USA > Massachusetts > History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Vol. II > Part 4
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19
HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
1741]
tary duty performed by this company was in 1741, when it escorted Gov. Shirley to the boundaries of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, being on his way to Rhode Island for the purpose of adjusting the boundary line between that colony and the colony of Plymouth, which had been annexed to Massachusetts. It is said that from 1741 until the summer of 1774 this company was recognized as the body-guard of the successive governors, and was detailed to perform escort duty.
Gov. Thomas Gage arrived in Boston and landed at Long Wharf, May 19, 1774, and was escorted to the Old State House by the Cadets, then under the command of Col. John Hancock.1 It was the custom for each successive governor to present to the company a standard having on one side the arms of the province and on the other the coat of arms of the donor. With this usage Gov. Gage complied. Col. Hancock was, a few months later, dismissed from his command by the governor in accordance with the following order : -
"SIR,-I am directed by his Excellency, the captain-general, to acquaint you that he has no further service for you, as captain of the governor's company of Cadets, and you are hereby dismissed from that command.
" I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant,
" (Signed) JNO. FLUCKER, Sec'y."
The Cadets were incensed at this summary proceeding, and a committee of the corps waited on the governor. The standard which he presented was returned, and they informed Gov. Gage that they considered the dismissal of their commander equiv- alent to the disbandment of the company. The governor received the standard, and merely remarked that had he known their intention he would have disbanded the corps himself. The removal was without doubt caused by Col. Hancock's refusal to concur in the political views and purposes of the governor. "On the dismissal of Col. Hancock, the company of Cadets was voluntarily disbanded." 2
The members of the Artillery Company recruited in 1741 were : John Dixwell, John Milliken, Thomas Snow.
John Dixwell (1741), hardware dealer, of Boston, son of John and Mary (Prout) Dixwell, and grandson of John Dixwell, alias James Davids, one of the regicides who settled in New Haven, was born in 1718. John Dixwell, the grandfather, flying from prosecution as one of the regicides, came to America in 1664, and some time after settled in New Haven, where he was known as James Davids. He confessed his true name at the time of his decease, March 18, 1689.3 His son John took his father's true name, removed to Boston, was a goldsmith, also ruling elder of the new North Church. He died April 2, 1725, leaving three children, John (1741) being seven years of age.
John Dixwell (1741) was elected scavenger in 1746, clerk of the market in 1747
John Dixwell (1741). AUTHORITY: New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1861, 1878.
1 " Boston, Monday, June 6 [1768]. His Ex- cellency the Governor hatb appointed John Han- cock, Esq., to be the first Major of the Independent Company of Cadets, and William Coffin, Jr., Esq.,
to be second Major of the said Company." - Boston Gazette.
2 Constitution and By Laws of the Independent Company of Cadets, IS54, p. 4.
Savage's Gen. Dict., Vol. II., p. 55.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
[1741
and 1748, and was elected constable in 1747, but declined to serve. He was clerk of the Artillery Company in 1743 and 1744, and he died May 14, 1749.1
John Milliken (1741), merchant, of Boston, was the son of John and Elizabeth Milliken, of Boston.
John Melecan, Jr., was elected clerk of the market in 1731, and John Milliken (1741), doubtless the same person, was constable in 1735.
June 19, 1727, John Milliken, Sr., " in Hanover Street," advertised in the New Eng- land Weekly Journal "a young negro woman " for sale.
Thomas Snow (1741), of Boston. Susanna, daughter of Thomas (1741) and Susanna Snow, was born in Boston, June 23, 1741.
Mr. Snow (1741) was elected a constable of Boston, May 19, 1742, and scavenger in 1753. He served as second sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1746.
The record of the Artillery Company for 1741 is as follows : -
"April 10th, 1741. The Company, being under arms, made choice of the Rev. Mr. Samuel Phillips to preach the next Artillery sermon, and the present commission officers, with the field officers, be a committee to request it of him. Returned answer that it was accepted by him.
"June Ist. In the evening, after lodging the Colours ; voted, that the present com- mission officers, with those of the last year, and the field officers of the Regiment of the town of Boston, be a committee to give the thanks of this Company to the Rev. Mr. Samuel Phillips for his sermon preached to them this day.
"Oct. 5th, 1741. Voted, that the report of the committee appointed by this Company to examine the accounts of the late Clerks be received and recorded by the present Clerk in the book of accounts, belonging to the Company. Voted, that the balance due from Mr. Bartholomew Gedney [1726] being fifty shillings and one pence, and from Mr. Thomas Simpkins [1727], five pounds, nineteen shillings, two former Clerks, be paid to the Treasurer of this Company. Voted, that the balance due to Mr. Nathaniel Thayer [1734] of fifty-four shillings and four pence, a former Clerk, be paid by the Treasurer of this Company. Voted, as there is a list, taken by the present Clerk, from the several former Clerks' lists, of what fines that are now due to the Company from the members, who now belong to the same, to the amount of £24. 7. 6d. it's desired that the present Clerk collect those fines ; and he has full power to demand, or to excuse any that are in debt, as per this list, if there has been any mistake committed by the former Clerks, it appearing to the present Clerk's satisfaction; and to make report in April next. Voted, that the Treasurer's account be received ; balance due the Company £96. 3. and be recorded by the Clerk in the Company's book of accounts. Also it is desired that the Treasurer, as soon as he has got as much of the Company's money as will make this sum froo. to let it out at interest for the use of the Company, and to take good security. Voted, that there be paid by the Treasurer to the present commission officers,
1 "On the 14th inst [May, 1749] died here much lamented, and on the 16th was decently in- terred, (the Gentlemen Cadets among whom he was an officer, attending the funeral), Mr. John Dixwell [1741] aged 31 years, a considerable dealer in the ironmongery way, a young gentleman exceedingly beloved and esteemed for his many good qualities
by all his acquaintance. He was son to Mr. John Dixwell, late of this place, and grandson of John Dixwell of the Priory of Folkstone in the County of Kent, England, who came over into New England about the year 1660 and settled at New Haven, Connecticut. He left one son and one daughter." - Independent Advertiser, May 22, 1749.
21
HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
1742]
the sum of thirty pounds, in order to help them to defray the extraordinary charge they will be at in the entertaining the Company on the Election day, and the same to be paid yearly by the Treasurer to the commission officers, that shall be hereafter chosen to serve this Company, it being for the same end, and this to continue till it is revoked by the Company.
Rev. Samuel Phillips, of Andover, delivered the Artillery election sernion in 1741. He was the eldest child of Samuel and Mary (Emerson) Phillips, of Salem, and was born in that town Feb. 17, 1690. His paternal grandfather was Rev. Samuel Phillips, of Rowley, and his maternal grandfather Rev. John Emerson, of Gloucester. He graduated at Harvard College in 1708, taught school the following year at Chebacco, and the next year he began his theological study. He was invited to become the pastor of the South Parish Church, Andover, and began to preach there in April, 1710. He was ordained Oct. 17, 1711, on which occasion he preached the ordination sermon. He continued as pastor of this church for sixty-one years, and died June 5, 1771, in the eighty-second year of his age.
Mr. Phillips married, Jan. 7, 1712, Hannah White, of Haverhill. She died Jan. II, 1773, aged eighty-two years. They had five children, - three sons and two daughters. Their sons, John and Samuel, were noted for their liberality in educational work. Together they founded Phillips Academy in Andover, and John, in addition, established a professorship of divinity at Dartmouth College, and founded and endowed Phillips Academy of Exeter, N. H.
Rev. Samuel Phillips, of Andover, was a brother of Col. John Phillips, of Boston, who commanded the Artillery Company in 1747 and 1759.
The officers of the Artillery Company elected in 1742 were : Samuel 1 742. Watts (1733), captain ; Henry Berry (1733), lieutenant ; Jonathan Williams, Jr. (1729), ensign. Nathaniel Thayer (1734) was first sergeant ; Joseph Edwards (1738), second sergeant; Jacob Emmons (1738), third sergeant ; Joseph Jackson (1738), fourth sergeant, and William Taylor (1738), clerk.
The erection of the market-house, donated to the town by Peter Faneuil, was begun Sept. 8, 1740, and completed Sept. 10, 1742. A meeting of the town was held Sept. 13, 1742, when Hon. Adam Winthrop (1692), Thomas Hutchinson, Esq. (1694), Hon. Edward Hutchinson (1702), Samuel Waldo, and Hon. Ezekiel Lewis (1707) were chosen a committee to draw up a vote of thanks to be given Peter Faneuil, Esq., " for his noble and generous benefaction." The committee reported at that meeting, concluding their report as follows : That " Hon. Thomas Cushing [1691 ], Hon. Adam Winthrop [1692], Edward Hutchinson [1702 ], Ezekiel Lewis [1707], Samuel Waldo, Thomas Hutchinson [1694], Esqs .; the selectmen and representatives of the town of Boston, Hon. Jacob Wendell [1733], James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, Esqs .; Capt. Nathaniel Cunninghanı [1720], Peter Chardon, Esq., and Mr. Charles Apthorp wait upon Peter Faneuil, Esq., in the name of the town, to render hin their most hearty thanks for so bountiful a gift," etc. Thomas Hutchinson, Esq. (1694), then moved that, " in testimony of the town's
Rev. Samuel Phillips. AUTHORITIES: Abbot's Hist. of Andover; Sprague's Annals of American Pulpit, Vol. I., p. 273; Wisner's Sermon on the death of Hon. William Phillips, son of Rev. Samuel.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
[1742
gratitude to the said Peter Faneuil, Esq., and to perpetuate his memory, the town would now pass a vote that the hall over the market-place be named ' Faneuil Hall,' and at all times hereafter be called and known by that name"; which motion was passed nnani- mously in the affirmative.
Sept. 17, 1742, Mr. Faneuil was requested by the town to nominate a clerk of the market, and he named Mr. Thomas Jackson (1716), merchant, who was unanimously chosen by the town.
His Excellency the Governor notified the selectmen that he had received from " my Lord Chamberlain " his Majesty's picture, a present to the town of Boston, to be hung up in Faneuil Hall. The town selected Hon. Adam Winthrop (1692), Samuel Waldo, and Ezekiel Lewis (1707), Esqs., to express its thanks to the governor for the present.
The building, erected in 1740-2, was of brick, one hundred by forty feet. It was injured by fire in 1761, repaired by a lottery fund in 1763, and enlarged and completed in its present form March 10, 1806. Mr. Faneuil died March 3, 1742-3, aged forty years and about nine months. March 14, 1744, the town "voted to purchase the Faneuil Arms, elegantly carved and gilt by Moses Deshon [1737], to be fixed in the hall."
The journal of Benjamin Walker, Jr., thus refers to the death and burial of Peter Faneuil, the donor to Boston of Faneuil Hall, where the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company has for so many years had its headquarters : -
"Thursday 3 [March, 1743]. Peter Faneuil Esq", between 2 & 3 a clock in ye afternoon dyed of a dropsical complyca [tion], he was a fat, squat, Lame [man] hip short, went with high heeld shoe (In my opinion a great loss too This Town aged 42. 8 m.) & I think by what I have hear'd has done more Charitable deeds than any man yt ever liv'd in this Town & for whom I am very sorry.
" March 10. Peter Faneuil, Esq' buried. Bearers, Mess's Tom. Lechmere, Josh Winslow, Jnº Wheelwright, And. Oliver, Jnº Gooch, Jnº Wendall went round ye Town house.
"Thursda 10. Burried Peter Faneuil, Esq" in 43ª year of age, a fatt, corpulen, brown, squat man, hip short, lame frö childhood."
A manuscript note in William Nadir's almanac, under date of March ro, 1743, says :
" Mr. Peter Faneuil, Esq' burried. a very large funeral went round ye Town house. gave us gloves at ye funeral but sent ye gloves on ye rr day. his Cofin cover[ed] wth black velvet, & plated with yellow plates."
The first meeting of the citizens of Boston held in Faneuil Hall, other than a town meeting, was held on Monday, March 14, 1742-3, when Mr. John Lovell, master of the South Grammar School, " made an handsome Oration on the Death of Peter Faneuil, Esq., to the great acceptance of the Town." 1
The members of the Artillery Company recruited in 1742 were : Joseph Belknap, Nathan Blodgett, Joseph Butler, Benjamin Church, Thomas Johnson, Jr., Caleb Phillips.
Joseph Belknap (1742), leather dresser, of Boston, son of Jeremiah (1711), grand- son of Joseph (1692), and great-grandson of Joseph (1658), was born in Boston, Feb. 22, 1716. His brother, Jeremiah, Jr., joined the Artillery Company in 1745. Lieut. Joseph (1742) married, July 31, 1741, Sarah, daughter of Rev. Mather Byles. Jeremy
port of the Record Commissioners, Boston Records, ton Records.
Joseph Belknap (1742). AUTHORITY: Bos-
1 The oration is printed in the Fourteenth Re-
1742-1757, pp. 14-16.
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
1742]
Belknap, who wrote the history of New Hampshire and several volumes of American biography, born June 4, 1744, and graduated at Harvard College in 1762, was a son of Joseph (1742) and Sarah (Byles) Belknap.
Lieut. Joseph (1742) was elected constable of Boston in 1745, but, declining to serve, paid the fine. He served as scavenger in 1748 and 1749, and as "informer of deer " from 1755 to 1762 inclusive. He was .a clerk of the market in 1763. Feb. II, 1756, a committee representing the various trades was appointed by the town to make inquiry and report as to the decline of their respective trades in Boston since 1746, and reduce the same to writing. Joseph Belknap (1742) was one of that committee. He was then called "leather dresser." He was a member of the Boston militia, and became a lieutenant. In 1746 he served as third sergeant of the Artillery Company. He joined the Old South Church, Nov. 16, 1735, and died at Dover, N. H., August, 1797, aged eighty-one years.
Nathan Blodgett (1742), of Woburn, son of Samnel and Huldah (Simonds) Blodgett, and uncle of Seth (1756), was born in Woburn, March 15, 1704.
He was third sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1745.
Joseph Butler (1742), carpenter, of Boston, son of Matthew and Sarah Butler, was born in Boston, Dec. 28, 1713. He married, June 1, 1738, Sarah Hunt, of Boston.
He was elected constable of Boston, March 15, 1742, and was a viewer of boards and shingles from 1753 to 1756; was excused the latter year, but was re-elected from 1769 to 1777 inclusive. He had charge of the scavenger work in Ward 4 during 1776 and 1777. In 1746 he served as third sergeant of the Artillery Company. His brother John joined the Artillery Company in 1745. He lived in Salutation Alley, and died there, March 11, 1793, aged seventy-nine years.
Benjamin Church (1742), vendue-master, of Boston, was the only son of Edward and Elizabeth Church, and grandson of Col. Benjamin Church, of Little Compton, R. I. Benjamin Church (1742), recorded as of Newport, married Hannah Dyer, of Boston, March 6, 1731. " Hannah Church, widow of Deacon Benjamin Church," died March 24, 1794, aged seventy-nine years. Their dwelling-house was on Newbury (Washington) Street. He graduated at Harvard College in 1727.
May 4, 1743, Mr. Benjamin Church (1742) petitioned the town for "the grant of Wheeler's Pond and the land thereunto belonging." Pond Street ran from Wheeler's Corner (Bedford and Washington streets) by Wheeler's Pond toward Wheeler's Point, near the foot of Summer Street. Dea. Church (1742) lived near this pond. In 1739, the town contemplated filling it up; in 1743, Mr. Church (1742) asked the town to give it to him, and, in 1753, a piece of land, less than fifty by one hundred feet, including the pond, was sold by the town at auction to Mr. David Wheeler, father of Lieut. Wheeler, Jr. (1765), for fifty-one pounds.
Benjamin Church (1742) served as a constable of Boston in 1745, and was an assessor from 1752 to 1777 inclusive. In 1764, he was chosen a warden, and May 11, 1773, was one of the committee chosen to locate the street lamps. He then represented Ward 12. April 13, 1763, a memorial of Benjamin Church (1742), setting forth that
Joseph Butler (1742). AUTHORITY: Boston Records.
Benjamin Church (1742). AUTHORITY : New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., 1857, p. 155.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
[1742
"he had the misfortune of having a house burnt in the late fire, and another, occupied by Hanners and Smith, valued at one hundred and twenty pounds, pulled down to the ground in order to prevent the spreading of the fire, and praying satisfaction may be made," was presented to the town. It was unanimously voted that no allowance be made Benjamin Church (1742) died Oct. 10, 1781.1
Thomas Johnson, Jr. (1742), escutcheon maker, of Boston, was the son of Thomas. He was published May 2, 1739, to marry "Susanna Mackmillion."
He built the first organ of American manufacture used in Boston. March 16, 1747, he petitioned the town for permission to build a shop on the north side of Faneuil Hall, " on the town's land at the head of the dock," which was disallowed by the town. He died in 1765, and was buried in King's Chapel Burial-Ground.
Caleb Phillips (1742), of Roxbury, son of Caleb and Hannah Phillips, was born in Roxbury, Oct. 5, 1705. He married,2 Dec. 31, 1730, Elizabeth Wentworth, daughter of Samuel Wentworth (1693). He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1747, its clerk in 1747 and 1748, and a member of the Masonic Fraternity.
The record of the Artillery Company for 1742 is as follows : -
"April 5th, 1742. The Company, being under arms, made choice of the Rev. Mr. Seth Storer, of Watertown, to preach the Artillery sermon in June next, and voted, that the commission officers of this Company, with Mr. Ebenezer Storer [1732], be a committee to wait on him and request the same.
" May 7th, 1742. The committee appointed to wait on the Rev. Mr. Seth Storer to desire him to preach the Election sermon, returned that it was Mr. Storer's desire he might be excused for several considerations and prayed that we might have the smiles of Heaven that day. The Company, being under arms, made choice of the Rev. Mr. John Taylor, of Milton, to preach the Election sermon, on Mr. Storer's refusal ; and voted that the field officers, with the commission officers of this Company and Mr. William Taylor [1738], Clerk of the Company, be a committee to wait on him and request the same ; and in case of his refusing, the above committee were voted to get a minister for to preach on that day.
" June 7th. The Company being under arms; voted, that the present commission officers, with those to be chosen this day be a committee to return the Rev. Mr. John Taylor thanks for preaching the Election Sermon."
Rev. Seth Storer, of Watertown, was invited to deliver the Artillery election sermon in 1742, but " he desired to be excused." He was the youngest son of Col. Joseph and Hannah (Hill) Storer, of Wells, Me., a brother of Capt. Ebenezer Storer (1732) and of Capt. John Storer (1739), and was born May 26, 1702. He graduated at Harvard College in 1720; was called Feb. 3, and ordained in Watertown, July 22, 1724. He died Nov. 27, 1774, after a ministry of more than fifty years.
Rev. Seth Storer. AUTHORITY : Bond's Hist. of Watertown.
1 Col. Benjamin Church, the warrior, who resided in Little Compton and Bristol, R. I., had, by Alice (Southworth) Church, Edward Church, of Boston, vendue-master. The latter married Eliza- beth -, who died April 18, 1766. They had one
son, Benjamin (1742), also vendue-master and deacon of Dr. Byles's church. This Benjamin ( 1742) was the father of Dr. Benjamin Church, a distin- guished patriot at the commencement of the Revolu- tion, but a traitor at its close.
2 "Caleb Phillips was published to marry Mary Henkley, Sept. 19, 1739." - Boston Records.
Dwight
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
1743]
Rev. John Taylor, of Milton, delivered the Artillery election sermon in 1742. He was a son of Johr and Ann (Winslow) Taylor, and brother of Col. William Taylor (1738), clerk of the Artillery Company in 1742 and its captain in 1760.
Rev. John Taylor was born in 1704, graduated at Harvard College in 1721, and settled in Milton, Nov. 13, 1728, as pastor of the church. He held this relation for twenty-one years, and died Jan. 26, 1750. Dr. Chauncy said of Mr. Taylor : " Few men were more universally loved while they lived, and lamented when dead." Rev. Thomas Thacher spoke of him " as remarkable for his high rank in the republic of letters, for his uniform virtues and elegant social manners." His residence stood where the town hall in Milton now stands. There he lived and died.
1743. The officers of the Artillery Company elected in 1743 were : Joseph Dwight (1734), captain ; Jabez Hunt (1727), lieutenant ; John Salter (1727), ensign. Daniel Watts (1736) was first sergeant; William Taylor (1738), second sergeant ; William Simpkins (1739), third sergeant ; James Butler (1739), fourth sergeant, and John Dixwell (1741), clerk.
Capt. Nathaniel Cunningham (1720), Thomas Hutchinson (1694), and Joseph Marion, appointed in May, 1742, reported to the town, March 16, 1742-3, upon the distressed state of the town of Boston. It was presented to get a reduction of the prov- ince tax. The committee compares the state of the town in 1735 and 1742. During these seven years the general trade of the town diminished one half ; distilling business one third ; cod-fishery became very small ; trade to the West Indies "almost nothing "; trade to London "altered for the worse"; town expenses, on account of the poor, increased from £2,069 in 1735 to £4,800 in 1740; whole town rate increased from £8,600 in 1738 to £11,000 in 1742, and the polls decreased 423 in four years, being, in 1738, 3,395, and in 1741, 2,972. Provisions greatly increased in price, and the support of the ministry of Boston, which was £8,000 in 1735, was £12,000 in 1742.
The members of the Artillery Company recruited in 1743 were : John Gore, Jacob Hurd, Kenelm Winslow, Jr.
John Gore (1743), painter, of Boston, son of Obadiah and Sarah (Kilby) Gore, of Boston, was born Dec. 29, 1718. He married, May 5, 1743, Frances, daughter of John Pinckney. She was born Sept. 20, 1726. They had thirteen or more children, nine of whom lived to be married. Capt. John (1743) was a great-grandson of John Gore (1638), and the father of Samuel Gore (1786) and of Christopher Gore, governor of Massachusetts. He was also grandfather of Lieut. Christopher Gore (1814).
Capt. John (1743) was second sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1747, also in 1755, and lieutenant in 1758. He was elected constable of Boston, March 13, 1743, but declined to serve and paid the fine. He was clerk of the market in 1752 and 1753; warden in 1764 and 1771, and overseer of the poor from 1767 to 1774 inclusive. He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and, in 1759, was senior warden of the First Lodge in Boston, of which, at that time, Adino Paddock (1762) was master and Joseph Webb (1761) junior warden.
Rev. John Taylor. AUTHORITY : Teele's John Gore (1743). AUTHORITIES: Boston Records; Sabine's American Loyalists.
Hist. of Milton, 1640 to 1887, pp. 255-257.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
[1743
" He was an addresser of Gage, went to Halifax in 1776, was banished in 1778, and pardoned by the Legislature in 1787."1 He died Jan. 15, 1796, and his will is in the Suffolk Registry, Lib. 94, f. 182. His tomb is No. 2 in the Granary Burial-Ground.2
Jacob Hurd (1743), goldsmith, of Boston, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Tufts) Hurd, of Charlestown, was born Feb. 12, 1702-3, and married, May 20, 1725, Elizabeth Mason. He was elected a constable of Boston in 1731, but declined and paid the fine. Nov. 1, 1733, he resided in Pudding Lane (Devonshire Street, between State and Water), when he was allowed to dig up the pavement to lay a drain ; also in June, 1734. May 25, 1735, he gave five pounds towards the erection of the workhouse. Having permitted John Bradshaw, with his family, from Medford, to move into his tenement, Mr. Hurd (1743) was ordered to appear before the selectmen, by whom he was fined forty shillings, " for not informing the selectmen according to law." He was prominent in the militia, and rose to the grade of captain of a Boston company.
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