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Berkley
Incorporated April 18, 1735. Population in 1860, 825; in 1865, 888. Valuation in 1860, $317,290; in 1865, $306,002. The selectmen in 1861 were Walter D. Nichols, John C. Crane, Benjamin Luther; in 1862 and 1863, Simeon Briggs, Walter D. Nichols, William Babbitt; in 1863 and 1865, Walter D. Nichols, William Babbitt, Thomas C. Dean. The town-clerk in 1861, 1862, and 1863, was Ephraim French; in 1864 and 1865, Daniel S. Briggs. The town-treasurer during all these years was Abiel B. Crane. 1861. The first legal town-meeting, to act upon matters relating to the war, was held on the 30th of April; at which it was decided to sustain at all hazards the institutions of this nation; and, as an evidence of this determination, it was voted to make up the pay of all volunteers in the military service from that town, and to all who might afterwards enlist in the same, to a sum sufficient to make the monthly pay of each twenty-six dollars, to continue to be paid while in the service; also, to pay to each a bounty of fifteen dollars, and to furnish him with a uniform, not to exceed in value ten dollars. 1862. July 21, Voted, to pay a bounty of one hundred dollars ‘to any person who may enlist within thirty days’ for the term of three years, when mustered into the military service and credited to the quota of the town. The treasurer was authorized to borrow eleven hundred dollars for the payment of the same. The following resolution was unanimously adopted:—Resolved, That we have confidence in the Government of the United States, and we are of opinion that it should prosecute the war in the most vigorous manner, by making use of all justifiable means which God has placed in its hands to put down this wicked rebellion.August 13th, Voted, to pay a bounty of two hundred dollars ‘to the next five men who shall enlist and be accepted,’ and a bounty of one hundred dollars ‘to all others who may afterwards enlist to fill the quota of the town.’ The treasurer was directed to borrow thirteen hundred dollars to pay the same. Another meeting was held on the 30th of August, to take
