USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Westminster > History of Westminster, Massachusetts (first named Narragansett no. 2) from the date of the original grant of the township to the present time, 1728-1893, with a biographic-genealogical register of its principal families > Part 10
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"2. To Know whether they will build a meeting House att present.
"3. To Know whether they will att presente proceed to the Division of the meadows in Said Township.
"4. To Know whether they will come into some measures To prevent Persons Taking Catle to Summer for the futor.
" 5. To Know whether they will grant and Raise any money for the defreying the Charges that have or Shall arise in Said propriety.
"6. To Know what Incouragment they will give or what method they will Take for Erecting a grist mill in Said Town.
"7. To Conclud and agree who Shall be Setlers in Said Town.
"8. To Choose a clerk and Treasurer.
"Lastly To consider and conclud on any other affaires that may be thought proper att Said meeting.
" Medford Oct. 28 1737 By order of the proprietors Commite
" WILLIAM WILLIS proprietors Clark."
69
ACTION OF THE PROPRIETORS.
For obvious reasons, only the more important of the items of business named in the above document, with the accom- panying action of those concerned, is noticed in these pages, beginning with the first.
"The vote was put whether the Propriety would Choose a Commite of three persons To look out and mend the Road from Lancaster to the said Township and through the same to the meeting house Spot in said Town said Road to be layed and mended where it will best Accomodate the whole Town and it passed in the affermitive. Att Said meeting Mr. Benja- min Brown Mr Joseph Houlding and Mr Joseph Lynds wear choosen a Commite for said work.
"Att said meeting the vote was put whether the Propriety will proceed as soone as conveanantly they can to build a meeting House in said Town & it past in the affermitive.
"Att said meeting it was voted that the said meeting house Shall be Built fourty-five foot long Thirty five foot wide and Twenty one foot Stud and also that said meeting house be raised the out Side Covered and the Roofe Shingled on or before the first Day of June in the year 1739.
" Att said meeting it was voted To Choose a Commite of Three persons to agree with workmen to build Said House in the best method and att the cheapest rate they can and to have the same finished so far as is befor voted.
" Att said meeting Capt Joseph Boman Mr. James Hays and Mr. Benja- min Brown wear Choosen a Commite to see the said work Effected accord- ing to the forgoing votes."
At the same meeting a tax of £3 Ios. on each right was ordered to meet the expense involved in the preceding votes, and Capt. William Richardson, Mr. Benjamin Wellington, and Mr. John Cutting were chosen assessors to levy the said tax. Five persons were also appointed to collect the same and pay it over to the treasurer. The committee named to superintend the erection of the meetinghouse were voted "liberty To cutt Timber on any of the undevided Lands within Said Township for the building said House." In the discharge of the duty assigned them, this committee contracted with Mr. John Damon and Mr. Nathan Parker of Reading to put up this house of worship and finish it, so far as provided for, which contract was faithfully fulfilled, as will duly appear.
At an adjourned meeting held Jan. 4, 1737-8, it was voted "To make a Divition of all the medows in said Township" and "Joseph Holding Fairbanks Moor and Joseph Lynds were chosen a Commite for said work." They were instructed and empowered "To take a Survey of all the medows in said Township Excepting such as ly within any of the Lotts of the first Divition and when they have so Done they are to make a computation how much medow will come to Each Right. And to lay out to Each of those proprietors who hold any medow in their home Lotts so much more in Some of the other medows as will make their parts or shares Equell to the other parts or Shares which shall be laid out in order to a Draught of the other proprietors who hold no medow in their
70
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
first Divition Lotts." An order for raising money to defray the expense of this work was passed.
To prevent any trouble that might arise from the refusal of certain proprietors to pay their assessed taxes, a committec, consisting of Joseph Bowman and Mr. Willis, clerk, was appointed to present a petition to the general court for all need- ful power to enforce the payment of all moneys legally levied upon the proprietors. The committee attended to the duty assigned them, and the power asked for was granted.
No action was taken, under the call for this meeting, upon the subject of a gristmill, or in respect to what manner of persons should be allowed to settle in the township. The for- mer matter was attended to at a later date, the latter being left, apparently, to take care of itself in an informal, natural way, which proved satisfactory to all concerned.
During the year 1738, probably early in the spring, two fami- lies were added to the population of the township; that of Philip Bemis of Cambridge, consisting of himself, his wife, and six children, with an infant waif named Daniel Munjoy, whom he had received into his household; and of Thomas Bemis, brother of Philip, who had at the time only a wife. Philip Bemis settled on lot No. 66, long known as the Farnsworth place, the buildings of which have mostly disappeared, erecting his dwelling a few rods north of the present residence of George Harris. Thomas Bemis took up lot No. 104, more recently occupied by Mr. Timothy Brown, and at present by John Curry.
Sept. 8, 1738. A proprietors' meeting was held at the house of John Brown, in Watertown, at which Joseph Holden and James Hay were appointed a committee to see that each pro- prietor furnished a plan of his particular lot, according to instructions, to the clerk, that it might be copied into his book of records. A new standing committee was chosen, consisting of Joseph Bowman, Samuel Jackson, and Joseph Holden, and Benjamin Wellington was elected clerk and treasurer. These officers, for some years, seem to have been appointed for no fixed term of service, but discharged the duties delegated to them as long as their own convenience or pleasure permitted, or until a re-election was called for by the parties petitioning for a meeting of the propriety.
The standing committee was authorized to approve accounts against the propriety, and to give orders upon the treasury for the payment of the same. Thirty pounds ($100) were appro- priated "to hire some suitable person to preach the Gospel in said Township from this Time till the first of June next."
At a meeting of the proprietors held Dec. 17, 1738, Samuel Burr was chosen clerk and treasurer to fill the vacancy occa- sioned by the death of Benjamin Wellington, elected to those offices three months before. It was voted to encourage "the
71
FIRST PROPRIETORS' MEETING IN THE TOWNSHIP.
building a Grist-mill in the Township," and William Richardson, Samuel Jackson, and James Hay were made a committee "to Treat with Maj. Brattle or any other Gentleman" upon the subject, and make return of their doings at an adjourned mect- ing. An additional sum of thirty pounds was voted "towards the support of Preaching the Gospel," and Joseph Holden and Fairbanks Moor were authorized to draw on the treasury for that amount. The proprictors adjourned to re-assemble on the 6th of June, 1739, "at the meetinghouse in the Narragansett Township, No. 2, at nine o'Clock in the forenoon," that being the date upon which the building was under contract to be fin- ished suitable for occupancy.
The contract was so far fulfilled at the time stated as to allow not only the holding of the meeting of the proprietors, but also the dedication of the building to the worship and service of Almighty God. The proprietors voted that "what was Ex- pended at Mr. Fairbanks Moor's and Mr. Joseph Holden's from sundown last to sundown next be paid by the whole So- ciety." This vote, no doubt, had reference to the cost of enter- taining those persons who had come from a distance, to attend the proprietors' meeting and the dedicatory services of the day.
This meeting of the proprietors was the first ever held in the township, and it was the last for many years. With the excep- tion of the few who had made a settlement here, they were res- idents of the lower towns; and it was not to be expected that these would be willing to take a journey of forty or fifty miles into the wilderness, with poor roads and imperfect means of conveyance, when they might come together at some point near at hand and easily accessible, insuring the attendance of much larger numbers for the transaction of business, than could be convened on the territory. That they were not will- ing, and that they were greatly in the majority, put the resident proprietors at great disadvantage, and caused much trouble as time went on. The non-residents were not inclined to adopt measures which the residents thought to be needful to their comfort and prosperity, and this difference of feeling, intensi- fied by a diversity or opposition of interest, grew ultimately into such pronounced antagonism or hostility as, in connection with other inauspicious circumstances, not only to seriously disturb the general peace and harmony of those concerned, but to hinder the healthful growth of the settlement, and even to jeopardize the entire undertaking. Nevertheless, certain things were so obviously demanded by the circumstances of the casc, as well as by the residents of the township, that self- interest, if no other motive prevailed, would prompt to the granting of them. To take action upon some of the more im- portant and imperative of these, a meeting of the proprietors was held at the house of Mr. Ebenezer Stedman, in Cambridge, on the 3Ist of October, the same year, 1739.
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
At an early stage of this meeting it was voted that "the Charge of this meeting viz :-- the Dinners and Drink, be allowed out of the proprietors' Treasury." It was decided to do nothing more towards finishing the meetinghouse, which was then only an enclosed and covered frame, without pulpit, pews, or any in- side conveniences and furnishings of any sort. Provision was made, however, for the continued preaching of the gospel, by an appropriation of sixty pounds ($200).
The road that had been opened previous to this date from Lancaster to Narragansett No. 2 and beyond, ran through the farm of Mr. Thomas Plaisted, in Princeton, who offered to give the inhabitants the right of way and the privilege of making the same three rods wide. A vote of thanks to Mr. Plaisted was passed, and a committee was appointed to take an instru- ment from him, securing the right and privileges specified. It was also voted "to clear the Road from Crow Hill to the meetinghouse," which shows where the above named thorough- fare entered the township.
An attempt was made at this time, on the part of the settlers, to have all future meetings held in the township, but it failed, and a vote upon the question whether or not other proprietors should bear equal taxes with the settlers was decided in the negative, which seems to have been the first open indication of the rupture which was to seriously disturb the relations between resident and non-resident owners in after years.
At a proprietors' meeting, held Dec. 5, 1739, a new committee, consisting of Daniel Hoar, Samuel Jackson, and Thomas Liver- more, was appointed "to see and get the work" of building a gristmill done, and a tax of three pounds upon each right was ordered, to meet the expense of the same, and other charges against the propriety. Three assessors and a collector were appointed to carry this order into effect, with instructions to proceed according to law with those who refused to pay the sums levied upon them.
It does not appear that a single family was added to the four previously located in township, during the year 1739. No doubt numerous persons were here looking the ground over, and making preparations for an early settlement, several of whom became permanent residents at a later day.
A meeting of the proprietors was held at Mrs. Mary Lear- ned's, in Watertown, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 1740. Messrs. Fairbanks Moor, Joseph Holden, Seth Walker, and perhaps others from the township, were in attendance, their lodging and breakfast being paid for, by vote, out of the common treasury, as were also the dinners for all those present, and "the Liquor brought into the Room where the Society met."
A committee was chosen at that date "to clear the road through the town." It consisted of Joseph Holden, Fairbanks Moor, and Joseph Miller, all resident proprietors. A vote was
73
PROPOSITION FOR BUILDING GRISTMILL, ETC.
passed providing for the assignment of the meadow lots which had already been laid out, and for making a second division of the unappropriated uplands of the township, as indicated thus :
"Voted that the Lotts be laid out in Sixty Acres Each, the Comtee to lay them out to proportion them as to quantity & quality, none to be less than Sixty acres."
The necessary provision for carrying this vote into effect was made, and some detailed instruction was given to those having charge of the work. A proposition respecting the build- ing of a gristmill, of which there was very great need, received from Maj. William Brattle, who had erected the sawmill, was rejected, while one from Mr. Seth Walker, who had located on lot No. 22, at the outlet of the pond, was accepted. The offer of Mr. Walker was "to build said Grist-mill for one hundred pounds in bills of the Old Tenour [of uncertain value, probably not exceeding seventy-five or a hundred dollars at most] to have it fitt for Grinding Corn by the first of July next, and keep it in order for Building [grinding] Corn as aforesd for the space of Twenty Years next ensueing from the sd first of July." The appropriation of money to meet the cost of the several enterprises ordered was voted.
At a proprietors' meeting "legally Assembled at the House of Mr. Ebenezer Stedmans inn-holder in Cambridge" June 2, 1741, after the choice of Samuel Jackson as moderator, it was
"Voted, that the Dinners &c. of this meeting be paid out of the Treasury and that Joseph Holden, Seth Walker Fairbanks Moor Thomas Stearnes Daniel Hoar Wm. Baldwin & Philip Bemis be allowed five shillings Each for their Expenses coming to this meeting besides the Expense of their Dinners."
At this time the propriety had no such permanent officers as assessors and collector, they being appointed, now and then, as their services were required. Suitable persons were there- fore chosen to fill those positions, respectively, "for the Tax already Granted or shall be Granted at this Meeting."
A vote was passed, making provision for permanent preach- ing in the township during the six months following, and also for the payment of certain bills, previously incurred in fur- therance of the same object. Similar votes were taken from time to time, as will be more fully specified in a future chapter.
The date had now arrived, at which, according to the condi- tions of the grant of the township, sixty families were to be settled within its boundaries, but scarcely one fourth of that number had yet located there. The general court, however, was disposed to be lenient with the proprietors, and not to hold them to the strict letter of the bond. Nevertheless, it was a mat- ter of general importance and of self interest to all concerned, to have the residents multiply as rapidly as possible, and the
74
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
desirableness and wisdom of offering special inducements to new comers, commanded general approval. It was consequently, at the meeting under notice,
"Voted that Twenty-nine pounds Ten shillings be paid out of the pro- prietors' Treasury to each of those who appear and do Settle in said Town- ship within a Twelve Month from the Date hereof and Erect and Build a House of Eighteen foot long Sixteen foot wide & Seven foot Stud well finished to dwell in and also Clear and fence three Acres of land fit for Mowing and Tillage, according to the Judgment of the Committee hereafter Chosen to whom they are to give in their names." "The Comtee chosen are Mr. Joseph Lynde, Mr. Jos. Holden, Mr. John Cutting, Mr. Thomas Stearns and Mr. Seth Walker,"" any three of the five being authorized to see the work performed."
According to the interpretation given to this vote, it had retroactive force, and so included not only persons complying with its conditions at a date subsequent to its passage, but to those who had previously settled, and conformed thereto. It continued in force only fifteen months, a proposition to extend the time beyond that period being negatived at a meet- ing held Sept. Ist, the following year. The number of persons who received the offered bounty was nineteen, their names, as found in the treasurer's books, being given below. Those having a star prefixed to them, eleven in all, were permanent residents, the other eight were in the place but a few years.
*Joseph Holden. Joseph Lynde. *Stephen Holden.
Seth Walker. *Thomas Bemis. William Baldwin. Capt. Joseph Bowman.
*John Hadley. Benjamin Garfield.
*Thomas Stearns
Samuel Smith.
*Daniel Hoar.
*Samuel Whitney. Benjamin Bellows.
*David Dunster.
*Joseph Miller. Joshua Child. *Joseph Holden, Jr.
*Philip Bemis.
Why the names of Isaac Stedman, John Stearns, Eleazar Bigelow, and some others, known to have been residents at the time when the offer of the bounty was in force, and to have re- mained in the place permanently, were not included in the above list, does not appear. Probably some technicality, or the failure to comply with the exact conditions required, caused the withholding from them the stipulated gratuity.
Before the close of the year 1741, at a meeting held Dec. 2d, action was taken looking to the settlement of a minister of the Gospel in the township. It was decided to effect this "as soon as may be with conveniency," and Joseph Holden, Fair- banks Moor, and Thomas Stearns were intrusted with the re- sponsibility of bringing forward the settling said minister, and of treating with gentlemen to preach, as candidates for the office. (See Chap. VIII.)
The second division lots having been laid out, as previously ordered, and prepared for assignment to the individual proprie-
75
PROPRIETORS' MEETING - RESIDENTS IGNORED.
tors, were drawn at this meeting, as were also the meadow lots, in their proper order. The former of these had plans, nicely executed by the surveyor, Justinian Holden, and copied into the clerk's record book. They are also represented on the proprietors' plan of the township. The latter were planned by Benjamin Bellows, Jr., surveyor, and also transferred to the clerk's book. They do not, however, appear on the original plan of the town.
Another meeting of the proprietors was held at the same place Jan. 19, 1742-3, but little business of importance was transacted. Action upon the building of highways in the township, and the further finishing of the meetinghouse, was deferred till some coming time, and the proposition to hold future meetings in the township was voted down.
Sept. 14, 1743. A meeting of the proprietors was convened at the same place as before. A proposition to have a regular fixed date each year for the election of officers, the rendering of accounts, and the transaction of all important business, was at first adopted, but the vote was rescinded before the close of the session. A new standing committee, consisting of Dea. Benjamin Brown, Capt. Timothy Poole, and Mr. Jonathan Watson, not one of whom was a resident of the township, was elected. Other needful officers and important committees were chosen, among whom actual settlers were conspicuous by their absence.
Evidently the men who had contracted to build a sawmill and a gristmill, and keep them in good running order for twenty years, had become somewhat remiss in keeping their obligations, inasmuch as a committee was chosen to look into the matter, and commence suit against them, if necessary, the expenses to be borne by the propriety. The cause of dissatis- faction seems to have been removed without resort to legal measures, as no other complaint touching the matter was subsequently made.
At this meeting, as at previous ones, the resident proprietors, largely in the minority, were essentially ignored, and they returned to their homes not only dissatisfied, but deeply aggrieved. They saw that they were in the power and at the mercy of a strong opposition, apparently inclined and even determined, not to do what they themselves felt to be necessary, alike to their own comfort and to the growth and prosperity of the settlement. They saw no way out of their difficulties and troubles except through the interposition of the general court, whose aid they finally resolved to invoke. This they did by a petition, which they prepared and caused to be presented at the next February session of that body. The document states so fully the grievances endured, and the proposed remedy for them, that, with the exception of some unimportant details, or previously stated declarations, it is given entire :
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HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER, MASS.
"To His Excly. Wm. Shirley and the Honble His Majesty's Council & House of Representatives in General Court assembled: The humble Peti- tion of the inhabitants of Narraganset Township No. 2 Sheweth -That the Great and General Court or Assembly of this Province were pleased to grant to the Soldiers who served in the Narraganset War, etc. [The unim- portant matter referred to is omitted.] and your Petrs to the number of Twenty-one Familys have already settled upon and improved their Lotts in the said Tract of Land and have settled a Minister upon the said Land with the consent of the non-Resident proprietors who being a majority of the Grantees have chosen a Clerk and Treasurer who live about Fifty miles distant from the sd Settlement, and all their Proprietary meetings are held at Cambridge or Towns thereabouts whereby your petrs are obliged to be at the expense and trouble of Fifty miles travel to attend those meetings and when they are there they are outvoted by a Majority of ye Proprietors present who living so far distant from the Spot cannot be Supposed to know so well as the Settlers what is necessary to be done for the speedy Settlement of the sd Tract of Land especially about laying out Highways for the accommodation of a Township. And if the nonresident Proprietors are at any time prevailed upon to vote for raising Money for Support of the Ministry or laying out highways there arises a very great Expense in send- ing their Comtees so many miles off to lay out their ways and the distant Proprietors are so free and generous when they Assemble together at their meetings that a very great part of what they vote to be raised for the Set- tlement is generally expended to defray Tavern expenses that there is very little left to be Laid out to forward the Settlement of Sixty Families as the General Court have ordered, and altho a good Minister has been Settled among your petrs to preach the Gospel and has labored among them to good acceptance for about a Year past, yet after he has travelled Fifty Miles to the Treasurer in hopes of Receiving the money voted him for his Salery to his great expense & Disappointment he has received no money but been informed there is no money in the Treasury and so has been under an unhappy Necessity to return home without his Salery voted him to his great Discouragement. And as the Props deny your petrs the privilege of the law Respecting our Annual Meeting to chuse Surveyors of highways and the petrs are put to great charge in travelling so many miles to the Props meetings as often as they are called and the Settlers are retarded & Discouraged very much in their new Settlement; -
" Your Petrs therefore pray your Exelency & Honors will be pleased to take the premises into your wise and Serious Consideration and in order to encourage the Speedy Settlement of the sd Tract of Land. That you will be pleased to Erect the sd six miles square into a Township and give the settlers or Inhabitants the Powers and Privileges of a Town by which means the Non-resident Proprietors will be unable to call their proprietory Meetings so far distant from the place of Settlement and the Settlement of the granted Land for a Township will be hastened- And that your petrs may be enabled to defray the Charge of Supporting a Minister and School according to the order of the General Court. They humbly pray that the Non Resident Props may be obliged according to their Interest in the Lands to pay an equal Share with the Settlers till such Time as the number of Settlers shall be Compleated according to the Conditions of the General Court's Grant of the sd Tract of Land the better to enable your petrs to sup- port the Charge of a Minister, laying out highways & other necessary Charges of a Town or otherwise as to your Excly & Honrs shall seem meet.
"(Signed by) JOSEPH HOLDEN and 23 others."
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