USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Volume of records relating to the early history of Boston : containing minutes of the Selectmen's meetings, from 1811 to 1817 and part of 1818 > Part 15
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I have the honor to be with respect Your Obt. Servt.
BARNEY SMITH Executor to the last Will & Testament of Abiel Smith late of Boston deceased.
Extract
I bequeath to the Selectmen of [34 7.] the Town of Boston for the time being and to their successors in that office, all my thirty shares in the Newbury port Turnpike, all my twenty shares in the second Turnpike road in New Hampshire, my Seventeen & half shares in the Kennebeck Bridge, my five shares in the bridge across from Tiverton to Rhode Island, my five shares in the Springfield Bridge, my share in the Boston Theatre, my share in the Bathing house in Boston with four thousand dollars in the three per Cent funded Stock of the United States; in trust for the purposes following & no other, to wit, that they shall collect & receive the net income thereon and appropriate & apply the whole income to the maintenance & support of a school or schools under their direction for the instruction of people of color mean- ing Africans & their descendants, either clear or mixed, in reading writing and arithmetic in such place, places & manner as said Selectmen shall deem best & if said Selectmen shall & do accept this donation within one year from the time of my decease for said purpose, I then order my executor to transfer to them all my title to said property for the purposes aforesaid."
[348.] This letter and the extract from the will having been considered. Voted that the Chairman be desired to express to Barney Smith Esq. the high sense which the Selectmen entertain of the benevolent intentions of his late brother Abiel Smith Esq. toward an unfortunate & neglected portion of the human species, and of his liberal bequest to carry those intentions into effect ; and that he nform him that they will accept the trust committed to them, with an assurance that no exertions shall be wanting on their part to promote the liberal views of the testator.
The following letter was received from Mr. Jonathan P. Hall in behalf of the proprietor of the building at the north east corner of Elm & Union streets.
Boston 17 Jany 1816-
Mr. Bulfinch
Sir
The proprietors of the estate making the corner of Union st & Elm street understanding that the Town wishes a
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SELECTMEN'S MINUTES, 1816.
part of that estate to widen Elm street are willing to abide the decision of five of the under mentioned gentlemen as to the worth of what the Town should take of said estate .- very respectfully in behalf of the Proprietors .- JONA. P. HALL.
[349.] Thomas Dennie Wm Sullivan
Benjamin Whitwell
George Hallett
Samuel Snelling James White Wm Mackay Eph™ Eliot
Asher Benjamin
Peter C. Brooks David Greenough John Heard
The subject having been considered it was voted. That in the opinion of the Selectmen, the safety & convenience of the inhabi- tants require that the easterly side of Elm street should be widened, as follows, beginning at the easterly corner of the brick house on the north side of said street now or lately belonging to Mrs Marian, and proceeding in a straight line to a point on Union street seven feet from the present sº easterly corner of the old building now occupied by Mess's Hall & Weld; and that all the land lying southerly of said line should be added to the street,- whenever the building shall be taken down .-
Voted. That the Board will select five referees from the list of names offered by Mr J. P. Hall & that the following gentle- men William Sullivan, P. C. Brooks, Thomas Dennie, Sam1. Snelling and Asher Benjamin be requested to examine the prem- ises, and to consider what sum should [350.] be paid by the Town for damages sustained by the proprietors of said estate, by the proceedings of the board in taking a portion of their land for the improvement of the street.
Messrs. Nathaniel Bradlee & Noah Dogget were chosen meas- urers of wood coming by water into this Town .-
Mr. John Perkins having been an Auctioneer for many years & having lately been' absent on a voyage to Europe applied for a renewal of his license-which was granted.
Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen Jany 31. 1816. Present Messrs. Bulfinch, Oliver, Hunnewell, Foster, Weld, Lovering, Austin & Williams.
Passed the Monthly Accounts.
Agreed to the proposal of Mr. David Greenough, to exchange the lot of land on which the wooden school house stands in West street, for land immediately north of the new Medical College in Mason street-he contracting to build a two story brick school house thereon on or before the 15th August next .- The Chair-
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CITY DOCUMENT No. 60.
man was desired to employ Mr. Thacher to examine the title of the land offered & to prepare deeds &c .-
[351.] Complaint having been made of an error in measur- ing wood from the country-it was Voted, that the several measurers be informed that the board expect that in future their tickets shall express the contents of each load written in words at full length, & that the deficiency of the quantity expressed in any ticket found in any load which shall not appear to arise from the fradulent manner of piling the wood in the cart, shall be made good to the purchaser by the measurer.
In conformity to a precept received from [the] Hon. Judge of Probate for [the] County of Suffolk, inquisition was made into the circumstances of John Haskins-& return was signed that he was a person non compos mentis & recommending that a guardian be appointed for him .-
[352.] Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen February
14th. 1816. Present Mess's. Bulfinch, Oliver, Weld, Foster, Lovering & Austin.
Grand Jurors and traverse jurors were drawn for Supreme Judicial Court.
Messrs. John Bellows and David Greenough, directors of the new Cornhill Corporation, presented a plan exhibiting the lands & buildings purchased by them, and the direction in which they proposed to form a new street to connect Court street with Market square-They stated their wish that the board would lay out the street, according to the powers vested in them by law .- the gentlemen having retired, it was agreed to call a special meeting on Monday next and that every member of the board be requested to attend .-
[353.] Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen February 19th. 1816. Present Mr. Bulfinch & all the other members of the Board .- .
The plan of the new Cornhill street was examined, and it was voted, unanimously that the street to be made in the direction proposed by the Corporation was highly necessary and would be a great convenience to the inhabitants, a large Committee from the Corporation now attended and a general conversation ensued upon the best mode of proceeding to lay out said street-it was agreed that the communication from the Corporation should be reduced to writing & Wednesday next was assigned for acting definitively on the subject .-
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SELECTMEN'S MINUTES, 1816.
The gentlemen having withdrawn-The Board voted to approve of Mr. Jacob Peabody, as an Auctioneer, having been well reeom- mended, and long acquainted with this business, having taken his residence in this town .-
Some conversation ensued on the subject of adjusting and com- promising with Mr. Boylston, the claims of the Town on him -- but no measures were taken thereon .-
[354.] Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen February 21st. 1816 .- Present the Whole Board (except Mr. Hunnewell) .-
The following letter was received from the Directors of the new Cornhill Corporation.
Boston February 19th. 1816.
To the Selectmen
of the Town of Boston
Gentlemen
We beg leave to represent to your respectable Board that the new Cornhill Corporation have purchased a number of estates situate between Cornhill & Court street, with a view to lay out a new & spacious street from one to the other, which will open a communication direct from the market to Court street. They are now the proprietors of all the land necessary to complete this enterprise except one estate situate on Cornhill and Dorsets Alley owned by Samuel Norton, Thomas Jackson, Samuel Bel- knap and others-which also they are desirous of purchasing at a fair price and applying to this object-The street which they propose to give to the Town has cost them upwards of sixty thousand dollars and as the public utility of the place is manifest & indisputable, they request the aid of your Board [355.] in exercising their legal power in laying out said street, according to a plan herewith submitted subject to such alterations & regula- tions as may be mutually agreed upon, they therefore most respectfully suggest the propriety of notifying the owners of the aforesaid estate to appear before you at an early day to shew cause if any they have against immediate proceedings to complete this great improvement upon receiving a fair equivalent for such part of their estate as may be taken for this object .- We beg leave to suggest that the wooden building which projects into Court street opposite to Tremont street forms a most unsightly & inconvenient nuisance which will be still more con- spicuous and inconvenient to the public when the new street shall have been completed ; though they mean not to make the removal of this at the expense of the Town a condition of their proposal, yet they rely with confidence upon the good disposition of the Board in favour of this great public project, that they will not permit the benefit of it to be diminished by the continuance of that building in so unsuitable a place-we shall be ready to attend
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CITY DOCUMENT NO. 60.
the board to confer with them or receive their [356.] communi- cations whenever they may think proper, & have the honor to be very respectfully
JOHN BELLOWS Directors of '
DAVID GREENOUGH the new Cornhill
EBEN FRANCIS Corporation.
This letter was also accompanied by a statement of the expendi- tures which the Corporation had already made in purchasing lands & buildings -also of the names of the persons, proprietors of the estate which is necessary to be obtained to form the street also propositions for purchasing said estate, which the corpora- tion would be willing to accede to-
These papers having been read and considered .-
Voted. That Whereas the Selectmen, expressed their unani- mous opinion on the 19th instant, that the street proposed to be made from Court street to Market Square, would be a great public convenience, we now determine that we will lay out said street as soon as convenient, in conformity to the powers committed by law to this board : on the following conditions.
That the Directors of the new Cornhill Corporation shall execute a sufficient bond to the Selectmen, that they will indemnify the Town from all expence in laying out, forming and opening said street .-
[357.] That a good & sufficient common sewer be laid through the whole length of said street before any of the lots thereon are offered for sale-and that all vaults, which may hap- pen to come within the limits of the street shall be emptied of their contents, & such vaults and the cellars shall be filled imme- diately with solid materials .-
Voted. That the following draft of a letter is approved of & that the Chairman be desired to send a copy thereof signed by him to each proprietor of the estate known by the name of Belknap's & Jackson's.
Sir
Boston Feb. 22ª. 1816.
The new Cornhill Corporation having been empowered by the Legislature to purchase & hold the land lying between Cornhill & Hanover street for the purpose of forming a new street, to lead from Court street to Market Square; the Selectmen, upon appli- cation from said Corporation, have determined to lay out said street in the situation most conducive to the convenience of the inhabitants of the Town. They find that the lines of said street
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SELECTMEN'S MINUTES, 1816.
will include certain lands and buildings [358.] belonging to you and a number of other persons in common, which principally owing to the number of the proprietors, the Corporation have not been able to purchase-I am therefore directed by the Selectmen to request and invite you to meet them, at their room in Faneuil Hall on Wednesday the 28th. instant 4 o'clock P.M. in person or by your agent or attorney to consider which of the modes pointed out by law you will adopt, either of private agreement, award of referees or decision of a jury to ascertain the damage which you may sustain by your property being thus taken for public use
in behalf of the Selectmen
Your Obt. Ser CHARLES BULFINCH Chairman
Voted, That it would add to the beauty of this improvement, and promote the convenience of the public, & also benefit the proprietors on the new street, to continue the same through a building, the property of the heirs of Wm. Scollay to Tremont street :- the Selectmen hereby agree to pay towards purchasing and removing said building, and adding the land under the same to the public streets, the one half of the expence of purchasing said building-provided that the whole amount of such purchase shall not exceed six thousand dollars.
[359.] Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen Feb. 26. 1816. Present the Whole Board (except Mr. Hartt. )
Passed the Quarterly Accounts.
Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Copeland, Deputy Collectors of taxes, having repeatedly made application for compensation above what had been paid them by the Treasurer & Collector .- The accounts of what they had received & what was due to them for collecting arrears of back taxes were examined ; and it was Voted that the board would allow to each of them six hundred dollars per annum for the years 1813 & 1814-which years it is meant to be under- stood to close in June 1815-they to account for all that they have hitherto received .- The account is on file .-
Warrant was signed for March meeting, for choice of Town officers &c .-
Mr. Eliot to print notifications .-
Rev. Mr. Frothingham to be requested to open the meeting with Prayer .-
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CITY DOCUMENT NO. 60.
[360.] Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen February 28th. 1816-Present the Whole Board .-
5 Jurors drawn for District Court of U. S.
On the application of Mr. H. N. Rogers, in behalf of the gentlemen associated at Merchants hall, liberty was granted for them to make use of the lanthorn of the old State house as an observatory, to look out for ships entering the harbour, Mr. Rogers to have the charge of the key, and to be accountable for any damage.
This time having been assigned to meet the proprietors of an estate in Cornhill and Dorsets Alley, which lies within the limits of the contemplated new street .- four of the proprietors appeared and a general conversation ensued on the subject .- They made an offer of said estates for the sum of thirty thousand dollars, but the board could not agree to this offer :- and presented them with a list of twenty names of respectable inhabitants, from which to select five as referees .- It was then agreed to adjourn to Friday next P.M. when the proprietors agreed they would select five persons from the list now offered, or would present another list of twelve from which [361.] the board should select five .-
M' Foster was desired to call on Mrs. Scollay, and inform her that the board contemplated laying out the new street over land on which the wooden building now stands in Tremont street,-to endeavour to ascertain from her at what price said land & build- ing ean be obtained-or whether she would prefer to leave the consideration of its value to referees .-
Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen March 1st. 1816- Present Messrs. Bulfinch, Hunnewell, Weld, Lovering, Austin, Williams & Hartt.
The proprietors of the Belknap estate in Cornhill, so called, appeared, agreeably to assignment from the last meeting, and pre- sented a list of twelve persons from which the referees on their estate might be selected. The Selectmen then agreed upon the following persons, taken from the list given in by the proprie- tors-Mess Samuel H. Walley, Redford Webster, John Carnes, William Todd & Ebenezer Breed .- it was then agreed that the Chairman should prepare the arbitration bonds, & that tomorrow 11. o'clock. the parties would meet to execute them .-
[362.] The proprietors of this estate having withdrawn The Chairman presented a draft of a bond of indemnification, from the new Cornhill Corporation .- which being considered, Voted, that the corporation give a bond to indemnify the Town for all
.
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SELECTMEN'S MINUTES, 1816.
proceedings of the board in opening the street, between Court street & Cornhill-in the sum of fifty thousand dollars .- & that John Bellows, David Greenough & Ebenezer Francis Esqrs give another bond in their private capacity, in the sum of twelve thousand dollars to indemnify against all proceedings on the estate of Scollay, except such part of the expence thereof as the board may determine to defray in behalf of the Town.
Voted, That the Chairman consult P. O. Thacher Esq respect- ing the framing these bonds, & whether it is not necessary that a vote of the Corporation be taken to empower their directors to enter into such engagements .-
Voted, That the members of the board who may attend the meeting to morrow, be a Committee to sign the arbitration bond in behalf of the Town .-
[363.] Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen March 2ª. 1816-Present Messrs. Bulfinch, Hunnewell, Weld, Lovering & Hartt .-
The arbitration bonds were signed, as agreed at the meeting of yesterday by Messrs. Bulfinch, Weld, Lovering & Hartt on the part of the Town, and by Mr. Norton of Hingham, & Messrs. Thomas Jackson, J. Belknap & Joseph Tilden of Boston for their proportions of the estates to be taken by appraisement : these gentlemen undertook to present the papers to the other proprietors for their signature.
It was agreed to request the referees to meet on Tuesday next & if convenient to them, that the parties be heard before them on Wednesday afternoon by counsel if either party should prefer it. -
Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen March 5th. 1816 .- Present The whole Board .-
The Chairman presented two Bonds to indemnify the Town from expence, occasioned by the proceedings of the Selectmen in laying out the new proposed street .- these bonds had been exam- ined by William Sullivan Esq, and approved by him and being conformable to the [364.] former votes of the board were now accepted .-
Voted, to agree to lay out the proposed new street from Cornhill to Tremont street, in the most convenient direction to unite those streets, and that in addition to the vote of the 21st February last we will pay one half the expence of obtaining the land & building, the property of the heirs of William Scollay over which said street will pass .-
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CITY DOCUMENT NO. 60.
Voted. That the proposed street be laid out and described as follows .-
Beginning on Tremont street at the southeasterly corner of a brick building, the property of the heirs of William Scollay, then to run northerly with the wall of said brick building and across Court street to a point distant easterly seventy feet from the south westerly corner of Brighams house; said house fronting on Court street and Belknaps Alley, so called, from this point to run northerly about one hundred and eighty feet through land of the new Cornhill Corporation, lately purchased from the Union Bank, there making an angle & turning more easterly on a straight line over land of said Corporation purchased from Whitcomb, Claflin, and Tuekerman, to or near the southeasterly corner of the build- ing at the corner of Brattle Alley so called, on Cornhill now belonging to Edward Tuckerman Junr. then [365.] turning and measuring for the width of said street forty eight feet leading into Cornhill-then turning and running southerly over land of said Corporation to a point opposite the angle formerly described, then turning on a similar angle and running over land of said Corporation to Court street and being forty eight feet wide in every part ; thence across Court street along the easterly end of land of the heirs of William Scollay to Tremont Street. The said street to be called and known by the name of Cheapside.
A Committee consisting of Mr. Oliver, Hunnewell & Weld was desired to wait on Mrs. Scollay & inform her that the board had laid out the street over her land and to confer with her on the subject of the mode which she would prefer to ascertain the com- pensation which she should receive.
A Communication was received from Messrs. Barnard & others, referees relating to land taken from Mr. Cotting to widen Battery march street : by which it appeared that they had awarded him five hundred dollars in full of all demands .- Ordered that the Town Clerk make a draft on the Town Treasurer for that amount in favor of Mr. Cotting .-
[366.] The following was omitted at its date May 18th 1815 .-
The Chairman reported that Mr. Sullivan had agreed to their proposal for purchasing the land by [the] Court house .- A deed was prepared by him to be signed by the board.
By this deed it was conditioned that the building shall conform in appearance, as much as possible to the buildings opposite belonging to Mr. Lowell, that the centre shall be three stories, but the wings both of Mr. Sullivans buildings and the Engine house shall never exceed one story in height.
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SELECTMEN'S MINUTES, 1816.
It was agreed to take a note of hand in payment, signed by William Sullivan & indorsed by John L & Richard Sullivan pay- able on demand with interest .-
I Certify that the foregoing is a true Record of the Proceedings of the Selectmen of the Town of Boston from the 2ª. day of January A.D. 1811 .- to the 5th. day of March 1816-both days included
THO' CLARK, Town Clerk.
END OF BOOK TWENTY.
SELECTMEN'S MINUTES.
BOOK TWENTY-FIRST.
1816.
[1.] Mr. Abraham Touro applied to the Town Clerk & requested that his religious profession might be recorded on the Town's books-& that he belonged to a Synagogue of the Jews.
[2.] Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen March 13th. 1816-Present Messrs. Bulfinch, Hunnewell, Lovering, Austin, Bray & Phillips.
32 Jurors were drawn to serve at the Boston Court of Common Pleas .-
This being the first meeting of the Board since the Town meet- ing for choice of Town officers-
Votes were taken for choice of Chairman, when it appeared that Charles Bulfinch Esq. was unanimously chosen .-
Voted, That the Chairman, Mr. Hunnewell & Mr. Lovering be a Committee to draw up rules & orders for the future regulation of the Board .-
Attested copies of votes were read from the Roxbury Canal Corporation, requesting that a committee might be appointed to settle with them the bounds of the land of the Town and said Corporation .- Voted-That this communication be handed to the committee of the Trustees of Neck land, who have this subject under consideration .-
[3.] The Chairman was desired to have the lists of wards posted conformably to law, and the usual advertisement in the papers on Monday next, & that each Assistant Assessor be fur- nished with a list of his ward, & be requested to take measures to make it correct .-
A memorial was presented signed by D. Townsend Esq. and others, stating the danger to which their property is exposed, by the twine factory in Boylston street : and requesting that measures
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CITY DOCUMENT NO. 60.
may be taken to prevent the use of lights in the same and the erection of [a] wooden hemp house .- this was committed to Messrs. Hunnewell, Lovering & Austin to communicate with the Fire Wards & report.
Boston ss. At a Meeting of the Selectmen March 20th. 1816. Present Messrs. Bulfinch, Oliver, Hunnewell, Lovering, Austin, Williams & Bray .-
Warrant was signed for Town Meeting for choice of Gover- nour & Senators .-
Mr. Lovering was desired to call on Rev. Mr. Sharpe, to request him to open the meeting with prayer.
[4.] Mr. Eliot to print the notifications .-
The committee chosen at the last meeting to prepare rules & orders for the future regulation of the board, reported, which having been read & amended, were adopted as follows .-
Rules and orders for the Board of Selectmen.
A Chairman shall be chosen annually by written votes, who shall preside at the meetings of the board : the senior member present shall preside in the absence of the Chairman .-
Members shall take their seats alternately, on the right and left of the Chairman : new members chosen by the Town at the same time, to take places in the alphabetical order of their names.
The time of meeting shall be half past three P. M. from March to October, and three o'clock from October to March ; and punc- tual observance of these hours is requested .-
Five members shall be necessary to form a board .-
The majority of votes of members present shall be considered as the act of the Board ; but any member may enter his dissent to any measure on the records : and no vote shall be reconsidered by a less number than were present when the same was passed .-
[5.] All appointments to office, made by the board, in con- formity to the laws of the State, or to the bye laws of the Town, shall be made by written votes, and at a time assigned for that purpose .-
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