Scope and Content: The Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company was incorporated by St 1848, c 307 to build a railroad eastward from the termination of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad near Troy, New York to unite with the Connecticut River Railroad near Greenfield, Massachusetts.  Establishing this line required tunneling through the Hoosac Mountain.  The project was to have been completed in seven years, but the company was placed into receivership by St 1854, c 226.  Commissioners of a sinking fund, including the state treasurer and auditor and the treasurer of the company, were appointed for the investment, care, and management of the company’s monies.  A six-year extension was granted for completing the railroad but because of setbacks in construction of the tunnel, the project was not finished until 1876.  The property, known as the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel (St 1862, c 156), was consolidated with that of the Fitchburg Railroad Company (St 1887, c 52), although the Troy and Greenfield Railroad Company itself continued in existence to 1890.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Notes: Volume 1 (Journal): 1849-1855. Volume 2 (Cash): 1855-1863. Volume 1 also includes unidentified entries, 1829
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Scope and Content: Fortifications at Castle Island, Boston Harbor, used since the 1640s for military and penal purposes, were rebuilt after being burned by evacuating British forces in 1776, and then manned by various militia troops, at times under the command of Paul Revere.  A military garrison consisting of a company of men was established there in 1779; the island became the site of a prison facility for Massachusetts from 1785 to 1798.  Wages to garrison personnel were paid in accordance with enabling legislation (Resolves 1779-80, c 420) and later revisions thereto.  Series was created to reimburse the issuing commissary, William Salisbury, for cost of supplies purchased by soldiers beyond those rations required of the commissary-general by law, such as rum, tobacco, sugar, and milk, through stoppage of wages.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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Scope and Content: Fortifications at Castle Island, Boston Harbor, used since the 1640s for military and penal purposes, were rebuilt after being burned by evacuating British forces in 1776, and then manned by various militia troops, at times under the command of Paul Revere.  A military garrison consisting of a company of men was established there in 1779; the island became the site of a prison facility for Massachusetts from 1785 to 1798.  In Mar. 1786 the governor was authorized to order appropriate disabled (invalid) military pensioners to serve garrison duty (Resolves 1785, Feb 1786 Sess, c 134), while concern over limited space in the garrison for prisoners led to authorization of construction of a separate building for the prison (Resolves 1785, Feb 1786 Sess, c 166).  Increase in the number of prisoners led in July 1786 to a general policy of placing disabled pensioners in the garrison (Resolves 1786, May Sess, c 123), a practice ended in Nov. 1788 (Resolves 1788, Oct Sess, c 73).  Pensioners were paid both their existing pension and and increment for time spent as members of the garrison.  Series consists of rolls drawn up quarterly by the garrison’s commanding officer for submission to governor and council, which issued a warrant authorizing payment by the state treasurer, per Resolves 1786, Jan 1787 Sess, c 43 and Resolves 1787, May Sess, c 74.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
Notes: Rolls include: Mar. 17-Sept. 17, 1786; Jan. 25-Apr. 25, 1787; Apr. 25-July 25, 1787; July 25-Oct. 25, 1787, Oct. 25, 1787-Jan. 25, 1788.  Records not represented here are found as official or clerk’s copies in: Castle Island payrolls for soldiers ((M-Ar)1732X)
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Scope and Content: Fortifications at Castle Island, Boston Harbor, used since the 1640s for military and penal purposes, were rebuilt after being burned by evacuating British forces in 1776, and then manned by various militia troops, at times under the command of Paul Revere.  A military garrison consisting of a company of men was established there in 1779; the island became the site of a prison facility for Massachusetts from 1785 to 1798.  Wages to garrison personnel were paid in accordance with enabling legislation (Resolves 1779-80, c 420) and later revisions thereto.  Series consists of rolls drawn up quarterly by the garrison’s commanding officer for submission to governor and council, which issued a warrant authorizing payment by the state treasurer.
Arrangement: In two subseries: (1) Payrolls (2) Payroll books; Arranged chronologically by year
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Restrictions: Some restrictions apply to this series. Staff member must be present at use
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Restrictions: Some restrictions apply to this series. Staff member must be present at use
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Scope and Content: To encourage domestic cultivation of hemp and manufacture of hemp products (rope, duck and other sail cloth, and twine), the Massachusetts General Court mandated per Resolves 1786, Sept Sess, c 83, that a bounty be paid by the Commonwealth to anyone raising and manufacturing products from hemp–or raising and selling hemp for manufacture–upon submission to the state treasurer of certificates from local selectmen and the local surveyor of hemp or, if none, a reputable ropemaker.  The bounty was increased by Resolves 1787, Feb 1788 Sess, c 102, which also added bounties for other hemp manufactures as inspected by the commissary general.  Resolves 1789, Jan 1790 Sess, c 111 continued the bounties through Dec. 1791, again raising the one on hemp.  Resolves 1790, Jan 1791 Sess, c 157 appropriated the needed revenues for such bounties (see: Unsold canceled lottery tickets, 1790-1792 ((M-Ar)2263X)), which were continued through June 1793 per Resolves 1791, c 1, and through June 1794 per Resolves 1792, May Sess, c 66.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically in three groups, thereunder alphabetically by initial letter of surname
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Scope and Content: Massachusetts provided for the payment of bounties to its citizens for the killing of certain noxious animals from the earliest times until 1838.  Under colonial government, legislation beginning in 1630 (Nov. 9–Mass Recs 1: 81) sporadically mandated payment of a bounty for killing of wolves (and for a few years foxes) by the affected town or the colony.   The procedure begun in 1645 (May 14–Mass Recs 2: 103) provided for payment by the town and subsequent reimbursement by the colony (see also 1648 (Oct. 18–Mass Recs 2: 252, requiring producing the wolf’s head–subsequently to be buried–as proof of kill), 1653 (Aug. 30–Mass Recs 4, pt 1: 153), and 1662 (May 7–Mass Recs 4, pt 2: 42)) –Under provincial government, similar legislation (St 1693, c 6) required the town constable to cut off the wolf’s ears when providing a receipt to authorize payment of bounty by town officials.  St 1694-5, c 26 provided the prescribed form of certificate (printed and distributed by the provincial treasurer) subsequently to be filed by the town with the treasurer for state reimbursement (modified by St 1720-21, c 8).  There was additional provision for killing of wildcats (St 1728-29, c 9) and of bears and catamounts (St 1741-42, c 23), but these laws were of limited duration; they were renewed or revived, but not after 1756 (St 1753-54, c 15) –Under state government, similar procedures for payment of wolf bounties were revived, with wolf ears not only cut off but burnt (St 1782, c 39); bounties were later reinstituted for other noxious animals, but only at the town’s expense (St 1817, c 144), until state reimbursement was added by St 1835, c 102, for bounties on bears, wildcats, and foxes.  These laws, codified as RS 1836, c 54, were repealed by St 1838, c 38, which again left financial responsibility for bounty payments with the individual towns.
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Restrictions: Some restrictions apply to this series. Staff member must be present at use
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Restrictions: Some restrictions apply to this series. Staff member must be present at use
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