of our Selves & Famillyes. The place where their meeting House is propos'd to be sett, being in the midst of a Great Swamp, and verry hazardous and also difficult to go to either in Spring or Fall of the yeare- We your humble Petitioners most humbly leave our selves and our distressed circumstances to the Pitty and compassion of your Excellency, humbly praying your Pitty and Compassion and the heareing and Granting this our Petition, as in your Wisdome you shall see most meet And your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall ever pray &c Dated May 26th 1744. ANDREW GILMAN NICHOLAS DUDLEY In behalfe of the rest that have now a Petition lying before the Gen' AssTM Petition to be exempted from support of a minister not of their choice. 1744 To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Governor and Comander in Cheif in and over his Majesties Province of New Hampsh' &c, and to the Honble His Majesties Councill and House of Representatives, in Generall Assembly Conven'd The Humble Petition of a Number of the freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Exeter, Humbly Sheweth that att the Annuall Meeting held in Exeter in the year 1743: The Town did att s Meeting proceed (in a hasty and resolute Manner as wee Conceive contrary to the mind of most of your Petitioners who timely enterd their dissents) to chuse a Comittee, Absolutely to agree with, and Settle Mr Woodbridge Odlin as a Colleague with his father in the Ministry which was effected by s Comittee, and the Gentleman soon settled; which being very greivous to us & wee most of us apprehending that neither wee nor our households would be likely to proffit under his Ministry therefore could not receive him as our minister and have for our own and households Spirituall Edification supported a Gospell Minister to preach to us upwards of a year, and have been Obliged to pay our proportion toward the Settlement, and Salary of S Gentleman, notwithstanding: and as most of us have tho't it our duty so to do, wee still look upon it our duty for our own, and our households & others Spirituall Edification to settle a Gospell Minister amongst us and in order thereto have erected a meeting House for the Publick worship of God att our own cost, and having already made application to the town for releif, but they granting o us none: wee tho't it our duty to make application to this Honble Court for relief, therefore wee humbly pray that your Excellency, and Hon's will take our case under your wise consideration, and grant us relief in the following manner Viz. by exempting us our households and Estates, and all those persons and familys with their Estates, whose hearts the Lord shall Incline to join with us, within a limmited time to be prefixt by your Excellency, and your Honours from paying any thing to the further support of the now settled ministers, or those that may Succeed them; provided wee support a Gospell Minister amongst ourselves: or to grant us relief in any other way that you in your great Wisdom shall think best; And if your Excellency and Hon should think it reasonable That wee have some allowance made us for the money wee have already paid, toward the settlement and support of s Gentleman, and your petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray &c Exeter July 18th 1744. Sam Gilman Daniel Smith Josiah Gilman James Dudley John Sloper James Thosten John Dudley Theophilus Smith John Phillips 3 Thomas Lord Abnar Thustin Moses Swett Jonathan Gilman, Jr George Dutch In the House of Representatives July 19th 1744. The within Petition, Read, and Voted that the Petitioners at their own cost and Charge Serve the Selectmen of the Old Town of Exeter with a Coppy of this Petition, and the Votes thereon, That the said Selectmen may call the said Town togeather to choose Agents (if they see cause) to appear the second day of the sitting of the General Ass after the Last day of July currt to shew Cause (if any they have) why the Prayer of the Petition may not be Granted. In Council July 20th 1744. read & Concurred Eodm Die James Jeffry, Cler. Ass Theodore Atkinson, Secry. At a meeting of the freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Exeter holden at the town house in Exeter July 30th 1744, Voted, Maj Nich® Gilman mod of said meeting Voted, that their be agents chosen to Repersent the town in General Court or Assembly Voted That Mr Nich Peryman, Mr James Gilman & Zebulon Gidding be agents for that end Voted That they or either of them to appear in General Court at the next seting to shue cause why the Petition of a number of this Town should not be Granted and to Defend the town against the same A Copy- Zebulon Giddinge, Town Clerk. October ye 15th 1744. Agreement of parties. Acording To the advice of His Excelencey we a number of Booth Peartie in the Parish of Brintwood have Descorsed on our afair Consearning an agreement And the upper People Desire stell to stand by the first Act in making the Parish. Notwithstanding they whose Names are under written are willing Rather than to be devided that the meeting house should be sit by way of Rate Viz, As Near the Senter of the width of the Parich on the Middle Rode as may be and as Near the Botim Line as that one half the money according to the Rate this year shall be Raised Above it Reuben Smith Benja Veasey James Young Jeremiah Bean Jon Robinson James Robinson Elisha Samborn Daniel Samborn Moses Jewet Petition in Answer to that praying for exemption, &c. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth. Esq' Governor and Commander in Cheif in and over His Majestys Province of New Hampshire, and to the Honble his Majestys Council & House of Representatives in Generall Assembly ConvenedThe Agents for the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Town of Exeter in the Province aforesaid Legally Chosen at their meeting held at Exeter aforesaid on the thirtieth day of July 1744 to make answer to and Shew Cause why the Prayer of the Petition of a Number of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Exeter- Prefeared to your Excellency and this honble Court (on the 18th day of July 1744.) may not be Granted. The said Petitioners have been Guilty of a very Imprimis Great Mistake in setting forth in their Petition the Hasty & Resolute manner (as they conceiv'd) of chusing a committee absolutely to agree with and Settle Mr Woodbridge Odlin as a Colleague with his Father in the Ministry, which they Say was Effected by Said Committee and the Gentleman Soon Settled- We Humbly Crave Leave to Reply and Say that the said meeting (being on the 28th day of March 1743.) was carried on by the Freeholders and Inhabitants (Excepting the Petitioners) in as Moderate & Deliberate a manner as annual meetings have been usually carry'd on in, and the choice of the said Committee was made after a mature consideration and Deliberation of the Voters then Present (as we apprehend) by a very Great Majority and sometime after one of the said committee (viz) Mr Benjamin Thing refusing to act and the others not thinking it Safe to act without him (being chosen to Act Joyntly) upon their Representation of it to the Selectmen of said Town another Town meeting was called on the thirteenth day of June then next to see if the Town would proceed in Chusing another in his room or give power to the Remainder of the said Committee or the Major part of them to act in the Premisses-At which meeting after Due consideration of the Voters then Present they Voted that the Remainder of the said committee or the Major part of them should have full power to act in and about the Premises: And the Gentleman was not ordain'd untill the Twenty Eighth of September following Waiting that time in hopes that many of the Principal men of the Now Petitioners would have been Reconcil'd to the Gentleman whom they by their request, with Sundry others on the 4 of January 1741 by a paper under their hands approv'd of and Pray'd his assistance with his hon' Father in the ministry and thereby prevail'd with him to refuse a call that was about to be made him at the Town of Biddeford, where he had for some time preached to the Great Satisfaction of that People, and also at many other Places as well as in our Town too well known to be Denied by the Petitioners, and his Life and Doctrine being agreeable To us the Town Proceeded as before--And what moved many of the Petitioners to be prejudiced against him we know not. For at the ordination there were Twelve Churches by their Elders and Delegates Call'd to advise and Assist in the ordination before whom many of the now Petitioners made their Objec tions in writing against their Proceeding to said Ordination and were Patiently heard by the said Elders and Delegates, who after serious Deliberation on the said Objections Judged the same to be Insufficient and so Proceeded to the Ŏrdination since which several of the Petitioners have joyn'd in Communion with our Church and two of them (viz:) Mr : Benjamin Thing and Mr John Light. neither they nor their Familyes have forsaken the Ordinances, and Major Thomas Deane, another of the Petitioners who had for some time left the Communion of the Church upon his Declaring that he was Convinced that it was his Duty to Returne to the Ordinance of the Lords Supper and to Joyn in communion with this church hath been Lately Re admitted to and Partaken of the Ordinance 2uly We Crave Leave to Observe that some of the now Petitioners Joyn'd with others in a Petition to the Select men for their Incerting in their warrant for the annual meeting to Consider of and Vote if they tho' meet the Choice of a Committee to call and agree with the said M Woodbridge Odlin to assist his hond Father as a colleague in the ministry with him &c3 We would Crave Leave to Observe that the reasons that Several of the Petitioners who were church members Gave by a paper under their hands Dated May 14th 1743, for their with drawing at first was "That they had Observed with Grief the Conduct of our Rev'd Pastor Mr John Odlin with regard to the work of Gods Glorious Grace in the Late outpouring of his Spirit Amongst us of which they Trusted many of them had been the Subjects, and their being Convinced in their Consciences that our said Pastor and Church Did not treat the same as a work of Soveraign Rich Grace, but that the method of their Late Conduct, the Petitioners apprehended had been, and Continued in Opposition thereto- in as much as the Instrument it had pleased God to make use of in carrying it on and the Subjects of it are Discountenanced" they meaning as we apprehend thereby, that our Rev'd Pastor and Church Refused to allow such of the Itinerant Preachers to Preach in the meeting house, who did not first wait on our rev Pastor and give him Satisfaction as to their Principles and Doctrine, & also that he did not comply with the Irregularities of the Times, and also as to the method of the Settlement of Mr Woodbridge Odlin which wee apprehend was Right 4thy We further Observe that (as we humbly Conceive) the calling & Settlement of M Woodbridge Odlin was agreeable to the Laws of this Province, & the usage of the churches in this Government: much the Greater part of the Town being Sencible of their need they Stood in of an assistant to his hond Father by reason of his age as well as his bodily Infirmitys |