Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File W. 14,038, Augustus Tower, Mass.

SERVICE
Mass.
Tower, Augustus Polly
NUMBER
W. 14.038.
CONTENTS
[Blank lined section]
[Blank lined section]

3947.
Massachusetts
Augustus Bower
of Middlesex the State of Mass who was a Private in the company commanded by Captain _____ of the reg t commanded by Col Brooke in the Mass line for 1 Year 11 Days
Inscribed on the Roll of Mass at the rate of 41 Dollars 21 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 5 th day of Jan'y 1833 and sent to Fiske. To Cambridge Mass
Arrears to 4th of Sept 1832 $61.80 Pens ant. allowance ending Mar 33 20.68 $82.48
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by J. H. Bliss Clerk, Book D. Vol. 2 nd Page 86.

2796
Massachusetts
Polly Tower widow of Augustus Tower who was a pensioner under the Act of 1832 and who died on the 14th July 1838 of Middlesex in the State of Mass. who was a Private in the Comp y commanded by Captain _____ of the Regt. commanded by Col. Brooks in the U.S. line for 12 mos & 11 days
Inscribed on the Roll of U.S. at the rate of 41 Dollars 21 Cents per annum, to commence on the 14th day of March 1836 . July 1838
Certificate of Pension issued the 14th day of May 1839 and sent Isaac Fiske Esq. Cambridge Mass.
Arrears to the 14th of Mar. '39. $41. 00 Semi-annual allowance ending 4 Sept. 20. 60 $67.60
{ Act July 7, } 1838. }
Recorded by N. Headdison Clerk, Book 4 Vol. 1 st Page 136

Adly Ferson 3286
admitted P~ p 48. - L

DECLARATION.
In order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress, of the 7th July, 1838, entitled "An Act granting half pay and pensions to certain widows,"
State of Massachusetts, } County of Middlesex } ss
On this Thirteenth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & thirty eight Polly Polly Fower personally appeared before the judge of Probate of the County of Middlesex Polly Fower a resident of West in the county of Middlesex aged seventy-one years, who, being first duly sworn, according to law, doth, on her oath, make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the Act of Congress, passed July 7, 1838, entitled "An Act granting half pay and pensions to certain widows;" That she is the widow of Augustus Fower who was a* private
soldier in the army of the Revolution and a pensioner as such soldier as appears by his pension certificate bearing date the fifth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & thirty three.
The applicant having received her said late husband's pension up to the time of his death.
She further declares that she was never married except to said Augustus Fower.
She further declares that she was married to the said Augustus Fower on the thirty first day of December in the year seventeen hundred and ninety two; that her husband, the aforesaid Augustus Fower died on the fourth day of July now last past.
that she was not married to him prior to his leaving the service, but the marriage took place previous to the first of January, seventeen hundred and ninety-four, viz.: at the time above stated.
Sworn to, and subscribed, on the day and year above written, before me, in open court by said Polly Fower — J. P. Fay judge of Probate for said county of Middlesex.
* Here insert the rank the husband held in the army, navy, or militia, as the case may be, and specify the service performed, as directed in rule numbered one of these regulations.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Middlesex County ss. I Isaac Burke Myrtle of the Court of Probate in and for the County of Middlesex affirmed hereby certify that Samuel P. Fay is the judge of said Court & that his signature above written is genuine. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of said Court this Thirteenth day of November in the year eighteen hundred & thirty eight — Isaac Burke Myrtle.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
County of Middlesex
Town Clerks office Watertown
September 4th 1838
I Isaac Robbins Clerk in and for the Town of Watertown County and State aforesaid make the following extract from the Record of marriages in my possession - Augustus Tower of Stow was married to Polly Leathe of Watertown on the thirty first day of December Seventeen hundred and ninety two, I certify that the above is a true copy of the Record with the exception of the date which is expressed on the Record in fair legible figures as follows viz December 31st 1792 - I Isaac Robbins above named Clerk of the Town of Watertown county and State aforesaid certify that the above is a true extract from the Records of the Town, in my possession with the exception above named as certified by me -
Isaac Robbins Clerk of the Town of Watertown Middlesex so Sept 4th 1838 aforesaid.
Sworn to before me -
Charles Berris Justice of the Peace

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Middlesex County ss.
I Isaac Pitkin Register of the Court of Probate in and for the County of Middlesex do hereby certify that Charles Mason Esq. is a Judge of the Probate Court in and for said County duly commissioned & qualified & that his signature written in the following paper is genuine.
I also certify that General P. P. Keyes Esq. is the Judge of said Court of Probate, & that his signature written on the following paper is genuine.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of said Court this Thirteenth day of November in the year Eighteen hundred and thirty eight.
Isaac Pitkin

I Charles Tower aged forty four years, do depose Say, that I well knew Augustus Tower late of Stow in the County of Middlesex, esquire deceased - That he died on the fourth day of July last, leaving a widow Polly Tower, who was as long as I can remember the reputed wife of said Augustus & That she is still living in Stow aforesaid - and That said Augustus was a pensioner of the United States at the time of his death & that his said widow has continued unmarried since his decease -
Charles Tower
Commonwealth of Massachusetts -
Middlesex ss. Nov r 13 th 1838. Personally appeared Charles Tower known to me as a res- pectable citizen of Stow & a credible witness, & made solemn oaths to the truth of the foregoing affida- vit by him subscribed before me
J. P. P. Fay J.P.

Augustus Tower Map. out of June 1832 to what time period?
Pen. Office
p. 4 Sep 1837
May 13. 1839
JH

Augustus Lander
No 5417

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Middlesex ss.
On this eighteenth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, personally appeared before the Honorable Judge of the Court of Probate now holden at Concord in and for said county of Middlesex, Augustus Tower a resident of Stow in the county of Middlesex aforesaid, aged sixty five 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 provision made by the Act of Congress, passed June 7, 1832: That he enlisted in the Army of the United States in the year with and served in the
Regiment of the officers:
line, under the following named
I, Augustus Tower of Stow in the county of Middlesex, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was born in Sudbury in said county June twenty fifth A.D. 1767. In the month of March 1782. I enlisted as a private for three years - was mustered in Boston by Col. Bedlam and joined the Army the last of April or forepart of the May following. I was put into the seventh Massachusetts Regiment, commanded by Col. John Brooks and into the light infantry company commanded by Capt. Coburn, Lieut. Givens & Ensign Seaver. The Regiment then lay in the York huts above West-point. Our company remained with the Regiment till July. We then went down to the lines near Hungsbridge for the purpose of catching the "Boro-boys" as then called. We staid here and at Pikskill till late in the fall, when we joined our Regiment which lay in the huts back of Newburg or New Windsor. Here we remained until the next June when the "new arrangement" took place.

- then our company was commanded by Capt. Mills our company then went down to New-Rochelle and was there and at West-Chester near Kings- bridge until the fall of the year. We then joined a regiment, commanded by Col. Wm. Hull and marched into the city of New-York at the time the British troops left there. We staid in the city till the last of December or first of Janu- ary when our company went to West-point. Our company was then commanded by Capt. Frye. We staid at West-point till some- time in June when I received my discharge which I have lost.
Augustus Tower
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of any agency in any State,
Augustus Tower
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion, that the above-named appli- cant was a Revolutionary soldier, and served as he states.
J. A. P. Frye Prob.
I Isaac Tinker Register of the Court of Probate aforesaid, do hereby certify, that the foregoing contains the origi- nal proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Augustus Tower for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this Eighteenth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two.
Isaac Tinker

No 5417
Augustus Tower
on Final Settlement Cer- tificates Vol 1 page 109 No 10662 paid $56.85 Jan'y 1783
Ad
1 yr & 11 days
Ad
$41.21-
J. Fisher Esq. E. Gumb? Masp.

BRIEF in the case of Augustus Tower of the County of Middlesex in the State of Mass.  (Act 7th 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? 65 years -  4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed. 
   Period. Duration of Service. Rank. Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.   Years, Months, Days.     Jn 17 82 Mar. 3 — — As a Private Gen. Col. Bedlam, Brooks & Hull Capt. Coburn, Mills & Faye -  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? none  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Sudbury  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? nothing -  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? No Colony man's Certificates 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Levin Bolt Examining Clerk.

2286
Ms. A. 9. 2. 10. 11
Ms. A. 9. 2. 10. 11 27 July 1838
Miss Fanny
L. Edwards Esq.
Campground of Pines
Washington. -
FREE

M rs Canby of Needham, - East Cambridge Nov 13 1838
J L Edmond Esq,
Inclosed is the Declaration of Polly Toan for a Pension; Please to make return to me.
I am respectfully Yours Isaac Haskins

N o 5417 Augustus Fawer
J. Fiske Esq. E. G. Lamb? Mass.

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims , of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Augustus Tower 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 amount of pension he is entitled? no 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

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? no XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? no 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? no 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? Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper officer under his seal of office? 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? XVI. ‡ Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? yes XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? no
 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 _____. For _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____; and for such service I claim a pension.”

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 four months is too 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 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 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.

Map
Rev  WIDOW, &c.
File No. 14038 Polly Turner Widow of Augustus Turner Pri Rev War
Act: July 1 th 38 Index:—Vol. M , Page 249
[Arrangement of 1870.]