n to have lived upon his estate. He divided the
land into four farms, which he let to tenants,--subdivisions which
remained substantially the same for two centuries. The government
reservation is said to have remained in the possession of Samuel
Maverick.

[Illustration: WINNISIMMET FERRY LANDING.
About forty years ago.]

Governor Bellingham died in 1672, at the age of eighty, and, although
a lawyer and a good man, left behind him a will which gave rise to
litigation that continued for over a century. As this instrument affects
every title in Chelsea, it becomes of public interest. He bequeathed the
estate of Winnisimmet to trustees, to be devoted to the support of his
widow, his son, and his two nieces, during their lives, after which it
was to be used to build a meeting-house, support a minister, and educate
a limited number of young men for the ministry.

The son, Dr. Samuel Bellingham, after the death of his father, contested
the will in court, and had it set aside.

[Illustration: CENTRAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
Erected A.D. 1871.]

After his death the trustees named in the will brought a suit to carry
into effect the directions of the old governor. One by one they dropped
out of the contest, silenced by death, until at length the town
authorities undertook to maintain their supposed rights. It was not
until 1788, after the close of the Revolution, that the case was finally
decided, and the town was defeated.

After over a century of outlying dependence, and forced attendance in
all weathers at the churches in Boston, the good people of Winnisimmet,
Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, having demonstrated their willingness
and ability to support a minister, petitioned for and obtained the
privileges of a new parish and township, named Chelsea.[3] Rumney Marsh
is now known as Revere, and Pullen Point as Winthrop. The new township
also included a strip of land half a mile wide and four miles long,
extending north-westerly through what is now Maiden and Melrose, well
into the town of Wakefield, and at present forming a part of Saugus.

[Illustration: OLD UNITARIAN CHURCH.
Site of present church; moved and used by Bellingham Methodists.]

The old Town House, or meeting-house, built in 1710, and still standing,
was at Rumney Marsh.

The earliest census of the town, on record, was taken in 1776, and
indicated a population of four hundred and thirty-nine.

The Reverend Dr. Tuckerman was settled over the parish, whi