xt766t0gxh8g https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt766t0gxh8g/data/mets.xml Historical Records Survey (Mass.) United States. Work Projects Administration. Division of Community Service Programs. Massachusetts Historical Records Survey (Mass.) United States. Work Projects Administration. Division of Community Service Programs. 1940 iii, 179 p.: ill. 28 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Library Program libraries and the Federal Information Preservation Network. Call Number FW 4.14:M 382/3/no.11/v.11 books  English Boston, Mass.: Historical Records Survey  This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Massachusetts Works Progress Administration Publications Norfolk (Mass.)--Archival resources Public records--Massachusetts--Norfolk Norfolk (Mass.)--History--Sources Inventory of City and Town Archives of Massachusetts. No. 11, Norfolk County, vol. XI. Holbrook, 1940 text Inventory of City and Town Archives of Massachusetts. No. 11, Norfolk County, vol. XI. Holbrook, 1940 1940 1940 2020 true xt766t0gxh8g section xt766t0gxh8g x.\l|\%\‘~\\ll\n|l\l‘~‘ll‘l“»\‘»\|\lla\\‘ \l ‘|||*‘»|l“‘|\\l.~l|

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INVENTORY OF CITY AND TOWN ARCHIVES

OF MASSACHUSETTS

No. ll Norfolk County

Vol. XI. Holbrook

Prepared by
The Historical Records Survey
Division of Community Service Programs
Work Projects Administration

* * * * *

The Historical Records Survey
Boston, Massachusetts
1941

 

  

 

The Historical Records Survey Program

Sargent B. Child, National Director

Carl J. Wennerblad, State Supervisor of Research and
Records Programs in Massachusetts

State Supervisor of the Historical

Aron S. Gilmartin,
Records Survey in.Massachusetts

Division of Community Service Programs

Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner
Robert Y. Phillips, 7 Regional Supervisor
Harold C. Dunney, State Director

WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION

Howard 0. Hunter, Acting Commissioner
John J. McDonough, Regional Director
Denis W. Delaney, State Administrator

SPONSOR OF THE HISTORICAL RECORDS SURVEY PROJECT IN MASSACHUSETTS

Frederic W. Cook, Secretary of the Commonwealth

, 1:11-.

 

"b’fifntflmfldbi—‘S

  

PR ‘ACE

By authority of a Presidential Letter, the Historical Records Survey
was established in January, 1956, under the national direction of Dr.
Luther H. Evans, as a federally Sponsored project of the Work Projects
Administration. Since-August El, 1959, the sponsorship of the Massachusetts
unit of the survey has been undertaken by Frederic W. Cook, Secretary of
the Commonwealth. Since March, 1940 the individual state projects of the
Historical Records Survey have been under the national direction of Sargent
B. Child, who, as field representative of Dr. Evans, had had technical
supervision of the work of the survey in New England from its inception.
The present writer has been in direct charge of the project in Massachusetts
from August 1956 to September 1940 when he was succeeded by Aron S. Gilmartin.

The purpose of the project is to survey, preserve and render acces—
sible historical source materials of all kinds. Its work has fallen
naturally into the following main divisions: public records, private
manuscripts, church records. early American imprints, historical portraits
and newspapers. Practically all historical material falls under one or
another of these divisions. In bringing this material under control
certain techniques have been found practicable, depending on the nature
of the subject matter, and using variously the methods of the inventory,
the guide. the calendar, the check list or the index in the publication
of the result For public records, church records and portraits, the
method of the inventory has worked best; for historical manuscripts, the
guide or, in rare cases where the material was of unusual importance,
the calendar; for imprints. the check list; for newspaper and court rec—
ords, the index; and so on.

The actual work of gathering information concerning historical ma—
terials at their place of storage or custody has in most cases been pre-
ceded by a most necessary and, for both the custodian and posterity, im—
portant task, that of putting records in order; of cleaning, dusting, re—
filing, and treating them; and, in short, doing everything possible to
ensure their preservation. This function of the project, often performed
by its workers under almost indescribable conditions of dust, filth,
dampness, poor ventilation, and even vermin may well be regarded by future
generations as a most important contribution of the survey.

Scarcely less important, however, are the editorial prOCesses to
which all field information must be subjected before publication. Here
gaps and inadequacies are spotted, inconsistencies reconciled, and order
brought out of chaos. In the field of public records it has been found
necessary not only to sketch briefly the history of the county or town
and its government but also to preface the inventory of each subordinate
office or institution with an outline of its development, based upon its
own records or updn statutory or other sources. In the inventories of

 

  

Preface

church records, similarly, the preparation of the history of each church
constitutes a task equally arduous with that of locating and listing its
records. In Massachusetts two broader works have also been undertaken.
The general historical background, statutory origin and functioning of
county, city, or town offices have been studied with a view to providing
satisfactory accounts of the development of county and municipal goVern—
ment generally. These latter undertakings are now happily nearing com—

pletion.

In the field of county records the surveys of eight of the fourteen
counties of Massachusetts are nearing completion. In that of municipal
records, approximately sixty of 550 cities and towns have been covered to
date including several of the more populous. Editorial work is now also
proceeding on six of an estimated ten volumes of the inventory of the
records of the city of Boston. Some 200 manuscript depositories,.large
and small, have been surveyed and a preliminary guide to them published.
An inventory of the records of Universalist churches in Massachusetts will
soon be published, and field work is being carried on in other denomina~
tions, particularly in the Unitarian, Congregational, Baptist, and Jewish
bbdies. A catalogue of portraits painted before 1825 in Massachusetts has
been publ Ihed and editorial wor“ is proceeding on similar listings for
the other Yew England states and New York State. A listing of the publi—
cations oi the Massachusetts unit of the survey follows at the end of this

volume.

The inventory or the town archives of Holbrook is the eleventh in the
series of such inventories covering the towns of Norfolk County. The field
work as well as the historical research for this volume were done by
William I. McMaugh. The historical sketch, the sketch of governmental
'development and the individual office sketches were prepared by Martin D.
Richardson. Both the field work and the preparation of these sketches
was done under the direction of Paul A, Baker, supervisor of the Survey
in Norfolk, Hiddlesex, and Essex Counties. The inventory was edited and
prepared fOr publication by Morris I. Wartow assisted by Lawrence Lehane.
The stateb archives relating to Holbrook were listed by Joseph R. Wyckoff.
Final editing was given the volume by the present writer and the Washington
office of the survey; The index was prepared under the direction of Leon
Ryther. The map, chart of government and cover design were prepared by
William Rabinowich. This, and the multilithing, which was done by Amedeo
Tombion, were under the supervision of Ralph Kahn.

The Survey is indebted to the town officials of Holbrook for their
cooperation and to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Frederic W. Cook,
without whose sponsorship this project would not be possible.

Carl J. Wennerblad
State Supervisor of‘Research
and Records Projects

l
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192
Net
Div
Ker

 FOREWORD

The Inyentory Q: the Ignn and City Archives 9: Massachusetts is one
of a number of bibliographies of historical materials prepared throughout

the United States by workers on the Historical Records Survey of the Work
Projects Administration” The publication herewith presented, an inventory
of the Archives of Holbrook in Norfolk County, is volume XI of number ll
of the Massachusetts series.

The Historical Records Survey was undertaken in the winter of 1935-56
for the purpose of providing useful employment to needy unemployed histo—
rians. lawyers, teachers, and research and clerical workers In carrying
out this objective,the project was organized to compile inventories of
historical materials, particularly the unpublished government documents
and records which are basic in the administration of local government, and
which provide invaluable data for students of political” economic, and
social history The archival guide herewith presented is intended to meet
the requirements of day~to day administration by town officials‘ and also
the needs of lawyers“ business men and other citizens who require facts
from the public records for the prOper conduct of their affairs The vol—
ume is so designed that it can be used by the historian in his research
in unprinted sources in the same way he uses the library card catalogue
for printed sources

The inventories produced by the Historical Records Survey attempt to
do more than give merely a list of records~~they attempt further to sketch
in the historical background of the county or other unit of government, and
to describe precisely and in detail the organization and functions of the
government agencies whose records they list The county? town and city
inventories for the entire country will, when completedy constitute an en-
cyclopedia of local government as well as bibliography of local archives

The successful conclusion of the work of the Historical Records Survey,
'even in a single town, would not be possible without the support of public
officials, historical and legal Specialists, and many other groups in the
community Their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged.

The Survey directed by Luther H Evans from its inception in January
1956 to March 1, 1940 when he was succeeded by Sargent B. Child formerly
National Field Supervisor. It operates as a nationswide project in the
>Division of Professional and Service Projectsfi of which Mrs, Florence
Kerr” Assistant Commissioner, is in charge.

Howard 0 Hunter
Acting Commissioner of Work
Projects Administration

iii

 

  

 

 

 II..

III.
IV.

V.

VI.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface... ........... ......... ..... .............. ...... i
Foreward ..................................... . ...... iii

Part A; Holbrook and its Records System

Map...;;..,..;.nu..“:.,=n..tq..., .......... .0;.........4
Historical Sketch. ..;. ...... . ................ .......5
Table I Division 01 Corporate Property
Between Randolph and Holbrook.h; ....... .i' ....... ‘nl6
Chart of Town Government ..... . ......................... 32
Governmental Organization and Records System .......... 33
Table of Special Committees.., ........... ‘_,, ....... 41
Record System“. .0. .............................. a...42
Housing, Care and Accessibility of Records .9 ......... 44
Abbreviations; Symbols, and Explanatory Notes.. ....... 48

Part B. Town Officers and their Records

Selectmen and Board of Public Welfare ........ ...;.....50
Minutes and Reports; Hi thay ; Legal
Documents; Public Welfare Records;
Old Age Assistance; Correspondence;
Miscellaneous
Town Clerl ................... ........... ..... ......70
Minutes and Reporit s; Vital S tatistics;
Legal Records; Licenses and Registrations;
Military Records: Miscellaneous
Registrars of Voters ....... ....... ......... , ...... ....79
Board of Assessors...... ...... ................... ..... 81
Minutes and Reports; Valuations and Assessments;
Abatements; Motor Vehicle Excise; Property
Ownership; Maps and Plans; Miscellaneous
Collector of Taxes. ..... . ...... ......................88
Reports; Commitments; Receipts; Deeds,
Warrants, Orders
Treasurer ......... ....... ................ ..... ........91
Reports- Receipts and Expenditures; Checks and
Bank Records; Tax Title Records; Notes and.
Bills Payable; Miscellaneous

 

  

 

VII.

VIII.
IX.

XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.

XVI.
XVII.

JJIII.
XIX.
‘ XX.
XXI.
XXII
XXIII.
XXIV.

XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.

XXXII.

XXXIII.

Table of Contents

Town Accountant. . ....... ............................97
Reports; General Accounts; Miscellaneous

Finance Committee. ..... ...... ...... .......... .....100

School Committee. ...... m................... ..... .....lOl
Minutes and Reports; Financial Records

Superintendent of Schools.................. ..... .....105
Reports; Pupils Records; Miscellaneous

Truant Officers ................... ......... .......... 109

School Physician.... ........... ......................110

School Nurse ..... . ..... ... .................. . ........ llO

Trustees of the Public Library ..... .. .............. ..111

Minutes and Reports; Book Records;
Borrower's Records; Financial Records
Board of Health... ..................... . ..... ... ....... 114
Minutes and Reports; Communicable Diseases;
Financial Records; Licenses and Permits;
Miscellaneous
Inspector of Animals. .... .............. ............ 119
Water Commissioners ... ...................... ...120
Reports ' Financial Records; Service
Records; Miscellaneous

Superintendent of Streets....... ............ . ....... ..126
Park Commissioner..i ..,,.u,..... ........... . ........ 128
Moth Superintendent ., ............ .................. 129
Tree Warden , ..u‘»... ..... ... ..... t ...... . .......... 130
FOleSt War d.en .................. ......... ............ 151
Constables.... .... ......... .................. ......;l$l
Police Department...... .............................. 152

Re9orts; Arrest R ords: Motor

Vellicle Records; Miscellaneous
Fire Department..... ...... ............................154

Minutes and Reports; Fire and

Equipment Records; Permits;

Miscellaneous -
Sealer of Weights and Measures.......................138
Moderator. ........................... ..... ...... ..... 139
Fence Viewers.. ...... ................................l$9
Field Driver.........................................l40
Pound Keeper....... ..... .............................l4l
Memorial Day Committee...................L...........14l
Supervisor of Deceased Soldiers' and

Sailors ' Graves. ...................................142
Town Physician.......................................145
State Archives Relating to Holbrook..................143

 

 XXXIV.
moor.
mom.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XXXIX.

Part C. Defunct Offices

Surveyor of Lumber.....1...... ......... r....... ....... ...l48
Measurer of Wood and Bark ................. ....n. ....... .gl48
Public Weighers ....... . ...... . ........ .............n....149
Weigher of Ice........ ............................... .149
Superintendent of Tramps... ........ ..... .......... ....149
Citizens’ Law and Order League of Holbrook. .......... .. .150
Committee for Industrial Improvement .................. lSOj
List of Sources a.,.‘§;..v.».,..1 ...... .., ..... h ......... 3152
,Index...u ........... ..¢.. ........................... .gfi‘. 155

Publications of the Historical Reoords
Survey in Massachusetts»: ........ ....... ............... 178

 

  

 

 

 

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PART A. HOLBROOK AND ITS RECORDS SYSTEM

Historical Sketch

Incorporated in 1872, Holbrook is one of the younger Massachusetts
towns. Its history, however, is inseparava linked with that of
Braintree, Quincy, and Randolph, the three communities which constituted
the Braintree settlement which was authorized by the General Court in
1640.-

The Braintree area was first settled in 1625, when a small group of
pioneers under Captain Wollaston made their homes in what is now Quincy.
The settlement was called Mt. Wollaston at first; it is suggested that
the name of Braintree was taken later because of the fact that a number
of followers of Rev. Thomas Hooker settling in the section had formerly
lived in Braintree, England, near Mr. Hooker's parish.

Braintree eventually divided into three precincts: The North Pre—
cinct which later became Quincy; the Middle Precinct, now Braintree; and
the South Precinct, which became Randolph and out of which Holbrook was
subsequently formed. Many of the town's major industries as well as the
larger number of settlers were located in the northern section. Yet as
early as the beginning of the eighteenth century the population of the
southern part of the town had grown sufficiently to warrant the building
of a second meetinghouse.5 In 1706 it had been voted that the south and
north sections should be separate congregations. This separation was
recognized by the General Court in 1708, when it formalLv confirmed the
division into two precincts.5 Although precinct organization progressed
to the point of electing a moderator, clerk, treasurer, and assessors,

 

1. Massachusetts General Court, Records of the Governor and Company
of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1628—1686, Nathaniel B.
Shurtleff, ed., 5 vols. in 6, Boston, William White, 1855—1854; I, p. 291.
Hereafter cited as Colonial Records.

2. The Historical Records Survey, "Braintree Historical Sketch" in
A Brief History of the Town of Braintree, compiled and written for the
Braintree Tercentenarv Committee, Marion Sophia Arnold. ed.; Boston.
Thomas Todd Co” 1940: p. 8.

3. Braintree Town Records, 1640—1940, 12 vols., mss., in office of
Town Clerk, Braintree Town Hall; I, p. 42, Aug. 15. 1695. Hereafter
cited as Braintree Town Records.

4. Ibid., I, p. 91, Nov. 25. 1706

5. Massachusetts General Court, Acts and Resolves. Public and Pri-
vate, of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. 1692-1780. 21 vols., Boston,
1869—1922; XXI, p. 768; Braintree Town Records, I, p. 101. Nov. 5, 1708.
Hereafter the acts and resolves for this period are cited as Province
Agjs and Resolves. ’

6. The Book of'Records of the North Precinct in Braintree. 1708-
1766, ms., in Massachusetts Historical Society. Boston.

 

  

 

 

 

 

’First entry p, 55 ' Historical Sketch

these officers functioned almost entirely in church matters. But at this
time even the conduct of town affairs rested principwlly in the hands of
the elders of the churches. In 1727 a petition was presented to the Gen”
eral Court asking that the South Precinct be further divided into two
parts in view of the fact that there Were some forty families in the

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southern part of that section.1 The answer of the court to this petition.

was to order the citizens to assemble and choose precinct officers
Parish affairs engaged most of the attention of the officers of the new
precinct; there is record, however, of local action concerning school
matters. and for a number of years the section maintained a school com—
mittee,5 Meanwhile the movement in favor of complete autonomy continued
to grow in both sections. After a temporary setback during the Revolu—
tion the efforts were resumed, and in 1792 the North Precinct was granted
formal incorporation as the town of Quincy 4 A year later the South Pre~
cinct was incorporated as the town of Randolph

The section that became Holbrook was known at the time of its in—
corporation in 1872 as 'East Randolph ’ Long before either of the pres
cincts separated from Braintree, however, this section had played an im—
portant part in the history of the parent community. Much of this im~
portance came from the fact that since 1642 Braintree had been one of
the sites of the early iron industry in America The discovery by
Thomas Dexter of a deposit of bog~ore at Hammersmith in what is now
Sangus, Massachusetts. led to the formation in England of a "Company of
Undertakers for the Iron Works" in 1642. Richard Leader was appointed
agent and sent to Boston together with a number of skilled workers under
the direction of Joseph Jerks as master mechanic‘ John Winthrop, Jr.,
son of.the Governor, and himself later Governor of Connecticut became
interested in the project and was doubtless instrumental in securing fa—
vorable legislation for the undertakers, of whom he eventually became
the leader,6 A series of grants by the General Court gave the company a
twenty—oneiyear monopoly; exemption from public charges and taxes; grants
three miles square of unappropriated lands in the places where the works

 

l. Braintree Town Records, I, pa 168, June 12, 1727; Massachusetts
Secretary of State, Massachusetts Archives, 417 vols. in 418 mssa, also
various unbound meet in folders, XI, pp. 477—478,

2, Province Acts and Resolves, XI, p 256; Massachusetts Archives,
XI, p. 477A

5 Braintree Town Records, II, passim

4 Massachusetts General Court, Acts and Laws of the Commonwealth
9f_Massachusetts, 1780—1805, 13 vols , Boston, 1890—1898; 1790-91, chap.
56n Hereafter cited as Acts and Law§;. Also Braintree Town Records, III,
p 108, March 13, 1792

5, Acts and Laws, 1792—95, chap, 49

6. Herbert G. Keith and Charles Rufus Harte, Early Iron Industry
gfwggnnectigut, pamphlet reprinted from Fifty—first Annual Report of the
Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers, Inc., Presented at New Haven,
February 20, 1935, New Haven, Mack and Noel, Printers, no date, p: S,

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Historical Sketch First entry p- 55

were to be located; the right to take ore, lumber, and other natural
resources as needed from unappropriated lands and, by condemnation pro—
ceedings, from appropriated lands, and "to make ponds, wayes or water
courses therein"; and finally the exemption of their workmen from
"trainings and watchings."l The following May the court, declaring that
'h.. ye iron works is very successful (both in ye richness of ye ore &

ye goodness of ye iron)...", commended the project to those in the colo—
nv who had spare funds to invest, and even permitted small investors to
pool their funds, "... WCh wilbe accepted in money, beavers, wheate,
coales, or any such comodities as will satisfy Ye workemen...." It was
John Winthrop, Jr., who, after surveying the coast for suitable locations,
selected Braintree as the site of the second ironworks in the colony.

The plants at Braintree and Hammersmith were similar in their essential
principals. A river location was necessary in order that power generated
by a water wheel might be used to create a forced draught for the furnace.
"The raw material was bogwore; the fuel, charcoal; and the flux, oyster
shells. The molten iron was drawn direct from the blast furnace into Vw
shaped trenches in the sand of the casting—floor, producing long trian—
gular bars which were designated as "sowes." Small castings were made
from remelted sowes; the iron was wrought in the adjacent bloomery
forge...."5 In its early years the industry was aided by an unexpected
supply of cheap labor. In 1651 Oliver Cromwell deported 272 Scottish
prisoners taken at the Battle of Dunbar to be set to work in the Massa—
chusetts Bay Colony It is believed that most of these were assigned to
iron forges near Boston, and that the Braintree Iron Works was fortunate
enough to secure a great many of them.4 Workmen trained at Braintree
also helped to establish the Taunton ironworks where operations commenced
in 1656.5 That even a monopoly industry of the seventeenth century in

a virgin country hungry for its products had its unemployment problem is
demonstrated by a Braintree petition to the'General Court in 1659 for

aid in giving poor relief to employees of the ironworks 5

One writer places at least a part of the Iron Works Grant as being
bounded to the "East on the land of Captain-John Holbrcok (which was a
part of said land); west on Boston Common lands; north, part on the

 

l. Colonial_fiecords, II, pp. 61, 82, 125, 185. The most compre-
hensive grants were those of November 13, 1644, and October 1, 1645, pp.
82 and 125, respectively.

2. Ibid., pp. 105»104

3. Keith and Harte, op_ cit., p. 5

4. Suffolk Registry of Deeds, Transcribed Property Records; Book
I: P. 5, May 14, 1652. At Suffolk County Court House, Boston.

5. Ruth A. Crossman, in Tercentenary of Taunton. Massachusetts,
1659—1959, published by the Taunton Tercentenary Committee, Inc.,
Taunton, C. A. Hack and Son, Inc., 1959, p. '7.

6. Colonial Records, IV, pp. 376—577

 

  

 

 

 

 

First entry p. 55 Historical Sketch

l
I
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f
I

Manaticut River, part on land of John Hull,Esq.; south on Boston
Commons."l Another authority makes the claim that:—

"The land now comprising the town of Holbrook was
originally a portion of two separate parcels, the Iron
Works Grant and the 'Purchase land'.... This tract
included roughly that portion of the town lying East of
a line 500 feet west of Franklin Street and north of a
line 1,000 feet north of Plymouth Street Its original
boundary walls are nearly intact today and are still
known as the walls of the Iron Works Line "2

The 'Purchase Land' referred to was also known as the "land beyond -§
Cochato" which, until 1700, was a part of the Boston common lands, later ?
purchaSed by Braintree and distributed to its freeholders. ‘

Early in the nineteenth century the eastern section of Randolph
began to evince the same desire for autonomy in church affairs which had
been shown in the preceding centuiy by the north and south precincts of
Braintree. A petition of Bailey White and 79 other inhabitants of the
eastern part of Randolph. citing both the difficulty of attending public
worship, owing to the distances from the meetinghouses of Randolph and
Braintree and the increase of population in the area, stated that the
petitioners had already "purchased a valuable piece of ground, raised
and covered the frame for a large and respectable meetinahouse" and re—
quested therefore to be incorporated as a parish.3 There followed the
natural "remonstrances" of both the mother parishes. The Randolph parish.
whose pastor was the Reverend Thaddius Pomerqy. appointed Samuel Bass
its agent to oppose the movement and advanced as arguments not only that
the petitioners were "encroaching upon our rights by acceding from their
own recent engagements," but also that "we are now threatened with a new i
Baptist Meeting House within about half a mile of ours . . . which is
calculated by its location to cut off and decoy away another numerous
and respectable branch of our society "4 The Braintree parish advanced

 

1. William S. Patee, M D., A History of Old Braintree and guinqz k
With a Sketch of Randolph and Holbrook, Quincy, 1878, Green and Prescott,
p. 455 .

2. Walter Cushing Belcher, Insert in 1026 compilation of HOLBROOK
EQWN REPORTS, 1872—1959, 10 vols , published annually by the town, vari-
ously bound. See entry 2. Hereafter cited as Annual Reports. From 1872
to 1892 annual reports cover the period from March 1 to Feb. 28, but have
been cited by the year in which the report ended. From 1892 to date the
annual reports have covered the calendar year.

3. Massachusetts Archives, folder marked "Acts of 1818, chap. 80."
See entrv 255.

4. Idem. See entry 234.

  

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Historical Sketch First entry p. 55

the argument of the vested interest:". . . doubts may arise in your
Honors' minds and they ggwegist in the minds of your memorialists of the
right under the constitution of consigning to the control and taxation

of a newly formed society the property of any individual-member belonging
to one long established and from which he has no wish to be severed.

Our parish is greatly in debt and the contracts still remain unrescinded
... will your Honors leave upon the shoulders of a E§££~ the burthens
which all did once voluntarily assume?"l Apparently these arguments had
little weight with the committee, for a few days later it reported favor-
ably on the petition and both houses accepted the report. On February
15, 1818 the act incorporating "a body politic and religious society by
the name of the East Parish, in Randolph" was passed.2 There were 64
persons mentioned in the act of incorporation; included among the famiiy
names were a number that were to appear a half century later on the pe—
tition for incorporation of the east parish as a town» Belcher, Thayer,
Whitcomb, French and others, The act specified that the new "body poli—
tic and religious society" could sue and be sued, was vested with all

the powers and immunities of other religious societies in the Commonwealth,
and was obligated to pay its proportion of all parochial assessments a1-
readv levied by Randolph. It stipulated, also, that persons living in
Randolph but within one mile of the new parish might attend meetings
there should they state such desire in‘a given period of time.5 A meet~
inghouse was built in the East Parish and a minister installed there on
December 29, 1819.4

It was more than fifty years before the separation of the two sec—
tions became complete, There appears, however, to have been considerable
effort to effect a separation as the east section grew in population and
importance and as certain relations between the two areas became more bur—
densome to the residents of East Randolph. In hearings on the separation
in 1872 a speaker alluded to the fact that one East Randolph resident
claimed to have been working for the separation for forty years; others
were said to have sought it for more than a quarter of a centurv,5

During this time residents of the East Parish had taken a prominent
Dart in the town government of Randolph. For nearly 20 years one of the

 

1. Massachusetts Archives, folder marked "Acts of 1818, chap. 80."
See entry 255.

2. Massachusetts General Court, Private and Special Statutes of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1780—1911, 21 vols , Boston, various state
printers and dates, V, 1818, ch. 80, pp“ 292—294, See also entry 236.

3- idea

4. Histogy of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, D; Hamilton Hurd, ed.,
Philadelphia, 1884, J W. Lewis & 00., p 450,

5. Argument of B. W. Harris in Opposition to a Division of the Town
Of Randolph, Before the Committee of the Legislature on Towns, Feb, 2,
l§Z§, Boston, 1872, Rockwell and Churchill, p. 12,

 

 

  

 

 

 

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10
First entry p. 55 Historical Sketch

East Randolph residents had been a member of the board of selectmen of
Randolph;l others had served in the office for shorter terms, In 1848
there is record of a prudential school committee in each part of the
town.2 In some veers there had been highway surveyors in various high—
way districts in the town, and as many as three East Randolph men had
served at one time 0 This representation did not seem to be satisfactory
to the East Parish residents, however. At the hearings on the separation
it was later argued that during this period the East Randolph representa—
tives had been greatly outnumbered in the town meetings and that their
vote was ineffective. East Randolph voters, it was pointed out, attended
town meetings at great sacrifice because of the distance, only to feel
that their voices would be weak and their desires overlooked,

The movement for separation was intensified in 1867. That year two
meetings were held in East Randolph to discuss the matter, although nei—
ther of them succeeded in reaching the point of making recommendations
for a division.5 Another meeting was held on Dec, 5, 1871, with a num-
ber of prominent residents in attendance. At this meeting it was decided
with a fe