History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

was granted, and to tlie Watertown men named
below was assigned a portion of Township No.
2, now Westminster, Massaclmsetts. They were
Jolni Sawin for his fatlier Thomas, Ephraim Cut-
ter, James Cutting for his father James, Jolin
Bernard, Joshua Bigelow, Wiiham Shattuck,
Joseph Grant for his father Josepli, Zachariah
Harrington, Josepli Priest for his father Josepii,
Zachariah Cutting, Jolni Bright for his uncle John,
George Parmeter for his father William, Joseph
Ball for his uncle Jacob Bullard, Thomas Harring-
ton for his wife's fatlier Timotiiy Rice, John Sherman
for his uncle John, Captain Josepli Bowman
for his wife's uncle James Barnard, Joseph Smith
for his father Joseph, Pilchard Beers for his father
Elnathan, Michael Flagg's heirs, John Cutting for
his father John, the heirs of Dr. Wellington and of
Benjamin Wellington.
When, upon the news of the landing of the
Prince of Orange in England, the peojjle of Boston
and vicinity overthrew the hated government of
Andros, representatives from all the towns in the
colony met at Boston, May ?.?., 16S9, to consult as
to the propriety of nsiiniiim the (jld charter. Wil-
liam Bond and Benjamin Gartield, on behalf of the
people of Watertown, were instructed to maintain
"the charter rights," that is, the old charter, and
to agree to the declaration set forth at a previous
meeting of representatives until further orders from
the English government. This course was recommended
by a large majority of the towns, but the
old charter was never restored, and a new one, less
liberal in some respects, was granted by King Wil-
liam III. in 1691.
After the decease of Captain John Sherman in
1691 the town was divided into three military
precincts. The first was under Captain William
Bond, who was made a magistrate in 16S6 ;
ond (Waltham) was Lieutenant Garfield's ;
WATERTOWN. 445
the sec-
and the
third (Weston) was that of Lieutenant Josiah Jones.
The ineffectual attempt to establish three regular
market-places in Boston in 1734 gave great offence
to the neighboring towns, who regarded tiiis re-
striction as an infringement of their rights. In
retaliation, the people of Watertown voted to sus-
pend all intercourse with the Bostonians at their
markets under a heavy penalty, but it is probable
that a measure so absurd as that of prohibiting
people from selling vegetables where it was for
their interest to sell, soon became a dead letter.
In 1 7i)S a company from Watertown and vicinity,
commanded by Captain Jonathan Brown, was in
service in Canada, in the regiment of Colonel Wil-
liam Williams. Captain Brown was afterwards a
member of the Provincial Congress, serving on
important committees, and was for many years a
selectman.
Smith for his father Jonathan, Samuel Hagar for Watertown, in common with the other towns in
his father John, George Harrington's heirs, John the colony, heartily co-ojjerated with Boston in the
various measures of the patriot leaders in ojjposi-
tion to the arbitrary acts of the British gov-
ernment. That imposing duties on tea, paper,
glass, etc., aroused universal indignation. At the
meeting held in Boston towards the close of the
year 1767, for the encouragement of home produc-
tions and to lessen foreign importations, the other
towns were appealed to for sympathy and support
in this policy. Watertown, January 18, 1768,
responded by voting to dispense with imported
goods, at the same time declaring all foreign teas
expensive and pernicious, as well as unnecessary.
" This continent,'^ she said, " abounds with many
herbs of a more salubrious cpiality, which, if we
were as much used to as the poisonous Bohea,
would no doubt in time be as agreeable, perhaps
much more so ; and whilst by a manly influence
we expect our women to make this sacrifice to the
good of their country, we hereby declare we shall
highly honor and esteem the encouragers of our
own manufactures and the general use of tiie pro-
ductions of tills continent, this being in our judgment
at this time a necessary means, under God, of
rendering us a happy and free people.'^
Thus it appears tiiat almost six years before tlie
tea was thrown into Boston Harbor it iiad been
tiirown overboard, metaphorically, by Watertown,
which took the lead in denouncing this " expensive,
pernicious, and poisonous " herb.
At the same meeting her representative was instructed,
while resisting all encroachments upon
her rights and joining in all vigorous but legal
and peaceable measures for obtaining relief, "not
to be drawn into any rash or disorderly measures,
either disrespectful to the best of sovereigns, or
nndutiful to our mother country," thus indicating
how far they then were from any thought of renouncing
allegiance to Great Britain. The circular
of tile Boston Committee of Correspondence, issued
in November, 1773, enumerating the wrongs and
grievances inflicted by the British Parliament,
and calling upon tiie people to be watchful, was an-
swered bv the AVatertown committee, February 5,