History of Amesbury - Merrill.org

HISTORY OF AMESBURY. 57
ized to build a saw mill, with the privilege of using all the tim-
ber on the common not included in the grant to the former
mill, "excepting oak & the right of the people to make canoes."
For this privilege they were to pay the town £6 per annum
for ten years, in boards at current prices. "No logs were to be
carried to the powwaus river to be sawed, on penalty of ten
shillings." They agreed to saw all the logs on shares, as the
following extract from the record shows :
"So the said Thomas Macy and Richard Currier dowe ingaieg
to saw what lagges the towns men bring to the Mill for their
own use, to saw them to the halfes within a month aftier they
are brought to the mill if there be watier the first lagges that
comes to be first sawne and so the rest in order as they are
brought."
This new mill was built on the west side of the Powow at
the falls and was greatly needed, and, no doubt, looked upon
as quite an achievement. Beside the stately buildings at present
occupying the location, it would hardly be noticed. The sen-
tence "if there be water" seems to indicate that the river some-
times grew dry in those days, and their small dams did not
enable the mill to run through much of a drouth. The depo-
sition of Richard Currier in 1682 also confirms this fact.
From the 19th of March, 1655, to January nth, 1657, no
general division of land was made, although several persons
received special grants. At a meeting July 27th, 1656, Joseph
Peaslee was made a townsman and granted twenty acres of upland
bought of Thomas Macy, and ten acres of meadow at the pond,
for which the town agreed to pay J~6 to Thomas Macy. Wil-
liam Sargent, also, had three acres granted him in consideration
of land he had laid down, and it was to be laid out in any
part of the pond meadow he might choose, after ten acres were
laid out for the town. This Joseph Peaslee, which the com-
moners received and gave land to quite liberally, was a self-
constituted preacher, as well as farmer, and eventually proved
troublesome on that account. He took the oath of freeman
June 22d, 1642.
Mr. Thomas Bradbury was deputy this year for Salisbury.
—