USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > History of Newbury, Mass., 1635-1902 > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
Whereas I, Thom : Millard, have given out most false & repchfull speaches against his māties loyall & faithfull subjects dwelling in the Massachusetts Bay, in America, saying that they were all traytors & rebells & that I would affirme so much before the Govenor himselfe, wch expressions I do confes (& so desire may bee conceived) did pceed from the rashnes & distemper of my owne braine, wthout any just ground or cause so to thinke or speake, for wch, my vnworthy & sinfull carriage being called in question, I do justly stand committed ; my humble & [ ] request yrfore is yt vpon ys my free & ingenious re- cantation of ys my grosse failing it would please ye Govenor & ye rest of ye assistants to accept of this my humble submission, to passe by my fault & to dismisse me fro further trouble; & ys, my free & volentary confession I subscribe wth my hand ys 9th June 1636.
THOMAS MILLERD.t
Notwithstanding this acknowledgment of submission on the part of Thomas Milward, it is evident that the governor and his Court of Assistants were somewhat uneasy for fear their conduct might give offence to the king. Some captains in the harbor of Boston being consulted upon the subject,
They answered, that, in regard that they should be examined upon their return, what colors they saw here, they did desire that the king's colors might be spread at our fort. It was answered that we had not the king's colors. Thereupon two of them did offer them freely to us. We replied that for our part we were fully persuaded, that the cross in the ensign was idolatrous, and therefore might not set in our ensign ;
* Winthrop's History, vol. i., p. 189. t Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 178.
36
HISTORY OF NEWBURY
but because the fort was the king's and maintained in his name, we thought that his own colors might be spread there. So the governou accepted the colors of Capt. Palmer, and promised they should be set up at Castle Island .*
During the summer of 1635, while the excitement caused by the defacing of the colors and the failure to re-elect Endicott, a member of the Court of Assistants, was at its height, the work of clearing and preparing the soil for culti vation was prosecuted with undisturbed vigor in the settle ment at Parker river, Newbury. House lots, planting lots and meadow lots were granted and laid out according to the rule established in London by the company organized for the encouragement of emigration and the development of the re sources of the colony in Massachusetts Bay. A house lot of four acres, with the right of pasturage, was assigned to the poorest settlers ; fifty acres were allotted to every person who paid for his own transportation to New England; two hun dred acres to every one contributing fifty pounds to the common stock ; and a larger or smaller number to other cash contributors in proportion to the amount invested by them. Dwelling-houses were erected, and a church organized (the tenth in the colony) "in the open air, under a tree " that stood on the north bank of the Parker river, at or near the Lower Green. The Rev. Thomas Parker was chosen pastor, and the Rev. James Noyes, teacher. Prudential men - after. ward called "the seven men " and " the selectmen " -- were elected to attend to the ordinary business affairs of the town. The population steadily increased in numbers and improved, slowly, in worldly condition. Only two months after the in corporation of the town it was called upon to assess and collect its proportion of a tax of two hundred pounds levied by the General Court, one-half of this tax to be paid at once, and the other half before the next meeting of the General Court.t
Richard Dummer was a member of the Court of Assistants from Roxbury, and John Spencer was a deputy from Ipswich, at the time this tax was levied, July 8, 1635. The same day
· Winthrop's History, vol. i., p. 224. t Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 149.
THE LOWER GREEN.
38
HISTORY OF NEWBURY
the General Court granted liberty "to M' Dumer & Mr Spencer to builde a myll & a weire att the falls of Neweberry, to enioy the said myll & weire, with such preuilidges of ground & tymber as is expressed in an agreemt betwixte them & the towne to enioy to them & their heires foreuer." *
This mill was probably erected in 1636; although evidently not completed until two or three years later .; In 1637, Richard Dummer and John Spencer, with more than sixty other followers of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and the Rev. John Wheelwright, were condemned and disarmed for holding erroneous religious opinions. Vexed and humiliated by this arbitrary act of the General Court, they decided to abandon their business enterprises in Newbury, and seek a more con- genial dwelling-place elsewhere. They evidently sailed for England at the first convenient opportunity. Mr. Spencer died in London previous to 1648. Mr. Dummer apparently returned to Newbury in 1638, bringing his wife and family. } He probably found it advisable to pursue this course in order to avoid great pecuniary loss, and thereafter seems to have suppressed his own personal views and opinions on religious matters so far as possible, and submitted quietly to the laws and orders passed and approved by the General Court.
He made an agreement with Edward Woodman, Edward Rawson, John, Knight, and Richard Brown that was entered upon the records of the town of Newbury, August 6, 1638, which reads as follows : -
It is agreed wth Mr Richard Dummer of Newbury by the psons whose names are hereunto subscribed that in case Mr Dummer doe make his ·
* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 149. t Winthrop's History, vol. i., p. 234.
# Among the passengers in the ship " Bevis," 150 tons, from Southampton for New England, May, 1638, were
" Richard Dumer of New England aged 40
Alce Dumer 35
Thomas Dumer 19
Joane Dumer 19
Jane Dumer 10
Stephen Dumer Husbandman (probably) 29
Dorothee Dumer 6
21 0-2. *
Richard Dumer 4
Thomas Dumer 27 "
- Massachusetts Historical Collections, Third Series, vol. x., p. 145.
39
THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER
mill fitt to grynd corne & doe so maintayne the same, as also doe keepe a man to attend the grynding of corne, then they for their pts will send thither all the corne that they shall have ground; & doe likewise pmise that all the rest of the Toune (if it lye in their power to p'cure the same) shall also bring their corne from tyme to tyme to be ground at the said mill ; and it is further agreed that (the 'fore menc'oned condic'on being observed by Mr Dummer) there shall not any other mill be erected wthin the said Toune.
The exact location of the meeting-house, built probably during the summer of 1635, is somewhat uncertain. It was probably erected on the triangular lot of land now known as the Lower Green, or, possibly, a hundred rods farther north, at or near the burying-place mentioned in the grant to John Emery May 18, 1647 .* At all events, the houses of the first settlers of Newbury were in that immediate vicinity ; and the General Court ordered, September 6, 1635, that "noe dwelling howse shalbee builte above halfe a myle from the meeting howse in any newe plantacon, granted att this Court, or hereafter to be granted, without leaue from the court, (except myll howses & fferme howses of such as have their dwelling howses in some towne), Ipswch, Hingham, Newberry & Waymothe to be included in this order." +
This law, though oppressive and annoying, was strictly en- forced until May 13, 1640, when it was repealed.
The boundary line between Ipswich and Newbury was set- tled and agreed upon by special committees appointed for that purpose : -
· Sept. 3, 1635. John Winthrop Senr & John Humfry, Esq. are in- treated by the court to vewe the bounds of Ipswch & Neweberry, & to informe the nexte court howe they may conveniently be bounded .;
March 3, 1635-6. It is referd to John Humfry, Esq & Capt Turner to sett out the bounds betwixte Salem & Ipswch & betwixte Ipswch & Newberry, before midsumer, nexte, as also to vewe & informe the nexte Gen'all Court if there may not be another towne conveniently setled be- twixte them; & it is agreed, that the bounds of the said townes shall run sixe myles apeece into the country.§
*See " Ould Newbury," p. 24. t Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 157.
# Ibid., vol. i., p. 159. § Ibid., vol. i., p. 167.
-
40
HISTORY OF NEWBURY
The General Court also licensed Francis Plumer to keep an ordinary, and authorized " Mr Dumer to sweare a constable at Neweberry." * At the same session, September 3, 1635, the General Court "ordered, that the high wayes betwixte Ipswch & Saugus & betwixte Ipswch & Neweberry, shalbe mended by the inhabitants of the townes, where they are, before the next p'ticular court." }
A tax was also levied, to be paid the treasurer of the colony before the next session of the court. The amount assessed upon
·
£sd
Lsd
Newbury was 7. 10. 00
Waymothe 4. 00. 00
Ipswch 14. 00. 00
Hingham 6. 00. 00
Salem 16. 06. 00
Meadford 9. 15. 00
Saugus
11. 00. 00
Boston # 25. 10. 00
March 3, 1635-6, the General Court " ordered, that there shalbe three hundred pounds levyed out of the seu'all planta- cons for public uses." §
Of this amount, Newbury was called upon to pay the sum of £11 5s .; Ipswich, £25 ; Boston, £37 10s .; etc. §
For the admistration of justice and the enforcement of the laws, civil and criminal courts were established in the colony ; and March 3, 1635-6, the General Court "ordered that there shall be ffoure courts kept eury quarter : I. att Ipswch to which Neweberry shall belonge; 2. att Salem, to wch Saugus shall belonge; 3. att Newe Towne to wch Charlton, Concord, Meadford & Waterton shall belonge; 4th. att Boston to wch Rocksbury, Dorchest', Weymothe & Hingham shall belonge." || .
The governor, deputy governor, and members of the Court of Assistants were elected by the "freemen " of the colony, who were required by law to meet, annually, in the month of May at the General Court for that purpose. Those living in towns remote from Boston finding this law burdensome and oppressive, the court ordered March 3, 1635-6,
* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 159. t Ibid., vol. i., p. 160.
# Ibid., vol. i., p. 158. § Ibid., vol. i., p. 164. || 1bid., vol. i , p. 169.
41
THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVE :
That the Genall Court, to be holden in May nexte, for the eleccon of Magistrates &c shalbe holden att Boston, & that the townes of Ipswch, Neweberry, Salem, Saugus, Waymothe, & Hingham shall have libertie to stay soe many of their ffreemen att home, for the safty of their towne, as they judge needeful & that the saide ffreemen that are appoyneted by the towne to stay att home shall have liberty for this court to send their voices by pxy .*
At the General Court held in Boston May 25, 1636, Sir Henry Vane was elected governor, and John Winthrop, deputy governor.
The ffreemen of Neweberry are ffined vid a peece for chusing & sending to this court a deputy wch was noe ffreeman. t
" M' Dudley, M' Dumer, M' Bradstreete, M' Saltonstall & M' Spencer" were appointed magistrates for the county courts for Ipswich and Newbury, and "M' Dumer " was chosen treasurer of the colony "for this year nexte ensueing & till a newe be chosen." #
May 17, 1637, John Winthrop was elected governor, and Thomas Dudley, deputy governor. Among those who were made freemen at Newe Towne (Cambridge) that day, and took the oath established by order of the General Court, were :
Edmond Marshall John Bartlet .
Henry Seawall Junior .
Robert Pike
Nicholas Holt
Thomas Coleman
Nicholas Noise
John Cheney
Archelaus Woodman
Thomas Parker
James Browne
In the year 1635, the Election was held at Cambridge : so twas again May 17, 1637, upon the Plain in the open Aer. Govr Vane was there, and had the Mortification to see the excellent John Winthrop preferd before him, and chosen Governour (who had been Governour 1630-1-2- 3). Indeed Mr Vane seemed to stand so hard for being chosen again, as to endeavor to confound and frustrat the whole business of the Election, rather than that he himself should fail of being chosen. There was a great struggle, he being the principal Magistrate, for managing the Elec- tion. My father has told me many a time that he and others went on foot from Newbury to Cambridge, fourty miles, on purpose to be made
* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 166.
t Ibid., vol. i., p. 174.
# Ibid., vol. i., p. 175.
42
HISTORY OF NEWBURY
free, and help to strengthen Govr Winthrop's Party. And I find his name in the Record accordingly .*
WINNACUNNET.
In order to hasten the settlement of the territory supposed to be within the jurisdiction of the colony of Massachusetts bay, the General Court ordered, March 3, 1635-6, "that there shalbe a plantacon settled att Wenicunnett & that Mr Dumer & Mr John Spencer shall have power to presse men to builde a howse forthwth in some convenient place ; & what money they lay out aboute it shalbe repaide them againe out of the treasury, or by those that come to inhabite there." +
" Winnacunnett " was afterwards called Hampton ; # and the house ordered by the General Court was probably erected not far from the boundary line that now divides the towns of Sea- brook and Hampton Falls, N. H. It was evidently on the path or way leading from Newbury to Piscataqua (now Portsmouth), and for many years was known as the "Bound House," although it was undoubtedly intended as a mark of possession, rather than of limit, by the colony of Massachusetts bay.
At a later date, however, when the colony was urging its claim to a large portion of the territory now included in the state of Maine, Robert Carr, Samuel Mavericke, and George Cartwright, commissioners from King Charles II., replied, July 16, 1665, in answer to this claim : -
The fixing, nameing, and owning a Bound house 3 large miles north from Merrimack River about 12 yeares together, by the corporation of Massachusetts (after the fixing of which Bound house many other patents were granted by the Council of Plymouth & by the King,) must necessarily determine the limits of the said Corporation, and answer all the false and fraudulent expositions of their Charter. §
The disputed claim was finally settled by an act of Parlia- ment creating the Province of New Hampshire, and restrain- ing the colony of Massachusetts from exercising its authority over the towns of Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter, and Hampton.
* Samuel Sewall's Letter Book, vol. i., p. 295.
t Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 167. # September 4, 1639.
§ Provincial Papers of New Hampshire, vol. i., p. 249.
43
THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER
March 9, 1636-7, the Rev. John Wheelwright was adjudged " guilty of contempt and sedition " by the General Court ; and, November 2, 1637, he was disfranchised and ordered to de. part beyond the jurisdiction of the colony within fourteen days. The same day the inhabitants of Newbury received a conditional grant of Winnacunnet, and those who removed there within one year were to have "three years imunity," beginning March 1, 1637-8 .* Mr. Wheelwright, after his banishment, " settled just beyond the Bound House," and sub- sequently bought of the Indians a tract of land thirty miles square, extending from three miles north of the Merrimack to the Piscataqua river, and including Winnacunnet.
Richard Dummer, John Spencer, and Nicholas Easton were supposed to sympathize with the Rev. John Wheelwright in his religious opinions ; and, November 20, 1637, they were ordered to deliver up to the constable of Newbury their "guns, swords, pistols, powder, shot, and match." Soon after the promulgation of this order, Mr. Dummer and Mr. Spencer went to England ; but Mr. Easton evidently remained in Newbury, although he had asked and obtained liberty to remove beyond the jurisdiction of the colony. March 12, 1637-8, the General Court, having information that he and others who had been disarmed intended only to withdraw themselves for a season, in order to avoid the censure of the court, ordered them to depart according to the license given them.
Mr. Easton had probably been employed as architect or superintendent of the workmen "pressed " by Mr. Dummer and Mr. Spencer to build the house at Winnacunnett, and was doubtless well acquainted with the agricultural resources and advantages of that locality .; When he found, by order of the General Court, that he must remove from Newbury, he decided to go to Winnacunnet and settle there. His plans, however, were frustrated by the adoption of a peremptory order, May 16, 1638, " that the magistrates of Ipswich shall have power to discharge M' Eason & M' Geoffry from build-
* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 203.
t Belknap's History of New Hampshire, vol. i., p. 38.
.
.
·
44
HISTORY OF NEWBURY
ing at Winnacunnet & if they will not take warning, to cleare the place of ym." *
Whether the magistrates of Ipswich were obliged to use force, in order to " cleare the place of ym " is unknown ; but it is certain that Nicholas Easton was soon after in Rhode Island, where he resided until his death. He was governor of that state in the years 1672 and 1673.
Although the inhabitants of Newbury were granted in November, 1637, the privilege of removing to Winnacunnet, no effort was made on their part to obtain possession of that territory until the autumn of 1638, when a petition signed by a number of Newbury men was presented to the General Court for confirmation of the grant and for liberty to begin a settlement there. At the session held in Boston, Sep- tember 6, 1638,
The Court grants that the petitionesr Mr Steven Bachiler, Christo : Hussey, Mary Hussey, vidua, Thom : Crumwell, Samuel Skullard, John Osgood, John Crosse, Samu : Greenfield, John Molton. Tho: Molton, Willi : Eston, Willi: Palmer, Willi: Sergant. Richrd Swayne, Willi: Sanders, Robrt Tucke, wth diverse others shall have liberty to begin a plantation at Winnacunnet: & Mr Bradstreete, Mr Winthrope Junior & Mr Rawson, or some two of them, are to assist in setting out the place of the towne, & apportioning the severall quantity of land to each man, so as nothing shalbee done therein wthout alowance from them, or 2 of them.t
Some of the petitioners, with others whose names are un- known, availed themselves of the privileges granted by this order, and during the winter and spring removed thither in such numbers that the General Court acknowledged and de- clared, June 6, 1639,
Winnacunnet is alowed to bee a towne, & hath power to choose a cunstable & other officers, & make orders for the well ordering of their towne, & to send a deputy to the Court, & Christo : Hussey, Willi: Palmer & Rich'd Swaine to end all businesses vnder 20shs for this yeare; the laying out of land to bee by those expressed in the former order.#
Edward Rawson, one of the committee appointed to lay out the land at Winnacunnet, was a deputy to the General
* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 231.
t Ibid., vol. i., p. 236. # Ibid., vol. i., p. 259
.
45
THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER
Court from Newbury. The Rev. Stephen Bachiler had been a minister at Saugus (Lynn) for several years ; but, in conse- quence of some contention among the people there, he re- moved to Ipswich, then to Cape Cod, and then to Newbury, where he was living in 1638. His son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, probably came to Newbury twelve months earlier. After the incorporation of Winnacunnet Mr. Bachiler and Mr. Hussey disposed of their real estate in Newbury, and ac- knowledgment of the same was entered upon the records as follows : -
It was acknowledged by Mr Richard Dumer and William Wake- field * being authorized by Mr Stephen Bachelour and Christopher Hussey to have sold both theyr house Lotts and arable lands, meadows, marsh, orchard, fences, priviledges & comons and Whatsoever Rights they had to any Lands in the Towne of Newbury for and in consideration of six score pounds already paid. I say they did acknowledge to have full power to sell it unto Mr John Oliver of Newbury to remaine abide and continue to him and his heyrs forever June 5th 1639 as by a bill of sale doth appeer bearing the same date and subscribed by Mr Stephen Bachelour & William Wakefield.t
Witness EDWARD WOODMAN & RICHARD LOWLE.
The path from Newbury through the woods of Winna- cunnet to the settlement on the Piscataqua river was the scene of a terrible crime. Soon after the " Bound House " was built in 1636, the General Court ordered the constable of Newbury, June 6, 1637, to arrest William Schooler and bring him to Ipswich court. William Schooler was a vintner from London.
He lived with another fellow at Merrimack, and there being a poor maid at Newbury, one Mary Sholy, who had desired a guide to go with her to her master, who dwelt at Pascataquack, he inquired her out, and agreed for fifteen shillings, to conduct her thither. But, two days after, he returned and, being asked why he returned so soon, he answered that he had carried her within two or three miles of the place and then she would go no farther. Being examined for this by the magistrates, at Ipswich, and no proof found against him he was let go.#
* The first town clerk of Winnacunnet.
t Newbury Proprietors' Records, vol. i., p. 48.
# Winthrop's History, vol. i., p. 289.
.. .
46
HISTORY OF NEWBURY
Nearly six months after his release the body of Mary Sholy was found by an Indian in a thick swamp ten miles from the place where he said he had left her. He was again arrested, and arraigned on the charge of murder. He told many contradictory stories. " He said he went by Winicowett House, which he said stood on the contrary side of the way." He denounced his accusers, and solemnly declared his inno- cence; but the " Quarter Courte," held at Boston on the nineteenth day of September, 1637, adjudged him guilty .* He was hung at Boston September 28, 1637. "Yet there were some ministers, and others, who thought the evidence not sufficient to take away his life." t
TOWN RECORDS AND TOWN OFFICERS.
The records of the town of Newbury previous to the year 1637 are exceedingly meagre and incomplete. Many leaves are missing from the first volume; and on the pages that remain votes and grants are recorded without order, and often without dates. The day of the week or month is sometimes given when figures used to designate the calen- dar year are wanting. A careful inspection of these entries is necessary in order to determine, even approximately, when the recorded events took place. After the election of Edward Rawson as town clerk in 1638, the records are fuller and more comprehensive, and dates are given with more regularity and exactness. For many years the books containing these valuable and important records were neglected and shamefully defaced, but recently they have been repaired and rebound under the direction of the selectmen of Newbury.
March 3, 1635-6, the management of local affairs in the various towns of the colony was intrusted to the freemen of the several towns by the General Court. They were autho- rized to dispose of land and wood belonging to the town; to make orders not repugnant to the laws and orders established by the General Court ; to impose fines and penalties, not ex-
* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 202.
+ Winthrop's History, vol. i., p. 290.
..
47
THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER
ceeding twenty shillings, for disobedience of those orders ; and to choose constables, surveyors of highways, and other officers necessary for the supervision of town affairs.
John Woodbridge was undoubtedly the first town clerk of Newbury ; but there is no record of his election, and his sig- nature is not affixed to the votes and grants that are supposed to be in his handwriting. He was, however, legally elected to the office previous to November 30, 1636, and was super- seded by Edward Rawson in 1638, as appears by the follow- ing votes : -
It is likewise agreed that the order made the 30th of the 9th mo 1636 that John Woodbridge should bee freed from all rates and pay- ments while he is the towne Register, is now by his owne free consent repealed, the annuall stipend of 56 remaining still according to former order .*
Nov. 19, 1638. It was ordered that Edward Rawson shall supply the place of Mr Woodbridge & be the publicke Notary and Register for the towne of Newbury & whilst he so remains to be allowed by the towne after the rate of £5 per annum for his paynes. *
In order to avoid calling the freemen together on unimpor- tant occasions, "seven men" were chosen or selected to at- tend to the ordinary business affairs of the town. These "seven men," or selectmen, as they are now called, were elected quarterly, and were required to render an account of their service to the freemen of the town once in three months. "On the 8th day of the 8th month " [1637 ?] the seven men previously elected to manage the affairs of the town made a report which was accepted and approved.
It was likewise desired by the generall consent that the same persons, to witt, Edward Woodman, Jo. Woodbridge, Henry Short, Christopher Hussey, Richard Kent, Richard Browne, & Richard Knight, who were chosen by papers to perform the same service for one quarter longer & to labor in the case according to what ye Lord shall direct, to do ac- cording to what is prescribed .*
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.