Old Man Scanlon's

Deeds: Samuel SMITH — Smithfield Quaker Meeting

What's Here

Transcriptions of Samuel SMITH's 1799 and 1813 deeds concerning the establishment of the East Blackstone Quaker Meeting House.

Surnames Appearing in the Documents

ALDRICH, ARNOLD, BUFFUM, CHASE, KELLEY, MARSH, OSBORNE, SMITH, SOUTHWICK

Notes

These are my transcriptions, prone, as usual, to my errors. The original spelling, punctuation, and line formats are all preserved. Superscripting is not preserved. Questionable words are enclosed by square brackets; if better eyes than mine can get a word that I couldn't, please contact me.

The original documents are on microfilm at the Worcester District Registry of Deeds and are also available as digital images via the Massachusetts Registry of Deeds. They are not indexed, so you need to know the book and page numbers: 1799 deed, book 138, pp. 355-357; 1813 deed, book 190, pp. 103-104.

History of this Document

03 April 2008, revision 1.
Initial publication.
02 August 2008, revision 2.
Corrected transcription error.
03 August 2008, revision 3.
Added schematic.

1799: Smith Saml. to Quaker Meeting

To all people to whom these presents shall come I Samuel Smith of Mendon in the County of Worcester and State of Massachusetts Bay Yeoman send greeting Know ye that I the said Samuel Smith for & in consid eration of nine dollars by me in hand well & truly paid by Rufus Smith of Gloucester & William Buffum and George Arnold of Smithfield each in the County of Prov idence & State of Rhodeisland Yeomen as they are Agents for the Society or body of people called Quakers the said nine dollars being the proper monies of the said Society the receiving of which I do hereby acknowledge & myself therewith to be ful ly satisfied contented & paid & thereof & of every part & parcel thereof do exonerate acquit & discharge the said Society & their Successors forever by these presents have given granted sold conveyed & confirmed & by these presents for myself & my heirs do fully freely & absolutely give grant bargain sell convey & confirm unto the said Rufus Smith Will iam Buffum & George Arnold & to their heirs a certain piece or parcel of land lying in the Mendon aforesaid on the road which runs from Mendon to Providence & part of the farm on which the said Samuel now liveth Beginning at a heap of stones on the Westerly side of the highway and a little Northerly of a cross road between the land of Seth Kelley and the land of the said Samuel Smith thence running West twenty eight degrees South nine rods then South twenty eight degrees East nine rods then East twenty eight degrees North nine rods to the first men tioned highway then with said Highway nine rods to the first mentioned bound containing half an acre & one rod To have & to hold the said piece of land with the appurtenances privileges & commodities to the same belonging or any wise appertaining thereunto to them the said Rufus Smith William Buffum & George Ar nold their heirs forever upon trust that the said Society of people called Quakers shall have take & receive the whole profits use & improvement of the said piece of land with all its appurtenances in all time to come & that the Society & their Successors always hereafter shall order di rect & govern the use & improvement thereof in such way as to them shall seem best for any public use or uses of the said Society in the method & after such manner as is usual & customary for the said Society of people to govern direct & manage their temporal prudential affairs but shall not appropriate the said piece of land or any part thereof to any private use or purpose whatsoever And I the said Samuel Smith for myself [my?] heirs executors & admin istrators do covenant promise & grant to & with the said Rufus Smith William Buffum & George Arnold & their heirs that at and before the ensealing hereof I have good right full power & lawful authority to grant bargain sell convey & confirm the said demised premises in manner as aforesaid and that the said Rufus Smith William Buffum & George Ar nold & their heirs under & according to the trust before mention ed shall lawfully peaceably & quickly have hold & enjoy the said demised premises forever without any let hindrance or interrup tion of any person or persons whatsoever In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal the 27th day of the Sixth month in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred & ninety nine and of American Independence the twenty third Samuel Smith (LS) Hannah Smith Signed sealed & delivered in the presence of Douglas Marsh Edward his mark X Southwick The State of Rhodeisland and Providence Plantations Providence ss. On the 24th day of October AD 1799 In person appeared before me the Subscriber Samuel Smith the within signer & acknowledged the within written instru ment by him signed to be his voluntary act & deed hand [seal?] Attest Peleg Arnold, Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court Recd. Decr. 2, 1799. Enterd & examd. [?] Danl. Chase Regr.

[TOP OF PAGE]

1813: Smith, Saml. to Zacheus Southwick, &c.

Know all Men by these Presents, that I Samuel Smith, of Mendon, in the County of Worcester, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Yeoman, in consideration of the love and good will which I have for the Monthly Meeting of the People called Quakers, known by the name of Smithfield Monthly Meeting, have given, granted, bargained and sold, and do by these presents, give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, and fully, freely and absolutely convey and confirm unto Zacheus Southwick & Arnold Aldrich, both of Smithfield in the County of Providence and State of Rhode Island & their heirs and assigns, to and for the uses, intents and purposes, of the People called the Quakers, forever, as set forth for the more effectual Government thereof in the covenanting clauses by the said Grantees, as hereafter expressed — A certain tract or parcel of land, situate, lying, and being in the Town of Mendon aforesaid, containing one half of an acre, bounded as follows, viz: Beginning at the North- east corner of the horse shed west side of the Rehoboth road, so called, leading from Providence to Worcester, & corner of the former burial ground running Westerly eleven rods to a stake and stones, thence Southerly fourteen rods and an half to stake and stones. Thence easterly eleven rods to stake and stones on the aforesaid road, thence Northerly with said road fourteen & half rods to first mentioned bound adjoining on three sides to land formerly deeded by said Samuel Smith to aforesaid Society. — To have and to hold the said granted and bargained premises, together with all their appurtenances, unto them the said Zache- us Southwick and Arnold Aldrich as Feoffees in Trust for the said People, their heirs and assigns, forever. And I the said Samuel Smith, for myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, do covenant and engage the above devised prem- ises to them the said Zacheus Southwick and Arnold Aldrich, as well as the said People, their heirs and assigns, against the lawful claims and demands of any person or persons whatsoever, forever hereafter to warrant, secure and defend, by these Presents. And we the said Zacheus Southwick & Arnold Aldrich do acknowledge the aforesaid Trust, and hereby covenant and declare that the true intent and meaning of these presents are that we, nor our heirs, nor neither of us nor them shall make any claim or demand of, or onto, the granted Trust and premises, in our own right, or for our use. And for the more effectual executing and full performance of the said Trust, that we and our heirs, and each of us and them, shall at any time hereafter, upon the request, and at the cost and charge of the said [?] Meeting, or such other Monthly or Quarterly Meeting, as the Meeting of the said People People at Smithfield, for the time being, shall or may belong to, being in Unity with the Yearly Meeting for New England, or of any person or persons they may appoint in this respect, make, do and execute such further Act and deed or Devices whatever for the more effectual conveyance and assigning of the said lot of ground, with its appurtenances, to and for the uses and purposes of the said People called Quakers, as by the said Yearly, Quarterly or Monthly Meeting, or their, or either of their Committees, may be devised, advised and required. And we the said Zacheus Southwick and Arnold Aldrich do hereby further covenant and declare that it is the true intent and meaning of the conveyance to us as aforesaid, that we, nor either of us, nor either of our heirs succeeding us in this Trust who shall be declared by the Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly Meeting to which he or they shall or may belong, to be out of Unity or Church Fellowship with them, shall be capable of executing this Trust, or stand seized thereof or of holding any right or interest whatever in the granted premises, whilst he or they shall so remain out of Unity with the said People, but in all such cases, and also when any of us, or our heirs succeeding us in this trust, shall depart this life it shall and may be the right of the Clerk of the said Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly Meeting, for the time being, or either of them, to enter into the said Trust, in behalf and for the use of said People, and hold the same in as full and ample a manner as we shall or may, after the execution of these Presents. We the said Zacheus Southwick & Arnold Aldrich, for ourselves, our heirs and assigns, hereby Quit claim- ing, releasing and conveying to the said Clerks, for the time being, or either of them, in case of our being declared out of Unity, or dying as aforesaid, all right, title, interest, property and demand whatsoever, in and to the aforesaid Trust and granted premises, to the end that they either convey the same to such others as the Meeting may appoint, or to hold the same as Feoffees in Trust for the said People called Quakers, in Unity with the Yearly Meeting for New England, as the said Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly Meeting, may at any time hereafter direct and require. In witness whereof the said Samuel Smith, Zacheus Southwick & Arnold Aldrich, the consenting parties of these Presents, hereunto set their hands, and affix their seals, this thirtieth day of the twelfth month, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirteen. 1813 Samuel Smith (Seal) Zacheus Southwick (Seal) Arnold Aldrich (Seal) Signed, Sealed and delivered in presence of David Aldrich John Osborne Providence ss Smithfield, Decr. 30th A.D. 1813. Personally appeared Samuel Smith and acknowledged the foregoing Instrument to be his voluntary act and deed, hand and seal. And at the same time Zacheus Southwick and Arnold Aldrich acknowledged said Instrument in their said capacity as within said Instrument is specified, to be their act and deed, hands and seals. Before me, David Aldrich, Just. Peace — Recd. March 1st 1814. Entered & examd. [fr?] Danl. Chase Reg.

[TOP OF PAGE]

Schematic Diagram of the Grants

This schematic is roughly to scale. Each grant is approximately a half acre. There is not enough information to determine the distance between the two starting landmarks, so the graphical representation of the relationship between the two parcels is subject to poetic license.

schematic of Samuel Smith grants

[TOP OF PAGE]