jur'd by that Comtees Determination, soon after Dunstable was Incorporated they got into partys about settling M Bird Each Courted Pine Hills assistance, promising to vote them off to Holles as soon as the matter was settled; and so Pine Hill was fed with sugar Plums for a number of years till at length Dunstable cast off the mask & now appears in their True Colours which was in the first place to get us Joyn'd & Incorporated with them Tho' much to our disadvantage & Expectation when we settled there For under the Government of the Massachusett we belonged to Holles, & in consequence of which we help'd Build a large meeting house, & it was set to accommodate us, & help't to settle a minister, not in the least Doubting but we should always belong their, & besides well knowing we could never be accommodated by being Join'd with Dunstable, but not withstanding all this; we were put to Dunstable by this committees Determination, (and all by reason we humbly conceive of their not viewing our situation,) we have ever since attended the worship of God at Holles & paid our Taxes to The minister there, Tho in the mean time we have ben call'd upon to pay ministerial Rates with Dunstable in a full proportion with the rest except some Trifling Abatements they made us in order to keep us quiet. We know of no other Real Objection that Dunstable has to our going off, But Reducing them to too small a number to maintain the Gospel, but if their Inclinations may be Judg'd by their practice, it cant be tho't they have any Inclinations to settle a minister, as for other Taxes we shall not be against doing what is reasonable, but allowing it would hurt Dunstable, that ought not to hurt us, who when we settled there never Expected to have any Concerns with them as a Town, That for Dunstable, because they gain'd us in the Incorporation (and as we apprehend verry unjustly) now to hold us so much to our prejudice, we think we have just cause of complaint. Dunstable as it lys now Consists of about one hundred familys, and all we ask to be set off is but about Twelve. That After we are taken they will be more in number, & better able to support a minister, than many Towns in the Government, that dos it, That their opposition must arise from some other Quarter, to keep us as whips for one party or the other to Drive out every minister that comes their, for they are always Divided with Respect to these things, & which ever side we take must carry the day. All we want is, that the case may be Impartially considered, & beg the favour that a committee may be appointed who shall go up & view the places in their circumstances that a Sincere representation may be made. SAM HOBART, attorney. HOPKINTON. [This town, originally called New Hopkinton, was granted by Massachusetts; it was incorporated January 11, 1765, under the administration of Gov. Benning Wentworth. ED.] Petition of New Hopkinton for an act of Incorporation. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Captain General & Governour in Chief, in and over his Majestys Province of New Hampshire and To the Hon his Majestys Council in the Province aforesaid: ofe The humble Petition of ye Inhabitants of the Place, or Plantation called New Hopkinton in the Province aforesaid, Whose names are here unto Subscribed, Sheweth, That whereas your humble Petitioners are very desirous to have Gospel Order & a Gospel Minister regularly settled among us & maintained; & to have proper Orders and in our secular affairs, so that we may live and act in all our affairs as becomes a Christian Society, and that every one among us may be Obliged to bear his equal part according to his Ability of y charges of supporting such Regulations; which we cannot attain to under our present Circumstances: We therefore humbly pray that your Excellency & your Honors would grant us Relief by in corporating into a Township that Tract of Land commonly known by y name of N° 5 of ye Line of Towns granted, & laid out by order of the General Court of ye Province of y Massachusetts Bay, or New Hopkinton, included within the following bounds viz. Beginning at the southeasterly Corner at a Norway Pine tree, with stones about it spotted on four sides and marked on the Easterly side with the Letter R and on y westerly side with y letter H. Then running West, five degrees south six miles, to a Hemlock tree with stones about it, spotted on four sides and marked on ye Easterly side with y" letter H, & y Figure 5 & on y Westerly side with y figure 6. Then running North, fourteen Deg. West six miles, to a white Oak tree with stones about it spotted on four sides & marked with y figure 6 on y Westerly side & with y numeral Letter V on y Easterly side; Then running East five Deg. North, three miles, to a stake in a Boggy meadow spotted on four sides and stones about it; Then running North, fourteen deg. West about 130 rods to a River on which Almsbury men built a saw mill, to a heap of stones in the middle of the River a little way below the said Saw mill, where it also joins to the southwesterly Corner of Contoocook. Then running east fourteen deg. north by a part of Contoocook, three miles to a stake & stones, y stake spotted on four sides. where it also joins to ye Northwesterly Corner of Rumford so called. Then running south fourteen Deg. East by Rumford about Six miles & three quarters, to ye first mentioned Bound containing about 36 square miles and by putting us into a Regular method to call Town meetings legally; so that we may injoy y Powers & Priviledges which other Towns in this Province injoy. For which goodness your humble Petitioners for your Excellency, & Honours as in Duty Bound shall ever pray. Dated at New Hopkinton, October 27th 1757. Samuel Pudney Joseph Easman Aron Kimball Joseph Pudney Enoch Easman John Putney Daniel Anis (?) Caleb Burbank Peter How Jonathan How Joseph Ordway Petition of New Hopkinton for power to lay a tax on 4-5th of the Land &c 1757. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq Captain General & Governour in Chief, in and over his Majestys Province of New Hampshire; To the Honble his Majestys Council; & To the Hone Representatives of the several Towns in this Province, in General Court assembled. The humble petition of the Inhabitants of the Place, or Plantation called New Hopkinton in the Province aforesaid, whose Names are here unto subscribed, sheweth : That whereas your humble Petitioners have ventured our Lives, & been at a great Expence to settle cultivate and defend a new plantation far in ye Wilderness & much Exposed to y Indian Salvages, & have been destitute of Town & Gospel Priviledges hitherto; and when at any Time we have had ye Gospel preached to us for a little while at a time, it has been chiefly at our own Expense, with but very little help from ye Non-resident Proprietors; and yet ye value of their Land is greatly increased by our living here, & defending it; and at ye same time, ye Burden, Hazzard and charge of settling a New Plantation lies upon us chiefly while they have a greater share in y Benefit than in the charge of said settlement; which Things we think to be something hard, but are not able to redress, under our present circumstances; Therefore being Encouraged by your goodness & Paternal care Extended of Late to other new settlements or Plantations we humbly apply ourselves to your Excellency, & your Honours praying that you will take our case into your wise Consideration & remedy our difficulties by impowering us to lay a Tax upon four fifths of yR Land in our begun Plantation (so much of it as ought to be taxed to publick charges) of three pence upon an Acre; or so much as you in your great wisdom shall think to be necessary & Sufficient to defray y Charges of settling & maintaining a gospel minister, building a House for ye publick Worship of God, & other necessary incident charges (The one fifth part of said Plantation being reserved by y gentlemen Purchasers of John Tufton Mason Esq. free from charge till improved) Also your humble Petitioners pray that your Excellency & your Honours would provide some Effectual Method to inable us to collect ye said Tax as well from nonresident Proprietors who live in other Provinces, as from resident Proprietors, & who live in this Province: For which Goodness, your humble Petitioners for your Excellency & your Honours, as in Duty bound shall ever pray. Dated at New Hopkinton, October 27th 1757. Samuel Pudney Joseph Ordway Petition relative to Province Tax. To the great General Court of the Province of New Hampshire. We whose names are hereunto Subscribed Inhabitants of New Hopkinton in this Province humbly inform & represent to the Honble General Court that whereas we understand that an order was sent here sometime last summer or Fall, for a Province Tax, directed to the selectmen of New Hopkinton, and was carried back again because there were no such persons to leave it with, And not because we are disobedient to Authority or unwilling to do our Part to defray the Publick charges of the Province. But we are under two difficulties especially: One is with Respect to those persons who are settled in that part of New Hopkinton which is claimed by Bow; For an account was taken of their estates with the rest within New Hopkinton claim, pursuant to an Order of the General Court, And last year the Province Tax was proportioned to them with the rest of New Hopkinton, & paid by all together and that in seasonand they are willing to pay so still, if that may be allowed, & accepted for them; & if the General court will be pleased to join them with the rest of New Hopkinton, at least to pay taxes with the rest, And if they should not be joined with the rest to pay the Province tax, we humbly conceive that the sum required of us would be a heavier burden upon the rest than was designed by the court, when the Tax for New Hopkinton was assigned. The other difficulty is our want of power to chuse selectmen to assess, & a collector to collect the Tax, & to oblige every one to pay their respective Parts of said tax. If the Hone General Court will be pleased to take these things into their Consideration and to apply a Remedy, In regard of those that live within that part of New Hopkinton claimed by Bow, either by joining them with the rest, so that they shall be obliged to pay their part of Taxes as well as the rest, or by Separating them from the rest, so as to have no concern with the rest about paying taxes And then abating from the rest so much of the tax as those would have paid, if they had all paid together, as they did last year. Also if the court will be pleased to enable us to assess & collect the Tax either by appointing & impowering selectmen, & a collector or giving us Power to chuse them, we are ready to pay all due obedience. And if the Treasurer sends his order again for the whole Tax which he sent for last summer or for so much as is our due to pay Exclusive of those that live in Bow claim, if they should be separated from the rest in regard of paying Taxes we will pay it to the Treasurer with all possible speed. And we had rather pay our part of Taxes Every year yearly than to have the Taxes of several years to pay at once. The names of those Persons the account of whose Estates was taken with the rest tho' they lived or owned land in that part of New Hopkinton claimed by Bow, are as follows. |