

39 



1653, who gave it to his sons, John Browne and James 

 Browne, in 1675. In 1654 the town also granted to John 

 Browne "all that land enclosed as well medow as upland 

 which was latelie in the possession of Mr. Garford," and 

 it remained in his family for many years, and was con- 

 veyed to Samuel Carlton, in 1734. Gervais Garford was 

 living on this land in 1640. 



Next north-east was another lot of three acres, owned 

 and occupied very early by [Joseph] Young, and which 

 was afterwards owned by John Robinson, who conveyed 

 it, in 1694, to Bartholomew Browne, whose administrator 

 conveyed it, together with a part of the Garford lot, to 

 James Lindall, in 1720, and Timothy Lindall conveyed 

 it to Benjamin Pickman in 1758. 



Next was a three-acre lot owned in 1658 by Daniel 

 Rumball, and conveyed by his son-in-law, Wm. Curtice, 

 to Samuel Browne, in 1710, it being described in the 

 deed as "the Potter's field," and bounded south by "Pot- 

 ter's lane leading down to Planters Marsh." This lane 

 can still be traced, running along near the south side of 

 where the old Ropewalk was. It was leased by the town 

 to Francis Skerry, in 1680, and was sold in 1740, to 

 Wm. Browne. The name of this field has given rise to 

 the impression that it was originally used as a burial 

 place ; and from this, probably, has originated the tradi- 

 tion that the Lady Arbella Johnson was buried there, 

 the remains of a monument even, it is thought, having 

 been found near there.* But this^ shows how" little reli- 

 ance can be placed upon mere tradition, unsupported by 

 other evidence ; for it seems quite clear, from the facts 

 which we shall now state, that this name, "the Potter's 

 field," was derived from the occupation of the person who 

 first lived there. 



[To be continued.'] 

 * See Felt, Vol. 2, p. 446, also 1st edition, p. 522. 



