There are two ways to read a family’s history. One is to follow the story we have written from the records. The other is to turn the pages yourself, to see the uneven handwriting, later annotations, sworn recollections and questions asked by the pension office. This archive keeps those two experiences together.
Three books for the family
01 · Curated reading edition
The colonel and the lieutenant
A 24-page illustrated guide, with context, a shared timeline and sixteen selected archival pages. Each plate includes its original source-image name.
Open the family reading edition (PDF) ↗02 · Full facsimile
John Clifford, S.970
Every one of the 36 scans, preserved in original digital order and labeled with the National Archives identifier.
Open all 36 pages (PDF) ↗03 · Full facsimile
Jacob Gearhart Jr., S.3392
All 77 scans, including the sworn claim, supporting testimony, duration questions, and later adjudication.
Open all 77 pages (PDF) ↗The family PDFs are stored in our Google Drive research collection; access follows the family folder’s sharing permissions. The National Archives links below provide a public route to the original records.
Meet the people in the documents
A guided shelf of primary evidence
These links use the National Archives’ own record viewer and the numbered position of each digital image. The editorial notes identify which claims belong to a veteran, a separate eyewitness, or a later examiner.
John Clifford · 36 images
- 0003
A lieutenant remembers 1776
Clifford’s sworn declaration, 20 October 1832.
Find this scan in John Clifford’s pension ↗ - 0004
The names Beavers and Gearhart
Clifford describes the Short Hills and Monmouth militia calls.
Find this scan in John Clifford’s pension ↗ - 0007
Jacob Anderson testifies
A fellow soldier’s firsthand account of the 1776 New York campaign.
Find this scan in John Clifford’s pension ↗ - 0011
Correction after fifty-seven years
John adds wagon duty and revises his estimate of aggregate service.
Find this scan in John Clifford’s pension ↗ - 0013
The Pension Office reads the old file
A later official summary, useful for dates but not a new eyewitness.
Find this scan in John Clifford’s pension ↗
Jacob Gearhart Jr. · 77 images
- 0004
A son in his father’s company
The younger Gearhart’s own service claim.
Find this scan in Jacob Gearhart Jr.’s pension ↗ - 0012
William Marsh remembers
An eyewitness describes the younger Gearhart’s service as ensign.
Find this scan in Jacob Gearhart Jr.’s pension ↗ - 0049
Robert Scott recalls the corps
A second witness recalls a 1780 tour and identifies the father as captain.
Find this scan in Jacob Gearhart Jr.’s pension ↗ - 0034
The examiner questions the dates
An 1836 request to substantiate the length of service.
Find this scan in Jacob Gearhart Jr.’s pension ↗ - 0075
The award is documented
A later official letter records certificate 3065, issued in 1836.
Find this scan in Jacob Gearhart Jr.’s pension ↗
What remains open
The files help establish military rank, a father-and-son relationship in the Gearhart company, and recurring service within Colonel Joseph Beavers’s New Jersey militia organization. They do not identify Lieutenant John Clifford’s parents or prove that the Clifford and Beavers families were related by blood.
We have retained the source images unaltered in two Drive folders and recorded checksums for all 113 originals. The PDFs are derivative family reading copies. Captions, chronology and interpretations may change as we locate new probate or militia records; the original evidence will not.
Source collection
- National Archives, John Clifford, Revolutionary War pension S.970, NAID 54245023.
- National Archives, Jacob Gearhart, Revolutionary War pension S.3392, NAID 54655292.
- Our Family Research, Unified Clifford–Gearhart Military Timeline and Witness Register (October 2026), cross-index of 113 digital source images; individual source files remain in the family’s research archive.