1690-03-28[Town Meeting March 28, 1690]
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28: of March 1690 at a general town meeting legally warned the inhabitants convened at said
meeting did then freely vote that whereas particular men in said meeting did lend money for the use
of our town to purchase great guns and ammunition for ye defense of ourselves in case of assault
made upon us by our enemies and that ye money lent as above shall be paid by our Town of Beverly
unto the respective persons within three years of the date hereof. The persons so lending as above
their names are hereunder written and their several portions so lent & that there shall be built a fort
for our safety in some convenient place by ye sea if it shall be meet for us, if not to buy some smaller
field pieces.
Imprs.Mr. John Hale03li-00s-00d
Lieut. William Dodge04-10-00
Peter Woodberry04-00-00
Robert Bradford02-00-00
Richard Ober02-00-00
Nicholas Woodberry04-10-00
Thomas Gage01-00-00
Thomas Woodberry03-00-00
John Hill04-00-00
Thomas West05-00-00
Jacob Griggs01-10-00
John Dodge, cornet05-00-00
John Conant Jr.01-00-00
Thomas Whittridge02-00-00
Exercise Conant02-00-00
Andrew Woodberry01-10-00
Nehemiah Grover00-10-00
Joseph Woodberry01-00-00
Andrew Elliott04-00-00
An account of what is due in two particular persons hereunder named in pay for their labor
about highways in our Town of Beverly after they had paid their pay part in to a Town Rate in years
1689. William Elliott being then Constable.
Isaac Hull sr.: 2s: Samuel Balch: 9s: Exercise Conant 5s-8d: John Raymond Sr.:2s-6d:
Ebenezer Woodberry:1s-6d: Lot Conant 1lb-1s: Benjamin Balch Sr.:11s-6d: Thomas Gage 7s:
Andrew Elliott:2s: Robert Cue 8s: Elias Pickworth1s: Jonathan Raymond1s: John Raymond Jr.:2s-2d:
William Raymond Jr.:1s-8d: Mark Haskell 1s-8d: Philip White 1s-2d: Benjamin Webster 1s: Celeb
Wallace 1s-10d.
6:3: 1692:14 shillings of the abovesaid 21 shillings paid to Lot Conant: the above written all
pay only Exercise Conant 2s:8d: Lot Conant:2s:11d: William Raymond Jr.6s:2d.
March 28 1690 At a general town meeting there were several inhabitants of our Town of
Beverly that did lend money unto our said town for to buy great guns & ammunition for defense of
ourselves against our enemies if any assault us, but several that promised did not perform, & others
now slack, & did not contribute unto ye loan so that there was not a competent sum: to carry on said
proposed work, and the money that was lent & brought in, was betrusted & delivered unto Andrew
Elliott as one of ye committee chosen for to purchase said guns & ammunition as you may see in ye
top of the next page and names of the particular person that did so lend are inserted with their several
portions in the other side of this leaf but for the reasons above written the work was wholly omitted
& every man’s money returned & said lenders do each for themselves acknowledge the receipt of
their particular proportions of said money only John Dodge brought in eight pounds, five pound for
himself, & forty shillings for Thomas Whittridge, & twenty shillings for John Conant, & Nicholas
Woodberry four pounds & ten shillings for himself, & twenty shillings for his brother Joseph, which
they do acknowledge ye receipt of hereby, with every particular person inserted in ye other side in
witness hereof they have unto set their hands.
ld s d
John Hill04-00-00
Nehemiah Grover00-10-00
Nicholas Woodberry05-00-00
Thomas West05-00-00
Robert Bradford02-00-00
John Dodge08-00-00
Andrew Elliott04-00-00
William Dodge04-10-00
Peter Woodberry04-00-00
Thomas Woodberry03-00-00
Jacob Griggs01-10-00
Exercise Conant02-00-00
Richard Ober02-00-00
23: 4: 1690 received what I lent that viz. 3 lb.
P. me John Hale
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28 day of March 1690. At a General Town Meeting legally warned it was voted & agreed
upon by ye inhabitants then convened that there should be great guns bought & ammunition for to
defend ourselves against our enemies & there was money lent unto ye Town for said purpose by
several persons then there as will appear in the other side of ye next page backward. And likewise
there were chosen at ye same Town meeting Thomas Woodberry Sr., Nicholas Woodberry & Andrew
Elliott for to layout said money as above for ye Town’s use when received.
At the same Town meeting it was considered & voted & agreed upon by ye inhabitants then
met some fortifications or a fortification for shelter and ye preservation of our wives & children
should be made in case of any assault made upon us by our enemies, either at sea or on shore. And
there were chosen and appointed the present Selectmen with the committee of ye militia to be a
committee to find convenient places or a place for the building of said fortifications or a fortification
and to hasten and carry on said work to effect for ye safety of our Town as they shall think meet.
At the same town meeting it was agreed upon & there was this order made as followeth that
no person or persons or owners of sheep should turn any sheep on our Town, and to feed without
a shepherd to keep said sheep for to prevent damage done unto particular persons in our Town of
Beverly & said sheep to be as above from ye middle of April to ye middle of October annually and
in case of neglect thereof by any persons or persons or owners of sheep they or any one of them shall
pay the utmost due in damage unto any persons or person damnified provided that their fence be good
& sufficient according to law.
At the same Town meeting it was this order made as followeth that no ganders, geese or
goslings that belong unto our Town of Beverly, or elsewhere, shall be found upon our Town
Common Land in any case but shall forfeit their lives: & any person or persons belonging to our said
Town have a liberty to kill & destroy all such said creatures by virtue of this order & more especially
if they be found in any man or man’s particular property they are so destructive to our seed.