Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 18,609, for Joseph Stone, Massachusetts
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(3 - 1776) 
SERVICE Mass. Stone, Joseph  NUMBER S.18,609 
Contents.  carded
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6686 
Massachusetts
 Joseph Stone of Worcester in the State of Massachusetts who was a P, Sgt. in the Company commanded by Captain (blank) of the Reg commanded by Col. Stearns in the Massachusetts one for 3 months Private 3 months Sergeant ⎬ 
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 20 Dollars —- Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831. Certificate of Pension issued the 6 day of March Davis 1835 and (?) Hon John Davis Prescott 
Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $ 50.00 Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept 12.50 $62.50 Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832 Recorded by D. D. Abbs Clerk, Book D. Vol. 2d. Page 98
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I William Drury of Holden in the County of Worcester age 74 do on oath depose and say that in April 1778 I entered the service in a company commanded by Nathan Harrington whose Lts. were Amos Wheeler & Benjamin Levenston and belonged to the regt commanded by Col Stearns whose Major was a (?) Price. We marched to Roxbury near Boston, thence to Watertown adjoining Cambridge where the prisoners from Burgoyne’s army were and conducted a portion of them to the Barracks in Rutland where I served out the remainder of my time being three months in all, Joseph Stone of Worcester was a member of said company and served therein the months the time of his engagement. This was Militia service and Stone was a quarter Master Sergeant.
William Drury 
Worcester ss. Augt 11 1832 
Thus personally appeared William Drury who is known to me as man of respectability and truth and made solemn oath to the trust of the same and he is well known to me & is a man of truth John Davis Justice of the peace
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I, Israel Stone of Ward in the County of Worcester aged 80 do on oath declare that the first service set forth in the declaration of Joseph Stone of Worcester has been made to me and I depose and say the same is true for I was a member of the company and served therein until after the service I left the time of the mat and & then and ever since have known the said Stone  well as he has most of the time been my neighbor and townsman. I well remember his makeup (?) and remark I am not related to Jos. Stone - Israel Stone 
Sworn to Augt 13. 1832 
Before me. & I certify that I believe the deponent to be a man of truth.
John Davis Justice of the Peace
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DECLARATION, in order to secure the ento the Act of Congress, passed June 7, 1832. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. COUNTY OF WORCESTER, SS. On this 14 day of August in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and thirty two, personally appeared in open Court, before Nathaniel Paine Judge of Probate for the County of Worcester sitting Joseph Stone a resident of Worcester in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, aged seventy four years, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress, passed June 7th 1832. 
THAT he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated. 
I first entered the service as a private in the militia and three months which I served out. I belonged to a company commanded by Benjamin Richardson in the regiment commanded by Col. Nicholas Dike. I joined the company on the first day of Augt 1776 and did duty at Roxbury and Dorchester heights near Boston until the latter end of August when I was taken sick and on the certificate of Dr Aspinwall furlough was granted, and on the 26 Sept. I left the army for 15 days, but was not able to join it again by reason of my continued weakness until after the three months expired but I was allowed the whole time paid for it. This certificate with the furlough and by Gen Ward is herewith transmitted. I next entered the same service as quarter master Sargeant for three months on the first day of April AD 1778 in a company commanded by Capt Nathan Harrington whose officers were Lts. Amos Wheeler & Benjamin Levenstone and belonged to a regt commanded by Col Stearns whose Major  was Reece. we went first to Roxbury and the conducted the British prisoners from (?)bridge to Rutland when (?)  were prepared for them and remained at Rutland during the remainder of the time. I had no written discharges and have no documents except the above certificate, but I faithfully served out my engagments as above specified. I was born the 20th of March 1758 in Worcester, now Ward of which there is a Ward on the town books of Worcester I entered the service as above - my neighbors are Judge Nathl Paine, Theophilus Wheeler Register of Probate and many others to whom I refer for my character and reputation. 
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. Before Nath. Paine Judge or Probate for the County of Worcester
Joseph  Stone
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We ——- a Clergyman residing in the ———  residing in ———- hereby certify that we are well acquainted with ———-who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration, that we believe him to be ——- years of age, that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides, to have been a soldier of the revolution, and we concur in that opinion. 
Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. 
And the said court do hereby declare their opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above mentioned applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states. Crossed out from [] [And the court further certifies, that it appears to them that who signed the preceding certificate, is a clergyman, resident in the] and that who has also signed the same is a resident in the and is a credible person, and that his statement is entitled to credit. 
Nath. Paine Judge of Probate for the county of Worcester
I, Theophilus Wheeler Register of the Court of Probate do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Joseph Stone Esq. for a pension & that John Davis is a Justice of the peace 
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this fourteenth August in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and thirty two day 
Theoph Wheeler Register of Probate for the County of Worcester in Massachusetts
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Joseph Stone from J Davis Worcester Mass 
No 1912
[?]
D 1.
3 mos. Private
3 mos. Sergt
——
6 amount
25$. P 124.
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BRIEF in the case of Joseph Stone of Worcester in the State of Massachusetts
 (Act 7 June, 1832.) 
1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Court 
2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity? 
3. How old is he? Seventy four 
4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed. 
Period. In 1776 78 Years, 
Duration of Service. Months, 3 3 Days. 
Rank. As a Private Qtr Master Sergeant 
Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served. Gen . Col Dike Col Stearns & Maj Reed 
5. In what battles was he engaged? none stated 6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Worcester Mass 
7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence. by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Living Witnesses 
8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? tape does not pass under the seal 
I certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned. 
D D Addison 
Examining Clerk.
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Joseph Stone
Sur. File 18609
Mass.

Boston Sept 26 1776 
The within named Joseph Stone has leave of absence from (?) for fifteen days 
Artemas Ward
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Sept 25 1776
This ? that Joseph Stone of Capt. Richardson’s Company [?] has been sick with a fever is unfit for duty & it is [?] have a thorough to go in sick [?] much improved 
William Aspinwall, Phys.
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18609 
INVALID. 
Joseph Stone
Sergt.  Rev War - 
Act: June 7  32
Index: -- Vol. 1 Page 363
 (Arrangement of 1870.}
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Joseph Stone 
No 1912 
Hon J. Davis 
Worcester Mass
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BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Joseph Stone which require further proof or explanation. 
 I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? Yes
II Did  the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? Yes 
III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason assigned for his not doing so? 
IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? Yes 
V. Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amout of pension he is entitled? 
VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? Yes
VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any of han the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? Yes
VII. Has the Court given their opinion? Yes
IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? Yes
X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal? Yes
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XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? 
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtain ing it? 
XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had? 
XIV. If the applicant has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility? Yes Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper officer under his seal of office? yes 
XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age, as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service? Yes 
XVI. Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? No 
XVII Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? Yes
EXPLANATORY NOTES. 
QUERE V. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words: "Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades: For —- year  months and-days , I served as a —- days, I served as a———. For —- months and —- days, I served as a ——;  and for such service I claim a pension." 
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It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or not indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. 
QUERE XIV. Proof of Service. 
In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which be belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office. 
QUERE XVI. Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticated the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the end of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.