the meeting was adjourned from ye 27 Day of December 1742 to ye 3 Day of Jany 1742-3 the meeting was Readjourned from ye 3 Day of Jan. 1742-3 to y 17 day of y presen Jan at 12 of ye clock. At ye Readjournment of ye same meeting it was voted that the 23 Day of Feb. next is appinted to be a day of ordination among us. Voted in ye affirmative. At ye same meeting John Ordway Thomas Merrill Joseph French and Abraham Brown was chosen a Committee to send letters to yo Rev. ministers and messengers to be assistant in gathering a church and in ordaining ye Rev. Mr. William Parsons in ye work of ye ministry among us. Voted in ve affirmative. At ye same meeting y Rev. Mr. Chusing Mr. Whiple Mr. Joseph Parsons Mr. Sam Parsons Mr. Fogg Mr. Webster Mr. Coffin were chosen a council to Carry on ye work of ye ordination among us. Voted in ye affirmative. A true copy of ye votes and all ye Dissenters that lives above or to ye westward of Powers River. Attest Reuben Dimond town clerk 7ly We Call the Rev. Council to set ye day before ye ordination and we notified our Dissenting brethren that they might come and shew Reasons if any they had why ye minister should not be ordained, but before ye time appointed Came we heard that our Dissenting brethren had made Report that they would take of our Council for some were a kind to y man that was to be ordained and others had given Judgment before, so we hearing of their Strategem and not being Ignorant of their Devices we considered it was eser to prevent a Desease then to cure it or to Keep an adversary out while he was out than to git him out when he is in, so we being forewarned we thought it best to be fore armed, so we call'd the town togeather again to chuse other ministers, but our Dissenting brethren was very Refractory and said What must you appint a place for us to set our Meeting house? no thats what we wont Do. 12ly the Gent'men Committee that was appointed by his Excellency Governour and the Honable his Majesties Council to view the lands and Settelments mentioned in ye petition of Joseph Bartlett and others came by your houses to our Meeting house about a mile below Powers River and they never vied ye situation of ye east end of y town to see the Difficult sircomstances that them people labours under in going to ye Publick worship and so never considered whether we were capable to make a parrish or not but say it appears Reasonable to them if y petitioners should be Incorporated into a parrish by meets and bounds and according to their boundarys they comes within a mile of our meeting house and so they have taken of all ye inhabitants that lives west of our meeting house saving four houses and so it appears to us that it will brake up an old parrish to a new one. 13ly the petitioners petitioned for a parrish beginning at a white Ash tree by Powers River and from thence to fowllow Shapleys line so called till it comes to the head or Westerly part of Powers pond so called and then to Run South West to Haverhill line so called and from thence to follow Haverhill line to the province line, then to follow ye province line easterly to Powers River and so following s River to ye first mentioned bound and ye Gente Committee say they being attend by ye Selectmen of South hampton and Major Stevens being present to say for Kingston, In fact it appears to us that Major Stevens said well to save Kingston for he or they have cut doun their petition from ye head or westerly part of powers pond so called to ye South east corner of ye long Cove so called and not allowing ye petitioners to En clude any land or Settelments within ye line of their petition that Kingston claims but they have un Reasonably Entruded upon South hampton a lettel poor parish at ye best are much Inferiour to Kingston upper parish both as to men and Eastes. 14 the Genten Committee say that it appears to them that ye Curcomstances of ye petitioners are such that they cannot without greate Difficulty attend ye publick worship at South Hampton, we answer we had liberty to buld a Cassway on a mans land and accordingly we bult a Cassway and bult a bridge and there are severl Famlies that lives to ye west of Powers River that have all ways attended ye publick worship with us ever sence we have been Incorporated into a town and there are some that come several times to our meeting y' lives above ye west end and ye other Inhabitants might come as well as their neighbours and we should have had a commodious highway before this time if they had not opposed us and put it by but now we have laid out a new highway from ye highway yt leads from ye meeting house to a highway or publick Rhoad that leads from Kingston through y west part of South hampton to Amsbury. 15 the gente Committee say it appears to them that ye petitioners cant be Joyned to any neighbouring place for their accommodation but it appears to us that they can or else where is that Inhabitants that belongs to Kingston that they have given libity to pole to this new parrish if they Desire it, if y petitioners had set their meeting house higher up then there might have been some taken of ye upper end of South hampton and some of Kingston and have made a good parrish and not have broken up South hampton. 16' if our Dissenting brethren can git to Powers River for a Dividin line to make them a parish it will sartainly break up ours and we shall take it hard that an old parrish should be broke up for a new one for they will come within a mile of our meeting house and take off all ye houses most of our meeting house but foure and then our brethren at y east end of ye town say y meeting stands at one end of ye people and there going off at ye west end of ye town dont bring y meeting house any nearer to them but makes them a great Deal more Charge to pay and they as fur from meeting as ever and they say if those men which were petitioners for ye town May go off, surly they that were non petitioners may go off also and so they will be annexed to Kingston parrish and then there are some of our brethren that lives on ye northerly part of the Town y say if they goes off at both ends of y town then they will be annexed to Kingston lower parrish for it is Impossible that the middle part should support the Charges and then there are a few families that lives next to y Province line that can in no wise Support the charges nor Do ye Duty of a town and we humbly Conceive that this Honable Court wont set them off to Joyn with Salisbury because this is a seprate Government and so them men are fitt for no body and so they are in that affair of all men y most misrable 17 if twenty men in this town should Divide this town they will Encourage thirty in another town and them thirty will say if twenty can Divide a town surly thirty can and so they will goe on from bad to worse till they Grows Incorrigible, if these Examples should be tolerated in these our Dissenting brethren they will Corrupt other and if it should be followed by many it would prove ye Dissolution an Confution of touns parrishes and Churches for as sone as ye minor part sees they cant make a majority upon ye Major part they say we will have a meeting house and a minister of our own and so insted of having a Great many meeting houses and ministers in a littel time there wont be any for they cant possable be supported. 18 if this Honble court Should see fit in your Great wisdom set off these petitioners according to ye bounderyes of ye Committee Report Then we Humbly pray that we might be annexed to ye town that we lays ajacent to for we cant in no wise support ye charges nor Do the Duty of a town. 19 We do Declear this Day to this Honable court that we have not willfully Endeavoured to take any Indirect way contrary to the law of our province to Defraud any brother [we wish our Dissenting brethren all well we wish brotherly love might be with us and Continue, we wish that Grace Marcy and peace might be multiplied among us that the God of love and peace might Dweel with us, we wish all things might be done with Charity, we wish we might have a Quiet and peaceable Settlement ina Way of Righteousness that we might all be built to eternal life through Faith in Jesus Christ our lord. 20 by what has been all Ready offered we Doubts not but your Excellency and Honours in your great wisdom and Goodness will see Just Cause to Reverse ye vote and petition of our Dissenting brethren and accordingly Grant our Request. South Hampton Jan y 14, 1745-6. REUBEN DIMOND et SAM FRENCH Selectmen for South Hampton To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esqr. Captain General and Governour in chief in and over his Majesties Province of New Hampshire in New England and to the Honourable his Majesties Council Jan y 15, 1745-6 the Petition of Sundry of ye Inhabitants of South Hampton living at y East end of the town Humbly Sheweth, Whereas in time past there was Sundry petitioners of y Northerly part of Salisbury and Almsbury which by Runing ye Province Line was taken into ye province of New Hampshire which preferd a petition to this Honourable Court in order to obtain a town or parish and we your Humble Petitioners Did at y° Same time prefer a petition to this Honourable Court and Humbly offerd that we could in no wise joyn with them in any of their proceedings of that nature, but we petition'd that we might be annexed to Kinsington parrish but this Honourable Court in their great wisdom Did not see fit to grant our petition but Incorporated us with the other petitioners into a town Called by ye name of South Hampton but now we understand that there has been a Committee sent by this Honourable Court to view y lands and Settelments of those petitioners that lives at y° west end of our town and that have made Report that it appears to them Reasonable that they with others should be Incorporated into a parrish by Meets and bounds and according to their butment to Powers River they comes within a mile of our Meeting house and they have taken of all y Inhabitants that lives west of our Meeting house save four houses and so they have brought ye Meeting house to one end of y" people and there are some famlys at y east end of y" town that lives as far from meeting by y Road as Most of them at ye west end of y town and their going off Don't bring y Meeting house any Nearer to us but it makes us a great Deal More Charge to pay and we are as far from Meeting as ever And we Humbly Conceive that if those men which were petitioners for ye town may go off that those men which were non petitioners may go off also. Wherefore we your Humble petitioners which formily proferd a petition to this Honourable Court and some other of our Neighbors Humbly begs leave to revive our former petition and pray that we may be annexed to Kinsington parrish and there Do our Duty and there Injoy the priviledgs of towns men, so shall we as in Duty bound ever pray &c. Jan y 14, 1745-6 Sam French Abrahm Brown Amos Page Jacob Fowler Abner Fowler Daniel Carter Nathanel French Caleb Clough Humphrey Clough Petition of Mr. Thomas Fowler against a new parish. To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esqu Captain General and Governour in Cheif in and over his Majesties province of New hampshire in New England, and to the Honourable his Majesties Council Jan" ye 15 1745-6. The petition of sundry persons whose name are under Ritten humbly sheweth whereas we your humble petitioners being as we apprehend Encluded within ye line of a petition of sundry petitioners belonging to South hampton and there about which are about to be Incorporated into a parrish and we your humble petitioners humbly offer that we can in no wise joyn with them in any of their proceeding in that nature, for there are ye best part of twenty of these petitioners that some are moved out and others that are not able to Support y Charges nor Do y Duty of a parrish and there are eaight families that are Encluded within ye line of their petition that are Quakers and y most of them ye best livers in y line of their petition and they are Exempted by law from Ministry charges and ye Meeting house Don't stand in ye Right place it ought to be moved furder up toward Kingston and there it would accom modate more people. Jan ye 10, 1745-6 THOMAS FOWLLER JOSEPH FOWLler. At a lagual Meeting of ye Inhabitants of ye town of South Hampton July y 7th 1748 John Paige Esqr was chosen Moderator. At ye same Meeting it was Consider'd that whereas there are a Number of persons that Lives at ye west end of this town that thinks they can better accommodate themselves by joyning with their Neighbours for a Meeting house then Constantly to Assemble with us and we being willing to shew them all Christian Regard and Kindness voted that all those persons that lives at ye west end of this town that have a Mind to go off shall have ye Liberty to pole of themselves and their Estates which they now have and joyne with their Neighbours in ye District for a parrish in all affairs provided they pole off or File a list of their Names with his Excellency the Governor within thirty Days from ye Day of ye Date hereof. Voted in the affirmative. Attest Reuben Dimond town clerk To his Excelency Benning Wentworth Esquire Capt. General and Governor in Chief in and over his Majesties province of New hampshire in New England and to ye honrable his Majesties Council in General Court Assembled. The petition of sundry whose Names are hereafter Subscribe humbly seweth that we your petitioners under stand that there are Certain men of Almsbury District and some of South Hampton that have in time past prefered a petition to this Honourable Court praying to be Incorporated into a parrish by mets and bounds begining at a white ash tree standing by Powers River and so to fowllor Shaples Line to ye west end of powers pond so called and then to Run South west to haverhill Line and then to foller haverhill line till it meets ye province line and then to foller yo province line Easterly to Powers River and then to fowller Powers River up to ye beginning and we your petitioners apprehend that we are Included within ye lines and boundrys of their petition and we humbly offer to this Honable Court that we cant in any wise Joyne with them for a parrish, for these Reasons. First their proceeding as to a Parrish have been very privet as to our Knowledge ever since ye year 1742 and they having given out word as we hear yt we wear not worth asking to Joyne with them but if they could git their petition granted then they would order us as they see fit but God in his all wise Providence has furnished us |