History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875, Part 10

Author: Williamson, Joseph, 1828-1902; Johnson, Alfred, b. 1871; Williamson, William Cross, 1831-1903
Publication date: 1877
Publisher: Portland : Loring, Short and Harmon
Number of Pages: 1018


USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 10


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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Polly, " April 1, 1797, died April 4, 1800.


Peggy,


"


Dec. 20, 1798.


Jonathan, " Sept. 3, 1801.


Robert, " April 2, 1804, died April 7, 1804.


Joseph Gregg was from Londonderry, and was probably a son of Captain James Gregg, one of the original settlers there in 1719. He drew lot No. 49, in the First Division, which he conveyed to Samuel Ayers, Dec. 6, 1774, for £57. He never resided here.


David Hemphill, of Newburyport, drew lot No. 47. He is not known to have ever been here.


Samuel Houston, whose father of the same name was an original proprietor of Londonderry, drew lots Nos. 6 and 13, upon the latter of which he settled in 1771, living at first in a log hut. He resided here until his death, which occurred Feb. 8, 1819, aged ninety-three, excepting during two years of the Revolution, when the town was nnoccupied. His house and barn were burned by the British during his absence. He was the second town clerk, a member of


1 Parker's History of Londonderry, 273.


97


PROPRIETARY HISTORY.


the first Committee of Safety, elected in 1776, and the captain of the first militia company organized here. Ile married (1) Isabel Dickey, of Londonderry, and (2) Esther Rogers, daughter of Major Robert Rogers, an officer in the French war. The children by his first wife were : -


1. Samuel, Jr., born in Londonderry, in 1753. He enlisted in the Revolutionary army, the week after the Battle of Bunker Hill, and was a member of Washington's Life Guard. A full account of his military services is given in another chapter. After peace was declared, he returned here. He died Jan. 9, 1835, aged eighty-one. He married Sarah Boyce, who died March 18, 1839, aged seventy-eight.


2. Isabel, who died young.


Children by his second wife. She died Nov. 8, 1794.


3. James, born 1760, died in the army.


4. David, born 1762, drowned, April 21, 1777.


5. Jane, born in Bristol, 1764. She married and died there.


6. Robert, born Dec. 20, 1766, died May 3, 1824, aged fifty-nine. He was a well-known land surveyor. He married Hannah, daughter of John Mitchell. She died September, 1824, aged sixty-one.


7. John, born 1768, married 1810 Miss Susanna M. Fletcher. He died without children.


8. William, born 1770.


9. Thomas, born 1772, married 1804 Miss Elizabeth Fletcher, of Prospect. He died Sept. 25, 1841, aged seventy. His second wife, Sarah, survived him until Dec. 8, 1856, when she died, aged eighty-eight.


10. Martha, born 1772, married Benjamin Nesmith, in 1796.


11. Joseph, born April 25, 1775, died April 18, 1857, aged eighty-two. He married Hannah Brown, who died Nov. 18, 1834, aged fifty-nine.


Children of Samuel, Jr., and Sarah Houston.


1. Martha, born June 3, 1788, died unmarried.


2. Robert, born Oct. 9, 1789, went to Canada, where he died.


3. Samuel, born Sept. 21, 1791.


4. James, born Dec. 10, 1793. Master of a vessel. He died in New York.


5. Sally, born Oct. 23, 1796, married Zenas Thissell, of Corinth, where she died.


7


1


98


HISTORY OF BELFAST.


6. Jenny, born Sept. 17, 1798, married Benjamin Houston, of Searsport.


7. Alexander, born Aug. 22, 1799, died in Searsport.


8. William, born Ang. 19, 1801.


9. Caroline, married John Blanchard, and lives at East Corinth.


Alexander Little, described as of Boston, never resided here. He drew lot No. 36, on which a portion of the business part of the city is built. A vote of the town, April 30, 1778, instructs the selectmen to write to him at Boston about taxes. Soon after the Revolution, he conveyed the lot to Benjamin and Edwin Stetson, of Scituate, Mass., for $1,400. After a few months, they became dissatisfied, and in 1796 sold to John Durham.


Samuel Marsh, the original proprietor of lot No. 40, was a non- resident. He was probably a son of Ephraim Marsh, an early settler of Londonderry. He drew lot No. 40, which he afterwards conveyed to James Dunlap. The latter conveyed it to Owen Callahan, June 23, 1794, for £130. Callahan conveyed to Robert White.


Nathaniel Martin, who drew lot No. 48, was from London- derry. It does not appear that he paid for his share, or to whom it succeeded.


James Mc Gregore, the original owner of lots Nos. 5 and 22, and James McGregore, Jr., his son, who drew No. 18, were descendants of Rev. James McGregore, the first minister of Londonderry. They were among the number who declined settling here, by reason of an alleged insufficiency in the bond. Who were their immediate grantees is unknown. In 1801, Elizabeth McGregore conveyed to John Hunter, for £90, " one-fourth of one right, and four-sevenths of four rights, which were willed to me by my uncle James McGregore."


James McLaughlin drew lot No. 46, with Mathew Chambers. He belonged in Pembroke, N. H., and did not reside here. They sold to Benjamin Nesmith, who died in 1800, and left the lot by will to Thomas Nesmith, his youngest son.


William McLaughlin, of Londonderry, came here in 1770, with the first settlers, and occupied lot No. 3, which he had drawn. He


99


PROPRIETARY HISTORY.


was chosen town warden in 1777. He died here March 27, 1797, aged ninety.


Robert McIlvain was from Windham. He probably disposed of his interest soon after the deed was given, as no mention of his name occurs in the subsequent records of the proprietary.


James Miller, of Londonderry, was among the settlers who arrived in May, 1770. He drew lot No. 38, on which he built the honse afterwards owned by the Rev. William Frothingham. Lot No. 37 was voted to him as " a qualification of his home lot," and for his share in the second division.


Alexander Miller, his father, emigrated from Belfast, Ireland, where the son was born, in 1712. Alexander settled in Saco or Kennebunk. He was lost at sea in 1740, on his passage from Falmouth to Boston. The family then removed to London- derry.1


James Miller died here Jan. 11, 1794, aged eighty-two years. He was twice married. By his second wife, who was Mary, daughter of Randall Alexander, of Londonderry, and who died here Oct. 25, 1798, aged seventy-seven years, he had five chil- dren, viz. :-


1. James (2d), born 1757, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Nesmith. In 1824, he removed to Pine Township, now Perrysville, Pa., where he died in 1839, aged eighty-two years. His wife survived him until 1842.


Their children were :


James (3d), born Jan. 3, 1796.


Jonathan Nesmith, born July 11, 1798.


Elizabeth, born May 18, 1800, married - Rees.


Benjamin, born April 27, 1802.


Mary Larman, born July 11, 1804. She married Captain Benjamin Crooks, son of Dr. William Crooks, formerly a physician here, and now resides, a widow, at Gallipolis, Ohio.


David Houston, born Nov. 18, 1807.


Thomas Nesmith.


2. David, married Mary Boyes. He lived in Northport, on the Griffin farm, so called, where he died Aug. 11, 1843, aged eighty-four. His wife died June 21, 1827, aged seventy-one.


J Hist. and Gen. Record of First Settlers of Colchester Co., Nova Scotia, 16.


100


HISTORY OF BELFAST.


Their children were : ---


Samuel B., who died unmarried, May 27, 1842, aged fifty-one.


James (4th), who married Sophia, daughter of Joseph Miller, of Belfast, where he resided and died July 6, 1872, aged eighty- four, without children. His wife died May 1, 1861.


Mary, who died unmarried, March 25, 1834, aged forty-eight.


Jane, who married James McGregor in 1816, and died in June, 1829.


Margaret, born April 22, 1795, married John Hodgdon. She died May 12, 1860.


Hannah, born 1797, married James Nutt, of Manchester, N. H. She died in Belfast, Sept. 7, 1867, aged seventy.


Sarah, born 1799, married Robert Miller Griffin, of Northport, where she died Nov. 5, 1846, aged forty-seven.


3. Robert, born in 1761, was never married. He built the house at the corner of Miller and Higli Streets, where he died May 23, 1827, aged sixty-six.


4. Hannah, born March 21, 1763, married William Griffin, of Prospect, and had a large family. They removed to Copley, Ohio, where she died May 2, 1816.


5. Jennet, or Jenny, born in 1767, married Captain John Lymburner, of Belfast. She died Aug. 3, 1825, aged fifty-eight, leaving two children, viz. : -


Robert, born March 6, 1801, who died June 18, 1873, aged seventy-two.


Jennet, born March 29, 1799, who married Samuel Locke, and died Aug. 12, 1869, aged seventy.


John mitchell John Mitchell, of whom an account is given in another chapter, drew lots Nos. 1, 12, 21, 27, 35, and 51. The latter he exchanged for a "pitched lot," near the Narrows. He settled on lot No. 27, at the mouth of Goose River, where his house stood, and where he re- sided until 1779, when the town was abandoned. He did not return after peace was declared. In 1792, he conveyed lot No. 35 to Jonathan White, for £103 12s. After his death, in 1801, Robert Mitchell, his son, became the owner of the other Iots, which he conveyed to Jonathan Elwell, except a portion of No. 27, which Thomas Reed purchased. Mitchell married Elizabeth Wilson, of


101


PROPRIETARY HISTORY.


Londonderry. They had ten children, - five 1 sons and five daughters, viz. : -


1. John was a master of a vessel, and sailed out of Boston, where he resided, except during the few years when he lived here. He died of small-pox, in Martinico, about 1782. He married Elizabeth Cochran, sister of John Cochran (Boston John). Their daughter Margaret married Captain Robert Patterson, third, the father of Mrs. William G. Crosby.


2. George was a midshipman in the navy, and died on Long Island, N. Y.


3. Samuel was a lientenant 2 in the Colonial service, and died at White Plains, N. Y.


4. Robert was the only one of the five sons who returned here. He went early into the Revolution, and was for a long time con- fined in prison in Europe. He resided here several years, and finally went to New Orleans, where he died.


5. Joshua died in the service.


6. Anna married - McCurdy, an oil manufacturer, of Hart- ford, Conn., where she died.


7. Mary married William Patterson, second, one of the first settlers. They were the first couple married here. She died Oct. 26, 1838, aged ninety-two.


8. Elizabeth married Col. William White, of Chester, N. H.


9. Eleanor married Col. Jonathan Wilson, and died here Feb. 12, 1846.


10. Hannah married Robert Houston. She died here, Sept. - , 1824, aged sixty-one.


John Moor, son of Samuel Moor, one of the first Londonderry proprietors, drew lot No. 2. He was never here to reside.


John Morrison was the grandson of John Morrison who emi- grated from the north of Ireland to Londonderry, a few years after its first settlement. He drew lot No. 43, which his son John occupied in May, 1770. The latter was drowned the following December, while returning from the Penobscot River in a boat.


Joseph Morrison, a brother or consin of the last-named Jolin Morrison, drew lot No. 11, which he never occupied. He con-


1 Benjamin Houston. Mr. White says six sons, but gives the names of only five. 2 Mr. White says he was a seaman.


102


HISTORY OF BELFAST.


veyed it to William Thom, of Windham, N. H., and James Gil- more, Oct. 11, 1773, for £57 6s.


Robert Patterson, wbo drew lots Nos. 4, 32, and 37, resided in Saco, where he was a prominent man, and where he died in 1797, aged eighty-four. He never lived here, but purchased the shares for his four sons, - Robert, James, Nathaniel, and William. James and Nathaniel were among the first settlers in 1770. The others came soon after. Lot No. 37, now comprising one of the most valu- able portions of our city, being wet and rocky, was exchanged for a " pitched lot," on the eastern side of the river.


Robert, Jr., resided on the eastern side, near what is now called Garrison Hill. He died, Oct. 9, 1829, aged eighty-seven.


They had twelve children, as follows : -


1. William, born Nov. 16, 1775.


2. Elizabeth, Feb. 18, 1778.


"


3. Andrew, " July 3, 1780.


4. Martha, " Nov. 23, 1782, died Oct. 5, 1789.


5. John, " Nov. 15, 1784.


6. Sally, "


Jan. 26, 1786.


7. Elisha, "


Aug. 17, 1789.


8. Robert (5th), Feb. 21, 1792, now living on the east side.


9. Martha, " Feb. 7, 1794.


10. George, " April 24, 1796, now living on the east side.1


11. Jenny,


" June 9, 1798, died July 9, 1802.


12. Jenny (2d), " April 11, 1804.


James, the second son, born in 1744, resided where Robert Pat- terson, fifth, now lives. He married Jane, or Jenny, daughter of Martin Jameson, of Pepperrelboro', now Saco. He died Feb. 18, 1824, aged eighty ; and his widow, Dec. 14, 1838, aged eighty-nine. Their children were : -


1. Jane, or Jenny, born Aug. 25, 1774, married Jonathan White. She died Oct. 25, 1857. Martin P. White, and Harriet, widow of William Greeley, and Jonathan White, of Rockland, are their children.


2. Robert, fourth, born July 20, 1776, built the house which stood where that of Charles B. Hazeltine was erected. He was


1 Since the above was written, George Patterson has died.


2


103


PROPRIETARY HISTORY.


lost at sea, in December, 1830, aged fifty-four. He married Mar- garet, daughter of John Mitchell, Jr., who died Sept. 24, 1872, aged ninety-four.


3. Martin Jameson, born Jan. 30, 1779; died unmarried, in Martinico, Aug. 17, 1802, aged twenty-three.


4. Susanna, born July 23, 1781, married Robert White, of Bel- fast. She died April 11, 1867, aged eighty-five. James P., John W., William B., and George F. White are their sons.


5. Mary, born March 31, 1784, married Captain William Fur- ber, in 1806. The late James P. Furber was their son. She died March -, 1847, aged sixty-three.


6. Margaret, born Aug. 6, 1786, died Aug. 10, 1788.


7. James, born Aug. 6, 1786, married Naney Furber, who is still living, in 1809. He died March 10, 1816, aged twenty-nine.


Nathaniel, the third son, born in 1745, resided on lot No. 32, on the eastern side of the river. He married Hannah Jameson, sister of the wife of his brother James. He died Nov. 12, 1825, aged seventy-nine. His widow died May 26, 1843, aged ninety- nine. They had six children, viz. : -


1. Robert, born June 9, 1771. He died in Salem, Me., March 19, 1847, aged seventy-six. He was father of the late judge Nathaniel Patterson and John T. Patterson, and also of Alfred Pat- terson.


2. Starrett, born April 4, 1774, was lost at sea, Dec. 9, 1802.


3. Martin, born April 17, 1777.


4. Sally, born Aug. 30, 1779, married Abner MeKeen.


5. Hannah, born April 18, 1782, married Isaac Senter.


6. Nathaniel, born Oct. 30, 1785. He died in 1834, aged forty- nine. Cyrus Patterson is his son.


William, the fourth son (called second, to distinguish him from another settler of the same name, but who was no relation), was born in Pepperrelboro', April 5, 1746. His wife was Mary, daughter of John Mitchell ; and they were the first couple married here. After the Revolution, he built the two-story house on the east side of the river, now occupied by his son David, where he lived until his death, May 16, 1828, aged seventy-nine. She died Oct. 26, 1838, aged ninety-two. Their children were : -


1. William, born April 1, 1773.


2. Jenny, „ April 5, 1775.


3


101


HISTORY OF BELFAST.


3. Robert (3d), born June 14, 1776, married Joanna Smith, 1803. He died May 12, 1859, aged eighty-three.


4. John M., " May 26, 1779, died May 29, 1857, aged seventy-nine.


5. Elizabeth, Oct. 18, 1782, married William Presby, 1806.


6. Polly, " Nov. 25, 1786.


7. Anna, " Oct. 23, 1788.


8. Hannah, July 24, 1791.


9. David, " Sept. 5, 1794.


Mathew Reid came here from Londonderry, with other settlers, in the spring of 1770. He owned and occupied lot No. 31 until Nov. 16, 1772, when he sold to John Durham for £90.


John Steele was from Londonderry, and drew lots Nos. 7, 23, and 45. His son and representative, Thomas Steele, came here in May, 1770, and settled upon No. 23. He was drowned the following December. John Steele died here while on a visit, June 14, 1795, aged eighty-four. His son Robert, who married Margaret Ramsey, of Londonderry, built a house on the east side of the river, in 1790. He died Oct. 25, 1802, leaving one son, Robert, born Sept. 7, 1798, who resides on the old farm, in the house built by him in 1833.


Alexander Stewart, of Windham, N. H., drew lot No. 28, but never occupied it. Timothy Dexter, of Newburyport, purchased his right.


John Tuft, of Windham, the proprietor of lots Nos. 16 and 52, probably came here in 1773, as he was chosen a selectman the fol- lowing year. He was elected the first representative to the General Court, in 1776, but did not take his seat. He died March 3, 1802, aged seventy-eight, being at the time a deacon of the First Church. According to the town records, he had two children by Mary, his wife : viz., Jonathan, born March 24, 1776; and Susanna, born April 11, 1778.


Alexander Wilson, of Windham, drew lot No. 30, but is not known to have ever resided here.


The names of Brown, Cochran, Davidson, Durham, Gilmore, Houston, Miller, Patterson, Steele, and Tuft are the only names of the proprietors which have survived here. Those of the others are extinct.


105


PROPRIETARY HISTORY.


After obtaining their deed, the proprietors entered upon plans of settlement and public improvement with great vigor. Measures were adopted for procuring a minister of the gospel, for clearing high- ways, and for erecting mills. The plantation was first called Belfast on the proprietors' records, under date of Dec. 12, 1769. After the first inhabitants arrived, proprietary meetings continued to be held at Londonderry. The first one held here was on June 25, 1771.


As no division of the land, excepting for harbor lots, had been made, the matter was considered during the second year of settle- ment ; and a committee was appointed to make the apportionment. It was subsequently voted that forty-two second division lots be upon the southerly side of the harbor, and the remaining nine in other portions of the township. The division took place in 1778, under the survey of Mitchell, who received " forty-three shillings, lawful money," for each day he was employed. These lots were not drawn, however, until Oct. 31, 1785. The following is a state- ment of the drawing, certified by James Patterson, proprietors' clerk, in the place of Mitchell, who did not return here after the Revolution. The owner of first division lot No. 1 became entitled to second division lot No. 37, and so on.


First Division.


Second Division.


First Division.


Second Division.


First Division.


Second Division.


1


37


20 19


22


36


29


2


42


21


3


38


4


4


43


22


7


39


21


5


41


23


25


40


20


6


55


24


30


41


33


7


44


25


24


42


38


8


47


26


43


10


9


51


27


50


41


43


10


32


28


9


45


16


11


42


29


46


46


13


12


8


30


48


47


13


28


31


34


48


1


14


26


32


19


49


23


15


27


33


15


50


5


16


17


34


51


2


17


40


35


18


52


51


18


11


14


37


12


3


6


.


A vote passed in May, 1786, confirmed several lots to the eccentric Timothy Dexter, of Newburyport, Mass., notoriously


106


HISTORY OF BELFAST.


known as " Lord Dexter," who had acquired the rights of several non-resident proprietors. At the same time, the third and fourth division lots were drawn as follows :-


First Division.


Third and Fourth Divi- sions.


First Division.


Third and Fourth Divi- sions.


First Division.


Third and Fourth Divi- sions.


1


84,15


18


97,100


36


78,79


2


67,68


19


72, 13


37


99,58


3


24,38


20


.66,


65


38


95, 57


4


20,32


21


19,


18


39


94, 56


5


75,76


22


51


69


40


92,29


6


.


61,62


23


9,


10


41


80,81


7


73, 3


24


87,


47


42


44, 57


8


7, 2


25


77,


4


43


39,40


9


83, 14


27


96,


64


44


17,23


10


42,43


28


21, 11


45


88, 48


11


93, 53


29


71, 25


46


90,50


12


8, 35


30


98, 56


47


22, 34


13


82,86


31


85, 45


48


60,26


14


7,16


32


27,


28


49


41, 46


15


89, 49


.33


91,


52


50


102, 59


16


54,55


34


ɔ̃,


6


51


33, 12


17


30, 31


35


101, 63


52


70, 14


In 1793, some of the proprietors ascertained that, by an error in the original survey, they were excluded from about two thousand acres of land which their deed was intended to cover. A new survey made by Alexander Clark, in 1794, of which the Waldo heirs were notified, established the correctness of this position, as appears by the following extract from Mr. Clark's field-book : -


BELFAST, October ye 6th, 1794.


John Cochran & Alex! Clark being apointed at a Leagal Meeting held by the proprietors of Belfast to Divide A Tract of Land into Lots of 50 Acres Each, being A Tract Containing 2262 Acres Among 51 Proprietors. After dedneting 153 Acres for a School and Minester Land there Remains 2509 Acres to be Divided Among the Aforesaid Number of Propriators. Said Land, Part of which lays on the west End of Sª Belfast, which is 4 Miles & & & 48 Rods Long and 145 Rods in Width, the other Part Lays on the North Side of the Town, and is 7 Miles & Long and 90 Rods in width. Said Tract of Land was Discovered to Belong to Sª Town in the year 1793, it being A mistake made by


107


PROPRIETARY HISTORY.


M: Chadack the first Surveyor, as may be seen by Examining the Western Line of Said Belfast, as it was Found not to Agree with the Transcrip of the Town.


As owner of the unsold lands belonging to the Waldo Patent, General Knox did not acknowledge the correctness of this posi- tion, as appears from the following letter : -


TO A COMMITTEE OF THE PROPRIETORS OF BELFAST.


GENTLEMEN, - It has long been understood by me that cer- tain proprietors of Belfast, in the year 1793, under pretence of perambulating the boundaries of the said Town, as surveyed by Chadwick in the year 1769, and deeded on the 29th Augt of the same year by the heirs of Brigadier Gen! Waldo to Moses Barnet and others, did alter and extend the boundaries of said Town, so as to embrace upwards of 2800 acres of my land. This encroach- ment, if true, can neither be for the honor nor interest of the proprietors of Belfast, nor can it be submitted to by me without the most strict investigation. If the proprietors according to their deed have a legal right to the quantity embraced by their survey by Clark in 1793, they will undoubtedly hold it. But if they have no legal right, they will involve themselves in difficulty and expense in usurping my lands.


In order to prevent any evil consequences to either the pro- prietors or myself, let us rationally examine the grounds of differ- ence. I propose, therefore, that three experienced surveyors of integrity and upright character be mutually chosen by us, who shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their duty, who shall reinstall the boundaries of the surveys of Chadwick, on which the deed of 1769 was founded.


I bope a proposition so safe will be received and consented to by the proprietors. If, however, no agreement should be made before the first day of Augt next, such legal steps shall be taken on my part as the case may require. But I think in all cases, where an amicable agreement can be had, the expences of the law ought to be avoided. I am, Gentlemen, with Esteem,


Your humble servant,


H. KNOX.


To Messrs. JAMES PATTERSON, A Committee of the Proprietors


TOLFORD DURHAM,


JOHN DURHAM, of Belfast.1


1 Draft of letter among the Knox Papers in Library of the New England Historic- Genealogical Society, copied by permission of the Directors.


108


HISTORY OF BELFAST.


In 1806, the disagreement seems to have been again agitated ; and Robert Houston made the following report of the disputed territory : -


(ROBERT HOUSTON TO GENERAL KNOX.)


BELFAST, Jan. 8, 1806.


SIR, - The following is a statement of 2800 acres of lands in the rear of the Town of Belfast, That part opposite the Northeast Angle of Belfast, good soil, hard wood, to wit: Beach, Birch, Maple, & some Ash. Some Pines interspersed as far West- wardly as Goose River. West of Goose River, the land is Not so good for farms, the growth mostly blackwood, & some small Quantity of Pines interspersed to the Northwest Angle of said Belfast.


On the westwardly line of said Belfast near Pasagasawahkeag River, some good Land, with some tolerable good Pine timber. Adjoining on the Southwest part of said Belfast, on the west- wardly line of said Town, Mostly good land, Mostly hard wood thereon, and some mixture of spruce, Hemlock, Fir, & Larch Timber.


I am, Sir, with sentiments of Esteem,


Your Humble serv! ROBERT HOUSTON.1


(GENERAL KNOX'S LETTER TO THE PROPRIETORS OF BELFAST.)


THOMASTON, 10th Sept., 1806. TO THE PROPRIETORS OF THE TOWN OF BELFAST.


GENTLEMEN, - It has been suggested to me that in running out the line of Belfast, in the year 1795 or 1794, that your Sur- veyor deviated from your original Survey of 1769.


I persuade myself that you want only your just quantity, and no more. I am perfectly willing that you should have that quantity.


In order that every thing be conducted in an amicable manner, I propose that you appoint one experienced Surveyor, & that I shall appoint another, both of whom, together with faithful and disinterested Chainmen should be specially sworn to the faithful performance of their dnty. If you accede to this proposition, I


1 Letter in Lib. N. E. Hist. Gen. Soc.


109


PROPRIETARY HISTORY.


should propose this to be executed the next Month, and I will pay the expence.


Please to let me know your decision as soon as possible.


I am, Gentlemen, with Esteem, Your humble Servant,


H. KNOX.


MR. W. PATTERSON, and the other proprietors of Belfast.


At a special meeting of the proprietors, held October 1, "to see what they will do with regard to a letter from General Knox, respecting the boundary lines," it was voted "to send John Cochran and Tolford Durham to General Knox, to make a fair representation of said lines." 1 They performed their mission at once, as appears from the following instructions from General Knox to James Malcom, his surveyor.




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