History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

others, inhabitants of the easterly part of Concord,
the northerly part of Weston, and westerly part of
Lexington, presented a petition to the General
Court, setting forth their difficulties and inconven-
iences by reason of their distances from their usual
places of public worship in their respective towns,
and praying to be erected into a separate township.
This petition was summarily dismissed ;
LINCOLN. 35
but, noth-
ing daunted by their failure, the next year, July 2,
1735, John Flint, Simon Dakin, Josiah Parks, and
other inhabitants of the easterly part of Concord,
northerly part of Weston, and westerly part of
Lexington, petitioned to be made a separate town-
ship. On this petition the General Court issued
the usual orders of notice to the towns of Concord,
Weston, and Lexington, to appear on the second
Wednesday of the next sitting of the court, and
show cause why the prayer of the petition should
not be granted. In October the petition was
taken up and read again, with the answers of the
towns of Concord, Weston, and Lexington ; and
the council voted that the prayer of the petition
"be so far granted that Francis Foxcroft and
Josiah Willard Esqrs., with such as the Hon.
House may join, be a committee to repair to the
place proposed to be made into a township, and
carefully view and consider the situation thereof
and the circumstances of the petitioners, and the
towns named in the petition, giving seasonable notice
to all parties of their coming ; and make report
to this Court what they judge proper to be done
on this petition, the charge of the Committee to be
borne as the court shall order."
To this vote of the council the house of repre-
sentatives voted a non-concurrence; upon which,
the council voted to adhere to their own vote.
The subject was taken up again on the 26th of
November and 2d of December, 1735, with like
results; each branch voting a non-concurrence
with the other. January 2, 1735-36, after a
long debate, the house voted a reconsideration of
their votes of non-concurrence, and on the 7th
voted a concurrence in the vote of the council,
and Captain Jeremiah Stevens, Captain Adam
Gushing, and Ephraim Leonard, Esq. were joined
to the committee of the council. On the 18th of
March the committee were directed to report to
the next May session. June 2, 1736, the committee
submitted the following report —
:
" Pursuant to an order of the Great and Gen-
eral Court, on the petition hereunto annexed, the
Committee appointed to repair to the place men-
tioned in said petition, prayed to be a township, to
view and consider the situation thereof, and the
circumstances of the petitioners, and also of the
towns mentioned in the petition, and hear all par-
ties concerned, have carefully performed that ser-
vice, and are of the opinion that the prayer of the
petition be not granted, which is humbly sub-
mitted by, Fra' Foxcroft, pr. order."
The report was accepted in both branches, and
the petition ordered to be dismissed, and it was
further ordered that the' charge of the view,
amounting to £54^ 16*. 2d., be paid as follows:
£18 to the committee of this court for their
attendance and travel by the petitioners, — £18
8*. 4f/. by the town of Concord, and the remain-
der by the towns of Weston and Lexington in equal
proportions. TLj.ojLyofj)
No further action looking to the incorporation
of the town took place for several years. Au-
gust 18, 1744, Joshua Brooks and forty-eight
others, iidiabitants of the easterly part of Concord,
northerly part of Weston, and westerly part of
Lexington, petitioned to be made a separate pre-
cinct. On this petition the usual orders of notice
were issued, and after various delays a viewing
committee was appointed. On the 18th of April,
1746, the committee reported that the prayer of
the petition ought to be granted, — which report
was accepted, and it was ordered that " the peti-
tioners, together with the persons living within the
bounds mentioned in the petition (except such
persons and estates as are excepted by the report),
be and are hereby erected into a distinct and sepa-
rate precinct, and vested with all such powers and
privileges as other precincts within this province
have, or by law ought to enjoy — and that such
of the aforesaid exempted persons as shall within
one year signify to the Secretary under their hands
their willingness to join with the petitioners be to-
gether mth their estates incorporated with them,
to do and receive alike duty and privilege as the
petitioners "
No act of incorporation otlier than this order
was passed, but it was voted "that Benjamin
Brown one of the principal inhabitants of the
Parish this day set off from Concord, Lexington
and Weston be and hereby is enabled to call the
first precinct meeting in said parish to choose
parish officers and to act and do all other things
according to Law." This order or precept is still
preserved by Deacon Brown's descendants. Under
its authority the precinct met at the bouse of Mr.