History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

Another committee reported in November that
they had borrowed il,?!^, and hired Artemas
Cox, Moses Cummins, and Aaron Cummins to go
to Rliode Island with orders to equip themselves
Colonel Jacob discharged the last two for not being
equipped, and they, being ordered to march again,
refused either to do so or to return part of the
bounty received. The committee also hired Samuel
Trull for £246, Robert Dalryraijle for £171,
William Taylor, Joseph Spaulding, Joseph Dows,
and Jonatiian Gray for £246 each, and John
Fletcher (who afterwards deserted) for £ 60. Mile-
age was also reckoned for eight men, two hundred
miles, at 2«. per mile. Several orders are given
during the year for the first company of militia to
be ready to march at a moment's notice. In May
an order is given for one private to march to Tiver-
ton, Rhode Island, and in September for two pri-
vates to go to Providence to ultimately join Colonel
Jacob's regiment under General Gates. Samuel
Kendall, Mr. Morse, Nathaniel Bridge's son, and
Eunice Mixer were paid during this year for teach-
ing sciiool.
At the March meeting in 1780 the same committee
of correspondence was chosen, Isaac Hagar
having this time the prefix " Ensign " to his name.
A committee was chosen to examine the accounts
of money received and disbursed for bounties.
Some idea of the depreciation of the currency may
be had from the fact that in the highway account
$ 16 per day for a man and §32 per day for a man
and team were allowed. The town elected Jonas
Dix, Esq., representative in May, and in the same
month appointed a committee to examine and re-
port upon the new state constitution. The com-
mittee reported on the .5th of June, favoring an
amendment limiting the time of suspension of the
act of habeas corpus to six months; if, however,
this could not be done, they favored the adoption
of the constitution as it was. The report was
adopted by a vote of thirty-two to four. On the
14th of June the town appropriated £1.5,000
to hire twelve men to reinforce tlie army, and for
procuring shirts, shoes, etc., in accordance with
the requisition of the General Court ; money for
support of the schools was refused. Twelve days
later the town voted to raise fourteen men for the
army, and appropriated £26,660 for military mat-
ters, and on the 29th of July the selectmen or-
dered the treasurer to pay to Jonas Dix, Esq.,
£1,000, Abner Sanderson £700, and Peter Ball
£1,200, in payment for a horse which each of
;
WALTHAM. 4:21
these men had sold the town for use in the army
£55 were also appropriated for expenses in pro-
curing the horses. On the 4th of September the
election of state officers under the new constitution
was held. The result, for governor and lieutenantgovernor,
in Waltham, was : for governor, John
Hancock, Esq., fifty-four votes ; James Bowdoin,
Esq., three ; for lieutenant-governor, Major-Gen-
eral Benjamin Lincoln, forty; James Bowdoin,
Esq., eight. October 11, the town re-elected Jo-
nas Dix, Esq., representative, and again refused to
appropriate money for schools. To such an extent
had the currency depreciated, that the minister's
salary was now £5,600, and the total appropria-
tions at this meeting £23,941. Seventy-two
hundred pounds of beef for the army were ordered,
to fill a requisition from the General Court, and
£12,000 were appropriated for that purpose. On
a petition from Timothy Flagg for additional pay
for service in the army, he was voted leave to with-
draw. On the 29th of November the town granted
£3,360 for the support of schools. At a meeting,
December 20, the town chose a committee to pro-
cure twelve men for the army, under a requisition
of the General Court; £21,000 were voted, to
procure 13,824 pounds of beef for the army.
Abijah Fiske petitioned for relief from the town,
under the following circumstances : he was one of
the sixteen men furnished by Waltham to fill a
requisition of the General Court. By order of
Lieutenant Hastings he went with soldiers to
search the house of Edward Garfield for Felix Cuff
(negro), one of the enlisted men. Cuff was, how-
ever, claimed by Garfield as a servant, and Fiske
was sued and fined. The tovvn, taking into consideration
the facts, granted his request by giving him
his note for £ 7, which the town held, with interest.
Elisha Brewer also presented a petition representing
that he had served in the Continental army
from the beginning of hostilities until July 3,
1779; that in the meantime his pay had depreciated
until it was"nearly worthless, rendering him
unable to provide for himself and family. He
prays for remission of his tax-bill, a portion of
which is on real estate, of which he owns none, and
which is more than he ought or is able to pay.
The town refused to grant his petition. The com-
mittee appointed in 1779 to procure mm for
the armies in Rhode Island and on the Hudson
River reported the following names of men en-
gaged, and the bounties paid to each : William
Taylor, £2,180; Loudey Harris and John Mixer,
;