Description:

1698 Roxbury Land Indenture For Widow, Signed by Rev. James Bayley

A land indenture for acreage in Roxbury, Massachusetts. 1p of vellum, measuring 19.25" x 16", Roxbury, Massachusetts, dated March 1, 1698. An indenture between Mary Lamb (the widow of Joshua Lamb) and Benjamin Walker of Boston, conveying 1600 acres of land and tenements in Roxbury for the sum of £13 and 5 shillings. The bottom right corner where signatures may have been present has been cut from the document. With remnants of a seal at the lower left. On verso, the indenture has been docketed and signed by "James Bayley", who served as a physician and reverend in Salem. The document has flattened folds, creasing, small holes, and loss. Toning, soiling, and foxing throughout. Please refer to the photograph for further condition information.

James Bayley (1650-1707) became one of the first preachers in Salem Village in 1671 at the age of 22. He quickly became prominent as a Reverend and preached throughout Massachusetts, and was present in Salem in the years leading up to the witchcraft trials. It was a stroke of luck that Bayley left Salem in 1679 because his successor, George Burroughs (1680–83), was himself accused of witchcraft and executed in 1692. His sister-in-law, Ann Carr and her husband Thomas Putnam, were also prominent figures in the witchcraft trials - especially the persecution of Mary Bradbury, whom they accused of bewitching their daughter. In the 1680s, Bayley studied medicine and settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts to practice there for the remainder of his life. 

Joshua Lamb of Roxbury (1642-1690) had served in King Philip's War and later purchased land from the Native Americans which became the towns of Leicester and Spencer. The Nipmuck Indians returned to Massachusetts after the war and asserted their hereditary rights to the land, which the English crown recognized as a valid claim. While some inhabitants tried to obtain titles from the Native owners, others purchased tracts of unoccupied territory, intending to organize new townships where they could move to if forced from their present towns. Lamb would go on to serve as justice of the peace and magistrate of Roxbury. He married Mary Alcock and the couple had eight children. Mary would die just two years after this document was drawn up.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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