Scope and Content: As early as the seventeenth century, the Massachusetts legislature provided pensions to soldiers wounded or disabled while in military service. Throughout the Revolutionary War, pensions continued to be issued at the state level to members of the Continental Army, as authorized by the Continental Congress. In addition, Massachusetts also provided post-war bonuses (bounties) in the form of monetary payment or a grant of land in Maine to veterans meeting certain requirements. Because so few individuals were disabled in service or qualified for bounties, the state granted pensions or bounties to only several hundred individuals. From 1789 pensions were funded by the federal government, from 1792 new pensions were administered by it, and from 1806 veterans of state troops and militia were also eligible. From 1818, Congress expanded pension eligibility for Revolutionary War service beyond invalidism, adding thousands to the rolls. However, to qualify, veterans often needed to obtain certificates of service from the state.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by date of application
Notes: Spine title: Certificates of service. –Contents: [v. 1] Applicants for pension 1832/list of pension applicants 1832, July 1832-Feb. 1833. [v. 2] Old soldiers book of certificates, Feb. 1834-Feb. 1836. [v. 3] v. 1 on spine, May 1843-Feb. 1846. [v. 4] v. 2 on spine, Feb. 1846-July 1852,. [v. 5] v. 3 on spine, July 1852-1885. Data for Feb. 1833-Feb. 1834: See Muster rolls of the Revolutionary War ((M-Ar)57X), v. 53, p. 140; data for 1836-1842 lacking
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