Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 3834, Francis Tufts, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER _____
Mass.
Tufts, Francis
S. 3834
Carded
CONTENTS

6106
Ohio
Francis Tufts
of Warren — in the State of Ohio who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain Brackett of the Regt commanded by Col. North — in the Service — time for 10 Mths $10 ds
Mass. Line. Records K. Mar. 12, 1902
Inscribed on the Roll of Ohio at the rate of $34 Dollars 40 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 20 th day of Feby. 1833 — — — and since H. J. Connaf H. R.
Arrears to 4th of Sep. 1832 $51 60 Semi-ant. allowance ending 1 st Mo. '33 17 20
Date of death not in Agency Book $68 80
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by Geo. H. Gilk Clerk, Book D. Vol. 5 Page 49.

Francis Luff petition for revision
adm d
10 mo. 10 days pri

State of Ohio Warren County court of common pleas of the term of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two Warren County ss. on this 4 th day of Oct. in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two before the court of open court personally appeared Francis Lufts aged 89 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 th 1832. That he entered into the service of the United States under the following officers & served as herein after stated That some time in the year 1775 (he then being a resident in Lincoln County in the Province of Maine) was drafted as a Militia soldier to serve a term of six months in the Militia troops engaged in the revolutionary war, that he was marched into the service under Capt Brackit & that his company was attached to Col North's regiment of Militia, he remembers one Major Kuntz commanded a battalion in said regiment, That said regiment was marched to Livertown (he being one) in the State of Rhode Island where it was stationed & remained for six months. He remembers during the time he lay at Livertown the sentinels of the British army were in sight of the American camp - That the troops stationed at Livertown were commanded by Genl Warren, He served out his term of six months & was regularly & honorably discharged. Soon after this discharge he was ordered to receive volunteers to go to Boston (then held by the British under Howe), That himself & a number of others went to Genl Washington's Camp on the heights in the rear of Boston where they assisted in the erection of the works on Dorchester heights. That in this last service he was commanded by Capt Plummer & does not think said company was attached to any regiment. In this service he was engaged at least

Three months after the evacuation of Boston by the British troops he with the rest of said company were discharged - In the fall of the year 1777 - He with a number of soldiers from Lincoln County went about one hundred miles to a place on the Penobscot river where it was said a body of Tories were annoying the country by stealing cattle from the Whigs & selling them to the British. In this service he was engaged at least forty days from the time he left home till he returned - He states that he was born near Boston in Massachusetts & lived in Lincoln County Maine during the revolutionary war after the war he removed to Kennebec County in Maine where he resided till he came to Warren County Ohio in the fall of the year 1831 - where he has resided ever since He has no documentary evidence of his service & that he knows of no one by whom he can prove it, that he hereby relinquishes all claim to a pension or annuity except the present & declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the army of any state sworn & subscribed in open court } Oct. 4 th 1832 - J. H. Wilds clk
Francis Tufts
State of Ohio Warren County C. Mr Moses Dudley a Clergyman of Warren County Ohio & Joseph Whitney of the same place being sworn according to law do certify that we are well acquainted with Francis Tufts who has subscribed & sworn to the foregoing declaration - that we believe him to be 82 years of age & that he is reputed & believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a revolutionary soldier & they concur in that opinion subscribed to & subscribed in open court 4 th Oct. 1. 1832 Moses Dudley Joseph Whitney J. H. Wilds clk

And the court at Lebanon declare their opinion after investigation of the matter & after putting the interrogatories presented by the war department that the ap d applicant may be a soldier of the revolutionary war & served as he states & the court do further certify that it appears to them that Mary Badley who signed the ap d Certificate is a Clergyman residing in Union County ap d & that Joseph Whitney who also signed the same is a citizen of Union County ap d & that they are credible persons & that their statement is entitled to credit
I Jonathan H. Wilds clerk of the court aforesaid do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of said court in the matter of the application of Francis Lufts for a pension
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the seal of the court aforesaid at Lebanon this 8 th day of October A.D. 1832 J. H. Wilds clk

Francis Tufts of Ohio
adm 2
357 10 10 35.30 11 110 1.10 34.40
Rev J. Brown

BRIEF in the case of County
Francis Tufts of Warren Ohio in the State of (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? 89.  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 1775 6 As a Pri Gen. Capt Brattle. Col. North   soon after his discharge 3 Genl Varnum   1777 40 Capt Plumer, Genl Washington   40  
 5. In what battles was he engaged?  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Lincoln County Province of Maine  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Traditional -  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? Correct 
I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
J. M. Hays Examining Clerk. July 15 1833

Rev. & 1812 Wars Section
MS.A.
March 13, 1926
Mrs. William S. Bovard 713 Simpson St. Evanston, Ill.
Madam:
I have to advise you from the papers in the Revolutionary War pension claim, S. 3834, it appears that FRANCIS TUFTS was born near Boston, Massachusetts, date not stated.
While a resident of Lincoln County, Massachusetts (later Maine), he enlisted in 1775 and served six months as private in Captain Bracket's Company, Colonel North's Massachusetts Regiment. After this he enlisted and served three months as private in Captain Plummer's Massachusetts Company. He enlisted in the fall of 1777 and served forty days with the Massachusetts Troops, officers not stated.
He was allowed pension on his application executed October 4, 1832, at which time he was eighty-nine years of age and was a resident of Warren County, Ohio, where he had moved in 1831 from Kennebec County, Maine.
There is no data on file relative to his family.
The above noted is the only Francis Tufts who lived in Maine, found on the Revolutionary War records of this Bureau.
Respectfully,
WINFIELD SCOTT Commissioner

Francis Lupton
of Ohio

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Francis Infus 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? red 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? has 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? has VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? has VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? has VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? has IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? has 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? has

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?
Knows of no one who can prove his service
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?
See
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered?
See
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.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
BUREAU OF PENSIONS.
N.Y. 3834
Washington, D. C., _____, 19_____
In reply to your request of _____, received _____ for a statement of the military history of Francis Tufts a soldier of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, you will find below the desired information as contained in his (or his widow's) application for pension on file in this Bureau.
   DATES OF ENLISTMENT OR APPOINTMENT. LENGTH OF SERVICE. RANK. OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED. STATE.   CAPTAIN. COLONEL.     1775 6 mos. Pvt Bracket South Mass.   after about 3 mos. Plummer   Fall 1777 40 days no officers stated        
Battles engaged in, _____  Residence of soldier at enlistment, Lincoln Co. Maine  Date of application for pension, Oct 11 1832 His el was al.  Residence at date of application, Tariffville Ohio  Age at date of application, 89 yrs. & near Boston Mass.  Remarks: its date as to family
Respectfully,
Commissioner.

Fall River, Mass., August 30 1895.
Honorable Wm. Lochren, Commissioner of Pensions, Sir:
Your favor of August 26, 1895 at hand and in reply would say I desire a duplicate of the statement of his* services supplied me under date of June 28, 1894. Thanking you in advance for the information I remain,
Very respectfully, John B. Richards, Fall River Box # 332, Mass.
* Francis Tufts, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, - is the person referred to. J. B. R.

Very well

Fall River, Mass., August 19/1895.
Honorable Commissioner of Pensions,
Sir:
Will you have the kindness to inform me of whatever your Office has on record in regard to the military history of Francis Tufts a revolutionary soldier who died at Hamville, Ohio at which time he was drawing a pension. -
He enlisted from Bedford Mass. - and after the war moved to Maine and thence moved to Ohio. Thanking you in advance for the information which is needed by me in order to join the Society of the Sons of the Revolution Freeman,
Very respectfully,
Isaac Richards,
Box #332,
Fall River, Mass.

C. M. R. L. in
PENSION U JUN 18 1894 S OFFICE
OLD NAVY & NAVY JUN 20 1894 P. P. E. B. S.

J.
Fall River, Mass., June 15 th - 1894
The Commissioner of Pensions Washington, D. C. -
Dear Sir:
I have the honor to ask your assistance in the following:
I desire whatever information your Department has in reference to the service of Francis Tufts in the Revolutionary War.
He enlisted from Medford, Mass. served in the War, moved to Farmington, Franklin Co. Maine then moved to Mainville, Ohio - and I understand, he drew a pension. This information is needed in order to establish my claim of right to membership in the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
Thanking you in advance for your kindness in assisting me in this matter, I remain;
Very respectfully,
John Lord Richards,
Box #332, Fall River, Mass. -

Sigourney, Iowa.
Jan 6 th 1914.
Hon. Commissioner of Pensions. Washington D. C.
Dear Sir:
Will you please send me a certificate of Soldiers Service of Francis Tufts a Revolutionary soldier who was a pensioner in 1832. in Maineville, Warren Co. Ohio.
He enlisted in

Lincoln Co. Maine, 1775. and gave over ten months actual service in the Mass. Militia. He was born in Medford Mass. 1744, and died in Maineville Ohio 1833.
Am anxious to obtain the official proof of his service in order to complete the records of Miss Mary Tufts who is a lineal descendant of the said Francis Tufts, and who wishes

to become a member of the Society of the Children of the American Revolution.
Thanking you in advance, I am
Respectfully
Mrs Ina Poling - Ashbaugh Regent James M c Elvane Chapter D.A.R.
Address -
Mrs R.F. Ashbaugh.
Sigourney, Iowa.

MRS. WILLIAM S. BOVARD 718 SIMPSON STREET EVANSTON, ILLINOIS
Supt. of Department of Records - Soldiers of Revolutionary Period: Dear Sir: -
I desire to become a member of the "Daughters of the American Revolution" to which society I am eligible, by virtue of being a descendant of Francis Tufts, of Franklin Co. Maine, who was a soldier during the Revolutionary war -
Will you kindly give me

MRS. WILLIAM S. BOVARD 718 SIMPSON STREET EVANSTON, ILLINOIS
the volume and page of the document, containing his military record and rank?
If there is a fee connected with this service - will you please advise me of the amount, and I will forward it at once -
Respectfully -
(Mrs. W.S.) Philena Tufts Bovard 718 Simpson St. Evanston - Illinois

Rev 2/8
606 S. Hiawatha St. Pipestone, Minn. Feb. 8, 1922.
Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir: -
I shall be very grateful if your department can furnish me any record to verify the following facts taken from the family history. Francis Tufts was born in Medford, Mass., July 21, 1744. He married Sarah Blunt Nov. 26, 1767. He died Oct. 2, 1833. He was a soldier of the American Revolution under three different enlistments, first serving ten months in the Massachusetts Militia, and in 1775 enlisting in Lincoln County, Maine. Following the battle of White Plains, he was commissioned adjutant, by Gen. Washington. He received a pension in 1832.
Very truly yours, (Mrs.) C. C. Argetsinger.

Rev Mar
3834
INVALID.
File No. 3834
Francis Tufts Br. Me. Line
Act: June 7, '32
Index:—Vol. A , Page 380
[Arrangement of 1870.]
Mass. Line. Records corrected. Mar. '04 a.

June 28/94 Phil. Dist. Co. John B. Richards, Box 332,
Fall River, Mass. Aug. 26/95 Letter to John B. Richards Fall River, Mass. Copy in side. m. E.
1914 Jan 13 Hist. to Mrs. R. F. Ashbaugh. V. L. M. 1922 Mar 15 Hist. to Mrs. C. C. Argus.
1926 Mar 13 Hist. to Mrs. Wm. S. Bovard W.C.T.U.