Petition for further relief and for a guard of soldiers,1747. Province of To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' New Hamp Captain General, Governor and Commanderin-chief of his Majesty's Province aforesaid, The Honourable his Majesty's Council and House of Representatives: The Humble Petition of the Inhabitants of the Town of Rochester in the Province aforesaid Humbly sheweth: Whereas the circumstances of your Petitioners by Distress of the Enemy, a Frontier Town, Whereby are much exposed, and suffered by the Inrode of the Enemy in the year past, with the loss of the Lives of five men, the Inhabitants of this Town, and many of our Brethren not less than Twenty, enlisted in his Majesty's service for the Canada Expedition, several families moved off by Distress and fear of the Enemy, whereby we are unable to Defend and protect the settlement and Improvements made here: Wherefore your Petitioners humbly Pray you will take our Distressed Circumstances into consideration, and grant us such a stated number of men as may be sufficient to Defend and protect this settlement and improvements and preserve the lives of the Inhabitants of this town. We humbly acknowledge and return our hearty thanks for Relief sent us the year past. Our Improvements and further Improvements of our several settlements Depends upon the succour and relief of this Province, otherwise must unavoidably move in and leave our several settlements for the destruction of the Indian Enemy: Therefore your Petitioners again would entreat to grant our Petition: Richard Bickford William Jennes James Merrow Joseph Egerly Aleazer Ham In Council, April 1, 1747. Read & order'd to be sent down to ye Honble House. Theodore Atkinson, Secy. Letter of thanks, and petition for further aid. To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq Capt. Gen' and Commander in Chief in and over his Majesty's Province of New-Hampshire; and to the Hon" Council and House of Representatives in General Court Conv May it please your Excellency and your Hon":-This, agreeable to a Vote in a Publick Town meeting holden in Rochester October 19th, 1747, is to Return the greatfull acknowledgment of the said Town to your Excellency and Hon" for the Paternal care you have taken of us in the spring and summer past by sending Maj' Thomas Davis to us with the soldiers under his command: Who by his prudent, dilligent and carefull managm' under the Divine Providence, hath been instrumental of Defeat the Enemy in their attempts against us and so of Preserving our Lives and the Lives of our Familys; and we think it a Reasonable Duty for us to Render our thanks to your Excellency and the Hon General Court in this Publick manner. And we pray your Excellency and your Hon's if in your wisdom shall think it necessary and convenient to favour us with a few soldiers a while longer to scout about the Town upon the Discovery. And inasmuch as we are unable of ourselves to support the Gospel Ministry amongst us, We pray your Excellency and your Hon to lay a Tax upon the First and Second Division Lots of Land in Rochester belonging to the non-resident Proprietors to be paid annually towards the support of the Gospel Ministry in said Rochester, and your humble Petitioners shall ever pray &c. The foregoing Articles were Voted in a Publick Town meeting holden in Rochester, October 19th 1747, and Voted that they be preferred to his Excellency the Gov and to the gen' Court of this Province in manner aforesaid. Attest, In Council, Nov. 12th 1747. JNO. BICKFORD, Town Clerk. Read and sent down to the Hon! House. Theodore Atkinson, Sec. Prov. of New In the House of Representatives, 13th Nov 1747. Hampshire Voted, That y Petitioners be heard on this Petition ye second Day of y setting of ye Gen Assembly after the first of January next, & that y Petitioners at their own cost advertise y publick two or three weeks successively (between this day & yo afores Second Day) in y Post Boy & Evening Post News papers (so called) of y Prayer of yes Petition & this order of Court, that every one may have opportunity to shew cause if any there be why y Prayer of s Petition should not be granted. In Council, Eod. Die. read & concurred. D. Peirce, Clk. Nov. 19. T. Atkinson, Secy. Consented to B. WENTWORTH. Petition of John Dam, in relation to Roads, in Rochester. Prov. of To his Excellency the Gov' the Honble his MajNew Hamp' esties Council, and the Hon House of Representatives of said Province: The Petition of the Town of Rochester in said Province Humbly sheweth: That by reason of the unwearied Diligence of a Number of Gentlemen in Settlin the Wilderness Country to the Northward of us, and the abundance of Land-carriage and Travelling which is Daily or yearly increasing and Likely so to continue, Makes it Necessary to have a good Road or Roads to Encourage so essential a Plan for promoting the Bringing the unprofitable Wilderness to be serviceable to the Province and Encreasing his Majesties subjects in the same, and by Reason of our Natural situation the Roads must run a great length through our Town which is but a little part of it settled at one end in comparison of what is unsettled, so that the Road to New Durham Runs 7 or 8 Miles through said unsettled Land, and the Road to Water Town much further, and the Inhabitants Dont own one 16 if the 20" part of said wild Land, which is yearly increasing in value by settling the country above, and we have don between five and six hundred days work on the Road to New Durham, which is found insufficient, and we have had one Presentment already for said Deficiency and are liable to more when any disaffected Party shall see cause: Therefore we pray that your Exc1 and Honours will pass an Act to lay a Tax on the settled and unsettled Land through the whole Town to defray the charge of clearing and repairing the Roads through the unsettled Land from time to time as there may be occasion or so long and Recoverable in such a way as your Honors in your wise Penetration may judge Reasonable. We trust you will consider our circumstances as a People, that in peril of our Lives from the sword of the wilderness, have Defended this frontier from which we are but just Relieved, so that our condition may well be thought to be otherways than if we had had our Liberty; for many or the most of us are not in a capacity to take our Packs and travel sixteen or Eighteen miles into the country to Do so much Labour as is needful on said Roads, and our families not suffer at home; Therefore we hope your Parental affections are such that you will lay the Burden where it Properly Belongs; and we as in duty Bound will ever Pray. Signed in and on behal. of said Rochester Rochester, 12th Feb, 1768. In Council, Feb 17th 1768. Per JONA. DAM, Agent. The above Petition read & ordered to be sent down. Geo. King, Dep3 Secy. In the House of Representatives, Feby 18, 1768. The within Petition being considered, voted, That the Petitioners bé heard thereon the third day of the siting of the General Assembly next after the tenth day of March next, and that in the mean time, he cause the substance of this Petition to be printed in the New Hampshire Gazette three weeks successively, and give notice that any Person may then thew cause why the prayer thereof should not be granted. Eodem die. In Council, read & concurr'd Province of New Hamp Geo. King, Dep. Secy M. Weare, Clr. In the House of Representatives, March 17, 1768. The within Petition being considered and the Petitioner and such who appeared to make Objection being fully heard :— Voted, That the Petitioner have leave to bring in a Bill for laying a tax of one half penny pr Acre yearly for two years on all the Lands in said Township belonging to Residents and non Residents for making and Repairing the highways in sd Town, under the care of the Selectmen who are to Render an account of their Proceedings herein to the General Assembly and any Person shall have liberty of paying his Proportion of said tax by Labour at two shillings pr Day finding himself and observing the Direction of the said Selectmen. In Council, March 18th 1768. Read & concur'd. M. Weare, Clr. Geo. King, Dep. Secy. RUMNEY. [Rumney was granted first to Samuel Olmstead, afterwards to Daniel Brainerd, Esq., 18th of March, 1767. A settlement, however, was begun there in October, 1765, by Capt. Jotham Cummings. The first ministor, Rev. Thomas Niles, was a native of East Haddam, Ct.; graduated Yale College 1758; ordained 21 Oct. 1767, and settled in Rumney; left Feb. 10, 1788. He was a Congregationalist, but it does not appear that a church was organized there. ED.] Petition of sundry Inhabitants of Rumney against Daniel Brainerd, Esq. Province of New Hampshire To his Excellency John Wentworth Esq' Governor and Commander in chief in and over the Province of New Hampshire afores and to the Honourable Council and Assembly of said Province: The Petition of the subscribers being Proprietors and Inhabitants of the Town of Rumney most humbly sheweth : That Daniel Brainerd of said Rumney, Esq' is owner and according to the Province Laws has Right (as your petitioners suppose) to vote for a considerable number of Proprietors shares or Rights in said Town, and that he takes upon him in the meeting of the Proprietors of said Town to vote for sundry others Rights or shares therein, under color of Power and Authority from the owners of the same, which owners do not attend said meetings;-by which he is enabled to carry the vote and to decide all affairs in such proprietors Meetings according to his own pleasure, to the introducing much confusion and uncertainty in the publick & common affairs of said Proprietors (as your Petitioners apprehend) and which Power the s Brainerd uses in such manner as to injure and oppress your Petitioners particularly in the following Instances: as First-That the monies Voted by the Propriety are not laid out for the Proprietors use or to answer the purposes for which they were granted by s Propriety, by which means the settlement of this Town is much retarded and your Petitioners greatly damaged. Secondly-No Rate or Tax has been duly assessed upon the said Proprietors since the Grant of their Charter, till within a few months past, and the Rate now assess'd does not amount to the whole of the Proprietors Debts. Thirdly-No settlement has been made with the Rev Mr. Niles the minister of said Rumney since he has been the minister of s Town, nor any part of his Salary paid whereby he has been obliged to commence a suit in Law for the Recovery of his Sallary, and the said Brainerd by means aforementioned |