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Note: WILLIAM KING As the lands of William King and his settlement have been treated in a preceding chapter, not much space will be here given to this pioneer. He was one of the earliest of the settlers in this vicinity, a freeman in 1636 and a grantee of land by the Town of Salem in that year.1 He lived near the head of Bass River until his death in 1650. His name was given the cove which lay before his lands. 1 Salem Town Records, volume 1, page 21.
From Calvin P. Pierce, Ryal Side from Early Days of Salem Colony (The Learning Co. cd)
FAMILIES OF EARLY DAYS WHO LIVED NEAR KING'S COVE
FROM the records we learn that several families lived in the vicinity of King's Cove as early as 1650, but the location of their houses or cabins has not been a very easy task. The deeds conveying the title of their lots do not in any case provide metes, and the boundaries are only known by a careful checking-up by the aid of present landmarks and the testimony of various witnesses, where the lawful possession of the lands became matters of court record.
At this early date, it seems the exception rather than the rule that there should be a locality where so many families chose to live so closely, but the records plainly show that, no later than 1650, not less than eight families lived on the adjacent lands now traversed by Elliott Street, from John Friend's cornmill to the locality now occupied by the golf grounds and near the water of King's Cove, which lies in front of what is now the property of the Beverly School for the Deaf.
Here were John Friend, William King, Abraham Warren, John Batchelder, John Scudder, John Bulfinch, John Marston, and Nicholas Heyward. A few of these men sold their properties and removed after a residence here of several years, while others continued until their death.
From the records we learn of an occasional dispute, but rarely a personal conflict, and, although a case of 'land grabbing' caused some disturbance of the peace, there is gathered the impression and actual knowledge by various means of information -- testimony in court cases, marriages, friendly bargaining and long years of personal association -- of the existence of a peaceable and contented neighborhood relationship.
The probable cause of this settlement was its convenience to the cove on Bass River. The waters at that time, being unpolluted, furnished to these families a considerable portion of their food, as several kinds of shellfish as well as salmon, bass, and other species were plentiful.
Some of these men followed their trades or established occupations, while others toiled in the combined work of the fisherman, lumberman, and planter. What is now Green Street was then the path or drift way which abutted the water, as Elliott Street from the School property to the vicinity of the golf grounds was not laid out until 1810.
From Calvin P. Pierce, Ryal Side from Early Days of Salem Colony (The Learning Co. cd)
LANDS OF WILLIAM KING
WILLIAM KING was a freeman as early as 1636 and was granted forty acres of land by the Town of Salem in the fall of that year.1 On February 4, 1638/9, he petitioned the Salem Selectmen 'to have the land layed out that the Town had granted him.' 2
The land granted to Mr. King was bounded east and south by Bass River, the northerly point being at about the junction of Matthies and McKay Streets and from that point, southwesterly as the wall runs; thence southeasterly to the river at a point west of the School for the Deaf on Elliott Street, near Herrick's Bridge. The cove running into the land at this point was formerly called 'King's Cove.'
Mr. King chose wisely in selecting this site for his settlement. The land is of high elevation, surrounded by water on the south and east, and, though some of it could be used only for grazing purposes, a large portion of its acreage contained as good tillage land as can be found in the district.
The territory within the boundaries of the granted lands is now traversed by Echo Avenue, Pierson Street, Glidden Street, Sturtevant Street, Matthies Street, and a portion of McKay Street.
Within the lands assigned to King, John Friend obtained two acres of land on which he erected his dwelling-house,
1 Salem Town Records, volume 1, page 21. 2 Salem Town Records, volume 1, page 80. the site of which is the present junction of McKay and Elliott Streets, and near by he located his cornmill.
The acreage exceeded forty, as an early instrument contains an estimate of fifty acres. Mr. King built a house near the river on the north portion of his land and lived there until he died in 1650, intestate. The widow, Dorothie, and William, the eldest son, were ordered by the Court on February 3, 1650,1 to dispose of the estate, which was appraised at one hundred and twelve pounds, from which William, the eldest, was to have a double portion of twenty pounds; Samuel, John, Hannah, Mehitable, and Deliverance were to have ten pounds each, and Mary, wife of John Scudder, and Katherine, wife of John Swaysy, five pounds each.
John was to serve his brother, William, seven years, and Samuel was to serve him three years. By agreement with his mother, William had the homestead.2 The agreement was sworn to by John Weston, July 1, 1685.
William King, Jr., who became possessed of the estate, improved the farm of his father and also worked as a cooper. While yet a very young man, he became at his father's death the main hand of support for his mother and several children.
On December 14, 1665,3 he sold to Robert Stone, for forty-seven pounds, 'About twenty acres upland and one and one half acres salt marsh adjoining it being ye one half of my forty acres upland and three acres marsh 1 Records of the Quarterly Courts for Essex County, volume 1, page 206. 2 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 13, leaf 246. 3 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 4, leaf 48. 'A HIGHWAY FROM THE MILL AND MEETING HOUSE' OF the highways which led from the common road (Cabot Street) in the early days of the Salem Colony, there were perhaps none which was more in use or afforded to the early inhabitants so much convenience as the way known as Mill Street.
The laying-out of this way was the result of a difference between two of the earliest settlers and their neighbors, living on the eastern and western side of Bass River, the leaders in the controversy being William King and Roger Haskell.
King and his neighbors lived on the west side of the river, on lands in the Ryal Side district; Haskell and his neighbors lived on the east side. Haskell's lands covered a considerable acreage in the vicinity of what are now Colon and Heather Streets, and he resided in this vicinity.
The cornmill on Bass River had been running for about ten years, and, at the time of the dispute, was owned and operated by Lawrence Leach. Just what the point of difference was between King and Haskell, as to the laying-out of the way, does not appear in the records, but it is evident that the location, as finally determined by the town, if not entirely satisfactory to both, must have been regarded as a general public benefit. eight years prior to the time that the dispute between King and Haskell engaged the attention of the Salem Selectmen, September 14, 1657:
Whereas there is a difference betwixt Wm. King & other neighbors and Roger Haskell about a highway to the mill and meeting house it is ordered that Jacob Barney and Jefferie Massey shall view the said way and make retorne thereof to the selectmen at their meeting, warning the plaintiffe & diffents to meete with the said Jacob Barney & Jefferie Massey the last day of this instant month at the mill by neine of the clock of the same day.
The result of the decision of this committee is indicated by the action of the Selectmen, November 20, 1657:1
It is ordered that the way from the meeting house on Cape an syde to Lawrence Leach his mill shall be directlie in the countrie way to Edmond grovers and from thence to the way lying betwixt the said grovers land & land of Osmonde Traske & soe forward through the land of henerie herricke.
Draper's Lane ran through the lands of Edmund Grover, thence through the lands of Osmand Trask, thence through the lands of Gervas Garford to Nicholas Draper's one-acre lot at the point.
Henry Herrick owned all the land from what is now the intersection of Beckford and Cabot Streets, northwest, to a point about what is now Mason Street, thence westerly to the river, taking in the land west of Edmund Grover to the land where the drop-forge plant now stands. That portion of his land which was his 'english field' is now traversed by Grant, Simon, and Ropes Streets.
1 Salem Town Records, volume 1, page 205.
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