[R. 2-129] [Petition of Benjamin Dole, 1785.]

To the Honourable the Senate & House of Representatives Convened at Portsmouth on the first wednesday of June 1785

The petition of Benj" Dole of Jaffrey humbly sheweth that his Brother John Dole who by will made your Petitioner his heir did serve in the army the first eight months & being in the Service constantly to his death had no opportunity to receive his pay from the paymaster untill it died in the depreciation of Continental money. This humbly prayeth your Honours in your wisdom to interpose for your petitioner that he may not be injured by his constancy in Public Service & your Petitioner as in duty bound shall ever pray—

Jeffray May 1785

Benjamin Dole Exeter June 6th 1785.

This may certify, that the wages due to John Dole was £5, 8, 8, no application was ever made to me for his wages, untill paper was taken out of circulation

attest Sam' Hobart P M

[John Dole was in Capt. Thomas's company, Col. James Reed's regiment, at Winter Hill in 1775. The petition was granted. ED.]

[5-183]

[Return of Ratable Polls, 1783.]

A return of the Number of male polls of Jaffrey Twenty one years of age & upwards paying a poll tax for themselves in said town Viz one hundred & ninety polls

Jaffrey December 13th 1783

Jedidiah Sawyer
John Briant

Selectmen

of

Jereme Underwood Jaffrey

To the General Assembly of the State of New Hamshire

Cheshire ss Jeffrey Dec' 10th 1783

Then the Above Named John Briant & Jereme Underwood personlly Appeared & made oath that they head in Makeing out the Above Return Acted faithfully & Impartailey

Before me Joseph Thorndike Just Peace.

[5-182] [Relative to Kendall Parsons, Soldier.]

State of New Hampshire

To the Honourable the Council and House of Representatives of said State

The Petition of John Gilmore Humbly Sheweth that you Petitioner did in the year 1779 hire Kindal Parson to Serve in the armey one year and while the said Parson was absent your Petitioner' Did Supply the s Parsons Family with Necessaries of life and when the s Parsons returned home finding his Family in poor Circumstancies and could get no releaf without a bondsman your Petitioner was bound for the said parson and was obliged to pay the obligation, and could get no Satisfaction Except an order upon his wages he had Coming from the State and as the said Parson is now in the Army your Petitioner Prays that your Honours would take his Case under your wise Consideration and grant the said Parson's Wages according to his order if it can be consistant and he as in duty bound shall ever pray

Jaffrey June 7 1783.

John Gilmore

[5-184] [Petition for Authority to raise a Company of Cavalry, 1786.]

May it please your Excellency

We the Subscribers inhabitants of the Town of Jaffrey Beg Leave to inform you that the inhabitants of the towns of Jaffrey Rindge Fitzwilliam and Marlborough in the County of Cheshire do Conceive it highly Necessary for the better Regulation of the Militia in these towns and the defence of this State that one Company of Light horse be inlisted and formed out of the Militia in the above mentioned towns and as the first Officer for said Company (viz) the Cap' is the Naturel Right of the town of Jaffrey and we understand that the abovesaid towns have Consented thereunto We would therefore for that purpose Nominate and Recomend our trusty friend and well disposed Citizen Namely Peter Jones as a person well Qualified for that important trust and Whereas we whose Names are Under 'written are determined to Join said Company if our wishes take place we would intreat your favour to Appoint and Commission the above Named person as Cap' of said Company as soon as may be if your Excellency shall think proper, We in the Mean time Relying on your friendly disposition toward the Enlargement and defence of this state and being Senceble of

the Honourable Seat and Caracter you Sustain we willingly Submitt our above-mentioned Requsition to your Wisdom to Conduct as your Excellency shall think proper and we the Subscribers as in duty bound shall Ever pray

Jaffrey Dec' y 21

1786

His Excellency John Sullivan Esq' General President and Commander in Chief of the State of New-hampshire

[5-185]

[Relative to Peterborough Slip, 1787.] Jaffrey June the 1787

This may certify that at a Legal meeting of the Freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Jaffrey (qualified by Law to vote in town meetings) meet on may the 10-1787 for the Porpose of Seeing what the town would do in regrard of Peterborough Slips haveing a mile off the east Part of Jaffrey.—

Voted unaimous not to let Peterborough Slip have any part off the east part of Sd town. Voted to Chuse a committee of five men to Petision and Remonstrate the General Court of this State that the Prayr of the Petision of Peterborough Slip be not Granted Chose Mr Laban Ainsworth Esq' Roger Gilmore, Lieu Joseph Bates, Adonijah Howe Col" Jed Sanger

Voted that the Committee make a Draught and Lay the Same before the town at an adjournment of this meeting Voted to adjourn this meeting to Thursday th 24 of May instant at three O Clock afternoon May th 24 1787 the inhabitants of Sd Jaffrey being meet acording to adjornment the Remonstrance Draughted by the affore Said Committee being read Voted to except the Voted that the remonstrance be Presented to the General Court of this State A true Coppy Attest

same.

Adonijah Howe Town Clark of
Jaffrey

[5-186] [Protest against Setting Off a Portion of the Town, 1787.]

State of New Hampshire Cheshire ss

To the Honorable the Senate and house of Representatives, Conveened at Concord, in Sa State, on the first Wednsday in June

We the Subscribers, being a Comittee in Behalf of the town of Jaffrey, beg Leave to present this our Address and Remonstrance to this Hone Assembley, against a petetion that has been perferred to the General Court at their Last Session, by Come of the inhabitants of Sliptown, So Called, praying that a Strip one mile wide may be taken off the Southeasterly part of this our town of Jaffrey, and that the Same be Annexed to the west end of Said Sliptown, Which Measure, if Admitted, will Exceedingly injure, and destroy our publick priviledges and Enfranchisments, which were granted and Confirmed by our Charter to the inhabitants of Jaffrey and their Successors for ever, and leave us in a State of Anarchy and Confussion, and tend greatly to Create debates, divisions and anomosities among the now peacefull inhabitants of this town, and as the altering of Charters, and adding and Lessening of the Territory and Jurisdiction of States and districts by the Brittish Ministry, in the Late Revolution, were Some of the great Evils we Čomplained of, as being Contrary to the true Spirit and design of the English Constitution; and in order to prevent these and other unjust acts of the Brittish Parliament taking place in these States, we Spent our Blood and Treasure, and obtained a Compleat and Glorious Victory over all Opposition, So as we Conceive this Greavance we hereby Remonstrate against, is in Some measure Simaler, we do Apprehend that no authority men, or Body of men, on any pertence whatever, have any Right by Law, or by the Constitution, to alter, or deminish our Terretory or Jurisdiction, or deprive us of any of the priviledges and immunities granted, or Stipulated to us, by our Charter, without our Consent. Neither do we imagine, that any person, or people, have any Right to Require, or demand any of our Sacred or Civil Rights, that are granted and Conveyed to us, by our Charter and Seek to Agrandize, and build themselves up upon the Ruins of any of our invaluable Rights and priviledges, and in order the more fully, and Effectualy to Represent to your hon the great Evil, and distructive tendancy, which the above mentioned Greivance, if Carried into Execution, will produce in this town, we will hereby, Lay before your hon", a detail of Some of the Evils, and disadvantages that will Naturely attend this measure if admitted, in the first place, we have Raised, and finished on an Eminence a Large, and Statly meetting house, 60 by 45 feet, and near 30 feet post, Verry near the Centre of our town, we have Laid out ten acres of a Common, on which the Meetting house Stands, and have Cleared the Same, and Spent thereon a great deal of Labor, we have laid out on Said Common a Large Burreing Yard, and fenced the Same with great Stone wall, and there is a great Number interred there, we have Settled a Minister, and given him a large

farm adjoining Said Common, and he has built him a Large house and Barn Verry Near the meetting house, and their is on the East Side line of Said Common a Row of Large and Elegant Buildings, which together with the Meetting house makes a Beautiful appearance, and the Roads in Said Jaffrey are laid out, and opened, Leading to the meeting house So as to Conveen the whole town, and the town is divided into School districts, and Some of these districts have built their School houses, and as the town is now Scituated, the Most Remote inhabitants are Content, and the whole town is Compleatly United, and Chearfuly Contributes for the Support of its publick priviledges, but Should this unhappy Measure take place the western part of the inhabitants of this town will make application for the priviledges above mentioned to be moved to a New Center and the grounds westward from the meetting being Low and Swampy and Verry inconvenant for a New Center would Create an Ever lasting Quarrel and dispute amongst us and be attended with great Cost and trouble, Moreover their is a Verry great mountain in this town and a great Number of Large ponds which Renders about the fourth part thereof not habitable besides a great deal of other wast Land which makes the habitable part of this town but barely Sufficient to maintain our minister and Support our publick priviledges also the inhabitants that would be taken off, provided one mile is Set off to Sliptown is Unanimosly against being Set off as it would greatly discomode them in their publick priviledges and Cause them to be at the Expence of Begining all anew to Build a meetting house and Settle a Minister and then be a great distance from their Centre when at the Same time they have Contributed their porportion here for the Same priviledges and in order to Manifest their desire they have hereunto Set their names, furthermore as Sliptown does lay only against about the one half of the East part of this town their would be a Leg about one mile wide Left which if the meetting house Should be Removed would leave the inhabitants of this leg at a great disadvantage, also the County line is between this town and Sliptown and if one mile is Set off one part will be in this County and the other part in another County and as Sliptown is Now Nearly Six miles from East to west one mile taken from this town would make it almost Seven miles long and about two or three miles Broad we Cannot Conceive any advantage it would be to Sliptown to take one mile from the South East part of this town and add it to that

The above mentioned Reasons Contain a part of the evils and disadvantages that would attend Such a Seperation in the mean time we Refer the above matter to your Wise Consideration and flatter our Selves that your wisdom will interpose in our behalf