Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Amherst County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1820-1821. Local government records collection, Amherst County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These items came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Amherst County.

Historical Information

Amherst County was named for Major General Jeffery Amherst, British commander in North America during the latter part of the French and Indian War and governor of Virginia from 1759 to 1768. It was formed from Albemarle County in 1761. Islands in the Fluvanna (now the James) River were added in 1770. The county seat is Amherst.

Scope and Content

Amherst County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1820-1821, record the declarations of individuals seeking to obtain Revolutionary War pensions under an acts of Congress passed 1818 March 18 and 1820 May 1. The applicants present detailed testimony of their time of service during the Revolutionary War. Information found in the Declarations include date and location applicants entered into service, names of military companies they served in, names of military commanders they served under, names of fellow soldiers they served with, length of service, their age, and their place of birth. The predominant portion of the declarations are narratives of their tours of duty during the Revolutionary War with emphasis on battles they fought. The declarations also include affidavits from witnesses who could verify information provided by applicants.

Arrangement

Chronological and then alphabetical by surname of pension applicant within each month.

Related Material

Additional Amherst County Military and Pension Records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Amherst County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Military pensions -- Virginia -- Amherst County
• Veterans -- Virginia -- Amherst County

Geographical Names:

• Amherst County -- History.
• United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
• Virginia -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783

Genre and Form Terms:

• Affidavits -- Virginia -- Amherst County
• Declarations -- Virginia -- Amherst County
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Amherst County

Adjunct Descriptive Data