Hadley claimed them as an inheritance from his mother, the daughter of Richardson, but the church replied that they had already been sold by Joseph Hadley, father of George, to one Thomas Williams and had escheated to the crown because of the latter dying intestate. Hadley failed to substantiate his title, and at meetings on August 3, 1703, November 3, 1703, and May 3, 1704, the trustees of the town confirmed these grants for parsonage lands, and further confirmation was had by the act of the General Assembly, August 4, 1705. In 1706 Mr.

AVESTCH ESTER.

Bartow suffered mucli discourageineiit. He wrote on August 14th to the secretary of the Gospel Society that his task of planting the Church of England " amongst prejudiced, jioor and irreligious people was greater than he could hear, and, to add to his j trouhles, the society in 1707 stopped the annual salary I of £50 which it had heen paying him in addition to his recei|)ts from the parish. Two years afterward he was much more cheerful and wrote about making "many proselytes to our holy religion, who are very constant and devout in their attendance on divine j service ; and those who were enemies at my first coming are now zealous professoi-s of the ordinances of ' our church." '< January 10. 1709, Joseph Hunt, Jr., and Jeremiah I Fowler were chosen wardens, and Miles Oakley, Thomas Baxter, Sr., and Thomas Hunt vestrymen for the town. It is a curious fact that the majority were dis.senters, of whom the minister wrote that " they will part with no money but barely what the Assembly has allowed for the maintenance of the ministers and poor;" but yet his congregation " rather increases both in hearers and communicants," and in 1709 lie baptized forty-two persons, and thirty-six the next year.