131 



John Alderman and Lawrence South wick." In 1694 the 

 executors of the will of Lawrence Southwick conveyed 

 about three acres of land on the northerly side of the 

 Brick-kiln, to Wm. Pinsou, whose wife Rebecca was 

 niece and heiress of Thomas Robbins to whom the laud 

 had been sold long before, but the deed "did not appear 

 on record." This lot was bounded west by Norman's 

 Rocks and the common land, and extended north to the 

 Town Bridge (see p. 54), and included the "pond" or 

 salt marsh made by tlie flowing in of the creek under the 

 bridge. In 1699 it came into the possession of John 

 Beckford and his wife Rebecca, who was the only child 

 of Wm. Pinson, and they divided it in 1757 between 

 their sons John, George and Benjamin, Beckford. 



The Town Bridge was first built probably about 1640, 

 the first mention of it on our records being an order, Oct. 

 11, 1640, that "Philip Verin, or any other, shall make 

 the fence that leadeth to the bridge of [ofi"] one side from 

 the bridge to the highway that is by Richard Norman's 

 house,* and that the towue will pay him." It was first 

 built of timber, and in 1644 an agreement was made by 

 the town with John Pickering to keep it in repair for six- 

 teen years; but in 1646 it was taken down and a cause- 

 way built instead. 



Next east of the bridge and north-east of Boston street 

 were two houses, owned in 1659 b}^ Giles Corey, the 

 resolute martyr of witchcraft times. The western one, 

 which stood eight rods north-west from the north corner 

 of Boston and Federal streets, was his own homestead ; 

 the other, which stood four rods north-west from the north 

 corner of Boston and Fowler streets, had been the home- 

 stead of John Alderman, who had left it by will to Ezra 

 and Nathaniel Clapp of Dorchester. They gave a deed 



*This highway was probably Brick-kiln lane, see p. 55. 



