Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 30,790, Abraham Whetcomb, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER _____
Whetcomb, Abraham Whitcomb or
S. 30,790
CONTENTS

10.396 Massachusetts
Abraham Whitcomb of Middlesex in the State of Mass who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain Whitman of the Regt. commanded by Lt. Thacher in the Mass line for 7 months 12 days
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 24 - Dollars 67 Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 6th day of April 1833 and Lieut. Isaac Fiske Cambridge Mass
Arrears to 4th of March 1833 $49.34 Semi-annual allowance ending 4 Sept., 12.33
$61.67
{ Revolutionary Claim, { Act June 7, 1832.
Recorded by AK Atkinson Clerk Book 6 Vol. 2 o Page 90
Order to pay 27. Nov 1837. Letter to S r M c Stone 27. Nov 1837.
75 Middlesex

No 5395 Abraham Whitecomb
Private 7 Mo 12 days
164 16 06 Jan 12 1833
P 216
J. Fiske Esq. 6 Cambridge Mass.

BRIEF in the case of Abraham Whitecomb 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? 73 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.     In 1776 Oct r — 3 — Private Gen. Col. Thatcher, Capt. Whitman   "77 Oct r — 1 12 ditto Col. Reed, Capt. Taylor   "78 Aug t — 1 15 ditto Capt. Cutting   "79 Sept r — 1 15 ditto St. Sargent  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? none  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Stow  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? depositions  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Levin Bell Examining Clerk.

Abraham Nuttcomb
No 5396.

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 in open Court, before the Honourable Judge of the Court of Probate, in and for the County of Middlesex aforesaid, now sitting, Abraham Whitecomb a resident of Stow in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, aged seventy 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 Act of Congress, passed June 7, A. D. 1832:
That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as herein stated: That in the year 1776 as he
thinks in October he voluntarily enlisted as a private for three months in the town of Stow and marched to Providence, Thatcher of Cambridge being Col. Maynard of Sudbury Capt.; Thomas Whitman of Stow 1st Lieut.; Jonathan Weeks of Marlboro' 2 d Lieut. from Providence he went to White Plains, thence to West Point, thence to New Jersey & was dismissed in the month of February he believed.
That he enlisted again in Stow in October 1777 as a private for thirty days under Col. Reed of Littleton, Capt. Nicholas Taylor of Stow, Lieut. Abraham Randall of Stow (there being no second lieutenant) marched immediately to Saratoga where he but two or three days before he arrived the day after the battle of Burgoyne - then with his regiment quarded the Hessians to Winter Hill near Boston, Mass. - That although he enlisted on this occasion for only thirty days yet he served forty two days & rec d pay for the same, the time being prolonged because of the march to Winter Hill.
That in August 1778 he enlisted again in Stow for six weeks under Lieut. Baerselder of Stow, Capt. Cutting of Sudbury, marched on to the Island of Rhode Island and there staid (all the time a waiter to Lieut. Baerselder) till the retreat from the Island across Seekonk River, remained in that vicinity of the country  neighbourhood during the rest of the time.
That in Sept. 1779 he enlisted again in Stow to go to Boston under Lieut. Nathaniel Sargent of Stow for six weeks & served his time out, a fortnight of which time he served on the Castle in the harbor & the rest of it in Boston. - And that he never received a written discharge.
And the said Abraham Whitecomb says

that he was born in the year 1758 in the town of Stow, that he has no doubt that a record of his birth is on the Town Book in Stow - that he lived in Stow each time that he enlisted - That he has resided in Stow with the exception of very short intervals ever since - that he does not need list any commissioned officers except the before mentioned
Abraham Whetcomb
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 any state,
Abraham Whetcomb
We, John Langdon Libby a clergyman, residing in the said town of Stow and Augustus Tower residing in said Stow hereby certify, that we are well ac- quainted with Abraham Whetcomb who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; — that we believe him to be seventy three years of age: that he is reputed and believed, in the neighbourhood where he resides, to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.
John L. Libby
Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
Augustus Tower
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-named applicant was a Revolutionary soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certify, that it appears to them that John Libby who has signed the preceding certificate, is a clergyman, resident in Stow — and that Augustus Tower who has also signed the same, is a resident in Stow and is a credible person; and that their statement is entitled to credit.
J. P. P. Day, Clerk
I Isaac Fiske Register of the Court of Probate in and for the County of Middlesex, do hereby certify, that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Abraham Whetcomb for a pension.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office on the day and year first aforesaid.
Isaac Fiske
I also certify that Francis Little whose above proper signature is set to the certificate of the depositions hereto annexed marked A & B, is a justice of the peace within said county of Middlesex.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal official the day & year aforesaid Isaac Fiske

I Ichabod Stow of Stow in the County of Middlesex in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of the age of seventy three do testify and say that I am acquainted with Abraham Whitcomb of Stow in said County a Commonwealth aforesaid. That in the year 1777 said Whitcomb enlisted into the service for the term of two months at the taking of Burgoyne the other name was Jonathan Hapgood of Stow the Capt name was Silas Paylor of Stow the other officers I do not recollect. I Also Recollect said Whitcomb enlisted in the year 1778 for the term of two months and March to Rhode Island and there served his term out Major Bancroft the name of the Capt was Cutting, 1 st Lt name was Bacheller of Stow, the other officers I do not recollect
Ichabod Stow
Concord August 18 1832
Middlesex ss August 18 1832 Then the above named Ichabod Stow personally appeared and made oath that the above affidavit by him subscribed was just & true
Before me Francis Tuttle Justice of the Peace A. I also certify that the above named Ichabod Stow is an credible person - Francis Tuttle Justice of Peace

Oliver Gates of Stow in the County of Middlesex & Commonwealth of Massachusetts of lawful age do testify & say that I am well acquainted with Abraham Whitcomb of said Stow & was a pri- vate in a company commanded by May- nard of Sudbury; Thomas Whitman of Stow 1st Lieut; Jonathan Weeks of Marlboro 2 d Lieut; & that said Abraham enlisted as  was a private also in 1776 in the same company with me in the army of the Revolution, that he went with me from Stow to Providence, thence to White Plains, thence to West-Point, thence to New Jersey, where we were both dismissed & returned together to Stow - the period of his enlistment being three months - And further your deponent saith not
Oliver Gates
Middlesex ss August 18 1832 Then the above named Oliver Gates personally appeared and made oath that the above affidavit by him subscribed was just & true
Before me Francis Tuttle Justice of the Peace
— B —
I also certify that the above named Oliver Gates is a credible person & entitled to belief. —
Francis Tuttle Justice of Peace

30790 Rev INVALID.
File No 80790
Abraham Whitcomb
Rev War
Act: June 7 th 39"
Index:—Vol. 2, Page 489
[Arrangement of 1870.]

No 5396 Abraham Whitcomb
J. Fiske Esq Cambridge 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 Abraham Whitecomb 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? 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

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 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? no 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 _____. For _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____; and for such service I claim a pension."

Boston, 20 th Nov r 1837.
Sir,
At the request of Mr. Whitcomb named in the enclosed vouchers, who has not drawn his pension for 18 months, I herewith forward the same, and if the proof is satisfactory, have to request that a special direction may be given to the Pension Agent authorizing payment in this case.
I am, Sir, very respf.
Your Ob t Serv t
L. M. Stone
J. L. Edwards Esq r Court of Pensions Washington D. C.