USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 155
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 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156 | Part 157 | Part 158 | Part 159 | Part 160 | Part 161 | Part 162 | Part 163 | Part 164 | Part 165 | Part 166 | Part 167 | Part 168 | Part 169 | Part 170 | Part 171 | Part 172 | Part 173 | Part 174 | Part 175 | Part 176 | Part 177 | Part 178 | Part 179 | Part 180 | Part 181 | Part 182 | Part 183 | Part 184 | Part 185 | Part 186 | Part 187 | Part 188 | Part 189 | Part 190 | Part 191 | Part 192 | Part 193 | Part 194 | Part 195 | Part 196 | Part 197 | Part 198 | Part 199 | Part 200 | Part 201 | Part 202 | Part 203 | Part 204 | Part 205 | Part 206 | Part 207 | Part 208 | Part 209 | Part 210 | Part 211 | Part 212 | Part 213 | Part 214 | Part 215 | Part 216 | Part 217 | Part 218 | Part 219 | Part 220 | Part 221 | Part 222 | Part 223 | Part 224 | Part 225 | Part 226 | Part 227 | Part 228 | Part 229 | Part 230 | Part 231 | Part 232 | Part 233 | Part 234 | Part 235 | Part 236 | Part 237 | Part 238 | Part 239 | Part 240 | Part 241 | Part 242 | Part 243 | Part 244 | Part 245 | Part 246 | Part 247 | Part 248 | Part 249 | Part 250 | Part 251
SECT. 13. In all cases in whieb appointments are directed to be made by the mayor or aldermen, tbe mayor sball have the exclusive power of nomination, being subject however to con- firmation or rejection by the board of aldermen ; hut if a per- son so nominated shall be rejected, the mayor shall make an- other nomination within one month from the time of such rejection. No person shall be eligible by appointment or elec- tion to any office of emolument the salary of which is payable out of the city treasury, who, at the time of such appointment or election, shall he a member of the board of aldermen or of the common council. All sittings of the mayor and aldermen, of the common council and of the city council, shall be public when they are not engaged in executive business.
SECT. 14. The city council shall annually, as soon after their organization as may be convenient, elect by joint ballot, in con- vention, a city clerk, treasurer, collector of taxes, one or more superintendents of streets, city solicitor, eity physician, and city auditor, who shall hold their offices respectively for the term of one year, and until their successors shall be chosen and quali- fied ; provided, however, that either of the officers named in this section may he removed at any time by the city council for sufficient cause. Vacancies occurring in the above named offi- ces may be filled by joint ballot of the city council at any time. The compensation of the officers mentioned in this section shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city council.
. SECT. 15. The city clerk shall be sworn to the faithful dis- charge of the duties of his office. He shall have charge of all journals, records, papers, and documents of the city, sign all warrants issued hy the mayor and aldermen, and do such other acts in his said capacity as the city council may lawfully and reasonably require of him ; and shall deliver all journals, rec- ords, papers and documents, and other things intrusted to him as city clerk, to his successor in office. He shall also perform all the duties and exercise all the powers hy law incumbent upon or vested in clerks of towns of this Commonwealth. He shall be clerk of the board of aldermen ; shall attend said board when the same is in session, and keep a journal of its acts, votes, and proceedings; also of the city council when in convention. He shall engross all the ordinances passed by the city council in a book provided for that purpose, and shall add proper in- dexes, which book shall be deemed a public record of such ordi- nances ; and he shall perform such other duties as shall be pre- scribed by the board of aldermen. In case of the temporary absence of the eity clerk, the mayor, by and with the advice and consent of the board of aldermen, may appoint a elerk pro tempore, who shall be duly qualified.
SECT. 16. The board of overseers of the poor in the city of Brockton shall consist of three members, residents of tho city, and of the mayor and city marshal who shall bo ex officio mem- bers of the board. The mayor shall be ex officio chairman of
and tim
ba
CO
fo
01. th
o
ti
an çu
th
F
B
0
ei
V
p
t
01
739
HISTORY OF BROCKTON.
the board. The city council shall elect by joint ballot, in con- vention. as soon after their organization as may be convenient, three persons to be members of the board of overseers of the poor, one for one year, one for two years, and one for three years; and thereafter the city council shall annually, as soon after their organization as may be convenient, elect in the same manner one person to hold office for the term of three years. But no more than one of the three members so to he elected shall be eligible from any one ward of said city. Vacancies oc- cnrring in the board may be filled by joint ballot of the city conncil at any time, the members so elected to hold office only for the unexpired term of the member who has ceased to hold office. The city council may at any time remove members of said board from office for canse. The board shall be organized annually on the third Monday in Jannary. The compensation of the overseers of the poor shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city council.
SECT. 17. The city council elected in December, in the year eighteen hundred and eighty-one, shall, as soon after their or- ganization as may be convenient, elect by joint ballot iu con- vention three persons to be assessors of taxes, one for three years, one for two years, and one for one year : and thereafter the city council shall annually, as soon after their organization as may be convenient, elect in the same manner one person who shall hold his office for the term of three years next ensuing, and until another shall be elected and qualified in his stead. The persons so elected shall constitute the board of assessors, and shall exercise the powers and be subject to the liabilities and duties of assessors in towns. Vacancies occurring in the board may be filled by joint ballot of the city council at any time, the members so elected to hold office only for the nnexpired term of the member who had ceased to hold office. All taxes shall be assessed, apportioned, and collected in the manner pre- scribed by the general laws of the Commonwealth : provided, howerer, that the city council may establish further or addi- tional provisions for the collection thereof. The compensation of the assessors shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city conncil.
SECT. 18. The qualified voters of each ward, at their respeet- ive annnal ward meetings for the choice of officers, shall elect by ballot one person in each ward, who shall be a resident of said ward, to be an assistant assessor ; and it shall be the duty of the persons so chosen to furnish the assessors with all necessary in- formation relative to persons and property taxable in their re- spective wards ; and they shall be sworn to the faithful perform- anee of their dnty. Their compensation shall be fixed by con- current vote of the city conncil.
SECT. 19. The city council elected in December in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one, shall, as soon after their organization as may be convenient, elect by joint ballot in convention three persons to act as water commissioners, one for three yeare, one for two years, and one for one year; and thereafter the city conncil shall annually, as soon after their or- ganization as may be convenient, elect in the same manner one person who shall hold his office for the term of three years next en-aing, and until another shall be elected and qualified in his Etead. Vacancies occurring in the commission may be filled by joint ballot of the city council at any time. The city council may at any time remove any member of said commission from office for cause. The compensation of the water commissioners shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city council.
SECT. 20. The city council may establish a fire department for said city, to consist of a chief engineer, and of as many as- sistant engineers, engine-men, hose-men, hook-and-ladder-men and assistanta, as the city council by ordinance shall from time to time prescribe ; and said council shall have authority to fix the
time of their appointment and the term of their service, to define their office and duties, and in general to make such regulations concerning the pay, conduct, and government of such depart- ment, the management of fires, and the conduct of persons at- tending fires, as they may deeu expedient, and may fix such penalties for any violation of such regulations, or any of them, as are provided for the breach of the ordinances of said city. The appointment of all the officers and members of such depart- ment shall be vested in the mayor and aldermen exclusively, who shall also have authority to remove from office any officer or member, for cause, in their discretion. The engineers so ap- pointed shall he the fire wards of the city, hut the mayor and al- dermen may appoint additional fire wards. The compensation of the department shall be fixed by concurrent vote of the city council.
SECT. 21. The city council shall, in such muanner as they shall determine, elect or appoint all other subordinate officers, for whose election or appointment other provisions are not herein made, define their duties and fix their compensation.
SECT. 22. The qualified voters of the city, voting in their re- spective wards, shall ou the Tuesday next after the first Monday of December, in the year oue thousand eight hundred and eighty-one, elect by hallot, nine persons to he members of the school committee, three to be chosen for three years, three for two years, and three for one year from the first Monday in Jan- uary, in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two ; and thereafter three persons shall he chosen at each annual meeting, for the term of three years from the first Monday of January next ensuing, and the persons so chosen shall, with the mayor, constitute the school committee, and have the care and superintendence of the public schools. The mayor shall be ex officio chairman of the hoard, and all the rights and ohliga-
tions of the town of Brockton in relation to the grant and ap- propriation of money to the support of the schools, and the special powers and authority heretofore conferred by law upon the inhabitants of said town, to raise money for the support of schools therein, shall be merged in the powers and obligations of the city, to be exercised in the same manner as over other subjects of taxation ; and all grants and appropriations of money for the support of schools, and the ercction and repair of school- houses in said city, shall be made by the city council in the same manner as grants and appropriations are made for other city purposes. Vacancies occurring in the board may be filled by the joint ballot of the city council and school committee, in convention, the members so chosen to hold office only for the remainder of the municipal year.
SECT. 23. Should there fail to be a choice of members of the school committee or assistant assessors on the day of the annual ward meeting, the meeting shall be adjourned from time to time until the election shall be completed.
SECT. 24. All city and ward officers shall be held to discharge the duties of the offices to which they have been respectively elected, notwithstanding their removal after their election out of their respective wards into any other wards of the city ; hut a permanent residence out of the city shall cause a vacancy to exist in the offices to which they were elected.
SECT. 25. The city council shall take care that no money shall be paid from the treasury unless granted or appropriated, and shall secure a just and proper accountability by requiring bonds, with sufficient penalties and sureties, from all persons intrusted with the receipt, custody, or disbursement of money. They shall have the care and superintendence of the city buildings and the custody and management of all city property, with power to let or to sell what may legally be let or sold, and to pur- chase property, real or personal, in the name and for the use of the city, whenever its interests or convenience may, in their
740
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.
judgment, requiro it. And they shall, as often as once a year, causo to be published, for the use of the inhabitants, a particular account of the receipts and expenditures and a schedule of city property and of the city debts.
SEcr. 26. The city council shall have the same powers in rela- tion to tho laying ont, acceptance, altering, or discontinuing of streots and ways, and the assessment of damages, which select- men and inhabitants of towns now havo by law, all petitions and questions relating to the samo, however, being first acted on by the mayor and aldermen. Any person aggrieved by any proceedings of the mayor and aldermen, or of the city council, under this provision, shall have all the rights and privileges now allowed in appeals from the decisions of selectmen or the inhabitants of towns. No street or way shall hereafter be opened in the city of Brockton over any private land by the owners thereof, and dedicated to and permitted to be used by the public, of a less width than forty feet, except with the con- sent of said mayor and aldermen in writing, first had and ob- tained for that purpose.
SECT. 27. The city council may make ordinances, with suit- able penalties, for the inspection and survey, measurement and sale of lumber, wood, hay, coal, and bark, brought into or ex- posed in the city for sale, and shall have the same powers as the town had in reference to the suspension of the laws for the protection and preservation of useful birds, and of all other laws, the operation or suspension of which is subject to the action of the towns thereon. The city council may also make all such salutary and needful by-laws as towns, by the laws of this Commonwealth, have power to make and establish, and to annex penalties, not exceeding twenty dollars, for the breach thereof, which by-laws shall take effect and be in force from and after the time therein respectively limited : provided, however, that all laws and regulations in force in the town of Brockton shall, until they expire by their own limitation, or are revised or repealed by the city council, remain in force, and all fines and forfeitures for the breach of any by-law or ordinance shall be paid into the city treasury.
SECT. 28. All elections of national, state, county, and district officers, who are voted for by the people, shall be held at meet- ings of the citizens qualified to vote at such elections, in their respective wards, at the time fixed by law for these elections respectively.
SECT. 29. Fifteen days prior to every election, the mayor and aldermen shall make out lists of all the citizens of each ward qualified to vote in such elections, in the manner in which se- lectmen of towns are required to make out lists of voters, and for that purpose they shall have full access to the assessors' books and lists, and are empowered to call for the assistance of the assessors, assistant assessors, and other eity officers, and they shall deliver the lists so prepared and corrected to the clerks of the several wards, to be used at such elections, and no person shall be entitled to vote whose name is not borne on sueh list. A list of the voters in each ward shall be posted in one or more public places in each ward.
SECT. 30. All power and authority now vested by law in the board of health of the town of Brockton, or the seleetmen thereof, shall be transferred to and vested in a board of health to be appointed by the mayor and aldermen, as provided in chapter one hundred and thirty-three of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, who shall have and oxer- cise all the powers and duties therein granted.
SECT. 31. The power and authority vested in said town of Broekton by chapter one hundred and twenty-four of the acts of the year eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, entitled " An Act to supply the town of Brockton with pure water," and by the vote of said town accepted, in accordance with the pro-
visions of said act, shall continuo in force. The powers thereby conferred shall be exercised by the city council.
Secr. 32. General meetings of the citizens qualified to vote may from time to time be held to consult upon the public good, to instruct their represenatives, and to take all lawful means to obtain redress for any grievances, according to the right se- cured to the people hy the constitution of this Commonwealth, and such meetings may and shall be duly warned by the mayor and aldermen, upon the request in writing, setting forth the purposes thereof, of fifty qualified voters.
SECT. 33. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed : provided, however, that the repeal of the said acts shall not affect any act done, nor any right accruing or accrued or established, nor any suit or proceeding had or commenced in any civil case, before the time when sueh repeal shall take effect ; and that no offense committed, and no penalty or forfeiture incurred, under any act hereby repealed, and be- fore the time when such repeal shall take effect, shall be affected by the repeal ; and that no suit or prosecution pending at the time of the said repeal for any offense committed, or for the recovery of any penalty or forfeiture incurred under said aets, shall be affected by such repeal ; and provided, also, that all persons who, at the time of said repeal taking effect, shall hold any office under the said acts shall continue to hold the same until the organization of the city government contemplated by this charter shall be effected completely.
SECT. 34. For the purpose of organizing the system of gov- ernment hereby established, and putting the same in operation in the first instance, the selectmen of the town of Brockton, for the time being, shall issue their warrants seven days at least previous to the Tuesday next after first Monday of December of the present year, calling meetings of the citizens of each ward on that day, at such place and hour as they may deem expedient, for the purpose of choosing a warden, clerk, and in- spectors of each ward, and all other officers whose election is provided for in the preceding sections of this act; and the transcript of the records in each ward, specifying the votes given for the several officers aforcsaid, certified by the warden and clerk of the ward at said first meeting, shall be returned to said selectmen, whose duty it shall be to examine and compare the same; and in case such clections should not be completed at the first meeting, then to issue new warrants until such elec- tions shall be completed, and to give notice thereof in manner before provided to the several persons elected ; and at said first meeting a list of voters in each ward, prepared and corrected by the sclectmen for the time being, shall be delivered to the clerk of each ward when elccted, to be used as herein before provided. After the choice of tho city officers as aforesaid, or a majority of both boards, the seleetmen shall appoint a place for their first meeting, and shall, by written notice left at the place of residence of each member, notify them thereof. And after this first election of city officers, and this first meeting for the organization of the eity council, according to the provisions of seetion nine of this act, as provided for in this section, the day of holding the annual eleetions and the day and hour for the meeting of the city council for the purpose of organization shall remain as provided in said ninth section of this act. It shall be the duty of the city council immediately after the first organization to carry into effect the several provisions of this act.
SECT. 35. This act shall be void unless the inhabitants of the town of Brockton, at a legal meeting called for that purpose, to be hold within one year from the passage of this act, shall, by a vote of a majority of the voters present and voting thereon, as hereinafter provided, determine to adopt the same. At said queeting tho votos shall be taken by written or printed ballots, and the polls shall bo kept open not less than six hours. The
01
S St
dl er th
dl
po St th an St
ha
01
P th tb
era
the St
of
R
selec ball used
for
Mi cha sen acr CTU tion
sha
left
po 18
741
HISTORY OF BROCKTON.
selectmen shall preside in said meeting, and in receiving said ballots shall nse the check-lists in the same manner as they are used in the election of state officers.
SECT. 36. This act shall take effect upon its passage. [Ap- prored April 9. 1881.]
The City Seal .- The seal of the city is circular in form, within which is a ring inclosing a shield, on which is a representation of "Sachem's Rock," with Miles Standish and Massasoit treating for the pur- chase of the Bridgewaters, and beneath which repre- sentation is the inscription, " Sachem's Rock, 1649;" across the upper and central portion of the seal, and crossing said ring and shield, the words, " Educa- tion," " Industry," "Progress ;" at the top of the whole design, and crossing said ring, a keystone- shaped escutcheon bearing the device of a bee-hive ; on the right, across said ring, a rectangular shield on which is represented the electric light ; and on the left a similarly-placed and shaped escutcheon with the globe for a device ; the upper portion of said ring having the inscription, " Settled, 1700," on the left, ". A Town, 1821 ;" on the right, and on the lower portion of the same, the words, " City of Brockton, 1881."
Adopted by the city government July 24, 1882.
Wards of the City .- The boundaries of the sev- eral wards in this city are as follows :
Ward One .- Beginning in the west line of the Old Colony Railroad, in the middle of Court Street, 1 the middle of Main Street to Lawrence Street; thence easterly by the middle of Lawrence Street to Mon- tello Street, and across Montello Street in the same course to Salisbury River ; thence southerly by the channel of the river to a point due west from the middle of the western terminus of Hammond Street ; thence due east to the middle of the western terminus of Hammond Street; thence easterly by the middle of Hammond Street to Thatcher Street ; thence south- easterly by the middle of Thatcher Street to East Bridgewater line; and thence southerly, westerly, northerly, and again westerly, by the town-line to the point of beginning.
thence westerly by the middle of Court Street to Main Street ; thence across Main Street to the middle of Pleasant Street ; thence westerly by the middle of Pleasant Street to Easton line; thence southerly by the town-line to Torrey Street ; thence easterly by the middle of Torrey Street and the middle of Bel- mont Street to the middle of the northern terminus of Ash Street ; thence northerly in a line parallel with a private way known as Byron Avenue to a point intersected by a line drawn from Arlington Street westerly through the middle of Elm Street ; thence easterly from said point by the line so drawn and by the middle of West Elm Street and East Elm Street to School Street; thence easterly by the mid- dle of School Street to the west line of the Old Colony Railroad; and thence northerly by the west line of said railroad to the point of beginning.
Ward. Tuo .- Beginning in the west line of the Old Colony Railroad, in the middle of Lawrence Street, thence westerly by the middle of Lawrence Street to Main Street; thence southerly by the mid- dle of Main Street to Winthrop Street; thence west- erly by the middle of Winthrop Street to Pond Strect ; thence westerly to a point in Ash Street forty-two rods southerly from the middle of Belmont Street
(measuring by the middle of Ash Street) ; thence northerly by the middle of Ash Street to Belmont Street ; and thence northerly by a line parallel with a private way known as Byron Avenue to a point in- tersected by a line drawn from Arlington Street west- erly through the middle of Elm Street ; thence east- erly from said point by the line so drawn and by the middle of West Elm Street and East Elm Street to School Street; thience easterly by the middle of School Street to the west. line of the Old Colony Rail- road ; and thence southerly by the west line of said railroad to the point of beginning.
Ward Three .- Beginning in the middle of Main Street at West Bridgewater line, thence northerly by the middle of Main Street to Winthrop Street ; thence westerly by the middle of Winthrop Street to Pond Street ; and thence westerly to a point in the middle of Ash Street forty-two rods southerly from the middle of Belmont Street (measuring by the middle of Ash Street ) ; thence northierly by the middle of Ash Street to Belmont Street ; thence westerly by the middle of Belmont Street to Torrey Street ; and by the middle of Torrey Street to Easton line ; and thence southerly by Easton line and easterly by West Bridgewater line to the point of beginning.
Ward Four .- Beginning in West Bridgewater line, in the middle of Main Street, thence northerly by
Ward Five .- Beginning in the middle of Lawrence Street, in the west line of the Old Colony Railroad, thence by the west line of said railroad northerly to Centre Street ; thence by the middle of Centre Street easterly to the middle of the channel of the river; thence northerly by the middle of the channel of the river or pond to Court Street ; thence easterly by the middle of Court Street to Abington line ; thence southerly by the town-line to Thatcher Street ; thence northwesterly by the middle of Thatcher Street to Hammond Street ; thence west- erly by the middle of Hammond Street to East Street, and thence due west to Salisbury River; thence
742
HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.
northerly by the channel of the river to a point inter- sected by a line drawn easterly through Lawrenee Street ; thence westerly from said point by the line so drawn, and through the middle of Lawrenee Street, to the point of beginning.
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.