Town Papers.
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DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS
RELATING TO
TOWNS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE;
WITH AN APPENDIX
EMBRACING THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS OF 1778-1779; AND OF 1781-1783; AND THE STATE CONSTITUTION OF 1784.
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PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATURE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
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VOLUME IX.
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COMPILED AND EDITED BY
NATHANIEL BOUTON, D. D.,
Corresponding Secretary of the New Hampshire Historical Society.
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CONCORD, N. H. :
CHARLES C. PEARSON, STATE PRINTER.
1875.
EDITOR'S PREFACE.
The special value of this volume consists in the information which it contains and communicates, relating to TOWNS in New Hampshire. It will be found indispensable in every Town History. We are little aware, at this period, of the sacrifices, trials, dangers and absolute sufferings which many of the early settlers endured in planting Towns in the interior of the State; where, literally, they often suffered "from savage beasts and more savage men." The border Towns were, for years, open to the incursions of Indians from Canada. Their earnest petitions to the Governor or to the General Assembly for help, clearly reveal to us their dangers and distresses. Besides this source of trial, others arose from disputes about boundary lines, the location of meeting-houses, the settling of ministers, irregularities in town meetings, &c. The volume is of great value, as giving the NAMES of many, and in some cases, all the male inhabitants of the Towns, from which petitions were sent. These will enable descendants to trace their connexion with the early settlers.
The volume, also, has an important value, in that, in the APPENDIX, it gives in full, all known facts relating to the Constitutional Conventions in 1778-1783, which resulted in the establishment of the first Constitution after the Revolution, 1784. The Editor is not aware that the facts herein have ever before been published, in connexion. He asks attention to the Note subjoined to the first and second articles of the Bill of Rights, on pages 896-898.
In examining these "Town Papers," readers will often do well to refer to the Provincial and State Papers in preceding volumes, of corresponding date, from which, in some cases, additional information will be obtained.
NOTICE.
JOINT RESOLUTION, passed by the Legislature a New Hampshire. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court convened, That His Excellency the Governor be hereby authorized and empowered, with the advice and consent of the Council, to employ some suitable person, and fix his compensation, to be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to collect, arrange, transcribe, and superintend the publication of such portions of the early State and Provincial Records, and other State Papers of New Hampshire, as the Governor may deem proper; and that eight hundred copies of each volume of the same be printed by the State Printer and distributed as follows namely, one copy to each City and Town in the State, one copy to such of the Public Libraries of this State as the Governor may designate, two hundred copies to the New Hampshire Historical Society, and the remainder placed in the custody of the State Librarian, who is hereby authorized to exchange the same for similar publications issued by other States.
Approved July 6, 1866.
GENERAL CONTENTS.
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NOTE BY THE EDITOR.
The contents of the several MS. Volumes from which the following printed pages are transcribed, are noted and kept distinct herein as in the original. Thus:
VOLUME I.
ACWORTH TO CHICHESTER, pp. 1-127.
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ACWORTH.
PAGES.
Memorial of Sampson Stoddard and Jona. Blanchard 1-2
Petition of Jona. Blanchard for extension of the charter
of Acworth, 1772 2
Gov. Wentworth's warrant to inspect the settlement in
Acworth, May, 1772 3
List of families and settlers in Acworth, according to
report of inspectors 4
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ALSTEAD.
A true list of the inhabitants settled in Alstead, 1771 — names 5
Petition in relation to an extension of the charter 5-6
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AMHERST.
Request of the inhabitants of Souhegan West for a
guard to defend them from the French and Indians,
1744 6
vi GENERAL CONTENTS.
PAGES.
Memorial of Rev. Daniel Wilkins for like aid, 1744 7
Petition for protection against the Indians, 1747 — sign‑
ers' names (1) 8
Petition for aid from inhabitants of Monson (after‑
wards incorporated, in part, with Amherst)
names, 1747 9
Petition of Monson for annexation of a tract of land to
them — names, 1754 10
Petition of Monson to be exempt from taxes, 1753 11
Petition of certain persons for annexation to Monson
— names 12
Petition of selectmen of Amherst for extension of its
charter, 1761
Petition for pay for taking inventory of Lyndeborough,
1762 13
Proposals of accommodation between Monson and Am‑
herst, 1763 14
Letter of Rev. Daniel Wilkins, relating to Amherst
for a shire-town, 1767 14, 15
Vote of Monson for a division and annexation to Am‑
herst and to Hollis, and Petition for the aforesaid
division 16
Petition to be disannexed from Amherst, 1771 — names 17
Petition against division of the town, 1771 — names 17-19
Vote of Amherst in favor of annexing Monson, 1766 20
Petition of John Shepard, jun., town clerk, in behalf
of Amherst, 1771 20
Petition for a road from Charlestown to Amherst, 1773 21
Petition of inhabitants of Hillsborough county in rela‑
tion to John Holland, 1774 21-24
Petition of Monson to be restored to its original char‑
ter — names, 1782 24-26
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(1) Readers are reminded that names of persons in the same town, which are frequently repeated, as signers of petitions or otherwise, are not uniformly noted by page in the Index; but are indicated by a — mark between the pages where they are found; but every name in a particular town will be found in the Index once or more. ED.
GENERAL CONTENTS. vii
ATKINSON AND PLAISTOW (1).
PAGES.
Petition from Plaistow, relating to difficulty of attending
public worship, 1766 — names 26, 27
Petition relating to a site for a meeting-house — names,
1764 28
Petition to be set off as a parish — names, 1766 29
Reasons of Daniel Hadley and Joshua Emery against
a division 30
Memorial of inhabitants of Haverhill to the people of
Plastow, 1767 — names 31
Information from Plaistow, to the Governor, &c., 1766
— names 32
Joseph Page, Ebenr Eaton and Joseph Parker, against
a division, 1767 32, 33
Petition of inhabitants of Plaistow, with reasons for be‑
ing set off in a distinct parish — names 33-35
Petition of sundry persons to be polled off from Atkin‑
son to Plaistow — names 36
Memorial of inhabitants of Plaistow against a new town,
&c. — names 37
Report of a committee of Plaistow, about the meeting-
house, 1766 38
Persons in Plaistow who desire to have the town remain
undivided 38, 39
Asa Haseltine against a division of the town 39
Number of people in Atkinson and in Plaistow 39
James White; reasons for wishing to remain in Plaistow 40
List of Baptists in Plaistow — names 41
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BARRINGTON.
List of the original proprietors of Barrington 41-45
Petition for power to raise money 45, 46
of Thomas Shepard 46
of John McMath and Thos. Shepard 47
of selectmen of Barrington, for a representative 48
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(1) The papers relating to these towns are intermixed.
viii GENERAL CONTENTS.
PAGES.
Petition of Garland and Brewster for a Congregational
Parish 48, 49
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BEDFORD.
Petition of people in Souhegan-East for protection
names of families, 1744 50
Petition of Presbyterians in Bedford, 1750 — names 51, 52
Petition of people in Bedford, for a Proprietors' meet‑
ing 52
Petition for a tax on their land, for a meeting-house, &c. 53
Petition of James Caldwell, for a town meeting, &c. 54
Petition of Selectmen and Committee of Safety, against
John Houston's taking an oath, 1778 55, 56
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BENNINGTON.
Mr. Samuel Robinson's petition for a tax, 1763 56, 57
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BOSCAWEN.
Petition of Contoocook, Penacook and Canterbury for
protection against the Indians, 1747 57
Contoocook petition for aid, 1744 — names 58, 59
Petition for appointment of military officers — names 59
for a land tax for support of a minister, 1747 60
for authority to collect taxes 60, 61
for a Justice of the Peace, 1766 — names 62
BOW (I).
Bow remonstrance against against Rumford petition for
incorporation, 1749-50 62
Perambulation of Bow town lines 63
Petition of Selectmen of Bow, 1753 63, 64
Warrants relating to taxes, &c., 1753 65, 66
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(I) By error, the head-line on pp. 63-76 is "Boscawen," which should be Bow. ED.
GENERAL CONTENTS. ix
PAGES.
Petition of agents of Bow for a loan of money, 1754 67
Vote for a loan to Proprietors of Bow 68
An act relating to Bow, taxes, &c., 1755 68-70
Petition for a new survey of lots 71, 72
Inventory of Bow and Canterbury, 1761 73, 74
Petition of Edward Russel and others, 1764 74, 75
Petition of Joseph Baker and Philip Eastman, 1764 75
Petition of Selectmen of Bow, not to be rated with Con‑
cord, 1767 76
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BRENTWOOD.
Names of persons in Brentwood desiring a Parish, 1743 76, 77
Petition of inhabitants in the North part of Brentwood
about a meeting-house, 1743 — names 77-79
Petition of Elisha Sanborn, in relation to Brentwood,
1745 80
Remonstrance against Keeneborough patent 80-83,
Charter of Keeneborough 83, 86
Petition of Selectmen of Keeneborough, 1748 84, 85
Petition of inhabitants of Brentwood, to be set off as a
Parish, 1764 — names 85, 86
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CANTERBURY.
Vote of town meeting, 1738 86
Petition of proprietors of Canterbury, about a road, 1741 87
of proprietors of Canterbury for a bridge, 1743 88, 89
of Canterbury men for wages, 1754 90
of Canterbury for remission of tax, 1754 91
of Selectmen for remission of taxes, 1756 92
relating to the original charter 92, 93
Petition of Archelaus Moor and others to be set off to
Canterbury, 1764 94
Petition of Abiel Foster about Town Records, 1774 95
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CHARLESTOWN, No. 4.
Letter to Cols. Willard and Hinsdale, 1743 — names 96, 97
Petition of John Spafford, &c., for aid, 1744 97
x GENERAL CONTENTS.
PAGES.
Petition of Selectmen for a road, 1768 98
of Timothy Lovell about an island, 1770 99
of Benjamin Page for a Ferry, 1771
Petition of John Nott, and of Simeon Alcott for a
Ferry, 1771 100, 101
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CHESTER.
Petition in behalf, of the Proprietors of Chester, 1726,
with Minutes of Council thereon 101, 102
Petition of Selectmen, relating to town bounds, 1726 103
Report on petition for a road, &c., 1743 103, 104
Petition of Chester in relation to salary of ministers,
&c., 1740 105
Petition for aid of soldiers 106
Petition of John Talford and Thos Wells, for protec-
tion, 1748 107
Minutes of Chester Town meeting, 1753 107
Petition of Andrew Craige, in relation to taxes,
1757 108
Advertisement of town meeting, &c., 1763 109
Petition of North Parish, to be set off, &c., 1763 —
names 110
Petition for a new Parish, 1763 — names 111, 112
Petition to confirm bounds of Long Meadow Par‑
ish, 1771 113
Meeting of freeholders and inhabitants — names 114
Memorandum of agreement, 1772 115
Answer to a petition for a Parish being set off, 1772 116
Bounds of Long Meadow Parish, 1772 117
Further petitions, relating to the same, 1773 — names 117-120
Petition of Daniel Foster for a Ferry 120
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CHESTERFIELD.
Memorial relating to the estate of John Wheelwright,
of Boston 120, 121
Petition of Josiah Willard about the same 122
GENERAL CONTENTS. xi
CHESWICK, NOW LITTLETON.
PAGES.
Petition of Moses Little and associates for extension
of charter 123
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CHICHESTER.
Charter of Chichester 123
Petition for extension thereof — names 125
confirmation of charter 126
liberty to assess taxes 126, 127
Note by the Editor, "Coulerain" 127
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VOLUME II.
CONCORD TO EXETER, pp. 128-274.
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CONCORD.
Petition from Ebenezer Eastman for protection from
the Indians, 1746 128
Copy of Rumford petition for defence, &c., 1744 129
Petition for aid by Benj. Rolfe, Esq., 1745 130, 131
Petition of inhabitants for like purpose, 1747 — names 131
Petition of Capt. Ebenezer Eastman for same 133
Petition of Joseph Pudney, for service 133
Letter of Rev. Timothy Walker to Archibald Stark 134
Petition of Ezra Carter in behalf of Rumford 134, 135
Letter of Jere. Stickney, Esq., relating to Bow 135, 136
Petition of Rev. Timo Walker in behalf of Rumford 136, 137
of Selectmen, relating to taxation, &c. 138
to be annexed to Hillsborough county 139
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CONWAY.
List of original Proprietors of Conway — names, &c. 141, 143
List of settlers that have families, &c. 144
Memorial from Fryburg, Brownfield and Conway,
1776 144, 145
xii GENERAL CONTENTS.
CORNISH.
PAGES.
Petition of Jona Chase for a grant of Hart Island,
1772 145, 146
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DEERFIELD.
Petition of inhabitants in relation to a tax — names 147
for a tax, with reasons therefor, 1773 147, 148
Petition for appointment of a Justice of the Peace,
1774 — names 149
Petition of southerly part of Deerfield for a Parish,
1774 — names 150
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DERRYFIELD.
Note 151
Petition of inhabitants relating to town meeting,
1766 — names 152, 153
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DOVER.
Extracts from the Records of Dover, 1643 153, 154
Petition for bridging Cochecho and Lamprey rivers 154
Letter to the selectmen of Dover and Exeter about a
bridge; Accts. of pretenders to land at Cochecho
Point 155
Petition about a Grammar School at Dover (1) 155, 156
of Selectmen, relating to a bridge, 1723 156
Petition and complaint against Richard Waldron,
Esq. 157, 158
Petition of inhabitants of the N. E. part of Dover for
a Parish, 1729 — names 159, 160
Petition of Eleazer Weare in behalf of inhabitants in
N. E. part of Dover, 1729 160
Petition of Paul Gerrish and others relating to frauds
and forgeries, 1729 — names 161, 162
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(1) By error, the date, 1772, should be 1722. ED.
GENERAL CONTENTS. xiii
PAGES.
Action of General Assembly, and Report of Com‑
mittee thereon, 1729 162, 163
Report about frauds in Dover Town book, 1731 163-167
Petition of Proprietors of Hilton's Point, 1731—
names 167, 168
Petition of people in Dover and other towns for a
Township, 1733 — names 168-171
Petition for a grant of land, 1754 — names 171, 172
List of the training men under Capt. Thos Millet,
1740 173, 174
List a the second foot company of Dover, 1740 174, 175
List of the troopers under Capt. Tristram Coffin, in
Dover, 1740 176
Petition against a new Parish, 1744 — names 176, 177
for leave to have a Lottery, for a bridge, 1760 177
Petition for a bridge to cross Bellamy's Bank, 1756
— names 178, 179
Petition in relation to being set off in a separate
county, 1768 180
Petition relating to a bridge, 1770 — names 181, 183
Petition relating to bridges, 1773 — names 184, 185
Petition relating to rocks in Salmon-falls river, 1779,
names 185-187
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DORCHESTER.
Petition of John House for extension of time to make
their settlement, 1771 187
Petition for a new charter, 1772 188
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DUBLIN.
Petition to be incorporated into a township, 1771 188
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DUNBARTON
Petition of Capt. Caleb Page, of Starkstown, 1763 189
Petition in relation to a school lot, 1774, with resolve
of General Assembly 190, 191
Petition of Caleb Page relating thereunto, 1774 191-193
xiv GENERAL CONTENTS.
DUNSTABLE.
PAGES.
Petition of Inhabitants of Pine Hill, 1763 193
Votes at a town meeting in Dunstable, 1763 194
Petition of inhabitants of West Parish of Dunstable
for a garrison and men, 1744 — names 194
Petition for protection against the Indians, 1744 195
in relation to a certain tract of land 196
Copy of an Indian Deed, 1671 196, 197
Petition relating to conflicting town meetings, 1748 198-200
Petition for dividing the Province into Counties, 1754
— names 201
Warning for a town meeting, proceedings, &c.,
1760 202
Samuel Hobart, attorney for Dunstable, 1763 203
Answer to a petition of inhabitants of Dunstable to
be set off to Hollis, 1763 204-206
Petition of Zacheus Lovewell and Joseph Blanch-
ard, 1758 (1) 206
(1) By error, 1768. ED.
Petition of Joseph Blanchard, 1762 207
Wm. Brown's letter and power of attorney, 1760 208
Proceedings at Town meetings 208-210
Letter to Hon. Henry Sherburne 210
Papers relating to the settlement of Rev. SAMUEL
BIRD 215
List of qualified voters in Dunstable 211
Names of persons who voted for Rev. Mr. Bird 213
Names of those who voted against him, &c. 213-214
Votes at Town meetings, &c. 215
Petition relating to an illegal Town meeting 216
Sundry names, in Dunstable 219
Minutes of Town meeting 219-225
Assent to Jos. Blanchard's petition, and Remon‑
strance against it 221-222
Petition of Jona Lovewell, in answer to Jos. Blanch‑
ard's 222
Petition to send a Representative 224
Petition of people in the west part of Dunstable to
be annexed to Hollis 226, 227
GENERAL CONTENTS. xv
PAGES.
Petition relating to another hearing 228
Petition against annexation to Hollis 229-231
Proceedings at town meetings 231-234
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DURHAM.
Petition for incorporation as a town 234
Ecclesiastical document, 1723 235
Petition of aggrieved inhabitants of Oyster River 237
Petition of Francis Mathes and others for a new
Parish 238
Names of soldiers in Durham under Capt. John
Smith 240
Petition of Daniel Meader, 1745 241
Petition of Joseph Thomas and others, about a fraud‑
ulent election 242
Petition for a highway 243
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EPPING.
Petition of inhabitants for protection 245, 246
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EPSOM.
An Act to invest Proprietors of Epsom with town
rights 246
Petition of John Weeks 247
Petition for abating the Province tax 248
Proceedings at town meetings 249-250
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EXETER.*
Combination at Exeter, 1639 250
Elders' or Rulers' Oath 251
Oath of the people 252
Request for a town meeting and a new Parish 252