has procured a vote of said Proprietors to charge themselves without justice or necessity (as your Petitioners Imagine) with twelve shillings Lawful money upon each Right to defend said suit. The Rev. Mr Niles before s vote was pass'd having publicly offered to withdraw said suit at Law, and also to abate of his Salary forty Dollars, if the Proprietors would come to settlement with him according to said Proprietors vote. Fourthly-Sundry of your Petitioners having paid divers sums to the Revd Mr. Niles and laboured for him with expectation that the same should be set off against their Respective Rates or Taxes to his Sallary, no Tax was for a long time assess'd, and now but a part of the money due to Mr. Niles is assess'd, and that comprised in y same general sum with the other taxes; and no ways distinguished from them therein; so that though Mr. Niles is willing to discount the same yet your Petitioners cannot come to the knowledge of the particular sums due to him in ye Tax assess'd as afores'd. Fifthly-Some of your Petitioners having requested of the sd Brainerd that he could make a just assessment and procure a Rate bill combining the whole of ye money due to Mr. Niles according to vote of ye Propriety, ye s Brainerd refuseth to do it, and refuseth to accept of Receipts from Mr. Niles for the whole which is due to him as afores and by means of the said Brainerd's conduct and arbitrary use of his Power, your Petitioners Lands are exposed to be sold and will be sold as we are publickly notified on y 23d of this Instant July, unless your Petitioners pay the money, tho' they have paid the same in Labour-Wherefore your Petitioners humbly Pray your Excellency and the Honourable Council and Assembly to take their case under consideration and to grant them such relief in the Premises as to the wisdom of your Excellency and the Honourable Council and Assembly shall seem meet; and particularly that such order may be made thereupon that your Petitioners may have the full benefit of what they have paid the Rev Mr. Niles and the labour they have done for him, by the same being set off to pay Mr. Niles, and that they may not be liable to pay over again those sums which they have already paid as afores nor be liable to have their Land sold for the non-payment thereof nor be driven to their Action in Law to recover a due allowance for their labour: And your humble Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray. th Rumney, July ye 5 A. D. 1771. Elihu Johnson Barnabas Niles Charles Clark Isaac Clifford, Treas. or asses. Pelatiah Watson Joseph Clark Matt. Ramsey Petition of Daniel Brainerd and others. Province of To his Excellency John Wentworth, Esq New Hampshire, Capt. Gen' Governor & Commander in Rockingham ss. chief in and over his Majesty's Province aforesaid, and the Hon his Majesty's Council for said Province: The Petition of Daniel Brainerd of Rumney in s County & Province, in behalf of himself, and Mathew Grissell of Lime, David Day & Henry Champion of Colchester, & Joseph Spencer of East-Haddam, all in the Colony of Connecticut, Humbly sheweth : That your Petitioner and the afore mentioned persons are considerably interested in said Town of Rumney, under his Majesty's Grant thereof, and have with Jeremiah Clough Esq' Sam Moore & others been making Large Improvements therein by persons under them greatly to the Emolument of said Town: That the time limited for doing the Duty conditioned in the grant aforesaid Expir'd the 18 day of March last: That a number of the original Grantees have neglected to perform the several conditions in said Grant express'd, much to the prejudice of the Settle of said Town, namely, Humphrey Colby, Jabez Chapman, Miles Wright, Thomas Mosely and others: Wherefore, your Petitioner humbly prays that your Excellency & Honours would take the Premises into consideration and grant your Petitioner and the said Matthew Grissell, David Day, Henry Champion and Joseph Spencer such further Time to complete the duty enjoyn'd upon their Interest, as in your great Wisdom shall seem meet; and also to dispose of the Interest and shares of the delinquent Proprietors to such of his Majesty's good subjects as will effectually settle & cultivate the same; and your Petitioner as in duty bound shall ever Pray. Portsm May 4th, 1772. The Names of the other Grantees, who are delinquent in Rumney, referr'd to above, viz. Thomas Niles, Clerk, Ephraim Rand, Aaron Brainard & Jabez Chapman: There is one family settled on these two original Rights, but on which particular one is uncertain, as they remain undivided. DANIEL BRAinerd. Petition of Rev. Thomas Niles. To his Excellency John Wentworth, Esq' Captain General and Governor-in-chief of his Majesty's Province of New hampshire, and to the Honorable his Majesty's Council of said Province: The Petition of Thomas Niles of Rumney in the County of Grafton in said Province, Clerk, humbly sheweth: · That your Petitioner was ordained about five years ago and has endured all the hardships attending the Beginning of a new Township as the first minister of said Town of Rumney, that he owns three Rights of Land in s Township, viz. one as the proper Right of the first ordained Minister, another which was originally drawn to Ephraim Rand, by the free gift of the Proprietors of Rumney as an additional encouragement to him to settle so early in the Town among the first inhabitants, and a third granted to him the said Thomas Niles by Name in the new charter of s Township:-all which Rights the Proprietors voted to be exempt from all Taxes while in the Possession of your Petitioner and during his Ministry in said town. That on the Right originally drawn. to Ephraim Rand, your Petitioner has expended considerable money and labor, and has inclosed about twenty acres which he improves for pasturage, and is making Preparation for the settlement of a Family there as soon as possible; That on the Right granted him by Name in his Majesty's charter of the Township, your Petitioner has erected a House & Barn and mows several Tons of good English hay, and has other valuable articles of produce; That your Petitioner would have proceeded much farther in his improvements of all the above mentioned Rights if he had not been injuriously kept out of the greater part of his Salary due to him from the afores' Proprietors since his settlement in the Township: Your Petitioner therefore earnestly Requests that the Rights afores1 may be continued to him notwitstanding any Representations which may have been made to your Excellency and Honors, of his having forfeited any of them; and relies on your Wisdom and goodness that said Rights will still be confirmed: And your Petitioner shall ever pray, &c. Rumney, June 19th 1772. THOMAS NILES. RYE. [Rye was formerly called Sandy Beach, and was appurtenant to Portsmouth. After New Castle was constituted, Sandy Beach became a Parish of that place; and was incorporated as such in 1726, and allowed to send a representative to the General Assembly. ED.] Petition for a new District or Precinct, 1721. To his Excellency Samuel Shute Esq' Capt. Gen' & Governor in chief in and over his Majties Province of New Hampshire &c. To the Hon the Council & House of Representatives, now conven'd in Gen Assembly in & for s Province: The humble Petition of sundry the Inhabitants living about Sandy Beach, partly in New Castle, Hampton & Portsmouth, humbly sheweth: That your Petitioners, the subscribers hereof, have for these many years past lived under great inconveniencies as to their having the free benefit of the gospell, most of us Living at great Distances from our Respective meeting-houses, especially those belonging to New-Castle;-for that besides the great Distance wee live from thence, there is the great Inconvenience of a Ferry, by the Reasons of which for neare half the yeare, Wee the Masters of families that are best able cannot but now and then attend upon the publick worship of God (as in Duty wee are bound) and when wee Doe, It is many times late within Night e're wee can reach our habitations: And besides this great inconvenience to ourselves, there is a much greater happens to the greatest part of our families (viz.) our women and children, who can rarely attend at all or not above two or three times in the yeare, and then but those that are groun to years; for our younger children that should imbibe in the precepts of the gospell with their milk, cannot attend untill groun to some years: Wee having four, five & some more than six miles, besides the Ferry; And wee can now count amongst us above two hundred and forty or fifty souls, and not one third capeable to attend as wee are now circumstanced: And we think ourselves capeable to maintain a minister of the Gospel, and to give a Competent Liveing, as our neighbouring Pa'shes & precincts do: Therefore wee, your humble Petitioners prays that we may be set off a p'ticular precinct (from Mr. William Seveys and westward by the sea-side as far towards Hampton as the little Boars head or Little River, and back into the Country about three miles & a halfe or soe far as in your wisdom shall see meet) and that we may be impowered to make and raise all our own Taxes & gather them: tioners. John Lock William Wallis John Brackett Thomas Rand Joshua Foss Edward Lock Beniamen Sevey Jacob Libe James Lock John Garland Ebenezer Philbrick William Seavey James Seavey Philip Pain So prays your humble Peti William Marden Nathanel Beary William Beary Thos Jennes John Jennes Samuel Rand Samuel Brackett Joseph Seavey Thomas Rand Beniamen Seavy, jun Samuel Wallis Willm Sevey jun. Samuel Dovst Petition to be set off as a new Parish or District, 1724. To the Honble John Wentworth, Esq' Livt Gov and Commander in Chief in and over his Majtys Province of New Hampshire in New England, and to the Honble the Council for s Province: The humble Petition of the Inhabitants living in that part of New Castle called Little Harbour and Sandy Beach, and the Inhabitants living at the Eastward of the Little River comonly so called, att the Easterly end of Hampton, next Sandy Beach, and sundry others of Portsm° Living near the sd Sandy Beach humbly Sheweth: That there being sixty familys or upward within the Precints above named who having for a long time lived att a great Distance from any meeting house where the publick worship of God has been carried on, and most of us having great familys which very Rare above one or Two of a family can go to the House of God for the greatest part of the time by Reason of the Distance we live from any meeting house, and thereby the greatest part of our familys have been Deprived of the Dispensation of the Gospell, and there has been |