This indispensable volume of Baxter's Documentary History contains many petitions relative to land grants, which are of the greatest value in locating residences and determining dates in family history. Names, dates and places abound and the language of the original documents is preserved exactly. These ancient records date from 1641-1689 and consist of wills, deeds, complaints, fines and sentences, depositions, letters, military commissions and more. The land grants give excellent property descriptions, while the rest of the documents present a rare view of 17th century life. Some of the petitions request provisions or ammunition to fend off troublesome Indians and highwaymen. Other documents include orders for impressment of soldiers, a journal of a voyage from Salem to Cape Sables against the Indians who took some fishing ketches, and requests for reimbursement for cattle killed by Indians. Many records include a facsimile signature or mark.
James Phinney Baxter
1900, (2000), paper, 526 pp.
ISBN: 9780788415838
101-B1473
