some more, and none less than four miles, Whereby Your Petitioners are put to great difficulties in Travelling on the Lord's Days, with our Families.

Your Petitioners therefore Humbly Pray Your Excellency and Honours to take their circumstances into your Wise and Compassionate Consideration, And that a part of the Town of Groton, Beginning at the line between Groton and Dunstable where inconvenient to Erect a Township in the [pg 351] it crosses Lancaster [Nashua] River, and so up the said River until it comes to a Place called and Known by the name of Joseph Blood's Ford Way on said River, thence a West Point 'till it comes to Townshend line &c. With such a part and so much of the Town of Dunstable as this Honourable Court in their great Wisdom shall think proper, with the Inhabitants Thereon, may be Erected into a separate and distinct Township, that so they may attend the Public Worship of God with more ease than at present they can, by reason of the great distance they live from the Places thereof as aforesaid.

And Your Petitioners, as in Duty bound, shall ever Pray &c.

Richard Warner
Benjamin Swallow
William Allin
Isaac Williams
Ebenezer Gilson
Ebenezer Peirce
Samuel Fisk
John Green
Josiah Tucker
Zachariah Lawrence Jun^r
William Blood
Jeremiah Lawrence
Stephen Eames

"[Inhabitants of Groton]"

Enoch Hunt
Eleazer Flegg
Samuel Cumings
William Blanchard
Gideon Howe
Josiah Blood
Samuel Parke
Samuel Farle
William Adams
Philip Wolrich

"[Inhabitants of Dunstable]"

[Massachusetts Archives, cxiv, 274, 273.]

Province of the Massachusetts Bay

To His Excellency The Governour The Hon^ble Council & House of Rep^tives in Generall Court Assembled Dec^r 1739

The Answer of y^e Subscribers agents for the Town of Groton to y^e Petition of Richard Warner & others praying that part of Said Town with part of Dunstable may be Erected into a Distinct & Seperate Township.

May it please your Excellency & Hon^rs

The Town of Groton Duely Assembled and Taking into Consideration y^e Reasonableness of said Petition have Voted their Willingness, That the prayer of y^e Petition be Granted as per their Vote herewith humbly presented appears, with this alteration namely That they Include the River (viz^t Nashua River) over w^ch is a Bridge, built Intirely to accommodate said Petitioners heretofore, & your Respondents therefore apprehend it is but Just & Reasonable the same should for the future be by them maintain'd if they are Set of from us.

Your Respondents Pursuant to y^e Vote Aforesaid, humbly move to your Excellency & Hon^rs That no more of Dunstable be Laid to Groton Then Groton have voted of, for one Great Reason that Induced Sundry of y^e Inhabitants of Groton to come into Said Vote was This Namely They owning a very Considerable part of the Lands Voted to be set of as afores^d were willing to Condesent to y^e Desires of their Neighbours apprehending that a meeting House being Erected on or near y^e Groton Lands & a minister settled it would Raise their Lands in Vallue but should considerable part of Dunstable be set of more then of Groton it must of course draw the Meeting House farther from y^e Groton Inhabitants which would be very hurtfull both to the people petitioners & those that will be Non Resident proprietors if the Township is made.

Wherefore they pray That Said New Township may be Incorporated Agreeable to Groton Vote viz^t Made Equally out of both Towns & as in Duty bound Shall Ever pray

Nat^ell Sartell
William Lawrence

[Massachusetts Archives, cxiv, 378, 279.]

At A Legall town Meeting of the Inhabitants & free holders of the town of Groton assembled December y^e 24th: 1739 Voted [pg 352] & Chose Cap^t William Lawrance Madderator for said meeting &c:

In Answer to the Petion of Richard Warnor & others Voted that the land with the Inhabitance mentioned in said Petion Including the Riuer from Dunstable Line to o^r. ford way Called and Known by y^e. Name of Joseph Bloods ford way: be Set of from the town of Groton to Joyn with sum of the westerdly Part of the town of Dunstable to make a Distinct and Sepprate town Ship Prouided that their be no: More taken from Dunstable then from Groton in making of Said new town. Also Voted that Nathaniel Sawtell Esq^r. and Cap^t. William Lawrance be Agiants In the affair or Either of them to wait upon the Great and Generial. Cort: to Vse their Best in Deauer to set off the Land as a fores^d so that the one half of y^e said New town may be made out of Groton and no: more.

Abstract Examined & Compaird of the town book of Record for Groton per

Iona^t. Sheple Town Clark

Groton Decem^br: 24^th: A:D: 1739

[Massachusetts Archives, cxiv, 281.]

Province of y^e Mass^tts Bay

To His Excellency Jonathan Belcher Esq^r Governour &c To The Hon^d. His Majesty's Councill & House of Representatives in Gen^ll Court Assembled December 1739

Whereas some few of the Inhabitants of Groton & Dunstable have Joyned in their Petition to this Hon^d. Court to be erected with Certain Lands into a Township as per their Petition entered the 12^th: Curr. which prayer if granted will very much Effect y^e. Quiet & Interest of the Inhabitants on the northerly part of Groton

Wherefore the Subscribers most Humbly begg leave To Remonstrate to y^or Excellency & Hon^rs. the great & Numerous Damages that we and many Others Shall Sustain if their Petition should be granted and would Humbly Shew

That the Contents of Groton is ab^t. forty Thousand Acres Good Land Sufficient & happily Situated for Two Townships, and have on or near Two Hundred & Sixty Familys Setled there with Large Accomodations for many more

That the land pray'd for Out of Groton Could it be Spared is in a very Incomodious place, & will render a Division of the remaining part of the town Impracticable & no ways Shorten the travel of the remotest Inhabit^nts.

That it will leave the town from the northeast and to the Southwest end at least fourteen miles and no possibillity for those ends to be Accomodated at any Other place which will render the Difficulties we have long Laboured under without Remidy

That part of the lands Petitioned for (will when This Hon^d. Court shall see meet to Divide us) be in & near the Middle of one of y^e. Townships

And Althô the number of thirteen persons is there Sett forth to Petition. it is wrong and Delusive Severall of them gave no Consent to any Such thing And to compleat their Guile have entered the names of four persons who has no Interest in that part of the town viz Swallow Tucker Ames & Green

That there is near Double the number On the Lands Petit^d. for and Setled amongst them who Declare Against their Proceedings, & here Signifie the Same

That many of us now are at Least Seven miles from Our meeting And the Only Encouragement to Settle there was the undeniable Accomodations to make An Other town without w^ch. We Should by no means have undertaken

That if this their Petⁿ. Should Succed—Our hopes must Perish—thay by no means benifitted—& we put to all the Hardships Immaginable.

That the whole tract of Land thay pray may be Taken Out of groton Contains about Six or Seven Thousand