1755, Charlestown, Mass; Stephen Sweetser, Ferryboat contract, RM4 Revenue

Description

This is an original document, dated 1755, Charlestown, Massachusetts, where Stephen Sweetser, ferryman, has given a five year contract to several selectmen of Charleston, a plot of land on the North Side of Mystic River with dwelling house...if the land is kept clear, and the sides of the river are kept clean, he will provide a well maintained manned Ferryboat, if he fails to do so, the selectman can take his land and dwelling house...signed on third page by Stephen Sweetser, Lydia Sweetser, Seth Sweetser, Daniel Cheever, Thomas Jenner and Francid Foxcroft. Document is three pages, center fold split repaired with acid free archival tape, front page embossed with STAMP REVENUE ACT Embossed 4-Pence "Sailing Ship" vignette Revenue Stamp, Scott Cat. RM4. Stamp embossed on fold line, see last can for details.
Francis Foxcroft, a judge and longtime member of Harvard's Board of Overseers, was born on January 26, 1694/5 to Colonel Francis Foxcroft and Elizabeth Danforth Foxcroft. He attended Harvard College and graduated with the class of 1712. Following graduation, Foxcroft kept school in Beverly, Massachusetts for several years and considered entering the ministry, though he never did. He married Mehitable Coney on November 5, 1722 and they settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was appointed registrar of probate in 1719 and registrar of deeds in 1721. He was named justice of the peace in 1723 and later served as selectman and clerk of the House of Representatives. He was a judge in the Court of Common Pleas for Middlesex County for twenty-six years, beginning in 1738. Foxcroft also served on the Harvard Board of Overseers for many years, beginning in 1732. He died on March 28, 1768.
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