"State of New York
Columbia County} On this twenty-fourth day of January, one thousand eight hundred & thirty-three personally appeared before me I.W. Fairfield one of the Justices of the ? court of the city of Hudson Thode Norton a resident of the town of New Lebanon in the County of Columbia and State of New York aged sixty-nine 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 of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated viz
On the fifteenth day of September 1777 while he resided at Canaan (now New Lebanon) in the County and State aforesaid he was drafted as a militiaman in Captain Elijah Bostwick's Company in Colonel Whiting's Regiment of New York Militia and was ordered & accordingly did march with this company to Stillwater where they arrived on the day after the battle at that place that he was rationed with his regiment and company at Bemus Heights where he remained and did duty until the fifth day of October in the same year when he was taken sick & in consequence thereof was discharged & returned home after having served the term of three weeks--he recollects the time of his discharge from the fact that on his return home & on the second day after he had left the army he heard the firing of the cannon in the last engagement of the Amerian (sic) army with Burgoine (sic)--he remembers that General Gates was in command at Saratoga & that General Arnold was also there -- Captain Gideon King & Captain Filch from Canaan aforesaid were attached to the same Regiment to which declarant belonged and was with the troops when he served--
And the said declarant further says that on or about the first day of September 1778 while residing at New Lebanon aforesaid he was again drafted as a militia man
man in Captain Cady's company in which John Smith was Lieutenant. The Regiment to which he belonged was commanded by Colonel John McKinstry -- whose major's name was also McKinstry-- the company was ordered out on a tour of four weeks as was also the regiments--that he marched from Canaan aforesaid to Albany & from there to Cherry Valley where he remained in garrison until the time for which he had been ordered out with his company had expired at which time no inforements having arrived or to the ? that was reputed he was required with his company to remain on duty for two weeks longer which he did do & at the ?tion of that time the company was dismissed and the declarant returned home after a march of eight days that he was on duty from the time he found the company until it was discharged about the fifteenth of October six weeks including the time occupied on the march homeward seven weeks and one day--
That in the latter part of the month of July 1780 he engaged as a substitute for his brother Stephen Norton who had volunteered or enlisted as a private for four months service under Captain Elijah Bostwick of the New York militia--the name of the Lieutenant was Crandel--that he joined the Regiment which was commanded by Colonel Graham Lieutenant Colonel Livingstone & Major at Fishkill--from there the Regiment was ordered to Albany--to which place they proceeded by water--from Albany he marched with his regiment to Fort Edward up the Hudson where after remaining about a week he marched with his company to ? in the county of Saratoga & about twelve miles north of the springs where the said company was stationed as a guard and remained until the last of October or the first of November when this declarant was discharged with the rest of his company--and he further states that he served
in said company three months and a few days--he recollects that Colonel Warner had been at the time declarant was at Fort Edward in command at that place and that he was there severely wounded and incapacitated from duty in consequence thereof--he is confident that he served at this time as much as three months and six days
And the said declarant further says that in the month of October 1781 he together with the rest of the militia in the neighbourhood where he there resided in in (sic) the town of Canaan aforesaid were ordered out on a tour of duty to the north to repel an (sic) reputed attack from the enemy in that quarter--that he joined Captain Skinners company of militia--his lieutenant's name was (Miford?)--the company was attached to Colonel Whiting's Regiment--which owing to an indisposition of the Colonel was there commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Waterman--that he marched with his company to Bemis Heights where they remained encamped until they were dismissed which was after they had been on duty eighteen or twenty days the precise time where they were called out or dismissed the declarant does not recollect--he can only say that his term of service commenced in October and continued for the length of time above stated but not less than eighteen days Captain Elijah Bostwick was with the same service with his company at the same time--
And he further states that he was born in the month of May 1763 at Farmington in the state of Connecticut he has no record of his age -- but thinks there is one in the town of Cambridge (Connecticut)--which was ?? from Farmington aforesaid--but in whose keeping it is, he cannot say--when he was called into the service he lived in the town of Canaan aforesaid--and in that part thereof which is now New Lebanon where he now lives and has resided since the Revolutionary year--at the ? times when he entered the
service as aforesaid he was (except once when he went as substitute as before stated) called by a general order requiring the militia to turn out-- at all ? he did ? as a volunteer--he recollects the name of no other officers who were with the troops where he served nor other Regiments than those he has named -- that he never received a discharge in writing from the service -- that he is known to the Reverend Silas Churchill and Elam Tilden in his present neighbourhood who can testify to his character for veracity and their belief of his services as a soldier of the Revolution -- he hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state and and he further says that he has no documentary evidence and knows of no person other than William Lee whose testimony he can procure who can testify his service the aggregate of the different times he has served is more than five months (signed) Thode Norton
We Silas Churchill a clergyman residing in the town of New Lebanon...in the county of Columbia and state of New York and Elam Tilden residing in the same place hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Thode Norton who has subscribed to the above declaration; that we believe him to be sixty-nine years of age; that he is reputed and believed in the neighbourhood where he resides to have been a soldier in the revolution and that we concur in that opinion (signed) Silas Churchill, Elam Tilden
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