124 A PEN-RAMBLE 



to the said mill ; thence by said brook till it comes to 

 Straight bridge ; still southwesterly on said brook includ- 

 ing Aaron and Job Pingree's and Jedediah and David 

 Kilburu's and David Peiiey's land on the north of said 

 brook to an island in the Great Meadows, called Pea- 

 body's Island, to Boxford line ; thence southerly as Box- 

 ford and Rowley line runs till it comes to the Ipswich 

 line ; thence as the line runs between Boxford and Ips- 

 wich, till it comes to the corner bounds between Ipswich, 

 Boxford and Topsfield before Capt. Perley's door; 

 thence as the line runs between Topsfield and Ipswich, 

 till it comes to the first mentioned bounds at Hewlett's 

 brook. 



Feb. 11, 1774, a part of the parish with the same part 

 of the town of Ipswich was by the General Court set off 

 to Topsfield. June 28, 1786, a law was passed wherein 

 the bounds of parishes formerly settled were " confirmed 

 and established." After the amendment to the State 

 Constitution a law was made whereby all memberships of 

 parishes must be preceded by an application in writing. 

 In 1846, a part of Ipswich was set off to Boxford, but 

 no mention was made of the parish, which was, therefore, 

 uneffected. No other changes have come to our notice 

 and the Linebrook of to-day includes parts of Rowley, 

 Ipswich and Boxford the original line except in the 

 set-off to Topsfield. A parishioner, at first, as deter- 

 mined by Worshipful Wade's warrant for the first meet- 

 ing, was an inhabitant of the precinct, qualified by law to 

 vote in town affairs. By the law of June 28, 1786, a 

 parishioner must pay, over and above his poll-tax, a tax 

 equal to two-thirds of a single poll-tax. We know of no 

 other restriction and no change in these. The Public 

 Statutes of 1882 say : " Nothing in this chapter shall 

 enlarge or diminish the powers of taxation enjoyed by 



