Dificueltys and your Petitioners will as in Deuty Bound Ever Edmund Stickney David Wetherspoon James Hidder Benj. Peirce Province of New Hamps Sam1 Aken Wm Brown James Wetherspoon Joseph Calfe Daniel Wetherspoon In the House of Representitives Jany 23 1773 Voted that the Petition's Serve the Select men of Chester with a Copy of the Petition & order of Court thereon & that they may be heard thereon the third day of the setting of the Gen' Assembly after the first day of April In Council eodem die Read & concurd Geo King D. Sec William Parker Cler Ass In the house of Representatives May 13 1773 the Petitioners were heard to Enforce this Petition and a part of the Inhabitants heard in Answer and considering the circumstances of the People Voted that the Petition be Dismiss'd William Parker Cler Chester March ye 23 1773 This day serv'd with ye within Petition greeable to order of Cort Sam' Robie Selectmen Province of New Hampshire 11 Mar. 1773 A Humble Petition to the Great & General Court That whereas, a petition has formerly been presented unto the great and General Court of this province by a number of the inhabitants of that part of Chester commonly called the Long meadow, and that the said petition setteth forth the great inconveniency the inhabitants labour under by being at such a distance, from the two several meeting Houses belonging to the said town of Chester, and that they the said inhabitants are thereby often prevented from hearing the word of God preached & therefore they have presumed to Pray the Great & General Court to Incorporate them into a separate parish by themselves. At a late public meeting of said inhabitants of said part of the town of Chester, they convened and almost voted unanimously a positive resolve, that the former said petition should be dormant; for they the inhabitants maturely considered the great hardships they already laboured under (tho' considered as part joined with the whole Town) and that if such a plan was put in execution, they would be rendered uncapable of answering the intention of said former petition, and at the same time lay themselves under many more difficulties not only of being deprived of hearing the word of God preached amongst them (which is at present faithfully done twice every Month by the Revd Mr. Wilson) but the small probability of being unanimous in their choice which at present they are happily united And further as the said former Petition was clandestingly propagated amongst the inhabitants by designing men whose aim was only self interest, consequently enemies to the body politic, when they consider themselves if seperated from the rest of the Town of the aforesaid Chester not to exceed above fifty or sixty famelys, and those (most of them at least) in circumstances very uncapable of bearing such taxes as they must necessary undergo under such a scheme. Therefor, the Several Inhabitants, deliberating upon the many circumstances there anent Hereby Humbly sublicates that the Great and General Court, will be pleased to view the former presented Petition as propagated by a few persons dissenting from the community purely to gratify their own humour and that the above said Great and General Court, will deliver us from being imposed upon by such who are enemies to our happy constitution and Your Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray Chester Mar. 11, 1773 James Litch Mansfield McAffee John Craford Moses Underhill John Orr William Vance Mathew Templeton Stephen Derben Nathanael Wood David Cunningham Samuel Blunt Aron Rollings James Miller Michael Gordon Chester April ye 24th 1773 To the Wardens of the presbeterian parish in Chester, Gentlemen the Request of your humble Subscribers is that you Would be pleased as soon as posible to call a parish meeting that the Disputes Concerning the Sitting off of the long meadow May be laid before the parish in General for to see If the Lower part of the parish will assist anything in Keeping the parish Conected as It now is pray Gentlemen Dont Neglect and in so Doing you Will oblidge your humble Servants David Dickey David Dinsmore William Miller William Gilcrest Thomas McMaster Willam McMaster To His Exelancy John Wintworth Esqr. Capt. generall and governor and Comander in Cheaff of His Majesties Province of New Hampshire &c Thee Humball Pertion of Daniel Foster of Chester, in New Hampshior Sheweth that your Humball Pertioner Doath Pray That your Exelancy would Be Pleased to Grant me your Humball Pertioner The Privoledge of a Ferry over Merrimack River against my Dwelling Howes in Chester and against the upper end of Goffstown there Being No Ferry Below Their while we cum to Amasquage Falls which is Six Mills Below and their is no Ferry Above their for above four Mills which is against Pembrock Town and This Place is Citewate where it will greatly acomidate the People That Travill to or from gofstown Dunbarton Bowtown and HopKingtown and many other Towns above Their I should be glad to serve the Publick in this Thing as your Humball Pevtioner in Duty Bound Shall Ever Pray DANIEL FOSTER CHESTERFIELD. [Chesterfield was granted February 11, 1752; the first settlement was made Nov. 15, 1761. ED.] To His Excellency John Wentworth Esqr. Capt Gen' and Govern' in chief &c and to the Honble His Majesty Council of said Province By this Memorial— Humbly shews Joseph Warren of Boston in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay Physician Administrator of Nathaniel Wheelwright late of said Boston merchant dec1 and which said Nathaniel was sole Executor of the Testament of the Hon John Wheelwright late of Boston aforesaid Esq' dec Your Memorialist humbly begs leave to make mention to your Excellency and Hons that very lately he by the greatest accident was informed that one Mr. Willard had petitioned your Excellency & Hons to Grant him a certain large Quantity of Land heretofore Granted to John Wheelwright and others, and for reasons in said petition mentioned which your Mem conceives of to be more specious than real, y' Memorialist after mentioning a fact or two, will without saying a word more submit it to your Excellency's & Hon" Just determination. In the first place it is since this Mr. Willard's prefering his Petitions that your Memorialist knew that his Intestate or his Testator ever had any Land, in your Excellencys Government (lying if your memorialist is rightly informed at place call'd Chesterfield or else where) be that as it may, your Excellency & Hon's will view him as the administrator of an Executor. And how the affairs of Mr Nathaniel Wheelwright the Intestate were circumstanced at his puting off and death, is not a thing unknown to almost every body in the five? provinces-and that there are many heavy demands made upon your Mem° as administrator of the said Nathaniel Wheelwright to the amount of a Great Many Thousand pounds sterling is too obvious to be disputed even by Mr. Willard himself— And your MemR begs leave to assure y Excellency & Honours, that he will make a point of it, and most punctually comply with the Conditions of the Grant of said Lands or the charter as it is otherwise called with all convenient speed (or as your Excellency & Honours shall direct) in order to make payment of the vast sums (as far as these Lands will go) to the multitude of the said Nathaniels creditors in proportion, for which reasons, if the said Mr. Willard has not the native modesty to pray that his most extraordinary misconceived pt may be by him withdrawn, your Mem has the Modest assurance to hope that your Excellency & Hon's will dismiss the same as groundless & unreasonable Your Mem is also attorney to Mr. Joseph Wheelwright one of the sons & heirs of the afores Jn Wheelwright dec'd and which s Joseph has amply paid a person in New Hampshire Governm to do the needful and to which your Mem' will have a peculiar regard & care &c which said Joseph Wheelwright is now in London All which is submitted by SAMUEL SWIFT attorney to s Jos Warren Adm Boston July 3d 1771. Col. Josiah Willard's Petition for sundry rights in Ches Province of New Hampshire terfield. To his Excellency John Wentworth Esq' Captain General Governor and Commander in chief in & over his Majesty's Province aforesaid and vice Admiral of the same In Council The petition of Josiah Willard of Winchester Esq' Humbly shews That there are sundry Grantees (viz) John Wheelwright, Joseph Wheelwright, Jeremiah Wheelwright, Nathaniel Wheelwright, Thomas Paine John Annes & Oliver Butler of a Tract of Land, charter'd and granted by the Governor of the province aforesaid with advice of his Majesty's Council and Incorporated into a Township by the name of Chesterfield and which said Tract was by Charter to be held and enjoyed in severalty and divided to and amongst the Grantees in equal shares and upon their separate performance of sundry conditions and reservations particularly mentioned and stipulated in the said Grant, and tho' the Time prefixed in the said Grant for the performance of the said Conditions has been elapsed, yet so it is that at this Time neither the residence of the Grantees above mentioned nor the cultivation of the Lands, have been as yet performed but only such part as hath been done at the expence of your petition Wherefore he humbly Prays that the forfeiture of the said Lands may be exacted and the said Shares regranted to him or that he may be reimbursed the charge he hath been at in paying the rates and Taxes & clearing some parts of the said Land. And your Petitioners as in Duty Bound shall ever pray &c Portsmo 26th March 1771. JOSIAH WILLArd. CHESWICK-now LITTLETON. [This town was first granted by the name of Cheswick, Nov. 17, 1766; regranted by the name of Apthorp, Jan. 18, 1770; the territory was divided, Nov. 4, 1784, into the towns of Littleton and Dalton. ED.] Petition of Moses Little and Associates. To his Excellency John Wentworth Esq' Captain General, |