Author: James G. Brumit
When Robert Head was born on November 30, 1757, in Orange County, Virginia, his father, George, was 34 and his mother, Elizabeth, was 28. He married Martha Elder in 1785 in Surry County, North Carolina. They had 12 children in 29 years. He died on December 25, 1838, in Robertson County, Tennessee, having lived a long life of 81 years, and was buried there.
Pension Application of Robert Head R4815
Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris
State of Tennessee } May Term 1835
Robertson County}

Robert Head personally appeared before the County Court of Robertson this twelfth day of May 1835 now in session for said County, for the purpose of making a declaration in order to obtain the benefit of an act of Congress passed the 7th of June 1832 for the benefit of the Soldiers of the Revolutionary War & being duly sworn upon his oath declare: that he entered the service of the United States as a volunteer in a company commanded by Capt. Spears in the County of Surrey [sic: Surry] in the State of North Carolina for a tour of duty of three months & marched to Salisbury & joined the army of Gen’l [Griffith] Rutherford at Salisbury & marched with them to join the army of Gen’l [Horatio] Gates which they did before Gates’ defeat [Battle of Camden, 16 Aug 1780] near the hanging rock in South Carolina & during the battle he & his Company were with the baggage wagons & not in the action. the troops were then dispersed & the army was not again collected until after his term of service expired.

He thinks the campaign was in the year 1778 or 1779 but cannot recollect nor can he now recollect to what regiment his company was attached when he joined Rutherford at Salisbury. He saw Rutherford at Salisbury & that Rutherford was wounded in the battle, had his thigh broken. Was taken prisoner.

That he again entered the service of the US. As a volunteer on the 8th day of March 1780 [sic] in Surrey County in a company commanded by Capt. Benj. Humphreys [possibly Humphries] & in a Regiment commanded by Col Joseph Philips & John Shepherd was Major & that he was marched to Salisbury to guard the British prisoners & that he continued in the service until the 6th day of January when he learned that his father had died & that his mother was sick & likely to die & he employed & paid for a substitute for the balance of his tour & received from his Captain a discharge which accompanies this declaration with the signature of “C. Johnson” on it, to identify the papers. That sometime after this Gen’l Green [sic: Nathanael Greene] ordered Capt. Minor Smith to raise a company of volunteers to act as Rangers & that he entered the service as a volunteer for six months under Capt. Smith & James Blackwell was Lieutenant that he acted as such during the six months for which he enlisted & also one month in addition before he was finally discharged. He says that whilst he was acting in this service, the Legislature which sat at Hillsborough was broke up by the Tories headed by Col. Fennen [sic: David Fanning, 12 Sep 1781] & the Legislature then went to Salem & the company of Rangers was employed in scouring the country & protecting & guarding the citizens from the depredations of the British & Tories

Having served in all thirteen months. that he rec’d discharges for each tour of service & thought that all of them had been long since destroyed until accidentally he came across the one accompanying this declaration. That he has not seen the other discharges for many years. That he knows of no witnesses by whom his services can be proven & no other written evidence.

That he has now no record of his age but had many years in his possession a Bible containing a Record of the ages of his father’s family kept by him which was burnt some years since. He frequently saw his own age & he was seventy seven years old the 30th of November last. That he was born in Orange County Virginia & removed to Surrey County where he lived during the revolutionary war.

After the war he went to South Carolina & he moved frequently to different parts of North &
South Carolina & finally settled himself in Robertson County Tennessee where he has resided
the last nineteen years & still resides.

He hereby relinquishes all claims to the U. States for any services except the benefits provided by the act of June 1832 & that he is on no pension roll whatever & refers for his character to John L Hutchins & John Lamasters[?]

Robert hisXmark Head
Roan County

This is to Certify that Robert Head State of No Carolina A volunteer from Surry County North Carolina Hired A Substitute To serve his tower of Duty In the present Expedition To the Southward And is hear By Discharged Provided the said Substitute performs the same.

January ye 6 1781 th (C. Johnson) Benj’ne Humphrey Capt
Certify’d by Me
James Sheppard M’jor Comdent

NOTES:
In the discharge “Roan” should be “Rowan,” and “Comdent” means “Commandant.” The
Surname of the Captain is unclear and may be spelled “Humphries.”

On 2 Jan 1854 George Head, 59, applied for a pension as Administrator of the estate of
Robert Head, who died 25 Dec 1838. He stated that Robert Head was survived by Martha Head, formerly Martha Elder, whom he married in Surry County NC in 1785, and who died 20 Feb 1852, leaving the following surviving children in addition to himself: Frances Head, George Head, Hiram Head, John Head, Hugh Head, Sarah Ellis, and Martha Winter. The application was accompanied by a record kept by Robert Head of the births of his 13 children. The record is torn and largely illegible, but an attempt at transcription follows. Missing and illegible parts are shown as [*]:
[*]ad the son of Robert & Martha [*]as born January 23th 1786 [said to be William Head]
[*] Head was born September 8th 1788
[*] was born May 4th 1790
[*] born April 15th 1792
[*] March 14th 1794 [probably George Head]
[*] was born November 23th 179[*]
[*] was born February 8 1799
[*] was born July 24th 1802
[*] was born January 3th 1804
[*] was born March 28th 1805
[*] was born May 3th 1807
[*] Head Born February 7th 1809
[*] Jane was borne January 3th 1812