Page:History of Barrington, Rhode Island (Bicknell).djvu/88



HE first settlers at Plymouth were granted three large tracts of land for themselves and their associates by letters Patent from King James,—one at Patuxet or Plymouth, another at Kennebec, Maine, and the third at Pokanoket or Sowamset. As the chief men had invested funds in the enterprise to a considerable amount proportionate to their means, and had, up to 1638, been assigned only a small quantity of the land at and near Plymouth included in the Patent, it was decided by the Court after hearing and debating the matter, that the leaders in the immigration who had disbursed large sums of money, namely Mr. Bradford, Mr. Prince, Captain Standish and the rest of the partners should make choice of two or three places for their use and ownership, and it was agreed "that there shall be no more Plantations erected until the Purchasers (or old comers) have made their choice." This privilege was not promptly used, for we find under date of 1652, that the General Court considered the matter, confirming the acts of the year 1638, and requiring "the old comers or Purchasers to take up their particular proportions of land within the precincts of the three former specified places," within fourteen months next ensuing. This legislation led the early colonial partners to prompt action in the selection and purchase of the lands at Sowams. The original agreement is as follows: