172 MEETING, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22. 



been received from Rev. George B. Jewett, being a por- 

 tion of the papers left by his grandfather, the late John 

 Punchard, who, during the early part of this century, was 

 very prominent in our local affairs and in the church then 

 under the ministry of the Rev. Drs. Worcester, father and 

 son, and of the Rev. Drs. Elias Cornelius and John P. 

 Cleaveland. 



The Secretary also alluded to a donation from Rev. 

 Benjamin Knight of several old English bricks, taken 

 from the old Prince house now in the process of demoli- 

 tion. This ancient house, located on the corner of Pleas- 

 ant and Forrester streets, was built about 1670 (the 

 original town grant of land being made at that time), by 

 Richard Prince for his son Joseph. The latter, dying 

 unmarried, bequeathed it to his brother Richard, and it 

 has been successively owned by descendants from that 

 time to a recent period, the Princes, the Mascols and the 

 Knights. This was one of the first houses built on the 

 range of grants from the present Franklin building to 

 the water eastward. There was a long tradition that it 

 was built of wood from trees cut upon the common. This 

 may not necessarily imply on what is now known as the 

 common. The term "commons" was frequently applied 

 to the common lands, of which there were large tracts in 

 various parts of the town. 



Richard Prince, Sen., 1 was born about 1614, died July, 

 1675. His name appears frequently in the records, thirty 

 acres granted 23, 10, 1638. His eldest son Joseph born 

 10, 7, 1643 ; died, probably unmarried, November, 1677. 

 Richard, Jr., baptized 18, 1, 1655; died September, 



1 For a notice of Richard Prince of Salem and some of his descendants, by 

 James A. Emmerton, M. D., see Historical Collections of Essex Institute, Vol. 

 XIV, page 249. 



