River-That while our ordinary business was Hoeing we could work in such large companies as not be in Such Imminent Danger of being massacred by ye enemy, which now Haying and English Harvest comes on will be Impracticable with out vast Detriment to ye whole & utter Ruin to some. We therefore beg of your Excellency & Honours to take our deplorable case into Consideration & extend your compassion towards & grant us such a further Reinforcement as you may think in your great wisdom our case requires & your Petitioners shall as in Duty Bound Ever pray &c Rumford July 13, 1747. Ebenezer Hall Aaron Stevens Ebenezer Eastman Henry Lovejoy Joseph Eastman Jeremiah Eastman Nathaniel Eastman Ebenezer Eastman Jr. Philip Eastman Ephraim Carter Ezra Carter Stephen Farington In Council July 15th 1747. Nath Abbott Hanery Pudney Zebdiah Farnem David Evens Richard Haselton Jacob Shut Samuel Putney Matthew Standly Daniel Chase Daniel Chase Junr. read & ordered to be sent Down to The Honble House Theodore Atkinson Sec. Petition of Capt. Eben Eastman. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Governor and Commander in Chief and Captain General in and over the 'Province of New Hamp' The Honble his majestys Council & House of Representatives in General Assembly conven'd memorial and Petition of Ebenezer Eastman for him T self and in behalf of the Inhabitants of Rumford So called most humbly Shews-That your Memorialist in a most gratefull manner owns and acknowledges the Goodness and Kindness of your Excellency and Honours in the late allowance of thirty men in Guarding and Defending the Inhabitants of s Rumford and other places thereabouts. That the time for which sa thirty men were allowed is expired and they have been dismiss'd some days-That your Memorialist humbly conceives that the time of Indian Harvest drawing nigh will be a time of considerable Danger from the Indian Enemy (if not from the French also) wherefore he prays if it may be tho't necessary by your Excellency and Honours that there may be a further allowance of a number of men for the Safe Guard of the s Inhabitants and such a number and for such time as to your Excellency and Honours shall seem meet and titioner as in duty bound Shall ever pray &c. Sep 23d 1747. your Pe EBENEZER EASTMAN. Joseph Pudney's Petition. Prov. of New Hamp To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esqr. Gov* &c. The Hone His Majestys Council & House of Repres in Genal Assembly conven'd at Ports May 1748. The Petition of Joseph Pudney of Rumford most Humbly Sheweth That your Petit the Last Summer at Rumford afores While in his Majesty's Service was Wounded by the Indians, who by their shot Broak his arm & the bones much Shattered. That altho the Wound is healed up yet he is unable to do any Work to Earn his Livelyhood, & his arm so weak, that he's unfit for scouting &c. That he is able to do the duty of a Garrison Souldier, and as such are wanted in the s Town of Rumford he humbly Conceives in that way he might be so far serviceable as to earn his living. Wherefore your Pet' most humbly prays that he may be held in his Majesty's service and posted at the s town as a Garrison Souldier And y' Pet' as in Duty Bound Shall ever pray EBENEZER EASTMAN In Council May 17, 1748 read recommended & in Behalf of ye Pet ordered to be sent Down to the Honble House Theo. Atkinson Secy. Prov of New Hampshir In the House of Representatives 28th May 1748. Voted That in Answer to ye within Petition mentioned Joseph Pudney be posted as a Soldier at ye garrison at sd Rumford til ye last of September next In Council Eodem Die read & concurred D. Peirce Clk Theo. Atkinson Secy. Eodem die Consented to B. WENTWORTH. Rev. Tim Walker's letter to Archibald Stark. SR. Yours without Date I received last Night Nine oth clock, Informing me that you had a visit from a committee of ye Honourable Assembly of ye Province respecting y Road thro Mr. McNeals Field desiring that our People would sign a Petion for ye sd Road to the sd Assembly as they had already to ye General Sessions and send it to Portsmouth by next Monday Ten of ye clock, now altho I am fully of opinion that ye want of y Road will in a few years Time be of vastly more Damage to ye Publick than the whole of McNeals Field & that every Person up this way who is at all acquainted therewith will readily sign such a Petition representing yo same in ye strongest light possible yet the Notice is so short that no such thing can be prosecuted to any effect therefore y only way left you is to pray for Longer Time wch is so reasonable that I cant think one word can be objected agst it & if that be granted I shall be ready to doe any thing within my power not only to serve you & ye Publick but my self also in ye affair I remain your hearty Friend & Oblidged Serv Rumford July 7th 1753. Mr. Archibald Stark. TIMOTHY WALKER Petition of Ezra Carter in behalf of Rumford. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Captain General Governor and Commander in Chief in & over His Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, The Honble His Majesty's Council and House of Representatives in General Assembly Convened July 14th 1756 The Petition of Ezra Carter on behalf of himself & the Inhabitants of the Late District of Rumford so called in said Province Humbly sheweth. That the said Inhabitants apprehend that since the expiration of said District Act, they have not had the Priviledges which other Towns in this Province enjoy. That they could not Raise money for the Support of their minister, their Poor, the Repairing of High Ways, or maintaining a School (which the youth there much need) or to act in any Political manner whatsoever for want of which Priviledges the said Inhabitants think they have been great Suffers. Wherefore your Petitioner humbly prays your Excellency & Honours would Compassionate our Case and Incorporate said Plantation by its Boundaries or grant such other Relief as in your wisdom you may see meet & your Petitioner Shall as in duty bound ever pray In Council July 15th 1756 EZRA CARTER. read & ordered to be sent Down to the Honble House Theod. Atkinson Secy. Letter from Jeremiah Stickney, Esq., relating to difficul SIR. ties with Bow. Rumford March 19th 1761. I have received the Order from his Excellency & General Assembly Appointing An Inventory to be taken of the Poles & Rateable Estate in the Province endorsed to the Select men of Bow by the hand of Mr Carr together with a verbal Order to deliver it to me in Case he could find no Such Select men & have conferred with those of my Neighbors that I could handily come at upon the purport & design thereof & I find them all concurring with me in a deep sense of manifold difficulties we labour under for want of Power to regulate Society according to manner of other Towns & Districts, which if was offered us we should readily Embrace as well for our own Sakes as an Inclination to pay all dutifull regard to the Orders of the Government-we never understood that we had power to Act to Ordinary Purposes of Regulating society under the Incorporation of Bow in which if we were mistaken twas our unhappiness which admit to be the Case we apprehend ourselves at present utterly destitute of any such Power for want of a Legal Meeting which we know no possible way of obtaining without an Express Order of the Honourable Court which if they should see meet to issue we shall pay all ready obedience & proceed to Carry into Execution the Design of this Order if time be allowed for it, which if should be the Case would humbly suggest a necessity of ascertaining the Limits by which we are to be Circumscribed if we might Choose we should much incline to be bounded as the district of Rumford was whilst it subsisted -but if that be not Granted & it is the Pleasure of the Court that we Should act as the Town of Bow we apprehend that the same necessity Occurs not only because Pembrook is Lately taken Partly out of Bow but also for that their Line as we have been informed, has been Run very differently by their own Committees & I believe that no one of us Knows either of the Lines in all the parts of it & however we may dispute any or all these Lines whilst we are defending our Properties in the Civil Courts of Judicature (which we mean still to reserve to ourselves the right of Doing) Yet we never did or shall dispute the Power of the Government to make Bow Lie where they please to whose Resolution we shall pay ready Obedience when we Know it. Without which we know of no way in our Power at present wherein we can contribute to carrying into Execution this order Unless the Honourable Court should see Cause to appoint some Person or Persons to take the proposed Inventory amongst us or the Select men of Canterbury shall ap doint some Persons to said Business which is in their power as we Construe the Order in either of which Cases we shall all suitable Compliance. S please to Communicate this Letter if you see fit to the Honourable Assembly not only as my private sentiments by so far as I know the united sense of all our people. I am with all due regards Yr. Obed Hum. Serv JEREMIAH STICKNEY. P. S. if the Hon. Court should see Cause to put us in a way of Regulation, among the Reasons against any of the Lines of Bow being Our limits, this is the Principal that etheir of the Said Lines would leave some few of our Inhabitants without our Incorporation which we would be glad to have & who would Choose to belong to us & which no other Society wants, but would take a much larger Number of the Inhabitants of New Hopkinton which they Can very ill spare & which we don't want & would be against the inclination of the People Sr. Yrs. Capt. Thomas Parker, Litchfield. J. S. Timothy Walker's Petition in behalf of Rumford. To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Capt General Governour & Commander in Chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire. The Hon'ble his Majestys Council & house of Representatives in General Assembly Convened, April 11th 1764 The humble Petition of Timothy Walker on behalf of himself and the Inhabitants of Rumford (so called) in said Province. Sheweth, That the Affairs of the said Inhabitants (so far as relates to Town matters have been in great confusion Ever since the year 1749 for want of the Power which they had till then enjoyed ever since the year 1741 by the District act (so called) which this Hon'ble Court say in July 1746 when it was reviewed had been found Convenient both for the Government of this Province in General and also the Inhabitants incorporated thereby in particular. That altho' it has been pretended that they might still have Enjoyed the same priviledges (as Inhabitants of Bow) yet they never understood matters) in that light. And for this their opinion and Practice consequential thereupon they humbly conceive they would give reasons which would be satisfactory to this Court were they permitted-But to pass over all this-This Power or the Exercise of it has been lost to them (if ever they had it) ever since March 1756 for want of a first meeting. That by the year 1760 they were so heartily tired of such an unsettled state that they would have been glad to have acted Even under the Incorporation of Bow, if they could altho |