Norfolk County, Massachusetts - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 22 of those read), 1884

By Gilbert Nash

Geography. - Weymouth is the most ancient town in the county, and, next to Plymouth, in the commonwealth, and its original boundaries have been preserved without material change until the present time, therefore its lines are the same for any date in its history of two hundred and sixty years. The town borders upon the shore of Boston Harbor, with its centre about thirteen miles southeasterly from Boston and about double that distance northwesterly from Plymouth.

It is above nine miles in extreme length from the Abington line on the south tothe shore of the bay on the north, with an average of about seven miles. It lies between Braintree and Holbrook on the west and Hingham on the east, with a width nearly uniform of about two and a half miles. It has a water front on Fore and Back Rivers of eight or nine miles, and its whole area contains between sixteen and Of this area a considerable portion is covered by ponds. Great Pond, in the southerly part, is about a mile and one-third in length and church; and, brief as it necessarily is, it is the most elaborate account of the town yet offered to the public, no history ever having been undertaken, although the initiatory steps of such a work are in progress. Prominence has been given to the general history and to the churches and schools, as being of has preferred to give the substance of the records rather than Ile would also gratefully acknowledge the kind offices of his many friends who have aided him in the collection of material necessary to the prosecution of about two hundred and fifty acres. Whitman's Pond, centrally located, is about one-third less in extent than Great Pond, being nearly as long but of very irregular form. Whortlebury Pond, a little south of Whitman's, is small, nearly circular, and about forty rods in diameter. There are but two streams of any importance, - " Mill River," the outlet to Great Pond, running into Back River, a distance by its course in six miles, and " Old Swamp River," rising in Hingand one-half or three miles. These rivers have several very fine water privileges, one of which, that of to be seen some of the finest views in the State. : . A . | There are two inlets making in from the bay, navigable for vessels of considerable size- - Fore River on the north and west, four or five miles in length, and Back River on the northeast, three or four miles long. The extreme northeasterly portion of the town is a for a mile and a half or more, while beyond this, to the north about eighty rods.away, lies Grape Island, separated only by the narrow mouth of Back River, and is of an oblong shape, about half a mile in length, and sixty rods in width, while about two hundred rods farther to the north, in the bay, lies another small island, called Sheep Island. Both of these belong to Weymouth, are wholly destitute of trees, and used only for pasturage.

For the first hundred years the town constituted one precinct, but in 1723 it was divided into two, the south being somewhat the larger. Quite recently, for practical and convenient purposes, it has been divided into five wards, - two at the south, one at the east, one at the Landing, and one at the north. Until 1793 Weymouth constituted a part of Suffolk County, but in that year Norfolk County was established and It has four postoffices, one in each of the principal villages, with tele-

Geology. - Weymouth, geologically, is a very ancient town. The solid rock formations date far back in the primitive ages, and its physical history, could it be told in detail, would be extremely interesting. The rock underlying a large portion of the town is closely allied to the famous granite beds of its near neighbor, Quincy, but is less perfectly crystallized. This bed rock is everywhere pierced by veins of amygdaloid trap, -often many feet in width. Belonging to a later period are beds of dark slate or shale, extending across the northerly part of the town from Braintree to Hingham, and cropping out upon the surface in huge seams at frequent intervals.

capable, with good tillage, of producing fair crops. The surface from this plain commences to fall away with gentle undulations until it reaches the sea. The northern portion has always enjoyed the reputation of containing the best land for cultivation, while only a comparatively small portion of the whole area is unfit for agricultural purposes in consequence of swamp, ledge, or barrenness. Formerly farming was the principal industry, and the larger portion of the population gained their livelihood from the produce of the soil, but during the present century manufactures have increased to such an extent as almost to exterminate the former. large amount of business is done in lumber and coal, while the Old Colony and South Shore Railroads bring in large quantities of grain, flour, and other necessaries.

and are cut by quartz veins in which are found fine crystals. There is also found in North Weymouth another peculiar purplish slate which is full of cavities that seem once to have been filled with organic matter.

After the very early period in which these rocks were formed there comes a great gap in the record of this earth history as written by the pen of Nature, until the glacial or ice period is reached, of which Weymouth bears abundant and very marked testimony.

scarred with the parallel groovings or sfriz, andthe surface is covered with hills of gravel and sand, or strown with bowlders of great variety and of all sizes up to that of an ordinary dwelling-house.

In various parts of the town, particularly that in the north bordering upon Back River, are unusually fine examples of the sharp, linear hills, called horsebacks or kames and glacial plains, both formed by the ice as it melted or retreated towards the pole.

The hilly, rolling surface of Weymouth, especially in the northerly portion, is due partly to the upturned ledges of granite, and partly to these hills of glacial gravel. But little soil is left upon the rocky, gravelly hills, most of the vegetable débris having been washed into the swamps and peat-bogs.

General History. - The history of the town of Weymouth covers a period of two hundred and sixtyone years, and is no less fruitful in important and stirring events than that of any of its contemporaries. The early voyagers were attracted to it by its beautiful and protected situation, shielded from the ocean by the beach and peninsula of Nantasket, and from extending far into the bay. Its central location made it also easy of access both by water and land from a large reach of territory, thus rendering it a favorable point for trade with the natives. The wandering fishermen and traders who were ranging the New it a point of rendezvous. slip out upon the ocean, and from it they could make such excursions upon the land as were necessary in accomplishing their purposes.

The great companies were then looking for the men and the places by whom and where they could carry out their grand schemes, accumulate the fortunes and seize the honors they foresaw already within their grasp; and, not more scrupulous than some of their modern successors, they were not always as careful as to the means by which their purposes were to be accomplished as might be desired. Land was here in abundance, and its rightful owners, fixed abode. The geography of the coast was not well understood ; and it easily happened that conflicts of jurisdiction arose between the various claimants that caused, in after-times, no little vexation and trouble. together the boundary was not well defined, and a fine position-near the border, once in possession, It events involving a great deal of disturbance and perplexity, and the result was usually in favor of those holding the most money and home influence.

the Dutch began a settlement on Manhattan Island, at the mouth of the Hudson, - an entering-wedge between the two portions of the continent claimed by England, - and seven years later, at the close of the year 1620, the Plymouth Company, after much discussion and bargaining, invited the Pilgrims (then temporarily living in Leyden, in Holland) to embark for the coast of New England, and the colony located at Plymouth, where the resolute members of that community commenced their hand-to-hand conflict with the terrible circumstances against them, and which proved almost too great for their strength.

The Weston Colony. - Thus it was that Mr. Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, who had much to do with the Pilgrims in their negotiations with the Plymouth Company, and with an exalted opinion of the value and future prosperity of the country, conceived the idea of an independent enterprise of similar character, which should unite in itself all the elements of success without cumbering itself with the discouragements that surrounded the other They would establish a trading-post by men without families which should afterwards grow work proposed as for their willingness to undertake it - from the migratory population of London, landed from the " Charity" and '' Swan," two small vessels chartered for the purpose, upon the shore of Wessaguscus, about twenty-five miles north of Plymouth, inside of the eutrance of a capacious bay afterwards known as Boston Harbor. The spot has not been positively identified, but tradition points to the northern shore of Phillips' Creek, a small inlet of Fore River (or Monatiquot), about three or four miles from its entrance into the bay, - a_ well-protected, wellwooded and watered spot, and one that promised well for the business proposed.

As might have been expected, this company, with no settled habits of industry and no extraordinary inducements to form them now, not well disposed towards the hard labor and deprivations necessary to the formation of a settlement in a new and rugged country, and without a competent head, soon became disgusted with their enterprise, neglected their means

_ of livelihood, broke over the comparatively friendly relations upon which they had subsisted with the natives, and were soon in great distress. The severity of the winter and their neglect to make provisions for it, in a short time brought them to the point of starvation. Their treatment of their savage neighbors rendered their want of food they sent to their neighbors at | Plymouth for supplies, but they, nearly as badly off, - could not help them, - thus the fish of the sea, the shell-fish of the beaches, and the nuts and fruits of the forest became their sole food. In their great fear of the Indians they applied to Plymouth for assistance, and that colony sent up Capt. Miles Standish with a file of men, who speedily established order in Meanwhile, | the death of the principal aggressors. fully satisfied with their brief experiment of colonial life, the Weston Colony disbanded, going in different directions, and at the opening of the summer of 1623, not one was left upon the spot to claim ownership in the name of the ill-fated company.

killed and one wounded by the savages in their various encounters, and at the close of the spring, after the visit of Capt. Standish, three of their number, the last of the company, were cruelly tortured to death by their Indian neighbors with whom they had sought refuge. After the lapse of more than two and a half centuries it may be possible to form a more favorable to them. That they were not the utterly depraved set they have been described is very evident. In their intercourse with the Plymouth people they certainly showed a disposition to act fairly. In an expedition made with them under contract to trade with the Indians to the south, in the region of Cape Cod, Mr. Weston's people took their full share of the labor and privation, acting with energy and honorably discharg- Even their associates in this When thief, and had committed serious depredations upon their Indian neighbors, he was given up at their complaint, and, as the sufferers declined to judge the culprit, the colonists proceeded to execute summary | It may be said that this act was the result of fear, but it is hardly fair to ascribe a dishonorable motive when a better one appears in the exhibition of it. pose, neither were they actuated by that strong religjustice by hanging him.

They had not that high moral purious faith that actuated their Pilgrim contemporaries. They were not flying from persecution in their own land to seek a home for themselves and their families where they could enjoy comparative freedom of conscience and life, although at the expense of most of life's comforts. 'hey were men with no families, who undertook the enterprise to earn a living, and, it may More than this, they were under no competent leadership, |

Mr. Weston remaining behind, and his agent, intrusted with the charge of the colony during its early days, dying in a short time. Had they come with families dependent upon them, with the result resting upon their own exertions, the issue might have been different. Their faults seem to have come from the want of proper training with its consequent improvidence, and the lack of a sufficient motive.

Gorges' Settlement. - The natural attractions of Wessaguscus did not suffer it to remain long unoccupied, for in the autumn of the same year, 1623, or in the late summer, it is not quite certain which, Capt. Robert Gorges, son of Sir Fernando Gorges, the Council of New England, came with a company consisting in part at least of families and of character superior to that of those who had preceded them, with the evident intention of forming a permanent settlement. They landed upon the northern part of the town, probably near or upon the spot chosen by the Weston people the year before, thinking undoubt- indefinitely described as to be easily susceptible of misconstruction. This gave them ten miles of the coast on the northeast side of Massachusetts Bay and extending thirty miles inland. They chose their ten miles evidently to include the entrance of Boston Harbor, and this mistake, if mistake it were, was the cause of much trouble in the future.

The leader of this company is well known in history, but of the men who composed it little has been recorded; even their number is not known, the names of very few mentioned, and those with a great deal of uncertainty. It is, however, a wellascertained fact that the colony was projected to favor the establishment of the government more firmly on the New England shore, and to prepare a foundation upon which the Episcopacy might rear its future prosperity, and also as an offset to the threatened opposition that might possibly arise from the then insignificant attempt at Plymouth. fore carried upon its face the evidence of ministerial legal basis of future action the colony brought a regular chaplain, or clergyman of the Church of England, in the person of Rev. William Morrell, a man of education and standing, of excellent character, with power sufficient for the purpose intrusted to his care, the establishment of the claims of the church in the wilderness, and also to act as its bishop when chief judicial officer, and such others as the Governor- General chose to appoint, any two of whom, with himself, were empowered to transact any business necessary for the government of the colony. The Governor of Plymouth, for the time being, was constituted a member of the government, and immediately upon the arrival of the company, in August or September, Governor Bradford was notified of the fact, and at once made his arrangements to make the newcomers a call; but before this could be effected, the Governor-General, while on a tour of inspection over his extended domains, was forced by stress of weather into Plymouth, where he remained a few days and Very soon, however, he became satisfied with his experience as a ruler in the new settlement, and returned to England with a considerable portion of his company; others of the party went to Virginia and some to Plymouth, while some remained as the nucleus of the future settlement. remained here for perhaps a year and a half, and despairing of an accomplishment of his purpose in coming hither, went to Plymouth and took passage ment at Wessaguscus, and a continual though small accession to its members. 'The most notorious event of this period was the arrest there in 1628 of Thomas Morton, of Merry Mount, as Mount Wollaston was then called, by Capt. Miles Standish by order of the Plymouth authorities, taken to that town and sent to England. In 1630, and the following years, the settlement was recognized as a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and taxed for its support.

either name), thence overland. On their way, in going and returning they were generously entertained by the people of that place. During that year a tax was ordered by the court, five pounds of which was levied on Wessaguscus, eight on Boston, and four pounds ten shillings on Salem, showing the relative In 1633 it was spoken of In 1634 it was ordered to pay the charges incurred in taking care of Thomas Lane, a servant of John Burslyn (Bursley), of that settlement, who had fallen sick in Dorchester.

the towns composing the Massachusetts Bay Colony. On the 8th of July, of that year, the General Court passed an order permitting Rev. Joseph Hull with twenty-one families, consisting of about one hundred persons, to settle at Wessaguscus, the largest addition at any one time, probably, in the history of the town. These settlers came from Weymouth, England, and belonged to the county of Dorset and its immediate They were a class of people who soon became prominent and whose families, many of them, retain their position to the present day. Their minister, Rev. Joseph Hull, became for a time the min- On the 2d of September the town was erected into a plantation, equivalent probably to an act of incorporation, and the name changed to Weymouth, which it has since retained. On the following day it was ordered to send a deputy to the General Court, to which office William Reade, John Bursley, and John Upham were elected, these three being sent as an accommodation to three strong opposing elements then existing in the town, consisting probably of those who remained of the Gorges Company and friends who followed them, those who came in from other towns in the colony with an interest centering in the capital, and a third, embracing those who came with Rev. Joseph Hull, and their sympathizers. John Bursley representing the first, William Reade the second, and John Upham the third. The court influence predominating, Mr. Reade was retained and the others were permitted to retire. During the years 1635 and 1636 commissioners were appointed to establish the bounds between Mount Wollaston and Weymouth, of which Fore River and the Smelt Brook formed a part, thence by astraight line running south, a little westerly, until it reached the line of Plymouth Colony ; also, between Weymouth and Bare Cove, afterwards Hingham, of which line Back River and a creek called Fresh River formed a part ; thence on a line nearly parallel with the western boundary, to bridges were projected for the better accommodation of traffic and travel. Roads were built towards © Boston and mills erected upon the streams. A quar- | terly court was established, to be held in Boston, to inhabitants of the various towns in the colony from the Indians, it was ordered by the General Court that no dwelling-house should be built more than half a to three miles in extent. The'larger part of the population lived in North Weymouth, commonly known as "Old Spain," extending from the shore of the bay to Burying Hill, more than a mile, while there were quite a number of plantations, extending south and east over King Oak Hill as far as Fresh Pond, now Whitman's, in East Weymouth.

Where the first meeting-house was built is unknown, | but tradition says in Old Spain, probably near what | is now the centre of the village; but this did not now occupied by the meeting-house of the first parish. The houses of the inhabitants were mostly rude structures built of logs, and thatched with the coarse grass found at the head of the beaches above the salt water, which was carefully preserved for the purpose by order of the town. In 1642, 26th April, the Indian title | to the town was extinguished by purchase ; the original deed is not to be found, but a copy stands upon the records of the Suffolk County registry of deeds, | and is a curious specimen of the sharp trading which the early fathers allowed themselves to indulge in when dealing with the native owners. It was signed | by Wampetuck, a/ias Josias Webecowett, Nateaunt and Nahowton, sachems.

Church Troubles. - During the early years of the town it was very much disturbed by internal dissensions in the church. From 1635, on the arrival of | Rev. Joseph Hull and his company, until 1644, upon the settlement of Rev. Thomas Thacher, there was almost constant tumult and disturbance, sometimes so serious as to draw the attention of the General Court. About the years 1637 and 1638 there were no less settlers, the later comers from Dorchester, Boston, and vicinity, and the recent Hull arrivals, while the fourth, coming with a view of harmonizing the differences, only added another element to the discord. The Episcopal element was still strong, but apparently not enough so to propose a candidate of their own views; the Puritan party, which sustained Rev. Thomas Jenner; the 1635 settlers, under the leadership of Rev. Joseph Hull, an independent, with Episcopalian antecedents ; and a strong party who had invited Rev. Robert Lenthal, who was suspected of favoring the Rev. Samuel Newman was summoned to heal the breach, but he found the trouble too serious for his powers. The departure of all of these contestants and the settlement of Rev. Thomas Thacher, appeared to resolve the difficulty. In December, 1636, the General Court ceded to Weymouth, Grape Island and Round Island, the only additions ever made to its territory. During the eight years from the arrival of Rev. Joseph Hull, in 1635, to the departure of Rev. Samuel Newman, in 1643, Weymouth had gained largely in population and had become one of the most important towns in the colony. The records of the latter year, subsequent to the de- large colony, estimated by some as high as forty families, contained the names of more than one hundred and thirty land-owners, representing, most of them, heads of families. These records are imperfect, and probably do not represent by many the whole number. It is at this time that the regular records of the town commence, from which date they are comparatively good, probably as full as the average of the town records of the colony. Earlier than this the peculiar circumstances surrounding the settlement conspired to envelope the history in much obsecurity. The natural jealousy of the Pilgrims against the adherents of the established church from which they had suffered so much, prevented them from making any fuller record than was absolutely necessary of their neighbors at Wessagusset ; and later, the Puritans at Boston were in the same condition and no better disposed, although it was in their own territory and under their own jurisdiction ; while stil] later, the disturbances produced by the conflicting elements in their own midst prevented the preservation of records that would be of inestimable value at the present time.

Pequod War. - The Indians upon the territory of the town were never numerous from the first visits of the whites to its shores, and this was one reason enemies in other parts of the province, and it was always called upon for its quota of men, and taxed As early as 1637, of the one hundred and sixty men called for to serve call, and such business was transacted as the time demanded. When and how the first land grants were made is not known, but probably upon the earliest settlement the lands were divided as the needs of the settlers appeared ; that remaining was held in common.

mouth; and from this time until the close of the King Philip war, in 1676, the town was always a contributor in men and money to sustain the various ex- From that time the immediate danger was not felt, yet her soldiers were found upon the bloody fields of New York and

Emigration. - The first large colony sent out from Weymouth was that under the charge of Rev. Samuel Newman, to Rehoboth, and numbered by the best accounts about forty families. From that time, but usually in small companies, often but a single family, the tide flowed away, and the town saw its population slowly diminish by the constant drain upon it to supply the calls of the frontier. First Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the western part of this State, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, made large de- Then followed the calls from New York and the other Middle States, and still later the vast West, which have all been abundantly answered, until not a State in the Union, and hardly a county or town, but has one or more of the sons of Weymouth to represent it. This condition of things could not fail to be seriously felt, and the town was severely crippled by it, so much so that from 1643, for one hundred and fifty years, the gain was hardly perceptible, sometimes a period of gain to be more than offset by a corresponding period of loss, while the actual increase for the whole time was so small as to be hardly appreciable. Ifthe estimate for 1643 of at least one hundred and fifty families be correct, and an average of six to the family a fair allowance, a population of nine hundred at that time against fourteen hundred, the

In 1645 a partial record of the then property owners was made which has been preserved. Most of the early records are filled with the regulations respecting cattle, the cutting of timber, and such public matters as seemed to be called for. The earliest officers, after townsmen, named upon the records are fence-viewers, and the number and prominence of the men appointed to this position show it to have been at least no sinecure. 'There was the strictest scrutiny into the character and purpose of those who came among them. As early as 1646 a vote was passed forbidding any inhabitant from taking as an inmate any stranger without giving the town an indemnity bond against damage, under penalty of a fine of five

During those early days frequent regulations were made for the preservation of pine and cedar, indicat- In 1648, Widow Hillard was required to give the town security against harm At the first settlement the town set apart the shore land between high and low water-marks for thatching purposes, thatch being at that time the most important material for roofing purposes, and there appeared to be a necessity to provide for its preservation; and when the General Court afterwards ordered that all lands to low

| water-mark should belong to the proprietors of the | adjoining land, this regulation of the town was respected, and an exception made in its favor. The highways were a matter of prime importance a vote was passed requiring the officers to post notices of the assessment of rates, and all persons liable to taxation were required to bring in lists of polls and March 10,1651, the town voted to fine all such as should be tardy at townproperty under penal ty ° bills could be promptly paid, particularly Capt. Perkins' ten pounds for six months' schooling, which is the first notice upon the record in relation to school matters.

About this time the town business had accumulated to such a degree that it became necessary to adopt more systematic measures in relation to its conduct.

their meetings. The first annual town-meeting was held Nov. 26, 1651, for the choice of town officers, and the townsmen are now for the first time called " selectmen," a title which they have since retained. The powers of these officers are given upon the record with minute detail, and the business of the town

The necessity of a town clerk was apparent, and Deacon John Rogers was chosen '" recorder,' his special duty being that of clerk to the selectmen. At town from Braintree to Hingham, and: near the centre from north to south; at the same time Thomas Dyer was chosen to record births, deaths, and marriages, and William Torrey recorder of deeds, ete.

acres, of each person who was allotted land in the first and second divisions, beginning on Braintree line. For many years the records are mainly taken up boundary lines with other and adjacent towns and between different estates, locating and improving the highways and managing the town commons, which was a matter of no small moment in those days. The sexton's duties were prescribed and looked after, and all parish matters, neither few nor small, were transacted by the town in public meeting, since the town and precinct were one.

clerk in the matter of recording grants, and for copying, so large as to demand compensation, which was voted at the rate of one shilling for grants, six pence for a copy, and three shillings and four pence for recording the assessor's rates.

At the March meeting, 1669-70, a committee was chosen to procure a '"' new town book," upon which all of the affairs of the town should be correctly kept, and it is not at all unlikely that the oldest book of records now in possession of the town is the identical book purchased at this time, since in it are references to older books not now to be found.

/ i King Philip's War. - During the period from 1651 to 1674, the town had been steadily growing in population and wealth, and laying the foundations of future prosperity, unconscious of the dark days before it. The people were upon the shore of the bay, far removed from danger of savage beasts or men, but trouble was gathering, and the ill feeling between the white settlers and the Indians on the southern borders had risen to that point that it needed but an accident of small importance in itself to bring about an outburst of hostilities. Such an accident happened in the murder of a white man by an Indian, and the execution of the offender. This was an opportunity too favorable to be resisted by the young braves, and the attack upon Swanzey, June 24, 1675, was the result.

of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay joined hands for mutual aid and defense. Troops were quickly mustered and took the field in hope of a speedy crushing of their terrible foe.

of the following two years were such a record of horror as the settlements had never before seen and were never afterwards to know. All through the State, the Indians spread with the utmost rapidity, carrying terror and dismay into every household. They seemed to be ubiquitous, appearing in places widely distant at the same time, and only to burn and kill.

The history of this deplorable war is too well known to be repeated. stroyed and half a million of money expended, while it is estimated that more than six hundred young men were slain or died in the service, or one in twenty of the producing citizens, and one family in every twenty was burned out. Contributions came in from various sources. Connecticut, which had escaped the ravages of the war, sent a thousand bushels of corn, and other places were equally prompt with their sorely-needed aid. Even across the ocean friends appeared, and Ireland sent forward a generous gift.

It will be sufficient to say that Weymouth was not the least among the sufferers. At the very beginning of hostilities (12th February, 1675) an attack was made upon the town, and several houses burnt. At the call of the State the men of Weymouth responded heartily to defend their homes from the ravages of the destroyer, and in the return made by Capt. William Torrey on behalf of the Committee of Militia of Weymouth, lst December, 1675, appear the names of twelve volunteers, and nearly all of those names were dians who were on their way to Plymouth Colony, and seven houses and barns were burned, while in February preceding several men had been killed in the town. So many men had been drawn away from the place for frontier service that not enough remained for their own defense, and the exigency was so great that on 26th March, 1676, a petition was presented to the Governor and Council, signed by the same William Torrey and on the same behalf, urging the recall their own homes; then follow the names of these, ten in all, and none of them belonging to the preceding list. These, too, were all young men of character and promise.

19th April, 1676, Sergt. Thomas Pratt was killed at Weymouth. And again the petition comes up from the distressed settlement, upon a demand for six more men by the State, representing in the most vivid already and have the enemy appearing daily at our very doors, four killed already, and in danger wheresoever we go; in expectation every day and hour of being assaulted, stand continually upon our guard, whereby planting is obstructed and all things turning into confusion and destruction ;' and in a postscript the writer, Capt. William Torrey, adds: " Just at this instant saw appearing of fire and smoke about the Town, whereby we certainly know that the enemy is very near us."

A still later letter from the same hand continues the story of trouble and alarm, and it was only upon the death of Philip and the annihilation of his forces that the terror quieted and the settlement calmed down into its wonted peace. How many men were furnished by the town for service in this war it is impossible now to determine, as the records are very imperfect, and it is only by incidental mention in contemporaneous writings that most of the facts now known have been preserved. The twenty-two men whose names are preserved were but a part of those who were thus engaged; others are known to On Oct. 12, 1676, of Weymouth on account of its losses by the enemy, and ten days later the taxes of those persons " slayne in the war" were for this purpose levied on the whole town. ,

Later on, in 1678, March 23d, there is the petition of John Lovell, of Weymouth, to be paid for service in this war, and October 7th, Richard Russ, also of Weymouth, a wounded soldier, was allowed forty shillings for his cure. A night-watch was also kept up in the town as late as the summer of that year, showing that the alarm had not wholly subsided.

Company of Horse. - In 1679, in the fall, a company of horse was formed which continued its organization for a number of years, and a year later, by order of the General Court, the soldiers of Weymouth, with those of the other towns in Suffolk County, were organized into a regiment, under the command of Maj. William Stoughton, thus anticipating any occasion that might arise which should call for troops. =

Town Affairs. - 26th November, 1683, an important change in the manner of choosing the selectmen was effected by a vote of the following import,

"Caleb Littlefield, living in the house formerly Thomas White's, warned to leave town, not being an inhabitant, or bring security to the selectmen." He still remained in town, and a request was made to the General Court to enter a caution upon its records that he or his may not become chargeable to the town, should they come to want. Such was the care taken that no unnecessary burden should be thrown | In the following autumn it was

On March 7, 1691-92, after various changes in | the time of holding the annual meetings, the town | returned to the former custom of holding two each | year, one on the "last Second day of November and the other on the first Second day of March," which | all of the inhabitants who were voters should be obliged to attend, under a penalty of eighteen pence for each absence.

Sir Edmund Andros. - The advent of Sir Edmund | Andros as Governor of the colony in December, 1686, | was the beginning of a series of important events bearing upon its political fortunes. had been permitted a large degree of freedom in the management of their local affairs, and the Governor seldom interfered ; now, everything was to give way to | the will of the Executive, whose power was nearly absolute. Learning and religion were given the go-by in lack of the usual supports. Town-meetings were only allowed for the choice of town officers, not for deliber- The vote by ballot was common law and the Bible were brought forward in testimony only to be scorned. All commons and lands reserved for the poor were given to favorites. Everything must minister to the power and the purse of the Governor and his associates, while all opposers were treated as rebels; but the unyielding spirit of the stern old Puritans could not be subdued. Ministers preached sedition and resistance, and once, at least, put by Thanksgiving day. Desperate measures were proposed and a petition to the king prepared, habeas corpus were withheld, and the laws of Kngwere levied, which were generally refused. land denied to the people of the colony. Men were tried, fined, and imprisoned for refusal until even the clergy counseled resistance. The rights of property were denied, and old grants must be renewed at a high rate of fees, while grants under the charter were declared void by its forfeiture. were worthless.

Lands had been held under grants from the General Court to the towns and from the towns to individuals. These were now declared to be " not worth held in relation to a new government, at which it was voted, "in concurrence with the representatives," "that the Governor, deputy, and assistants chosen in 1686, with the deputies then sent by the several towns, should be the settled government of the colony." In other words, the vote was to restore the old order of things.

When Sir Edmund Andros made his escape from the castle, Capt. Samuel White, of Weymouth, received a warrant from Governor Bradstreet and his Council to pursue and bring him back again, which he did with his troop of fifty-two men, for which, with other services, he claimed seventy pounds, but was allowed only twenty-two pounds eight pence.

Military Company. - 24th June, 1689, the following officers were confirmed for the Weymouth and Hingham troops: Capt. Ephraim Hunt, Lieut. Jacob Nash, Ensign Richard Phillips. Capt. William Torrey had declined the command on account of the infirmities of age. This seems to have been a reorganization of the former company raised several years previous, and which had been in service during the interval.

Canadian Expedition. - In the Canadian expedition of 1690, Weymouth was represented by Capt. Ephraim Hunt and others. For his services in this campaign, Capt. Hunt received: from the General Court a grant of the territory, now Ashland.

Local Matters - Nov. 27, 1693, the selectmen were ordered to " prepare and present to the Justices' Court in Boston, the laws and orders which concern the prudential affairs of the town;" and March 7, 1697-98, John Torrey, "to encourage his trade, shall have twelve poles of land next his father's, out of the towns commons, for a tan-yard as long as he shail use it for that purpose." displeasure of the government for dereliction of mil- | itary duty, his Excellency intimating to the Council | August 19th, that Col. Hunt was in default in the levy | of soldiers ordered from his regiment, none appearing from Weymouth and Hingham, and Col. Hobby was | dispatched with ten men of the troop of guards, with orders to make a draft of twenty men out of each of the said towns.

Town Boundaries. - F rom the earliest times the | boundaries between Weymouth and Abington on the south, and Braintree on the west, seem to have been in a very unsatisfactory condition. Committees were frequently appointed by Weymouth to run the lines with a committee of Braintree, but in nearly all cases the latter town refused to act; thus the matter | remained unsettled, which was a source of much | irritation and annoyance, until Weymouth appears to | have lost patience, and ordered its selectmen, June | 13, 1712, to prosecute the selectmen of Braintree for | refusing to run the town-line as the law provides, | Whether or | not the matter ever came to court is uncertain, but it

New Precinct. - In 1722, came up which threatened to seriously disturb the | friendly relations that the two sections of the town held towards each other.

With the increase of population the settled portions of the town gradually ex- - tended until they covered more or less densely its entire territory, verging in the north and south towards villages. The length of the town and its narrowness contributed to form it into distinct sections with separate interests and associations, and this naturally engendered a feeling of conflict, if not of hostility, when any questions came up on which there could be a territorial difference of opinion.

These opportunities often occurred, particularly in school and parish affairs. The former could more easily be adjusted as schools could be supplied at moderate expense for all portions, but with regard to the church and parish, the matter was more difficult to manage, since the church was already established, with its meeting-house located in the north part of the town, and a second church with its necessary expense would involve a burden too heavy for the abilities of the town to sustain. Yet the distance, some five or more miles for a large portion of the inhabitants, and | the constantly occurring occasions of disagreement, finally brought the matter to a crisis, the south portion of the town coming to the determination to have its own church and mecting-house either by a new precinct or by a new town.

a distinct town or precinct. The north part, being in the majority and disliking to be disturbed in its oldtime arrangement, determined to oppose the movement A townmeeting was called and a committee chosen to oppose the petition in the General Court. Attempts were made to accommodate the difficulty by a proposed removal of the meeting-house to a more central locality, all of which failed. Notwithstanding the efforts of the town as represented by its majority, the General Court, in the spring of 1723, recognizing the reasonableness of the request, granted it, and the South Precinct was organized with a territory covering more than half of the area of the town. But this did not heal the breach as subsequent events proved, for there were yet continual sources of trouble and difficulty arising from the parsonage property which was in possession of the North Precinct, and which its people refused to relinquish.

Fisheries. - In the early days of the town no insignificant portion of the food-supply came from the fish taken within or near its borders; and of these, the most dependence was placed upon the herring, or alewives, which were in the habit of running into the ponds that feed Back River to spawn. years the supply was doubtless sufficient for all, and there was little need of restriction or care lest that supply should fail. It was therefore unnecessary that the town should concern itself about the matter. But as the population increased, and the multiplying of mills upon the stream threatened to prevent the fish from ascending to the ponds, it was found necessary that the town should take some control of the matter and provide that proper care should be taken to preserve this important source of food.

As early as 1648, mention is made of the " herringe broge," giving evidence that this fishery dates back to the first settlement of the town. For the reasons previously given very little notice is subsequentiy taken of the matter for three-quarters of a century. In 1724-25, at the town-meeting held March 8th, a committee was chosen " to treat with the mill-owners on the river, by Bates', to make a convenient passage for fish into Whitman's Pond, to pay not over £5." From that time onward the '' alewives business" oc- a source of income that the town valued highly, as will be seen in the subsequent history. The arrang- | ing and settling of this business often proved quite | perplexing and difficult.

New County. - About 1725, the subject of forming a new county, to be set off from Suffolk, was agitated, but the project was steadily opposed by Weymouth, | unless the court-house should be located within five |

Dr. White. - At the March meeting held on the | 14th of that month, 1726-27, the town felt a necessity for encouraging the settlement of a physician within | its limits, and for this purpose voted " a grant of five acres of land to Dr. Nathaniel White while he should remain in the town and practice medicine."

Town Regulations. - On July 21, 1729, a list of the first jurymen chosen by the town appears upon the records, and from that day to the present the matter has never been allowed to fall into disuse.

a century its expenses were very light, the highways | being provided for by personal labor of all the male inhabitants above sixteen years, and no regular appropriation was made for the support of the poor, the cases being very few, and each as it came up was cared for as the circumstances of the matter required ; hence are found occasional records like that of Aug. | 23, 1733, when the three daughters of Widow Ruth | Harvey were provided for by the town, the largest | tax being that for the ministry and the schools. These matters will be more fully treated in another depart- | ment of this sketch.

The proposition for a new county still continued to - be agitated. Feb. 2, 1729-30, the town went so far as to choose an agent to treat with the towns of Scituate, Hingham, Hull, Braintree, Hanson, and Abington respecting the matter, and Sept. 1, 1755, a vote was passed in favor of a new county, to be composed of the towns in Suffolk County outside of | Boston.

At the following town-meeting, held March 1, 1735-36, two important measures were passed ; one allowing all freeholders to vote in the affairs of the town commons, and the other to divide all the commons among the householders ''who are freeholders," in equal shares, and this vote was reaffirmed at a subsequent meeting held March 29th.

March 7, 1736-37, a committee was chosen to unite with Braintree to build a cart-bridge over the Smelt Brook at Weymouth Landing, a proceeding so necessary that it is almost impossible to conceive that an important thoroughfare like this, on the main road |

And again, on the 13th of March following, the town votes its mind that Boston should be a county by itself, and a committee was chosen to petition the General Court to that effect.

June 23, 1741, the town chose a committee to consider the matter and to see if some amicable adjustment could not be made, but the effort failed, and the subject remained to be the cause of much future trouble.

Pigwacket Indians. - In 1744, a proposition was made that the Pigwacket Indians then stationed in Boston should be placed in Weymouth, but the disposition of the town was shown by a unanimous vote,

Town Commons. - On May 23, 1751, the town made its first general appropriation for the poor by voting twenty pounds for this purpose. At the same meeting it was also voted that the Second Precinct should have its share of town-meetings in proportion to its tax; also that the town commons should be divided among the inhabitants according to the tax of 1750, each poll to draw one share, and other shares in proportion to the tax; but this vote, like all previous votes of the kind, was changed on July Ist so as to except all not over twenty-one years of age, all not born in town and who were not householders and freeholders, and also all persons renting property.

Throat Distemper. - At this period occurred the terrible throat distemper that raged so viclently in the town during a whole year, from May, 1751, te May, 1752, that out of an estimated population of about twelve hundred one hundred and fifty died, being an eighth of the whole number. This scourge is unprecedented in the history of the town, and was long remembered with dread and horror. Another disaster of a very different character occurred in the burning of the old church, in the First Precinct, on the 23d of April, 1751, in which was stored three barrels of gunpowder. These two occurrences were deemed of so much consequence that the town voted not to send a representative to the General Court that year on that account.

wars between England and France, which, to a large degree, were' carried on upon this continent, and in which the French made alliance with the savage chusetts Bay and the southern borders, was far removed from the scene of active strife, yet even the | little town of Weymouth was not exempt from its - the town in blood and treasure for matters in which In the expeditions of 1755 and 1756, to Crown Point and Lake George, about forty men of Weymouth belonged in the regiment were killed during the year's service. Among the men of this company was Lieut. Solomon Lovell, afterwards general during the Revolutionary struggle.

paigns along the northern frontiers during these and subsequent years, until the capture of that last stronghold of the French on this continent, Louisburg, in

The names of such, to a great extent, are wanting, but in the incidental mentions upon public archives, and in private family histories, enough is gathered to

French Neutrals. - In 1755, after the capture of Acadia (Nova Scotia) by the English, large numbers of the unfortunate inhabitants, who were with the greatest inhumanity forced to abandon their former pleasant homes, and seek shelter wherever they might, were brought to Boston, and as no provision had been made for their support, they were parceled out among the several towns that were thus compelled to provide for them. Weymouth received its share, but how many there remains no record to show, excepting such as is found in the votes of the town in special cases and upon the treasurer's books, like the following: March 8, 1756, " Dr. Nathaniel White was paid eight shillings per week for a year for keeping the French Neuters," this by vote of the town, and upon

Dr. Tufts. - Again, March 10, 1760, Dr. Cotton Tufts, who had recently settled in the north part of the town as a physician, and who afterwards, for more than half a century, was one of its most valuable and prominent citizens, was chosen agent to confer with other towns about a new county.

Highways. - About the same time also the town was found to have outgrown the primitive method of working the highways, and something different and more effective was needed. New regulations were consequently adopted, whereby each poll was to be taxed two shillings and one penny, one day's work ; other taxes in same proportion. Those having teams, horse or ox, were rated at certain prices, and the whole matter was reduced to a kind of system, rude to be sure, but a vast improvement over the ancient plan. This arrangement was continued with comparatively few changes for several generations.

South Precinct. - During these years the South Precinct seems to have been steadily gaining upon the North in population and influence, and had become strong enough to command a vote, March 24, 1761, defining the word " ministry" in the parsonage deed to include both ministers, and that each should draw of the income from that source in proportion to the tax paid by his parish.