The history of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, By a committee of the Dorchester antiquarian and historical society ...

HISTORY OF DORCHESTER. 301
town liberty to raise the fine to ~10, and other
towns had liberty to raise it to ~5.
1735. This year the town offered a bounty of two
pence on the heads of small striped squirrels. It
was also voted to have a writing school in the south
part of the town. Mr. Noah Clap was engaged to
keep the town school this year. He had just graduated at Harvard College, and was 17 years of
age. According to the contract, either party had
liberty to give up the engagement by a notice of
three months; but it was continued, and Mr. Clap
kept the school at different times about eighteen
or twenty years.
1736. Mr. Mather Withington died Dec. 27th,
of this year, aged 76. He had been one of the Selectmen, and was much respected. On the 28th of
April previous, his grandson, of the same name, died.
The latter was a son of Ebenezer, was a candidate
for the ministry, and had begun to preach.
Oct. 8th, Elijah Danforth, M.D., son of Rev. John
Danforth, died. Blake says, " He was a good and
safe physician, and had been one of ye Justices of ye
Peace for the County of Suffolk for many years together."
This year it was " Voted, that whosoever shall kill
brown rats, so much grown as to have hair on them,
within ye town of Dorchester, ye year ensuing untill
our meeting in May next, bring in their scalps with
ye ears on, unto ye town treasurer, shall be paid by
ye Town Treasurer Fourpence for every such rat's
scalp."
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