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TRESPASSERS ON THE COMMONS AND HIGHWAYS

There have been a few of the inhabitants, in nearly every generation since the first settlement of the town, disposed to trespass upon the public lands, either by fencing in some portion of the commons, or crowding their fences into the highways. While large tracts of common land remained ungranted, complaints of encroachment were very frequent. Some of them we have already noticed, as also the methods adopted to prevent such trespasses. Other measures are yet to be mentioned. A commoners' meeting, February 26, 1706, was called, to consider the subject and devise measures for putting and end to such encroachments, which had become so frequent that they were said to be of daily occurrence. The proprietors empowered and ordered John Redman, Sen. and Ens, John Gove to prosecute in a due course of law, any person or persons who had fenced in, or should after that date fence in, any of the commoners' pasture land, that they had previously ordered to lie common. They also directed, that the selectmen should, from time to time, and at all times when needed, raise money on the proprietors in common, according to their right of shares, to defray the necessary expenses of such prosecutions. It was also voted, that Capt. Henry Dow, the town clerk, should, in the name and in the behalf of the freeholders and commoners, give the agents appointed a letter of attorney, to enable them to carry into effect the plan adopted, and that they should have full power to employ legal counsel, to assist them in conducting the prosecutions.

THE CASE OF FRANCIS JENNESS

What the success of this measure was does not appear. There are reasons for believing that some of the trespassers were dealt with more summarily than by prosecution. From a complaint of Francis Jenness, who lived a little north of Little Boar's Head, we learn that John Redman and twenty or thirty other men were discovered by him, "throwing down fences and laying his pastures open." Thereupon Jenness, taking with him three women, as hewas the only manat home, went to the company thus engaged, and demanded of them whether they had any Justicewith them, telling them that, unless they had, "they were an unlawful assembly, and what they acted as a riot. But his interference was unheeded. Redman himself went on to demolish the fence, and ordered his men to assist him, and Jenness says they did so in a "royotous manor." The fence, thus pulled down, had enclosed a tract of land claimed by Jenness, and had, as he states, at first been built by three of his neighbors, "ffor preservation of the Garrison and keeping of the cattell belonging thereto, in case they should be drove in by the Enemy." [Henry Dow's MSS.] Back to previous section -- Forward to next section -- Return to Table of Contents