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The Bale Division of Common Land in Manchester 
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Paper by Raymond C. Allen, before the Manchester Historical Society. 
THE earliest grants of land in 
Manchester were made by the 
Town of Salem when Manchester, 
then called Jeffrey’s Creek, was a 
part of Salem. The earliest rec- 
ord appearing seems to be a grant 
in 1636 of some three hundred and 
eighty acres to the following 
people: 
Thomas Mores widow 10 acres 
Samuell Archer 60 
William Allen Bion: 
Srg. Dixy SO Urs 
Jo. Sibley 50 
Geo. Williams 40 
Jo. Moor 40 
Jo. Black 30 
Srg. Wolfe 50 
From this time until 1640 vari- 
ous grants were made by Salem to 
numerous individuals at Jeffrey’s 
Creek. 
In that year a number of the 
land holders of Jeffrey’s Creek 
then living in Salem and desiring 
for one reason or another to part 
with the settlement at Salem, ad- 
dressed to the General Court a 
petition to grant to them the right 
to erect a village at Jeffrey’s Creek 
and to allow to them such enlarge- 
ment thereabouts as was not grant- 
ed to any other settlement. 
The following is the text of that 
petition as contained in the Man- 
chester Records: 
We whose names are subscribed 
belonging to the Church & Town 
of Salem (being straitened in our 
accomidations soe that we are not 
able comfortably to subsist; have- 
ing advised and taken Councell 
about our present estate & condi- 
tion it being Judged fitt & free 
liberty being granted us to remove, 
and noe place being soe convenyent 
for our easy removall as Jefferyes 
Creek lying soe neere us & most 
of us having some small quantity 
of ground allotted to us there also 
Doe therefore Joyntly & humbly 
request the Hon. Court to give us 
power to erect a village there & to 
allow us such enlargement there- 
abouts: as is not granted to any 
other plantation. Thus leaving 
our request to yr wisdom & con- 
sideration with our prayrs for a 
blessing from heaven on yr psons 
& proceedings wee rest yr Humble 
petitioners 
1640, 14th 8mo. 
The petition is franted to mr 
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John Winthrop Junr & mr Sy- 
mond Bradstreet to settle the 
bounds F. Curiam Increase nowell 
WILLIAM WALTON JOHN PICK WORTH 
Joun Brack JoHN CALLY 
wM. ALLEN BEN ; PARMSTER 
SAM ARCHER Ropert ALLEN 
Gro. Norton EDMOND GROVER 
wM. Dixy PASCO FOOT 
JoHN SIBLy wM. BENETT 
JAMES STANDISH JOHN NORMAN 
Secretary John friend 
Vera Copia Atest 
Hilliard Veren Clerk 
Vera Copia Atest Hilliard 
Veren Cle 
This petition was granted by the 
Court and a Committee appointed 
to settle the bounds. The territory 
granted to these petitioners and 
definitely set off to them by metes 
and bounds became known as the 
Four Hundred Acres and while the 
original description of these Four 
Hundred Acres is probably not in 
existence, the record of it is on file 
at the State House. It is also con- 
tained in a printed copy of the 
Manchester Town Records, Book 
I page 13: 
This grant formed a nucleus of 
the Town of Manchester, and its 
governmental basis. 
There is an important and un- 
ique distinction to be observed in 
the conduct of the community's 
affairs. As the ancient records are 
carefully studied it will be seen 
that the early settlers held their 
Town meetings for the election of 
their Town Officers and for the 
general government of the village. 
They also held what were called 
proprietors meetings, practically 
the sole business of which had to 
do with granting and dividing land. 
The original grantees of Four 
Hundred acres constituted a group 
of proprietors who had a common 
interest in all the land which had 
been granted to them in severalty. 
It will be remembered that the 
petition to the Court asked for 
such enlargement at Jeffrey’s Creek 
as had not been granted to any 
other plantation. This enlarge- 
ment covered practically all the 
land outside the Four Hundred 
Acres and lying within the present 
Town lines of Manchester except- 
ing therefrom such grants as had 
previously been made to individ- 
uals. Most notable of these 
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grants are probably the grants to 
Richard Blynman which comprised 
the present Coolidge and Magnolia 
Point and grants to Thomas West 
of Beverly which included a large 
‘part of West Manchester lying be- 
tween Highland Ave., Brookwood 
Road and the Beverly line. : 
From time to time as the fami- 
lies of the proprietors grew, as 
some of the proprietors died, and 
their estates were divided; and as 
new proprietors were admitted, the 
divisions of the common land were 
made. These divisions were as a 
rule in lots of about ten acres. The 
interest which a proprietor origin- 
ally held was termed a right in the 
common land, and as estates were 
divided, we often find persons own- 
ing fractional parts of a common 
right and consequently when a 
division of land was made and 
some lot fell to a certain right 
owned in its entirety by numerous 
individuals, rather a complicated 
ownership resulted, usually but not. 
always adjusted by sale or ex- 
change. 
It is the purpose of this sketch 
to briefy look over the boundaries 
of the old Four Hundred Acres 
and also of the more important of 
the general divisions of the com- 
mon land. These are in general, 
Ist the Four Hundred Acres 
2nd, Several small special divi- 
sions adjoining the Four Hun- 
dred Acres, and adjoining previ- 
ous grants outside the Four 
Hundred Acres. 
3rd, a division of Common Land 
in 1685 of land near the marshes 
at Kettle Cove and on the hills 
now known as the University of 
Pa. property. 
4th, The west division of 1699. 
5th, The east division of 1705. 
6th, The north division, the south 
division, the Cedar Swamp divi- 
sion, the Shingle Place Hill 
division, the Brushy Plain divi- 
sion, and the Poplar Plain divi- 
sion and Kettle Cove Pond, all 
in 1718. 
7th, The division of 1763 which 
was practically the last division 
of Common Land of any import- 
ance. 
I have prepared a general plan 
of the Town upon which these 
divisions are shown in approximate 
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