But after his death the province fell into neglect, and the towns were gradually absorbed by Massachusetts, which, in 1677, bought the claims of the heir of Gorges for L1250 and governed Maine as lord proprietor under the Gorges charter.
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Church and State in Massachusetts.%--Down to the moment of their arrival in America the Puritans had not been Separatists.

They were still members of the Church of England who desired to see her form of worship purified.

But the party under Endicott had no sooner reached Salem than they seceded, and the first Congregational Church in New England was founded.
Some in Salem were not prepared for so radical a step, and attempted to establish a church on the episcopal model; but Endicott promptly sent two of the leaders back to England.

Thus were established two facts: 1.
The separation or secession of the Colonial Church from that of England.
2.