- A series of posts about our family's Revolutionary War soldiers -
250 Years; 1776 - 2026
Our Family was there, from the Beginning
Our family had many branches living in the American Colonies, before the United States were formed. In Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina my great grandfathers & great uncles left their farms and their families to break away from British rule. They were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. We can proudly know that our family was there in those early days to help ensure our independence.
Richard Dillon
7 Oct 1745 Norfolk, Virginia - 7 Oct 1833 Mississippi
Son of James Theopilous Dillon & Mary; Husband of Anne Lawrence
My 5x great grandfather
Soldier in North Carolina Militia; served onboard privateer ‘Greyhound’ & Prisoner of War
Richard Dillon, Revolutionary War soldier, was born 7 October 1745 in Norfolk in the Virginia Colony[i] and became an apprentice to a cooper when he was 12 years old. He was bound to Christopher Harrison until he turned 21 as he was taught the business of being a cooper.[ii] The prevalent theory is Richard’s father died and therefore he was bound as an apprentice to learn a trade and support himself.
Richard moved on to Bertie County, North Carolina where he witnessed a will in May 1777.[iii] By the time Richard lived in the county it already had a long history.
By the start of the American Revolution, Bertie County had undergone two centuries of change. It had evolved from the tranquil home of the Meherrin and Tuscarora to a thriving English colony with large prosperous tobacco plantations worked by thousands of African, Native Americans, and mixed-blood slaves. It had developed lucrative trading ties with its neighbors Virginia and South Carolina, as well as intercolonial and international trade with New England, Britain, and the British Caribbean. By 1774, Bertie County was one of the most prosperous counties in North Carolina. It had benefited greatly from being adjacent to Edenton, the colonial capital, and from serving as home for five colonial governors who guided the colony through difficult times.[iv]
Richard may have become an ancestor whose life’s story faded with time as has happened with many men of that era. However, an important document survives which details his life, especially his military service. His pension application survives.
On 26 August 1776 the Continental Congress enacted the first pension law which gave benefits to any officer, soldier or sailor who had lost a limb in battle or who was so disabled in service that rendered him unable to earn a living. At that time the Congress actually had no money and relied on the states to give money to the veterans. Over the years pension benefits were expanded to include more veterans. On 7 June 1832 Congress extended those benefits more widely than previously. This act provided for full pay for life for all officers and enlisted men who served at least 2 years in the Continental Line, the state troops or militia, the navy or marines. Men who served less than 2 years but at least 6 months were granted pensions of less than full pay. Almost 28,000 veterans claimed pensions under this 1832 act. One of the veterans who traveled to his local courthouse to apply for a pension was 87-year-old Richard Dillon. Veterans or their widows were required to file applications detailing their military service and other information about themselves and their families. Most of the early documents were destroyed by fire in Washington, D. C. Later documents survive and are protected at the National Archives.[v] Richard Dillon’s original application with his signature is preserved there for the future and the digital image is available for anyone to view.
Richard Dillon married Anne Lawrence, daughter of Humphrey Lawrence and Ann Ashley. Their children were: Joanna (Dillon) Smith, Nancy Ann (Dillon) Stallings, Lawrence Dillon, Clarkston Dillon, Willis D. Dillon, Mary (Dillon) Morris, Theopilous Dillon, Clarissa Clara (Dillon) Smith and Sarah (Dillon) Graves.[vi]
Richard’s pension application clearly shows his early residence in Bertie County, North Carolina. Court records also give evidence of his life there. In August 1785 Richard and Anne sold a tract of land in Bertie County to Benjamin Terlinton.[vii] In February 1787 William Billips, William Cook and Richard Dillon were appointed “searchers in Capt. Ashburn’s District.”[viii] In the same month Frederick James was bound to Richard “to learn the trade of a Cooper.”[ix]In November 1789 Richard and Anne sold another piece of land. They sold this land to Andrew Stanton.[x]
The family next lived in the Barnwell District of South Carolina, moving there about 1790.[xi] The 1800 census report shows Richard in Barnwell District with six family members and six slaves.[xii]
By 1810 Dillon was a resident of Amite County (listed in the 1810 Census for that year). In that same year he obtained a land g rant in Marion County in a portion of the county that later became Pike County. This was probably the land that became known as ‘Dillon’s Bridge’.[xiii]
At the time of the War of 1812 they were in Mississippi. Richard’s sons, Clarkston, Theopilous and Willis D., enlisted in the Mississippi Territory Militia on 3 January 1815 and served until April of the same year.[xiv] The 1820 census showed Richard with several family members and 13 slaves. His sons, Lawrence Dillon, Clarkston Dillon and Willis D. Dillon lived close by.[xv]
Richard Dillon died 7 October 1833 and is buried in the Smith Cemetery in Dillontown, Mississippi.[xvi] After his death his sons, Lawrence and Willis settled his estate as evidenced by a newspaper notice.
Letters testamentary having been granted to the undersigned last Nov’r. term of the Probate Court of Pike County, on the estate of Richard Dillon, late of said county deceased – Notice is herby given to all those having claims against said estate, to present them, duly authenticated, to the undersigned, within the time prescribed by law, or they will be barred. Willis Dillon, Lawrence Dillon.[xvii]
#2 Captain John Kennington, Camden District Regiment, South Carolina Militia
#3 Sergeant John Brumfield, Patriot & Spy South Carolina Militia
#4 Charles Brumfield, Gave Patriotic Service
#5 Captain Johannes Ritter, Sr., Northampton Co., PA Militia
#6 Lt. Moses Hollis, Lieutenant in the South Carolina Militia
Read more about our family's pioneers & patriots.
[i] Revolutionary War Pensions and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA, Pension #R2959, Fold3 (fold3.com:accessed November 2017) Richard Dillon.
[ii] Haun, Weynette Parks, Bertie County North Carolina County Court Minutes 1740 thru 1743; 1758 thru 1762. Book II (North Carolina: 1977).
[iii] Almasy, Sandra L. Bertie County, North Carolina Wills 1761 – 1780 (Joliet, Illinois: Kensington Glen Publishing, 1990) 124.
[iv] Smallwood, Arwin D., Bertie County: An Eastern Carolina History (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2002) 67.
[v] Graves, Will. An Overview of Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Legislation and the Southern Campaigns Pension Transcription Project; digital image (revwarapps.org: accessed November 2017).
[vi] Conerly, Luke War, Source Records from Pike County, Mississippi, 1798 – 1910 (SC: Southern Historical Press, 1989) 117-119.
[vii] Haun, Weynette Parks. Bertie County North Carolina County Court Minutes 1781 thru 1787. Book V (Durham, North Carolina: 1982) 81.
[viii] Haun, Weynette Parks. Bertie County North Carolina County Court Minutes 1781 thru 1787. Book V (Durham, North Carolina: 1982) 123.
[ix] Haun, Weynette Parks. Bertie County North Carolina County Court Minutes 1781 thru 1787. Book V (Durham, North Carolina: 1982) 126.
[x] Haun, Weynette Parks. Bertie County North Carolina County Court Minutes 1788 thru 1792. Book VI (Durham, North Carolina: 1982) 46.
[xi] Revolutionary War Pensions and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA, Pension #R2959, Fold3 (fold3.com:accessed November 2017) Richard Dillon.
[xii] 1800 US Census, SC, Barnwell District; digital image, Ancestry (ancestr.com: accessed November 2017) Richard Dillon.
[xiii] Conerly, Luke Ward and E. Russ Williams Jr., Source Records of Pike/Walthall Counties Mississippi, 1798-1910 (Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1989) 117.
[xiv] Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served During the War of 1812 in Organizations from the Territory of Mississippi; NARA; Fold3 (fold3.com:accessed Aug 2017).
[xv] 1820 US Census, MS, Pike; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed November 2017) Richard, Lawrence, Clarkston and Willis Dillon.
[xvi] US Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1963; March 1957; Old Smith Cemetery, Dillontown, MS; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed November 2017) Richard Dillon.
[xvii] Notice. (Jackson, MS: The Weekly Mississippian, 31 Jan. 1834) 4; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed January 2018.
State of Mississippi, Pike County. On the 22nd day of April 1833 personally appeared in open Court before the Honorable Robert Love, Judge of the Probate Court now sitting. Richard Dillon a resident of Pike County, State of Mississippi, aged 87 years six months and some days who being duly sworn according to the 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, states that he was drafted under Captain John Faulk in Bertie County, North Carolina, marched from thence to Northwest River Bridge in the month of March, next to headquarters and placed under Colonel Bluntin Maginnis, but has no recollection of the names of any of the subaltern officers nor their places of residence, was also commanded by General Gregory Cloissiant himself, resided when drafted near Edenton Sound Bertie County, North Carolina, claimant entered the service in the year 1781 served in one battle under Gregory at the North West River Bridge and served one three months tour under him, received his discharge and returned home, Afterwards in the summer of 1781. Enlisted on Board of Privateer Greyhound commanded by Captain Saml Butler and remained on Board until he was taken prisoner by Frigate Baloosa bearing 36 guns and commanded by Captain Kennedy a Scotsman, and has no particular recollection of the length of time he was a Prisoner of War but as well as he recollects nine months, and that parolled upon honor, can't recollect of any man living who can prove the services here referred to, has no documentary evidence at all, and herby relinquishes any claim whatsoever to a pension of annuity except the present, and declares that my name is not on the pension roll of any agency in the state.
Question: Where and what year were you born? A: In the State of Virginia, Norfolk County, on the 7th day of October 1745 as appears from the record of my father and the information of my mother.
Question: Have you any record of your age and where is it? A: In my Bible at home a copy from my father's record, as informed of my mother.
Question: Where were you living when called into service? A: In Bertie County, North Carolina on Edenton Sound.
Question: Where have you lived since, and where do you live now? A: I moved from North Carolina in the year 1790 from Bertie County, North Carolina to Barnesville District in South Carolina and remained there until the 20th of March 1807 and moved from there to Mississippi in Amite County, where I remained about three years, then I moved into Marion County, now Pike County, Mississippi, and have been there ever since.
Question: How were you called into the service? Were you drafted? A: I was drafted as above stated.
Question: Did you receive a discharge from the service? If so, by whom was it issued? What became of it?
A: I received an honorable and written discharge from General Gregery, kept for a number of years, but it has long since been lost. I can refer to my neighbors Reverend Willis Magee and J. W. Y. McNables Esg., Peter Quin, and to many others who can and will certify to my character, veracity, properly sworn to and subscribed to in open court the 22nd day of April 1833.
(Signed) Richard Dillon Jno. Y. McNabb, Clerk
Revolutionary War Pensions and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, NARA, Pension #R2959, Fold3 (fold3.com:accessed November 2017) Richard Dillon.
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