Samuel Maverick, of Noddle’s Island, an early settler, was the first claimant of the land.  Richard Bellingham, “the unbending, faithful old man, skilled from his youth in English law, perhaps the draughtsman of the charter [of the Massachusetts Colony], certainly familiar with it from its beginning, was chosen to succeed Endicott,” as governor.  About 1634, he came into possession of most of Winnisimmet, but his title was rather obscure; it was confirmed to him, however, by the town of Boston, in 1640.  He is not known 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.