Even after working at Maine Historical Society
for over 20 years, I am still amazed at the treasures that are contained here,
that I have never seen or heard of. This recently came to light with the
discovery of a flat file drawer labeled “Parchments,” which was apparently only
known to one staff member. And thus began our adventure into the wonderful
world of parchments (or any “antique” document within our inner sanctum). I
embarked this winter on cataloging this artificial collection of 29 documents,
which may date to as early as the 14th century. The majority were
from the 1600s and 1700s. Some are part of larger collections, but most are
unique documents. Some have Maine connections, but many originated in England
or Spain, which posed the real mystery – why are they here? Many were written
in English, but several were written in Spanish or Catalan, and others were written
in Latin.
Fortunately, many of these documents were
housed in envelopes that had labels on them, which provided me with some
information in which to catalog the item. Others, if I was able to figure out a
name or date, I was able to find a card in our defunct card catalog, which
we’ve kept in a back room. Thank goodness for the date file which we maintained
for decades!
Most of the documents were on parchment, but
some on linen and vellum. Several have seals and a few have ribbons. There are
indentures, which were often agreements, but the collection also includes deeds
and certificates, even a diploma in Latin.
Some of the most interesting documents
relating to Maine, New England, and North American history:
Documents from Charles I, King of England, 1631 March 2, declaring a duty of
threepence per pound as customs and sixpence per pound as impost on every pound
of tobacco of the growth of Virgina and the Somers Islands, and a duty of threepence
per pound as customs and ninepence per pound as impost upon the growth of St.
Christopher's and other Cariibbean Island. (Parchment 1 - Part of the Trelawney
papers, Coll. 107)
Appointments by William III, King of England (1650-1702): a 1684 appointment of
Justices of the Peace in York County (Parchment 15) and a 1696 appointment of Justices
of the Courts of Common Pleas in York County (Parchment 16).
Several Maine deeds and indentures, dated 1629-1706, related to Casco Bay, the
Kennebec Purchase, Saco, as well as New Hampshire (New Castle), and Massachusetts
(Salisbury).
Plymouth Company (1749-1816) indenture, 1661, to Antipas Boyes and Edward Tyng,
Thomas Brattle and John Winslow, for sale of land in New England, embracing all owned
by the Plymouth Patent with additions from purchase from the Indians. This ink on
vellum document is regarding the Plymouth Company, also known as the Kennebec
Purchase Company or the Kennebec Proprietors. Even prior to 1675, the trade at
Cushnoc had diminished, prompting the Plymouth Company to sell the no-longer-
profitable patent. In 1661, four Boston men purchased the Kennebec patent: John
Winslow, Antipas Boyes, Edward Tyng and Thomas Brattle. Their brief attempt at trade
failed - the dwindling fur supply and a change in the relationship with the natives were
the main reasons - and the post was closed. The area was of little interest until the mid-
eighteenth century. (Parchment 2)
This one was a head scratcher:
Certificate (1800) in Spanish signed by Don Juan Stoughton, regarding Ebenezer Mayo,
Notary Public of Portland, Massachusetts (Parchment 25). Once one of our staff
translated and researched it, we found out more about Don Juan Stoughton, who was the
Spanish consul in Boston for the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Rhode Island and Vermont. His papers are at Harvard's Baker Library:
Why he was signing certificates for a notary public in Portland is another question.
And then there are the odd few items that don't seem to have any connection to Maine or New
England:
Valuation by a committee of houses destroyed in Edinburgh fire, August 21, 1701
A Spanish deed, ink on vellum, rolled, dated 1623. It was the quitrent of Petrus Pedro
and his son, who were farmers in Barcelona, to Petrus Nin of Albinyana, Spain.
Apparently, a quitrent was a fixed rent payable to a feudal superior in commutation
of services, specifically, a fixed rent due from a socage tenant. (Parchment 29)
A few English indentures on parchment:
Indenture, 1758, for Thomas Legge of Willey in the parish of Presteigne in the county of
Radner, esquire, and Joseph Ffluck of the parish of Westbury in the county of Gloucester;
Yeoman, leasing a tenement, barn, and lands in the Tything of Lower Leigh in the parish
of Westbury in the county of Gloucester. (Parchment 3)
Indenture, 1677, at Surrey, Eng., 8 May 1677, for Nicholas Best to make annual payments
on his debts to William Shorter and John Hoare, to settle on his mother Katharine Best
15 pounds annually, and to pay 100 pounds to Anne Evans, spinster. (Parchment 6)
And finally, the mystery documents in (at present) indecipherable languages. We have reached
out to the experts for assistance in deciphering the documents. One may possibly be as early as
1326, and perhaps in medieval/Catalan, and relate to the de Bisaura family in Catalonia. Which again begs the question - why would something like this be at the Maine Historical Society?
Somehow, they withstood the past six centuries and probably at least 100 years at our
organization, and are now finally seeing the light of day in this 21st century world. Hopefully we can tell their stories.
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| Parchment 7 |
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| Parchment 27 |
Written for the New England Regional
Fellowship Consortium
Nancy Noble, MHS Archivist, March 2019
With research assistance by Isabel Turk, MHS
Library Assistant
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