Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 30,037, for Dudley Porter, Massachusetts
Page 1

(3 - 1776)
SERVICE  Mass

Porter Dudley

NUMBER
S.30.037

CONTENTS
Page 2

30793. Massachusetts
Dudley Porter
of Boston in the State of Mass
who was a pri:  & Sergt in the Company commanded
by Captain Richardson of the Regt commanded
by Col Frye in the Mass
[line,  crossed out] Militia
for 8 mo. 2 days pri
5 mo Sergeant

Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts
at the rate of 51 Dollars 88 Cents per annum
to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 16 day of Aug
1836 and sent to Messrs
Derby & Andrews. Boston
---
Arrears to the 4th of March 36
259.40
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Sept 36 
25.94 
=================
$285.34  
=================
{Revolutionary Claim,}
{Act June 7, 1832.}

Recorded by D. Brown   Clerk
Book E   Vol. 2    Page 66
[folded] to P Hagner   May 24. 1838
Paid at the Treasury under
act 6 April 1838 from 4th
Sept 1836 to 4 Sept 1837. Agt
Notified [?] 4 June 1838
=====
Date of death  not  [illegible]
Page 3

[sideways in margin] Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Suffolk SS  I, Thomas W. Phillips, Clerk fo the Municipal
Court of the City of Boston, do hereby certify that the within
contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the
matter of the application of Dudley P{orter for a pension. -
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal
of office this 8th day of August 1836, Thomas W. Phillips,m Clerk
as above.

[rightside up] 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Suffolk County ss. City of Boston

On this second day of August [October crossed out] in the year of our
Lord Eighteen hundred & thirty six, personally 
appeared before the Municipal Court of the City of
Boston now holden within & for said County of
Suffolk, Dudley Porter late resident of Yarmouth
Nova Scotia, now [illegible] of said Boston
aged eighty three 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 provisions made by the act of 
Congress, passed June 7th 1832-

That on the 19th of April 1775; the
day on which was fought the battle of Lexington
he was attached to a Company of militia 
commanded by Capt. Samuel Belknap, which turned out
& pursued the English detachment from Lexington
to Concord-- Having formed an ambush
near Concord we attacked the enemy, routed them
& followed them to Charlestown. In this 
engagement I fired no less than sixteen rounds of ammunition
Page 4

ammunition; my Brother was killed & I narrowly escaped
In the month of May 1775
- the precise day I cannot recollect, but as early
as the 15th, I enlisted at Woburn in the County of
Middlesex & State of Massachusetts for eight months
active service, in a Company of Massachusetts troops
under the command of Capt. Jonas Richardson.
We marched to Cambridge & were attached to the
Regiment of Colonel Frye, who was soon after
superseded by Colonel Brickett. I served out
this campaign at the siege of Boston & was
duly discharged, & being out of health
returned  home.    
As early as the 10th of May
1776 I again enlisted for four months at said
Woburn in a company of Massachusetts troops
commanded by Capt Tay, Mr Thompson was first
Lieutenant, Mr Swett, the second & Barton the
Ensign. I was appointed second Sargeant; 
General Bricket commanded our Brigade, & Colonel
Brown of Littleton our regiment. We marched
to Charlestown No 4 New Hampshire & thence
to Ticonderoga, where we were employed in 
building redoubts & other fortifications. I served
five months in this campaign, one month more
(pencil) 5 [illegible]
Page 5

than I enlisted for-- I returned to Woburn, and
after the Treaty of Peace I removed to Yarmouth
where I have lived till very recently. The whole
period for which he claims a pension is thirteen
months-
Dudley Porter  [perhaps signature]
In answer to the several interrogatories proposed
by the War Department he says that he was
born in March 13th 1753, in Lebanon in the County of New London & State of Connecticut, that he
knows of no record of his age, that when called
into service he lived in Woburn aforesaid; after the
war he moved to Yarmouth & has resided there
ever since, until his recent return to Boston. 
that
he volunteered - that he has already stated
the names of such officers as he now remembers &
has related the particulars of his services- that
he received no written discharge & does not know
what became of his warrant as Sargeant - that
he refers to Capt. Nathan Utley [Samuel Stanwood crossed out]
of said Yarmonth
& John M. Marston of said Boston, Merchant
as persons who will testify to his character for veracity
& their belief of his services as a soldier of the Revolution
He knows of no survivors who can prove his services, having
lived so long out of the United States. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an anunity, except the present & declares that his name is
Page 6

not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State.
that he knows no clergyman in said Boston. & that he annexed
hereto all the documentary evidence he is able to procure
Dudley Porter
We Nathan Utley residing in Yarmouth aforesaid &
John M. Marston of said Boston, merchant hereby certify that we are
well acquainted with Dudley Porter, who has subscribed
& sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to
be Eighty three years of age; that he is reputed & believed
in the neighborhood where he resides, to have
been a soldier of the Revolution & that we concur
in that opinion
1836. August 2d
Nathan Uttry
John M. Marston
N.B. The Clerk's dertificate is upon the first page. -

On the day & year aforesaid, the
foregoing Dudley Porter, Nathan Utley
John M. Manton, appeared in Open Court
and signed & made solemn oath to the
truth of the foregoing application & affidavit by them
respectively subscribed before me
Peter A. Thacher Judge of the Municipal
Court of the City of Boston

And the said Court doth hereby declare its opinion, that Dudley Porter the above named
applicant was a Revolutionary soldier, and served as he states & this is done after the investigation
of the matter & putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, further the Court certifies
that Nathan Utley and John M. Marston, residents as they have stated in  their affidavits the former in Yarmouth & the latter in Boston, are credible persons & that their statement is entitled to credit.
Peter O. Thacher, Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Boston
Page 7

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
=================
Secretary's Office, July 19, 1836.

I hereby certify, That, from an examination of the Books
and Documents, relating to Military Services in the War of
the Revolution, which remain in this Department, it appears
that the name of Dudly Porter is borne on "
List of the names of the men who marched from
Woburn to Concord and from thence to Cambridge on the
nineteenth day of April 1775, under the command of
Capt Samuel Belknap together with their after services
untill the Army was formed, where he was allowed two days  2

"Camp at Cambridge June the 8th 1775. To Paymaster Col Asa
Whitcomb, Sir, please to pay to Capt Jonas Richardson the Advance
pay as ordered by Congress for us and his Receipt shall
your discharge."  Receipt signed by Dudly Porter with nineteen others, for 40 shillings in part pay
Dudly Porter claims 8 months service in 1775 in Capt
Page 8

Jonas Richardson's Company Col.o  Frye's Regiment, the
Roll of Capt Jonas Richardson's Company is not found in
this Office.  Also Claims service in 1776 under Capt Tay
Col Brown inlisted for 4 months and served five months
Capt Tay's Roll is not found in this Office in 1776. -
The following document is found in this Office, viz:
"Abstract of the Milage of Capt Samuel Tays Company
in Col.o Jonathan Reed's Regt.
from Fort Edward to
the Town of Woburn, being 250 miles at 1d per mile
and one day's wages for every 20 miles. viz. 1 Captain
2 Lieutenants 1 Ensign 4 Sergeants 4 Corporals 2 Drummer
and Fifer, 55 Privates Woburn February 14, 1777
(Signed) Saml Tay, Capt."
John P. Bigelow
Secretary
Page 9

I Jonathan Tidd of Woburn County of 
Middlesex, Massachusetts Gentleman 
testify that I was in the Revolutionary 
War & am now seventy nine years of age: 
was in the eight months service 1775. 
and was stationed at Cambridge, [crossed out] 
near Boston & was in the Company of Capt. John Wood of said Woburn - Col. Gerrish 
Regiment & [illegible] while there, I became well 
acquainted with Dudley Porter of said 
Woburn at that time;  now of Yarmouth 
Nova Scotia: who is now living at present 
with me : & is a brother of Asahel Porter 
of said Woburn, killed at Lexington fight 
19 April 75,   said Dudly was in the same eight months service & served 
the whole term at Cambridge, in the Company 
of Capt. Jonas Richardson, of said 
Woburn as a private. 

 In the year 1776, I again enlisted in the company of Capt. Samuel Tay, of 
said Woburn, for a term of six months 
to go to Ticonderoga, & said Dudly Porter
enlisted in the same company & marched 
with said company & served, as a Sergeant
X
Page 10

during the whole six months, & we returned 
about the same time, in Nov. or Dec. same 
year.  I believe the name of our Col or 
Lieut Col. was Brown
Jonathan Tidd [signature]

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Middlesex SS. Woburn, August 3 1836
Then personally appeared the above named 
Jonathan Tidd, & made oath 
to the truth of the foreegoing affidavit 
by him signed.  & he is a credible 
Witness & his testimony entitled to full 
confidence. 
Before Me, Wyman Richardson} Justice of the Peace

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Secretary's office Aug 3, 1836
I hereby certify that the above named Wyman 
Richardson is a Justice of the Peace for the County 
of Middlesex in the Commonwealth  Witness my 
hand & the seal of the Commonwealth
John P. Bigelow
Secy. of the Comm'th
Page 11

Yarmouth Nova Scotice
4 June 1836
We the subscribers have known the bearer
of this, Mr Dudley Porter, more than thirty
years, he has always borne a good character, and we have no hesitation in saying
that every confidence can be placed in
any statements he may make respecting
his services in the American revolutionary war
.
J Bond, justice of the peace
[illegible]  [crossed out  Harris ? Pasor of the ? Baptist ? Yarmouth]
John Bingay [?] 
County of Shelburn[?]

[crossed out  William Burton ?]


Miner [?]Huntington
of Nora Scotia
Herbert J Huntington, Member of the Assembly of Nova Scotia &
James Jenkins
John Killam
James B. Done [?]
Page 12

33.802

Admitted 
Private 8 mo 2 days
Sergt 5 mo
13.2

26.66
.22
----
26.88
25
-----
51.88
x5
-----
259.40

Messrs Derby & Andrews
State Street
Boston Mass[?]
Page 13

Yarmouth Nova Scotia 6 June 1836
I do hereby certify that I have been Pastor ┃
of the
Baptist Church in this place for nearly forty
years and have known Mr Dudley Porter, the bearer ┃
hereof, since that time and beg leave to recommend
him to the favourable notice of the American Government as a sober Religious industrious man, and one
in whom full faith and credit may be placed
for any statements he may make for services performed
or otherwise
Harris Harding Pastor of
the first Calvinist[?] Baptist
Church in Yarmouth
.
William Burton [?] Pastor

Zachariah Chipman
Deac & Chh Clk -
Page 14

June 30, 1932

Dudley Porter-S.30037
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
BA-J KEL[?]



Mrs. J. B. Butter

651 E. 7th Street
York, Nebraska
Dear Madam:

Reference is made to your letter in which you request information
in regard to Dudley Porter, a Revolutionary War pensioner.
The data furnished herein are obtained from the papers on file
in the Revolutionary War claim for pension, S.30037, based upon the
military service of Dudley Porter in that war.

Dudley Porter was born March 13, 1753, in Lebanon, New London
County, Connecticut.

At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he resided in Woburn,
Massachusetts, and belonged to a company of militia commanded by Captain
Samuel Belknap. On April 19, 1775, he turned out with his
company, pursued the English from Lexington to Concord, and was in
the engagement at Concord. He stated that he fired no less than
sixteen rounds of ammunition. His brother, Asahel Porter, was killed
at Lexington: about May 15, 1775, he volunteered, served eight months
as a private in Captain Jonas Richardson's Company, Colonels Frye and
Brickett's Massachusetts Regiment and was at the siege of Boston.
he again enlisted May 10, 1776, served five months in Captain Samuel
Fay's Company, Colonel Brown's Massachusetts Regiment, marched to
Ticonderoga and was employed in building fortifications at that place.
After the Revolution, he moved to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, where
he resided for many years.
He was allowed pension on his application executed August 2, 1836,
while residing in Boston, Massachusetts, to which city he had lately
moved from Nova Scotia.
It is not stated that soldier was ever married.

Very truly yours
A. D. HILLER
Assistant to Administrator.

Date of death not [illegible]

no claim for pension [illegible] on acct of Asahel Porter

Could not identify Capt Sam'l Fay
Page 15

Treasury Department,
SECOND COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE,

May 31-1838

Sir,

Under the act of the 6th of April, 1838, entitled "An
act directing the transfer of money remaining unclaimed by certain
Pensioners, and authorizing the payment of the same at the
Treasury of the United States," Dudley Porter
a Pensioner on the Roll of the Massachusetts Agency, at
the rate of fifty one Dollars and eighty eight cents
per annum, under the law of the 7th June 1832 has
been paid at this Department, from the 4th of Sept. 1836
to the 4th September
Respectfully,
1837 -
Albion K. Parris
Comptroller

To the COMMISSIONER OF PENSIONS,
Present.
Page 16

I Joshua Reed of Woburn - County of
Middlesex & Commonwealth of Massachusetts
seventy four years of age, nearly, testify
that when about twelve years of age I was
well acquainted with a family by the name ┃
of Porter, belonging to said Woburn, &
Asahel Porter, who was killed at Lexington
fight,
was one of that family & Dudley
Porter, another of the family, is now living,
whom I have this day been [? seen] [illegible]
belonging & residing, as he states, in Yarmouth
Nova Scotia. At the commencement of
the Revolutionary war, my father, Joshua
Reed of said Woburn was a Lieutenant in
the Company of Jonas Richardson,
who was also a Woburn man. - & the said
Dudley Porter enlisted in said Richardson's 
Company for the term of Eight
months, soon after Concord fight; I did
not then belong to the army being
young, but very frequently went to Cambridge -when my father & his company were
stationed[?], to see him, & at the same time saw all
the Woburn members of that company & often
saw & spoke to said Dudley Porter &
Page 17

Know that he did duty as a soldier & remained in the service during the said eight month;   Joshua Reed [signature]

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Middlesex SS Woburn July 22d A D. 1836
Then personally appeared the above named Joshua Reed, & made oath to 
the truth of the foregoing deposition
by him signed.  & he is a credible
witness. & his testimony instills[?] to implicit confidence
Wyman Richardson } Justice of the peace
Page 18

State Street Boston
August 11th 1836
.
J.L. Edwards Esqr
Dear Sir

We forward herewith
the application of Mr Dudley Porter for a pension.
He is a brother of Asahel Porter, one of the seven ┃
patriots who were killed on the field of Lexington.
You will perceive by the inclosed documents that ┃
Mr Porter claims for thirteen months service only
but actually proves that he served fourteen
months. In addition to the evidence exhibited
in Court we forward another deposition we have
received from Woburn, certified by the same
magistrate who took the evidence annexed to the
petition, which sustains & fortifies the same. We
have no doubt you will find the proof in this
case perfectly satisfactory independent of the
certificate from Nova Scotia which we have appended
for your better satisfaction. You will
please forward the certificate to yours
Very Respectfully
Derly & Andrews
Atts.
Page 19


December 9, 1932
XXXXXXXXXXX
BA-J/EEL
On [?]
Dudley Porter-S.30037

Mrs. J. B. Butter
651 East 7 " Street
York, Nebraska
Dear Madam:

Reference is made to your letter in which you request information in regard to the date of last payment of pension, name and residence
of person paid in the case of Dudley Porter, S. 30037, a Revolutionary
War pensioner.
In order to obtain the date of last payment of pension, the name
and address of person paid and possibly the date of death of the Revolutionary
War pensioner, Dudley Porter (S.30037) you should address
the Comptroller General, General Accounting Office, Records Division,
this city, citing all of the following data:
Dudley Porter, Certificate No. 30793, issued August 16, 1836,
rate $51.88 per annum, commenced March 4, 1831, Act of June 7, 1832,
Massachusetts Agency.
Very truly yours
A. D. HILLER
Assistant to Administrator.
Page 20


York, Nebraska.
November 15, 1932

The Pension Bureau
Washington, D. C.

No record
12/7/32/[ILLEGIBLE]


Gentleman. --


Dudley Porter, who was granted claim for a pension
at Boston, August 2, 1836, the number being, S. 300037.
Will you kindly tell me when the last payment was made,
to whom and at what place?
Thanking you, I am
Very truly yours,
Henna[?] R. Butter
Mrs. J. B. Butter
651 East 7 St.
York, Nebraskae

[stamp] ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT  NOV 17 1932 WAR DEPT.
[stamp] RECEIVED 1:45 NOV 21 1932 RECEIPT SECTION PENSION FILES SUB-DIVISION
[stamp] RECEIVED 3:30 NOV 21 1932 FILES SECTION PENSION FILES SUB-DIVISION
[stamp] RECEIVED 9:15 DEC 7 1932 PENSION INDEX SECTION
[stamp] Received A.G.O. NOV 18 1932
Page 21

York, Nebraska
May 12, 1932
Sec'y Bureau of Pensions; --
I understand that one Dudley Porter, who enlisted
for service in the War of the Revolution in 1775, from
Woburn, Mass., was a Pensioner.
Is this correct, and can you give me any data whatsoever concerning him, his wife or family?
Thanking you, I am,
Very truly yours,
Anna R. Butler
651 East 7" St.
York, Nebraska.
Mrs. J. B. Butter

[stamp]  RECEIVED 3:00 MAY 16 1932 RECEIPT SECTION PENSION FILES SUB-DIVISION
Page 22

30037
INVALID.
No. 30.037
Dudley Porter
Reg[?]
File No.  30.037
Dudley Porter
Sergt Rev war
Act June 7" 32"

Index:--Vol. 2,  Page 326

[ Arrangement of 1870 ]

1932. June 30
Hist to Mrs J B. Butter   
EEL
----------------
1932 Dec 9- Ad Mrs J B Butter
[illegible] to obtain date of death
EEL