Jonathan Fairbanks’s First Duty in Early Dedham, Massachusetts

Jonathan Fairbanks was accepted into the town as the second item on the agenda at the meeting of the budding incorporated town of Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony on March 23, 1636/7. There were thirty lots already granted. Not all were inhabited. Jonathan was the first on the waiting list to get a lot after the second thirty lots were surveyed.

The fourth item on the agenda at that meeting was building a “hogyeard.” It was to be built of six foot pales (poles) with one supportive rayle (rail) 12 feet long. Lambert Genere, a Dedham proprietor, was to build the fence and a shed to lodge the swine. Jonathan Fairbanks, new to town, William Bearstow, also a Halifax parish, England native, and Samuel Morse were assigned to procure timber for controlling the swine.

All the men in the new town were struggling to erect houses, plant crops, care for animals, sow gardens, and make enough money for necessities and taxes. For many, farming was a new occupation, and they had only a few tools and animals to assist them. But the town needed to be built and nurtured at the same time. Everyone was given town jobs to assure the success of the budding village.

Offices and Duties in Early Dedham

Offices to Order Town Business

The first officer appointed for Dedham was collector. Samuel Morse was appointed to that position when the town was only a signed grant on a piece of paper. It took money to build a town. Every man was responsible for his share.

In a town that didn’t have a designated collector, the constable collected all moneys. His emblem of office was a black staff with a brass tip on the top. He “warned” townsmen of upcoming town meetings, carried warrants and communications from General Court to the officers of the town, and called residents to court for infractions or as witnesses. He also informed the Court of Assistants of newcomers to the town.

A drummer called all men to meetings, warned of danger and announced the start and finish of public work day obligation. At the meetings, all proprietors of town were expected to attend, or they were fined. Every man had freedom to speak his mind unhindered by others. Only Freemen, men who signed the covenant of the town, had taken the oath of fidelity, and were members of a church in New England were allowed to vote.

The meetings were led by a Moderator. A clerk kept the town meeting minutes, recorded the lands granted, and sent copies of the lands to the county records. Early, Edward Alleyn was clerk. Later Eleazer Lusher took over.

In 1639, the town found it too cumbersome to have everyone at the meetings, having their say on all issues. The town business was delayed by too many voices. At that time, they chose seven “selectmen” to run the town affairs. These men also determined guilt and innocence of men breaking bylaws, investigated rumors or disorderly conduct, and dictated penalties. Dedham had few penalties besides fines. They were cited for not having a stocks and whipping post. Stronger offenses were sent to the County or Colony courts. The Selectmen could not admit men to the town, grant land, or give additional divisions of land.

Jonathan Fairbanks was not a freeman. He could not hold a town, country, or colony office. He could not even vote until after 1646 when he joined church.

Surveyors

Land Surveyors

In order to assign land, General Court appointed men, usually not involved with the founding of the town, to survey the bounds of the town. Frequently the townsmen assisted. When the bounds were laid out and recorded, townsmen were appointed by the town to lay out lots with specific dimensions depending on if the man had a family or was single.

Surveyors were highly respected as knowledgeable and honorable. They used chains to measure in rods. They required additional men to carry and stretch the chains for them. Surveyors measured the lots in town, the roads, bridges, the meadows, plow fields, and other lands for commons for the town or to be granted to proprietors in their additional divisions of land. They were also responsible for finding and measuring equitable land for men who forfeited property for other’s benefits or for roadways running through a proprietor’s land.

After only a year, May 1638, as proprietor of town, Jonathan Fairbanks was placed on a committee to measure out meadows and plow land to be divided by the proprietors.

Road Surveyors

Road surveyors, determined the best routes for the roads, causeways, bridges, and highways through the town and between their town and other nearby towns. Dedham’s selectmen made it clear that any one who laid out roads, must consider its usage far into the future. The road surveyors had to appoint six days of highway work. Every individual had to work four days. The last of the six days was to be September 20th of that year. The road surveyors kept account of who worked and the time they worked. Jonathan Fairbanks was appointed to survey several roads, bridges and causeways.

Wood Reeves

When Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded, England’s forests were depleted from lumber used for houses, ships, and fuel. The King took back many of the forests for his own purposes. The Englishmen were fined if they hunted or fell trees in the King’s forests. The King’s mark even branded trees in New England for use for ship’s mast. All towns had their own brand as did many individuals.

The men of Dedham set forth laws to protect their woods before men started building houses, fences, and warming their homes. Men were free to use the trees on their own land, but the town retained land which were called “common.”

If a proprietor wanted to use a tree on common land, they obtained permission from the town. The proprietor had to abide by the type and size of trees allowed and mark the tree or ask the wood reeves to mark a tree for him. Even after being granted a tree, the proprietor had to fell the tree within a certain time and move it before it reverted back to property of the town.

The wood reeves were responsible for seeing that timber was not wasted. They viewed fences to assure they were erected and maintained where the town required them. They allowed a supply of trees to individuals for building and repairs, if their land did not have the trees needed.

Common trees were also given to those who needed to make canoes. The wood reeves marked the town wood in the commons that could be used by the individual. In 1639, the town ruled that a ladder tall enough to reach the roof in case of fire be present at each house. The wood reeves were responsible for seeing that each house had a ladder. They also supervised the burning of stumps in the cleared lands.

Trees were an important commodity. John Fairbanks, the first son, was given one cedar tree by the town to use as he wished, for special services that he had done for the town. Page 63

Animal Control

Town Pound

Every town had a town pound. This was not the hog yard mentioned above. This was an area that stray or animals causing damage in town were held. A member of town was appointed to manage the pound and exact the fines for the town and for the resident whose property was damaged by the stray animal. The owner couldn’t claim his animal until all fines were paid.

          swine

Swine were a continual issue at the town meetings. They were an important commodity because they provided much of the meat. Deer were scarce in Dedham because of the wolf and bear population. Foul, small wildlife, and fish were used as food, but hogs were the main domestic meat source. They were plentiful because they produced prolifically.

Swine had to have an ear notched in a prescribed manner for each proprietor, so his stock could be identified. The pigs damaged gardens and crops by rooting in the ground, so they also had to have a ring inserted into their snout to discourage them from digging into the soil.

Some hogs were allowed to roam in the forests to forage. A yoke or stock was fashioned around their necks like a wooden triangle. This prevented them from going too far into the woods, because the yoke would catch on the underbrush. The yoke also prevented them from getting into the family gardens and the common plow fields if the fences were in good repair.

As seen above, common land and barns were used for the pigs. A proprietor had to buy into these areas in order to use them for their livestock. Sometimes outsiders were allowed to rent space for a certain number of their animals.

Hog reeves were responsible to check on the proper ear notching, yoking, and ringing of the swine. There were designated times of the year when these were to be completed. Hog reeves were also responsible for impounding any hogs that strayed or damaged property. The hog reeve probably alerted the town when the crops in the common crop field had not been harvested by the allotted time. After that time, hogs were allowed in the rubble of the harvested crops.

The duty of hog reeve was not the favorite duty in the town. Not surprising, the man who got married in the last year was usually appointed as the hog reeve.

cattle

Cattle, and other livestock, were brought over from England when they were young. They were smaller, tolerated the ocean voyage, and adapted to the new environment better. Cattle were not used as food until an acceptable herd could be raised.

Cattle were divided into a dry herd and a wet herd. The dry herd were the animals that did not produce milk for the settlers. Anything with a cleft hoof was considered cattle. This could be oxen, goats, and steer. Some of these eventually could be used for food, but initially were used for labor, yoked as oxen to drag logs, plow land, pull out stumps, convey carts, and to ride.

The wet cattle produced milk for the families. The settlers didn’t often drink milk, but used it as cheese and butter which kept much longer. The cheeses were called “white meat.” Goats were also used for their milk, especially by those who did not have a cow.

The calves were born in the fall or winter and were allowed to stay with the mothers until spring. Then the calves were removed from the mothers and taken to pasture. The housewife and daughters milked the cows daily to assure a continual source of milk.

The milk, cheeses and butters were used and sold. The housewife had her own molds and stamps to mark the produce as her brand. Grace Fairbanks had a butter and cheese operation in the lean to of the Fairbanks house.

The dry and wet cattle were kept separate, so they wouldn’t interbreed. There were common pastures for both. During milking season, wet cattle were kept near the home, probably on the family land. Dedham had extensive meadows where they could herd their cattle. However, even Dedham rented land from a nearby farmer, Stoughton, for pasturing their cattle.

The dry herds were taken long distances to graze in “foul meadows”, sometimes as far as fifteen miles. They were allowed to graze openly during the day. The younger animals were often fettered to keep them from roaming too far.

At night, the stock were brought into a fenced “night pasture.” The settlers learned early, that cattle roaming at night were prey for wolves. However, the wolves didn’t cross a fenced area.

Boys herded the family stock near home. If the herd was taken a distance from the town, the older herdsmen built houses to stay with the cattle during their stretch of duty.

Goats were another common animal that was often herded with the cattle and horses. A goat is considered a mascot for the larger animals and kept the herds calm and more manageable. Sheep were not found in Dedham until after 1664.

Nuisance Wild Animals

Wolves, blackbirds, wildcats, bear, jays, and crows birds damaged the crops and livestock of the Dedham farmers. A bounty was placed for the kill of these species to protect the families’ livelihood. The town paid ten shillings for killing a wolf within a certain distance of the town. The Indigenous People were only given half that much.

The ears of the wolves were nailed to the meeting house, so they could not be used multiple times to collect a bounty. Bears were not common, however Abraham Shaw was recorded as seeing a bear. A wildcat was seen looking in the window of Henry Wilson’s new house in 1640.

Later, the town ordered some of the young men to hunt wolves. The owners were also ordered to teach all of their young hounds to hunt.

Endless Work

There was always work to do in developing the new town of Dedham. Sometimes men were paid for volunteering for a task. All men were required to participate in some work. Fines were attached to delinquency of performance.

It was admirable and godly to work. The town’s covenant stated it would not abide idlers, unprofitable planters or fowlers, coasters, or tobacco takers, which was equated with idlers. Between the town and ones own property, there was plenty of work to keep a whole family busy.

Next Up

In part II of It Takes a Village: The Fairbanks Role of Developing Dedham, Massachusetts, we will look at the specific offices and duties the different members of the original family were given within the family and the town.

Resources

Hill, Don Gleason. The Early Records of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1636-1659. Dedham, Massachusetts, 1892. https://archive.org/details/earlyrecordsofto03hill/page/28/mode/2up

Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of ..., Volume 1

Hill, Don Gleason. The Early Records of the Town of Dedham, Massachusetts. 1636-1659. Vol. 3. Dedham, MA: Printed at Office of the Dedham Transcript, 1892.

Lockridge, Kenneth A. A New England Town. The First Hundred Years. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1970.

Mann, Herman. Historical Annals of Dedham: From Its Settlement in 1635-1847. https://books.google.com/books?id=yWsWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq=Dedham+first+grant+by+General+Court&source=bl&ots=SiNoMGxTBq&sig=gAJr6K75Zw4tBY1BPnbG4CW2Hv0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjaopy0tLLWAhWo6IMKHRNsDywQ6AEITjAH#v=onepage&q=Dedham%20first%20grant%20by%20General%20Court&f=false

Mattocks, Gregg. An Inheritance of Ghosts Richard Fairbanks and Elizabeth (Daulton?) https://mattocks3.wordpress.com/category/fairbanks/richard-fairbanks/

Parr, James L. Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown. Charleston, SC:The History Press, 2009.

Smith, Frank. A history of Dedham, Massachusetts. Dedham, Massachusetts, Transcript Press. 1963. https://archive.org/details/historyofdedhamm00smit/page/447/mode/2up

Worthington, Erastus. The History of Dedham: From the Beginning of Its Settlement, in September 1635, to May 1827. Dedham, MA: Dutton and Wentworth, 1827., 121.Smith, Frank. A History of Dedham Massachusetts. Dedham, Massachusetts: The Transcript Press. 1963.

Smith, Frank. A history of Dedham, Massachusetts. Dedham, Massachusetts, Transcript Press. 1963https://archive.org/details/historyofdedhamm00smit/page/447/mode/2up