titioners to appear and shew cause wherefore the Said Vote ought not to be confirmed. And your Petitioners as in Duty bound Shall ever humbly pray &c Dated at Exeter March 11th 1741* John Gils In the House of Representatives June 224d 1742. the within Petition Read and Parties Heard A Voted That the Petition be Dismissed James Jeffrey Cler Ass In these dates readers will bear in mind that the old style is followed-March 11, 1741, being March 11, 1741-2. ED. Petition for Parish privileges. To his Excelency Benning Wentworth Esq' Goven' & Commander in chieff in & over His Majestys Province of New Hampe The Hon'ble His Majestys Council & House of representatives for s Province in Gen' Court Convened. The Humble Petition of Sundry Persons Inhabitants on the Southerly or South Westerly parte of the Town of Exeter in s Province Sheweth. That their Estates & habitations are so far from the meeting House where they usually attend the Publick Worship as makes it very Inconvenient for them, most of them living above five miles Distant therefrom Considering of which & the Large Congregation that belongs to the meeting house afores & their abillity The Town at a Publick meeting on the 22 day of Feby last have voted a new Parish should be Errected by the Bounds set forth in the Vote (if the Gen' Court Saw meet) which will comprehend your Petitioners Estates & habitations & if a Parrish was Errected there will have a Tendency to Promote the settlements of the Lands in that Parte of the Town & of the Town adjoyning which vote is herewith Pre your sented. That Petitioners finde a number of Persons of the s Town have allready Petitioned this Court that this Petition may not be Granted untill they are heard against it but have not set forth any reason they have against it but Proposed to Do it (as it seems by their Petition) ore tenus upon the hearing whereby your Petitioners will be under this Disadvantage that they cannot Inform their Council of those facts which will be necessary in answer to what shall be alleged. Wherefore your Petitioners most Humbly Pray that they may be errected & Incorporated into a Parrish by the Boundaries in the s Vote & that if this Hone Court think Proper that the afores Petitioners Should be first heard that they would order that they file their objections in Some Publick office in writing some reasonable time before the Day of hearing that so your Petitioners may have a fair opportunity of answering them & your Petitioners as in duty Bound shall ever Pray &c. James Dudley Benja Veasey Elisha Sanburne Jon Crane Benj Scribner Ebenez Hutchinson Jn° Midget Wm Graves Jon Robinson In the House of Representatives, March 17th 1741. The within Petition read & another Petition of Andrew Gillman of Exeter & others who Desire to be heard before the Prayer of the within Petition be granted. Voted that some or one of the above or within Petition Serve the Said Andrew Gillman with a Copy of the Petition & Court order thereon forthwith & that the Parties appear the third Day of the Sitting of the Gen' Assembly next Sessions to be heard & that the Contrary party may shew Cause (if any they have) why the Prayer of this Petition may not be Granted & that Andrew Gillman & others file their objections in the Secretarys office Ten Days before the next sitting of the Gen' Assembly James Jeffrey Cler Assembly In Council March 224 1741 The above vote read & Concurr'd Theo'd Atkinson Secy Vera Copia Theodore Atkinson Sec In the House of Representatives Jun 22d 1744 The within Petition Read and the Parties heard thereon and those that desired to be heard against it, and voted That the Prayer of the Petition be granted they maintaining an orthodox minister & that Ichabod Roby & Richard Jenness Esqrs. be a Committee of this House to Joyne Šuch as the Honble the Council shall appoint to go on the Spot and View where it is most Convenient that a new meeting House may be placed, So as to be most Convenient for all the Parties Concern'd & that to be Conclusive and the Petitioners have liberty to bring in a Bill accordingly James Jeffrey Cler. Ass Remonstrance. Whereas a Number of the Inhabitants of y" Southerly or South westerly part of the town of Exeter By a vote pass'd at a meeting held by adjournment at the town house in Exeter Febry. 22 1741-2 were set off to be a parish by meets and Bounds Express'd in Said vote which they have Since Petitioned to Court to Confirm we think ought not to be confirmed for ye following reasons. 1 Because as we apprehend the s vote was illegally obtained the meeting Being before adjourned, to have the Line run which was not done, and y'fore many Inhabitants not present thinking the meeting would be further adjourned, and the s Petitioners Being the maj' Part of the voters forc't it on and voted it and it Being a particular favour to themselves we Esteem it illegal & y fore not to be Confirmed 2 Because we with some of our neighbors a number of the Inhabitants of the s Southerly &c. Part of the town have been at considerable charge in Erecting and Building a house for the worship of God and the meets and Bounds by which they are set of is contrary to what was ever Proposed by s Inhabitants on yt part of the town and was without our Knowledge or Consent and has a manifest tendency to destroy our Labours and to overthrow or at Least Greatly Disturb the worship of God amongst us. 3 Bec: The Line of s Parish includes or takes in many of us & Great part or all of our Estates altho' we timely entre'd our Protests against any such thing under present circumstances & y'fore &c. 4 Bec: of our inability we being not yet ripe for a Parish, under our present Divided circumstances having Got nothing in any forwardness therefor, & most of ye Petitioners Exceeding poor, and scarcely able to live now Even as we may say ye Biggest part of them and having a meeting house to Build a Minister to Maintain & settle and a school to maintain together with y Largeness of Provinces taxes and we Being also much Divided amongst ourselves, it would as we apprehend if confirmed be to the utter ruin of many familys an impoverishing of the place, a Damage to themselves & families a Laying a yoke upon us all which we shall not be able to Bear 5 Bec: the Confirming of the same under our Present Circumstances would as we apprehend be but confirming of confusion and disorder amongst us and instead of advancing and Enlarging y Kingdom and Interest of x would tend to increase intestine Jars and animositys amongst us Even as fear to our entire over throw at last, & y'fore not to Be confirmed. 6 Bec: we would further Give as a reason the unpresidency of the thing to be Set of to be a Parish Before agreed we to set a House & even whilst quarreling about the same y Like Instance not to be Given we Believe in New England y'fore pray y it may not be confirmed. Warrant for y meeting the 17th of May. Whereas upwards of thirty of the Freeholders & Inhabitants of the town of Exeter have Desired us the Subscribers, Selectmen of the sd town forthwith to Issue a warrant to warn a meeting of the Freeholders & Inhabitants of the said town to take into consideration the vote that was on the 22 day of Feby last by adjournment as they think illegally obtained by the Petitioners of the Southerly & Southwesterly part of the town of Exeter for being set off as a Parish within particular Boundarys as set forth in their Petition which vote the s Petitioners have since preferr'd a Petition to the General assembly of this Province to get a Confirmation of - and for asmuch as the said thirty Inhabitants & freeholders afores think said vote was Illegally obtained and that themselves as well as the town in General shall be Greatly injured in Case said vote is Confirmed: These are therefore to notify the freeholders and Inhabitants of this town of Exeter to meet at the town house in s town on Monday the 17th day of may Currant at two of the clock in the afternoon to consider of a vote if they think fit first if they think the said vote was Legally obtained or not. 2dly if the Confirmation of said vote will not be of a manifest Injury to the town in General. 3 if the town will then Choose some person to represent the same at the next sitting of the General Court in June next and to doe what else they shall then think proper to be done about the Premises. Dated at Exeter afores the third day of may anno Domini 1742. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esqr. Governour & Commander in Chief in and over his Majties Province of New Hampshire in New England and to the Hon'ble His Majesties Council for said Province & House of Representatives when Conven'd in Gen' Assembly. Whereas Sundry of the Inhabitants of the Southerly & Southwesterly part of Exeter in New Hampshire at the Last Sessions preferred a Petition to this Hone Court to be set off a Parish (from the old meeting House in Exeter aforesaid where they usually attended the Publick Worship) by meets and Bounds as set forth in the Said Petition. And whereas after the Intent of the above Petitioners was known by us the Subscribers who never Consented to the said Petition we did also Prefer a Petition to this Hone Court Dated at Exeter March 11, 1741 Praying that the above Petition might not be granted until we were heard, upon which the Court on Considering both Petitions Ordered that we should file our answers in the Secy office ten days before the Siting of the Assembly in their next Sessions- In obedience to which order— for answer why we may not be included within the said Petition and set off from the old Town with them Petition's Is that we do not nor never desired it and that our Estates are parted by the Line proposed. None of us Living within the Body of the new Precinct Proposed but on the Lines on the East and South Sides and that the s" lines proposed will be very injurious to us & therefore we Humbly Pray that our Poles and Estates may still be Continued to the old Town of Exeter, and we are humbly of opinion that it would be a very great hardship to set off so great a number of us, the Subscribers from the Place we now belong to against our Wills and Interests and which wou'd prove so Great Damage to us on all accounts and that if this Hone Court think Proper to sett off that new District, we humbly pray yt we may be polled of to the old Town with our Estates within the s boundarys and as in Duty Bound we shall Ever Pray &c. May 24th 1742 |