with those Inhabitants on the westerly end of Haverhill as above specified should be incorporated into a Township: Sir, we are ignorant whether any thing further will be necessary; for which reason we should be obliged to you, if you will send up if any thing is. Sir,Excuse this Trouble, Your endeavors to serve us will lay a fresh obligation upon this People and more especially upon Your Humble Servant, Methuen District, Jan. 24, 1749. To Thomas Packer, Esq. DANIEL Peaslee. [The Plans above referred to may be found in MS. Town Papers, Vol. VI. pp. 173-183. ED.] Petition for redress of grievances, 1756. To his Excellency the Governor, The Honourable his Majesty's Council, & the House of Representatives in General Court assembled: The Humble Petition of us the Subscribers, ShewethThat your Petitioners formerly Inhabitants of the District of Methuen now of Salem were included in Windham & s District at the same time, and accordingly were taken in both valuations for Windham & Methuen District but obliged by Act to pay Province taxes to Windham, which we did pay in the years 1743, 1744, 1745, 1746, 1747, 1748, 1749, 1750, 1751, 1752, for which years there are arrears due from the District afores to the Province which by Act of Court are to be paid in the years 1755 & 1756; but no arrears due from Windham,-but we being since included in Salem are taxed to s arrears due from the District afores", by which means your petitioners are greatly injured in the Premises. Therefore your Petitioners humbly pray that the aboves difficulties may be removed & your Petitioners redressed in grievances & your Petitioners shall ever pray. Salem, Feb. 2, 1756. In Council, Feby 25th 1756. Robert Ellinwood Eben' Woodbery Andrew Balch Samuel Armor Joseph Merrill Gerg. Corning John Hall, y third. Read & order'd to be sent down to the Honb House Theod. Atkinson, Sec. Province of In the House of Representatives, Feb, 26, 1756. New Hamp} This Petition being read, Voted, That the prayer of y Petition be granted, & That the Petitioners be exempted from paying any arrears of Province Tax to Salem before the year 1753, it appearing they had paid their Province Tax to Windham. Andrew Clarkson, Clk. In Council, Feby 27th 1756. Eodem Die, Theodore Atkinson, Sec B. WENTWORTH. consented to. Province of New Hampshire } Certificate. Windham, Jan3 28, 1756. These may Certify whom it may concern that we the under subscribers having been Constables for the Parish of Windham from its first incorporation untill the year 1752, and have in our several terms of serving Received the Province Tax from every person assessed in the Lists committed to us that then lived within the original Bounds of Windham, as witness our hands. James Gilmore, in 1743 1744 Alex Park, in 1745 A List of the men that served as Constables in Windham, since it was first Incorporated untill the year 1752. Another Petition for redress, &c. To his Excellency the Governor, the Hon his Majesty's Council & house of Representatives in General Court assembled. The Humble Petition of us y subscribers, sheweth That your Petitioners Inhabitants of Salem paid our Proportion of the Province Taxes to Windham in those several years in which the District of Methuen were not taxed to the Province, & that the Selectmen of Salem for the year past taxed us to the said District Province Rate laid upon s District upon Acc' of arrears due from them, by which means your Petitioners are injured in the Premises; your Petitioners therefore pray that you will be pleased to give order that your Petitioners should be eased in the Premises & your Petitioners shall ever pray. Salem, July 5, 1756. Sam Crowel Jon Morgan William Leech John Giles Council, October 13, 1756. Israel Woodbery James Twoddel' Abial Barker Hugh Campall Read & Ordered to be sent down to the Honble House. Theo. Atkinson Sec. Province of In the House of Representatives, Octor 14th, 1756. The within Petition being read, Ordered, That the Petitioners be heard on said Petition on the third day of the sitting of the General Assembly next after the first day of Nov next ensuing & that the Petitioners at their own cost & charge cause the Selectmen of Salem in said Province to be served with a copy of said Petition & this order of Court thereon, to appear & shew cause if any they have, why the prayer thereof should not be granted. [Salisbury was originally granted by Massachusetts and was known by the name of Bakers-Town. It was afterwards granted by the Masonian proprietors, 25th October 1749, and was then called Stevens-Town from Col. Ebenezer Stevens, a distinguished citizen of Kingston, many years a representative of that Town. It was incorporated by Charter from the government of New Hampshire, March 1st 1768, when it took the name of Salisbury; it originally included that part of Franklin which lies west of the Merrimack river. ED.] Province of New Hamp A guard provided for Salisbury as a frontier town. (1) At a Special Convention of the members of the Gen Assembly at Portsmouth on the 22d day of Augt 1754 in pursuance of an order from his Excellency the Governor, to the Sheriff of sd Province to summon the Members to Meet, as on file: Whereas his Excellency the Governor by his Message of the twentyfirst Instant takes notice of sundry Hostilities committed upon sundry (1) See Prov. Pap. Vol. VI. pp. 26, 27, 296-309. ED. of his Majesty's subjects at a place called Stevens-Town within this Province by Indians (suppos'd to be of the St. Francis Indians) and that the Inhabitants on the Frontier are much exposed and so put in fear, that they stand in need of Protection and help :-Therefore it is agreed upon by the members of the House of Representatives that there be the number of sixty men enlisted or Impress'd (and his Excellency is hereby desired to give orders for the enlists or Impress yt number) for the protection and defence of the Frontiers, not exceeding the space of two months, and that the allowance for their pay subsistance and amunition be the same as at the latter end of the last Indian War, and in order for a fund therefor, it is further agreed that there be so much of the Bills of Credit of ye Interest of the Twenty-five Thousand Pounds loan in the hands of the Treasurer, borrowed as will be sufficient for the same; and that for the Replacing the same in the Treasury it is further agreed, That there be a tax layd on the Polls and Estates within this Province agreeable to the last proportion to be payd by the 30th day of Decemb" 1755, and that there shall be a Tax Bill for that end as soon as the Gen1 Assembly shall be in a condition to act in a legislative capacity. Meshech Weare, Speaker. Petition for aid in settling Salisbury. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth, Esq' Capt. General, Governor & Commander in Chief in and over his Majesties Province of New Hampshire, and to the Honble his Majesties Council and House of Representatives in General court Assembled: The Petition of the Proprietors & Settlers of a Tract of Land in the Province afores comonly called Stevens-Town, humbly Sheweth: That the s Proprietors have been at great expence in settling s Tract & encourageing the same, and in the late Wars have been at considerable cost to defend the same by Building a fort thereon & paying soldiers to keep the same, even at our own private expence; and there are now many families settled and many more settling; We have also Built a Saw Mill & are building a grist Mill, & yet there are costly duties to be performed, such as the building a Meeting-house, settling a Minister &c. And the s Petitioners being in no capacity to raise money for the Defraying these & other incidental charges; We, therefore Humbly pray that your Excellency & Honours will be pleas'd to add to our cost & labour this further encouragement to settle the waste lands, viz. To make an Act according to your Excelly's & Honours Wisdom that will enable the s Proprietors & settlers to raise moneys for the carrying on their settlement & defraying other Necessary charges that may arise for the future; And so your Petitioners shall as in duty bound ever pray, &c. TRUEWORTHY LAD, In behalf & by order of the Proprietors and settlers. June the 12th day, 1765. In Council, June 20th 1765. Read & ordered to be sent down to the Honble Assembly. Province of New Hamp } T. Atkinson jun. Secy. In the House of Representatives, June 20th 1765. This Petition being read, Voted, That the Prayer thereof be granted so far as that the Petitioner have liberty to bring in a bill accordingly. A. Clarkson, Clerk. In Council, Eodm die Read & concurr'd. T. Atkinson, jun. Secy. SANBORNTON. [Sanbornton was granted by the Masonian proprietors, in 1748, to several persons of the name of Sanborn, and others; and was settled in 1765 and 1766 by John Sanborn, David Duston, Andrew Rowen and others. It was incorporated, March 1, 1770. Rev. Joseph Woodman was ordained their minister in November, 1771, when there were about fifty families in town. ED.] Petition to be exempted from taxation. Sanborn Town, January ye 8th 1768. To his Excellency John Wentworth, Esq. Captain General, Governor & Commander in Chief, in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, in New England: The Humble Petition of ye Inhabitants of Sanborn Town: We, the Inhabitants of this Town, Promicing our selves your Excellency's Protection, Both in our Public & Private interests, Humbly beg ye Liberty of Declaring to your Excellency, y Present Condition of this infant Town, which is as followeth, viz: We have thirty-two Familys in Town, & a number more we expect will sone move in, & we doubt not But that in a few years we shall if Prospered, be a flourishing Town, able to support our familys, and be a help to yo Publick, But at Present we are under a necessity of going to other Towns for meny things to support our selves and our Cattle which are but very few, y time Being so very short since we moved into Town, there Being no more than seven familys |