Plymouth County, Massachusetts - Biographical sketches (5 of 6 so headed), 1884 (part 3 of 3)

"Pi.VMOUTii, June, IBJ.'I. " I, Josias Wampatuck, do acknowledge and confess that I have sold two tracts of land unto .Mr. Timothy llathcrly, .Mi". James Cudwortb, Mr. Joseph TiUlen, Humjihrcy Turner, William Hatch, John Hoar, and James Torri;y, (or the proper use and behoof of the inhabitants of the town of .Scilinite, n, be enjoyed by theui according to the true intents of the ICngli-h grants. The one parcel uf such land is bouniled from the mouth of the North River, as that river goeth to the Indian lleail Itiver, upon a straight line unto the middle ol' Accord Pond ; fruiu Accord Pond, by the line set by the eoniinissiunets as the bouuds bctwi.vt the two jurisdictions, until it met with the line ol the lanil sold by me unto the sharers of Cunilia.-<.-ett, .lud as th.it line runs, between the town and the shores, until it eouieth iiiidt the sea; and so along by the sea unto the mouth of the No> ih Uiver aforesaid. The other parcel of laud, lying on (in- eastei ly side of the North River, begins at a lot which was souiei ioic tlie land of John Ford, and so to run two miles southerly, a- the River runs, and a mile iu breadth towards the ca.st, for wliich parcel of land I do acknowledge to have ieei-i\ed Kif the iiilu whose names are before mentioned, tourteeu pounds in full .-alisfaetion, in behalf of the inhabitants of the toun of Scituatc us at'uiesaid; and [ do hereby promise and engage to give .-ueh further evidence before the Governor us ttie town of .'Scituate shall think meet when I um thereunto rei^uired, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of

" Samukl Nash. "At the same time when Josiits made acknowledgmciit, as above mentioned, there was a Deed brought into Court which be owned to be the deed which he gave to them whose names are

.1 the ^subsequent purchase of that traet rendering another ctmveyance necessary, it was pi-obably thought | best to include both purchases in a new deed and de- I stroy the old one. At a later period Wanipatuck i conveyed the reiuaininj^ part of his possessions within , the present boundaries of Marshfield by the following | deed :

"Know yQ that I, the said Ju.-'ias, for good conaiderationa i nic thereunto moving, have given, granted, bargained, and sold, anil by these pre::ientei do bargain, ;i^o)l, give, grant, alioe, and cuntinu and make over all my right, title, and interest in or uutu all and singular ttie lands contained within the township of Marshfield in the jurisdiction of New Plymouth in New England in America, together with all the woods, waters, uiuaduw.s, marshes, mines, and minerals, and all and singular the benefits, privileges, imuiuuitics, and profits thereunto appertaining unto uiy very guud friend Major Josiah Wiuslow, in the l>elialf of htTuself and the rest of the inhabitants and proprietors of the aforesaid town, from me, my heirs, executors, and ussigna forever, fur a valuable consideration to uie in hand paid, wherewith [ do acknowledge myself to be fully satiafied, and for the same do acquit and set them tree from all future claims and demands respecting the premises, only reserving to myself and my men free liberty of hunting with our guns (not setting tnipsj.and also for fowling and lishing and liberty tu fell now and then a true for eanous ; and for the true performance hereof and of the pai ticulars herein me respecting, I do hereby tirmly bind and oblige myself, my heirs, executors, and assigns forever. Fn witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal Lhia IJ^^* day of October, a.d. Itilij.

It is neeclless to enter into any detailed account of ihe early settlers within the limits of this sketch. Particulars ooucerniug tlieui and their families iiiay be found in the " Memorials of Marshfield," by Miss ^larcia A. Thouias, to which the reader is referred. The iuubt distinguished of these settlers, as is well known, were the Winslows, - Edward, John, Josiah, and Kenelm, and Williaui Thomas. Of the Winslows, Edward came in the " Mayflower" in lUliO; John in the " Fortune" in 1621 ; Kenelui came in Hi'^'J ; and . Josiah came in the " White Anfiel" to Saco in 1C31, and after a short residence in Scituate, removed into Marshfield. They were brothers, and their father, Edward Wiuslow, lived in Droitwich, in England, '

Edward, the Euf^lish ancestor of the Winslows, and probably the only son of Kenelm, married, it is suppo.'ied, Eleanor Pelham, of Droitwich, and had a son, llichard, about 15S6. He married, for a second wife, in 1594, Maf^dalene Ollyver, and had Edward (1595), John (1597), Eleanor (1598), Kenelm (1599), Gilbert (IGOO), Elizabeth (16U2;, Ma-daleue (1604:), and Josiah (ItiOG). Accordiii;< to tradition Edward, who was the oldest son, havin'.^ married in Leyden, in 1U18, Elizabeth Barker, joined the Pil-^rims, as a recent convert to their faith, having in his travels fallen within the sphere of their influence, and became a most ituporiant factor in their enterprise of colonization. By his first wife, who died soon after the landing, he had no children surviving infancy; and he married, in 1621, Susanna, the widow of William White, by whom he had Edward and John, before 1627; Josiah, 1628; Elizabeth, who married Robert Brooks ; and George Curwiii. His life in the colony was full of activity and usel'uluess. He was one of the exploring party which landed from the shallop on Plymouth Rock, Dec. 11-21, 162U ; he submitted himself, as a hostage, in the hands of the Indians during the negotiation of the treaty with Massasoit, in 1621', in the same year he visited Mussasoit, at his cabin at Pokanoket, for the purpose of exploring the country and cultivating the friendshipof the great chief ; in 1623 he again visited that sachem, then dangerously ill, and restored him to health ; in the same year, he visited England as an agent of the colony, and, after a six months' absence, returned in the "Charity" in 1624, biinging provisions and clothing and the first stock of cattle ever in New England. In 1625 he was chosen one of the assistants of the Governor, in which ofijce he was continued until 1633, when he was chosen Governor, and during liia term of service as a.ssistant he undertook business excursions to the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Connecticut Rivers. In 16:j5 he was again sent to England as an agent of both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Colonies. In 1636 he was again chosen Governor, and for the third time in 1644. In 1643 he was chosen one of the commissioners of the United Colonics, and in 1646 undertook another embassy to England to answer the complaints of Samuel Gorton and others, who had charged the colonists with religious intolerance and persecution. As an author he enjoys the distinction with Bradford of laying in " Mourt's Relation," printed in London in 1622, the foundation of American literature. At a subsequent day he published a narrative of the settlement and transactions of the colony of Plymouth, entitled " Good News from New England, or a Relation of Things remarkable in that Plantation," and other papers relating to Pilgrim history. In 1654 he received from Cromwell the appointment of commissioner to arbitrate and determine the value of English ships seized and detained by the king of Denmark in 1(J52, and in lt)55 was appointed by the Protector one of three commissioners to superintend the operations of the military and naval forces sent to the Spanish Wcit Indies under Admiral Peun and Gen. Venable. While performing the last service he died on the 8th of May, 1055, and was buried at sea with the honors of war.

John Winslow, the next younger brother of Edward, came to Plymouth, as has been stated, in the "Fortune" in 1021, and married, in 1G27, JIary, daughter of James Chilton, who came in the " Mayflower." It is doubtful whether he ever occupied the land granted to him in Marshfield. In 1057 he removed to Boston, and there died in 1074. Kenelni Winslow, the next younger brother of Edward, according to Miss Thomas, settled on a gentle eminence by the sea, near the extremity of a neck of land lying between Green's Harbor River and South River. He married Widow Eleanor (Newton) Adams, and had Kenelm (1635), who removed to Yarmouth ; Ellon (1637), who married Samuel Baker, of Marshfield ; Nathaniel (1C3D), who married in 10C4 Faith, daughter of John Miller, of Yarmoutli, and succeeded to his father's homestead; and Job (1041), who removed to Swansea. He was a prominent man in the town, representing it often in the General Court, and died in Salem in 1672. Gilbert Winslow, the next younger brother of Edward, came also in the " Mayflower," but returned to England after 1621, and there died in 1050. Josiah, the youngest brother, according to Mi.ss Thomas, settled on a lawn extending from the more elevated lands of his brother Kenelm, southerly to the northern banks of Green's Harbor River. It was fortunate for Marslilield that the services of so intelligent a man were available. As town clerk for many years, he has handed down to the present generation the fullest and most satisfactory records of the early days which the writer has ever seen. Time and continued use have somewhat defaced and mutilated them, but, uuder a commendable vote of the town, they have been adnjirably copied, and, together with the later and current record.s, redect the highest credit on the citizens of the town and their successive clerks. Mr. Winslow married, in 1037, Margaret, daughter of Thoma.s Bourne, and had Elizabeth (1037), Jonathan (1038),

Mary (1040), Margaret (1641, who married John Miller), Rebecca (1632, who married John Thatcher, of Yarmoutli), Haiiuah (1644, who married William Crow), and John Sturtevaot. He died in 1074, and was probably buried in the old burial-ground of the First Church, incorrectly called by many the Winslow burial-ground.

William Thomas, whose grant of about fifteen hundred acres has already been described, is suppu>ed to have been born in 1573, and came from Yarmouth in the " Marye and Ann," perhaps in 103G, with a son, Nathaniel, born in 1600. He is first mentioned in the records in the proceedings of the Court of Assistants, under date of Oct. 6, 1030. where it is entered that " John Winslow hath turned over the service of Edmund Weston for two years, beginning the last of May next ensuing, to Nathaniel Thonnis, in the behalf of his father, Mr. William Thomas, in consideration of ten pounds sterling, the said William being further to give the said Edward six pounds per annum and fourteen bushels of corn at the end of the said two years, and what else the said John should make good by his covenant." He seems to have been included in the list of freemen entered in the records of March 7,1030/7, and yet his name is included in a list of eight entered Dec. 4, 1038, as having been admitted as freemen and sworn on that day. In January, 1640/1, he received his grant, and in the records of the court of the 1st of March, 1641/2, he is called of Marshfield, and oo that day was chosen an assistant, to which office he was annually chosen until his death, in 1651. Mr. Thomas h;is been repeatedly called one of the merchant adventurers by whose aid the Pilgrims were enabled to undertake their voyage and successfully accomplish their scheme of colonization. This, however, is extremely doubtful. No list has been preserved of the adventurers of 1620, while-on that of their succes.sors, who in 1020 carried on further negotiations with the Pilgrims, it is not to be found. It is more probable that he was a Welsh gentleman, of ample means and an adventurous spirit, who shared the passion of the age for colonization, and sought new and fresh fields for activity and enterprise. In the church records of Plymouth he is spoken of as " that Godly gentleman" who went with other.-; from Plymouth to Marslilield, and Nathaniel Morton, the secretary of the colony, says, in speaking of his death, in 1651, "This year Mr. William Thomaa expired his natural life in much peace and comfort. He served in the place of magistracy divers years; he was a well-approved and wellgrounded Christian, well read in the Holy Scriptures and other approved authors ; and good lover and ap- provcr of godly uiiiiisters and tsood Christians, and one tiut iiad a sincere desire to promote the common good boll) uf cliurcii and State." He died of consumption, and was honorably buried at Marshfield. His gravestone still standing in the old burial-ground bears the following inscription :

His son, Nathaniel, who was thirty years of age when he came to Plymoutli, in 1G36, was also a conspicuous man in the very earliest days of Marshfield, and during a time when fears were entertained of Indian attacks he was appointed by the court town's captain. From him, the only son of William, at least on this side of the ocean, there are many descendants living in Marshfield and Plymouth, and other parts of the Old Colony. There is another Thomas family, of which Geo. John Thomas, of Kingston, of Revolutionary fame, was a conspicuous member, descended from Joiin Thomas, of Marshfield, in no way connected, as far as is known, with William Thomas, who came an orphan of fourteen years in the ship " Hopewell," in 1635, and, falling under the care and protection of Edward Winslow, became finally his steward. The two lines of descent from William and John became at one point connected by the marriage of Gen. Thomas, tlie third in descent from the first John, with Hannah, who was daughter of Nathaniel Thomas, the fifth in descent from William. The descendants from John also are to be (bund perhaps as numerous and as widely scattered as those of William.

The William Thomas estate descended through his son, Nathaniel, his grandson, Nathaniel, his greatgrandson, Nathaniel, his great-great-grandson, John, finally to Nathaniel Ray Thomas, who was the only son of John and a noted loyalist, who died at Windsor, in Nova Scotia, in 1787. At the request of the loyalists of Marshfield, of whom there were three hundred, a company of the Queen's Guards, commanded by Capt. Balfour, was scut to that town to protect theiu from annoyance, and was quartered in the house of Mr. Thomas. It was the same house which was afterwards owned and occupied by Daniel Wcb.ster, and up to the time of its destruction by fire, a few years since, its cellar contained the wiue-closets constiucted by Capt. Balfour for the use of himself and officei-s. Mr. Thomas was a mandamus counselor, and in the month of July, 1774, a large body of citizens from various towns gathered round his house to compel him to resign his commission. His absence from town protected him from insult, and afterwards the presence of the Queen's Guards effectually shielded Iiira. While the troups were at Marshfield he and his family were hjdged with the family of Dr. Lsaac Winslow in the Winslow house, still standing at the corner of the roads a short distance south of the Webster estate. On the evacuation of Boston, in 1776, Mr. Thomas went to Nova Scotia. Mrs. Thomas, who was the daughter of Henry Deering, of Boston, remained at the homestead with hur children, and saved her share of the estate from the confi.-ication which befell it. After the war she joined her husband iu Nova Scotia with all her children except John, and died in Windsor in 1810, at the age of seventy-eight. That part of the estate which was saved from confiscation came into the pos.session of John Thomas, the only child of Nathaniel Ray, and of him it was bought, in 1832, by Daniel Webster. Of the original estates of Edward Winslow and William Thomas, comprising two thousand seven hundred acres, Mr. Webster had bought before his death about fifteen hundred. Nearly on the dividing line between these estates Mr. Webster stood in the open air on the 24th of July, 1852, three months before his death, and addressed for the last time a public assemblage. He addressed his neighbors and friends, who had gathered in large numbers to receive him, and, as both his last public utterance and a testimony to the love and affection iu which he held the spot which had been his home and those among whom he had so long lived, it deserves a place in this narrative :

"Friends a.vd NutuuBORs: It is now about twenty years that I have been in the midst of you, |>adi<iug here on the side of the aeo, iu your vicinity and presenee that portion of every year which I have been able to enjoy fruui the laboi-s of my profession and the cares of public life. Happy have they been to ine and mine, fur durinj^ all that period I know not of one unkind thing done or an unkind word s|ioUen to ute or those that are near and dear to me. Geutleuieu, I consider this a personal kindness, a tribute of individual regard. I have lived among you with the greatest pleasure aud sutisfaelioii. I <leeiii it a great piece of good fortuno that, eouiing from the mountains, desirous of having a summer resideuce on the sea-coast, 1 came where I did and when I did. Many when they couie down through these pine woods, aud over these sandy hills, to see us, wonder what drew Mr. Webster to .Marshlietd. \Vby, gentlemen, I tell them, it was partly good sense, hut m-ti-e good fortune. 1 hatl gut a pleasant spot, I had land.-4 about aie diversitied, my fortune was to fall into a kind ui.'iglib<M-hood, nmoug men with whom I never had any dilliculty, vuth uhuiu I had entered into a sort of a well-unilerstooil covenant tliat I would talk with them on farming and lisbing, aud of ueiglihorliood concerns, but I would never speak a word to them or they

'- FrieiiJa ;inil ntigliliors. the time in wliicli you olFer lue tliis welcome ia not imippiopriiite. I am not mucb lori;;er to be iLWuy from you for ;iuy purpose connected with public lile or public duty. The phicc whicli I now occupy in tlie councils of the milion mu^l, of course, ere lon^ be vucuted by me, and m:iy be vac;iled very shortly. There i.i un end to nil huuian labors and human elVorrj. I am no longer a young man. I am thankful that I have a good degree of health and Etrcngtb, and hope to enjoy your neighborhood and kindnes:', and the plea-ine '.f sei-ing you often, for some years to come, if such ma} he the j.leasnreof the .Aliniglity.

-- Aecepf, gentlemen, from the depth of my affection for you all, my warm aekuowleJgniints that you come hero with couuleuances to open and frank to give me this assurance of your regard. 1 return it with all my heart. I say again, my prayers arc that the Power above may preserve you and Tours, and everything that ia near and dear to you in prosperity and happiness."

In just three mouths from that day, ou the 24th of (Jctober, he died, and on the 27th he was buried in the old burial-;;round adjoining his estate. His stone bears the following inscription, that part of it which is an extract from the Scriptures having been inserted at his own recjuest, and the remainder being a statement of his own :

Philosophical argument, especially Chat drawn from the vastncss of the Universe, in comparison with the apparent insignificance of this globe has sometimes shaken my reason for the faith which is in me; but my lieal't has always assureil and reassured mo that the tiospel of Jesus Christ inu.^t be a Divine Reality. The Sermon on the Mount cannot be a mere human pruiluction. This belief enters into the very depth of my conscience. The whole history of man proves it."

Ill speaking of the earliest settlers of Marshfield Peregrine White, the first-born child of New England, must not be overlooked. As is well known, he was the son of William White, one of the " iMayfiower" passengers, and was burn in the liarbor of Provincetown. His mother, Susanna White, became tlie second wife ol Edward Win.'-low, and he removed with his father tu Cai.swell, his Green's Haibur estate. He married Saiah. daughter of William Uassctt, and settled un au estate given to him by his father-in-law, situated between North and Simth Rivers, not far froui tiicir uniun. His estate was the whole or a part of the one hundred acres granted to Mr. Bassett by the court on the Uth of April, llJlO. lu 1C37 he was one of thirty volunteers, as is slated in the records, " to assist them of Massachusetts Bay and Conneciieut in their wars again.^t the Po(|ain Indians in revenge of the innocent blood of the Engli.ih, which the said Pcquins liave barbarously shed aud refuse to give satisl'actiun lor." In 1012 he was made ancient bearer" of the furets under the command of Capt. Standish, raised lor the wais; in 1(J51 was propounded as a freeman, and in IGTiJ, when lie was styled Capt. White, he was chosen one of the council of war. He held various town uUices, and was twice chosen a deputy tu the General Court. His dcatii occurred on the 2Uth of July, 1704, and he is supposed to have been buried by the side of his mother in the old burial-ground. His aon, Daniel, who died in 1724, and his daughter, Mercy, the wife of William Sherman, who died in 1739, were buried in the grave-yard adjoiniug the present First Congregational meeting-house. The estate owned and occupied by him ha.s always remained in the White family until after the recent death of Jliss Sybil White, when in the settlement of the estate it w.is sold.

The town records as copied begin with the date of Sept. 27, 1643. Those of the first three years after the incorporation arc not in a condition to be read. At the date above meutioned the Pe(|Uot war was going on, and there being more or less fear of Indian invasion, " it was agreed that there be a constant watch in the township, - that is to say, in four different quarters, - at Edward Winslow's, at Mr. William Thomas', at Mr. Thomas Bourne's, and the fourth at Robert Barker's. Edward Wiuslow, Lieut. Nathaniel Thomas, Josiah Winslow, and William Bruuke.s have cliarge there; that Robert Carver, .John Ruuse, Edward Bumpus, and Edward Winslow and families be of the guard under Edward Winslow; James Pitney, Mr. Thomas' faiuily, and Mr. BucLluy's umiIlt Lieut. Nathaniel Thomas ; that Mr. Uourne's laniily, Robert Waterman, John Bourne, Roger Cook, John Russell, Luke Lilly, Kenelm Winslow, and J.iine.s Adams be under Josiuh Winslow ; that (iilbert Brookes, Nathaniel Byram, Robert Barker, William Bardin, John Barker, Mr. Howell, and Edward Bourne be under William Brookes; that a guard ut two ut least be maintained out of these, and that a .sentinel be maintained all day at the place of guard ; that for fourteen days at least every man sinill lodge iu his clothes with arms ready at his be<l5ide ; that in case of au alarm at night from any other tu\vnshi|i every guard discharge only one piece, but if in our own town then two pieces."

History Op Marshfield

and the dansjers which attended its settlement. All other persons beside those here mentioned, to whom i;niMts of land had been made, were in 1643 either non-resident ownei-s or had sold their estates. On the 9th of October, at a meeting specially called, Kenelm Witislow and Josiah Winslow were chosen deputies to represent the town in the October General Court. In the precedinf; years, after the incorporation of tlie town, in 1640, William Thomas and Thomas Bourne were deputies in 1641, Thomas Bourne and Kenelm Winslow in 1642, and Josiah Winslow for the June Court in 1643, and Kenelm Winslow and Robert Waterman for the Au;;ust Court. In April, 1044, Kenelm Winslow and Thomas Bourne were chosen, and John Dinjrley and Robert Barker for the next year; in July, 1644, Josiah Winslow and Robert Waterman ; in November, Kenelm Winslow and Robert Waterman ; in August, 1645, William Thomas and Nathaniel Thomas; in October, William Thomas and Thomas Bourne; in December, Josiah Winslow and Robert Waterman; in March, 1640, Josiah Winslow and Robert Waterman ; in October, William Thomas and John Russell; in December, Josiah Winslow and Robert Waterman ; and in the succeeding year.s annually ai follows:

At a town-meeting held on the 27th of February, 1643 - 44, it was "agreed that at the beginning of every meeting a moderator shall be chosen, and that he shall prepare the business of the day and order the same, so that there be no disturbance in the assembly, and the occasions being eiiditd he shall dismiss the meeting, and, in case any shall be a disturber and not submit, he shall be fined in si.xpence, and, in case any be wanting and do not appear at the hour appointed, he shall be fined sixpence fur one hour, or, if any shall depart without orderly dismissment, shall pay sixpence for every hour, and for nonappearance eightpence." It is believed that this is the origin of the oflSce of moderator, at least so far as the Old Colony was concerned, and the liI-.^t definition of his duties. It is, indeed, appaient that under the direction of such men as the Wiii.slows and William Thomas the town business of Marshfield was conducted with a method which can hardly be said to have characterized other towns in the colony. The following is a list of gendemen who have acted as moderators at annual meetings as far as recorded : in which year also he was admitted an inlialiitaiit of the town. He was succeeded in the office ]May 21, 1683, by Nathaniel Holmes, who was followed by Isaac Winblow, chosen in 1700. Mr. Wiii>low held the office until his death in 1737, and was succeeded by his son, John Winslow, known as the Geueral, who held the office in 1738 and 1739. Arthur Howland followed from 1740 to 1742; Thomas Foster, from 1743 to 1750 ; Nehemiah Thomas, from 1751 to 17S2 ; Asa Waterman, in 1783; William Macombur, from 1784 to 178G ; Asa Waterman again, iVoiu 1787 to 1790 ; Elisha Ford, from 1791 to 1794 ; Eli=ha Phillips, from 1795 to 1807 ; William Macomber in 1808; Anthony Thomas, from 1809 to 1814; Amos 11. Little, iu 1815; Anthony Thomas again, in ISlC; Ebenezer Sherman, in 1817 ; Nathaniel Pratt, from 1818 to 1822; Samuel Curtis, from 1823 to 1839; Luther Hatch, from 1840 to 1848; Charles W. Macomber, in 1849; Luther Hatch again, from 1850 to 18(JG ; Daniel Stevens, from 18G7 to 1875 ; and Luther P. Hatch, the present efficient cleik, from 1875 to 1884.

The first election of town treasurer entered in the records was after the union of the colonies in 1G92. Under date of March 10, 1G93-94, Thomas Macomber was chosen. The succession of inctimbeiits of that office has been as follows :

With regard to the various incumbencies of the i office ipf town clerk there is a little uncertainty. It is pidbable, however, that Josiah Winslow, Sr., the brother of the Governor, was chosen clerk iu 1G4U, as the record of that year states that he was appointed to record the births, deaths, and marriages, and continued in the office until his death, in 1G74. He was succeeded by John Bourne, who held the office until 1G83. Mr. Bourne was a son of Thomas Bourne, wlio in called by Miss Thomas the " eldest of the JIarslilield settlers and a patriarch in its Eden." John Bourne inherited the estate of his father, adjoining the lands of Josiah Winslow and Robert Waterman, who married his sisters, and married Alice, daughter of Thomas Besbcech, iu 1G45,

The eailitjst recuids relate uliiefly to the electioo of ufficL-r.s an J jriants of land. lu February, 1643- 44, j;raiits were made to John Thomas and Robert Chambers at the rei|ue.->t of Edward Winslow, wiio de.icribed them as his servants, and William Thomas and William Vaosall were appointed to lay out to the several inhabitants on the north of Green's Harbor lliver all the meadow undisposed of ou that nide of the river, and also the marshes undisposed of ou tlie south side of the river, accordin;.; to their discretiou. Ou the 14th of that month there were laid out to Thomas Bourne, Josiali Wiuslow, Keuelm Winslow, John llussell, John Din<;ley, Thomas Chillingswortli, Ro-^er Cooke, and Luke Lilly. In April, 1G44, there wa.< " j;ranted to John lluuse the j;reat island next the cut which borders the beach, about ten acres." It is possible that an investigation of this grant may throw some liglit on the direction and character of the passaj;e-cut in 1033.

" On a motion being mado for one to teaub school, we, wlioso names are underwritten, are willing to pay yearly, besides paying for our elilldren wo shall send, viz. :

The family names of three of the subscribers and the sums subscribed by two are illegible. The names were probably Joseph Beadle, Josiah Winslow, and Edward Bumpus. This was the first movement towards a public school in either of the New England colonies.

This record is an important one, and apparently now for the fii'st time publicly disclosed, as it furnisher a satisfactory answer to the charge which has been repeatedly made that the people of the Plymouth Colony lagged far behind those of Massachusetts in the cause of education. Tiiis cliarge has been founded on the references in the colony records alone, and made without any investigation of the records of the various towns. The first entry on the subject in the Plymouth Colony records is under date of 1 6U3 : " It is proposed by the court unto the .several townships of this jurisdiction, as a thing they ought to take into their serious consideration, that some course may be taken that in every town there may be a schoolmaster set up to train up children to reading and writing."

" It being one chief project of Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the Scripture, as in former times keeping theui iu unknown tongues, 80 in these latter times by persuading from the use of the tongues that so at least the I rue seuse anil meaning of the original might be clouded and eijrru])tud with false glosses of deceivers, to the end that learniug may not he buried in the graves of our forefathers in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors. It is thcretorc urderctl by the Court and authority theieof that every town ivithiu the jurisdiction after the Lord h.ith iucieased them U> Che number of fifty families, shall then forthwith ap|>oint one within their towns to tench all such children as shall resort to him to write and read, whose waged shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general by way of supply, as the major )iart of tbein that order the prudentials of the town shall a[>i>oint; provideil tiial those who send their children bo not oppressed byjjaying much more than thuy can liavc tbeiu taught for in other towns.

-* And it is further ordered that when auy town shall increase to the number of one bundled families or householders, they shall set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be bCted for the University ; and if any town neglect the performauce hereof above one year, then every such town shall pay live pounds per annum to the next such school till they shall perform this order."

It is now fouud that in Marshfield, in 1G45, measures were taken to establish a school, and we are Icl't to the presumption that in other towns in the Plymouth Colony similar measures were taken, rendering unnecessary any action of the Colony Court until a much later day, when, perhaps, one or two of the more recently incorporated towns failed to provide suitable means of educating their cliildren.

The limits of this sketch will preclude anything like a history of the schools of the town, but a list of teachers from 1701 to 1774, which is all that is available to the writer, may not be without interest:

The character of these teachers, so many -f whom were graduates at Cambridge, attests the high standard at whieh the schools must have been maintained. The fact that before 1823 Marshfield young men reaped tlie benefits of a Cambridge education is further proof tiiat the preparatory system, on which a higiicr education was built, could not have been ne- "Iceted. The following is a list of the Cambridge "raduates as far as known to the writer, to which it is probable that others might after a more thorough investigation be added : lu 1SG8 the old school district system, which was once universal throughout the commonwealth, was aboli.-ihed by the vote of the town, and at the present time there are nine schools maintained at an expeu.se of about two tliousand seven hundred dollars per year. The incompleteness of the report of the school committee for the last year, owing to the loss of one of the school registers, renders it impossible to state the average attendance at the schools ; but it is probable that it is quite as large as could be expected in a widely extended territory and a scattered population.

lu 1G54, Josiah Winslow and William Ford were authorized to build a sufficient mill to grind the corn of the town at the South River, and in the same year the money raised in the town by rates was as follows : in one or another of the meeting-houses of the town. In that year the present town-house came into use and the meeting-houses were abandoned. During King Philip's war in 1675 and 1G76, Marshfield performed its full share of service. The commander of the united forces of the confederacy was one of its citizens, and, though the conflict was short, seven Marshfield men - Thomas Little, Joseph Eamcs, Joseph Whitu, John Burrows, Joseph Phillips, Saiimel Bumpus, and John Low - were killed. In coniiiioti with other towns, besides the loss of the livcjs of soiiiu of its citizens, the war involved Marshtield in tlur loss of the labor of its people, and imposed on it a pecuniary burden which, in those times, was heavy indeed. In the midst of the distress which prevailed throughout the colony let it be forever remembered that contributions were received from "divers Christians" in Ireland, and divided among the towns to be distributed by the following committees:

In 1602 it was voted that "meetings be warned by the Constables setting up a writing on the meetinghouse door or in the house at least a week before the meeting." Until 183S town-meetings were always held ward end of BruDch'd house, and so aloog a3 tbe way uow is unto Winter's Island, and alunf^ through said Island ue;ir to the cliS' on the east side iboreof, until it comes to the bcjc-b at tbe north corner thereof, and so along the beach till it comet h to the mouth of South Uiver.

'* And also a way up from the said beach leading tiiro-agli tbe laud of Lieut, Little by the south side uf a reed puiid aud tui ning by tbe corner of the stone wall, and so upward by a stone ditch, leaving bis bouse on tbe southerly side of ^aid \Kiy, and so on by the corner of liis orchard land, and so straight down the hill leading through tbe land of Xatbauiel Winsiuvy, leaving bis baru about three rods toward the eastward, and .-u a- the way now lieth through tbe land of Joseph Waterniau and Thuuias Bourne, on straight to the eastward end of a puddle at a head of & cove of meadow, and from tliencc through said We bean on tlie cast .>iide of the North ] Bourne's pasture by the southeast side of a ruck, leaving a small

In 1G82 it WU.S voted that Nathaniel Thomas and | Samuel Spvague, on the pait of Maishfield, with ; others on the part of Suituute, establish the divldin^i line between the two towns, and it was fixed at the main channel of North Uiver, as it then ran from the | upper part of the town of Marshfield to the sea. ' And, aj;ain, in 1092, Jeremiah Hatch, Samuel Clapp, i and Thomas Jenkins, selectmen of Scituate, and John [ Rutgers aud Micliuel Ford, selectmen of Maiahfield, aetiii''' in obedience to an order of the Colony Cum t, reported to the two towns a further dividing line between iNIar.shtield aud the Two Miles in Scituate, as ; folUjws :

River, in the southerly line of the range of John Ford's lot, and from thence to a white-ash, acknowledged by the proprietors of the said Ford's lot, and by ancient inhabitants of the former giants of the five hundred acres and upwards granted by the Court of Plymouth, and from the said ash-tree somewhat northerly to a heap of stones aud a stake at the head of suid Ford's lot, and from thence near east to a stake and heap of stones, being one mile from the river, aud from thence near south with a range of marked trees, until it cometh to the reputed lot of Edward Wartou, and from thence it narroweth with a range of marked trees near south-southwest, half a point west, to a stake and heap of stones standing in the bounds between the town of Marshfield and the town of Duxbury."

In that year al.so it w.ts ordered that " Scituate pay ten pounds, Marshfield five pounds, and Duxbury five pounds in silver money towards the building of Barstowe's bridge, only that twenty shillings is to be taken out of Duxbury's five pounds and placed to Jlannamoiett, to pay it in silver money ; but in case that Scituate, Marshfield, and Duxbury shall see cause to build and maintain a cart-bridge over the North River near Barstowe's bridge, then they shall be free from any other bridge out of their township."

In the same year a jury, consisting of John Rogers, Thomas Macomber, John Foster, John Ilewett, John Rose, John Barker, John Doggett, Joseph Waterman, Isaac Holmes, Anthony Eames, Ephraim Little, Michael Ford, Joseph Crocker, John Thomas, and Nathaniel Thomas, Jr., laid out the highways of the town us follows :

*' We whose names are subscribed, being chosen and sworn as a jury at Marsbtield on the first day of June, lljy2, to lay out and reutove such highways in the said town as are needful according as the law directed, in oriler tbeieuntu having met together on the sixteenth day of June aforesaid, do declare as followefb : Begin on the noitb side of Green's Harbor Uiver, near the river's mouth, antl so upward to John Branch's Island, and alou" through said island as the way now lieth by the westbrushy Bwanip un the southeast side of said way, anil so to the easterly corner of Joseph Waternmn's laud, and so from said ^Vaterman'3 land, loading by the land of Anthony rinow, to the southeast corner of said Waterman's land, and Irom ibeuce straight on to tbe south corner of Josiah Snow's held, and =o along as the way lieth over Josiah Snow's dam, over tbe creek, along into the way near the stony swamp, and so along near to said swamp as tbe way now lieth to tbe meeting-boasc, and from thence as the way now lieth to the ntill, and over the river below tbe mill.

" And also from said way which Icadcth from the meetinghouse into the neck over the said stony swamp, as tliu old way was, to JUr. Arnolds, and so along over the river as the way now lieth to Mr. Isaac Winslow's gate.

" And also from the aforesaid way, near to Mr. .Arnold's, as the way now lieth, to tbe land of John Dingloy and William Carver and the land that was late NVilliam Holmes', and so, as tbe old way lieth by the held of Abraham Holmes', over tbo brook, and so turning upward through tbe old lield that was formerly John Lewis', and as (he new way lieth over Partridge's brook, and so along to the way leading over Green's Harbor brook.

'* Also on the thirtieth of June aforesaid, the said Jury met together and laid out the highways on tbo north side of the South River from the mill ns the way now lieth between the lands of William and Michael Ford and John Walker, and so along over Puddle Wharf, and so as the way now liclli toward ilobert Barker's until it meet with Duxbury road.

'* And also from the said way as tbe way Icadetb toward Walter Joyce's, and in the new way which said Uogers lately made, and so over the Cove Creek by his bouse, and so along between French's tenement and Ueury Perry's house to the upper end of the field before said Perry's door, and then turning suutliward along by the land of Thomas King and John Sylvester's lot, and so till it meet with Scituate way.

" And also from said way at tbe upjter end of tbe aforesaid field above Perry's northward by the land of Bisbeo's lut till it meet with Samuel Tilden's land, and so turning souibwurd upon the land of Thomas King till it comes to the southeast corner of Samuel Tilden's land, and then turning northward upon llie ! land of said Tildcn by the side of .'said King's land till it come near the meadow, and then turning upon the said Kiiig'.^ laud till it come to the gravelly beach.

*' And also from the said Cove Creek downward as tbe old way leadoth by tbe house of Timothy Uogers and up tbe bill by his barn, and so us the way now lieth near to Joseph Uogei's fence, and so on through the land of Elisha llisbec, and .Mr. Cashing, leaving the old way northward and the swam|i on tbo south side, to a blaek-uuk tree standing in the range between the lond of Mr. Cusbing and Justus Eames, and so turning northwiird dtruight dowD to the river upon thu luod of said I Cusliing uod Euiuc:!. Aod from the afore^uid black ouk tree I through the Eauic^ land, &s the old way leadetb, near to a rook on the north side of said way, Dear the outside of Justus Eames, his land, and so straight on by Stephen Titden's fence through his land, and so on as the old way lieth through the land uf Thomas Macoiuber, Juhu Trouant, and Mary Chitds, and along in thu old way through the land of Thomas Tilden, widening the way on the north side between his tield and his pasture, and so on through the land of Francis Crocker and Ephraim Little, as the way now lieth, over the brook between the houses and barns ot' Lieut. Isiuic Little and John Sowyor, and su turning eastward by said Little's land along by his fence, as the way lieti), through the land of AVilliam Noreuit and Jeremiah Ijurrows, leaving said Lurrows' land about three rods northward, and so through Samuel Little's hind from the land of said Uiirrows, by the edge of the bill, on the west side of a white-oak and a black-oak tree and some small rocks, and so between his house and barn, as the way now goeth, to the land of John Barker, and so turning northward and eastward on the land of said Barker, near the range of said Little's, until it come to the beach, and then turning southward along the beach till it comes to a small clitf, and so ovor the cliS', and so along the beach tu a place called Bank, at South River.

" And also turning northward by the southeast corner of Samuel Little's meadow fence upon the beach by the river siile along by the ferry stakes until it comes to the meadow of William Noicutt.

" And aUo from the aforesaid \vay that leadeth from Samuel Littlc'^ on to said Barker's lantl southward to the e;Lstvvard of a white-oak tree, and so along to the eastward of the swamp by the ditch, and so along between the house and barn of said Barker on through the land of Benjamin Phillips between his house aod barn, and so between his Helds till it comes to the foot of the hill, and then leading up the hill as the old way now lieth by the south end uf John Strowbridge's Held into the open way.

''And also from the aforesaid way that lieth between the barns of Lieut. Little and John Sawyer, southward as the old way now leadeth through to the lands of said Sawyer and Sau»- uel Little, Joseph Rose, and John Strowbridgo on through the rugged plain until it come near to the foot of the great hill near John Sherman, and then turning westward from the old path down the bill in a valley, and so turning into the way again through a corner of said Sherman's held and so as the way now leadeth to the mill.

And also from the aforesaid way which leadeth from Benjauiia l^hillips, beginning at the northwest corner of said I'liillips' tield and so turning southward up the hill by his field and so on as the way now lieth through the land of the Sherman's and the Doggetts', and Mr. White's down the hill as the way hath been lately dug, and so on the old way through tho land of Ensign Ford, .\nthony Eames, and Samuel Sprague, and so over the brook as the way now leadeth between the house and shop of John Foster, and so through the land uf Arthur llowlund as the way now lieth until it come to John Walker's land, and then upon the range between said Rowland's and Walker's laud northwestward into the other way.

"And also a way from the way by Arthur ilowland's bouse ovor the South llivcr into tho other way by Xathan Williamson's barn as the old way now lieth fiom road to road.

uncertainty that may exist as to what are old-established highways, but exceedingly interesting and valuable as locating the estates of a large number of the inhabitants of the town. Few towns, if any, possess so authentic a record in a concise and intelligible form of their early landmarks. Its extreme importance must justify the writer in its introduction into this sketch.