See “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900” for Jacob’s oldest son Christian Arney. This can be found on ancestry.com, and shows some 30 pages of Christian’s application for a Revolutionary War Pension, including some follow-up letters. This provides some information about when and where his family lived:

He appeared to give a statement on 19 Jul 1832 in Lincoln County, age 82 years. He apparently claimed that his war service was to make 83 pair of shoes, and this application was rejected with the comment “Manufacturing shoes not considered military service”.

He applied again on 14 Nov 1833, age 84 years. (Memo: If you believe he was right about his exact age each time, we would know that he was born between 19 Jul 1850 and 14 Nov 1850. But see note that follows!)

For his second application he made a more lengthy statement about his service, and brought statements from 3 other old men who claimed to have served with him. He was asked some specific questions by the Board:

Question: “Where and in what year were you Born?” Answer: “I was born in Yorktown in the State of Pennsylvania but do not recollect the date.” Question: “Have you any record of your age?” Answer: “I have no record of my age as I can not read or write.” Question: “Where were you living when called into service and where have you lived since the Revolutionary War and where do you now live?” Answer: “I lived near Lincolntown (in Lincoln County, NC) when called into service and ever since to this time.”

These answers are consistent with other information about the movements of his father Jacob Arney, with whom he would have lived.