Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 3195, Nathaniel Coleman, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Mass.
Coleman, Nathaniel
S. 3195-
CONTENTS
carded

Pittsburgh 22.60 Nathaniel Coleman.
Ashtabula in the State of Ohio who was a Private, in the Co. _____ commanded by Captain Biddle - of the Regt. _____ commanded by Col. Patterson. - in the Class. time for 6 months.
Inscribed on the Roll of Ohio Pittsburgh, at the rate of 20 Dollars 00 Cents per annum, to commence on the 14th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 3 rd day of Dec 1833 and sent to Luther Spelman, Wayne, W.C. Ohio.
Arrears to the 14th of Sep. 1833. - 50. Semi-ant. allowance ending 4 Mar 34, 10.
$ 60.00
{ Revolutionary Claim, Act June 7, 1832
Recorded by Wm. B. Palmer J.C. Book 6 Vol. 8 Page 10

STATE OF OHIO,
Ashtabula COUNTY, } ss.
ON this Third day of August A D 1832 personally appeared in open court before me Luther Spellman a Judge of the court of Common Pleas for said County now sitting , Nathaniel Coleman a resident of Wayne in the county of Ashtabula and state of Ohio, aged 78 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, 1832.
THAT he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers, and served as herein stated.
That about two years before the commencement of the revolutionary war he enlisted as a minute man as they were then called. And at the time of the battle of Lexington was abroad in the State of Connecticut, and he immediately returned to the town of Chesterfield in Hampshire County in the State of Massachusetts, the place of his residence. And found that the regiment to which he then belonged had already marched for Boston. He then in the month of April 1775 joined a regiment then on the march for Boston as a volunteer. Said the company was commanded by Capt. Dibble and the regiment was commanded by Col. Peterson. & forthwith marched for for Boston. & took up quarters at Cambridge, and that he participated in the action of the fort at Charlestown neck, was engaged at the battle of Bunker's Hill in June of that year. At first from this time he was engaged in taking a tender of two guns belonging to the Sumner's Creek battery, which enterprise was commanded by Genl. Putnam. The tender was burned at Chelsea ferry way to the north east of Boston. That he continued to serve for the period of nine months when he was discharged, while absent at his residence on furlough in consequence of ill health.
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, or (if any) only on that of the agency of the state of
SWORN to and subscribed, the day and year aforesaid.
Luther Spellman
Nath l Coleman
WE, Elias Morse a clergyman, residing in the Township of Williamsfield in said County and Jonathan Tuttle residing in said Township hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with Nath l Coleman who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be 78 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.
Elias Morse
SWORN, and subscribed, the day and year aforesaid.
Luther Spellman
Jonathan Tuttle
AND the said court do hereby declare their  my 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 me that Elias Morse who has signed the preceding certificate, is a clergyman, resident in the Township of Williamsfield and that Jonathan Tuttle who has also signed the same, is a resident in the town of Williamsfield and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit. I further certify that from bodily infirmity the said Nath l Coleman is unable to attend court.
Luther Spellman

The State of Ohio Ashtabula County ss
I Sam. Hendry Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas within and for said County of Ashtabula do hereby certify that Luther Spellman whose name appears subscribed to the within certificates in his own proper hand writing and before whom the within Affidavit was taken was on the third day of August
A.D. 1832 and still is one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas within and for said County of Ashtabula duly Commissioned and sworn agreeably to the Laws of the State of Ohio - In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said Court at Jefferson the seventh day of August A.D. 1832
Sam. Hendry Clerk
Amendatory Affidavit
The State of Ohio ss. Before me Luther Spellman an associate Judge for said county Ashtabula County ss. Personally appeared Nathaniel Coleman who first being duly sworn says that by reason of extreme age he cannot state the precise time he was in actual military service of the United States; But that according to the best of his recollection and belief he was with the army and engaged in actual service in camp little more than six months - That by reason of ill health he received a furlough from his captain and left the army encampment, but was under pay and subject to the orders of his officers a little short of three months making in the whole nine months service for which he claims a pension
Nath l Coleman
Sworn to and subscribed Before me
This 16 th day of November A.D. 1832 - Luther Spellman } Associate Judge Com. Pleas -

27.064
22.680
Nathaniel Coleman Ohio
Return of
Adn H. Moulton —
Luther Spelman Wagone J. D. Liddings Jefferson Ashtabula Co Ohio

WAR DEPARTMENT,
Pension Office,
24 th th Sep. 1883.
Sir:
The evidence in support of your claim, under the act of June 7, 1832, has been examined, and the papers are herewith returned. The following is a statement of your case in a tabular form. On comparing these papers with the following rules, and the subjoined notes, you will readily perceive that objections exist, which must be removed, before a pension can be allowed. The notes and the regulations will shew what is necessary to be done. Those points to which your attention is more particularly directed, you will find marked in the margin with a brace, (thus: { ). You will, when you return your papers to this Department, send this printed letter with them; and you will, by complying with this request, greatly facilitate the investigation of your claim.
A Statement, shewing the Service of Nathaniel Coleman
   Period when the service was rendered. Duration of the claimant's service. Rank of the claimant. Names and rank of the Field officers under whom he served. Age at present, and place of abode when he entered the service. Proof by which the declaration is supported.   Years. Months. Days.     April 1775 9. priv Capt. Dible Col Patterson Gen Putnam 78 years Mass. Traditionary  
I am, respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
J. L. EDWARDS,
Commissioner of Pensions.
The applicant will please state whether he was the entire 9. Months engaged in actual military service

REGULATIONS UNDER THE ACT OF JUNE 7, 1832.
The following regulations have been adopted:
This law has been construed to extend, as well to the line, as to every branch of the Staff of the Army, and to include under the terms "Continental Line," "State troops," "militia," and "volunteers," all persons enlisted, drafted, or who volunteered and who were bound to military service, but not those who were occasionally employed with the army upon civil contracts, such as Clerks to Commissaries and to Store Keepers, &c., Teamsters, Boatmen, &c. Persons who served on board of private armed vessels are also excluded from the benefits of the law, as well as persons who turned out as patrols, or were engaged in guarding particular places at night, and were not recognized as being in actual military service.
Four general classes of cases are embraced in this law:
 1. The Regular Troops.  2. The State Troops, Militia, and Volunteers.  3. Persons employed in the Naval Service.  4. Indian Spies. 
As rolls of the regular troops in the Revolutionary War exist in this Department, all persons claiming the benefit of this law as officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians or privates, will, in the first instance, make application by transmitting the following declaration, which will be made before a Court of Record of the County where such applicant resides. And every Court having by law a seal and Clerk is considered a Court of Record.
DECLARATION,
In order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of the 7th of June, 1832.
State, Territory, or District of } ss. County of } On this _____ day of _____ personally appeared (a) before A. B. a resident (b) of _____ in the county of _____ and State, Territory or District of _____ aged (c) _____ 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 provision made by the act of Congress, passed June 7th, 1832. That he enlisted in the Army of the United States in the year (d) _____, with _____ and served in the _____ (e) regiment of the _____ line, under the following named officers:
[Here set forth the names and rank of the Field and Company Officers; the time he left the service; (and if he served under more than one term of enlistment, he must specify the particular period, and rank and names of his officers;) the town or county and State in which he resided when he entered the service; the battles, if any, in which he was engaged, and the country through which he marched. This form is to be varied so as to apply to the cases of officers and persons who belonged to the militia, volunteers, navy, &c.]
He hereby renounces every claim (f) whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of any Agency in any State, or (if any) only on that of _____ the Agency in the State of _____
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
A. B.
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]
And the said Court do hereby declare their opinion (g) that the above named applicant was a revolutionary soldier, and served as he states.
I _____ of the Court of _____ do hereby certify (h) that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of _____ for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office (i) this _____ day of _____ &c.
If, on examination of the proper record, the names of applicants, making such declaration, cannot be found, they will produce such proof as the rule given in note (j) points out.
Every applicant who claims a pension by virtue of service in the State Troops, Volunteers or Militia, except those who belonged to the New Hampshire Militia and State Troops of Virginia, will make and subscribe a declaration similar to the foregoing, with the following additions, viz:
(k) We, A. B., a Clergyman, residing in the _____ and C. D. residing in (the same) _____, who has hereby certify, that we are well acquainted with _____, who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be _____ 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.
Sworn and subscribed the days and year aforesaid.
[And then will follow the certificate of the Court.]
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 certifies, that it appears to them that A. B. who has signed the preceding certificate is a clergyman, resident in the _____ and that C. D., who has also signed the same is a resident in the _____ and is a credible person, and that their statement is entitled to credit.
I, _____ Clerk of the Court of _____ do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court, in the matter of the application of _____ for a pension.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office, this _____ day of _____ &c.
Every applicant will produce the best proof in his power. This is the original discharge or commission; but if neither of these can be obtained, the party will so state under oath, and will then procure, if possible, the testimony of at least one credible witness, stating in detail his personal knowledge of the services of the applicant, and such circumstances connected therewith, as may have a tendency to throw light upon the transaction.
If such surviving witness cannot be found, the applicant will so state in his declaration, (l) and he will also, whether he produce such evidence or not, proceed to relate all the material facts, which can be useful in the investigation of his claim, and in the comparison of his narrative with the events of the period of his

alleged service, as they are known at the Department. A very full account of the services of each person will be indispensable to a favorable action upon his case. The facts will afford one of the principal means of corroborating the declaration of the applicant, if true, or of detecting the imposition, if one be attempted; and unless, therefore, these are amply and clearly set forth, a favorable decision can be expected. All applicants will appear before some Court of Record in the County in which they reside, and there subscribe and be sworn to, one of the declarations above provided, according to the nature of his case.
The Court will propound the following (m) interrogatories to all applicants for a pension on account of service in the Militia, State troops, or Volunteers, except the Militia of New Hampshire and the State troops of Virginia.
 1. Where and in what year were you born?  2. Have you any record of your age, and if so, where is it?  3. Where were you living when called into service; where have you lived since the Revolutionary war, and where do you now live?  4. How were you called into service; were you drafted, did you volunteer, or were you a substitute? And if a substitute, for whom?  5. State the names of some of the Regular Officers, who were with the troops, where you served; such Continental and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of your services. 
6. { To a Soldier. { Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given, and what has become of it? { To an Officer. { Did you ever receive a commission, and if so, by whom was it signed, and what has become of it?
7. State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood, and who can testify as to your character for veracity, and their belief of your services as a soldier of the Revolution. The Court will see that the answers to these questions are embodied in the declaration, and they are requested to annex their opinions of the truth of the statement of the applicant.
The applicant will further produce in Court, if the same can be done, in the opinion of the Court, without too much expense and inconvenience to him, two respectable persons—one of whom should be the nearest clergyman, if one lives in the immediate vicinity of such applicant, who can testify, from their acquaintance with him, that they believe he is of the age he represents, and that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood to have been a Revolutionary soldier, and that they concur in that opinion. If one of these persons is a Clergyman, the Court will so certify, and they will also certify to the character and standing of other persons giving such certificates.
The traditional evidence of service is deemed very important, in the absence of any direct proof, except the declaration of the party. And the Courts are requested to be very particular in the inquiry whether the belief is general, and whether any doubts have ever existed upon the subject.
Applicants unable to appear in Court, by reason of bodily infirmity, may make the declaration before required, and submit to the examination, before a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record of the proper county, and the Judge or Justice will execute the duties, which the Court is herein requested to perform, and will also certify that the applicant cannot, from bodily infirmity, attend the Court.
Whenever any official act is required to be done by a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or by a Justice of the Peace, the certificate of the Secretary of State or Territory, or of the proper Clerk of the Court or County, under his seal of office, will be annexed, stating that such person is a Judge or Justice of a Court of Record, or a Justice of the Peace, and that the signature annexed is his genuine signature.
No payments can be made on account of the services of any person, who may have died before the taking effect of the act of June 7, 1832; and in case of death subsequent thereto, and before the declaration herein required is made, the parties interested will transmit such evidence as they can procure, taken and authenticated before a Court of Record, showing the services of the deceased, the period of his death, the opinion of the neighborhood respecting such services, the title of the claimant, and the opinion of the Court upon the whole matter.
[a] The declarant must appear in open Court, unless prevented from doing so by reason of bodily infirmity; in which case the declarant will follow the rule laid down for his guidance.
[b] The declarant must make his declaration in the county where he resides. If he should fail to do so, he must assign a sufficient reason for not conforming to the rule.
[c] The age of the claimant must invariably be mentioned.
[d] The declarant must mention the period or periods of the war when he served.
[e] Every continental officer or soldier must give the name of the Colonel under whom he served; otherwise a satisfactory examination of the claim cannot be had. Every claimant must state, 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. 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 that 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.
[f] The law makes the relinquishment indispensable.
[g] The opinion of the Court is always required.
[h] The Clerk must give his certificate in every case.
[i] The Clerk must affix his seal, and if it has no device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal, or if he 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.
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 papers 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.
Proof of Service.
[j] 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 claimant's 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.
[k] The notes from [a] to [i] are all equally applicable to the cases of Militia men, Volunteers and State Troops. The proof required by rule in note [j] applies to continental troops only.
[l] This traditional evidence is indispensable in militia cases.
[m] If a witness cannot be found, the declarant must state the fact.
[n] The answers to the interrogatories must all be written, and sent to the War Department, with the declaration.

October 8, 1934.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hilda C. Hayward 839 Park Avenue Meadville, Pennsylvania
BA-J/ady Nathaniel Coleman S.3195
Dear Madam:
Reference is made to your letter relative to Nathaniel Coleman, a soldier of the Revolutionary War.
The data contained herein are obtained from the papers on file in the Revolutionary War claim for pension, S.3195, based upon his military service in that war.
Prior to the Revolutionary War Nathaniel Coleman belonged to a regiment of minute men. At the time of the battle of Lexington, he was absent in Connecticut, but immediately returned to his home in Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, to find that the regiment to which he belonged had marched, so he enlisted in April 1775, as private in Captain Dibbell's Company, Colonel Paterson's Massachusetts Regiment. He was in service nine months during which he was in the battle of Bunker Hill and while on furlough at home he was discharged on account of ill health.
He was allowed pension on his application executed August 3, 1832 while a resident of Wayne, Ashtabula County, Ohio, and aged seventy-eight years.
There are no family data.
This is the record of the only Nathaniel Coleman of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, that is found on the Revolutionary War records of this office.
Very truly yours
A. D. HILLER Assistant to Administrator
Date of death not on A.B.

Rev. & 1812 Wars Section.
April 14, 1927.
Mrs. G. D. Butterfield, 1203 Norfolk Ave. Norfolk, Nebr.
Madam:
You are herewith furnished the history of the only Nathaniel Coleman of Chesterfield, Massachusetts, found on the Revolutionary War records of this bureau. It is not stated that he was one of those who poured the tea into Boston Harbor.
From the papers in the pension claim, S. 3195, it appears that Nathaniel Coleman became a minute-man before the Revolution. At the time of the battle of Lexington, he was absent in Connecticut, but immediately returned to his home in Chesterfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts to find that the regiment to which he belonged had marched, so he enlisted in April 1775, as a private in Captain Dibbell's Company, Colonel Paterson's Massachusetts Regiment. He was in the battle of Bunker Hill and after serving about six months, was furloughed on account of ill health and was discharged while at home.
He was allowed pension on his application executed August 3, 1832, while living in Wayne, Ashtabula County, Ohio, aged seventy-eight years. There is no data on file as to family.
Respectfully,
WINFIELD SCOTT, Commissioner.
I did not say that he was a minute man for 2 yrs because I am not sure that such companies were formed that far back of the Revolution

G. E. HAYWARD, M. D.
839 PARK AVENUE MEADVILLE, PENN'A
Sept. 19, 1934.
Director of Pensions, Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir: I have been referred to you for information necessary for me to join the D.A.R. I claim the right through Nathaniel Coleman , of Capt. Oliver Hanchitt's Co. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Quebec, Dec. 31, 1775- was married to Rachel Damon, at Chesterfield, Mass. in 1774.
Will you please tell me the volume & page to authorities for military Record, or direct me to the proper source of information.
Thanking you, I am Yours truly, Hilda Coleman Hayward.

12 Iowa Circle Washington, D.C. April 6, 1913
The Commissioner of Pensions Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
Can you give me the record of Nathaniel Coleman of Chester- field, Mass. I understand he was a soldier during the Revo- lution and was pensioned for disability caused by that service. He died in Wayne, Ohio in 1837.
Yours truly Alida M. Meynes

The Daughters of the American Revolution in Nebraska
Vice-Regent
MRS. GEO. D. BUTTERFIELD NORFOLK
Recording Secretary
MRS. N. A. S. McLEAN MORRILL
Corresponding Secretary
MRS. E. J. WILLIAMS 627 So. 34TH St., LINCOLN
Treasurer
MRS. ADAM McMULLEN 1445 H. St., LINCOLN
Registrar
MRS. GEORGE WANSER DAVID CITY
Historian
MRS. J. L. CODINGTON HAMILTON APT., OMAHA
Auditor
MRS. ALVA LEE BROWN FAIRMONT
Librarian
MRS. F. L. SPEAR FAIRBURY
Chaplain
MRS. MARY ELY GILLETTE McCook
Regent's Secretary
MRS. W. D. BANCROFT 1137 No. 33RD St., LINCOLN
STATE REGENT MRS. CLARENCE S. PAINE STATION A LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
Februaey 16th. 1927.
United States Pension Bureau. Washington, D. C.
Gentlemen:
Can you give me the service record of one Reverend ("Deacon") Nathaniel Coleman of Chesterfield, Massachusetts? He was the grandson of a Coleman, who received a grant of land for services rendered in the French and Indian wars, the grant being located at Chesterfield, Mass.
Printed obituary notices of the Reverend Coleman claim that he was one of a band who boarded the tea-ships of the British and poured the tea into Boston harbor and that he was a pensioner. He died at the age of 83 years, leaving a son, Nathaniel, born Jan. 21st. 1779, who moved to Ohio and was a quarter-master in the war of 1812.
If there are any fees connected with the procuring of this record, kindly inform me and I will remit promptly.
Yours very truly
Mrs. G. D. Butterfield
Mrs. G. D. Butterfield, 1203 Norfolk Avenue, Norfolk, Nebraska.

Hon. J L Edwards _____
Sir — After we had our last papers returned from your office and had corrected a deficiency which was pointed out to us — we had our old papers returned which had miscarried and lost until of late ever since Aug. 1832. We have likewise subjoined an additional affidavit to our original Declaration which we now forward to you and hope it will be acceptable to the War Department If any thing should be lacking in the within declaration so as to prevent us from receiving a Certificate for a pension we hope you will lose no time in transmitting the papers back and pointing out to us their deficiency and we will promptly attend to the same — Your communications directed to Wayne, Ashtabula Co Ohio _____
Respectfully yours &c
Luther Spelman
Nov 18 th 1833 _____

1913 Apr. 12. History to Mrs. Alia M. Maynard. ✓ 1927 Apr. 14. Hist. to Mrs. G. D. Butlerfield (see) 1934 Oct. 8. Hist. to Hilda C. Hayward, a.n.y.
Revman ✓
3195  INVALID.
File No. 3195  Nathaniel Coleman  Print Rev. War
Act: June 7 th  1832
Index:—Vol. A , Page 73
[Arrangement of 1870.]