North Carolina Revolutionary Army Accounts Secretary of State, Treasurer's & Comptroller's papers by Weynette Parks Haun Published Durham, N.C. : W.P. Haun, c1988. Specie Certificates were issued to persons having claims agains the State by the district boards of auditors, the county commissioners of specific taxes, and the commisioners appointed to settle the claims of the continental soldiers. Certificates were issued for both military service and supplies furnished. They stated the amount due the claimant in specie, and bore interest. The State redeemed these certificates by several methods, one of which was the opening for entry of the western lands (now Tennessee). Westerm lands were opened to the citizens of the State for settlement, and title to the land was obtained by entering the lands with John Armstrong, entry taker at Hillsborough, having the lands surveyed, returning the survey to the Secretary of State, and receiving a grant from the office of the secretary. An entry fee of ten pounds per hundred acres was required, and it was through this fee that the State redeemed the certificates. Volumes I & II, Part II Specie Certficates Paid Into the comptrollers office by John Armstrong No. By whom granted To whom granted Date Sum Int. To Date Prin&Int. ---- ----------------- --------------- ---- ----- ----- ------- -------- page 172: [198]-11 Vol. I, Book 1, Folio 4 1476 CARTER & WILLIAMS Thomas MORGAN 12 Jun 1783 4.19.- -.2.- 21 Oct 1783 5.1.- (the entry above Thomas' is for a Joseph Sevier. (same dates, etc.)) page 176: [211]-37 Vol. I, Book 1, Folio 17 3686 WILLIAMS & CARTER Joel MATTHEWS 12 Jun 1783 50.-.- 1.1.8 22 Oct 1783 51.1.8 page 183: [228]-71 Vol. I, Book 1, Folio 34 3225 CARTER & WILLIAMS Obadiah MATTHEWS 12 Jun 1783 9.-.- -.3.8 23 Oct 1783 9.3.8 page 195: [262]-141 Vol. 1, Book 2 folio 24 3754 WILLIAMS & CARTER Thomas MORGAN 12 Jun 1783 28.10.- -.13.3 25 Oct 1783 29.3.3 page 219: [328]-275 Vol. I, Book 3, Folio 44 1477 BLEDSOE & WILLIAMS Adonijah MORGAN 12 Jun 1783 4.19.- -.2.6 11 Nov 1783 5.1.6 In Vols V & VI, Part IV, p. 503: Fayetteville Novemr. 6, 1790 ... [1931]-67-Book 21 1343 Lenis MORGAN for Services performed against Chicamauga Indians 13: 2: 6 [Several other listed in the same page received the same amount] [Lenis (with an N) is how it is spelled in the book -- D. Nicklaus] [No indication of where these services were performed or where Lenis lives, but a few pages earlier there was a similar entry for a Col V. Sevier. Col. John Sevier was from western NC / eastern TN. ] Copied 1995 for private use by Dennis Nicklaus from a copy of the books in the Wisconsin State Historical Society Library. No permission to republish this has been sought. Notes by Dennis Nicklaus, 1995 There are other entries in these volumes, for other dates (e.g. 1786) which may be for our MORGAN & MATTHEWS families, but it is impossible to be more sure because they just use first initials, e.g. T. Morgan, J. Matthews, and there is no indication of location. These entries are recorded when the specie were returned to the state by our ancestors (in exchange for land grants). It is interesting to note that they all were paid the specie on the same date (12 Jun 1783). [211]-37 Vol. I, Book 1, Folio 17 represents: [211] = number assigned to each original page. -37 = page number handwritten at lower left of each page Vol. I, Book 1, Folio 17 indicates original numbers. The "page 176:" indicates the page number in the publication. Amounts are in pounds, shillings & pence. 12 pence = 1 shilling 20 shillings = 1 pound = 240 pence The "Prin&Int" column was labelled "Principal & Interest" in the originals. The "To Date" column is labelled "To what time" in the publication. The "By whom granted" column is especially significant, because that helps us place the people. Bledsoe, Carter, and Williams were the auditors for the western Washington & Sullivan Counties (see Tennessee Soldiers in the Revolution). Since our Morgan and Matthews ancestors lived in Washington Co, their specie would have been issued by those local auditors.