Elisha Boudinot Signs As Canadian Rev. War Vet Seeks Support for His Service

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Joseph Cone, Manuscript Document Signed, Memorial, March 27, 1800. Signed by Elisha Boudinot as a witness. 1 p., 8.25" x 13.5". Small tears on folds; general toning; very good.

Joseph Cone, a Canadian cordwainer from Montreal who served in the Revolutionary War, seeks assistance because of a disability acquired in the service of the United States. He dictated his memorial in the presence of New Jersey Supreme Court judge Elisha Boudinot, who signed as a witness.

Complete Transcript
Joseph Cone a Canadian Refugee
Personally appeared before me Elisha Boudinot Esq. one of the Judges of the Supream Court of New Jersey & being sworn saith that he lived in Canada from the year 1773 to 1776 & that he entered the serviss of the United States in Novr 1775 & served until the year 1778 after the Retreat of General Sulivan from Rhoad Island, that at that time he left the serviss and has since that time resided generally in the County of Essex & State of New Jersey that he has not since he left the serviss received any Rations pay or emolument whatever from the United States, That he received from the State of New York 666⅔ Acres of Land, That immediately previous to his entering the serviss of the United States he lived in Montreal & followed the Trade of a Cordwainer, That he left a shop his own property with all the Implements of his Trade in Montreal, that he has never received any compensation for the same and very believes that his shop & Tools were worth Three hundred Dollars That on the 31st Day of December 1775 at the Storm of Quebec he this Deponent was so injured by the Frost as to loose in a great Degree the use of his fingers & in consequence of said injury has been prevented from following his Trade to any material advantage That this Deponent is at present in a helpless State unable to support himself & therefore prays the Relief which by Law he is intitled to.
Joseph Cone
Sworn before me this 27th Day of March 1800
Elisha Boudinot

Historical Background
When Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga on May 10, 1775, they began to consider an assault on the Province of Quebec. General Guy Carleton, the royal governor of Quebec began mobilizing the provincial defenses. The Continental Army under the command of Major General Philip Schuyler moved into Quebec in September 1775. New York-born James Livingston (1747-1832), who was living in Quebec, recruited men from Quebec to form the 1st Canadian Regiment of the Continental Army.

After capturing Montreal on November 13, the American forces began a siege of Quebec City on December 6. The Americans demanded the city's surrender, but Carleton ignored the ultimatum. On December 31, the American forces attacked during a blizzard and suffered a costly defeat. General Richard Montgomery was killed, Benedict Arnold was wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 of his men were taken prisoner.

For their service, Congress promised to compensate Canadian supporters of the American Revolutionary War. In 1783 and 1785, Congress determined to compensate them with land as soon as possible and reserved the Refugee Tract in Ohio along the Scioto River for men from Canada and Nova Scotia, like Joseph Cone, who had aided or served with the Americans. In 1798, Congress published advertisements in newspapers asking claimants to file within two years. This memorial is likely a part of Joseph Cone's claim. Congressional Acts of February 18, 1801, and April 23, 1812, specified 67 claimants who would receive a total of 58,080 acres in the Refugee Tract. Joseph Cone, specified in the 1801 act, received 320 acres of this land.

Elisha Boudinot (1749-1819) was born in Philadelphia as the son of a merchant and silversmith. His father was a neighbor and friend of Benjamin Franklin. He studied law under his brother Elias Boudinot IV (1740-1821). After being accepted to the bar, Elisha Boudinot established a law practice in Newark, New Jersey. He served as Secretary of the New Jersey Council of Safety in 1778. In December 1778, he became Commissary of Prisoners for New Jersey. After the war, he was a land speculator and promoter of manufacturing. From 1798 to 1804, he served as an associate judge of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Joseph Cone served as a lieutenant in Captain Robert Wright's Company in the 1st Canadian Regiment commanded by Colonel James Livingston.

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