Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S 5,050, for William Mann, Massachusetts

SERVICE
NUMBER
Mass.
Mann, William
S 5050
CONTENTS
carded.

Lt. 8 July '33 I Fiske
Middlesex
(5455)
Massachusetts
William Mann
of Middlesex & State of ... who was a Prisoner in the ... commanded by Captain ... of the ... recommended by Chaplain ... at the ... was for 18 ...
Inscribed on the Roll of Honor at the rate of 62 Dollars 89 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension granted the 12th day of June 1832 to ... Fiske ...
Amount to the 4th of March 1832 $125.78 ... ending ... 31.44 ... 157.22
Reduction ... June 2, 1832.5
Recorded by J. H. ... Clerk, Book ... Vol. 2 Page 53.

17399
Wm Mann Massachusetts
Private
18 mos & 6 days
Adm
$62.84
Grace Tuck
East Cambridge Mass

BRIEF in the case of  William Mann  County of Middlesex  in the State of  Massachusetts  (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? 70 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. As a     Enlisted In 1779 — 3 ✓ — private Capt Champney   " " " — 3 ✓ — do Capt Clapp Mt Heath   " " " — 3 ✓ — — Same   " " " — 4 ✓ 13 do —   " " 1780 — 2 21 — —   2 16 —   18 mo 26 days  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? None  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Dorchester, Mass  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? documentary  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. D. Clapp Examining Clerk.

Wilhelm Mann.
17399

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Middlesex ss.
On this thirteenth day of October 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, William Mann a resident of Weston — in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, aged seventy years — 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:
He enlisted into a Company of Infantry or Militia recommended by Capt. Champney, the latter part of the enlistment in the year 1779 & was stationed on Dorchester heights as guard of the Military stores, cannon & ammunition & was occasionally sent to Boston near Charlestown on board of a ship to guard prisoners in an old ship; he was in the service under this enlistment for the term of three months & was dismissed: —
Soon after the expiration of said three months, to wit the first part of May 1779. He again enlisted into a Company commanded by Capt. Clapp, & Major Heath had command of the Regiment or Battalion; & was stationed on Dorchester heights, & was in the service under this enlistment three months: —
Soon after the expiration of the above term of service, to wit, the first part of August 1779 he again enlisted into the United States into the same company & was stationed on Dorchester heights & was in the service under this enlistment three months and before then dismissed. —
Within a short time after the expiration of the foregoing term of service, about the middle of November 1779 he again enlisted into the same company & was stationed at Dorchester heights as guard as above mentioned & was in the service under this enlistment for the term of four months & a half & was then dismissed: —
In the first part of May 1780 he again enlisted into the United States Service, in the aforesaid company commanded by Captain Clapp & was stationed on Dorchester heights & occasionally was sent on duty to other places & was in the service under this enlistment three months, as he verily believes. & was then dismissed. —
And he again enlisted immediately after the expiration of said term into the same company, without any intermission, & continued on Dorchester heights in the service of the United States, as aforesaid, for the further term of two months & a half & was then discharged.
He was born in Dorchester the 11 of January 1762 or 1763. as he learnt from his father; but has no record of his birth. —
He lived in Dorchester at the time of his enlistment. — And has lived in Milton, & Harvard, in the county of Norfolk; — Braintree in the county of Middlesex & in Weston in the same county where he now resides: —
He enlisted voluntarily: —
He never received any written discharge as he remembers! — & never received any compensation. —

He is known to Dr Benjamin James of Weston; the Rev Joseph Field in a Isaac Fiske Esq & also to Abraham Hew, Hartmouth in Weston
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, Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid
J. P. P. Day Wrote William Mann
We, Joseph Field Jun r a clergyman, residing in the town of Weston and Benjamin James residing in said Weston, Physician hereby certify, that we are well ac- quainted with William Mann who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; — that we believe him to be seventy years 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.
Joseph Field Jr
Sworn and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. Benjamin James.
J. P. P. Day Wrote
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 Joseph Field Jun r who has signed the preceding certificate, is a clergyman, resident in Weston and that Benjamin James who has also signed the same, is a resident in Weston and is a credible person; and that their statement is entitled to credit.
J. P. P. Day Wrote
I James Fish 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 William Mann for a pension.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office on the day and year first aforesaid.

Rev. and 1812 Wars Section AWF/ecl
February 23, 1929
Honorable Gale H. Stalker House of Representatives Washington, D.C.
My dear Mr. Stalker:
In response to your letter of the 21st instant, I have the honor to advise you that you are herewith furnished the histories of the only soldiers named William Mann found on the Revolutionary War records of this bureau, who served with the Massachusetts Troops.
From the papers in the pension claim, S.5050, it appears that William Mann was born, January 11, 1762 or 1763, in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
While residing at said Dorchester, he enlisted and served with the Massachusetts Troops as follows:
In the winter of 1778 and 1779, three months in Captain Champney's Company; later in 1779, ten and one-half months in Captain Clapp's Company under Major Heath; from May, 1780, five and one-half months in Captain Clapp's Company.
He was allowed pension on his application executed
The rest of this letter in William Mann S.42906

October 30, 1832
City and State Massachusetts 1832
October 30, 1832, at which time he was living in Weston, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
There are no data as to family.

GALE H. STALKER 37TH DIST. NEW YORK
HOME ADDRESS: ELMIRA, NEW YORK
Congress of the United States House of Representatives Washington, D. C.
COMMITTEES: FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PENSIONS PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS INDIAN AFFAIRS
February 21, 1929.
Bureau of Pensions, Revolutionary Division, Washington, D. C.
My dear Sirs:
I would appreciate it if you will kindly furnish me with the military record of William Mann, a revolutionary soldier from Massachusetts. There may be several men by this name, and if so, I would like all the information I can get about each of them.
Thanking you for your cooperation, I am
Respectfully yours,

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of
William Mann 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? Documentary  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? 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? _____ Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct? _____  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? _____ 
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 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 objectionable. 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.

Rebtrag
5050
INVALID.
File No. 5050
William Mann
Print Rev War
Act: June 7 th 1832.
Index:—Vol. M , Page 235
[Arrangement of 1870.]
1929 Feb 23. Heish L. Hon. Gale H. Stalker

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Secretary's Office, Sept r 18 1832.
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 William Mann has served under
   Dates dischgd Captains Colonels Term of service m o day   1779 enlisted     " May 12 Aug 11 Sim o Chap Major Heath Three months 3 0   " Aug 13 Nov 12 D o D o Three months 3 —   1780 Nov 18 Mar. 31 D o D o Four months & thirteen days 4 13   1780 May 4 July 31 D o D o Two months & twenty seven days 2 27   " Aug 11 Oct 16 D o D o Two months & sixteen days 2 16   Total Amount Fifteen Months & twenty six days 15 26   M o Days  
Edward D Bangs. Secy.
Also 1779 Feb 6 to May 5 Caleb Champney Captain under General Gates Three months 3m o
Edward D Bangs. Secy    18  26    m  ds  
Also Feb 6 to May 5, 2m o 6, Champney under Genl Gates. 3m o 15ds