The County of Yorkshire Created, by the General Court 166 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY The County of Yorkshire Created, by the General Court of Massachusetts' NOVEMBER 20-30, 1652. For the circumstances which led to the creation of the county of Yorkshire by the General Court of Massachusetts, November 20-30, 1652, references must be made to the "Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England." May 26-June 5, 1652, the Court passed the following order about the north line: Concerning the north lyne of this jurisdiccon, itt was this day voted, vppon prvsall of our charter, that the extent of the ljne is to be from the northermost parte of the Riuer Merremacke and three miles more north, where it is to be found, be it a hundred miles, more or lesse, from the sea, and thence vppon a streight ljne east & west to each sea. In accordance with this liberal interpretation of the boundaries laid down in the "colony charter," John Sherman of Watertown, and Jonathan Ince, a student at Harvard College, were employed as " artists" "to finde out the most northerly part of Merremacke Riuer." They made return that on the first day of August, 1652, they found the latitude required to be 43' 40' I2" N., "besides those minutes which are to be allowed for the three miles more north which runs into the lake ('Winnapuscakit')." A commission was immediately issued by Governor Endicott, with full power to settle the civil government to the most northerly limit of the patent. In November the town of Kittery acknowledged the government of Massachusetts, and the county of Yorkshire in west- ern Maine was formally created, with the same rights and privileges that the inhabitants south of the Piscataqua enjoyed. Subsequently other settlements submitted to the authority of Massachusetts, and the name and power of Gorgeana were extinguished. The special grant of privileges to Kittery is in "Massachusetts Records," IV, part 1, 124-I26; "York Deeds," I, folios 96, 27; Ebenezer Hazard, "Historical Collections," etc. (Philadelphia, I792), 573, 574; James Sullivan, "History of the District of Maine" (Boston, 1795), 335-337; and James Phinney Baxter, editor, "Bax- (1) Documentary History of Maine. (Farnham Papers). Vol. 7, P. 273. COUNTY OF YORKSHIRE CREATED 167 ter Manuscripts," Maine Historical Society, "Documentary Series," 1V, 25-28. The "Massachusetts Records" contain the earliest authentic copy, which is the text adopted. To graunt to Kittery, 20th Notuember, 1652. Whereas the toune of Kittery hath acknowledged themselves subject to the gouernment of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, as by the subscription vnder theire hands, bearing date the 16th of this instant, it doth appeare, wee, the comissioners of the Gennerall Court of the Massa- chusetts for the setling of gouernment amongst them and the rest wth in the bounds of theire charter northerly to the full and just extent of theire lyne, haue thought meete and actually doe graunt as followeth:- 1st. That the whole tract of land beyond the Ritter of Piscataq northerly, together with the Isle of Shoales, wth in our sajd bounds, is and shallbe henceforth a county, or shire, called by the name of Yorkshire. 2. That the people inhabiting there shall enjoy proteccon aequall acts of favor, & justice wth the rest of the people inhabitting on the south side of the Riuer Piscataq, wth in the 1jmitts of our whole jurisdiccon. 3. That Kittery shallbe and remajne a touneship, & haue and enjoy the priviledges of a toune, as others of the jurisdiccon haue and doe enjoy. 4. That they shall enjoy the same bounds that are cleere betweene toune and toune, as hath birm formerly graunted when cornissioners of each bordering toune hath vejwed and retourned to vs or to the Gennerall Court theire survey. S. That both each toune and euery inhabitant shall haue and enjoy all theire just proprietjes, titles, and interests in the howses and lands which they doe possesses whither by graunt of the toune, or of the Indeans, or of the former Gennerall Courts. 6. That the toune of Kittery, by theire freeman, shall send one deputy yearely to the Court of Election, and that it shallbe in theire libertje to send to each Court two deputjes, if they thinke good. 7. That all the present inhabitants of Kittery shall be freemen of the -countrje, and, having taken the oath of freemen, shall have libertje to give theire votes for the election of the Gouernor, Assistants, and other gennerall -officers of the countrje. 8. That this county of Yorke shall haue County Courts wth in them- selves, in the most comodious and fitt places, as authoritje shall see meete to .appointee 9. That euery touneshipp shall haue three men, approved by the County Court, to end smale cawses, as other the touneshipps in the jurisdiccon hath, where no magistrate or comissioner resideth. 10. That the shire shall or may haue three associates to asist such corn- issioners as the present comissioners or authoritje, of the Massachusetts .shall send, and such magistrates as shall voluntarilly come vnto them from tjrne to tjme. 11. That the inhabitants of the county of Yorkshire shall not be draune to .any ordjnary gennerall traynings out of theire oune county wth out theire -consent. 168 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY 12. That the inhabitants of Kittery shall also haue & enjoy the same priviledges that Douer hath, vppon theire coming vnder this gouernment. I3. That all such as haue or shall subscribe voluntarily, as the rest haue donne, before the ending this Courte, shall haue the priviledge of indempnitje for all acts of power exercised by the former gent vntill the protest, and for and in respect of such criminall matters as are breaches of poenall lawes wth in the whole gouernment; provided, that Abraham Curtly hath libertje to appeale in respect of his case wherein he was fined tenn pounds, anno 51. 14. Provided alwajes, that nothing in this our graunt shall extend to de- termine the infringing of any persons right to any land or inhaeritaunce, whither by graunt, by pattent, or otherwise, where possession is had, but such titles shallbe left free to be heard and determined by due course of lawe. Provided, and it is hereby declared, that nothing in this graunt shall extend to restrains any civill action, or revejw for former civill cawses,. which review shall be brought to any of our Courts wth in one yeere now ensuing. And whereas there are certajne debts and imposts due to the inhabitants of Kitterje and Accomenticus, and some debts which are owing from them to pticular persons for publicke occasions, itt is therefore ordered and agreed, that Mr Niccolas Shapleigh shall haue power forth- with to collect such some or somes of money as are due to the aforesajd inhabitants, and pay such debts as are justly dew from them, and give an accompt thereof, wth in one month, to the comissoners that shallbe then in present being; and if it shall then appeare that there is not sufficyent to discharge the peoples engagement, it shall be suppljed by way of rate, accord- ing to the former customer SYMON BRADSTREET, THO: WIGGIN, SAMUELL SYMONDS, BRJAN PENDLETON. Honorable Willis Y. Patch has recently presented the Bangor Public Library with some valuable old pamphlets, including the Official Proceedings of the National Democratic Conventions of 1876 and 1892; Report of the decision of the U. S. Supreme Court in the Dred Scot case, 1857; Story's Address on Chief justice Mar- shall; "The Hale report shown up by Governor Alonzo Garcelon and his Council," "Gov. Sam Houston's Message on the S. C. resolutions, 1860;" "Report of Commissioners appointed to settle with the sure- ties of Benj. D. Peck, late treasurer of Maine, 186o," etc. (c) 1998 Courtesy of the Androscoggin Historical Society ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. 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