William Ledbetter II or Junior (1779-1855) was the youngest son and youngest child, of 11 children born unto William Ledbetter I or Senior (1740-1818) and Mary (Cheves) Ledbetter (1741-1818).
William Ledbetter II was the second of 4 direct-line Ledbetter descendants in succession named "William Ledbetter", born during more than a century period of time. These 4 direct-lineage Ledbetter descendants are declared hereinafter:
William Ledbetter I or Senior (1740-1818);
William Ledbetter II or Junior (1779-1855);
William Ledbetter III or Third (1806-1855);
William Lovejoy Ledbetter (born circa 1847).
William Ledbetter, Jr. was born on 13 September 1779 at the large William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, Chatham County, North Carolina. The riverside hamlet of Seaforth, NC, was established nearby the William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, about 8 miles east of Pittsboro (county seat town of Chatham County), in New Hope Valley (part of the Cape Fear River Basin), and about 25 miles west of Raleigh (state capital of North Carolina).
However, this rich river-bottom real estate of highly-productive farm-and-forest-land, including the William Ledbetter Farm, largely was lost for either agriculture or forestry, with construction of B. Everett Jordan Dam, Jordan Lake and Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, an extensive project of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1967-1973, covering 46,768 acres (73 square miles). Jordan Lake itself is a huge reservoir that inundates 14,000 acres (22 square miles): supplying fresh water to cities and communities, watershed flood control, swimming, boating and water-skiing recreation, fish harvesting, and wildlife conservation for various species of waterfowl, fish, mammals, and reptiles.
Circa 1800, William Ledbetter II and Sarah Mitchell were married in Chatham County, North Carolina, which marriage was officiated by Elisha Cain, J.P. (Justice of the Peace), Chatham County Courthouse, Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC. Coincidentally, this same Elisha Cain was Regimental Major of Troops for brother Coleman Ledbetter, in the Chatham County (NC) Militia Regiment, during the American War of Independence (1775-1783).
Upon 13 January 1854 in Guilford County, NC, in a legal affidavit, sworn upon his oath of veracity, William Ledbetter, Jr. made forthright statements in support of the War Widow's Pension Claim Application submitted by his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, widow of his older brother Coleman Ledbetter (deceased 5 January 1845).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr., was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Sr., was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
Among the many factual statements made, in the course of providing affidavit testimony in support of Coleman Ledbetter's American Patriot Army Military Service AND Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter's War Widow's Pension Claim, William Ledbetter, Jr., verified important information of Ledbetter Family History, including, but not limited to, the following items:
- His birthdate (13 September 1779)
- His wife Sarah's maiden name (Mitchell);
- His marriage to Sarah Mitchell;
- Their Marriage Officiator, Elisha Cain, Justice of the Peace in Chatham County, NC;
- Their 1826 change of residency from Chatham County to Guilford County, NC;
- Details of American Revolutionary War Patriot Military Service of Coleman Ledbetter.
One necessary reason for affidavit testimony by William Ledbetter, Jr., was to provide sufficient supporting evidence, in lieu of missing wartime military enlistment and honorable discharge certificates of Coleman Ledbetter, during the American War of Independence Against Great Britain (1775-1783).
In the American Army military rank of Private, Coleman Ledbetter served in the North Carolina Patriot Militia (Chatham County, NC, Regiment) for a total period of 18 months: 15 months as an Infantryman (Foot Soldier) and 3 months engaged as a Baggage Wagon Teamster. Coleman Ledbetter rendered wartime military service in the general timeframe of 1781-1783, which historically is known as the "Tory War". Despite the 19 October 1781 formal surrender of the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia, American Loyalists (Tories) maintained a campaign of homegrown terror against American Patriot civilians and military personnel, during the final 2 war years (late October, 1781 through late November, 1783).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr. was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Senior, was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
A transcript of the 13 January 1854 William Ledbetter, Jr. Affidavit provided unto the United States War Department, Veterans Bureau, Washington, DC, is presented, as follows.
"William Ledbetter, made oath that he will be 75 years of age upon the 13th of September 1854, having been born the 13th of September 1779. That he is the Brother of Coleman Ledbetter, who died in Guilford about 1845 from old age & infirmity. That Coleman was the third child out of eleven children and this affiant the youngest of the children of William Ledbetter, Senior of Chatham County in North Carolina.
"That his brother Coleman was married to Elizabeth Moore, daughter of James Moore in Chatham County about 1794, by Elisha Cain, a Justice of the Peace in Chatham County and this affiant was at home at his father's in Chatham when his brother Coleman was married & brought his wife home & he went & opened the gate for them & was at the affair.
"And afterwards this affiant married Sarah Mitchell in Chatham & said Elisha Cain also married him & his wife & said Cain is since dead. That Coleman Ledbetter had about nine children in all & he left Elizabeth Ledbetter his widow residing in Guilford & is very aged & he thinks not able to travel to Court & has never since been married. All of said children of Coleman were born in lawful wedlock.
"This affiant states that he always understood & believes that Coleman Ledbetter served a considerable time in the Revolutionary War & was with his brother-in-law Tobias Rodgers of Chatham, who has since obtained a pension as this affiant is informed.
"And affiant has often heard his brother Coleman Ledbetter & Tobias Rodgers, their brother-in-law, called & laugh about the skirmishes they had with the Tories & of changing their horses' shoes on one occasion to fool the Tories, to make them believe the horses traveled the other way & then they got round the Tories & caught them & put some of them in Hillsboro Jail.
"But affiant cannot recollect of any Battle they were in or particular place of any of the Tory skirmishes -- though they spoke of a number. Said Coleman Ledbetter removed with his family to Guilford some time before this affiant came -- and affiant removed to Guilford 27 years since; the fall of 1826. Said Coleman never received any pension, nor his widow Elizabeth any.
"Sworn to & subscribed before me
this 13th day of January 1854.
(Signed)/ William Ledbetter
(Signed)/ A. Dilworth, Justice of the Peace,
Guilford County, North Carolina"
***End of William Ledbetter Affidavit Transcript***
Supplementary Postscript
During 1990 research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, the author of this Memorial Tribute Biography, Dean Ledbetter, discovered both the 1852 War Widow's Pension Application and 1856 War Widow's Bounty Land Warrant Application of Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, elderly widow of Coleman Ledbetter, plus several supporting legal affidavits, including the 13 January 1854 Affidavit Testimony of William Ledbetter, Jr., amongst microfilmed copies of military veterans (& survivors) files, from originals archived at the United States National Archives in Washington, DC.
William Ledbetter, Junior (1779-1855)
Memorial Tribute Biography,
By author Dean Ledbetter,
updated 27 Oct 2013, 14 Dec-21 Dec 2013,
5 January 2014; 8 Nov 2018
Copyright (c) 2013-2018 by Dean Ledbetter
All Copyright Provisions Reserved (American & International).
****************************************
William Ledbetter II was the second of 4 direct-line Ledbetter descendants in succession named "William Ledbetter", born during more than a century period of time. These 4 direct-lineage Ledbetter descendants are declared hereinafter:
William Ledbetter I or Senior (1740-1818);
William Ledbetter II or Junior (1779-1855);
William Ledbetter III or Third (1806-1855);
William Lovejoy Ledbetter (born circa 1847).
William Ledbetter, Jr. was born on 13 September 1779 at the large William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, Chatham County, North Carolina. The riverside hamlet of Seaforth, NC, was established nearby the William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, about 8 miles east of Pittsboro (county seat town of Chatham County), in New Hope Valley (part of the Cape Fear River Basin), and about 25 miles west of Raleigh (state capital of North Carolina).
However, this rich river-bottom real estate of highly-productive farm-and-forest-land, including the William Ledbetter Farm, largely was lost for either agriculture or forestry, with construction of B. Everett Jordan Dam, Jordan Lake and Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, an extensive project of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1967-1973, covering 46,768 acres (73 square miles). Jordan Lake itself is a huge reservoir that inundates 14,000 acres (22 square miles): supplying fresh water to cities and communities, watershed flood control, swimming, boating and water-skiing recreation, fish harvesting, and wildlife conservation for various species of waterfowl, fish, mammals, and reptiles.
Circa 1800, William Ledbetter II and Sarah Mitchell were married in Chatham County, North Carolina, which marriage was officiated by Elisha Cain, J.P. (Justice of the Peace), Chatham County Courthouse, Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC. Coincidentally, this same Elisha Cain was Regimental Major of Troops for brother Coleman Ledbetter, in the Chatham County (NC) Militia Regiment, during the American War of Independence (1775-1783).
Upon 13 January 1854 in Guilford County, NC, in a legal affidavit, sworn upon his oath of veracity, William Ledbetter, Jr. made forthright statements in support of the War Widow's Pension Claim Application submitted by his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, widow of his older brother Coleman Ledbetter (deceased 5 January 1845).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr., was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Sr., was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
Among the many factual statements made, in the course of providing affidavit testimony in support of Coleman Ledbetter's American Patriot Army Military Service AND Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter's War Widow's Pension Claim, William Ledbetter, Jr., verified important information of Ledbetter Family History, including, but not limited to, the following items:
- His birthdate (13 September 1779)
- His wife Sarah's maiden name (Mitchell);
- His marriage to Sarah Mitchell;
- Their Marriage Officiator, Elisha Cain, Justice of the Peace in Chatham County, NC;
- Their 1826 change of residency from Chatham County to Guilford County, NC;
- Details of American Revolutionary War Patriot Military Service of Coleman Ledbetter.
One necessary reason for affidavit testimony by William Ledbetter, Jr., was to provide sufficient supporting evidence, in lieu of missing wartime military enlistment and honorable discharge certificates of Coleman Ledbetter, during the American War of Independence Against Great Britain (1775-1783).
In the American Army military rank of Private, Coleman Ledbetter served in the North Carolina Patriot Militia (Chatham County, NC, Regiment) for a total period of 18 months: 15 months as an Infantryman (Foot Soldier) and 3 months engaged as a Baggage Wagon Teamster. Coleman Ledbetter rendered wartime military service in the general timeframe of 1781-1783, which historically is known as the "Tory War". Despite the 19 October 1781 formal surrender of the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia, American Loyalists (Tories) maintained a campaign of homegrown terror against American Patriot civilians and military personnel, during the final 2 war years (late October, 1781 through late November, 1783).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr. was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Senior, was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
A transcript of the 13 January 1854 William Ledbetter, Jr. Affidavit provided unto the United States War Department, Veterans Bureau, Washington, DC, is presented, as follows.
"William Ledbetter, made oath that he will be 75 years of age upon the 13th of September 1854, having been born the 13th of September 1779. That he is the Brother of Coleman Ledbetter, who died in Guilford about 1845 from old age & infirmity. That Coleman was the third child out of eleven children and this affiant the youngest of the children of William Ledbetter, Senior of Chatham County in North Carolina.
"That his brother Coleman was married to Elizabeth Moore, daughter of James Moore in Chatham County about 1794, by Elisha Cain, a Justice of the Peace in Chatham County and this affiant was at home at his father's in Chatham when his brother Coleman was married & brought his wife home & he went & opened the gate for them & was at the affair.
"And afterwards this affiant married Sarah Mitchell in Chatham & said Elisha Cain also married him & his wife & said Cain is since dead. That Coleman Ledbetter had about nine children in all & he left Elizabeth Ledbetter his widow residing in Guilford & is very aged & he thinks not able to travel to Court & has never since been married. All of said children of Coleman were born in lawful wedlock.
"This affiant states that he always understood & believes that Coleman Ledbetter served a considerable time in the Revolutionary War & was with his brother-in-law Tobias Rodgers of Chatham, who has since obtained a pension as this affiant is informed.
"And affiant has often heard his brother Coleman Ledbetter & Tobias Rodgers, their brother-in-law, called & laugh about the skirmishes they had with the Tories & of changing their horses' shoes on one occasion to fool the Tories, to make them believe the horses traveled the other way & then they got round the Tories & caught them & put some of them in Hillsboro Jail.
"But affiant cannot recollect of any Battle they were in or particular place of any of the Tory skirmishes -- though they spoke of a number. Said Coleman Ledbetter removed with his family to Guilford some time before this affiant came -- and affiant removed to Guilford 27 years since; the fall of 1826. Said Coleman never received any pension, nor his widow Elizabeth any.
"Sworn to & subscribed before me
this 13th day of January 1854.
(Signed)/ William Ledbetter
(Signed)/ A. Dilworth, Justice of the Peace,
Guilford County, North Carolina"
***End of William Ledbetter Affidavit Transcript***
Supplementary Postscript
During 1990 research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, the author of this Memorial Tribute Biography, Dean Ledbetter, discovered both the 1852 War Widow's Pension Application and 1856 War Widow's Bounty Land Warrant Application of Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, elderly widow of Coleman Ledbetter, plus several supporting legal affidavits, including the 13 January 1854 Affidavit Testimony of William Ledbetter, Jr., amongst microfilmed copies of military veterans (& survivors) files, from originals archived at the United States National Archives in Washington, DC.
William Ledbetter, Junior (1779-1855)
Memorial Tribute Biography,
By author Dean Ledbetter,
updated 27 Oct 2013, 14 Dec-21 Dec 2013,
5 January 2014; 8 Nov 2018
Copyright (c) 2013-2018 by Dean Ledbetter
All Copyright Provisions Reserved (American & International).
****************************************
William Ledbetter II or Junior (1779-1855) was the youngest son and youngest child, of 11 children born unto William Ledbetter I or Senior (1740-1818) and Mary (Cheves) Ledbetter (1741-1818).
William Ledbetter II was the second of 4 direct-line Ledbetter descendants in succession named "William Ledbetter", born during more than a century period of time. These 4 direct-lineage Ledbetter descendants are declared hereinafter:
William Ledbetter I or Senior (1740-1818);
William Ledbetter II or Junior (1779-1855);
William Ledbetter III or Third (1806-1855);
William Lovejoy Ledbetter (born circa 1847).
William Ledbetter, Jr. was born on 13 September 1779 at the large William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, Chatham County, North Carolina. The riverside hamlet of Seaforth, NC, was established nearby the William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, about 8 miles east of Pittsboro (county seat town of Chatham County), in New Hope Valley (part of the Cape Fear River Basin), and about 25 miles west of Raleigh (state capital of North Carolina).
However, this rich river-bottom real estate of highly-productive farm-and-forest-land, including the William Ledbetter Farm, largely was lost for either agriculture or forestry, with construction of B. Everett Jordan Dam, Jordan Lake and Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, an extensive project of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1967-1973, covering 46,768 acres (73 square miles). Jordan Lake itself is a huge reservoir that inundates 14,000 acres (22 square miles): supplying fresh water to cities and communities, watershed flood control, swimming, boating and water-skiing recreation, fish harvesting, and wildlife conservation for various species of waterfowl, fish, mammals, and reptiles.
Circa 1800, William Ledbetter II and Sarah Mitchell were married in Chatham County, North Carolina, which marriage was officiated by Elisha Cain, J.P. (Justice of the Peace), Chatham County Courthouse, Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC. Coincidentally, this same Elisha Cain was Regimental Major of Troops for brother Coleman Ledbetter, in the Chatham County (NC) Militia Regiment, during the American War of Independence (1775-1783).
Upon 13 January 1854 in Guilford County, NC, in a legal affidavit, sworn upon his oath of veracity, William Ledbetter, Jr. made forthright statements in support of the War Widow's Pension Claim Application submitted by his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, widow of his older brother Coleman Ledbetter (deceased 5 January 1845).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr., was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Sr., was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
Among the many factual statements made, in the course of providing affidavit testimony in support of Coleman Ledbetter's American Patriot Army Military Service AND Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter's War Widow's Pension Claim, William Ledbetter, Jr., verified important information of Ledbetter Family History, including, but not limited to, the following items:
- His birthdate (13 September 1779)
- His wife Sarah's maiden name (Mitchell);
- His marriage to Sarah Mitchell;
- Their Marriage Officiator, Elisha Cain, Justice of the Peace in Chatham County, NC;
- Their 1826 change of residency from Chatham County to Guilford County, NC;
- Details of American Revolutionary War Patriot Military Service of Coleman Ledbetter.
One necessary reason for affidavit testimony by William Ledbetter, Jr., was to provide sufficient supporting evidence, in lieu of missing wartime military enlistment and honorable discharge certificates of Coleman Ledbetter, during the American War of Independence Against Great Britain (1775-1783).
In the American Army military rank of Private, Coleman Ledbetter served in the North Carolina Patriot Militia (Chatham County, NC, Regiment) for a total period of 18 months: 15 months as an Infantryman (Foot Soldier) and 3 months engaged as a Baggage Wagon Teamster. Coleman Ledbetter rendered wartime military service in the general timeframe of 1781-1783, which historically is known as the "Tory War". Despite the 19 October 1781 formal surrender of the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia, American Loyalists (Tories) maintained a campaign of homegrown terror against American Patriot civilians and military personnel, during the final 2 war years (late October, 1781 through late November, 1783).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr. was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Senior, was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
A transcript of the 13 January 1854 William Ledbetter, Jr. Affidavit provided unto the United States War Department, Veterans Bureau, Washington, DC, is presented, as follows.
"William Ledbetter, made oath that he will be 75 years of age upon the 13th of September 1854, having been born the 13th of September 1779. That he is the Brother of Coleman Ledbetter, who died in Guilford about 1845 from old age & infirmity. That Coleman was the third child out of eleven children and this affiant the youngest of the children of William Ledbetter, Senior of Chatham County in North Carolina.
"That his brother Coleman was married to Elizabeth Moore, daughter of James Moore in Chatham County about 1794, by Elisha Cain, a Justice of the Peace in Chatham County and this affiant was at home at his father's in Chatham when his brother Coleman was married & brought his wife home & he went & opened the gate for them & was at the affair.
"And afterwards this affiant married Sarah Mitchell in Chatham & said Elisha Cain also married him & his wife & said Cain is since dead. That Coleman Ledbetter had about nine children in all & he left Elizabeth Ledbetter his widow residing in Guilford & is very aged & he thinks not able to travel to Court & has never since been married. All of said children of Coleman were born in lawful wedlock.
"This affiant states that he always understood & believes that Coleman Ledbetter served a considerable time in the Revolutionary War & was with his brother-in-law Tobias Rodgers of Chatham, who has since obtained a pension as this affiant is informed.
"And affiant has often heard his brother Coleman Ledbetter & Tobias Rodgers, their brother-in-law, called & laugh about the skirmishes they had with the Tories & of changing their horses' shoes on one occasion to fool the Tories, to make them believe the horses traveled the other way & then they got round the Tories & caught them & put some of them in Hillsboro Jail.
"But affiant cannot recollect of any Battle they were in or particular place of any of the Tory skirmishes -- though they spoke of a number. Said Coleman Ledbetter removed with his family to Guilford some time before this affiant came -- and affiant removed to Guilford 27 years since; the fall of 1826. Said Coleman never received any pension, nor his widow Elizabeth any.
"Sworn to & subscribed before me
this 13th day of January 1854.
(Signed)/ William Ledbetter
(Signed)/ A. Dilworth, Justice of the Peace,
Guilford County, North Carolina"
***End of William Ledbetter Affidavit Transcript***
Supplementary Postscript
During 1990 research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, the author of this Memorial Tribute Biography, Dean Ledbetter, discovered both the 1852 War Widow's Pension Application and 1856 War Widow's Bounty Land Warrant Application of Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, elderly widow of Coleman Ledbetter, plus several supporting legal affidavits, including the 13 January 1854 Affidavit Testimony of William Ledbetter, Jr., amongst microfilmed copies of military veterans (& survivors) files, from originals archived at the United States National Archives in Washington, DC.
William Ledbetter, Junior (1779-1855)
Memorial Tribute Biography,
By author Dean Ledbetter,
updated 27 Oct 2013, 14 Dec-21 Dec 2013,
5 January 2014; 8 Nov 2018
Copyright (c) 2013-2018 by Dean Ledbetter
All Copyright Provisions Reserved (American & International).
****************************************
William Ledbetter II was the second of 4 direct-line Ledbetter descendants in succession named "William Ledbetter", born during more than a century period of time. These 4 direct-lineage Ledbetter descendants are declared hereinafter:
William Ledbetter I or Senior (1740-1818);
William Ledbetter II or Junior (1779-1855);
William Ledbetter III or Third (1806-1855);
William Lovejoy Ledbetter (born circa 1847).
William Ledbetter, Jr. was born on 13 September 1779 at the large William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, Chatham County, North Carolina. The riverside hamlet of Seaforth, NC, was established nearby the William Ledbetter Farm in New Hope Township, about 8 miles east of Pittsboro (county seat town of Chatham County), in New Hope Valley (part of the Cape Fear River Basin), and about 25 miles west of Raleigh (state capital of North Carolina).
However, this rich river-bottom real estate of highly-productive farm-and-forest-land, including the William Ledbetter Farm, largely was lost for either agriculture or forestry, with construction of B. Everett Jordan Dam, Jordan Lake and Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, an extensive project of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1967-1973, covering 46,768 acres (73 square miles). Jordan Lake itself is a huge reservoir that inundates 14,000 acres (22 square miles): supplying fresh water to cities and communities, watershed flood control, swimming, boating and water-skiing recreation, fish harvesting, and wildlife conservation for various species of waterfowl, fish, mammals, and reptiles.
Circa 1800, William Ledbetter II and Sarah Mitchell were married in Chatham County, North Carolina, which marriage was officiated by Elisha Cain, J.P. (Justice of the Peace), Chatham County Courthouse, Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC. Coincidentally, this same Elisha Cain was Regimental Major of Troops for brother Coleman Ledbetter, in the Chatham County (NC) Militia Regiment, during the American War of Independence (1775-1783).
Upon 13 January 1854 in Guilford County, NC, in a legal affidavit, sworn upon his oath of veracity, William Ledbetter, Jr. made forthright statements in support of the War Widow's Pension Claim Application submitted by his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, widow of his older brother Coleman Ledbetter (deceased 5 January 1845).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr., was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Sr., was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
Among the many factual statements made, in the course of providing affidavit testimony in support of Coleman Ledbetter's American Patriot Army Military Service AND Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter's War Widow's Pension Claim, William Ledbetter, Jr., verified important information of Ledbetter Family History, including, but not limited to, the following items:
- His birthdate (13 September 1779)
- His wife Sarah's maiden name (Mitchell);
- His marriage to Sarah Mitchell;
- Their Marriage Officiator, Elisha Cain, Justice of the Peace in Chatham County, NC;
- Their 1826 change of residency from Chatham County to Guilford County, NC;
- Details of American Revolutionary War Patriot Military Service of Coleman Ledbetter.
One necessary reason for affidavit testimony by William Ledbetter, Jr., was to provide sufficient supporting evidence, in lieu of missing wartime military enlistment and honorable discharge certificates of Coleman Ledbetter, during the American War of Independence Against Great Britain (1775-1783).
In the American Army military rank of Private, Coleman Ledbetter served in the North Carolina Patriot Militia (Chatham County, NC, Regiment) for a total period of 18 months: 15 months as an Infantryman (Foot Soldier) and 3 months engaged as a Baggage Wagon Teamster. Coleman Ledbetter rendered wartime military service in the general timeframe of 1781-1783, which historically is known as the "Tory War". Despite the 19 October 1781 formal surrender of the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia, American Loyalists (Tories) maintained a campaign of homegrown terror against American Patriot civilians and military personnel, during the final 2 war years (late October, 1781 through late November, 1783).
This voluntary statement of facts under oath by William Ledbetter, Jr. was one of several attempts (by family, friends and neighbors) providing corroborative testimony, to help overcome a significant legal hurdle: unfortunate loss of Coleman Ledbetter's American Army wartime military service documents, which were destroyed ("burnt") some years prior, when the house of his father, William Ledbetter, Senior, was "consumed by fire" in Chatham County, NC.
A transcript of the 13 January 1854 William Ledbetter, Jr. Affidavit provided unto the United States War Department, Veterans Bureau, Washington, DC, is presented, as follows.
"William Ledbetter, made oath that he will be 75 years of age upon the 13th of September 1854, having been born the 13th of September 1779. That he is the Brother of Coleman Ledbetter, who died in Guilford about 1845 from old age & infirmity. That Coleman was the third child out of eleven children and this affiant the youngest of the children of William Ledbetter, Senior of Chatham County in North Carolina.
"That his brother Coleman was married to Elizabeth Moore, daughter of James Moore in Chatham County about 1794, by Elisha Cain, a Justice of the Peace in Chatham County and this affiant was at home at his father's in Chatham when his brother Coleman was married & brought his wife home & he went & opened the gate for them & was at the affair.
"And afterwards this affiant married Sarah Mitchell in Chatham & said Elisha Cain also married him & his wife & said Cain is since dead. That Coleman Ledbetter had about nine children in all & he left Elizabeth Ledbetter his widow residing in Guilford & is very aged & he thinks not able to travel to Court & has never since been married. All of said children of Coleman were born in lawful wedlock.
"This affiant states that he always understood & believes that Coleman Ledbetter served a considerable time in the Revolutionary War & was with his brother-in-law Tobias Rodgers of Chatham, who has since obtained a pension as this affiant is informed.
"And affiant has often heard his brother Coleman Ledbetter & Tobias Rodgers, their brother-in-law, called & laugh about the skirmishes they had with the Tories & of changing their horses' shoes on one occasion to fool the Tories, to make them believe the horses traveled the other way & then they got round the Tories & caught them & put some of them in Hillsboro Jail.
"But affiant cannot recollect of any Battle they were in or particular place of any of the Tory skirmishes -- though they spoke of a number. Said Coleman Ledbetter removed with his family to Guilford some time before this affiant came -- and affiant removed to Guilford 27 years since; the fall of 1826. Said Coleman never received any pension, nor his widow Elizabeth any.
"Sworn to & subscribed before me
this 13th day of January 1854.
(Signed)/ William Ledbetter
(Signed)/ A. Dilworth, Justice of the Peace,
Guilford County, North Carolina"
***End of William Ledbetter Affidavit Transcript***
Supplementary Postscript
During 1990 research at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, the author of this Memorial Tribute Biography, Dean Ledbetter, discovered both the 1852 War Widow's Pension Application and 1856 War Widow's Bounty Land Warrant Application of Elizabeth Ann (Moore) Ledbetter, elderly widow of Coleman Ledbetter, plus several supporting legal affidavits, including the 13 January 1854 Affidavit Testimony of William Ledbetter, Jr., amongst microfilmed copies of military veterans (& survivors) files, from originals archived at the United States National Archives in Washington, DC.
William Ledbetter, Junior (1779-1855)
Memorial Tribute Biography,
By author Dean Ledbetter,
updated 27 Oct 2013, 14 Dec-21 Dec 2013,
5 January 2014; 8 Nov 2018
Copyright (c) 2013-2018 by Dean Ledbetter
All Copyright Provisions Reserved (American & International).
****************************************
Gravesite Details
Gravesite of William Ledbetter II or Jr. (1779--1855), became fully submerged between 1973-1983, with the creation & filling of B. Everett Jordan Lake in Chatham County, North Carolina.
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