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
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Scope and Content: In an effort to ease the financial distress in which it found itself immediately after the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts, through the work of various committees sold public land in the District of Maine through the Committee for the Sale of Eastern Lands, the land agents from 1801, and through the Land Office from 1816. Such lands were often purchased with promissory notes. Land speculators sometimes defaulted and notes were then not fulfilled. The General Court passed numerous resolves over the years in an attempt to collect the amounts owed, or to have the lands revert back to the Commonwealth, or to allow more time for certain purchasers to meet their obligations. –With the creation of Maine as a separate state in 1820, the Massachusetts Commissioners Appointed under Act of Separation (until 1828) attempted to collect on unpaid purchases. Later,  the Land Office (usually personalized as the land agent) handled such claims.  Resolves 1847, c 40 directed the land agent to sell lands where notes due on them remained unpaid. St 1850, c 307 designated the state secretary, treasurer, and auditor as   commissioners to approve such sales.  Resolves 1859, c 52 empowered the land agent to resell lands forfeited for unpaid notes within seventeen months after passage of the resolve (i.e., Sept. 1860), and to execute and deliver deeds for such lands. St 1861, c 85 abolished the Land Office.
Notes: Papers were filed with the state treasurer as the primary fiscal agent for the Commonwealth. Extracted from: Massachusetts. Treasury Dept. Deeds for lands owned by the Commonwealth, 1817-1975 ((M-Ar)2468)
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Scope and Content: The Province of the Massachusetts Bay levied excise taxes during the 1750s that were contracted or farmed out by committees appointed by the legislature.  Those to whom the excises were contracted were required to post bond with the provincial treasurer for double the amount to be collected.
Arrangement: Arranged by tax, thereunder chronologically
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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: Per Resolves 1784, Oct Sess, c 64 (Nov. 8, 1784), the Massachusetts General Court allocated monies (increased per Resolves 1797, c 111 (Feb. 23, 1798)) to the commanding officers of militia artillery companies to create gun houses for storage of field pieces and related equipment.  To receive funds, each officer was required to post bond with the state treasurer.  Series includes such signed/sealed bonds directed to the treasurer from various locations including the District of Maine, as well as a copy of the 1784 resolve.
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Scope and Content: St 1781, c 17 (November 1, 1781), amended by St 1781, c 33 (Mar. 7, 1782), established excise (internal duty or tax imposed on the sale or use of certain articles) on wine, rum, spirits, tea, and other items, to be levied on licensed retailers for the purpose of paying interest on government securities. A collector of excise was appointed for each county by the General Court and was required to give bond to the state treasurer.  These acts were repealed by St 1782, c 33 (Nov. 8, 1782), and new excise duties established.  Per St 1782, c 64 (Mar. 22, 1783), imposts (tax or duty on goods imported into the country) were also imposed. St 1783, c 12 (July 10, 1783) required collectors of impost and excise (as they were now known) to give bond to the treasurer. –The post of Comptroller General was established as of Jan. 1, 1787, per St 1786, c 42 (Nov. 10, 1786), to supervise and regularize reporting by impost and excise collectors.  St 1786, c 48 (Nov. 17, 1786) directed impost collectors to give bond to the comptroller general and be sworn to faithful discharge of their duties before a justice of the peace, who was to forward a certificate to the comptroller general.  Resolves 1787, May Sess, c 89 (July 7, 1787) required collectors of impost and excise to take an oath (text included in resolve) before the treasurer or a justice of the peace, prior to submitting any orders or receiving credit for amounts received.  The oath confirmed that the orders were received without promise of any reward, from persons actually owing impost and excise.  St 1788, c 13 (June 20, 1788) continued to direct impost collectors to give bond to the comptroller general.  Resolves 1788, May Sess, c 87 (June 20, 1788) directed collectors to settle accounts with the comptroller general by the end of July as of May first, or be replaced. –The first federal revenue bill after adoption of the U.S. Constitution passed July 4, 1789, whereby regulation of trade and collection of impost ceased to be state functions (cf. St 1789, c 18, June 25, 1789).  St 1789, c 48 (Mar. 3, 1790) imposed a new annual excise on a large variety of articles.  County excise collectors were appointed, giving bond to the comptroller general.  With federal assumption of the state debt from the Revolutionary War, most state excises were repealed by St 1790, c 15 (Sept. 17, 1790), and the post of comptroller general was discontinued per St 1791, c 15 (June 18, 1791), as of July 1791. –Excise collectors after this time continued to collect carriage duties, duties on deeds, and various license duties such as for tavernkeepers or admission of attorneys, in addition to amounts still owing from previous levies.  They continued to be appointed or reappointed per resolves through 1794.  The excise on carriages was repealed by St 1794, c 23 (June 27, 1794).  St 1795, c 80 (Feb. 27, 1796) repealed all remaining excise acts and gave responsibility for collecting various licensing duties to the clerk of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, who forwarded fees directly to the county treasurer.
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically by year
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Scope and Content: St 1786, c 48, c 49, and 47 (Nov. 17, 1786) respectively instituted as of Jan. 1 , 1787 an impost duty on certain goods imported into Massachusetts, an excise tax on certain other imports and other luxury goods sold, and specified that one third of the taxes so collected were for state expenses, the other two thirds for payment of interest on consolidated notes of the Commonwealth.  Resolves 1786, Jan 1787 Sess, c 92 (Mar. 5, 1787) directed correspondingly that collectors of impost and excise were to receive one third of the payments in specie, the remaining two thirds in special treasurer’s certificates issued on imposts and excises appropriated for interest payments.  Such certificates would have been previously issued under as yet undetermined circumstances to individuals through county collectors of the taxes.  Previous excise taxes had been paid by general tax certificates (see Anderson MA 38-39 in: Treasury tax certificates, 1782-1791 ((M-Ar)1597X)).  Issuance of such certificates ceased with the federal assumption of such taxation, its assumption of state debt generally, and the state’s consequent repeal of its impost (St 1789, c 18 (June 25, 1789)) and most excise taxes (St 1790, c 15 (Sept. 17, 1790))
Restrictions: Some restrictions may apply. Staff member must be present at use
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Scope and Content: During the American Revolution, a series of actions taken by the Massachusetts General Court against estates abandoned by departing Loyalists directed legislative agents to take, inventory, auction, or lease real and personal property for state benefit.  Organized by absentee estate from various Massachusetts counties,  ledger lists debits and credits for each estate on facing pages. –Many estates were insolvent, so the percentage of each claim paid out is given, with formulas changing over time as new claims surfaced. Certification of amounts paid into the state treasury was done by members of the Committee for Methodizing Accounts (for history of this body, see (M-Ar)2350X), which was appointed to settle the accounts of the county committees by Resolves 1782, May Sess, c 85 (July 1, 1782).  Absentee estates listed include those of Thomas Hutchinson, Governor Francis Bernard, and Lewis Deblois. John Hancock appears among the claimants to various estates. –Also included are certificates signed by a judge of probate awarding claims against several of the estates.
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