married Earl Sears, of Middleborough, April 27, 1793, and she died July 20, 1846.

(72) Ezeck, married Phebe Sears, of Middleborough.

John, the parent, was a son of Joshua Howland, of Freetown, and wife Elizabeth Holloway, born in 1710, and died in 1790; grandson of Samuel Howland, of Freetown, and great-grandson of Henry Howland, of Duxbury, one of the 26 original purchasers of Freetown. Judith, the daughter (No. 71), was mother of that worthy man, Mr. Earl Sears, late of Lakeville, deceased.

Lieut. Thomas Nelson and wife JUDITH PEIRCE (No. 26) had :

(73) John, born Oct. 25, 1737, married Hope Rounsvill, of Freetown, Nov. 5, 1760. He died Sept. 11, 1803. She died Dec. 28, 1820, aged 85 years. This was the Col. John Nelson, of the war of the American Revolution.

(74) Thomas, born Feb. 22, 1739, married Anna Smith, of Taunton. He died in 1819. She died October 14, 1828.

(75) Abigail, born July 1, 1742, married Andrew Cole, of Middleborough.

(76) Judith, born March 5, 1743, married Roger Haskell, of Middleborough, Feb. 25, 1765.

Lieut. Thomas Nelson, the parent, was a son of Thomas Nelson and wife Hope Higgins, and born in Middleborough, April 12, 1710, and died March 7, 1768. In his day and generation he was highly honored, being frequently called to preside at the annual town meeting, and for several years was chosen one the Selectmen, or "fathers of the town," as they were then called, and elected to represent the town of Middleborough fourteen years in the General Court at Boston. He received the commission of LIEUTENANT under King George the 2d, and was re-commissioned by King George the 3d, in 1762, Lieutenant of the 4th Company of Standing Infantry in Middleborough, Joseph Leonard being Captain, and Isaac Peirce (No. 23) Ensign. This Company belonged to the 1st Plymouth County regiment, then commanded by Colonel George Watson.

Lieut. Thomas Nelson resided in that part of Middleborough now Lakeville, and a large portion of his landed estate is still possessed by his lineal descendants.

ELKANAH PEIRCE (No. 27) and wife Hannah Eddy had :

(77) Eunice, born Oct. 25, 1743, married Deacon Amos Nelson, of Middleborough, May 25, 1769. She died May 27, 1783.

(78) James, married Abigail Smith, of Middleborough, Jan. 20, 1774. He disposed of his farm in M. and removed to New York. (79) Patience, born May 31, 1754, married Seth Spooner, of Dartmouth, Sept. 16, 1773. She died Dec. 10, 1815.

(80) Job, married Betty Paine, of Freetown, in 1785.

(81) Roba, married Abner Pitts, of Taunton, March 14, 1780. (82) Phebe, born in 1759, married Benjamin Winslow, of Berkley, February 22, 1799. She died May 19, 1838. He died

(83) Judith, born in 1761, married George Williams, of Taunton, Oct. 6, 1796. She died March 11, 1832. He died

(84) Elizabeth, born in 1764, never married. Died Oct. 24, 1843. The house of Elkanah, the parent, is still standing, and is an interesting relic of the past. It stands upon a farm that he inherited from

VOL. XXI.

14*

his grandfather, and is now owned by his great-grandson, or the sixth generation that have possessed the land.

THOMAS PEIRCE (No. 28) and wife Rebecca Jones had :

(85) Arodie, born Dec. 29, 1750, married Jemime Caswell, of Rochester.

(86) Eliphalet, born March 4, 1758, married Tabitha Bryant, Feb. 4, 1783. She died Oct. 26, 1837.

NOTE.

Of Capt. William Peirce, to whom a brief allusion has already been made in this article, we deem it proper to add that he was master of the "Paragon" in 1622, and attempted a voyage in her to America, but was obliged to put back. That he came in the ship "Ann," in 1623; in the "Charity," in 1624, and in one of these ships in 1625; in the "May Flower, in 1629, and in the "Lyon," in 1630, 1631 and 1632. He also made voyages to Virginia and the West Indies, and by an early historian was called a godly man and most expert mariner."

Concerning Abraham Peirce, the immigrant ancestor of the Plymouth Colony branch of the Peirce family, we will now state that proof exists that he was at Plymouth in 1623, when he must have already reached his majority, as his name appears among the taxpayers of that date. This is four years earlier than we before stated. An attempt to establish a newspaper was made in Boston in 1690; the first issue appeared September 25, 1690, printed by Richard Pierce.

Among the patriot soldiers who fell on the ever memorable 19th of April, 1775, was Benjamin Pierce, of Salem.

FLY LEAF MEMORANDA-HYDE AND GLOVER.-In an old volume of Milton's "Paradise Lost," published 1727, I find the following autographs and dates. On the first fly leaf:

Thomas Hyde, Oct. the 20th, 1738.

At the beginning of the Eleventh Book:

Richard Glover his Book
(Obscure) be Ye 15th 1741.

On a fly leaf at back of the book the following mem. :

October 11th 1743

This book was giving to me by my farther att Cape Coast Castle on the Coast of Affrica which i shall keep as long as i liue

John Glover
Ann Glover
Elizerbeth Glover

Also the autograph of Henry W. Kinsman, 1841, on the first page.

One thousand pounds sterling has recently been offered in London for a complete set of the Times newspaper, for a public library at Melbourne in Australia, but without success.

DORCHESTER (MASS.) TOWN RECORDS.

[Transcribed by WILLIAM BLAKE TRASK, with Notes.]

Ir is purposed to give in the following pages a verbatim copy of the early Dorchester Town Records, introductory to which we take pleasure in reprinting a pamphlet, of four pages, written by the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D., in 1834, after he had made a transcript of the original volume. This pamphlet-but a few copies of which are believed to be extant-is entitled,

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE OLD BOOK OF RECORDS, OF THE TOWN OF DOR

CHESTER.

Next to the early records of Salem, this is the oldest book of Records in Massachusetts Proper.* There are some entries, indeed, of contemporaneous date in a book at Charlestown, but they appear to have been inserted some time after the occurrences had taken place. Not merely, however, for its antiquity, but for facts and illustrations of local history, and passing events, is the Dorchester volume exceedingly interesting. It has often been consulted and referred to, particularly relative to the laying out of town and county roads; to mill privileges to original grants, assignments, and appropriations of lands, and to the boundaries of towns which have been set off from it, or which, from the first, bordered upon it.

DORCHESTER, when laid out, was very extensive, being thirty-five miles in length, and, in some places, six or eight in width, and comprehended the whole of the territory now contained in MILTON, STOUGHTON, SHARON, CANTON, and FOXBOROUGH. To these towns, therefore, the records must be of such concernment, that they should feel specially interested in their preservation.

The apprehension of having a book so venerable and precious exposed to the danger of being lost, or destroyed by fire, together with a desire to render the information which it contains more accessible and useful, led to a vote of the town, that an amanuensis should be employed to transcribe it into a fair and legible hand.

In seeing that this vote was carried into effect, the Selectmen could not readily find a person acquainted with ancient chirography, who would engage in the arduous task. Exceedingly desirous that there should be a copy, the subscriber undertook to make it himself, and has accomplished it with much pains, care and labor. In doing this, he has been particular to mark with red ink, in the margin, the pages of the old Record, so that the volume of Index, made for that book by Mr. JAMES BLAKE, in 1745, will serve equally well for this. With all his antiquarian perspicacity, however, the copier was often exceedingly puzzled in deciphering the old chirography, rendered almost illegible by the faded state of the ink originally used, and by the decayed con

In History of Dorchester, page 29, it is stated, that this Record Book, "in point of time, takes precedence of any town records in Massachusetts," which we believe to be the fact. The original book of Grants of Salem, commences "the first of the 8th month, 1634."-Sce Hist. Coll. of the Essex Institute, iv. 89.

dition of many of the leaves, some of which were also much defaced by use. But his perseverance was encouraged by the consideration that he was rescuing almost from oblivion some exceedingly valuable particulars of the first settlement of this ancient town.

The intimate knowledge acquired of these Records, by the very act of copying them, will authorize a few remarks on their value, and the use that may be made of them.

It is greatly to be regretted, indeed, that two leaves at the beginning of the book are lost, as they contained some notice of the affairs of the town from the settlement, in June, 1630, to January 16, 1632; and more, that another book, referred to several times in this, as the first book," and mentioned in the manuscript annals of MR. BLAKE, was burnt in 1657, in the house of Mr. THOMAS MILLETT; for in that were entered the names of the settlers, the location allotted to each family, and the number of acres and the bounds; as, also, a record of the births and deaths.

The town records were again exposed to destruction, when the house of Mr. NOAH CLAP was burnt, May 15, 1784, but were fortunately rescued; though a trunk containing old papers, and files of committees' reports, &c., was consumed. The venerable volume preserved, now for more than two centuries, contains a record of the doings of the freemen at general meetings, for the choice of town officers and the transaction of business; at Selectmen's meetings, for carrying into effect the municipal regulations; an account of taxes, receipts, and expenditures; statements of roads, of grants, and privileges; and includes the period between January 16, 1632, and March 1, 1720, comprised in 636 closely written folio pages.

Left to themselves and their own resources, the first settlers of Dorchester seemed to have been fully aware that they were commencing a new state of social and civil polity, in most respects different from that of the mother country; and that they were not only taking measures for the ordering of affairs adapted to their present circumstances, but "laying the foundation of many generations." The course which they pursued was marked by precaution, and all the measures which they adopted were distinguished by strong sense, and practical wisdom; simple, judicious, and well adapted to the exigencies of the passing day, and prospective of times to come.

Their first and chief concern was the furtherance of Christian truth, and Gospel order and institutions, the building a place for public worship, and providing means for the support of the ministry; next, the settlers evinced a deep solicitude for the rising generation, "forasmuch, (as they express it) as the good education of children and youth is of singular benefit to any commonwealth." They were careful, therefore, that they should be well instructed in the elements of useful knowledge, and in the principles of religion, that they might become intelligent and useful, virtuous and happy. And that the children both of the poor as well as of the rich, might share equal privileges and advantages, the school was not only made free to all, but all were required to attend. This was an entirely new plan for education; in liberality, having no prototype in European countries; and, in consequence of its adoption through the New England States, the means of instruction have been diffused through the community, "and knowledge and wisdom have been the stability of our times.' 27 The school

was supported partly by a tax duly apportioned upon the inhabitants, and partly by the appropriation or rent of the land set off at the laying out of the town for this special purpose, and by grants and bequests of individuals afterwards made. The Selectmen were directed to provide able, pious, and faithful teachers; to see that the parents sent their children to school, not detaining any for inconsiderable reasons; and "to have a vigilant eye over the children, that they attend school regularly and punctually, mind their learning, and behave obediently in school, and mannerly out of it." And it is observable from the register of our school, kept from the beginning, that for more than a century and a half, the masters employed were such as had received a college education.

It is interesting, through these town records, to trace the succession of public officers, and discover who were the leading men of the day; as, also, the business transacted; what the state of society required for its advancement; and to learn the occurrences that took place, during the eighty-seven years of which this book is the register. From these documents of the early settlers, we may also gain sketches of the state of manners, the modes of living, the occupations in which men were engaged, the changes in families, reverses in condition, value of property, and other particulars, incidentally noticed, but of considerable use in ascertaining "the form and pressure of the times," and the gradual and progressive improvement of the social state. And many facts are noted, not merely of a local, but of a public nature, and belong to the history of our country.

Finally, in the seasonable provisions for the support of order; the meetings of the freemen for consultation about what was expedient to be adopted and done for the welfare of the rising community; and the election of the most intelligent, trust-worthy and influential men to take the oversight and management of its municipal concerns, we perceive not only a wise forecast, but find the elements and principles of that "liberty with order," from which have emanated the well-defined rights and privileges, which their successors asserted with determination, maintained with firmness, and have established and guaranteed as the chief constituents of our national independence and prosperity. That this ancient town may continue an honorable record through succeeding generations, is the fervent wish of him who has exercised for forty-one years the ministry in it, and has been affectionately and zealously interested in the advancement of its welfare, temporal and spiritual. THADDEUS MASON HARRIS.

August 5, 1834.

Records.

Also, Edward Ray [mond,]* [John] Grenway, and John Goyre, shall [have] each of them a p'portionable quantity of Marisht adjoyning to their necke of L[and.]

Jan: 21: All other, the Planters in Dorchester, not before named,

The record, as it is now left to ns, commences thus abruptly, on the fifth page. Who Edward Raymond was, and what became of him, our antiquaries seem to be uninformed.

The word marsh was anciently written, maris, maress, marish. Chaucer has it, mareis; Spencer and Milton and other writers, marish. Dyer, in his poem, "The Fleece," which appeared in 1757, alludes to "Rumney marish and Rye's silent port."