USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > History of the early settlement of Newton, county of Middlesex, Massachusetts, from 1639-1800. With a genealogical register of its inhabitants, prior to 1800 > Part 4
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Meeting of the Selectmen, March 12, 1655.
"In answer to the request of some of our beloved brethren and neighbors, the inhabitants on the other side of the river, that they might have the ordinances of Christ among them, distinct from the town. The townsmen not well understanding what they intend, or do desire of the town, nor yet being able to conceive how any thing can be granted in that respect, but the fraction will prove destruc- tive to the whole body, do not see ground to give any consent for any division of the town. Also, we hope it is not the desire of our brethren so to accommodate themselves by a division as thereby utterly to disenable and undo the church of Christ, with whom they have made so solemn an engagement in the Lord, which is apparent to us will be the effect thereof, and therefore do desire, that we may join both hand and heart, to worship the Lord together in one place, until the Lord shall be pleased to enlarge our hands, and show us our way more clear for a division."
1656. "John Jackson and Thomas Wiswall, in behalf of the inhabitants of the village, petitioned the General Court to be released from paying rates for the support of the minis- try at Cambridge church."
The town of Cambridge remonstrated against this peti- tion and stated, that "many persons in whose names the
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EARLY HISTORY OF NEWTON.
petition is signed, although inhabitants, yet not by the approbation of the town, having no right to town privileges, save only the land whereon they dwell, and others of them do live on the farms of those who as yet never manifested their desire of any such change ; the most of them do live within four miles of our Meeting-house, except two or three farms that lie above the Falls on Charles river, near Dedham, and hardly ever go to meeting, and some of them are not much above two miles off."
" If they attain their desire, and set their Meeting-house at their pleasure, sundry of them will be farther from it than many of them now are from Cambridge Church; and upon the same ground, when they plead for a division, we have need to have at least four Meeting-houses in our town, which now find it difficult to maintain one as it should."
The Court's Committee, Richard Russell, of Charlestown, Eleazer Lusher, of Dedham, and Ephraim Child, of Water- town, reported against the petition,-the principal reason in their report was, that "if the petitioners should withdraw their help from Cambridge Church and ministry, it would be overburdensome to Cambridge to provide for the support of their minister." The petitioners had leave to withdraw. 1661. The inhabitants of the village petitioned the Court again, to be released from paying church rates to Cambridge. The erection of a new Meeting-house in the village had greatly strengthened their case, and accordingly the Court " granted them freedom from all church rates for the support of the ministry in Cambridge, and for all lands and estates which were more than four miles from Cam- bridge Meeting-house ; the measure to be in the usual paths that may be ordinarily passed."
The inhabitants of the village were not, however, satisfied with the dividing line, and in 1662, they petitioned the Court for a new line. The action of the Court upon this petition was as follows :
49
SEPARATION FROM CAMBRIDGE CHURCH.
Oct. 1662. "In answer to the petition of John Jackson and Thomas Wiswall, in behalf of the inhabitants of Cam- bridge Village, as a full and final issue of all things in controversy between the town of Cambridge and the peti- tioners, the Court judge it meet to order, appoint and fully empower Maj. William Hawthorne, of Salem, Capt. Francis Norton, of Charlestown, and Capt. Hugh Mason, of Water- town, as a committee to give the petitioners, or some in their behalf, with some invited in behalf of the town of Cambridge, opportunity to make their desires known, and Maj. Hawthorne to appoint the time and place for the hear- ing, of what all parties can say, so it be sometime before the next Court of election ; and on the hearing thereof, to issue fully, and absolutely conclude and determine, what they shall judge necessary and just to be done, as to the determin- ing the four mile bounds, that so this Court may no more be troubled thereabouts."
This committee ran the line, and settled the bounds, between the Village and Cambridge, in 1662, so far as ministerial taxes were concerned.
SEPARATION OF CAMBRIDGE VILLAGE FROM THE TOWN OF CAMBRIDGE.
1672. Edward Jackson and John Jackson, in behalf of the inhabitants of Cambridge Village, petitioned the Court to be set off from Cambridge, and made an independent town by themselves.
In answer to this petition, " the Court, in 1673, doth judge meet to grant to the inhabitants of said Village, annually to elect one Constable and three Selectmen, dwelling among themselves, to order the prudential affairs of the inhabitants there, according to law, only continuing a part of Cam- 5
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EARLY HISTORY OF NEWTON.
bridge in paying County and Country rates, as also Town rates, so far as refers to the grammar school, bridge over Charles river, and their proportion of the charges of the Deputies."
This action of the Court was not satisfactory to the Village, and they did not accept or act under it.
1677. Further action was had, relative to the dividing line between Cambridge and the Village, both parties agreeing to submit it to referees mutually chosen.
The Village chose Capt. Thomas Prentice, James Trow- bridge, Noah Wiswall, and Jonathan Hyde, a committee to settle the line by reference ; two referees to be chosen by the Village, two by Cambridge, and they four to choose a fifth. The referees thus chosen, were Richard Calicot, William Symes, William Johnson, William Bond, and Richard Louden. The result of this reference was, a line described as follows : " Corner near the widow Jackson's orchard, and a chesnut tree in Mr. Edward Jackson's pasture, and to continue until it comes to the river, then southerly by a heap of stones, four miles from Cambridge Meeting-house ; thence to continue until it comes to Boston [Brookline] bounds." This award was dated July 27, 1677.
1678. Nearly all the freemen of the Village signed the following petition, which was no doubt drawn up by Mr. Edward Jackson, Senior.
" To the Honored Governor, Deputy Governor, together with the Hon. Magistrates now sitting in Boston :
" The humble petition of us, the inhabitants of Cambridge Village, on the south side of Charles river, showeth, that the late war, as it hath been a great charge to the whole Colony, and to us in particular, both in our estates and persons, by
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SEPARATION FROM CAMBRIDGE.
loss of life to some, and others wounded and disabled for their livelihood, besides all our other great charges, in building our Meeting-house, and of late enlargement to it, and also our charge to the minister's house, and as you know the Lord took the worthy person from us in a little time, and now in great mercy hath raised up another in the place, who hath a house in building for him, which requires assist- ance ; as also, we are now, by the great mercy of God, so many families, that a school is required for the education of our children, according to law, besides our public charge of the place ; yet, notwithstanding this, last year the towns- men of Cambridge have imposed a tax upon us, amounting to the sum of three Country rates, without our knowledge or consent, which we humbly conceive is very harsh proceed- ing for any townsmen, of their own will and power, to im- pose upon the inhabitants what taxes they please, and to what end, without even calling the inhabitants to consider , about such charge ; yet, nevertheless, for peace sake, the inhabitants of our place did meet together, and jointly consent to give the town of Cambridge the sum of £100, and to pay it in three years, without desiring any profit or benefit from them, of wood, timber, or common lands, but only for our freedom, being content with our proprietary, which some of us had before Cambridge had any site there, which tender of ours they having rejected, as also to grant to us our freedom from them.
" We do most humbly commend our distressed condition to the justice and mercy of this honored Court, that you will please to grant us our freedom from Cambridge, and . that we may be a township of ourselves, without any more dependence upon Cambridge, which hath been a great charge and burthen to us, and also, that you will please to give the place a name, and if there should be any objection against us, that the honored Court will admit our reply and
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EARLY HISTORY OF NEWTON.
defence. So, hoping the Almighty will assist you, in all your concerns, we rest your humble petitioners."
Mr. Edward Jackson, Captain Thomas Prentice, Thomas Park, Senior,
John Fuller, Senior,
James Trowbridge,
John Kenrick, Senior,
Noah Wiswall,
Isaac Williams,
John Ward,
Joseph Miller,
Thomas Prentice, Jr.,
John Kenrick, Jr.,
David Meade, Vincent Druce,
John Mason,
John Hyde, Ebenezer Wiswall,
Thomas Greenwood,
Elijah Kenrick,
John Parker, (south,)
Sebas Jackson,
Humphrey Osland,
Samuel Hyde, Jr.,
Joseph Bartlett,
Neal McDaniel, John Fuller, Jr.,
Jacob Bacon,
Joshua Fuller,
Samuel Trusedale,
John Alexander,
Simon Onge,
John Prentice,
Jonathan Fuller,
Nathaniel Hammond,
John Parker, (east,) Job Hyde,
Abraham Jackson, Stephen Cook,
Widow Jackson, -
Richard Park,
Edward Jackson, Jr., .
Joseph Fuller,
Daniel Ray,
Isaac Beach,
Thomas Prentice, Jr.,
Peter Stanchet.
52 in all.
Freemen in the Village who did not sign this Petition.
Rev. Nehemiah Hobart, John Woodward,
Elder Thomas Wiswall, Henry Seger,
Dea. Samuel Hyde, Thomas Park, Jr.,
Jonathan Hyde, Senior,
Thomas Hammond, Jonathan Hyde, Jr., James Prentice, Senior,
William Robinson,
Isaac Bacon,
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REMONSTRANCE OF CAMBRIDGE.
Daniel Bacon, John Spring, Daniel McCoy,
John Park,
Samuel Hyde, son of Jona.,
James Prentice, Jr. [12.]
The petition was presented to the Court, at the first session, 1678, and committed, and a hearing of the parties was ordered on the first Tuesday of October, 1678, (2d session,) and all parties to have timely notice. Cambridge presented a remonstrance to the petition, dated October 23, 1678, signed by their Selectmen, containing upwards of fifteen pages ; portions of it are severe and eccentric, as may be seen by the following extracts.
" The petitioners say, 'they plead only for their freedom, being content with their own proprieties.' We answer, that the inhabitants of Cambridge, now dwelling on the north side of Charles river, have well nigh three thousand acres of land, that is laid out into lots, some ten, twenty, or forty acres, more or less, that they are at this time seized of, and by them kept for herbage, timber, wood and planting lands, so they shall have occasion to use the same, which is by the petitioners included within that line of division between the town and them, and therefore they do not say words of truth, when they say they are content with their own pro- prieties. *
"We must divide the petitioners into two sorts ; first, those that were dwellers in the town before they went to inhabit on that side; second, another sort are those that came from other towns. Those that proceeded from the town, who, knowing the straightness and want of accommo- dations to be had among their brethren there, and the lands on that side of the water being then of small value, proved to themselves large and comfortable accommodations for a small matter. We have confidence that those dare not to say, that their being in Cambridge hath been any charge or
5*
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EARLY HISTORY OF NEWTON.
burthen to them. They must and will own, that God hath greatly blessed them ; that whereas, we on the town side, that of £1000 that we or our parents brought to this place, and laid out in the town, for the purchasing, at dear rates, which we now enjoy, cannot divest us, they may speak just the contrary or in proportion. We would, if need, now instance some whose parents lived and died here, who, when they came to this town, had no estate, and some were helped by the charity of the church ; and others, yet living there, well know they may say with good Jacob, 'over Jordan came I with this staff;' and so may they say, over this river went I with this spade, plough, or other tool, and now, through God's blessing, am greatly increased ; yet here, we would not be understood to include every particular person, for we acknowledge that Mr. [Edward] Jackson brought a good estate to the town, as some others did, and hath not been wanting to the ministry, or any good work among us, and therefore we would not reflect upon him in the least.
"There are another sort of persons that did not proceed from the town, but came from other towns, where there had been much division and contention among them, who, though they knew the distance of the place from the public Meeting-house, the dependency thereof on Cambridge, which they now call a great charge and burden, yet they then did choose, and we are assured will own, generally at least, that they have increased their estates far beyond which the town have, or are capable to do. We might instance also in the inventories of some of them, whose pur- chase at the first cost them a very small matter, and their stock and household stuff we judge to be proportionable, and yet, when they deceased, an inventory, amounting to more than £1100, is given to the Court. (Witness John Jack- son's inventory, £1230; Richard Park's, £972; and old Hammond's, £1139.) And others that are yet living, we
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REMONSTRANCE OF CAMBRIDGE.
suppose, have advanced in some measure suitable ; they knew beforehand the distance of their new dwellings from Cambridge, yet this did not obstruct them in their settle- ments there, but before they were well warm in their nests they must divide the town.
" When the Court, being tired out with their eager pur- suits, and more private fawnings and insinuations, granted them committee upon committee, to hear and examine the ground of their so great complaints ; at last, all issued in a declaration of the unreasonableness of their desire, with reference to the town, as may appear by the return of the committee, made to the General Court, October 14, 1657, yet they rested not.
"In the year 1661, they petitioned the Court, and then obtained freedom from the rates to the Ministry, for all lands and estates more than four miles from Cambridge Meeting-house, this being all they desired.
" But all this did not satisfy them; the very next year they petitioned the Court again, and another committee was appointed, to come upon the place and determine the divi- ding line between the town and them; the result thereof was such, that whereas their grant was for all the lands that were above four miles from the town, they now obtain the staking of a line, that generally is (by exact measure) tried and proved to be very little above three miles from Cambridge Meeting-house.
" All this, notwithstanding those long-breathed petitioners, finding that they had such good success that they could never cast their lines into the sea but something was catched, they resolved to bait their hook again.
"In 1672, they petitioned the Court again for the same thing, and in the same words that now they do, viz. : that they may be a township of themselves, distinct from Cam- bridge. And the Court grant them farther liberty than
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EARLY HISTORY OF NEWTON.
before, viz. : to choose their own Constable and three Se- lectmen, among themselves, to order the prudential affairs of the inhabitants there, only continuing a part of Cambridge in paying Country and County rates, as also Town rates, so far as refers to the grammar school, bridge, popular charges, they to pay still their proportion with the town; and this the Court declares once more to be an issue to the contro- * versy between Cambridge and them.
" And did not this honored Court, as well as we, conclude that the petitioners having exercised the patience of the Court by their so petitioning, as well as giving trouble to the town, by causing them to dance after their pipes, from time to time, for twenty-four years, as will appear by the Court's records, in which they have petitioned the Court near, if not altogether ten times, putting the town to great charges. Yet, notwithstanding all this, we are summoned now again, to appear before this honored Court, to answer their petition, exhibited for the very same thing.
"The injustice of this their request, which may thus appear, if it would be accounted instructive for any neigh- boring towns or other persons to endeavor the compassing so great a part of our town limits from us; it is the same land, in some sense far worse, for those that belong to us so to do; this we conceive is plain from God's word, that should the child that robs his father to be the companion of a destroyer, or as some render the word, a murderer, although the child may plead interest in his father's estate, yet he is in God's account a murderer, if he takes away that whereby his father or mother lives, and this we apprehend not to be far unlike the case now before this honored Court.
" All parties of this nature are condemned by the light of nature. (Judges XI, 24.) They who had the grants from the heathen idolators, did not account it just that they should be dispossessed by others ; and idolatrous Ahab, although he
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REMONSTRANCE OF CAMBRIDGE.
was a king, and a very wicked king also, and wanted not power to effect what he desired, and was so burthened for the want of Naboth's vineyard that he would neither eat nor sleep, and when denied by his own subjects, tendered a full price for the same, yet he had so much conscience left, that he did not dare to seize the same presently, as the petitioners would be, so great a part of our possession as this, were it now in their power.
"The liberty and property of a colony, and so likewise in its degree of a township, is far more to be insisted upon than the right of any particular person, the concerns thereof being obviously far greater in all respects, both civil and ecclesiastical.
"The General Court having forty-five years since, or more, made a grant of the lands petitioned for, to Cam- bridge town, the Court's (it was no dishonor to Paul that he had all church power, that he would do nothing against the truth, nor diminutive to the power of God, himself, yet he is a God that cannot lie) grant being made to ease the town and persons, as His Majesty's royal charter is to this honored Assembly, and the whole colony ; we have confidence that such is their, wisdom and integrity, that they will not deem it be in their power to take away from us, or any other town or person, any part of what they have so orderly granted and confirmed to them. Had we no grant upon record, yet by the law of possession it is ours, and may not, without violation of the law, and faith of the honored Court, be taken from us. Could the petitioners obtain what they ask, without crossing the law of justice, yet we apprehend it would be very unusual, and that may thus appear. Because Cambridge town is the womb, out of which the petitioners have sprung, and therefore ought in the first place to be provided for ; and the question in equity ought to be, not what do the petitioners crave, and might be
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EARLY HISTORY OF NEWTON.
convenient for them, but what may Cambridge spare ? Now that Cambridge cannot spare what they desire, we sball prove :
"From the situation of our town, being planted on a neck of land, hemmed about by neighboring towns, Water Towne coming on the one side, within half a mile of our Meeting-house, and Charlestown as near on the other side, so that our bounds is not much above a mile in breadth, for near three miles together, and on the south side of the river the petitioners have gained their line (as we before related) to come very near within three miles of our Meet- ing-house.
"The most .considerable part of the best and most accom- modable of those near lands to our town, are belonging to Mr. Pelham, and others that live not in the town, so that the far greater number of those that live in the town are put to hire grass for their cattle to feed upon, in the summer time, which costs them at least twelve or fifteen shillings a head in money, for one cow the summer feed ; and corn lanc. they have not sufficient to find the town with bread. Cam- bridge is not a town of trade or merchandise, as the seaport towns be, but what they do must be in a way of husbandry, although never so hard terms, they having no other way of supply.
" Watertown and Charlestown, nipping us up close on each side, so as that we must be no town nor have no church of Christ, nor ministry among us, in case we be clipped and mangled, as the petitioners would have, we conceive there needs no further evidence than our own testimony, we know not why we should not be believed, we conceive that the honor of God, and of this Court, is more concerned in pro- viding against the laying waste our ancient town and church of Christ, settled in this place for more than forty years, than any of us can be, as to our personal interest ; nothing
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REMONSTRANCE OF CAMBRIDGE.
yet we now enjoy, as to our outward accommodations, being so attractive, as that we should be forced here to continue, if we are disabled, to maintain God's ordinances ; yet for evidence of the truth of what we thus assert, we might allege the moving of Mr. Hooker, and the whole church with him, to Hartford, and that for this very reason, because they foresaw the narrowness of the place was such that they would not live here. Also, the endeavor of Mr. Shep- ard, and the church with him, before his death, to remove in like manner, and that for no other reason but this, be- cause they saw, after many years hard labor and expense of their estates that they brought with them from England, that they could not live in this place.
" We do freely own, that as our place is straightened, so the charges are great for the maintenance of the 'Great a selge,' schools, &c., besides all other charges common to other places. Shall this be an argument, therefore, to countenance any to seek to pluck from us our sight, and to Full away their shoulders, to whom of right it appertains to bear a part with us, and have far the greatest part of the accommodation that should uphold the same ? We would not speak passionately, but let not this honored Court be offended if we speak a little passionately.
" The petitioners have not submitted unto, nor rested in the Court's last grant, made them for the choice of a Con- stable and three Selectmen among themselves, but have carried it forward, one towards another, and in like manner towards the town, from whom they pleaded, and unto whom they of right belong. We humbly entreat, that the said order may be preserved, and they and we, being all one body politic, may have a joint choice in the Selectmen and Constables of the town, according as the laws doth deter- mine the right and privilege of each town.
" Finally, we humbly entreat that this our defence may
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EARLY HISTORY OF NEWTON.
be entered in the Court's register, there to remain for the vindication of our just rights, in perpetuum and memoriam. Praying that the God of wisdom and truth may direct and guide this honored Court in their issuing of this and all other their most weighty concerns, we subscribe ourselves your humble and dutiful servants and supplicants.
JOHN COOPER, WILLIAM MANNING, JOHN STONE, WALTER HASTINGS, FRANCIS MOORE, NATHANIEL SPARHAWK,
Selectmen of Cambridge.
Cambridge, 23. 8. 1678."
1678. "In answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Cambridge Village, the Court judgeth it meet to grant them a hearing of the case mentioned, on the first Tuesday of the next session in October next, and all parties to b. timely notified."
The result was, that the Court granted the prayer of the petition, and Cambridge Village was set off from Cam- bridge, and made an independent township.
The doings of the Court in this case are missing, and have not as yet been found, and therefore we do not know the precise conditions upon which the separation took place. It is probable that, notwithstanding the separation, Cam- bridge Village was still holden to do its part towards the repairs of "the Great Bridge," and the support of the gram- mar school, and no doubt there was a provision respecting the common lands, which were owned by proprietors living in Cambridge, and perhaps they continued to be taxed together, for County and Country rates, but the Town record is quite sufficient to establish the fact of separation. The very first entry upon the new Town book records the doings of the first Town Meeting, held "27. 6. 1679, by virtue of an order of the General Court," at which meeting, the first
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NEW CAMBRIDGE.
board of Selectmen were duly elected, namely, Captian Thomas Prentice, John Ward, and James Trowbridge ; and Thomas Greenwood was chosen Constable. The Town records, and the record of births, marriages and deaths, commenced with the organization, and all the machinery of an independent town was put in motion by " an order of the General Court."
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