “frontier” was truly the edge of European advancement into Native American territory and the conflict was ongoing.  The Revolutionary War was also fought during this period, and while there were militias formed to deal with the local attacks, men from this area were also were in Revolutionary War units.  As shown below, these militia units - which some call frontier rangers - were established ca 1775 and continued under changing leadership and membership until the early 1780’s.  The strife with Native Americans is demonstrated in the records below - both in the militia units, but also in the taxation records - which contained tax “exoneration” because residents were either driven from their homes or unable to farm or produce much if they stayed. 

Geography.  The land in the area was claimed by Virginia and Pennsylvania, with Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and the District of West Augusta Virginia being the local entities with the overlapping and conflicting claims.  In 1776 District of West Augusta was divided into the three Virginia Counties of Ohio, Monongalia, and Yohogania.  Due to this, there were various governments in two states with conflicting public records.  Boyd Cumrine, the author of the 1881 History of Washington County, also did a “historical sketch” on the County Court for the Virginia District of West Augusta.  Both are good resources for what happened in these times, and a few items from the 1881 history are contained here.

The Clawsons were in the Virginia-claimed territory that mostly overlapped with Monongalia County.  Garret Clawson was shown in a militia and later a military unit associated with Virginia.  But much of the same territory was also claimed by Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania  Garret was in the militia unit of Thomas Gaddis, which was affiliated with Virginia.  There was a time a few years later that Gaddis switched his allegiance to Pennsylvania - indicative of the geographic issues of the region.  The Clawsons settled just west of the Monongalia River, and that River seemed to be a particular dividing line between those who felt allegiance to Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Those living west of the River were generally aligned with Virginia.

There were underlying differences between Virginia and Pennsylvania, and it is not certain whether this is something that influenced the Clawsons or their neighbors. Virginia was a slave state, but Pennsylvania was not. Virginia solely fostered the Anglican Church and Pennsylvania was a state of religious freedom.  The Clawsons appeared to be Baptists in this period and it is unclear if that was an influence.

In 1780 the boundary dispute was settled with the extension of the Mason-Dixon line west from Maryland, and northern part of this territory officially was incorporated into Pennsylvania.  Then Pennsylvania formed a new County in the region – Washington County – which began keeping tax records in 1781, and is where the Clawsons were located.  The property records took a few years to “catch up”.  Maryland was so close, that Garret Clawson served in a Maryland Revolutionary War unit prior to the settling of the boundary dispute.  And the northern panhandle of Virginia (now West Virginia) was still close by as well.

The area where the Clawsons lived in Washington County was in Greene Township, which became Greene County in 1796 about six years after they left.  The land where they lived was very close to the state line with Virginia - and Thomas Clawson’s 1787 land patent was situated in two future townships - Gilmore and Wayne.  In fact, the southern part of his patent was the Virginia-Pennsylvania state line.  Charles Clawson produced a map in his 2002 Clawson book - posted below in the Clawson property section - that listed the locations of the other Clawsons around Thomas, but although they paid taxes on land there do not appear to be land records for them.

The 1881 Washington County history includes a map of Washington County dated 1781 to 1789 - a map that included Greene Township - and covered the first period after which the boundary dispute with Virginia was “settled”.  This map overlays the years of the Clawsons in the Washington County tax records and is posted in the property section just below a Charles Clawson map placing the Clawsons in Greene Township.

Religion. When the Clawsons got to Ohio, and for the rest of their lives, they were very evident members of the Baptist Church. Thomas and his mother Mary were shown in the Columbia Baptist Church records in 1794 in frontier Ohio.  Thomas and Abraham Covalt’s daughter were married by a Baptist Minister in that same year.  When they settled in Washington Township in Montgomery County in the late 1790’s, they were members for years of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church, with Thomas, Joseph and Mary (Clawson) Shanks and Josiah evident in those records.

I had hoped to find them in the Goshen Baptist Church records here, as they were in the neighborhood of the Rev. John Corbley.  Abraham Covalt was active in his church - and the only reason we know the precise time he left for Ohio is the church record for his “dismission”.  Some of the Clawson neighbors were shown in the Goshen records - such as the Dye family - as were a few of the people who went with Covalt to Ohio and lived at Covalt Station with the Clawsons there.  It is quite possible the Clawsons were attendees, but they have not yet been found in any church records.  Interestingly, some of Garret’s children were found in these records a generation after the Clawsons left for Ohio - which could explain why Garret submitted a statement for his revolutionary war pension from Dunkard Township in Greene County in the 1820’s.

Family Information. The birth dates of the youngest children give a hint as to how long the Clawson father, Mary’s husband, was alive. There is also information that can be gleaned from the 1880 census - which listed the birth states of the parents of each person enumerated. For the grandchildren of the Clawson father and Mary Clawson still living, it gives the state their Clawson parent was born in. And by listing the names of all the children of the seven children of the Clawson father and Mary, there might be conclusions drawn from the repeating names. The census birth state and naming issue are at the end of the page.

The Clawson Research Questions Hoped to be Addressed on this page. The one Clawson who remained behind, Garret Clawson, filed for a land patent the same day as his brother Thomas - a patent that was for land in Greene Township.  He didn’t make good on his patent, and moved about thirty miles to the east to Springhill Township in Fayette County, where he lived out his life.  The 1787 record is one of only two records that ties Garrett to the others - the second being his listing as a single freeman in the 1785 Greene Township tax records.  A research question is to see if there are other records that help make this tie. 

The fact that there were limited records from this period compounds the difficulty in answering certain questions about the Clawson family.  Based on future records that amplify the limited records here, a framework for considering this family suggests a father, his wife Mary, and at least seven children – John, Peter, Thomas, Garret, Josiah, Mary, and Hannah.  Records in Pennsylvania and Ohio tie various of these family members together.  The last of the children were born in the 1775-1777 period, and Mary was a widow by 1781.  As previously stated, tradition has been that her husband was named Garrett.  But some researchers suggest that the earlier military record in 1776 for Garrett was actually the first record of the son Garrett, and the jury is still out on the name of the father - Mary’s husband.  Frank Crosswhite’s writings on this subject on an adjoining page reflect that change in thinking. 

There is debate among researchers about when John left Pennsylvania for Ohio, and whether there were two John Clawsons in early southwest Ohio.  I have an entire worksheet on that question, and circumstantial evidence points to one John Clawson there - question which Frank Crosswhite, a descendant of the very early Ohio John Clawson, comments on in the adjoining web page of his research. 

Charles Clawson’s 2002 work set forth the two John theory - and he believed that the Garrett and Peter of the next generation who went to Indiana in the 1820’s were sons of the second John.  A Shelby County Ohio deed proves that that this Garrett was named as the son of Peter Clawson, John’s brother, in a probate property record - and seems to settle that issue.  This issue is referred to on the Frank Crosswhite page and the deed is shown in the postscript to his emails.

There is the previously mentioned question about whether the father’s name was in fact Garrett.  Some researchers believe that the father was named John.  The only evidence here is the early military records which name Garrett, but not in a way that settles the question.  Siblings Josiah, Mary (the daughter of Mary), and Hannah are not named in Pennsylvania records - as they were too young - but there is circumstantial evidence that points to them as members of the family, but not from records during the family’s time in Pennsylvania. 

The information that follows will be viewed against these questions.  While DNA research is not included here, it is possible that it would be an avenue to addressing the ancestry question in addition to what is on this page.

What Follows.  On this page, I will list every known record for a Clawson in the Augusta District of Virginia and Greene Township area during the period 1776-1790.  The information is generally listed chronologically, and is divided by military/militia records, tax records, property records, and military pension records.  There is also a family section at the end - on the 1880 census and naming of family members.  In most cases, the actual original of the record is posted - to be able to show it as recorded.  Some additional information on each will be listed with the record, in general who else was listed with the Clawson’s in each record.  In the military section, many of the other soldiers filed for revolutionary war pensions record, and some of their statements of their service are helpful and included.

Analysis.  Following the listing of each category of records is a conclusion on what we can learn from that record category. With each record comes context - location, how they might have lived, who showed up in the records that implies their age - and who else was in the record and might imply that they lived nearby or were otherwise connected. Unfortunately, the tax records from 1781 to 1789 were done alphabetically, so there is no indication of who lived right nearby - although property records may well indicate who was near them and also shows up in the tax records.  An overall conclusion from all the items posted on this page comes at the very end of this page.

Other Resources. In addition to the public records, there has been very good research by various Clawson researchers that is incorporated into this.  Charles Clawson has written on this period, and has done a good map of the Clawson property in Pennsylvania and its more precise location.  The late Frank Crosswhite did great work on various pieces of this, and a statement about the military service of one Clawson in this Pennsylvania era is incorporated into this document.  I am grateful for their work.

There are also great sources that have been invaluable to this page, the major ones being:

• Howard Leckey’s book, “The Ten Mile Country and Its Pioneer Families, which has a history of the early Greene County area and genealogical records for the early families.

• Don Corbly’s book, “Pastor John Corbly and his Neighbors in Greene Township”, which has early history and then biographies of the early residents of Greene Township.

• Boyd Cumrine’s 1881 History of Washington County, Pennsylvania. 

• Boyd Cumrine’s historical sketch of the Virginia courts in what became Washington County.

Future work. It is always possible that there are references in records that have not been found by me personally and could add to the story. It is also true that this page is based on those records - and if someone desired, a more personal story that isn’t so wonky based on the records here - could be written.  That’s what Frank Crosswhite did with the Garret “Closson” reference on the first Maryland unit reference below, and in much of his other Clawson research - as shown on the Frank Crosswhite web page under the Clawson tab on this site.

Additionally, this page did not research based on DNA records and there is a good chance that DNA research would tie the Clawsons to their earlier families in New Jersey and New York - and maybe even confirm some ties between difference branches of the Clawson family.

One Random Observation. Many times in the stories of ours and other American European families, the western movement was done in groups that involved clusters of the same families.  The Clawson family, absent Garret, left for frontier Southwest Ohio just before the 1790 census.  There are a number of families from this region that made the same move - and show up in records there as well as here.  The obvious one was Abraham Covalt, who lived not far from the Clawsons In Greene Township and in whose fort the Clawson’s lived once in Ohio - and whose daughter Sophia Thomas married in Ohio.  Abraham Covalt’s widow, as well as other members of the Clawson family, moved further west to Indiana together ca 1825.  Some Clawsons later intermarried with Gerrards, who were in evidence in Greene Township.  Brice Virgin was here - and the Clawsons served in his militia unit in the early 1790’s in Ohio.  Benjamin Stites, an early Ohio settler was here.  One of the Buckinghams was in frontier Ohio.  Some of the Goshen Church members traveled with Abraham Covalt to Ohio, and lived with the Clawsons at Covalt Station.  I am sure there were others I have not noted here.

  Our Clawsons in Virginia and SW Pennsylvania Records Chronologically - 1776-1790 - In Military/Militia Records; in Tax Records; in Property Records; and in Pension Records - Supplemented by Family Information

Family Information.  1775-1780. The two youngest Clawson children were born in this period. Josiah Clawson, the youngest son of Mary and her husband, was born on May 14, 1775. He died before being listed in a census with a birth state, and no child of his survived to be in the 1880 census - which listed birth states of parents. It has been presumed he was born in Pennsylvania.

There is circumstantial evidence that there was one child younger than Josiah - Hannah. She appears to have died after 1840 and does not appear in a census with an age or birth state. There is no known child of hers living in the 1880 census, which would have listed her birth state.  Her birth time frame based on the censuses in which she did appear projects a birth between 1775 and 1780.

Neither Josiah or Hannah appears in a Pennsylvania record - this is all conjecture from records in Ohio and Indiana later in their lives. The birth dates of these two children mean that Mary’s husband was likely alive into the 1770’s until at least 1776 or 1777.

Given Mary’s widowhood by 1781, it is quite possible Mary’s husband died in the early part of that 1775-1780 period.  While it was speculated by one researcher that Mary’s husband could have been lost in the frontier wars, there’s no record of his name or of his death.

The one other section that draws on family information is at the very end of this page.  A listing is shown of the living grandchildren of the Clawson father and Mary in the 1880 census.  This was the first census to list the birth states of parents - and therefore lists the birth states of Clawson siblings.  At that location on this page is also a listing of the names of each of the children for the seven children of the Clawson father and Mary.  There was the tradition in these times to name children after their grandparents - and there’s a look at each of these families to see what names repeat and whether conclusions can be drawn.

Clawsons in Military - Militia Records in Virginia - SW PA

1776 - Garret Closson in Maryland Unit:  Garrett Closson is shown in the Maryland militia unit of Christian Orndorff, dated July 20, 1776 - the first known record of a Clawson in this area during this period.  This entry is shown on page 50 of the 18th Maryland Archives series.  The entry states “passed by Joseph Smith”.  In these same archives, p. 48 – it is stated that the units in the pages following, including the one Garrett was in, were of the Frederick County Upper District, which was Washington County.   The unit was under Captain John Reynolds. [In the Henry C. Peden book “Revolutionary Patriots of Frederick County Maryland 1775-1883, there is a biography of Joseph Smith that reads: “Served on the Committee of Observation in 1775.  Lieutenant colonel in the 36th Battalion of militia in Frederick County on January 6, 1776, and commissioned colonel on April 20, 1776.  Reviewed and passed recruits in Frederick County in 1776.  Colonel in Washington County on June 22, 1778.”  This not only explains the passing of recruits, but indicates that he operated in the area of Maryland that became Washington County, which is to the east of the southwest Pennsylvania area where the Clawsons were, but adjacent to Pennsylvania and then Virginia.  Frank Crosswhite did a long narrative on this service - which is posted below - and also is on the Frank Crosswhite web page on this site.

As stated above, this was first reference in which Garrett Clawson appeared. For decades Clawson researchers believed this reference was to a Garrett Sr. Many have changed their opinion, and believe that this was Garrett, the son of Mary, at age seventeen. Garrett’s younger brother, my ancestor Josiah, was a Scout and Spy in Ohio before he was eighteen, so it is not out of the realm of possibility.

Frank Crosswhite did an excellent job of analyzing the background of this first Clawson reference, although it should be noted that when this was written, ca 2005 or 2006, it was before Frank himself had concluded that there was not a Garret Sr. He wrote the item below with that assumption [This email, as well as other Frank Crosswhite email’s on the Clawson’s is shown on this website with a page containing his research]:

From Frank Crosswhite:  “In the Upper District of Frederick County, Maryland on July 20, 1776 our Garret Clawson, as “Garrett Closson” was enlisted by Lieutenant Christian Orndorff into Captain John Reynolds’ Company of Maryland troops.  (From Archives of Maryland, Volume 18, g. 50.  Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution.)

Recruitment in 1776 for Frederick County was done in three districts:  1) Lower District, which became Montgomery County, 2) Middle District which remained Frederick County, and 3) Upper District which became Washington County.  Garret Clawson was in the Upper District.  There were three companies for the Upper District lead by 1) Captain Aeneas Campbell, 2) Captain John Reynolds and 3) Captain Henry Hardman.  Garret Clawson was in the 2nd Company.  Under Captain John Reynolds were 1st Lieutenant Moses Chapline, 2nd Lieutenant Christian Orndorff (spelled Orendoff in other documents) [John’s note: in one record he is shown as Christopher] and Ensign Nathan Williams.  These companies do not appear to be part of any regular regiment, so may have been part of a battalion of militia. No other records for these companies exist after the initial recruitment lists.  When enlisted these men were “effective and able-bodied” and had to be passed on by someone other than the recruiter.  A Major Francis Deakins approved some of the units but not the one Garret was in.  I think that Deakins was regular army.   After the war Deakins was entrusted to survey the land to the west of Fort Cumberland in Washington County to be made into 50 and 100 acre parcels for regular army veterans, with 100 acres going to any recruiter who had signed up 20 or more men.  This was to satisfy promises made when soldiers were originally recruited. Christian Orndorff had enlisted 22 men including Garret so possibly he had been looking for this additional acreage. But I think that the acreage was only for regular army.


By 1778 the 2nd Battalion of what had been the Upper District, now Washington County, was led by Captain Christian ”Orendoff,” Jr. with a 1st Lieutenant Joseph “Rennolds” said to be son of John in the original document.  This sounds like the same unit that Garret had been in. This was definitely a militia unit and the men were drafted for 9 months.  Service in the regular army was for 3 years or the duration of the war.  An inducement to enlist in the regular army was a promise of 50 acres of land after the three years of service, so I do not think that the regulars were drafted. On the page of the Maryland Archives listing Garret Clawson (as “Garrett Closson”) only one soldier is listed as a volunteer so Garret’s enlistment would appear to be for 9 months of compulsory militia service.  Assuming that he fulfilled his service on April 20, 1777 the earliest he could have arrived in Monongalia County, Virginia (i.e. southwestern Pennsylvania) would have been in May of 1777.

Garret’s unit in Maryland, from the names of the officers, probably was centered around Elizabeth Town, now Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland.  This was the eastern terminus of Braddock’s Road which led to Beeson’s Town, now Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.  Garret must have been in northern Virginia before Fall of 1777 since he was recorded on the roll of Captain Thomas Gaddis’s Company of Monongalia County Militia taken at Fort Liberty.  By Fall Gaddis had switched his allegiance to Pennsylvania and was a Colonel in the Westmoreland County Pennsylvania militia. 

In 1777 the Indians of Ohio, under leadership of British regulars from Detroit, were extremely active in crossing the Ohio River in large bands to attack the forts, killing and scalping defenders in western Pennsylvania and northern Virginia.  The likely reason for Captain Gaddis’s militia to have mustered at Fort Liberty in Ohio County, Virginia would have been to come to its assistance or to the assistance of Fort Henry (later Wheeling, West Virginia) which was threatened just to the south.  Unfortunately many soldiers were killed in this region at about this time and their names have been lost to history.  It was at this time that the British commander at Detroit, Henry Hamilton, was offering the Ohio Indians a large bounty, paid in commodities and hardware, for each scalp taken from settlers on the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Hamilton became known as the “Hair Buyer” and countless men, women and children were killed and scalped on the frontier by Indians seeking commodities and hardware.  It was during this period of terrorism that Garret Clawson, Sr. died, perhaps even as early as 1777.

Garret likely had gone up Braddock’s Road before 1777 to find suitable land before bringing his family and this could have been before being drafted in Maryland. One would doubt that he would bring a wife and 6 children with no place to settle.  On the other hand people were fleeing the war in the East and from a look at some of Maryland’s regular army units, desertion sometimes was over 50%, so departures could be hasty. 

The Dunkards for whom Dunkard Creek was named had trapped in the Whitely Creek and Dunkard Creek area in what is now Greene County, Pennsylvania at an early date. These were the Eckerlin brothers. They had purchased furs from the Indians while headquartered in Frederick County, Maryland in the 1750’s to sell them to a fur company owned by the Calvert family of Maryland. If we only knew what occupation Garret, Sr. followed!”

The other members of the Maryland unit listed were: Christian Weirich, Nicholas Weirich, Peter Loar, Jacob Long, Nicholas Pinkely, Mathias Wolf, John Randle, Michael Edelman, Joseph Emrich, Jacob Runner, Edward Kerny, Nataniel Linder, Hermon Consella, Nicholas Hasselback, Philip Loar, Nicholas France, Thomas Wilkins, George Flick, George Bowersmith, Robert Wells, John Walker, and Garrett Closson – listed in that order.  None of these appear to be names recognizable from Greene County records, although there are six different “Long” family members in the 1782 John Guthery unit that John Clawson served in.  Yet none of them are named Jacob.  As a result, I have not included any of these names in the chart of Greene County residents who interacted with the Clawsons through militia or military service or lived in nearby property.

As Frank Crosswhite noted above, of the three Frederick County, Maryland districts from which there were recruits, the “Upper District” covered what became Washington County, Maryland.  Washington County was created on September 6, 1776 [The first county in the future United States to be named after George Washington], and included all land in Maryland west of Frederick County at the time – in what is now known as the Maryland panhandle.  The western part of the early Washington County bordered on the present Fayette County, Pennsylvania – where Garret Clawson was in the early 1780’s and settled in the late 1780’s and lived out his life.  The boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania had not been settled at this time – and in 1789, two counties were formed from Washington County – Allegany and Garrett – that were likely the locations that were closer to where the Clawsons were at the time.

The 1881 Washington County history details the organization of units in this period - stating that after word reached the area of the first shots at Lexington in l775, there were organizing meetings for West Augusta and for Westmoreland County - each claiming the area - and most of the men west of the Monongalia affiliated with the Virginia units. Captain Michael Cresap, a name that shows up in other records as well, raised men and served in Maryland.

One other point on this service. The youngest confirmed child Josiah, was born in May of 1775. A seventh child, suspected to be of Mary and her husband, was Hannah, born in the 1776-1777 period. It is hard to imagine that a father would leave a family like this in an unsettled frontier situation - possibly with his wife pregnant with their youngest child in an area subject to Native American attacks - and go off over the mountains into Maryland to war. Many men of the time on the frontier were choosing the frontier rangers instead. The section posted below with the Monongalia unit, from the 1881 Washington County history, speaks to this issue.  This would lend itself to the theory that this Garrett was sixteen or seventeen, and one of the older sons.

Monongalia Unit:  The second record of Garret Clawson in this period is when he was shown in the Gaddis Command of the Monongalia Militia of Virginia as a private.  His card showed he was at Fort Pitt from August 15, 1777 to October 1, 1777.  The card literally states “Lieut. William Cross’ Co. of Monongalia Militia under the command of Major James Chew, stationed at Fort Pitt.  The card for Gaddis’ Command states that there were officers and privates from the County of Monongalia for the Expedition to the Indian Country.  There was also a statement that they were officers and privates under the command of Cap. Thomas Gaddis at Fort Liberty commenced September 9, 1776 and ending January 1, 1777.  Garret’s service cards are posted below.

Notes on the Gaddis Military Unit.  At my 2014 visit to the Salt Lake family history library, I copied all the cards of those who served with Garret Clawson (Clossen) in the Thomas Gaddis Militia Unit ca 1776.  I thought maybe there will be people who lived near Garret, and knowing the list of fellow militia members can help.  They are listed alphabetically below:

James Archer, Lieutenant - Letter; Roger Bartin; Robert Benom, Lieutenant; Samuel Blackford, Sergeant; James Brentons, Captain; Michael Catt; James Chew, Letter; Capt. Crecraft, no first name listed; Thomas Crooks; William Cross; Captain Dougherty, no first name listed; Captain Enock, no first name listed; Aron Flowers; James Flynn; Henry Franks; Thomas Gaddis, Colonel – have rev war pension file; Stephen Gapen, Lieutenant; David Gilkey; Peter Gorsey; David Graybill; Daniel Hall, Captain; William Hall; William Harrod ; Captain Hayman, no first name listed; Captain Hord, no first name listed; Captain Howell, no first name listed; Robert Ives; Thomas John; James Johnson; Bostian Keener; Thomas Kerr; Henry Kieth (sic) Lieutenant; John Knotts, Ensign; Charles Lecount, Lieutenant; Captain Martin, no first name listed;; Matthias Martin; Captain McCleery; Daniel McFarland; William McFarland; James Mileken; John Mills, Lieutenant – many, many by this name; Captain Minor, no first name listed – Letter from desc on next page – Letter about John Minor; Captain Moore, Captain; Joseph Morriss; Frederick Myers; Henry Myers; Captain Pricket, no first name listed; James Purdie; John Reynolds; Captain Rich, no first name listed; James Scott – a few by this name; Captain Shinn, no first name listed; Zadock Springer, Captain; Thomas Swan, Captain; Samuel Swingler; Captain Tegarden (sic), no first name listed; John Vantrees, Ensign; Henry Yoho; and John Yoho.

[NOTE: In relation to the names above, John Minor was a signer on Thomas Clawson’s 1787 land warrant, and the location of the Minor property is shown on the 1781-1789 Washington County map in the property section below - not far from the Clawsons. Stephen Gapen was a neighboring property owner to Thomas, and where Garrett had applied for a warrant - and the other Clawson family members lived in the 1780’s. Stephen Gapen was also in the 1782 unit with Peter Clawson.  John Reynolds is the same name of someone who Garrett served with in the military unit. Thomas Gaddis was an adjoining taxpayer when Garrett was later in Springhill Township in Fayette County.  I am sure there are more connections among the men listed in the Gaddis unit.]

The 1881 Washington County history has a section on why men west of the Monongalia River, such as the Clawsons, would remain at home to protect their land and families rather than enlist in Revolutionary War units:

Frequently, included in pension files are letters that descendants wrote inquiring about the veteran’s military service. A descendant of John Minor wrote in 1931, and the letter is included in the Gaddis unit file for John Minor. The letter is posted below and offers a little about the situation surround this unit.

Thomas Gaddis. Thomas Gaddis was the leader of the militia unit described above in which Garret Clawson served, and was a key figure in the region in this period. His service covered the period of Garret’s service - but continued through the Revolutionary War era.  Information about him broader than just this one militia unit gives good context of the period in which the Clawsons lived in this area.

Thomas Gaddis’ Pension File contains his statement about his service - and is helpful: Pension Application of Thomas Gaddis S4292 VA PA. Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris. Revised 20 Apr 2016.

The State of Ohio Clinton County Sct On this 15th day of October 1832 personally appeared before Jesse Hughes one of the associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for Clinton County Ohio at his residence in said County Colonel Thomas Gaddis who being by me first 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 June the 7th 1832.

That he has no record of his age but from information upon which he can rely believes that he was born on the 28th day of December 1742 in Frederick County in the State of Virginia and is now about 90 years of age That he entered the service of the United States in the Militia of Virginia under the following circumstances and served as hereinafter stated towit That having removed into the Frontier County of Monongahela [sic: Monongalia] in said state he was appointed and duly commissioned as a Captain of that County by the Committee of Safety of said State on the 23d day of August 1776 which is herewith forwarded marked No 1 under which appointment and by order of said Committee he immediately entered the service aforesaid and by the 9th of September following raised a company of Militia and proceeded to build what was afterwards known as Fort Liberty in said County [2 mi S of present Uniontown now in Pennsylvania] whose said company continued under his command until the 1st day of January 1777 as will also appear by the Roll, General orders and copy of the pay Roll of said Company herewith forwarded marked Nos. 2, 3, 4. [See endnote.] That afterwards on the 17th day of February 1777 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel of said County by Patrick Henry then Governor of Virginia which is herewith forwarded marked No 5 and that on the 7th day of November afterwards he was ordered into actual service by an order which came through the then Colonel of his Regiment which is herewith forwarded marked No 6 That in pursuance of said order he immediately took command of Forts Prickett, Scott, Stradler, Jackson and Lindley as per memorandum marked No 7. [See endnote.] that shortly afterwards a blank commission was forwarded to him by Governor Henry as Colonel which is herewith sent enclosed in the letter marked B but for some reason which deponent does not know the same was never filled up by the court unless from his own negligence in not presenting it to said Court as he was a member and completed and this deponent continued in said service as commandant of said Forts under the rank of Lieutenant Colonel until in the month of August 1778 when he received a letter from Governor Henry & one from General [Lachlan] McIntosh herewith enclosed marked No 8, 9 directing him to engage in the expedition under said McIntosh then projected against the Indian Towns West of the Ohio River [see endnote]. That in pursuance of said request this deponent did immediately raise the men required as per letter dated 2d September 1778 and herewith forwarded marked No 10 and in a few days afterward did join said Gen’l. McIntosh a few miles below Pittsburg with whom he marched as a Colonel of the Militia as per return herewith forwarded marked No 11 [see endnote] That they were engaged in said expedition about three months during which time they met some Indians who pretended friendship, but they made no conquest, and returned to Monongahela County with the Militia which were discharged and this deponent resumed his command as superintendant of said Forts and stations spending most of his time in passing from one to another and giving such instructions as he thought best for the security of the Frontiers of his Country which were exposed to the incursions of the savages until in the spring of 1782 when it was determined by the people of Western Virginia and Pennsylvania once more to carry the war in to the enemies Country. Accordingly there was a proclamation issued for volunteers who met by concert at a place called Mingo Bottom on the Ohio River to the number of six or seven hundred men already armed and equiped for the expedition among whom was this deponent. Thus assembled they proceeded to elect their officers when William Crawford was elected Colonel and principal in the Command. This deponent was elected a Captain & was third in Command. Being organized they proceeded in said expedition about the 1st of May 1782 [probably 25 May]. They met with no resistence until they arived at the Sandusky plains when and where the notorious battle was fought which resulted in the disastrous defeat of said Crawford and his party [4-6 Jun 1782] and from which this deponent amongst others made his escape and returned to said Monongahela County about the last of June 1782 about which time this deponent left the public service having served as aforesaid, and continued to reside in said County until he was thrown into Pennsyvania by the running of the division line between those states [completed 4 Nov 1783]. That he afterward received a commission from Governor [Thomas] Mifflin as Lieutenant Colonel which is herewith forwarded marked No 12, not as evidence of actual service, but as confirmation of his statement and as evidence of the estimation in which his military character was then held He continued to reside in the County of Fayette Pennsylvania until in October in the year 1814 when he removed to his present residence in Clinton County Ohio where he has resided ever since. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension Roll of the Agency of any state.  S/Thos. Gaddes

Fort Liberty.  Fort Liberty is mentioned in the service of the Gaddis unit and other units in this period.  In the January 1993 issue of Fayette Families (about Fayette Co., PA), there’s an article on p. 44 written by a descendant of Thomas Gaddis.  In this article, Harrison Scott Baker writes about Thomas Gaddis: “In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, Thomas, aged about 34 years, joined the Monongalia County, Virginia, Militia, with the rank of Captain.  Soon after, he probably constructed the fort on his land first called ‘Fort Liberty’, but popularly known as “Fort Gaddis’.  His early neighbors included Isaac Sutton, Edward Brownfield, and James Hamilton”.

There is an article on the Thomas Gaddis Homestead, and fort, at www.digplanet.com - “Fort Gaddis is the oldest known building in Fayette County, Pennsylvania and the second oldest log cabin in Western Pennsylvania. It is located 300 yards (270 m) east of old U.S. Route 119, near the Route 857 intersection in South Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania (east of Hopwood and south of Uniontown). Fort Gaddis was built about 1769-74 by Colonel Thomas Gaddis who was in charge of the defense of the region, and his home was probably designated as a site for community meetings and shelter in times of emergency, hence the term "Fort Gaddis," probably a 19th-century appellation. It is a 1 1/2-story, 1-room log structure measuring 26 feet long and 20 feet wide.[3]

Fort Gaddis was built near the Catawba Trail, an important north-south route that extended from New York to Tennessee and passed through Uniontown, Pennsylvania and Morgantown, West Virginia. In the 19th century the trail became locally known as the Morgantown Road. It is now Old U.S. Route 119. About 2 miles north on this road is Uniontown, the Fayette County, Pennsylvania seat, settled in the late 1760s and founded in July 1776 as Beeson's Mill.[4][5]

History fans and researchers should be aware that, depending on which sources are consulted, Fort Gaddis can also be known as the "Thomas Gaddis Homestead", the "Thomas Gaddis House" or "Gaddis' Fort".  It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as the Thomas Gaddis Homestead.[1]

This describes the Fort Liberty that was where the Gaddis unit with Garrett Clawson worked out of.  The paragraph below shows that there were two Fort Liberty’s in the general region at the time, which initially confused me.  But the Gaddis Fort Liberty fits with Garret’s service and his general location at the time.

[NOTE: There appear to be two different Fort Liberty’s in this region at this time.  In the Myers History of West Virginia, on p. 171, is a paragraph on Fort Liberty: “Fort Liberty.  This fort was a block-house situated on the site of the present town of West Liberty, in West Liberty District, Ohio County.  This was the first seat of justice of that county, and for this reason this block-house is frequently referred to by early writers as the ‘Court House Fort’.”]

In addition to Fort Liberty (Fort Gaddis), Fort Pitt is referenced above. This is the link to the wikipedia article on Fort Pitt. On that page is a portion referring to Fort Pitt during the Revolutionary War.

Additionally, there are a number of revolutionary war pensions that were awarded based on service in this area and in this period. While the individual soldier may have served in one of these units - such as is shown by the statement of Henry Yoho posted just below - they served over time in different units to defend the frontier from Native American attacks. Henry Yoho lived not far from the Clawsons and was listed in the Gaddis militia unit. I have posted his statement, and that of two corroborating soldiers - below:

Pension Application of Henry Yoho S7996; Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris; State of Virginia }county of Monongalia }

On this 25th day of September in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty two,  personally appeared before the County court of Monongalia now sitting Henry Yoho a resident of said county, aged eighty years, who being first 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 June 7th 1832.

That he believes it was in the year 1776 that he served in the Virginia militia, at a station on Whitely creek now in Green county [sic: Garards Fort on Whiteley Creek in Greene County] Pennsylvania then called Virginia under Lieut. Samuel Swingler, two months — That in the month of June 1777 he marched as a volunteer of the Virginia militia, under Lieut. William Cross of Capt John Minor’s [pension application S2840 (from which the letter above is posted)] company from Jarretts fort [sic] on Whitely creek to Fort Pitt, where we encamped on Grants hill for one month, thence placed in the fort at the head of the Ohio the troops he believes being under the command of Col. [John] Gibson – that he remained at Fort Pitt three months and then descended the Ohio in keel-boats to a fort at the mouth of Wheeling creek for the purpose of burying Capt. Foreman and his company, who were killed by the Indians about eight miles below Wheeling [William Foreman, Grave Creek Massacre, 26 Sep 1777] – that he remained at Wheeling the residue of his time and was discharged by a general discharge after having served four months.

That during the year 1778 he served as a spy under the celebrated Capt. Whetzel [John Wetzel] three months and during all this time was engaged on the waters that empty into the Monongahela and Ohio in this part of Virginia – that he served as a soldier in Capt. Cross company attachted to Col. John Evans regiment of Virginia militia, and marched to Big Beaver on the Ohio and to the head waters of the Muskington [sic: Muskingum River], at which places he assisted to build Fort McIntosh and Lawrance [sic: Fort Laurens on Tuscarawas River], from which service he returned home on Christmas day, being discharged at Fort McIntosh, that he was about on this service six months.

That about the month of July in the year 1779 he turned out as a volunteer under Lieut. Jacob Cline in a regiment of Virginia militia commanded by Col. Laughlin to go on expedition against the Indians under Gen’l. Clarke [sic: George Rogers Clark] – that he went with about three hundred regulars and three hundred militia from Red stone fort (near Brownsville Pennsylvania) in keel boats, that Whetzel and himself went before the troops as spies – that he went on to the falls of the Ohio at Louisville where we were stationed, and in the following winter remained about forty or fifty miles above the falls – that himself Whitzel and others during the spring and summer of 1780 spied the surrounding country, and was discharged in the fall after about eighteen months service – That during the year 1781 he was stationed at Masons fort on Buffaloe [Buffalo] creek now in Brooke county Virginia – that whilst there he left Masons fort to go to Wheeling fort in company with Henry Baker & Peter Stanater [possibly Stalnaker] on Horse- back, that in passing a very narrow path Stanater was shot with four balls, that Baker & himself wheeled their horses, and seven indians faced them and shot at him and Baker his horse received two wounds and fell, and he a wound through the hip – that the mare soon sprung up, and he forced his way through the indians, without further injury although they reloaded and fired at him —

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension, or an annuity except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of any State— Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. Henry his-H-mark Yoho

And at the same time, personally appeared before the said court, Peter Haught [pension application S6981], a resident of said county, and made oath, That he has been personally acquainted with Henry Yoho, who made the above declaration in his presence, for about fifty five years – that he recollects Yoho’s being a private in Capt Cross’ company in McIntoshs campaign, and from his knowledge of Yoho, for he was always considered one of the bravest and most daring men in the county and of good character. he has no doubt that all his declaration contains the truth.  Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid Peter his-X-mark Haught

And at the same time personally appeared before the said court Stephen Gapen [S8545] a resident of said county, and made oath. That he hath read the foregoing declaration of Henry Yoho, and he believes it contains the truth – that Yoho was always considered a good soldier and done much service in this part of the country, during the Revolutionary War – that he served in the year 1777, in Capt Minors company, as stated by said Yoho and he knows that Yoho served in the same company as by him stated.

Sworn to and subscribed on the day and year aforesaid. [signed] Stephen Gapen Morgantown 25 Sep 1832 [NOTE: It is mentioned throughout this page that Stephen Gapen was a neighbor to the Clawsons and served with Clawsons in the militia and as a spy].

In addition, the Leckey book on the Ten Mile Country has a section on the Frontier Rangers - a way to talk about these different militia units that stretched from 1775 to 1782. He took a lot of the descriptions from pension files of locals in this area who served. Some of them were neighbors of the Clawsons, some served in the same units. But they tell the story that applies to everyone who served in this area in this period.  The pages from the Leckey book are posted just below.

1778 Garret Clawson Drafted as a Single Man in Monongalia County Virginia.  Posted below is a copy of the original list, which is dated May 1778, and also is posted the service card for Garret Clawson drawn from this record.  First is posted Charles Clawson’s explanation of this service from his 2002 Clawson history.  Charles’ reference refers to Garret as the son of Garret and Mary, the listing of Garret as Mary’s husband now in serious question. This is the one service reference cited by Garret Clawson in his revolutionary war pension record, which is posted at the end of the chronological listings.  He is listed as a single man.

Garret Clawson was listed in a Virginia draft record as appearing on the Return of the Single Men Drafted for One Year; In Monongalia County May the 24th day 1778 Agreeable to Act of Assembly.  This is significant because Garret is listed as a single man, but is also significant because Monongalia County was one of the three counties represented by Virginia in the West Augusta district – much of which was included in the State of Pennsylvania when an agreement on borders was made between Virginia and Pennsylvania a few years later.  There is a longer history of this unit and its origins in the 1881 History of Washington County.

The actual copy of the record is posted above.  Garret Clawson was fifth on the handwritten page of about thirty names.  May 24, 1778 is listed.  Henry Six, a few names among Garret, was listed as a juror in Greene County in 1823, and the Six’s (also listed as Sykes) were residents of Greene Township near the Clawsons.  William Knotts was on the list, and the Knotts family was also listed in Greene County during this period. 

The list of men on the same page of the return of single men of May 24, 1778: Henry Six, William Knotts, John Nichols, John Six, Garret Clawson, Robert Ivors, Thomas Harrison, Jacob Leonard, William Smith, George Bellows, John Smith, Thomas Cochron, Michael Coke (Cole?), Henry Smith, George McGresley (?), Drew Smith, Robert Hustead, Joseph Evans, John G. Lee (Hee?, T. Lee?), William Bennett, John Porter, Jonathan Miller, James Jones, John  Lee (?), John Luellen, William Swaney, John Robnet, John Hill (?), Joseph Friges, Abraham Hathway, Daniel Holman, Jacob Harvecost, Ralph Braddock, Thomas Wright, John Welch (?), Cosres (?) Remaine, Benjamin Deane, Solomon George, Samuel Harris, and Edward Dowling.

Garret Clawson in 1779 Virginia Military Unit.  There are not some of the obvious other names with him in this particular listing.  Charles Clawson summarized this service in his 2002 book, and that is posted below just above the original of the record.

There is a record of May and June 1779 muster rolls for some Virginia soldiers.  Garret Clawson is shown on this list, showing a note that he was discharged on June 4, 1779 – which would have been one year of service from the time he was drafted.  The list shows it was Captain Thomas Moore’s company in Virginia’s ninth Regiment commanded by Col. John Gibson.  The name of Captain Moore matches Garrett’s pension record.  There do not appear to be familiar names among those listed in this record.  The privates in the same column with his were listed as: James Tucker, John Brisby, John Weaver, William White, Peter Walters, then Garret Clawson, Thos. Douthert, William Douglas, Sam Vancamp, and Edward McDonald.

1781 Garret Clawson Corn Right – In “The History of Harrison County, West Virginia”, Garret is shown with a land listing of “William McCreery, assignee to Garret Clawson, 400 acres on Sandy Fork of the Little Kanawha River, a corn right prior to 1778”. In the History of Harrison County book, the start of the section in which Garrett is contained is dated April 9, 1781, and reads “The following extracts taken from certificates issued in 1781 by this commissioner for settlers in Harrison County as it was originally created in 1784 from the former county [Monongalia County].  Wm. McCleary is listed as the Clk. Com, and the first certificate is listed for Henry Snider, the second for Henry Snider, the third for Peter McCune and the next three for Hezekiah Dawson.  This is on page 23 of the county history.  Some of the names match people in the same militia unit or area of Garrett Sr. – Jesse Pigman, James Chew, Michael Cresap (deceased).  Garret Clawson is on page 38 of this list – fifteen pages after the list started.  The Harrison County History cover page is shown below - as is the page introducing the certificates, and then the listing for Garret Clawson.  I have yet to tie this right to a specific service, or find out if it was actually exercised.

1781.  Residents of southwest Pennsylvania signed a petition about Colonel Daniel Brodhead.  It was printed in the Frontier Retreat on the Upper Ohio - 1779-1781, a 1917 book written by Louise Kellogg.  Garret Clawson was one of the signers.  Below is posted the cover, the petition, and a list of all the signers.  Garret Clawson is marked.  In other records of the time, it was noted that Colonel Brodhead constantly requested help for the units in southwest Pennsylvania.  Yet the priority of the Continental Army was the struggle against the British on the eastern coast, and these pleas were not answered.  It is possible that the discontent came from that issue.

1782.  John Clawson, Private, Washington County Militia.  Various records show John Clawson in Captain John Guthrey’s militia unit in 1782.  It indicates the unit members were from Whiteley and Greene Townships in Washington County.  Posted below is the list from the book “The Ten Mile Country and Its Pioneer Families”, authored by Howard Leckey.  It is unclear when it was published, but Mr. Leckey died in 1951.  The book details the history and residents of the greater Ten Mile Creek area in Washington and Greene Counties in Pennsylvania.

Future records show John Clawson born about 1765 - which would have made him seventeen years of age at the time of this service. The Guthrey book below states that men from the ages of fourteen to early twenties served in this unit - a description which matches John’s age at the time.

Notes on John Guthrey’s Unit - John Clawson, 1782. The Lecky book is used as the basis for the listing of this unit. The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families written by Howard L. Leckey, page 38 Pennsylvania Militia Year: 1782 - First Battalion, Washington County. Recruited in Whiteley and Greene Townships (now Greene County). A few from Dunkard. 

JOHN GUTHREY, Captain Eleazer Clegg, Lieutenant Richard Dotson,Sergeant (Dollison?) Gideon Long, Ensign John Roberts, Sergeant Mathew Hanon/?Hennen, Sergeant; Privates: Baley Johnson, Ess Davis, John McMahon, Richard Pain, Nathaniel Kidd, John Clawson, David Flowers, Augustine Dillener, James Long, John Long, Zebidee Lee, John Six/?Sykes, Nathan Curry, John Pettyjohn,  William Notts, Charles McDowel, Solomon Hobbs, Thomas Flowers, Francis  Hannah, Peter Yoho, John Evans Jr, Noah Long, Charles Scobey, Samuel  Dutton, Jeremiah Long, Isaac Bozarth, Samuel Evans, William Masters, Michael Swope, Thomas Provence, William Hannah, William McCoy, John Brown, Benjamin Notts, Eliel Long, Henry Yoho, Aaron Jenkins, Elias Stone, David  Long, John Douglas, William Robinson, Zachariah Evans, Henry Baker, Levi  Hand, Benjamin Sutton, John Seryer/?Sayer, Jeremiah Williams,  Daniel Rinehart, George Evans, John Notts, Daniel Notts, Thomas Douglass.  [The Long, Knotts, Six/Sykes, Yoho, Hand and other surnames are shown in other militia and land records during this period.]  

"NOTE--These men also served tours with Captain John Guthery: Samuel Swindler, Cecil Davis, John Minor, and John Shipman".  Reference: Penna Archives, Series VI, Vol. 2, pp. 18 - 19, pp. 271.http://www.ourfamilyhistories.com/hsdurbin/greene/mil-recs.html

A 1956 History of John Guthery, posted below, offers very good information and context about this unit. John Guthery eventually moved to Ohio, but filed a Revolutionary War pension and was also interviewed by Lyman Draper for the Draper Papers. The excerpts posted list the geographic changes, the mention of two Baptist Churches - with the Rev. John Corbley presiding, the characterization of the unit as “minute men”, and more. It is very helpful and the relevant sections are posted.

1782. Peter Clawson, frontier spy.  The Pioneer History of Greene County, Pennsylvania, published in 1941 by the Waynesburg Republican, and written by L. K. Evans, p. 86 describes frontier warfare. In the course of this description, the following was written: ". . . from the records of the Supreme Executive Council of the State that an order be drawn on the 2nd of November 1787, in favor of the Lieutenant of Washington county for 27 pounds, 2 shillings and 6 pence to be paid to Frederick Crow, Stephen Gapen, William Crawford, Jesse Vanmeter, Peter Clawson and others, for their services in watching the movements of Indians and protecting the frontiers in the year 1782."  Benjamin Franklin was presiding over the Supreme Executive Council when this action was taken.  In the same book, there is a later section on the Crow family, in which this information is repeated - it is posted below.

In the actual executive council minutes, there’s a longer list of those reimbursed for their scouting activities during 1782 (Supreme Exec Council v 15 p. 31), which represents the “others” listed above: “An order was drawn upon the Treasurer in favor of Colonel James Marshall, Lieutenant of Washington county, for thirty-seven pounds two shilling and is pence, to be paid by him to Abraham Enslow, Frederick Crow, Stephen Gapin, Peter Clawson, William Crawford, Jesse Vanmetri, William Harrod, Sen’r, Michael Dougherty, John Flora, John Heaton, William Tarpine, Harrod Newland, Robert Flora, Alexander Bruce and Peter Daily, for their services in watching the movements of Indians, and protecting the settlements on the western frontiers from Indian depradations in the year 1782, agreeably to the act of Assembly, dated December 1781.” During a Salt Lake City family history library visit, I searched for the original record, but could not find it.

Stephen Gapen, one of the “spies” with Peter, submitted a statement on the pension application of Henry Sicks (Six - Sycks), who was not listed with the 1782 spies, but appears to have done it in that period of time.  The statement describes what they did, and follows: Greene County. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Before me the subscribing Witness one of the Commonwealth Justices of the peace in & for the County aforesaid Personally appeared Stephen Gapen who after being duly affirmed as the law directs deposeth & saith that in the year 1781 or 1782 that Henry Sicks [sic] now of Greene County & State aforesaid – did act in company with the deponent as a volunteer spy against the Indians on the waters of Dunkard Creek about the line between Virginia & Pennsylvania the ground we ranged composing now a part of Mongaa [Monongalia] County in Virginia & a part of Greene County Pennsylvania the deponent states that he was with him one or two weeks the exact time not precisely recollected & further the deponent states that he knew the said Henry to be out as a spy at divers other times &  further saith not, Sworn & subscribed September 1st 1834 before me S/ Richard Kerwood  S/ Stephen Gapen

George Morris made a similar statement for Henry Six: The statement by George Morris: Greene County SS. Before me the Subscriber one of the Justices of the Peace in and for said County personally came George Morris of said County who on his solemn oath deposeth and saith that he well remembers that Henry Six [sic] of Monongahela Township in said County for forted at garard fort on Big Whitely Creek during the greater part of 2 or 3 Summers during the Indian war under Captain Swingler either as a volunteer or under a draft (he does not recollect which) was ready and willing at all alarms and at all times to pursue the Indians – and further saith not.  Sworn and subscribed this 20th day of September 1834. S/ George Morris

Henry Sykes own statement from his pension on this time: Henry_Sykes_Rev_War_Pension_File – S6184 - Pension application of Henry Sykes (Sycks) f28VA Transcribed by Will Graves 5/31/12 – in other records (and in one place in this pension file, Henry is referred to as Henry SIX).

State of Penna, County of Greene: SS

On the 17th day of November in the year of our Lord 1834 personally appeared in open  Court before the Honorable Thomas H Baird President and his Associates now sitting Henry Sycks [sic] a resident of the County of Greene aforesaid aged about seventy-eight  years who being first 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 June 7th 1832. That he entered the service as a volunteer some time in August 1776 and him from the waters of Dunkard Creek and rendezvoused on the Ohio River some short distance below the mouth of Yellow Creek, my Captain's name was James Neel [James Neal] he then resided in what is now Fayette County, one term of service was to be three months, but as no persons came to supply our places, our officer requested us to stay longer and we stayed half a month, I have no recollection of the names of the other officers or names, I was out at that time four months lacking a few days. I next served one month at Garret's Fort on Big Whitely Creek under Captain Samuel Swingler, sometime in the year 1777 or 1778.  I was at the time a sergeant in Captain Minor's Company of militia and we were all classed and took our respective times of doing duty, as it came to our turn. I next acted as an Ensign at the said Fort, for the space of upwards of a month, from a small scrap of paper that I have attached to this declaration on which I kept the account of the persons as they came into service their monthly tours, I must have acted in the capacity of Ensign for near six weeks. This service was in 1782. I was then appointed and acted as a Spy under Colonel William Crawford in which capacity I served for some length of time, while in that Capacity I found and took off the scalp of an Indian that was supposed to be killed by a man of the name of Hall, this  fact I made an affidavit of sometime after to enable Hall to draw the reward for killing an Indian.  In addition to the above services that deponent rendered under officers as above stated that deponent was off and on at Jerrats fort nearly every summer from the year 1776 till the year 1782. He also acted in the Capacity of Spy on the waters of Dunkard, for a number of Summers but the precise time from the length of time & deponent's old age deponent cannot state with certainty. But deponent is free in stating that the whole time he was engaged in the Indian War must have been upwards [of] two years, there are a number of circumstances to which deponent ought to refer of his voluntary services, one of which was the taking of one of his Sisters by the Indians and who was kept with them till after General Wayne's Treaty, deponent was at that time engaged against them he was also in pursuit of the Indians at the time of the killing of Robins on & Enoch Enochs where he with others pursued them in the direction of the Big River, but did not come up with them, in short he might say that the whole frontier was in a state of War during the summer seasons for years.

Conclusions on Military Records.  Garret Clawson was in various military and revolutionary war records from 1776 through 1781.  Looking at the records of the various units, they reconstituted themselves every year differently, but with similar leaders and similar membership.  While the Revolutionary War was going on during this period, the priority in Greene Township were the raids by Native Americans and local defense.

Garret’s pension only mentions his Virginia revolutionary war service.  But that is appropriate as the service by he, his brothers, and his neighbors were in “frontier ranger” units - that service not making them eligible for revolutionary war pensions.  It is also significant that almost all of these units - both militia and revolutionary war - were associated with the State of Virginia, before the boundary dispute was settled.

However, Garret was in a Maryland unit in 1776, and that should have been included as service in his pension application.

Given his birth in December 1759, Garrett would have been of the age of sixteen through twenty-two years old in the time of these various service records.  While there is no smoking gun indicating whether there were one or two Garret’s in this period - circumstantial evidence seems to indicate that these records were all of the same Garret.  Peter Clawson would have been the oldest son of Mary, and would likely have been home with her and able to defend and allow Garret to serve.  By the time that both John and Peter were shown in militia and spy units in 1782, the Clawson brothers were all coming of age.

It should be noted that when John Clawson was shown in the Guthrey militia unit he was just sixteen or seventeen.  So if there was a question of whether Garrett was old enough to serve in the 1776 militia unit - he was the same age.

Overall, while there is no smoking gun, it appears that it was the same Garret that appeared in the military records of this period - and there was no Garrett Sr. as a husband of Mary.

Clawson Family in PA Tax and Census Records 1781-1790

1781-1789.  Washington County Tax Records.  Once the border dispute was settled between Pennsylvania and Virginia, Washington County was formed in Pennsylvania in March 1781.  Greene Township, later Greene County (formed in 1796 after the Clawsons had left) was where the Clawsons lived prior to going to Ohio ca 1790.  With the new county formed, taxes were assessed and recorded.  Clawsons were recorded in the Washington County tax records from when they were first taken in 1781, until 1789 - the last year the Clawsons were in Greene Township before going to frontier Ohio, and the last year where these records were recorded in Washington County during this period.

Yet some land was granted while this area was claimed by Virginia.  Once this land was recognized as part of Pennsylvania, the process for patenting land in Pennsylvania was a little slower - with many patents not being executed until the mid or late 1780’s, even though residents had been living on the land the entire time.  Therefore, the tax records below show taxes paid on land - for example Mary Clawson shown just below as being taxed on 100 acres in 1781 - even though there is no apparent record that she ever applied to own that land.  While some of the Clawsons were shown with land in the tax records, only Thomas had a completed warrant for land.  He and his brother Garret applied on the same day in October 1787, but Garret walked away from that patent in short order and ended up in Fayette County.  Peter Clawson was also taxed for land in this period, and is named as an adjoining land owner in the Garret Clawson warrant, but never applied to own the land.

Originally, it was thought that only records from the year of 1784 and 1785 survived from this period.  They were chronicled in a 1955 publication of the Washington Co. (PA) Chapter of the DAR.  In 1982, a duplicate copy of the original tax records were found “by accident” in Harrisburg and have been made available for research.  I have scanned the records for 1781 through 1789, and posted the pages by year below - with the records that contain a member of the Clawson family.

The records are organized by township, and the Clawsons were shown in just one in this period, so there won’t be a reference to any township other than Greene. Unfortunately, the records were alphabetized by letter, so it does not indicate who was living by each other.  The records generally list items such as acres of land, horses, and cows - as a basis for the taxation, and then the amount of taxes is listed.  In many years, there is a separate category for “single men”, which is important for our family, because many of the Clawson sons came of age in this decade and are shown in the “single men” section.

Within these records in this period was also an issue of tax exoneration.  Due to Indian attacks in some years, when some of the residents were even driven from their homes, taxes were exonerated – or remitted to the taxpayer – if they were on an exoneration list.  It’s unclear to me what the qualification was to be on the exoneration list.  The 1988 book on Washington County tax records indicated that all 1782 taxes on Washington County taxes were exonerated by a legislative act in December of 1781.  In 1783, all residents were again exonerated, except a few in the Fallowfield area.  It appears a large amount of County residents were again exonerated in 1789.  It is clear from the records below that Mary Clawson was exonerated in 1782 and 1783.  The listing for 1789 does not appear to list exoneration.  I have a mention of exoneration in another year, but no evidence for it and it is possibly an error.  But it does confirm another way that the Clawsons were in a white settler interface with Native Americans that existed for the time they were in this area.

The handwriting in some of the records is not always clear – in one reading of these records I thought that a John Choffin was arguably John Clossin or Clossen.  The handwriting issue is made more difficult by the fact that entries that we know are our family are spelled at least five different ways – Clasen, Closen, Clousen, Clauson, and Clawson.  Additionally, there are related people in these records  In some of the records, I mention Abraham Covalt - listed in the “C’s” in Greene Township with the Clawsons - whose daughter Thomas would marry once they were all in southwest Ohio, living in a fort named for Covalt.  Additionally, there are records in some of these years for members of the Garrison family, significant because Peter Clawson married Dolly Garrison of this family during this period.  In the Fayette County tax records showed Garrett Clawson with Thomas Gaddis, in whose militia unit he served.

With all that background, the tax records are posted by year below - in Greene Township, one in Springhill Township, Westmoreland County in 1783 (placed in Fayette County at the end of that year) showing Garrett, and a few showing Garrett in Springhill Township, Fayette County.

Additionally, Pennsylvania conducted a state census in 1786, and the first United State Census was conducted in 1790.  To the extent any of our Clawson family members were in these censuses, they will be posted below in this section by date.

1781.  The image of the top of the first page is torn – it states “The Effective . . “ and then the page is torn, but it is likely the beginning name of the tax.  It also appears to name Zachariah Gapen as the Assessor.  Zachariah’s son Stephen was a neighbor of the Clawsons and was in the Gaddis military unit with Garret, and was a frontier spy later with Peter Clawson.

The headings for this year are acres of land, horses, cows, sheep, slaves, stills, mills and total valuation.  Mary Clawson is shown with one hundred acres, one horse, one cow, and twenty-two of valuation. Six lines above her was an entry for Abraham Covalt.

1782.  The 1782 tax records, in which Mary Clawson is listed, begins “A list of the Names of the persons exonerated of Green Township for the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty two stating the amount of the sums.”  There appears to be a surname after this, but the writing is unclear.

Mary Clawson was shown in the tax records for Green Township.  The taxpayers were listed with the amount they owed in L (pounds?) S (shillings?) and D (dollars?).  Mary’s entry was shown as 1 L, 5 S, and 0 D.  Abraham Covalt was shown about six lines above Mary in this tax listing.  John Corbley, likely the minister, was listed in the line right above Mary.

The 1988 Washington County book has a table of each township and the totals for that township.  Greene Township contained 43,497 taxable acres.  Of the fifteen townships, this was right in the middle acreage-wise.  But the township was about the lowest in number of houses, sheep, horses, and cattle.

1783.  The 1988 book on tax records above gave some insight on the 1783 records.  Taxes were assessed in the fall for the next year.  All persons who owned land were included.  Persons without property were not on the tax list.  Single freemen were listed separately – and they were listed if they were age twenty-one or older.  Horses, cows, sheep and slaves were assessed.   In 1782, 1783, and 1789 some Washington County residents were exonerated due to Indian attacks and there were exoneration lists.  There was speculation in the book that people moved between townships because of the Indian attacks.  Cheniah Covalt appears to be in Amwell Township in that tax listing.

The heading of the beginning of Green Township was: “A transcript of the returns of property and assessments of Greens (sic) Township for the year 1783.  William Minor.”  The Minor family was active in this region, and a letter about the military service and pension of Captain John Minor is posted above in the military records section.

Mary was listed in the 1783 Green Township tax records as “Mary Clawson, widow”, and was shown with two horses (rate 20.0) and two cows (rate 10.0).  This is the first time Mary is listed in these records as a widow, even though she was a widow in the previous two years.  Her 1783 tax listing is posted below left. 

Mary was also shown on the separate Green Township tax exoneration list for a rate of 13 L, 2 S.  That page was headed: “A list of the persons names exonerated in Greens (sic) Township for the year 1783. Sums Remitted.”  This is posted below right.

1783. Garret Clawson was shown apart from his family this year in Springhill Township, Westmoreland County tax records - posted below. Springhill Township was formed in 1771 in Bedford County. When Westmoreland County was formed in 1773 from Bedford County - Springhill was one of its original eight townships. Fayette County was formed in December 1783 from Westmoreland County, likely a few months after the tax record below was taken, and Springhill Township was one of its original townships. Garret was shown in Springhill Township in Fayette County for most of his life - except for the reference below when he filed for land on the same day in 1787 as his brother Thomas in Greene Township of Washington County, and when he was shown in one Greene Township tax entry.

The entry in the book of tax records that includes Westmoreland County, shows that “Gerrard Clawson” in Springhill Township and listed as “single, gone”. It is unclear what “gone” means in this listing. There are three other persons listed as “gone” on this page. The entry is posted below.

I managed to find the originals of the Springhill Township in Westmoreland County. There are multiple lists and it is not totally clear what each one is. It is quite likely one of the lists is a tax exoneration list. Garret is shown as single. He is also shown with Theopolis Phillips at “bail” in one of them. Various sources list Lt. Colonel Theopolis Phillips, born 1735 and died in Springhill Township on October 10, 1789. He had a son by the same name, who would have been twelve years old at the time of this tax record - indicating that it was the father who was listed in this record with Garret.

1784.  I have relied on the transcription for the 1784 records provided by the 1955 book.  The book shows Mary Clawson in Greene Township, but doesn’t list any tax rate or value. The original 1784 tax records do not appear to exist on film in Salt Lake City.

1785.  Mary does not appear to be in these tax records.  Abraham Covalt is there.  Garret “Clason” first appears as a single freeman with no other notation – such as a listing of any property. [Garret Clawson also appears in Springhill Township, Fayette County, PA in this same year, and continues through 1788 – which is why he is only shown here in one year.  I have posted those records by year below as well.]

Also listed below was Gabriel Hutchins, who lived with the Clawsons at Covalt Station in Ohio and signed a petition there in early 1791. Stephen Gapen is also shown here.

The heading over the first page reads: “A true and fair transcript of the assessments of Greens (sic) Township for the year One Thousand Seven hundred and Eight five.  Robert Jones Assessor.”

1785. Garret Clawson appears back in Springhill Township, Fayette County tax records in this year, posted below. He is shown with a tax of fifteen shillings.

1786.  For this year, there is a tax list and a separate duplicate listing that I labeled as the “tax exoneration list”.  However, I don’t know where the notion is from that one of these is a “tax exoneration list”.  Neither one is headed that way in the opening heading for the list.

In the tax list Mary “Clauson” is shown with two horses and a bill of 12 L.  Peter Clauson is shown on the line above her, and is shown with one horse and one cow, and a tax bill of 6 L.  On the first page of this list, the heading read: “A transcript of the assessments of Green Township for the year One thousand seven hundred and Eighty Six.  Aaron Jinkens Asr (Assessor?).”

In the second tax list I had labeled the exoneration list, both Mary and Peter are listed, with Mary “Closen” shown with a bill of 2 (shillings?) and Peter “Closen” with a bill of 1.6.  It appears on the regular list that there is a listing for John – a John Closer or Closen, the handwriting isn’t totally clear – with one horse and one cow.  Abraham Covalt is six lines below this John.  The first page of this list begins with: “A duplicate of the state taxes of Green Township of the year One Thousand seven hundred and Eighty six.” [John Clauson is listed in the 1787 Green Twp tax records – with the same people around him that are listed in the 1786 tax listing around John “Closen”, indicating that this likely was John Clawson.]

1786. In the Green Township, Washington County Pennsylvania state census, Mary Closson is shown and is appears Peter Closson is listed right above her. Peter married Dolly Garrison ca 1783. Leonard Garrison, Dolly’s father, is shown on this page. So is a Gapen - and a Gapen was next to Thomas on the land map. There was a listing for John Corbrey that could be John Corbley. There’s a couple of semi-legible entries earlier on the page, one of whom could have been John Clawson. There also was a listing for John Guthrey - the leader of the militia unit that Peter Clawson served in ca 1782.  Andrew Dye, of the family who lived by the Clawsons is also listed here.

I had found a Pennsylvania septennial census entry for Mary Clason in Bethlehem Township in Washington County that year - and our Mary Clawson is in Greene Township - although in the Indian strife some residents moved to shelter in different townships.

1786. Garret is shown in the 1786 Fayette County, Pennsylvania septennial state census in Springhill Township in Fayette County. Even though he filed for land in Greene Township in Washington County the next year, he was shown in Fayette County this year. The entry is posted below.

1786.  A Garret Clawson is shown in two different townships in Fayette County in 1786 tax records.  Garrett Clawson is shown in Springhill Township, listed as single, paying a tax of ten something.  That record is posted below. 

A Garrett Clawson is also shown in Union Township in Fayette County in 1786.  The record is posted below, showing a tax of 10 something.  There are no other Clawsons in this listing.

1787. John Clawson is shown this year with one cow, and a tax 2.10.  Abraham Covalt is shown later on the page that includes John, with four cows and five horses, and with 172 acres of land listed.  Peter Clawson is listed with one horse and one cow, and a tax of 8.10.  Mary Clawson is listed on the next line from Peter with two horses and two cows and a tax bill of 17.0.  The headline on these pages were “Green Township Rates – 1787”.

There is a tax duplicate of this year, with John Clawson shown with .6 as a bill; Peter Clawson with a bill of 1.4; and Mary Clawson with a bill of 2.10.  John’s listing is on the first page of the duplicate, and it is headed: “Green Township Duplicate 1787”.

1787. Garret Clawson is shown in Union Township in the Fayette County tax records of this year. He is listed as paying ten (shillings?) in tax.

1788.  In the 1788 tax listing, Peter “Clauson” is shown with 150 acres, two horses and one cow and a tax bill of 21; and Mary Clawson (sic) is shown with one hundred acres, two horses, two cows, and a tax bill of 20.  Abraham Covalt is above Mary and Peter on the same page, shown with 372 acres, four horses, and six cows.  John “Clauson” is shown with one cow and a tax listing of 2.  The heading on these pages read: “Green Township Rates 1788”.

1788. Garrett Clawson is shown again in Fayette County tax records with a tax bill of ten (shillings?). This is the last tax record he is shown in in Fayette County until 1793, although he was enumerated in the 1790 federal census in Fayette County. Interestingly, Thomas Gaddis - in whose regiment Garrett Clawson served in the 1770’s - is shown on the same page.

1789.  In the 1789 tax listing, there are schedules for the regular tax list and for “tax valuation”.  Each one has simple headings that announce the year and township.  Various books indicate that this was a year of a tax exoneration list, but there is no indication on either of these that this is what they were. 

The regular listing shows John Clauson with one shilling and two D (dollars?) and Peter Clauson with three and one.  Abraham Covalt is two lines above John with 9 and 4 (2 and 4?).  Thomas Clauson is shown in this listing under Single Men with a value of twelve and four.  Mary is not shown in the 1789 tax records.

In the tax valuation listing, Abraham Covalt is shown with 172 acres, four horses and six cows for a total value of 49.  John Clawson is shown two lines later with an unclear possible number for acres, one horse and one cow for a total value of six.  Peter Clawson is shown as 170, 1, and 2 for a total value of 18.  Thos. Clauson is listed under single men, with 100, 8. And 2 for a total value of 14.

This was the last year for tax records such as this that are known in Washington County in the area of Greene Township, and there were not additional records for Springhill Township in Fayette County until 1793. 

Analysis of the Clawson PA Tax Records – 1781-1789.  The chart below summarizes the year and important things of each records and draws conclusions about the Clawsons. All records below are from Greene Twp, Washington Co PA – unless noted otherwise:

1781 – Mary Clawson, 100 acres, one horse, one cow;

1782 – Mary Clawson, exoneration list, one pound, five shillings;

1783 – Mary Clawson widow, two horses, two cows;

1783 – Mary Clawson, exoneration list, thirteen shillings, two dollars;

1783 – “Gerrard Clauson”, Springhill Twp, Westmoreland Co PA, “single, gone”;

1784 – Mary Clawson listed, no details for this year;

1785 – Garret Clauson, single freeman, no items listed; (Garret is the only Clawson listed in Greene Twp this year);

1785 – Garret Clauson, Springhill Twp, Fayette Co PA, 15 shillings;

1786 – John Closen (?) – one horse and one cow; (not apparent in possible tax exoneration list)

1786 – Peter Clauson – one horse and one cow;

1786 – Mary Clauson – two horses;

1786 – Peter Clauson – possible tax exoneration list – one pound, six shillings;

1786 – Mary Clauson – possible tax exoneration list – two pounds;

1786 – Garret Clawson – Springhill Twp Fayette County – listed as single, 10 ?

1786 – Garret Clawson – Union Twp Fayette County – 10 ?

1787 – John Clawson – one cow;

1787 – Peter Clawson – one horse and one cow;

1787 – Mary Clawson – two horses, two cows;

1787 – John Clauson – tax duplicate – six (dollars?);

1787 – Peter Clawson – tax duplicate – one shilling, four dollars;

1787 – Mary Clawson – tax duplicate – two shillings, ten dollars;

1787 – Garret Clawson – Union Township, Fayette County, ten shillings (?); not listed in another tax records in Fayette County until 1793;

1788 – Peter Clauson – 150 acres, two horses, one cow;

1788 – Mary Clauson – 100 acres, two horses, two cows;

1788 – John Clauson – one cow;

1788 – Garret Clauson – Union Twp Fayette County – 10 shillings (?);

1789 – John Clawson – unclear if acres, one cow and one horse;

1789 – Peter Clauson – 170 acres, 1 horse, two cows;

1789 – Thos. Clauson – under single men, 100 acres, one horse, two cows;

1789 – Peter Clauson - tax valuation list – three shillings, one dollar;

1789 – John Clauson – tax valuation list – one shilling, two dollars;

1789 – Thos. Clauson – tax valuation list – single men – twelve shillings, four dollars;

Conclusion.  Mary, Thomas, and Peter Clawson were all listed with land at some point in these records, Mary with one hundred acres; Peter with 150 and later 170 acres; and Thomas with 100 acres – even though in 1787 he filed for three hundred acres.  Garret was listed once in Greene Township, but otherwise in Fayette County. 

Of the Clawson men listed in these tax records, Peter was born in 1758; Garret was born in 1759; John was born in 1765; and Thomas was born in 1768.  So Garret first appeared in a tax record when he was twenty-four; Peter first appeared in a tax record when he was twenty-eight; John first appeared when he was twenty-one; and Thomas first appeared when he was twenty-one [although he filed for the warrant on his land when he was nineteen].  Thomas and Garrett appeared in records as single men, which matches Garret marrying in 1790 and Thomas in 1794.  Peter and John were not listed as single, which matches Peter being married about 1783 and John being married before 1789 or so.  [NOTE: We know the ages of the Clawson brothers from future records, not from anything in Pennsylvania, except for Garret’s much later pension record.]

These tax records explain how Charles Clawson – in his 2002 written history on the Clawson family – included a map showing acres for the various Clawsons.  Garret, who is at the center of some of the unanswered research questions, is further confusing here.  He shows up in a Greene Township tax record but is listed in Fayette County (and its predecessor Westmoreland) in most of the records – even being shown in both counties in 1785. 

Mary Clawson, the sibling of the brothers, likely married Joseph Shanks in Pennsylvania before coming to Ohio, but Joseph is not listed in any records here.  Josiah Clawson was not old enough to be in these records, being about fifteen when the Clawsons moved to Ohio.  If Hannah was a sibling, and future records suggest this possibility, she would have been at least a year or so younger than Josiah. 

The tax records are extremely helpful for placing the Clawsons in Greene Township – with Mary and four of her sons – as the brothers came of age, but leaves many questions unanswered. 

1790. The first census of the United States was taken, and no Clawsons were enumerated in Greene County - having left for frontier Ohio in the weeks or months before the census was taken.

Garret Clawson, the one Clawson who remained behind in Pennsylvania, is shown in the 1790 census in Union, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Garret is shown with a woman. Garret and Kezia Sturgis were married in July, 1790 - and it is probable that both are who is shown in the census that year, posted below.  Garret mostly lived in Fayette County until his death in 1830 and was shown in tax and census records over that period.  His family Bible record is shown in his pension file posted below in the section on pension files and lists his family members.

Clawsons in Property Records in Southwest PA - 1780’s

1787.  Thomas and Garret Clawson filed for land in October of this year in Greene Township. The records and issues surrounding land help place the Clawsons, and list people near them. There is a map, there is a survey of Thomas’ land, there is a warrant for both, there is a reference to land in tax records for other members of the Clawson family, there is work by Charles Clawson on the property, there is a listing of warrantees in Washington County records, Garret is shown in the Washington County land index with “appropriated” next to his entry, and more. The information about property is at this location.

Thomas Clawson was shown filing for 300 acres in Greene Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania on October 15, 1787, the same day as his brother Garret applied for 200 acres.  The actual documents are posted below. Charles Clawson, in his 2002 book on the Clawsons, explains the background on the land warrants in the light of the recently settled boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Surviving land records for Virginia from this period do not include the Clawsons - but the implication is that they had rights from that period, even if they are not included in the Virginia records.

Charles further explained the situation:  The general area had experienced a chaotic property situation during this period.  Both Virginia and Pennsylvania had claims to this general area.  Virginia set up the District of West Augusta in the mid-1770’s, and in 1776 divided it into three counties – Ohio, Monongalia, and Yohogania.  In 1777 the Virginia General Assembly passed an act that state that anyone that settled in this area before June 24, 1778 would be allowed 400 acres of land for each family.   Pennsylvania had some of the same land in Westmoreland County at the time.

In 1779-1780, Virginia and Pennsylvania settled the matter, extending the Mason-Dixon line west, and putting the area where the Clawsons were formally into Greene Township of Washington County.  Greene Township in general became Greene County after 1796, and Fayette County, where Garret Clawson Jr. lived much of his adult life, split off from Washington ca 1783-84. 

The land office in Pennsylvania was not really open for new claims until 1784.  There was the matter of Virginia claims, that transferred and were recognized by Pennsylvania.  The land purchase process in Pennsylvania involved five steps – application, warrant to survey, a survey, a return of survey, and a patent. [End of Charles description].

Thomas’ land is shown on subsequent maps as being as straddling both Gilmore and Wayne Townships, with his land being shown on maps for each township. This is confusing because Wayne Township was not formed until 1807, and Gilmore Township was not formed until 1857. So Thomas’ land was in Greene Township of Washington County, but much of the modern description has been listed with more modern-day townships in Greene County.

Thomas’ land was surveyed in 1808 and patented in 1814 to James Bradford.  The tract of land was known as “Warner”. The application was in a Pennsylvania patent book - a cover page and the warrant. Both are posted below. They were very faded and hardly legible but I have done my best to bring out the original writing. The warrant lists three hundred acres in Green Township of Washington County, adjoining the lands of Joseph Reed’s heirs, on the waters of Dunkard Creek. There is a section crossed out in the sentence after the lands of Joseph Reed’s heirs and before the “on the waters of Dunkard Creek” that appears to read “and including an improvement made by Rudolph Highly”.  The dates on these pages are confusing. The cover sheet lists October 15, 1787, the warrant refers to March 1786 and September 13, 1787. [Charles suggests above the 1786 date is the date of the improvement.] The warrant is signed by John Minor and Henry Vanmatre (sp?). There is a map of this land - which matches the atlas - dated in 1808, as Thomas sold his original grant - in Pennsylvania Survey Bk A-89, p. 200. That map is posted below.

Below is a warrant copy from Pennsylvania records. It has Thomas Clawson selling his Pennsylvania warrant of three hundred acres on January 14, 1814 for twenty dollars and eighty cents to James Bradford. This matches the plat map below. There is a property description, the land is called “Warner” in Whitley Township, Greene County. It is bounded by William Eaken, Christian ?, James Dye, the Virginia line, and Christian Burgh. Signed by John Cochrane and Richard Crain. Charles Clawson indicates that this transaction was James Bradford buying the land for the outstanding costs from Thomas’ original warrant.  Thomas clearly left the area in 1790, it is possible that James Bradford took over the land at that time.

Below is a plat map from Charles Clawson’s 2002 book. This map exists in Greene County map publications in both the Wayne Township page and the Gilmore Township page - as a piece of Thomas’s patent lied in both, and the township line went through his property. Significant differences between the record above and the map below exist in one way - the original survey map above lists adjacent property owners of James Dye, John Cox, and William Eakin. None of them are listed below, except one of the adjoining properties is known as “Cox’s Fancy”. There is a word Burg at the top of the hand drawn map, and a property boundary of a hickory tree is noted. Also, the bottom touch of Thomas’ property is the state line with Virginia (eventually West Virginia).

The differences can be attributed to the fact that time passes between these records, and the ownership shifted in those periods. It is clear from the map below that people applied for land at different times. I searched the survey maps of adjoining property owners. Stephen Gapen’s original map shows vacant land on one of the sides - because it was vacant at the time of his filing, but not during the time of the map below. I had been hoping to find a Clawson listing next but did not.

I had hoped to find surveys for property owners around Thomas that would list him. As can be told from the map above, the owners all came in at different times. I found the survey map posted below for Robert Burchan’s property - to the left (west) of Thomas’ above, which was surveyed in 1776. The map was shown in Survey Book A-64, p. 245, as listed on the above parcel. The land to the north and south was listed as “vacant”. The land to the west was listed as of Wallere Meng. The land to the right - where Thomas was a decade later, was listed as the lands of Rudolph Heiley’s. The parcel was shown on the west side of Dunkard Creek - and was listed as in Westmoreland County. In 1776 this land was disputed by Virginia.  In the MacInnes book on early Greene County landowners shows that on December 4. 1783, the Burchan land was patented to Joseph Reed, Esq.  Thomas Clawson’s patent above from 1787 states that his land adjoined the waters of Dunkard Creek and the lands of the heirs of Joseph Reed - Joseph must have died between the purchase in December 1783 and Thomas’ warrant of October 1787.  This sequence of events tells a lot about the map above.  While listing various property owners - they were not necessarily the actual property owners when Thomas was there.  And vice versa, Thomas was long gone before some of the adjacent property owners were there.

The other significant thing about the survey map before from 1776 is that it lists Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania - indicating that the record was filed in Pennsylvania, not Virginia - at a time when the Counties of West Augusta in Virginia were competing with Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania for jurisdiction. I searched the MacInnes book “Early Landowners of Pennsylvania: Land Tracts Transferred From Virginia to Pennsylvania Jurisdiction 1779-1780” and could not find any of our names - either Clawsons or neighbors. In the atlas with the Thomas Clawson map, there are a few land tracts in other townships that include an indication that it was transferred from Virginia.

Below is a map from Charles Clawsons 2002 book on the Clawsons. It shows where the Thomas Clawson land patent was (which matches the map above), and also where Thomas’ house was. He also places Garret’s patent, and also lists where Peter and Mary lived. I have not figured out how he was able to place Garret, Peter and Mary’s location, although the acreage for each was mentioned in other records - and Charles presumes a 750 acre parcel that was occupied by four different Clawsons.  Thomas’ patent does not show a Clawson as an adjoining property owner - but Garret’s patent lists Thomas and Peter Clawson as adjoining property owners.  That seems to indicate Peter bordered on Garret’s and likely Thomas’ property.

Charles Clawson summarized this land information, including some items I have yet to find: “The family moved to the west side of the Monongahela river sometime before 1781, and settled about a mile east of the present village of Jollytown, in Greene County, Pennsylvania, then near the western edge of Monongalia County, which became Greene Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. (Greene Township became Greene County in 1796) Washington County was formed out of the District of West Augusta on March 28, 1781, and included all the land west of the Monongahela River and south of the Ohio River, but the dispute over the southern and western boundaries raged until August 23, 1785, when the permanent boundary line was completed. In the meantime, an agreement had been reached, which provided that the settlers be given until April 10, 1788, to convert their squatter's rights on the land before he died, which was passed on to his widow; whereas, Mary Clawson was listed as head of the household on the first tax list of Greene Township, Washington County, in 1781. She was taxed on one hundred acres of land, one horse, and one cow at a value of 22 shillings. (Pa. Archives, 3rd Series, Vol. 22, p. 736) . . .

Garret [the son of Mary, Charles states “Jr.”] was warranted, 'Two hundred acres of land, on the waters of Dunkard Creek joining lands of Thomas Clawson and Peter Clawson and on Rudolph Highly's little run in Greene Township', dated October 15, 1787 (original warrant, no. 175) His land was 'appropriated', therefore, it was returned by the government for one reason or another.

Thomas was warranted, 'Three hundred acres of land, including an improvement, joining lands of Joseph Reed's Heirs on the waters of Dunkard Creek in Green Township', dated October 15, 1787. (original warrant, no. 176) His interest was to commence on March 1, 1786, which was the date of improvement, probably a cabin. He was only seventeen years of age at that time. This land is very hilly, of almost mountainous terrain. A small mountain stream, still known as 'Clawson Run', probably named after Thomas, descends a very narrow beautiful valley and flows into Dunkard Creek, which is along a level, wider, and even more beautiful valley. His cabin was probably near the confluence of these two streams. He purchased this land for thirty pounds Pennsylvania currency, the equivalent of about ninety dollars, or about thirty cents per acre. He sold this land to James Bradford shortly before the date of assessment in 1790, but a deed was not recorded because he still owed a balance of twenty dollars and eight cents on the warrant. Each state had its own official currency.

It has been determined that Mary's and Peter's land probably joined Thomas' land in the upper valley of Clawson's Run, which was later warranted to Stephen Gapen. They either owned the land or had rights to it, but did not have Pennsylvania warrants, therefore, it is possible they had Virginia claims. Mary owned 100 acres of land, Peter 150, and Thomas 300, therefore, they controlled 550 acres all together.” If the patent Garret applied for and abandoned is included, it was a total of 750 acres

Based on all this information, here is the compiled list of surrounding property owners in this period: A map of surrounding patents provided by Charles Clawson shows different people adjoining: Stephen Gapin is shown to the north titled Dye, containing 323 ¾ acres, and patented in 1792; and Robert Burchan is shown to the west with 300 acres, patented to Joseph Reed in 1783. The other landowners in the batch that got land on October 15 were Walford, Williams, Boilstone, Stewart, Shepherd, Gapen, Kight (Hight?), Phillips, Knott, and Titus, specifically: I can’t make out the first name of Walford; Stephen Gapen; Solomon Shepherd; Benjamin Titus;  James Knott (Knotts?); Benjamin Phillips; John Hight (?); Davie Boilstone; Gerrit Williams (bounded by Samuel Brady, James Clemons, Isaac Cox, Michael Ely, Joshua Russell, and John McWilliams.);  James, John,  Daniel and Charles (?) Stewart.  Bounded by William Robins,  David Shelby, Samuel Gilpin, and state line.

This is also the first time the stream named “Clawson’s Run” is introduced. That stream, by that name, exists to this very day. It is clearly named after the family from their time here in the 1780’s.  There are links to information about Clawson Run below the map.

There is also a Garrison Fork shown on this map - Dolly Garrison married Peter Clawson here, and the Clawson family intersected with the Garrison family.

The 1881 Washington County history includes a map of Washington County dated 1781 to 1789 - a map that included Greene Township - and covered the first period after which the boundary dispute with Virginia was “settled’.  This map puts the above very local map into perspective.

This map overlays the years of the Clawsons in the Washington County tax records. Thomas’ 1787 land patent above listed the description of “on the waters of Dunkard Creek” and shows the state line with Virginia as a property boundary.  The reference to “Corbley” is here, as well as the property of the “Minors” and the “Gallatins”. They are all in the records that intersect with the families shown. The territory shown in the southern part of the map broke off and became Greene County in 1796 - but was part of Washington County in the time and the records when the Clawsons were here.

Clawson Run. Above Charles Clawson refers to Clawson Run, a stream that crosses Thomas’s property, and probably touched some of the other Clawson’s property in this area.  This stream was clearly named for our forbearers and continues with the name to this very day.  

Online map services indicate that the stream is a kilometer from Dye Cemetery and a kilometer and a half from Eakin Cemetery – and just over three kilometers from the Pennsylvania and West Virginia forks of Dunkard Creek.  This matches Thomas Clawson’s survey map above in a number of ways.  James Dye is a neighbor on one side, and William Eakin is on the other.  A stream goes down the middle of Thomas Clawson’s property, making is most likely that the stream is Clawson Run.

Clawson Run References. There are links to online descriptions of Clawson Run, showing that Clawson Run is a stream and is located in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States. The elevation above sea level is 299 metres.  Latitude: 39°43'55.28" Longitude: -80°17'52.27"

http://us.geoview.info/clawson_run,4557205

Another reference: (within a kilometer and a half are both Dye and Eakin Cemeteries, both surnames of land that bounded Thomas Clawson’s: http://travelingluck.com/North+America/United+States/Pennsylvania/_4557205_Clawson+Run.html

A third reference that includes the following info - Clawson Run is a place of kind Stream belonging to the County of Greene. The closest populated place is that of Jollytown that is 1.67 miles far from Clawson Run. Clawson Run is also 16.25 miles far from the closest airport or heliport, the Greene County Airport.

http://usa.indettaglio.it/eng/42/059/1171941.html - This website has a map that can be zoomed, that shows exactly where the run is, running next to a road named Meighan Run Road: http://www.us-places.com/map-places.php?placeid=1171941

1787. Garret is shown in the Washington County, Pa. Warrantees of Land (Pa. Archives, Third Series, Vol 26, p. 546) as Garret “Clauson” and filed for 200 acres on October 15, 1787. As with his brother Thomas above, the application was in a Pennsylvania patent book - a cover page and the warrant. Both are posted below. They also were very faded and hardly legible but I have done my best to bring out the original writing. While the index mentioned above refers to “Clauson”, the actual documents list his surname as Clawson. The warrant lists two hundred acres in Green Township of Washington County, adjoining the lands of Thomas Clawson and Peter Clawson and Rudolph Highly, on the waters of Dunkard Creek. The dates on these pages are confusing, and one date is slightly different that on the warrant of his brother Thomas above. The cover sheet lists October 15, 1787, the warrant refers September 17, 1787. The warrant is signed by John Minor and Levi Harrod - the second signature being different that the one on the warrant of his brother Thomas.

This set of warrants is significant in that it conclusively links Thomas and Garret together, in a way that - except for being in the same township in tax records - is not done through other records. Garret’s family records page from the family Bible, shown in his revolutionary war pension file, lists a son named Thomas.

A page from the Washington County book that recorded warrants is posted below. Included are the warrants for Thomas and Garret Clawson.  Garret Clawson’s warrant is listed as “appropriated”, which must be a euphemism for it being returned to the state and not finalized.  This is the one place a record officially lists Garret’s warrant as “appropriated”. 

Conclusions from the land records. The Clawsons were in the area of Dunkard Creek just above the state line during the 1780’s, directly or indirectly claiming 750 acres in total between them. Mary and Peter paid taxes on acreage, even though they did not formally file for it. Thomas and Garrett formally filed. Thomas was the only one who went through with the process and owned the land. They clearly were here long enough to have the stream Clawson Run named after them.

One can only conjecture as to why Peter and Mary did not file for land. It was suggested that maybe they had some right under Virginia jurisdiction, but no record has been found. They needed to file by 1788 to own the land they had been living on and they did not. It is unclear if they did not file because they knew they would not stay on the land over time - or that they left in 1790 because they did not own the land. But there appears to have been some form of squatter’s rights. They had the right to file for the land and no one else did until they were gone.

All this information ties them to this land during this time - but does not address the issue of who was the father in this family and when he died. It was just clear he had died by 1781 when Mary was paying taxes on the land.

Pension Records - Garret and Kezia Clawson

1828 - 1853. Garret (and Keziah) Clawson Pension Record.  A key place to analyze the military records in which Garret Clawson appeared in frontier southwest Pennsylvania (previously claimed as part of Virginia) is with the very first records, the military records listing Garret.  Historically, researchers had thought that Mary’s husband was Garret Sr., and that their son Garret Jr. was in the later military records of this period - meaning that the first records were of a Garret Sr.  Part of the reason for that was that the younger Garret was born in 1759 and might not have been eighteen at the time of the first military service. [According to Revolutionary War pension records, the younger Garret was born in December 25, 1759.  Of his three children alive in 1880, two pegged Garret’s birth state as New Jersey and the third as Pennsylvania. ]

Given that Garret Clawson’s revolutionary war pension record lists him as born in 1759, this record would link any of the military service items to this Garret.  Unfortunately, the only military service listed in this file is Garret’s service in a Virginia Revolutionary War unit.  That is likely because these pensions were for Revolutionary War service, not all the local militia or frontier ranger service.  So it does not settle that question.

This file is clearly of the Garret who was in Fayette County, and lists his family members from a Bible entry.  The file is W3776, and was for Garret, and his wife Kezia (sic - in other places it is also spelled as Keziah) who had applied for the pension after Garret’s death.  The file has been transcribed by the website Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statement and Rosters.  Because Garret and others were in Virginia units during the Pennsylvania - Virginia Boundary dispute of the 1770’s, pension files for their service were associated with Virginia and are with the Southern Campaign files.  The transcript of the file - which can be found on-line - is first, then the pages of the file are posted.  The Southern Campaign file and transcription is a partial piece of Garret’s file - it is just about him and related to his service and pension request.

The complete file on the National Archives pages is 67 pages.  This file includes Kezia’s request to continue the pension after Garret’s death - which the Southern Campaigns appear to not include as it is not involved in Garret’s service.  Fold3 had a more condensed version, which I have started with below. 

Presently the National Archives has transcribed each page through artificial intelligence.  I have melded the relevant parts of the two files together, and add the transcriptions from the National Archives to that of the Southern Campaign website - to have one transcription that matches the pages posted.  The National Archives transcription was done by artificial intelligence and I have worked to correct items not reported correctly.  It is possible I have missed some, but the goal was to be completely accurate.

Much of the sixty-seven page file on the National Archives site is about Kezia and the minutia of her pension. I will try to include the pages that add genealogical detail, or anything that refers to Garret’s military service. The complete file at the National Archives can be accessed here.

Garret Clawson Pension File Transcript.  This is shown at the Southern Campaign web page of American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters.  The transcription is of key parts of the file, but not the entire file.  That entire file, which includes information from Keziah, Garret’s wife, as well as a letter to a descendant in the 1930’s, is posted after this transcription below:

Pension Application of Garret Clawson W3776 Kezia Clawson VA. Some of the file is transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris, and other pages are transcribed from the National Archives file AI process.

(Summary Record Card) 18-580 Pennsylvania Garret Clawson of Fayette in the State of Penn who was a Private in the Regiment commanded by Colonel (blank) of the Virginia line, for the term of one year (1778 ) Inscribed on the Roll of Pennsylvania at the rate of 8 Dollars per month, to commence on the 4 of March 1822 Certificate of Pension issued the 6 of May 1820 ┃ and Don A. Stewart House of Reps Arrears to 4th of Semi anl. all'ce [annual allowance] ending Sept 1822 5th 1841 to 11/30 18.25 - - 48.25 ┃ 7.22 13 4825 {Revolutionary claim, Act 18th March, 1818.} & May 1820 ┃ Dead.  Letter to Hon A. Buchanan 6 Feb of 1838

3084 Keziah Clawson widow of Garret Clawson, who served in the Revolutionary War as a private.  Inscribed on the Roll at the Rate of $40 per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1848.  Certificate of pensions issued the 22nd day of July 1849 and sent to Hon. R. A. Thompson, H of R (House of Representatives).  Recorded on Roll of Pensioners under act of February 2, 1848, Page 144, Vol. 3.  Reported January 22, 1849.

Fayette County Ss

Fourteenth Judicial district of Pennsylvania.

On the fourth day of March AD. 1822 personally appeared in open Court it being a Court of Record now in Session for said County Garret Clawson aged sixty two years resident in Greene County in Dunkard Township who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath declare that he served in the Revolutionary war as follows. That he enlisted or was drafted and place in the regular service in the year 1778 for the twelve months in the Company under command of Captain [Thomas] Moore under the Command of Col. Bell under Gen’l. [Lachlan] McIntosh in the [blank] Regiment in the Pennsylvania line on the Continental establishment [see endnote]. That he was in the battles of [blank] and several skermishes. That he has now in his possession no other testimony than what he offers of his services. And I do solemnly swear that I was a resident Citizen of the United States on the 18th day of March 1818 and that I have not since that time by gift sale or in 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 person engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the Revolutionary War” passed on the 18th day of 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 hereto annexed and by me subscribed.

/s/ Garret Clawson

List of my property

One bed & Bedding. . . . . . . . . . . $30 —

2 or 3 Dutch ovens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00

Some Kitchen furniture. . . . . . . . . 15.00

Debts due me

Philip Victor.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.00

A claim Carlisle & Hartzell. . . $800.20

Debts due by me

Jesse Evans, Judgment. . . . . . . . $200

William Lyons, Judg’t.. . . . . . . . . . . 30

William Gance, Judg’t. . . . . . . . . . . 40

Giden Way Note. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

That I am by occupation a farmer but by reason of age and decrepitude and disease am unable to follow it for some time since.  My Wife Keziah aged forty seven years lives with me. my sons Thomas aged 19 years, James 18 years, Isaac 15 years, Garret 13 years, they render me no assistance. That I am partly dependant on the Community for assistance being unable to render myself much support.

/s/ Garret Clawson

Garret Clawson Pa 18 March 1818 $8 per mo. To what time last paid do your books show him not to have been paid for 1821 & 1822. Pension Office 6th Feby 1838, pay commenced 4th March 1822 J H Died 14th Apr 1830 paid to that time (?) J H

The Bible Cover Page (apparently ripped from the Bible and included with the pension file): THE NEW ACT AMEN A OF OUR TRANSLATED OUT OF THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, ORIGINAL GREEK; AND WITH THE DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED, FORMER TRANSLATIONS By His MAJESTY'S Special Command. Appointed to be Read in CHURCHES. EDINBURGH Printed by MARK and CHARLES KERR, His MAJESTY'S Printers, MDCCXC [This Roman Numeral date translates to 1790 - which was the year that Garret and Keziah married.]

Fayette County } Ss Pennsylvania }

Be it remembered that on the 6th day of December 18[??] Before me the subscriber one of the Commonwealths Justices of the peace personally came Major Uriah Springer [pension application R10017] and on his solemn Oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God deposeth & saith that Garret Closson in the month of May in the year One thousand seven hundred & seventy Eight was drafted & served as a common soldier, & served for one whole year in the 13th Regiment of the Virginia line in the revolutionary army of the United States and further saith that he this deponent was then a Lieutenant in Captain Thomas Moore’s Company in said Regiment, and that the said Garret Closson served part of his said time in the same Company and that the said Garret Closson was afterwards on or about the first day of June 1779 honourably discharged & further saith not. Sworn & subscribed the day & year above

written [signed] Uriah Springer

[NOTE: From Uriah Springer’s own pension file about his service: From the pension application of Uriah Springer: “Fayette County Pennsylvania Ss Before me one of the Judges of the County Court of Common pleas for the s’d County Personally appeared Uriah Springer aged 64 years who being sworn according to law deposeth that he entered the service in November 1776 as a Lieutenant in the Company commanded by Capt. James Hook [company raised in Yohogania County now in Pennsylvania] in the 13 Regiment of the th Virginia line, and in May 1779 he was commissioned a Captain in the same Reg’t. to take rank from the first day of August 1778, by some reduction in the line [on 14 Sep 1778] the Regiment was then denominated the 9th Virg’a Regiment, that he continued in the service with the same rank until August 1783 when the regiment was disbanded a Fort Pitt Uriah Springer.  Sworn and subscribed before me this 28th day of April 1818”.

There was a second statement on his service in his file from two years later: “On the fifth day of September AD 1820 personally appeared in open Court it being a Court of record now in Session for the said district Uriah Springer aged sixty six years resident in Fayette county in said district who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath declare that he served in the revolutionary war as follows.  That he was appointed to the rank of first Lieutenant in the year 1776 and promoted to the rank of Capt in 1778 that he was in the battle of Germantown [4 Oct 1777], Brandywine [11 Sep 1777] &c. that he continued in the service of the United States until the year 1783 when he was discharged. That it was in company of James Hook Capt his first promotion took place under command of Col. William Russell afterwards under command of Col. John Gibson. the Regiment was called the 13th while under command of the former and 9th the latter – in virginia line and that the date of my original declaration is 28th April AD 1818 and the No. of my certificate is No 5468 . . . .”]

NOTES [From Southern Campaigns]:

Clawson apparently enlisted in southwestern Pennsylvania, which was then claimed by Virginia. His service was in the 13th Virginia Regiment of Foot.  On 6 Nov 1838 Kezia Clawson, 64, applied for a pension stating that she married Garret Clawson on 29 July 1790, and he died 14 April 1830. Her sister, Mary Fields, stated that she had been present at the marriage, which was officiated by David Loughborough, pastor of the Georges Creek Baptist congregation, in Woodbridge town in Springhill Township, Fayette County PA. The file includes the family record transcribed below, certified by John P. Sturges as having been taken from a Bible that had belonged to Garret Clawson. On 19 May 1848 Kezia Clawson applied to have her pension transferred to Virginia, having moved to Wood County where her only daughter resided, because “being much advanced in age she was no longer able to keep house and take care of her self.” This statement was certified by Leah Griffin.

Garret Clawson was born December ye 25th 1759 and died April the 14th 1830 age 70y 3m 20d

Kezia Clawson was born April ye 27 Anno Domini 1774

Childrens Ages

Leah Clawson was born April ye 3d 1791

John Clawson was born April ye 8th 1793

Mary Clawson was born March ye 23d 1795

Phineas Clawson was born August ye 10th 1797

Loton[?] - [John’s note: Lotow] Clawson was born July ye 11th 1799

Thomas Clawson was born August ye 22d 1801

James Clawson was born September ye 20th 1803

Isaac Sturgis Clawson was born November 20th 1805

Garret Clawson Junr was born July 18th 1808

Kezia Clawson was born September 12th 181[?] & Died July 27th 1819

Abia Clawson Was born January 13th 1813 Died July 15th 1819

Josih Clawson Was born August 29th 181[?] and Died 16th 1819

Pennsylvania Fayette County On this 6th day of November one thousand eight hundred and thirty Eight personally appeared in open Court to wit the Court of Common pleas of the County of Fayette aforesaid being a court of record) Kezia widow & relict of Garret Clawson late of said County decd a pensioner of the United States) resident in the County & State aforesaid aged sixty four years the 27th day of April last, who being duly sworn according to law on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed the 7th day of July 1838 entitled "an act granting half pay & pensions to certain widows, that the widow of Garret Clawson who was private soldier in the revolutionary war and as such placed on the pension list of the United States about the year 1823 & who continued to draw his pension of ninety six dollars per annum up to the time of his death in 1830 as will no doth fully appear by reference to the records in the Pension office War Department Washington she further declares that she was married to the said Garret Clawson late pensioner as aforesaid on the 29th day July 1790 that her husband the aforesaid Garret Clawson died on the fourteenth day of April 1830. that she was not married to him prior to his leaving the service, but the marriage took place previous to the (end of page)

first of January seventeen hundred and nine-four, viz at the time above mentioned, that she has never been married & still remains the widow of the said Garret Clawson decd.  Kezia Clawson.  Affirmed and subscribed (?) in open court.  Thomas Slocum (?)  Holden (?) Pro.

Fayette County Pennsylvania st on the Sixth day of Novr one thousand Eight hundred and thirty Eight personally appear in open court before the Judges of the Court of common pleas of Fayette County aforesaid thing a court of record) Mary Fields a witness of undoubted credibility resident in the County aforesaid who being duly sworn did depose and say that she is the sister of Kezia Clawson the above named applicant that she was ment at her many with Garret Clawson dec. pensioner of United States that they were married at Woodbridge town in Springhill Township Fayette County Pennsylvania in the summer of seventeen hundred and ninety in the month of July & she believes it was on the 29th day of that month but the day she is not positive that the Marriage was legal the ceremony was pronounced by the Reverend David Loughborough then a Baptist minister of the gospel and (end of page)

pastor of the congregation at that place called "the Georges Creek congregation " that the said Kezia Clawson still resides in the same County in which she was married & has never since been married to any other person but still remains the widow of the said Garret Clawson who died in the month of April 1830 in the County & State aforesaid ● Nov 6, 1837 Affirmed and subscribed in open court Thomas Horn (Sloan - Roden?), Prothy.  /s/ Mary (x – her mark) Fields.   

Pennsylvania Fayette County.  I, Thomas Horn, Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County certify that the foregoing proof was exhibited at a court of Common Pleas holden at Union Town land for said county on the 6th day of November A.D. 1838- and adjudged by the said court to be sufficient. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Seal of the said Court at Union Town the 5th day of November Anno Domini 1838 Thomas Horn Prothonotary

Fayette County of Pennsylvania Before me the Subscriber a Justice of the peace in and for said County personally came John P Sturges of Union Town County and State aforesaid who being duly sworn doth depose and say on oath that on the 14th day of December one thousand eight hundred and thirty eight he himself tore the above leaf out of the family Bible formerly the property of Garret Clawson deceased. That he is well acquainted with Kezia Clawson since the year 1794 and that they lived together from that time until his death as man and wife and that she still remains the widow of the said Garret Clawson, and that he believes the said Garret and Kezia were married previous to the year 1794. That he is & has been long personally acquainted with all the children of the said Garret & Kezia Clawson and that he is perfectly satisfied of the correctness and acuracy of the foregoing record of there ages. Respectically as there set forth Sworn & Subscribed before me this 14th day of December 1838  J/ P. Sturgis.  Clement Wood.

I hereby certify that John P. Sturges above named is a credible witness and a respectable citizen of this Borough of Union Town.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set hand and seal this 14th day of Decr. Clement Wood - Seal [NOTE: I believe John Phineas Sturgis to be the younger brother of Kezia Sturgis.  He was born ca 1791 and died after 1870 in Union Town, Fayette County]

The actual pension record pages are posted below in order - the National Archives pages are larger in size - reflecting the transcription above: 

The Revolutionary War pension file of John McQuinn – S40141 – shows he served from Virginia, and has a reference to the pension request of Garret Clawson – posted just below here.  McQuinn was shown as living in Fayette County, Pennsylvania at the time of his own pension request.  The writing in reference is hard to make out, but I have done my best to transcribe it here, and the meaning is clear:

“In your note of the 1st ?? you say the application of Garret Clawson was rejected on the ground that he had not served ???? I have since discovered among my papers the enclosed deposition of Major Springer, a man of undoubted veracity, which I have fully ??? the objection.  I shall leave the city on Tuesday, it (?) should be very helpful.”

Even though the writing is hard to make out, it appears that Garret’s initial pension application attempt failed, but the deposition of Major Uriah Springer proves his service.  In Garret’s application above, there is a statement from Uriah Springer attesting to his service.  This statement in John McQuinn’s file is random, and does not appear to connect to other parts of the file.

A ledger sheet, likely from the pension office, shows Garrett’s payments logged from his qualification to his last one. He is on the next to bottom line below.

There is a further pension record for Garret, showing his last pension payment, paid out of Philadelphia, and that he died on April 14, 1830. 

Kezia Clawson received a pension after Garret’s death. A ledger sheet that shows her in the last part of the 1840’s is posted below.

Conclusions from the pension file. This file clearly links Garret to the 1778-1779 service in the 13th Virginia line. at a time that the Virginia-Pennsylvania boundary dispute had not been settled and Virginia government operated in areas that became Pennsylvania a few years later.  This pension file does not connect Garret to the Maryland unit, the Gaddis unit or later service.

The file includes a Bible record that names Garret’s immediate family clearly, but does not link him to his siblings or mother.  The file lists a few personal possessions that tells about his life.  That file was sworn to by John P. Sturgis, the brother of Kezia. 

There are statements from Uriah Springer about Garret’s service that ties him to Springer.  It shows he made one pension record statement as a resident of Dunkard Township, Greene County - which is where his mother and siblings lived prior to moving to Ohio.  The file does not explain why he was there and not in Fayette County, but he did have a child in the area and it was last years of his life.  The pension file is helpful but not conclusive in relation to key research questions.  

Names and Birth Places of Clawsons - Do They Tell us Anything?

Names. In this period, there was a strong tradition to name an early child for either a father or mother. Therefore the names of the children might tell us something - Peter, Garret, Josiah, Thomas, and John. The fact that Mary was the oldest daughter’s name makes sense give that was her mother’s name. The listing of the children of the seven children of the father Clawson and Mary Clawson, and their children, follows:

Peter: Frederick (wife’s father’s name), Garret, Margaret (wife’s mother’s name), Elizabeth, Peter, Josiah, Joseph, William Garner, Samuel, Mary (mother’s name), John C.;

Garret: Leah (wife’s mother’s name), John (wife’s father’s name), Mary (mother’s name), Phineas, Lotow Washington, Thomas, James, Isaac Sturgis, Garret, Kezia, Abia, Josiah;

John: Mary (mother’s name), Josiah, John D., Asa D., Elizabeth, Samuel, Garret C., Lydia, Sarah, Isaac D.; - wife’s parents’ names unknown.

Mary: John, Joseph, Peter, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary (mother’s name), Benjamin, Esther/Hester, Eleanor; - in countless public member trees, Joseph’s father is listed as Samuel, and his mother as Ana or Susan. None of these parental names are found in the names of Joseph’s children.

Thomas: Abraham (wife’s father’s name), Mary Ann (mother’s name), Lois (wife’s mother’s name), Josiah, Thomas, Rachel, Garret, Timothy, Vienna, Ephraim, Cynthia, Sophia;

Josiah: William, Thomas, Mary (mother’s name), Elizabeth (wife’s mother’s name), Luce (wife’s maiden name), Moses, Allen, Josiah; - wife’s father’s name was John and is not found among the names of Josiah and Sophia’s children.

Hannah: Richard, Peter (husband’s father’s name); - online trees list Mathew Bolin’s parents as Peter and Elizabeth.  This list is limited because there’s no clear listing of Matthew and Hannah’s children.

Birth Places. 1880 Census.  Information can be gleaned from those grandchildren of the original Clawson father and his wife Mary Clawson that were still alive in 1880.  That census listed the birth state of parents – so that it is the first census that the birth state of the children of the original Clawson father and Mary might be listed.  By the second surviving census to do this - 1900 - all the Clawson grandchildren appear to have been gone.

James Clawson, the son of Garret, was shown to be born in 1803 in Pennsylvania.  His 1880 census entry, where he is shown in Brodhead, Green County, Wisconsin, shows his father’s birth state as New Jersey.

Phineas Clawson, the son of Garret, was shown to be born in 1797 in Pennsylvania.  His 1880 census entry, where he is shown in Brodhead, Green County, Wisconsin with his son Robert, shows his father’s birth state as Pennsylvania.

Lot Clawson, the son of Garret, was shown to be born ca 1800 in Pennsylvania.  He is shown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the 1880 census, with his father’s birth state shown as New Jersey.

John Clawson, the youngest son of Peter, was shown in the 1880 census as 71, in Cynthian, Shelby County, Ohio.  His entry shows his father and mother both born in Pennsylvania. 

Sophia Clawson Dove, the daughter of Thomas, was shown to have been born ca 1814 in Ohio.  She is shown in Ford County, Illinois with her husband, daughter and son-in-law James Wilson in the 1880 census.  That entry shows both her parents birth place as Ohio. [This is clearly not correct.]

Lydia Clawson Kelly, the daughter of John, was shown to have been born ca 1806 in Ohio. In the 1880 census she is shown as Elizabeth Kelly in Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana, widowed (of George M. Kelly), age 74, keeping house, born in Ohio with her father born in Pennsylvania and her mother in Massachusetts,  Interestingly, her son’s 1903 Howard Co IN Death Certificate lists Lydia’s birth state as New Jersey.

Josiah, Mary (Shanks), and Hannah (Bolin) did not appear to have children still alive in 1880.

Can we conclude anything from the names of Clawson children and the 1880 census records indicating the birth state of Clawson siblings?

Names: To summarize, most children of the Clawson father and Mary Clawson had a child named Mary for her - six of the seven children. That is a clear tie. The listing of male names that might point to the Clawson father’s name is murky. That name is probably here, but there’s not a pattern of a name in the oldest of children that clearly points to it. There are repeating names in most of the families: the name Josiah appears in five of the seven families; the name Garret appears in four of the families; the name John appears in four of the families (one of the four was also the name of the wife’s father); the name Thomas appears in four of the seven families; the name Peter appears in three of the seven families (one of the three was also the name of the wife’s father).  Of the seven children of the Clawson father and Mary Clawson, six of the seven names of the children repeat in other families.  Hannah does not show up in any family as a name.  There is no clear repeat name that would clearly point to the name of the father.

It should be noted that in Frank Crosswhite’s work on an adjoining page, he goes back to New Jersey and New York to link Dutch ancestors to this line.  In his research, some of the key male names are Peter, Cornelius, Thomas, Josiah, and William.  That seems to match some of the names in the Clawson sibling families above.

Birth states. To summarize, of Garret’s three children living in 1880, two stated Garret’s birth state was New Jersey, and one Pennsylvania; of Peter’s one child living in 1880, he states that Peter’s birth state was Pennsylvania; of Thomas’ one child living in 1880, she states that her father’s birth state was Ohio (incorrect); and of John’s one child living in 1880 she states that her father’s birth state was Pennsylvania. Not conclusive, but there were some that suggested New Jersey, others Pennsylvania.  To me, the suggestion of New Jersey is more meaningful, because it is not a state any of the grandchildren would have seen their parents live in.

Overall Conclusions

This page weaves together military records, family records, tax and census records, pension records, and family records – from the time the Clawsons were in Virginia – Southwest Pennsylvania between 1776 and 1790 - into one story.  Conclusions can be drawn that give color to the story, but the records are such that there are no real smoking guns on some key issues.

The Clawsons arrived in this area in 1776 or before, likely from New Jersey.  When they arrived, there was a father Clawson, married to Mary Clawson.  The youngest two of seven known children were born in the 1775-1777 period, and it was clear the Clawson father was alive then.  By the time Mary appeared in Washington County tax records in 1781, she was a widow – and was actually listed in some of the tax records that decade as “Mary Clawson, widow”.  So the Clawson father died between 1777 and 1781. 

The first known records for a Clawson was of Garret Clawson in various military and revolutionary war records from 1776 through 1781.  Looking at the records of the various local units, they reconstituted themselves every year differently, but with similar leaders and similar membership.  While the Revolutionary War was going on during this period, the priority in Greene Township were the raids by Native Americans and local defense – thus prioritizing service in militia or “Frontier ranger” units.  Peter Clawson was actually listed as a “spy” during his 1782 service.

The militia records, pension records for other soldiers, and the fact that there were tax exoneration lists – meaning some years settlers were forced from their cabins or could not suitably conduct agricultural activities and were exonerated from taxes.  The strife with Native Americans existed during the Clawsons entire time here.

Garret’s pension only mentions his Virginia revolutionary war service.  But that is appropriate as the service by he, his brothers, and his neighbors were in “frontier ranger” units - that service not making them eligible for revolutionary war pensions.  Although some of the pensions – excerpts below – did list service in the local wars during this time.  So the fact that Garret’s local service is not mentioned in his pension record does not mean that he was not the same person through all the militia references to Garret.

It is also significant that almost all of these units - both militia and revolutionary war - were associated with the State of Virginia, before the boundary dispute was settled.  Garret did “travel over the mountains” to serve first in a Maryland unit, as described by Frank Crosswhite.  Garret then served in the unit of Thomas Gaddis, who was in different commands in this period.  There was a time just into the 1780’s that Gaddis switched his allegiance to Pennsylvania.  It is hard to imagine that if there were two Garret’s, the older one would leave his family in a stressful border situation, to serve in Maryland in the original 1776 service record shown. 

So of those Clawsons listed as serving in military units, Garret first served at age sixteen; John first served at age at age seventeen; and Peter first served at age twenty-four. Given his birth in December 1759, Garrett would have been of the age of sixteen through twenty-two years old in the time of these various service records.  While there is no smoking gun indicating whether there were one or two Garret’s in this period - circumstantial evidence seems to indicate that these records were all of the same Garret.  Peter Clawson would have been the oldest son of Mary, and would likely have been home with her and able to defend and allow Garret – the second oldest son - to serve.  So while there is circumstantial evidence that one Garret served in these units, there is no evidence to suggest that the Garret serving in any of these units was a different one.

And looking at the age of the Clawson brothers in tax and property records, a similar pattern emerges.  Of the Clawson men listed in the Greene Township tax records, Peter was born in 1758; Garret was born in 1759; John was born in 1765; and Thomas was born in 1768.  So Garret first appeared in a tax record when he was twenty-four; Peter first appeared in a tax record when he was twenty-eight; John first appeared when he was twenty-one; and Thomas first appeared when he was twenty-one [although he filed for the warrant on his land when he was nineteen].  Thomas and Garrett appeared in records as single men, which matches Garret marrying in 1790 and Thomas in 1794.  Peter and John were not listed as single, which matches Peter being married about 1783 and John being married before 1789.  [NOTE: We know the ages of the Clawson brothers from future records, not from anything in Pennsylvania, except for Garret’s much later pension record.]

The Clawsons were just west of the Monongalia River by Dunkard Creek.  The Monongalia River seemed to be the dividing line in this period between allegiance to Virginia and allegiance to Pennsylvania, and where the Clawsons lived cleaved toward Virginia in the disputed period.

Between 1781 and 1789, various Clawsons were involved with 750 acres of land in the same area by Dunkard Creek.  Mary paid taxes on 100 acres beginning in 1781.  Peter paid taxes on 150 acres beginning in 1786.  Thomas applied for 300 acres in this area in 1787, and his brother Garret applied for 200 acres on the same day – and they had made improvements in the year before. 

In Garret’s application, Thomas and Peter were listed as adjoining landowners.  So the Clawsons over that decade inhabited 750 acres of land in this region.  It is clear that Clawson Run was named for the family and ran through Thomas’ land if not some of the others.  That stream carries the Clawson name to this day – over 230 years after the Clawson’s left the area.

It is unclear how long they were on this land – either all or part of it – whether from their first time in the region in 1776 or before, or whether they were in the area but came to the land later.  It is also possible that Mary (and her husband while he was alive) was on a piece of the land first, and her sons surrounded her on adjoining land over time. 

One can only conjecture as to why Peter and Mary did not file for land. It was suggested that maybe they had some right under Virginia jurisdiction, but no record has been found. They needed to file by 1788 to own the land they had been living on and they did not. It is unclear if they did not file because they knew they would not stay on the land over time - or that they left in 1790 because they did not own the land. But there appears to have been some form of squatter’s rights. They had the right to file for the land and no one else did (or would) until they were gone.

These tax and land records explain how Charles Clawson – in his 2002 written history on the Clawson family – included a map showing locations for the various Clawsons.  Garret, who is at the center of some of the unanswered research questions, is further confusing here.  He shows up in a Greene Township tax record but is listed in Fayette County (and its predecessor Westmoreland) in most of the tax records for him – even being shown in both counties in 1785, before he filed for, and then abandoned, land in Greene Township in 1787. 

Mary Clawson, the sibling of the brothers, likely married Joseph Shanks in Pennsylvania before coming to Ohio – they joined the other Clawsons there about 1794 – but Joseph is not listed in any records here.  Josiah Clawson was not old enough to be in these records, being about fifteen when the Clawsons moved to Ohio.  If Hannah was a sibling, and future records suggest this possibility, she would have been at least a year or so younger than Josiah and also was not shown in records here. 

It is quite possible that the father had one of the names that was frequently repeated in the family.  The list of the children of the seven children of the father Clawson and Mary Clawson, showed that the name Josiah appeared five times, John appeared four times, Garret appeared four times, and Thomas appeared four times.  Peter only appeared three times, and was likely a name that entered the family from the name of Dutch ancestors in New York and New Jersey.  Mary appeared six times, and was frequently among the first names for a woman – confirming the tie of the Clawson children to the Mary Clawson in Greene Township records.  The frequency of the use of these names is another clear tie between the different siblings that places them in the same family.

Of the seven children of the Clawson father and Mary Clawson, six of the seven names of the children repeat in other families.  Hannah does not show up in any family as a name.  There is no clear repeat name that would clearly point to the name of the father.

It should be noted that in Frank Crosswhite’s work on an adjoining page, he goes back to New Jersey and New York to link Dutch ancestors to this line.  In his research, some of the key male names are Peter, Cornelius, Thomas, Josiah, and William.  That seems to match some of the names in the Clawson sibling families above.

On the matter of religion, when the Clawsons got to Ohio, and for the rest of their lives, they were very evident members of the Baptist Church. Thomas and his mother Mary were shown in the Columbia Baptist Church records in 1794 in frontier Ohio, and a Baptist minister married Thomas and Sophia Covalt there in that year.  When they settled in Washington Township in Montgomery County in the late 1790’s, they were members for years of the Sugar Creek Baptist Church, with Thomas, Joseph and Mary (Clawson) Shanks and Josiah evident in those records.

I had hoped to find the Clawsons in the Goshen Baptist Church records in Greene County, as they were in the neighborhood of the Rev. John Corbley.  Abraham Covalt was active in his church - and the only reason we know the precise time he left for Ohio is the church record for his “dismission”.  Some of the Clawson neighbors were shown in the Goshen records - such as the Dye family - as were a few of the people who went with Covalt to Ohio and lived at Covalt Station with the Clawsons there.  It is quite possible the Clawsons were attendees, but they have not yet been found in any church records.  It’s also possible that they didn’t really commit to the Baptist church until they were in Ohio.  Interestingly, some of Garret’s children were found in these records a generation after the Clawsons left for Ohio - which could explain why Garret submitted a statement for his revolutionary war pension from Dunkard Township in Greene County in the 1820’s.

So these records seem to confirm the time the Clawsons were in this area, where they were in this area, and a little about how they lived their lives.  The records do not seem to name the Clawson father, seem to indicate there was just one Garret in this period in this time.  The records also tie Mary with Peter, John, Garret, and Thomas as family members. 

It is possible that there are additional records I have not found of the Clawsons in this location in this period, but given the number of researchers on this subject over the years, the likelihood of that is low.  The next best avenues for research are looking at DNA – are there links to Clawsons in New Jersey prior to the family coming to Pennsylvania? Do the DNA links confirm what we know, who the family members are in this Clawson unit?  And it might be a research project to find Clawson families in New Jersey and see if there are Clawsons that either married a woman named Mary ca 1755, or for which there is no record in New Jersey after 1770 – that points to this family.  But this page gives the clearest indication of their time in Virginia and then Greene Township in this period.

This page contains extensive information and interpretation of records. It is likely there are some transcription errors or errors in analysis. Independent eyes will help identify those. As a result, any additions or corrections are very welcome.

John Laird - December 2024.