[MORRISTOWN CHARTER, 1772.]

*4-76 *Province of New

Hampshire

(Morris-Town)

GEORGE the Third by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland KING Defender of the Faith & so forth.

TO ALL to whom these Presents shall come Greeting.

KNOW YE that we of our special Grace certain knowledge & mere Motion for the due encouragement of settling a New Plantation within our said Province of New Hampshire by and with the advice of our Trusty and well beloved JOHN WENTWORTH our Governor & Commander in Chief in and over our said Province of New Hampshire in New England & of our COUNCIL of the same Have upon the Conditions & Reservations herein after made given and granted & by these Presents for us our Heirs and Successors do give and grant unto our loving Subjects Inhabitants of our said Province of New Hampshire & our other Dominions who have Petitioned us for the same setting forth their readiness to make immediate Settlement & to their Heirs and Assigns for Ever whose Names are enter'd on this Grant to be divided to & amongst them into Twenty eight Equal Shares, a certain Tract or parcel of Land situate lying and being within our said Province of New Hampshire, being more than Six Miles square, & containing by admeasurement Thirty five thousand Acres, exclusive of the following Persons who are to have such Quantities of the said Land as are herein expressly assigned to each of them, that is to say, Sir Francis Bernard Bart a lot of three hundred & fifty Acres, His Excellency Thomas Hutchinson Esq; a lot of Five Hundred Acres, The Honble John Temple Esq a lot of three hundred & Fifty Acres, Theodore Atkinson Esq: a lot of Eight Hundred Acres, Mark Hunking Wentworth Esq a lot of three Hundred & fifty Acres, Daniel Warner Esq' a lot of Three hundred & Fifty Acres, The Hon'ble Corbyn Morris Esq' a lot of Five hundred Acres, John Nelson Esq' a lot of three hundred & Fifty Acres, John Wendell Esq a lot of Five hundred Acres, Thomas McDonogh Esq' a lot of three hundred & Fifty Acres, Daniel Sherburne a lot of three hundred & Fifty Acres, Samuel Sherburne a lot of three hundred & Fifty Acres and William Ferriman a lot of three Hundred & Fifty Acres, out of which said Tract an allowance is to be made for Highways & unimproveable Lands by Rocks, Mountains & Waters Three thousand Acres free according to a plan or Survey thereof exhibited by our Surveyor General of

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Lands for our said Province by our said Governor's Order & returned into the Secretary's Office of our said Province, a Copy whereof is hereunto annexed, butted & bounded as follows Vizt Beginning at a Stake standing in the Easterly Line of Landaff Two Miles Northerly of the South Easterly corner of said Landaff, from thence running North Twenty Degrees East Four Miles to the North Easterly corner of said Landaff which is also the South Easterly corner of Gunthwaite, thence North Twenty four Degrees East Five Miles and one half Mile to the North Easterly Corner of said Gunthwaite, from thence North fifty eight Degrees East Six Miles & one half mile to a Stake, from thence South Twenty three Degrees West Eleven Miles 'till it comes to Colonel John Goffe's Grant, from thence west on said Goffe's Land Two hundred & Twenty four Rods, from thence South Forty Eight Rods to a Stake, from thence North fifty eight Degrees West Two hundred & Seventy Rods to a Stake, from thence North Twenty Degrees East Two Miles to a Stake, from thence North Fifty eight deg West Five Miles to the bound began at. TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said Tract of Land as above express'd together with all Priviledges and Appurtenances to them the said Grantees & to their respective heirs & Assigns for ever by the Name of MORRIS-TOWN upon the following Conditions. NAMELY

FIRST That the said Grantees at their own Cost shall cut clear bridge & make passable for Carriages of all kinds a Road of three Rods wide thro' the said Tract hereby granted, and this to be completed in Seven years from the date of this Grant, in failure whereof the premises & every part thereof shall be forfeited & revert to us our Heirs & Successors.

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SECOND That the said Grantees shall settle or cause to be Settled Five Families by the Eighth day of June 1776, who shall be actually cultivating some part of the Land & resident thereon, & to continue making further and additional Improvement, Cultivation & Settlement of the Premises so that there shall be actually Settled & resident thereon Thirty Families by the Eighth day of June 1779 on penalty of the forfeiture of any and every Delinquent's Share and of such Share or Shares reverting to us our Heirs & Successors to be by us or them enter'd upon & regranted to such of our Subjects as shall effectually settle & cultivate the

same.

THIRD That all white and other Pine Trees within the said Township fit for Masting our Royal Navy be carefully preserved for that use & none to be cut or fell'd without our Special Licence for so doing first had & obtained, upon the penalty of the forfeiture of the Right of the Grantee his Heirs and Assigns to us our Heirs and Successors as well as being subject to the Pen*4-78 alties of any Act or Acts of Parliament that now are *or hereafter shall be Enacted.

FOURTH That before any Division of the Land be made to & among the Grantees a Tract of Land as near the centre of the said Township as the Land will admit of shall be reserved & marked out for Town Lots one of which shall be allotted to each Grantee of the Contents of one Acre.

FIFTH Yielding and paying therefor to us our Heirs and Successors on or before the Eighth day of June 1781, the Rent of one Ear of Indian Corn only if lawfully demanded

SIXTH That every Proprietor Settler or Inhabitant shall yield and pay unto us our Heirs and Successors yearly and every Year for Ever from and after the expiration of Ten Years from the date of this Grant ONE SHILLING Proclamation Money for every hundred Acres he so owns Settles or Possesses & so in proportion for a greater or lesser Tract of the Land aforesaid; which Money shall be paid by the respective Persons abovesaid their Heirs or Assigns in our Council Chamber in Portsmouth or to such Officer or Officers as shall be appointed to receive the same and these to be in lieu of all other Rents and Services whatsoever.

IN TESTIMONY whereof we have caused the Seal of our said Province to be hereunto affixed Witness JOHN WENTWORTH Esquire our aforesaid Governor & Commander in Chief the Eighth day of June in the Twelfth year of our Reign And in the year of our Lord Christ 1772.

The Names of the Grantees of Morris-Town.

*4-79

*Province of New Hampshire. Portsm° 6th June 1772. These Certify that this Plan of Morris-Town Beginning at a Stake standing in the Easterly Line of Landaff Two Miles Northerly of the South Easterly corner of said Landaff, from thence running N. 20° E. 4 Miles to the North Eastly corner of said Landaff thence N. 24° E. 5 Miles to the N. Ely corner of Gunthwaite, thence S. 58° E. 6 Miles to a Stake, thence S. 23° W. II Miles 'till it comes to Land granted to Colo John Goffe, thence W. 224 Rods to the N. W1y corner of sd Goffe's Grant, thence S. 48 Rods to a Stake, thence N. 58° W. 270 Rods to a Stake, thence N. 20° E 2 miles to a Stake, thence N. 58° W. 5 Miles to the bounds began at. Contains 35,000 Acres of Land, & is known. by the Surveys of the several Towns & Tracts of Land bounding on said Morris-Town.

Province of New Hampshire. June 8th 1772.

Recorded from, and according to, the Original Charter of Morris-Town, under the Province Seal.

Attest Theodore Atkinson Secry

FRANKLIN.

[Made up from parts of Andover, Salisbury, Northfield, and Sanbornton, and incorporated Dec. 24, 1828. Named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. Parts of Franklin were annexed to Northfield, July 3, 1830, and to Salisbury, July 7, 1869. Parts of Northfield were annexed June 26, 1858, and June 27, 1861. The line with Andover was established July 13, 1864. A city charter was granted March 29, 1893, and adopted March 13, 1894.

See papers under titles of above named towns; Index to Laws, 197; sketch, by J. N. McClintock, 3, Granite Monthy, 132; Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles, by Parker Pillsbury, 1883, p. 196; sketch, Hurd's History of Merrimack County, 1885, p. 310; Lawrence's N. H. Churches, 1856, p. 385; Central New Hampshire, by G. F. Bacon, 1890, p. 3; A Review of Ten Years, by W. T. Savage, 1859.]

FREEDOM.

[Set off from Effingham and incorporated as North Effingham June 16, 1831. The name was changed to Freedom Dec. 6, 1832.

See papers under title Effingham; Index to Laws, 198, 407; sketch, Fergusson's History of Carroll County, 1889, p. 560; Stewart's History of the Free Baptists, 1862, p. 375; Lawrence's N. H. Churches, 1856, p. 600.]

FREMONT.

[Set off from Brentwood and incorporated as Poplin, June 22, 1764. A number of inhabitants in the south part were set off to Danville for parochial purposes, June 20, 1783. The name was changed to Fremont July 8, 1854, in honor of Gen. John C. Fremont.

See papers under title Brentwood; IX, Bouton Town Papers, 250; XI, Hammond Town Papers, 696; Index to Laws, 199, 439; sketch, Hurd's History of Rockingham County, 1882, p. 296; Lawrence's N. H. Churches, 1856, p. 53.]

GILFORD.

[This was formerly a part of Gilmanton, known as Gunstock Parish. Set off and incorporated June 16, 1812. Six islands in Winnipiseogee Lake were annexed June 22, 1826. A portion of Gilmanton was annexed to Gilford, July 5, 1851, and a portion of Laconia, July 13, 1876. A part of Gilford was annexed to Laconia, July 2, 1874. Lakeport, formerly Lake Village, was included in the charter of the city of Laconia, March 24, 1893.

See papers under title Gilmanton; Index to Laws, 206; sketch, by J. P. Watson, Hurd's History of Belknap County, 1885, p. 731; Stewart's History of the Free Baptists, 1862, p. 162; Baptist Churches in N. H., by E. E. Cummings, 1836, p. 15; Lawrence's N. H. Churches, 1856, p. 490.]