FOUNDERS OF FORT NO. 4, CHARLESTOWN, NH From: Farns10th@aol.com - Janice Farnsworth Topic:  The Granting of Fort 4, Part 2 Source:  History of Charlestown, NH, The Old No. 4 by Rev. Henry H. Saunderson printed at Claremont, NH 1876 Chapter 1 p.3 After the petition of New Hampshire for a divisional line between the two provinces, during the years 1735-1736 and while the decision of His Majesty was still pending, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay granted above thirty townships between the rivers Merrimac and the Connecticut; which townships upon the running (that is determining) of the divisional line in 1738, fell with- in the Province of New Hampshire; and among them were those granted under the designations: No. 1., No. 2., No. 3., and No. 4; which are the present townships of Chesterfield, Westmoreland, Walpole and Charlestown.; which though they had fallen within the limits of New Hampshire, were all subsequently settled in dependence upon their grants received from Massachusetts. The settlers, therefore, as their grants had emanated from an authority which had no jurisdiction over the soil, had, as it was claimed, no valid title to their lands. And this they must have known, as the final decree of his Majesty fixing the boundary line, bears date March 5, 1740; and we find a petition of the proprietors of No. 4 dated Sept 29, 1740 to His Majesty, praying to be re- annexed to the Massachusetts Province, to which they had supposed they belonged. This was before any considerable settlement had been made. But notwithstanding their title was uncertain, we find that the settlement was still continued, though for the most part under differ- ent proprietors till 1753; when in consequence of the re- port of the Attorney and Solicitor General in relation to what was right and proper to be done concerning those townships which had been granted by Massachusetts, in which it was substantially recommended, that proprietors who had made improvements on their lands, should be con- firmed in the rights and privileges given them by their grants from that State, application was made by petition to New Hampshire to that effect, which was readily and cheerfully granted. Thus Charlestown was for between twelve and thirteen years after it settlement substant- ially a Massachusetts town. The circumstances which led to the granting of the above mentioned townships by the Province of Massachusetts within the limits of New Hampshire, are explained by the action of her General Court in the years 1735 - 1736. A large number of petitions having been presented to the General Court, asking for grants of townships, a committ- ee was appointed on the 14th of January 1735 and "the next day January 15th 1735, Edmund Quincy, Esq., from the committee of both Houses on the petitions for town ships etc., gave in the following report." Report. The Committee appointed, the Fourteenth Currant, to take into Consideration the several Petitions for Townships, now before the Court, and report what may be proper for the Court to do thereon, Having met and maturely considered the same, are humbly of opinion, that there be a careful View and Survey of the Lands between Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers from the North West Corner of Rumford on Merrimack to the Great Falls on Connecticut, of twelve miles, at the least, in breadth, or North and South, by a committee of Eleven Able and Suitable Persons, to be appointed by this court. Who shall after a due knowledge of the nature and circumstances thereof, lay the same into as many townships of the contents of six miles square, as the land in wedth as aforesaid will allow of; no township to be more than six miles east and west. And also lay out the land on the east side of Connecticut River, from said falls to the township laid out to Josiah Willard and others into as many townships of the contents of six miles square as the same will allow of, and also the land on the west side of the Connecticut River from said Falls to the equivalent land into one or two townships of the contents of six miles square, if the same will allow thereof, five of which committee to be a quorum for surveying and laying out the town- ships on each from Rumford to Connecticut River as a- foresaid; and Three of the Committee aforenamed shall be a Quorum for surveying and laying out the townships on each side of the Connecticut River as aforesaid. And that the said committee make report of their doings to this court at their Sessions in May next or as soon as conveniently they can, that so the persons whose names are contained in the several petitions hereafter mention- ed viz.; In the Petition of Hopkinton; In the petition of Salis- bury and Almsbury; In the petition of Cambridge; In the petition of Bradford and Wenham; in the petition of Haverhill; In the petition of Milton and Brookline; In the petition of Samuel Chamberlain and Jonathan Jewett; and in the petition of Nathaniel Harris, etc.; in the petition of Stephens and Goulden and others; In the petition of Morgan Cobb etc., Jonathan Welles etc., Lyscombe and Jonathan Powers etc., John Whitman, Esq., Samuel Haywood etc., Josiah Fassett and others, John Flynt and others, Jonathan Howard and others, of Bridge- water that have not heretofore been admitted grantees or settlers within the space of seven years last past of or in any former or other grant of a township or particular grant on condition of settling; and that shall appear and give security to the value of forty pounds to perform the conditions that shall be enjoined by this Court; may by the major part of the committee be admitted grantees into one of the said townships; The committee to give public notice of the time and place of their meeting to admit the grantees, which committee shall be impowered to employ surveyors and chainmen to assist them in surveying and laying out said townships; the Province to bear the charge and be repaid by the grant- ees who may be admitted, the whole charge they shall advance. Which committee we apprehend ought to be dir- ected and impowered to admit sixty settlers in each township and take their bonds payable to the committee and their successors in the said Trust, to the use of the Province for the performance of the conditions of their Grant, viz't. That each grantee build a dwelling house of eighteen feet square and seven feet stud at the least on their respective home lots and fence in and break up for plowing or clear and stock with English grass five acres of land within three years next after their admittance and cause their respective lots to be inhabited, and that the grantees do within the space of three years from the time of their being admitted to build and finish a convenient meeting house for the public worship of God, and settle a learned orthodox minister; and in case of the grantees shall fail or neglect to perform what is enjoined as above. The Committee shall be obliged to put the bonds in suit and take possession of the lots and the rights that shall become forfeit and proceed to grant them to other persons that will appear to fulfill the conditions within one year next after the said last mentioned grant. And if a sufficient number of petit- ioners that have no grant within seven years as afore said (viz't. sixty to each township) do not appear others may be admitted provided they have fulfilled the conditions of their former grant. The committee to take care that there be sixty three house lots laid out in as regular compact and defensible a manner as the land will allow of. One of which lots shall be for the first settled minister. One for the second settled minister and one for the School. To each of which an equal proportion of land shall accrue in all future divisions. Fryday, January 16, 1735 In the House of Representatives. Ordered: That Joseph Gerrish, Benjamin Prescott, Josiah Willard, Job Almy Esquires, Mr. Moses Pierson and Capt. Joseph Gould with such as the Honorable Board shall join be a committee to all intents and purposes to effect the business projected by the report of the committee of Both Houses to consider the petitions for townships which passed this day, viz't: On the proposed line between Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers and on both sides of Connecticut Rivers and that there be granted and allowed to be paid out of the public treasury after the rate of fifteen shillings per diem (to each of the committee) for every day he is in the service in the woods and subsistence, and ten shillings per diem for every day to each one of the said committee while in the service in admitting settlers into the said township, and subsistence to be paid as aforesaid. In council, read and concurred, and William Dudley, Samuel Welles, Thomas Berry, Joseph Wilder, and John Chandler, Jun'r., Esquires are joined with the committee of the House for the Line between Merrimack and Connecti cut Rivers, etc. _____________________________________________________ End Part 2 ************************************************* * * * * 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. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.