The names of
the original grantees of the township of Danby are as follows: |
Jonathan Willard |
William T. Barton, Jr. |
Samuel Rose |
John Partilow |
Mathew Ford |
Joseph Alger |
Lawrence Willse |
Hugh Hall Wentworth |
Benjamin Palmer |
Samuel Alger |
James Baker |
Jonathan Weller |
Jonathan Ormsby |
Lucius Palmer |
Joseph Soper |
Ephraim Reynolds |
William Willard |
John Downing |
Joseph Marks |
Capt. John Chamberlin |
Daniel Miller |
Moses Kellogg |
Daniel Dunham |
Reuben Knapp |
John Nelson |
David Willoughby |
Aaron Buck |
Isaac Finch |
Asa Alger |
William Barton |
Joseph Brown |
Gideon Ormsby |
John Sutherland, Jr. |
John Willard |
Joseph Brown, Jr. |
Samuel Hunt, Jr. |
Thomas Brown |
Eliakim Weller |
Jeremiah Palmer |
Noah Gillett |
Benjamin Hammond |
Col. Ebenezer Kendall |
William Blunt |
Samuel Hunt |
Israel Weller |
Nathan Weller |
Benjamin Finch |
William Kennedy |
Noah Pettibone |
Nathan Fellows |
Samuel Shepard |
Lamson Sheah |
John Weller |
John Edmunds |
David Weller |
Daniel Ford |
Nehemiah Reynolds |
Richard Joslin |
Jonathan Palmer |
William Shaw |


Upon the back of the Charter, and
following the names, is the following
reservation, viz:
"His Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq., a tract of land containing five
hundred acres, as marked B. W. in the plan, which is to be accounted two of the
within shares; one whole share for the incorporated society for the propagation
of the Gospel in foreign parts; one share for a Glebe, for the Church of
England, as by law established; one share for the first settled Minister of the
Gospel; one share for the benefit of a School in said town.
Province of N. H., August 27th, 1761.
THEODORE ATKINSON, Secretary."
It will be seen that this grant was
accompanied by very easy conditions. The rent of one ear of Indian corn only at
Christmas for ten years, was merely nominal, and the one shilling Proclamation
money was to pay for the Charter. The reservation of "all the white and
other pine trees, suitable for masting the Royal Navy," shows that the
English Nation paid great attention to the Navy.
By the Charter 250 acres were called a
share, and the proprietors were to have equal shares in making divisions. It
will be seen hereafter that all these rights were fairly located, but the five
hundred acres which were for the Governor, fell upon the mountain in the
south-western part of the town, which land still bears the name of
"Governor's Right."
The provisions of the Charter were all
nulified by the war which followed a few years after the settlement of the town,
but the grantees retained their rights, although but few of them settled here.
They donated some of the land to actual settlers.
As the Charter directed, the proprietors of the township of Danby, held their
first meeting at the Great Nine Partners, Cromelbow Precinct, Dutchess County,
Sept. 22d, 1761, and Jonathan Willard was moderator, agreeable to the charter.
Jonathan Ormsby was appointed proprietor's clerk. As this was the first meeting
under the Charter, we will give below a copy of the doings which will no doubt be interesting at this time.
Voted that Jonathan Ormsby be Clerk |
Voted that Samuel Shepard be Constable |
Voted that Mr. Aaron Buck be Treasurer |
Voted that The first division of land be 100 acres to each right |
Voted that Mr. Jonathan Willard be 1st Committee |
Voted that Mr. Jonathan Ormsby " 2d " |
Voted that Mr. Somuel Rose " 3d " |
Voted that Mr. Nehimiah Reynolds 4th " |
Voted that Mr. Moses Kelly " 5th " |
Voted that Mr. Daniel Dunham " 6th " |
Voted that Mr. Stephen Videto " 7th " |
"That the above committee set out from home the third Monday in October next, in order to proceed on said business, and
make division of land, &c. Voted that the first hundred acre division lots be laid out and seized by
the surveyor and committee.
Voted that one dollar be paid by each proprietor, to enable said committee
to proceed on their business and make division."
The above meeting was adjourned until the 8th of October following, but for some reason was not held at that time, it being again adjourned to the 12th
of January, 1762, at the house of Roswell Hopkins, Esq., Nine Partners. It was then voted that the proprietors pay to Jonathan Willard, two dollars
each for obtaining the grant.
The first annual meeting was held by the proprietors, at the house of Jonathan Reynolds, inn-holder at Nine Partners, on the second Tuesday of
March, 1762. Samuel Shepard was moderator, and Jonathan Ormsby was elected clerk for the year ensuing. The report of the committee showed that a part
of the first division lots had been laid out, but the shares not distributed. The number of committee were reduced from seven to three at
this meeting, who were to finish laying out the lots. Jonathan Ormsby, Samuel Rose and Lewis Barton were chosen assessors, to examine the accounts
of the property. The proprietors had as yet made no attempts at settling the land, for no one knew where his share was to be located, and would not until
after the surveys were completed. The first committee appointed had surveyed out the townships of Danby and Harwick, and seized them by virtue of the
grant.
Sometime in April following the proprietors again met, and voted to pay the
committee appointed to lay out the land, eleven shillings per day. This committee was engaged during the summer of 1762, in making the surveys, and
on the 5th of October following another meeting was held at the Inn of Lewis
Delavargue, to hear a report of their proceedings. This report showed that the work was not wholly completed, and would have to be delayed until
another spring.
Meetings continued to be held at the house of Jonathan Reynold, and others
at Nine Partners, until the spring of 1763, when we find that on the 12th day of April, the proprietors met and appointed a new committee, consisting
of Darius Lobdel, Aaron Buck, Jonathan Palmer and Zephaniah Buck, who were
instructed to proceed at once and finish laying out the land.
The surveys in the first division were completed during the summer of 1763, and each one numbered, being according to the Charter sixty-eight shares,
which the proprietors had voted, to be 100 acres each, in the first division. The sixty-eight town lots, of the contents of one acre each for a
"town plot" had also been laid out and numbered. We have been unable
to learn the exact locality of these town lots, as the book containing a record of them was burned. But as near as can be ascertained they were located east
of Danby Four Corners, on the farms now owned by J. E. Nichols and Howell Dillingham. According to the
Charter, the lots were to be laid out as near the centre of the township as
possible. (p. 13)