The Charter of the Town of Whiting
| By the Grace of God, of Great-Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c | |
Know ye, that we of Our special Grace. certain Knowledge, and mere Motion, for the due Encouragement of settling a New Plantation within our said Province, by and with the Advice of our Trusty and Well-beloved BENNING WENTWORTH, Esq; Our Governor and Commander in Chief of Our said Province of New Hampshire in New England, and of our Council of the said Province; HAVE upon the Conditions and Reservations hereinafter made, given and granted, and by these Presents, for us, our Heirs, and Successors, do give and grant in equal shares, unto our loving Subjects, inhabitants of our said Province of New Hampshire, and Our other Governments, and to their Heirs and Assigns for ever, whose names are entered on this Grant, to be divided to and amongst them into FIFTY FOUR EQUAL SHARES, all that tract or parcel of land situate, lying and being within our said Province of New Hampshire, containing by Admeasurement 14424—acres, which tract is to contain near six miles square, and no more, out of which an allowance is to be made for highways and unimprovable lands by rocks, ponds, mountains and rivers, One Thousand and Forty Acres free, according to a Plan and Survey thereof, made by Our said Governors Order, and and returned into the Secretarys Office, and hereunto annexed, butted and bounded as follows, viz: Beginning at the Northwest corner of Leicester, from thence North Eighty five degrees West to the West Line of Bridport to a stake and a stone, thence South by the lines of Bridport and Shoreham, six miles one hundred and twenty rods to a stake and stones, Thence south Eighty five degrees East by the North side line of Sudbury to the Northeasterly Corner thereof, From thence North four degrees West six miles and one hundred and twenty rods to the place began at.
And that the same be, and hereby is incorporated into a Township by the name of Whiteing; and the inhabitants that do or shall hereafter inhabit the said Township, are hereby declared to be enfranchised with and intitled to all and every, the priviledges and immunities that other towns within our Province by law exercise and enjoy; And further, the said Town as soon as there shall be fifty families resident and settled thereon, shall have the liberty of holding Two Fairs, one of which shall be held on the and the other on the Annually, which fairs are not to continue longer than the respective following the said and as soon as the said Town shall consist of fifty families, a market may be opened and kept one or more days in each week, as may be thought most advantageous to the inhabitants. Also, that the first meeting for the choice of Town Officers, agreeable to the Laws of our said Province, shall be held on the first Tuesday of September, which said meeting shall be Notified by Daniel Pond who is hereby also appointed the Moderator of the said first meeting, which he is to notify and govern agreable to the Laws and customs of our said Province; And that the annual meeting, forever hereafter for the choice of such officers for the said Town, shall be on the second Tuesday of March annually, To have and to hold the said Tract of land as above expressed, together with all Priviledges and Appurtenances, to them and to their respective heirs and assigns forever, upon the following conditions, viz:
- That every grantee, his heirs or assigns shall plant and cultivate five acres of land within the term of five years for every fifty acres contained in his or their share or proportion of land in said Township, and continue to improve and settle the same by an additional cultivation, on penalty of the forfeiture of his grant or share in the said Township, and its reverting to us, our heirs and assigns, to be by us, or them re-granted to such of our subjects as shall effectually settle and cultivate the same.
- That all white and other pine trees within the said Township, fit for masting our Royal Navy, be carefully preserved for that use, and none to be cut or felled without our special license for so doing first had, and obtained, upon the Penelty of the forfeiture of the right of such Grantee, his heirs and assigns, to us, our heirs and successors as well as being subject to the Penelty of any Act or Acts of Parliment that now are, or shall hereafter be enacted.
- That before any division of the land be made to and among the Grantees, a Tract of land as near the center of said Township as the land will admit of, shall be reserved and marked out for Town Lots, one of which shall be allotted to each Grantee of the contents of one acre.
- Yielding and paying therefor to us, our heirs and successors for the space of ten years, to be computed from the date hereof, the rent of one Ear of Indian Corn only on the twenty-fifth day of December annually, if lawfully demanded, the first payment to be made the 25th day of December 1763.
- Every Proprietor, Settler or inhabitant, shall yield and pay unto Us, our Heirs and Successors yearly and every year forever, from and after the expiration of ten years from the above said 25th day of December which will be in the year of Our Lord 1773, one shilling Proclamation money for every hundred acres he owns, settles or possesses, and so in Proportion for a greater or lesser Tract of the said Land; Which money shall be paid by the respective Persons above said, their Heirs, or Assigns, In our Council Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such Officer or Officers as shall be appointed to receive the same; and this to be in lieu of all other rents and services whatsoever.
| By his excellencys Command, With advice of Council Theodore Atkinson, Secy. | B. Wentworth Province of New Hampshire, August 6, 1763 Recorded according to Original Charter Under the Province Seal Attest: T. Atkinson Sec’y. |
Original Grantees
| The Following are the names of the Original Grantees of Whiting. | ||
| Daniel Pond | Moses Adams | James Fisher |
| Reverend David Thurstin | Benjamin Pond | Joseph White |
| Capt. Nathaniel Whiting | John Bullard | Ely Fisher |
| John Pond | Eliphalet Whiting | Dea. Richard Fisher |
| Daniel Ide | Capt. Ebenezer Man | John Whitney Esq. |
| Jeremiah Parker | Lieutenant Benjamin Guile | Maj. Thomas Tash |
| Nathaniel Partridge | Ebenezar [illegible] | Capt. Silas Brown |
| Samuel Cutler | Benjamin Day | John Tash |
| Assa Barstow | Asa Whiting | Col. Joseph Smith |
| Hezzekiah Fisher | David Man | Joshua Crumet |
| Nathan Aldis | John Whiting | Samuel Pond |
| John Smith | Lewis Whiting | James Pond |
| Seth Danells | Capt. Nathan Weare | Nathan Johnson |
| Elias Addams | Preserved Hall | Benjamin Archer |
| Thomas Addams | David Fisher | Hon. John Temple Esq. |
| Ebenezar Aldis | Nathaniel Floyd | John Nellson Esq. |
| His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. a Tract of Land to contain four
Hundred Acres as marked in the plan (BW) which is to be accounted two of
the within shares, one whole share for the Incorporated Society for the Propa-
gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, one whole share for a Glebe for Church
of England as by Law Established, one whole share for the first settled Minister
of the Gospel in said Town, and one share for the Schools therein. Province of New Hampshire, August 6, 1763 Recorded from the back of the Original Charter of Whiting, under the Province Seal Theodore Atkinson, Sec’y | ||
| State of New Hampshire | Secretarys Office | Sept. 29th 1790 |
| The within and the above are a true copy of the Charter of Whiting as recorded in the book of Charters Vol. 2 Folio 512 and onward. Attest Joseph Pearson Sec’y | ||
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