Scope and Content: In 1776 the Massachusetts General Court appointed a Committee of Sequestration to inventory, lease, and otherwise manage estates abandoned by Loyalists, primarily in Boston, and to forward their confiscated goods or proceeds from their auctioning to state authorities, until its charge was withdrawn in 1781. Series documents chiefly the first and last of these functions. –Vol. 1, 1776-1778, includes inventories of personal and real estate by absentee, listing items such as furnishings, buildings, slaves, books, by room, store, or other location where found. Sheriff William Greenleaf is noted in some entries as the seller at auction. Absentees include Thomas Hutchinson, Lewis Deblois, Gilbert Deblois, and Edward Lyde. Cover title: Absentees’ estates. –Vol. 2, 1776, lists articles delivered to the commissary by order of the committee, and from whose holdings they were taken (many from the Debloises or Edward Lyde). Items include tools, compasses, locks, lead, files, paper, and pans. Notations indicate that Commissary General Francis Abbott received items as of July 1, 1776 and Commissary General Richard Devens after that date. The volume is signed by Jonathan Browne, committee chair. Another version of this record is found in: Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State. Massachusetts archives collection ((M-Ar)45X), v. 280, p.121 et seq., along with other records of the committee, such as inventories, receipts, vouchers, and accounts. Caption title: Account of sundry articles sold to the commissary.
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Records [Massachusetts General Court Committee of Sequestration]
Accounts [Massachusetts General Court Committee to Examine Charges for Support of French Neutrals]
Scope and Content: During the French and Indian War, the inhabitants of the British colony of Nova Scotia known as Acadians were considered of dubious loyalty because of their French origin. Following the British capture of Fort Beauséjour from the French in the spring of 1755, orders were issued to remove these so-called French neutrals from their homes and to transport them to other British colonies, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. –Upon the arrival of French neutrals in Massachusetts, its General Court appointed a joint committee (Resolves 1755-1756, c 186 (Nov. 7, 1755)), to direct their disposition in the province. Per St 1755-56, c 23 (Dec. 24, 1755), county courts, justices of the peace, local overseers of the poor, or selectmen were directed to employ, bind out, or support such individuals as they would any town inhabitant, but also, as would not be the case for their own indigent citizens, to submit accounts of expenses incurred thereby to the provincial secretary for reimbursement until Apr. 10, 1756. –A second joint committee was appointed per Resolves 1755-56, c 235 (Dec. 27, 1755), to oversee these arrangements until further direction was received from Nova Scotia governor Charles Lawrence or the province’s own governor, William Shirley, presently commanding British forces. (A committee appointed per Resolves 1756-57, c 351 (Feb. 14, 1757) did extract a commitment from Lawrence to reimburse the province (c 386 (Feb. 19, 1757; see also Resolves 1756-57, c 521 (Apr. 16, 1757) and Resolves 1757-58, c 327 (Jan. 24, 1758)). The exiles were to remain provincial charges, and their presence in the various towns was not to render them legal inhabitants thereof. These provisions were confirmed on Jan. 16, 1756 (Resolves 1755-1756, c 239) and again on Jan. 24 (Resolves 1755-1756, c 248). St 1755-56, c 35 (Mar. 6, 1756) directed local officials to supply work tools and housing to those exiles who were willing to be self-supporting, and relief to those incapable of work, again submitting accounts to the province for reimbursement of related expenses each June 1, through June 20, 1757. (The act was renewed per St 1757-58, c 7 (June 16, 1757) until Aug. 1, 1757; see also Resolves 1756-57, c 188 (Oct. 13, 1756)) –An order of Council (Leg Recs 21: 186 (May 28, 1756)) concurred with by the House appointed a joint committee to reconsider the fate of the French neutrals; its recommendation was that they be allowed to remain in the province (Resolves 1756-57, c 2 (May 28, 1756)). Whereupon a joint committee to examine charges for support of French neutrals was established per Resolves 1756-57, c 15 (May 31, 1756). It was responsible for reviewing all accounts submitted for the support of French neutrals, as well as for proposing some method of easing the charge to the province, and consisted of Council members Samuel Watts and William Brattle and House of Representative members Samuel Welles and (per Resolves 1756-57, c 32 (June 8, 1756)) Joseph Gerrish and Thomas Clapp. –As recommended by this committee, Resolves 1757-58, c 377 (Mar. 18, 1758), provided that the province was through local government to continue to provide housing, and to provide support to the sick, infirm, and aged French neutrals, but that others were to be self-supporting after Apr. 15, 1758. House members were to survey the condition and capabilities of French neutrals in their districts and report back to the General Court at the next session. These provisions were reiterated in Resolves 1758-1759, c 32 (June 14, 1758). Meantime, the 1756 committee was apparently replaced by one of councillors only (Watts, Brattle, and John Chandler), per Council order of June 8, 1758 (Exec Recs 13: 406) –Resolves 1759-60, c 415 (Apr. 19, 1760) addressed the high cost of provincial support of the French neutrals by having them apportioned to the various counties and then towns in accordance with amount of taxes paid by each locality, and making the towns responsible for their support as with any other poor (see also Resolves 1759-60, c 457 (Apr. 25, 1760), and c 477 (Apr. 26, 1760), which adopted the committee report). Resolves 1760-1761, c 118 (Aug. 15, 1760) explicitly designated French neutrals as legal inhabitants of the towns in which they were located. In placing responsibility for support of French neutrals in the hands of the towns, the General Court effectively ended the work of the committee examining charges.
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Judicial conduct case files [Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct]
Scope and Content: The Commission on Judicial Conduct is the Massachusetts state agency responsible for investigating complaints of judicial misconduct against state court judges and for recommending, when necessary, discipline of judges to the Supreme Judicial Court, through which it is funded. It consists of three judges appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court, three members of the bar appointed by the chief administrative justice of the Trial Court, and three persons appointed by the governor. The functions of the commission are currently outlined in MGLA c 211C, added by St 1978, c 478, s 114, as amended.
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Committee records [Massachusetts General Court Committee on Wood and Hay]
Scope and Content: In Nov. 1775, the Massachusetts General Court established a committee to supply wood and hay to the Continental Army; in fact, since a separate committee was later appointed to administer a resolve directing towns to supply hay, committee records pertain only to wood. Since wood deliveries were complete by the spring of 1776, subsequent records relate to financial transactions only.
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Disbursement books of Revolutionary War expenses [Massachusetts General Court Committee for Methodizing Accounts]
Scope and Content: Massachusetts paid for many expenses in fighting the Revolutionary War, especially during the 1775-1776 period when Washington’s army and the British army were in the Boston area. These expenses included soldier’s pay and bounties, clothing, medical and other supplies, ships, arms, coastal defense as well as support to towns for refugees (the poor) of Boston and Charlestown. Expenses, taken from collected vouchers and receipts, warrants, Council minutes, and other sources, were compiled into books, divided into categories, and often broken down by roll (list) and roughly arranged by date paid by the state. They were then submitted to the federal government for reimbursement. Massachusetts had sought such reimbursement from early on, but final settlement of these accounts did not take place until 1793. –Reimbursement was a lengthy process caused by financial difficulties of the new federal government and the complications of establishing methods of receiving, organizing, exhibiting, and getting approval of expenses. Initially, a committee of the General Court prepared two books of disbursements (war expenses covered by the Massachusetts government) paid out during the years 1774-1775 and 1775-1776. These were submitted to the Continental Congress by Joseph Henderson, but reimbursement was not forthcoming. Another committee was appointed per Resolves 1777-78, c 563 (Dec. 13, 1777) to determine and prepare disbursements made since Dec. 31, 1776, for additional submission. –A joint committee for stating and methodizing public accounts was first established per Resolves 1777-78, c 974 (Apr. 20, 1778). It was responsible for reviewing accounts and collecting vouchers for all of the various sections of the government from the time of the Provincial Congresses onward to determine the state of the public accounts in Massachusetts. Per Resolves 1778-79, c 433 (Feb. 3, 1779), responsibility for disbursement submission was also given to this committee, as the Dec. 13, 1777 committee had not yet fulfilled its charge. The form of the committee varied over the years; usually John Deming and Peter Boyer were members. (For examples of specific mandates to the committee relating to its original mission see Resolves 1787, May Sess, c 113 (where it is called the Committee on Methodizing Accounts) and Resolves 1787, Oct Sess, c 107). Eventually Deming alone was appointed to continue receiving and collecting claims against the United States (Resolves 1790, May Sess, c 77, June 23, 1790), and was later involved in certifying amounts owed to various persons for Revolutionary War expenses. He was officially discharged as of July 15, 1794, per Resolves 1794, May Sess, c 36 (June 17, 1794) –Congress, per a resolve of Feb. 1782, called for states to submit expenses (within a six-month deadline, per an ordinance of May 7) and appointed commissioners to review and settle such submissions; those responsible for Massachusetts claims were, successively, William Imlay, 1783-1785, Royal Flint, 1785-1787 (see: Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State. Massachusetts archives collection ((M-Ar)45X), v. 288, p. 220-224), and Col. Haskell, 1787-1788. They reviewed and approved previously submitted accounts as well as current submissions, and issued Massachusetts interest-bearing certificates as reimbursement. Per Resolves 1789, Jan Sess, c 154 (Mar. 8, 1790), Nathan Dane was appointed agent to represent Massachusetts in settling its claims against the federal government before a board of commissioners appointed by Congress. Dane continued to collect additional claims for Revolutionary War expenses through Deming. By 1792 the time for exhibiting accounts to Congress had expired, and in 1793 a final settlement between the federal government and the various states was reached.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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Bonds for settlers at Paquoig and Ashuelot River [Massachusetts General Court Committee to Settle New Western Towns]
Scope and Content: Resolves 1732-33, c 125 provided for the appointment of a committee of the General Court of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay to survey lands at Paquoig (now Athol, Mass.) and on the upper and lower Ashuelot River (now Swanzey and Keene, N.H.), for the purpose of establishing towns on those sites. An additional committee was to be appointed to admit settlers to the towns (Resolves 1733-34, c 125 and c 198). Such settlers were to live on their land within three years of admission, to build a house according to specifications, to till or fit for mowing eight acres, and to give bond of twenty pounds to the committee to be paid in case of failure to perform these requirements. Series consists of completed printed forms stating this obligation, and signed/sealed by the settler and signed by witnesses. All three localities are represented. All documents (19) are dated June 26, 1734. For additional (4) bonds see: Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State. Massachusetts archives collection ((M-Ar)45X), v, 114, p. 99-102. For additional legislation relating to these settlements see Resolves 1733-34, c 82, 182, 184, and 210.
Restrictions: Restricted as fragile; access by permission of state archivist or curator of Massachusetts Archives only
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Hearing files [Massachusetts General Court Joint Committee on Housing and Urban Development]
Scope and Content: The Joint Committee on Housing and Urban Development, a standing committee of the General Court, considers all matters concerning housing and urban renewal, subdivision control, condominium laws, the Metropolitan District Commission, and other matters referred. Hearing files are compiled to document hearings, including preparation, hearing proper, and subsequent actions.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically
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Legislative files [Massachusetts General Court Joint Committee on Housing and Urban Development]
Scope and Content: The Joint Committee on Housing and Urban Development, a standing committee of the General Court, considers all matters concerning housing and urban renewal, subdivision control, condominium laws, the Metropolitan District Commission, and other matters referred. Legislative files are compiled to document legislation considered by the committee.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by year, thereunder by chamber, and then by bill number
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Legislative files [Massachusetts General Court Joint Committee on Transportation]
Scope and Content: The Joint Committee on Transportation, a standing committee of the General Court, considers all matters concerning development, operation, regulation, and control of all means of transportation in the air, on land, or in the water; the imposition of tolls on tunnels and bridges; and other matters referred. Legislative files are compiled to document legislation considered by the committee.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by year, thereunder by chamber, and then by bill number
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Legislative/hearing files [Massachusetts General Court Joint Committee on Health Care]
Scope and Content: The Joint Committee on Health Care, a standing committee of the General Court, considers all matters concerning health care programs and regulation of health care systems, including rate settings, licensing of health facilities and personnel, certificates of need, and health care programs including Medicaid; and other matters referred. It drafts, reviews, and holds hearings on proposed legislation. Legislative/hearing files are compiled to document legislation considered by the committee and hearings thereon, including preparation, hearing proper, and subsequent actions. –include those of the Special Legislative Commission on Lead Poisoning Prevention, established by St 1985, c 140, s 57.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by year, thereunder by chamber/bill number
Notes: 1985-1987 files reduced; 1986 files include passed legislation only; 1989 files largely lacking
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