21 



Another, dated April 3, 1776, about three months after New 

 Hampshire had assumed civil government and adopted a tempo- 

 rary constitution ( Jan. 5, 1776), reads as follows : 



Know all men by these Presents that I Aquis White, of 

 Pembroke, in y e colony of New Hampshire, Widow, for and 

 in consideration of ye sum of Thirty Five Dollars to me in 

 hand paid before signing this writing by Timothy Walker, of 

 Concord, in y e colony afores d , Clerk, have sold and hereby doe 

 sell to y e s d Timothy Walker, A Negro woman servant named 

 Violet, which said servant I engage and warrant to him, his 

 heirs or assigns, to be improved or disposed of according to y e 

 custom of servants in this country during her Natural Life, as 

 witness my Hand this third day of April One thousand seven 

 hundred and seventy six. 



Testes 



Her Her 



Elizabeth X Moor Aquis X White. 



Mark Mark 



Martha Parker. 



We infer from this that the assumption of independent gov- 

 ernment was not considered to have abolished slavery in the 

 colony of New Hampshire. 



But most of the work upon the first minister's farm was that 

 of white men. One of these, Eph. Colby, was a great athlete, 

 renowned for his prowess at raisings and military musters. 

 Had he deferred his life to the present time, and entered one of 

 our colleges, he would have greatly increased its fame and 

 attracted students to its halls. 



Tradition says that, one evening the bully of Chester came to 

 Pennycook " with a chip on his hat." Eph. was greatly excited 

 and anxious to meet him. But the mild persuasions of the first 

 minister, kept him at his hoeing. The next forenoon, however, 

 when, near midday, the Chester champion showed himself in a 

 boastful manner upon an eminence near by, Eph.'s valor became 

 irrepressible. He was missing after dinner. At nightfall tid- 

 ings came to the parsonage that a great contest had been fought 

 out. Soon after Eph. returned contused all over and minus his 

 front teeth. His opponent, a mass of purple jelly, with two 

 ribs broken, had been taken for repairs to the village tavern. 



