1726. January 12th. The third congregational church in Newbury, was this day gathered, by the reverend Caleb Cushing, of Salisbury. Twenty-two of the male members had been dismissed, January second, from the first church in Newbury, for that purpose. The day was observed as a day of fasting and prayer. A sermon was preached by the reverend Moses Hale, of Byfield. January 19th: The reverend John Lowell was ordained pastor of the third church in Newbury. Sermon by the reverend Thomas Foxcroft, of Boston. 1727. January 17th. The town voted that a work house and a house of correction should be built.'* March 22d. First parish 'voted to give the third parish the old bell.' May 10th. A highway, of two rods wide, was laid out, 'from ye country road near to his honor the lieutenant governor Dummer's house to the parsonage land in Byfield parish on the land of John Dummer esquire, Mr. Richard Dummer and Mr. Joseph Noyes.'* May 23d. The third parish 'voted to get a bell weighing about four hundred pounds.' July 25th. Town voted to make a good and sufficient way over Ash swamp said way to be covered with suitable wood of thirteen feet in length and the wood to be well covered with gravel all across the swamp,'* and so forth. September 16th. A mighty tempest of wind and rain, which did much hurt by land and sea.' † In the month of September,' says Stephen Jaques, on Saturday in ye afternoon ye wind began to be very strong and increased more in the night. It blew down and brake six trees in my ould orchard and trees all over ye woods. There never was ye like known. It twisted young walnut trees in ye midst. It raised a great tide, which swept away near two hundred load of hay, that was in swath.' As the earthquake, which happened in October of this year, was one of the most violent ever felt in New England, and as, according to Hutchinson and other writers, 'the shock was greater at Newbury and other towns on Merrimack river than in any other part of Massachusetts,' I shall be a little more minute, in my extracts from accounts written in Newbury at the time. From the records of the episcopal church in Newburyport, kept by the reverend Matthias Plant, I make the following extract. October 29th, 1727. Being the Lord's day at forty minutes past ten the same evening, there was a most terrible, sudden and amazing earthquake, which did *Town records. † Reverend Mr. Phillips. damage to the greatest part of the neighbourhood, shook and threw down tops of chimnies and in many places the earth opened a foot or more. It continued very terrible by frequently bursting and shocking our houses and lasted all that week (the first being the loudest shock, and eight more that immediately followed, louder than the rest that followed) sometimes breaking with loud claps six times or oftener in a day and as often in the night until Thursday in the said week and then somewhat abated. Upon Friday in the evening and about midnight, and about break of day and on Saturday there were three very loud claps. We also had it on Saturday, the sabbath, and on Monday morning about ten, tho' much abated in the noise and terror. Upon the Tuesday following, November seventh, about eleven o'clock a very loud clap upon every day or night more or less three, four, six times each day or night and upon the twelfth being the Lord's day twice from betwixt three to half past four, in all which space of time some claps were loud, others seemingly at a distance and much abated. Upon Monday two hours before day a loud burst and at half past two in the afternoon another burst was heard somewhat loud. On the nineteenth about ten at night a very loud shock and another about break of day, somewhat here abated, but at Haverhill a very loud burst, making their houses rock, as that over night did with us. It was Lord's day in the evening. It hath been heard twice since much abated. The very first shock opened a new spring by my father Samuel Bartlet's house in the meadow and threw up in the lower grounds in Newbury several loads of white sand. After that some loud claps, shocking our houses. On December seventeenth, about half an hour after ten being Lord's day at evening a very loud burst, shocking our houses. Another about four the next morning abated.' The next account, is one written by Stephen Jaques, and is as follows, namely: 'On the twenty-ninth day of October between ten and eleven it being sabath day night there was a terabel earthquake. The like was never known in this land. It came with a dreadful roreing, as if it was thunder, and then a pounce like grate guns two or three times close one after another. It lasted about two minits. It shook down briks from ye tops of abundance of chimnies, some allmost all the heads. Knight's and Toppan's fell. All that was about ye houses trembled, beds shook, some cellar walls fell partly down. Benjamin Plumer's stone without his dore fell into his cellar. Stone wals fell in a hundred plasis. Most peopel gat up in a moment. It came very often all ye night aftar, and it was heard two or three times some days and nights, and on the sabath day night on ye twenty-fourth of December following between ten and eleven it was very loud, as any time except ye first, and twice that night aftar but not so loud. The first night it broke out in more than ten places in ye town in ye clay low land, blowing up ye sand, sum more, sum less. In one place near Spring island it blew out, as it was judged twenty loads, and when it was cast on coals in ye night, it burnt like brimstone.' The following is a copy of a letter, written by Henry Sewall, of Newbury, to his kinsman, judge Samuel Sewall, of Boston. It is printed in the Boston News Letter. 'Honored sir: 'Newbury, November 21st, 1727. Thro' God's goodness to us we are all well and have been preserved at the time of the late great and terrible earthquake. We were sitting by the fire and about half after ten at night our house shook and trembled as if it would have fallen to pieces. Being affrighted we ran out of doors, when we found the ground did tremble and we were in great fear of being swallowed up alive, but God preserved us and did not suffer it to break out, till it got forty or fifty rods from the house, where it broke the ground in the common near a place 'Honored sir: 'Newbury, November 21st, 1727. 'Thro' God's goodness to us we are all well and have been preserved at the time of the late great and terrible earthquake. We were sitting by the fire and about half after ten at night our house shook and trembled as if it would have fallen to pieces. Being affrighted we ran out of doors, when we found the ground did tremble and we were in great fear of being swallowed up alive, but God preserved us and did not suffer it to break out, till it got forty or fifty rods from the house, where it broke the ground in the common near a place |