USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Chelsea > Documentary history of Chelsea : including the Boston precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824, vol 1 > Part 29
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264
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[CHAP. VI
or marriage, & none of them leave Issue, then J will That my whole Estate shall descend and come to the next heir Male of my name and blood, and to his heires and Assignes forever. Item J will and Ordain, That the remainder or Surplusage of the yearly Incomes and Improvements of my said Estate Ariseing before such division can be made, as J have before Ordered and devised, when the sd Sum of Twenty pounds to my Wife & other necessarys charges are Subdueted be divided among my said Four Grand- children proportionably, and that such parts thereof as shall be Allotted to my sª Grandaughters Priscilla Adams and Priscilla Haugh, shall by my Exce!'s hereafter named be paid into the hands of Eliah Adams and Atherton Haugh, they first giveing Security to pay respectively to their sª Daughters, my sª Grandaughters Such Sums of money as on Accompt of that division, they shall Severally receive, when their sd Daughters shall Attain their said Age or Ages of Twenty one years or be marryed as afores !; And that such proportions as shall so Appertain to my two Grandsons who are Fatherless, I would have Improved and Imployed towards their Education Jtem Lastly J do make, Constitute & Ordain my Worthy Cozens Wait Winthrop Esq! and Adam Winthrop Mercht to be Exec!s of this my last Will to See it performed in all things as J have Ordained, And J do hereby Authorize & Im- power them or either of them Surviving to Sell all or any part of my Estate, if they or either of them Judge it for the benefit of my Grandchildren. And J do hereby revoke all former & other Wills by me heretofore made. In Witness whereof J have here- unto set my hand and Seal the day and year first within written Deane Winthrop and a Seale . Signed, Sealed, published & Declared by the said Deane Winthrop, as and for his last Will and Testament in presence of us . Ionathan Bill , John Winthrop Jonathan Bill Iun!, Joshua Bill./ .- Examind. @ Paul Dudley Reg!
AN INVENTORY & OF THE ESTATE OF MR DEAN WINTHROP OF PULLING POINT LATELY DECEASED, VIZT THE LAND, HOUSING, STOCK, SERVANTS AND HOUSEHOLD GOODS, BEING AT PULLING POINT, VIZT
Imprs, To a house, barne & 300 Acres of Land, by Estima- tion
£1000 “-
One Negro man, by name Primas 30"-
One Negro Woman, by name Marrear, & a Boy, by name Robbin
8 Suff. Prob. Rec., L. 15, f. 330. John Tuttle and James Bill were the appraisers. This inventory was dated April 28, 1704, and presented to the court by the executors September 2, 1704. Executors' account, L. 18, f. 368.
1
265
APPENDIX 14
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1 pr of large Oxen ten years 8!i one pr of 3 year old Steers 5!i
13 " - "- -
3 heiffers 3 year old £5 " 5 - One Bull 2 year old & 2
Yearlings 3li .
8“.5"-
141 Sheep 48! Thirty three Lambs 5!
53 "-" -
10"-"-
3 Sows and one boar 2 year old 3! 16 Summer Shoates 71 . One Plough, 3 old plough Shares, 1 old Cart wth a good p! of Wheels, a pr of Spere boxes & hoops, 1 Cart Rope, 2 Chains, 2 pr of Iron horse Traises, Spade & pick Ax, an old harrow wth 19 Iron Teeth, 3 old houghs, 2 halfe worne Sithes & Dung fork .
To Wearing Apparrel £8 " 4" - 16 !! old pewter 16! 9 " 10 " -
1 pr Iron Tongus, Grid Iron, Doggs, warming pan, frying pan
-"14" -
3 pr old Sheets, Table Cloth, 2 Napkins & 2 pillow bears . one Table & Chest 8/. one old Pott and Kettle 14/. .
1" .2".
2 old Iron Trammels 6/. an old Iron Spitt & 4 old bass chairs 4/
- " 10 ". -
One Fowling piece and three old Musketts
.2 " -".
1 Feather bed very old, 1 Rugg, 1 Coverlid one blankett
£1166" 1"-4
[In 1720 the Deane Winthrop farm was divided between John Grover and Joseph Belcher. The conveyance recited that John Grover inherited one fourth of the farm from his grandfather Deane Winthrop, purchased one fourth from his brother Deane Grover, and another fourth from Hezekiah Butler, who married Priscilla Haugh, a granddaughter of Deane Winthrop; also that Joseph Belcher bought one fourth of the farm from Samuel Royal, who married Priscilla Adams, granddaughter of Deane Winthrop.5 The land assigned in this division to Joseph Belcher was conveyed by the widow Elizabeth Belcher June 27, 1748, to Thomas Pratt, who conveyed the same in 1752 to Henry Atkins, Thomas Gold- thwait and others, who established a fishing station thereon, and called it Point Shirley. One hundred forty acres of upland and beach, bounded north and west by the heirs of John Grover, and on all other sides by the sea, and ten acres of salt marsh were conveyed by Pratt to the undertakers of the fishery.6 This included Point Shirley, Great Head, and the beaches.7
4 To this total the executors added: "Cash found in his chest," £43 18s., and " A Quantity of vacant Land, some part lying on this side, & some on the other side of Merrimack River near Bilrica, being two Several Tracts."
5 Suff. Deeds, L. 36, f. 216; dated December 2, 1720; acknowledged February 16, 1722/3.
6 Suff. Deeds, L. 76, f. 2; L. 81, f. 154; a small parcel of marsh was excepted; a dwelling-house was mentioned in 1752.
" David Floyd of Winthrop has kindly furnished the items which follow.
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HISTORY OF CHELSEA
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By the conveyance above cited, John Grover became sole owner of the three hills in the northeast section of the town. He died in 1747 leaving a daughter Mary, who married Stephen Whiting of Boston. They mortgaged the farm at Pullen Point to Governor James Bowdoin, who thus became the owner. Governor Bowdoin died in 1790, and his daughter Elizabeth, who had become Lady Temple through her marriage with Sir John Temple, was the next owner. After the death of Lady Temple in 1809, the farm became the property of her granddaughter Elizabeth Bowdoin Temple Winthrop, a descendant of John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts. Miss Winthrop married Benjamin Tappan, and from the trustees of Mrs. Tappan's estate a part of the farm was conveyed to David Floyd in 1854, and in 1866 the remainder was sold to the City of Boston.]
P
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267
APPENDIX 15
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.
APPENDIX 15
The Farm of Samuel Bennett
[According to Savage, Samuel Bennett, a earpenter, eame in the "James" from London in 1635, aged twenty-four,1 was a mem- ber of the Artillery Company in 1639. Living near the boundary, he was aeeredited first to Lynn, where he received a grant of land. His wife Sarah died Jan. 18, 1682/3, aged 75, and was buried on Copp's Hill.2 At the time that he purchased six hundred acres from Hill and Leverett in 1649, the Iron Works, situated in Lynn near the bounds of Boston and Reading, offered a source of profit. John Paul, who lived with Bennett several years previous to 1653, and whose " eonstant imployment was to repaire earts, coale earts, mine earts, and other working materials for his teemes," testified in 1671 that "my master Bennet did yearly yearne a vast sum from the said Iron Works, for he commonly yearned forty or fifty shillings a daye . . . for he had five or six teemes goeing generally every faire day." 3
Samuel Bennett's estate in Boston, purehased from Valentine Hill and John Leverett in 1649, and John Cogan in 1653, was known a century later as " Chelsea Pan Handle." It was a long narrow strip of land extending between Charlestown and Lynn bounds from the Pines River to Reading. The boundary-line on Charlestown side was determined before Bennett purchased the land by a committee appointed by the General Court : 4
" Agreed by vs, whose names are vnder written, that the bounds betweene Boston & Charles Towne, on the nor east syde Misticke Ryver, shall run from the mked tree vpon the roeky hill above Rumney Marshe, neere the written tree nore-nore west vpon a straight lyne by a meridean compas vpp into the countrie. ABRAHAM PALMER, WILLM CHEESEBROUGH, WILL& SPENCER."
1 According to a deposition dated December 13, 1676, he was then about 68 years of age. Lewis places him in Lynn in 1630.
2 Lewis and Newhall, Lynn (ed. 1865), 172; 119, 212, 216; Whitmore, Copp's Hill Epitaphs, No. 1838.
3 Lewis and Newhall, Lynn, 259; Records of Suff. County Court ( 1670- 1681), 387, etc.
4 Mass. Col. Rec., i. 162.
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This was in 1636. The General Court in 1639 appointed John Oliver, Abraham Palmer and Tymothy Tomlins to settle the bounds between Charlestown, Boston, and Lynn above Rumney Marsh, if they could; if they could not agree, they were to certify to the Court how they found the matter.5 Earlier efforts had proved unavailing," but this committee reached an agreement :
" Wee whose name are vnderwritten beinge appoynted by the Court to settle the bounds betweene Bostone and Lin haue agreed to run a nor. northwest Line into ye Countrie from a tree marked, standinge close to Brides brooke. neere to the foote path, to be run by a Meridian Compasse, the propriety of any lands laid out to the inhabitants of Linn beinge not disturbed.
" An. 1639. subscribed by Abraham Palmer. Tymoth. Tomlins, John Olliuer." 7
December 3, 1656, Samuel Bennett of Lynn and Sarah his wife conveyed to George Wallace, gentleman, for £355, £205 in cash and the balance secured by bond, "a farme howse at A place Called Rumly marish . . . in Boston ... called Rumly Hall . .. with the barne there vnto belonging as also a howse standing on the North side of the sajd farme howse wth vpland and marish." 8 April 2, 1657, George Wallace reconveyed the land to Samuel Bennett, who released him at his request from his bond. The deed recites that Wallace, his son, and two men had their " Diett " at Bennett's house from November 1, 1656, to March 25, 1657, and that the farm had benefitted by " all ye workc yt mr wallis and his men Did on my farme which they leave behind them to my vse." 9
December 29, 1656, during the tenancy of George Wallace, the selectmen of Boston voted: "Itt is agreed that att the next gen- erall court motion bee made by our Deputyes that the line be- tweene Boston and Lynn may bec determined by the said court." At the May session of the General Court in 1657 the following order was passed: " In ans' to a petition from the inhabitants of Boston for laying out the bounds betweene Boston & Lynne, it is ordered, that Leift Joshua Fisher, of Dedham, or whom els they should appoint, shallbe & is hereby appointed to lay out the sajd bounds, & to runne a north north west ljne into the country from the middle of Brides Brooke, neere to the ffoote path, to be runne by a meridian compas, the propriety of any lands layd
5 Mass. Col. Rec., i. 263.
8 Ibid., 149 (July 8, 1635) ; 254 (March 13, 1638/9).
" Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vii. 47.
8 Suff. Deeds, L. 2, f. 310.
" Ibid., L. 3, ff. 13, 14.
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APPENDIX 15
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out to the inhabitants of Lynne being not disturbed, according to agreement." 10
June 1, 1661, Samuel Bennett of Rumly Marish presented a long petition 11 to the Seleetmen of Boston. In it he reeited that Lieutenant Fisher of Dedham under appointment in 1657 by the General Court ran the line between Boston and Lynn. Bennett then entered five complaints against Thomas Wheeler of Lynn. Wheeler laid out " a way from Reading to Lyn through my Corne feild & soe farr on this side of ye Jronworks towards Boston . almost to John Andrews house & soe about to Lyn which will bee with greate dammage as J coneeiue to Boston Towne"; he sold timber from Boston lands; he contended that Mr. Fisher's line was not run aright; he had John Gardner of Salem run the line privately so as to " take away a great Traekt of Land from Boston " for " the said John Gardiner gaue noe allowanee for ye Variation of the Compasse; as he told Major Hathorne as ye Major Hathorne doth testifie, which is ye praetise of Artists in this Countrey . viz. to allow for ye Variation of ye Miridian Compasse." 12 Finally, Thomas Wheeler had drawn up a petition to the General Court to void Fisher's survey on the ground that the line had not been run to the farthest bounds, that is to Reading, but with the intention " to frustrate the Towne of Boston from haueing almost any pprietie there in yt land & doe great dammage to mee in ptieuler whoe am Jnhabiting in Boston bounds. Wherefore," he eoneludes, " J doe Commend ye Consideration of it to you ye seleet men of Boston yt J may haue yr assistanee yt J may not be wronged of my rights in or owne bounds & do therefore desire as ye seleet men of Lyn are willing vnto it the lyne may be run & finished by Leiutenant ffisher of Dedham & Ensigne Noiee of Sudburrough." He signs as " Yor Loving freind & one of yor owne Jnhabitants. Samuell Bennett."
June 24, 1661, the seleetmen of Boston recorded that they had agreed with the seleetmen of Lynn to have the line run by Lieu- tenant Fisher and John Gardiner, " if to bee had, or some other Artist." Yet the order for running the line was not given until March 31, 1662, April 22 being the day appointed. April 28, the seleetmen received " the returne of Leut Fisher Capt Olliuer, Joshua Seottow and John Tuttle," who met the townsmen of Lynn at Brides Brook. "Leut. Fisher set his eompas, but himeselfe
10 Mass. Col. Rec., iv. Pt. i. 298.
11 Original Papers, City Clerk's Office, i. 13. A. D. S.
12 See Journel of Mass. House of Rep., 1763, appendix, p. xxxi. for a table of the past and prospective variations of the compass in New England, 1673-1800, prepared by Professor John Winthrop of Harvard.
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HISTORY OF CHELSEA
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and their Artist not agreeinge of the variation, they desired to know, of the said Townsmen, wheather in case, we sent for Mr Damforth who was to be vmpire wheather theay would submitt to his determination, theay replied noe for theare Towne was rea- solued to put it to the Gennerall Court, vnles theire Artists could agree to runn without varaeion." According to an entry of May 16, 1662: "The Lynne betwixt Linn & Boston was agreed vpon betwixt the Seleet men of each Towne as appears by Artiekles bering date ye 12 May 1662 " 13 The text of this agreement has not been found, but the line was deseribed April 22, 1671. The report of Elisha Hutchinson states that "beinge desired by the Seleetmen of Lin to run a line wch is betwene Boston land or Rather in" Sm Benits land & land belonging to Lin, I did Run (a line Nor Nor West by a mneredian Compas, or an nedle touched, whieli hes no Variation alowed) from the midle of bride brooke vntill we Came to Reding line as we supposed; And nere the Seoteh house at a Crotehed black Oake with a heape of Stones about it, we fell about fower Rods & a halfe to the westwards, towards Boston land, . . . and in the line ouer against Richard Georges house we fel aboute as much from a former mark . . . as we did at the Scotch house. this Line was Run 22 Apr: 1671 according to my best art & Skill." This line was accepted March 30, 1675, by the perambulators appointed by Boston and Lynn.14 The perambulators of April 16, 1678, stated that the line was run " according to an agreement made between the two towns aforesd with mr Samuel Bennet " May 15, 1662, and ran " N : N : west by ye Compass, or needle without allowing any thing for veriation ; which Line is paralel to ye Line betwixt Boston and Malden as it had been formerly Run." It passed through land of Goodman Edmonds, and near Goodman George's house, and left the " Seoteh house " within Lynn bounds.15 In 1681 the seleetmen of Lynn were engaged in a lawsuit over lands northeast of this line elaimed by William Brown by title derived from Bennett.16
December 20, 1658, Samuel Bennett with his wife Sarah, for " all debts formerly due by him . .. vnto willjam ffranekljn " and £66., conveyed to Phebe ffraneklin of Boston, widow of said William, a farmhouse with 300 aeres.17 May 24, 1673, Peter Coffin
18 Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vii. 4, 7, 8, 10.
14 Original Papers, City Clerk's Office, i. 19, return of the perambulators
of 1675 with autograph signatures; Boston Rec. Com. Rep., vii. 60, 94.
15 Original Papers, City Clerk's Office, i. 22; Boston Rec. Com. Rep.,
vii. 119, 120. For Scotch house see Essex Co. Court Papers, iv. 55. 16 Chamberlain MSS., iv. 3-17. See also Essex Co. Court Papers, L. 87-93.
Suff. Deeds, L. 3, f. 290; recorded May 18, 1660.
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of Dover with his wife Abigail conveyed one half of the above for £60 to Thomas Brattle of Boston, merchant. It was provided that " when it is measured & laid out by a skilfull artist if there shall want but fiue acres of the sd three hundred acres it shall be tacken & receuied for Satisfaction & if it shall want more the sd Coffin is to make it full three hundred acres." July 2, 1673, Benj. Muzzey conveyed to Thomas Brattle for £77 the other half of the farm with " ffarme-house & Barne . .. gardens orchards trees ffences." 18 In 1678 and 1681 Captain Thomas Brattle was one of the perambulators of the Lynn-Boston line. March 13, 1683/4, the Probate Court approved a division of the estate of Captain Thomas Brattle by which this farm of 300 acres, " lying on Rum- ney Marsh side " in Boston, with the salt-marsh thereto belonging, - both in the tenure and occupation of Gershom Davis,19 - were assigned to Nathaniel Oliver, John Eyre and Joseph Parson in right of their wives, three of the seven children of Capt. Thomas Brattle. October 13, 1685, Nathaniel Oliver with his wife Eliza- beth, and Joseph Parsons with his wife Bethiah conveyed their rights in this farm, still described as in the occupation of Gershom Davis, to John Eyre and his wife Katharine. Reference is made to a plat of the land by James Taylor surveyor.20 February 4, 1686/7 John and Katherine Eyre for £200 conveyed the same, still in the occupation of Gershom Davis, to William Boardman of Malden, joyner. It was then bounded on the one side by the Malden line; on the other side by the Lynn line and Reading road, which ran " between the above granted farm and the farm of Daniel Hutchins." On the S.E. lay the farm of John White; on the N.W. that of Isaac Waldron deceased. In March, 1692/3, William Boardman was chosen constable for Rumney Marsh. He died March 14, 1696, aged 38, and was buried at Malden. August 6, 1696, his widow Sarah was appointed administratrix of his estate.21 March 14, 1705/6, Thomas Cheever of Lynn with his wife Mary, and Lydia Boardman of Lynn, for £235 7s. current money, quitclaimed to William Boardman of Lynn, yeoman, their right in the real and personal estate of their father William Board- man deceased, including this farm of 300 acres in Boston, bounded on the south by Jeremiah Belcher; W. by land which was Malden Common; N. by Francis Smith and Walden's farm; E. by Lynn Common and the road from Reading to Lynn. The estate included
18 Suff. Deeds, L. 9, ff. 123, 124.
19 Supra, p. 150, note 2.
20 Suff. Deeds, L. 13, ff. 96, 380.
21 Ibid., L. 24, f. 21; Malden Vital Records; Suff. Prob. Rec., L. II,
f. 189. Inventory, ibid., f. 190.
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also a six-acre lot in Lynn marshes; one half of Squire's meadow in Malden, and one half of a six-acre lot of salt-marsh in Lynn. Thomas Cheever reserved one half the latter for himself. Mary Cheever and Lydia Boardman inadc their mark. The deed was acknowledged before Nicholas Paige at Rumney Marsh March 2, 1708/9.22 According to the return of the perambulators of 1711 the boundary line of Lynn passed from an oak in Sarah Paul's land to a tree in William Boardman's land, and thence " across the River " and " through the Stack of Chimnyes" in his dwelling- house; in 1717 B was marked on one side of his door and L on the other. In 1732 the line ran " across a small rivulet " to the door of Boardman's house marked B.L, through the stack of chimneys, and " across a small brook " to a stump in his field. The division of this house between two towns led to tax disputes. In 1708 the selectmen of Boston directed the constable to levy the poll taxcs on the estate by distress in order to bring the matter before the courts, as for three years preceding the " same Polls " had been rated both to Boston and to Lynn. Boardman's barn and the greater portion of his farm, the selectmen asserted, lay in Boston, where the polls had been rated and paid " time out of minde here to fore." 23
The children of William (2) Boardman by his wife Abiah, recorded at Lynn were: William, born July 29, 1710; John, August 26, 1712; Mary, March 25, 1716; Sarah, March 18, 1719/20; Sarah, May 11, 1722 (presumably married Francis Smith of Reading, 1746) ; Aaron, March 14, 1724/5 (marricd Mary Cheever of Lynn) ; Amos, March 12, 1727/8; Samuel, July 27, 1731. December 30, 1752, William Boardman of Chelsea conveyed to Aaron Boardman for £450 "one Dwelling house, partly in the Town of Lynn and partly in the Town of Chelsea, and Barn with about two hundred acres of Land being the said William Boardmans Dwelling house and homestead he now lives on partly in the town of Lynn, and the biggest part in the Town of Chelsea." It was bounded southerly by land of Joshua Chcever, easterly by the Country road, by land of David Potter, by land of John Boardman, and by the Lynn line; northerly by land sold off from said premises; westerly by six acres sold to William Boardman, Jr., by the Malden line and by other land of said William Boardman, Jr. The conveyance also included the negro
22 Suff. Deeds, L. 24, ff. 142, 143. See also L. 82, f. 147. Thomas Cheever was a son of Rev. Thomas Cheever of Rumney Marsh.
23 Boston Rec. Com. Rep., viii. 85; xi. 76; Original Papers, cited above, ii. 16.
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man named Mark, and all the personal estate of the grantee. On the same day William Boardman conveyed to John Boardman (of Lynn) for £200, fifty-five acres bounded northerly, westerly, and southerly by land of Aaron Boardman; easterly by the coun- try road (Lynn to Reading), by land of said John, and by land of Aaron Felt. By a conveyance (undated) acknowledged at Lynn January 8, 1753, William Boardman conveyed to William Board- man, Jr., for £200 fifty-two acres "whereon his Dwelling house and Barn stands," bounded westerly by the Malden line, southerly by Joshua Cheever, easterly and northerly by land of Aaron Board- man; also six acres of woodland. Abiah Boardman released her right of dower. Presumably William Boardman, Sr., died before February 12, 1754, as on that date Aaron Boardman of Chelsea conveyed to Amos Boardman for £106 twenty six and one half acres bounded northerly by " land of which William Bordman of Chelsea died seized." 24
William (3) Boardman married Elizabeth Hill of Malden, where the intention of marriage was recorded September 7, 1735. He was described as of Lynn. The children of William and Eliz- abeth Boardman, recorded at Chelsea, were: William, born 1736- 15th day-1st month; Benjamin, 1737-7-4; Bethesda, 1741-12- 11; Thomas, 1744-15-1; Nathaniel, 1749-16-8. May 20, 1758, William (3) Boardman, " being engaged in an Expedition against his Majesty's Enemies of the French & Jndian Nations, which I think I have entered into with Seriousness & Deliberation," exe- cuted a will, in which he designated his eldest son William Board- man executor and residuary legatee, " desiring him to consult & take the advice of the Reverend ME Joseph Roby in his Management & disposall of his Younger brothers." To each of his sons, Ben- jamin, Thomas, Nathaniel, and Joseph, he bequeathed £20 payable when they were twenty-one years of age. Thomas was "to be speedily put an Apprentice to a Master of good credit & of such trade or Occupation as he the said Thomas shall chuse." Na- thaniel and Joseph were to be supported by the estate until four- teen, and were to be taught "the Principles of the Christian Religion," also " reading writing and cyphering so far as is Nec- essary for a Tradesman: And as each of my said two Sons Na- thanael & Joseph arrive to the age of fourteen Years, then my said Son William Bordman shall put or Cause [them] to be put to Apprentice . . . to good Masters of Credit & Reputation, & of such trade or Occupation as they or each of them shall Chuse,
24 Vital Records of Lynn; Suff. Deeds, L. 81, ff. 233, 235; L. 82, f. 147; L. 92, f. 175.
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untill they or cach of them Arrive to the age of Twenty-one Years." The will was probated May 29, 1761. April 14, 1758, William Boardman of Chelsea enlisted as a private under Captain Slocomb in Colonel Joseph Williams' regiment for the expedition against Canada. With other members of his company he received billeting money from the day of enlistment until May 27, and during that period executed his will. Doubtless he took part in the expedition against Louisburg (May 28 to July 26). He was reported as discharged November 1, 1758. April 2, 1759, William Boardman of Chelsea enlisted in an independent company under Captain Thomas Goldthwait. It was then stated that he had served on a former expedition against Canada.
A petition by William Boardman, dated June 7, 1754, illustrates the tax collector's difficulties. He was thrown into the jail at Boston for two hundred odd pounds due the Province as Collector of Taxes in Chelsea. The General Court authorized his release on giving bonds, and allowed him twelve months in which to collect the taxes due. But he spent ten months in the jail before he could find bondsmen, because they " doubted of ye Memorialists Estate till that Time." Two months after his release, he had paid £40, hoped in a few days to pay £60 more, and asked for an exten- sion of time. An extension of six months was granted.25
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