Pension Application of Arthur Conner W6733 Ellena Conner VA
State of Virginia Buckingham County
On this 20th day of December 1842 personally appeared before me a Justice of the peace in and for the County and State aforesaid Ellena Conner a resident of said county and state, aged 85 years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on her oath, make the following Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions made by the Act of Congress passed July 7th 1835, entitled an Act granting half pay and pensions to certain widows.
That she is the widow of Arthur Conner late of the said county and state, who was a Regular and
Sergeant in the Continental and militia service of Virginia in the War of the Revolution. She declares that she knows nothing personally in reguard to the services of her late husband in the war of the Revolution; except that she knew when he enlisted and that he was gone a long time at least five years that she and her late husband lived in the same neighborhood at the time he entered the service of the Revolution; though they were married subsequent to the expiration of the last period of his services she has often heard him speak of his services, and also others who served with him, and that he was in actual service a considerable length of time, was engaged in several battles and distinctly recollects the battle at Charlestown South Carolina and suffered and endured may hardships and privations, all of which she honestly believes to be correct and true. That from bodily infirmity, old age, and the consequent loss of memory she cannot call to recollection the particulars of her husbands services detailed by him in his life
time she therefore prefers to depend on the statement of competant and creditable old soldiers who served with him to any statement that she could make on the subject & the certificate herewith filed marked A signed by James Fraser dated at Charlestown 10th September 1781. that for the same reason she cannot say precisely, how long he was in actual service altogether, but suppose that he served at least five years for which length of time, she claims a pension. In support of her claim she refers to the Army Register of the period, and the accompanying certificates; She further declares, that she was married to the said Arthur Conner on the (blank)day of October 1783. That her husband the aforesaid Arthur Conner died on the 22nd day of September 1831. That she was not married to him prior to his leaving the service but the marriage took place previous to the first day of January 1794; to wit at the time above stated.
Ellena herXmark Conner
This is to Certify that Arther Connor has been regularly Exchanged for one of the One Hundred & Ninety one Continintal Prisoners as Specified in Major Edm.d Mass.bd Hyrnes [Edmund Massingbird Hyrne BLWt1478:400] Certificate Dated the 30th June Last. Charleston 10th September 1781
James Fraser/ Com. Prisoners
The affidavit of Majr Samuel Baldwin of the County of Prince Edward Va. (aged 78 years) who states that
he was raised in the same county and neighborhood with Arther Conner Deceased who died several
years ago; and that he enlisted as a Regular in the Revolutionary War under Capt John Morton [pension application S9035] about the year seventeen hundred and seventy seven or eight and served out the time for which he enlisted and returned to the same county after the expiration of his service and lived until he the said Arther Conner moved to Buckingham [signed] Samuel Baldwin
NOTES:
Edmund Massingbird Hyrne referred to in the certificate of prisoner exchange was Aide-de-Camp to Gen. Nathanael Greene. James Fraser may have been the British Captain of that name in the 76th Regiment of Foot at Charleston, where several thousand Continental soldiers were surrendered on 12 May 1780 and held until the summer of 1781. Arrangements for exchange of most of those prisoners were finalized 3 May 1781, so the "One Hundred & Ninety one Continintal Prisoners" referred to in the certificate may have been a separate group. The statement that Arther Conner was exchanged for a Continental prisoner seems to have been an error, with "for" written in place of as.
On 6 Aug 1844 Ellena Conner was said to be 86. The family register transcribed below was
certified by Edmond A. Conner of Prince Edward County VA. Meshack Boaz stated that Ellena Conner was his aunt. Elizabeth Boaz of Buckingham County stated that Arthur Conner had lived with his stepmother before entering the service in 1778, and was gone until the fall of 1782.
Those are the Children of Arther & Elenor Conner:
John Conner was born January ye 19th 1784
Edmund Nicholason Conner Was born November ye 19th 1785
Molley Conner was born January ye 18th 1788
Elenor Conner Daughter of Arther & Elenor Conner Was born December ye 13th 17[illegible: 1789]
Charles Conner Son of Arther & Elenor Conner was born December ye 27th 1791
Salley Conner Daughter of arter and Elenor Conner was Born January ye 7th Day 1794
Luke Conner son of arter and Elener Conner was born February ye 19th Day 1796
Arter Conner the son of arter connor and Elener conner was born august the 22 1798
