Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 32756, Abraham Gould, Mass

SERVICE
Mass
Gould, Abraham
S. NUMBER
S. 32756
CONTENTS

10.057
Massachusetts Abraham Gould
of Boston in the State of Massachusetts who was a private in the company commanded by Captain Barnes of the Regiment commanded by Colonel Ward in the Massachusetts line, for the term of one year , from _____ 1776 to _____ 1776
scribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of eight Dollars per month, to commence on the 9 day of April 1818.
Certificate of Pension issued the 1 of May , 1819 and sent to Judge Wellman , Boston .
Arrears to 4th of March 1819 — $ 86.89 Semi-ann. all'ce ending 4 Sep. 1819 — 48. —
$ 134.89
{ Revolutionary Claim, Acts March, 18, 1818, and May 1, 1820. }
Continued 30 May 1829 & notification sent to John W. Davis , Boston . Pension commencing 9 May, 1829. Amount due 6 Sept 1829. $ 31. —

Ab. Goulds.
x
Abraham Gould 76 - 14 Ward Map to Reg. Submitted

State of Massachusetts
I Abraham Gould a Citizen of the United States, now resident at Boston in the County of Suffolk in the State aforesaid, do on oath testify and declare, that in the War of the Revolution, on the Month of April Anno Domini One thousand seven hundred & seventy five
I entered and was engaged in the land service of the United States on the continental establishment, and served accordingly from that time to the latter part of December Anno Domini Seventeen hundred & seventy six in the Massachusetts line of the army.
as a Private against the common enemy, without any interruption or absence: that I belonged to the Company of Captain Barnes in the Regiment commanded by Colonel Jonathan Ward for one year & eight months.
and that I left the service on the expiration of the term aforesaid before then honorably discharged and that by reason of my reduced circumstances in life and poverty, I stand in need of assistance from my country for support, being now of the age of sixty four years upwards.
And I hereby relinquish all claim to every pension heretofore allowed me by the laws of the United States, if any may be or hath been so allowed.
Abraham Gould
BE IT REMEMBERED, That on this ninth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen Pursuant to a law of the United States, entitled, "An Act to provide for certain persons engaged in the land and naval service of the United States in the revolutionary war," made and passed on the 18th of March, A. D. 1818, personally appeareth before me the subscriber one of the Associate
Judges of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas within the State aforesaid & presiding pro vice
the abovenamed Abraham Gould and after due examination and caution to testify and declare the whole truth, he maketh oath to the declaration aforesaid, and subscribes the same in my presence; and, on examination duly made by me the said Judge, it appeareth to my satisfaction that the said declaration is true. In testimony
whereof I hereunto affix my name & the seal of Court Wm Wetmore
June 22 d 1818. I further certify that the within named deed Deponents are credible

I the subscriber testify that I was a drummer in Colonel John Greatons Regiment & that I am well acquainted with Abraham Gould, the subscriber to the written declaration & know that he served faithfully in Capt Barnes company & Col Jonathan Wards Regi- ment upwards of a year. During the Revolutionary war & that he was a Corporal in s d company.
Zachariah Thayer
I the subscriber of Boston, trader, do testify & say that I will know Abraham Gould the declarant within named, & that he served in the same regiment & company, viz Col Jonathan Wards regiment & Capt Barnes company, with me. I served in that company more than nine months, & I know that the s d Gould, continued to serve therein all that time; I was afterwards transferred to a company of artificers. I know that he served more than nine months. — George Bender
Sworn to by both the said Deponents
before me W m Wetmore judge within named

credible & disinterested witnesses have been duly sworn
Wm Whitmore

all around JAE
churched
Con

Schedule of Abraham Gould's Property referred to in the annexed Affidavit.
Four acres of land situated in Dorchester, in the County of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, no buildings of any description thereon, said land is covered with stumps of the trees, which were lately cut, and totally uncultivated, valued at from twelve to fifteen dollars per acre, say sixty dollars. 60.00
Two Pews in H. Matthews Chapel South Boston, valued at twenty dollars each, say forty dollars. 40.00
One Share in South Boston Bridge. The Bridge now pays nothing, by reason of a free Bridge having been lately erected in its vicinity. The most which my share would now bring is twenty five dollars, say 25.00
$125.00
I have no occupation, having been badly ruptured for the last sixteen years, I am unable to labor. My family (besides myself) residing with me, consists of six persons, viz: My wife Susannah Gould , aged sixty one or sixty two, an invalid, and unable to pursue any occupation. One son, named John Gould , aged thirty years, who supports himself by renting a piece of land, about five acres, and cultivating it; earns no more than sufficient to support

himself. William Gould , aged twenty six years, subject at times, to derangement of mind, owing to a disorder in the head, who is associated with John in cultivating the land above mentioned, and by his labor therein is just enabled to support himself. Mary Gould , aged twenty eight years, Elizabeth Gould , aged twenty four years, and Ann Jane Gould , aged twenty years, who respectively assist in household affairs. For the last fifteen or twenty years I have kept a boarding house, having sometimes as many as nine boarders, at other times no more than two; the compensation paid to me by said boarders has been but just sufficient to pay the expenses of the establishment. I have now but one boarder in my family, who intends soon to leave me, and I have no expectation of obtaining any other boarders. I live in a house belonging to my son John, which is is mortgaged for about twelve hundred dollars, I pay no rent to my son for said house, and neither does he, or any of my children pay me anything for their board. The furniture in the house occupied by me, is the property of my son Reuben Gould, who is a mainer by profession, & who grants to my wife gratuitously the use thereof. Said Reuben has contributed nothing further than the above to our support.
Abraham Gould.

3 County of Suffolk Ss.
On this eighth day of May 1829, personally appeared in open Court, to wit, in the District Court of the United States within and for the Massachusetts District, being a Court of record, Abraham Gould, resident in said County, aged seventy three years, who, being first duly sworn according to law, doth, on his oath, make the following declaration, in order to obtain the provision made by the acts of Congress, of the 18 th March 1818, and the 1 st of May 1820, that he the said Abraham Gould enlisted for the term of eight months, in the year seventeen hundred and seventy five, in the State of Massachusetts, in the company commanded by Captain Barnes, in the regiment commanded by Colonel Ward, in the line of the State of Massachusetts, on the Continental establishment; that he continued to serve in said corps, until some time in the winter of 1775-6, when he enlisted again in the same company and regiment for the term of one year; that he continued to serve in the said corps until some time in the winter of 1776-7, when he was discharged from the service in the State of New Jersey (does not recollect the name of the town where he was discharged.) That he hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension, except the present; that his name has been placed on the pension list; that the number of his pension certificate is 10,057; and that he never before exhibited a schedule of his property, because, until this last winter, there was considerable quantity of wood standing on the land des-

4 cribed in his schedule annexed, the value of which wood, together with the amount of his other property, he supposed, would be so great; as to exclude him. The wood abovementioned is now cut off, and the proceeds thereof expended for the support of himself and family and for the payment of sundry debts. His share in South Boston Bridge has also heretofore been of some value, but is now of little or no value, by reason of the construction of a free bridge in its vicinity.
And, in pursuance of the act of the 1 st May 1820, I do solemnly swear, that I was a resident citizen of the United States on the 18 th 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 18 th 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. That since the 18 th of March 1818, the following changes have been made in my property. On said 18 th day of March, 1818, I was possessed of a quantity of

5 small wood, the second growth, then standing on the land described in my schedule annexed, consisting of oak, maple, and walnut, and some birch. This wood was cut down, at different periods, during the three last preceding winters; the greater part of this wood was consumed in the applicant's family for fuel; the residue, amounting to about thirty dollars, he sold to divers of his creditors, for the purpose of satisfying their claims, in part. The whole of said wood, I should think, was worth about one hundred dollars, when standing on the land. My share in Boston South Bridge has also depreciated in value from about two hundred dollars to about twenty five dollars.
Abraham Gould
Sworn to, and declared, on the eighth day of May A. D. 1829, before the Honorable John Davis, Judge of the Massachusetts District Court, in open Court
Attest John Davis Clerk of Massachusetts District Court
I John Watson Davis, Clerk of the District Court of the United States, within and for the Massachusetts District, do hereby certify, that it appears, to the satisfaction of the Court, that the said Abraham Gould did serve in the Revolutionary War, as stated in

6. the preceding declaration, against the common enemy, for the term of nine months, under one engagement, on the continental establishment. I also certify, that the foregoing oath and the schedule thereto annexed, are truly copied from the records 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 above-said schedule is one hundred and twenty five dollars.
In Testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the seal of the said Court on this ninth day of May A.D. 1829.
Wm Davis Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Massachu- setts.
C. S.
388

10,057
Massachusetts
Abraham Gould
of Boston in the state of Massachusetts who was a private in the regiment commanded by Colonel Ward of the Massachusetts line, for the term of one year
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of eight Dollars per month, to commence on the 9 th of April 1818
Certificate of Pension issued the 1 st of May 1819 and put to Inace W. Wetmore Boston Massachusetts
  Arrears to 4th of Mar:  1819.  86.80    Semi-anl. all'ce ending 4 th Sep: 1819   48.00      $134.89  
{ Revolutionary claim, } { Act 18th March, 1818. }

Pension Office 15 th May, 1829.
Con
See p. 3 of Sch.

District Clerk's Office
Boston 11. May 1829
Hon John H. Eaton
Secretary of War
Sir
Enclosed herewith is the declaration of Abraham Gould, made in order to be continued on the Pension list, under the act of May 1 st 1820, together with the affidavits of William Clap, Samuel D. Parker and Zachariah G. Whitman respectively, as to the value of different portions of his property. These affidavits were sworn to before me; and having certified thereto in my capacity of Clerk of the U States Court, as well as that of Justice of the peace, I deemed it unnecessary to obtain the certificate of any officer as to my official character and signature, my signature with the seal of Court, being affixed to the Declaration. You will confer a favor by

Forwarding to me the pension certificate when prepared.
I am very respectfully
Your obed Servt.
Will Davis Clerk of Mafitts Dist. Court

32 756 Rev INVALID.
File No. 82 756
Abraham Gould
Rev Rev War
Act: 18 th March 1818 th
Index:—Vol. 2 , Page 159
[Arrangement of 1870.]

Dorchester April 28 th 1829
Yesterday the Assessors of the Town of Dorchester met, & mentioned Mr Abraham Goulds, request for the Appraisement of about four Acres of Land near Mr Henry Bird, they thought it unnecessary but expressed their opinion that the present value of the Land was not more than from twelve to fifteen dollars per Acre -
William Clap { one of the Assessors
United States of America, Massachusetts District. Boston 2. May 1829 Then the said William Clap, who is a credible witness, made oath to the truth of the foregoing certificate by him subscribed.
Before me William Davis Justice of Peace & Clerk of the Norfolk District Court.

Wm Clapp Affidavit
Subpoena duces tecum
to the Hon.
Abraham Lincoln
President of the United States
Washington D.C.

Affidavits of S.D. Parker & Z. G. Whitman

I Zachariah G. Whitman of Boston in the County of Suffolk & Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Esquire, of lawful age, testify and declare, that I am Senior Warden of St. Matthew's Chapel, in South Boston, that I am well acquainted with the value of Pews in said Church. Mr. Abraham Gould of said Boston is owner of two Pews in said Church. It is my opinion that Mr. Gould's two pews would not sell now for more than twenty five dollars. I would not give that sum for them. The society is much embarrassed by a heavy debt, & there is very little prospect of their being relieved from said em- barrassment. No individual holder of pews in said church has ever realized any income from the letting of pews, to my knowledge. Zach. G. Whitman
United States of America Massachusetts District S. Boston 6. May 1829. Then the said Zacha- riah G. Whitman, who is a credible witness, made oath to the truth of the above affidavit by him subscribed
Before me William Davis Justice of Peace & Clerk of Mass'tt District Court

I Samuel D. Parker of Boston in the County of Suffolk, & Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Esquire, do testify and declare, that I have been proprietors Clerk of Boston South Bridge, connecting a part of the City and South Boston, ever since its establishment. It is a Toll Bridge, and its Charter has upwards of thirty years to run. The original cost of a share was over three hundred dollars. Its dividends have yielded between three and four per cent per annum, on its cost, until the last year. During the last year the Legislature granted a free Bridge, connecting South Boston with the City. The free Bridge has been erected, and has been travelled several months. This event has materially diminished the toll of the Boston South Bridge, so that the proprietors have chosen a Committee to petition the Legislature for leave to discontinue the Bridge upon the ground that the tolls received will be inadequate to defray the expenses of keeping the Bridge in repair. The said Committee are instructed to petition the Legislature for leave to convert the Bridge into a solid dam, with mill privileges and mill sites, and for leave to discontinue the Bridge, if that request is refused. I do not think the shares would sell for twenty five dollars each.
Sam d D. Parker
United States of America. Massachusetts District ss. At Boston on the seventh day of May A.D. 1829. Personally appeared the above named Samuel D. Parker, a credible witness, and made oath to the truth of the

above affidavit by him subscribed
Before Wm Davis Justice of Peace & Clerk of Magistrate District Court
Affidavits of J. D. Parker & L. G. Whitman