USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Brookline > Town records of Brookline, Massachusetts, 1858-1871, v. 2 > Part 27
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To choose the usual town officers for the ensuing year.
Voted, That the meeting proceed to elect by ballot the following town officers for the ensuing year, viz. : A Town Clerk, five Selectmen, who shall be Overseers of the Poor and Surveyors of Highways; three Assessors; a Town Treasurer, who shall also be Collector of Taxes; three members of the School Committee for three years, and one member of the School Committee for one year ; four Trustees of the Public Library for three years ; two Fence Viewers, and twelve Constables,-all to be voted for on one ticket.
Voted, That the polls be kept open until four o'clock for the reception of votes.
The polls were opened for the reception of votes, and were kept open until four o'clock, when they were declared closed, in pursuance of the foregoing vote.
The Moderator and Town Clerk then proceeded to sort and count the votes given in, and the whole number so given in was three hundred and sixteen, and the following persons having a large majority, and none of them less than one hun- dred and seventy-nine, were declared elected, viz. :
Town Clerk : B. F. Baker (sworn).
Selectmen, Overseers of Poor, Surveyors of Highways : James Bartlett (sworn), Thomas Parsons (sworn), William J. Griggs (sworn), Edward S. Philbrick (sworn), Horace James (sworn).
Assessors : Marshal Stearns, Thomas B. Hall, Austin W. Benton (sworn).
Treasurer and Collector: Moses Withington (sworn).
School Committee for three years: George Brooks (accepted), Rev. Francis Wharton, George P Wesselhæft (accepted).
School Committee for one year : John Ruggles.
Trustees of Public Library for three years: Thomas Parsons (ac- cepted), B. F. Baker (accepted), Charles U. Cotting (accepted), John C. Abbott.
Fence Viewers : Clark L. Haynes, William K. Melcher (sworn).
Constables : John Dustin, Jonathan P. Sanborn (sworn by Town Clerk), Eben Morse, F. Henry Corey, William J. Hyde, Eben W. Reed (sworn), Thomas S. Pettengill (sworn), William B. Chaplin, George F. Johnson (sworn by Town Clerk), John H. Grush (sworn), Willard Y. Gross (sworn), William Rooney.
346
Brookline Town Records.
In voting the check-list was used, and no person was allowed to deposit his ballot until his name was found and checked on the list.
The meeting then nominated and chose the following offi- cers, viz. :
Truant Officers : J. P. Sanborn, J. H. Grush, Eben W. Reed.
Surveyors of Lumber and Measurers of Wood and Bark : J. Anson Guild, James M. Seamans, Wm. D. Coolidge.
Field Drivers : Oliver Cousens, Freeland R. Dunn, E. Winthrop Green, Edward S. Perry (sworn), Charles A. Pons, Samuel Townsend, Jr., William P. Woodbury, Jr., Michael W. Quinlan, Sylvester S. Burleigh, Charles L. Perry, Thomas A. Weathern, Daniel Murray (sworn), Eben W. Reed (sworn).
Sealers of Leather : Samuel A. Robinson, Willard Warren.
Pound Keeper : Eben W. Reed (sworn).
Auditors : George E. Hersey, Edward G. Tileston, Robert S. Littell. Fire Wards : Thomas S. Pettengill, Henry M. Hall, Willard Y. Gross. Cemetery Committee : Thomas S. Pettengill.
Sealer of Weights and Measures : Alfred Kenrick, Jr.
Third Article taken up :
To hear and act upon the reports of town officers and committees.
Thomas Parsons, Esq., presented the following reports, which had been printed and distributed to the inhabitants of the town prior to the meeting, to wit: Treasurer's report of the receipts and expenditures of the town for the year ending February 1st, 1868 ; also, reports of the Selectmen, Trustees of the Public Library, the Board of School Committee, with a List of Taxes and the names of the tax-payers. ·
Voted, To accept and allow the foregoing reports, and that the same be placed on file.
The Selectmen, in their report, called the attention of the citizens of the town to the bequest of the late James Sullivan Warren, Esq., as follows, to wit :
Our late citizen, J. Sullivan Warren, Esq., left the town, in his will, the sum of one thousand dollars, under the following provisions, to wit : " I give and bequeath to the Town of Brookline the sum of one thousand dollars; the income is from time to time to be expended in planting trees along the highways of said town, and I authorize the disbursement of said income through the agency of any society for planting trees, if the town shall so decide." This sum, less the government tax, has been
347
Annual Meeting, March 23, 1868.
received into the treasury, and now awaits the action of our citizens, and we hope that this is not the only donation we shall receive from our liberal citizens for the various public improvements of the town.
Voted, That the thanks of the town be presented to the representatives of the late James Sullivan Warren, Esq.
Voted, That the Selectmen be a committee to plant trees along the highways of this town.
Fourth Article taken up :
To see if the town will accept the list of jurors as revised by the Selectmen and posted according to law.
Voted, To accept and allow the list of jurors prepared by the Selectmen, after erasing the name of George W. Carnes, at his own request.
List of Jurors for the Town of Brookline for the year 1868.
Adams, Daniel D.
Goldsmith, George W.
Allen, Samuel S.
Hall, William F.
Bacon, Josiah
James, Horace
Benton, Austin W.
Jones, Moses
Brett, Zenas F.
Kenrick, Alfred, Jr.
Brownell, William C.
Kirby, Charles K.
Bursley, Ira
Lincoln, William
Burdett, Horatio S.
Lyman, Theodore
Candler, John W.
Philbrick, Edward S.
Chace, Reuben A.
Putman, Joshua H.
Cobb, Albert A.
Quimby, Thomas C.
Coolidge, David S.
Rogers, John K.
Coolidge, William D.
Seaverns, Thomas
Corey, Timothy
Scudder, Charles W. .
Cousens, Oliver
Shedd, Abraham B.
Craft, George
Stearns, Charles H.
Dane, Edward S.
Stearns, William
Dane, John H.
Tileston, Edward G.
Dearborn, William
Townsend, John
Denney, Francis.P.
Warren, Willard
Dwight, Daniel A.
Wason, Elbridge
Eager, Moses B.
Weld, William G.
Fay, Harrison
Williams, Howard S.
Ferris, Mortimer. C.
Winsor, Alfred, Jr.
Fisher, Horace N.
Withington, Moses
Getchell, Isaiah S.
Withington, Otis
Attest :
B. F. BAKER, Town Clerk.
BROOKLINE, Mass., March 5th, 1868.
348
Brookline Town Records.
Fifth Article taken up :
To see if the town will purchase land lying between the town's land recently purchased and Washington street.
On motion of George F. Homer, Esq., it was-
Voted, That the Selectmen be instructed to purchase, for the uses of the town, the land of John Gibbs, upon Washing- ton street, amounting to about nineteen thousand square feet, and a part of land belonging to Collins and Chase, measuring about fifty feet, on Washington street, and that the sum of seven thousand dollars be appropriated for this purpose.
Voted, That said amount be raised by taxation the present year. ;
Voted, That the Trustees of the Public Library are hereby authorized to erect the library building upon any part of the land owned by the town between Washington, School, and Prospect streets.
Sixth Article taken up, and on motion-
Voted, To refer the Sixth Article to the Selectmen, to report thereon at the adjourned meeting.
Seventh Article taken up, and after some remarks thereon,
Voted, To refer the Seventh Article to the Selectmen, to report thereon at the adjourned meeting.
Eighth Article taken up :
To see if the town will raise and appropriate money to purchase a clock for the use of the town, to be placed in the tower of the Baptist meeting-house, on Harvard street.
Voted, That the Selectmen purchase a good tower-clock, and place it in the tower of the Baptist Church, on Harvard street.
Voted, That the sum of six hundred dollars be raised and appropriated for the purchase of said clock.
Ninth Article taken up :
To see if the town will have the bell rung at six instead of nine o'clock in the evening.
Voted, To not ring the bell at six o'clock.
349
Annual Meeting, March 23, 1868.
Tenth Article taken up, and on motion-
Voted, To refer the Tenth Article to the Selectmen, to report thereon at the adjourned meeting.
Eleventh Article taken up, and on motion-
Voted, To refer the Eleventh Article to the Selectmen, to report at the adjourned meeting.
On motion of Edward Atkinson, Esq., it was-
Voted, That the School Committee be authorized to spend such portion of the appropriation made for the support of schools as they see fit for the purpose of teaching sewing in the schools, as recommended in their report.
Twelfth Article taken up :
To raise and appropriate such sums of money as may be required to defray the expenses of the town for the ensuing year.
The meeting then voted to raise and appropriate the fol- lowing sums for the expenses of the town for the current year, to wit :
APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1868.
For support of schools
$25,000 00
support of poor
900 00
support of highways
9,000 00
improvements on Beacon street
1,500 00
sidewalks .
1,500 00
improvements on Washington and Walnut streets
1,700 00
sewer in village .
7,500 00
making Pond avenue
2,500 00
fire department
1,000 00
county tax
9,000 00
state tax
21,700 00
collecting taxes
1,000 00
abatement of taxes
1,500 00
discount on taxes
5,500 00
extinction of town debt
10,700 00
interest on town debt
4,800 00
repairs on town buildings
1,500 00 150 00
ringing bell
lighting town buildings and streets
4,000 00
town officers
3,500 00
cemetery
100 00
library
1,000 00
police
2,000 00
use of board of health
200 00
state aid
1,500 00
purchasing land and erecting district
a school-house, South
12,000 00
contingencies
3,500 00
purchasing land on Washington street
7,000 00
purchasing a town clock
600 00
.
350
Brookline Town Records.
Voted, That when this meeting adjourn it be to meet in this place in two weeks from Wednesday next, April the eighth, inst., at half-past seven of the clock in the evening.
Voted, That the Town Clerk give notice of said meeting by having printed notices of the same posted up.
Adjourned.
Attest :
B. F. BAKER, Town Clerk.
In pursuance of the laws of this Commonwealth, the Town Clerk forthwith made out his warrant and delivered it to Constable J. P. Sanborn, requiring him forthwith, within three days from the date of said warrant, to summon all officers chosen and not qualified for their several offices, to appear before the Town Clerk within three days and seven days from the date of said warrant, to be qualified for their several offices, to be sworn where an oath is required by law, or to signify their acceptance or refusal of the office to which they had been elected, where an oath is not required.
Attest : B. F. BAKER, Town Clerk.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
NORFOLK, SS. BROOKLINE, March 30th, 1868.
Personally appeared the following-named persons and were sworn at the time set against their names, or signified their acceptance or refusal of the office to which they had been chosen, viz. :
Assessors. Marshal Stearns, sworn March 26th, 1868. Thomas B. Hall, sworn March 26th, 1868.
Fence Viewer. Clark L. Haynes, sworn March 26th, 1868.
Constables.
1 Eben Morse, sworn March 28th, 1868. F. Henry Corey, sworn March 26th, 1868. John Dustin, sworn March 28th, 1868. William B. Chaplin, sworn March 26th, 1868. Wm. J. Hyde, declined March 27th, 1868.
Field Drivers. ( Samuel Townsend, Jr., sworn March 26th, 1868. [ Charles L. Perry, sworn March 26th, 1868.
351
Adjourned Annual Meeting, April 8, 1868.
Surveyor of Lumber. William D. Coolidge, sworn March 28th, 1868.
Jonathan P. Sanborn, sworn March 24th, 1868.
Truant Officers. { Eben W. Reed, sworn March 27th, 1868. John H. Grush, sworn March 27th, 1868.
Pound Keeper. Eben W. Reed, sworn March 27th, 1868.
School Committee § George P. Wesselhoeft, accepted March 26th, 1868. for three years. \ Rev. Francis Wharton, accepted April 4th, 1868.
School Committee for one year. John Ruggles, accepted March 26, 1868.
Trustee of Public Library § John C. Abbott,
for three years. accepted March 28th, 1868.
George E. Hersey, accepted April 4th, 1868.
· Auditors. { Edward G. Tileston, accepted March 28th, 1868. Robert S. Littell, accepted March 26th, 1868.
Henry M. Hall, accepted March 28th, 1868.
Fire Wards. Willard Y. Gross, accepted March 28th, 1868.
Attest : B. F. BAKER, Town Clerk.
ADJOURNED ANNUAL MEETING, APRIL 8, 1868.
Pursuant to adjournment, the citizens of the town of Brookline met at the Town Hall in said town, on Wednesday, the eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and were called to order at half- past seven o'clock in the evening, the Moderator, William I. Bowditch, in the chair.
The meeting then proceeded to fill the vacancies existing among the various town officers, occasioned by reason of the non-acceptance or non-qualification of those chosen at the last annual town meeting.
Voted, That the number of Constables for the ensuing year be ten instead of twelve as voted at the last meeting.
Voted, That the number of Field Drivers for the ensuing year be five, that number having qualified themselves for the duties of the office.
Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to appoint the various officers to fill existing vacancies.
The Selectmen then presented their reports on the several articles referred to them at the annual meeting, to wit :
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Brookline Town Records.
REPORT.
The Selectmen, to whom were referred various articles in the warrant calling the annual town meeting held March 23d, A.D. 1868, would respect- fully report on the same as follows, to wit :
Article Seventh. The Selectmen recommend the making of Clyde street as laid out by the County Commissioners, and that the sum of ($1,500) one thousand five hundred dollars be appropriated therefor.
Voted, To accept and allow said report.
Article Eighth. The Selectmen have contracted with the Howard Watch and Clock Company of Boston for one of their best tower clocks, the same to be placed in the tower of the Baptist Church on Harvard street, at the cost of the appropriation.
Voted, To accept the report on Eighth Article.
Article Tenth. The Selectmen recommend the purchase of a carriage and five hundred feet of hose, to be located near the junction of Wash- ington and Walnut streets, and that the sum of ($1,400) one thousand four hundred dollars be appropriated therefor.
Voted, To accept and allow said report.
Article Eleventh. The Selectmen would recommend the making of a reservoir at the junction of Washington and Cypress streets, and that the sum of ($1,200) one thousand two hundred dollars be appropriated therefor.
Voted, To accept and allow said report.
The Sixth Article was then taken up :
To see what action the town will take in relation to purchasing land for a cemetery.
The Selectmen offered the following report and votes, to wit :
REPORT.
The Selectmen would recommend to the town to purchase thirty acres more or less of the Babcock estate on Harvard street, at a cost of twelve hundred and fifty dollars an acre, and offer the following votes, viz. :
Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to purchase thirty acres more or less of the Babcock estate on Harvard street, at a cost not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty dollars an acre.
Voted, That the Town Treasurer is authorized to borrow, under the direction of the Selectmen, the sum of forty thousand dollars for the purchase of said land, giving the note or notes of the town therefor, countersigned by the Selectmen, in such sums and at such times as may be called for and directed by said Board of Selectmen.
353
Adjourned Annual Meeting, April 8, 1868.
After considering and discussing the subject fully, and doubts being expressed that the said estate, if purchased for a cemetery, could not be used or changed to other purposes, the vote that the Selectmen be authorized to purchase thirty acres more or less of the Babcock estate on Harvard street, at a cost not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty dollars per acre, was then put on its passage, when it was-
Voted, Not to purchase the land as recommended.
On motion of E. I. Thomas, it was-
Voted, That a committee of five be appointed by the chair to take into consideration the expediency of purchasing the estate recommended, and also other lots in other parts of the town if there are any suitable for gravel pits for the use of the town on the roads, and report thereon at a future meeting.
The Moderator appointed the five Selectmen to comprise said committee.
Voted, That the sum of one thousand dollars be appropri- ated to make Harvard street, as widened by the County Commissioners.
Voted, That a committee of ten be appointed by the chair to consider the subject of purchasing land for a cemetery, and to report to a meeting to be called to act thereon.
The Moderator appointed the following gentlemen to con- stitute said committee, to wit : Edward Atkinson, Gen. James S. Whitney, Alanson W. Beard, Edward I. Thomas, J. Elliot Cabot, James Bartlett, Thomas Parsons, William J. Griggs, Edward S. Philbrick, Horace James.
Voted, That a discount of five per cent be allowed to all taxes paid on or before the first day of October, provided that no discount be allowed on a fractional part of a dollar.
Voted, That the various appropriations made by the town, including those for the purpose of making and repairing highways and townways, be assessed, after deducting the amount in the treasury and the probable receipts for the ensuing year, amounting to the sum of dollars, upon the polls, and estates, real and personal, of the inhabitants, resident and non-resident, of the town, and col- lected as the town charges are usually charged and collected.
Adjourned.
Attest :
B. F. BAKER,
Town Clerk.
e e
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Brookline Town Records.
SPECIAL MEETING, MAY 5, 1868.
WARRANT.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
NORFOLK, SS.
To either of the Constables of the Town of Brookline, GREETING :
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby required to notify and warn the inhabitants of the town of Brookline, qualified to vote in elections, to meet at the Town Hall in said town, on Tuesday, the fifth day of May next, at half past seven o'clock in the evening, for the following purposes, to wit :
First. To choose a Moderator.
Second. To hear and act upon the report of the Selectmen in relation to purchasing land for gravel.
Third. To see if the town will accept and allow a new townway as laid out by the Selectmen on and over St. Paul and a part of Francis streets, so called.
Fourth. To see if the town will authorize the Selectmen to sell land belonging to the town.
Fifth. To raise and appropriate such sums of money as may be neces- sary for the foregoing purposes.
Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant to the Selectmen, with your doings thereon, four days at least before the day of said meeting.
Given under our hands and seals at Brookline aforesaid, this twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-eight.
JAMES BARTLETT, THOMAS PARSONS, WILLIAM J. GRIGGS, EDWARD S. PHILBRICK, HORACE JAMES,
Selectmen of the Town of Brookline.
355
Special Meeting, May 5, 1868.
NORFOLK, SS.
BROOKLINE, April 30th, 1868.
By virtue of the within warrant, I have notified and warned the legal voters of the town of Brookline to meet at the time and place and for the purposes within named, by leaving a printed copy of the same at their last and usual place of residence, four days at least before the day of said meeting.
J. H. GRUSH, Constable.
In pursuance of the foregoing warrant, the citizens of the town of Brookline met at the Town Hall in said town, on Tuesday, the fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, and were called to order by the Town Clerk, at a quarter to eight of the clock in the evening.
The Town Clerk then proceeded to read the warrant of the Selectmen calling said meeting and the return thereon of the officer who warned it, and called upon the meeting to proceed to elect a Moderator under the provisions of the First Article in said warrant.
Voted, To choose a Moderator by nomination.
The meeting then nominated and chose for Moderator William I. Bowditch, who took the chair.
Second Article taken up :
To hear and act upon the report of the Selectmen in relation to pur- chasing land for gravel.
The Selectmen reported, verbally, that they had investi- gated the subject since the adjourned meeting, in April last, had examined various lots, and had embodied the result in the form of the following votes, which they would offer to the meeting for their consideration.
The following votes were then presented by the Selectmen, which, after being fully discussed, were passed, to wit :
Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to purchase, on behalf of the town, about thirty acres of land, more or less, on the northerly side of the Babcock farm, so called, on the northeasterly side of Harvard street, at a price not exceeding thirteen hundred dollars per acre.
Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to sell such por- tion of said lands as they may think for the interests of the town, during the coming twelve months.
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Brookline Town Records.
Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to sell the stone school-house and the land belonging to the same, on Walnut street, when they think it for the advantage of the town so to do, with the advice and consent of the School Committee.
Third Article taken up :
To see if the town will accept and allow a new townway as laid out by the Selectmen on and over St. Paul and a part of Francis streets, so called.
The Selectmen presented the following report on the laying out of said way, to wit :
LAYING OUT ST. PAUL STREET AND A PART OF FRANCIS STREET AS TOWNWAYS.
The Selectmen of the town of Brookline, after giving legal notice to all persons, interests, and corporations, known to them, of their inten- -
tion to lay out as townways the private ways known as St. Paul street and Francis street, leading from Aspinwall avenue to Kent street, so called, did, in pursuance of said notice, meet at their office in the Town Hall, on Tuesday, the twenty-first day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, at five o'clock in the afternoon, and all parties and interests having been heard and examined in relation thereto, they proceeded to examine said route and lay out said ways as townways, to be known as St. Paul street and Francis street, as follows, describing said streets by their side lines, to wit :
Description of the westerly line of St. Paul street and the northly line of Francis street : Beginning on the northerly line of Aspin wall avenue at a stone bound opposite a point on the middle line of said avenue, measuring 68.24 feet towards Harvard street from a stone bound making the first angle of said avenue; thence running 121.79 feet on a line diverging to the left 4º 26' 46" from the line of said Aspinwall avenue; thence turning to the right 4º 40' 37" and running 165.94 feet to a triangular point; thence turning to the left by a curve of 165 feet radius and running 94.05 feet to a tangent point; thence on a tangent line 657.15 feet to a point in line with the northerly side of Francis street; thence turning to the right 81º 56' 46" and running 706.97 to a point in line with the westerly side of Toxteth street, as more particu- larly shown on a plan made by J. Herbert Shedd, and filed in the Town Clerk's office April 24th, 1868.
The easterly line of St. Paul street and southerly line of Francis street are to be forty feet from and parallel to the above-described lines, except at the junction of the two streets, where the lines are to be joined by a curve of forty feet radius.
The location of said way is in accordance with a plan and profile of the same as made by J. Herbert Shedd, civil engineer, and dated April 24, A. D. 1868, and filed in the office of the Town Clerk and accepted and allowed by the Selectmen on the same day.
357
Special Meeting, May 5, 1868.
In consideration of the benefits to the abutters on said ways, the Selectmen have made no awards for damages. There being no fences, trees or walls to be moved from said ways, the same are to be entered upon by the town at once.
And said ways so laid out, located, and described, are hereby reported to the town for their acceptance, and when so accepted and allowed and recorded, are forever to be known as public townways by the names of St. Paul street and Francis street.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES BARTLETT, THOMAS PARSONS, WILLIAM J. GRIGGS, EDWARD S. PHILBRICK,
BROOKLINE, Mass., May 5th, 1868. Selectmen of the Town of Brookline.
Voted, To accept and allow the foregoing report of the Selectmen on St. Paul and Francis streets.
Fourth Article taken up :
To see if the town will authorize the Selectmen to sell land belonging to the town.
Voted, That the Selectmen be authorized to sell the stone school-house and land belonging to the same on Walnut street when they think it for the advantage of the town so to do with the advice and consent of the School Committee.
Voted, That the Selectmen have full power to arrange with those who subscribed for the purchase of the lot of land on the corner of Cypress street and Cypress place, and to sell the same ; and that the money received from the sale of said lot be appropriated to grade the land in the vicinity of the school-houses and Library on Prospect street and Wash- ington street.
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