Att a Sesion of the Generall Court, the 27th of the 8th Month, 1647, at Boston
... It being one cheife project of that ould deluder, Satan, to keepe men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by keeping them in an unknowne tongue, so in these latter times by persuading from the use of tongues (that so at least the true sence and meaning of the originall might be clouded by false glosses of saint-seming deceivers),—that learning may not be buried in the grave of our fathers in the church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors,—
It is therefore ordered ... that every towneship in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to the number of 50 householders, shall then forthwith appoint one within their towne to teach all such children as shall resort to him to write and reade,—whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in generall, by way of supply [tax], as the major part of those that order the prudentialls of the towne shall appoint: provided, those that send their children be not oppressed by paying much more than they can have them taught for in other townes. And it is further ordered, that where any towne shall increase to the number of 100 families or househoulders, they shall set up a grammer schoole, the mr. thereof being able to instruct youth so farr as they may be fited for the university, provided that if any towne neglect the performance hereof above one yeare, that such towne shall pay 5 pounds to the next schoole, till they shall performe this order.
[The punctuation of this noble sentence has been somewhat classified here by the use of parentheses, dashes, and colons for the commas of the original. On this legislation, cf. American History and Government, § 123. The "university" was Harvard, which had been founded in 1636. The greater part of this law was adopted two years later in Connecticut.]
83. Representative Town Records
(Extracts from the Watertown Records for the years 1634-1678)
Watertown was the second town to set up town government. (Cf. (1), below, with No. 72, above.) The complete records of these years 1634-1678 would fill 250 pages of this volume. Note the greater illiteracy from about 1650 on, and cf. American History and Government, § 122.
(1) August 23, 1634. Agreed by the consent of the Freemen, that there shall be Chosen three persons to be [for] the ordering of the civill affaires in the Towne [One of them to serve as "Towne Clark">[; and [he] shall keep the Records and Acts of the Towne. The three chosen are...
(2)—ember 13. Agreed, by the Consent of the Freemen that Robert Seeley and Abram Browne shall measure and lay out all the Lotts that are granted.