Asie Swan, James Howe and Stephen Barker, the three leading inhabitants of the western area of Haverhill succeeded in persuading  the great and General Court of Massachusetts to "set-off" the sprawling area shaped like the wings of a butterfly which we know as the town of Methuen. They lived far apart as the streets and schools named after them indicate and they could not agree upon a named for the new town.

Up to the time that the Royal Governor William Dummer was ready to sign the bill to establish a new town (December 1725) The Leaders could not agree on a name. It was then that Governor Dummer said he would give them the name of a friend of his in London, Sir Paul Methuen, a member of the Privy Council, which dealt with colonial affairs. It was this council which a few years later settled the long dispute between Massachusetts and New Hampshire for the boundary between the two provinces in this area, which completed the northern boundary of Methuen.

About Sir Paul Methuen

On January 1, 1968, Lord Paul Methuen of Corsham Court, Wiltshire, England, sent a letter to his friend Reverend E. W. A. Jenkinson, Pastor Emeritus, First Church Congregational, Methuen, about Sir Paul Methuen.  The text of the letter follows.

"You have done me the honour of asking me for a story of Sir Paul Methuen, after whom your town was called in 1726.

"Sir Paul Methuen (1672-1757) was, as you have told me yourself, a friend of Governor Dummer They were both Privy Councillors and must have known each other intimately.

"Sir Paul came from a long line of diplomats, much employed, when the family lived in Scotland during the Middle Ages, in negotiating treaties with England. So it is not surprising that Sir Paul's father, John (1650-1706), as Ambassador to Portugal, with his son as Secretary, concluded an important commercial and political Treaty with Portugal in 1703, during the beginning of the War of Succession. The object of this Treaty was to cement and further the trade between England and Portugal, and to ensure that Portugal should be free to join the Grand Alliance against France (the French arms had helped Portugal to liberate itself from the domination of Spain).

"John Methuen died in 1706. His son, Paul, had been Envoy to Don Pedro II, King of Portugal, Minister at Turin: and, to serve in that from 1697-1705. In 1705 he was appointed he was held at that time, Voltaire wrote that Methuen was "one of the most generous, bravest, and most sincere men his country ever employed in an Embassy". During 1709 and 1710 he held the post of Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. In 1714 he was elected Member of Parliament, and from 1714 to 1717 he served as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. In 1714 he was appointed Ambassador to Spain and Morocco, being made a Privy Councillor in that year, and Principal Secretary of State in 1716. In 1720 he became Comptroller of His Majesty's Household: and in 1725 Treasurer of the Household, until 1730, having, in 1725, been created a Knight of the Bath, on the revival of that Order.

"Subsequent to 1730 he was active in Parliament, opposing Bolingbroke's partial pardon and speaking against Walpole's excise measures. He gave up his seat in 1747, and died in 1757, and was buried with his father in Westminster Abbey, where their monument by Rysbrack can be seen.

"During practically the whole of his life he showed a great interest in the Arts, and formed an important collection of paintings, mainly of the Italian and Flemish schools, which he kept in his London house. He left its valuable contents to his cousin and godson, my ancestor, Paul Methuen, Member of Parliament, of Corsham House. Most of his collection is still at Corsham, kept in the fine State Rooms, built in the 1760's for their reception, and furnished by the best craftsmen of the eighteenth century.

"The present writer, the fourth Lord Methuen, mindful of the distinguished life of Sir Paul, has felt a natural pride and sense of responsibility in preserving Sir Paul's collection, and his own home, which has been in his family since 1745, when Mr. Paul Methuen, his ancestor, bought it. In this he has been ably assisted by his late wife, Eleanor, daughter of the painter William John Hennessy, and Charlotte, nee Mather, who was born in Newhaven, Connecticut.

"The State Rooms at Corsham Court are shown to the public, as in the case of most large Historic Houses in England, and attract many visitors from overseas, especially from the U.S.A.

"Corsham Court itself, in addition to remaining the home of my family, has extended its use by sharing it with the Bath Academy of Art. This amicable arrangement may be a pointer to the possible uses of such large houses in other parts of the country, where the artistic contents and environment may be available for purposes of education and enlightenment. In the past, pictures were painted for churches, various public buildings and, in later years, bought to hang on the walls of houses of individuals interested in forming collections, before ever public art galleries or museums existed. It would seem, therefore, that if we can retain such works of art in their original settings, the wishes of those who collected them can be respected, with advantage to the nation as a whole.

"My very best wishes to yourself and to the Town of Methuen for 1968.

I am, yours very cordially,

(Lord Methuen)"

The above material was slightly adapted from documents available in the Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen.