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THE GREEN BAG

town was doubtless required to the transfer 28, 1623, "Thomas Litle came before the and this consent was proved by an entry Gove'r and acknowledged that he had on the town books. As at this time the given unto Robart Bartlet" a parcel of town and the colony were identical, the land.1 These entries were all made while entries in fact appear on the records of Bradford was governor. In 1636 a com mission was appointed to alter and revise the colony. The original allotments of "meersteads the laws; and the revision, as reported and garden plotes," that is, of the original by them and adopted, contained the fol assignments of homesteads to the original lowing provision: "that all sales exchanges settlers from 1620 to 1623, are spread upon giftes morgages leases or other Convey the record. The earliest record on the ances of howses and landes the sale to books of the colony of a transfer of land is be acknowledged before the Gov'r or any a deed in 1627, which is not merely copied one of the Assistants and committed to into the book, but was apparently written publick Record and the fees to be payd. " 2 out for the first time on the book and Records of deeds thus acknowledged began there signed by the parties, the writing on on June 24th, 1637, and are from that time the page of the book being the actual deed continuous. This was the law under which itself. This instrument is really a brief conveyances in Plymouth were made until contract or memorandum of a bargain and the union with Massachusetts in 1692. It will be noticed that the Plymouth sale of the land. It begins, "Phillip Delanoy hath sold to Stephen Deane one system lacks the characteristic feature of Acre of Land lying on the North side of our modern system of recording deeds, the towne between the first and second namely, the priority of right given to the brooke in the Vpper fall of the said field & prior record. It has, however, one feature bounded" etc. The bounds, the terms of of the present system which appears to the sale, and the terms of payment are have originated in Plymouth, so far as then precisely given.1 After this follow American legislation goes; that is, the requirement for an acknowledgment of the more concise memoranda of sales inter spersed with records of votes until 1633. deed before recording. The next colony in point of time was Several of these memoranda contain the name of a witness. Several sales of land Massachusetts, and the public recording in 1634 are entered, not in the book in of conveyances began there very early in which ordinary deeds are recorded, but in its history. The first records were made the book of records of the acts of the under votes of the towns It has already colony; 2 these are interspersed with records been pointed out that the early colonists of contracts of apprenticeship. One record desired not merely to have the land im of a sale of land has entered on the margin proved, but also to keep control of the an acknowledgment, dated a year laterj admission of new colonists. To secure before the governor of a payment of the these ends, the Massachusetts towns early consideration. The next year a contract provided that any one desiring to sell his for the sale of land was entered in the land should offer it first to the town and that no stranger should be permitted to records under the heading "William Brad ford Governor" as if this was an official buy land without the consent of the town. transaction before the governor.3 On May Such orders were made, for instance, in 112 Plymouth Colony Records 7. ' 1 Plymouth Col. Rec. 24. 5 Ibid. 33.

1 Ibid. 34. Another similar entry is found on the same page. ■ 11 Ply. Co. Rec. 12.