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James Secor

There is information on James Secor at the site Heritage Quest Online:

http://www.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/index

The database of interest is Revolutionary War Era Pension & Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. For James, the reference is:

Series: M805, Roll 724, Image 334, File S15227, Pages 1 to 8

Starting on Page 4, James tells his story in applying for a Revolutionary War Pension:

"Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832.

State of New York
Onondaga County: On this 26th day of September, 1832 personally appeared before Daniel Moseley Vice Chancellor at a Court of Chancery sitting at Onondaga James Secor, a resident of the town of Salina in said county & state aforesaid aged eighty seven 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 dated June 7th 1832.

That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated

That he was residing at Smith's Clove in the County of Orange & state aforesaid when hostilities commenced at & near the city of New York in 1776. That about the 1st of September at Smith's Clove in the year last aforesaid he was called out to guard Fort Montgomery in the state aforesaid under the command of Colonel Odell & in the company commanded by Captain Francis Smith. [Morris?] [Lawrence?] & Enos Kimball were sergeants in the company. Isaac [Lawrence?] & Thomas Danforth were corporals. We were called out three times to Fort Montgomery during said autumn under Col Odell & Capt Smith, but deponent thinks that the same non-commissioned officers were not there every time. At one of said three times this deponent was in the service aforesaid as much as two weeks & at each of the other two times a week each, making about a month that he lay at Fort Montgomery. On or about the 12th day of November of that year, deponent was again called into the service of the United States from his aforesaid residence under the command of Col McCrokery. His given name was commonly called Alek. The company was commanded by the aforesaid Capt Smith. [Lawrence?] & Danforth before mentioned were sergeants on this expedition. We mustered at the old Court house at the place called the New City & marched by the way of New Hempsted to [?], from that place to Ramapos, after having staid nearly a week at [?] & quartered in the meeting house. We lay at Ramapos about 6 miles above Hackensack & guarded the pass to the iron works of Ringwood, Long Pond & [?] toiling against the incursions of the enemy. We were discharged on or about the 11th day of January the next thereafter. This deponent on or about the 1st day of March, in the year 1777 went to reside at Long Pond works & continued there for a year & 11 months, & during all that time was a minute man equipped & ready for the public service at any moment under General [Haskins?]. In February in the year 1779 this deponent removed to Haverstraw in the County (then Orange, now Rockland) & was called out, he thinks, as much as 6 or 7 times, in the service of the United States during that year. The general place of muster was at the residence of Col Burns above the Haverstraw landing about 2 miles. These times were generally a week each, & one was two weeks. The first time in 1779 we were called out about the 1st of June. The last time that year that we were called out was late in the autumn & after the snow had fallen about 4 inches deep. Colonel Gilbert Cooper commanded the Regiment & Capt Garret Acker the company. [Richard?] Van [Howter?], [Henry?] Van [Howter?], Peter Van [Howter?], Garret [Servant?], John Osborne & William Osborne served in the company. This deponent believes that he served during the year 1779 under the officers last mentioned as much as two months. In the years 1780 & 1781 this deponent was often called into the service of the United States, in the year 1780 seven or eight times, & in the year 1781, he thinks, 4 times. The first time in 1780 was after the weather was getting warm. The first time in 1781 was after the first of August as he thinks. The length of time that they were kept out as in 1779, before stated, was generally a week. Col Cooper & Capt Acker held their respective stations of command over us, as aforesaid, during the years 1780 & 1781 as in the preceding year, while we were in the public service. We were stationed along the Hudson River at different points, from Stoney Point down at Smiths Mills, Sufferns Forge, & Short Clove, in order to watch the motions of the enemy's shipping, & prevent their landing This deponent believes that he was in the service of the United States during the years 1780 & 1781 about three months. He was never in any battle. His terms of service were by draft & he never served by enlistment as a volunteer or substitute. He was at the end of each term of service regularly & honorably discharged. The Captains gave us, at the end of the different terms of our service, written permission papers to go home, none of which, that belonged to this deponent, are now in existence.

He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, & declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state. This deponent was born in the now town of New Hempsted & county of Orange now Rockland aforesaid on the 29th day of March in the year 1745. He has a record of his age in his family in Salina aforesaid. This deponent also is confident that his age is entered on the Church book of the Presbyterian Society of the town of Clarkstown in the now County of Rockland aforesaid. This deponent continued to reside in the [original?] township of New Hempsted aforesaid until about 1805 when he removed to Newfoundland [?] in the town & county of Morris & state of New Jersey. This deponent lived in Newfoundland aforesaid till [1808?] when he removed back to Haverstraw & lived about a year, then removed to the town & county of Onondaga & lived there till within a few months since, when he removed into the adjacent town of Salina, his present residence. He is acquainted with James Geddes, James B [?], Squire [?], Stephen Taylor, Peter Johnson, William [?], & Joseph [?], each of whom can testify as to this deponent's reputation for veracity, & their belief of his service as a soldier of the revolution.

                                                                                                                                                                                 his
                                                                                                                                                                        James X Secor
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Subscribed & sworn this 26 Septer 1832

Daniel Moseley Circuit Judge & Vice Chancellor"

James's submission was accepted and he did receive a pension, though there is no indication of how long he received it.

James gives us his date of birth as March 29, 1745, and he states that he was born in the "now town of New Hempsted". According to http://www.rootsweb.com/~nygenweb/places/names.htm, Kakiat became New Hempstead. The 1790 census shows two households headed by James Secor in Haverstraw, Orange County, NY. One of them contained one male over 16, four males under 16, and seven females. The other contained two males over 16, two males under 16, and five females.

The information that I can see in the Ancestry family trees indicates that this James Secor was the son of James and Jemima (Coles) Secor, with James the son of James/Jacques and Marianne (Revaux) Secord, and James/Jacques the son of James/Jacques and Anne (Terrier) Sicard, with this James/Jacques the son of Ambroise Sicard the immigrant. I have not attempted to confirm this information.