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Brigham 1707: Plat of Sudbury Township

This is page 5 from the book Historical Maps of Sudbury, MA image Sudbury1707Brigham.jpg
1707 Plat of Sudbury Township   Jo BrighamThe Massachusetts Archive

Page 5
Title: Plat of Sudbury Township, 1707
Author: Jo Brigham
Reproduction courtesy: The Massachusetts Archive

Assume the mapmaker was John Brigham, one of 30 signatories of the first petition of the effort that eventually established the West Precint of First Parish. Each h marks a house.

From Hudson's history, page 284.

Petition of the West Side people of Sudbury to Governor Dudley and the General Assembly.

The petition of us who are the subscribers living on ye west side of Sudbury great River Humbly showeth that wereas ye All wise and over Ruling providence of ye great God, Lord of Heaven and Earth who is God blessed forever moore, hath cast our lott to fall on that side of the River by Reason of the flud of watare, which for a very great part of the yeare doth very much incomode us and often by extremity of water and terrible and violent winds, and a great part of the winter by ice, as it is at this present, so that wee are shut up and cannot come forth, and many times when wee doe atempt to git over our flud, we are forced for to seek our spiritual good with the peril of our Lives.

Beside the extreme Travill that many of us are Exposed unto sum 3:4:5:6 miles much more than a Sabbath days Jurney, by Reason of these and many more objections, to many here to enumerate, whereby many of our children and little ones, ancient and weak persons, can very Rarly attend the public worship. The considered premises we truly pray your Excellency and ye Honorable Council and House of Representatives to consider and compassionate us in our Extreme suffering condition, and if we may obtain so much favor in your Eyes as to grant us [our presents] as to appoint us a Commity to see and consider our circumstances and make report thereof to this honorable Court. And your pore petitioners shall ever pray.
Sudbury, January 15th 1706/7
John Goodnow, John Haynes. Jr., John Brigham, and many more

We continue with a summary from History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume 2, 1890

After repeated discussion of the subject and years had elapsed permission was given to the west side people to erect a meeting house and maintain a minister. . . to present a petition to the General Court that y west side inhabitants may have liberty to place their meeting house on y rocky plains which request was granted. The preliminary work of forming two parochial precincts was now completed it only remained to adjust eccliastical relations to the new order things and provide whatever was essential to its success. . . On the 6th of June 1722 they extended a call to Rev Israel Loring and offered 100 for his settlement.

One of the consequences of the west side meetinghouse being erected on land set aside for a parochial precinct, is that First Parish owns the town common. All of the many, many details can be found in the opinion, The Inhabitants of the First Parish in Sudbury v. Samuel A. Jones & others. October Term, 1851. Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 1851.