History of Amesbury - Merrill.org

322 HISTORY OF AMESBURY.
"March 25, 1803. Ordered to Sargent Bagley four Dollers
8 cents it being for Rum found the Surveyors on the Briges at
Nichols creek."
Moses Sawyer kept school in " Esq. Sargent's district," Thomas
Archibald at the Lion's Mouth, Moses Merriman at Birchen
Meadow, and Solomon Gage at the Highlands.
In 1798 the Friends in town began to think about enlarging
and repairing their meeting-house, and advice was asked of the
Seabrook monthly meeting. A committee was appointed to con-
sult with Friends here, and the advice given was " to build
new." But the work seems not to have been commenced till
this year. The Amesbury preparative meeting now appointed a
committee to purchase a suitable lot, and the house formerly
standing on the lot now occupied by the Free Baptist church
was built the latter part of this year or the first of 1804.
1804.
The selectmen were this year ordered to take a new valua-
tion and, also, " to put out the poor to the best advantage,"
which means the least expense.
It was decided to fence the burying ground in the West par-
ish, and a committee was chosen for that purpose.
Nov. 5th. Presidential election occurred and nineteen elec-
tors were to be voted for, to which Massachusetts and Maine
were entitled. The Federal ticket received fifty-eight votes and
the Republican forty-six. This was President Jefferson's second
election, and the excitement which attended his first election
had evidently died away, judging by the small vote cast. At
this date the population was more than seventeen hundred,
and there may have been three hundred and fifty voters in
town. If so, less than one-third were at the meeting.
The Second church having been without a settled minister
since the dismissal of Mr. Smith in 1800, now extended a call to
Rev. Samuel Mead, which was accepted, and he was installed the
first Wednesday in June. Rev. Mr. Wadsworth preached the
sermon.
A school district tax was this year assessed at Pleasant
Valley to pay for the school-house which had recently been