Robert HENSLEY aka Robert HANSLEY, Revolutionary War soldier from Hawkins and Roane County, Tennessee

 

Robert HENSLEY, 98,  is found in his [circumstantial] son Benjamin’s house in the 1850 census for Roane County, Tennessee. Benjamin HENSLEY served in the War of 1812 out of Hawkins Co, TN where Robert HANSLEY/HENSLEY was pensioned for his Revolutionary War service.  Benjamin HENSLEY and his first wife, Mary “Polly” GALYON were the parents of Margaret “Peggy” HENSLEY who married William GILES in Roane Co in 1835. To see a bit more detail and census information about the relationship between the GILES and HENSLEY families of Roane County, Tennessee, see |here |.

Transcription of the Revolutionary War service record for Robert HANSLEY of Hawkins County, Tennessee (North Carolina service)
NARA S4323

Record transcribed by Dawnelle Giles Loiselle, a 4th great-granddaughter
Transcription format and notes copyright 2004-2007 D Giles Loiselle
File updated (with birth month amendedation in the transcript): 8 Mar 2007.

Notes about the file and my transcription methodology here:  the micropublication which I worked with contains eight pages, one of which ends mid-sentence but which is not continued on the following microfilm leaf. In my transcription, formatted originally to be text only file [link - text only] to make it widely accessible, the sections which begin and end with_ the underline character (_example_) indicate handwritten portions of an otherwise printed or typed form. Information in [ ] is informational or indicates uncertainty. [? any word or letter] indicates real uncertainty about the lettering or the word that I've put inside the brackets.

BEGIN Transcription:

[page 1 of 8 pages, image 406]

Service _NC_          Hansley, Robert           Number _S4323_
                                                                         _Carded_

CONTENTS [empty/blank]

---------------------------------------------

[page 2 of 8 pages]

[page is torn/partial]
[folded card - left side:]

26800 2s[?]
[J]onesboro Tenn
[separator line]
Robert Hansley
[H]awkins in the State of Tennesse[e]
...  was a private in the com comm...
...by Captain Cloud if tge regt command...
by Col Shelby in ghe revolution...
line for 1 year & 6 month...
[separator line]
Inscribed on the Roll of Jonesboro
at the rate of 60 Dollars --- [dash] Cents per annum,
to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
[separator line]
Certificate of Pewnsion issued the 29 day of May[y?]
1834 and [? 2 beon] John
Black  [?Ten]
[separator line]
Arrears to the 4th of March                 180,00
Semi-anl allowance ending 1 Sept.     30,00
                                                 [sum]     $210,00

                 [curly bracket opens] Revolutionary Claim,
                                                      Act June 7, 1832 [close curly bracket]
Recorded by Danl Boyd Clerk.
Book E  Vol.  7   Page 126

[right side of card/page:]

Let to  Jno. AMc Kinney
Dst: attG. July 18 1836
[lined through] Let to [?J.]D. Arnold, Aug 25
1836 [end line through] Let to [?3] And (not to pay 1 [unclear -transcription may be in error]
Nov 28, 1839
[lined through Dec 27, 1839 let to J. D,
Arnold. dtd [end line through] Hon. A. Mc[?Cld.]
law[?] May 20. 1840.
let  [lined through] 3 January[?] 1842 [?Ro..]
A. McClellan
[Illegible circular stamp on left of next two lines which continue the line through]  Let. To Hon. A. Johnson
                  June 1[?8]44

[page 3 of 8 pages
(all in script):]

                                                                                1

[curly bracket begins] State of Tennessee
Hawkins County [end curly bracket]  On the 1st day of April in the
year one thousand eight hundred and thirty four
personally appear before the circuit court for the
county and state aforesaid at the March term
of said court 1834 Robert Hensley [sic] of the county
of Hawkins and the state aforesaid and saith that
he was born on the 29th day of Feby 1759 it being leap [insert caret] year
in the county of Bucks in the state of Penn[ 2d n in superscript]sylvania as he
was informed making him at this time aged about
seventy five years and further that he has lost the
records of his age and hasnone now in his papers.
[? none]. Being first duly sworn according to law,
Doth on his oat make the following Declaration in
the act of Congress passed the7th June 1832: That he
volunteered under the immediate command of
Captain George Maxwell of tghe County of Sullivan in
the Regiment commanded by Colonel Isaac Shelby
and was in the Service of the United States for
the term of six months during the revolutionary
war, that he was in the battle of Kings Mountain
when Col. Ferguson was defeated[?.]  after the battle
with the american troops to salisbury with the
prisoners in charge, after the expiration of his
six months dervice as a volunteer in Co. Shelbys Regt
he substituted in place of Dyer Hudson into a
company of Militia commanded by Captain William
Cloud in the county of Stokes in the State of North
Carolina, on or about the 1st of May 1781, for
the term of six months, from which place he
was march [sic] in Col Hughes regiment to broad river
on or near the line between North and South Carolina,

[page 4 of 8 pages
(all in script):]

 2

after being in service about three months, Captain
William Cloud took sick &returned orthe applicant was
put under the immediate command of Capt Jonathan
Hourley [the "our" is underlined, and superscript over it says "aw" - making it "Hawley], after being on Broad river about two months
under the orders of GenlGreen, a detachment of Col Hughes
regt was order[sic] to the headof New river in pursuit of
tories, from thence into Patrick County in Virginaia, from
thence the detachment was ordered to join the Army un-
der GenlGreen, when on the way to join him, news
was received ofthe surrender of Lord Cornwallis, on re-
ceiving the intelligence of his surrender this applicant was
marched back to Henry County Virginia and discharged
by Captain Hwaley after serving six months on said tour
of duty.      This applicant immediately returned to Sullivan
County on the waters of Holston, and on his return, he
volunteered under Capt. or Lt. Fulkerson to guard the
Indian Frontier, and was marched to Asher's station on
Big Creek near Holston river, Shortly after his arrival
at Asher's station Capt Elijah Chisholm too command
of the Fort and this applicant remain [sic] at the thatplace un
til the full-time of six months and discharged by
Captain Chisholm, after the expiration of which time
he again volunteer [sic] in the Spring of 1782, under Cap-
tain John Bl[?air], and was marched to Campbell's sta-
tion fifteen miles below Knoxville, where he remained
the full term of six months from the time he volunteered,
freuently out a few days at a time scouting as fare [sic]
as nine mile creek, in the direction of the Cheroke [sic] na-
tion of Indians; after the expiration of his term of service
applicant was discharged by Capt Jn Blai{/r], and returnd
home afer serving altogether two years. And this de-
claranant further states that the discharges he received
is [sic] lost, and that he has no documentary evidence
of his services, that there is no living winess[?es]by whom
whe can prove his services, that is known to him, but

[page 5 of 8 pages
(script):]

                                                                              3

Henry Blevins whose testimony is herewith attached
maked A [underlined], and William Wallings whose testimony
is also attached marked B.  Captain John Blair and
every man that served with him in 1782 is decd [?as/or]
removedd to some unknown part of the Country to
this declarant.  He further states that he was not
during the serveral term [sic] of service amounting
to two full years enganged in any private business
of his own or for any other person but was employed
in the actual service of the United States, and called
into the service by competent authority of the United
States.  He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever
to a pension, or annuit except the present, and he de-
clares that his name is not on the pension roll of
any Agency of any state, & declarant states he
lives neighbour to Capt John A Rogers & Robert
McMinn & is well acquainted with them whose tes-
timony is hereunto annexd. he further states there is no
clergyman nearer [insert caret] him [inserted] than seven miles & that he has but
little acquaintance with him. He states he has lived
in Hawkins County ever since the revolution, say
upward of fifty years.                 Robert / [hash mark] Hinsley [sic]
                                                             mark
       Sworn to in open court, the 2d April
1834.                                       N.B. Mitchell, Clk.
        State of Tennessee
        Hawkins County
        Circuit Court, March term 1834
              Personally appeared in open Court, William
Walling who is not a Pentioner, who was duly sworn,
after which he stated he was a private soldier in the
company commanded by Captain James Elliot
and Regt ofCol G[illegible-may be lined through] Shelby, that he was in the
battle of Kings mounrtain at the time Col Ferguson
was defeated, that he has heard the declaration of
Robert Hinsley read & conversed with him on the
[end of page]

[page 6 of 8 pages]
[Note: the previous page on the micropublication is not continued. Rather, the next page is printed, possibly even typewritten -  all but the heading are in a small script typeface similar to those on early IBM electric typewriter balls!]

                                             WAR DEPARTMENT,
                                                         Pension Office.

Sir:
 The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has
bee examined, and the papers are herewith returned. The following is a statement of
your case in a tabular form. On comparing these papersd with the following rules, and
the subjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed,
before a pension can be allowed. The notes and the regulations will shew what is
necessary to be done. These points to which your attention is more particularly directed,
you will find maked in the margin with a brace, (thus: } [hand-drawn]) You wil, when
you return your papers to thisDepartment, send this printed letter with them; and
you will by compling [sic] with this request greatly facilitate the investigation of your
claim.
________________________________________ [separator line]

[printed table follows]

[heading:] A Statement, shewing the Services of _Robert Hensley [sic - handwritten name]_
[separator line]
[column headings:]
Period when this service was rendered | Duration of the claimant's service. / Years./Months./Days./ | Rank of the claimant. |
[column headings cont.:]Name and rank of the Field officers under whome he served. | Age at present, and place of abode when he
[col. headings cont.:] entered the service. | Proof by which the declaration is supported.
[separator line]
[age and abode col.:] 45             [proof col.:] Traditions &
                               N.C.                                   witnesses.

[paragraph spanning all columns:]
The applicant claims for four tours of duty of six
months each. It was very unusual to engage for that length
oftime and is known that the militia who volunteered
to go in pursuit of Ferguson engaged [illegilble superscript over the next two words] for three [end superscript] if not
sooner discharged. An allowance can oly be made for three months during each tour making a service of one instead of
two years which is claimed. See also note [?c].
[end of tabular data]
                                      I am, respectfully,
                                                     Your obedient servant,
                                                      JAMES L. EDWARDS [typescript/print].
                                                                         Commissioner of Pensions.

[page 7 of 8 pages]

[typewritten/typed]
                                                                                           July 23, 1935.

Miss Aileen Benson         BA-J/ILL
605 East 8th Street         Robert Hansley
Chattanooga, Tennessee        S.4323

Dear Madam:
 Reference is made to your letter in which you request the
Revolutionary War records of Robert Hansley and Robert McMinn, or
McWinn, both of whom served from North Carolina in that war.

 A search of the Revolutionary War records has been made
and no claim for pension or bounty land found based upon service of
a Robert McMinn, or McWinn, who served from North Carolina. The
record of Robert Hansley is given herein as shown in the papers on
file in his claim for pension, S. 4353.  His name is shown as Hinsley,
Hensley and Hansley in said claim, but he was pensioned as Robert
Hansley.

 Robert Hansley volunteered in Sullivan County, North Carolina,
(later Tennessee) as a private in Captain George Maxwell's company,
Colonel Isaac Shelby commanding the regiment, was in the battle of
Kings Mountain, after which he went on to Salisbury, North Caolina, and
continued to serve until expiration of six months; he enlisted 1,
1781, served as private in a company of Stokes County North Carolina
militia under Captain William Cloud and Jonathan Hawley, during which
service he went to the border of South Carolina against the Indians,
length of service six months; after this, he returned to the waters on
Holston River, in Sullivan County, North Carolina, enlisted in the spying
of 1782, served as private under Lieutenant, or Captain Fulkerson, and
in Captain Elijah Chisholm's company, engaged against the Indians, also
in Captain John Blair's company at Campbell's Station His entire service
amounted to about eighteen months. [penned into margin:] I used this as his pen. was allowed for 18 mos.[end penned]
  He was allowed pension on his application executed April 1,
1834, at which time he resided in Hawkins County, Tennessee; he had
[end of page]

[page 8 of 8 pages]
resided in that county at least forty years.

 No reference was made to wife or children of the soldier, Robert
Hansley.

 In 1834, Robert McMinn, brother of the late Governor McMinn of
Tennessee, was a resident of Hawkins County, Tennessee, and stated
that he had been a neighbor of Robert Hensley for a great many years.

    Very truly yours,

    A.D. HILLER [no signature]
    Executive Assistant to the Administrator.

[in handwriting, following the typewritten portion of the page:]

Robert McMinn - a pen. of Hawkins Co. Tenn -
  served from Md- and was born in Penna [x mark]

This soldier Robert Hansley was stricken from pen. rolls,
as the papers show that the indictment of perjury
was not proved, but that he was acquitted,
we did not mention suspension of his claim. [initials one set on top of the other:] ILL
                                                                                                             MWH[?L or ?J or ?I]

                                                                                   2.

[eof - end of file S4323]

 
Note: I originally transcribed Robert's birth month as July, but in Mar 2007, Don Godfrey pointed out that Robert was born in February; this version of the transcription corrects that error. The record indicates that Robert was born 29 February 1759.
A snippet from the pension file which shows the relevant part of the pension file concerning Robert HANSLEY (HENSLEY, HENSLY) follows:
 

 

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