USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Salem > History of Salem, N.H. > Part 4
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witnes our hands and sales to this bargayne of sale the day & yere above written (in the p'sents of us), wee the said Passaquo & Saggahew have Received in hand for & in consideration of the same three pounds & ten shillings
John Ward the marke of
Robert Clements
(bow and arrow)
Tristram Coffyn
Passaquo
Heugh Sherratt
William white
the marke of (bow and arrow)
the signe of
Thomas (X) Davis
Saggahew.
Entred & Recorded in ye County Records for Norfolk [lib : 2 : pa. 209] ye 29th day of Aprill 1671 as attests Tho : Bradbury rec."
Along the left margin is written: "Recorded the first of Aprill 1681 among the Records of Lands for Essex at Ipswich
As attest Robert Lord Recdr."
Three pounds ten shillings for eighty-four square miles of the fertile valley of the Merrimack, with an island and fourteen miles of the river thrown in! Clearly it was the goodwill of the In- dians which was purchased rather than the land. It will be ob- served that these Indian deeds do not often conform to the bounds set by the court in granting the town charters.
The first grant for a plantation had stated no bounds, and there is no record of any until 1667, when the court had the town surveyed by the commissioners. Among the province papers is a chart showing the dimensions of the town as determined at that time. This shows the form to be triangular, rather than rect- angular as stated in the deed from the Indians, and also slightly 4
34
HISTORY OF SALEM.
larger. Instead of running eight miles along the Merrimack westward from Little River and thence back six miles into the country northward, as the original deed designated, the commis- sioners laid out a line eight miles due west from the meeting house. From the point thus obtained they ran south to the Mer- rimack River, then from the same point started again and ran due north till the line intersected a line from Holt's Rocks (the down-river bound of Haverhill), in a northwesterly direction. The accompanying drawing is from the map made at the time.
The question that interests us here is-where was this line in Salem ? Very little evidence is to be found in this drawing, as no land features, such as elevations or water courses, are shown to guide us. In fact, from the lettering on the chart, it is evident that the so-called "survey" was more theoretical than actual. Lines are marked as "uncertain," which shows that they were not actually run out. Again, a north line should make a forty- five degree angle with one that runs northwest, while the drawing does not show that value. And finally, it requires but a slight mathematical knowledge to see that the measurements given on the three known lines, eight, twelve and fourteen three quarters, could not possibly be correct.
Two features are, however, definitely located-the meeting- house and Holt's Rocks. If a line eight miles long were laid out in a due west direction from the site of the old Haverhill meet- inghouse, it would terminate in Salem not far from the No. 8 schoolhouse. But if this line was ever actually run, the loca- tion may or may not have been exactly correct, so that from this no definite clue is obtained. Another feature is the farm of Major General Leavitt, located somewhere on the north line. It is a doubtful question whether this included what was later known as the Stanton farm on Policy Street, which is said to have been originally the old Leavitt farm. If this is so, Leavitt must have owned the land stretching to the eastward in order that the old line should have passed through his farm.
The report of the commission to which the surveying was en- trusted states that at the end of the west line they erected a huge heap of stones. If this is in existence today, we do not know of its location. It also states the line from Holt's Rocks was run
1148187
FROM THE WEST LINE ITS ABOUT 12 MILES TO THE N.W. ANGLE
THIS LINE RUNS NORTH WEST ABOUT 14 MILES & 3/4
MAJ. GEN. LEAVITT HIS FARM
THE NORTH LINE
HOLTS ROCKS
MEETING HOUSE
A QUE WEST LINEY
THIS LINE IS UNCERTAIN
THIS LINE BY THE
RIVER IS UNCERTAIN
" this platform of the town of hauerill began by ensign Noise of Sud- bury and finished by Jonathan Danforth 16. 3ª m. 1667."
36
HISTORY OF SALEM.
northwest; but we do not know what allowance the surveyors made for the variation of the magnetic needle, from the true meridian, or indeed whether they made any. More than this, the earth's magnetic pole has changed considerably in the period of nearly two hundred and fifty years. It is evident then that we could not lay out the lines today by these directions and have them coincide with the original bounds. The only conclusive evidence can be furnished by a map which includes both the bounds of today and of the original territory, and such a map must have been drawn before the location of the old line had be- come as obscure as it is today.
Such a map we have, fortunately. It was drawn in 1759 and presented to the legislature in connection with a petition, be- ing now preserved in the state archives at Concord. A copy of it is reproduced on page 117. By this it is seen that the line was coincident with the present northwest line of the town, from Hitty Titty Pond to Crank Corner. Following southward along the line, one would pass very near the crossing of the electric line at Hampshire Road. In Methuen the line led near the pres- ent site of the pumping station, across the Pelham Road near the Pinney farm, over the hill at the Williams place, and to a small island in the Merrimack, just where the river turns. A general idea of what ancient Haverhill was, in terms of the towns of today, may be obtained from the following map. Just where the lines lay in towns to the east of Salem we do not attempt to show on this map; it is not supposed to be exactly correct, although it is substantially so.
Many years ago, when the first settlers of Salem came up from the more thickly populated parts of Haverhill to the land which had been laid out as their several shares, this line was by no means obscure. The land transfers were deeded and recorded as "following Haverhill old line," etc., even after Salem had bounds of its own; and from these old deeds, recorded in Con- cord and in Exeter, the old line can today be traced with great certainty. The author has taken copies of one hundred of these deeds, selected so as to fit together and give a fairly complete catalogue of the locations of the early families of the town. These deeds also show to whom a large part of this land was ori
1
AARON MILTON CLUFF.
1
HAMPSTEAD
DER RY
1
WINDHAM
ATKINSON
PLAISTOW
1
I SALEM
HAVERHILL
METHUEN
RIVER
ERRIMACK
LAWRENCE
Map showing original lines of Haverhill in terms of present towns.
38
HISTORY OF SALEM.
ginally laid out by the Haverhill Proprietors, thus helping us to trace the ownership from the first. We shall have occasion to refer to some of the bounds when we study the opening of the new country back from the river. We will first trace the prog- ress of the proprietors in building their town.
Among the first settlers we may mention the men whose names appear on the Indian deed. Chase tells us that John Ward was probably not the first settler, though he certainly was at the head of affairs. The new town was named from his native town of Haverhill, in Essex County, England. He was a tower of men- tal, moral, spiritual, and we may add, physical strength, which combined with an excellent education made him especially well equipped for guiding the policy and energy of the settlement in paths of justice and prosperity.
The men came from Newbury, Salisbury and Ipswich, for the most part, some, however, not taking up a home until they reached Haverhill. The proprietors were the original citizens of the place, and in 1645, when the town was incorporated, num- bered about thirty-two. Subsequently, newcomers were fre- quently voted citizens' rights until the number had reached forty-six, after which it remained about the same. They held meetings and elected officers, although no records of these are found with date prior to 1643. On November 6 of this year, they voted to lay out three hundred acres for houselots ; no man should have more than twenty acres, this being the lot of a man who was worth two hundred pounds sterling. Those of less . means were to have land in proportional amounts, and all were to have proportional rights in the planting land, meadow, and common or town property. Thus it will be seen that the plan of distribution was based upon a man's wealth. This was so of the tax system also, consequently taxes were levied only on land, ac- cording to acreage. In all the subsequent divisions of land each man received a portion relative to his original lot. This original lot was known as the "accomodation grant"; and on several oc- casions new accommodation land was laid out to all proprietors.
All of the land not granted was the property of the town (the proprietors of course being the town), and was called the com- mon. Certain privileges were voted regarding this common
39
SETTLEMENT.
land, at first applying chiefly to timber, that being the first nat- ural product. In 1645 it was voted "that every inhabitant that will, may make upon the common for every acre of house lot which he hath, one hundred of pipe staves and no more ; provided he fall no timber for the same within two full miles of the house lots : if any shall fall any tree or trees within two full miles of the house lots, he shall pay to the use of the town for every tree five shillings, and if any shall fell any tree or trees more than shall make his proper proportion of staves said he shall pay five shillings." >
The attitude of the people toward the Rev. Mr. Ward is well evidenced by the following :
"October the 29th, 1646, voted by all the Freeholders then present at a lawful town meeting that Mr. Ward our Teacher's land shall be rate free for his ministry during his life, if he con- tinue minister to the plantation, provided he use it himself, but if he sell, let or set any of it to hire it shall pay rates propor- tionable with our own. And that forty pounds per annum shall be paid him by the remainder of the 300 acres for his ministry."
This "remainder of the 300 acres" refers to the fact that his land was a part of the original apportionment of house-lots.
The vote designates Mr. Ward as "our Teacher"; certainly no word could have been chosen that would convey to our minds a more vivid impression of the close relations existing between this minister and his people.
An idea of the close attention that was paid to details in man- aging affairs, and also of the extreme republican nature of the government, may be obtained from one of the items in the rec- ords :
"December the 9th 1650.
"Voted that Mr. Clement and Jnº Eaton are to determine ac- cording to there best discretion of the place where Joseph Peas- lee & Bartholomew Heath shall set their barns, and where James Davis, Jun. shall set his house."
And this, too, in spite of the fact that Heath was one of the leading men of the town.
It was not long before the three hundred acres became insuf- ficient accommodation. The timber was not to be cut in the im-
40
HISTORY OF SALEM.
mediate neighborhood except for building purposes, while the vales up river and back toward the lakes offered rich resources for agriculture. Accordingly, as early as 1650, the settlers be- gan to push out west and north, taking up new land which was granted them in exchange for their village lots. These then be- came common land again. Besides the desire for new land there was a tendency to try to consolidate one's possessions. As the plough land and meadow lots were of course scattered in differ- ent parts of the great town, the work of managing a farm with any degree of economy was all but impossible. Therefore those having lots in inconvenient locations sought to exchange with other citizens for land nearer their homesteads. The best piece of planting land was often chosen for the home, and the build- ings were then moved from the village to the new site.
An illustration may be given to show what this scattering of the land really meant to the farmers. One of the ancestors of a Salem family was prominent in the making of Haverhill, and it happens that he then owned one piece of land in what later be- came Salem. This man was Daniel Ladd, whose land-holdings, as they were in 1659, are given in the records in an inventory of the real estate of the town at that time. We copy from the Pro- prietors' book of records :
"Daniel Ladd's accommodations. Six acres of accommoda- tions : Four acres to his house lot; more or less: Robert Clem- ent's bounding on the east, and Henry Savage on the west. Five acres in the plain: William White on the east and John Wil- liams on the north. Nine acres up the great river, Thomas Ayres on the east and George Browne on the west. Four acres of meadow in the east meadow, more or less; Joseph Peasly on the south, and George Browne on the north. One acre and a half of meadow in the pond meadow; James Davis sen on the south, and Robert Clement jun on the north. One acre of meadow at Hawkes meadow; John Davis on the South, and Thomas Whit- tier on the north."
"Daniel Ladd's 2ª division, containing twenty seven acres of upland, be it more or less; with sixteen acres of ox-common and a half, bounded by George Corles and John Hutchins on the west; by a black oak, a white oak, a red oak, and a walnut on the
BOAT HOUSE, STILLWATER. (M 381)
THE OLD 'AYER HOMESTEAD. (M 395)
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SETTLEMENT.
south; by a walnut and a white oak on the east, by two white oaks and an ash on the north. Three acres of meadow lying on Spicket River, bounded by Thomas Davis on the south, and Robert Clements on the north : and one spot of meadow at Prim- rose swamp, and another spot at the east meadow, at the head of the meadow that was John Davis's adjoining to his own. For the land that was taken off Daniel Ladd's 3ª division, we added a piece on the north side of the highway round the meadow that was Goodman Hale's bounded by the highway and Merrie's Creek. Third division of meadow containing three acres, be it more or less, bound by John Page on the south, a pine on the east, his own uplands on the west, and uplands on the north of the said meadow, lying in mistake meadow."
Here is a problem for the most active farmer. His four-acre house-lot was in the village, while the rest of his land lay outside in all directions, and at distances varying from two to eight miles. His planting land was in two lots-one in the plain to the east of his house about two miles, the other on the banks of the Mer- rimack, perhaps two or three miles to the westward. In his second division were twenty-seven acres of upland, which must have been situated at least two or three miles to the northward. In place of his third division land he had been granted a piece near Merrie's Creek, near the present line between Haverhill and Methuen. But if this was inconvenient, what shall we say of his meadows, upon which he had to rely for hay? There were seven lots, in six different meadows. Two of these were in East meadow, three miles from his house; Pond meadow, slightly nearer, to the north, had one lot; Primrose swamp, two miles northwest; then Hawkes' meadow in the east part of Methuen, Spicket meadow in the southern part of Salem, and finally Mys- tic ("mistake" was a name frequently applied to it in those days), in the western part of Methuen !
Is it any wonder that these men began to exchange land, buy- ing here and selling there ? We do not suppose that these lands were in many cases actually taken up. It would have been im- possible, with mere trails and paths from one place to another, to undertake the cultivation of more than a small portion of one's estate.
42
HISTORY OF SALEM.
The land in many cases had to be cleared before any farming could be undertaken, and the timber thus obtained was useful for the many buildings needed for the growing town. There are always present a few enterprising men whenever a possibil- ity of profit suggests itself. Thus in 1651 the need of a sawmill had become so apparent that the following action was taken:
"Voted and agreed upon by the inhabitants that there should be a Sawmill set up by Isaac Cousins, and such others of this town as shall join with him: The town and they agreeing upon terms: viz. That they shall not make use of any timber within three miles of the meeting house: Item. That all timber with- out the compass of three miles of the meeting house should be free for the use of the sawmill : they paying the twelfth hundred to the use of the town in general. Item. That the town for their use shall have boards and planks at three shillings per hundred for such pay as is merchantable. The town also reserv- ing to themselves a liberty to make use of what timber they stand in need of, though it be without the three miles compass from the meeting house."
Six owners were voted two weeks later-Isaac Cousins, Mr. (Robert) Clement, Job Clement, Stephen Kent, William White and Theophilus Satchwell.
This is a fair sample of the careful methods employed by these Proprietors to prevent any man or set of men from obtaining more than their just share of power or profit. But there was one loophole in this agreement; it did not fix the price of work to anyone but the town. Evidently this led to misunderstandings and then dissatisfaction, for six years later, we find, the follow- ing vote was recorded :
"June 22nd 1658.
"It was this day declared, voted & granted that all the former privileges granted to the Sawmill or mills are forfeited & accord- ingly taken into the town's hands, which vote was acted by the major part of the inhabitants."
Thomas Davis, John Hutchins and Daniel Hendricks were then granted the mill privilege, with far more stringent con- ditions. They were to furnish all the boards that the town needed (which the old mill had failed to do), at a stated price
43
SETTLEMENT.
for cutting; they were to saw for private owners at the price of four hundred out of every thousand, but only such as would be required by these owners for their buildings; the inhabitants should be supplied with boards and planks for buildings and floors at three shillings per hundred. There were other terms to the privilege, but these serve to illustrate our point. The forests were considered a natural resource, over which no one could have a monopolistic right-its revenue should be at the disposal of the community. However, these new mill owners evidently did not find the business sufficiently profitable to draw them into it, as the privilege was again declared forfeited the following year.
Meantime the inner life of the people had not been neglected. The first church had been built in 1648, and the minister shortly afterwards was granted an increase in salary. This was in 1652, when he was voted fifty pounds instead of forty, as formerly. Three years later it was ordered that the walls of the meeting- house be "plaistered up to the beams" with clay. This was the usual method of keeping out the winds. No use of plaster is mentioned until a much later period. In fact, the entire finish of the buildings was rough. It was over a hundred years before paint was used to any extent, even for interior finish. Some- times straw was mixed with the clay to prevent it from falling out of the chinks between the rough boards.
In 1656 we notice an example of the care and minuteness with which provision was made for Mr. Ward's comfort, for it was "voted that he have fifty pounds per annum, to be paid by each man in proportion to what he holds; twenty five pounds of this to be paid in wheat or its equivalent." And the men who col- lected this tax were deputed "to hire men to cut, make, and bring home his hay and wood, and pay them out of his 25 £ of rye and Indian corn"
The town yet lacked one great necessity-there was no black- smith. It is hard for us today to realize what this deficiency meant to a community in those early times. If we are con- templating any construction or repairs we step into the hardware store for a supply of nails, bolts, rivets, hinges, hooks, or what- ever is needed for the particular work. But at that time, all
44
HISTORY OF SALEM.
these and articles of a similar nature were made by hand, slowly hammered out, and when finished presented no very elegant ap- pearance. It is no wonder that the smith was frequently the most influential man in the village. Accordingly then, with this important position unfilled, the free-holders of the town began to cast about for a man who would come and settle among them, there to ply the trade of blacksmith and fulfill the needs of the town in this direction.
It had been the custom of the settlers to go to Newbury for supplies of this sort, as that town was fortunate in having sev- eral good smiths. One of these men, John Webster, was con- sulted in regard to coming to Haverhill to take the privileges formerly granted to Isaac Cousins as blacksmith. Cousins had failed to live up to his bargain. The terms upon which Webster accepted are expressed in the following action of the town : "July 4th 1653.
"Voted and granted at a lawful town meeting that John Web- ster should enjoy that six acres of accommodation which was formerly granted unto Isaac Cousins & now returned into the town's hands, provided that the said John Webster live here, five years from the last of March next ensuing, following the trade of a blacksmith, in doing the town's work when they have occasion, according to his best skill & endeavour: also it was agreed that in case he should remove out of the town before the said five years are expired then the town is to allow him for what improvement he shall make upon the land, or any part thereof ; by building, fencing, build up of land or the like, as shall be judged meet by two men chosen by the said John & the town, and those two men are to choose a third man in case they can- not agree. Likewise if the said John shall be taken away by God's Providence by death, before the end of the said time, then all the said accommodations are freely to remain unto any that he shall dispose of it unto."
Webster stayed in Haverhill only till 1658, when he returned to Newbury. The next year the citizens persuaded John John- son of Charlestown to accept their offers, and he served the town as blacksmith for many years.
Beginning in 1652 there was a wholesale laying out of land,
JOHN TAYLOR, JR.
45
SETTLEMENT.
which lasted for seven years. This period marks the real be- ginning of the history of Salem. In this year the second di- vision of upland was laid out beyond Pond meadow, in the north- eastern part of the town. It was voted that the men laying out this land "shall have two pence per acre for the laying out of it, and that beforehand if they demand it." This was planting land, and by no means yet suitable for raising good crops of hay. Therefore there followed a demand for meadow land, which was met by opening up for distribution the fertile expanse on both sides of the Spicket, near the present site of Salem Village. The method of choosing lots is best told in the records : "January 20th 1653.
"Voted and granted that there shall be a second division of meadow laid out after the proportion of one acre of meadow to two acres of house lot : which is to be done by lot. The first man is to have his choice at which end of Spiggott meadow his lot shall be laid out at; and so the rest to follow in order according to their lots; until all the meadow is laid out; which being done the next moving man is to have his choice at which end of any other meadow to begin at, and so successively all the rest of the moving men to have their choice in the rest of the meadows ac- cordingly, until all the shares be laid out.
"Henry Palmer, Theophilus Satchwell, Daniel Hendricks and Thomas Whittier, or any two of them are chosen for to lay out the second division of meadow, according to grant and draught by lot. They are to lay it out by the last day of June next, and are to give notice when they go forth about it."
There is no record to tell us where each man's land was lo- cated; but according to the foregoing directions, Spicket meadow was to be divided first. The following names were the first fif- teen drawn, and as we know that the fifteenth received one of the Spicket meadow lots, we assume that those preceding must have done so :
1 Bartholomew Heath
2 Job Clement
3 John Clement
4 Hugh Sherratt
5 George Corlis
9 James Davis sen
10 John Davis
11 Robert Clement
12 John Eaton
13 Thomas Davis
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HISTORY OF SALEM.
6 John Chenarie 7 Joseph Peasley
8 Henry Palmer
14 Daniel Ladd 15 Mr. John Ward
These names are too familiar, even among the present citizens of Salem, to leave any question as to their having been the own- ers of land in this section. Thirty-two others received land under this division, and may have been among the number whose shares were near those above mentioned.
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