USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > The early records of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts. 1659-1673, Volume 4 > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
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DEDHAM PUBLICATIONS.
Ancient Records.
FIRST VOLUME.
THE RECORDS OF BIRTHIS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHIS, and Intentions of Marriage, in the Town of Dedham. Volumes 1 and 2, with an Appendix containing Records of Marriages before 1800, returned from other Towns under the Stat- ute of 1857. 1635-1845. Edited by Don Gleason Hill. Large 8vo. cloth, pp. v, 286. Dedham, 1886. Price, postpaid, $2.25.
SECOND VOLUME.
THE RECORD OF BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHIS, and Admissions to the Church and Dismissals therefrom, transcribed from the Church Records, in the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts. 1638-1845. Also all the Epitaphs in Ancient Burial Place in Dedham, together with the other Inscriptions before 1845 in the three Parish Cemeteries. Edited by Don Gleason Hill. Large Svo. cloth, pp. xii, 347. Dedham, 1888. Price, postpaid, $2.25.
THIRD VOLUME.
THE EARLY RECORDS OF THE TOWN OF DEDHAM, Massachu- setts, 1636-1659. A complete Transcript of Book One of the General Records of the Town, together with the Selectmen's Day Book covering a portion of the same period, being Volume Three of the printed Records of the Town. Illustrated with fac-similes of the handwriting of four Town Clerks and of Autographs of Fifty of the Early Set- tlers. Edited by Don Gleason Hill. Large Svo. cloth, pp. xvi, 238. Dedham, 1892. Price, postpaid, $2.00.
FOURTH VOLUME.
THE EARLY RECORDS OF THE TOWN OF DEDHAM, Massachu- setts, 1659-1673. A complete Transcript of the Town Meeting and Selectmen's Records contained in Book Three of the General Records of the Town, together with an Appen- dix containing Transcripts from the Massachusetts Archives, and from the General Court Records 1635-1673, and a List of Deputies to the General Court prior to 1696, being Volume Four of the printed Records of the Town. Illustrated with fac-similes of handwriting. Edited by Don Gleason Hill. Large 8vo. cloth, pp. x, 304. Dedham, 1894. Price, postpaid, $2.00.
Ettodern Records.
AN ALPHABETICAL ABSTRACT of the Record of Births in the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1844-1890. Compiled by Don Gleason Hill, Town Clerk. Large 8vo. cloth, pp. xviii, 206. Dedham, 1894. Price, postpaid, $1.25.
AN ALPHABETICAL ABSTRACT of the Record of Deaths in the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1844-1890. Compiled by Don Gleason Hill, Town Clerk. Large 8vo. cloth, pp. - Dedham, 1895. Price, postpaid, $1.25. In preparation. Ready February, 1897.
250TH ANNIVERSARY.
PROCEEDINGS AT THE CELEBRATION of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, September 21, 1886. (Includes also Report of the Committee on Historic Tablets and Monuments.) Large 8vo. cloth, pp. 214. Cambridge, 1887. Price, postpaid, $1.15.
THE
ELLEN DUNLAP
HOPKINS OGICAL OGRAPHICAL SOCIE
EARLY RECORDS
OF THE
TOWN OF DEDHAM,
MASSACHUSETTS.
1659-1673.
A COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT OF THE TOWN MEETING AND SELECTMEN'S RECORDS CONTAINED IN BOOK THREE OF THE GENERAL RECORDS OF THE TOWN,
.
TOGETHER WITH AN
APPENDIX
CONTAINING TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES, AND FROM THE GENERAL COURT RECORDS 1635-1673, AND A LIST OF DEPUTIES TO THE GEN- ERAL COURT PRIOR TO 1696,
BEING VOLUME FOUR
OF THE PRINTED RECORDS OF THE TOWN.
ILLUSTRATED WITH FAC-SIMILES OF HANDWRITING.
EDITED BY THE TOWN CLERK, DON GLEASON HILL, PRESIDENT OF THE DEDHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MEMBER OF THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, AND OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
DEDHAM, MASS. PRINTED AT OFFICE OF THE DEDHAM TRANSCRIPT. 1894.
Anna
5 106 780 v. 4
PUBLISHED BY VOTE OF THE TOWN, PASSED APRIL 9, 1894.
T
ED
A
PL
NT
1636
ATION B
TED
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CONTEN
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1635
and being well seasoned with this savoury salt, have continued in much love and unity from. their first foundation, hitherto tanslating the close, clouded woods into goodly corn-fields, and adding much comfort to the lonesome travellers, in their solitary journey to Canectico, * * [ Johnson's Wonder- Working Providence.]
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION.
T 'HIS is the fourth volume of the published records of Dedham, and is printed pursuant to a vote passed and an appropriation made at the last Annual Town Meeting. It reproduces in type all the manu- script volume known as Book Three of the General Town Records, which relates to the Town Meeting and Selectmen's Records, the rest of that book, which is not reproduced in this volume, being a duplicate record of a portion of the Land Grants which are recorded in Book Two. A large portion of this book is in the handwriting of Eleazer Lusher, the rest being written by Timothy Dwight and Joshua Fisher, except the last two pages, which appear to be in the handwriting of Thomas Battelle, who may have acted as Clerk pro tem. after the death of Eleazer Lusher. Book One of the General Town Records was all printed in our last volume of published records, and this Book Three is a continuation from Book One. Manuscript Book Two is wholly devoted to the record of Land Grants, and was transcribed several years ago for the Town, and another copy has recently been made for deposit in the Registry of Deeds. Manuscript Book Four contains a miscellaneous collection of papers, and records, principally of Land Grants, and so much of that book as relates to the period covered by this volume is here reproduced. Book Five continues the General Records of the Town from the close of Book Three.
Search has been made in the Massachusetts Archives at the State House and in the old Court Files at the Court House in Boston for all papers dated prior to 1673 which relate to Dedham, and the papers found have been carefully transcribed and are printed in the Appendix to this volume. Transcripts have also been made from the printed Massachusetts Colony Records, because those Records are not easily accessible to many who may consult this volume, and because they
2056080
1
. iv
DEDHAM TOWN RECORDS.
make clearer the papers found in the Massachusetts Archives. In quoting from the Colony Records, the text, as well as the pagination, of the printed copies has been used. A considerable portion of the records and papers in the Appendix relates to the Indian settlement at Natick, the grant from the Town therefor, and the controversy which grew out of a misunderstanding with regard to the rights granted to the Indians. A long litigation ensued between the Town and the In- dians, and much of the pleadings and evidence in the case appears in the Appendix. This case has more than a local interest, and it is be- lieved that many of the facts in that interesting controversy are here printed for the first time. Apostle John Eliot was the champion of the "pore Indians," and many papers here reproduced are in his hand- writing. In his statement of the case he makes reference (page 259) to the original Indian Title, and it may be well here to refer to the deeds which the Town subsequently obtained from the Indians, the full text of which would naturally come in the next volume of printed records, but which may properly be here described.
The Town now has three Indian Deeds. One dated April 14, 1680, from William Nahaton [signature written hahaton], alias Quaanan, his brothers, Peter Natoogus and Benjamin Nahaton [written Ahotton ], and their sisters Tah kee suisk Nahuton and Hanna Nahaton [written Na- huton] alias I am mew wosh, living in Punkapogg, near Blue Hill, conveys to Dedham all their interest in a tract of land as it lyeth towards the Northerly side of the bounds of Dedham by the Great Falls in Charles River, and bounded upon Charles River towards the East, and upon said River up stream as the river lyeth and so continu- ing abutting upon said river until it come to the brook called Natick Sawmill Brook and abutteth upon said brook toward the West and so with a varying line near the Southerly side of the herd yard and from thence near the foot of Maugus Hill on the Southerly side and from thence the same course until the line come to that brook called Rose- mary Meadow Brook and the said brook to Charles River is the rest of the bounds. Another dated April 18, 1681, from John Magus and Sara Magus, Indians inhabiting Natick, conveys to the Town the whole parcel of land in Dedham bounded upon Watertown bounds in part and Natick in part toward the North, upon Natick bounds toward the West and Southwest, upon Charles River toward the South, and upon
V
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION.
the lands that William Nahayton sold to Dedham towards the South- east and upon Charles River towards the Northeast. The third deed from Charles Josias als Josias Wampatuck, son and heir of Josias Wam- patuck late Sachem of the Indians inhabiting the Massachusetts in New England, and grandson of Chickatabut, the former grand Sachem to the town, dated April 18, 1685, conveys the territory known as Dedham as it lyeth between the towns of Cambridge, Roxbury, Dorchester, Wrentham, Medfield, Watertown and Natick. This deed recites that the grantor is informed and well assured from several ancient Indians, as well those of his council as others, that upon the first coming of the English to sit down and settle in these parts of New England his grand- father Chickatabut for encouragement thereof and upon good consider- ation conveyed the land to the English settlers who had divided it among themselves and alienated the same to one another and had quietly occupied and enjoyed it for about forty-nine years last past, and this deed is for further ratification and confirmation of that grant.
In Memorial History of Boston, Vol. I, p. 250, can be seen a helio- type copy of a deed of Boston Neck from the same Josias, dated March, 1684-5, in the same handwriting as the Dedham deed, with all the same pen and ink embellishments and peculiar flourishes. Upon the Ded- ham deed appear the autographs of William Stoughton, Joseph Dudley, and Governor Bradstreet. Those who may desire to study the legal effect of Indian deeds are referred to a very interesting case in the United States Supreme Court, 1823, Johnson vs. McIntosh, 8 Whea- ton's Reports, 543. The opinion in this case is written at length by Chief Justice Marshall, sustaining the title from the State against the title from the Indians, Daniel Webster appearing in behalf of the Indian title.
The Editor desires to express his appreciation of the courteous assistance rendered him by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the officials in charge of the Massachusetts Archives, and by John Noble, Esq., Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court, in his examination of the records and papers in their custody.
All the fac-similes in this volume were traced from the original by Julius H. Tuttle; Assistant Librarian of the Massachusetts Historical Society and Editor of the Dedham Historical Register, and the Editor
vi
DEDHAM TOWN RECORDS.
desires to express his thanks to Mr. Tuttle for the assistance rendered by him in this work. It is believed that most of the signatures repro- duced upon pages 271 and 277 are autographs.
The name printed "Edward Parker" as a signature on page 284 with "Edw Tyng" and "Richard Cooke" should read "Edward Jack- son," and the word printed "drucking," page 184, line 14 from bottom, should probably read "Trucking."
The same characters for contractions are used here as in Volume Three, and they are fully explained in the Introduction to that volume.
The plan of the index differs slightly from that adopted in former volumes; where the same name appears on successive pages the index only gives the first and last pages with a dash between, instead of giving each page as heretofore.
The transcript for the printer (including the Appendix) has been made by Miss Martha A. Smith, the Assistant Librarian of the Dedham Historical Society, who also made the copy for the last volume, an ex- pert in reading ancient manuscript. She has rendered the Editor valu- able service, not only in the accuracy of her copy, but in assisting in the proof reading and in the construction of the index.
The proof-sheets have been examined by Rev. Edward G. Porter of Dorchester, formerly of Lexington, author of "Rambles in Old Boston, New England" and other historical works, who has kindly written an Introduction to this volume. Mr. Porter has given many years of careful thought and research to the history of the several In- dian Villages and is therefore interested in the events recorded in this volume. Expressions of appreciation for the work which Dedham is doing in the publication of its early records are of special weight from such an authority on historical matters.
Dedham, October 1, 1894.
Don Season Hill
Town Clerk.
vii
INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
BY REV. EDWARD G. PORTER. .
The town of Dedham deserves much credit for putting the precious records of its early history in print ; and it is to be congratulated that it has citizens who not only appreciate the value of such reproductions but who are themselves willing to give unlimited time and absorbing labor to the ac- complishment of so great a work.
The Editor of these volumes has evidently made his task a labor of love. Feeling, as he must, the inestimable value of such documents to all future students of our local history, he has devoted himself to their prepara- tion in permanent form to give security against the ravages of time or fire or casual loss.
This is a service rendered not only to Dedham, but to Dorchester and Roxbury and Medfield and Natick and all the towns around ; and indeed to the country at large, for the descendants of Dedham families are scattered far and wide, and in these days of quickened historical and genealogical in- quiry, they are turning to the ancestral home with greater interest than ever. And Dedham has indeed a municipal history of which it may well be proud. Its early transactions are more fully recorded than those of its contem- poraries in the colony; and these records it has preserved unbroken from the very beginning.
The volumes already printed have attracted wide attention and fur- nished historical material to be found nowhere else. Ordinary town his- tories are apt to be disappointing because they are not complete and author- itative. They give the views of their authors but not always the original facts, which in many cases might be left to speak for themselves. Of course a book of records is not a history, but it is the source of history and the ul- timate appeal in matters of doubt. Critical students require original materials to work upon ; and we have been slowly learning how to use these inherited documents that have come down to us in the archives of the
viii
DEDHAM TOWN RECORDS.
town, the colony and the courts. They have been neglected by the general student because of the labor involved in consulting them. But such repro- ductions as this series which Dedham has undertaken, with its indexes, autographs, notes and transcripts will bring unknown treasures to the light and greatly enlarge the sum total of our knowledge.
The Editor has scrupulously retained every possible characteristic of the original writing as to spelling, abbreviation and punctuation. The labor required to do this, and to read and spell out the proof, can be understood only by those who have tried it. The result appears to be a model of such work. Some readers would have been glad to find a more liberal annotation elucidating various obscure points, but that would have demanded more of the Editor than could reasonably be asked.
This volume-the fourth of the Dedham series, and the second of the general town records-covers about fifteen years, between 1658 and 1673, a period of great development, both in the town and in the colony. It shows how an independent, homogeneous, self-respecting community could manage its own affairs upon the good old New England plan, which has never been surpassed. The town meeting, the town officers, and back of both, the controlling town sentiment constituted a triple power which ruled supreme with all the necessary sanctions of law and safeguards of liberty.
Such records, of course, do not belong to the class of literature common- ly called popular. They are far removed from the range of fiction or poetry or tradition. But one who makes himself familiar with these annals will find vastly more than mere hard and dry facts. He will read between the lines, and by allowing his imagination to brood over them, he will find here ele- ments of civics, economics, education, religion, domestic and social life, and even the touches of romance. In fact, the story of such a town is intensely dramatic, especially in the age of the founders. There are acts, and scenes, and Dramatis personae, and exhibitions of human passion and pride, both tragic and comic. Here are not only examples of selfishness, but of the noblest generosity and sacrifice, of personal magnanimity and courage, of steadfast loyalty and patriotism. These qualities may not appear at first sight as one opens the book. The quaint spelling disguises the narrative and diverts the attention ; but to the student this peculiarity is really a charm in itself, and it belongs to all the original literature of that period in England as well as in this country.
ix
INTRODUCTION.
Such family names as Everett, Dwight, Fairbanks, Colburn and Gookin would hardly be detected at first in Euered, Dwite, Farbanke, Coaleburne and Guggan. "Blew Hill" is interesting. "Cummitty," "Endions" and the now obsolete "devident" are perplexing but suggestive. It will be noticed that all the names of Dedham's inhabitants at that early day are either English or Scotch.
The topics recorded here are as numerous and varied as the occupa- tions and laws and relationships of common life. They include such prac- tical matters as meetings, votes, elections, boundaries, highways, bridges, mills, taxes, fines, grants, warrants, bills, treaties, arbitration, cartways, horses, cattle and sheep. We have the doings of the selectmen, deputies, constables, assessors, surveyors, woodreeves, fenceviewers and all sorts of committees. There are also references to the training field, the church meadow, the great cedar swamp, the pound, the burial place, the new plantation of Wollomon- uppoag. the Indian settlement at Natick, and the large grant of land far away at Pocumtuck. Provision is made for public school instruction, for catechizing children, for seating the inhabitants at the meeting-house, for a new gallery, for the killing of wolves, for gifts to Harvard College, for week- ly contributions on the Lord's day to support the minister by the envelope system-which thus appears to be not wholly an invention of our time.
An interesting feature of this volume is the action of the town upon the death, in 1671, of its first minister, the beloved Mr. Allin, whose term of service covered thirty-three years-the entire span of the first generation in Dedham's history. The following year the second meeting-house was built.
To many readers the most valuable thing in the book will be the fre- quent references to the Apostle Eliot and his famous village of "praying Indians" at Natick. The relation of Dedham to that plantation, as given here, forms a new chapter in Eliot's life, the details of which have never be- fore been given to the world. It is well worth studying, for though rather intricate and technical in its legal aspects, it reveals certain important facts : 1. The generosity of Dedham in giving up 2000 acres of land on its Western border near the Charles River for the humane purposes for which the Natick community was organized. 2. The unfailing devotion of Eliot to his "poor Indians." 3. The mistake made both by Dedham and by Eliot in not definitely understanding each other as to the bounds of the plantation at the beginning of the settlement. The result of this misunderstanding was that the Indians occupied and improved certain lands which Dedham afterward
X
DEDHAM TOWN RECORDS.
claimed that it did not intend to give them. This was the area south of the river at the Natick bend.
Dedham, jealous of her rights, naturally objected, and gradually con- ceived a prejudice against the Indians which no doubt strengthened her op- position. Out of this topographical controversy, which went on for years, came the suit at law for the recovery of the disputed land, or satisfaction in £500 sterling, to be paid by the country. The testimony and arguments on both sides were carefully prepared and strongly presented. Eliot's defence is embraced in eleven propositions with elaborate subdivisions, showing his sturdy championship of the Indian cause. His plea was that the place was not bounded at the time of occupancy, and therefore, as the Indians had used it from time immemorial, they could take it. He was also confirmed in this opinion at the time-1650-by the friendly interviews he had with Mr. Allin, Joshua Fisher, and other leading men of Dedham, who led him to believe that he had the town's consent. The case was finally decided by a compromise by which the Indians retained the land and Dedham received a grant of 8000 acres at Pocumtuck-now Deerfield.
Mr. Hill has wisely collated the details of this case from the colony and court records, and placed them in the Appendix. No more appropriate sub- ject for a debate by the Dedham Historical Society could be found than the long and exciting controversy which led to this now famous suit.
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