USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Billerica > History of Billerica, Massachusetts, with a Genealogical register > Part 6
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The result of Parker's negotiations with the Cambridge propri- etors took shape in an instrument known in the Records (p. 137) as "our great deed." I quote, omitting technical and immaterial portions : - 10
1
"BILLERICA :
" DEED OF THEIR TOWNE FROM CAMBRIDGE PROPRIETORS.
"We whose names are subscribed, for sundry good consideracons. vs thereunto moving, and for valluable consideracon to us respectively payd * have sold * vnto the Inhabitants of Billerica and such others as shall from time to time be by them admitted as free denizens of the said place. & to the enjoyment of the priviledges thereof. all or respective rights & interest therein or vnto any part or parcell of the said land, now called by the name of Billerica, als Shawshin * * (only excepting & reserving our Joynt & respective interests that any of us have in the farme, wherein John Parker now dwelleth, comonly called by the name of the Churches farme, i. e., the church at Cambridge, with free liberty on all the comons of the said place, for the Inhabitants on the said farme, from time to time, for herbage, timber, & firewood. as any other of the Inhabitants, and a Joynt interest therein, together with the said Towne and inhabitants thereof). To have & to hold * * Provided always, this instrumt is to be vnderstood of every man's engagemt to be only for & in the behalfe of himselfe, his own heires *
* & no further or other. In witness whereof wee have put to or hands and seals this 25th day of March. Anno Dom. 165(?)."
The last figure is torn off in the original, but should probably be "9." The Deed was not recorded until 1671, and it must be a slip of the recorder's pen which makes the year 1650. One of the signers, Martha Bradshaw, did not acquire that name by
10 Parchment Deed in Town Archives.
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LAND DISTRIBUTION.
her marriage until 1665, and it is probable that several years passed before all these signatures were obtained. The names of the signers may be found on pages 13 and 14, being those not starred in the list there given.
One other important grant to Billerica enters into our early history. In the Records of the General Court for 1661. May 22, we find the following :-
"In ansr to the petition of the inhabitants of Billerikey, the Court, having considered of this peticon: together with the peticon of Mr. Deane Winthrope for laying out the lands graunted his mother, & being certainly informed that the toune of Billerikey is a hopeful plantation, & that they have & doe encourage & mainteine the ministry amongst them, & have waded thro many difficultjes in purchasing much of theire land. & never had so much as one-third part of lands graunted them by this Court. as other villages inferior to them have had, doe therefore graunt the sajd toune fower thousand acres of land. in such place or places where they can find it wthin this jurisdiction, for the redemption of the sajd lands, provided it shall not pjudice a plantation or any former graunt; & that Capt. Edward Johnson, Thomas Addams, wth Jonathan Danforth, surveyors, be appointed to lay it out & make returne to the next Court of Elections."
The disposition which Billerica made of this four thousand acres was as follows (Grants, pp. 3 and 11) :-
"They do grant to him, ye said Jonath. Danforth, with his father-in- law, John Parker * * joyntly and together, one thousand acres of land in the wilderness, which land is part of. that 4,000 acres which was granted," etc. * * " on condition that they the aforesaid John & Jonath. shall be at all cost & charges in and about discovering & laying out of the whole 4,000 acres," etc.
"They do grant to * * John Parker 3,000 acres of land more, which was ye remainder of that 4,000 acres formerly spoken of, all which lyeth up & downe in the wildernesse * * for & in consideration of forty pounds sterling, which the said John was to pay to Mr. Samuel Whiting. our minister. & for satisfaction in full for charges due to ye said John about building of our meeting house. And also upon the validdity of this grant. the said John Parker
stands bound & ingaged to the Towne of Billerica, that he * shall purchase & procure, in the behalf of & for the use of the Towne * 500 acres of land & upward, lying on the West of Concord river, that is to say, that wholl farme which was some- time in ye possession of Mr. Thomas Weld, of Roxbury * *
and make it sure to them according to law."
This four-thousand-acre grant was thus used to secure for Billerica three things: Two-thirds of Mr. Whiting's salary for
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HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
the year 1662; the completion of their first meeting-house ; and a good title to the Weld Farm of five hundred and thirty acres of land, which lay along the Concord River on the west side, beginning nearly opposite the Two Brothers.
Of this four thousand acres, one thousand were given to Danforth and Parker for expense of discovery and survey of the remainder. The Records of the Court do not show where this land was located.
The remaining three thousand acres were located in three places. The first and largest fraction was in what became Dunstable. The description of it is found in the deed to Thomas Brattle, executed 1662, July 16, and signed by John Parker, Jonathan Danforth, and Thomas Henchman, of Chelmsford. They sell "1,600 acres more or less," and "in the wilderness on the west side Merrimack river, upon forrest-field 'hill and Salmon brooke, beginning at the South west corner of Mr. Samuel Cole's last grant, & is bounded by him on the east." [His farm of four hundred acres was on Merrimack River, at and beyond Tyngsborough depot. ] "Edward Cowell's farm South west," [which consisted of two hundred acres and began at Mashapoag Pond, ] "and elsewhere by marked trees." Thomas Brattle, the purchaser, was a leading Boston merchant, and one of the wealthiest men in the' Colony. His son, Thomas, was Treasurer of Harvard College and founder of Brattle Street Church. The father was the first signer of the petition in 1673 for the incorporation of Dunstable. Like Brenton he has also been credited with a "grant" of his large farm in Dunstable, and the fact that it was originally Billerica land has been forgotten. When he procured a deed from the Indians, as he did in 1671, confirming his title, the tract is said to contain two thousand acres. It included the present village of Dunstable.
The second part of this grant was located as follows :- 11
" 1663, 6, June.
"Lajd out to the toune of Billirrikey one parcell of land conteining eight hundred acres. more or lesse, lying in the wildernesse on the north side of Merremacke Riuer, begining at the southeast angle of Mr. Dummers farme & being bounded vpon him twenty two pole; also bounded by Mr. Webb's farme (which joynes to him there) thirty five pole (vpon his northeast corner) westward. & sixty fower pole southward; from thence it runs in a long spruise swamp, about half a point northward of the east, fower hundred & eight pole; then runing in a streight line from thence to Long Pond; being partly bounded by that pond and partly by Mr. Batters
11 Colonial Records. Vol. IV, Part ii, p. 79.
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LAND DISTRIBUTION.
farme at this end of the pond. which line, in all, is fiue hundred & fower - pole; from thence it runnes almost due west to another pond. called by the Indians, Maseuppet. vnto a great rocke, called by the English. Tray Table Rocke; on the northwest it is bounded by Mascuppet Pond and another little pond vntill you come to Mr. Dumer's line, where wee began, all which is more fully demonstrated by a. plott taken of the same. This eight hundred acres is part of the fower thousand wch was lately graunted to the toune of Billirikey, & there remains only five hundred yet to lay out to the whole graunt.
" By JONATHAN DANFORTH, Surveyor. EDWARD JOHNSON. THO: ADDAMS.
"The Court allowes of this retourne."
Mascuppet Pond is called Tyng's Pond on the modern maps ; and this location can be easily traced .in the west part of Dracut, including a portion of Tyngsborough. When and to whom this land was sold, I have not discovered.
The remaining five hundred acres were located by the General Court, as follows : __ 12
·· 1667. Oct. 9.
" Lajd out to Billirrica fiue hundred acres of land in the wildernesse. on the north side of Merremack Riuer & on the East side of Beavar Brook, a little below Patuckett. It is bounded on the south & on the southeast wholly by lands formerly graunted to Richard Russell, Esq., and on the west by the aforesaid Beavar Brook, elsewhere by the wildernesse. The line on the east side of it is one hundred ninety sixe pole in length. ruñing halfe a point westward of the north wch is exactly the continuance of the long line on the east side of Mr. Russell's farm; also both the lines on the north side of it are exactly paralell to the lines on the south side of it, the most northerly of which is one hundred & sixty pole long & runns halfe a point westward of the most southwest; the other lines runns two degrees westward of the southwest & by south fower hundred eighty & seven pole. wych closeth to the brook. all which are sufficiently bounded by markt trees & pillars of stone. The form thereof is more fully declared on the other side, by a plott taken of the same.
" By JONATHAN DANFORTH, Surveyor.
"The Court allowes and approves of this retourne aboue mentioned."
Beaver Brook comes into the Merrimack from the north in Lowell ; and this tract of five hundred acres was held for exchange and was at last exchanged for the similar "farm," on the west side of the
12 Colonial Records. Vol. IV, Part ii, p. 352.
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HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
Concord River, which had been early granted to Reverend Mr. Weld, of Roxbury. This farm extended down the river from the Allen grant, which became a part of the Blood's farms. Probably the Weld Farm was never exactly located. The town had assumed possession and granted portions of it long before the title was finally transferred. Parker's death occurred before he had completed this part of his engagement, and it was not until 1694, March 6, that deeds were exchanged with Mr. Palsgrave Alcocke, of Roxbury. who then held the Weld Farm title ; he receiving the five hundred acres of land above described. Mr. Alcocke previously owned the grant of sixteen hundred acres to Mr. Russell, which lay between the Billerica land and Merrimack River.
It appears from this survey of Billerica's ancient possessions, that the villages of Bedford, Carlisle, Tewksbury and North Tewks- bury, Dunstable, Merrimac, and Litchfield, are all located on land which once belonged to this town.
CHAPTER IV.
THE STORY AS TOLD IN THE RECORDS.
THE Records of Billerica furnish the warp and much of the woof of its history. As a whole, they have been well made and very well preserved. Their publication in a full and literal transcript, for at least the first hundred years, would be a useful contribution to the history of New England, and have great local value. To guard against the possibility of future loss, the town would be wise in printing them, and it is perhaps not out of place here to commend this important question to the intelligent consideration of its citizens.
During the early years, it will be expedient to quote the Records extensively ; and a description of these volumes, their character and contents, may properly introduce this chapter.
The town has been fortunate in the services of intelligent and careful clerks. Danforth, after Parker, was clerk for twenty-one years, 1665-86, and gave character to the system, which remained substantially unchanged for two hundred years. Few records made today are as clear and easy to read as are those of Danforth. And a peculiarity of his method, for which those who consult the Billerica Records may be grateful to his foresight, is found in the separation of the records of births, marriages, and deaths, from those of current town action, and their arrangement in special volumes ; not chronologically, as was usually the case, but by families. By this method, with the aid of the alphabetical index, the record of any family as far as it was made can be found fully and immediately.
These Town Records consist of : -
I. The series of volumes recording current town action.
II. Two volumes of land-grants.
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HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
III. Successive volumes of births, marriages, and deaths.
Of the Records proper, Volume I has lost its binding and three leaves, or six pages. Fortunately, the first leaf has been preserved, the missing leaves containing pages 3-6; but portions of these pages were transferred to the Book of Grants, and very little is really lost. The Reverse of Volume I contains seventy-eight pages, mostly devoted to record of the earliest land-grants, the substance of which was also transcribed in the volume of land- grants. The first leaf, or two pages, of this Reverse of Volume I is missing, and we have no clue to its contents. Pages three, six, and seven, of the Reverse, are specially important, as they contain Parker's earliest record of the births, marriages, and deaths, prior to 1660. These were transcribed by Danforth in the new volume which he soon after began ; but the copy contains one important error, and the existence of this earlier authority has been commonly overlooked. The original agreement with Mr. Whiting is, also found on page 4 of the Reverse ; a copy being also in "Land-Grants," page 67.
Volume I extends to 1685 ; Volume II, to 1706 ; Volume III, to 1749 ; Volume IV, to 1780 ; and-Volume V, to 1796.
All these volumes except the first are substantially bound, and nothing appears to have been lost from them. For more than a hundred years they record not only town action, but also that of the selectmen, and the disbursements of the treasurer. The tax-lists were unfortunately not recorded until 1733, but, after that date, the series is continuous. Prior to 1733, the only list which has been preserved is the "minister's rate" of 1663.
Two volumes are occupied with land-grants. The first Book of Grants was prepared by Danforth in 1665. In it, he was instructed to transcribe all previous grants which had not become void ; and, after a careful examination by individuals, it was ratified by the town, and pronounced authoritative. All later grants to 1685 were entered in this volume, which is mostly in Danforth's fine hand- writing, and is certainly one of the best preserved and handsomest volumes of records, two hundred years old, to be found. The Grants are arranged under the name of the recipient, and the alphabetical index makes it easy to trace the possessions of each inhabitant. The volume contains also the " Whiting agreement," descriptions of the more important early roads, and some of the early covenants and "standing orders." Volume II of the Land-Grants continues
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THE STORY AS TOLD IN THE RECORDS.
the record after 1685. It contains a larger number of highway descriptions, and is almost entirely in the good handwriting of Oliver Whiting, who was town clerk 1704-23.
The third series consists, prior to 1850, of four volumes, con- taining "Births, Marriages, and Deaths." The first was prepared by Danforth in 1665, as above suggested, and continued in use until about 1730. But in the later years, after 1700, the number of entries falls off, in a way which suggests that the record was much less complete than it had been while Danforth kept it. The difficulty in tracing many family lines during this period strengthens this probability that the record was imperfect. The second volume was prepared in 1730, and a large part of the contents of Volume I was copied in it. But the transcript was not complete, and it was probably the design to omit all families the representatives of which were not still resident in town. For this reason the Bedford families do not appear.
The Third Volume came into use about 1790 and continued until' 1844, when it was displaced by a thin volume, used for ten years, following the chronological, and not the family, order. In 1855, the system was changed again by the State, and separate volumes are used for births, marriages, and deaths, each with a second index volume. Whoever has occasion to trace a family through this period must explore six volumes, and if his experience is like this compiler's, he will sigh for the simplicity and convenience of the earlier system of Danforth.
The earliest record is as follows. A few words obliterated in the margin are supplied in brackets.
"[ ?] November, 1654.
"Sertin Orders made by vs the present inhabitantes of the Towne of Billericey, for ye weall of ye [town] :
"1ly. [That wh]at person or persons soever [shall] propound them- selves to be [inhabi]tantes amongste vs, to prtake of [the pr]iviledges of the comons, devitions [of la]ndes, &c., if not known to vs, he or they shall bring with them a certificate from the place from whence they come, such a testimony as shall be satisfactory. to or towne, or select prsons of the same, before they shall be admitted as inhabitants amongste vs. to prtake of any priviledges as aforesaid with vs; and after their Admission they shall subscribe their names to all the orders of the Towne, with o"selves. yt are or shall be made for the public good of the place, as also for baring vp their proportions in all publique charges, in Church, Towne, or comon weall, with those persons that came vp at the first, and so shall have their priviledges in equall proportion.
U
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HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
"2ly. Summering Kattell. That no person whatsoever that hath any propriety in the place. either by purchase, Lease, or other wayes. shall keepe any kattell in the summer time but such as the keepe of ther o[wn] or for there owne use with[out the] consente of the Towne, [any] kattell so taken to be cepte [not according] to this order, he or they shall forfeit for every [offense] shillings to be payed to the [town].
"3ly. Swine. That no person shall keepe any [swine] but his owne without the consente [of] the towne; and every swine of [one year] old and upwards shall be suffit [iently] ringed from year to year, and every swine that goeth [un-]ringed one day after due warninge given by any Neibour, he shall forfeit [?] pence, ye one-halfe to the Towne and the other halfe to the informer, and that all swine that goe unyoaked from the first of April to the last of September and doe damage, they shall pay for ye damage acordinge to Law.
"4th. Lots to be inhabited within a yere. That what person soever takes up any accomida[tions] in this place for propriety " *
"Laying out his house lott" * * *
[The remainder of this paragraph must be inferred from the caption.]
"[]ly] If any person shall leave any wood or Timber lying anywhere on the coman Lande above the full time of twelve months, it shall be forfeit, and free for any man yt is an inhabitant to take [?] for his owne use, excepting all such wood or timber as is fallen for the publique use of the Towne.
"2ly. It is ordered that if any man fall [any wood] or timber in any prt of the comons belonging to this towne, he shall pay five shillings pr tree for every tree, or five shillings pr Loade every Loade, so carried away into any other towne boundes to be improved, without the consente of the Towne.
"3ly. It is ordered that for hoppoles, if any person doe fall any on or comons, as aforesaide, and cary or sell them to be made use of in any other towne, as aforesaide, they shall forfeit for every hundred of poles the sume of twenty shillings; all which forfetures shall be taken up by the constable then being, from time to time, for the use of the towne."
"9: 9mo 1658. It is ordered and joyntly agreed, that such as either haue already or hereafter shall take vp any Alotments in the toune vpon grant from the toune shall be equally acomidated with those vpon Mr. Dudley's farme, no person exceeding a twelfth prt of the saide farme, which is one hundred and thirteen acors of vplande and twelve acors of meddow, which [is] granted a ten acor Lott. and so in [proportion] to others that haue eight or six [or fiue] acor Lotts: the inhabitants that doe [take up] alotments of the toune as aforesaid [shall pay] to the purchasers of the aforesaid farme of Mr. Dudley, he that takes vp [ten] acors for his house lott the one halfe of what a twelfth p't of the said farme at the first did cost of the aforesaid Mr. Dudley: which 12th prt is usually called a single share; which pay is to be made by those that take vp ten acors for a house Lott, as aforesaid, and so others acording to ther proportions and at such times as is agreed vpon and written in a paper written the day and
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THE STORY AS TOLD IN THE RECORDS.
yere aboue specified. the times of payment is, the one halfe the next yere after the [alotment ] and the other halfe the yere [after] that first payment, in corne [?] currant and merchantable."
The remainder of the second page is torn off, and the next four pages are missing. Page seven begins with the following, which is numbered "7," implying that it is one of a series of "orders." The contents of the first six orders can be only conjectured.
"[It is agreed by the town] that for the raysinge publique charges, shall continue in the way we are at present in, for the building a house for a minister and for the maintenance of a minister, that is acordinge to or severall proportions of land and meadowes; and it is agreed, that all devitions of Lands and meadows and comons and all other priviledges shall be devided and layed out acordinge to or publique charges; also. this way of rateing shall continue without alteration vnlesse it be don by the joynte consente of the wholl inhabitants; and the devitions in comon feilds from time to time shall be devided by Lott for propriety. both to us. the present inhabitants, and also to all others yt shall hereafter be excepted and entertained as inhabitants amongst vs. But for such farmes as doe Ly within the boundes of or Towne vnoccupied, or such as are occupied by non-residents, shall haue no priviledge in devitions of lands, nor comonage of wood and Timber and feed for kattell as orselves. nor be rated alike, nor no other wayes than the propriety and free denizens yt are inhabitants shall agree. And it is furdr agreed, yt when any furder Adition of meddows be made to the inhabitants, or any of them, there publique charges shall be borne vp acordinge to the former proportions, excepting such meddows as are made by any person out of swamp or other wayes that is not granted by the Towne [obscure] meddows; all such medows so [made] are freed from all publique [charge which] conserns the Towne."
Agreements eight and ten relate to highways, and are quoted in the chapter devoted to that subject. Agreement nine, on page 8, is this : "It is ordered that no proprietor or inhabitant within the boundes of our Towne shall at any time receive any inmates or Tenants without the consent and approual of the Townsmen. he or they yt shall soe do, shall forfeit to the Towne the sume of twenty shill pr week for euery person so received & entertained as aforesaid." [And in the later handwriting of Clerk William Tay, it is added :] "And euery pso that shall inhabit [?] the p'cincts of the town w'out the Towns consent shall forfeit twenty shill : pr weeke for euery week abiding as [?]"
And in article eleven, "it is ordered that not any inhabitants in this towne shall turn out any cattell in the Springe tyme from yere to yere without a keeper, until the herd goe oute, Leaste he thereby
.
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HISTORY OF BILLERICA.
doe damage to his Neighbors meddows." Article twelve relates to the first division of meadow lands, and will be found in the chapter on that subject.
These earliest records show us the questions which the town had to meet at the beginning. It is noteworthy that the care of the fathers for the character of those who were to make homes here inspires their first record. There was no welcome for such as could not bring good testimonials. The policy was that of the towns generally, and it was not illiberal but wise. If the doors had been open in our New England towns to all the restless and unworthy adventurers sure, in an age like that particularly, to seize such opportunities, the evil leaven would have lowered the standard of character and exposed the settlements to mischief, if not shipwreck.
And the fathers did not wait for the official sanction by the Court of their new English name before they began to use "Billerica." It stands at the head of the first page of Records, in 1654, and in the Boston record of Danforth's marriage, 22d November of that year, it also appeared.
In 1658, when Mr. Whiting came to Billerica, he found twenty- five families in town ; eleven on the Township, seven on the Dudley Farm, and seven elsewhere, of whom but one was north of the Township, Paterson, and he adjoined it. Ilis own house was built, but not yet finished ; the meeting-house was not begun. There was a road to Woburn, another to Concord, one to Chelmsford, and one to Andover ; whether the road to Cambridge was distinct from the Woburn Road west of the Shawshin is very doubtful. These roads were little more than paths in the woods ; indeed the word "path" is not infrequently applied to them in the Records. Fences were not yet built, and the care of cattle and swine was a matter of common concern. A herd in the care of a keeper, driven out in the morning and home at night, was the natural convenience of their primitive life. Sometimes the herd would go in one direction, and then in another. Fox Hill and its western slopes long furnished the herd a range, and another extensive common field was beyond North Billerica.
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