TOWN
GOVERNMENT
History of Suffolk County
1882
THE TOWN GOVERNMENT.
At the early town meetings punctual attendance of all the
members of the colony was desired. When the work of the
town meeting was impeded by the tardiness or
non-attendance of some it was deemed necessary to
establish some punishment to remedy or prevent difficulty
on this score. Accordingly on the first of December 1659
the town meeting ordered a forfeit of two shillings six
pence for such delinquency where a sufficient excuse
could not be given. The same desire to stimulate
promptness in attendance seems to have taken hold upon
the trustees, for they about 1695 ordered a fine of a
pint of rum to be paid by any one of their members who
did not appear at the time and place appointed for an
official meeting. In the compilation of the town records
that have been printed the compiler remarks in a footnote
that the records do not show that the fine had ever been
collected. To this may be suggested the probability that
such fine may have been many times collected but disposed
of in some other way than being " spread upon the
minutes." An amendment seems to have been made to
this in 1702, when the fine for delinquency was fixed at
three shillings for being even an hour late. This was
reduced in 1702 to two shillings, and in 1704 one "
bitt " for being an hour late, or two " bitis
" for not attending at all. In 1710 the fine for not
attending was raised to three shillings. The regulation
no doubt soon became a dead letter.
The character of men was closely watched by the setters.
Moral irregularities were often severely dealt with. At a
court held December 8th 1663 William Poole was fined ten
shillings for cursing, and William Fancy and Henry Rogers
were each found guilty of lying and fined ten shillings.
Actions for defamation were frequent in the courts, and
the plaintiff generally laid his claim for heavy damages;
but a small part ever being allowed, however. These
defamation cases were not confined to the male members of
the community, but we have startling reminders that the
bane of a slanderous tongue frequently fastened itself
upon the fair sex as well.
Corporal punishment in some form-though not to the rigid
extent that it was practiced in some towns-was in vogue
here. May 11th 1696 Jonathan Owen was em-ployed to make a
pair of stocks for the town, in connection with certain
work of repairing the meeting-house. May 2nd 1716 the
town meeting voted a pair of stocks for the use of
justice Brewster at Fireplace.
Wolves were more or less common when the European
settlers commenced their work here. The town meeting
March 10th 1667 voted a premium of sixpence a head for
every wolf killed ; the head to be brought to the
constable, who was to pay the premium. As late as 1806
the town meeting voted a bounty of fifty cents a head for
every fox caught within the town limits. Again in 1833
the town voted to raise a bounty for the destruction of
foxes.
Among the most curious of the early town regulations we
quote the following:
" Orders and constatutions maed by the Athoaty of
this towne 8th July 1674, to be duly cept and obsarved.
"1. Whereas there have beane much abuese a
prophaneing of the lord's day by the younger sort of
people in discourssing of vaine things and Runing of
Raesses. Therefore we make an order that whoesoever shall
doe the lieke againe notis shall be taken of them, and be
pre-sented to the nex court, there to answer for ther
falts and to Reseve such punishment as thay desarve.
"2. Whereas It have bene two coman in this towne for
young men ard maieds to be out of ther father's and
mother's house at unsesonable tiems of niete, It is there
fore ordered that whoesoever of the younger sort shall be
out of there father's or mother's house past nien of the
clock at niet shall be sunionsed in to the next court,
and ther to pay cort charges with what punishment the
cort shall se cause to lay upon thern, ecksept thay can
give suffissient Reson of there being out late.
" 3. Whereas god have bene much dishonered, much
pressious tyme misspent and men Impovershed by drink-ing
and tipling, ether in ordnery or other privet houses,
therefor, we maek this order that whoe soe ever shall
thus transgres or sett drinking above two houres shall
Pay 5s. and the man of the house for letting of them have
it after the tyme perfixed shall pay ios., exsept
strangers onely.
"4. that whosoever shall run any Rases or Run
other-wise a hors back in the streets or within the towne
platt shall forfet 10s. to thee use of the towne.
"These above sayed orders is sett tip and mad knowne
the day and daete above written."
That the town fathers were considerably disposed to make
use of strong drinks, and from that down to the use of
cider, may be seen 'from the above regulation. which
seemed necessary at that early period, as well as by the
item that An " ordnary " was licensed July 12th
1670 to sell strong drinks at retail. The instructions of
the town to its committee August 22nd 1671 to take "
likers " with them when they went to purchase the
south meadows of the Indians show to some extent the
value they placed upon strong drinks. Then we have reason
to believe that the settlers were strongly attached to
cider, and began making preparations for its produc-tion
very soon after their arrival. In 1667-only ten or twelve
years after their cooling-the regular fee for the
services of arbitrators in settling disputes between
neighbors was a "gallant of sider."
In line with the matter just referred to the following
extract from the records is more worthy of preservation
as a curiosity than for any practical value.
"Memorandum upon the 4th day of January 1699.
" it was agreed by the majority of all those that
weare present at the Raising of the frame of the towne's
well that on Condition that Moses Owen would treate all
those that weare present at the saide raising aforesaide,
then he the saide Moses Owen shall have privilidge of
drawing water att the aforesaide well, provided that hee
the said Moses doe beare an Equall proportion of the
charge of providing and mainetaining buckitts & well
ropes for the drawing of water thereat, which bee the
aforesaide Moses accordingly performed."
" Entered per Timothy Brewster, Clerk."
Now that the subject of wells is suggested it may be
remarked that the construction of a well was in those
days an undertaking of considerable magnitude, and the
town occasionally interested itself in the matter, as in
the case above. May 4th 1701 the trustees allowed David
Edwards liberty to dig a well in the highway against his
house, and to have the use of it himself for seven years,
but he was required to give security for any damage that
might be done by cattle falling into it. January 14th
1722 the trustees ordered the payment of fifteen pounds
to Nathaniel Brewster for " Repairing the Well and
the Towne house." The fact that the well is the
first mentioned admits the inference that it was the
principal item in the combination. The fact that a frame
and ropes and buckets (plural) are spoken of may suggest
that the method of drawing water from these primitive
wells was by the pulley. If so the old " crotch and
pole " system may have been a later invention,
though that is supposed to be an ancient one. It may
still have been in use at the same time.
It has already been hinted that the trades of shoemaker,
weaver and blacksmith were especially encouraged by the
primitive townspeople. This was more emphatically true
with regard to the blacksmith. That tradesman was
probably a much more important factor in the town at that
time than either of the others. The settlers had to
depend upon him for a large part of their farming
implements, their nails for building, and a hundred other
articles of every day use or convenience which in these
days are furnished by the foundries and machine shops,
then unknown, and by processes of manufacture then
undiscovered. Accordingly, December 10th 1686, the people
in town meeting voted " that Christofer Swaine be
admitted and incouraged as a smith for this town, and
that a shop shall be built for ye sd Christofer about May
next, he paying the workmen by work at his trade."
In January 1699 the town gave an old shop-perhaps this
one-to David Edwards, to be his as long as he should do
the town's work.
Dogs began to be a nuisance at an early period. December
18th 1728 the trustees recite that no care is taken to
prevent dogs running about without their masters, and
that great damage has been done by them to flocks of
sheep; therefore the trustees enact that any person shall
be at liberty to kill any dog found more than a quarter
of a mile away from home without being with his master,
and in case of suit this act to be shown in defense.