Joseph Dow's History of Hampton: THE BOUNDS DEFINED

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THE BOUNDS DEFINED

Three more years passed, before the bounds were definitely fixed, as appears from the Hampton Falls records:

"Whereas, there has been divers debates between the old parish and the new concerning the bounds between them, so that the selectmen of each parish have been at a difficulty to know how to make their rates and assessments according to their warrants, and to put an end to all differences which may arise, we the selectmen of both parishes being met do agree as followeth:

That we may make the rates and have no disturbance for this present year and to present this our agreement to the next parish meeting and endeavor to have it settled by the vote of each parish the line to be as followeth: that the falls or new parish shall have their bounds from the river mouth as the river goes to the falls river's mouth and then run to a way that comes into the country road at the end of land called Cliffords land between that and that which is in the possession of Thomas Dean and then as the road goes to the middle of the bridge called the town bridge and then as the river which is called Taylor's river to the mouth of the brook called Ass Brook to a way that leads to Exeter road or line and all the land that lies on the easterly side of said line to be rated to the first or old parish and all on the westerly side to pay to the new or falls parish and this we whose names are underwritten have agreed to the line above said always excepting and it is to be understood that where this above said line crosses any man's land or marsh that there the owners shall pay where the biggest part lies and the other party shall not rate the other part and this we the selectmen of both parties do agrees to as witness our hands this 16 day of July annoque Domini 1729 & in the third year of the reign of King George the second &c.

It is the true intent & meaning of the paragraph which mentions the way from Ass Brook's mouth to Exeter road or line is to go from Ass Brook's mouth to the two rod way which was laid out between the divisions to the land called the quarter of mile and there right across the quarter of mile to a two rod way between the divisions to Exeter line.

Jona. Nason Joseph Towle
Nathl. Weare Benjamin Thomas
James Prescott Josiah Moulton"

Not even yet were the two settlements entirely distinct, for, in the Journal of the House of Representatives, Nathaniel Weare (son of the first Nathaniel), was still registered as from Hampton, [Vol. IV: 467, 484] and the new town itself was called simply a "Parish" till bout the time of the Revolution.

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