Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 33099, for James Melvin, Massachusetts

SERVICE
Mass.
Melvin, James
NUMBER
S 33099
CONTENTS
Twelve horizontal dotted lines for writing entries.
Twelve horizontal dotted lines for writing entries.

Massachusetts Roll.
1,587
James Melvin, Capt Bryant Private Massachusetts line, 1777 whole war In the army of the United States during the Revolutionary War.
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 8 Dollars per month, to commence on the 14 th of April 1818.
Certificate of Pension issued the 30. of June 1818 and sent to John Hooker Esq. Springfield, Massd.
Arrears to 4th of Sept. 1818. 14 months 21/30. $37.60
{ Revolutionary claim, } { Act 18th March, 1818 }
6 years
Discontinued Springfield, Hampd. Co.
See letter to Sec. of War Aug. 16 1828
58
See letter to the applicant 12 Nov 1821 part of John Ingraham Esq. Springfield Massd.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Hampden County ss On this fourteenth day of April A D 1818 personally appeared before John Hooker Esquire Chief Justice of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas for the Western Circuit in said Commonwealth including said County of Hampden James Melvin a citizen of the United States & resident in the town of Springfield in said County who being duly sworn deponeth and saith that in March 1777 he enlisted into the army of the United States then called the Continental army as a private soldier to serve during the war that he enlisted into Capt John Bryants Company Col Trains regiment that he faithfully performed his duty in said capacity until Peace took place between the United States & Great Britain & that he was honorably discharged at Springfield aforesaid but that said discharge is now lost And this Deponent further saith that he is in reduced circumstances in life & by reason thereof stands in need of assistance from his country for support
James Melvin
April 14.
William & Thomas Melvin do hereby certify that do depose & say that we each of us knew said Melvin serving under the said Capt John Bryant in the Continental Army - That said Bryant was stationed in said Springfield & that he & the soldiers under him were employed in the laboratory in said Springfield in preparing ammunition for the army during a part of the war of the revolutionary war & subject to martial discipline that he was then serving for about three years and at the end of said war -
Leviathan Stubbins
Thomas Stubbins

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Hampden ss. B E IT REMEMBERED, That on the fourteenth day of April A. D. 1818, came before me, JOHN HOOKER,
Chief Justice of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas for the Western Circuit in said State, and including the said county of Hampden the above named James Melvin the Applicant & Thomas Stetson & Thomas Stetson severally
made oath to the truth of the foregoing affidavit by them subscribed, and hereto annexed. I do thereupon hereby declare, that it appears to my satisfaction, that the said
James Melvin the applicant did serve in the revolutionary war, against the common enemy, for more than nine months, on the continental establishment, as set forth in his affidavit aforesaid, and that he is yet a resident citizen of the United States, is in reduced circumstances, and stands in need of assistance from his country for support. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the said Circuit Court for the said county of Hampden
to be affixed hereto, this 14 th day of April aforesaid
And I do therefore hereby certify & transcribe the above as the testimony & proceedings had on said application before me to the Secretary of the Department of War of the United States
John Hooker

James Melvin
Application for Pension
Aug 10 91
Copy
1887
Rotenbiller L. D. E.
Write a special letter as in the case of Rof

SCHEDULE.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts District of Hampden 88.
On this Twenty Second day of August 1821, personally appeared, in open court, (a) being a court of record (b) for the said district, [circuit, county, as corporation, as the case may be,] James Melvin
aged Sixty Nine
years, resident in Springfield in said district, [circuit, county, as corporation,] who, being first duly sworn, according to law, doth, on his oath, declare that
he served in the Revolutionary war as follows: (c) Enlisted in March A.D. 1777 in the Col. Essex Regiment of Artillery & John Bryant's Company during the war, I served in the same Company with the interruption of three days from any cause from the time of the enlistment to the end of the war. I have formerly had a pension upon a Certificate No. 1507 - James Melvin is very infirm & entirely unable to labor is confined to his house a great part of the year with Rheumatism. He has a wife who has been confined to her bed for five years past subjected him great expense she is unable to support herself without the assistance of his Country
And I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I was a resident citizen of the United States, on the 18th day of March, 1818; and that I have not, since that time, by gift, sale, or in any manner, disposed of my property, or any part thereof, with intent thereby so to diminish it as to bring myself within the provisions of an act of Congress, entitled "An act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States, in the Revolutionary war," passed on the 18th day of March, 1818; and that I have not, nor has any person in trust for me, any property, or securities, contracts, or debts, due to me; nor have I any income other than what is contained in the schedule hereto annexed, and by me subscribed. (d)
List of debts due from James Melvin
 69. Acres of land lying in Common and $276.00  undivided with 1/2  the house & barn do. do. 3.50  1. wood in Elm $3.00 one Chest drawers 50 cts 2.  1. Bedstead $1.50. one round table 50 cts 1.  3. Chain $0.75 one looking glass 25 cts 2.25  6. Knives $1.50 - 1. Peaches & one spider 75 cts 2.  Sundry small articles old furniture. 206.75  75. Acres of land in Chester James L Melvin his mother - $6.10 per Acre $450. 
 James Cashdye $4. S. M. Bryant 1.75  Dorcas Howard - 39. J. B. Foss 3.95  J. A. Dwight - 13. 85. Prof. U. 100.00  Wm. O. Howe 50. B. B. Bicknell 13.66  Colo. Hatch - 3. 25. B. B. Bicknell 13.44  Ephr. Fuller - 30. B. B. Bicknell 13.44  Dat. Kingsbury - 20. Resea Melvin 53.  James Melvin - 6. 97  Moses Howe - 4. 265.00  Joshua Childs - 4. 50 206.88  Dwight Howard - 30. 472.88 
I am also bound in a note to J. A. Dwight for $477 with interest and J. Robbins -
Sworn to, and declared, on the 24 th day of August 1821 before The Court of Common Pleas
Attest John Ingersoll Clerk
I, John Ingersoll clerk of The Court of Common Pleas do hereby certify, that the foregoing oath ( or affirmation ) and the schedule thereto annexed, are truly copied from the record of the said court; and I do further certify, that it is the opinion of the said court that the total amount in value of the property exhibited in the aforesaid schedule is Two hundred Eighty six dollars and Seventy five cents . In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the seal of the said court, on this twenty second day of September 1821
John Ingersoll Clerk of the Court for the County of Hampden

(a) The whole of the form prescribed in the first section, to verify the amount of property of the applicant, the oath of the party, and the certificate of the clerk excepted, must be done while the court is in session.
(b) All are courts of record, within the contemplation of the act of Congress,
1st. Which are expressly made courts of record by the laws of the state which create them;
2d. Which have been solemnly adjudged, by the tribunals of the several states, to be courts of record;
3d. Which proceed according to the course of the common law, with a jurisdiction unlimited in point of amount, keeping a record of their proceedings.
4th. Which have the power of fine and imprisonment;
And courts which proceed according to the course of the civil and canon law, having neither of those attributes, are not courts of record, although they may keep a registry of their proceedings, and possess a seal. The court should, in every instance, state, on the face of the proceedings, that it is a court of record, and state why it is such.—[ Opinion of the Attorney General of the United States. ]
(c) Here set forth the regiment, company, and line, or ship, corps, or vessel, and the date of the original declaration; and, if he has received a pension, the number of the pension certificate should be inserted.
(d) Here enumerate each article of real and personal estate, necessary clothing and bedding excepted, and subscribe the same. The declarant must also mention his occupation, his ability to pursue it, the number and names of his family residing with him, their ages, and their capacity to contribute to their support, in order that the department may be enabled to decide whether the applicant is in such indigent circumstances as to be entitled to the pension. It is the opinion of the Attorney General, that the words of the third section of the act of the 1st of May, 1820, "in such indigent circumstances as to be unable to support himself without the assistance of his country," comprehend those only who are incapable of supporting themselves without the aid of the government, except by private or public charity.

From J James Melvin Springfield, Mass. Boston Rev Ans. 19 July 1821.
F 33 099
July 1821
Washington City Library of Congress
1821
one of

Springfield Mass s July 9 th 1821.
To the Honorable Secretary of the Dept t of War Impoverished necessity compells an aged Soldier of the Revolution to address the Hon ble Secretary and through him the President of the United States, and in order to establish my claims on the bounty & gratitude of my country it will be necessary to detail in part the services I performed the privations and hardships I endured.
I Enlisted in Col t Baillie's Regiment in April 1775. Marched from Cambridge in the 13 th of Sept r of that year under the Command of Capt n (now Gen t Dearborn) traversed the wilderness during an inclement season. arrived at Pointe Levis opposite the City of Quebec on the 8 th of Nov r . and on the first day of Jan y 1776 was taken Prisoner. and was confined in Quebec about eight months, was landed at Elizabethtown N J . in Oct r following. destitute and worn down with hardship & a costly confinement in a loathsome prison. — Notwithstanding the hardships & privations I had experienced. I still considered it a duty to aid in defending the rights and liberties of my country. and I again Enlisted in Col t Leamons Regiment of Artillery. in which I served faithfully until honorably discharged after the close of the War.
It would be unnecessary to inform your Honor that for all the toil and services I had performed. the compensation allow d and paid me by Government was of little more value than the tattered rags I have so often been compelled to wear. I was turned destitute upon the world. nothing but my hands and

and the country of that country I had so long & so faithfully served, for my future support who notwithstanding nearly seven years service in the Field, in the field and in Prison and having acquired the habits incident to a soldier's life still I found industry & temperance necessary, and through the goodness of divine Providence untill age and infirmities prevented I was enabled by honest industry to obtain a comfortable living, but having arrived to nearly seventy years of age and having from necessity through a long life, been compelled incessantly to labor for my support, my aged limbs refuse to perform their wonted office, and I hailed the Law of 1818 providing for the relief of Revolutionary Officers & Soldiers, as a stay and staff to solve my declining years, by the provisions of that Law I partook of the Government Bounties for a short time, when the hand that had been proffered for my support, was hastily withdrawn.
It is true that whilst others, to say the least, were not more deserving than myself, were spending their time & substance in one continued round of idleness & dissipation, I applied myself to unceasing labor & economy, and by that course of life I was enabled to acquire a few Acres of barren land, and to erect a House sufficient to shelter myself & family from the "pettings of the piteous storm," and I am now told that it was my former industry & economy, alone that now prevents me from receiving the Bounties of that country I so long served.
I am a plain Man unlettered, and have attained to an age, when I have but little opportunity to learn and understand the laws & passing events, of our country, and on this account I have preferred

to address Your Honor, and solicit information, whether by the Law passed in May 1821 in addition to the Law of 1818 making provision for the Officers & Soldiers of the Revolution? I can avail myself of its benefits.
In conformity to the Law of 1818 I made a regular application, and obtained a Pension certificate. it is now my desire to be informed what further remains to be done, in order to have my Pension mandated, and whether a few Acres of unproductive Real Estate, will preclude me from the benefits of the Law, had the God of nature created us forever to remain in the vigor of manhood. I should never have sought the bounty of Government, but Sir notwith- standing I am the lawful owner of owning One hundred Acres sterile lands situated at a distance from any Inhabitants, my age & infirmities will not admit of obtaining a subsistence by cultivation, and I cannot rent my Estate for a sum sufficient to support my family (which consists of myself, an aged Wife, unable to to labor at all) one half of each year.
I therefore humbly request that I may be instructed what course I must pursue in order to obtain the pension allow d . to those who served during the Revolution War who are in need of assistance from the Govt and as in duty bound will ever,
James Melvin

33 099 Rev INVALID.
File No. 33,099
James Melvin Rev Rev
Act: 18 th March 18 th
Index:—Vol. 2 , Page 268
[Arrangement of 1870.]

Act 1828 Settled at James Melvin.
Treasury
Cons. d with
Invalid file
#33.099
Quock to the Treasury Washington DC
1831

No. 449-401 Revolutionary Claims.
Under the act, entitled "An act for the relief of certain surviving Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Revolution," approved 15th May, 1828.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
12 August 1828
The annexed paper, relating to the claim of James Melvin under the abovementioned act, is respectfully referred to the Secretary of War, with a request that he will be pleased to cause me to be informed whether a discharge, and if any evidence so, what discharge was received at the War Department, from the claimant, on an application stated to have been heretofore made by him for a pension, knowing that he enlisted for the war and served until its termination
Richard Rush.
The Hon. the SECRETARY OF WAR.
See Letter from the War Department 16 August 1828.

REVOLUTIONARY CLAIMS.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
July 26. 1828
James Melvin, - of Chester, in the County of Hampden, in the State of Massachusetts, has applied to the Secretary of the Treasury for the benefits of the act, entitled "An Act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the Revolution," approved the 15th of May, 1828. He states that he enlisted in the Continental line of the army of the Revolution, for and during the war, and continued until its termination, at which period he was a private in captain (or Lieut.) Bryant's company, in the Col. Brand regiment of the Artillery line; and that he received a certificate for the reward of eighty dollars, provided by the resolve of the 15th of May, 1778; and further, that he was not on the 15th day of May, 1828, on the pension list of the United States, and that he has received as a pensioner since the 3d of March, 1826, nothing.
The Third Auditor is requested to report how far the several statements are corroborated by the records in his office.
By order of the Secretary, A. D. Kimball
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
THIRD AUDITOR'S OFFICE,
31. July 1828
It appears by the records in this office, that a certificate for the reward of eighty dollars has been issued to _____ in the _____ is now on the pension list of the _____ agency, and has been so since the _____ at the rate of _____ dollars per month.
The name of James Melvin does not appear among those of Col. Francis' Artillery, to whom certificates for the gratuity of Eighty Dollars were issued - From the Muster Rolls of Col. Francis' Regt. it appears that said Melvin was discharged on the 16. July 1783 -
John Haysen And
correct

For the purpose of obtaining the benefits of the act entitled "an act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the Army of the Revolution" approved on the 15 th of May 1828 I James Melvin of Chester in the County of Hampden in the state of Massachusetts do hereby declare that I enlisted in the continental line of the Army of the Revolution for & during the war, and continued in its service until its termination at which period I was, & had been since the Spring of 1777, a private in Captain (or Lieut.) John Bryant's Company of Artillery in Col. Crane's Regiment. I further declare that I received an honorable discharge after the treaty of peace of 1783, which discharge I sent to Philadelphia to get my back clothing & it was there destroyed with my final settlement note when the war office was burnt. And I also declare that I was regularly entitled to the reward of eighty dollars under the Resolve of Congress passed the 15 th of May 1778 but do not remember having ever received any certificate therefor. Perhaps the reason was, that I was employed in the Laboratory at Springfield at the time of my discharge. And I further declare that I was not on the 15 th day of May 1828 on the Pension list of the United States - that I had been placed upon the Pension list as appears by the certificate of the Sec y of War No. 1,587, dated June 30 th 1808 where I remained about one year when I was stricken off by reason of the act of congress which required absolute poverty. Witness my hand this first day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & twenty eight.  James Melvin
Before me, Justice Willard, a Justice of the Peace within and for said County of Hampden & state of Massachusetts personally appeared this day of July 1 st A.D. 1828 James Melvin above named and made oath to the truth of the above declaration - also Zebina Stebbins & Thomas Stebbins both of Springfield in said County who did severally make oath that James Melvin, by whom the foregoing declaration was subscribed is generally reported and believed to have been a soldier in the Army of the Revolution in the manner as therein stated. Witness my hand this 1 st day of July A.D. 1828  Justice Willard Justice of the Peace

I John Ingersoll Clerk of the all the Courts of the County of Hampden in the State of Massachusetts do hereby certify that Justice Willard before whom the foregoing affidavits were sworn, was, at the time a Justice of the Peace within the said County and duly empowered to administer oaths
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the highest of said Courts this first day of July — in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred & twenty eight John Ingersoll

(Mass.) Springfield, July 1 st 1828
Hon. Richard Rush Secy. of War
Enclosed is the declaration of James Melvin, for his annuity under the late act of Congress. It is hoped the records of the War Office will furnish sufficient corroborative evidence to entitle him to his money. Should any further evidence be required he will endeavour to furnish it, on being notified thereof thro' the subscriber. It would also be convenient for him to have his money, forwarded to me, but to save the trouble of a power so he wishes it sent to him at Chester, (Mass.) directed to " Chester Factory Post Office ". We believe we have complied with the laws and the forms prescribed as far as is in our power at present
respectfully Your most obedt servant
Justin Willard