for the purpose of securing the benefits of this grant. On application by the Society, the Legislature have encouraged the present publication by a very liberal subscription for the use of the Commonwealth.

Of the author the late Rev. John Eliot, D. D., has given a very interesting, though not minute, account, in “The New England Biographical Dictionary." He was born, 1621; was one of the first class of graduates, at Harvard College, 1642; was settled in the ministry at Ipswich, a colleague of Rev. Thomas Cobbet, about 1666 or 16671; and died, 1704.2 Of his publications the following are all that are known: A Sermon,

among the very good ones," on the General Election, 1676, 4to; Narrative of Indian wars, 4to, 1677, republished 12mo, Boston, 1775; Fast Sermon, 24 June, 1682; Sermon and Memoirs on Maj. Gen. Denison, published with his Irenicon, 12mo, 1684; Testimony (with Rev. John Higginson) to the Order of the Gospel in the Churches, 1701.

In John Dunton's Journal of his visit to New England, 1685, a very interesting notice is taken of the MINISTER OF IPSWICH.†

The authenticity and value of this history appear in the following testimonials.

Rev. Thomas Prince, in "A Chronological History of New England in the form of Annals," has in his list of folio MSS." 12. The Rev. Mr. William Hubbard's General History of New England from the discovery to 1680, in 338 pages: And though not in his own hand-writing, yet having several corrections

See Extracts from the life &c. of J. D." Histor. Collect. vol. ii. 2d Ser. p. 121.- Ed.

I

V

made thereby."- Again, "And whereas I observe some mistakes in Mr. Hubbard's History of New England; the reader may consider, that as we have only a copy of that VALUABLE WORK, the substance whereof propose to give the Public: some of these mistakes may be owing to the Transcriber only, and some, that LEARNED and INGENIOUS AUTHOR fell into for want of Gov. Bradford's History, and some other materials, which I happen to be favoured with."*

His Excellency Thomas Hutchinson, in "The History of Massachusetts Bay,"† says, "Many such [materials for an history of the Colony] came to me from my ancestors, who, for four successive generations, had been principal actors in public affairs: among the rest, a manuscript history of Mr. William Hubbard, which is carried down to the year 1680, but after 1650 contains but few facts. The former part has been of great use to me it was so to Dr. Mather in his history, of which Mr. Neale's is little more than an abridgement."

The opinion of his biographer, than whom no one was better able to appreciate duly the relative as well as absolute merit of our early writers, is given in the prefatory remarks to his valuable Ecclesiastical History, inthe Historical Collections.‡

Of the MS. copy a few pages at the beginning and end are mutilated, and the writing in some places, is scarcely legible. These passages are given, as far as the editors could spell them out. Where they have

* Vol. i. 12mo. pp. 254, Boston, 1736. Preface, p. vii., and x., xi. [Hale's ed., Preface, pp. xvii., xxi.— н.] Mr. Prince made few corrections, for he brought down his Annals only to 1633. That the copy from which this edition is printed, is the same which he consulted, is little doubted. This is not in Mr. Hubbard's handwriting, yet has his emendations. — ED. +8vo. 2 vol. Lond. 1765, vol. i. Pref. - ED. [Salem ed., Preface, p. v. — - H.] Vol. vii. First Series, p. 263. — ED.

a*

supplied words, or portions of words, conjecturally, such are printed in italics. Where they were at a loss, they have used asterisks.*

They had hoped to obtain an entire copy of this defective portion. This fond expectation was derived from their knowledge that a transcript was made by Hon. Peter Oliver, Esq., LL. D., Chief Justice of Massachusetts.† Application has been made to the family, in England, for a part or the whole of this precious document; but without success.‡

CAMBRIDGE, MASS., 1815.

A. HOLMES,
Committee of the
JOSEPH MCKEAN, Historical Society.

* From the ninth page the manuscript is entire; pages 7 and 8 are nearly so; 3, 4, 5, and 6, considerably torn and effaced; 1 and 2 appear to be wanting. At the end, page 337 is a little defective; 338 is nearly effaced; the remainder is lost. The editors had contemplated retaining the author's mode of spelling; but soon finding that this was not uniform, they concluded not to continue the attempt, after the first seven chapters.' — ED.

"1773, June 10. Judge Oliver came and drank tea with me. He has a copy of the Rev. Mr. Hubbard's MSS., of Ipswich, which he himself copied from a copy which had corrections in Mr. Hubbard's own handwriting. I think it contains 3 or 400 pages folio. This, with Gov. Bradford's and Gov. Winthrop's MSS., are the three most considerable historical accounts of the first settlement of New England." President Stiles's Literary Diary.

"Every relic or document which related to the settlement of the country, or was curious, had a value stamped upon it. He collected many papers and records, and even transcribed William Hubbard's MS. history with his own hand. All these, except such as Hutchinson made use of, were carried away with him when he went to England." Art. Oliver, (P.) Eliot's N. E. Biog. Dict. p. 350.- ED.

See the letters on this subject, Histor. Collections, vol. iii. New Series.ED.

In this edition the spelling has been modernized throughout. -H.

A

GENERAL HISTORY

OF

NEW ENGLAND,

FROM

THE DISCOVERY TO MDCLXXX.

1680

BY

THE REV. WILLIAM HUBBARD,

MINISTER OF IPSWICH, MASS.

SECOND EDITION, COLLATED WITH THE ORIGINAL MS.

"Mr. Hubbard was certainly for many years the most eminent minister in the County of Essex: equal to any in the Province for learning and candor, and superior to all his contemporaries as a writer." The late Rev. JOHN ELIOT, D. D., Cor. Sec. Hist. Soc.

BOSTON:

CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN.

MDCCCXLVIII.

DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT:

District Clerk's Office.

BE it remembered, that on the second day of June, A. D. 1814, and in the thirty-eighth year of the Independence of the United States, JOSEPH MCKEAN, of the said District, in the name and behalf of the Massachusetts Historical Society, has deposited in this Office the title of a book, the right whereof the said Society claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit:

"A General History of New England, from the discovery to MDCLXXX. By the Rev. William Hubbard, Minister of Ipswich, Mass. Mr. Hubbard was certainly for many years the most eminent minister in the County of Essex; equal to any in the Province for learning and candor, and superior to all his contemporaries as a writer.' The late Rev. John Eliot, D. D., Cor. Sec. Hist. Soc."

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned;" and also to an Act, entitled, "An Act, supplementary to an Act, entitled an Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints.”