USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Newfields > History of Newfields, New Hampshire, 1638-1911 > Part 17
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FERRY AND BRIDGE OVER SQUAMSCOT RIVER.
a Great advantage. & if it be fact that more of the vessels which fetch Lumber from Exeter Stop at the place proposed for this bridge & Raft it down, which may be easily prov'd, this Lessens the Difficulty to those that object. as to many of the People brot in as objectors it is plain they proceed on this principle, that it will be some charge to them as they fear. upon the whole it is Humbly Submitted whether the advantages will not abundantly over Balance the supposed disadvantages.
On May 14, 1747, after the petitioners and anti-petitioners had been heard by their attorneys and withdrawn, the House after due consideration, "Voted That ye Petitioners have Liberty at their own Cost to build a Draw Bridge over Exeter River for ye Publick use," and appointed a committee to join with a sim- ilar one chosen by the Council, to go and view the proposed lo- cation and report.
On May 18, 1747, this committee reported as follows :
We the Committe Have been and Viewed the places as mentioned in a petition for building a Sufficient Draw bridge over the River between new market and Stratham and we have unanimously agreed that the bridge be built over said River to begin to be built about twenty foote below a white Pine tree Standing about the ferry place on Wigginses land and so to Run as straight over or across said River to Robert Smarts land as it can be built for conveniency of Setting Said Bridge. The Distance between the Peers under the Draw bridge to be twenty-six foote and the Distance between the Pears for Rafts and other Necessary to be forty or fifty foot and the tops of the Caps between these vacancies to be Seven foot above high water mark in a middling tide, the width of the aforesaid bridge to be Eighteen foote wide between the rails of sd bridge from end to end.
This is our Report In this affair of said Bridge
SAMI SMITH JOHN DOWNING RICHARD JENNESS JONATHAN CHASE JOSEPH WADLEIGH
Committee.
This report was approved with certain amendments which are included in the Act as finally passed, June 4, 1747, by the Gen- eral Assembly, divested of its formalities, and preliminary de- tails as follows :
Be it therefore Enacted By His Excellency the Governor Council and Representatives in General Assembly Convened and by the Authority of the Same, That the Petitioners aforesaid and Such others as shall join with them therein shall have Liberty to Erect and Build a Good
176
HISTORY OF NEWFIELDS.
Strong and Convenient Bridge over the River at New Market and Stratham to run from about Twenty foot below a white pine Tree Standing a Little way above the Ferry place on the land of Andrew Wiggin strait a Cross the River to the Land of Robert Smart on New Market Side, on the following Terms and Directions that is to say that it Run as Strait a Cross the River from and to the Place aforesaid as it may be for the Conveniency of Setting and Laying the foundation there- of in the River, that the Said Bridge be Built on Peers set at Con- venient Distances form'd in the Best manner for passage Between them that a Passage for Vessels Gundelos Rafts and other water Carriage be Left where the Deepest water is of forty feet wide Between the Peers, that a part of the said Bridge be made to Draw in the most Convenient manner twenty-eight feet wide for the Passage of Vessels That the said bridge be built with Rails on the Top on Each Side and to be eighteen feet wide between the Rails that the Tops of the Caps between the Vacancies be seven feet above high Water in a Middling Tide and that all the said Bridge be built in a strong workmanlike manner at the Cost of the Petitioners and others as aforesaid and so maintained and Kept in Repair and that they Procure and get Laid out all such Con- venient Ways and Passages to and from Said Bridge as shall be want- ing and Necessary and that the Draw Part of sad Bridge be made so that it may Conveniently be Drawn by two men.1
For reasons now unknown, the petitioners for the draw bridge neglected to use the liberty given them for more than eight years, making no movement further towards its building, as is shown by the following petition to the General Assembly, dated November 25, 1755. After referring to the Act passed in 1747, it goes on to say :
That a Bridge is not yet Built there nor Ever Begun the More than Eight years are Elapsed - Since the Passing the Said act, That your Petitioners Humbly Conceive that If a Bridge was Built over the river from Stratham to a Place Called the Newfields in New market it would be of Much Greater Benefit & Advantage to the Publick than one Built at the fferry Place aforesaid-
That a Bridge May be much Cheaper & More Easily Built and Main- tained at the New ffields than at the ferry Place the Current Not being So Strong at the Newfields as at the ferry Place the Water Being Almost twice as Deep at Lowwater at the Ferry Place as at the New- fields the Bottom of the river at the New ffields Being much more Even that the Rafts Brought from Exeter Generally Get But Little further than the Newfields the first tide So that a Bridge there will be no Hindrance to rafts Passing Down the river that it is a much more Direct Way into the Country than where the other Bridge was Pro- posed to be Built - That your Petitioners See no Proofs at Present of a
1 Prov. Papers, IX, 576.
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FERRY AND BRIDGE OVER SQUAMSCOT RIVER.
Bridge Being Built at the other Place - That your Petitioners are will- ing to Build And will Immediately go about Building a Bridge over the river at ye Newfields aforesaid If they may have Liberty So To Do By Act - Wherefore Your Petitioners Most Humbly Pray your Excel- lency & Honours that they may Have Liberty to Build Such a Bridge over that river att the Newfields aforesaid as Your Excellency & Hon- ours shall Judge Most Suitable and Convenient And your Petitioners as in Duty Bound Shall Ever Pray.
This petition was signed by 304 persons.1
It seems that a subscription of about two thousand pounds, old tenor, was secured to build the proposed bridge across the river between Stratham and Newmarket near Wiggin's ferry, but on condition that it was not to be paid till the bridge was built, and finding it impossible to complete it on credit, and the sum itself not sufficient, and that future subscribers would ex- pect the same terms, sundry inhabitants of Stratham and other places conceived the idea of establishing a lottery in aid of the project, and January 4, 1760, petition the General Court for permission so to do, urging it on the ground :
That as there are Several Examples of Raising money for such Pur- poses by Public Lotterys many have tho't it a very feasible method & giving a fair prospect of Success in this Case, and many Persons would contribute in this Way who would Refuse to do it in any other, and as Building said Bridge appears to be a Projection of very Considerable advantage to the Public, and is therefore on that account worthy of Encouragement and much to be wished to be well Executed-
Your Petitionrs therefore Humbly Pray that they may have Liberty to Set up a Public Lottery for the End aforesaid and for maintaining said Bridge, all to be under Such Regulations & managed by Such Per- sons as in your Great Wisdom you shall judge Proper and that the Petitioners may have Leave to bring in a Bill accordingly, and they will as in Duty bound Ever Pray &c.
This petition was signed by Samuel Lane and 167 others.
On January 7, following, Philip Fowler and Robert Smart, over their own signatures bind themselves and their heirs in the sum of £500 when the bridge shall be completed, to give "a good Deed of a Way two rods Wide through each of our Lands for the Benefit of the Publick, to pass & repass in with Liberty of hanging Gate or Gates, the Said Way" to begin at the "southwest end of Mr. Fowler's garden at the country road
1 Prov. Papers XIII, 15-18.
12
1
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HISTORY OF NEWFIELDS.
in New Markit and so running near upon a Streight line to the foot of said Bridge."
The petition for a lottery fixed the location of the bridge near the Wiggin ferry, but it appearing that the expense of building the bridge there would be much greater than at Newfields, Jona- than Chase and 80 others, January 30, 1760, petitioned the Gen- eral Court to reconsider their former vote, and grant permission to build at Newfields, alleging the following reasons for the change of location :
For that since the first Grant for building said Bridge at the lower Ferry place, The Country is Largely Settled back so as to make the Trading & Travelling by the said New Fields much more Convenient and Proffitable to the People in General than at the other place.
2ly For that the Damage (if any) to the People that Trade in Lum- ber at Exeter & other places above the New Fields will be much less if the bridge be built at New Fields than if it be built below as the Rafts & Lighters which Come down from thence, Commonly stop at the New Field to make up their Load & Rafts bigger.
3ly For that the River at the New Fields is at bottom Evener and Firmer for making a bridge to stand fast than it is below and Not so wide by Eight rods, so that the Charge of building Said Bridge at New Fields would be Vastly Less than to build it below.
4ly For that there is already a high way laid open from the Country road in New Market to the upper End of the Landing at New Fields, and (if the bridge be built at New Fields) there will be a highway given to the owners of the Land in Stratham on the South side of said River From the said river to the Country road in Stratham which will be more Serviceable & Convenient for People that Travel into the Country than the other way would be as also there will be a highway given from the Lower End of the Landing at New Fields to the Country Road in New Market near the Dwelling house of Hubartus Mattoon to Accommo- date the People that live in the lower part of New Market and in Dur- ham, which will make that way as Commodius for that people as if the bridge was to be built below.
5ly For that there is a Great Trade and business Carry'd on at the Said New Fields (Particularly Shipbuilding) which (as People are Frequently Settling there) is likely to Increase very Largely in Case the Said Bridge be built there:
For all which Reasons and many more that may be offered Your Petitioners Most Humbly Hope that your Excellency & Honrs will Take under your wise Consideration the Premises aforesaid and Take Such order Concerning the Same as your Excellency & your Honrs In your Great Wisdom Shall think Most Convenient and proper And Your Peti- tioners as in Duty Bound Shall Ever Pray &c.
A second petition like the above, January 7, 1766, signed by
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FERRY AND BRIDGE OVER SQUAMSCOT RIVER.
James Johnston and 190 others, was sent to the General Court, to which the following letter was appended :
Mr. Speaker,
Having seen a Petition which is to be preferd to the General Assembly for a Removeal of the Bridge that was to be maid a Cross Exeter River Near the Lower ferry (so called) between New Market and Stratham and am doubtfull whether Ever a bridge will be built at the place where the act has Proposed tharefore hope the Generall Court will adhear to the Petitioners and another Reson for the bridge to be above is that Merss Shut [e] and Mattoon has Given from under their hands to open a Road from the upper ferry to the main Road which is a Great advan- tage to the North End of New Market
furthermore as the back Settlements Increas the bridge is much more wanting.
With Submiston I am your Humble Servt
JOSEPH SMITH.
P. S. What cased me to write you is to Let you know the Reson as above why I Incline the upper place.
The original petition for a lottery to aid in building the bridge, it seems, was passed by the House February 22, 1760, but according to Bouton,1 "it does not appear from the Journal of Council & Assembly the bills for lotteries were concurred."
A hearing was ordered by the House upon these later peti- tions to be held February 13, 1766, after due notice had been given in the New Hampshire Gazette for three successive weeks, that any opposed to granting the prayer of the petitions may have opportunity to show cause why.
On June 26 following, a motion was made to revise the peti- tion, and it was so voted, and another hearing on the same condition ordered for September 3, 1766.
Again, February 23, 1768, "Sundry of the Inhabitants of Newmarket Stratham & other Places," petition the General Court for the same reasons as formerly expressed in a similar petition, praying "that they may have Liberty to Set up a Pub- lic Lottery to raise money to erect and compleat Said Bridge and for the future maintaining of the same, under Such regula- tions and managed by such Persons as in your great Wisdom you shall Judge proper, And they will as in Duty bound ever pray &c."
This petition was signed by Thomas Wiggin and 131 others.
1 Prov. Papers VI, 742.
180
HISTORY OF NEWFIELDS.
The petition met with favor and on March 26, 1768, the House passed an Act giving the required liberty. Omitting the pre- amble, we give its substance as follows :
Be it therefore enacted by the Governour, Council & Assembly that the persons hereinafter named be & hereby are authorized & permitted to set up & Carry on a publick Lottery to raise Money for the End afore- said in so many Classes & Drafts as they shall judge proper not exceed- ing in the whole the Sum of one Thousand Pounds Lawful my of said province provided the said Lottery be drawn & finished within the Term of Two Years from the passing of this Act. And Andrew Wiggin & Walter Bryent Esqrs Deacn Stephen Boardman, Cornet Thomas Wiggin, Lieut. Joseph Young & Lieut. John Burley, or the major part of them are hereby appointed to be managers of said Lottery who shall be under oath to be administered by any Justice of the peace to the faithful Discharge of that Trust & shall duly pay all benefit Tickets according to the Tenor & True Meaning of their Scheme & shall refund all sum and sums of Money that shall be paid for Tickets in Case the said Lottery shall not be drawn and compleated within the Terms aforesaid. And the said Managers or the Major part of them are hereby appointed & authorized to apply the Money which they shall so raise by Causing the said bridge to be built agreeable to the Act aforesaid with this Dif- ference, that The Passage of twenty eight feet shall be where the deep- est Water is instead of the Passage of forty five feet as mentioned in said Act & the forty five feet to be in the next birth on the side of New Market, and the Passage for Vessels may be made in any manner that shall be more Convenient than that proposed in said Act & they shall Cause the said Bridge to be finished within one year after the said Lot- tery shall be finished & they shall be allowed their reasonable Demand for their Time & Trouble as the General Assembly shall Judge proper to whom they shall render their Account of their proceedings & all Charges & Demands concerning the Premises & if any money shall remain after the Bridge shall be finished it shall be applied for the Support & Repairs thereof as the General Assembly shall Order.
And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid that there be a Convenient high Way each side of said Rivers from the Country Road to said Bridge when built in the Town of Stratham, to begin where the South East end of said Bridge shall be & from thence to run South easterly Thro' the Land of Andrew Wiggin Esqr. to the Country Road as the Road now goes, & in New Market To begin where the North West End of said Bridge shall be & from thence to run North-westerly a Straight Line to the Country Road near the Southerly side of Philip Fowlers garden, the said Road in both Towns to be three Rods wide & to be under the same regulations as tho' it was laid by the quarter Sessions.
The owners of the Land giving the Land for that purpose which they have engaged To do provided they may have Liberty to hang & Main- tain Two Gates on each side which Liberty is hereby granted.
181
FERRY AND BRIDGE OVER SQUAMSCOT RIVER.
After years of the prevalence of lotteries in the Colonies to raise money for public purposes, it was seen by some that the influence was detrimental to the public welfare. A petition, un- der date of June 30, 1769, was sent to Gov. John Wentworth asking him not to assent to any such Act for raising money without first transmitting a draft of such act to the petitioners, giving as a reason "that such practice doth tend to disengage those who become adventurers therein from that spirit of In- dustry and attention to their proper callings and occupations, on which the publick welfare so greatly depends," and that lot- teries "hath been also extended to the enabling private persons to set up such Lotteries, by means whereof great frauds and abuses have been committed."1
It seems that Walter Bryent, Andrew Wiggin and Lieut. John Burley, who had charge of building the bridge over Exeter River, found it impossible to do it within the specified time allowed them, so under date of March 29, 1770, they petitioned for an extension of time, and were given "two years longer."
Two years later the bridge had not materialized, though some "material" had been provided, for a petition was sent in to the Governor and General Court convening March 31, 1772, signed by James Hill and 123 others, stating "that they find by experience that the Plan for building a bridge of New Market Lower ferry is not so well suited for that Design as the upper ferry place called the New Fields," adducing as reasons that the "Several points of Land runs so much across the River that the Rafts will almost unavoidably be thrown on to the Piers," occasioning damage "to the Piers or the rafts," and the dis- tance will nearly "double the cost." They also state that they "are at a Loss" as to reason why it was the bridge was ever located as it is, and affirm that if it had not been fixed by "an act," the people concerned would have changed it to the New Fields, and probably would "have finished it there by this time." They state further that with the materials already pro- vided 350 pounds "will be sufficient to finish it," and if the pro- posed change of location is made they can raise the amount by subscription, and "there will appear a number of Persons to give sufficient Security that the whole work shall be compleated
1 Prov. Papers VIII, 231.
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HISTORY OF NEWFIELDS.
within One Year after Liberty shall be granted." They there- fore ask that the change of location be made, and that they may have the materials already provided.
On June 11, 1772, the Governor laid the petition before the Board "recommending that the undertakers to build the same [bridge] be called to acct with the Gen.1 Assembly for the monies produced by the Lottery granted by the Gen.1 Assembly for that purpose, & to know what Expenditures have been already made & why the said Bridge is not finishd."
The House apointed Mr. Waldron, and the Council, Colonel March, to make the inquiry.1
On May 20, 1774, the petition of Dea. Stephen Boardman praying that the managers of the Newmarket lottery be called upon "to settle the account of their Proceedings in said Trust &c." was laid before the House, and it was voted "That the said Managers be Notified forthwith to Lay the accompts of their Proceedings in their said Trust before the General Assembly in order to be adjusted and settled," with an amendment "that the other managers be notified and a hearing had."2
The exact date of the finishing of the bridge has not been learned but was probably about 1775, for we find by a petition, dated October 24, 1780, that the bridge already needed repairs as will be seen :
Humbly Shew We the Subscribers, freeholders and Inhabitants of divers towns in the State that Stratham & Newmarket Lottery Bridge, so Called, is now become ruinous and almost impassable, and unless Speedily Repaired the Great Expence of building it & Great Benefit and Convenience the Public might Still Receive therefrom will be entirely Lost - As the Said Bridge was built by Lottery for the Public advan- tage and as no particular Towns are Chargeable with the Repairs thereof your Petitioners humbly Conceive that a Lottery for the Repair of Said Bridge would be found the most eligible way, Wherefore your Petitioners humbly Pray that your Honors would (as in Some Cases you have) Grant a Lottery for that purpose, or that the same bridge be Supported in future at the Charge of the County of Rockingham or such other manner as your Wisdom may dictate, and your Petitioners as in Duty bound will ever pray &c.
Walter Bryent, Thos Tash, Jeremy Bryent, Joseph young, Joseph Young Jur, Benjamin Chapman, Edward Smith, Samuel Burleigh, Benja
1 Neither the report of the committee nor vote of the House relating to this matter is found on record .- N. Bouton. Prov. Papers VII, 307.
2 Prov. Papers VII, 365.
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FERRY AND BRIDGE OVER SQUAMSCOT RIVER.
Stevens, Jeremy pineo, Benjamin Smith, Simeon Folsom, Jerh Folsom, Rufus Ewers, Elipht Neal, Paul Chapman, Wiggin Doe, Jona Stevens, Josiah Parsons, Josh Clark, Nicholas Hartford, Jere Young, Zebulon Durgin, Benja Smith, Jnº Smith, Nath1 Kidder, James Cram, John young, Robert Hill, Enoch Stevens, Jonathan Doe, John Bennett Ju., Levi Mead, Joseph Saevy, John Cooke, David Chapman, Benj. Nudd, William Boardman, William Cram, Hubartus Neal, Stilmon Tarlton, Asa Folsom, Ichd Brackett, Samll Durgin, John gile, Edward fox, Wil- liam Coffin, Joseph Brackett, James Burley, John young, Robt. york.1
In 1785 the following proposal was made:
The subscribers in behalf of the Petitioners for the removeal of New- market Bridge beg leave to make the following proposal:
If the Honorable General Court will be pleased to grant the prayer of the Petitioners for the purpose aforesaid We will give sufficient Bonds to build A Bridge at Newfields Two feet higher than it now is the Piers with half Diamonds up & down the River the Ship Passage Thirty One feet wide and keep it in repair Twenty Years.
NAT. ROGERS HENRY WIGGIN.
The following petition signed by Daniel Rindge and 230 others was sent to the General Court convening at Portsmouth, June 1, 1785 :
Humbly shews, The subscribers, that, Newmarket Bridge, so called, leading from Stratham to Newmarket, is, and for a long time has been, in a ruinous condition - that unless immediate repairs prevent, the great design of building the same will be defeated, and the public essentiall injured thereby-
Wherefore, as the continuance of said Bridge would be a public bene- fit, your petitioners humble pray, that your honors would devise some way, for its speedy Repair, and future support.
A committee appointed to consider the petition reported it was their "opinion that the former Act respecting the Bridge be repealed & that an Act pass enacting that in future the said Bridge be repaired & supported in manner following viz that the end on Newmarket side so far as to the hoist be repaired & supported at the expence of the said Town of Newmarket and the end on Stratham side be repaired and supported at the ex- pence of said Stratham so far as the hoist and that the hoist be repaired & supported at the expence of the Towns of Portsmouth greenland Rye Portsmouth to pay three quarters of said expence greenland & Rye the other quarter for & during the Term of ten years and no longer which is submitted."
1 Prov. Papers XIII, 28-9.
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HISTORY OF NEWFIELDS.
This report was accepted by the House, but the Senate did not concur.
A petition signed by Joseph Cilley and 26 others was ad- dressed to the General Court convening at Concord the third Wednesday of October, 1785, as follows :
Humbly shew the Subscribers, that Newmarket Bridge is impass- able and in a ruinous condition, that the Remaining materials of the Bridge will be lost soon unless the Bridge is repaired, or materials re- moved - that your petitioners conceive there is no prospect of the Bridge being Repaired, and that the remains of the Bridge were they removed to the Newfields, would Serve to build a Bridge across the River there, where the River is narrower and the Tide less rapid than the place where the Bridge Stands, if a Bridge were erected and kept at the Newfields the Public would be better Accommodated and the River less obstructed - And as many Persons are Willing to Subscribe considerable sums of Money to build a Bridge at the Newfields Your petitioners conceive there is a fair prospect of a Sufficient Sum being subscribed for building a Bridge there and keeping the same in repair for ten years from the building thereof in case leave were given to move the Materials of the Old Bridge to help build the new one, before the removal of which Materials Sufficient caution shall be given for building and keeping the new Bridge in Repair as aforesaid and your petitioners as in duty bound &c.,
A remonstrance to the foregoing petition was sent into the General Court convening February 1, 1786, by the towns of Durham, Newmarket, Madbury, Lee and Northwood through their committees, urging the following reasons :
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