USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches > Part 17
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I, Edward Rawson, wittness to the last part of the will, that I often heard the said Richard Bartlett, sen'r, say (ye time of his sickness) he
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would & did give all to his sonne Richard Bartlett, the 29th of Septem- ber, 1647, this was before ye witness.
EDWARD RAWSON.
Mr. Rawson Sworne to the first part of this will : Anthony Somersby sworne to the wholl will, before the Court held at Ipswich, 28th : 7th month, 1647, p. me
ROBERT LORD, Clerke.
An Inventory of the Goods & Chattells of Richard Bartlett of New- bury, shoemaker, who deceased the 21th of May, 1647, taken by William Titcombe, John Bartlett & Anthony Somersby.
£
s.
d.
Imprimis : in leather valewed at 2 15
Item : his wearing apparrell,
I
+
0
Item : 2 pairs of canvas sheets, I I 0
Item : one old shirt & a napkin,
O 2 I
Item : one old coverlit & a blankett,
It : one old flock bed & a bolster,
It : one old great Kettle,
O
I
1
Item : one brasse pott,
Item : two little kettles, .
It : one small brass morter, O 7 6
0
5
It : one warming pan, O
It : one great bible,
0 1 2
It : some other small bookes,
It: one cow,
It : one heiffer, I 1 5
4
5 O
It: his working geare & lasts :
It : in old pewter platters, and an old pint pott,
2 O
It : one Spitt & frying pan, O 3 6
It : one small muskett,
It : one paire of bellowes,
1 0 bag, O 5 0
It : his debts,
19
It : in Silver, 2
5 O
Witness that this is a true inventory.
the m'ke of WILLIAM TITCOMB, JOHN BARTLET, ANTHONY SOMERSBY.
Testified before the Court upon oath by Anthony Somersby, 28th : 7th : 1647. p. me ROBERT LORD, Clerke.
Ī O 0
I
O
12
It: one pair of pott hangers,
O IO
0
6
O
7 O
0
9
It : bushell bagg, 2 old chests, a stone bottle & a half bushel
0
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BARTLETT'S COVE
Joane, the eldest daughter of Richard Bartlett, Sr., married William Titcomb, who is said to have come to New England in the ship "Hercules," and whose testimony is given in the affidavit quoted above. He was also one of the appraisers of the estate.
The sons, John, Richard, and Christopher, are mentioned in the list of freeholders in the town of Newbury, Dec. 7, 1642, "as entitled to their proportionable right in all the waste lands undisposed of." John was made a freeman May 17, 1637. When the new town was laid out, lot No. 27 was assigned to him. "Nov. 29, 1647, John Pike, Jr., of New- bury, for a bill of £5, assigned for me to take up of Richard Kent, senior, of Newbury, by John Bartlett, & £1 cash," con- veyed to John Bartlett, of Newbury, " 4 acres in ye verge of lotts, on the north side of the frogge pond in Newbury, in the new towne, being bounded on ye north with the land of An- thony Morse, on the south with the land of Thomas Browne, on the east end the land of John Bonde, and on the west with the streete " (Essex Deeds, Ipswich Series, book I, page 54 (177). This lot of four acres of land was on Market Street, then called Cross Street. The house that John Bartlett owned and occupied stood on the southeasterly side of the lane leading to Watts' Cellar, now State Street, as will appear by the following conveyance made May 29, 1660, and recorded in book 3, page 177 (132), Ipswich Series : -
John Bartlett, sent, of Newbury, for love & as part of a portion in marriage to my son John Bartlett with Sara, daughter of John Knight. sen", of Newbury, conveys to said John and Sara 6 acres of land in Newbury, "in the field comonly knowne by the name of the nether nyne lotts, being six acres of my eight that is scitvate in the field abovesayd, reserveing full two acres of the sayd eight for my owne proper use on the north syde next to the land of Anthony Morse, senir, the other six acres is bounded with the land of Steephen Greenliefe on the east, the abovesayd two acres on the North, the high street on the South, the Crose Street on the west, as also two acres of land more being halfe my house lott, having Edward Richardsons land on the North, Wm. Chandlours land on the East, the lane goeing downe to Watts his Seller on the west, and my other part of land on which my house
BARTLETT HOUSE AT BARTLETT'S COVE.
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BARTLETT'S COVE
standeth vpon the south," with house built on the said two acres, &c .; & also a freehold bought of Thomas Dow.
John Bartlett died Feb. 5, 1678, at the age of sixty-five.
His brother Christopher bought of William Titcomb, March 1, 1651, four acres of land "in the feild called the lower nine lotts, bounded by the highway neere the frogg pond on the South & Cross street on the west, John Bond's land on the east, & John Bartlett's on the north " (book I, page III (325), Ipswich Series).
Six or seven years later Christopher was probably settled at Bartlett's Cove. Feb. 3, 1658, he conveyed to John Bayley eleven acres of land "bounded by the highway to Salsberry new Towne on the south and Merrimack River on the North " in exchange for fifteen acres of land bounded by the Merrimack River on the north and his own land on the other three sides (book 3, page 260 (196), Ipswich Series). This last deed was not acknowledged until 1661, and was not recorded until 1673. April 8, 1662, he sold to Henry Teux- bury twenty acres of land in Newbury, bounded by the Merri- mack River on the north, by a creek on the east, by land of Goodman Moody on the south, and land of grantor on the west (book 2, page 184 (341), Ipswich Series). Christopher Bart- lett died March 15, 1669-70. Thomas Bartlett, a brother, born Jan. 22, 1615, and Anne Bartlett, a sister, born Feb. 26, 1625, probably died in England.
-
Richard Bartlett, Jr., who was made executor of his father's will and also residuary legatee, was probably the first one of the family who settled at Bartlett's Cove. March 26, 1650, he bought eight acres of land of John Spencer "on ye north side of Merrimack ridge as it is bounded by John Pike's land on the east and the land of M' William Thomas on the west, the streete on the South and a parcell of land comon on the north next to Merrimack river of an equal breadth," with cellars, houses, etc. (book I, page 70 (218), Ipswich Series). And April 10, 1652, he bought an adjoining lot of William Thomas, " bounded with Merrimack River on the north and the high Street on the South " (book 3, page 350 (270), Ips-
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wich Series). This last deed was not acknowledged until 1663, and was not recorded until 1675.
April 22, 1652, Lieutenant Robert Pike, of Salisbury, sold to Richard Bartlett, of Newbury, five acres of upland in New- bury, " nere Merrimack, bounded east on John Emery's land, west s'd Richard Bartlett, north Merrymake River, South High Street " (book I, page 128 (366), Ipswich Series).
Nov. II, 1652, Edward Rawson, of Boston, gentleman, and wife, Mrs. Rachell, for £8, sold to Richard Bartlett, of New- bury, eight acres of upland in Newbury, "bounded with the land of the sayd Richard Bartlett on the east, the highway on the south, the land of James Jackman on the west, and Samuell Poores on the North." The deed was acknowledged in 1656, and recorded in 1675 (book 3, page 352 (272), Ips- wich Series).
Oct. 20, 1669, Henry Teuxbury, of Newbury, weaver, for £100, sold to Richard Bartlett, of Newbury, house, barn, and twenty-six acres of pasture and arable land in Newbury, " which I lately purchased of Christopher Bartlett, of New- bury, bounded with Merrimack River on the North, the land of Steven Swett & Robert Coker on the east, a black oake being the Southeast corner bounds, next the highway the land of Christopher Bartlett abovesayd and the highway on the south bounds, and Christopher Bartlett's land also on the south " (book 3, page 353 (272), Ipswich Series).
Some, if not all, of the land described in the above deeds was at or near Bartlett's Cove, and has remained in the pos- session of the family to the present day.
Richard Bartlett, Jr., was prominent in church affairs, and took an active part in the long struggle between Rev. Thomas Parker and the members of his church under the lead of Mr. Edward Woodman. He was a delegate to the General Court for several years. He died previous to July 18, 1698, aged seventy-seven. In his will, dated April 19, 1695, and proved July 18, 1698, he gives to his three daugh- ters, Abigail, Hannah, and Rebecca, "his dwelling house and barn and orchard and land adjoining, about 12 acres," and the rest and residue of his estate, not specifically devised, to his sons Samuel, Richard, and John.
237
BARTLETT'S COVE
His son Samuel was born Feb. 20, 1646, and married Elizabeth Titcomb, of Newbury, May 23, 1671. Hon. Levi Bartlett, of Warner, N. H., in his biographical sketches of the Bartlett family, says, " During the arbitrary and tyranni- cal government of Sir Edmund Andros, Samuel Bartlett was a very active and zealous partisan ; and, when affairs were approaching their crisis, he mounted his horse, and set out from home with an old rusty sword, minus a scabbard, and reached Boston in season to assist in the imprisonment of Sir Edmund." He was one of the founders of Queen Anne's Chapel. Rev. Matthias Plant, rector of the parish from 1722 to 1753, married Lydia, the youngest daughter of Samuel Bartlett. In the church records, under date of Oct. 29, 1727, in the handwriting of Mr. Plant, is a brief account of the earthquake which contains some interesting facts, es- pecially a statement to the effect that "the very first shock opened a new spring by my father Samuel Bartlett's house in the meadow." This spring now furnishes the water supply for the city of Newburyport. Samuel Bartlett died May 15, 1732, aged eighty-seven, and was buried in the churchyard connected with Queen Anne's Chapel, now a part of the Belleville Cemetery. On his tombstone is an inscription, which states that " He was one of the first founders of this church."
His brother Richard, born Feb 21, 1649, married Hannah Emery Nov. 18, 1673. There were nine children, seven sons and two daughters, by this marriage. One of the sons, Joseph, was drafted, and sent to Haverhill to defend that town from the attack of Indians in 1708. He was capt- ured, and carried to Canada, where he remained a prisoner for more than four years. Another son, Stephen, was the father of Hon. Josiah Bartlett, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
John Bartlett, son of Richard Bartlett, Jr., and brother of Samuel and the above-named Richard, was born June 22, 1655, and married Mary Rust Oct. 29, 1680. He learned the trade of tanner, and established himself in business at Bartlett's Cove. For several generations the tanning of
Poriva
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furry
Jali Gur
Petition of Edin'd Bartlett for ferry over heremack einer Between Salisbury & newbury July De.Jum 761 Sessions.
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BARTLETT'S COVE
hides was continued on the same spot, and traces of the old vats can still be seen. Ship-building was also established there at a very early date.
Until quite recently there was no causeway or embank- ment along the Newbury shore. Small boats and fishing craft could easily enter the Cove from the river, and the tide ebbed and flowed in the basin that now forms the reser- voir of the Newburyport water supply.
Under date of March 10, 1761, Coffin, in his History of Newbury, says "a ferry was granted from Newbury to Salis- bury about the middle of Bartlett's Cove "; but, evidently, the court held at Ipswich and Salem did not confirm this grant, as will appear from the following papers now on file in the office of the clerk of courts at Salem :-
To the Honble His Majestys Justices of the Court of Quarter Sessions to be holden at Ipswich, March ye 31, 1761.
The Petition of sundry Persons whose | Names | are hereunto sub- scribd, Inhabitants principally of the Towns of Newbury & Salisbury in the County of Essex in the Province of the Massachustts Bay in New England, Humbly sheweth
That we apprehend a Ferry is much needed & will greatly serve the publick, over Merrimack River from a little below the House of Mr. Joseph Page in Salisbury to about the middle of Bartlets Cove so calld in Newbury.
First, Because this appears to us an exceeding good Place to keep a Ferry, having remarkable Eddys on both sides, which make half ye River & being so Land-lockd as to be very exposd to any wind that blows; & the Land so scitvated on both Sides that Persons may be seen near three quarters of a mile before they come to it.
2. It will shorten ye way in travelling thro the Country a mile even were there a Bridge erected over Po- River, which yet is not done & tis quite uncertain when it will. And will save 3 or 4 Miles at present of very bad way, unless Amesbury Ferry Boat comes to Salisbury Point, which sometimes cannot be done, & often not without Difficulty, & which none can oblige the Ferrymen to & they often refuse.
3. The Town of Newbury has no Ferry between that at Town & Swetts, which is 8 or 9 miles; nor Salisbury any within about 6 miles of this place.
4. They can very often pass here with Safety when they cannot pass
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at either of the other two Ferrys without much Difficulty & Danger especially in a Southwesterly wind, when here its perfectly calm; and sometimes when both the other Ferrys are impassable, the lower by reason of ye winds. & the upper by reason of the rotten Ice which often lies near a month longer at Amesbury Ferry than at this place.
And inasmuch as the sª Towns of Newbury and Salisbury have sig- nifyd their Approbation | of sd Ferry || & made Grants of their respec- tive Priviledges in the same, as by their Votes to be producd to your Honours may appear,
We therefore humbly pray, if your Honours in your wisdom shall see fit, that sd Ferry may be granted and confirmd for ever. And your Peti- tioners as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c :
JNO NEWMAN, EDMUND BARTLETT,
JOSEPH STEVENS,
WILLIAM DAVENPORT,
JOSEPH COTTLE, DAVID JACKMAN,
WILLIAM CURRIER, ENOCH MERRILL,
JOHN CURRIER, SAMLL BARTLETT,
NATHANIEL DOLE,
JOHN STONE,
SAMUEL SWETT, THOS BARTLETT,
And many others.
To this petition Humphrey Currier made the following remonstrance : -
To the Honrd Court of Quarter Sessions of ye Peace to be holden at Ipswich within and for the County of Essex on the last Tuesday of March currant
The Petition of Humphrey Currier Humbly Shews That Having very lately heard that Some persons Viz one Thomas Bartlett and Others are design'd to Apply to this Court for a Ferry to be Kept over Merrimack River between the Towns of Newbury and Salisbury a little below Almsbury Ferry from Bartlets Cove to Gunners Point so called - He has to Object Thereto -
First, That the Town of Salisbury, under whome Some of the Peti- tioners apply, Have no Right to Grant any Priviledge of a Ferry any- where over Said River, Their Right being Given or Conveyed to George Carr many years agoe, Whose Heirs now Claim that priviledge which your petitioner Apprehends he can Make appear had he opportunity.
2ly That the Grant of a Ferry in the place proposed would Greatly Injure the Ferry below, And your Petitr especially whose interest lyes in the Ferry at Almsbury, who flatters himself this Honrd Court would not do anything to the prejudice of ye Ferry, already Stated where the Pub- lick Advantage will not Countervail the Damage which will accrue thereby.
24I
BARTLETT'S COVE
3 Your Petitr apprehends that he can make it appear that a ferry being kept in the place he has heard is proposed, will all things Considered be rather a Damage than Benefit, Therefore prays for the Reasons offered this Honrd Court would either not Act upon this affair at present or Continue the Same Untill Their Petitioner has proper time to lay, what he has Justly further to offer, Before your Hon™. And your Petitr as in Duty bound Shall ever pray, &c.
HUMPHERY CURRIER.
ALMSBURY, Mar: 30th 1761.
At the Court of General Sessions held at Ipswich March, 1761, the following order was entered upon the records : --
On Reading the Petition of Edmund Bartlett & others Praying for another ferry on merrimack River as by the sd Petition on file - Ordered that Col Choate, Colo Appleton & Colo Rogers be a Committee to in- quire into the Conveniency & Necessity thereof & how it will Effect the Neighboring Ferrys there and to inquire into the Title of the same ferrys and the conduct of the ferrymen, and make Report at the next Term and all at the Charge of the Petitioners.
At the next term of the court the committee reported as follows : -
The Committee apointed on the Petition of Edmund Bartlett and others praying for | a|| ferry across merr|m|ck River from a litle below the house of |Joseph Page|| in Salisbery to about the midle of Bartletts Cove in Newbery, and allso to inquire how it will Effect the other fereys, in that neighbourhood, allso into the title of those fereys and how the ferey men behave. First giving notice to the Selectmen of both towns and others Consernd we have attended that Service, heard the partys, and begg leave to Report the following facts, viz :
That by an ancient petition one | George|| Carr preferred to the gen- erall Court many years Past Relating to the propertie he had in keeping fereys from the mouth of mermack River so fare vp as Holts Rocks we perceived that | he Claimed a right in & | title to keep all | Ferrys within those Limitts, but | his grant we Could gett no knoledge of, but ware informd that all the farey in that space are held under his title, and think that if a ferey was granted in the place petitioned for it ought to be done with Refrence to that titles if any such there be.
With Respect to the behaveour of the present ferry men we heard no Complant Except yt the keeper at Amsbery ferry dont give the Same attendance at Sallsbery Point as he dose at Amsberey Shore.
With Regard to the publick Nesestie and Convenence of a ferey at
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the place petetiond for, we find it would as things are now Surcum- stances very much aComodate travlers at Certain sesons of the year and Especally in sum sorts of wether when the pasing at the other ferays are thareby made dificult, Tho we find the place proposed not well aComodated with a good landing on the west Side and Sumthing dangrous from Sunken Rocks that lay a litle below the pasage way. But the Committee are apprehencive that if a fferey is granted and keept at this place at present it might so lessen and divide the pasangers to each boat or without a largeÄr | fare then they are now alowed to take | it | would disorage and prevent a cherfull and good atandance at all of them. And that if a bridge was bult oure Powwaa River from Ams- bery to Salsbery Point it migh[t] well answer all the Ends of a ferey whare it is now Prayd for, and we ware told by Severil Gentilmen of Credet that they Poposed to go about bulding said bridge this Sumer, and did not much doubt but it would be done.
One the whole we Report it as our opinion that any further proseed- ings about the proposed new ferey be deffered for twelve months to come, and that in the mean spaece the ferry man at amsbery ferey atend people too and from Sallsbery poind in the same manner as he dos those at Amsberey shore, giveing the prefferanc to him that comes first to be Cared over at all times when the wether will permettee, and that the sd fereymen be allowed to take one qvarter more for his Carring Pasan- gers, hoses or goods to and from Sª Salsbury point then he is now allowd at amsbery Shore, all which is Submitted By
JOHN CHOATE § per order of ye ¿ Committee.
The court issued the following decree :-
July, 1761, on Reading again the Petition of Edmund Bartlet & others for an other ferry over Merrymack River with the Report of the Committee appointed at the last Term to inquire into that matter, .. . It is thereupon Ordered that the Said Report be accepted and that all further Proceedings abt the sd Ferry be Deferred accordingly. And that the Ferry men at Amesbury ferry be allowed to take one Quarter more for his attendance at Salisbury point as mentd in sª Report.
A plan showing the location of the proposed ferry was pre- pared by order of the petitioners and presented, with other papers, at the July term of the court. This plan is on file in the office of the county commissioners at Salem. It will be noticed, in the copy on page 238, that the road along the Salisbury shore, from Deer Island to the mouth of the
243
BARTLETT'S COVE
Powow River, is not marked or designated in any way, and was not probably in existence at that time.
Another petition was presented at the Court of General Sessions held at Ipswich in March, 1771, and the following order entered upon the records : -
On Reading the Petition of Joseph Page & others shewing that they have obtained the Approbation of the Towns of Salisbury & Newbury for a Ferry over Merrimack River a little above a Place called Gunners' Point, on Condition of Licence from this Court, &c., as by sd Petition on File, & praying this Court to grant them such Licence, Ordered, that the sd Petitioners serve Humphry Currier, Richard Carr & James Carr with a Copy of said Petition, & notify them to appear at the next Term, to shew Cause, if any they have, why the Prayer thereof should not be granted.
Evidently, some agreement was reached by the friends and opponents of the proposed new ferry ; and no further action was taken until 1789, when Joseph Swasey, of Newburyport, and John Webster, of Salisbury, presented the following petition : -
To the Hone the Justices of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace to be holden at Salem within and for the County of Essex on the second Tuesday of July, Anno Domini 1789 :
Your petitioners believe that it would be of very extensive convenience and utility to the citizens of this Commonwealth and others travelling from the southern and western parts of this Commonwealth into New Hampshire or the country east thereof, or passing the contrary route, that a ferry should be established over Merrimack River, at or near Jonathan Moulton's dwelling house in Newbury in said County, and from thence to the opposite side in Salisbury aforesaid.
That the said ferry's being thus established would save to travellers passing that way a circuitous route of nearly one mile through a very bad piece of two rod road which is generally and necessarily encum- bered, for the greater part of it, with heaps of ship timber and plank, there being no less than six or seven shipyards adjoining said road, by means whereof, and of the business and labor done therein, the said road is frequently rendered almost impassible, and horses often frightened to such a degree as to endanger the lives of their riders.
That the bridge in said road across the mouth of the Powow river is often out of repair, sometimes drawn up to admit vessels to pass, and at all times inconvenient and even dangerous for horses and carriages.
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That the hill on the Newbury side of Amesbury ferry is very steep and in the winter season so covered with ice as to render it almost im- possible to ascend it with carriages and teams, and hazardous to de- scend it at that season.
Your Petitioners further show that they are the proprietors of the land on each side of the river where the Ferry is prayed to be estab- lished ; that they will at their own cost immediately open a three rod way from the road leading to Amesbury Ferry through the land of the late Mrs. Barrett and put the same in good repair; that on the Salis- bury side there is a convenient landing place directly where the main post road from Exeter, Portsmouth and the eastern country now falls into the river road at Salisbury Point, and that your Petitioners are ready to give bond with sufficient security for the faithful discharge of their trust and that there shall be constant attendance given with two good boats, one whereof shall be kept on each side of the river.
Wherefore your Petitioners humbly pray your Honors that they may be licensed to keep a Ferry at the above described place.
And as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c.
JOSEPH SWASEY, JOHN WEBSTER.
The court " ordered that the Hon'ble Stephen Choate, Esq., John Patch, Esq., and John Choate, Esq., be a Committee to enquire into the necessity and conveniency of said ferry, and they are to notify the inhabitants of the towns of Newbury, Salisbury, and Amesbury and the present occupiers of Ames- bury ferry of the time they shall appoint for viewing the ferry pray'd for and making the enquiry aforesaid, and they are to report as soon as may be."
At the next term of the court held at Salem, in September, 1789, Theophilus Parsons and Theophilus Bradbury, attorneys for David Tuxbury, of Salisbury, and his wife Dorothy, in her right, Daniel Currier, Jr., and Ezekiel Currier, both of Ames- bury, proprietors of Amesbury ferry, filed a remonstrance, in which they state " that they and their predecessors have been owners of Amesbury ferry for nearly one hundred years," and that the proposed new ferry is within eighty rods of the one already established.
The court, however, granted the prayer of the petitioners ; and the clerk was directed to enter upon the records the following decree : -
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