Edward Darnall Arvin                                                  
                                                                    Part 2  –  The Post War Years

                                                  If we now have to pay the debts due to British merchants,

                                                  what have we been fighting for all this while?

                                                                                                      —George Mason, 1783 

     The Maryland Line of Continental Army finally returned home that summer of 1783, and Edward returned to Zachia Manor in Charles County to live on his father’s property. He was surprised to learn that while he was in the army his father, Thomas Arvin, had dramatically expanded his holdings, now called Arvin’s Enlargement, to more than 243 acres. The land had been confiscated from the British and auctioned off while he was away. His mother and father and two of his brothers all lived there with their families, apparently occupying three separate homesteads. Upon Edward’s return, Thomas set him up as another “head of household” on a fourth homestead, giving him a place of his own on Arvin’s Enlargement. Edward’s homestead was apparently outfitted with equipment and livestock from the other three homesteads. It’s likely some younger siblings or cousins moved in with him, perhaps to relieve overcrowding in the other three homes, because the 1783 tax assessment for Charles County lists Edward’s new homestead as consisting of four “white inhabitants” and a slave who was under 18 years of age.¹ Thomas Jr. and Joshua are also shown on this assessment, each having households of four white inhabitants. Joshua was also a slaveholder. Thomas Sr. who is also shown as a slaveholder, has a family of six white inhabitants. Altogether in 1783 there are eighteen “white inhabitants” and three slaves living on Arvin’s Enlargement in four households. Edward was finally back home again, and it was good to be farming instead of fighting. His hardships in the War for Independence would soon be just a memory. 

     Life was sweet in Charles County after the war, at least for a while. “During the first years of peace following the American Revolution, a spirit of extravagance and love of luxury prevailed throughout the United States and among all classes of people. Independence having been secured, Americans looked forward to an era of boundless opportunities and equally boundless profits….This new prosperity was expressed most dramatically in a national buying spree in whose current both aristocrat and mechanic were swept along. Having been deprived of European goods for almost ten years, Americans eagerly bought all that was offered without a thought of where the money was to be obtained.”²
     It was an expansive time in America, both in spirit and quite literally for the Arvin’s. In the spring of 1784, Edward’s younger brother Joshua purchased 105 acres of land for himself, Lott No. 41 in the old Zachia Manor, which he named Arvin’s Dispute. It adjoined Arvin’s Enlargement (Lotts 33, 38 and 40) on three sides, with the two properties establishing a sort of family compound. Things were at a high point for the Arvin’s, and at this happy point in his life Edward married. We don’t know the exact date—no records have survived—but we do know from family traditions that his bride was a young lady named Sallie Padgett, most likely of the Padgetts who also lived in the old Zachia Manor. They might even have been married at Piney Chapel, which was close to Arvin’s Enlargement. But Piney Chapel burned in 1823, taking all its priceless records with it. And precious little other information is available. However, it’s a good bet the couple knew each other prior to Edward’s enlistment in the Army. Was she a former sweetheart, left behind when duty called? At any rate, they apparently married soon after Edward’s return, for later census records indicate that their first and second children, daughters whose names are not known, were born in these joyful years.


Bounty Land

     Edward had emerged from the war debt free, but he had received precious little monetary reward for risking his life and for all the hardships he had endured during his years of service to the foundling country. To be sure, he had received new clothing and the promise of bounty land upon his enlistment. He had received fifty dollars in Continental money when the troops moved through Petersburg, Virginia, on their way south. And he had been given forty dollars in “good money” at Annapolis when the Maryland Line was dismissed. But there is no record of him receiving any back pay, which must have been substantial. And that is a mystery.
     Many other American troops did receive what they were due. As the war was approaching its conclusion, the Continental Congress passed a resolution on 4 July 1783 authorizing the Paymaster General to settle all accounts with “the officers and soldiers of the American Army” and to issue certificates of the sums which may appear due.” The very next week, John Pierce, the Paymaster General and Commissioner of the Army Accounts, began preparing and delivering to the officers and enlisted men of the Army over 93,000 certificates having a face value of over $10 million. But Edward is not listed among the recipients, and we do not know why. He surely needed the money.³
     Fortunately, however, Edward did eventually receive “his bounty,” and it must have been worth a fair amount of money, at least by Zachia Manor standards. Edward “Ervine” was issued a warrant for bounty land in present-day Garrett County by the State of Maryland. These were the so-called Soldier Lands. (The Continental Congress also made use of the policy of bounty lands, which were located in the Northwest Territories—present-day Ohio—but Edward’s name is not listed as a claimant. He may never have made a claim with the United States government, or if a claim was made, record of it may have been destroyed by the fire at the War Department on 3 November 1800.)  
     Maryland was one of the nine states which had enough unsettled land to allow a bounty land process to be utilized. And these states had developed a strategy for the use of the lands. “Administratively, these nine states selected reserves in the western domains for the location of bounty lands. Such a choice was seemingly quite logical By placing veterans on the frontier, the states would be able to rely upon a military force which in turn would be able to protect the settlements from Indian incursions. These states also realized that they had to encourage ex-soldiers to occupy their newly awarded land bounty lands….Populating the frontier with citizens skilled in defense offered the best prospect in enticing other settlers to join them. Veterans were knowledgeable in the use of firearms and in military strategy. Knowing that they would be defended if the need arose was reassuring to many settlers. The state governments also realized that the revenue derived from the sale of vacant lands in the west was badly needed….In November 1781 the General Assembly of Maryland appropriated all the vacant lands west of Fort Cumberland as a bounty reserve for Maryland veterans. The area encompassed much of present Allegany and Garrett counties. Authorized by the legislature in April 1787, Francis Deakins finished a general plat of the area in lots of fifty acres each in November 1788. The limited supply of land available caused Maryland’s bounty land grants to be rather modest. Officers received four lots for a total of 200 acres. Privates received one lot of 50 acres.”⁴
     The bounty land, 4165 lots of fifty acres each, was set aside for distribution by lottery to 2,475 officers and soldiers who had served to the end of the war, who were killed or died of wounds received in battle, or who died a natural death while in the service of the army. The Auditor-General was to compile a list of soldiers who were eligible. There were numerous problems with it, particularly with regards to deciphering the handwritten spelling of the different record-keepers. The difficulty of compiling the list with the correct spelling of a given surname is demonstrated here in this Army Accounts ledger. (This particular ledger was used to adjust the pay due officers and soldiers because the continental dollar was rapidly depreciating.)⁵ There was also a private named “Edward Irvine,” from western Maryland, who has a compiled service record in the National Archives and a Pay Roster in the Maryland State Archives.⁶ 
     As shown on the Francis Deakins plat, Edward’s lot,⁷ was Lot 255, consisting of 50 acres (close-up), was situated near the Potomac River at the mouth of Elk Lick Run river.⁸ Like a lot of cash-strapped veterans, Edward soon sold his lot. It was purchased by General John Swan, a Maryland army officer who ultimately patented it and assembled it with many other lots into a large tract of over 17,000 acres called Potomac Manor.⁹ It is not known exactly when Edward sold his lot or the amount he received for it, but with the proceeds he now found himself in a position to help his father out financially. And his father would certainly need help.


The Ninety-nine Plagues of an Empty Purse 

     By 1787, Thomas, the great Irish patriarch of the Arvin family, was facing debtor’s prison. And he was not alone. The previous year there had been a “riot” at the Charles County courthouse as the tobacco importer, James Brown & Company, pressed 100 debtor cases through its aggressive agent Alexander Hamilton, the tobacco factor from Piscataway, Maryland. Thomas was probably one of those who were at risk of “execution” (confinement to prison for failure to pay) for his debts to James Brown & Company. Executions had been temporarily halted, but that spring a May deadline for their resumption was looming. Apparently to raise cash so as to be prepared for the resumption of judgments, Thomas sold much of his personal property and real estate, and Edward stepped in to provide the bulk of the cash. On 30 March, Thomas sold some property to his neighbor James Middleton, who immediately assigned it to Edward. Then on 5 April, Thomas sold two tracts of land within Arvin’s Enlargement, one of 126 acres and the other 66 acres, to Edward and to a relative, Zachariah Moreland. On the same day Thomas also sold a lengthy schedule of household and plantation property to his son Edward. (See the Thomas Arvin biographical sketch for details.) 

     In May of 1787 Maryland offered a ray of hope to debtors like Thomas. It passed the state’s first comprehensive bankruptcy protection law. The law allowed a debtor who deeded all his property over to his creditor to be absolved of all debt to that creditor. Perhaps now there was a way to satisfy the aggressive Alexander Hamilton after all. But the bankruptcy protection law of 1787 was rescinded the following year. Then in 1789 a special act to once again allow for the discharge of debts was passed. In October, Thomas, sixty-four years of age, was forced to deed his interest in Arvin’s Enlargement over to Alexander Hamilton, who was acting on behalf of James Brown & Company. And Hamilton was apparently also successful in having the sales to Edward Arvin and Zachariah Moreland reversed. By 1798 (see below), we find Edward and Thomas (Sr. or Jr.?) reduced to “occupants or possessors” of the land, meaning they were apparently now renting it from Alexander Hamilton. Although no other records have survived, it seems likely that the entire extended Arvin family was allowed to continue living on the land.




     Historical Note: After a long hot summer of
     debate, the “Grand Convention at Philadelphia”
      finally adopts the United States Constitution on
      17 September 1787. Meant to replace the
      Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union,
      the new Constitution would now be sent out
      to the individual States for ratification.




     Sallie and Edward’s family continued to grow at a rapid pace. After the two girls, their next child was a boy, born 7 November 1787. His given name was Henry Arvin, perhaps named after a member of Sallie’s family. Another son was born (likely in 1788 or 1789, actual date unknown) and was named Thomas P. Arvin. Although there is no documentation, it is most likely that his middle name was his mother’s maiden name: Padgett. Edward had also been given his mother’s maiden name, Darnall, as his middle name.

Historical Note: In April, 1789, word reaches George Washington, Esq., who was now enjoying retirement across the Potomac at Mount Vernon, that he has been unanimously elected as the first president. He travels by horseback and coach through Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia, finally arriving at the national capital in New York City.On April 30^th His Excellency George Washington is sworn in as “President of the United States” on the balcony of the old city hall, 26 Wall Street, which was then the seat of the new government and which was called Federal Hall.  

1790 - The First United States Census

    On 25 March 1790 another boy was born to Sallie and Edward, whom they named Elias. Elias was not only the name of the child’s uncle—Edward’s oldest brother—it was also a significant name in the Arvin family, with roots stretching far back into Ireland. Elias may have also been the name of Edward’s grandfather.     
     Only a few weeks before the birth of Elias, on 1 March 1790, the First Congress had approved an act requiring a census of the new country’s inhabitants. Each individual was to be enumerated in the home of “his usual place of abode” as of the first Monday in August. Each State was to have a marshal and as many assistants as necessary. “Difficulty immediately came to the fore with the passage of this act. America was on the fringes of a vast wilderness and the great majority of the population lived in rural areas. Consequently, the assistants had to travel over long distances with few roads and bridges, in forests, swamps, etc. to make an accurate return.”¹⁰ 
     Sallie and Edward Arvin are shown living in Charles County, Maryland, probably still in the Arvin family compound which is now owned by Hamilton. Their family is already large—three sons and two daughters.

Free White Males 16 or over:       1  [i.e., Edward D.]
Free White Males under 16:         3  [Henry, Thomas P., Elias]
Females:     3 
Other Free: 0
Slaves:        0
Total:          7

 ¹¹
Page 542

    The census information paints for us a picture of the four large and rapidly expanding Arvin families—those of Thomas Sr, Thomas Jr, Edward and Joshua—all working a typical southern farming operation in a communal fashion. Thomas Sr and Sarah have a total of seven living in their household. The young members of the household may be grandchildren who live with them because the grandparents have space available and because the children can also assist their grandparents.
     Edward’s two older brothers, Elias, Elisha and their families live with about ten miles to the northwest, in Prince George’s County, perhaps close to the families of their wives. They are most likely running a communal tobacco farming operation up there also.

 The 1798 Federal Direct Tax

     On 9 July 1798 the United States Congress passed legislation that created the first federal property tax to be levied on U. S. citizens, “An Act to provide for the valuation of lands and dwelling houses and the enumeration of slaves within the United States.” Increasing tension in relations with France threatened to result in armed conflict, and Congress intended the tax to raise funds that would be used if the country went to war.
     As stated above, “Edward Harvin” is shown as “occupant or possessor” of property owned by Alexander Hamilton, the tobacco factor from Piscataway, Maryland, who had foreclosed on the elder Thomas Arvin’s land on behalf of James Brown & Company. Edward’s dwelling house was valued at $30. “Thomas Harvin” was also listed as an occupant or possessor with a house valued at $20. (Image of this document is available online.)¹²

1800 – Second United States Census

     Sallie and Edward now have an immediate family of seven, plus an adult female is now living with them. Of the two newly arrived young boys, we only know the name of one. He was named after his father: Edward Jr. The effective date of this census was again to be the first Monday in August.

Census Image 

Edward D. Arvin living in Port Tobacco Parish, Charles County, MD
Free White Males under 10 years old:       3  [Elias, Edward Jr, one whose name is unknown]

Free White Males 10 but under 16:           2  [Henry, Thomas P.]

Free White Males 16 but under 26:           0

Free White Males 26 but under 45:           1  [Edward D.]
Females under 10:              0

Females 10 but under 16:   0

Females 16 but under 26:   2 [the two older girls, names unknown]
Females 26 but under 45:   1 [Sallie] 

Females over 45:                1 [perhaps an aunt or other relative living with them]

Other Free:  0
Slaves:         0 

¹³

     Sarah and Thomas Sr. still have grandchildren living with them, helping them in their old age. This was the last time Thomas Sr., founder of this clan of Arvin’s, would be listed on a census; he died just a few months or years after this one was taken.
     Thomas Jr. and Edward are still living close by, still in the family compound. And Elisha is still living up in Prince George’s County (and an Elisha “Ervin, ” perhaps the same person counted twice, in Montgomery County). But two brothers of Edward D.—oldest brother Elias and youngest brother Joshua—have both been caught up in the great and growing westward migration movement. This movement was sweeping many families from Maryland into the fresh new lands of frontier Kentucky, and Catholics from St. Mary’s and Charles Counties comprised a large segment of it. Elias and his family may have already moved to Pendleton County, Kentucky, leaving Elisha in Prince George’s County to run the farm. Joshua Arvin and family were now in Garrard County, Kentucky. 

Historical note: Later in the same year, on 1 November 1800, John and Abigail Adams move into the President’s House, the unfinished official residence of the president, in the unfinished new capital of the United States. It was no palace, and this was no Philadelphia. When Pierre Charles L’Enfant laid out the new federal city, he set aside eighty acres for the President’s Grounds and projected an executive mansion that would rival the Louvre. President Washington wanted all the offices of the executive branch of the government nearby, distant from Congress. What was finally decided upon was a smaller executive mansion and two complementary buildings for the administration, one on each side of the mansion. Things were far from complete as the time for the move arrived.

     The President’s house, with Mrs. Adam’s laundry
     hanging in the unfinished East Room, stood in an open
     field with two box-like buildings for executive offices
     nearby. Over a mile away, across a swamp, stood the
     capitol, of which only one wing was completed. They
     were no churches, no shops, no places of amusement.
     Congressmen lived “like bears” in crowded boarding
     houses. The “avenues” were muddy wagon tracks,
     bordered with stumps of recently felled trees.¹⁴ 

     On 8 November 1800, as the War Department was settling in, a fire in their building destroyed the War Department Library. Many documents relating to the Revolutionary War, including many Land Bounty records, were lost.

A Visit and an Estate Sale

     Edward saddled up and rode to Loudoun County, Virginia, in March of 1801. The most likely reason for this trip, which was more than a simple day trip from Zachia and involved a long horseback ride and a ferry crossing of the Potomac River, was probably social. He may have gone to see family there or in western Maryland. On Wednesday the 18th, Edward went to an auction on the property of the late Andrew Lane, whose estate was being liquidated. He purchased a pair of scissors for 6 pence and four pieces of pork for 10 shillings 5 pence. The total of his purchases was 10 shillings, 11 pence. His surname was spelled “Harvin” in the court documents as recorded on 11 May 1801. Here is a partial abstract of page 267 of the Loudoun County Will Book, listing some of the purchases. (As an aside, note that a male and a female slave were sold at this auction. This was not uncommon.)

William Coleman one Bridle 1/8 one black horse 18/   _            _          _          _₤18 .. 1 .. 8         267
Edward Harvin p^r sisors 6^d. 4 pieces pork 10/5_         _          _          _          _    0 ..10..11
Thomas Coleman 3 sows and five pigs 1₤/8 Cutting Knif_         _          _          _    2 .. 2 ..  6
Richard Tavender knives and forks 3/1 _          _          _          _          _          _    0 .. 3 .. 1
William Stanhope 1 p^r Decanters 4/6  1 D 2/6 _            _          _          _          _    0 .. 7 .. 0
   one Trunk 10/  7 pieces of pork 17/4 _          _          _          _          _          _    1 .. 7 .. 4
   a parcel of wool ₤3..12..6     one Heffer ₤1 ..10         ..          ..          ..          ..    5 .. 2 .. 6

  Edward Gleeson parcel of glasses       _          _          _          _          _          _    0 .. 2 .. 0

  Jeremiah Moore pair of waiters _        _          _          _          _          _          _    0 .. 6 .. 6
  Hardage Lane parcel of Dishes and plates   [illegible]   Wash cole (?)       _     .. .. 7 ..10
   one Negroe Man ₤70 .. 0 .. 0 one woman D^o ₤60 . . . . . . . ._            _          _  130 .. 0 .. 0
   parcel of Tin Sundries wearing apparel ₤8 .. 8 .. 0 .. _            _          _          _     8 .. 11 .. 0
  Saddle and Saddle bags . . . _             _          _          _          _          _          _     0 .. 15 .. 0
  Richard Freeman one Mare ₤10 .. 7   2  sows  and  pigs ₤2 . .15 .   .    .    .   .  .  . 13 .. 2 .. 0
   5 sheep _      _          _          _          _          _          _          _          _          _      2 .. 13 .. 0
  Richard Coleman one Mare and Colt _           _          _          _          _          _     13 ..  0 .. 2
  John M^cCloud parcel of pork _           _          _          _          _          _          _      1 .. 19 .. ½

  Daniel Kitchen 24 els wool     _          _          _          _          _          _          _      2 .. 10 .. 0
  Ambrose Gant  12 hogs _       _          _          _          _          _          _          _    12 .. 11 .. 10
  James Burdine a cow and a calf          _          _          _          _          _          _      4 .. 16 .. 4
  The  foregoing  is  the  articles  sold  Belonging  to  the  estate  of   Andrew   Lane
  Late  of  Loudoun  County  Decd  Given under  my  Hand  this  18
 of  March  1801                     

                                                    Jeremiah Moore} administrator

 At a court held for Loudoun County May the 11^th 1801 ------  

 This account of sales of Andrew Lane deceased was Returned into
 Court and ordered to be recorded      

                                                            Trstr } C Binns ^Jr Esq

¹⁵
    

1810 – Third United States Census

     The composition of the Edward D. Arvin household had changed in the decade since the last census was taken. The adult female shown in the previous census is no longer living with Sallie and Edward, and one of the older girls has perhaps married and moved out. But they now have another young daughter in the household. Only four sons are now shown. Oldest son, 22 year-old Henry Arvin, married Theresa Montgomery on 1 January 1810, and the newlyweds were probably in the process of establishing their own separate homestead. Their first child, William, who was Sallie and Edward’s first grandchild, would be born in June of 1811. Thomas P. also appears to be up and out of the household.
     The most notable item on the census is the fact that Edward has seven slaves at this time. He may have accumulated these slaves because they were sold by those leaving Southern Maryland as they prepared to migrate to Kentucky. One Southern Maryland historian tells us that, “…considering the low percentage of slaves in Kentucky in 1810 (20%)…it is probable that slaves were sold before the trek west.” ¹⁶

Census Image

 Edward D. Arvin living in 3rd Election District
“Schedule of the Whole Number of Persons Within the Division Allotted to Zachia Charles [illegible]”

Free White Males under 10:            1

Free White Males 10 but under 16: 2 [Edward Jr, one name unknown]

Free White Males 16 but under 26: 1 [Elias]

Free White Males 26 but under 45: 0

Free White Males over 45: 1 [Edward D. is now 53.]

Females under 10:              1

Females 10 but under 16:   1

Females 16 but under 26:   1                                                     

Females 26 but under 45:   0        
Females over 45:     1 [Sallie]
Other Free:              0    
Slaves:                     7                                                                               Typical slave quarters on a small farm.

                                                                                                                     (Yorktown Victory Center, Virginia)

¹⁷    

     Records for Prince George’s County show that an Elisha “Arven” sold many household goods in early 1810. And by 1811, both of Edward D’s older brothers, Elias and Elisha Arvin, owed back taxes in Pendleton County, Kentucky. Edward D’s brother Thomas Jr. is not shown in this Maryland census. Family tradition indicates Thomas Jr’s son John was born in Maryland in 1812, and that Thomas Jr’s daughter Theresa was born in Kentucky in 1816. Thomas Jr. died in Kentucky.

                           
The War of 1812

     Military records indicate that Edward’s four oldest sons were called to active duty for several short stints with the Maryland militia during the War of 1812. The war, often referred to as the “Second War of Independence,” would prove that the Maryland militia—in fact the regular army, such as it was—was no match for the fearsome British war machine. In their campaigns of 1813 and 1814, the British succeeded in blockading Chesapeake Bay and pillaging Maryland and Virginia with numerous raids which terrified the populace.
    The enemy threatened Annapolis and attempted to sack Baltimore. Even Washington City itself was not spared. The British burned the Capitol building, then advanced down Pennsylvania Avenue and set fire to the President’s House and those “box-like buildings” of the executive branch. After the war the executive mansion was restored, and to meet the expanding needs of the government, the two complimentary buildings became four. Each was an identical two-story brick structure located on a lot near each corner of the mansion. The Treasury and the State Department were on the east, the War Department and the Navy Department on the west. This area became known as President’s Square.

    During the war, the British attacked tidewater towns as far up the Chesapeake as its headwaters. On 3 May 1813 they sacked and burned the town of Havre de Grace, Maryland, located near the mouth of the Susquehanna River. Edward would later state that some of his Revolutionary War service records were destroyed during this attack. Edward may have also lost some or all of his slaves during the war. An estimated 1500 to 2000 enslaved Blacks voluntarily fled their masters or were taken in by the British, especially in Southern Maryland. A typical episode is illustrated here:
 

      From the 1st to the 7th of November, 1813, the enemy’s vessels in the Potomac captured a
      number of schooners and sloops laden with flour and other merchandise. On the 2d they
      landed on St. George’s Island and burned the buildings, consisting of four houses and a barn,
      and on the 7th destroyed two captured vessels. A hundred and seventy negroes were
      embarked on several of the captured schooners, and in company with a large part of the
      blockading squadron, sent to Bermuda for the winter;…¹⁸

 
Death of Sallie Arvin

     The war had a profoundly devastating effect on Maryland, and Southern Maryland bore the greatest burden. Its economy was reduced to a shambles, and what little urban life there had been there was snuffed out. The result was what we would think of as a Depression in today’s terms. Add to this the fact that the land was playing out from decades of tobacco plantings and soil erosion, and that disease was said to have “prevailed.” In 1815 a volcanic eruption halfway around the world caused so much dimming of the sun’s light that 1816 was known as the “year without a summer.” Crop yields were drastically reduced. Many families decided to move out of the region, including Edwards’s oldest son Henry and his family, who migrated to Kentucky in 1816. Edward’s brother Thomas Jr. and his family may have gone with them. Only Edward Jr. and his family would remain on Arvin’s Enlargement. 
     But all these problems were made small when Edward lost his wife. Although no documentation has been found, family tradition holds that Sallie Arvin died at a relatively young age in 1817. We do not know the circumstances, the cause, or any of the particulars. But after more than thirty years of marriage, Edward, ever the survivor, became a widower. Their youngest daughter (age about 16, name unknown, living at home) was left without her mother. Edward and his daughter got through these times as best they could. Luckily, friends and family surrounded them in Zachia…. There were several “Padgets” living near Edward and Edward Jr. Within a few years, he remarried. Court documents would later identify her as Edward’s widow and give us her name: Rebecca.

     Things would be difficult for this new family, for the world had changed. After the “Second War of Independence,” Edward found his land becoming less and less productive. His slaves were now gone – swept away by the British, run away on their own, or sold. Crop production suffered because of the lower temperatures and diminished sunlight. Edward was barely able to produce enough for the family’s subsistence. And like his father before him, like most of his neighbors around him, and like many farmers everywhere, he may have been hopelessly drowning in debt. He tells us later that his injuries from the Revolutionary War hindered his ability to farm, and we can suppose that only with the help of his son Edward Jr. was he able to hang on in Zachia at all. By 1820, Edward, Rebecca and their daughter had decided to relocate. Fast developing Loudoun County, Virginia, was apparently the logical choice, and they would soon make a dramatic change in their lifestyle. Once the crops were harvested, they would sell everything they could and move to Loudoun County. Perhaps they had help from Edward Jr. and  Rebecca’s family. Perhaps they simply had to make a fresh start and find a new way to survive. Hefty budget surpluses in the past few years had swelled the federal coffers to overflowing, and Congress, with the enthusiastic support of President James Monroe, had passed a new pension law to benefit impoverished or disabled veterans of the Revolutionary War. Monroe himself had served as a calvary officer during the Revolutionary War, and at one point during the War of 1812, yearning for action as Secretary of State, he had personally led a reconnaissance party through Southern Maryland.


1820 – Fourth United States Census

     Beginning with this census and continuing until 1900, the effective date was changed to June 1st. We find the family counted as the Edward Arvin Sr. household in the Charles County, Maryland, census but as the Edward Harvey household in the Leesburg Township of Loudoun County, Virginia, census. They are probably the same individuals. And this is not really as surprising as it may seem. “In 1820 illiteracy was widespread. Frequently the census enumerator, himself poorly educated, would be forced to guess at spellings….The marshal, or census taker, was allowed nine months in which to complete his enumeration. Can you imagine how many families must have been missed in early migrant America? How many families were entered twice, or three times, as they traveled from county to county?”¹⁹ Perhaps they were counted early on in Maryland, then later counted in Virginia. Or perhaps they were back and forth, moving and tending crops, all summer long. We really don’t know the particulars.

Charles County, Maryland, Census Image

Edward Arvin Sen^r living in 3rd Election District,
Charles County, Maryland.

Free White Males under 10:            0

Free White Males 10 but under 16: 0
Free White Males 16 but under 26: 0

Free White Males 26 but under 45: 0

Free White Males over 45: 1 [Edward, 63]

Females under 10:            0
Females 10 but under 16: 1 [youngest daughter]
Females 16 but under 26: 0
Females 26 but under 45: 0
Females over 45:             1   [Rebecca]
Number in household engaged in agriculture: 1
Slaves male:            0
Slaves female:         0

²⁰
     The same information is recorded in the Loudoun County census. Closeup. 
     Meanwhile, back in Charles County, Maryland, Edward Jr. has married and is the head of his household on the old Arvin’s Enlargement. His wife, Nancy Ann, is about seven years his senior.    

Edward Arvin Jun^r also living in 3rd Election District.
Free White Males:            under 10:  2   [Thomas, George H.]
Free White Males: 10 but under 16:  0
Free White Males: 16 but under 25:  0
Free White Males:  26 but under 45: 1   [Edward Jr, about 26]
Females:                   under 10:  0

Females: age 10 but under 16:   0

Females: age 16 but under 26:   0

Females: age 26 but under 45:   1   [Nancy Ann, about 33]
Engaged in agriculture:   1
Slaves: male under 14:    1
Slaves: female:                0

²⁰
     Up in Prince George’s County we find the households of  Thomas Harvin and Elisha Harvin. But in their households, notice that all the men folk, with the exception of one young boy, are absent. Only the wives and daughters remain on the homesteads. Did Thomas Jr and Elisha go to Kentucky to establish new homesteads? Why would they leave all the women in Maryland?

    
A Claim for a Pension

     In September of 1820 Edward, his family now relocated to Loudoun County and much in need of ready cash, made application for an invalid pension from the United States. “After its institution in 1789, the federal government gradually took over invalid pensions from the states. In 1818, attempting for the first time to reward veterans rather than entice men to enlist, Congress granted half pay to all Continental officers and enlisted men...if they were now in need of financial assistance. A supplemental act of 1820 required that the applicant submit a certified schedule of personal property and of income….Those responding to the 1818 act devoted most of their statements to proving financial need.”²¹
     “The rate for officers was $20 per month, and for noncommissioned officers or privates $8 per month, during life. No person was entitled to receive the benefits of the act until he should have relinquished his claim to every pension heretofore allowed him by the laws of the United States. In administering the law the evidence in support of claims was taken before the district judges of the United States, or before any court of record of the state or county in which the applicant resided. If satisfied of the claimant’s service, the judge transmitted the testimony and the proceedings in the case to the Secretary of War, whose duty it was, if he considered the claim a legal one, to place the applicant on the pension list of the United States. The statute prescribed no method of proof of the claimant’s need of assistance, but the regulations of the War Department required an oath and the certificate of the judge to establish that fact. Pensions, if allowed, commenced from the date of the applicant’s declaration. The law gave the Secretary of War final power in the allowance of a claim.”²²
    Payment was made by the Treasury Department at pension agencies established in various large cities throughout the country. Loudoun County was served by Richmond. There is no record of this pension in the National Archives, but remarkably, the original transcript of Edward’s declaration is still preserved in the Revolutionary War archives of the clerk of Loudoun County to this very day. Edward’s surname is again spelled Harvin. One historian notes that “…it is imperative to bear in mind that a great number of clerks prepared the records in the various jurisdictions, and uniformity of spelling is therefore lacking….Both the accent of the claimant and the ear of the clerk must be taken into consideration in locating an entry arranged in alphabetical order….A silent initial letter, as in the unaspirated ‘H’ in Harrell may very well produce entries under the next letter of the surname as in Arrell….Caveat lector.”²³ [Let the reader beware.] Here is an abstract of Edward’s declaration. The events he was trying to recall in open court had happened more than four decades prior, and his memories were somewhat jumbled. 

The actual declaration transcript, front