your petitioners to Francestown will mend the form of that Town without injuring that of Greenfield-Your petitioners therefore pray that they may be rescued from the bondage of belonging to Greenfield, or living within the limits of it, & be annexed to Francestown, where they can enjoy priviledges, which they will consider, as a compensation, for those they had a right to in Lyndeboro' & on account of local situation, superiour to any they ever can hope in Lyndeborough or in Greenfield-Wherefore as your petitioners always have been averse to any connection with Greenfield, as their interest, convenience, inclination, & local situation all so stronly lead to Francestown-as Greenfield will not be hurt in its form, and Francestown will be mended by our being set from one Town to the other—as Lyndeborough have consented to release us & Francestown to receive us And Greenfield have no present right to us & will be better able to do without us in all probability hereafter than at present, we therefore beg your honours to set off the two east ranges of Lyndeboro' adition so called containing six lots from Greenfield, annex them to Francestown & thereby deliver your petitioners from their present distress & misery, and they as in duty bound will ever pray &c Ithamar Woodward Andrew Creesey Jacob Dutton John Batten Reuben Kimball Isaac Balch Francis Epes Israel Balch Richard Batten [The foregoing request was granted, and the petitioners and their estates annexed to Francestown Dec. 11, 1792.— ED.] [4-154] [Petition for Annexation of some Lands to Greenfield, 1793.] State of New Hampshire County of Hillsborough To the Honourable Senate and House of Representatives Convened at Concord in said State the fifth Day of June one thousand seven hundred and Ninety three The Petition of We the Subscribers Inhabitants of the Town of Greenfield in the State & County aforesaid Humbly Sheweth that it appears by the Charter of said Greenfield that the South Range of the Odione Right so called, is divided nearly the middle, and it being much to our Damage to be the outskirts of two towns-We therefore pray you Honours woud take into consideration and annex the remaining part of our Lands to the town of Greenfield the Bounds as follows beginning at the Norwest Corner of Greenfield, thence by the River to the North line of the aforesaid South Range, thence Easterly upon the North side of said Range as the Lines Runs to Francestown Line, thence Southerly to the Northeast corner of Greenfield on the Crotchet Mountain so called-& Your Petitioners as in Duty Bound shall ever pray— Samuel Hixon Samuel Butterfield Ephraim Hildreth J. H. Eaton GREENLAND. This is one of the old towns, and was settled in the latter part of the seventeenth century, at which time it belonged to the town of Portsmouth. John Farmer states that it "was incorporated as a distinct town in 1703;" but I cannot find any mention of it in the records of the council and assembly for that year. The following documents seem to show conclusively that Mr. Farmer was mistaken. In May, 1705, the inhabitants petitioned for the privilege of having a minister and schoolmaster among themselves, and to be exempt from paying towards the support of the church and school at Portsmouth, which was granted, and Rev. William Allen was ordained there July 15, 1707. Greenland was assessed by the assessors of Portsmouth, and paid province rates in connection with that town until 1721; after that year they were assessed by themselves, but had no representative in the assembly until the fall of 1732. Jan. 3, 1716, the inhabitants of Squamscot Patent, living on the east side of the "line running from Wall Creek to Hampton bounds," were "joined to the Parish of Greenland." When Greenland became a town I am unable to ascertain. It was called a parish in an act passed in 1757. Dec. 18, 1805, some land belonging to Brackett Weeks was severed from Stratham and annexed to this town; and on July 2, 1847, a tract belonging to Samuel Hatch was also taken from Stratham and annexed to Greenland. By an act approved June 23, 1859, the divisional line between this town and Stratham was established, but said act was amended June 27, 1860. [4-155] [Petition to have the Boundaries established, 1714.] To His Excellency Joseph Dudley Esq' Governour and Commander in Chiefe of Her Majesties province of New Hampshir and the Honourable Her Majesties Council and House of Representatives now Convend in General Assembly The humble petition of the Inhabitants of the parish of Greenland Humbly Sheweth, That there is great occasion for your petitioners to Know the Bounds of their parish that they may not be Oppressed by being taxed as Some of them is Said to live in portsm° parish or in Bloody point parish; but that a line may be Run betwixt Greenland parish and Bloody point parish; but that a line may be Runn betwixt Greenland parish and Bloody point parish and betwixt portsmouth parish & Greenland parish that Every Inhabitant may know what parish he properly belongs to. And that Such persons as your Excellency and thes Honable Board may think meet be appointed for doeing the Same; And that your Excellency and the General Assembly would be pleased Soe to Order that your petitioners in Maintaineing the principle School and poor among themselves may be Exempted from all other Charges Save only the province tax, and tax of the assembly; all which wee humbly conceive to be Reasonable Wee therefor most humbly Crave your Excellency & their Honours Concurrence to these our requests, and your petitioners as in duty Bound shall pray &c. [In council, May 12, 1714, Colonel Waldron, Mark Hunking, Speaker Gerrish, George Jaffrey, John Downing, and Samuel Weeks were appointed "to ascertaine the Limits of the said Parishes." Bloody Point was named Newington, the same day, by the governor. The committee reported, July 28, 1714, that "We are of Opinion the Parish of Newington be Bounded from the River of Piscataqua by the Inhabitants following viz. James Gray Henry Bennet Joseph Johnson Sam' Tomson and Thomas Pickering upon the Great Bay and that these present Inhabitants, with the Lands and Estates they live upon and whosoever shall live upon them hereafter or build within the Limits aforesaid shall pay their parish taxes to Newington. And that the parish of Greenland be bounded upon the Great Bay by the ffarm of the widdow Jackson Joshua Pearce and Israel March and soe to Packers bridge, and thence to Joshua Haines Mr Cates and Edward Ayres ffarme and from thence Southwesterly to Hampton Bounds." Signed by the committee. ED.] [4-156] At a parish meeting holden In greenland march ye 15th 1721 Voted Cap Samuell weeks Capt James Johnson Cap' Joshua weeks for A cometey to treate with ye onroabell Liftant goviner that greenland be set of a destink parsh that we may have pour to Rais our porposion of provance takexis within our parish by John Cate Pr Clark [In council, March 21, 1721, the petition was granted, and a committee appointed to establish their proportion of the province tax.-ED.] [4-157] [Petition for Authority to elect a Representative, 1730.] To his Excellencie Jonathan Belcher Cap Gen" and Commander in Chief in and over his Majties Province of Newhampshire to the Honble the Council & house of Representativs Conven'd in Gen" assm_ The Humble Petetion of the Select men of the parrish of Greenland most humbly Sheweth-That the parrish of Greenland being set off a particular precinct from Portsmouth and Since they have been so set off hath not had any Vote in Chusing any assembly man: nor hath not any power in their precinct to Make Choice of any person to Represent them in the Gen" ass Therefore they humbly pray they may have Liberty and or ders to Chuse a Proper person out of their precinct to Represent them att all times in the Gen" ass" & your Petitioners, shall as in Duty Bound Ever pray &c x' the 1' 1730 Dismissed [4-158] Matthias Haines) Select [Relative to Ministerial Taxes, 1739.] men These may Certify yt Mr Thomas Packer, Mr Thomas Marston & Willm Simpson Are Cleard from paying Rates to the Minister of this Perish By atending devine Worship at the Church in Portsm And likewise Willm Jenkins is Exempted being quaker Greenland Febur. 18th 1739/40 [4-159] John Weeks Perish Clerk [Military Officers Elected, 1775.] Whereas we the Subscribers inhabitense of gree Alarming cricis & willing to be taught the same that And commissioned by the governer have been negle Liu thomas johnson ensign we tharfore pray that the |