USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Haverhill > The history of Haverhill, Massachusetts, from its first settlement, in 1640, to the year 1860 > Part 6
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55
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
CHAPTER VI.
FROM 1643 TO 1649.
MIRICK, in his history, says, " the first lawful town-meeting was holden this year " (1643). He doubtless based his decision upon the fact that no record is preserved of any previous meeting of the inhabitants, but from the fact that allusions are made to things done by them previous to that time, we think it is correct to say that meetings were held as early as the first year of the settlement. They were not, it is true, technically speak- ing, town-meetings,-because the plantation was not incorporated until 1645,-but were meetings of the inhabitants of the plantation, at which was transacted all business relating to the plantation, as such. The fact that a note to the minutes of the first meeting recorded, mentions the lay- ing out of land to Mr. John Ward, fourteen months previously, seems to us conclusive, that the settlers held regular meetings from the first. While the inhabitants were few, there was but little general business necessary to be done by them, and that little could be so easily remembered, it was hardly necessary to make a record of it. But as the settlers multiplied, and their affairs became more complicated, they wisely made provision for a regular record to be kept of all their doings in their collective capacity. About this time, also, the General Court passed a law requiring a record of births, marriages, and deaths to be regularly kept in each town; and at the May term of the Court, (1643) the colony was divided into four coun- ties, Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. Haverhill was assigned to Norfolk, which was composed of Salisbury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter. Dover and Strawberry Bank, (Portsmouth).º At the same Court, a tract of land containing six hundred acres was granted to Mr. Nathaniel Ward, father of John Ward, " near Pentuckett, or as near as conveniently may be." The Court also granted to Haverhill "a parcel of meadow-land about six score acres more or less, west of Haverhill about six miles."
Under these circumstances, Richard Littlchale was chosen " clerk of the Writs," and " town Recorder,"f and commenced a regular record of the births, marriages and deaths, in the town, and also the proceedings of the
* The Courts were holden alternately at Salisbury and Hampton.
t He continued in office till 1664. The Court of Writs was a small Court established in town to try such causes as did not exceed forty shillings. It was sometimes called the Court for " small causes : " and frequently the Clerk of the Writs and Town Recorder were filled by one person.
56
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
inhabitants at their regular meetings. The date of the first meeting thus recorded, is November 6, 1643, and the first vote passed was to prevent an unnecessary destruction of timber.
The following is a correct copy of the vote : - " Voted that no man shall fall or cause to be fallen any timber upon the Comon but what he shall make use of within nine months next after it is fallen or other- wise it is and shall be forfieted." At the same meeting they voted, " that there shall bee three hundred acres laid out for houselotts and no more ; and that he that was worth two hundred pounds should have twenty acres to his houselott, and none to exceed that number; and so every one under that sum, to have acres proportionable for his houselott, to gether with meadow, and Common, and planting ground, proportionably." This land was laid out east of Little River, where the village stands, and was called an "accommodation grant."
An important movement of this year (1643) was the " Confederation of the New England Colonies." The original movement toward a confeder- ation proceeded from the western colonies, and the first proposal came from Connecticut. At first Massachusetts was indifferent to the measure, but at the General Court in May, commissioners presented themselves at Bos- ton from each of the three colonies, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, and the Governor, with two magistrates and three deputies, were authorized to treat on the part of Massachusetts." At first the commis- sion encountered some difficulties, but " after two or three meetings they lovingly accorded," and agreed upon the terms of what, for important purposes, was for many years a Federal Government of the New England Colonies.
The year 1643 is also memorable from a great earthquake, which hap- pened on Sunday, March 5th. " It came with a rumbling noise, but through the Lord's mercy it did no harm."t It was also a year of want and hunger. "Corn," says Winthrop, "was very scarce all over the country, and many families in most towns had none to eat by the end of April, but were forced to live of clams, muscles, dry-fish, and so forth, but the merchants had great success in the sale of their pipe staves and fish." The Trial, of Boston, "made a good voyage, which encouraged the merchants, and made wine, sugar and cotton very plentiful and cheap in the country. Our supplies from England failing much, men began to look about them, and fell to a manufacture of cotton, whereof we had store from Barbadoes, and of hemp and flax, wherein Rowley to their great commendation exceeded all other towns."}
o Winthrop, 2-99. t Winthrop, 2-93.
# Winthrop-2 : 94, 95:
57
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
On the fifth of July " there arose a sudden gust at northwest so violent for an hour as it blew down multitudes of trees. It lifted up their meet- ing house at Newbury, the people being in it. It darkened the air with dust, yet through God's great merey it did no hurt, but only killed one Indian with the fall of a tree. It was straight (narrow) between Linne (Lynn) and Hampton."" There was little rain this winter, and no snow till the third of march, the wind continuing west and northwest near six weeks."¡
At a Town-meeting, holden the 6th of the following February, it was voted, " that all landholders shall pay all publique rates according to their number of acres that they hold to their houselotts ; and if any man shall buy one aere of meadow, one acre and halfe of planting ground, or one acre of commonage to his houselott, he shall pay proportionably for every aere or commonage with the houselott."
The former historian of the town, in referring to the above vote, says : " It will be perceived that the landholders only paid the public taxes, and that each man was rated according to the number of acres in his " house- lot," and not according to the property he possessed." We wonder that he should have been so careless in his statements. A reference to the vote of the November preceding will show that the number of acres of each house-lot depended entirely upon the number of pounds the settler was worth. In other words, a man was granted land, and paid taxes, accord- ing to the amount of property he possessed.
At the meeting of February 27th, it was " voted that Job Clement should have a parcell of ground, not exceeding one quarter of an acre at the Mill Brooke, being bounded forth by the Free-men to sett him up a tann-house and tann-fatts upon, to him and his heirs forever."
The Mill Brook referred to, is the small stream running from the outlet of Plug Pond to the River, and which has retained the same name to the present time. We have been unable to find any particular mention of a mill upon it at that early period, but its being thus called renders it quite certain that a mill (doubtless a corn-mill) had already been ereeted upon it. It is worthy of note, that from that time to the present, the stream has been occupied for the same purpose.
Job Clement, was a brother of Robert, one of the witnesses to the deed, and was the first tanner in town. His tannery was erected near the mouth of the brook. As we mentioned in regard to a mill, so may we say in regard to a tannery, that one has constantly existed upon the stream from that time to the present.
· Winthrop-2 : 124. t Winthrop-2 : 155:
8
58
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
September 19th, " two churches were appointed to be gathered, the one at Haverhill, the other at Andover (both upon Merrimack river). They had given notice thereof to the magistrates and ministers of the neighbor- ing churches, as is the manner with them in New England. The meeting of the Assembly was to be at that time at Rowley, (the forementioned planta- tions, being then but newly erected, were not capable to entertain them that were like to be gathered together on that occasion). But when they assembled most of those who were to join together in church fellowship at that time, re- fused to make the confession of their faith and repentance, because, as was said, they declared it openly before in other Churches, upon, their admis- sion into them. Whereupon the messengers of the Churches not being satisfied, the assembly brake, before they had accomplished what they in- tended. But in October, 1645, messengers of Churches met together again, on the same account, when such satisfaction was given, that Mr. John Ward was ordained pastor of the Church in Haverhill, on the North side of the said Merrimack, and Mr. John Woodbridge was ordained pastor of the Church at Andover, on the south side of the same.º
The first marriage in town was that of Job Clement and Margaret Dum- mer, who were married on the 25th December. The second marriage was that of George Corlis and Joanna Davis, on the 26th of Oct., 1645.f
Among cotemporary matters of interest at this period, we may mention the following: On the 5th of June, two ministers' sons, students in Har- vard College - James Ward, son of Nathaniel Ward, (and brother of John Ward of Haverhill) and a son of Rev. Thomas Welde of Roxbury,- being found guilty of robbing two dwelling houses in the night time of eleven pounds in money, and thirty shillings worth of gunpowder. " were ordered by the governors of the college to be there whipped, which was performed by the President himself." This was the first punishment of the kind within the walls of old Harvard.
In those days fish were commonly made use of by farmers in the vi- cinity of rivers and fishing places, as manure for the corn, (a practice copied from the Indians), and from the following extraets, it would seem that " doggs " were not only very numerous, but troublesome. The Ips- wich records contain the following :
* Hubbard, 416: Winthrop, 167.
+ During the twenty years succeeding the first marriage, (that is from 1644 to 1664), there were thirty, seven marriages in town, viz :- 1 in 1644, 1 in 1645, 2 in 1646, 2 in 1647, 2 in 1648, 2 in 1650, 2 in 1652 1 in 1655, 2 in 1656, 1 in 1657, 2 in 1659, 1 in 1660, 3 in 1661, 5 in 1662, 10 in 1663.
It is probable the above includes also those inhabitants of the town who were married out of the town.
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HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
" May 11. It is ordered that all doggs for the space of three weeks after the publishing hereof, shall have one legg tyed up, and if such a dogg shall break loose, and be found doing any harm, the owner of the dogg shall pay damages; if a man refuse to tye up his dogg's legg, and hee be found scraping up fish in a corn field, the owner thereof shall pay twelve pence damages, beside whatever damage the dogg doth. But if any fish their house lotts and receive damage by doggs, the owners of those house lotts shall bear the damage themselves,"
The following is from the Exeter records :
" May 19, 1644. It is agreed that all dogs shall be clog'd and side- lined in ye day, and tied up in ye night, and if any dogs shall be found trespassing in the lots, they that shall find them shall showt them."
Wolves were also troublesome about this time, as we find in the records of Exeter, Hampton, and Newbury, large bounties were offered for every wolf killed.º
" The winter of 1644-5 was very mild, and no snow lay, so as ploughs might go most part of the winter, but on February sixteenth there fell so great a snow in several days as the ways were unpassable for three weeks, so as the court of assistants held not." }
Jan. 13, 1645, the town "Voted, That every inhabitant that will, may make upon the common for every acre of house-lott which he hath, one hundred of pipe-staves and no more ; provided he fall no timber for the same within two full miles of the houselots."
The penalty for a violation of the above vote was five shillings.
At the town meeting of March 14, 1645, it was voted, " that every in- habitant may keep for every acre that he hath to his house lott, either an horse beast, ox, or cow, wth a foale or calfe, wth a year old, a two year old, and a three year old, until they shall be of the age of three years and an halfe, upon the commons appointed by the greater part of the freemen and no more."
What was then called the commons, were such lands as were not granted to any individual.
So serious had the matter become, that in June, 1645, the General Court declared that: "Whereas, great losse and damage doth befal this commonwealth by reason of wolves, which doe destroy so great numbers of our catle, notwithstanding provision hathe formerly beene made by this court for suppressing of them, and wee find little hath binn donne yt way for ye better inconraging of any to sett abont a work of so great concernment, itt is therefore ordered, yt any person, either English or Indian, yt shall kill any wolf or wolves within tenne miles of any plantation in this jurisdiction, shall have for evry wolfe by him or them so killed, tenne shillings, to be paid out of the treasury of ye county."-Col. Rec. 3: 17.
t Winthrop 2:210.
60
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
There were in town this year, as near as can be ascertained, thirty-two landholders, viz: -
John Ward, Richard Littlehale,"
James Fiske,
Robert Clement,
William Butler,
Thomas Hale,
Job Clement,
John Ayer, sen.,
James Davis, sen.º
John Clement,
John Ayer, jun.,
James Davis, jun.,“
Joseph Merrie, Joseph Peasley,“
John Eaton,
Abraham Tylor,
William White,º
Bartholomew Heath,"
Hugh Sherratt,
John Robinson,“
Tristram Coffyn,
Henry Savage,
Henry Palmer,“ Daniel Ladd,
Christopher Hussey,“
Thomas Davis,9
Samuel Gile,º
Daniel Hendrick, “
George Corliss,
John Davis."
John Williams,“
Nathaniel Wier, “
Those names which have a " attached to them were from Newbury.
George Corliss came from England to Newbury about the year 1639, being at the time about twenty-two years of age. He is believed to be the first one of the name who came to this country, and the ancestor of most if not all of that name in New England. He married Joanna Davis, Oct. 26, 1645, by whom he had one son and seven daughters."
Corliss was an enterprising and industrious man, and well qualified to take a prominent part in the settlement of a new town. He settled in the West Parish, on the farm of the late Ephraim Corliss,-now owned by his son Charles, who is of the seventh generation from the original grantee,- and at his death was possessed of a large landed property. He owned most of the land on both sides of the old " Spicket Path," as it was then ealled, for a distance of more than three miles.
John Robinson was a blacksmith, and came with the first settlers in 1640. In 1657 he bought a house-lot in Exeter, and soon after removed to that place.
The plantation of Haverhill was this year incorporated into a town, being the twenty-third town settled in the colony,
The first church was gathered in the summer of this year ; it consisted of fourteen members, eight males and six females; and Mr. John Ward was ordained their pastor. Johnson, an early writer, says :- " The Town of Haverhill was built much about this time, lying higher up than Salis- bury upon the fair and large River of Merrimack : the people are wholly bent to improve their labor in tilling the earth and keeping of cattel,
" John, the son, married Mary Milford, Dec. 17, 1684, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. His son John was the father of thirteen children.
-
POPLAR LAWN, RESIDENCE OF CHARLES CORLISS. First Settled by George Corliss, in 16H).
61
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
whose yearly increase encourages them to spend their days in those remote parts. The constant penetrating further into this Wilderness hath caused the wild and uncouth woods to be filled with frequented wayes, and the large rivers to be overlaid with Bridges passeable both for horse and foot ; this Town is of a large extent, supposed to be ten miles in length, there being an overweaning desire in most men after Meadow land, which hath caused many towns to grasp more into their hands than they could after- ward possibly hold; the people are labourers in gaining the goods of this life, yet they are not unmindful also of the chiefend of their coming hither, namely, to be made partakers of the blessed Ordinances of Christ, that their souls might be refreshed by the continual income of his rich grace, to which end they gathered into a church-body and called to office the reverend Mr. Ward, son to the former named Mr. Ward, of Ipswich. With mind resolved run out thy race at length, Young Ward, begin, whereas thy father left, Left hath he not, but breaths for further strength, Nor thou, nor he, are yet of hope bereft ; Fruit of thy labours thou shal see so much, The righteous shall hear of it, and rejoyce When Babel falls by Christ's almighty touch, All's folks shall praise him with a cheerful voice. They prosper shall that Zion's building mend, Then Ward cease not with toyle the stones to lay. For great is he thee to this work assigned, Whose pleasure is, heavens Crown shall be thy pay."*
At this early day, the houses of the settlers were all on or near the present site of the village, while their meadow, and upland (or ploughing land) lots, were located in various parts of the town. Each man received a number of acres in the village for a " house lot." The size of this, as we have seen, was dependent on the amount of property he possessed. In addition to the house-lot, cach man received a portion of meadow, and planting land, the number of acres being regulated by the size of the house lot. The meadow and planting lands were often several miles dis- tant from the house lot. In course of time, as the country became more thickly settled, and the land cleared up, many of the settlers removed from the village to their planting land. A natural desire to have all their land as nearly in one body as possible, led to the frequent buying, selling and exchanging of lots, and in course of time, the lots, or farms, of the settlers, became more compact ; and, as their wealth increased, their num- ber of acres also increased.
" This church was the 26th gathered in the colony.
-
62
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL
As a specimen of the manner in which the land was first distributed, we copy the following from the records of the town :-
1659 "Daniel Ladd's® accommodations. Six acres of accommoda- ations: Four acres to his house lot ; more or lesst : Robert Clement's bounding on the east, and Henry Savage on the west. Five acres in the plain : William White on the east and John Williams on the north. Nine acres up the great river, Thomas Ayers on the east and George Browne on the west. Four acres of meadow in the east meadow, more or less ; Joseph Peasly on the south, and George Browne the north. One acre and a half of meadow in the pond meadow; James Davis sen on the south, and Robert Clement jun on the north. One acre of meadow at Hawkes meadow ; John Davis on the south, and Thomas Whittier on the north."
" Daniel Ladd's 2d division, containing 27 acres of upland, be it more or less ; with sixteen acres of ox-common and a half, bounded by George Corley and John Hutchins on the west; by a black oak, a white oak, a red oak, and a walnut on the south ; by a walnut and a white oak on the east, by two white oaks and an ash on the north. Three acres of meadow lying on Spicket River, bounded by Thomas Davis on the south, and Rob- ert Clements on the north : and one spot of meadow at Primrose swamp, and another spot at the east meadow, at the head of the meadow that was John Davis's adjoining to his own. For the land that was taken off Daniel Ladd's 3d division, we added a piece on the north side of the highway round the meadow that was Goodman Hale's bounded by the high- way and Merrie's Creek. Third division of meadow containing 3 acres, be it more or less, bounded by John Page on the south, a pine on the east, his own uplands on the west, and uplands on the north of the said meadow, lying in mistake meadow."
Daniel Ladd doubtless found farming quite a different thing from what most farmers of the present day find it. His house lot was in the village ; his planting ground in two places, -a part of it " in the plain " from one to two miles east of the village, and the other part " up the great river,'' at least as far, on the west of the village - while his meadow lands were in seven lots, and as many distinct meadows. East meadow was in the easterly part of the town, three miles from his home lot, while Spicket
" Daniel Ladd, m. Ann -. Children : Mary, b. Feb. 14 1646; Samuel, b. Nov. 1, 1649; Nath'l b. Mar. 10, 1652, d. (of wounds) Aug. 11, '91; Ezekiel, b. Sept. 16, 1654; Sarah, b. Nov. 4, 1657. He died July 27, '93. She died Feb. 10, '94.
t The "more or less " refers to the rule adopted by the town of making up in quantity what might be lacking in the quality of any lot.
63
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
meadow was at least eight miles in the opposite direction. Pond meadow was two miles northeast ; Hawkes' meadow some three miles west ; Prim- rose swamp two miles northwest; and mistake meadow somewhere in the westerly part of the town.
When we reflect that in those days "highways" were at best but prim- itive cart paths, through the woods, with stumps still standing, hills ungraded, and streams unbridged ; and that the land was new, rough, and worked only by great labor, we may have a faint idea of some of the hard- ships of our first settlers. Had they not been men of iron nerve, tireless muscle, and indomitable energy and perseverance, our now beautiful town, with its unsurpassed mosaic of cultivated fields, green hills, smiling lakes, its majestic river, and murmuring streams, would still be but a waste and howling wilderness, the home of wild beasts, and the hunting ground of the miserable aboriginee.
At a town meeting on the 13th of January, 1646, it was voted that the inhabitants should have liberty to make one hundred pipe staves, on the common, for every acre which his house-lot contained ; and "that they should fall no timber within two miles of any of the house lotts." If a person felled a tree within the prescribed limits, he was to pay five shil- lings, which was to be appropriated for the benefit of the town; or, if he felled any more than was required to make his proportion of staves, he was to pay the same sum.
It is pleasant to observe the great respect, and even veneration, in which our fathers held their minister, or as they more frequently called him, their Teacher. It not only speaks well for the Christian virtues of the man, but for the sturdy moral character of his people. An early manifes- tation of their regard for Mr. Ward is found in the following vote of October 29, 1646 : -
" Voted by all the freeholders then present at a lawful town meeting, that Mr Ward our Teacher's land shall be rate free for his ministry dur- ing his life, if he continue minister to the plantation, provided he use it himself, but if he sell, let, or set any of it to hire, it shall pay rates pro- portionable with our own : And that forty pounds p. an. shall be paid him by the remainder of the 300 acres" for his ministry,"
At this meeting the first seleetmen were chosen ; they were Thomas Hale, Henry Palmer, Thomas Davis, James Davis and William White.
In looking over the records of this early date, we find that Goodman was a common appellation among the men, excepting when they addressed
" That is, the three hundred acres previously laid out for house lots.
64
HISTORY OF HAVERHILL.
their minister, magistrate, or a militia officer above the grade of Lieuten- ant ; to such they applied the title of Mister. Goodwife, or Goody, were terms applied to women, excepting when addressing the wives of those above mentioned, whom they called Madam. Mrs. was placed before names of both married and unmarried women, when it was written, --- which was not so frequent as at present.
Hugh Sherratt was this year licensed by the General Court " to draw wyne by retaill at Haverhill, paying tenn shillings p ann rent therefore to ye"countrye.""
In order to avoid all cause of complaint on account of unequal rates of taxation in the several towns, the General Court, at the November session of this year (1646), adopted the following schedule of rates :-
"Cowes of four year ould and upward, 5£ ; heifers and steers betwixt 3 and 4 year old, 4£ ; heifers and steers betwixt 2 and 3 year ould, fifty shillings ; and between 1 and 2 year old 30s; oxen + year old and up- ward, 6£; horses and mares 4 year old and upward, 7£ ; 3 year ould 5€ ; betwixt 2 and 3 year ould, 3£ ; yearlins 2£ : sheope above a year ould, 20s ; asses above a year ould, 2€."
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