Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 5230, John Adams, Mass.
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(3 - 1776)
SERVICE
Adams, John     S5230
Mass.
[illegible stamp]
CONTENTS
b. July 1745 in Milton, Norfolk Co. Mass, there
at eul, and in 1832
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87
Norfolk
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15.678
Massachusetts
John Adams
of Norfolk in the State of Massa
who was a Private in the Company command
by Captain Vose of the Rje commande
by Col Greaton in the Massa
line for 13 months & 15 days
Cnell
[Stamp]
The Regional Archives of the United States
[End Stamp]
==============================
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts
at the rate of 45 Dollars - Cents per annum,
to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831
==============================
Certificate of Pension issued the 9th day of July
1833 and plat C.H.
Derby & Boston Mass. co
==============================
Arrears to the 4th of March 1833   $90.00
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept.  22.00
                                                          ======
                                                          $112.00

{  Revolutionary Claim,
{  Act June 7, 1832.
Recorded by DD Addison Clerk
Book E Vol. 2d  Page 1
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John Adams
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Norfolk SS. Quincy

On this fourteenth day of August A.D. 1832
personally appeared in open Court before the
Court of Probate now sitting at Quincy within and for the county aforesaid John Adams of Milton in said Norfolk aged eighty seven years
Who being 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. That is to say

That during the Revolutionary war & on the 19th day of April 1775 he enlisted at Milton as a volunteer in a Company in the service of the State of Massachusetts commanded by Captain Elijah Gore of said Milton.

Phineas Pain was a Lieutenant & William
Sumner of Dorchester who still survives was an ensign in the same
Company. John Greaton of Roxbury was Colonel, Joseph Vose of Milton Lieutenant Colonel, & Jotham Loring of Hingham
Major of his regiment. & General Heath of Roxbury commanded the brigade.-- He marched first to Dorchester & thence to
Cambridge & joined the American besieging
Boston & took past in the siege. He was stationed a part at Cambridge & part of the time on Boston neck, Dorchester
and Fort Independence & when the British troops evacuated Boston, he was detached with some of his fellow soldiers
in a small vessell to hurrue [pursue] them & guard the island at
the mouth of Boston harbour.
He continued in this service
until the early part of June 1776 as term amounting to thirteen
months & an half when he was honorably discharged.=
Page 6

He relinquishes every claim, whatever, to a pension or annuity whatever, except the present, and declares that his name is not on
the pension roll, of the agency of any State.
John Adams 
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.

We William Sumner of Dorchester & Deacon Lemuel Adams Samuel Guild a Clergyman residing in the town of Milton in the County of Norfolk hereby certify that we are well acquainted with John Adams who has subscribed and sworn to the above, and that we believe him to be eighty seven years of age, that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood, where he resides, to have been a soldier in the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion. Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid,
Lemuel Adams
Samuel Guild

And the said Court thereupon proceeded to propound the following interrogatories, which he answered under oath, as
1. Where and in what year were you born?
Answer,
In Milton aforesaid on July 1745.
2. Have you any record of your age, and where is it?
Answer,
I knew of none, I was born the same day with John Bent whose age is inscribed on his grave stone

3. Where were you living, when called into service, where have you lived since the Revolutionary War, and where do you now
Answer. 
In Milton

4. How were you called into service, were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute, and if a substitute, for whom?
Answer.
I volunteered.

5. State the names of some of the regular Officers, who were with the troops, where
you served, such Continental, and Militia Regiments, as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your service?
Answer.
I have already stated them in the body of this deposition

6. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character for
veracity, and their belief of your services as a Soldier of the Revolution?
Answer,
The Reverend Samuel Guild, William Sumner. & Joseph Ward & Joseph Howe Eigns
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7th Did you ever receive a descharge him the service if so by whom was it given & what has become of it?
Answer.
I never received any

Sworn to & subscribed the day & year
aforesaid. Before

And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, that after the investigation of the matter, and putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court
further certifies that it appears to them, that
Samuel Guild who has signed the preceding Certificates is a clergyman resident in the town of Milton on road Norfolk, and that William Jasso and Lewis Adams are credible persons, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
Herman Leland Judge of Probate
Samuel Haven Register of the Court of Probate of Norfolk [illegible]
do herby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of John Adams therein named for a pension.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this fourteenth day of n
August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two.

Samuel Haven
[Illegible seal]

[Stamp]
The National Archives of the United States
[End stamp]
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6680
Jno Adams
W.C. E.
2
14 of Apl 29 1835
P.  361
Private
13 mo & 15 days
Admd
E H Derby
Boston
Mass
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6680
BRIEF in the case of John Adams Milton
County of Norfolk in the State of Mass
(Act 7th June, 1832.)
1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Court
Milton
2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?
3. How old is he?  87
4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed.
Period.   
------------------------------   |
19 April In 1773 till the    }  |
early part of June 76        }  |

Duration of Service.
--------------------------------|
Years, Months. Days.              |
13 1/2                                     |

Rank.
---------------------------------|
As a volunteer                         |


Names of General and Field Officers     |
under whom he served.                         |
------------------------------------------  |
Capt Vose  {Col Greaton                         |
                   {Genl Heath                         |

5. In what battles was he engaged? 
none mentioned
6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? 
Milton
7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by
incidental evidence, or by the rolls?
2 living Witnesses
8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect?
The depositions are taken before the Judge of Probate. There is no clerk's certificate that
he is the judge, but the signature is the same as that on the Declaration.
I certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Wm. C. the Eastre
Examining Clerk.
24 Jany 33
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January 29, 1931.

Rev. & 1812 Wars Section
ILL

Mrs. F. F. Paul
Box 222
Newberg, Oregon.

[Seal]
The National Archives of the United States
[End seal]

Dear Madam:
January 29, 1931.

You are advised that it appears from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim, S. 5230, that John Adams was born in July, 1745 in Milton, Massachusetts.

While a resident of Milton, Massachusetts, he enlisted April 19, 1775, in Captain Elijah Vose's Company, Colonel John Greaton's Massachusetts Regiment, was at the siege of Boston and served to the end of the year, after which he was engaged on small vessels
to gaurd the islands at the mouth of Boston Harbor and served until in June, 1776, having rendered in all thirteen and one half months service.

[Handwritten beside paragraph above]
For a better description of his 1776 service, see cl. of his ensign, Wm. Sumner S. 4908.
[End handwritten note] 

He was allowed pension on his application executed August 14, 1832, while a resident of Milton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.

Soldier died January 19, 1837. - A.B.
It is not stated that he ever married.
Very truly yours,
E. W. MORGAN,
Acting Commissioner.
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Rev War
5230
Invalid.
[Stamp]
The National Archives of the United States]
[End stamp]

File No. 5230
John Adams
Private Mass. Vols.
---
Act: June 7th 1832
Index:- Vol. M, Page 2
[Arrangement of 1870.}
Gen. Notes by N. D.A.
Dec 1883

1931 - Jan. 29 - Hist to Mrs F.F. Paul: 
[remainder illegible]
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●
John Adams
[illegible] 6680.
13 with
mnths
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[Stamp]
The National Archives of the United States
[End Seal]

I William Sumner of Dorchester in the County of Norfolk & Commonwealth of Massachusetts Gentleman on oath depose & say
that I am well acquainted with John Adams
of Milton Massachusetts who has applied for a pension. I have known him from early childhood, I went to school with him when a boy, in April 1775 he enlisted in company of the State troops of Massachusetts commanded
by Captain Vose in which company I was soon after appointed Ensign & continued in the same until the close of the year; the said Adams served in said Company until
the close of the year & as I have always understood continued in the revise some  months longer I knew him to be a man of the most unblemished character & that moral reclilude, the utmost confidence may be
placed in his statements
Wm Sumner
-
Norfolk ss Aug 14th 1832 Subscribed & sworn to before S Leland Judge of Probate Court

[Vertically on page]
I hereby certify that said William Sumner is a creditable witness        S Leland Probate
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[Stamp]
The National Archives of the United States
[End Stamp]

I Joshua Ward of Milton in the County of Norfolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts zeeman aged seventy seven years on oath depose and say that I am well acquainted with John Adams of said Milton zeeman who this
day applies for a pension under the act of June 7th 1832 having known him before the Revolutionary war and lived on terms of intimacy with him until the present day. In the years 1775 [crossed out: & 1776]  we served together in the Massachusetts State troops at the seige of Boston. We entered as volunteers in the company commanded by
Capt Elijah Vose in April 1775 & I served in that
Company eight months with said Adams until
1776 1st when I returned home. 
Joshua Ward
January 11th
●
I
Norfolk ss  August 14th 1832 Subscribed & sworn to. I further
certify that said Joshua Ward is a credible witness. 
Before L Leland Judge of Probate
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6680
John Adams
E. H. Derby
Boston
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
John Adams 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? Yes
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 other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? Yes
VIII. 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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2
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? Yes

XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it?

XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had?

XIV. +If the applicant's name is not found on the rolls of military service, has he produced a witness or witnesses as to his service?Yes
If he has produced direct proof as to service, has the magistrate who administered the oath,
certified to the credibility of the witness or witnesses? No
Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct? 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? Yes

XVII.
Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And,
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 ___. 
For ___ months and ___ days, I served as a ___; and for such service I claim a pension.
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3
It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which each 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 four months is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions merely state they served two years in the militia, &c. without specifying the tours; the names of the
officers, and other particulars respecting their service. This form of a declaration is highly objection able. It must in every case be clearly shewn under what officers the applicant served; the duration of each term of engagement; the particular place or places where the service was performed; that the
applicant served with an embodied corps called into service by competent authority; that he was either in the field or in garrison; and for the time during which the service was performed, he was not employed
in any civil pursuit.

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 he 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 authenticates 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 ends 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.
In every case where the clerk of the court, or other certifying officer, has no public seal of
office, the certificate of a member of congress, proving the official character and signature of the certifying officer, should accompany the papers.

[Stamp]
The National Archives of the United States]
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Box 222, Newberg, Oregon             ( Seal: THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE UNITED STATES) 
January 10, 1931
Commissioner of pensions
Bureau of Pensions
Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
    Does your office have any record of a pension issued to John
Adams  (hand-drawn underline below the word Adams) of Milton, Massachusetts, who served as a corporal in Captain Elijah 
Vose's Company, Colonel Greaton's regiment, with the Eight Months' army at
the seige of Boston in 1775?

    Did ( hand-drawn check-mark above the small letter "d" of the word "Did") Hezekiah Adams of Milton, Massachusetts, serve in the War of 1812? (hand-drawn underline below the number 1812)

    Will you please send me the Revolutionary War Recod (hand-written small letter "r"  inserted  between letters "o"  and "d") of Ezekial (handwritten notation "Meg. file" )above Ezekial)
Perkins, of Perrysburg, Cattaraugus Co., N.Y.?  He was issued a pension and in 
1841 was living with a son, Ezekial Perkins.

    I should also like the service of my great-grandfather, Isaiah B.
Williams, in the Black Hawk War. He was issued a pension for his services
and died in Sangamon County, Illinois, April 17, 1899.

      Thank you for any help you may be able to give me.
   Sincerely yours,
       (  Mrs. F.  F. )  Mercedes J. Paul

         ( Seal:  U. S. Pension Office  JAN 14 1931 )