sheweth. That upwards of Sixty years past the town of Dunstable was Granted by the Government of the Massachusetts Bay and laid out. That in the year 1734 a part of Dunstable was set off and made a distinct township by the name of Litchfield, by the Government of the Massachusetts Bay. That the inhabitants of said town acted and Governed themselves by the Laws of the Massachusetts till the settlement of the Boundary Afores That they have lately settled a minister among them, That they at present labour under Great difficulty for that they are not in a capacity to act as a Town by any authority from the Province of New Hampshire. Wherefore your petitioners pray your Excellency and Honours in your Great Wisdom and goodness to take this petition under Consideration and to Erect the said Tract of Land which contains six miles square nearest into a township with such Powers and Priviledges as other Towns within this Province have and enjoy, and your Petitioners as in Duty bound shall ever Pray & Feb. 16 1741-2 JOSHUA CONVARSE In behalf of the Petitioners Petition of inhabitants of Litchfield and Nottingham-west for the same. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Capt General and Comander in Chief in and over his Majesties Province of New Hampshire in New England and to the Honourable his Majesties Counsel and House of Representatives of said Province in General Court Assembled, at Portsmouth the The Petition of some of the Inhabitants of Nottingham and some of the Inhabitants of Litchfield humbly sheweth that your Petition After a meeting house was built in Nottingham and before anv was built in Litchfield, erected a meeting house for the publick Worship of God where both we and our families might attend upon God in his house, and since that another meeting house has been set up in Litchfield, so that your Petitioners are put to the utmost difficulty to attend upon the publick Worship of God, and it is almost impossible for the rest of our families to weight upon God in his house. it being five. & for many of your petitioners more than six miles to the publick worship of God, so that we are obliged to leave our families behind us which fills those of us who have small Children with the Greatest distress imaginable lest some sore accident should befall them in our absence. And the rest of us with the Greatest Grief and sorrow, that our families cannot accompany us to the house of God Under these distressing circumstances we have applyed ourselves, both to the town of Nottingham and Litchfield for Relief. but they have done nothing for our help, and your Petitioners have for some Considerable time maintained and Supported the publick worship of God among us at our own cost and charge, and at the same time paid our proportion toward building a meeting house, both in Nottingham and Litchfield and towards supporting the Ministry in both towns, and those of your petitioners that live in Nottingham have don our part also towards settling a minister in Nottingham. Your Petitioners Therefore do humbly pray that we may be erected into a township there being a sufficient tract of land in the North Westerly part of Nottingham, and Southeasterly part of Litchfield to make a compact Town without any predjudice to the towns of Nottingham or Litchfield only coming half way from Litchfield Line at the North westerly End of Nottingham To Nottingham meeting house and going half way from Nottingham line at the Southerly end of Litchfield, on both sides of ye river, to Litchfield meetinghouse this would make a good township and would not be any Disadvantage Either to the Town of Nottingham or Litchfield And so we might all of us be accommodated for attending upon the public worship of God, But if your Hon in your great Wisdom shall not think it for the best to Erect us into a township then our humble petition is that we may be made and invested with all the priviledges of a parish with the Bounds above mentioned or as much of the Lands within these Bounds as your rionours shall think fit and that you would be pleased to send a committee upon our cost and charge to View the towns of Litchfield and Nottingham, and Report what they shall think proper to be done for us and your Petitioners as in Duty Bound shall ever pray. Nottingham. William Cumings Eleazer Cumings James Baret John Carhan? John Marshal Edward Spalding Benjamin Greely Litchfield. Nathaniel Hills Petition relating to the support of a minister. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Capt General and Comander in Chief in and over his Majesties Province of New Hampshire in New England. December yo 25th 1742. The petition of some of the Inhabitants of the uper part of the District Called Nottingham and some of the Inhabitants of the Lower part of the District Called Litchfield Humbly sheweth, that whereas your Petitioners have made application to your Excellency and the honourable Court of said Province set forth by a petition in the year past to be erected into a township or parish agreeable to said petition, and it has not ben your Excellency and Honourable courts pleasure to make any Confirmation to your petitioners as yet and in as much as your Petitioners circumstances is very difficult upon the acount of our being such a great distance from the publick worship of God in both places that it is almost impossible to attend the publick worship of God especially in the winter season and difficult times in the year that it is unaccountable to relate the difficulties and hardships that we our selves and families undergo in all seasons of the year, and your petitioners have for many years a grate part of the time maintained the gospel among ourselves upon our own cost and charge where we and our families May with conveniency attend upon God in his house, and under these distressing circumstances our humble petition is that your Excellency would be pleased to free all of us who has already made there application to your Excellency and the honorable Court from paying any more or further Rates and Town charges in Either of the said Towns Towards supporting y ministry for so long a term of time until your Excellency and the honorable court shall further Determine in Answering to s Petition who have all reddy made there application or for so long a terme of time as your Excellency in your Honors Clemency and goodness shall seem most meet. And your Petitioners as in Duty Bound shall ever pray. Nathaniel Hill Ebenezer Spaulding Josiah Cumings William Cumings Eleazer Cumings Petition relating to the settlement of a minister. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Capt Genral and Comander in Chief in and over His Majesties Province of New Hampshire in New England. January ye 24th 1742-43. We the Subscribers of the Districts called Nottingham and Litchfield who are your Excellencies former Humble Petitioners Beg leave to acquaint your Excellency, That we are Remain united in our earnest Desires to be Erected into a parish or Township Seperate, but in as much as your Excellency Dont as yet see fitt to grant this our Petition we Rest your Excellencies Contented Humble Subjects as to that but many who knows the Difficulties we Labour under upon the account of going with our Families to the stated places of Publick Worship of God in the Towns we Respectively Belong to and also upon the account of the Difficulties and Disturbances that seems to be Dayly arising in maney churches consarning the points of Religion and your Petitioners are all unanimously agreed as to that great and important affair have advised us to proceed in calling and settling a Gospel minister with us upon this we chose a Committee to Take the advise of the Neighbouring Ministers who Informed said Committee that they look upon it that it might be for the Glory of God and that intrest of Religion to settle one that might be able to Take us by the hand and Lead us in the way wherein we should go but notwithstanding we have had this advise and we united in our Desires to proceed yet we thought it not consistent for us to proceed till we had your Excellencies advise fearing we should incurr your Excellencies Despleasure thereby which we would Take all Lawful means to avoid. Therefore we your Humble Petitioners Do earnestly Desire that your Excellency would stoop so Low as to Consider our circumstances and advise us and if your Excellency will give us liberty to proceed or in any measure countenance us in our proceeding so far that wee should have Reason to think that we should not incur? your Excellencys displeasure and your Excellency will still Lay us your Humble Petitioners under the greatest obligation, As in Duty Bound shall ever Pray. Nathaniel Hills Nathan Cross James Hills John Marshall Roger Chase Eleazer Cummings Petition relating to the payment of a minister. To His Excellency Benning Wintworth Esq. Capt. General & Governer in Chief in and over his Majes Province of New Hampshire. Your Excellency May remember that part of the inhabitants of Nottingham & Litchfield so called Refer'd a petition to your Excellency & ye rest of ye Honorable Court in Humbly praying that we your humble petitioners with our respective Estates might be Erected into a distinct town or Parish that so we might have y Gospel preached among us with greater conveniency, & from y incouragement that we have had from time to time from your Excellency, and others of y honourable Court, that we should be freed from paying taxes to our respective towns & also in due time to be made a town or Parish that we have obligated ourselves to a minister one that has been with us almost three years, and is still with us, & we some time last winter gave him a unanimous invitation to settle with us in the ministry, but your Excellency was pleased to write to us and in your letter you signified that it might be proper to deferr the settlement of a minister with us till May last past & out of obedience we omitted what we have for a long time wish'd for, we understand that ye honourable court is now rise; and we your Humble Petitioners tho't it not improper to write to your Excellency not only to acquaint you of our earnest desire to have a gospel minister settled with us, but also to know of your Excellency, whether we are obliged by the late act that was made by y honourable Court to impower Several Districts Laying by ye province Line to raise money to defray town charges to pay taxes to our respective Towns, or whether your Excellency with y rest of y Honourable Court will Judge it sufficient for us to pay ye minister that has been with us, we humbly pray your Excellency to think of us in our dejected circumstances-so we remain part of your Excellencys former humble petitioners Nottingham & Litchfield. August 8 1743. Petition for men and military stores. Litchfield June 12th 1744. We the Subscribers, Inhabitants of y town of Litchfield, Apprehending our selves Exposed to Imminent danger both |