American AcornsPension file W.25398 (Nathaniel Oak, Athens, Vt.; widow Susan), scan 00116: David F. Lane's inquiry of 12 Sept 1923 about Seth Oak and Nathaniel Oak. Letter to the Commissioner of Pensions asking for the military records of Seth Oak (born 8 April 1733, son of Nathaniel and Tabitha Rice Oak, died at Townshend, Vt.) and of Nathaniel Oak (born 1762, second son of Seth and Elizabeth Shevally Oak, died at Athens 25 March 1830); margin note 'Negative' beside Seth.
Image · dated 12 Sep 1923 · source: U.S. National Archives (public record), supplied by the owner
Transcription
Word-for-word transcription (spellings kept; uncertain letters in brackets).
DAVID F. LANE
1126 GILL STREET
WATERTOWN, N. Y.
Sept.12,1923.
Commissioner of Pensions,
War Department, Washington,D.C.
Dear Sir:-
Can you furnish me with [overtyped deletion: “the Revolutionary War”] a certified copy of the military record of the following:
Seth Oak,born at Marlborough(then Westboro),Mass., Apbil [sic] 8,1733,son of Nathaniel and Tabitha Rice Oak. Died at Townshend,Vt., April 24,1810. Was one of a company to which Lunenburg,Vt., was chartered in 1763. Settled at Winchendon,Mass., in 1764. Served in the colonial war 1755-60. Was sergeant at Lexington alarm and quartermaster sergeant at Winter Hill. Married May 25,1759 to Elizabeth [overtyped deletion] Shevally of Stow,Mass.,and seven children were born to them,Calvin, Nathaniel,Saloma,John,Thomas,Ebenezer and Polly. He and his two sons were the original grantees of Athens,Vt., and there went in 1779. His daughter Polly was the first child born there.
[Margin beside Seth paragraph] Negative
Nathaniel Oak,born 1762 in Templeton or Harvard,Mass., second son of Seth and Elizabeth Shevally Oak. Died in Athens,Vt., March 25,1830. Served in the Revolutionary War probably enlisting several times, certainly on July 13,1780, being 18 years old and five feet seven inches tall. He was later one of the proprietors of Athens,Vt. He married Susannah Evans about 1787,who died Oct.12, 1842. Their children were Sally, Clarissa, Willard,Ebenezer,Sarah, Clarissa 2, Simeon,Nathaniel,William and Lucius.
Will pay such certification fee as is made.
Very truly yours,
[Signature] David F. Lane
[Receipt stamp] PENSION OFFICE U.S. SEP 14 1923
How it is shown: Complete page as supplied; no crop, no retouch, no search highlight.
Keep in mind: Part of pension file W.25398 (Nathaniel Oak of Athens, Vt., died 25 March 1830, married Susan Evans 1787; widow Susan Oaks). The file itself is a Confirmed record of that man. That he is the Nathaniel Oak born 1762, son of Seth Oak of Winchendon and Athens, is Likely: an inquirer's 1923 letter (scan 00116) says so and the Pension Office reply fits his 1780 service; the file never names his parents. Keep this file separate from the Chelsea pensioner's S.18534. These are the correspondent's assertions and questions, not findings; the reply is scan 00099. The 'Negative' note means no record of Seth was found by the Pension Office in 1923. Labels: Seth's parentage and Nathaniel's parentage are Likely as stated by the inquirer; the inquirer is not otherwise identified.