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Subject: Hist. of Harvard, Mass. by H. S. Nourse, 1894 - Town Meeting Action 1776-1782.
Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 17:43:10 EDT


The History of Harvard, Massachusetts, 1643-1732, by Henry S. Nourse,
Clinton, Mass.
1894. - W. J. Coulter, Printer.

Harvard, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War.
p.324 cont'd

Town-Meeting Action 1776-1782.

At the annual meetings in March, a Committee of Correspondence and Safety
was always
chosen, and no man seems to have been expected to serve more than one year.
The
committees were:

1776.
Joseph Fairbank
Samuel Cooper
Isaac Gates
Abraham Whitney
Jacob Robbins.

1777.
Jonathan Davis
Joseph Willard
Caleb Sawyer
Zaccheus Stevens
Joseph Blanchard.

1778.
Phineas Fairbank
Isaiah Whitney
Asa Houghton
William Hudson
John Darby.

1779.
Oliver Atherton
Silas Rand
Aaron Whitney
Eleazar Hamlin
John Houghton.

1780.
Samuel Hill
Micah Stone
Amos Fairbank
Abel Whitcomb
Jonas Whitney.

1781.
Asa Houghton
James Haskell, Jr.
Aaron Whitney
Shadrach Hapgood, Jr.
Oliver Sawyer.

Silas Parkhurst was chosen to succeed Capt. Jonathan Davis, "removing out of
town," May 14, 1777.

The hoarding of gold and silver and specie payment for imported goods soon
left
no money in the ordinary channels of trade but the paper currency, State and
Continental. This, as the war continued, began to lose its purchasing power,
and such commodities as could be monopolized were held by speculators at ex-
orbitant prices. The usual panacea - the fixing of prices by law - was
expect-
ed to stay the evil. The following was Harvard's "regulating act" -

p.325 Regulating Prices.

At a meeting of the Selectmen & Committee of Safety of the Town of Harvard.

Chose Deacon Oliver Whitney Moderator, Phineas Fairbank, Clerk. Then
proceeded
in observence of the Resolves of the General Court to state the price of the
following articles in Harvard:

Wheat, good marchantable wheat not to exceed 7/ pr. bushel.
Rye, good marchantable Rye not to exceed 4/8 pr. bushel.
Indian, good marchantable indian corn or meal not to exceed 3/4 pr. bushel.
Sheep's wool, good marchantable sheep's wool not to exceed 2/ pr. lb.
Pork, fresh pork & of a good quality not to exceed 4d pr. lb.
Pork, salt pork in usual proportion, according to the price of salt.
Beef, good well fatted grass-fed beef not to exceed 2d-3 pr lb.
Stall fed beef well fatted at 3d-3 pr lb & of inferior quality in pro-
portion.
Hides, raw hides at 3d lb. - raw calf skins at 6d pr lb.
Salt, good marchantable imported salt at 12/ pr. bushel and salt manu-
factured from sea water within this State at 14/ pr bushel.
Rum, good marchantable West India Rum at 7 - 11d - 2. pr gallon by the
single gallon and two shillings by the quart. New England rum good and
marchantable at 4. 9d - 2 by the single gallon & proportionably for a
less quantity and by the barrel at 4. 1.2. a gallon.
Sugar, best muscovado sugar at 4.-10. for seven pounds and proportionable
for a less quantity.
Chocolat at 1.9. pr lb.
Cheese, manufactured here & of the best quality at 6d pr lb and of an
inferior quality proportionably.
Potatoes, Spanish potatoes 1 per bushel in the fall and in the spring 1.6d
per bushel and other potatoes at a usual proportion.
Stockings, men's best woolen stockings at 6 pr pair & in that proportion for
an inferior quality.
Shoes, mens, neat leather shoes of the best common sort at 8. pr pair,
Women's calf skin, ditto at 5. 4d pr pair.
Cotton wool at 3.8d.2 by the single pound.
Oates at 2. per bushel, flax well dressed 1. pr lb and those persons
who bring flax into town for sale it is our opinion that they should
have a reasonable allowance for their time and expense.
Coffee, a good coffee by the single pound 1.4d.
Tallor, good tryed tallor at 7d.2 pr lb & rough tallor 5d pr lb.
Towcloath, good towcloath yard wide 2.3d pr yard and other towcloath
according to its width in proportion and course linen cloath to be
computed after the same rate according to its quality.
Flannel, good yard wide striped flannel at 3.6d pr yard and other
flannel, in proportion to its width & quality.
Good all wool clothe, mens ware well fulled & dyed at the mill, three
quarter wide at 8. pr yrd.
Wood. Good oak wood delivered at the door at 6. pr cord.

p.326 History of Harvard.

Charcoal. Best Charcoal by the baskett at 6d pr baskett.
Tanned hides at 1.3d pr lb. and curried leather in usual proportion.
Homespun cotton & linen clothe best sort yard wide 3.0d pr yd and other
cotton & linen clothe in like proportion.
Mutton, lamb & veal at 3d.2 pr lb.
Flour, manufactured in the Town at 1£ 4/ per hundred.
Horse keeping one night or twenty-four hours at 1£ 4d per horse.
Ox keeping one night or twenty-four hours on good hay £1/ 9d per yoke.
Teaming work at £1.6d per mile every ton weight.
Fowls at 5d pr lb. Milk at 1d. 2 per Quart.
Iron, good refined iron at £2 1d per hundred and bloomery iron at £1.10
at the place where it was manufacured and the same allowance for trans-
porting as for other articles.
Hay, good English hay at £2 8d per hundred.

Farming labour by the day in the summer season shall not exceed 3. and
be found as usual & in proportion at other seasons of the year. And the
labour of merchandise & tradesmen and all other labour besides what is
herein particularly enumerated in like proportion thereunto & according
to the Usages and Customs which have heretofore been adopted and practiced
in this Town when compared with farming labour: And 'tis expected that every
person who is of a friendly disposition to his Country will govern themselves
in Trading in every other article according to the price of those above
enumer-
rated as near as may be according to the Former Usage and Custom in this
Town.

The equalization of the burdens of patriotic duty, and of the payments for
patriotic service, often engaged the attention of the New England town-
meetings, giving rise to lengthy and heated discussion, and usually ending
in no practical solution of the exasperating problem.

In Harvard, however, a scheme of valuation was determined upon by the voters
by which the soldiers received bounties according to the length and nature
of their service. The second article in the warrant for a Town-meeting
called
April 3, 1777, reads thusly:

"To see whether said Town will choose a committee to compute the extra-
ordinary service and cost that perticular persons have already done towards
carrying on the present War, over and above their equal proportion in the
publick charges in order to lay a tax on said town so that such persons may
have justice done them equally. The town voted that twenty pounds bounty
should be paid "each man that inlists into the Continental army for to make
up the quota for said town" and chose a committee of seven

p.327

to prepare a scale of allowances for past campaigns. This committee reported
on April 8th and their recommendations were adopted with slight amendment as
follows:

To be continued p. 327 - Recommendations & Amendments.
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth

God Bless America
History and Genealogy Freely Shared
Janice Farnsworth
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Toni Feeney
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