Litchfield who are your Exce!! Sheweth That Whereas we b a Town with all the Lands v the East side of the River an of land lying Above Brint two miles on the river from upper Corner of s peeke a not accomodations for mu peeke signifying their inde with us, and may it Please is a Number of Inhabitan of the River your Petitio tingham Taking from i mouth of Nashua River. in sd part of Nottingham or thirteen families and a mile from Litchfield. lick worship with us. part of sd Nottingham from us we think w Township and to m... comode our Neighl your Excellency to into your wise Co corporated & inve other towns in si And your Petit NAT Petition for a grant of a Ferry. To His Excellency John Wentworth Esq Captain General Governor and Commander in Chief in and over His Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, In Council. The humble Petition of Lucy Read of Litchfield in the County of Hillsborough and Province aforesaid, Widow, Sheweth, That your Petitioners late Husband Capt William Read was in his Life time Siezed and possess'd of a Considerable tract of land on the Eastward side of Merrimac River in Litchfield aforesaid and did (without any Grant from His Majesty) improve a Ferry about three miles and an half Above Col Lutwyches, called & known by the name of Reads Ferry, for about Twenty five years before his death, which happened about 4 years ago. That the said William Read in his life time, and the said Lucy since his death have been at a Considerable Expence in Boats & attendance to Expedite the same Ferry, & make it commodious agreeable to Law. Notwithstanding which premises your Petitioner is advised That the s Title under the said William is precarious and shod Any stranger obtain a Grant thereof it wod Embarrass and greatly hurt your petitioner who has also six children by said William all now under age to maintain. She most humbly intreats your Excellency wise tender regard of the premises to Confirm unto her the aforesaid improved and accustomed Ferry by Grant from His Majesty. And your Petitioner as in Duty bound will ever pray & LONDONDERRY. [This town was originally called Nutfield, and was granted to a company of Presbyterians of Scotch origin, who emigrated from Ireland. It was settled about the 11th of April, 1719, by sixteen families, who were accompanied by Revd James MacGregore, their first minister. A new parish, which is now Londonderry, was incorporated 25 February, 1740, and a second parish, now Windham, was incorporated 12 February, 1742. The town was divided in 1827, and the old parish was incorporated by the name of Derry, while the second parish retained the name of Londonderry. ED.] porated, a Town adjoining was Incorporated by the name of Litchfield, & some Time Afterward On Remeasuring the Lines of Nottingham West and settleing them with Litchfield they left your Petitioner in Litchfield (his house and a small matter of his land) the rest of his Lands in Nottingham. Whereby your Petitioner is defeated in his Expectation & lost the Benefit of the Heavy charges he paid for building the meeting house to the necessary new Hyways as well as many other charges & Greatly Incomoded if he must attend the Publick Worship at Litchfield. That when Nottingham meeting house was determined where to be sett they had regard to your Petitioner & considered him as one of that town & by which House he can be well accomodated. Wherefore y Peti' most Humbly prays That y' Excellency & Hon would be pleased to take the premises into Consideration and grant that he & that part of his Homestead that Lyes in Litchfield may be so far annexed to the town of Nottingham West as that he may be taxed there for all ministerial rates & Excused from the same in Litchfield & to Building & Repairs of any meeting house in Litchfield & y' Petitioner as in duty Bound shall ever pray. In Council December 12th 1764. read & Ordered to be sent down to the Honble House. December 12th 1754. Theod Atkinson Secry. We the subscribers of the Township of Nottingham, Testifies to the truth of the with in petition as follows: Ezekiel Chase Thomas Colburn Joseph Winn James Hues Stephen Clark Province of In the House of Representatives Dec. 12th 1754, Upon New Hamp' the reading the within Petition, Voted that the Petitioner be heard on the within Petition on the third day of the setting of the General Assembly next After the first day of March next and that he serve the selectmen of Litchfield at his own cost with a copy of this Petition and of the orders thereon to shew cause if Any they have why the Prayer of the Petition should not be granted. Matthew Livermore In Council December 12th 1754 Read & Concurred, Clerk Theod' Atkinson. Petition for a grant of a Ferry. To His Excellency John Wentworth Esq Captain General Governor and Commander in Chief in and over His Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, In Council. The humble Petition of Lucy Read of Litchfield in the County of Hillsborough and Province aforesaid, Widow, Sheweth, That your Petitioners late Husband Capt William Read was in his Life time Siezed and possess'd of a Considerable tract of land on the Eastward side of Merrimac River in Litchfield aforesaid and did (without any Grant from His Majesty) improve a Ferry about three miles and an half Above Col Lutwyches, called & known by the name of Reads Ferry, for about Twenty five years before his death, which happened about 4 years ago. That the said William Read in his life time, and the said Lucy since his death have been at a Considerable Expence in Boats & attendance to Expedite the same Ferry, & make it commodious agreeable to Law. Notwithstanding which premises your Petitioner is advised That the s Title under the said William is precarious and shod Any stranger obtain a Grant thereof it wod Embarrass and greatly hurt your petitioner who has also six children by said William all now under age to maintain. She most humbly intreats your Excellency wise tender regard of the premises to Confirm unto her the aforesaid improved and accustomed Ferry by Grant from His Majesty. And your Petitioner as in Duty bound will ever pray & LUCY READ Litchfield 18th May 1772. LONDONDERRY. [This town was originally called Nutfield, and was granted to a company of Presbyterians of Scotch origin, who emigrated from Ireland. It was settled about the 11th of April, 1719, by sixteen families, who were accompanied by Revd James MacGregore, their first minister. A new parish, which is now Londonderry, was incorporated 25 February, 1740, and a second parish, now Windham, was incorporated 12 February, 1742. The town was divided in 1827, and the old parish was incorporated by the name of Derry, while the second parish retained the name of Londonderry. ED.] Petition of the Inhabitants of Londonderry for a Charter, 21 Sept., 1719. [This paper was restored to the Secretary's office in 1827, after having been out of it 86 years. JOHN Farmer.] The Humble petition of the People late of Ireland now settled at Nutfield to his Excellency the Governor and General Court assembled at Portsmouth Sep 231 1719. Humbly Sheweth, That your Petitioners having made appli · cation to the General Court met at Boston in October last and having obtained a grant for a Township in any part of their unappropriated lands took incouragement thereupon to settle at Nutfield about the Eleventh of Aprile last which is situated by Estimation about fourteen miles from Haverel meeting House to the North West and fifteen miles from Dracut meeting House on the River merimack north and by East. That your petitioners since their settlement have found that the said Nutfield is claimed by three or four different parties by virtue of Indian Deeds, yet none of them Offered any disturbance to your petitioners except one party from Newbury and Salem. Their Deed from one John Indian bears date March the 13" Anno Dom: 1701 and imports that they had made a purchase of the said land for five pounds, by virtue of this deed they claim ten miles square Westward from Haverel line and one Caleb Moody of Newbury in their name discharged our People from clearing or any wais improving the said land unless we agreed that twenty or five and twenty families at most should dwell there and that all the rest of the land should be reserved for them. That your petitioners by reading the Grant of the Crown of Great Britain to the Province of the Massachusetts bay, which determineth their northern line three miles from the River merrimack from any and every part of the River and by advise from such as were more capable to judge of this Affair, are Satisfied that the said Nutfield is within his Majesties Province of New Hampshire which we are further Confirmed in, because the General Court met at Boston in May last, upon our renewed application did not think fit any way to intermeddle with the said land. That your petitioners therefore imbrace this opportunity of addressing this honourable Court, praying that their Township may consist of ten miles square or in a figure Equivalent to it, they being already in number about seventy Families & Inhabitants and more of their friends arrived from Ireland to settle with them, and many of the people of New England settling with them, and that they being so numerous may be Erected into a Township with its usual Priviledges and have a power |