Between 1700 and 1799, Dedham become one of the largest and most influential country towns in Massachusetts. As the population grew and residents moved to outlying areas, battles for political power took place. Similar battles were taking place within the churches, as liberal and conservative factions bristled at paying for ministers with whom they had differences of theological opinion. New parishes and precincts were formed, and eventually several new towns broke away. In 1793, Dedham became the shiretown of the newly created Norfolk County.
The town became less insular and less homogeneous as available land was used up and contact with other communities grew. Though more economically and socially equal than other communities, a lower class of residents began to emerge and depend on charity. Nearly every able man took part in the American Revolution. The population at the time was between 1,500 and 2,000 people, of which 672 men fought in the Revolution and 47 did not return.
Government Selectmen Selectmen who served between 1640 and 1740 were almost always among the wealthiest 20% of the town. In any given year a majority of the board were among the richest 10%.
Year first elected Selectman Total years served 1702 Thomas Fuller 5 1702 Joseph Fairbanks 3 1704 Nathaniel Gay 7 1704 Amos Fisher 2 1705 John Fuller 2 1705 Benjamin Colburn 2 1706 John Smith 3 1707 Timothy Whiting 8 1710 Robert Cook 1 1711 John Ellis 3 1712 Daniel Wight 2 1714 Joseph Ellis 5 1714 Michael Metcalf 7 1715 Comfort Starr 3 1716 John Metcalf 27 1717 Nathaniel Kingsbury 2 1717 William Bullard 8 1718 William Avery 5 1718 John Hunting 1 1719 Jeremiah Fisher 6 1719 Samuel Ware 1 1719 Joseph Dean 2 1720 Jabez Pond 2 1721 John Gay 4 1721 Joseph Smith 1 1722 Ebenezer Woodward 3 1724 John Everett 8 1727 Joseph Smith 2 1729 Eleazer Ellis 2 1731 Nathaniel Chickering 5 1731 John Fisher 2 1731 Joseph Richards 5 1732 Ephraim Wilson 7 1736 Richard Everett 5 1736 Jeremiah Fisher 6 1736 Josiah Fisher 7 1739 Jonathan Onion 3 1739 Jonathan Whiting 2 1741 Joseph Wight 14 1741 Nathaniel Battle 3 1742 Eleazer Fisher 2 1742 Joseph Ellis 2 1743 Eliphalet Pond 16 1744 William Everett 5 1744 Richard Ellis 3 1744 Joshua Ellis 3 1746 James Draper 1 1746 Lusher Gay 2 1747 Michael Bacon 1 1748 Hezekiah Allen 2 1749 Ezra Morse 4 1749 Nathaniel Colburn 1 1750 Benjamin Fairbanks 3 1750 Nathaniel Wilson 3 1753 Nathaniel Sumner 19 1753 Isaac Whiting 12 1753 Joseph Chickering 2 1755 Jonathan Metcalf 1 1755 Stephen Badlam 4 1755 Jonathan Day 3 1756 James Draper 2 1758 William Avery 13 1758 Daniel Gay 3 1758 Ralph Day 2 1759 John Jones 3 1760 Ebenezer Everett 4 1762 David Fuller 2 1762 Samuel Colburn 5 1762 Daniel Chickering 4 1764 Samuel Dexter 5 1764 Ebenezer Newell 7 1768 Joseph Haven 5 1768 Joseph Guild 7 1769 Abijah Draper 5 1770 William Whiting 3 1771 William Bullard 2 1773 Isaac Bullard 5 1773 Nathaniel Kingsbury 5 1773 Isaac Colburn 2 1773 Nathaniel Battle 1 1774 Jonathan Dean 1 1775 Samuel Damon 3 1775 Ichabod Gay 4 1776 Isaac Whiting 2 1776 George Gould 7 1776 Eleazer Allen 1 1777 Jeremiah Kingsbury 1 1778 Ebenezer Battelle 2 1778 John Ellis 13 1778 Ichabod Ellis 1 1779 Ebenezer Smith 2 1779 Ebenezer Battle 1 1780 Abner Ellis 1 1780 Abiathar Richards 1 1783 Lemuel Richards 1 1784 Ebenezer Gay 1 1785 Ebenezer Fisher 1 1785 Benjamin Fairbanks 1 1786 Aaron Fuller 16 1786 Joseph Gay 1 1787 Eliphalet Pond 16 1787 Nathaniel Whiting 4 1787 James Kingsbury 1 1788 Joseph Whiting 3 1791 Eliphalet Thorp 1 1792 George Ellis 10 1792 Calvin Whiting 14
1704 elections Prior to 1704, nearly all the selectmen came from the old village center despite greater numbers of residents moving to more outlying areas. At the March 6 Town Meeting that year, three of the five incumbent selectmen, Samuel Guild, Joshua Fisher, and Joseph Fairbanks, all men from the village, were voted out of office.
In their place were elected three newcomers, Ashael Smith, Amos Fisher, and Nathaniel Gay, who collectively had just one year prior service on the board, but at least two of them came from outlying areas. One of the selectmen reelected that year was also from an outlying area, and the third newcomer was probably in sympathy with them, giving them a majority of four to one. Gay also replaced Guild as Town Treasurer.
Those from the village, upset that they had been turned out of power, began complaining that the election was illegal because there had not been enough warning given in advance of the town meeting that served as an election. The old board of selectmen, including those voted out of office, invalidated the election and called for a new one to be held on March 27. In that election Guild was returned to both his posts as selectman and treasurer, but Fisher and Fairbanks both lost again and were replaced with men from other parts of town. Those from outside the village maintained a three-vote majority after the new election.
Still upset with the outcome, several men from the village took the issue to the Suffolk County Court where they argued that both March elections were invalid. The court ordered a new election and, on April 17, the same men chosen at the March 6 election were elected again. It took several years for the villagers to reassert their political power.
1726 and 1727 elections Tensions built in 1725 and 1726 between those who lived in the center village and those who lived in the outlying parts of town. In 1726, the central village recaptured the entire board of selectmen. On March 6, 1727, Town Meeting assembled to elect selectmen; it became so contested that it took two days to finish. Instead of the customary method of voting for the entire board at the same time, individuals stood for election for single seats and were voted through a secret, written ballot.
Every incumbent lost their seat, the first time this had happened since 1690. Five new men were elected, including three from the Clapboard Trees section of town and two from the village who were sympathetic for their calls to separate as an independent town.
1728 election In March 1728, just before voting for Selectmen, the Town Meeting adopted a resolution that allowed any man with any property to be granted a vote. This extended the franchise to a much larger number of men, most of whom came from outlying areas of town, and was in direct violation of a provincial law. The meeting then elected by secret ballot three men, a majority, from the outlying areas of town: John Gay, Comfort Starr, and Joseph Smith.
The meeting then descended into chaos. The Moderator, Ebenezer Woodward, expressed doubts or perhaps even tried to adjourn the meeting over concerns about those not entitled to vote casting ballots. As moderator, he could be held liable. John Gay, Benjamin Gay, and Joseph Smith took their muskets and demanded that Woodward leave the meeting. When he refused, Woodward was hit and the meeting adjourned. The three belligerents were arrested and fined £10 each, but the election was not overturned.
1729 election At the 1729 election the village took back control of the board. Four men from the village were elected, including Woodward, along with one man from the Springfield area. Shortly thereafter, Springfield became its own precinct in an apparent quid pro quo.
1730s and 1740s elections By the 1730s and 1740s, sectional strife in town had grown to such a degree that the General Court had to impose several settlements on the town. It resulted in a truce whereby each of the five selectmen seats was unofficially allocated with one going to those in the village, or First Precinct, one going to residents of First Precinct who attended church in the more liberal Third Precinct, and one each to a resident from the Second, Third, and Fourth Precincts.
Moderator An act of the colonial legislature gave town meetings the right to elect their own moderators in 1715, but this had already been in practice for several years in Dedham. The moderator was sometimes a selectman, and was always a respected member of the community. The first moderator to come from outside the village center, Joseph Ellis, was elected in 1717. Ellis, a resident of "the southerly part of town," was elected selectman in the same election.
Town Clerk Year first elected Town Clerk Total years served 1709 Joseph Wright 13 1720 Jeremiah Fuller 6 1727 John Gay 2 1729 William Avery 1 1731 John Metcalf 16 1747 Eliphalet Pond 12 1755 Jonathan Metcalf 1 1759 William Avery 4 1764 Samuel Dexter 5 1769 Isaac Whiting 6 1773 Joseph Guild 4 1778 Ebenezer Battelle 2 1780 Abner Ellis 1 1781 Ichabod Gay 2 1783 Nathaniel Kingsbury 1 1784 Isaac Bullard 3 1787 Eliphalet Pond 25
Conventions Inflation
The Massachusetts Bay colony was always short of gold and silver and printed a great deal of paper money, which caused inflation that favored farmers but angered business interests. By 1750, however, the colony recalled its paper currency and transitioned to a specie currency based on the British reimbursement (in gold and silver) for its spending in the French and Indian wars. The large-scale merchants and Royal officials welcomed the transition but many farmers and smaller businessmen were opposed.Herman Belz, "Currency Reform in Colonial Massachusetts, 1749-1750," Essex Institute Historical Collections (1967) 103#1 pp 66-84
A convention was held in Concord to address the issue in 1779, and Dedham was represented by Fisher Ames. When another session was held in October, to consider the price controls that seemed to be doing more harm than good, Ames again represented Dedham and argued against the controls.
Constitutional On December 10, 1787, voters gathered in town meeting and elected Thomas Thatcher and Fisher Ames to represent the town in the convention to ratify the United States Constitution. Both spoke in favor of the new Constitution at the convention.
Representation in the General Court At the November 1727 town meeting, Joseph Ellis, a resident of the Clapboardtrees section of town, was elected as representative to the General Court. Following the election, 49 men from the central village petitioned the General Court to say that his election was illegal but were unsuccessful; Ellis went on to serve six terms.