FOUNDERS OF FORT NO. 4, CHARLESTOWN, NH From: Farns10th@aol.com - Janice Farnsworth Topic:  The Granting of Fort 4, Part 4 Source:  History of Charlestown, NH, The Old No. 4 by Rev. Henry H. Saunderson printed at Claremont, NH 1876 Chapter 1 Circumstances Connected with the Granting of No. 4 p.9 1. Voted - That the house lots be drawn for. 2d. Voted - That the Meadow lots in the lst Division be drawn for. 3. Voted - That the Second Division of Meadow lots be drawn for. 11th. Voted - That the Proprietor's Treasurer shall pay to the Respective Persons Their Several Sums of money that is due to them as their accompts then lay before them. 12th. Voted - That such Proprietors, that have not drawn their Lots, which are left in the hand of the Treasurer, first paying their proport- ion of past charges, may draw them with calling the Clerk and Treasurer together. 13th. Voted - That we will choose a Committee to Confer with men about the building of a saw mill and Corn Mill, upon the most easy terms they can. 14th. Voted - Capt. Nathaniel Coleman, Ensign Zach. Field Noah Wright, Nathaniel Kellogg and John Catting be a Committee for the afforsaid. 15th. Voted - That we will reconsider the eleventh vote. 16th. Voted - That the former Committee that were chosen to take in accompts, (viz.) Capt. Israel Williams, Nathaniel Kellogg, Noah Wright, shall be empowered to give order to the Proprietor's Treasurer to pay out moneys to the several persons to whom it is due. 17th. Voted - That we employ Nathaniel Kellogg of Hadley to lay the plan he hath taken and draught of the township No. 4, etc., for the approbation of the General Court's Committ- ee. 18th. Voted - That we accept the return of the Committee refering to the Laying out the Lotts and Highways and Confirm them Agreeable as they are laid in the plan. 19TH. Voted - That Joseph Billings' account be allowed for charges that hath arisen by the Proprie- tors (viz.) f3 3s 10d. 20th. Voted - That the meeting be adjourned to the 3rd Tuesday of October at eight of the clock in the morning. p.10. AN ADJOURNMENT At an adjourned meeting of the 18th of October, A. Domini, 1737 at the House of Joseph Billings of Hatfield. 1st. Voted - That Capt. Nathaniel Coleman be one of the Persons with the Clerk and Treasurer, for persons to apply to, to draw their lots, and that either two of the three, shall be sufficient to draw his lott with paying his money. 2d. Voted - To make choiceof John Catting to join with Orlando Bridgman, as a committee in behalf of Ensign Zach. Field to view and mark a rode a rode in the most convenient place as they like best to said township. 3d. Voted - That this meeting be adjourned to the lst Tuesday in January at eight of the clock in the morning, to the House of Capt. Nathaniel Coleman of Hatfield, Anno Domini 1738. AN ADJOURNMENT "At an adjourned meeting on the 3d day of January, Anno Domini 1738 at the house of Capt. Nathaniel Coleman of Hatfield, Innholder, etc. 1st. Voted - That we will chuse a Committee to Prose- cute (as the law directs) the Law upon such persons as refuse and neglect to pay their just proportion of Past Charges. 2d. Voted - That we choose a Committee to Confer with the Proprietors of some of the neighboring towns to do their proportion in cutting a road to such townships as they shall agree to. 3d. Voted - Capt. Thomas Wells, Capt. Nathaniel Coleman Lieut. Joseph Clesson, Deacon William Dickingson, Nathaniel Kellogg, John Catting Committee men for afores'd Purpose. 4th. Voted - That Nathaniel Coleman shall have two pounds ten shillings for providing for the Pro- prietors. 5th. Voted - That Lieut John Smith shall have one pound, five shillings for past charges for the proprietors. 6th. Voted - The sum of eight shillings to Joseph Billings for past charges. The affores'd votes were voted at the affores'd meeting as attest Nathaniel Coleman, Moderator A true copy, attest Benjamin Dickinson, Proprietors' Clerk THE GENERAL COURT The foregoing votes were presented to the Committee of the General Court for approbation, which were read and approved by said Committee. William Dudley. Boston, 28th June 1738 (listed is the material above) p.13 The next meeting of the Proprietors of No. 4 on the East Side of the Connecticut River being legally warned and assembled this 29th day of September, 1740. "The Proprietors being informed that by the Determination of his Majesty in Council respecting the Controverted Bounds between the Province of the Massachusetts Bay and New-Hampshire, they are Excluded from the Province of the Massachusetts Bay to which they always supposed them- selves to belong. Therefore Unanimously Voted that a petition be refered to the Kings' Most Excellent Majesty, setting fourth our distressed Estate and praying we may be annexed to the said Massachusetts Province: That Thomas Hutchinson, Esq., be Impowered to present the said petition to his Majesty and to appear and fully act for and in behalf of this town Respecting the subject matter of said Petition according to His Discression. Thomas Wells, Moderator Voted - That the charges of this Meeting amounting to the sum of f2. 11s. 0, be paid by the Proprietors. Thomas Wells" Author's note: How much had been done previous to this time in pre- paring No. 4 for settlement cannot now be ascertained That some money had been expended is certain, but it is equally certain that some of the improvements which the proprietors voted to make had not been made. From their petition to His Majesty to be reannexed to Massachusetts, IF the proprietors ever heard, no record was made of it. It was of such a nature, that they could scarcely have had any expectation that it would receive a favorable answer. The exclusion of the township from Massachusetts was a great disappointment to the proprietors, and proved for upward of twenty years an exceedingly prolific source of trouble to the settlers, as from this history will hereafter be seen. p.14 The first settlement of No. 4 was made by three brothers Samuel, David and Stephen Farnsworth in 1740. They were natives of Groton, Massachusetts but at the time of their removal to No. 4, were of Lunenburg, MA. They were soon followed by Isaac Parker and sons and Obadiah Sartwell from Groton, MA, John Hastings of Hatfield, Moses Willard of Lunenburg and Phineas Stevens of Rutland, MA. __________________________________________________ End Part 4 of 4 ************************************************* * * * * 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.