The Sterling genealogy

242 THE STERLING GENEALOGY
Register, Vol. XV, p. 254.) This undoubtedly refers to William,
1 who was living there during this time.
" Good " is a contraction of the obsolete term " goodman," a
term inferior to that of " Mister."
William is called " Mariner " in the early records. He was
also a ship carpenter and a miller. He bought land of Stephen
Kent of Haverhill in 1662 and settled north of the land belong-
ing to the " orphan Wilson children," near the Rowley line. In
this year of 1662, there was deeded to " John Remington of Rox-
bury, Carpenter, from William Sterling of Rowley, 80 Acres of
Rowley land, south of Mirimack River and on its bank."
William then settled on a ridge east of Haverhill, on the Mer-
rimac River and near a small stream called Little River, which
passes under what is now Washington Square. Here he prob-
ably had a house and a mill. There was also a spring on his
ground which supplied his family and his neighbors with water.
A ferry across the Merrimac River, established in 1647, was
operated from this land of William's. The same old ferry, one
of the oldest in the country, still plies its small boats and does a
brisk business in spite of the cars which cross the bridge.
In the early spring of 1669, William sold his Rowley prop-
erty to Stephen Kent, with a provision that the " Road to y e
Ferry be open for euer." (Vol. 2, p. 169, Salem Records.) This
has so far been observed.
At the same time, Kent sold to William Sterling for £104, a
house, barn, and orchard near the homes of Kent and Remington.
At this sale, Hilliard and Henry West were witnesses ;
both Salem
seamen and traders. Possibly William built ships at Haverhill
for the coast trade, as he afterward did at Lyme, as Haverhill
is at the head of tide-water and sloop navigation.
Sometime before the year 1683 the town conveyed to William
Sterling a lot of about twelve acres. On. this ground he erected
a house, which stood for many years as an inn. The city hall of
Haverhill now stands on its site. This house where William lived
for some years was a two-story structure with a door in the center
of the front facade and a hallway running through, a typical
colonial residence of the period.