contrary to their desire and which was made not from any cause of doubt but only dissatisfaction, & which they would never have made, had every thing but done just as it was, only the vote been as they would have had it; Nay, but would rather have cryed out upon it as unjust, illegal & absurd, should such a motion have been made; We say to make void this election under all these circumstances, we apprehend would have a very extraordinary effect & is what the wisdom & justice of this Honble House will not suffer us to fear.* SAM HART Selectmen Portsm° Dec 31, 1745: Deed from Theodore Atkinson and Others of their Rights in certain Townships &c. TO ALL PEOPLE, to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting: Know ye, That we, Theodore Atkinson, Richard Wibird, John Moffat, Mark Hunking Wentworth, Samuel Moore, Jotham Odiorne jun., Joshua Pierce, Nathaniel Meserve, George Jeffry, Jun., and John Wentworth, jun., all of Portsm" in y° Province of New Hampshire in New England, & Thomas Wallingford of Somersworth & Thomas Packer of Greenland, both of sd Province aforesaid, Diverse good causes & considerations us hereunto moveing, have remised, Released & Quit claimed & by these Presents for ourselves each and every of us & all & each & every of our heirs, Executors & Administrators Respectively, Do Remise, Release & forever Quit claim unto ye Inhabitants & proprietors of y severrall Towns, Precincts, Parishes, Villages & Districts hereafter named, lying & being within ye Province aforesaid, viz. Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter, Hampton, Gosport, Kingstown, Derry, Chester, Nottingham, Barrington, Rochester, Canterbury, Bow, Chicester, Epsom, Barnstead, with all & every of ye Districts, Parishes, Precints & villages within ye sd Tounships, any & every of them, & to their successors, Heirs & Assigns forever Respectively in their seisin and Possession now being as the s Townships, Parishes, Districts, Precincts & Villages are limited, bounded & described by y Acts, orders, customs & usages of ye s Province, with all & singular ye Estate, right, title, Inheritance, claim & demand of us & each & every of us of in & unto y same & every part thereof to us in any manner belonging, Either to Houses, Lands, Rivers, woods, mines, minerals & appurtenances Whatsoever, Excepting & Reserving to ourselves & such of us & each of us our Respective Heirs & assigns, all & each of our several & Respective rights, Titles, Inheritance & Possession which we heretofore had in common or in severalty as Inhabitants or proprietors of houses & Lands within any of the Towns, Precincts, Parishes, Districts & Villages afore sd in the same manner as tho' the above Release had never been made: To have & To hold, the above Remised & Released Premises with all ye Privilidges & appurtenances to ye same in any manner belonging, to them, y said Inhabitants & proprietors, their several & respective successors, Heirs & assigns for ever, according to their sev See Proceedings of the House on this case in Prov. Pap. Vol. V. pp. 394, 395, 402, 409. ED. eral & respective Tenures, Grants, Priviledges & possessions, excepting as before excepted. In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands & seals ye Thirty first day of July, Anno Domini, 1746, in ye twentieth year of ye reign of King George ye Second' &c. Sign'd, Seal'd and delivered, after the words (of us & each & every of us) were interlin'd. In Presence of us, executed by all except Tho' Packer Esq. before Joshua Gilman Sign'd, Seal'd and deliver'd by Thomas Packer, Esqr in presence of Richard Hart Prov. of New Hampr Portsmo July 31st 1746. Then Theodore Atkinson, Richard Wibird, John Moffatt, Mark Hunking Wentworth, Jotham Odiorne jun., Joshua Peirce, Nath' Meserve, Geo. Jaffrey, Jun. John Wentworth, Jun. & Thomas Wallingford, above named acknowledged the foregoing Instrument to be their free act & Deed before me Prov. of New Hamp Pierse Long, Just. Peace Portsm" August 23, 1746. Then personally appeared Sam1 Moore & Thos. Packer Esqrs & acknowledged the above Instrument to be their free Act & Deed. Prov. of New Hamp Before Pierse Long, Jus. Peace A true Copy from Lib. 31, Fol. 175, Exam'd this 30th June 1756. D. Peirce, Reced Petition of Portsmouth Selectmen about a Pest-house. To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Capt. General, Governor & Commander in Chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, the Hon his Majesty's Council & House of Representatives for said Province, in General Assembly convened the 23d day of Feby. 1747. bl The Humble Petition of the Selectmen of Portsmouth in said Province for the current year, shews : That your Petitioners in the summer past have had the Building of a Public Pest House under consideration and had fixed upon a certain Island near the Pool commonly called Anthony's Island as the most convenient place near to which Vessels might conveniently perform Quarantine, & Persons sick with any infectious Distemper might be safely kept both with respect to themselves & others. That the property of the said Island could not be purchased but at more than double the real valuc, as your Petition's conceive, advantage being taken of the supposed necessity of the case, whereby the grant of the sum made by the General Assembly would have been expended (or near it) only for the land: That the necessity of such an house grows greater every year, & the charge of purchasing a proper place & building suitable places for the reception of the sick & those whom it may be necessary to remove, will be considerably more than it appear'd to be when the said grant was made; and as such places are for the Benefit of the whole Province, Your Petitioners pray that a further grant may be made for that purpose; That (as the owners of the Land which may be fixed upon, will probably raise their demands upon the occasion) three or more indifferent suitable persons may be appointed to value and appraise the said Island, or other place that may be chosen, under Oath, & to make Return to some Magistrate or Judicatory, who shall administer Oath, & that the owner or owners thereof may be obliged to take the sum so stated, and the appraisors ordered to make Return describing the Place so appraised & that being recorded in the Province Records with the Oaths of the appraisers, may vest the fee of the Land so appraised & described in the Province, & Divest the owners thereof, (without the formality of Executing a Deed or Deeds, which may be attended with difficulty;) and your Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray. In Council, March the 8th 1747. SAM HART Selectmen Read & voted, That a Committee of both Houses be Imediately appointed to take under consideration the subjects matter of the within petition & report thereon as soon as may be. Theodore Atkinson, Secy. Ordered to be sent down for concurrence. Answer to a Petition of Clement March for annexing certain lands to Greenland. le To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Capt. General, Govern & Commander in chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, the Hon his Majesty's Council & House of Representatives in General Assembly convened, May 10th 1748. The Answer of the Town of Portsmouth to the Petition of Clement March of Greenland in said Province, Esq' praying eral & respective Tenures, Grants, Priviledges & possessions, excepting as before excepted. In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands & seals y Thirty first day of July, Anno Domini, 1746, in ye twentieth year of ye reign of King George ye Second' &c. Sign'd, Seal'd and delivered, after the words (of us & each & every of us) were interlin'd. In Presence of us, executed by all except Tho' Packer Esq. before Joshua Gilman Sign'd, Seal'd and deliver'd by Thomas Packer, Esq' in presence of Richard Hart Prov. of New Hampr Portsm° July 31st 1746. Then Theodore Atkinson, Richard Wibird, John Moffatt, Mark Hunking Wentworth, Jotham Odiorne jun., Joshua Peirce, Nath' Meserve, Geo. Jaffrey, Jun. John Wentworth, Jun. & Thomas Wallingford, above named acknowledged the foregoing Instrument to be their free act & Deed before me Prov. of New Hamp Pierse Long, Just. Peace Portsm° August 23, 1746. Then personally appeared Sam1 Moore & Thos. Packer Esqr & acknowledged the above Instrument to be their free Act & Deed. Prov. of New Hamp Before Pierse Long, Jus. Peace A true Copy from Lib. 31, Fol. 175, Exam'd this 30th June 1756. D. Peirce, Reced Petition of Portsmouth Selectmen about a Pest-house. To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Capt. General, Governor & Commander in Chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, the Hon his Majesty's Council & House of Representatives for said Province, in General Assembly convened the 23d day of Feby. 1747. The Humble Petition of the Selectmen of Portsmouth in said Province for the current year, shews: That your Petitioners in the summer past have had the Building of a Public Pest House under consideration and had fixed upon a certain Island near the Pool commonly called Anthony's Island as the most convenient place near to which Vessels might conveniently perform Quarantine, & Persons sick with any infectious Distemper might be safely kept both with respect to themselves & others. That the property of the said Island could not be purchased but at more than double the real valuc, as your Petition's conceive, advantage being taken of the supposed necessity of the case, whereby the grant of the sum made by the General Assembly would have been expended (or near it) only for the land: That the necessity of such an house grows greater every year, & the charge of purchasing a proper place & building suitable places for the reception of the sick & those whom it may be necessary to remove, will be considerably more than it appear'd to be when the said grant was made; and as such places are for the Benefit of the whole Province, Your Petitioners pray that a further grant may be made for that purpose; That (as the owners of the Land which may be fixed upon, will probably raise their demands upon the occasion) three or more indifferent suitable persons may be appointed to value and appraise the said Island, or other place that may be chosen, under Oath, & to make Return to some Magistrate or Judicatory, who shall administer Oath, & that the owner or owners thereof may be obliged to take the sum so stated, and the appraisors ordered to make Return describing the Place so appraised & that being recorded in the Province Records with the Oaths of the appraisers, may vest the fee of the Land so appraised & described in the Province, & Divest the owners thereof, (without the formality of Executing a Deed or Deeds, which may be attended with difficulty;) and your Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray. In Council, March the 8th 1747. SAM HART Selectmen Read & voted, That a Committee of both Houses be Imediately appointed to take under consideration the subjects matter of the within petition & report thereon as soon as may be. Theodore Atkinson, Secy. Ordered to be sent down for concurrence. Answer to a Petition of Clement March for annexing certain lands to Greenland. To His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq' Capt. General, Govern & Commander in chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire, the Hon'ble his Majesty's Council & House of Representatives in General Assembly convened, May 10th 1748. The Answer of the Town of Portsmouth to the Petition of Clement March of Greenland in said Province, Esq' praying |