456 Palmer Cleaveland’s Bond

    [November 25 1738]

    Know all men by these presents that I Palmer Cleaveland of North Kingston in Kings County in the Colony of Road island and Providence Plantations in New England Tayler am holden and stand firmly bound and obliged unto Edward Holyoke … in the full and just summ of one Hundred pounds … The Condition of this obligation is such that whereas the abovesaid Palmer Cleaveland hath by an Indenture made the 25th of November anno Domini 1738 taken to farm for the space of 12 years from the 25th of March anno Dom. 1739 60 acres of Land being part of a farm belonging to the College in North Kingston in the Collony of roadisland and hath obliged himself to clear and subdue and during his term to keep cleared and subdued entirely of brush and trash thirty acres of the sixty aforesaid and in one entire peice and bring it to mowing English grass upon the whole of it and enclose said thirty acres with good sufficient fence of posts and four rayles or with good Virginia fence four feet and a half in heighth and to keep the said fence during his term and leave it at the end of it in good tenantable repair and is further obliged in said Indenture or Lease reference thereto being had to spend all the hay dung and muck that shal arise from the demised premises upon them and pay all taxes that shal be levyed on the demised premises and at the determination of his term to deliver up the demised premises to the Lessor… and wheras the said Palmer Cleaveland hath lately made offer to the said Edward Holyoke that if he would give him to purchase twenty goats twenty pounds in Bills of Credit now commonly passing at medium of Exchange which sum the said Cleaveland does hereby acknowlege himself to have received and doth acquit the said Edward Holyoke of all and every part thereof and in consideration thereof doth agree promise and engage to and with the said Edward Holyoke that he wil at the end of seven years return to the said Edward Holyoke President or his successor for the use of College the twenty Goat and as good or else as much money as wil by said Number of Goats at the Election of said President or his successors in said office and also that he will clear subdue and fence and bring to mowing English grass fifteen acres more beyound and above but adjoyning to the thirty acres specifyed and mentioned in the abovesaid Lease or Indenture and wil perform all the dutys agreements and engagements with respect to the fifteen acres aforesaid and in the same manner as he is in the said Lease obliged to doe and perform with respect to the aforesaid thirty acres except the planting the orchid on [10?] acres …

    Signed Sealed and delivered in presence of

    [seal]

    Narragansett Farm Papers, p. 9. This unsigned document further elaborates the preceding indenture. Three dots indicate omission of legal phraseology common to such documents. In particular, the ending (omitted) contains the legal provision for the obligation being null and void, otherwise standing in full force.