ELIZABETH SHOWN MILLS Certified GenealogistSM Certified Genealogical LecturerSM Fellow & Past President, American Society of Genealogists Trustee & Past President, Board for Certification of Genealogists 141 Settlers Way, Hendersonville, TN 37075 •
[email protected] www.EvidenceExplained.com • www.HistoricPathways.com DATE: 15 January 2012 UPDATED: 17 October 2017 to add details for Samuel of Kentucky and Illinois (pp. 25–28) REPORT TO: Witter Research Group SUBJECT: Samuel Witter (1787–1876) and the War of 1812 BACKGROUND: One Samuel Witter (aka Witer), a millwright said to have been born in Pennsylvania about 1784, enlisted on 4 April 1814? in the 17th U.S. Cavalry, a Kentucky unit. He was recruited (place unknown) by “Lt. Hackley,” then served under Capt. B. W. Sanders and Lieut. R. M. Ewing. He was discharged at Chillicothe, Ohio, on 7 June 1815. No other personal information is known about him. Meanwhile, Samuel Witter (aka Witer, Weeter, Weetar) a millwright said to have been born in Pennsylvania on 12 May 1787, first appears on record with the Franklin County, Pa., census of 1820, shortly after his marriage to Rachel “Lizzie” Smith. About 1840, Samuel moved his family to adjacent Bedford County then, about 1847–50, to Lawrence County, Ill. This Samuel was of age to fight in the War of 1812, but no service is known for him. He lived long enough to apply for both bounty land and a pension but, again, no such records have been found for him. For further background, see “Samuel Witter, 17th U.S. Infantry, War of 1812 Enlistment Record: An Analysis” dated 15 December 2011.