The following is the entry in volume 77, p. 302, of the Registers of the Probate Court of the County of Suffolk,

"Powell, John, Esq. Agent Bond.

"December 18th 1778. Shrimpton Hutchinson of Boston
in the County of Suffolk Admitted by the Judge, Agent of
the Estate of John Powell late a Resident in the Town of
Boston in the County aforesaid. Jeremiah Powell and Wil-
liam Powell both of Boston in the County aforesaid became
bound with the said Shrimpton for the faithful discharge of
his trust.
"Att. Wm. Cooper, Regr."

In volume 78, p. 104, the Inventory is given, dated May 28, 1779 valuing the estate at £902.1.2 thus:

An account is filed volume 78, p. 167, of rent, repairs, etc., of the real estate.

In the meantime, confiscatory legislation had been passed.

On April 30, 1779, was passed "An Act to confiscate the Estates of certain Notorious conspirators against the Government and Liberties of the Inhabitants of the late Province now State of Massachusetts Bay," being chapter 48 of that Session. It confiscated the property of certain named persons, including former Governors, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Secretary, Chief Justice, Councillors, Attorney General, Solicitor General, etc: it does not however mention John Powell. But on the same day, was passed Chapter 74, "An Act for Confiscating the Estates of certain Persons commonly called Absentees"; it enacted that all inhabitants of any of the States who since April 19, 1775 (the day of the Lexington-Concord Battle) (a) had levied war against the Colonies, or (b) adhered to the King, or (c) removed without consent of the Legislature or Executive from any Colony to any place under the control of the King and also all who before April 19, 1775, and after General Gage's arrival at Boston (May 13, 1774) withdrew to Boston for protection by Gage and who had either died or not returned and taken an oath of allegiance (if required), should be considered aliens and to have renounced all civil and political relation to all the United States. Their property of all kinds, lands goods, credits, etc., was escheated except such as accrued after April 19, 1775, or the time of the offence. The Attorney General or his appointee was directed to file a complaint to the Justices of an Inferior Court of Common Pleas setting out the offence charged and a description of the estate to be escheated. Notice being left at the Mansion House on the property or some public place, the Court should if any one appeared to defend try the issues, if not postpone the case and issue a proclamation for any person to claim the estate. All issues were to be tried by a jury and an appeal was allowed to the Superior Court of Judicature "as in all other real actions". The Act further provided that all debts "due before the time of the offence committed to any subject of the United States" from any of such persons should be repayable out of the estate.

William Powell had lent his brother John, One thousand pounds to enable him to leave the Colony, and therefore was a creditor: he had taken the Colonial side and was a subject (horresco referens) of the United States; his brother had a house and barn in Boston which was under lease but had not been sold to pay debts John not having left any except that to his brother William, or if any, they had been paid out of the personal estate and William wanted the house and barn. Accordingly William Powell in 1780 petitioned the Legislature in respect of this property; and February 14, 1781, the following proceedings were had in the Legislature (Chapter 109, January Session).

"RESOLVE OF THE PETITION OF WILLIAM POWELL

"On the petition of William Powell

"RESOLVED, The honourable Judge of Probate for the county of Suffolk be, and he is hereby authorized and impowered to appoint three sufficient freeholders of the town of Boston, to appraise the estate of John Powell, formerly of Boston, an absentee, consisting of one house and barn, situated in Boston aforesaid, and to take bonds of William Powell, of Boston, merchant, to the amount of one thousand pounds as a security to refund such part of what said house and barn may be appraised as may be the just proportion of the claims of any other creditors that may appear in the course of one year from the above date. "And it is further RESOLVED, That when the said William Powell shall have complied with the above resolve, that the agent for the estate of John Powell, formerly of Boston, an absentee, shall deliver into the hands of said William the house and barn mentioned in his petition, when the present lease of the same shall expire, any law or resolve to the contrary notwithstanding."

Before William Powell could obtain the property an appraisement of its value had to be made: we find that February 16, 1781, appraisers were duly appointed to "appraise the estate of John Powell formerly of Boston, an Absentee consisting of one House and Barn situated at Boston", and February 21 1781, they returned the value of "one thousand pounds S. Money Silver".--Records, Volume 80, p. 86. William then obtained the property remaining liable to pay a proportionate part of any claim against John presented within one year--the Act of 1777 having provided for payment pro rata.

So matters stood till after the Peace of 1783. In the Treaty of Paris by Article V, it was agreed that Congress should recommend to the various States to provide for the restitution of confiscated estates to "real British subjects" and to reconsider "all Laws regarding the premises so as to the said Laws perfectly consistent not only with justice and equity but with that spirit of conciliation which on the return of the blessings of Peace should universally prevail." By Article VI, it was agreed that there should be no future confiscation or prosecutions.

Massachusetts, July 2, 1783, by chapter 6 of the May Session, enacted that all persons in custody under the Act of 1778 above referred to, should be immediately sent to the King's dominions with the penalty of death if they should return-hardly to be characterized as conciliatory.

Powell, April 24, 1784, received from his father described as "late of Boston in the State of Massachusetts in North America now of Edward Street in the Parish of Marylebone in the County of Middlesex, Esquire" a Power of Attorney with specific power to sell and

alienate lands in Massachusetts; he is described as "my son William Dummer Powell, late of Montreal in the Province of Quebec, Barristerat-Law, now of Edward Street aforesaid but soon intending for America". Suffolk Deeds, Vol. 143, p. 227.

Before this time, the Massachusetts Legislature had acted in the matter of escheated estates. On March 24, 1784, was passed an Act of great importance to Powell, Chapter 69 (January Session, c. 46). This repealed the Acts of 1778 and 1783 already mentioned: but forbade those named in special confiscation Act, chapter 73 of 1779, (which did not include John Powell) and any who had gone off to and taken protection of the government, fleet or Army of Great Britain or had borne arms, etc., to return to the State-if any should do so, he was to be apprehended, committed to gaol and sent off. Other absentees were to be permitted to reside in the State only if they obtained a licence from the Governor which licence should have no force after the end of the ensuing session of the Legislature. If the licencee did not obtain an Act of Naturalization or have his licence approved by the General Court he was to be treated as though he had no licence.

This Act also contained provisions purporting to carry out Article VI of the Treaty of Paris. Lands which had not been confiscated by the Statute or by judgment at law-not pledged to the Government for money borrowed or sold by agents for the payment of debts or liable to pay an annual charge for the support of a poor person-were to be delivered up to their former owners; but if any of these owners was mentioned in the Act of 1778, he must sell within three years.

It would appear that all of John Powell's land had not been actually confiscated, and that the Power of Attorney given to his son was for the purpose of enabling him to realize on the remaining lands.

We find among the Suffolk Deeds, volume 144, p. 77, July 23, 1784, a deed indexed as referring to "Boston, School St. and Governor's Alley said Alley-Long Whf, 2 pc. or 2 shares." This deed is made July 20, 1784, by "William Dummer Powell Junior of Montreal in the Province of Canada now residing in Boston" as "Agent and Attorney to John Powell of Ludlow in the County of Shropshire in the Kingdom of Great Britain, Esquire" and it conveys to William Powell for an expressed consideration of £1000 the two tenements in School St., Boston, "formerly the Estate of the Honble. William Dummer deceased and two other tenements situate in Governor's Alley formerly called Governor Dummer's Stables" and one share in Long Wharf "formerly part of the estate of said William Dummer, deceased" and half of another share.

It seems not unlikely that some if not all of the above was John Powell's distributive share of the estate of his uncle William Dummer who is known to have died unmarried. There was a mortgage for £135 made by Christopher Lehr to John Powell and William Powell, (Suffolk Deeds, Volume 103, p. 126). This was, November 2, 1790, assigned and released by William for himself and as Attorney for John (Suffolk Deeds, Volume 168, p. 216).

It would seem that while John Powell may have lost some personal property, his lands were saved; he was consequently much more fortunate than many of the Loyalists.

APPENDIX C

MRS. POWELL'S MONEY TROUBLES

Anne Powell, the wife of William Dummer Powell, was the niece of Elizabeth Inman, the wife of Ralph Inman of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

When Powell and his wife were in Massachusetts after his return from presenting to Sydney the Petition of 1783, Mrs. Inman made her will, May 14, 1785 and died a few days thereafter: the will was admitted to Probate, May 28, 1785 in Suffolk County and is recorded in Volume 84, pp. 307, 312 as No. 18445, in the Suffolk Probate Register. The executors were "John Innes Clark of Providence in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations . . . Edward Hutchinson Robbins of Milton and John Murray late of Providence now of Virginia The first and the last were nephews of the testatrix. She had an ante-nuptial agreement with her husband-she was before her marriage to Ralph Inman, the widow of James Smith in his lifetime of Milton, Merchant-the agreement is dated, September 24, 1771, and, reciting: "Whereas a Marriage by God's permission is intended shortly to be made and solemnized between the said Ralph Inman and Elizabeth Smith, and the said Elizabeth being seized in her own absolute right of a very considerable estate both real and personal, the greatest part whereof was given and bequeathed to her by her late husband, the said James Smith deceased, in and by his last will and testament", it gives the intending wife the right to dispose of all of her own property by will, &c.-Volume 84, p. 303-the will was made in accordance with this ante-nuptial agreement.

Anne Powell was provided for in two items of the will: "Item my Will is that Mrs. Anne Powell the wife of William Dumner Powell be paid and receive from my estate hereafter described, the lawful Interest of two Thousand Pounds Sterling which interest is to be paid to her annually for and during her natural life, and for her own personal use and disposal, and that after her decease the said principal Sum of two Thousand pounds Sterling be paid and distributed to and among her present and future children in equal portions; that is to say among those who survive her decease (unless they leave issue, which issue shall represent their deceased parent) provision for said two Thousand pounds Sterling and Interest is to be made and secured by my House and Land or Messuage and its App'res, situate at the corner of Queen or Court Street in said Boston, now in the occupation of Mr. John Carnes.

"Also all that Brick Dwelling House, and sugar House and Land with all their outbuildings and app'res now under the improvement of Mr. John Read, the same House and land are situate in said Boston and is bounded in front on a Street or Lane leading from the Meeting House in Brattle Street (late Doctr. Cooper's) to the Market, and is contiguous to the said Meeting House, which two Messuages and sugar House so charged as security; and from which the said Sum is to be raised and not otherwise, My Executors may sell and dispose of in fee Simple or otherwise and invest the proceeds in such funds or securities

as they think will most effectually secure the payment of said two Thousand Pounds Sterling and Interest as aforesaid.

"Item, I give and devise to John Innes Clark of Providence in the State of Rhode Island, Esquire, and to John Murray late of Providence now in Virginia, Merchant, my two Nephews, the said Messuage and its appr'es at the corner of Queen Street and the said House and Sugar House near said Meeting House and their appr'es, incumbered with the payment of said Two Thousand Pounds and Interest provided for Mrs. Powell and Children in manner and form aforesaid: To hold the same to said Clark and Murray their Heirs and Assigns in equal portions encumbered as aforesaid. And when the premises are exonerated therefrom the same or the residue thereof shall be and remain to the use of said Clark and Murray their heirs and assigns, in equal portions."

Full power was given to the executors to sell and dispose of any part of the estate.

In September, 1785, Mrs. Powell being still in Massachusetts, her husband having gone to Montreal, she received from Robbins one of the Executors £60 sterling, the half of one-year's annuity; and she received nothing further until her sister came to Detroit to visit her there and brought 100 guineas. We have seen that she went to the house of her brother, John Murray at Alexandria, Virginia, later in the same year on her way to England. She was there promised a settlement of the arrears-her brother went to Boston to enquire and returned with the news that the houses set apart to secure Mrs. Powell's annuity would not yield the amount required unless they were substantially repaired. He told her that Clark and he had decided that unless she relinquished one-fourth of the annuity, they would not pay for the repairs and the houses would go to ruin. Mrs. Powell urged an immediate sale being certain that the property would realize more than £2000-this her brother refused and added that for his part he would have called for a greater reduction in the annuity but that Clark would not consent. In one of her documents she says:

"On April 10, 1794, the three executors deeded to John Carnes of Boston by deed, recorded, Volume 178, page 77, the property situated on Court Street, Corn hill and a passageway (John Murray is here described as of New York). The deed recited the power of sale under the will and a consideration of Two Thousand Pounds, lawful money', and it is with warranties.

"On January 2, 1795, the three executors deeded to Stephen Fales and Jonathan Murray of Boston, merchants, by deed recorded in Volume 179, Page 173, the property on Brattle Street and in Brattle Square, described as 'all that piece of land Brick and Dwelling House and Sugar House thereon standing with all the buildings and improvements situate in Brattle Square in Boston,' adjoining the Meeting House. etc. This deed recites the power under the will to sell and invest the proceeds effectually to 'secure the payment of Interest of Two Thousand Pounds Sterling to Mrs. Anne Powell and the said Principal sum of Two Thousand Pounds Sterling to her children upon her decease.' Clark and Murray covenant that the fee simple of the estate is in them, 'subject only to the conveyance of said Robbins with them as executor for the purpose of exonerating the encumbrances aforesaid created by said Will on the estate hereby conveyed and that the same is now free from all incumbrances of every kind' this deed also is with warranties."