March, 2008 Workshop - Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, Mass.

Documents for the "Why Do We have Government?" Lesson ...from the Beverly Historical Society

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• Transcript (pdf)
• Boundary Dispute Between Beverly & Wenham (1678)
• According to the early charters of Massachusetts, town officials were charged with clarifying boundaries of local towns. This 1678 document, whose information was originally recorded in the Salem town book, declares that the land in question actually belongs to Wenham, it being the "ancientist" town. Many of the founding records of early Cape Ann communities involve disputes over land/town boundaries. In a time before standardized streets or other landmarks often geographical features were used to mark boundaries.

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• Transcript (pdf)
• List of Town Offices (1836)
• This short handwritten list of town offices includes jobs such as fence viewers, selectmen, overseers of the poor, and tythingmen. It shows the importance of particular occupations that were relevant in the time when Beverly was both a farming and seaport community.

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• By Laws of the Town of Beverly (1836)
• The Town of Beverly, as many early New England villages, had a history of trouble with fires. Consequently, their town records are full of salety measures to protect from unwanted fires. The first page of this document, the beginning of a small book, makes clear that the use of fire by townspeople is to be closely monitored.

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• Clothing Quota for State of Massachusetts Bay (1779)
• As the Revolutionary War wore on, supplies for Washington's troops grew more and more scarce. Eventually localities were required to provide "shirts, shoes and stockings" based on a percentage of the male inhabitants of towns. This broadside charges the selectmen of each town to make sure that the town's quota is collected and sent to the Secretary's office.

Documents ...from the Peabody Institute Library

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• Massachusetts Bay Charter - (1629)
• The Massachusetts Bay Charter is the founding document for the Massachsuetts Bay Colony, an English settlement centered around the cities of Salem and Boston. This document is contained in the archives of the Peabody Institute Library. The city of Peabody was created from the town of Danvers which in turn eveolved from Salem. (Teachers may want to highlight only certain parts of this document when using it with elementary students)

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• Explanatory Charter of King George - (1725)
• This charter modifies the above charter from William & Mary's day. It is an "explaining document" which gives the governor of the colony additonal powers. This particular document is found in the same volume as the above document.

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• Aqueduct Incorporation Request (1796)
• This request for incorporation comes from the town of Salem to answer to the fear of fire. Residents from Salem and Danvers created an aqueduct to bring water from ponds located outside the city to residents throughout the locale. Leading citizens of the day signed this petition including the millionaire, Elias Haskett Derby.

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• Transcript (pdf)
• South Danvers School Committee Records (1836)
• These pages explore whether the school committee should approve repairs to the school house or seek funding to build a new one. Of note are the prices and the listed priorities of repair. On the 2nd page use of the school building for outside lectures is discussed as well as note made of salaries for a male and female teacher.
  

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• Statement of the Accounts of the Town of Danvers (1855-56)
• The first page of this volume gives a summary of the money spent by the town on various services and materials. There is a salary list of Town Officers. A comparison to today's city budgets would be an interesting exercise!

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• Transcript (pdf)
• Petition for Name Change (c.1860)
• In the 1860s, the inhabitants of the Town of South Danvers asked he legislature to allow them to change the name of their city to honor George Peabody. They list their reasons as being "mistakes of travellers and misdirection of letters."

Documents ...from the Archives of the Ipswich Public Library

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• Transcript (pdf)
• Rental of land for School (1650)
• A rental agreement between 4 men and John Cogswell "by the Town of Ipswich for the sake of a free school." Payment is to be 14 pounds or "four pounds in Butter and Cheese, five pounds in Beef and pork and five in Corn at the current price they shall bear." A microfilmed copy of this complicated document can be found in the Archives of the Ipswich Public Library.

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• Ipswich Town Warrant(1789)
• In this period only free white men who owned property could cast votes for elected officials in government. This "warrant" notifies town residents of their privelege and obligation to elect U.S. Congressmen. A relevant exercise could be to ask students who was not represented, or "why there were 'representatives' rather than direct votes on issues anyway?"