Massachusetts Revolutionary War Bounty Land Applications - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes records from 1805-1845.

Image of bounty land application files acquired from the Maine State Archives in Augusta for service in the Revolutionary War. The collection is arranged alphabetically.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Bounty Land Applications
 * Name of veteran
 * Residence, town and county
 * Date of application
 * Description of military service

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * Your ancestor’s name
 * Other identifying information such as residence, at the time of application in Maine
 * Military unit or units from the Revolutionary War
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the estimated age to calculate a birth date from the date of the application
 * Use the soldier's age and residence to find his family in census, church, and land records
 * Use the military service information to obtain a copy of history service and pension file
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have served in the same unit or a nearby unit
 * If your ancestor used multiple names throughout their life, look for all their names
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur

I Can't Find the Person I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names
 * Look for an index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume. In addition local genealogical and historical societies often have indexes to local records
 * Search the records of nearby localities (or military unties, counties, parishes, etc.)

Research Helps
The following articles will help you research your family in the state of Massachusetts.
 * Massachusetts Guided Research
 * Massachusetts Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research

Other FamilySearch Collections
These collections may have additional materials to help you with your research.

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Massachusetts Revolutionary War bounty land applications, 1805-1845
 * Carleton E. Fisher, Sue G. Fisher, comp. Soldiers, sailors, and patriots of the Revolutionary War, Maine.''
 * Massachusetts. State Archives. Card index to the Massachusetts Archives
 * Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial and post colonial period 1626-1806
 * Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial period, 1622-1788
 * French and Indian War muster roll index cards, 1603-1779
 * Muster rolls (index file cards) of the Revolutionary War, 1767-1833.
 * Draper, Bell (Merrill). Honor roll of Massachusetts patriots heretofore unknown : being a list of men and women who loaned money to the federal government during the year 1777-1779. Boston : Privately issued for the Massachusetts Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1899.
 * Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe and Donna D. Smerlas, ed. Massachusetts militia companies and officers in the Lexington Alarm. Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, c1976. FHL 974.4 M2h
 * compiled by the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, Grave locations of Revolutionary soldiers and sailors of Maine and Massachusetts

FamilySearch Historical Records

 * Massachusetts, Revolutionary War, Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783
 * United States Revolutionary War Compiled Service Records, 1775-1783
 * United States Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900
 * United States Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783

FamilySearch Digital Library

 * James C. Neagles and Lila L. Neagles, Locating your Revolutionary War ancestor : a guide to the military records Logan, Utah : Everton Publishers, c1983
 * Benson John Lossing,Field-book of the American Revolution : published under the patronage of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution ... 2 volumes. Reprint of the 1850-1852 ed. published in New York, Harper and Brothers. Cottonport, Louisiana : Polyanthos, 1972
 * Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War 17 volumes. Boston, Massachusetts : Wright & Potter, 1896-1908.

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.