II. Geo. Partridge, Philip Delano, Mr. Alden, John Soule and Francis West.

III. John Turner, Benj. Bartlett, Francis Walker, Francis Cook and Tho. Dogged.

IV. Nathl. Warren, John Nelson, the Minister, Wm. Pontus and Edward Bumpus.

V. Saml. Fuller, Isaac Howland, Stephen Bryant, Mistress Sarah Warren and Saml. Eedy.

VI. Edward Gray (3 shares), Francis Billington and Andrew Ring.

VII. Capt. Fuller, John Thompson, William Nelson, Isaac Howland and Thomas Burman.

TOWN'S COMMONS.

GRANTS of land were early made to the several towns of the colony, by the Court, to be reserved for their benefit, and were called the "Town's commons." Portions of these were sold at different times by the towns for raising revenues to meet the towns' expenses; while other parts were let out to individuals, also as a means of revenue; and grants made by the towns of other parts, and some remained perfectly free.

1640 The Court ordered a tract of land, on the Duxbury side, extending from Blackwater brook, and thence along back of Island creek pond to "houndsdich," to be reserved for the Town's commons, "to depasture their cattell upon."

1644: The Town requested a grant of land, twelve square miles, in the woods at Jones River.

1661 Granted to the towns of Duxbury and Marshfield, a tract of land lying between Jones River and Indian head river.

1686, July 18: "The common medow continewing free from hire & lying free for anny of Duxbury to cute, are Mericks Island, Hamar Island, Soule's Island, Brant Island, Skirt Island, Long Island, & the lower point of Wood neck."

"The town have let out the comon medows for 67. a load, excepting the Islands before mentioned, which are free. The Town have agreed that no man shall cut anny Grase at the comon medows, untill the last Munday in August, 1686, & untill the sun Rise upon that day, and in case anny man cut anny before that time, then he shall forfeit 5 Shillings per load unto the Town's use, unless it be upon the Islands before excepted."-T. Rec'ds."

1687. The common meadows between Gotum and Cut rivers, was leased for seven years, at 13s. per annum (August 12) to John Thomas and Peter West, and (Mar. 14, 1694,) was continued to Peter West and Samuel Delano for seven years longer. 1690.

These hired common meadows of the town:

"David Alden has paid all his rent for ye common medows."

1698, May 28: A tract of land lying between the bounds of Plymouth and Duxbury, and held in common by the towns of Duxbury and Marshfield, was divided between these two towns by John Soule, Isaac Little, Seth Arnold, Samuel Sprague and Robert Barker.

1699, March 7: Town chose Abraham Sampson, Benony Delano and Samuel Sprague, "either to act on ye former act made to prevent ye cutting and carrying away coarde wood or any other timber out ye towne, or to make and prosecute such acts as they shall se cause to prevent ye carrying away such timber; ye towne voating to stand by them in ye prosecution of ye same."

June 15 Town ordered a fine to be imposed on those who should cut timber on the commons, unless they carry it to the saw-mills; and further that no wood shall be cut to be carried from the town.

July 17: Appointed Francis Barker, Robert Barker, Joseph Rogers, John Boney, James Bishop and Isaac Barker a committee to prevent the cutting and the carrying off the timber from the town's commons.

1703: Measures were about to be taken by the town for a division of the commons; but was deferred on the remon

strance of the following, May 17th:

Edward Southworth,
Thomas Delano, Sen.,
Philip Leonard,

John Delano,

John Simons,

Elnathan Weston,
Philip Delano, Sen.,
Thomas Boney,

Peter West,

John Glasse,

1707, Sept. 12. Voted to every freeholder and housekeeper twenty acres of the commons, and to those, who had had previous grants, enough more to make up the said twenty acres ; and, June 5, 1710, it was divided among the freeholders of the town, as follows t

This division was made by F. Barker, S. Bradford, and S. Seabury.

Those marked with a

Note.

George Williamson,

John Russell. . 29 of one each.

** should be read :-"The proprietors of the farm that [the name] lives on. Those marked with a single to read "The proprietors of the farm of [the name]."

In has been deemed proper and desirable to insert several lists of a similar character to the foregoing, which, on account of their genealogical importance, ought to be preserved. Nor are they entirely devoid of a general interest, for they serve to show us the ratio which one family bore to another in regard to their numbers at that time. Of the 166 persons abovenamed, there are 58 family names; and of the Barker family,

which was then, it will be seen, one of the most numerous in the town, there is now scarcely a representative, and the same can be said of other families mentioned in the list.

1710, January 30: Voted, that every proprietor of a lot, with a dwelling thereon, if he had been a townsman ten years, should have 40 acres allotted to him; and those, who have had previous grants, to have enough more to make up the 40 acres. Elnathan Weston, Joseph Peterson, Samuel Chandler, John Simmons, Sen., Stephen Sampson, Joseph Chandler, Sen. and Edmund Chandler petitioned against it. At an adjourned meeting, on February 1st, Lt. Samuel Bradford, John Partridge and Joseph Stockbridge were appointed to procure a surveyor to lay it out. At the same meeting a petition was presented from the young men, asking one half a share in the intended division; which was granted to them, notwithstanding the remonstrance of Israel Silvester, Benj. Chandler, Caleb Thomas, Aaron Soule and Thomas Fish, and of Mr. Loring and Benony Delano, who were opposed to the division at all. These commons (salt meadows *) were divided into 33 lots of five shares each, and not until June 16, 1712, were they distributed by lot to the proprietors, who were as follows:

This vote was passed at a town meeting, May 16th, 1711: "That all their salt marsh, common meadows, with all their salt and sedge islands and sedge flats that are above the Cove of the beach, so called, should next be laid out."