ince of New Hampshire, yeoman & William Parker of Portsmouth in said Province, Gent. as agents for and in behalf of the new Parish in said Londonderry : bl That at the last Session of this Hon Court sundry of the Inhabitants of Londonderry afores exhibited a Petition praying that they (with others) might be erected & incorporated into a new Parish with the usual Powers & authorities granted in the like cases: That accordingly an Act was past by which a new Parish was erected & incorporated within said Londonderry by certain metes & bounds set forth in the said Act with the usual powers & authorities of a Parish, by which Act the first meeting of the said Parishioners was to have been in March last; But so it happen'd that no Persons were named & appointed to call the first meeting in & by said Act, tho' a blank is therein left for the names of such Persons as this Hon Court should see meet to appoint; Whereby the ends & purposes of the said Act are intirely prevented and can in no measure take effect until something farther shall be done in the premises. Wherefore your Petitioners in behalf of their principals most humbly pray that proper persons may be appointed to call the first meeting of the said Parishioners, and that they may be enabled to call the same forthwith, and that when the said Parishioners are assembled they may have the same power and authority as if their meeting had been held in March last, & the officers that shall be chosen at the same as fully impower'd to discharge the duty of their respective offices for the remaining part of the currt year & until new ones shall be chosen as if they had been chosen in March last pursuant to the said Act;-And y' Petitioners as in duty bound shail ever pray, &c. JAMES REID In the House of Representatives, Augst y 5th 1740. The within Petition was read and voted, that the prayer of the Petition be granted, and that John McMurphy, Geo: Duncan, jun. & James Akins be the p'sons to call the first meeting on the first Wednesday in September next: and that the Petitioners have liberty to bring in a Bill Accordingly. In Council, Eod die. James Jeffrey, Clk. assm Incorporation of Windham as a Parish. Anno Regni Regis Georgii Secundi Magnæ Britanie, Franciæ and Hiberniæ, Decimo Quarto &c. An Act for Incorporating a New parish in the Township of Londonerry in the Province of New Hampshire. Whereas sundry of the Inhabitants of the Southern part of Londonderry aforesaid have petitioned this Court representing their circumstances to be such as made it necessary to Incorporate them into a new parish & that the other part of the Town was willing they should be so Incorporated by the Boundaries particularly set forth in their Petition, and praying that it might be accordingly done-which Representation having been examined by this Court and found true as to the substance thereof: Be it therefore Enacted, By his Excellency the Governour, Council and Representatives in General Court Assembled, and by the authority of the same It is hereby Enacted and ordained, that a new Parish shall be erected in the said township of Londonderry and hereby incorporated and made by the name of Windham, and is comprehended within the following metes and Boundaries, (viz.) Beginning at the Dwelling House of one John Hopkins of said Londonderry, yeoman and from thence running on a due west course to Beaver brook so called: then beginning again at the said house at the place where it began before (so as to have the said house to ye Northward) and from thence to run on a due East course till it Comes to ye Easterly line of said Londonderry, thence to run as said Line runs till it comes to the southerly boundary of said Londonderry, then to run to Westward as the said boundary runs till it comes to the said Brook, and then to run as the said Brook runs untill it comes to the place on the said Brook where the said West line runs across the same :- Excepting out of these limits the polls and estates of John Archibald, James Clark, James Moor, John Hopkin, and John Cochran and their respective families: And the said Parish shall be and hereby is invested with all the powers and Authorities that y severall Towns in this Province are invested with, and likewise shall have, hold and enjoy the same priviledges, immunities and liberties that the said towns hold and enjoy by the Laws and customs in use and force within the Same: Saving only the chusing of a Representative in the General Court, in which matter the Inhabitants of sa Parish are to joyn with the other Inhabitants of said town; as also in what concerns the Common Lands in the said township; And the Inhabitants of the said Parish and the Estates within the same (saving those before excepted-) are hereby exonerated & discharged of and from all duties, services and burthens; and the payment of all taxes, rates and charges to any other part of the said town, Excepting what relates to sending and supporting a Representative at the General Court, the dividing or managing the Common Lands aforesaid and such taxes, rates and charges as are already proportioned, assessed within the said town. And Be it further Enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That Robert Dinsmoor, Joseph Waugh and Robert Thomson are hereby authorized and appointed to call the first meeting of the Inhabitants of the said Parish on the eighth day of March next; in the performance of which as also in the management and Regulation of the said meeting, The laws relating to such matters and the customs in force in said Province are to be attended and observed: And the officers that shall be chosen by the said Inhabitants at the said meeting regulated as aforesaid, shall be and hereby are authorized and impowered, being first qualified Ac cording to Law, to execute, observe, do and fulfill all and singular the authoritys, powers and dutys, and hold and enjoy the privileges, profits and immunities appertaining to their respective offices, that such officers in the several towns aforesaid execute, hold and enjoy and as effectually to all intents and purposes;-provided that the inhabitants of the said Parish shall from time to time provide, maintain and support an orthodox minister of the Gospel among them: Febuary, ye 10, 1741. In the house of Representatives the above Bill read three times and past to be enacted. Andrew Wiggin, Speaker. Feby 12, 1741-2. Read three times at ye Council Board and past to be enacted. Richard Waldron, Sec. Feby 12, 1741-2. I assent to the enacting this Bill. B. WENTWORTH. Deposition of James Gilmore. The Deposition of James Gilmore of lawful age, doth testify & say that he being Constable in Windham for the year 1743, collected the Province tax of all the Inhabitants within sa Parish in its original bounds, committed to his List. James Gilmore. Certificate. [A rare specimen.] Province of Sallam, January the 19th, year 1757? than the a bove New hamp' named Jemes Gillmor apeard Before me and Being carefully Eaxamind to and casined to tastify the holl truth mad sollam oth to the truth of the above writen Dickclarison By him him subscribed it Being taken at the Request of Oliver Sanders to Be yousd in the Jenerill A Samble of said Province_Realting to a patision loged with the said a sambly Relating to the Destrickt Raats of Methuen for an axamshun from said Rates. Sworn Before me this Day and Dat above menshuned. Daniel Peaslee, just of the pece. [A similar Deposition was made by John Vance, constable, of collecting taxes, in 1747; which was also certified by Daniel Peaslee, in form as above, Jan 20, 1757. ED.] Petition in relation to an irregular Parish meeting. To his Excellency Benning Wentworth, Esq' Capt. General, Governor & Commander in Chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, the Honble his Majesty's Council & House of Representatives for said Province in General Assembly Convened, the 11th day of Decemb' 1746. The Humble Petition of sundry of the Freeholders & Inhabitants of the Parish of Windham in said Province, shews: That the selectmen of said Parish for the current year, by their Warrant or Notification dated the 20th of June last, called a meeting of the Inhabitants & Freeholders of the same, to have been holden on the 7th day of July following, but held in September last by adjournment, for the following purposes, viz. First, to see what Encouragement they would give for the settling of a Gospel Minister among them & what yearly salary. 2dly to consider what sum might be proper to be raised for the maintenance of the Gospel among them according to their former way, or whatever else they might then think necessary. Pursuant to which the meeting was afterwards held by adjournment as aforesaid & Voted on the first article of the Warrant to give Mr. Wm. Johnson (a gentleman who has preached there) the sum of three hundred pounds Old Tenor settling money, & two hundred pounds yearly salary. 2dly, Voted on the last article of the Warrant, not to raise any money according to their former manner. That there would not have been a majority of the Votes in favour of those Resolves had more been admitted to Vote but such as were qualified, but by admitting of disqualified Persons matters were carried against the majority, or at least an equal number of qualified voters: That the said Meeting being a special or particular meeting nothing should have been transacted there but what was expressly mentioned in the warrant for calling of the same; and your Petitioners humbly conceive that neither of the articles mentioned in the said warrant could authorize the voters at that meeting to make choice of a man to be their minister, nor to give an invitation to any particular person to settle among them in that relation & whenever a meeting is call'd for that purpose being a point of great weight & Consequence ought always to be expressly set forth in the warrant as part of the intended business of the meeting & not to be comprised under any general expressions whatsoever. That your petitioners apprehend, should such a design be fairly Notified & the meeting Regularly conducted, there would be a majority of the Votes against the choice aforesaid & in order to obtain such a meeting more than twenty-five of the Inhabitants & Freeholders of the said Parish have since petition'd the select men afores for that purpose & mention'd in their petition sundry articles they would have inserted in the Notification for calling the Meeting: But the Selectmen have refused & utterly denied to do it :-all which with many other matters respecting the managem' of said meeting too tedious to be here inserted your petitioners conceive to be just matter of grievance & complaints Wherefore they Humbly pray that the meeting held as aforesaid may be declared to be irregular & illegal & the proceedings thereof Null & Void; that a new meeting may be called for the purposes mentioned in the Petition to the selectmen afores (a copy of which shall be produced,) and some indifferent suitable person be appointed to govern the said meeting, that so the minds of the Parish may be truly known relating to the matter in Dispute, and thereby a variety of Law-suits prevented: And your petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray, &c. William Jameson Francis Dinsmoor Samuel Campbell John Dinsmoor In Council, December 11th 1746. William Jameson jun John Dinsmoor, jun. Read & ordered to be sent down to ye Honble House. Theod. Atkinson, Sec. Prov. of New In the House of Representatives, Dec. 11, 1746. Voted, That the within Petitioners be heard on the within Petition the third day of the sitting of the General Assembly after y seventeenth day of January next & that sd Petitioners at their own cost serve the select men of sd Windham with a Copy of this Petition & this order of Court, that they may appear & shew cause if any they have why the prayer of s Petition should not be granted. In Council, December 13th 1746. D. Peirce, Clk. Read & concurrd. Theode Atkinson, Secy. Eodem Die, Assented to B. WENTWORTH. |