many difficult circumstances attending these things presses us Humbly to Supplicate, and In as much as this Hone Court has been pleased to look upon us as Subjects of the Government by Taxing us to the Support of it, which we Readily & dutifully comply with, we doubt not but Wee shall be owned as the children of the Same & obtain the Priviledges & protection other Inhabitants Enjoy: Wherefore we most Humbly pray your Excellency & Hon to take the premises into your consideration & Invest the s District of Nottingham (that is to say that part of Nottingham that Lyes in the province of New Hampshire) with the Powers & priveledges of a Town & enable us to Levy & collect the former Delinquent Rates or make some speciall Law that shall Relieve us in the Premises as in your great Wisdom shall be tho best, & as In duty bound shall pray. John Butler Henry Baldwin Jr John Pollard Joseph Blodget George Burns Joseph Snow Hezekiah Hamblet William Hamblet Zacheus Woodwell Sam Huston Petition for a Parish. To his Excellency Bening Wintworth Esq. Captine General & commander in chief in & over his Majesties Province of New Hampshire in New England. Your Excellency with the rest of the Honourable Court may well remember that we your humble Petitioners a considerable time since put in a petition to ye General Court for a distinct town or parish which the Honourable Court shall judge most convenient & we still remain earnest in our desires that s petition may have a hearing, and that it may be acted upon when your Excellency with the rest of the Court shall think convenient, the reasons why wee desire to be a distinct town or parish are contained in our former Petition: We live at such a distance from our respective meetings, that we look'd upon it that we were obliged to maintain y Gospel amongst us, which we have done for almost three years, and from the encouragement that we had from time to time we have lived in hopes that we should be freed from paying taxes elsewhere, but since the late act made by y Hon ourable Court to impower certain districts to raise money for ye support of y ministry & other charges & our respective district have had meetings, & have raised large sums of money, not only for y present year but for several years past as appears by their votes. And we look upon it as a Great hardship that we should be obliged to pay s rate for three reasons (Viz) 1st We live at such a distance from y Places of Publick worship in our respective districts, that we cannot attend ye worship of God with our Families there. 2 We have had a minister with us and are obliged to him for so much money from day to day, therefore we look upon it a hardship to pay taxes elsewhere. 3d And there are some of us that have moved into these districts long since y money was due that they now rate us for, this appears to be a hardship to such of us. Therefore we your humble petitioners pray that your Excellency with y others of y Honourable Court would take these reasons into your consideration, & free us from these heavy burthens laid upon us, we have many of us borne a heavy burthen for a long time & we fear its growing heavier for we find none amongst us in our respective districts that will move it so much as with one of their fingers. Therefore as you are our Fathers we humbly apply ourselves to you for relief, & if in your great Wisdom think it not convenient as yet to erect us into a town, we beg that we may be aquited from paying the taxes that are served upon us, & that we may have the Priviledges of other Parishes or districts, till such times as we may be further answered in our request that so we may able further to maintain y Gospel amongst us; these things we humbly ask & rest your humble Petitioners. Dated at the District called Nottingham September y 19 1743. P. S. We that live in the district called Litchfield would acquaint your Excellency that at y time of their settling a minister in this district that we entered our dissents but they proseded & settled a minister Contrary to our opinion, & we think it a hardship, that we should be Obliged to pay taxes to a Minister that is settled upon such a foundation that he is-which is Presbyterianism. This is Contrary to what we was ever acquainted with contrary to our opinion in matters of religion and Contrary to our minds to set under him as such. Joseph Kidder Charles Dorah George Burroughs Jr William Cumings Edward Spalding Ebenezer Spalding Nathan Cross Nathaniel Hills Eleazer Cummings Henry Hill's Ezekiel Hills Joseph Pollard Henry Hills, Jr Robert Melven Prov. of N. Hamp Petition of selectmen for a hearing. The subscribers selectmen of the Town of Nottingham West, would most humbly represent in Answer to the Petition of Josiah Cumings & Others Inhabitants of Nottingham West afores On the 24 day of December 1747, Prefered to this Hon Court praying, That they might be Discharged both poles and estates from paying any thing towards the Support of the Ministry at s' Nottingham so long as they attended Elsewhere &c. For the Reasons therein mentioned. That notwithstanding the Order of the Honble Court for a hearing on s Petition had fully pass'd on y Eleventh day of December last past, and the Hearing on s Peti was granted to be the second day of the sitting of the assembly after the tenth day of January then next ensuing, and that the s' Gen' Assembly was adjourned unto the 23 day of this Instant February to be the first day of their sitting after the tenth of January afores, accordingly the 24 of this same February had they set as we Expected was the day appointed for the Hearing afores1 th Yett the Petis (for ends to us unknown) did not serve the selectmen or either of them with a Copy of the s Peti or order of Court thereon nor any other ways Notifie them thereof untill the 17th day of this Instant February which left no more than six days for the Selectmen to Assemble Notifie and hold a town meeting & if the Town should think fitt to make answer & Shew Cause &c. and within the same six days to gett to Portsmouth (Fifty miles & upwards) and by this the Neglect of the Petits Rendered it Imposible for the Town whose proper Right we conceive it was to make answer at the s Expected time, But we the select have proceeded & Notified a meeting of the s town to be held at Nottingham on the 7th day of March d d next; To see if the town will Impower an agent to answer to the s petis if there should then be occasion, Since which we are Informed that the s Court is adjourned from the s 23 day of February unto the Eighth day of March next the day by the aforesaid order of Court appointed for the hearing afores, And should the town proceed to appoint an Agent to make Answer in their Behalf yet it will be Impossible for them at this difficult season in one night, (the only time we have) to gett to Portsm and attend at the Hearing afores Wherefore we pray that in case the Peti should pursue their Peti for a hearing that it may be continued such Reasonable time that the town of Nottingham may appear, if they shall at their meeting Desire it to shew cause why the prayer of the Pet' should not be granted &c. Nottingham, West, February 29, 1747. JOHN MARSH JOHN MARSHALL Selectmen SAMUEL GRele JAMES WESON Nottingham Dis. Jany 30th 1745-6 We the Subcribers Inhabitents of the s Distrect do hear by Sicknife our desier to be incorporated into a Distinct Town according to the Delineation which we now Lay in and shall for that prosicute any thing which may be expediant in the affair. Hugh O Richardson mark Jacob Butler May ye 12th 1746. Joshua Hamblet Thomas Burns Samuel Gould Richardson Cumings On the above s Day a number of the propriators and other inhabitants of the District of Litchfield being mett to gather Did then nominate and appoynt Jacob Hildreth and James Carr to measure the line of Litchfield on the east side of meremack river from the uper end to the lower end thereof. Pry of New Hamp} Londonderry May ye 13th 1746. Jacob Hildreth and James Karr personaly appearing made oath that they would take a true measure of the district of Litchfield upon the east side of Meremack river, sworn before John Goffe, Just Peace. This may signifie the Earnest desire of us subscribers inhabitents of Notingham within the Province of the Massachusetts Bay whose interests in Lands lay considerably within the Destrict of Notingm in New Hampshire That the destrict may be continued to gether as a Town without the addition of any part of Litchfield, that we may attend the publick worship of God where we have formerly Injoyed it Being intirely cut of from all Privilege of injoying it other ways. Notingm April 4th 1746, Capt Robt Fletcher Daniel Fletcher, Zacheus Spaulding Lt. Samuel Gould John Woodward Robert Fletcher, jun. May ye 16th 1746. We the subscribers the within mentioned being chosen to measure the Distance of way from the upper end of the District of Litchfield to the Lower end, whereas according to our measure not allowing any for sway of chain, we make it eight miles and one half. Jacob Hildreth Province of Vote on the question of Incorporation. The District of Nottingham being assembled toNew Hampshire} gether at the meeting house this tenth Day of March 1745-6. By virtue of a Warrant Issued out by two of his Majesties Justices of the Peace unus Quorum; they past sundry votes, first made choice of Mr Thomas Gage Moderator, Secondly it was put to Vote to see if the District will signifie by a vote that they will be Incorporated into a Distinct town and it past in the firmitive. John Hamblet yea yea Benjamin Tyng yea John Butler yea James Wason yea |