s, while
they themselves enjoyed security in an eastern town. A few examples from
town historians will illustrate this. Among the towns of the Merrimac
Valley, Salisbury was planted on the basis of a grant to a dozen
proprietors including such men as Mr. Bradstreet and the younger Dudley,
only two of whom actually lived and died in Salisbury.[56:2] Amesbury
was set off from Salisbury by division, one half of the signers of the
agreement signing by mark. Haverhill was first seated in 1641, following
petitions from Mr. Ward, the Ipswich minister, his son-in-law, Giles
Firmin, and others. Firmin's letter to Governor Winthrop, in 1640,
complains that Ipswich had given him his ground in that town on
condition that he should stay in the town three years or else he could
not sell it, "whenas others have no business but range from place to
place on purpose to live upon the countrey."[56:3]

Dunstable's large grant was brought about by a combination of leading
men who had received grants after the survey of 1652; among such grants
was one to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company and another to
Thomas Brattle of Boston. Apparently it was settled chiefly by others
than the original grantees.[57:1] Groton voted in 1685 to sue the
"non-Residenc" to assist in paying the rate, and in 1679 the General
Court had ordered non-residents having land at Groton to pay rates for
their lands as residents did.[57:2] Lancaster (Nashaway) was granted to
proprietors including various craftsmen in iron, indicating, perhaps, an
expectation of iron works, and few of the original proprietors actually
settled in the town.[57:3] The grant of 1653-4 was made by the Court
after reciting: (1) that it had ordered in 1647 that the "ordering and
disposeing of the Plantation at Nashaway is wholly in the Courts power";
(2) "Considering that there is allredy at Nashaway about nine Families
and that severall both freemen and others intend to goe and setle there,
some whereof are named in this Petition," etc.

Mendon, begun in 1660 by Braintree people, is a particularly significant
example. In 1681 the inhabitants petitioned that while they are not "of
the number of those who dwell in their ceiled houses & yet say the time
is not come that the Lord's house should be built," yet they have gone
outside of their strength "unless others who are proprietors as well as
ourselves, (the price of whose lands is much raysed by our carrying on
public work & will be not