History of Amesbury - Merrill.org

242 HISTORY OF AMESBURY.
one peculiarly hard of solution before the meeting :
At
this
time a widow Mariner had turned up, causing quite an excite-
ment, some pitying her, some holding her as a nuisance, and
the question was how to get rid of her. Some proposed treat-
ing her as a "vagerbond," others thought better of her and
deemed that rough treatment. She evidently had friends and
determined enemies in town, as the following shows :
"It was put to vote whether y e Widow Martha Merener now
being in this town be proceeded with as a vagerbond and passed
in the negative—and it was put to vote whether that vote
should be reconsidered and passed on the affirmative."
' "And
it was put to vote whether y e town would support her
as one of the poor of the town and passed on y e negative.
The last vote on Record reconsidered."
"Voted that the town take care of y e Widow Marraner and sup-
port her as one of their own poor then the Meeting adjourned
by a vote to Tuesday y e
—
5 th day of April next at three of
y e clock in y e afternoon at the East Meeting house in said
town."
The meeting assembled, on the appointed day and "It was
put to vote whether the last vote on record be reconsidered
and passed on y e affirmative."
" And at y e same meeting it was voted that y e Selectmen
proceed with y e said Widow Marraner as a vagerbond." So
the poor woman was condemned and the excitement died
away.
At the representative meeting in May it was "Voted to give
Henry Blasdell twenty four dollars to keep and support that
melotee child now at Deacon Curriers while she arrives to law-
ful age and to clothe her and to learn her to read and to have
the said twenty four dollars within three years that is to say
eight dollars per year three years."
^120 were raised for town charges the present year.
At a meeting held in September a committee was chosen to
settle with all the constables and report to the annual meeting.
At this meeting a petition was received from Ichabod March
for a grant of twenty rods of land on the corner of the parson