he Massachusets Bay &c:
togeither with the honourable Council, & Representatives in Great
and Gen'll Court Assembled at Cambridge Octobe'r 14'th. 1702.

The Petition of the Inhabitants of Stow humbly sheweth.

That Whereas the honourable Court did pleas formerly to grant vnto
vs the Inhabitants of Stow a certain Tract of Land to make a
Village or Township of, environed with Concord, Sudbury, Marlbury,
Lancaster, Groton, & Nashoby: And Whereas the said Nashoby being a
Tract of Land of four miles square, the which for a long time hath
been, and still is deserted and left by the Indians none being now
resident there, and those of them who lay claim to it being
desireous to sell said land; and some English challenging it to be
theirs by virtue of Purchase; and besides the Town of Groton in
particular, hath of late extended their Town lyne into it, takeing
away a considerable part of it; and Especially of Meadow (as wee
are Well informed) Wherefore wee above all o'r Neighbour Towns,
stand in the greatest need of Enlargement; having but a pent up
smale Tract of Land and very little Meadow.

Whence we humbly Pray the great & Gen'll Court, that if said
Nashoby may be sold by the Indians wee may have allowance to buy,
or if it be allready, or may be sold to any other Person or
Persons, that in the whole of it, it be layed as an Addition to vs
the smale Town of Stow, it lying for no other Town but vs for
nighness & adjacency, togeither with the great need wee stand of
it, & the no want of either or any of the above named Towns. Shall
it Pleas the great & Gen'll Court to grant this o'r Petition, wee
shall be much more able to defray Publick Charges, both Civil, &
Ecclesiasticall, to settle o'r Minister amongst vs in order to o'r
Injoyment of the Gospel in the fullness of it. Whence hopeing &
believing that the Petition of the Poor, & needy will be granted.
Which shall forever oblidge yo'r Petition'rs to Pray &c:

THO: STEEVENS. Cler:
In the Towns behalfe

[Massachusetts Archives, cxiii, 330.]

This petition was granted on October 21, 1702, on the part of the House
of Representatives, but negatived in the Council, on October 24.

During this period the territory of Nashobah was the subject of
considerable dispute among the neighboring towns, and slowly
disappear