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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION FILE OF MOSES COBURN PT3

Before going any further , let's see what the entry for Moses is in Genealogy of The Descendants of Edward Colburn/Coburn; came from England, 1635; purchased land in "Dracut on Merrimack," 1668; occupied his purchase, 1669 (1913) :

238. Moses Coburn {Caleb4, Moses3, Joseph2, Edward1) was
born Nov. 24, 1765, and died May, 1845; married, July 17, 1794,
Esther Spaulding, dau. of Lot and Esther (Butterfield) Spaulding
of Pelham, N. H., where she was born Sept. 16, 1769, and died
Feb. 13, 1849; they dwelt in Tyngsboro, Mass., Pelham, N. H.,
and Newry, Me.
Children :
i. Esther, b. Nov. 30, 1794; m. John Miller, Tyngsboro.
ii. Moses, b. Aug. 15, 1796; m. Hannah Barker.
iii. Sarah, b. Oct. 30, 1798; m. John Buck.
iv. Martha, b. Sept. 29, 1800; m. Edward Riley.
V. Wesley, b. Sept. 27, 1802; m. Lucy Stowe.
vi. Dorcas, b. April 9, 1805; m. James Marshall.
vii. Caleb, b. Oct. 30, 1807.
viii. Louisa, b. Aug. 5, 1810; m. Rev. Benjamin Foster.
ix. Lot Spaulding, b. March, 1813; m. Mary Bishop.

p99

So when Moses filed for his pension he'd had nine children, the first five of whom were
probably already out on their own.

One of the images in the Pension File is of a Schedule Submitted by Moses to the Circuit
Court of Middlesex, Massachusetts. It says Moses was residing in Tyngsborough and gives an inventory of his possessions:



1 cow                              $20
Hog                                      8
Sheep and lamb                   2
Table                                      .50
Crockery Ware                     1.50
Glass Ware                             .50
Pots & kettle                        1.50
Chairs                                  1.00
4 dung hill Fowls                   .80
                                          _______
                                          $35.80
                                          _______
Moses Coburn


And the said Moses Coburn further states that he served in the Revolutionary war
as put forth in the original declaration now in the Secretary of Wars office to wit
he entered the service in August 1781 for three years, entered Capt. Benjamin Pike
company in Lieut Col Calvin Smith's Regt and continued in that Regt about nineteen
months then was transferred to the second Regt in the Mass line and continued there
until discharged having served about two and half years.

That he is fifty-five years old his occupation is that of a common day labourer, that he
is not able to do more than half as much as an able bodied man having been worn out
with fatigue in the last and other war that his family residing with him consists of a wife aged fifty one years, weakly and not able to support herself and three children Dorcas Coburn aged fourteen, Louisa Coburn aged seven years, Lot S Coburn five years neither of them able to support themselves.

Moses Coburn


The interesting thing about this inventory and statement is that it's dated June 9, 1820.
It includes the information that Moses' application had been approved in 1818 and he was
receiving $8.00 a month. Also, it shows that the five older children were indeed no longer
part of the household, and one of the three younger, Caleb, apparently had died young.

To be come  

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