History of Newbury, Mass., 1635-1902, Part 6

Author: Currier, John J. (John James), 1834-1912. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Boston : Damrell & Upham
Number of Pages: 1518


USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > History of Newbury, Mass., 1635-1902 > Part 6


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In regard of the greate inconvenience that is found for want of fit places of intertainment of people vpon occasion of great assemblies, & arrivall of ships wth passengers, it is declared, that vpon such occasions,


* Coffin's History of Newbury, p. 33. t Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 140.


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HISTORY OF NEWBURY


it is lawfull for any person, in any towne where such great resort of people shall happen to bee, to give intertainement to such people & to affoard them lodging & dyot at reasonable rates, though they bee not allowed to kepe comon ordinaries &c .*


May 14, 1645, the General Court ordered


. . . yt no man shal be alowed to keepe publicke houses of intertain m for strangrs or travellers, nor shall any one be a comon victualler, in- keeper, or keeper of a cookes shop, vintner, taverner, or public seller of wine, ale, beare, strong water, wthout alowance in some Qrtr Cort in ye sheire where such do dwell, upon paine of forfeiture of 20s p week while they continue wthout ye said licence ; nor shall any such pson as have publicke houses of intrtainmt & have licence, sell beare for above 2d an ale qrt; &c.t


While this law was in force, Tristi tioned the General Court for liberty to k


Coffin, sr., peti- an ordinary, and also a ferry on the Newbury side of Mer nack river. His petition was granted May 26, 1647; and .he same day the General Court ordered, that "henceforth all such as are to keepe houses of comon intertainm' & to retaile wine, beere &c" shall apply for license to the courts of the shire in which they live in order that the time of the deputies may be devoted to matters of more importance. #


SALE OF WINE, BEER, AND OTHER LIQUORS.


In 1637, the keepers of ordinaries were not allowed "to sell either sack or strong water," § and could make or keep in their houses only a mild kind of wine or beer : -


Provided that it may bee lawfull for any such inkeeper or victualler to have in their houses some small quantity of strong water for their owne private & necessary use. |


March 12, 1637-8, the law imposing a duty on wine and strong water imported into the colony from beyond the sea was repealed ; " & it is ordered, that every town shall p'sent


* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 279. t Ibid., vol. ii., p. 100.


# Ibid., vol. ii., pp. 188, 194. For additional particulars relating to inns and taverns, see "Ould Newbury," pp. 108, 109, 175-188, 493-507.


§ Ibid., vol. i., p. 205.


Il Ibid., vol. i., p. 214.


73


THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER


a man to bee alowed to sell wine & strong water made in the country & no other strong water is to be sould." *


Edward Woodman was appointed by the General Court agent for the sale of spirituous liquors in Newbury, and con- tinued to hold that office for several years. November 13, 1644, the law was again changed, and licenses were granted to various individuals in the colony "to draw wine " upon the payment of a tax to be assessed and collected in proportion to the number of gallons sold .; In order to secure the en- forcement of this law, these taxes or license fees were sold to Edward Rawson for a stated sum; and the govern- ment was relieved of all further trouble and expense in regard to them.


The following agreement was recorded Tovember 13, 1644 :-


Mr Edward Rawson hath hired to farme ye rent due . wine drawn in ye countrey for 1076 10s for a yeare .;


May 6, 1646, the General Court ordered


. . . that Mr Rawson ye officer appointed to receive ye custome of wine ye last yeare, shalbe alowed one fourth part of what is due to ye country on that ordr, in satisfaction of his charge & expense of time expended on ye p'secuting of that order, he giving ye auditor genrall an account there of yt so he may p'cure it in to defray ye country charges.§


In 1652, the law regulating the sale of wine and beer was again amended, and after that date the excise duties were sold for a term of five years to the highest bidder .¿


COCHICHAWICK (ANDOVER).


March 4, 1634-5, the General Court ordered


. . . that the land aboute Cochichowicke shalbe reserved for an inland plantacon & that whosoever will goe to inhabite there shall have three yeares imunity from all taxes, levyes, publique charges & services what- soever (military dissipline onely excepted) John Winthrop, Rich : Bell- ingham & Milton Coddington, Esq. are chosen a Comittee to licence


* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 221. t Ibid., vol. ii., p. 82.


# Ibid., vol. ii., p. 87. § Ibid., vol. ii., p. 150.


!! Ibid., vol. iv., part i., p. 11I.


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HISTORY OF NEWBURY


any that they thinke meete to inhabite there, & that it shalbe lawfull for noe peson to goe thither without their consent, or the Major pte of them .*


May 13, 1640, the magistrates and deputies of the General Court voted that


The desires of Mr Ward & Newberry Men is comitted to the Governor, Deputy Governor & MIr Winthrope, Senior, to consider of Pā tucket & Coijchawick & to grant it them, p'vided they returne answer wthin three weeks fro the 21th p'sent & that they build there before the nexte courte.t


The Rev. John Woodbridge, in a letter to " Hon. John Winthrop, Sen. Esq.," dated "Newberry this 22th of I mo 1640" (March 22, 1640-I), says,


" Some of us have desired to plant at Quichichwick & accordingly notwithstanding all the oppositions and discouragements that wee have had, having viewed the place since ye court, were intending this spring to have built there "; but have been prevented by the claim of the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers that a portion of that territory should be granted the town of Rowley. A number of families were ready to remove to the new settlement. " And the reason why I desire your speedy advice is because some of o' company have sold themselves out of house and home & so desire to bee settled as soone as may be."#


Satisfactory arrangements were made during 1641 or 1642 with the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge and his friends ; and May 10, 1643, when the county of Essex was formed, " Cochichwicke" was one of the towns named in the act of incorporation. §


In October, 1645, the Rev. John Woodbridge was ordained minister of the new town.


At a General Court held in Boston, May 6, 1646,


Cutshamache Sagamor of ye Massachusetts came into ye Corte & acknowledged yt for the sum of {6, & a Coat which he had already re-


* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 141. t Ibid., vol. i., p. 290.


# Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, Fifth Series, vol. i., p. 317.


§ The General Court ordered, May 10, 1643, that the colony of Massachusetts Bay should be divided into four shires, or counties ; namely, Middlesex, Suffolk, Essex, and Norfolk. The following-named towns composed the county of Essex : -


Salem Ipswich Rowley


Linn Enon (Wenham) Newberry


Glocester Cochichawick (Andover)


-- Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. ii., p. 38.


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THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER .


ceived he had sold to Mr. John Woodbridge in behalfe of ye inhabit- ants of Cochichawicke now called Andover all his right, interest & privilege in ye land 6 miles southward from ye towne, two miles eastward to Rowley bounds be ye same more or lesse, and northward to Merri- mack river &c .*


Among the Newbury men who accompanied the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge to Cochichawicke, and settled there, were John Osgood, Joseph Parker, John Stevens, Nicholas Holt, Benja- min Woodbridge, John Frye, Nathan Parker, John Aslett, William Ballard, and John Russ, sr.


GUNPOWDER.


June 6, 1639, the General Court authorized the importa- tion of a quantity of saltpetre for the purpose of aiding and encouraging the manufacture of gunpowder in the colony. It is evident, from a careful perusal of the following votes and orders, that arrangements had been made with Edward Raw- son to begin the manufacture a's soon as the materials could be supplied.


Mr Peters is desired to write to Holland for £500 worth of peter & 40{ worth of match, & to give order vpon the receit of the salt peter & match heare in good condition, to charge bylls vpon the Governor & the country doth p'mise to save the Governor harmelesse t


It was ordered, that if the salt peter come not, Mr Rawson shal bee considered according to such damage as hee shall sustaine.#


Mr Edward Rawson is granted 500 acres, at Pecoit, so as hee go on wth the business of powder, if the salt peter come.§


Mr. Rawson brought with him to Newbury, in 1636 or 1637, a servant named Richard Crane, who was evidently familiar with the process of making gunpowder. A letter dated Steaston, England, March 15, 1638-9, from Dorothy Crane "To Hir very loveinge husband Richard Crane, servant to M' Edward Rawson, at his house at Newberry," will be found among the " Winthrop Papers"; || and also a letter from


* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. iii., p. 73.


t Ibid., vol. i., p. 259. # Ibid., vol. i., p. 260. § Ibid., vol. i., p. 263.


Il Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, Fifth Series, vol. i., p. 87.


-


76


HISTORY OF NEWBURY


Richard Crane to Governor Winthrop, dated May 9, 1640, containing the following statement : -


My master intended to imploy mee to make powder. I am sorry I could not have materials whereby to improve my skill for the good of the land .*


Subsequently, efforts were made to procure a supply of saltpetre from domestic sources. June 14, 1642, an order was adopted by the General Court requiring every town in the colony to provide a suitable house for the making of salt- petre, t and September 27, 1642, this order was amended ; and the selectmen of every town were required to see that every householder, or every two or three householders joined together, should provide "for the breeding of salt peeter in some out house for poultry, or the like," # the annual prod- uct to be delivered to the agents of the colony and paid for at a reasonable price. Mr. Edmund Greenleaf was appointed superintendent of the business for the town of Newbury.


October 27, 1648 " The Corte haveing taken into their serious con- sidration the great forwardness & readiness of Mr Edwd Rawson to ad- vance so hopefull a designe as the makeing of salt peter wthin this juris- diction, who for that end & purpose hath disbursed certain monyes to his great losse & damage p'sented to us at large in his petition delivred into this p'sent corte, have therefore, in consideration of the p'mises, & answere to his said petition, given & granted to him & his heires 500 ac of land at Pequot, to be layd out by the appointmt of the Corte as also five pounds to be paid him out of the treasury." §


May 2, 1649 Mr Edwd Rawson haveing resigned up his 500 acres of land formrly granted him in p't of recompence of his damage sustained about ye salt peeter, the corte have thought meete to alow him thirty pounds, in full satisfaction, whereof the five pound formrly granted is accounted a part. ||


October 10, 1666, the General Court ordered the selectmen of every town to take such steps as may be necessary to pro- vide the makers of gunpowder with an increased supply of saltpetre. IT


* Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, Fifth Series, vol. i., p. 291.


f Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. ii., p. 14. . # Ibid., vol. ii., p. 29.


§ Ibid., vol. ii., p. 261. Il Ibid., vol. ii., p. 283.


Ibid., vol. iv.,. part ii., p. 320.


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THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER


Walter Everenden, of Boston, stated, in a petition addressed " To the Honoured Govenor, Deputy Govenor, with the Magestrates & Deputies now assembled and sitting in Boston," May 28, 1672, that he desired to commence the manufacture of gunpowder, but had been prevented by the enactment of laws in England and Holland prohibiting the shipment of saltpetre to America. He therefore humbly requested "the honoured court " to order the inhabitants of every town in the colony to furnish their proportionate share of saltpetre without further delay .*


In the year 1675 a powder-mill was erected in the town of Dorchester. Previous to that date the materials used in the manufacture of powder were coarsely ground or pulverized in mortars made for that purpose, and afterward roughly cleared of impurities, and mixed without the aid of machinery. The importance of the new enterprise was thoroughly ap- preciated by the General Court; and two watchmen were appointed, October 13, 1675, one from Dorchester and one from Milton, to guard the property and protect it from the danger of fire to which it was exposed.


Walter Everden, or Everenden, was employed as manager or superintendent of the manufacturing department. He subsequently became the owner of the mill, and for nearly fifty years was a successful manufacturer of gunpowder.t


ARMS AND AMMUNITION.


1


September 3, 1634, the General Court elected Richard Dumer, then living in Roxbury, and Nicholas Easton, of Ipswich, with other freemen of the colony, "ouerseers of the powder & shott & all other amunicon, in the suall plantacons where they lyve." #


Subsequently every person capable of bearing arms was obliged to furnish himself with a musket, and also with powder and shot.


March 13, 1638-9, the General Court ordered that


* Massachusetts Archives, vol. lix., p. 124. + History of Dorchester (1859), pp. 607-611. # Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 125.


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HISTORY OF NEWBURY


Neweberry, Linn, Hingham Waymoth each of them shall have one barrell of gunpowder, wch shalbee sould out to those that find muskets, at 2s the pound, wch money shall bee returned to the Treasurer, & for want thereof, the Treasurer shall levy it of the towne, &c .*


In consequence of the warlike attitude of the Indians the General Court distributed, September 8, 1642, a certain quantity of gunpowder to every town in the colony. . Hamp- ton, Salisbury, Newbury, and Rowley received one barrel each ; and the record further says " that Hampton & Newe- berry had each of them a barrell before, wch they are to alow for, besides the barrell wch is now alowed to each of them by this order." }


It is evident that arms and ammunition were not abundant in the colony at that time, and the following orders indicate that the colonial authorities were careful and prudent in distributing them.


September 7, 1643 It is ordered that Ipswich, Salem & Newberry shall answere for the powder or armes they have had.#


It is ordered that the souldiers of Ipswich, Rowley & Newberry, wch were sent to the Indians, should each man bee alowed one pound of powder.


May 29, 1644 It was ordered that the surveyor of armes shall de- liver to the deputies of Newberry two snaphance muskets instead of those wee had of them, & not of lesse valewe. §


May 14, 1645, the several towns in the colony were ordered to send to the general surveyor of arms " at Richard Fairbanks howse in Boston " a true report of the number of fire arms in their possession "wthin a fortnight after ye sit- ting of ye Courte." ||


A barrel of powder having been delivered to Mr. Edward Rawson for the town of Newbury, and a portion of it having been used in the public service, the General Court ordered, May 2, 1649, "that Edwd Rawson should onely satisfy ye survey" gen'all 5£ for ye barrell ; & the towne of Newbury & himselfe is hereby discharged therefrom."


* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 255. t Ibid., vol. ii., p. 26. # lbid., vol. ii., p. 46. § Ibid., vol. ii., p. 72. Il Ibid., vol. iii., p. 14. T Ibid., vol. ii., p. 270.


79


THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER


COMMISSIONERS OF SMALL CAUSES.


Magistrates elected to the General Court were authorized, September 6, 1638, to hear and determine all questions " where the debt trespas or damage &c doth not exceed 205" in the towns where they resided, "and in towns where no magistrate dwells, the Generall Court shall from time to time nominate 3 men, two whereof shall have like power to heare & determine all such actions vnder 205." *


The same day " M' Edward Rawson, M' John Woodbridge & Mr Edwd Woodman were chosen " commissioners for the town of Newbury.


June 2, 1641 for to order small causes at Newberry, Mr Woodman, Mr John Oliver & Mr John Woodbridge are appointed.t


October 7, 1641, Mr. Edward Rawson was chosen com missioner in place of Mr. John Oliver ; ¿ June 14, 1642, " Mr Greenleiffe is appointed instead of Mr, bodman to end >' small businesses in Neweberrv, § and, September 27, 1642, " Mr Clarke is appointed in ' Rawsons place to end small causes at Newberry." ||


May 29, 1644, the Geral Court ordered "that Mr Rich'd „Ier, y Jamesrowne, & Henry Short shall end small con- troversies at Newberry."


May 14, 1645 Mr Edward Woodman, Mr John Lowle, & Richrd Knight are chosen to end small causes under 20s in Neweberry .**


FINES AND PUNISHMENTS.


At a quarterly court held in Boston December 4, 1638,


The towne of Neweberry was fined 5 shs for want of a paire of stocks & time was given them till the nexte courte to make them. tt


June 2, 1640 Neweberry, for want of towne weights & measures, fined 6s 8d.##


* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 239. t Ibid., vol. i., p. 328. # Ibid., p. 339. § Ibid., vol. ii., p. 14. !! Ibid., vol. ii., p. 28. " Ibid., vol. ii., p. 72.


** Ibid., vol. ii., p. 98. tt 1bid., vol. i., p. 248. ## l bid., vol. i., p. 297.


1


80


HISTORY OF NEWBURY


March 3, 1639, 40 Mr Henry Seawall for his contemptuous speach & carriage to Mr Saltonstall was enjoyned to acknowledg his fault pub- likely at Ipswich court & to bee of good behavior & was enjoyned to appear at the next Quarter Court &c. . . . hee bound him selfe in 66£ 13s 4d for his appearance & good behavior .*


June 2, 1640 Mr Richrd Dumer for want of weights & scales, wch were supplied, 5s.t


March 2, 1640/41 Mr Richrd Dumer had his fine of 5s remitted, the p'sentmt being upon a mistake, as was testified. #


William Franklin, one of the early settlers of Newbury, was accused of excessive cruelty, which resulted in the death of a boy whom he had taken as an apprentice. He was tried at the Court of Assistants in April, 1644 (?), and "was found guilty of murder ; but some of the magistrates, doubting of the justice of the case, he was reprieved till the next court of as- sistants." § May 29, 1644, the General Court, after further consideration of the case, declared : -


Willi: Francklin is reteretr cohe matrats; if they see cause hee may have a second triall for his life thext Quarter Cor't. ||


The governor and magistrates ving met at Salem, May 30, 1644, were not disposed to granthe condemned man a second trial, and promptly sentenced him to bangeg-for .. · murder.


A warrant was signed by the governor a week after, which was not approved by some in regard of his reprieval to the next court of assist- ants. T


JOHN EALES, BEEHIVE MAKER.


The making of beehives was evidently not a lucrative busi- ness in Newbury in 1644. Flowers were growing in abun- dance in the woods and fields, but skill and ability in the management of bees was necessary in order to turn them into a possible source of revenue.


Hive or honey bees were brought to America by the early


* Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 286. t Ibid., vol. i., p. 297.


# Ibid., vol. i., p. 315.


il Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. ii., p. 71.


§ Winthrop's History, vol. ii., p. 225.


" Winthrop's History, vol. ii., p. 226.


8 I


THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER


settlers of New England. They followed the pioneers of civilization to Ohio and Kentucky, but as late as 1797 they were practically unknown in the vast uninhabited territory lying west of the Mississippi river.


The inhabitants of Newbury were evidently disposed to favor bee-keeping, as a new and profitable industry ; and John Eales was engaged to assist them in their efforts to make the business a financial success, as appears from the following petition to the General Court : -


To the Honnored Courte now assembled. The humble petition of John Lowle & Edward Woodman in the name & on the behalfe of the Towne of Newberry.


Humbly Showeth


That whereas one John Eales aged upwards of 70 years on or about August last came to Newberry to one John Davis a Renter of a farm there wth ye expectation of his doing service which the Towne was not acquainted with, being found unable to gett his living & going from us was stayed by ye constable of Ipswich. Ye Honnor'd Courte thereup- pon sent him back to ye constable of Newbury to be found at the Coun- treyes charge untill this Courte sh'ld determine the waye to dispose of him. Now our humble desire is yt ye worships would be pleased to dis- pose of him where it may be least chargeable to ye countreye & most beneficial to himself, wth what & where ye constable shall pay out ye worships shall Judge meete for his so long abiding with him, & your peticoners shall pray &c


JOHN LOWLE EDWARD WOODMAN *


In answer to this petition the General Court ordered, May 14, 1645 :-


It is conceived John Eales should be placed in some convenient place where he may be implied in his trade of beehive makeing, etc. ; & ye towne of Neweberry to make up what his work wanteth of defraying ye charge of his livelyhood. t


* Massachusetts Archives, vol. i., pp. 4, 5.


t Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. ii., p. 101. May 14, 1634, " John Eales" was made freeman at the General Court (Massachusetts Colony Records, vol. i., p. 369). As early as 40, perhaps earlier, he was living at Fox Point, Dorchester. He had a son Samuel, baptized 1 3, 1640. In the note-book of Thomas Lechford, pages 418 to 424, there is a covenant or cement between " Thomas Allen of Barnstable and John Eells of Dorchester," made July 8, , in regard to house and land in the county of Devon, England. " John Eeles" is said to removed from Dorchester to Hingham, and may afterwards have settled as bee-hive maker Newbury.


82


Pages 83-89 messing


HISTORY OF NEWBURY


REMOVAL FROM PARKER RIVER TO MERRIMACK RIVER.


The map on the opposite page gives the bounds and limits of Newbury after the incorporation of Rowley in 1639, and the location of some of the prominent hills. The line ex- tending from the landing-place on Parker river to Mr. John Spencer's farm gives the general direction of the path or way that was subsequently extended, as shown by the dotted line, to the ferry landing on Merrimack river. The way from Frog pond to Watts's cellar is now State street, New- buryport.


The limited supply of arable land in the vicinity of Parker river induced many of the inhabitants to favor a removal to a new location three or four miles distant. No definite action was taken, however, until 1642, when a board of commissioners was appointed to lay out and assign to the freeholders of the town all the undivided land between the narrow winding path, or way, now known as Parker Street, or Low street, and the Merrimack river, extending from John Spencer's farm on the southeast to the mouth of the Arti- choke on the northwest. Many serious difficulties and com- plications delayed the work of the commissioners. A strong and vigorous minority opposed the removal of the meeting- house, and otherwise obstructed the organization of the new settlement. After a long and severe struggle the opposition was weakened, and conciliated by special grants and conces- sions ; and the important question that had disturbed the town for four years was definitely settled.


The first order relating to the proposed removal of the inhabitants of Newbury is found in the Proprietors' Records, and reads as follows : -


Generall and perticular orders made by the men Deputed for the Managing of those things that concerne the ordering of the New Towne from Decem'b 7th 1642 .*


* Proprietors' Records, vol. i., fol. 44.


.


85


THE SETTLEMENT AT PARKER RIVER


land," were evidently copied, when the Proprietors' Book was compiled, from records that are not now in existence. There is no doubt, however, that the order, as printed, was adopted by the commissioners soon after their appointment ; and it is certain that a year or two later they placed on record the following statement relating to the proposed removal of the inhabitants from Parker river : -


Whereas the towne of Newbury, well weighing the streights they were in for want of plough ground, remoteness of the common, scarcity of fencing stuffe, and the like, did in the year 1642 grant a commission to Mr. Thomas Parker, Mr James Noyes, Mr John Woodbridge, Mr Edward Rawson, Mr. John Cutting, Mr. John Lowle, Mr. Edward Woodman, and Mr. John Clark, for removing, settleing, and disposeing of the inhabitants to such place as might in their judgements best tend to theyr enlargements, exchanging theyr lands, and making such orders as might bee in theyr judgements for the well ordering of the town's occasions and, as in their commission more largely appeareth, the said deputed men did order in their first meeting and appoint John Merrill, Richard Knight, Anthony Short and John Emery to go to all the in- habitants of the towne, taking a true list of all the stock of each inhabi- tant, and make a true valuation of all their houses, improved land, and fences, that thereby a just rule might be made to proportion each in- habitant his portion of land about the new towne, and removing of the inhabitants there.




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