Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 21445, for Josiah Richards, Massachusetts

SERVICE
Mass.
Richards, Josiah
NUMBER
S. 21445
CONTENTS

15769
Massachusetts Josiah Richard, of Dedham in the State of Massachusetts who was a private in the Company commanded by Captain Guild of the Regt. commanded by Col Brewer in the Elliston line for 10 mos 14 ds.
83
Norfolk
Mass
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 34 Dollars 87 Cents per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 29 day of May 1837 and Sask to J. Ware Dedham
Arrears to the 4th of March '33 $69.74 Pension allowance ending Sept 1 1837 17.44 $87.18
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by W. L. Williams Clerk Book E Vol. 2 Page 72

BRIEF in the case of  Isaac Dookerd  u of Leaham  in the State of  Miss  u (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? open Court  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? 72 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.     19 th April In 1775 14 Private Capt General Lord Howe   Decr 1775 8 " Capt Whiting Coll Brewer   March 1776 2 " Capt Rankin Col Gorton  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? Livingston - Brandy Hill  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Leaham Miss  u  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Tradition only  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.
Nicholas Cotts Examining Clerk.

Josiah Richards
15203
5.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
County of Suffolk ss. On this twenty first day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two, personally appeared in open court before the Honorable John D. Sleeper of the Court of Common Pleas now sitting at Dedham in and for said County, Josiah Richards a resident of Dedham in said County, aged eighty two 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 7th, A. D. 1832.
THAT he was born at Springfield Parish (so called) in Dedham on the fifteenth day of November A. D. 1749, and that there is a record of his birth in the town records in Dedham : that he was in the United States service from the nineteenth day of April A. D. 1775, to the about the first day of May A. D. 1775 as a private in the infantry as a minute man : that he was residing at Dedham when he entered the service; that he enlisted as a minute man and served for one fortnight or thereabouts under the command of Capt. Joseph Guild
: that he marched from Dedham
: that he served with
of the regular troops; and Col. Sabin
regular officers were known to him: that he was in Lexington battle  having no uniform was turned back as a prisoner by our own men by mistake and at the end of his service received a discharge: that he left the service on about the first of May and that since the Revolutionary war he has resided at Dedham  a part of the time at Washington New Hampshire
ALSO: that he was in the United States service from the about the first day of May A. D. 1775, to the about the first day of January A. D. 1776 as a private in the infantry that he was residing at Dedham when he entered the service; that he enlisted for eight months and served for the period aforesaid under the command of Capt. Daniel Whitney  Col. Jonathan Brewer : that he marched from Dedham
: that he served with
Generals Putnam Washington Green of the regular troops; and See Bunker Hill regular officers were known to him: that he was in Bunker Hill battle
that at the end of his service he received a discharge honorably and left the service on Prospect Hill
ALSO: that he was in the United States service from the about the last day of March A. D. 1776, to the last day of day of May A. D. 1776 as a private in the infantry that he was residing at Dedham when he entered the service; that he enlisted for the term of two months and served for the period aforesaid under the command of Capt. Josiah Richards  in Col. Grafton's Regiment : that he marched from Dedham
: that he served with
of the regular troops; and regular officers were known to him; that he was in Battle
that at the end of his service he received a discharge honorably and left the service on or about the last of May at Roxbury Massachusetts

that there was to have been a company training at Dedham on the day of Lexington battle, that he had got his uniform on & equipments ready when the alarm came & that instead of stopping to train he made haste to meet the British & was present at the engagement on the latter part of the day.
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 the agency of any State.
Josiah Richards
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year first aforesaid.
We Ralph Sanjee a Clergyman residing in Dover We Amos Whitney & Josiah Draper both residing in the District of Dover formerly a part of and Dedham
hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Josiah Richards who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be right, two years of age; that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides, to have been a soldier of the revolution, and that we concur in that opinion. we two who have signed last were in the same Company with him in the Revolution Sworn and subscribed as aforesaid.
Ralph Sanjee Amos Whitney Josiah Draper
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 abovenamed applicant was a revolutionary soldier and served as he states. And the court further certify that it appears to them that Ralph Sanjee who has signed the preceding certificate, is a Clergyman resident in the District of Dover; and that Amos Whitney & Josiah Draper who has also signed the same is a resident in Dover and an credible person; and that their statement is entitled to credit.
J. M. Williams. J. G. G. P.
I James Ware Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said court in the matter of the application of Josiah Richards for a pension.
In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand and seal of office on the day and year first aforesaid.
James Ware

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Bureau of Pensions,
Washington, D. C., _____, 190__
In reply to your request of _____, received _____ for a statement of the military history of Josiah Richards 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. S. 21,445.
   DATES OF ENLISTMENT OR APPOINTMENT. LENGTH OF SERVICE. RANK. OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED. STATE.   CAPTAIN. COLONEL.     Apr. 19, 1775 2 wks Pirate Joseph Guild / Mass.   May, 1775 8 mos. " David Whiting Jonathan Brewster "   Mar. 31, 1776 2 mos. " Abel Richards Briarton "  
Battles engaged in, Lexington & Bunker Hill
Residence of soldier at enlistment, Dedham, Mass.
Date of application for pension, Sept. 21, 1832 - Cl. al.
Residence at date of application, Dedham, Norfolk Co., Mass.
Age at date of application, born Springfield Parish, Dedham, Nov. 15, 1749.
Remarks: Date of death not stated; nor is there any family data. After the Revolution he lived in Dedham Mass. and Washington, N.H.
Very respectfully,
Commissioner.

Production
21445
INVALID.
File No. 21445-
Samuel Richards
His Rent
Act: June 7 th 89 th
Index:—Vol. 2 , Page 372
[Arrangement of 1870.]
Apl. 5, 1904 - No 5 Mrs W. C. Kent - New Orleans La
1912, Mar. 15, Hist. 10 Samuel J. Richards.

Joseph Richards
Private 10 mos 14 days Ard
33 1/2 56 89 1/2
Grace Esther Alice

B R I E F objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Joseph Richard Deaham 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? no 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? yes Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct? 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? 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 shown 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.

Josiah Richards.
In the battles of Bunker Hill and Monmouth of the Revolutionary War, and later directly under Washington.
Resided, at least after the war, at Washington, N. H., at which point he was awarded a pension.
Died at Dedham, Mass.
Probably enlisted from Maine or Massachusetts.
Certified copies of the record of Josiah Richards are requested in order that his Great Granddaughter, Mrs. W. O. Hart, 3706 Prytania Street, New Orleans, La., may apply for membership in the Daughters of the Revolution.

Max Dinkelspiel
W.O. Hart
Dinkelspiel & Hart Attorneys and Counsellors at Law
No. 134 Old No. 12) Carondelet Street
P.O. Drawer 641. Telephone N o 695.
New Orleans
March 29th., 1904.
To the Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:-
My wife, Mrs. W.O. Hart, is the Great-great Grand-daughter of Josiah Richards, who served in the battles of Bunker Hill and Monmouth in the Revolutionary War, and later, directly under Washington. He died at Dedham, Mass., but before that, he resided in Washington, N.H. After the War, and while living there, he was awarded a pension. In order that Mrs. Hart may become a member of the Daughters of the Revolution, she desires the official record of her ancestor, and if from this information you can furnish it, will you kindly do so.
Very truly yours;
W.O. Hart

Somerville, Mass
March 12 th 1912
Pension Department, Washington, D.C.
I wish to know if an ancestor of mine Josiah Richards who was born in Dedham, Mass in 1749, fought in the Revolutionary War and was paid a pension by the Government.
Please give me all the facts you can.
Respy.
Samuel V. Richards, 127 Summer St, Somerville, Mass.