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COLLECTIONS 



PROCEEDINGS 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



SECOND SERIES, VOLUME I 



PORTLAND 

PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY 
1890 



'' 

\(o 



CONTENTS. 



PAGK 

General Henry Knox. By Joseph Williamson of Belfast, Me., . 1 
The French Treaty of 1778. By William Goold of Windham, 

Maine, ........ 29 

Rev. William Screven. By Rev. Henry S. Burrage, D.D., of 

Portland, Maine, ...... 45 

The Four Judges of North Yarmouth, Maine. By Rev. Amasa 

Loring of Yarmouth, Maine, . . . . .57 

John E. Godfrey. By Albert Ware Paine of Bangor, Maine, . 79 
The Mission of the Assumption on the River Kennebec, 1646 

1652. By John Marshall Brown of Portland, Maine, . 87 

Proceedings, February, 1881, 1882, . . . . .101 

Vote authorizing the publication of the Quarterly, . . 107 

Historical Memoranda, . . . . . . .112 

Cyrus Woodman. By George F. Emery of Portland, Maine, . 1 13 
The Administration of William Gorges, 1636 to 1637. By 

Charles Edward Banks, M.D. of Vinyard Haven, Mass., . 125 
A Topographical Surmise. By William M. Sargent of Port- 
land, Maine, ....... 133 

Enoch Lincoln. By Edward H. Elwell of Deering, Maine, . . 137 
Capital Trials in Maine, before the Separation. By Joseph 

Williamson of Belfast, Maine, .... 159 

Letter Accompanying the Gift of a Photograph of the Brig- 
Boxer. By Fritz H. Jordan of Portland, Maine, . . 173 
John G. Deane. By Llewellyn Deane of Washington, D. C., . 179 

Proceedings. 1881, 1882, 197 

Historical Memoranda,. . . .... 203 

Historical Notes and Queries, .... 219 

James Shepherd Pike. By George F. Talbot of Portland, Me., . 225 
The Problem of Hammond's Fort. By Rev. Henry O. Thayer 

of Limington, Maine, ... ... 261 



'iV CONTENTS. 

PACK 

Robert Hallowell Gardiner. By Rev. AsaDalton, D.D., of Port- 
land, Maine, . . . . . . .295 

Professional Tours of John Adams in Maine. By Joseph Wil- 
liamson of Belfast, Maine, . . . .301 

Rev. Eugene Vetromile. By Hubbard Winslow Bryant of 

Portland, Maine, . . . . . . . 309 

Leaves from the Early History of Dresden. By Rev. Charles 

E. Allen of Cedar Grove, Maine, .... 31 :{ 

Historical Memoranda, . . . . . . .321 

Book Notices, ........ 32 

Editorial Items, ........ 335 

James Tift Champlin, D.D., LL.D. By Rev. Henry 8. Bun-age, 

D.D., of Portland, Maine, . 337 

Campaign against the Pequakets. By James P. Baxter of Port- 
land, Maine, ..... 353 

The British Occupation of Penobscot during the Revolution. 

By Joseph Williamson of Belfast, Maine, . . : j s , 

Madam Wood, the First Maine Writer of Fiction. By William 

Goold of Windham, Maine, ... ,401 

Ashur Ware. By George F. Talbot of Portland, Maine, . . 409 

Proceedings. December, 1882, ... 423 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 



Portrait of Gen. Henry Knox, 

Portrait of Cyrus Woodman, ... I 13 

Map of Maine, showing chain of boundary line, . 189 

Portrait of James Tift Champlain, D.D., LL.D., . . .337 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX 




*"*-** 



CEN. HENRY KNOX 




MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS. 

GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 

A Memoir read before the Maine Historical Society, November 16, 1881. 

BY JOSEPH WILLIAMSON. 

I HOLD in my hand for presentation to the Society, a time- 
stained pamphlet, entitled "A Catalogue of Books, Imported 
and to be Sold by Henry Knox, at the London Book-Store, a 
little Southward of the Town-House, in Cornhill, Boston, 1772." 
The pamphlet is interesting, not only as showing the literature 
of that period, but as almost the earliest introduction to the 
public of a young man, then unknown to fame, but who was des- 
tined to be connected with many important events in the history 
of our country ; who devoted the best years of his life to the 
establishment of independence, liberty and social order; who 
was honest, generous and self-sacrificing, and who, as the inti- 
mate friend and companion of Washington, strengthened the 
hand and encouraged the heart of the great Commander through 
all the trying scenes of the Revolution. 

The recent visit of our Society to the home of Knox in Maine, 
and the more recent commemoration of the siege, in which he 
was so prominent an actor, renders a brief review of his life 
and character not inappropriate to the present occasion. 

Knox was born in Boston, on the twenty-fifth day of July, 
1750. The place of his birth, an obscure house in Sea street, is 
still standing. His paternal ancestors were of the sturdy Scotch- 
Irish stock, which, mingling with that of Saxon origin, has dif- 
fused itself with a vigorous growth throughout the whole coun- 
try. It was the race to which John Stark, Robert Fulton, Cal- 
houn, Houston, Andrew Jackson, Horace Greely, and a host of 
men, alike famous in the field and in the forum, have boasted 
with pride that they belonged. 



2 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

William Knox, his father, was a shipmaster, and died abroad. 
The care of a widowed mother and of an infant brother thus 
devolved on young Knox, at the age of twelve years, just as he 
had completed his grammar-school course. From the recollec- 
tion of his attentive and affectionate solicitude for these rela- 
tives he derived the highest satisfaction in after life. Upon the 
death of his father he obtained employment with the principal 
booksellers of the town. Their store was frequented by British 
officers, with whom he became on friendly terms. From their 
acquaintance and conversation he acquired a taste for military 
science, which was improved by reading. Possessing an inquisi- 
tive mind and a desire for knowledge he availed himself of the 
advantages around him, and soon became conversant not only 
with general literature, but with the French language, in which 
so many standard works upon the art of war have been written. 
He was also fond of studying the illustrious examples of antiq- 
uity in the Lives of Plutarch, and of other writers whose pages 
are equally rich with the spoils of time. His course gave early 
presage of eminence. Before reaching majority he was chosen 
an officer of the grenadiers, a company distinguished for its mar- 
tial appearance and the precision of its evolutions. His profi- 
ciency in the theory and practice of the military art gave him a 
commanding position among the young men of Boston. When 
the Boston Massacre took place Knox was early at the scene. 
His account of it appears in the published report of the trial. 
He endeavored to keep the crowd away, and remonstrated with 
Captain Preston for allowing the soldiers to fire upon unarmed 
citizens. 

Soon after Knox became established in business on his own 
account, the low mutterings of the thunder which preceded the 
storm of the Revolution began to be heard. The burning words 
of Otis, that "great incendiary of New England," as he was 
called, against writs of assistance and other manifestations of 
British aggression, had already inspired the souls of his hearers 
in Faneuil Hall, and were re-echoed by Patrick Henry in Vir- 
ginia, by his defiant resolutions against the Stamp Act, and his 
startling cry of " Give me Liberty or give me Death ! " At this 
early period, notwithstanding his associations, the heart of Knox 
was deeply engaged in the cause of his country, He felt the 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 6 

cause of the colonies to be a righteous one, and to its vindica- 
tion he yielded every consideration. When hostilities became 
imminent he hesitated not a moment what course to pursue. 
The fair prospect of increasing wealth, and even the endearing 
claims of family and friends had no power to divert the deter- 
mined purpose of his mind. Ere long the Boston Port Bill put 
an end to the prosperity of the town, and with it the prosperity 
of the young bookseller. "At that time," says a contemporary, 
" Knox's bookstore was a great resort for British officers and 
Tory ladies, and it was long remembered as one of great display 
and attraction for young and old, and as a fashionable morning 
lounging-place." Behind its counter Knox first met Nathaniel 
Greene, afterward his compatriot during the Revolution. Be- 
hind its counter, too, his fine person, engaging manners, and 
rare- intelligence, first attracted the attention of Lucy Fluker, a 
young lady of high intellectual endowments, fond of books, and . 
especially the books sold by Knox, to whose shelves she had fre- 
quent recourse. Their acquaintance, thus formed, soon ripened 
into mutual love, and resulted in a happy union. 

Miss Fluker was the grand-daughter of General Samuel 
Waldo, whose name is inseparably connected with the history 
of eastern Maine. Her father, " a high-toned loyalist, of great 
family pretensions," and royal secretary of the Province, op- 
posed the engagement, as indeed did all the young lady's con- 
nections, who were tories, and had for her more advantageous 
matrimonial prospects. They regarded her as ruined in future 
social esteem and personal happiness, by wedding one who had 
espoused the cause of rebellion. The consequences were de- 
picted to her in lively colors. She was told that while the other 
members of her family were in the enjoyment of luxury, she 
would be eating the bread of poverty and dependence ; that 
there could be but one issue to the conflict ; and that the power 
of Great Britain, exerted against the feeble colonists, would be 
overwhelming. Disregarding all these warnings, Miss Fluker, 
who had fully adopted the views of her future husband, resolved 
to follow the fortunes of him to whom her heart had been given. 
When the great political change took place, many of her family 
and relatives were in exile and obscurity, while she, the wife of 
the humble bookseller, was the center of the first social circle in 



4 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

America. Their marriage, which, from the opposition alluded 
to, wanted little of an elopement, took place on the sixteenth 
day of June, 1774. The stirring events which soon occurred 
gave little opportunity for domestic enjoyment. Boston was 
held by an armed force ; private property received slight protec- 
tion, and the store of Knox, with many others, was broken into, 
and pillaged. 

From this eventful period the career of Knox belongs to his 
country, and presents him in three several and separate relations 
to society. We shall survey him in these different relations. 
We shall see him first as the soldier, of high military attain- 
ments, then, after a series of successes, as a statesman, in the 
councils of Washington, organizing an important department of 
the government, and finally, as the beloved and respected citi- 
zen of our own state, passing the closing years of his life in the 
retirement of his own home. 

The battle of Lexington was a signal of war. Regular forces 
were at once raised by the Provincials, and an army of twenty 
thousand men soon appeared in the environs of Boston, blocking 
up the enemy from outward intercourse, except by sea. Great 
inducements to follow the royal standard had been held out to 
Knox, but he disregarded them all, and embarked heart and 
hand in the patriot cause. Not intimidated by the proclamation 
of General Gage, which denounced the penalty of martial law on 
all who should be found aiding or abetting such unpardonable 
rebels as Hancock and Adams, or who dared to leave Boston with- 
out permission, Knox quitted the town in disguise, accompanied by 
his wife, who had concealed in her cloak the sword with which 
the future general was to win his subsequent renown. This was 
on the evening preceding the battle of Bunker Hill. Repairing 
at once to the headquarters of General Ward at Cambridge, he 
offered himself as a volunteer, and participated in that memora- 
ble conflict. The transition from the bookseller to the soldier 
was an easy one. Knox had made himself master of element- 
ary tactics, and brought to the army a valuable stock of military 
knowledge. But the department, which most attracted his 
attention, was that in which the Americans were most wanting 
the department of engineers. The only officer who possessed 
adequate skill in planning and constructing works of defence 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 5 

for the various camps around the beleaguered town was Colonel 
Gridley, a veteran of the old French war, but too infirm for this. 
Knox immediately supplied his place. His skill and activity 
won the confidence of Washington only three days after the lat- 
ter had assumed command of the army, and inaugurated the 
friendship, which ever remained unbroken between these two 
eminent men. 

Great gloom and despondency prevailed during the autumn of 
1775. The term of enlistments was approaching a close, nearly 
six months had elapsed since the battle of Bunker Hill, and yet 
nothing had been done, decisively, to change the relations in 
which the belligerents stood toward each other. Our army was 
without provisions, without pay, without clothing. Desertions 
became frequent, and new quotas were tardily raised. The Com- 
mander-in-chief was filled with the deepest anxiety. In a letter 
to Joseph Reed, he wrote : " Such a dearth of public spirit and 
such want of virtue ; such stock-jobbing and fertility in all the 
low arts to obtain advantages of one kind or another in this 
great change of military arrangement, I never saw before, and 
I pray God's mercy that I may never be witness to again. . . 
Could I have foreseen what I have experienced and am likely to 
experience, no consideration upon earth should have induced me 
to accept this command." To increase his embarrassments, there 
was a deficiency of powder and artillery. Without further sup- 
plies the seige of Boston could not be much longer continued. 

In this time of his troubles and perplexities, no one drew 
nearer to Washington than Knox. Realizing the necessity of 
heavy ordnance, Knox conceived the desperate expedient of 
obtaining it from Ticonderoga on the Canadian frontier, and 
volunteered his services for that purpose, an offer which Wash- 
ington gladly accepted. This was the turning point in Knox's 
military career. He was supposed to possess qualities of a high 
order ; now was the time to prove them. His mnnly bearing and 
sound judgment had inspired confidence; here was the occasion 
to justify it. Early in the winter he commenced the difficult 
undertaking almost unattended, relying solely for success on such 
aid as he might procure from the thinly scattered inhabitants of 
the dreary region through which he had to pass. Every obstacle 
of season, roads and climate, was surmounted by his determined 



6 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

perseverance ; and a few weeks, scarcely sufficient for a journey 
so remote, saw his return to camp with a long train of sledges 
drawn by oxen, bringing more than fifty cannon besides other 
munitions of war. The zeal which he had displayed in his win- 
try expedition across frozen lakes and through snowy forests, and 
the intelligence with which his commission was fulfilled, elicited 
high encomiums from Washington. The command of the 
artillery, of which he had thus laid the foundation, was at once 
bestowed upon him. In this command he continued until peace 
was declared, and his name is connected with all subsequent 
movements of the main army. 

Among the incidents that occurred during his Canadian expe- 
dition, was his accidental meeting with the unfortunate Major 
Andre, whose subsequent fate was so deeply deplored by every 
person of sensibility in both countries. Andre had been taken 
prisoner in Canada by Montgomery, and was then under parole. 
Chance compelled the two young men to pass a night in the same 
cabin on the banks of Lake George, and even in the same bed. 
There were many points of resemblance in their personal history. 
Their ages were alike ; each had renounced the pursuits of trade 
for the profession of arms ; each had made a study of his new oc- 
cupation, and their literary tastes and habits were similar. Much 
of the night was consumed in conversation, and the intelligence and 
refinement displayed by Andre left an indelible impression upon 
the mind of Knox. The respective condition of the two was 
not mutually communicated until just as they were about to 
separate. A few years later, when Knox was called upon to join 
in his condemnation to death, the memory of this interview 
with the young British officer gave additional bitterness to that 
painful duty. 

With the cannon supplied by Knox, Washington invested 
Dorchester Heights, which commanded both Boston and the 
enemy's ships in the harbor. Nothing now remained for the 
British but to abandon the town or to dislodge the ^Provincials. 
General Howe chose the former alternative, and on the seven- 
teenth of March, in less than two months after Knox returned 
from Ticonderoga, the King's troops, with many loyal Americans, 
embarked for Halifax. Among the latter were the relatives of 



GENERAL HENEY KNOX. 7 

t 

Mrs. Knox, who subsequently went to England, and she never 
saw them again. 

Soon after the delivery of Boston, the greater part of the 
American forces occupied New York, upon which an attack was 
expected to be made. In the protection of that city the engi- 
neering skill of Knox was put in requisition, and his artillery 
were stationed on the surrounding hills. But in a few months, 
after general exultation at the Declaration of Independence had 
been manifested, the battles of Long Island and of White Plains, 
so disastrous to our arms, the evacuation of New York and the 
retreat into the Jerseys, rendered the prospects of the American 
cause more doubtful than at any period of the war. The year 
1776 and its campaign were closing amidst universal despondency; 
and Knox, with his brave companions, was compelled to lament 
that the equipments of our army were inadequate to the heroic 
spirit of its soldiers. In this crisis, when hope had almost yielded 
to despair, and Washington trembled for his country's freedom, 
Knox, almost alone of all his generals, remained unshaken, and 
by cheering words and encouraging action revived the drooping 
spirits of the commander-in-chief. It was then that the boldest 
stroke of the Revolution was made. The American forces 
crossed the half-frozen Delaware under a bitter storm and surprised 
and defeated the enemy at Princeton ; thus changing the entire 
aspect of affairs, and reviving the depressed courage of the 
colonists. Knox superintended the passage of the Delaware. 
The night was dark and tempestuous; the drifting ice drove the 
boats out of their course, and threatened them with destruction. 
The value of his services on this occasion was recognized in 
complimentary terms. A commission from Congress, creating 
him a general officer, second only to Washington in command, 
soon followed. 

After the battle of Princeton the Americans retired to winter 
quarters at Morristown. Such was their destitution, that many of 
the soldiers were without shoes and their naked feet marked each 
step over the frozen ground with blood. Knox, however, did 
not remain inactive during the winter months. He was sent on 
a mission to the eastern states to arrange for the casting of can- 
non, and the establishment of laboratories. When the spring 



8 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

opened, we find him at West Point, associated with Greene in 
planning defences on the Hudson. 

The principal events in which the main army participated dur- 
ing 1777, were the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, both 
of which proved adverse to our cause. These disasters were 
counterbalanced by General Stark's successes in Vermont, folio wed 
by the surrender of Burgoyne's army at Saratoga. At the close 
of the year, Washington was forced to place his army at Valley 
Forge, where Knox also passed the winter, amidst the hardships 
and sufferings of that sad encampment. 

Brighter prospects dawned the following year. Early in May 
intelligence reached Congress that our Commissioners at Paris 
had negotiated treaties of alliance and commerce with France. 
This measure induced the British to abandon Philadelphia, and 
to concentrate their forces at New York. With a reorganized 
army, Washington started in pursuit, and intercepted them at 
Monmouth, where a battle took place. The day was intensely 
hot, and many of the soldiers perished from fatigue alone. 
Although the result of the engagement could hardly be called a 
victory, it was a decided advantage in our favor. The British 
troops retreated by night, and Washington, crossing the Hud- 
son, resumed his former position at White Plains. "In the 
hard-fought contest of Monmouth," wrote Dr. Thacher, " no 
officer was more distinguished than Knox. In the front of the 
battle he was seen animating his soldiers and directing the 
thunder of their cannon. His skill and bravery were so con- 
spicuous, that he received the particular approbation of the com- 
mander-in-chief, in general orders issued by him the day suc- 
ceeding the battle, in which he says that * the enemy have done 
us the honor to acknowledge that no artillery could be better 
served than ours.' " The great exertions of Knox on that occa- 
sion seriously affected his health. 

In the summer of 1780, the Count de Rochambeau, with a 
French army, arrived at Newport, and Knox, with Washington 
and Lafayette, visited the Commander, to arrange future opera- 
tions. While returning from this interview, the treason of Ar- 
nold was discovered. Knox formed one of the board of general 
officers who condemned Major Andre to death as a spy. This 
sentence, which the usages of war compelled them to pronounce, 



GENEKAL HENRY KNOX. 8 

was a duty especially abhorrent to him, since their pleasant 
interview a few years before. It is said that such was Wash- 
ington's sympathy for the unfortunate prisoner, that his hand 
could scarcely command the pen when signing the warrant for 
execution. 

During the following winter, the destitute condition of our 
army caused great solicitude, and Knox was sent to the north- 
ern colonies to urge forward money, clothing, and other supplies. 
In the spring, however, an active campaign was planned, which, 
by the aid of our allies, it was hoped would be decisive. The 
primary object was New York, but subsequently Washington 
marched his troops to the southward, and co-operated with the 
French, against Lord Cornwallis in Virginia. The surrender of 
the latter, and the siege of Yorktown, the last brilliant acts of 
our revolutionary war, to which no one contributed more essen- 
tially than Knox, closed his career as a general. 

With reference to our permanent interests, the period between 
the peace of 1783 and the adoption of the constitution five years 
later, was more critical than that of the war itself, oppressive 
and exhausting as that has been. The states were without a 
government unable to command respect abroad, or to secure 
prosperity at home. An utter want of power to provide for the 
payment of debts, caused the recommendations of Congress to 
be treated with neglect ; foreign creditors became clamorous, 
and discontent prevailed among our own people. Unless timely 
and effectual remedies could be provided, an alarming crisis was 
at hand. It will be borne in mind that up to this time the several 
colonies stood relatively to each other as independent nations, and 
in some instances bordering states pursued a policy of mutual jeal- 
ousy, if not of hostility. To harmonize these conflicting ele- 
ments, and to form a compact which should consolidate thirteen 
separate governments under one, at the same time preserving 
their individuality ; making them " distinct as the billows, yet 
one as the sea," was a work of no easy attainment. The appre- 
hensions of Knox were freely and feelingly expressed upon the 
matter. Writing to Washington, he says, " There must be a 
general government of unity, as the local legislatures most nat- 
urally and necessarily tend to retard any other kind. Some- 
thing is wanting which must speedily be supplied, or we shall be 



10 MAIXE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

involved in all the horrors of failure, and of civil war, without 
a prospect of its termination." And again, to the same, " Ex- 
pedients to brace up the present defective Confederation, so as 
just to keep us together, while it would prevent those exertions 
for a national character which are essential to our happiness, 
would have the bad effect of assisting us to creep on, in our 
present miserable condition, without the hope of a generous 
constitution, that should at once shield us from the effects of 
faction and despotism." In a letter from Washington, three 
years before the adoption of the Constitution, desiring his views 
upon a proper form of government, Knox replied in part as 
follows : 

It would be prudent to form the plan of a new house before we pull 
down the old one. The subject has not been sufficiently discussed, as 
yet, in public, to decide precisely on the form of the edifice. It is out 
of question that the foundation must be of republican principles, but 
so modified and wrought together, that whatever shall be erected 
thereon should be durable and efficient. I speak entirely of the Fed- 
eral Government, or, which would be better, one Government, instead of 
an association of Governments. Were it possible to effect a General 
Government of this kind, it might be constituted of an Assembly or 
lower House, chosen for one, two, or three years; a Senate, chosen for 
five, six, or seven years; and the Executive, under the title of Governor- 
General, chosen for the term of seven years, but liable to an impeach- 
ment of the lower House, and triable by the Senate, and a Judiciary, to be 
appointed by the Governor-General during good behavior, but impeach- 
able by the lower House, and triable by the Senate. The laws passed 
by the General Government, to be obeyed by the local governments, and, 
if necessary, to be inforced by a body of armed men to be kept for the 
purposes which should be designated. All national objects to be de- 
signed and executed by the General Government, without reference to 
the local Governments. This rude sketch is considered as the Govern- 
ment of the least possible powers to preserve the confederated Govern- 
ments. To attempt to establish less will be to hazard the existence of 
republicanism, and to subject us either to a division by the European 
powers, or to a despotism arising from high-handed commotions. May 
heaven direct us to the best means for the dignity and happiness of the 
United States! 

Soon after the communication of this plan, which shadows 
forth the form of government subsequently adopted, delegates 
from the different states met in Convention, and with Washington 
as presiding officer, prepared the present federal constitution, 
which was at once submitted to the people for ratification. This 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 11 

instrument, although not deemed perfect by Knox, or probably 
by any of its other ardent friends, was regarded as the best that 
could be hoped for in the discordant condition of the country, 
and as presenting the only alternative to anarchy and civil war. 
There is a tradition that when Washington was about to sign the 
document, he rose from his seat, and after a short pause, solemnly 
pronounced these words, " Should the states reject this excel- 
lent Constitution, the probability is that an opportunity will 
never again be offered to concert another in peace the 
next will be drawn in blood." Similar views were expressed by 
Knox to Lafayette. " From my soul," he writes, " I wish the 
propositions God-speed, but in desiring their adoption, I would 
not have you believe that I think them all perfect. There are 
several things that I confess I could wish to see altered, but I 
apprehend no alterations can be effected peaceably, and that 
such an agreement as has been entered into, could not again be 
produced even by the same men." 

The ratification of nine states was necessary to give the Consti- 
tution validity and effect, and a year elapsed before the requisite 
number was attained. The action of the states was anxiously 
awaited by Knox, who employed his efficient influence to secure 
the adoption of the new form of government. 

It was provided that the Constitution should become operative 
on the fourth of March, 1789. Such was the apathy.concerning 
it, that a quorum of the two houses of Congress did not assem- 
ble until over a month later. The first business of their session 
was to count the votes for President, 'all of which, sixty-nine in 
number, were given for Washington. 

Immediately after his inauguration, the President proceeded 
to form his cabinet. At the head of the State department, he 
placed Jefferson, then about returning from France, where he 
had filled the office of Minister with much credit to himself and 
to his country. Alexander Hamilton was appointed Secretary 
of the Treasury, the post of Attorney- General was given to 
Edmund Randolph of Virginia, and Knox was continued as Sec- 
retary of War, which station he had held under the Confedera- 
tion. With such officers, having as a constitutional adviser and 
as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay, and as a leader 
in the House, James Madison, who had labored in the Federalist 



12 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

in support of the new fabric, did the first administration of 
Washington commence. 

The vigor and activity of mind which distinguished Knox as 
a general, were not wanting in him as a statesman. Washing- 
ton, who had so often depended upon his services for support in 
war, found his counsel and advice of no less value in peace. 
The framing of a militia system received his early attention, and 
in a policy to be pursued toward the various Indian tribes he 
was guided by enlarged and liberal views. During the first year 
of the new administration, the Secretary of the Treasury had 
recommended a national bank, as of great utility in regulating 
the finances of the country, and in facililating the support of 
our public credit. The cabinet was divided on the subject, Jef- 
ferson and Randolph opposing it as unconstitutional, while Knox 
and Hamilton were in its favor. The opinion of the latter was 
sustained by the President, and resulted in the establishment of 
the Bank of the United States, with a capital of eight million 
dollars. 

While the new government was rapidly acquiring strength 
and respect, the French Revolution broke out, and war between 
England and France was declared. In its earliest stages this 
revolution was hailed throughout America as a joyful event, and 
as affording a presage of the happiest results in the cause of 
freedom. The sanguinary acts which followed, and the fero- 
cious temper shown by the leaders, somewhat modified such sen- 
timents, but many were disposed to make common cause with 
France in what they regarded the struggle of a people for lib- 
erty against the combined despots of Europe. Washington, 
however, determined to maintain the neutrality of this country, 
and his position was unanimously sustained by the cabinet, who 
agreed that a minister from the new republic should be received. 
On the subject of qualifying this reception, they were divided. 
Hamilton and Knox opposed an absolute recognition, upon the 
ground that no fixed government existed in France. The result 
established the soundness of their views. 

Jefferson and Knox seem to have disagreed about many of the 
vexed questions which came before the cabinet. But toward 
the close of the administration they were found in unison upon 
a most important measure. We were then destitute of a navy, 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 13 

and outrages by Mediterranean pirates upon the persons and 
property of our citizens, together with the importance of pro- 
viding defences for our extensive sea-coast, impressed Knox with 
the necessity of a naval force. By the support of Jefferson, his 
efforts were successful and our navy, which owes its origin to 
Knox, has ever since been identified with the glory and fame of 
the country. Knox had charge of the new department, perform- 
ing its duties, while acting as Secretary of War. 

At the close of the year 1794, when Knox had advanced be- 
yond middle life, the concerns of his increasing family and the 
imperious claims of private interest, determined him to retire 
from public service. The salary attached to his office was only 
twenty-five hundred dollars, which the expenses of his generous 
hospitality far exceeded. The President, who had desired him to 
remain until the end of his own official term, reluctantly ac- 
cepted his resignation. " I cannot suffer you," wrote Washing- 
ton, " to close your public service, without expressing, in addi- 
tion to the satisfaction which must arise in your own mind from 
a conscious rectitude, my most perfect persuasion that you have 
deserved well of your country. My personal knowledge of your 
exertions, while it authorizes me to hold this language, justifies 
the sincere friendship which I have ever borne for you, and 
which will accompany you in every situation of life." 

Knox left the seat of government with every mark of esteem 
and confidence. At Boston, he was honored by a public dinner, 
and similar demonstrations awaited his arrival , at Thomaston, 
which he had selected for his future home. 

We shall now glance at him in the last stage of his life, when 
he appears as a private citizen of our state, living upon his own 
extensive estates, honored by his fellow citizens, and contributing 
to the prosperity and happiness of all around him. It was a po- 
sition to which he had often turned a wistful eye throughout his 
agitated and anxious career, and which possessed his thoughts 
even amid the stern duties of the field, and in the perplexities of 
the cabinet. 

Through her mother, who, as has been before remarked was a 
daughter of General Waldo, Mrs. Knox inherited a share in that 
large tract of territory known as the "Waldo Patent," which 
comprised portions of what are now the counties of Penobscot, 



14 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Waldo and Knox. The remaining shares General Knox suc- 
ceeded in obtaining by purchase. To the cultivation and im- 
provement of this estate he applied his whole energies immedi- 
ately upon retiring from public life, and established his residence 
near the thriving village of Thomaston. Here he erected a 
spacious mansion, three stories in height, with corresponding 
out-buildings, all in the style of a French chateau. The man- 
sion was situated on a swelling slope, sheltered by the forest in 
the rear, and commanding a magnificent view of ten miles down 
the Georges river, a river which is navigable for the largest 
ships. Although local tradition has greatly exaggerated the 
extent of this house, yet with its cupola, balconies and piazzas, 
added to the surrounding walks, well-kept lawns, tufted trees 
and shrubbery, the whole premises were unequalled for beauty 
and symmetry in New England. In dimensions, architecture 
and ornaments, the expansive character of the owner was clearly 
manifested. 

"In this charming spot, to which he gave the name of Mont- 
pelier, in the society of his wife and children, and of the many 
distinguished visitors, who from time to time partook of his hos- 
pitality, Knox probably enjoyed a larger degree of happiness 
than he had ever before known." Mrs. Knox, who was truly 
his congenial spirit, was also well satisfied to exchange scenes of 
gayety and fashion for domestic life. She is described as hav- 
ing been, even in her Intter days, when upward of sixty, a re- 
markably fine-looking woman, with brilliant black eyes, and a 
blooming complexion. Her mind, we are told, was of a high 
order, and her influence upon all with whom she came in con- 
tact was very decided. The deference of General and Mrs. 
Washington, and the homage paid to her intellectual superiority 
by many persons of talent and judgment, show this influence to 
have been great and well-founded. In society she was com- 
manding, and gave a tone to the manners of the times. During 
the residence of General Knox at New York, their house was 
the scene of a liberal hospitality. Mr. Griswold, in his u Re- 
publican Court," says, " she was recognized as a lively and med- 
dlesome, but amiable, leader of society, without whose co-opera- 
tion it was believed by many beside herself that nothing could 
be properly done in the drawing-room, or the ball-room, or any 
place where fashionable men and women sought amusement." 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 15 

During the residence of Knox at Montpelier, he constantly 
received guests from far and near, who came to make their 
obeisance of respect and regard to the warrior and patriot. 
Writing to his friend General Henry Jackson in 1795, he says, 
" We had a small company on the Fourth of July of upward of 
five hundred people ! " * On this occasion, which was soon after 
his arrival, a general invitation had been given to all the sur- 
rounding inhabitants to partake of the festivities of an old- 
fashioned house-warming. Brilliant parties from Philadelphia 
and other cities, and frequently from abroad, enlivened the sum- 
mer, and the halls resounded with music and conversation. At 
this time, America was the asylum for many distinguished for- 
eigners, driven here by the French Revolution. Among them 
were Louis Philippe, afterward King of France, and his brothers, 
the Duke de Montpensier and the Count de Beaujolais, together 
with the Duke de Liancourt and the celebrated Talleyrand. All 
these exiles brought letters of introduction to Knox, and re- 
ceived a warm welcome within his hospitable doors. Talleyrand, 
the distinguished French statesman, landed from Europe at Cas- 
tine. Some curious facts have been adduced to show that this ex- 
traordinary character was a native of Mount Desert. It appears 
that he had not been long in this country, before he visited that 
island. The older inhabitants there thought they recognized him 
as the illegitimate child of the pretty daughter of a fisherman, 
and the captain of a French national ship which touched on the 
coast of Maine forty years before. The boy, the^y said, when 
young, his mother being dead, had been taken away by a French 
gentleman, who declared that he was descended from a noble 
family in France. We may know more about this when the 
autobiography of Talleyrand is given to the world. 

*This " small company of five hundred " seems, like the marriage feast of the parable, 
to have comprised some unworthy as well as many worthy guests. For Mrs. Mary Lin- 
coln, daughter of the famous James Otis, and widow of General Lincoln's oldest son, in a 
sprightly letter written to her brother-in-law, Judge Theodore Lincoln of Dennysville, 
Maine, dated Sept. 10, 1795, describing her own long voyage from Passamaquoddy, 
where she had just made a visit, to Hingham, her home, writes : " The captain begins to 
think it doubtful whether we shall go to Georges River. If we do I will give you the 
particulars. I must tell you one thing I have heard along shore, that Mrs. ffluktr had 
her watch stolen the day the mob-ility dined at the General's, and that the General lost 
two silver cups." This mpntion of Mrs, FLuker would seem to indicate that at that time 
Mrs. Knox's mother formed a part of her family. In a part of the same letter, dated later, 
October 16, 1795, Mrs. Lincoln also writes: " I was disappointed that I could not go to 
Georges, as I heard on my way that Mrs. Fluker expected me." Perhaps in the vein of 
raillery, in which the letter was written, Madame Knox herself is the person, evidently 
the mistress of the house "who expected her," twice mentioned under her mother's name- 



16 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

At Montpelier, Louis Philippe became acquainted with the beau- 
tiful Miss Bingham, afterward the wife of Lord Ashburton, and 
offered himself to her in marriage. The prospective king was 
then in reduced pecuniary circumstances, and dependent upon 
the generosity of his American friends. Her father declined the 
royal alliance. " Should you be ever restored to your hereditary 
position," he said, " you will be too great a match for her; if not, 
she is too great a match for you." Knox became warmly at- 
tached to Liancourt, who passed several months in his family. 
This unfortunate nobleman once exclaimed in a fit of despon- 
dency, as he struck his forehead with his hand, 4< I have three 
dukedomes on my head, and not a whole coat to my back." 
His wardrobe was replenished by the munificence of his host. 

His charity was not, however, confined to such. Many a 
poorer exile from his native land ; many a weary missionary in 
his round of frontier duty; many a distressed adventurer, 
found with him a refuge from oppression, rest from fatigue, a 
hearing, and perhaps adoption of some scheme or discovery. 
On one occasion he invited the whole Penobscot tribe of Indians 
to pay him a visit, and entertained them for several days. He 
loved to see every one happy, and could sympathize with people 
of every class and condition, rejoice in their prosperity and aid 
them in adversity. 

Beside cultivating the acquaintance of men of learning, Knox 
maintained a correspondence with many distinguished person- 
ages of his time in Europe and America. His library, with a 
single exception, was the largest in Maine. 

Knox offered favorable terms to new settlers, and published 
advertisements extolling the fertility of his lands, as well as the 
salubrity of the climate. To the latter, he said that the balsamic 
firs largely contributed. As an inducement to immigration he 
commenced several extensive branches of business, which gave 
employment to a large number of workmen, and afforded a 
market for the products of the soil and of the forest. In one of 
his familiar letters to Washington, he writes, "I am beginning 
to experience the good effects of residing on my lands. I may 
truly say that the estate is more than doubled in its value since 
I determined to make it my home." His plans and projects of 
improvement were more suited to his expansive mind than to his 



GENEKAL HENEY KNOX. 17 

actual resources, and finally involved him in serious pecuniary 
embarrassments.* " But had he been permitted to attain the 
usual age of man, which his vigorous constitution indicated," 
says Drake, the clouds that rested upon the latter part of his 
life would have been dispelled. The increased value of his 
property would have realized all his anticipations, and enabled 
him to leave his family in opulence. It was otherwise ordained. 
A sudden casualty cut him oft* in the midst of his usefulness, at 
the age of fifty-six years. The event occurred on Saturday, the 
twenty-fifth of October, 1806, after an illness of only a few days. 
It was occasioned by his having accidentally swallowed the 
minute bone of a chicken, which caused a mortification, and was 
from its nature incurable." His funeral took place on the fol- 
lowing Tuesday. He was entombed under a wi'le-spreading 
oak, on the banks of the Georges, in a spot where, when living, 
he had loved to linger for meditation. Multitudes were present 
to pay the last tribute of respect to one whom they regarded as 
a public benefactor, the life of the business community, and the 
friend of his country and of the human race. 

Mrs. Knox survived her husband fourteen years. Of her 
twelve children, nine of whom died in infancy, only three sur- 
vived their father, and they, too, have deceased. The family 
name is extinct. Montpelier is no longer standing. It ought to 
have become the property of the public, and been preserved as 
sacred to the memory of its departed owner. Some future gener- 
ation, if the patriotism of the past shall survive the temptation 
of the present, will mourn over the insensibility of their fathers, 
which allowed so sacred a shrine to become obliterated. 

* In this embarrassment, Gen. Knox discloses in his correspondence that bis most serious 
regret was that his old compatriot, correspondent and friend, General Lincoln, who had 
indorsed his notes, was involved and might be reduced from independence to poverty. 
He was, in fact, sued, all his property attached, and his house and family homestead in 
Hingham was actually levied upon by the creditors of his friend. He had been advised 
of the danger and strongly urged, as the debt was not his own, to alienate his property 
to prevent its being taken in execution, but the old warrior sturdily refused to resort to 
any such questionable remedies. He wrote, that the notes had been negotiated and 
money raised upon the credit of his name and of the property in his ownership, and 
that he could not in honesty dispossess himself of the very security upon which some per- 
sons had in good faith advanced their money. For the good fame of General Knox too 
it ought to be told that he at once put into the hands of his sureties his whole estate, and 
that in process of time, from the proceeds of the sale of portions of it to settlers, the 
whole debt was paid, and General Lincoln was enabled to redeem the homestead that 
had been taken in execution. 

2 



18 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

In stature, Knox was rather above medium height, his frame 
well proportioned and inclining to corpulency. In connection 
with this fullness of person it is stated that when he was selected 
together with one Captain Sargent to represent to Congress the 
starving and naked condition of the army at Valley Forge, one 
of the committee who heard their pleas, remarked that neverthe- 
less he had not for a long time seen an apparently better fed 
man than the representative who had last spoken, nor one better 
dressed than the other. Knox remaining mute, probably from 
indignation, his subordinate replied that " the army, out of 
respect to Congress and themselves, had sent the only man 
among them with an ounce of superfluous flesh on his body, and 
the only other who possessed a complete suit of clothes." When 
the American troops occupied Boston after its evacuation, Knox, 
who had even then become quite stout, marched in at the head 
of the artillery. As he passed on, that celebrated punning Tory, 
the Rev. Dr. Byles, who had been intimate with the former book- 
seller, and thought himself privileged on old scores, exclaimed 
loud enough to be heard, " I never saw an-ox fatter in my life ! " 
But Knox was not in the mood for such low wit. He justly felt 
offended by this freedom, especially from Byles, whose Tory sen- 
timents were well known, and he replied in not very courteous 
terms. 

The personal and mental characteristics of General Knox are 
thus described by William Sullivan, in his " Familiar Letters ": 

He was a large, full man ; his lower limbs inclined a very little out- 
ward, so that in walking his feet were nearly parallel. His hair was 
short in front, standing up, and powdered and queued. His forehead 
was low ; his face, large and full below ; his eyes, rather small, gray and 
brilliant. The expression of his face altogether was a very fine one. 

When moving along the street he had an air of grandeur and self-com- 
placency, but it wounded no man r s self-love. He carried a large cane, 
not to aid his steps, but usually under his arm ; and sometimes, when 
he happened to stop and engage in conversation with his accustomed 
ardor, his cane was used to flourish with. He was usually dressed in 
black. In the summer he commonly carried his light silk hat in his 
hand when walking in the shade. 

When thinking he looked like one of his own heavy pieces, which 
would surely do execution when discharged; when speaking his face 
had a noble expression and was capable of displaying the most benig- 
nant feeling. This was the true character of his heart. His voice was 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 19 

strong, and no one could hear it without feeling that it had been accus- 
tomed to command. The mind of Knox was powerful, rapid and deci- 
sive, and he could employ it continuously and effectively. His natural 
propensity was highly social, and no man better enjoyed a hearty laugh. 
He said he had through life left his bed at the dawn, and had been 
always a cheerful, happy man. 

Dr. Thacher, his military contemporary, has left upon record 
the following analysis of Knox : 

Long will he be remembered as the ornament of every circle in which 
he moved, as the amiable and enlightened companion, the generous 
friend, the man of feeling and benevolence. His conversation was ani- 
mated, and he imparted an interest to every subject that he touched. 
In his gayest moments he never lost sight of dignity ; he invited confi- 
dence, but repelled familiarity. His conceptions were lofty, and no 
man ever possessed the power of embodying his thoughts in more vig- 
orous language ; when ardently engaged, they were peculiarly bold and 
original, and you inevitably felt in his society that his intellect was not 
of the ordinary class ; yet no man was more unassuming, none more 
delicately alive to the feelings of others. His own feelings were strong 
and exquisitely tender. He was frank, generous and sincere, and in his 
intercourse with the world uniformly just. 

Although General Knox could not be called an orator, he 
spoke clearly and forcibly, throwing upon the points in issue the 
strong light of authority and illustration. Occasionally, his re- 
marks had a natural eloquence, as in the following instance. 
After the Revolution and while he was a member of the legisla- 
ture of Massachusetts, an application was made by citizens of 
Marblehead for the charter of a bank. Their petition met with 
opposition from a representative, who ridiculed the idea that the 
ignorant fishermen of that town were entitled to such a privi- 
lege. Knox at once obtained the floor. " I am surprised," he 
said, " that Marblehead should ask so small a favor as that of 
banking, and that it should be opposed. Sir, I wish the members 
of this body knew the people of Marblehead as well as I do. I 
could wish that they had stood on the banks of the Delaware 
river in 1777, in that bitter night when Washington had drawn up 
his little army to cross it, and had seen the powerful current bear- 
ing onward the floating masses of ice which threatened destruc- 
tion to whomsoever should venture upon its bosom. I wish, that 
when this occurrence threatened to defeat the enterprise, they 
could have heard the coinmander-in-chief demand, * Who will 



20 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

lead us on ? ' and seen the men of Marblehead, and Marblehead 
alone, stand forward to direct the army along that perilous path 
to unfading glories and honors in the achievements of Trenton. 
There, sir, went the fishermen of Marblehead, alike at home upon 
land or water ; alike ardent, patriotic and unflinching, whenever 
they unfurled the flag of the country ! " 

One of the distinctive qualities of Knox was the attachment 
to himself by an influence stronger than hooks of steel, of all 
with whom he was connected. The attachment of Washington 
continued unbroken after both had retired from public life, and 
their correspondence resembles that between brothers. In a let- 
ter written by Washington a few months before his death, he 
says : 

I can with truth say, that there is no man in the United States with 
whom I have been in habits of greater intimacy ; no one whom I have 
loved more sincerely; nor any for whom I have had a greater friendship. 

How valuable is such testimony ! How precious is its legacy ! 
In the eloquent words of Winthrop, as applied to Franklin: 

Other honors may grow valueless, other laurels may fade and wither, 
monumental marble may molder and crumble, but the man of whom it 
may be said that for nearly a generation he enjoyed the sincere friend- 
ship and secured the respect and affection of Washington, without any 
other merits, has won a title to his country's remembrance, which time 
will only strengthen and increase ! 

One of the lessons which an acquaintance with the character 
of Knox teaches, is so especially applicable to our own times that 
it might well be learned by many of our countrymen occupying 
stations of public trust. It was his strict personal integrity. 
How noble is the following sentiment, contained in a private let- 
ter written to his brother, during the revolution. 

I undoubtedly might have at first stipulated for some pecuniary ad- 
vantage to myself; but I know not how it is, I do not approve of money 
obtained in the public service ; it does not appear to me, in a war like 
ours, to be right, and I cannot bring myself to think differently, although 
poverty may be the consequence. You know my sentiments with 
respect to making anything out of the public. I abominate the idea. 
I could not, at the close of hostilities, mix with my fellow citizens with 
that conscious rectitude, the felicity of which I often anticipate. 

A similar spirit was manifested by Washington, when he ac- 
cepted the position of commander- in-chief. He said : 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 21 

I beg leave to assure the Congress, that as no pecuniary consideration 
could have tempted me to accept this arduous employment at the ex- 
pense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any 
profit out of it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. These 
I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire. 

This sketch would be indeed incomplete without an allusion 
to the religious views of General Knox. It is undoubtedly true, 
as related by one writer, that in the heat of excitement his ve- 
hemently uttered commands were interlarded with expletives 
suggestive of anything but a Puritan ancestry, but such was the 
custom of the times. The war of the Revolution has a pro- 
fane as well as a sacred history, and our army understood the 
nature of an oath as well as did the army in Flanders. Even 
Washington, although reproving by general orders "the foolish 
and wicked practice of swearing," occasionally was unmindful of 
this precept. For the profanity in which Putnam indulged at 
the battle of Bunker Hill, the brave old general made a sincere 
confession, after the war, to the church of which he was a mem- 
ber. It was not, however, with Knox, that senseless, unmean- 
ing use of sacred language so often met with, but consisted 
rather of solemn asseverations upon too unimportant and trivial 
subjects. All his writings bear testimony to the great truths of 
Christianity, and they express the belief that its exalted princi- 
ples were intended to correct the heart and to purify the life. 
His thoughts were often and intensely employed on the subject 
of a future existence. Thacher says : 

He firmly believed in an over ruling Providence, and that he was formed 
and sustained by its power and goodness. The order, harmony, and 
beauty of creation seemed to him the most convincing proof of wisdom 
and design. He thought that the universal distribution of blessings 
among the human race furnished conclusive evidence of the goodness of 
the being from whose bounty they flow. But this was a subject upon 
which he reasoned for himself. Doctrinal opinions and metaphysical 
subtleties had no allurement for him. The exclusive pretensions of the 
various sects he considered the fruits of human invention, and utterly 
unworthy of infinite wisdom. This globe he regarded as a mere atom of 
the great incomprehensible scheme of the Almighty, and our existence 
here as only the commencement of a progressive state, rising toward 
perfection in the future. 

Such is a brief outline of the life and character of this distin- 
guished man. " Many," says one writer, " have been as coura- 



22 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

geous in the field, many as wise and patriotic in council, but few 
have united to these the still rarer virtues, a spotless integrity, 
and a noble out-spoken manliness" as he did. Here in this 
state, which he adopted as his own, we have not taken those 
means of perpetuating his memory, of which it is worthy. We 
cannot do too much to remind us of the aid which he contribu- 
ted by his counsels and valor, in achieving our liberties, and in 
laying the foundation of our institutions. 



GENEKAL HENRY KNOX. 23 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MEMORANDA 
RELATING TO GENERAL KNOX. 



BY JOSEPH WILLIAMSON. 



A CATALOGUE OP BOOKS ; IMPORTED AND TO BE SOLD BY HENRY 
KNOX, AT THE LONDON BOOK-STOKE, A LITTLE SOUTHWARD OP 

THE TOWN-HOUSE IN CORNHILL, BOSTON, MDCCLXXII, 12 MO. 

N. P. 

KNOX, HENRY. A Plan for the General Arrangement of the Militia of 
the United States. . . . (n. p. 1786. ) 8vo. pp. 34. Philadelphia, 1786, 8vo. 
New York : Printed by Francis Childs and John Swayne, 1790. Fol. 
pp. 26. 

This title is from Sabin. 

KNOX, H. A Plan for the General Arrangement of the Militia of 
the United States. By General Knox. Boc. Mass. Hist. Soc. 6 : 364-403. 

KNOX, HENRY. Causes of Existing Hostilities between the United 
States and the Indians. 8vo. 1792. 

VOYAGES de M. le Marquis de Chastelleux dans L' Amerique Septen- 
trionale, Dans les anuees 1780, 1781 & 1782. Multorumque hominum 
vidit urbes, et mores cognovit. A Paris, Chez Bouet, Imprimeur du 
Roi, Quai des Augustine, a 1' Immortalite, 1791. Tome Premier. Detail 
particulier sur le General Knox, Pag. 116 & suiv. 

LETTER to Gen. David Cobb, 1796, Bangor Hist. Mag. 3: 119. (1887). 

VOYAGE dans les Etats-unis d' Amerique, fait en 1795, 1796 et 1797. 
Par La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt. A Paris, L an vii de la Republique. 
8 vols. 

Knox mentioned, Vol. 1, p. 253; Vol. 2, p. 348; Vol. 3, pp. 29, 38, 
39-41, 42, 68, 69, 87, 88, 93; Vol. 5, pp. 198, 199, 205. 

There is an octavo edition in four volumes. 

TRAVELS through the United States of North America, the country 
of the Iroquois, and Upper Canada, in the years 1795, 1796 and 1797; 
with an authentic account of Lower Canada. By the Duke de la Roche- 
foucault-Liancourt. London: pr. for R. Phillips, 1799. 2 v. Maps, 
Plates, 4to. Vol. 1, pp. xxiii (1), 642 (12) pp. Vol. 2, pp. 686. 

Knox is mentioned, Vol. 1, pp. 416-449; Vol. 2, pp. 179-184. 



24 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

KNOX, HENRY. Letter to Samuel Freeman, Esqr. 1802. Maine His- 
torical and Genealogical Record, 2: 188. (1887.) 

BRADFORD, ALDEN. A Sermon delivered before the Congregational 
Society at Thomaston, (Maine), November 2, 1806; being the Lord's Day 
after the Interment of the Hon. Henry Knox, who died October 25the 
-ffitat 56 years. By Alclen Bradford, A.M., s.A.s. Published by Request 
of the Inhabitants comprising said Society in Thomaston. *' Behold 
the Lord doth take away the mighty man, the man of war, the hon- 
orable man, the counsellor, and the eloquent orator." Isaiah . . . Printed 
by Babson and Russt, 8vo., n. p, n. d. n. pp. (Wiscasset, 1806, pp. 16.) 

THACHER, JAMES. Military Journal, during the American Revolu- 
tionary War, from 1775 to 1783; describing the Events and Transactions 
of this Period, with numerous historical facts and anecdotes. To which 
is added, an appendix, containing biographical sketches of several general 
officers. By James Thacher, M.D., late surgeon in the American Army. 

"As Americans, we hail with delight any attempt to rescue from ob- 
livion the words or actions of those whose names we have been taught 
to revere." Hartford: Silas Andrus & Son. 1854, 8vo., pp. 494 

Several editions of this work have been published; the first in 1823. 
Pages 477 to 486, inclusive, are occupied with "Sketch of the Life of 
General Knox." The name of the author is not given. It was proba- 
bly Ebenezer Thacher, who married Lucy F., daughter of General Knox, 
and who pronounced an eulogy at his funeral. The eulogy was never 
printed. 

The volume contains numerous references to Knox, covering his Rev- 
olutionary career. 

WILSON, T. The Biography of the Principal American Military and 
Naval Heroes, during the Revolutionary and late Wars. New York: 182^. 
2 vols. 12mo. 

Vol. 2 contains a biography of Knox. 

EASTERN ARGUS, Portland, Maine, September 30, 1825. "Editorial 
Letters, No. 5," from Thomaston, devotes a column to Knox. 

FAMILIAR LETTERS on Public Characters and Public Events; from the 
Peace of 1783, to the Peace of 1815. Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and 
Metcalf, 1834. 12mo. pp. xi, 468. 

The author was Hon. William Sullivan. Page 62 mentions resignation 
of Knox as Secretary of War. Pages 99 to 104, are devoted to a descrip- 
tion of Knox. 

THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY of distinguished Americans. 
Conducted by James Herring, New York, and James B. Longacre, Phil- 
adelphia, under the superintendence of the American Academy of the 
Fine Arts. New York, M. Bancroft; Philadelphia, H. Perkins; London, 
O. Rich. 1834, 1835, 1836, 1839, 4 vols. Svo. 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 25 

The volumes are not paged, each article is paged separately. In the 
second volume, the seventh article comprising ten pages, treats of Knox 
and has an accompanying portrait. 

HE ABLE Y, JOEL T. Washington and the Generals of the American 
Revolution. Philadelphia, 1847. 2 vols., 12mo. pp. 324 and 336. (Por- 
traits.) 

Yol. 1, pp. 235 to 243, contains a sketch' of Knox. 

ELLETT, ELIZABETH F. The Women of the American Revolution. 
New York, 1848. 2 vols. 12mo., pp. 348 and 312. 
An account of Lucy Knox is given in vol. 1, pp. 107-111. 

RE PUBLIC AN JOURNAL, Belfast, Maine, July 4, 1848, has an article a 
column long, entitled " Gen. Henry Knox, Major General in the American 
Army," with an engraving. It is evidently copied from some newspaper 
or magazine, which I have been unable to find. 

ELLETT, ELIZABETH F. Sketch of Mrs. Henry Knox, Godey's Lady's 
Book, 38: 106, 1849. 

SIMONTON, PUTNAM, M.D. (Of Searsport, Maine), Major General Knox. 
Republican Journal, Belfast, Aug. 15, 1851. Two columns. 

EATON, CYRUS. Annals of the Town of Warren; with the Early His- 
tory of St. George's, Broadbay, and the neighboring Settlements on the 
Waldo Patent, Hallowell, 1851. 12mo., pp. 437. 

The same. Second edition, Hallowell, 1877, 12mo., pp. 

680. 

Account of Knox, pp. 250, 251, of first edition, and pp. 265, 266, 267, 
of second edition. 

ELLETT, MRS. ELIZABETH F. General Knox. Letters in the New 
York Daily Times, July 20 and 25, 1854. 

GRISWOLD, RUFUS W. The Republican Court on American Society in 
the days of Washington. By Rufus Wilmot Griswold. With Twenty- 
one Portraits of Distinguished Women. Engraved from original pic- 
tures by Woolaston, Copley, Gainsborough, Stewart, Trumbull, Pine, 
Malborne, and other contemporary painters. New York: D. Appleton 
and Company, 346 and 348 Broadway. London: 16 Little Britain, 
MDCCCLV. 4to., pp. 408. 

Contains numerous allusions to General Knox and wife. 

LOSSING, BENSON J. The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution; or 
Illustrations, by Pen and Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, 
Relics, and Traditions of the War for Independence. By Benson J. 
Lossing, with 1100 engravings on wood, by Lossing & Barrett, chiefly 
from original sketches by the author. In two volumes. New York: 



26 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Harper & Brothers. Publishers, Franklin Square, 1855. Royal 8vo., Vol. 
1, pp. xxxii. 783. Vol. 2, pp. xiii., 772. 

Biographical Sketch, Portrait, and Autograph of Knox, Vol. 2, pp. 
632, 633. 

SALEM (Mass.) GAZETTE, August 29, 1857. Disposition. of the Kemains 
of Knox. 

A severe, but just censure of the inhabitants of Thomaston, for per- 
mitting the removal of the remains of Knox to the public graveyard, in 
a drag, without any notice or ceremonies. 

BOSTON COURIER, September 26, 1857. Reply to foregoing, from "Citi- 
zens of Thomaston." 

The author was understood to be the Rev. Oliver J. Fernald, a Unita- 
rian minister of Thomaston. His attempted apology is weak. 

THE AGE, Augusta, Maine, February 4, 1858. Sketch of Remarks made 
in the House of Representatives, Friday, Jan. 29, ( 1858) on Resolve pre- 
sented by Mr. Gilbert of Bath, authorizing the Governor and Council to 
procure a statue of General Knox. 

The speakers were Washington Gilbert of Bath, Henry H. Boody of 
Brunswick, and Benjamin F. Buxton of Warren.. 

LOCKE, JOHN L. Sketches of the History of the Town of Camden, 
Maine, including incidental references to the neighboring places and ad- 
jacent waters. Hallowell: 1859. 12mo. pp. 235. 

Many of the statements concerning Knox are without foundation. 

F: A.TON, CYRUS. History of Thomaston, Rockland and South Thom- 
aston, Maine, from their first Exploration, A.D. 1805; with Family Gen- 
ealogies. In two volumes. Hallowell; 1865, 12mo. pp. 468 and 472. 

Contains the best account which exists of Knox's life at Thomaston 
and of his personal character and habits. 

"THE HOME OF KNOX." Anonymous. Boston Transcript, August 
20, 1866. 

PARTON, JAMES. Peoples Book of biography; or, short lives of the 
most interesting persons of all ages and countries. Containing more 
th#n eighty sketches of the lives and deeds of eminent philanthropists, 
inventors, authors, poets, discoverers, soldiers, adventurers, travelers, 
politicians, and rulers, women as well as men. By James Parton. Richly 
illustrated with 12 steel engravings. Published by subscription only. 
A. S. Hale & Co., Hartford, Conn., 1868. 8 vo., pp. 624. 

Sketch of Knox, pp. 457-462. No portrait. 

PARTON. Atlantic Monthly, Jan. 1873. Washington's Cabinet does 
injustice to K. 

KNOX MANSION at Thomaston. New England Historical and Genea- 
logical Register, 36:80. 



GENERAL HENRY KNOX. 27 

DRAKE, FRANCIS S. Life and Correspondence of Henry Knox, Major 
General in the American Revolutionary Army, by Francis S. Drake. 
Boston: Samuel G. Drake, 17 Bromfield Street, 1873. 8 vo., pp. 160. 
Portrait. 

A reprint, from the "Memorials of the Massachusetts Society of the 
Cincinnati." It is quite elaborately reviewed in "The Nation," Jan. 1, 
1874. 

MAJOR GENERAL HENRY KNOX. A letter from the Hon. Harrison 
Gray Otis to the Hon. Charles Stewart Daveis. Communicated by 
David Greene Haskins, jr., A.M., of Cambridge. New England Hist, 
and Gen. Reg., 30:360, 1876. 

NEALLEY, EDWARD B. Oration, July 4, 1877, at Thomaston. Rock- 
land Courier and Gazette. 

Contains several reminiscences of Knox. 

THACHER, MARY P. Seashore and Prairie. Boston: J. R. Osgood 
and Company. 1877, 16mo. pp. 227. 
One of the sketches is entitled " The Knox House." 

THACHER, MARY P. Two Ancient Landmarks. Scribner's Magazine. 
9: 615. 1877. 
The first landmark is " The Knox House." 

HALSEY, MRS. C. H. Mrs. Henry Knox. Potter's American Monthly. 

7: 31. 1879. , 

DRAKE, FRANCIS S. New England Hist, and Gen. Register. 34: 347. 
1880. 

This article is an abridgment of ithe "Life and Correspondence of 
General Knox," by the same author. 

WILLIAMSON, JOSEPH. General Knox. A paper read before the 
Maine Historical Society. An abstract is published in the Portland 
Press, November 17, 1881, and in the Portland Advertiser of the follow- 
ing day. The preceding article is the paper referred to. 

LINDLEY, E. MARGUERITE. Montpelier, Home of Major General 
Knox. Seven illustrations. Magazine of American History. 16 : 121- 
132. 1886. 

THE KNOX MANUSCRIPTS. Report of the Rev. Edmund F. Staftor. 
Proceedings of the New England Historic Genealogical Society at the 
annual meeting, January 5, 1881. pp. 27-36. 

The same in separate form, 8vo., pp. 10. 



THE FRENCH TREATY OF 1778. 29 



THE FRENCH TREATY OF 1778, 



Recognizing the Independence of the United States. 



HOW THE GOOD NEWS CAME TO FALMOUTH. 
Read before the Maine Historical Society June 10, 1887, 

BY WILLIAM GOOLD. 

Early in 1776 it was decided privately by the Congress of the 
new states to seek assistance from abroad. The public credit 
was at a low ebb, and it was necessary to convince those from 
whom assistance was asked, that it would be, in time, for their in- 
terest to grant the request, aside from any promise or guaranty 
of repayment. France was a nation hostile to Great Britain by 
the long-continued tradition of centuries a humbled nation, 
smarting to recover her lost prestige and to console her lost 
pride, and she could ill brook to see the new ideas of political 
liberty with which her heart was throbbing, trampled upon and 
crushed in the Colonies by her hereditary and victorious enemy; 
A more mercenary motive might have reinforced these senti- 
ments, for she doubtless regarded the American trade as an ob- 
ject worth striving for. It was natural that the new states 
should turn first to France among the nations of Europe. 

Early in 1776, Silas Deane, then, and for two years before, a 
member of the Continental Congress from Connecticut, was sent 
by the secret committee of that body to France as a political 
and commercial agent. He arrived in Paris in June, with in- 
structions to sound the disposition of the cabinet in regard to 
the war between the Colonies and Great Britain, and to endeavor 
to obtain supplies and military stores. Probably Congress had 
heard from its agents in Europe, of the favorable disposition 
of the French cabinet and people, -and on the 26th of Sep- 
tember, 1776, elected Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and 
Arthur Lee to make a treaty of alliance with France, and to rep- 



30 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

resent the Colonies at the court of Versailles. Although he was 
born in Virginia, Lee was educated at Edinburgh, and had stud- 
ied law at the Temple in London. This experience eminently- 
qualified him for the duties required by his appointment. He 
had been some time in Europe, and had made frequent visits to 
Paris, as an agent of the secret service of the Continental Con- 
gress. Lee had already made arrangements secretly with the 
French king to send a large amount of arms, ammunition and 
specie to the Colonies ; but to avoid premature complications 
with Great Britain they obtained publicity only as a transaction 
between two commercial houses. The one, " Hortaly & Co." 
the house established by aid from the French and Spanish 
governments as a blind was engaged in loading their ships for 
America. The only mention of the arrival in America of these 
ships within my reading, is in the private journal of Brigadier 
Preble of Falmouth, who was serving as a councilor in the Pro- 
vincial Congress of Massachusetts. The arrival was kept as 
secret as possible. He writes : 

April 20, 1777, a ship arrived at Portsmouth with fifty-eight pieces of 
brass cannon; tents for ten thousand men; clothing for twelve thou- 
sand; five thousand seven hundred stand of arms; ten tons of powder; 
and twenty-four officers of artillery. She had three months' passage. 

July 7, Captain Claxton came before the board, and informed that he 
arrived from France yesterday, and brought seventy barrels of powder; 
forty chests of arms; ten tons of lead, and sundry anchors, cables, chains 
and rigging he took out of several vessels he had burnt. 

Monday, July 21st, the council met at ten o'clock. The board received 
a letter from Dr. Franklin in which he informs that he has purchased for 
the States two hundred and five brass four pounders, with their car- 
riages, traces for the horses, shot, &c., twenty-six brass mortars, a great 
number of shell, thirty thousand fusils [light muskets], and that a num- 
ber of expert officers of artillery and engineers, with a vast quantity of 
powder, has been shipped and gone to America. This letter is dated the 
27th of May last. A letter from Mr. Deane, and one from Mr. Lee was 
was received, who writes very encouragingly, that a quantity of cables, 
anchors, sail cloths, hats, and coarse linen from Spain, were shipped for 
America. 

Rochefontaine, who was sent to Portland by the war depart- 
ment in 1793, and who built the citadel on the hill called Fort 
Sumner, was one of the engineers sent from France in 1777. 

I have said that Arthur Lee was already in Europe when in 



THE FRENCH TREATY OF 1778. 31 

September, 1776, he was with Dr. Franklin appointed to join 
Silas Deane in Paris, for the purpose of negotiating a treaty of 
alliance with the French king. Dr. Franklin left Philadelphia 
as we learn from his letters on the 26th of October, and the 
next morning he sailed on the il Reprisal," Captain Wicks, and, 
on December 3, he landed at Auray in Brittany. The voyage 
had been a short one, but a rough experience for a man of sev- 
enty. Franklin had made visits to Paris in 1767, and again in 
1769. On his first visit he had traveled with an Englishman, Sir 
John Pringle. As commissioner, he arrived in Paris December 
12, 1776. He had with him two of his grandsons, and his son, 
William Temple Franklin, then in his sixteenth year, who acted 
as his father's private secretary through all the period of his res- 
idence in France, which was extended to eight years. 

At the very moment of his arrival Franklin found himself " the 
rage " in Paris. He and the other commissioners were received 
by Vergennes, the foreign minister, as early as December 23, not 
ostensibly as ambassadors, but as gentlemen to whom the minis- 
ter wished to show respect. 

The French archives contain the report made by the police of 
Franklin's appearance it is dated three weeks after his arrival 
in Paris and is in these words : 

Doctor Franklin, who lately arrived in this country from the English 
colonies, is very much sought after and feted, not only by the savants, 
his confreres, but by all people who can get hold of him, for he is 
difficult to be approached, and lives in reserve, as he is supposed to be 
directed by the government. This Quaker wears the full costume of 
his sect. He has an agreeable physiognomy; spectacles always on his 
eyes ; but little hair ; a fur cap is always on his head. He wears no pow- 
der, but has a neat air; linen very white, and a brown coat make his 
dress. His only defence is a stick in his hand. If he sees our ministers 
it is at Paris not at Versailles at court at night and in the greatest 
secrecy. 

The English minister, Lord Stormont, it was said, as soon as 
he learned that Franklin had arrived in France, sent a note to 
Vergennes, threatening to leave without ceremony if the chief 
of the American rebels was allowed to set foot in Paris. 

John Adams arrived in Paris April 8, 1778, in the American 

frigate "Boston," having been appointed to succeed Silas Deane. 

he latter was recalled by a resolution of Congress passed 



32 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

November 21, 1777, but which Deane did not receive until 
March, 1778. He came home in the " Languedoc," the flagship 
of D'Estaing, in April. Deane had been very profuse in his 
promises, and had exceded his instructions in his engagements of 
engineers. Congress being embarrassed by his contracts recalled 
him. 

Although Dr. Franklin's principal object, on his arrival in 
France, was to secure aid to prevent the colonies from being 
crushed by England, yet he found time for scientific pursuits. 
Paris was occupied at the time in welcoming Voltaire. Jile had 
been exiled for some years, and had just returned, at the age of 
eighty-four years. His comedies were revived at the theaters, 
and he was everywhere idolized by the citizens. Franklin, the 
American commissioner, won an equal share of the popular fa- 
vor. He was publicly presented to Voltaire at a meeting of the 
Academy of Science, where the two great men were fairly 
obliged, by the expectancy of the audience, to embrace and kiss 
each other. Voltaire died a few months later. Jean Jacques 
Rousseau, whose work in literature had impressed France and 
Europe as no other author but Voltaire had done, died soon 
after him. 

Undoubtedly a larger part of the courtiers at Versailles were 
strongly in favor of war with England, which open assistance of 
the Colonies by France would bring on ; but the King, Louis 
xvi, then only twenty-three years old, and his Queen, Marie 
Antoinette, were for peace, and the ministry hesitated. The 
correspondence of Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, with her 
daughter, Marie Antoinette, and with Merey, the Austrian min- 
ister at the French court, has been published. In this Marie 
Antoinette alludes to the force under Rochambeau to be sent to 
America. She does not allude to the American war itself, nor 
to the envoys until March, 1778, when she says: "The King 
has directed that the king of England shall be told that he has 
made a treaty with the Americans. My Lord Stormont receives 
on Sunday the orders of his court to leave France. It seems as 
if our marine, about which much has been done for a long time, 
will soon be in action. God grant that all these movements may 
not bring on war on the land." 

The news that General Burgoyne had surrendered at Sara- 



THE FRENCH TREATY OF 1778. 33 

toga in October, reached France on December 4, 1777, some 
days after negotiations were opened between the French minis- 
ters and the American commissioners, looking toward a com- 
mercial treaty between the two nations, and also a treaty of alli- 
ance. Mightily did this victory weigh in favor of the Ameri- 
cans at the French court, Unaided by any foreign power, the 
Americans had defeated and captured a well-trained army of six 
thousand men, led by experienced commanders. King Louis 
then cast off all disguise, and informed the American commis- 
sioners that the treaty of alliance and commerce already nego- 
tiated would be ratified, and that it was decided to acknowledge 
the independence of the United States. The king had in the 
meantime written to his uncle, the king of Spain, urging his 
co-operation. By a family understanding of the Bourbons, the 
king of Spain was to be consulted before such a treaty could be 
ratified. The treaty of alliance with France was signed at Paris, 
on the sixth of February, 1778. Although the French king as- 
sured the commissioners that no advantage would be taken of 
the situation of the Colonies, yet some of the terms acceded to 
by the commissioners were considered hard. The much talked 
of French Claims originated in depredations on American com- 
merce by the French under pretext of retaliating against the 
States some infractions of this treaty. 

It is possible that the United States might finally have won 
their independence if assistance from France had not been 
obtained, but those who have studied the situation with the 
greatest care are not of this opinion. The Colonies were in a 
great strait. The lives of the leading patriots were at stake 
upon the success of the struggle ; and the commissioners were 
ready to bid high for assistance, if our promises were accepted 
as an equivalent. What was asked of France would cost her 
much treasure, directly, and an inevitable war with England. 
On the other hand the most objectionable feature of the treaty, 
to the Americans, was the provision obliging them to allow 
French privateers to shelter themselves in our ports, secure their 
outfits there, and be protected in so doing. To perform to the 
letter this obligation in the treaty might involve the Colonies in. 
war with all the enemies of France. 

As the guaranties of our independence by France were of 
3 



34 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

no present worth, in 1792, our people chose to forget that fifteen 
years before they had been of vital value. This national feel- 
ing found vent in the proclamation of neutrality issued by Pres- 
ident Washington in April, 1793. By it he viitually asserted 
that we should treat France in precisely the same manner that 
we should Great Britain, with whom, at the time, we had no 
treaty. 

It is not necessary to go into the history of our claims on 
France for the seizure of American merchant vessels. After 
protracted negotiations, in 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte, then First 
Consul of France, consented that, if our government would as- 
sume this debt to the American merchants, France would ab- 
solve it from its troublesome obligations in the treaty of 1778, 
and this was readily consented to. Between 1793 and 1800, 
eight hundred and ninety-eight vessels owned or chartered by 
American merchants, were seized; some were released, but most 
of them were never accounted for. As soon as the treaty with 
Bonaparte was ratified by the American Senate, claimants began 
to file their petitions and they and their heirs have gone on so do- 
ing from that time to the present. Forty-three times have the 
French spoliation claims been considered by Congress ; forty- 
one favorable bills have been reported, but a veto or a failure to 
pass more than one house has prevented the claimants from re- 
ceiving their just dues. Twice bills granting relief have passed 
both Senate and House, and have been vetoed the first by 
President Polk, and the second by President Pierce. Of course 
none of the original claimants are now living. 

But to return to the treaty. From the letters which were saved, 
we learn that the commissioners had great difficulty in transmit- 
ting their dispatches to Congress. There were great numbers 
of English war-vessels in the Bay of Biscay, watching the move- 
ments of the French and American ships. All letters and dis- 
patches were in great danger of being intercepted, and nearly 
all that had been sent home by the commissioners were indeed lost. 
In some instances where they were intrusted to a special messenger 
they were abstracted from the packets and blank sheets substituted 
before he started. Probably English bribes effected this. Com- 
missioner Lee's secretary was suspected, and n\ially removed, 
but nothing was substantiated against him. 



THE FKENCH TREATY OF 1778. 35 

A letter from the committee of foreign affairs to the commis- 
sioners at Paris, dated at York, Pa., where Congress was in ses- 
sion, 24th of March, 1778, says : 

Yesterday a private letter from Dr. Franklin, dated October 6, was 
presented, containing the only political intelligence which Folger brought 
safe with him, viz. : " Our affairs, so far as relates to this country, are 
every day more promising." This, with a letter from Mr. Barnabas 
Deane (brother to Silas, from Connecticut), who tells us that his brother 
was sending an important packet to Congress, is all the explanation we 
have of the nature of your dispatches, of which we have been robbed. 
I inclose a list by which you will see the break in our correspondence. 

A letter from the committee of foreign affairs, dated York, 
March 2, 1778, to William Bingham, says, they have received no in- 
telligence from the commissioners since May of last year. They 
state that their dispatches had been " lost at sea and others tam- 
pered with in Europe before the bearer, Captain John Folger, 
embarked with them for America." The presence of the English 
ships hovering about the western coast of France, threatened a 
collision any day, between them and French vessels, thereby 
precipitating the war that all felt was inevitable. There was 
also a strong desire to keep the existence of the treaties secret 
from England to as late a date as possible, in order not to pre- 
cipitate a war. 

The Boston Weekly Advertiser of May 7, 1778, says : 

Friday arrived at Portsmouth the Continental frigate "Deane," Sam- 
uel Nicholson, Esq. , commander, in sixty- three days from France, laden 
with clothing for the army; two other ships came out with her on the 
continental service; all under the convoy of three 74's, two 64's, and 
three frigates, who had orders from the French court to attend them un- 
til they were clear of the Bay of Biscay. 

A letter from Passy, where Franklin resided, near Paris, dated 
February 8, 1778, signed by Franklin and Deane, and directed 
to the " President of Congress," says, " You will soon have the 
whole treaty with France by a safer conveyance, a frigate being 
appointed to carry our dispatches." 

Oh February 16, they say, " These treaties continue a secret 
here, and may do so till the commencement of the war, which is 
daily expected. Our little fleet formerly mentioned, which has 
been long watched and detained in Nantes river, by the English 
cruising off Belleisle, is now on the point of sailing, under the 



36 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

convoy of a French squadron. As the English are pretty strong 
in the Bay of Biscay, it is probable that their attack and the 
French defence of our ships, may be the prelude to a declaration 
on both sides." 

There is a letter from Dr. Franklin to Thomas Gushing, a 
member of the Continental Congress from Massachusetts, dated 
at Passy, 21st of February, 1778. He speaks of the two treaties 
with France, and closes with this announcement. "The treaties 
are forwarded by this conveyance." " We have now taken from 
King Louis xvi," says Franklin, "the delivery of the treaties, 
which make him our ally, and which were our national salvation, 
but the frigate bearing them must run the gauntlet of the British 
fleet in the Bay of Biscay. The British admiral does not know 
of the existence of the treaties if he did it would be impossi- 
ble for the frigate to pass with them." Their existence was not 
even known in France. 

Let us now look at the situation of the straggling Colonists on 
this side of the water. General Washington, in July, 1777, had 
received a powerful recruit, in the person of the Marquis Lafay- 
ette, who had been commissioned a Major General by the Con- 
gress. Within forty days he was wounded while fighting at the 
head of his corps on the bank of the Brandywine. A bullet 
passed through his leg, and he was conveyed to Bethlehem, Pa., 
where he was nursed by the Moravian sisters. Washington lost 
the battle of Brandywine and twelve hundred men, on the llth 
of September, 1777. Congress withdrew from Philadelphia to 
Lancaster, and then to York, Pa., where it continued in session 
until the following summer. The Americans lost the two forts, 
" Mifflin " and " Mercer," a few miles below Philadelphia, and 
the British army sat down in Philadelphia for the winter. 
They also lost a fight at Hubbardston, Vt., and their stores at 
Shenesbo rough. Disaster followed disaster in quick succession. 
Within a week, the Americans had lost almost two hundred 
pieces of cannon, and a large amount of military stores. 

On the 17th of October, 1777, Burgoyne surrendered to -the 
patriots at Saratoga. Glorious indeed was this victory. We 
have seen that the news of it confirmed the French king in his 
desire to assist the Colonies, but neither Congress nor General 
Washington knew of its good influence at Versailles when he 



THE FRENCH TREATY OF 1778. 37 

was compelled by the snows of early winter, to lead his scantily 
fed and more scantily clothed army into rude huts at Valley 
Forge. After the close of the war, General Washington testi- 
fied that bloody foot-prints were everywhere visible in the track 
of their march of nineteen miles, from Whitemarsh to Valley 
Forge. There they starved and shivered, while the British army 
were comfortably quartered and well fed in Philadelphia. I have 
myself, in my boyhood, listened to the sad story of the sufferings 
at Valley Forge, from men from my native town, who participa- 
ted in them ; one of whom said that he had the only pair of 
shoes in his company. This was the situation of Washington 
and his army while the frigate bearing the treaties was crossing 
the Atlantic. It had been nearly a year since any intelligence 
had been received from the commissioners in France. 

Mr. Joseph Oilman was chairman of the New Hampshire com- 
mittee of safety, a body which had charge of the supplies for the 
state troops. Samuel Adams, afterward governor of Massachu- 
setts, went to Exeter to visit Mr. Oilman, to consult as to ways 
and means to raise supplies for the naked and starving soldiers. 
Mr. Oilman happened to be away from home, and his wife 
attempted to engage Mr. Adams in conversation, but his down- 
cast looks arid abstracted manner caused her to desist. The 
visitor, too uneasy to sit quietly in his chair, walked rapidly up 
and down the room, and uttering a deep groan, while wringing 
his hands, and with tears rolling down his cheeks, he exclaimed 
almost in agony, " O my God, must we give it up ! " 

This was the feeling of the men whose business it was to fur- 
nish food and clothing for the army, when the good news arrived 
from France that our independence was acknowledged, and that 
men, money and supplies were on the way. 

Years ago Robert Browning wrote the poem " How they 
brought the good news from Ghent to Aix." The first reading 
of th'e poem causes the illusion that the reader is in the saddle, 
upon a foaming horse at full gallop. The literary world won- 
dered what was the good news which alone could save Aix from 
her fate. The annals of the French department of the lower 
Alps, in which is situated the ancient city which was the objec- 
tive point of the three horsemen of the poem, were searched. 
The effort was fruitless, and Browning was appealed to, when he 



38 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

stated that the poem had DO ground either in fact or tradition, 
but was inspired while > he was lying in the shadow of a sail, on 
board a yacht in the Mediterranean, by an intense yearning for 
a horseback gallop at home in England. 

There was good news and a treaty brought from Ghent to the 
United States in 1778, which was no myth. It was from France 
that the good news came to the struggling Colonies, in these 
darkest days of the Revolution, that their independence had 
been acknowledged by the king of France, and that he had en- 
gaged his government to send men and money which would 
enable them to drive back the invader, and to take a place among 
the nations of the earth and how bravely did they do it. 

From the Boston Gnzette and Continental Journal of April 
20, 1778, I take the following : 

Soon after the court of France dispatched Mr. Simeon Deane in the 
frigate " Bellepoule," of thirty-six guns, in the most private manner, 
with the preliminaries of a treaty with the United States, but the frig- 
ate meeting with violent contrary winds, and springing her foremast, 
was obliged, after being out six weeks, to put back to Brest, from 
whence Mr. Deane immediately repaired to the court of Versailles, and 
received orders for another frigate, which left Brest March 8. 

On the morning of Monday, the thirteenth, of April, 1778, 
what were left of the people of the fire-scathed town of Fal- 
mouth saw off Cape Elizabeth a large ship approaching the har- 
bor, under a press of sail. As she came nearer she was made 
out to be a ship of war. Fears of the dreaded Mowatt came 
over them ; but she was seen with a glass to be a frigate with a 
white flag the flag of France under the Bourbons, flying 
from her mizzen peak. When the ship's nationality was made 
out all fears subsided, and strong arms rowed a pilot off to the 
ship, and brought her in amid snlutes from the forts. 

This arrival is thus explained in the private journal of Wil- 
liam Moody of Falmouth, who was then doing duty as a private 
soldier at one of the forts : 

April 13, 1778. About twelve o'clock a French frigate arrived from 
France with dispatches for the Congress, bringing the news that France 
had acknowledged American independence. 14th, the forts saluted the 
French frigate, and she returned it; also three other armed vessels. 



THE FKENCH TREATY OF 1778. 39 

The Boston Gazette of April 20 has the following: 

The following articles of intelligence up to the eighth of March were 
received by the frigate "La Sensible," of thirty-six guns (belonging to 
his most Christian majesty), commanded by the Chevalier Marigny, who 
arrived at Falmouth, Casco bay, on Monday last, in thirty-five days, 
from France, with dispatches for Congress, and came to hand last even- 
ing. On her passage the frigate saw five or six ships at different times, 
appearing to be British. Mr. Deane is happy to take this first public 
opportunity to acknowledge the zeal, politeness and dispatch with 
which the Chevalier Marigny has finally accomplished his important 
mission, and hopes that he may return safe to receive the reward due to 
so worthy an officer; and at the same time most sincerely congratulates 
his countrymen at this great and most happy event. It is said that a 
frigate is dispatched from Spain with duplicates of the forenamed 
treaty. 

In a postscript to the Boston Gazette of Monday, May 18, 1778, 
it is said : "A person who arrived yesterday, in nine days from 
Philadelphia, has favored us with the Pennsylvania Gazette of 
the ninth instant, and also with the following handbill: ' York- 
town, Pa., May 6, 1778. On Saturday last Simeon Deane, Esq., 
arrived at Congress express from the American plenipotentiaries 
at the court of France, and delivered his dispatches to his honor 
the President,' " and then follows the account of the arrival of 
the frigate. 

From a letter received from Mr. Spofford, librarian of Con- 
gress, in January last, I make the following extract, showing 
who Simeon Deane, the messenger from the commissioners, was. 
He says : "As Silas Deane and C. A. Gerard, the first French 
minister, arrived in this country the same year (1778), it might 
seem at first glance that the mention of Simeon Deane by Wash- 
ington is a mistake for Silas Deane it was Simeon, a brother 
of Silas. c Writings of Washington,' volume 5, page 355, he 
says, ' By a line from Bethlehem, Mr. Simeon Deane had in- 
formed me that he is the bearer of the articles of alliance be- 
tween France and the states.' Congress had the treaty before 
it on May 4, and it is printed in full in the * Secret Journals of 
Congress,' volume 2, page 57. At Valley Forge, Washington 
already knew of the treaty on the third of May, and he so states 
in a letter to the president of Congress, and expresses a desire to 
have the event appropriately celebrated by the army as soon as 



40 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

permission would be given. The general order for celebrating 
the event, was issued by General Washington on May 7." 

By General Washington's letter we learn that Simeon Deane 
first went to Bethlehem, whence he wrote to the General. Deane 
probably had dispatches for General Lafayette, who was staying 
with the Moravian community at Bethlehem, eighty miles north 
of Philadelphia, for the gunshot wound in his leg to heal. 

On the seventh of May, the army at Valley Forge fired salutes, 
and by order of the general-in-chief they all shouted " Huzza 
for the King of France." 

The Boston Gazette of May 11 says: " On Tuesday last, ar- 
rived in this port from Currona, in Spain, a French frigate of 
forty guns, with very important dispatches for Congress, which 
were immediately sent by express to that august body." These 
dispatches were the duplicates of the treaties mentioned by 
Deane to be sent from Spain. 

William Moody, to whom we are indebted for all we know of 
the Chevalier Marigny and his ship while at Falmouth, was then 
but twenty-two years old, and yet he was an observing and care- 
ful journalist. He was a soldier in Captain Bradish's company, 
which left Falmouth for Cambridge on the eighth of July, 1775, 
twenty-one days after the battle of Bunker Hill. He served out 
his term of enlistment at Cambridge, and returned home, where 
he re-enlisted for garrison duty on which he was engaged when 
the French frigate arrived. After the ship had been in port five 
days Moody mentions her departure in these words : 

" Saturday, April 18, 1778. The French frigate " La Sensible," 
Captain Kenard D. Marigny, sailed for France with a fair wind." 

It should be kept in mind that at the time of the chip's arrival 
at Falmouth, no dispatches nor private letters had been received 
from the American commissioners at Paris for almost a year. It 
is no cause for wonderment that the forts saluted her, as did 
three other armed vessels in the harbor. 

Although no historian has mentioned it, the coming in safety 
to Falmouth of this ship was the most important arrival in 
America since that of the "Mayflower," and no arrival since has 
equalled it in result. For this French ship brought documents 
of the most momentous significance to a suffering and almost 
discouraged people formal copies of the treaties that had been 



THE FRENCH TREATY OF 1778. 41 

entered into after long and anxious negotiations nappy results 
of the first efforts of the new states to attract attention abroad 
treaties ratified, not with an obscure and infant nation like them- 
selves, but with one of the most powerful sovereigns of Europe, 
able and willing to rescue the struggling states from the op- 
pressor, and to save their leading men from an ignominious 
death, or perpetual exile. 

Three times had these treaties been borne in safety past the 
British fleet ; twice by the French frigate u Bellepoule," which 
from stress of weather became disabled, and was compelled to 
return through the same perils to Brest ; and thirdly, by the 
"La Sensible," which made the passage in thirty-five days, al- 
though we have seen that a month later it was considered neces- 
sary to send five ships of the line and three frigates to guard 
the American frigate u Deane " and two other ships, laden with 
army supplies and clothing, bound to Portsmouth, K". H. These 
ships had orders to attend them until they were clear of the 
Bay of Biscay ; this shows the strength and vigilance of the 
British naval police at the time on the coast of France. The 
existence of the treaty of alliance had now become known to 
England. 

With what joy and gratitude must the Chevalier Marigny and 
Mr. Deane, with their charge, have entered within the headlands 
of Casco bay. True, when entering the harbor, the prospect 
was not cheering. Of what two years before was the most com- 
pact part of the town of Falmouth, nothing remained but black- 
ened chimneys and half -burnt wharves; but their dangerous 
voyage was ended, and the ship was in a safe and fortified harbor. 

Undoubtedly the harbor of Falmouth was chosen for its safety 
and ease of access, as well as for the facilities it afforded for 
watching the ships of the enemy. This port was probably desig- 
nated before the frigate left Brest. 

Mr. Deane, the bearer of dispatches, must on account of the 
state of the roads have now assumed the character of a horse- 
back messenger, as described by Browning. True, no horse had 
yet broken down, as the poem relates, but a frigate had, which 
maintains the similarity. The newspaper does not mention the 
hour of Mr. Deane's arrival in Boston, but says he left there on 
Tuesday for Congress, the day after the ship's arrival at Fal- 



42 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

mouth. Although Mr. Deane made such good time between 
Fal mouth and Boston, he did not deliver the treaties to Con- 
gress until the fourth of May, three weeks after the arrival of 
the ship. The poem probably as well describes Mr. Deane's ride 
from Falmouth to Boston as it does that of the horseman from 
Ghent. 

I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight, 
Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right, 
Rebuckled the check-strap, chained slacker the bit, 
Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit. 

And there was my Roland to bear the whole weight 
Of the news which alone could save Aix from her fate, 
With his nostrils like pits full of blood to the brim, 
And with circles of red for his eye-sockets' rim. 

Then I cast loose my buff coat, each holster let fall, 

Shook off both my jack-boots, let go belt and all, 

Stood up in the stirrup, leaned, patted his ear, 

Called my Roland his pet name, my horse without peer, 

Clapped my hands, laughed and sang, any noise, bad or good, 

Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and stood. 

And all I remember is, friends flocking round 

As I sate with his head 'twixt my knees on the ground; 

And no voice but was praising this Roland of mine, 

As I poured down his throat our last measure of wine, 

Which (the burgesses voted by common consent) 

Was no more than his due who brought good news from Ghent. 

The first movement of the French government, in compliance 
with the requirements of the treaty of alliance, was to dispatch 
a fleet of twelve ships of the line and four frigates, under Count 
D'Estaing, to blockade the British fleet in the Delaware. He 
arrived there in July, but Howe had fled into shoal water for 
eafety. After D'Estaing came Rochambeau and six thousand 
French troops, and with them a crowd of French officers of no- 
ble birth. It seems an anomaly for these officers of noble blood 
to have come to America, at the bidding of royalty, to aid 
democracy. Rochambeau sailed from Brest on the thirteenth 
of April, the same day that Marigny arrived at Falmouth with 
the treaties. If he had not been over-ruled, Rochambeau would 
also have landed in Maine. On his way he wanted to call at 
Castine and drive out the English. If he had, the French would 



THE FKENCH TREATY OF 1778. 43 

have again ruled at old Pentagoet. To avoid raising the ques- 
tion of rank, Washington had been made a lieutenant general of 
France. He thus took rank as commander-in-chief of the allied 
armies. The moral effect of the French alliance was more val- 
uable to the United States than all the armed assistance. The 
Dutch Republic declared for the alliance ; Frederick the Great 
was called to account by Great Britain for favoring it, when he 
said, "Since the English wish for war with all the world they 
shall have it." But Yorktown settled the question of the new 
nation in America. 



REV. WILLIAM SCREVEN. 45 



REV. WILLIAM SCREVEN. 

Read before the Maine Historical Society, December /, 1883. 

BY KEY. HENRY S. BURRAGE, D.D. 

IT is an interesting fact that the first Baptist Church in 
Charleston, South Carolina, the oldest of all the Baptist 
churches in the Southern States, was organized in the latter 
part of the seventeenth century at Kittery, in what was then 
known as the Province of Maine, now the State of Maine. The 
first information we have concerning the presence of Baptists at 
Kittery is contained in a letter which Humphrey Churchwood, a 
member of the Baptist church in Boston, but a resident of Kit- 
tery, addressed to his brethren of Massachusetts Bay, January 3, 
1682. The letter reads as follows : 

Humphrey, a servant of Jesus Christ to the church which is at Bos- 
ton: grace be with you, and peace, from God, even the Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts, 
who comforteth us in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort 
them that are in any trouble, as we are comforted of God. Most dearly 
beloved brethren and friends, as I am, through free grace, a member of 
the same body, and joined to the same head, Christ Jesus, I thought it 
my special duty to inform you that the tender mercy of God, in and 
through Jesus Christ, hath shined upon us by giving light to them that 
sit in darkness, and to guide our feet in the way of peace ; for a great 
door, and effectual, is opened in these parts, and there are many adver- 
saries, according to the 1st of Corinthians, 16: 9. Therefore, dearly be- 
loved, having a desire to the service of Christ, which is perfect freedom, 
and the propagating his glorious gospel of peace and salvation, and eye- 
ing that precious promise in Daniel the 12th, 3rd, " They that turn 
many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever," therefore I sig- 
nify unto you that here [are] a competent number of well established 
people whose hearts the Lord hath opened insomuch that they have 
gladly received the word and do seriously profess their hearty desire to 
the following of Christ and to partake of all his holy ordinances, accord- 
ing to his blessed institutions and divine appointment; therefore I pre- 
sent my ardent desire to your serious consideration, which is, if the Lord 
see it fit, to have a gospel church planted herein this place; and in order 
hereunto, we think it meet that our beloved brother, William Screven, 



46 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



who is, through free grace, gifted and endued with the spirit of veter- 
ans to preach the gospel [be ordained] ; who, being called by us, who are 
visibly joined to the church.* When our beloved brother is ordained 
according to the sacred rule of the Lord Jesus our humble petition is to 
to God that he will be pleased to carry on this good work to the glory of 
his holy name, and to the enlarging of the kingdom of his beloved Son, 
our dear Redeemer, who will add daily to his church such as shall be 
saved ; and we desire you in the name of our Lord Jesus not to be slack 
in this good work, believing verily that you will not, and that you are 
always abounding in the work of the Lord, and we humbly crave your 
petitions for us to the throne of grace, and we commend you to God and 
the good word of his graoe, which is able to build you up and to give 
you an inheritance among them that are sanctified. 

Concerning the previous history of Mr. Screven (to whom 
allusion is here made, and who was probably the bearer of this 
letter) but little is known. It is inferred, for reasons that will 
be given subsequently, that he came from Somerton, in Somer- 
setshire, England. After his settlement at lottery he is first 
mentioned in a deed by which, November 15, 1673, Elizabeth 
Seely granted ten acres of land on the west side of Spruce 
Creek, Kittery, at what was known as Carle's Point, to William 
Screven, for eleven pounds "current pay of New England."f He 
is next mentioned in the record of his marriage, July 3, 1674, to 
Bridget Cutts, a daughter of Robert Cutts, one of the three 
brothers so prominent among the early settlers of New Hamp- 
shire. John, the oldest, was the first president of New Hamp- 
shire ; Kobert, the youngest, settled at Barbadoes, in the West 
Indies, where he married, as his second wife, Mary Hoel. Sub- 
sequently he came to New England, and first lived in Ports- 
mouth, in the Great House (so-called) at the foot of Pitt street. 
Afterward he removed to Kittery, where he was extensively 
engaged in ship-building. He had two sons and four daughters. 
It was the second of these daughters, Bridget Cutts, whom Wil- 
liam Screvtn married. 
From, the records of the Province of M.iine $ we learn that at 

*I have followed the copy of this letter which is found in the reprint of Backus' His- 
tory of the Baptists of New England (1871), Vol. 1, p. 401. 

t York Deeds, Book IV, Folio 41. 

$ By a resolution adoptei in the Maine House of Representatives March 3, 1848, and in 
the Senate on the same date, the Governor and Council were "authorized to employ a 
suitable person to transcribe the Early Records of the Province of Maine, now in the 
keeping of the clerk of the Judicial Courts of the County of York, to be deposited in 
the office of the Secretary of State." March 13, 1848, Ch \rles Bradbury of Kennebunk- 



REV. WILLIAM SCREVEN. 47 

a County Court held at York, July 6, 1675, among several "pre- 
sentments " by the Grand Jury was the following : 

We pres ent William Scri vine for not frequenting the publique meet- 
ing according to Law on the Lord's days. Early Records, Yol. 3, p. 296. 

This person presented is remitted because p evidence it appears that 
bee usually attends Mr. Mowdys meeting on the Lord's days. Early 
Records, Yol. 3, p. 315. 

At a Court held at Wells, July 4, 1676, Mr. Screven was ap- 
pointed a constable for " ye lower part of the River." In 1678 
and in 1680, he was appointed to serve on the grand jury, and 
at the Genera] Assembly held at York, June 30, 1681, he took 
his seat as a deputy from Kittery. 

It is evident from these records, as well as from Churchwood's 
letter, that in his religious views Mr. Screven was not in har- 
mony with the " Standing Order." He was nevertheless es- 
teemed as a citizen, and was rapidly advanced to positions of 
official trust. 

Churchwood's letter shows that at the time to which it refers 
there were Baptists enough in Kittery in part doubtless as a 
result of Mr. Screven's labors to warrant the formation of a 
Baptist church. The nearest church of the same faith was that 
iu Boston, to which this letter was addressed, and which was or- 
ganized in March, 1665, sixteen years before. Churchwood's 
letter evidently secured for Mr. Screven a hearty welcome from 
the church in Boston, and he was admitted to membership in the 
church. After hearing him preach they at once acceded to the 
request of the brethren in Kittery, and gave to the newly or- 
dained the following certificate, dated January 11, 1682 : -j- 

To all whom it may concern : These are to certify, that our beloved 
brother, William Screven, is a member in communion with us, and hav- 
ing had trial of his gifts among us, and finding him to be a man whom 
God hath qualified and furnished with the gifts of his Holy Spirit, and 
grace, enabling him to open and apply the word of God, which through 
the blessing of the Lord Jesus may be useful in his hand, for the beget- 
ting and building up of souls in the knowledge of God, do therefore ap- 
point, approve and encourage him, to exercise his gift in the place where 

port was appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Council, to 
make this transcription. The work was completed in four volumes, and deposited in 
the office of the Secretary of State, with this title: "Transcript of the Early Records of 
the Province of Maine." A manuscript copy of this " Transcript " was made a few 
years ago for James P. Baxter, Esq., of Portland, and the references in this article to 
these " Early Records " are to Mr. Baxter's copy. 



48 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

he lives, or elsewhere, as the providence of God may cast him; and so 
the Lord help him to eye his glory in all things, and to walk humbly in 
the fear of his name. 

This certificate was signed in behalf of the rest by Isaac Hull,* 
pastor of the church, and John Farnum. 

Meanwhile this movement to establish a Baptist church in 
Kittery became known there, and awakened probably not unex- 
pected opposition. Under date of January 25, 1682, Mr. Church- 
wood addressed another letter to his brethren in Boston, in which 
he says : 

I thought good to inform you that since our beloved brother Screven 
went from us, who, I trust is by God's mercy now with you, by his long 
absence from us, has given great advantage to our adversaries to triumph 
and to endeavor to beat down that good beginning which God, by his 
poor instrument hath begun amongst us : and our magistrate, Mr. Hucke,t 
is almost every day summoning and threatening the people by fines and 
other penalties, if ever they come to our meeting any more, five shillings 
for every such offence.J 

He adds that he also, on the previous day, was brought before 
the magistrate who demanded of him how he spent his time. In 
the presence of the magistrate, also, he had a long discussion 
with Mr. Woodbridge, the parish minister, concerning infant 
baptism, etc. Mr. Screven in a short time, possibly after a visit 

* Isaac Hull was the second pastor of the church. 

t Francis Hooke of Kittery, Judge of Probate Court from 1693 to 1695. 

t The original of this letrer is in the possession of the writer of this article. 

Greenleaf , in his Sketches of the Ecclesiastical History of the State of Maine, p. 29, 
note, says: " Mr. Backus in relating the account of an ancient Baptist church at Kiuery 
mentions a Mr. Woodbridge as Priest of the place. This was in 1680. But we have no 
other account of this mm." In the appendix ti Rev. Dr. Charles A. Briggs' " American 
Presbyte nanism," p. I., I find the following: " Benjamin Woodbridge was son of John 
Woodbridge, pastor of Andover, Mass.; brother of Jo hn Woodbridge, pastor of Weth. 
ersfleld, Conn., and of Timothy Woodbridge, pastor of Hartford, Conn. He was pastor 
at Windsor, Conn., from 1668-1680, of a party who were dissatisfied with Mr. Chauncy, 
who had been called by the majority of the church. They were both dismissed by order 
of the court. The two pastors then united ia one church. He is probably the Mr. Wood- 
bridge mentioned in a letter of Joshua Moody from Portsmouth, N. H., in 1683. It is 
probable that he supplied that church during the troubles of its pastor with the arbitrary 
authorities. He supplied the church at Bristol from 1684-1686, but the people would not 
unite upon him. (Collections of the M-iss. Hist. S'>c. IV., Vol. 8, pp. 463, 651-655; Contri- 
butions to the Ecclesiastical History of Connecticut, New Haven, 1831, p. 513). He was 
again supply at Portsmouth, X H., in 1690," and Dr. Briggs inserts a letter from Mr. 
Woodbridge to some English Bishop written at Portsmouth, April 2, in that year. 
This letter was discovered by Dr. Briggs in the summer of 1884, in the Rolls Office, London. 






REV. WILLIAM SCREVEN. 49 

to Mr. Miles,* the pastor of the Baptist church in Swansea, re- 
turned to Kittery, and entered upon the work to which he had 
been set apart by his brethren. The opposition, which during 
his absence had been manifested toward his associates, was now 
transferred to hira s and from an entry without date in the Rec- 
ords of the Province (vol. 4, p. 254) it appears that he was sum- 
moned in a short time to appear before the provincial authorities. 
The record is as follows : 

William Screven, upon rumors and reports from a common fame of 
some presumptuous, if not blasphemous speeches about the holy ordi- 
nance of baptism which should pass from him. Whereof being in- 
formed we sent for said Screven by a sp ecial warrant to York, where, 
upon examination, he did not absolutely deny his charge, but after it 
was proved he seemed to own and justify the matter of his speeches. 
In his second charge, though he positively denied the first about his 
child, for infant baptism he said was an ordinance of the devil, as the 
testimonies declare, he replied that he conceived it no ordinance of God, 
but an invention of man. What was it ? and put us to prove by any 
positive command in the Gospel, or Scriptures, that there was infant 
baptism, and according to our understandings he endeavored to make 
good the matter of his words, and to put the manner of them into a 
smoother dress, mincing the matter as Edw. Rishworthf told him; 
whose reply was, that mincing was to put it in better terms than it de- 
served, charging Mr. Hooke with prejudice, who brought him thither, 
and desired not to be judged by him. 

After some further discourse we required said Screven to give secu- 
rity sufficient to the treasurer of the Province of a bond of one hundred 
pounds to answer his charge at the next Court of Pleas holden for this 
Province, or we must make him his mittimus, and send him to the jail; 
which said Screven refusing, accordingly was done. 

How long he remained in jail we are not informed. April 12, 

* Churchwood, in the above letter, says Mr. Hooke referred to Mr. Miles in this way : 
" Behold your great Doctor, Mr. Miles of Swanzey, for he now leaves his profession and 
is come away, and will not teach his people any more, because he is likely to perish for 
want; and his gathered church and people will not help him." Churchwood replied that 
this " was a great untruth," and he was right. Rev. John Miles in 1667, by the Act of 
Uniformity, was ejected from the living of Ilston, in Wales. Like other Baptists under 
the Protectorate, he officiated as a preacher in one of the state churches, although he was 
pastor of a Baptist church. Backus speaks of him as " father of the Baptist churches in 
Wales, which began in 1649." He and his Baptist friends, bringing with them their 
church records, came to Massachusetts in 1663 and located at a place to which they gave 
the name of their old home in Wales. Miles was made pastor of the church, and there 
he remained until his death in 1683. He was distinguished for his learning and piety, and 
Backus writing in 1777, nearly a century after his death, says, ' His memory is still pre- 
cious among us." 

t Concerning Rishworth, see York Deeds, Book I, pp. 9-11. 

4 



50 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

1682, he was brought before the Court at York, and the exami- 
nation resulted as follows : 

This Court having considered the offensive speeches of William Scre- 
ven, by his rash, inconsiderate words tending to blasphemy, do adjudge 
the delinquent for his offence to pay ten pounds into the treasury of the 
county or province. And further, the Court doth further discharge the 
said Screven under any pretence to keep any private exercise at his own 
house or elsewhere, upon the Lord's days, either in Kittery or any other 
place within the limits of this province, and is for the future enjoined 
to observe the public worship of God in our public assemblies upon the 
Lord's days according to the laws here established in this Province, 
upon such penalties as the law requires upon his neglect of the prem- 
ises. Early Records, Vol. 4, p. 261. 

Mr. Screven seems to have paid no heed to this order, and his 
case was brought before a general assembly of the Province held 
at York, June 28, 1682. The record of the action taken is as 
follows : 

William Screven, appearing before this Court and being before con- 
victed of the contempt of his Majesty's authority, by refusing to submit 
himself to the sentence of the former Court prohibiting his public 
exercises, referring to some irreligious speeches uttered by him, and 
upon examination before this Court declaring his resolution still to per- 
sist in the same course, the Court tendered him liberty to return home 
to his family, in case he would forbear such kind of disorderly and tur- 
bulent practices, and amend for the future. But he refusing, the Court 
required him to give bond for his good behavior, and to forbear such 
contemptuous behavior for the future, and ordered that the delinquent 
should stand committed until the judgment of this Court herein be ful- 
filled. After which said Screven coming into the Court, did, in the 
presence of the said Court, and president, promise and engage to depart 
out of this Province within a very short time. Early Records, Yol. 4, 
p. 23. 

It is evident from these words that Screven and his associates 
had now come to the conclusion that if at Kittery they could 
not have freedom to worship God according to the dictates of 
their consciences, they must seek that freedom elsewhere. But, 
as yet, they had no church organization, and it was evidently 
deemed desirable that such an organization should be effected 
before their departure, and while they could have the assistance 
of the Boston brethren. Accordingly, September 13, 1682, Mr. 
Screven sent a letter to the Baptist church in Boston, request- 



REV. WILLIAM SCREVEN. 51 

ing the church to send its pastor and delegates to aid in the or- 
ganization of a church. In this letter he said : 

To Thomas Skinner, Boston, for the church: Dearly beloved brethren 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of saints. I and my wife salute you 
with our Christian love in our Lord Jesus, hoping through grace these 
few lines will find you in health of body and mind. Blessed be God for 
Jesus Christ, in whom he is pleased to account his saints meet to be 
partakers of the blessed rest provided for them in his mansion-house 
eternally in the heavens. That will be a happy day when all the saints 
shall join together in sounding of his praise. The good Lord enable us 
to prepare for that blessed day. To that end, brethren, let us pray, 
every one himself, for himself, and for one another, that God would 
please to search our hearts and reins, so as that we may walk with God 
here, and hereafter dwell with him in glory. 

He then refers to the fact that his mother-in-law had become 
a Baptist, and expresses the desire that the pastor of the church 
in Boston, with other delegates, should visit Kittery, and assist 
in the organization of a church. 

To this request the church acceded, and its pastor, Rev. Isaac 
Hull, accompanied probably by other members of the church, 
soon made his way to Kittery. There, Sept. 25, 1682, with what 
services we are not told, a covenant was entered into and signed 
by William Screven, Elder ; Humphrey Churchwood, Deacon ; 
Robert Williams, John Morgandy,* Richard Cutts, Timothy 
Davis, Leonard Drown, Wm. Adams, Humphrey Axell, George 
Litten, and several women. 

It has been supposed that Mr. Screven and his associates left 
Kittery not long after the organization of the church. Time, 
however, would be required for the consideration of a desirable 
location, as well as for the disposal of property, and for provid- 
ing means of transportation when the matter of location had 
been settled. It is certain from the Court Records that Mr. 
Screven and his " Baptist Company " were at Kittery as late as 
Oct. 9, 1683, for under that date, in the record of a court held at 
Wells, occurs this entry : 

Order about Will. Screven. William Screven being brought before 
this Court for not departing this Province according to a former confes- 
sion of Court, and his own choice, and denying now to fulfill it, this 

* I have here followed Backus, and possibly, perhaps probably, this should be Mor- 
gradge, or Morgradg, or Mogridge, or Muggridg, aa the name appears in the York Deeds. 



52 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Court doth declare that the sentence of the General Assembly bearing 
date the 28th of June, 1682, stands good and in full force against the 
said William Screven during the Court's pleasure. Early Records, Yol. 
4, p. 295. 

This order does not seem to have hastened the departure of 
Screven and his associates. At the Court held at Wells, May 
27, 1684, this action was taken. 

An order to be sent for William Screven to appear before the General 
Assembly in June next. Early Records, Yol. 4, p. 173. 

As no further citation for Mr. Screven appears in the Court 
Records, it is probable that he and his company .had made all 
their preparations for removal, and, before the time of the meet- 
ing of the General Assembly arrived, had left their homes on 
the Piscataqua for a new settlement, where they could enjoy 
undisturbed freedom to worship God in accordance with their 
religious convictions.* 

The place selected for the settlement was on Cooper river, 
not far from the present site of Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. 
Screven called the name of this settlement Somerlon. It is 
from this fact that an inference has been drawn with reference 
to Mr. Screven's home in England. Ivimy, in his History of 
the English Baptists, Vol. 2, p. 521, says that 'in 1655 Rev. Henry 
Jessey, a Baptist minister of London, was invited to visit his 
brethren in Bristol. Baptist principles he found had spread into 
many adjacent parts, and congregations in Wells, Cirencester, 
Somerton, Chard, Taunton, Honiton, Exeter, Dartmouth, Ply- 
mouth, Lyme, Weymouth and Dorchester were also visited. In 
the following year these churches asserted their union in a com- 
mon declaration of faith, entitled, "A Confession of Faith of 
several churches in the county of Somerset and in the counties 
near adjacent." The confession was signed by twenty-five per- 

* A William Screven still remained at Kittery. There are several references to him in 
the "York Deeds. 1 ' In Book V, Part I, Folio 75, William Screven is a witness to a doc- 
ument dated April 18, 1692. At a Court held at York, Oct.-6, 1691 (Book V, Part II, Folio 
12), William Screven, with two others, was appointed to view certain bounds. At a 
Court held at York, April 4, 1693 (Part II, Folio 18), William Screven, with Richard 
Cutts, was fined for non-appearance on jury. In the record of the Court held at York, 
July 4, 1693 (Part II, Folio 19), William Screven appears as foreman of the Grand Jury. 
As William Screven, who went to South Carolina, married Bridget Cutts July 23, 1674, I 
am inclined to believe that this William Sea-even was a son of the minister by a former 
wife. 



REV. WILLIAM SCREVEN. 53 

sons, ministers and laymen, in behalf of the whole, and among 
the signatures is that of William Screven of Somerton. This 
was in 1656. Mr. Screven, who established the colony at Som- 
erton, South Carolina, was at that time twenty-seven years of 
age. As his whole career in this country shows, he was a man 
of more than ordinary ability. We know of no reason, there- 
fore, why he may not have been the William Screven who signed 
the Confession of 1656, while the fact that he gave the name of 
Somerton to his settlement on Cooper river, in South Carolina, 
affords at least a plausible ground for such an identification. 

About the time Mr. Screven established his colony at Somer- 
ton, there came into the same neighborhood from the west of 
England, Joseph Blake, the friend and trustee of Lord Berkely, 
one of the Lords Proprietors, and with him a number of " sub- 
stantial persons." Mr. Blake's wife, and her mother, Lady 
Axtell, united with Mr. Screven's church; and Mr. Blake, 
although not a member of the church, entertained Baptist views. 
With six others, he was appointed to revise the Fundamental 
Constitutions prepared for the Lords Proprietors by the cele- 
brated John Locke, and he succeeded Governor Archdale in the 
government of the colony at the close of the year 1696. His 
position and influence greatly strengthened the Baptist cause in 
the colony. Widely known as a wise and honored magistrate, 
he died September 7, 1700. 

A number of colonists, also from the north of England, chief- 
ly Baptists, came to Carolina with Lord Cardross, not long after 
the arrival of Mr. Screven's company, and settled at Port Royal. 
The neighboring Indians, however, proved hostile, as did also 
the Spanish settlers at St. Augustine ; and they soon, certainly 
before 1686, made their way to the mouth of the Edisto river, 
where they located, and those who were Baptists attached them- 
selves to Mr. Screven's church, adding still further to its strength 
and influence. 

Charles-Town, as the settlement on the neck of land between 
Ashley and Cooper rivers was now called, began to attract colo- 
nists about ten years before Mr. Screven and his company estab- 
lished themselves at Somerton. Its facilities for commerce did 
not escape the attention of the new colonists ; and before the 
year 1693, the larger portion of the members of the church had 



54 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

removed from Somerton to the Neck. It became necessary, 
therefore, that the meetings of the church should be transferred 
thither also. At first the meetings were held in the house of 
William Chapman, in King street. In 1699, William Elliott, 
one of the members, gave the church the lot of land on Church 
street, on which the meeting-house of the First Baptist church 
in Charleston now stands, and a house of worship was erected 
on this lot, either in that or the following year. 

Mr. Screven was now more than seventy years of age, and, 
his health having declined, he asked to be relieved of the duties 
of his sacred office. His request was granted, and he addressed 
some words of affectionate counsel to the church, embodied in a 
treatise entitled, "An Ornament for Church Members." The 
manuscript was carefully preserved by the church, and published 
after Mr. Screven's death. No copy of this treatise, as far as I 
can learn, has come down to us. Morgan Edwards, who, a cen- 
tury ago journeyed from New Hampshire to Georgia, gathering 
" Materials Toward a History of the Baptists," had a copy in 
his possession, probably while in Charleston. A quotation 
which he made from the closing paragraph is as follows : 
"And now, for a close of all, my dear brethren and sisters 
(whom God hath made me, poor unworthy me, an instrument of 
gathering and settling in the faith and order of the gospel), my 
request is that you as speedily as possible supply yourselves 
with an able and faithful minister. Be sure you take care that 
the person be orthodox in the faith, and of blameless life, and 
does own the confession put forth by our brethren in London, 
in 1689." 

But Mr. Screven did not at this time wholly withdraw from 
ministerial service. Having received a grant of land, on which 
Georgetown now stands, he removed thither, and as opportunity 
offered and his strength permitted, he preached to the destitute 
around him. In 1706, the Baptist church in Boston, which had 
in vain endeavored to secure a pastor in England, turned to Mr. 
.Screven in its extremity, and earnestly entreated him to return 
to New England, and take the pastoral oversight of the church 
by which he was ordained. Although so far advanced in yearsj 
he was at first inclined to accede to this request ; but just at 
this time his successor in the pastorate in the church in Charles- 



REV. WILLIAM SCREVEN. 55 

ton died, and receiving a call from the church to return and 
resume his pastoral labors with them he felt that he could not 
decline, and he sent to the church in Boston, accordingly, the 
following letter, dated June 2, 1707 : 

Dearly beloved, this may inform you that I have many thoughts of 
heart about you, and am much concerned for you; and hope I may say, 
my prayers are to God for you. Though I am not with you, nor can I 
come as I was inclined to do, our help being taken from us : for our 
minister who came from England is dead, and I can by no means be 
spared. I must say it is a great loss, and to me a great disappointment, 
but the will of the Lord is done. I have longed to hear that you were 
supplied with an able minister, who might break the bread of life among 
you ; but if the Lord do not please to supply you in the way you ex- 
pected, your way will be to improve the gifts you have in the church. 
Brother Callender and Joseph Russell I know have gifts that may tend 
to edification, if improved. I think you should call one or both of 
them to it. 

The church in Boston acted upon this suggestion, and called 
Mr. Callender, to whom Mr. Screven wrote August 6, 1708, as 
follows : 

I rejoice that you are inclined to, and employed in, the blessed work 
of the Lord for the support of his cause. [And the letter closes with 
these words :] I have been brought very low by sickness, but I bless 
God I was helped to preach and administer the communion last Lord's 
day, but am still weak. Our society are for the most part in health, and 
I hope thriving in grace. We are about ninety in all. I rest your affec- 
tionate brother and fellow-laborer, in the best of services, for the best 
reward. 

It is not thought that Mr. Screven removed his family to 
Charleston at this time ; but his labors in behalf of the church 
which he had formed, and to which he had given so much of the 
strength of the best years of his life, were continued as he was 
able until his death, which occurred at Georgetown, October 10, 
1713, at the completion of the eighty-fourth year of his age. 
Pure in life, affectionate in disposition, abundant in every good 
work, honored and revered by all, he commended the Gospel 
which he preached, and came to the "grave in a full age, like as 
a shock of corn cometh in its season." His tomb on Screven 
street, in Georgetown, is still to be seen, and his memory is lov- 
ingly cherished, not only by a numerous posterity * he had 

*The descendants of William Screven are among the most honored of the people of 
South Carolina at the present day. 



56 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

eleven children but by the Baptists of South Carolina and of 
all the Southern states. 

In the interest of bibliography I may add that Rev. William 
G. Whilden of Greenville, South Carolina, one of Mr. Screven's 
descendants to whom I am indebted for some of the materials of 
this paper, informs me that Mrs. Schoolcraft, formerly a resident 
of Beaufort, S. C., wrote a history of the Screven family which 
was published. He had heard, however, of only a single copy, 
which was destroyed in Sherman's raid ; and my own inquiries 
with reference to the book have not as yet brought to light an- 
other copy. 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 57 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 

Head before the Maine Historical Society, May 20, 1886. 

BY REV. AMASA LQRING. 

THE early history of Cumberland county reveals the significant 
fact that four of the Judges of its early Court of Common Pleas 
were inhabitants of North Yarmouth. When the first was ap- 
pointed the town was comparatively young, only about forty 
years having elapsed from the beginning of its permanent settle- 
ment, and from its second incorporation. Its population and 
business relations were small. It was remote from the seat of 
provincial power and could have had but few friends or advo- 
cates near the appointing personages. Still within about thirty 
years, these four men, not previously of great public notoriety, 
not learned in the law but men of good native endowments, of 
unflinching integrity, of sound judgment, of unsullied reputation, 
or as the statute expressed it, " substantial persons " were 
placed in that honorable and responsible position. 

The period of their administration was peculiar. It embraced 
the incipient struggles and eventual political convulsions of the 
Revolution, the transition from colonial dominion to state au- 
thority, the introduction of a new code of laws, without prece- 
dents, judicial rules, or authoritative decisions. Yet one of them 
passed through the whole period of these civic commotions un- 
disturbed in his judicial activity ; two held office during a part 
of it ; all except one, who resigned, held their places for more 
than twenty years, two dying in office, and three were in succes- 
sion Chief Justices of the Court. 

According to William Willis, Esq., the Court met as usual in 
July, 1775 ; but no sheriff was present, no jury had been sum- 
moned, no entries were made, no cases tried, and it adjourned 
after deciding two cases which had been continued from the 
previous term. But in October, 1776, it met again and pro- 
ceeded with its business, not recognizing the authority of the 
King, but of the people. 



58 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

During this period the Judges were not compensated by a 
fixed salary, but received a certain amount for every entry and 
trial; and this was divided among them and the clerk. In those 
Revolutionary times the pay was very small, but it increased 
rapidly at a later period. 

The legal profession was not then crowded ; trials were not 
then intolerably drawn out, and " law questions " did not burst 
out like leaves in springtime. True there was then a Superior 
Court, answering in all respects to the present Supreme Court, 
but it held only two terms each year in the " District of Maine," 
and kept its records in Boston ; so that in all probability appeals 
were not eagerly made, and the Inferior Court arbitrated most 
of the legal controversies. 

Removed, as we now are, nearly a century from the public 
services of these men, it is not easy to make up a full biography 
of any of them ; but a few scraps of their personal history, still 
to be found, can be snatched from oblivion. 

JEREMIAH POWELL. 

Jeremiah Powell was the first of these judges. He was the 
only son of John Powell, Esq.; was born in Boston, and lived 
there until he attained manhood. As the history of father and 
son is closely interwoven, it becomes necessary to notice briefly 
that of the former. 

John Powell was born in Charlestown, Mass., March 7, 1669, 
or more probably 1683, and married Anne Dummer, a sister of 
Lieutenant Governor William Dummer. As Mr. Dummer left 
at his death no children of his own, he bequeathed a large part 
of .his property to the children of his sister, Mrs. Powell, and 
thus increased the wealth of Judge Powell. Mr. Powell was 
Governor Dummer's private secretary for the next few years 
after his marriage, and eventually engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness in Boston. His connection with North Yarmouth comes 
into notice with its third and permanent settlement. Twice had 
its pioneer settlers fled from their savage invaders, leaving their 
homes to be plundered and burnt, and their possessions to be 
laid waste. 

In 1684, this large township had been granted by Thomas 
Danforth to Jeremiah Dummer, Walter Gendall, John York 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 59 

and John Royall, as Trustees, to lot out and deed to actual set- 
tlers ; its boundaries were established, its name given it, and a 
Proprietor's record began containing a registry of the lots con- 
veyed to individual occupants. But in September, 1688, Cap- 
tain Gendall was shot by the hostile savages, and the settlement 
soon after was abandoned. Thus it remained for about thirty 
years. Then it was hoped that peace was established, and some 
of the surviving fugitives began to return to these inviting 
acres. But those years had wrought their changes ; landmarks 
were blotted out, boundary lines obliterated, and the fields, aban- 
doned in lovely fruitfulness, had lapsed into a rising forest. So 
after a few years of contested claims and doubtful titles, the 
incoming settlers and other claimants petitioned the General 
Court to appoint a committee to resume the work of the former 
Trustees. In 1722, such a committee was appointed. It con- 
sisted of William Tailor, Elisha Cook, William Dudley, John 
Smith, and John Powell, Esq., who was one of the petitioners. 

This committee soon met at the dwelling-house of Mr. Powell 
in Boston, organized for business, chose a Clerk, and instructed 
him to procure the former records, which had been saved, and 
adopted rules to regulate their official measures. In 1727, they 
met at the inn of Joseph Parker in North Yarmouth, and care- 
fully investigated all claims to landed estates in the township, 
and laid out and assigned one hundred house lots of ten acres 
each, the owners of which were to have a farm lot of one hun- 
dred acres in a more remote location. The former settlers who 
could identify their old possessions received them, others drew 
theirs by lot, the Committee executing deeds to each possessor. 
It seemed desirable that one of this committee should become a 
resident of the town. Mr. Powell consented to do so, leaving 
the city for a backwoods life, Mrs. Powell a highly estimable 
lady not accompanying him. He took a wild lot, subdued the 
forest, built an elegant mansion and there eventually enjoyed the 
comforts and luxuries which his independent means provided. 
The committee authorized him to act in place of the full board 
and instructed the settlers to follow his advice. In 1733, the 
town was again incorporated and assumed the management of 
further land conveyances, and this committee, at their own re- 
quest, was discharged from further duties. But Mr. Powell con- 
tinued to reside in the new town, having identified himself with 



60 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



the business and prosperity of that rising community. He be- 
came a large landholder, built a saw and linen mills, and obtained 
from the town a grant of the upper falls at the village and forty 
acres of land on condition that he would erect iron works 
thereon. He was intrusted with much of the public business of 
the town; and in 1735 received the appointment of "Justice of 
the Peace" for York county, which then included all the "Dis- 
trict of Maine." He departed this life October 1, 1742, and his 
son, Jeremiah, came into possession of his estate ; having two 
sisters who generally dwelt with him. 

He was more enterprising in business than his honored father 
had been, pushing the sales of his wild lands; and in 1756 he 
started iron works on the Gooch Falls, in company with Theophi- 
lus Byram and others, in accordance with the grant to his father, 
He occupied the capacious dwelling which his father had erected, 
and carried on the farm and maintained an expensive style in 
his domestic arrangements, keeping a colored coachman and 
cook, the latter acting as housekeeper when his sisters were ab- 
sent. His farm hands spoke of him as a kind, generous employer. 
He remained unmarried till a late period of life. On September 
15, 1768, he married Miss Sarah Bromfield of Boston, and in- 
stalled her as mistress of his mansion. They had no children, 
but he displayed a fondness for the little ones, and would show 
especial attention to those of the families upon which he called. 

In his religious character he was quite decided. In his early 
manhood he united with the Congregational church, and its 
records show that he was more than a merely nominal member. 
In the absence of its pastor, he often presided at its meetings 
and acted on committees, and he superintended the enlargment 
of the old meeting-house, and the sale of its additional pews. 

More than twenty years after his father's death he constructed 
a tomb in the old burying-ground, into which the remains of his 
father and those of Rev. Nicholas Loring were removed ; and in 
this tomb the sacred dust of Judge Powell and of many of Mr. 
Loring's children is deposited. The spot is designated by a plain 
marble stone bearing the following inscription : 

Here lies buried the body of 

JOHN POWELL, ESQ., 

Aged 59 years, who dec'd Oct. 1st, 1742. 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 61 

If we assumed the gravestone to be the most trustworthy 
witness, the year of his birth would be 1683, not 1669. 

The record of Judge Powell's public life is more distinctly 
given. In August, 1744, he was appointed by Governor Shirley, 
Justice of the Peace for York county, and again in 1753. In 
1761 he had the same office for Cumberland county. In 1745 
he was elected to represent North Yarmouth in the General 
Court of the Province, and from that year to 1766 he was 
re-elected eleven times to the same office. 

In 1756 he headed a petition to the Colonial authorities re- 
questing them to secure the release of certain captives, who had 
been carried to Canada by the Indians; among these was 
Daniel Mitchell of North Yarmouth, who afterwards became the 
son-in-law of Judge Lewis. In 1762 he was appointed Lieuten- 
ant Colonel, subaltern to Colonel Samuel Waldo, and from this 
date he was usually called Colonel Powell. The same year 
thirty of the early settlers of New Gloucester petitioned him to 
assist them in resisting an encroachment, which the proprietors 
of New Boston (Gray) were making upon the western side of 
their township, by running, as they affirmed, a new and incorrect 
line. 

When the county of Cumberland was set off from York 
county (1760) John Minot of Gorham was appointed Chief 
Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He retired from his 
seat the next year, and in 1763 Colonel Powell was appointed 
to fill the vacancy, and the same year made Chief Justice, 
which office he held until 1781. In 1767 he was appointed Jus- 
tice of the Peace throughout the whole Province of Massachu- 
setts, and in 1762 he was appointed a Special Justice of the 
Court of Common Pleas, to fill a temporary vacancy or perform 
some special service. In 1766 he became a member of the 
Provincial Council, and retained the office till 1774. Then the 
charter of Massachusetts was changed and the people were not 
allowed to elect the Council. General Thomas Gove, as Royal 
Governor, arrived in Boston in April, 1774, and by a " Writ 
of Mandamus," appointed twenty-six Councilors. Ten of them 
accepted the appointment, and took the oath of office, generally 
against the remonstrances of the patriots. The other sixteen, 
of which Judge Powell was one, declined the appointment. 



62 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Influential neighbors urged to this, for the people of North Yar- 
mouth were decidedly opposed to British tyranny, and he 
became a leader in the Revolutionary movements. 

This is happily verified by an old letter which Mr. S. P. May- 
berry of Cape Elizabeth contributed to the " North Yarmouth 
Old Times," written by Judge Powell, and which I insert entire. 

NORTH YARMOUTH, Oct. 24, 1775. 

To the Honorable Council and to the Honorable House of Representa- 
tives of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay : 
May it please your Honors : 

Last evening came to this town from the "Halifax," armed schooner 
belonging to a fleet, viz: Canceaux, the Semistree, and the Spitfire, 
lying in Hog Island Roads, under the command of Capt. Mowat, three 
men, deserters from said schooner from a watering place in Hog Island, 
where they with one man more, under command of a midshipman, 
went on shore to take in water. 

They came and delivered themselves up to some of our Militia, who 
were at work erecting a Battery on the shore and gave us the following 
intelligence : That on Monday the 16th current the s'd Fleet arrived in 
Casco Bay. That the same day their orders were read unto them, which 
were to burn, sink and destroy everything to the Eastward of Boston, 
that they could not conveniently carry off with them. That Tuesday the 
Fleet went up to Falmouth and came to in a line before the Town. That 
Wednesday morning about 9 o'clock they began to fire upon the Town 
and about two hours after the fire began, boats were sent ashore to fire 
"the houses by hand, that the men went on shore unarmed, and to their 
apprehension not more than twenty were on shore at any one time. 
Farther they say that the greater part of the buildings that were burnt 
were fired by hand. The men's names are Charles Stuart, Quarter- 
master; John Elliot and Daniel Streetland, Foremastmen; the two first 
taken out of a vessel which they took and are now detained in Boston 
Harbor, the last impressed out of a Schooner at Halifax. The men gave 
a fair and honest account of themselves and agree very well in their re- 
lations of the aforementioned truths. 

We have sent them to the Committee at Scarborough to be forwarded 
to the General Court at Watertown, where when they arrive, your Hon- 
ors will have opportunity for further examination as may be thought 
proper. 

The Yawl in which they made their escape is now in our keeping and 
we should be glad to receive orders what shall be done with her. 
I am your Honors, most obedient Servant, 

JERE POWELL, 
Chairman of Committee of Safety. 

Let it be recollected that he had then been upon the bench 
twelve years, meantime holding the place of Councilor. 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 63 

After the battle of Lexington the Provincial Congress declared 
Gov. Gove disqualified for the service of Governor, and in Octo- 
ber following he sailed for England. 

It should be observed that Judge Powell was in the Council 
twelve years in all. After Massachusetts adopted a state consti- 
tution and established a Senate, Judge Powell was elected to it, 
and by re-election continued a member of it until his death. He 
was chosen president of that body at its first assembling. 

We get a glimpse of his precision in official duties and also his 
boldness in reproving delinquents from an entry in Rev. Mr. 
Deane's Journal. At the term of the court in April, 1765, soon 
after Mr. Deane's settlement as colleague pastor with Dr. Thomas 
Smith, neither of these clergymen came in to open the court with 
prayer, ns was the custom. It was also usual for the judges, law- 
yers and clergymen, on the first day of the term to dine together 
at some one of the hotels. At the dinner table Mr. Deane pre- 
sented himself, but he left on record " that he wished he had not 
gone," for Judge Powell did not shrink from reproving him 
sharply. " It is a hard case," said he, " when there are two of 
you we cannot have one. I will bring my own minister, if I can 
get no one else here to pray with us. The minister can hear the 
bell and he knows when he is wanted." 

Parson Smith was on very intimate social relations with Judge 
Powell and was thoroughly acquainted with him. In recording 
his death at North Yarmouth, September 17, 1784, he wrote : 
" Jeremiah Powell was a man of great respectability and in- 
fluence. His father was John Powell, who came from Boston 
and settled in North Yarmouth in the early days of that settle- 
ment, and was admitted an inhabitant of Falmouth," unasked, 
to induce him to settle there. He then mentioned the offices he 
had held, which have been enumerated above. If the date of 
his birth was rightly given his age at death was sixty- four, but 
Mr. Shepley states that it was about seventy, and others confirm 
that statement. His widow, born April 20, 1732, survived till 
March, 1806. 

JONAS MASON. 

The second cititizen of North Yarmouth who received this ap- 
pointment was Jonas Mason. He was born in Lexington, Mass., 
October 21, 1708, and was the son of John junior, and Elizabeth 



64 MAIXE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Spring Mason. His earliest American ancestor was Hugh Mason, 
an emigrant from England, and one of the first settlers of Water- 
town. There he was made freeman in 1635, and represented 
that town for ten years in the General Court. Jonas Mason is to 
be reckoned in the fourth generation from Hugh John and 
John junior, intervening. The father of Jonas settled in Lexing- 
ton in 1699, and his family were reared in that town. Thaddeus' 
a son older than Jonas, graduated at Harvard College in 1728, 
entered the legal profession, was Clerk of Courts, and lived until 
1802, dying at the age of ninety-six. Jonas in his youth was 
apprenticed to a hatter, though it does not appear that he ever 
followed the trade which he learned, but this apprenticeship may 
account for his residence in Charlestown. There he united with 
the Congregational church in 1727. In 1731, or earlier, he re- 
moved to North Yarmouth, Maine, and settled on a farm, adjoin- 
ing the old Bashford place. He had previously married Mary 
Chandler of Duxbury, by whom he had seven children, all born 
in North Yarmouth. The felling of the first tree in the New 
Gloucester township, with a view to settlement, is ascribed to 
him; but it is certain that he never dwelt there, though his 
oldest son, Ebenezer, made that town his home. 

In February 1732, Mr. Mason transferred his relation to the 
First Congregational church in North Yarmouth, his wife also 
uniting by profession in July following. In 1737, the office of 
deacon became vacant in that church, and Jacob Mitchell and 
Jonas Mason were elected to it, the latter holding it till his 
death, March 13, 1801, sixty-three years. 

As a Christian his reputation was unsullied, and he discharged 
his- duties as a member and officer of the church to the entire 
satisfaction of his fellow-Christians. His doctrinal position can 
best be learned from the history of that church during his con- 
nection with it. When he entered it, Rev. A. R. Cutter was 
its pastor. Though a man of learning and talents, according to 
Parson Smith, he was " an outspoken and contentious Armin- 
ian." His views and religious experience did not accord with 
the creed or the inward convictions of the members of that 
ancient and orthodox church. Dissatisfaction was expressed, a 
mutual council was called, and the result of its deliberations was 
a decision that if, after three months' farther trial the church 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 65 

should vote "still uneasy" such vote should sever the pastoral 
relation. At the expiration of the specified time the church 
so voted, the town concurring, only one, Mr. Peter Weare, 
protesting. 

With Mr. Cutter's successor, Rev. Nicholas Loring, who met 
the demands of the people as to doctrinal soundness and experi- 
mental piety, Deacon Mason lived and worked with the utmost 
harmony. His gentle, pacific spirit did not allow him to join 
with the stalwart opponents of Parson Brooks, but he cordially 
received and co-operated with Mr. Brooks' successor, Rev. Tris- 
tram Gilman, renowned for his evangelical views and distin- 
guished success in the ministry. Few, if any, in those troublous 
times came nearer "keeping a conscience void of offence toward 
God and toward man " thnn Deacon Mason, of whom the writer 
has beard persons that remembered him say, "He was one of 
the best of men." 

His capacities and trustworthiness in public business were 
soon appreciated by his townsmen. After the town became in- 
corporated, and the committee for re-settling the township had 
resigned their office, and committed the farther control and con- 
veyance of the unappropriated wild lands to the legal inhabi- 
tants, it was found necessary to choose a committee of the pro- 
prietors to superintend this business, of which Judge Mason was 
one, and was elected clerk of the same. For many years he 
either held this or the treasurer's office ; meanwhile he was often 
town assessor and one of the selectmen, and also a member of 
the parish committee. In 1752, he was appointed Justice of the 
Peace for York county, and in 1760 f6r Cumberland county. 
In April, 1764, and in August, 1765, he was appointed to act as 
a Special Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Cumber- 
land county. 

In 1773, upon the retirement of Hon. Edward Milliken from 
the bench of the Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland 
county, Mr. Mason was appointed to succeed him. His associ- 
ates in office were Jeremiah Powell, Chief Justice ; and Enoch 
Freeman, Moses Pearson (till 1775), Solomon Lombard (after 
1776) as Associate Justices. These men were appointed and 
commissioned by the subordinate officers of " his Majesty," and 
their oaths of office must have enjoined loyalty to the Crown. 
5 



66 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

But resistance to the oppressive acts of the English government 
was well-nigh universal, and soon ripened into open hostilities. 
These judges however felt themselves to be officers of the people 
as well as of " his Majesty," and quietly held on their way. After 
the Declaration of Independence the General Court of Massa- 
chusetts assumed control of Colonial and county affairs, eject- 
ing none who held office unless they were decided Tories. The 
courts pursued their usual course, with a few omitted terms 
dropping the name of the king from their writs and executions, 
nnd substituting the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Only 
two of the pre- revolutionary judges of this court resigned 
their seats ; one of these was Judge Mason. His resignation, 
however, was not from conscientious or political scruples, as he 
did not vacate the office until 1777, but most probably for the 
practical reason that the pay was so meager. This depended 
upon the number of entries and trials the four judges and 
elerk of courts dividing the fees among them. According to 
Mr. Willis, for the year 1776, these numbered nine only, and 
for 1777, fifteen, though after the war was over the entries and 
trials rose to near two hundred. 

In respect to property, Judge Mason was never affluent. He 
cultivated the farm upon which he first settled in North Yar- 
mouth, his youngest son residing with him. This son, Captain 
Samuel Mason, was the first collector of customs in Falmouth 
District under the king, and afterward held the same office under 
the United States. Judge Mason was not great in legal or lit- 
erary attainments, but in those qualities which made him " a sub- 
stantial person " he was not behind his associates. He lived in 
his early home sincerely respected by appreciative acquaintances 
until ninety-three years of age, departing this life March 13, 
1801, his wife having died six years before him. 

DAVID MITCHELL. 

Upon the retirement of Judge Mason from the bench, David 
Mitchell, was appointed to fill the vacancy. He was the son of 
Deacon Jacob Mitchell and his second wife, Widow Rachel 
(Lewis) dishing, and was born in Pembroke, Nov. 26, 1728. 
When he was about fifteen years of age he removed with his 
father to North Yarmouth. His father died there Dec. 1, 1784. 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 67 

David became an early occupant of the old "Mitchell House," 
in which he lived till the close of his life. This ancient mansion, 
now known as " The Oik Whitcomb House," is, with one ex- 
ception, the oldest house in town still standing, though now 
uninhabited and tottering to its fall. 

In his youth David displayed such scholarly capabilities that he 
was favored with a liberal education, graduating at Harvard Col- 
lege in the class of 1751 the first of that name who graduated 
in America. . For a while he engaged in teaching, and in 1753 
he professed religion and united with the First Congregational 
church of North Yarmouth. He then commenced the study of 
divinity, and preached in some of the neighboring towns ; but a 
weakness in his eyesight troubled him, and he abandoned the 
ministry as a permanent profession. He resumed teaching, for 
which he had peculiar and eminent qualifications ; and these 
gave the youth of that place educational advantages far above 
those usually enjoyed in new settlements. For many years he 
taught the town grammar school, excelling as a teacher and also 
in practicing a mild and firm discipline, which his pupils in their 
advanced years were proud to mention. 

August 27, 1761, he married Lucretia Loring, eldest daughter 
of Rev. Nicholas Loring, both of them being of the fifth genera- 
tion of their respective families, that had dwelt in New England. 
Twelve children were born to them, seven of whom died early ; 
but their sons, who attained to manhood, were distinguished for 
integrity, usefulness and elevated positions in society. 

It is related of Judge Mitchell, that not long before his mar- 
riage, as he was returning one night from a visit to his elect lady, 
while crossing a deep ravine, a stalwart savage sprung upon him 
to capture him. As he was mounted he put his horse to the top 
of his speed, the Indian giving chase with great fleetness. Each 
held about an even course, and upon arriving at the stockade 
which surrounded his home, the gate was fortunately standing 
open, and he rushed through and escaped, as the savage did not 
dare to enter. 

From the time of his marriage his public career was more 
noted. In 1782, he was elected town clerk, and continued to 
be re-elected every year to the time of his death, a full third of 
a century. He and several of his descendants excelled in pen- 



68 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

manship. This and an exactness and elegance of language 
made those records an unsurpassed model of neatness and cor- 
rectness. He also held other important town offices. In 1764, 
he was appointed a justice of the peace, and secured quite a 
business in that capacity, although his fellow judges all shared 
in such patronage. 

When the Revolutionary strife had risen to an irreconcilable 
pitch, the Province of Massachusetts resolved to hold a popular 
Congress, without the authority or license of the Crown. It 
met in Salem, October, 1774. If the uprising of the Colonies 
had been crushed this assembly would have been treated as 
treasonable. North Yarmouth, ever patriotic, was represented 
in this Congress, sending to it as its delegate John Lewis. The 
next May it met in Watertown, and Mr. Mitchell was elected to 
attend it, and likewise to several others which succeeded it. 

When the Constitution of the United States was submitted to 
the people for adoption in 1788, Judge Mitchell was elected to 
the Massachusetts Convention, to which it was submitted for 
ratification, and he afterward exerted his whole influence in 
town meeting to secure its favorable reception by the people. 
In the years 1791 and 1795, he was elected to the Senate from 
Cumberland county, and in that select company he secured the 
reputation of a good statesman. He was appointed an associ- 
ate justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1778, and retained 
a seat upon the bench until his death, in 1796, a period of eigh- 
teen years. 

We here correct the statement of Hon. William Willis, and 
others after him, that his office terminated in 1786. A careful 
examination of Mr. Willis' record shows that no new member 
was appointed from 1784 to 1789, and then to fill a vacancy 
caused by the death of Enoch Freeman in 1788, which would 
have been done earlier if Judge Mitchell had retired in 1786. 
Still more conclusive is the statement of Rev. T. Gilman, found 
in the funeral discourse preached on the occasion of his death, 
March 20, 1796. "About nineteen years since he was appointed 
a judge in the Court of Common Pleas for this county, which 
office he sustained with dignity and to universal satisfaction the 
remainder of his life. His charges to the grand jury were very 
sensible, judicious, comprehensive and solemn/' This last remark 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 69 

indicates that he was chief justice, and so his reverend pastor 
affirms in the title page of the above-mentioned sermon. When 
he was advanced to that more responsible and arduous position it 
is not known, only that Chief Justice Powell vacated it in 1781, 
in the third year of Mr. Mitchell's office as an associate judge. 
It is also said, that while in this influential position, he sought 
carefully to diminish litigation by advising and persuading par- 
ties to make an amicable settlement of their disagreements ; and 
this it should be remembered when the income of his office de- 
pended upon the number of cases entered and tried in court. 
He carefully investigated both judicial and ecclesiastical ques- 
tions submitted to him, and having made up his mind as to 
what was just and right, he was unswerving in his adherence to 
such conclusions. 

In the Act which incorporated Bowdoin College, June, 1794, 
Judge Mitchell was named as one of the trustees, and in its 
first meeting that board elected him its treasurer. As six town- 
ships of wild land had been granted to that institution in the 
original act, the treasurer had onerous duties in locating and 
selling them from the beginning. 

Let it not be inferred that, because Judge Mitchell relinquished 
the work of the ministry, he abated in the least his confidence 
in or attachment to the Christian religion, for he maintained an 
elevated and unspotted reputation as a Christian through his 
whole active life. In 1770, he was elected to the office of dea- 
con, and retained the same till his death, "having used the office 
well." Rev. Mr. Gilman presents him as " a worthy model in all 
the relations of life as a finished gentleman of the old school. 
To the distressed he was compassionate ; to the poor, kind and 
helpful ; to the young and unlearned, a teacher by precept and 
example. Nor was he backward in performing duties then quite 
uncommon with laymen, in leading social meetings, in conduct- 
ing public worship in the absence of a minister, in attending 
ecclesiastical councils to which he was often sent, and in earnest 
solicitude for and ready endeavors to secure revivals of religion^ 
with which during his connection with it the church was re- 
markably blest." 

In the early spring of 1796, while attending a session of the 
Senate, his final sickness overtook him. Hoping to recover, he 



70 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

remained a few weeks in Boston, but he sunk rapidly to a low 
and hopeless state. He then returned home, thankful that he 
was permitted to die in the bosom of his beloved family. His 
strength was nearly exhausted, but with faltering voice he spake 
words of advice and pious exhortation to his sorrowing friends. 
Sustained by his hope of eternal life, and assured that he had 
not believed in vain, on the Sabbath, the next day after his ar- 
rival home, March 13, 1796, he expired, and passed to an end- 
less Sabbath in the realms of light, aged sixty-seven. 

HON. JOHN LEWIS. 

Hon. John Lewis was the last of these four judges, and was 
the second that held the office till his death. He was born in 
Hingham, Mass., June 14, 1717, and was the fifth generation 
from George Lewis, the elder of two brothers, who emigrated to 
these shores some time previous to 1633. 

He sprang from a distinguished family, no less than twelve of 
the name having graduated from Harvard and Yale before his 
time. It was also decidedly religious. Two of his near kins- 
men were clergymen, and several of the females married minis- 
ters, and he was trained according to the careful and pious cus- 
toms of those noteworthy times. Not liberally, but academi- 
cally educated, his affluent native endowments and unswerving 
integrity fitted him for the responsible positions he occupied in 
subsequent life. 

In the early part of 1743, he left Hingham and came to North 
Yarmouth, where several of his relatives and acquaintances 
were already settled. The next year war was declared between 
France and England, beginning what was known in New Eng- 
land as " The French and Indian Wars," and as the French Jes- 
uits then had full control of most of the Indian tribes in the 
wilds of Maine and Canada, it was expected that an Indian 
invasion, with all its horrors, would burst upon our frontier set- 
tlements. The young men of that day expected to be called 
upon to breast the dangers and hardships of savage warfare, and 
though North Yarmouth was still a frontier town, Mr. Lewis 
chose, if he must gird himself for the battle,to take his risk near 
the front, where he had friends and acquaintances. But the 
Indian enemy did not attack the town with a large marauding 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 71 

force, but small parties made frequent raids, killing some of the 
settlers and taking their families captive. In 1746, a party num- 
bering thirty-two concealed themselves in a gully by night in 
the outskirts of the village, evidently intending to attack Mr. 
Weare's garrison, after the men had gone to their work in the 
morning, and capture the women and children ; but Mr. Philip 
Greely rode by early in the morning, and his dog discovered 
them, upon which they rose and shot Mr. Greely and departed, 
without further molesting the settlement. 

Mr. Lewis' plans for life were not seriously interrupted by that 
raid. He cultivated the arts and secured the blessings of peace. 
Upon Coussins island he purchased a farm and there was his 
first place of residence, and there all of his children were born. 
On the 20th of November, 1746, he married Mary Mitchell, 
eldest daughter of Deacon Jacob and Mary Rowland Mitchell. 
She was bora in Pembroke, June 23, 1728, and was a sister of 
Colonel Jonathan Mitchell, who led a regiment to Bagaduce. 
About 1760, .he purchased a large lot of land adjoining the 
Royall place on the northwest, extending from Royall to Cous- 
sins rivers ; upon this he cleared up a farm, built a substantial 
house, which is still standing; and there he spent the remainder 
of his days. After his death this tract underwent some division, 
but his homestead was the part recently known as the Ezekiel 
Merrill place, though it had been previously occupied by his son 
and grandson. 

Being thoroughly educated as a land-surveyor, he was often 
employed in that business, lotting out a part of New Gloucester 
and other new towns in that vicinity, and also in dividing and 
running out lots for private parties in all the surrounding regions. 
His " Field Books," were kept until recently and are well remem- 
bered by some of his descendants for their distinct and accurate 
records and attractive penmanship. 

His religious character is not now easily portrayed. The loss 
of his journal has swept away the most desirable evidence of it, 
and this can not be replaced. Soon after his marriage, Decem- 
ber 13, 1747, he and his wife publicly professed religion and 
joined the First Congregational church. From that time he be- 
came one of its leading members. Then, too, the most eminent 
men in town were members of that church, so that decided 



72 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

ability and merit alone would secure a pre-eminence ; but he was 
placed upon important committees, and called to attend to eccle- 
siastical matters. His piety was an every-day possession, a 
formative force of his character and actions. In 1796, a vacancy 
occurred in the deacon's office, and he was elected to fill it, being 
the third judge who had been called to that place, and he re- 
tained this office till his death. 

As early as 1759 he was upon the bo;ird of town assessors and 
frequently afterward one of the selectmen. In 1779, he was ap- 
pointed a justice of the peace, and many of the early deeds 
were made by and acknowledged before him. His appointment 
seems to have been made by the Honorable Council. But not till 
the breaking out of the Revolutionary conflict do we get ac- 
quainted with his public life, or many data, from which to form 
an estimate of his standing and character. In 1774, he was 
elected a delegate from North Yarmouth to the first Provincial 
Congress convened by the Colony of Massachusetts. It met in 
Salem, October 7, 1774. This was a bold step, a revolutionary 
measure, indicating most decidedly the temper of the people, and 
the readiness of our honored sires to strike for redress of griev- 
ances and for liberty. Not fearing the wrath of the King, nor 
of his arbitrary and oppressive Governor, he went and braved 
the danger. This body supplied the place of, and eventually 
shaped itself into the General Court of Massachusetts. It next 
met in Watertown, April lii, 1775. To this David Mitchell was 
sent from North Yarmouth as delegate; but Mr. Lewis was ap- 
pointed by that body a committee of correspondence for the 
North Yarmouth district, " to afford assistance at all times in 
suppressing the enemies of American liberty." By the same 
Congress he was appointed on a committee (May 2 at Water- 
town) "to consider what measures are proper to be taken for 
liberating those persons who were taken prisoners by the troops 
of General Gage, on the 19th of April last." This date is signif- 
icant. It calls to mind the battle of Concord and Lexington 
the initiatory appeal to arms in the Revolutionary conflict. 

How many times Mr. Lewis was elected as a member of that 
body I am not able to say ; but he was evidently often at the 
Colonial seat of government and had much to do with the public 
affairs of those troublous times. An old receipt which has es- 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 73 

caped the destroyer, brings to light a little speck of female 
patriotism and shows that Mr, Lewis was a member of the Gen- 
eral Court. In this paper Asa Lewis receipted to widow Huldah 
Mitchell for 15 lawful money, which his father was to take to 
the Provincial treasurer, as a government loan, and Mr. Asa 
Lewis bound himself to return her a government note for that 
amount or to restore to her the money. This was in the fall of 
1777 the darkest period in our contest. Let this noble act of 
Mrs. Huldah Mitchell be long remembered. 

Another public appointment brings Judge Lewis into notice, 
and shows how highly he was esteemed by the public. It is not 
forgotten that, October 18, 1775, the greater part of Falmouth 
village (now Portland), was laid in ashes by Capt. Henry Mowat 
of the Royal Navy. His provocation for committing this un- 
warranted and savage piece of vandalism upon an inoffensive 
people was a personal affront given him by u Brigadier Thomp- 
son " the spring previous. In the latter part of April, 1775, 
Captain Mowat, in a small naval vessel, the " Canceau," came 
into Falmouth harbor, and at the same time Captain Coulson, a 
citizen of Falmouth, was at home with a ship that he com- 
manded. Coulson was a zealous Tory, and the coming of Mowat 
awakened many fears and a widespread excitement. Samuel 
Thompson of Topsham was then a lieutenant colonel in the 
militia, and also a member of the Provincial Congress. Hear- 
ing of M<>wat's arrival, he came over with a company of soldiers 
in boats, landed quietly and unobserved on the back side of Mun- 
joy hill, intending to get possession of Mowat's vessel. Mowat 
knew nothing of this ; he had gone ashore with his surgeon, and 
was walking out with Captain Coulson and Rector Wiswell, the 
Episcopal minister of Falmouth, who also was an ardent Roy- 
alist, unarmed and unsuspecting. These sympathizing friends 
unwittingly went near to Thompson's encampment, and he im- 
proved the opportunity by seizing the two English officers and 
hurrying them into confinement. This produced great alarm 
among the people, and threw the crew of the " Canceau " into a 
towering passion. The people of Falmouth had no hand in it, 
had not heard of Colonel Thompson's arrival, did not generally 
approve of this arrest, and besought him to liberate his enraged 
prisoners. Accordingly they were liberated, and Mowat left 



74 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

terribly incensed at the audacity of Colonel Thompson, and 
eager to resent, by summary punishment, the indignity shown 
to a British officer. But without permission from the com- 
mander of the squadron he dared not attempt retaliation, and 
this he finally obtained by strong and persistent entreaty. So 
on the sixteenth of October, 1775, he again sailed into the harbor 
with five small cruisers, anchored menacingly before the town, 
and on the afternoon of the seventeenth notified the inhabitants 
that in two hours he should bombard the town. The people 
were appalled, and besought him to grant them a respite. This 
he granted, and they were allowed till the next day to prepare 
for the worst. On the eighteenth he opened fire upon an un- 
resisting town, as has been narrated above. 

These needy sufferers obtained immediate relief from sympa- 
thizing neighbors, and afterward, through influential friends in 
England, sought assistance from the kind-hearted there ; but it 
secured nothing from them except " Be ye warmed and filled." 
The selectmen and a committee of the town also sought aid 
from the General Court, stating clearly that they were in no way 
responsible for Captain Mowat's arrest, and also showing that 
their loss of property amounted to fifty-five thousand pounds. 
This necessarily brought Colonel Thompson's official doings into 
notice, and convinced that body that they required investigation. 
So in 1779, the General Court appointed Samuel Freeman of 
Falrnouth, John Lewis of North Yarmouth, and William Gor- 
ham of Gorham, an investigating committee to inquire into this 
seizure of Mowat, and other questionable military proceedings. 
These facts are learned from a letter from Mr. Freeman to John 
Lewis, which I here insert. 

SACO, Oct. 13, 1779. 

DEAR Sm: By the bearer (Mr. Hewes) who rides in company with 
me and is going to North Yarmouth, I take the opportunity (which will 
save me the expense of sending somebody on purpose) to inform you 
that the General Court have appointed you and I (me) and Mr. Gorham 
to inquire into the complaint of the Selectmen and Committee of Fal- 
mouth against Brigadier Thompson and Colonel Noyes ; and the first 
letter against them and others is committed to us; so we are a Court of 
Inquiry authorized to inquire into the military character and conduct of 
almost all the militia officers in the county. This is of importance to 
the officers, and may, in its consequences, be so to the county; and as 
the Recess is short, and as it is necessary the business should be com- 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NOETH YARMOUTH. 75 

pleted before the (Gen.) Court meets again, I thought it must be imme- 
diately attended to; especially as our Inferior Court will take up near 
one week of the Recess. I should therefore be extremely glad if you 
would come to Falmouth on Thursday next and meet Mr. Gorham and 
I (myself) in order to agree upon a time when the inquiry shall begin, 
and the mode of notifying the parties. 

If you cannot come to Falmouth on Thursday, come and take dinner 
with me at Saccarappa on Friday. 

I am your most obedient Ser. 

SAM'L FKEEMAN. 

The result of their deliberations is not known to the writer, 
neither what view they took of Colonel Thompson's inconsider- 
ate arrest of a British officer; but there are good reasons for 
thinking that their report did not pass unnoticed. Not long 
after the General Court granted to those sufferers two townships 
of wild land, now known as New Portland and Freeman, which 
names were selected from their connection with Portland and its 
distinguished citizen. 

After the Province of Massachusetts, then including the pres- 
ent state of Maine, had adopted a Constitution and taken the 
form of a state government, there were loud complaints that 
plunderers were stripping the public lands of their best timber ; 
and at the same time many conflicting claims were in contest as 
to proprietorship. From "Williamson's History of Maine" we 
learn that these things led the General Court, May 1, 1781, to 
appoint a committee of five able men " to inquire into the en- 
croachments upon all the wild lands of the state ; to examine 
the rights and pretexts of claimants, and to prosecute obstinate 
intruders and trespassers ; and yet to liquidate fair adjustments 
with all such as were disposed to do right, upon principles of 
equity, good faith and duty." This committee consisted of Jed- 
' ediah Preble of Falmouth, Jonathan Greenleaf of New Glouces- 
ter, David Sewall of York, John Lewis of North Yarmouth, and 
John Lithgow of Bath. This committee had a wide range for 
discretionary power, and questions involving a large amount of 
land property were submitted to them. Many of them were 
satisfactorily adjusted and expensive litigation avoided, and pub- 
lic confidence was so much placed in them that their services 
were extensively sought. The heirs of Francis Small and Nich- 
olas Shapleigh, claimants of the " Ossipee Tract " in York county 



76 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

under an Indian deed one hundred and sixty years old, submit- 
ted their claim to this committee, and the General Court and 
proprietors both readily acquiesced in the verdict which they 
rendered. 

In 1782 a still greater expression of public confidence in his 
ability, integrity and sound judgment was shown him. Upon 
the retirement of Chief Justice Powell from the bench, he was 
appointed as one of the Associate Judges, and this position he 
held till his death. Judge David Mitchell became chief justice 
and after his death Judge Lewis filled that place. For a period 
of forty years, one, and a part of the time two incumbents of the 
judicial bench were from this town, and two of them retired by 
resignation. 

In the earlier period of this Court the compensation received 
by the judges probably did not meet their expenses. But later 
the fees were higher, and business increased so that in Judge 
Lewis' time of office the pay was probably remunerative. In his 
pecuniary circumstances he was wealthy, leaving at his death sev- 
eral farms to his heirs, beside his homestead. It also appears 
that he kept a colored servant man as did men of substance gen- 
erally in those days. In his personal appearance those who can 
recollect say that he was tall and portly, and quite distinguished. 

At length a sore affliction invaded his happy family circle. On 
the thirtieth day of August, 1794, his beloved wife, after a wear- 
ing indisposition, departed this life, aged seventy-one. Nearly 
half a century they had walked side by side, in the enjoyment of 
domestic, conjugal and Christian affection, and those pure rela- 
tions could not be 'sundered without keenest suffering. Two 
years after, August 11, 1796, he married as a second wife, Mrs. 
Lydia (Paul) Worthly, widow of Samuel Worthly, who lived 
with him till his death and survived him less than a year. 

Despite his increasing years he attended to the duties of his 
office until March, 1803. After a ten days' session of the Court 
at Portland, he returned home, and was suddenly and violently 
taken ill. On the next day, March 4, 1803, he expired, aged 
nearly eighty-six. 

The final resting-place of his wives and children are duly com- 
memorated upon the speaking marble. Beyond a doubt his 
would have been, if interred in a common grave ; so it seems 



THE FOUR JUDGES OF NORTH YARMOUTH. 77 

about certain that his cold remains were committed to the 
"Mitchell Tomb," if not, then no man now knoweth of his 
sepulcher. It is related that the conquerors of Central America 
found a native chief who kept the embalmed bodies of his de- 
parted ancestors in a certain part of his magnificent mansion. 
Our refined sensibilities revolt from such barbaric reverence. 
We can do better. We can retain their history, cherish their 
memories, and enshrine their virtues and piety as a perpetual 
inheritance for ourselves and our children. 



JOHN E. GODFREr. 79 



JOHN E. GODFREY. 

Bead before the Maine Historical Society, May 38, 1885. 

BY ALBERT WARE PAINE. 

JOHN EDWARDS GODFREY of Bangor, whose death occurred 
on February 20, 1884, was born at Hampden, Maine, September 
6, 1809. He was the son of John and Sophia Godfrey, the 
former of whom was a practicing lawyer at that place, and stood 
high in his profession. The father was borti at Taunton, Mas- 
sachusetts, May 27, 1781, and died at Bangor, May 28, 1862, 
at the age of eighty-one years. The mother was the daughter 
of Colonel Samuel Dutton, born at Hallowell, July 31, 1786. 
Thtir marriage took place at Bangor, May 21, 1806. The male 
line of these was in direct descent from Richard Godfrey, who 
settled immediately after immigration at Taunton in 1652. 

In John's boyhood his father removed to Bangor with his 
family, and there continued to reside during the remainder of 
his life. In October, 1831, after a preliminary education in the 
public schools of Hampden and Bangor, and at the academies in 
Machias and Hampden, the deceased entered upon the study of 
the law in the office and under the instruction of the Hon. 
William Abbot, a leading lawyer of the bar, he having previ- 
ously studied at intervals with his father for several years in the 
same course. He was admitted as a member of the bar, at the 
Court of Common Pleas, October term, 1832, and at the Su- 
preme Judicial Court, June term, 1835. After his first admission, 
he opened an office and commenced practice at Calais in 1833, but, 
after about one year, he returned to Bangor, where he continued 
in the work of his profession until his death. 

On May 16, 1837, he married Elizabeth Angela Stackpole, 
daughter of David Stackpole of Portland, by whom he had 
two children, John Franklin Godfrey, a lawyer of Los Angeles, 
California, born June 23, 1839, and George Frederick Godfrey 
of Bangor, born October 23, 1840. This wife died May 27, 



80 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

1868, and on September 19, 1876, he married again, Laura 
Jane, daughter of Michael Schwartz, by whom he had one child, 
a daughter Ethel, born September 23, 1878, both of whom sur-' 
vive him. 

Mr. Godfrey was for several years a member of the different 
boards of the City Council; in 1840-47, 1848 and 1854 to 
1859 of the Common Council, during the last of which he was 
its president, and from 1866 to 1870, of the Board of Aldermen. 
He also served as a member of the school committee from 1847 
to 1853 and from 1874 to 1877. In 1856, he was elected Judge 
of Probate for Penobscot county, and continued to serve for six 
successive terms in said office, to which he was thus elected by 
the people, for twenty-four years in all, until 1881. 

In 1865, he was elected an<l became a member of the Maine 
Historical Society, and continued as such until his death, always 
active in its proceedings. He was also one of the originators 
and useful members of the Bangor Historical Society from 1864, 
and on the death of Hon. E. L. Hamlin was elected its president 
in 1873, which place he held for the remainder of his life. 

During all his manhood Mr. Godfrey was an active worker 
and participant in almost every kind of industry and enterprise 
which tended to promote the public good or advance the best in- 
terests of society. He never allowed his professional work to 
prevent other useful employments from receiving a due share of 
his attention. Although he had not the advantages of a collegi- 
ate education, yet by diligent study he largely made up for the 
want of it, and became a scholar of high rank, gaining credit as 
such in various departments of study in advance of many who had 
enjoyed the benefits of the highest institutions of learning. His 
mind was stored with a fund of practical information on many 
subjects of useful learning, and his published writings on various 
subjects disclose a happy and attractive style of expression. "He 
held the pen of a ready writer " and a copious supply of rich 
material to indite. 

Though well versed on many practical subjects, his particular 
forte was historical research and inquiry, accompanied with' that 
success which attends diligence in application and wisdom in 
directing investigation. His more particular success in this line 
was in his explorations, as they may be called, in the early his- 



JOHN E. GODFREY. 81 

tory of his own state and county. No man had probably a more 
perfect knowledge of the early annals of Eastern Maine, in- 
cluding Old Norombega and the prehistoric events of the Penob- 
scot region, as well as the history of the city of Bangor after its 
inhabitancy commenced. It w.-is in recognition of this qualifica- 
tion that he was selected as the orator on the occasion of Ban- 
gor's centenary celebration in 1869. The satisfactory manner 
with which he excuted the trust and the great value of his ad- 
dress, as a historical memento of the past, is uniformly recog- 
nized by all and will ever remain a monument to his memory. 
Upon the contemplated semi-centenary of the city's charter, on 
the year of his death, he alone was looked forward to as the 
person to perform the like part of the service, and thus finish the 
history which he had so faithfully brought down to the present 
century. His death however came just in season to defeat his 
candidacy and with it the celebration itself. The volume, which 
perpetuates the valuable history alluded to, also contains, in 
other contributions for the occasion, further and pleasant evi- 
dence of his literary qualities. " The Rhyme of the Ancient 
City Hall" and " To the Penobscot, Now" both bear testimony 
to a merit not to be overlooked or disregarded. 

On many other occasions and in various ways did Mr. Godfrey 
exhibit for the benefit of the world and especially of the com- 
mu dty inwhich he lived, peculiar talent as a writer of antique and 
hidden events, Volumes vn and vui of the Maine Historical 
Society's "Collections" bear ample evidence of this proposition. 
" The Ancient Penobscot," " The Pilgrims at Penobscot," k ' Baron 
de St. Castine," " Castine the Younger," " Basheba and the Tar- 
ratines," " Norombega " and " Memorial notice of Edward Kent" 
are among the articles so contributed by him, and are evidence 
of great versatility of talent as well as of varied information. 
In addition to these he also furnished important contributions to 
the " History of Penobscot County," filling a very large portion 
of all the material contained within the pages of the work pub- 
lished in 1882, including notices of the bench and bar of his 
county. In a previous " History of the Press of Maine " pub- 
lished in 1872 and 1879, he was also a valued contributor of im- 
portant material. 
6 



02 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Closely connected with his work of historical research, as 
already described, is his other work as editor. Having early 
committed himself with zeal to the advocacy of the anti- 
slavery cause or the Free Soil party, he became in 1841 the edi- 
tor of the Liberty Party journal, called the Bangor Gazette, 
which he took charge of for two years, the first year as a weekly 
and the second as a weekly and daily periodical. Respecting 
this he says in his own memorandum, U I was very industrious 
those two years, and trust that my labors were not wholly fruit- 
less in some respects, although pecuniarily I was a loser." The 
paper was conducted with vigor and ability, and with a high 
character of literary merit, was a forcible exposilor of the doc- 
trines which he thus espoused, at a time when the party was 
under the ban of public sentiment. 

In politics, previously to his connection with the Free Soil 
party, he was ever a warm-hearted and enthusiastic Whig, and 
active in the support and spread of the principles of that party. 
To use his own language, "In the Harrison political campaign 
I was an- ardent Whig, doing my share of the song-s'nging, 
parading, tramping and hurrahing, in that canorous wrangle." 
After the formation of the Republican party he came to be a 
vigorous supporter of its doctrines, and zealous always in their 
advocacy. 

As a lawyer Mr. Godfrey ever took a high stand at the bar, as 
a man of learning, whose opinions were reliable and whose advice 
was safe to follow. He was a student of legal authors and writers, 
and a wise expounder of their treatises. Because of these 
traits he was, as already stated, in 1850 elected judge of probate 
for his county at the first election ever had of that office in 
Maine, and on five subsequent elections was re-chosen for the 
same position, thus giving him twenty-four successive years of 
administration of that important trust until 1881. As judge he 
was distinguished for his intimate knowledge of the probate law 
and for his wise and impartial judgments, characteristics which 
assured his continuance in the office. His judgments were sel- 
dom appealed from and much less frequently over-ruled. 

Intimately connected with his other professional positions is 
the fact of his holding many other minor trusts of a similar 
kind. Beside his oft-repeated appointments as justice of the 



JOHN E. GODFREY. 83 

peace and quorum, he also held the office of notary public, com- 
missioner of deeds for the states of Massachusetts, New York, 
New Hampshire, California, Iowa, and other states, and also 
commissioner for taking testimony for the United States Court 
of Claims, and public administrator until his appointment as 
judge. During the war he also held the post of commissioner 
of enrollment until its close. 

Allusion has already been made to Mr. Godfrey's interest in 
municipal matters, having for very many years been a member 
of the city government, representing his ward in both of its 
branches at different times. In educational affairs he was also 
equally interested, and as a result of this trait of his character 
and his peculiar qualification, he occupied the place of member 
of the board of superintending school committee for a great 
many years. 

In horticulture, too, he took a deep interest. He was among 
the active originators of the Horticultural Society of his city 
and supporter of the Agricultural Society of his county. Of 
the former he was treasurer during almost the whole time from 
its formation. He was also a member of the State Pomological 
Society, in which he took a deep interest. 

For music, too, he had a peculiar taste, and patronized all ef- 
forts to promote its cultivation. For several years he held the 
place of president of the Penobscot Musical Association. 

He was also always distinguished for his many social virtues 
and his quiet and unobtrusive manners, as well as for his exem- 
plary habits of industry and temperance. He was a man of 
great congeniality of feeling, and courteous in all his relations 
with the world, kind, generous and benevolent. Combined with 
these qualities, he possessed a mind of rich culture, thoroughly 
disciplined and stored with information and learning on all prac- 
tical subjects. He was thus a gentleman whose society was very 
naturally courted, and whose acquaintance was very generally 
sought. His large library, a true outcome of his mind, was 
made up of volumes of every kind of useful contents and inter- 
esting information. His home was one that all could relish, as a 
place of genial companionship and pleasant resort, a home of 
comfort and of mental as well as physical enjoyment and social 
intercourse. It is hardly necessary to add of such a man, that 



84 MAIXE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

he was a father and husband who made home happy, to the 
exclusion of all necessity of finding elsewhere the means of 
pleasing entertainment and diversion. 

He was a man of refined taste, and devoted to the cultiva- 
tion of art in its various branches. This led him to detect and 
to gain a quick perception of the grand and the beautiful in 
nature, a quality that always exhibited itself in his practical life 
and habits. In the wild scenery of " Lovers'-leap " * he realized 
a romance peculiarly pleasant to him, which induced him to select 
its neighboring cliffs as the locality of his successive residences, 
where he spent all the later years of his mature life. The nat- 
ural wildness of the scenery, overlooking the calm waters of the 
Kenduskeag, flowing gently by the place, but far below the level 
of his domicile, had an attraction, which amply repaid him for all 
the additional labor which the distance from his place of busi- 
ness daily compelled him to overcome. 

Fond of humor, he always enjoyed its exercise and the telling 
of and listening to anecdotes and reminiscences and agreeable 
conversations. At the same time he was ever on his guard on such 
occasions against all breaches of modesty and common sense. 
These characteristics always made him a favorite with the young 
of both sexes, for however old, he never failed to be as young 
in feeling and expression as were his auditors or companions on 
such occasions. Fond of society, they were equally fond of him 
and always enjoyed his presence for he was eminently a social 
man and particularly sought for in company. 

He was, too, a man of remarkably industrious habits, always 
busy with some useful employment for the promotion of some 
good to the community at large or to individuals ; and nothing 
more conduced to his happiness than to know or feel that he had 
helped to make the world better, or some of its inhabitants more 
comfortable and happy. Nor was his benevolence wholly ex- 
pended on humanity alone, for the brute creation also shared in 
his benevolent efforts to improve its conditions and save, through 
the aid of societies, its members from unnecessary and cruel 
treatment. 

On the 20th day of February, 1884, while in his usual health, 

*A very high and almost perpendicular ledge forming the bank of Keuduskeag stream, 
about a mile from the main river, famed for its Indian legend. 



JOHN E. GODFREY. 85 

and in the full enjoyment of life, and sportively playing with his 
little daughter, he suddenly threw up his hands with delight at 
something which she had done, and expired in the midst of his 
laughter, while his hands were thus uplifted. Thus without a 
single minute's notice or warning, in the bosom of his family, 
with his loved wife and daughter by his side, he suddenly passed 
away from earth, to meet those who had gone before. 

The bar of his county and the Bangor Historical Society 
took appropriate notice of his death, and adopted resolutions 
and other proceedings fitting to the occasion. The press of the 
city and of the state generally, as well as of other places, noticed 
his decease in a becoming manner. This memorial of his life 
and character is placed on file with the Maine Historical Society, 
as a memento of his worth, and appreciation as a valued mem- 
ber and highly-prized associate, in its work of perpetuating the 
history of our state. 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION. 87 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION 

ON THE RIVER KEXNEBEC, 1646-1652. 
' Read before the Maine Historical Society, May 15, 1879. 

BY JOHN MARSHALL BROWN. 

THE interesting episode in the early history of Maine to which 
I am about to refer, has either been entirely neglected by our 
earlier historians, or else referred to by them in terms which in- 
dicate their ignorance of its details. 

The republication in 1858 of the " Relations of the Jesuits " has 
rendered that mine of historic wealth accessible to all, and the 
student may now read in the fervid language of men whose labors 
and suffering have scarcely a parallel the full story of their grand 
crusade. Much of all this, perhaps all that is of interest to the 
general reader, has been brought to light again in the fascinating 
pages of Mr. Parkman's volumes, but the local historian must go 
to the fountain-head and look at the facts from the standpoint of 
his own interest. I have ventured to do this and hope I shall not 
be thought arrogant in gleaning after such a harvest. Indeed 
I shall be disappointed if I do not convince those who are 
familiar with Mr. Palfrey's history and Mr. Parkman's eloquent 
work that the former is miserably inadequate and grossly unfair, 
and that even the latter has neglected to give proper prominence 
to the political significance of Druilletes' success and failure. 

The two circumstances which more than any other contributed 
to destroy the independence of Maine and bring it into a depen- 
dent position and hinder its development were, yf/T/ its adherence 
to the established church of England, which aroused the animosity 
of Massachusetts thus preventing it from joining the Confed- 
eration ; and second the unprotected nature of its frontier and the 
bitter enmity of the Indians at the eastward and to the north of 
the settlements. How this last came about, and whose was the 
folly and the fault, will, I think, be made clear by a careful study 
of the contemporary accounts. 



88 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

In 1610, one of the Algonquin Indians who had resided at the 
missionary settlement of Sillery on the St. Lawrence, and had 
occasioned the Jesuit fathers infinite trouble on account of his 
wayward manners, brought himself under discipline for his polyga- 
mous practices and to escape from the reprimands of the mission- 
aries, deliberately ran away, taking with him two, at least, of his 
wives and their children. His place of refuge was the Kennebec, 
many leagues away to the southeast, and the painful journey he 
must have taken to reach it gives abundant evidence either of the 
happiness of his much-married life, or the terrors of the priestly 
discipline. His career, however, was short, for in the following 
winter he was killed in a drunken brawl by an Indian of the very 
tribe with whom he had sought a home and refuge. In the fol- 
lowing summer of 1641, two Abnakis came to Quebec for the 
purpose of explaining matters and offering some expiation to the 
relatives of the murdered man. At first they narrowly escaped 
with their lives, but under the influence of two Christian Indians 
they were at last kindly received, the bereaved relatives satisfied 
and a lasting alliance established between the Indians of the St. 
Lawrence and those of the Kennebec. Previous to this date there 
had been but little communication between them and slight 
acquaintance. Thereafter the " Relations " make frequent men- 
tion of this amiable and powerful nation, destined to play a 
most important part in the history of the time. 

Their home was on the Kennebec ; they were the most power- 
ful tribe of that great family, which, coming out of the northwest 
in the unknown past, had floated over the great lakes and down 
the St. Lawrence and crossed the highlands into Maine. This 
last migration was a comparatively recent tradition in 1642, for 
when in that year the Society of Notre Dame of Montreal cele- 
brated their first Feast of the Assumption, and to crown the day 
ascended to the summit of the hill that gives its name to the city, 
two of the principal Indians in the party, stretching out their 
hands toward the hills which close up the horizon to south and 
east, exclaimed : " Here once were villages and very many people ; 
here our fathers tilled the ground, but it is now deserted ; all have 
vanished. Some have joined their conquerors and some have 
gone into the country of the Abnakis beyond the hills." 

In 1643, a pious Indian from Sillery, under a vow, went to the 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION. 89 

Kennebec to sow there in his humble way the seeds of the true 
faith. He found the English settled on the river, as they had 
been since 1627, and at first did not know them to be other than 
Frenchmen, never having seen an Englishman before. The In- 
dians do not appear to have borne a very good character. Father 
Vimont says in his " Relation " that they were much given to 
drunkenness, and had no acquaintance or business with any but 
> the English living there, and that from these heretics and from 
the vessels on the coast, they got the liquor which turned their 
heads. Our Canadian neophyte labored, however, faithfully and 
well, and on his return was accompanied by one of the Abnaki 
chiefs, who was baptized at Quebec, the Governor Montmagny, 
himself, standing as his godfather, and giving him his name. 

In this same year, again on the Feast of the Assumption, as 
the clergy were about to offer the sacrifice of the mass, the glad 
intelligence was brought that two sails were visible in the river 
a league away. I doubt not that any sight or sound of home 
was very welcome to the lonesome colonists, even to the self-sac- 
rificing missionaries themselves ; in this case doubly so, for the 
vessels contained .the Sieur D'Ailleboust, afterward to become 
governor, and his virgin wife * and her sister, together with the 
Mother Marie of St. Genevieve, and Mother Anne of St. James, 
and Mother Anne des Seraphins, "who had been gifted with a 
noble courage to surmount the dangers of the ocean and the fear 
of this barbarous country, and the importunate entreaties of 
those who would keep them in France and so divert them from 
this holy enterprise." With these were also Father Quentin of 
the Society of Jesus, and three other brothers of that company, 
Leonard Garreau, Noel Chabanel and Gabriel Druilletes. Great 
was the rejoicing, and knowing the lofty nature of these men I 
doubt if it would have been less sincere had it been known that 
in a few years Garreau and Chabanel would suffer martyrdom in 
the West, and Druilletes wear out his saintly life in the wilds of 
Maine. 

During these few years the missionary settlement at Sillery, 
just above Quebec, had received accessions to its numbers. All 
nationalities and tribes were represented among the Indians 

The wife of D'Ailleboust de Coulonges was Barbe de Boulogne, who as a child had 
taken the vow of perpetual chastity, and was married on the condition that her vow 
should not be broken. See Parkman, Jesuits in North America, p. 264. 



90 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

gathered from the lower St. Lawrence and the Saguenay, and 
now from the Kennebec. The seed sown in faith was begin- 
ning to bear fruit, and the faithful labor was at last to have its 
reward. In 1646, in early spring, some of the Abnakis at the 
mission determined to go back to the Kennebec, and talk with 
their people, and ask them if they would not gladly " lend ear to 
the Word of God." Nothing was heard from them until their 
return on the* 14th of August ; this was the eve of the Assump- 
tion, and on the following day, that of the Feast itself, they made 
their report. The speech of the chief is preserved in the " Rela- 
tions." He said that he had carried to his countrymen the good 
news of the Gospel, and had spoken to them of the beauty of 
heaven and the horrors of hell. Thirty men and ten women had 
promised to embrace the faith, and "all the others had urged 
him to go and seek for a father whom they would like to hear 
before giving their word." " See," he added in conclusion, " the 
thoughts and resolutions of my country. See if you are willing 
to give us a father ; my people will be gathered at one place dur- 
ing the coming winter to hear in peace and repose the voice of 
him you may send." Such a petition could not be refused. The 
Abnakis were not within their jurisdiction, belonging rather to 
New England, but they had asked for the cup of salvation, and 
how could it be withheld ? So it was decided, and the lot fell 
upon Gabriel Druilletes, and as this decision was reached on the 
Feast of the Assumption, and as he had first caught sight of the 
heights of Quebec on the same festival three years before, his 
mission was named "of the Assumption," and so afterward 
described. 

Druilletes was in all aspects a very remarkable man ; he was 
now fifty-three years of age, having been born in France in 1593. 
At his earnest solicitation, after entering the order of the 
Jesuits, he was after many years of service sent to Canada. He 
arrived as we have seen in 1643, and applied himself at once to 
the study of the Indian tongue. The winter of 1644 he spent 
with a hunting party, suffering every conceivable hardship. 
The smoke of the confined lodges was stifling, and at last he be- 
came hopelessly blind. Hundreds of miles of ice and snow and 
weary waste separated him from the little settlement at Quebec, 
and his Indian companions were obliged to lead him like a child ; 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION. 91 

but he was gifted not only with great endurance, but a lively and 
even sprightly and gay disposition, and this, with his deep re- 
ligious feeling, won the hearts of his companions, and carried 
him through all perils. At last, while at his devotions, his eyes 
were opened as if by a miracle, and thenceforth his sight never 
failed. 

Druilletes left Sillery on the 29th of August, 1646, with an 
escort of savages, and reached the Kennebec by way of the 
Chaudiere. His reception was most cordial, and from the whole 
neighborhood the natives flocked to see him. One of his compan- 
ions acted as interpreter, but as the Abnaki tongue bore some 
resemblance to the Algonquin, with which he was acquainted, 
he soon was able to dispense with these services. He vis- 
ited all the Indian villages in the neighborhood of Norridgewock, 
which subsequent events would seem to indicate as his headquar- 
ters, and then descended the river to the trading station at Cush- 
noc, now Augusta, where eighteen years before the Plymouth 
colonists had established themselves. Here he was well received, 
and visited it a second time, descending the river to the sea, and 
tarrying for awhile at seven or eight other English settlements 
on the coast. Whether he went to the west of the river is not 
clear ; he certainly went to the eastward as far as the Penobscot, 
where he found (at Castine) a little hospice of the Capuchins, 
presided over by Father Ignatius of Paris. With the good 
fathers of this mission he spent some little time to refresh him- 
self, and then returned to his charge, making the voyage in his 
bark canoe, and stopping again at the English settlements on the 
way. The Sieur Chaste had given him abundant provisions for 
the journey, and had moreover furnished him with letters to 
Winslow, who, in the interest of the Plymouth colony, com- 
manded at Augusta or " Coussinoc." In these letters he de- 
clared that he had seen nothing in the worthy priest which was 
not lovable ; that he was in no way interested in trade ; that the 
general testimony of the savages was convincing as to the purity 
of his motives ; he thought only of their instruction in spiritual 
things, and came amongst them to procure their salvation at the 
expense, if necessary, of his life. Winslow received the Father 
with all the courtesy and affection he could ask ; he took the let- 
ters and a copy of his credentials, and shortly after left the Ken- 



92 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

nebec for Plymouth and Boston. Meanwhile Druilletes as- 
cended the river about a league where the Indians had gathered 
in fifteen lodges or cabins to the number of perhaps five hundred 
souls ; here they built him a little chapel after their fashion, and 
as he carried with him his chapelle du voyage, or miniature 
vessels for the holy sacrifice, all the appointments were complete. 
By this time he had acquired sufficient knowledge of their dia- 
lect for purposes of instruction, and here he labored faithfully 
and patiently until the beginning of the new year 1647. He was 
especially tender to the sick, and by caring for their bodies at 
last gained their souls for heaven. He watched over them by 
night and tended them by day, and in the language of the Narra- 
tion, God rewarded this great charity by granting health where 
death seemed certain. 

So, too, in his general work, he was unflagging in energy and 
lofty zeal. 

He taught them of the Great Creator who would reward or punish 
them according to their works, and when he saw that the greater part 
of them loved to hear the glad tidings of the Gospel, he demanded of 
them these three things as a mark of their good will and desire to 
receive the Faith. First, they must give up the use of the seductive 
liquors which the fishermen on the coast had brought with them from 
over sea, and in their train, drunkenness and brawling and famine. 
This they promised to do and kept their promise as well as could be 
expected. Second, they were to give up their petty jealousies and 
domestic quarrels and live peaceably with each other. 

The Father Superior in his account of this mission, which was 
published in Paris in the following year, and from which I derive 
these details, writes : 

Men. are men as much at the end of the world as in the middle, and as 
in France between two towns or hamlets there is no end of bickering and 
punctilio, so here in this part of our America there are like little 
jealousies between the different Savage Cantons. 

So the father, who had representatives from many places at 
his little mission, exhorted them to end their disputes and love 
one another, and God gave them grace, and oftentimes after their 
wrangling they would go into the little chapel and ask pardon of 
Him and of each other. 

The third demand was the most difficult to comply with. 
Sorcery was a part, indeed the largest part, of the Indian's relig- 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION. 93 

ion. The "jongleurs" were a species of priest; their influence 
was immense, and the system which they had inherited and im- 
proved laid hold of the very foundations of savage life. They 
were the natural enemies of the missionaries, and their super- 
stitions the greatest stumbling-block in the way. Druilletes, 
nothing daunted, assaulted them at every point with heroic zeal ; 
he declared them to be impostors and selfish and ignorant, no 
better than their fellows, and finally weakened, if he did not 
absolutely destroy, the fetters with which they were enslaved. 

On the 1st of January, 1647, the little settlement was broken 
up and the "whole party, with their patriarch, as he was now 
called, ascended the Kennebec to Moosehead lake for the annual 
hunting expedition. In the spring, as the ice was broken, again 
they descended the river and Druilletes made his third visit to 
the English at Coussinoc. Winslow had returned and received 
him with open arms, and told him how he had spent the winter 
at Plymouth and Boston ; that he had presented the letters which 
he had carried with him to twenty-four of the principal citizens 
of New England, among them four of their most celebrated min- 
isters ; that with one voice they had approved of his design, and 
had declared that it was a good and lovely and generous action 
to instruct the savages, and that they blessed God for it. " The 
gentlemen of the Kennebec company have charged me," said 
Winslow, " to bring you word that if you wish the French to build 
a trading-house on the Kennebec, they will gladly permit it, and 
that you may exercise your functions undisturbed. If you are 
here," he added, " many of the English will visit you," as if to 
imply that there were some within the limits of the settlements 
who were Catholics. To this Druilletes could make no promise, 
other than that he would write again if the plan were feasible, 
and so they parted, Priest and Puritan, Jesuit from Canada, Sepa- 
ratist from Plymouth, but none the less bound to each other by a 
warmth of affection, which was to last, as we shall see, for life. 
On the 20th of May the missionary turned his steps homeward. 
He visited all his pupils in their various retreats, baptizing the 
sick and confessing and blessing them. It was with the greatest 
pain that they bade their friend good-by. Thirty of them went 
with him to Quebec, which he reached on the 15th of June, in 



94 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

perfect health, notwithstanding the fears of his brethren, who 
knew not what to think of his delay. 

So ended the first mission, and I do not know that I can give 
a better portrait of the character of the central figure in it than 
by using the language of his converts, as preserved in the " Re- 
lation " of 1647. 

It must be, they said, that the God our Father tells us of is very 
powerful; it must be that he is great, and has a great soul, for he has 
made this man understand and speak our language in two or three 
ninths, while the Algonquins, after dwelling a year among us, cannot 
speak it. This mau is not like our sorcerers and medicine men; they 
always deminl something for reward, he never; they spend no time 
with our sick; he is with them night and day. Our sorcerers make 
good cheer when they can, the Father fasts often; fifty days has he 
passed with only a little corn, not wishing to taste flesh; if one gave 
him anything the least delicate, he carried it at once to our sick. Surely 
God must sustain him, for we see how fair his complexion is, and that 
he is not accustomed to our hunting and our long marches; that he 
leads a quiet stay-at-home life; that he is a considerable man among his 
own people, and yet he bears and suffers as much and more than we; 
he is joyous amid the dangers and pains of long journeys and roads of 
iron. He is always doing something about us, our children, and our 
sick; he is welcomed by all. The French at Pentagoet have embraced 
him, and more wonderful still, the English have respected him, and 
they are not of the same country or the same tongue. All this shows 
that his God is very powerful and very good. 

The Abnakis, who accompanied their patriarch to Quebec, 
begged piteously that he might be sent back with them, but the 
request was refused for " just reasons," to use the mysterious 
language of the "Relation" of 1652. What these reasons were 
has been made known in the light of recent discoveries. In the 
first place the Kennebec was on English, not French soil, and 
in the second place the nearest mission of the church of Rome 
was at Penobscot, under charge of the Franciscans, as we have 
seen. There was on the surface a feeling of good will, but it is, 
now known that the father at Penobscot had privately inti- 
mated to the Father Superior at Quebec their unwillingness to 
have any intrusion within their limits. This was the year, too, 
in which Father Leo of Paris laid the cornerstone of the hos- 
pice at Castine, the relics of which have recently been discov- 
ered. So the Indians returned to the Kennebec without their 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION. 95 

patriarch. The next year they came again, but without success. 
There was other work for the missionary, and we read of him 
labor, ng under infinite trials, among the Indians on the north 
shore of the St. Lawrence, in the inhospitable region of Anti- 
costi. But the eager converts were not disheartened, and in the 
month of August, 1650, they again returned, this time fortified 
with a letter from the Superior at Pentagoet, who, moved by the 
entreaties of the Christian Indians, had withdrawn his objec- 
tions. This letter is preserved, and is in these words : 

We conjure your reverences by the sacred love of Jesus and of Mary, 
for the safety of these poor souls who call you from the south, to give 
them all the assistance you can in your indefatigable and courageous 
charity. And even if in passing the Kennebec you meet any of our own 
company, do us the favor of making known to them your wants. 

This decided the matter. " It is true," says Father Raguenau, 
who was now Superior at Quebec, "It is true that the district 
'is not within our jurisdiction, and yet how can we abandon peo- 
ple of such a good disposition, ready for the faith, and left with 
no teachers but ourselves." 

Druilletes was again selected for the mission, and left Quebec 
on the 1st of September, 1650. This time, however, he appears 
in a twofold character. The report he had brought from Wins- 
low of the good feeling of the Plymouth gentlemen interested 
in the Kennebec purchase, together with other overtures from 
those of Massachusetts, had convinced the authorities at Que- 
bec that it would be well to enter into more friendly relations 
with their English neighbors. The governor, D'Ailleboust, had 
been a fellow-passenger with Druilletes in 1643, and evidently 
knew his man, so it was arranged that the priest should take 
some time from his missionary labors, and visit Boston and 
Plymouth as envoy to those governments. Such a passport was 
necessary to save a Jesuit from the gallows, for in 1647 our 
worthy ancestors had decreed that punishment to any of the 
hated order. It was the 1st of September when they left Que- 
bec, and in three weeks they were on the Kennebec, past Nor- 
ridgewock, the highest Abnaki town on the river, and reached 
Coussinoc on St. Michael's eve, the twenty-ninth of the month. 
Of this second mission the "Relations" give but brief notice. 
The early historians do not allude to it, and even Charlevoix is 



96 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

unable to give the details. Fortunately, however, Druilettes' own 
journal has been found, and under the supervision of Dr. Shea, 
published in the New York Historical Society collection in 1857.' 
From this I derive what follows. On St. Michael's day Winslow 
received the missionary and his Indian followers. He heard 
their story, and replied, " I love and respect the patriarch. I 
will lodge him in my house, and treat him as my own brother, 
for I well know the good he does among you, and the life he 
leads." 

After nearly two months of missionary work, Winslow took 
Druilletes with him, and going overland to Merrymeeting bay, 
took sail for Boston, reaching there on the 8th of December. Mr. 
Parkman's spirited narrative leaves nothing to be desired in the 
account of this expedition. I can only allude to the novel 
character of the picture. A Jesuit priest at the very center of 
Puritanism, the guest of the magistrates, honored and respected 
at Boston and Plymouth and Salem, winning even the heart of 
Eliot, who, full of zeal for his own missionary work, leaned with 
a noble Christian love upon his fellow-laborer in the Lord. 

It was the 8th of February when he reached the Kennebec on 
his return, and resumed the labors of his interrupted mission. 
Everywhere, he gratefully says, he had been treated with affection. 

On the 13th of April Winslow returned from Plymouth ; his 
news was most assuring. The general feeling at the Old Colony 
was in favor of an alliance with the Abnakis against the Iro- 
quois. Deputations had been sent to Hartford and New Haven 
and Manhattan, to urge the same course. Even in. Boston, 
although the Abnakis were not under the jurisdiction of Massa- 
chusetts, there was a disposition to give a 1 ! the private assistance 
possible. The Indian deputations which had been sent to the 
Saco and Merrimac and Connecticut, returned a few days after- 
ward and brought equally favorable tidings. The whole atmos- 
phere seemed bright with promise of the future. The only dread 
of the Indians was the possibility of a war with the Iroquois ; 
that seemed now averted. God had smiled upon the labors of 
his servant, and his narrative glows with enthusiasm at the many 
noble qualities which he discovered among the new converts. It 
was with a happy heart then that after ten months of missionary 
labor he turned toward Quebec to make his report. It is not dif- 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION. 97 

ficult to imagine the joy with which he was received by the breth- 
ren at Quebec. It was midsummer when he arrived and the long 
twilight must have seemed all too short for the stories of the mar- 
vels which had been wrought. Page after page of the " Rela- 
tions " is full of them. What wonder, then, that after fifteen days 
of rest he was permitted to return upon this, his third and last mis- 
sion. Heretofore the route from the St. Lawrence to the Kenne- 
bec seems to have been by. the Chaudiere and Dead river, the very 
route of Arnold; but now for some unexplained reason he made a 
long detour. His guide was an Etchemin, either from the Penob- 
scot or the St. John, and he lost his way at the outset. The path 
they took was a valley of death. After fifteen days of fearful 
exposure they found instead of being near their destination they 
had barely overcome a third of the distance and had consumed all 
their supplies. Instead of the Kennebec they were at the St. 
John, near Madawaska, and it was necessary to follow this river 
to its head and there crossing the portage descend to the 
Kennebec. Their sufferings from hunger and exposure and fa- 
tigue were incredible, but Druilletes is represented by his Indian 
companion as having borne it with sublime resignation and for- 
titude. He was now nearly sixty years of age, and his endurance 
must have been immense. It was twenty-four days before they 
reached Norridgewock, where they had been mourned as lost. 
There was a- general fete in his honor. The chief of the tribe 
ordered a salute of arquebuses and embracing Druilletes, ex- 
claimed : " Now of a truth I know that the Great Spirit who 
rules in the heavens looks on us with a good eye, for he has sent 
our father back again." The good news spread far and wide, 
and from all sides they came to ask him to visit and teach them. 
His course was a sort of triumphal progress ; more than a dozen 
bourgades or lodges were visited by him on the Kennebec and 
throughout the English settlements on the coast. Everywhere 
his noble and gentle manner won their hearts, and he was hailed 
as a superior being, an angel from heaven. What wonder that 
his sufferings were forgotten by him, and he could say, " I have 
had such a deep sense of gratitude that words cannot express 
it ; for I have seen the seed of the Gospel which I planted four 
years ago in a soil which had borne for centuries nothing but 
brambles and thorns, now bearing fruit worthy of the table of 
7 



98 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

God." " If the years have their winter," says Father Raguenau, 
in the "Relations" of 1652, " they have their springtime also. 
If these missions have their bitterness, they are not deprived of 
their joys and consolations." 

When Druilletes had made the report of his interview with 
the New England authorities, a commission was at once 
issued to Godfrey, of the Council of Quebec, and to Druil- 
letes also, to proceed to the confederated colonies, and urge 
upon them an alliance with New France, and their co-operation 
with the Abnakis to resist the Iroquois. It was now time to 
proceed upon this errand, and so, returning from the visitation 
of his Indian flock, he makes the voyage to Boston again. But 
unfortunately the temper of the community seemed to have 
changed ; the commissioners of the colonies were at New Ha- 
ven, and thither Druilletes and Godfrey journey, but they could 
produce no impression, and, disappointed and apprehensive, the 
ambassador returned to his missionary work. All that dreary 
winter he labored as before, forgetting his diplomatic failure in 
the fervor of his religious zeal. As spring approached he told 
his people he must go to Quebec and make his report, and when 
they entreated him, promised to return once more, but he never 
came. The journey to the St. Lawrence over the snow and 
through the wilderness was one of frightful hardship. For ten 
days the father and his companions were without food. Some 
of the party, worn out by fatigue, dropped in the snow to die. 
They made a broth of their shoes and of the father's leathern 
camisole, and when the snow began to disappear used in the 
same manner the thongs of their snowshoes. And thus, worn 
and wasted to a skeleton, battered and bruised in every limb, 
the devoted missionary dragged himself up the steep hill at 
Quebec, and the mission of the Assumption saw him no more. 

It only remains to make one or two deductions from these 
facts, which, taken from contemporaneous accounts, I have put 
into the form of this hastily prepared narrative. 

The Abnaki Indians, or at least those on the Kennebec arid to 
the westward, were always considered within the jurisdiction of 
thl English colonies, and at no time within the limits of New 
France. 

No efforts were made by the English to Christianize them. 



THE MISSION OF THE ASSUMPTION. 99 

The labors of the Jesuits were the result (humanly speaking) 
not of design, but accident. They kept away from the mission- 
ary field until the call for help was so loud that it could not be 
denied or resisted. Their labors had no political significance, 
but were undertaken in the loftiest spirit of religious devotion. 

The Indians desired the alliance with the English, and asked 
for their protection, but it was refused. What then was to be 
expected but what actually took place. The terrible conse- 
quences of the so-called French and Indian war were the direct 
result of the folly of our fathers. They thought in their pride 
to humble the growing colony at the north, but they left their 
frontiers open to the attacks of a savage and relentless foe. 



PROCEEDINGS AT FEBRUARY MEETING, 1881. 101 



PROCEEDINGS 

OF THE 

MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



FEBRUARY MEETING, 1881. 

THE first meeting of the Maine Historical Society, after the 
removal of its library and cabinet from Brunswick, was held at its 
new rooms in the city building at Portland, February 2, 1881 
at 2.30 P.M., Hon. James W. Bradbury of Augusta, the president, 
in the chair. 

All the propositions of the standing committee were approved. 

Messrs. Israel Washburn and George F. Talbot of Portland, 
and R. K. Sewall of Wiscasset, were appointed a committee to 
report amendments to the by-laws at the next annual meeting. 

General John Marshall Brown reported that a lease had been 
executed, giving the society the use of the rooms assigned it 
in the city building for ten years. 

General Brown, ex-Governor Israel Washburn and Dr. John T. 
Gilman were appointed to report a resolution of thanks 'to the city, 
which was subsequently adopte'd. 

The president was authorized to appoint the various committees. 

Rufus K. Sewall, Esq., of Wiscasset, then read a paper on 
"The Work of the Future Historians of Maine." 

In the evening the formal dedication of the new rooms took 
place. Notwithstanding the extraordinarily cold weather there 
was quite a large attendance of members of the society and 
invited guests, including ladies. The city was represented by 
Mayor Senter and a large number of th,e City Council. At 7.3.0 
o'clock the guests were called together by President Bradbury, 
who delivered an address of which the following is the substance : 
THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: In the belief that a removal of the society to this 
city would enlist a more general co-operation in its objects and extend 



102 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

its efficiency, it was resolved at a meeting held at Brunswick, November 
23, to accept the generous accommodations offered by this city and 
remove the library to the quarters so liberally fitted up by the resident . 
members. Is not the presence of the honored authorities of this city, 
and of this goodly number of its intelligent citizens an evidence of a 
desire and purpose that the fond anticipations of increased usefulness of 
the society will be fulfilled ? 

Since our last annual meeting, the last survivor of our original corpo- 
rate members has deceased. The act of incorporation of February 5, 
1822, embraced forty-nine members. Peleg Sprague, the last survivor, 
died on the 15th of last October. Six years ago, at a meeting held in 
this building, there was another of the original corporators present, the 
venerable Ether Shepley. When he entered, debate was suspended, and 
the last survivor of the original forty-nine, resident in the state, the ven- 
erable judge, was welcomed, and narrated the reasons that led to the 
formation of the society the desire to collect the facts and incidents of 
the state's settlement and progress. After a grateful acknowledgment 
of Judge Shepley' s presence a congratulatory dispatch was sent to Judge 
Sprague in Boston. 

The speaker then paid a high tribute to both Judge Shepley 
and Judge Sprague, and continued by saying the original forty- 
nine corporators were a remarkable body of men on account of 
their distinguished character, and the great age they attained. 

The average age of the whole body at death was seventy-three, five ex- 
ceeding ninety years and fifteen eighty. They are classed as follows: 
Law twenty-nine, divinity seven, medicine seven, mercantile four, gen- 
tlemen two. Amongst the lawyers we find the names of Judges Bridge, 
Cony, Dana, Fuller, Parris, Preble, Shepley, Sprague, Smith, Ware and 
Weston. At the bar, Thomas Bond, Joseph Dane, Enoch Lincoln, John 
Holmes, Stephen LongfelloLW, Reuel Williams, and William D.Williamson, 
the historian. The clergymen included Payson, Nichols and Tappan ; the 
physicians, Isaac Lincoln, Ariel Mann and Benjamin Yaughan. Dr. 
Vaughan was formerly a member of the British Parliament, residing 
in London, and his wife was a daughter of Manning, the banker. He 
was an intimate friend of Franklin, who was for a time in London, prior 
to our Revolutionary war, almost an inmate of his family. During 
the excitement against Republicans in England in 1794, in con- 
sequence of the atrocities of the French Revolutionists, Dr. Vaughan 
hastily left England, and soon afterward came to this country and 
settled in Hallowell, where he lived for many years, a most useful and 
honored citizen, full of charity and good works. The merchants 
included General King, our first Governor, and General Wingate. Hon. 
Robert H. Gardiner and John Merrick were the gentlemen. Such 
were the men that composed our society in the beginning. And it is ap- 



PROCEEDINGS AT FEBRUARY MEETING, 1881. 103 

parent from their character, that neither intellectual labor nor active 
business pursuits, nor the climate of Maine, are adverse to longevity. 

We have a state deserving a place in history, when we consider its 
discovery and early settlement and the thrilling events connected with it, 
its extensive territory and frontier position, its educational and moral 
culture and the character of its inhabitants. Its rigorous climate and 
sterile soil compel the exercise of industry, economy and perseverance. 
Trained by the practice of these virtues, the people it produces are 
characterized by ..self -reliance and enterprise, eminently fitting them to 
colonize and build up new states. They are consequently found in large 
numbers in nearly all the new states in the West. Wherever they are, 
Maine is honorably represented. We cannot vie with the West and 
South in the production of the great staples, but we can add to the 
wealth of the nation, intelligent, industrious and virtuous young men 
and women. While we regret their loss we can claim ours is as valua- 
ble a product as any state can boast, and that Maine is not wanting in 
her contribution to the wealth of the world. 

What is the main object of our Society ? It is to collect and preserve, 
as far as we are able, everything which will tend to explain and illustrate 
any department of civil, ecclesiastical and national history, especially 
that of Maine from its earliest discovery and settlement. It seeks these 
materials in early records, public offices, pamphlets and documents often 
found in private families, about to be thrown away as worthless, or 
exposed to the corroding effects of time. Ours is historic ground. In 
Maine occurred some of the conflicts between England and France for 
the possession of the best part of the American continent ; conflicts the 
most momentous of modern times in their results and influence upon the 
history of the world. For a time the French were in the advance. They 
possessed Montreal, Quebec, Louisburg^ Port Royal and Castine, striving 
to extend their foothold on the Atlantic coast. For a century and a half 
this contest continued until the fall of Quebec in 1759, when Wolfe gave, 
with his life, the great prize to the Anglo-Saxon race. The frontier set- 
tlements in Maine were a barrier to the advance of the French, and 
materially aided the Massachusetts colonists in their long conflict. If 
the French had triumphed instead of the English, and the Atlantic slope 
had been settled by the Latin race with a different religious faith and 
different ideas of liberty and civil government, what would have been 
the present condition of what is known as the United States ? What 
their religion, enterprise, prosperity and influence on the world ? Anglo- 
Saxon colonization has given us the amplest liberty and protection to all, 
and the political principles it planted here, will, we trust, effectually 
guard us against usurpation and the abuse of power by rulers through the 
efficient checks of a written constitution. Our feeble colonies have be- 
come a great nation of fifty millions of people. It is moving forward to the 
position of the foremost nation of the world, challenging admiration for 
its wonderful progress in wealth, extent, intelligence and prosperity. 



104 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Our society furnishes the elements of history. In collecting these ele- 
ments it needs the efforts of all its members. It needs the hearty 
co-operation of our fellow-citizens, of all who love the good name of 
their country. They can furnish material that would otherwise be lost* 
And how intensely we should be stimulated in our efforts by the recol- 
jection of the many nations that have disappeared from the earth, leaving 
scarcely a remnant of their history behind them to inform posterity of 
their existence ! 

The address, which was extempore, closed with a compliment 
to the city authorities for the interest they evinced by their pres- 
ence, to a community evidently so alive to the importance of this 
society, and an appeal to all that the fond hopes of the society 
should be realized in the home of Willis, the historian, where his 
spirit still survives. 

At the close of President Bradbury's address Hon. Israel Wash- 
burn, chairman of the committee of arrangements, made a brief 
but able speech, in the course of which he explained how it came 
about that the Maine Historical Society had returned to the 
home of its birth. 

General J. M. Brown then tendered the thanks of the society 
to the city for the rooms, a lease of which for ten years free of 
charge had been signed that afternoon. 

Mayor Senter responded in behalf of the city in appropriate and 
pleasing language. 

Hon. William Goold, the well-known historian, then read an 
interesting history of the lot on which City Hall now stands, and 
of the buildings which had previously stood thereon. 

At the close of Mr. Goold's historical essay, brief addresses 
were made by Hon. G. F. Talbot, Dr. William Wood, president 
of the Natural History Society, General S. J. Anderson, president 
of the Board of Trade, and Hon. Joseph Williamson of Belfast. 



MAY MEETING, 1881. 

The Society met at their rooms in the City Building, Portland, 
May 25, 1881, at 2.30 P.M., the president in the chair. 

Mr. H. W. Bryant, the assistant librarian, read a report of the 
accessions to the library and cabinet received since January last. 

Mr. Rufus K. Sewall of Wiscasset, as chairman of the field- 



PROCEEDINGS AT ANNUAL MEETING, 1881. 105 

day committees for the past two years, made a verbal report of 
sundry investigations at Monhegan, Damariscove and Castine. 
Photographs of these localities were presented by him to the 
Society. Mr. Sewall also presented on the part of Joseph Stevens 
a collection of silver coins in a frame which were found at Castine 
in 1841 by his father, the late Joseph L. Stevens, M.D. The 
thanks of the Society were extended to Mr. Stevens for his 
generous gift. 

Messrs. Israel Washburn, jr., Rufus K. Sewall and Hubbard 
W. Bryant, were appointed a committee on the selection of a 
design for a seal for the use of the Society. 

Mr. George F. Talbot then read a paper on General John 
Chandler of Monmouth, Maine. 



MEETING, 1881. 

The annual meeting was held at Adams Hall, Brunswick, July 
15, 1881, the president, Hon. James W. Bradbury, in the chair. 

The records of the last annual meeting were read and approved. 

The annual reports of the librarian, cabinet keeper, recording 
secretary, corresponding secretary and treasurer, were read and 
accepted. 

The standing committee made their annual report, and Hon. 
Israel Washburn, jr., of Portland, reported a list of amendments 
to the by-laws. Hon. Marshall Cram of Brunswick, treasurer, 
and Rev. Alpheus S. Packard, librarian and recording secretary, 
declined re-election, and each received a special vote of thanks 
for past services. 

On recommendation of the standing committee the following 
were elected resident members : John F. Anderson of Portland, 
Francis G. Butler of Farmington, Edward H. Daveis of Portland, 
Edward W. Hall of Waterville, Jacob B. Ham of Lewiston, 
Winfield S. Hill of Augusta, Horatio Hight of Scarborough, 
George T. Little of Auburn, William L. Putnam of Portland, 
Albion W. Small of Waterville, William Wood of Portland. 

The following were elected corresponding members : Charles 
E. Banks of San Francisco, Augustus W. Corliss of Fort Halleck, 



106 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

Nevada, Joseph J. Howard of London, Charles Rogers of Lon- 
don, T. J. Nichols of Bristol, England. 

The following officers were elected for the ensuing year : 
President, James Ware Bradbury of Augusta. 
Vice-president, William Griswold Barrows of Brunswick. 
Treasurer, Lewis Pierce of Portland. 
Corresponding secretary, William Goold of Windham. 
Recording secretary, librarian and cabinet keeper, 

Hubbard Winslow Bryant of Portland. 
Standing committee, Israel Washburn, jr., of Portland. 
Rufus King Sewall of Wiscasset. 
William Berry Lapham of Augusta. 
William Goold of Windham. 
Edward Henry Elwell of Deering. 
Joseph Williamson of Belfast. 
Stephen Jewett Young of Brunswick. 

The amendments to the by-laws reported upon by Mr. Wash- 
burn were taken up, and by vote were laid over as unfinished 
business, to be transacted at the next annual meeting. 



METHOD OF PUBLICATION. 107 



VOTE AUTHORIZING THIS PUBLICATION. 

The reason for this new departure from previous methods of 
issuing its publications is fully explained by the vote passed at 
the annual meeting of the Maine Historical Society held at 
Brunswick, Tuesday, June 25, 1889, 9 A.M., in the Cleaveland 
Lecture-room, Massachusetts Hall, upon the following report, 
by a committee appointed at a previous meeting, accepting the 
report, and approving and adopting the method of publication 
therein recommended. 

The undersigned, a committee of the Maine Historical Society ap- 
pointed to consider the propriety of making some changes in the method 
of publishing the proceedings and collections of the Society, ask leave 
to report the following recommendations: 

That hereafter the proceedings and collections of the Society be pub- 
lished together, in quarterly parts, in the months of January, April, 
July and October. 

That each part contain seven sixteen-page forms, or one hundred and 
twelve pages of reading matter. 

That the paper cover of each quarterly part shall bear the title 
"Transactions and Collections of the Maine Historical Society," the 
month being added, and the words " Quarterly Part." 

That the price be fixed for each subscriber, at three dollars per year, 
in advance. 

That each member of the Society be required to become a subscriber. 

That an editor, and a publishing committee consisting of three mem- 
bers, be annually appointed to serve for one year, without compensation. 

That the entire proceeds of the publication shall belong to the funds 
of the Association; shall be collected by the secretary, and be paid by 
him to the treasurer. 

That each quarterly part shall contain an abstract of the proceedings 
of the preceding meeting, provided one has been held since the publica- 
tion of the last preceding part, but if not, of some meeting whose pror 
ceedings have not already been published. 

That each part shall contain such papers as may be selected from the 
archives of the Society by the editor, assisted by the publishing 
committee. 

That brief book notices, queries and answers, and brief abstracts of 
the doings of kindred societies, may appear in each part, but no paper 
which shall occupy more than an octavo page shall be inserted, until 
the same shall have been read before and accepted by the Society. 

That the secretary shall include in his annual report the financial 
standing of the periodical herein provided for. 



108 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

That respectable advertisements may be inserted at reasonable rates, 
but the space they occupy shall be additional to the one hundred and 
twelve pages heretofore provided for. 

WM. B. LAPHAM, ) 

JOSEPH WILLIAMSON, > Committee. 
HENRY L. CHAPMAN, ) 



To carry out the provisions of the foregoing report, which the 
Society has sanctioned, George- F. Talbot of Portland was ap- 
pointed, by the executive committee, editor of the quarterly pub- 
lication, with William M. Sargent of Portland as assistant edi- 
tor; and Dr. William B. Lapham, Professor Henry L. Chapman 
and Mr. Sargent were constituted the publishing committee. 

We issue on this beginning of the new year the first number 
of the Historical Quarterly, and expect to follow it by others in 
regular quarterly succession. 

There had accumulated among the archives of the Society 
quite a number of valuable papers, which its limited means have 
not allowed to be published. From these we have selected such 
as will be of most general interest, and afford a pleasing vari- 
ety of biography and general history, without following the or- 
der in which they were read at the meetings of the Society. 

It was necessary to assume some date at which to begin the 
publication of the Society's Proceedings, and we have selected as 
the initial point the first meeting in the city of Portland, after the 
removal of the library to that place, with an abstract of the 
historical address of the late president, Hon. James W. Brad- 
bury, and a report of the proceedings attending its delivery. 
When the important proceedings of the intervening meetings 
have been recorded in our volumes, each quarterly number 
of this publication will contain only minutes of such meet- 
ings as may have been held since the preceding quarterly 
number ; and more space will be available for book notices, que- 
ries and answers, historical memoranda, and abstracts of the do- 
ings of kindred societies, 



RESIDENT MEMBERS. 



109 



RESIDENT MEMBERS 
OF THE MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, JAN. 1, 1890. 

ALLEN, CHARLES FREDERIC, Kent's Hill. 

APPLETON, JOHN, Bangor. 

BAILEY, SAMUEL DONNELL, Bath. 

BANKS, CHARLES EDWARD, Portland. 

BARKER, LEWIS, Bangor. 

BARROWS, GEORGE BRADLEY, Fryeburg. 

BAXTER, JAMES PHINNEY, Portland. 

BERRY, STEPHEN, Portland. 

BOARDMAN, SAMUEL LANE, Augusta. 

BOURNE, EDWARD EMERSON, Kennebunk. 

BRADBURY, JAMES WARE, Augusta. 

BRIGGS, HERBERT GERRY, Portland. 

BROWN, JOHN MARSHALL, Portland. 

BROWN, PHILIP HENRY, Portland, 

BRYANT, HUBBARD WINSLOW, Portland. 

BURBANK, HORACE. HARMON, Saco. 

BURNHAM, EDWARD PAYSON, Saco. 

BURRAGE, HENRY SWEETSER, Portland. 

BUTLER, FRANCIS GOULD, Farmington. 

CHAMBERLAIN, JOSHUA LAWRENCE, Brunswick. 

CHAPMAN, HENRY LELAND, Brunswick. 

CHASE, ALDEN FITZROY, Bucksport. 

CILLEY, JONATHAN PRINCE, Rockland. 

CONANT, FREDERIC ODELL, Portland. 

CONNOR, SELDEN, Portland. 

CROSBY, JOSIAH, Dexter. 

CROSBY, JOHN LELAND, Bangor. 

COCHRANE, HENRY HAYMAN, Monmouth. 

DALTON, ASA, Portland. 

DAVEIS, EDWARD HENRY, Portland. 

DEABORN, JEREMIAH WADLEIGH, Parsonsfield. 

DEERING, HENRY, Portland. 

DIKE, SAMUEL FULLER, Bath. 

DOUGLASS, JOSHUA LUFKIN, Bath. 

DREW, FRANKLIN MELLEN, Lewiston. 

DRUMMOND, JOSIAH HAYDEN, Portland. 



110 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



DUREN, ELNATHAN FREEMAN, 

ELDER, JANUS GRANVILLE, 

ELWELL, EDWARD HENRY, 

EMERSON, LUTHER DORR, 

EMERY, LUCILIUS ALONZO, 

EMERY, GEORGE FREEMAN, 

FERNALD, MERRITT CALDWELL, 

FISKE, JOHN ORR, 

OILMAN CHARLES JAR vis, 

GOODENOW, HENRY CLAY, 

GOOLD, WILLIAM, 

HALL, EDWARD WINSLOW, 

HASKELL, THOMAS HAWES, 

HATHAWAY, JOSHUA WARREN, 

HIGHT, HORATIO, 

HILL, JOHN FREMONT, 

HILL, WINFIELD SCOTT, 

HUMPHREY, SAMUEL FISHER, 

HOLWAY, OSCAR, 

HYDE, WILLIAM DsWiTT, 

INGALLS, HENRY, 

JACKSON, GEORGE EDWIN BARTOL, 

JOHNSON, EDWARD, 

KING, MARQUIS FAYETTE, 

LAPHAM, WILLIAM BERRY, 

LEE, LESLIE ALEXANDER, 

LEVENSALER, HENRY COOMBS, 

LITTLE, GEORGE THOMAS, 

LIBBY, CHARLES FREEMAN, 

LIBBY, CHARLES THORNTON, 

LOCKE, JOHN STAPLES, 

LONGFELLOW, ALEXANDER WADSWORTH, 

MANNING, PRENTICE CHENEY, 

MORRELL, HIRAM KELLEY, 

MOSES, GALEN CLAPP, 

NASH, CHARLES ELVENTON, 

NEALLEY, EDWARD BOWDOIN, 

NEELY, HENRY ADAMS, 

PAINE, ALBERT WARE, 



Bangor. 

Lewiston. 

Deering. 

Oakland. 

Ellsworth. 

Portland. 

Orono. 

Bath. 

Brunswick. 

Bangor. 

Windham. 

Waterville. 

Portland. 

Norridgewock. 

Portland. 

Augusta. 

Augusta. 

Bangor. 

Augusta. 

Brunswick. 

Wiscasset. 

Portland. 

Belfast. 

Portland. 

Augusta. 

Brunswick. 

Thomaston. 

Brunswick. 

Portland. 

Portland. 

Saco. 

Portland. 

Portland. 

Gardiner. 

Bath. 

Augusta. 

Bangor. 

Portland. 

Bangor. 



RESIDENT MEMBERS, 



111 



PERHAM, SIDNEY, 
PETERS, JOHN ANDREW, 
PHELPS, ALBERT IRVING, 
PHILBROOK, LUTHER GROVES, 
PIERCE, LEWIS, 
PORTER, JOSEPH WHITCOMB, 
PUTNAM, WILLIAM LEBARON, 
REED, THOMAS BRACKETT, 
REED, PARKER McCoBB, 
ROBERTS, CHARLES WENTWORTH, 
SAFFORD, MOSES ATWOOD, 
SARGENT, WILLIAM MITCHELL, 
SEW ALL, FREDERIC DUMMER, 
SEWALL, JOHN SMITH, 
SEWALL, RUFUS KING, 
SIMONTON, THADDEUS ROBERTS, 
SMALL, ALBION WOODBURY, 
SMITH, WILLIAM ROBINSON, 
SMITH, CHARLES HENRY, 
SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY, 
SPRAGUE, JOHN FRANCIS, 
STEWART, DAVID DINSMORE. 
SYMONDS, JOSEPH WHITE, 
TALBOT, GEORGE FOSTER, 
TENNEY, ALBERT GORHAM, 
THAYER, HENRY OTIS, 
THOMAS, WILLIAM WIDGERY, JR., 
THURSTON, BROWN, 
TORSEY, HENRY PIERSON, 
WATERMAN, JOHN ANDERSON, 
WILSON, FRANKLIN AUGUSTUS, 
WHEELER, GEORGE AUGUSTUS, 
WILLIAMS, JOSEPH HARTWELL, 
WILLIAMSON, JOSEPH, 
WITHERLE, WILLIAM HOWE, 
WOOD, WILLIAM, 
WOODS, NOAH, 
YOUNG, STEPHEN JEWETT, 



Paris Hill. 

Bangor. 

Damariscotta. 

Castine. 

Portland. 

Bangor. 

Portland. 

Portland. 

Bath. 

Bangor. 

Kittery. 

Portland. 

Bath. 

Bangor. 

Wiscasset. 

Camden. 

Waterville. 

Augusta. 

Brunswick, 

Portland. 

Monson. 

St. Albans. 

Portland. 

Portland. 

Brunswick. 

Limington. 

Portland. 

Portland. 

Readfield. 

Gorham. 

Bangor. 

Castine. 

Augusta. 

Belfast. 

Castine. 

Portland. 

Bangor. 

Brunswick. 



112 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. 

A BRANCH OF THE SMITH FAMILY. 

THOMAS WESTBROOK SMITH, a prominent and successful merchant in 
Augusta, Maine, who died in 1855, was born at Dover, New Hampshire, 
February 22, 1785. He went to Augusta in 1805, and five years later, 
married Abigail Page. For an account of his family, see North's 
Augusta. A letter to Mr. Smith, found among his papers, gives some 
account of the branch of the numerous Smith family to which he be- 
longed. It is dated at Durham, New Hampshire, July 13, 1843, and was 
written by Seth S. Walker, whose wife was a Smith. Durham once 
formed a part of ancient Dover. 

"The extraction and condition of the Smiths of Durham before they 
left England, is in oblivion ; no piece of antiquity remains which 
belonged to them except a cutlass, which is now in my possession; that, 
together with a coat of mail, has been preserved in the family from their 
ancestors down to about fifty years ago, when the coat of mail was lost. 
The family is supposed to have come from Plymouth, England. Several 
sons came over with their mother, who being a widow was here married 
to another husband. They arrived at Boston when only a few huts were 
erected there, and from thence removed to Oyster River, which was then an 
infant plantation. The mother came with them; and her second husband 
having died, she married a man named Nason. One of the sons, John 
Smith, left Oyster River and went to Little Compton. The second brother, 
James, settled at Oyster River, bought one hundred acres of land and 
kept a tavern. He married a Davis and had four sons, Joseph, John, 
James and Samuel, and daughters Mary, Sarah, and several others. 
James and Samuel were killed by the Indians. Joseph died at sea. 
John married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. John Buss, and had issue, 
John, James, Joseph, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary and Hannah. Rev. John 
Bass married a daughter of Captain Thomas Bradbury of Salisbury, 
and died in 1736, aged one hundred and eight years. He was buried in 
the town burying lot, near where the meeting-house stood. James 
Smith (son of John and Elizabeth Buss) married Mary Trickey, and 
lived in Rochester. John Smith, brother of the last James, born De- 
cember 24, 1736, married first, Deborah Chesley, a sister of the wife of 
Rev. John Adams, and had James (your father), and Thomas, who was 
burned to death. He married second, Sarah, daughter of Rev. William 
Parsons of Hampton, and had Deborah, William Parsons and Sarah. 
John Smith (grandfather of Thomas W. Smith of Augusta) was a prom- 
inent man in Durham. He was for ten years representative from Dur- 
ham, and during the war of the Revolution, a member of the commit- 
tee of safety. The Smiths occupied a log house and garrison at 
Oyster River until the third John Smith (your grandfather) built the 
house where I recently resided." 

James Smith, father of Thomas W., married a daughter of Thomas 
Westbrook Waldron, whose wife was a daughter of Colonel Thomas 
Westbrook. Eliza Ann, daughter of Thomas Westbrook Smith, was the 
wife of Hon. James W. Bradbury. Mrs. Bradbury numbered among her 
ancestors not only the Vaughans, the Waldrons and Westbrooks, but 
through Elizabeth, wife of Rev. John Buss, she was also a descendant of 
Captain Thomas Bradbury of Salisbury. 

W. B. LAPHAM. 

AUGUSTA, December 26, 1889. 



CYEUS WOODMAN. 113 



CYRUS WOODMAN. 1 



A Memoir read before the Maine Historical Society, November 21, 1889. 

BY GEOKGE F. EMERY. 

THE subject of this sketch was born in Buxton, Maine, June 
2, 1814. His genealogy, traced by his own hand from Edward 
who settled in Newbury, Mass., in 1635, will be found in his pub- 
lication entitled "The Woodmans of Buxton, Me.," in the library 
of the Maine Historical Society, and among the collections of 
many kindred bodies. His father was Joseph Woodman, a 
respectable lawyer of Buxton. His mother was Susanna, a 
daughter of Rev. Paul Coffin, D.D., the first settled minister of 
that town. He was early placed at Gorham Academy where, and 
at Saco, he prepared to enter Bowdoin College whence he was 
graduated in 1836. His attachment to his classmates was unusu- 
ally strong and never flagged. How well this was illustrated will 
never be forgotten by all the survivors, nine in number, who at 
the semi-centennial of their graduation assembled at their old 
college home at his bidding, and for several days as his guests 
shared his bounteous hospitality. His scholarship nnd attain- 
ments were more substantial than brilliant ; his taste leading him 
in the line of the solid and practical, in distinction from the 

1 This paper was prefaced by the following report. 

The paper about to be read is properly presentable in the form of a report from the 
committee appointed at our annual meeting in June last composed of the writer and 
Messrs. E. H. Elwell and Lewis Pierce. 

Tributes from the living to the dead involve a grateful, but delicate and somewhat dif- 
ficult duty. There is always danger, on the one hand, of undue eulogium, sometimes 
producing a revulsion of feeling among those best acquainted with its subject, and, on 
the other, of failing to do justice through fear of criticism at the bar of good taste and 
honest judgment. This has been specially appreciated in preparing a paper suitable to 
to the memory of Mr. Woodman, whose distaste for notoriety was a marked feature of 
his character. The aim has been, therefore to present a true picture of the man, but to 
avoid high coloring that would shock his delicacy were he living. How far this has been 
accomplished is left to the judgment of others than special friends, whose atten'ion is 
now respectfully addressed. 

In behalf of the committee, 

GEORGE F. EMERY, Chairman. 

8 



114 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

shining and theoretical. The theme of his commencement per- 
formance, among the first in rank, was " Independence of Char- 
acter," a trait for which he was eminently distinguished through- 
out life. In October, 1836, he commenced the study of law in 
Boston under the tutelage of Samuel Hubbard, next of Hubbard 
and Watts, and completed his preparatory course at the Harvard 
Law School. 

While a student in Boston his intimacy with John Albion 
Andrew, an old schoolmate at Gorham, was renewed and in- 
creased, and a room in the attic story in Howard street, of what 
is now called "The Woodbine," they occupied together, their 
nearest neighbor being Peleg W. Chandler, whose room the lat- 
ter has described as no room at all, but a mere closet lighted 
only by a skylight over the entry into which it opened. What 
these lifelong friends lacked in environment was more than 
counterbalanced by joke, merriment and song, though as to the 
last Andrew was chief, and always at the front. 

July 9, 1839, Mr. Woodman was admitted to the bar, and 
opened an office in Boston, being associated for a brief period 
with George S. Barstow as partner. His remarkable industry, 
accuracy and versatility had attracted the attention of holders of 
extensive land-interests in the West, who tendered him the sub- 
agency thereof, which he accepted, and this occasioned his re- 
moval to Winslow, Illinois, where he continued to reside for 
three years or thereabout, meantime having married Charlotte, 
a daughter of the late Deacon Ephraim Flint of Baldwin, Maine, 
who survives him, as do also their children, Mary, Frank, Wal- 
ter and Edward. 

After Mr. Woodman had become fairly established in his new 
field, and had exhibited his aptness for the business with which 
he was charged, its entire agency was conferred upon him, and 
was continued until the company for which he acted was dis- 
solved in the fall of 1843. He soon after changed his residence, 
and at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, formed a co-partnership with 
the late Governor C. C. Washburne, which continued for about 
eleven years. They were located in the focus of an opening 
mining industry, and in proximity to settling and timber lands, 
which began to attract public attention, the value of which these 
gentlemen well appreciated and utilized to pecuniary advantage. 



CYRUS WOODMAN. 115 

Their attention was consequently soon withdrawn from the ordi- 
nary line of the legal profession, and was devoted mainly to 
securing for themselves and others the best lands open to public 
entry, and thereby was laid the foundation for the fortunes they 
afterward achieved. To facilitate their business, after the state 
law authorizing the establishment of private banks went into 
effect, they established the Mineral Point Bank, which, from the 
esteem and confidence in which its conductors were held, at 
home and abroad, became an important fiscal agency in that day 
of " wildcat currency," and of an unsettled and uncertain condi- 
tion of the public finances. Rival interests, however, sought to 
cripple this private banking-house, and a concerted plan was 
eagerly prosecuted to drive it into the general condition of sus- 
pension of specie payments. But the energy and determination 
displayed to protect its customers from loss, at all hazards, ren- 
dered this attempt abortive, and resulted in adding increased 
strength and confidence in the bank and its managers. March 1, 
1855, the partnership of Washburne & Woodman dissolved, the 
affairs of their bank were wound up, and every dollar of its lia- 
bilities was paid in gold. Hard-earned success had been achieved 
by both, and the relations of the partners, who differed widely 
in their constitutional make-up, were characterized throughout 
by mutual confidence and esteem, as is evidenced by the follow- 
ing extract from the article of dissolution drafted by Mr. Wood- 
man : 

"Whereas we have for upward of ten years been doing 
business as partners under the name of Washburne & Wood- 
man, during which time our intercourse, interrupted by no 
untoward circumstances, has been marked by a constant feeling 
of kindness and goodwill, coupled with an unusual degree of 
unanimity of sentiment in relation to business transactions," 
etc., etc. 

In this connection the following episode in Mr. Woodman's 
life can hardly be ignored. Mr. Washburne, after crowning his 
ambition by the erection at Minneapolis of the best flour mill 
then in the world, went to Europe for the benefit of his health, 
which had become impaired by a disease which afterward proved 
fatal. On his return in November, 1881, he made his headquarters 
at a hotel in Philadelphia, where he could avail himself of the 



116 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

best medical skill that could be had. His malady was of such a 
nature, his family was so conditioned, and his estate so large and 
peculiarly constituted, that he deemed it suitable to make his will, 
the general provisions of which had been deliberately determined 
in his own mind, bu.t had not been reduced to form. After pro- 
viding liberally for his family and other relatives and friends, he 
had purposed to leave behind him in Wisconsin, where the foun- 
dation of his fortune was laid, and whose citizens had crowned 
him with the highest honors within their gift, a memorial worthy 
of him, of them and of all concerned. Under these circumstan- 
ces- he felt the need of a true, tried, but well-informed and' disin- 
terested friend to advise with, respecting the proper safeguards 
to be employed for carrying into effect his public bequests, and 
of a skillful draftsman to reduce his will in proper terms to writ- 
ing. His eye most naturally turned toward Mr. Woodman, and 
for him he sent to visit him in Philadelphia. The summons was 
complied with, though not without some reluctance from appre- 
hension that the occasion would be a painful one to both. Dur- 
ing the visit of several days Mr. Woodman discharged the deli- 
cate duty assigned to him in a pious, deliberate and most pains- 
taking manner, and to the great satisfaction of Mr. Washburne 
in all particulars, except consenting to act as one of his exec- 
utors. More than two years after the death of Mr. Wash- 
burne, there appeared in public print an article containing an 
allegation that the will was hastily drawn, intimating also that 
his "amanuensis " had exerted undue influence upon the mind of 
the testator, and biit for sudden death a new one would have 
been executed for carrying out his real purposes and intent. 
This touched Mr. Woodman to the quick. His nice sense of 
honor and devotion to his friend would not permit him to remain 
silent. Accordingly he prepared and widely circulated a pamphlet 
addressed to the legatees and devisees of Mr. Washburne, wherein 
he rehearsed with great minuteness all the facts and circumstan- 
ces touching the condition of the testator and the discharge of 
his own labor of love; showing that the will in question was dic- 
tated by his friend as *' calmly, deliberately, with clear thought 
and with entire freedom from extraneous influence " as any in- 
strument that was ever drafted. His statement closed with the 
.following tribute, as striking as it is pathetic : " May the same 



CYEUS WOODMAN. 117 

generous, charitable, and unselfish spirit which graced his life so 
inflame our own, that we too, like him, may long be remembered 
for benevolence of heart, for public benefaction, for private 
charity, for thoughtful care of the living and tender recollection 
of the dead ! * Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere. 7 Hon- 
ored be his memory ! " 

Returning now to the regular order of events, June 24, 1856, 
Mr. Woodman with his family left his home at Mineral Point for 
New York, and on the 6th of July following embarked on a fine 
sailing vessel, the "Walter Scott," for Europe for purposes of 
relaxation, but more particularly to enable his children to acquire 
a knowledge of the French and German languages. They re- 
mained abroad about three years, the principal portion of this 
period being spent in Germany. Having accomplished the objects 
of his residence abroad, he returned to Wisconsin. In 1861 his 
townsmen elected him to represent them in the legislature, but 
his business relations having called him away from the state, he 
resigned before taking his seat. In 1863 he removed to Cam- 
bridge, his chief purpose being to superintend the education of 
his sons, and to give them the best advantages there and else- 
where to be found. In May, 1869, the principal managers of the 
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad, with whom he was 
affiliated, urged upon him acceptance of an agency in the interests 
of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company in Ne- 
braska, a branch of the Chicago , Burlington and Quincy system* 
with ample powers and representing the directors with the title 
of vice-president. At first he was reluctant to accept it, but 
after looking over the field, he did in fact spend a year in super- 
intending the construction of a line terminating at Lincoln, the 
capital of Nebraska, and in managing the general affairs of the 
corporation. The duties of the position entailed upon him a 
service for which he was eminently fitted, but these he gladly 
laid down after successful consummation of the particular objects 
of his employment. There were many other corporate enter- 
prises in the directory of which his service was sought, but these 
in general he declined, his own affairs demanding all the time he 
was willing to devote to business. 

Public life, although he was eminently qualified for many of 
its duties, had no attractions for him. Party politics he wholly 



118 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

abjured, though on all public questions he was well informed and 
entertained decided opinions. He was in theory a democrat of 
the straightest sect, holding rigidly to a strict construction of the 
constitution himself, and measuring other men and measures 
by the same standard. Political honors were urged upon him 
in Wisconsin, but the manner of his meeting all such proffers is 
well illustrated by the following incident. In 1854 the demo- 
cratic congressman of his district, by voting against repeal of 
the "Missouri Compromise" line ; had so offended his party asso- 
ciates that, by an ingenious device, they determined to relegate 
him to private life. Accordingly, at the convention following the 
commission of the alleged offence, a platform was first adopted 
so antagonistic to the views and vote of the incumbent as to pre- 
clude his acceptance of another nomination without personal dis- 
honor, and which, as had been anticipated, he refused. There- 
upon a committee was appointed to wait upon Mr. Wood- 
man and tender him the honor. At the conference between them 
he informed the committee that his views were in entire accord 
with those of the offending congressman, and that he could not 
accept a nomination on the platform adopted. He was then told 
that if he would accept, he could receive a nomination on his 
own platform. This proposition also he promptly declined. 
Another gentleman was then nominated, but he failed of an. 
election, Mr. Washburne his republican competitor having carried 
the district. 

But Mr. Woodman did perform important public service on the 
board of overseers of Bowdoin College, of which he was long a 
member. His habit of judging men and things upon their merits 
without regard to personal considerations, and his readiness and 
ability to express his own views and convictions when others 
were inclined to keep silent from motives of delicacy, or fear of 
giving offence, rendered him eminently useful, and his presence 
in that body will be greatly missed. His benefactions to the col- 
lege, the extent of which is not generally known, and which dur- 
ing his life he was careful to conceal from the public eye, were 
generous in amount, wise in conception, and will continue to flow 
onward in their benefits to the latest generation. 

Though his publications were not designed to perpetuate his 
own memory, they will hardly fail to do so. First was the 



CYRUS WOODMAN. 119 

memoir of his maternal grandfather Coffin, found in the fourth 
volume of the publications of the Maine Historical Society. 
Then followed the Records of the Church of Christ in Buxton, 
during the pastorate of the same ancestor. In 1874 was pub- 
lished by and for him the genealogical history of the Woodman 
family of Buxton before referred to. But his most prominent 
literary service was in connection with the local and biographical 
history of Buxton, during the early period of its settlement. 
In this connection it is due his memory to add that, by some un- 
accountable oversight, the full credit due him in this department 
cannot be measured even approximately. The valuable book 
entitled " Records of the Proprietors of Narraganset Township 
No. 1 ", by William F. Goodwin, was largely the fruitage of Mr. 
Woodman's labors and money, as his correspondence abundantly 
attests. In its preface credit is given for important services ren- 
dered by several gentlemen, though the name of Mr. Woodman, 
without whose labor and financial aid it never would have been 
printed, is not even mentioned. 1 But in the " Buxton Centen- 
nial " published is 1874, prepared by J. M. Marshall and Mr. Wood- 
man jointly, will be found the elaborate historical address of the 
latter, delivered at the centennial in 1872, and an appendix from 
the latter of one hundred and thirty-eight pages of sketches de- 
manding time and pains, as is well said in the preface, " only those 
who have been engaged in similar work can appreciate." His last 
publication, issued in 1888, is entitled "A sermon by Rev. Paul 
Coffin, D.D., August 15, 17(52 in Narraganset No. 1, now Buxton, 
Maine, and an address there delivered August 15, 1886, by Cyrus 
Woodman." All his labor, research and expenditure in these lines 
were purely labors of love, which never can be fully appreciated, . 
and were never expected to be requited. One feature of his 
work stands out in special prominence. That was his accuracy 
as to facts, and his determination to give the truth so effectually 
as to foreclose need of further research. His devotion to the 
truth of history was so strong, that he did not hesitate to give 
expression to some facts which many would have omitted. For 

1 After the reading of this paper, a friend of both parties made the remark, that at the 
time of publication Captain Goodwin was too sick to attend to business. The corres- 
pondence of Mr. Woodman shows the facts to have been as stated in the text. It is prob- 
able that the preface was not written by Captain Goodwin, hjut was prepared by another , 
who was not well informed in the premises. 



120 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

instance, in a brief sketch of his father, he describes him as 
" quick-tempered, fastidious and irritable, but kind-hearted, gen- 
erous and hospitable." Another illustration is seen in causing 
to be published in connection with the memoir the private 
journal of his grandfather Coffin, without expurgation, note or 
comment, some of the entries in which bear with some severity 
both upon classes and individuals. The estimation in which he 
held Dr. Coffin was pathetic, and approached the worshipful. 
This is exemplified in his repeated biographical sketches of that 
distinguished divine, but was specially so when, on the one 
hundredth anniversary of his settlement at Buxton, at a public 
Sunday service in the old church edifice before a large congrega- 
tion Mr. Woodman read, though by request, the first sermon 
which his honored ancestor preached to the people of his charge, 
and which w T as also the occasion of the address previously 
referred to. 

Mr. Woodman was warmly interested in the early history of 
Wisconsin, and his contributions to the treasures of the histor- 
ical society of that state have been highly appreciated as in 
part is evidenced by his long official connection therewith as its 
first honorary vice-president. Judge Ortoh of the Supreme 
Court of Wisconsin in his eulogy of Mr. Washburne pays the 
following tribute to both these worthy sons of Maine. " Both 
Washburne and Woodman were among the earliest friends and 
supporters of this society, and have done much for its success by 
their encouragement, counsel and contributions." 

He was also an active manager in, and liberal benefactor of, 
the New England Historical and Genealogical Society located in 
Boston, and the value of his services and gifts thereto have been 
repeatedly and honorably recognized. 

His connection with this society commenced while he resided 
in Wisconsin as early as 1852 or before, having been elected a 
corresponding member, and in its success and prosperity he was 
warmly interested. This was shown by his valuable contribu- 
tions to its treasures while living, and by the wish he informally 
expressed to have carried out after his death, and which his 
descendants have piously executed. The pleasing reminiscence 
is also recalled, that at our meeting shortly before his death, and 
the first in our present delightful quarters, we were favored by 
his presence and congratulations. 



CYRUS WOODMAN. 121 

Of the extent of Mr. Woodman's munificence, and the various 
channels through which it continuously flowed, the world will 
never know. Most of his gifts, the development of 

That best portion of a good man's life, 
His little, nameless, self-unnumbered acts, 
Of kindness and of love 

reached their destination, like the dew from heaven, silently, 
refreshingly, but never reporting themselves, and often without 
revealing to their recipients the source whence they came. Con- 
stantly dispensing favors, he sought none in return, not even rec- 
ognition of his numerous benefactions. To this general rule, 
however, there were one or two notable exceptions. His old 
partner had founded the " Washburne Astronomical Observatory" 
connected with the University of Wisconsin, but no library 
fund being provided for its successful operation, Mr. Woodman 
established a perpetual one, part of the income of which is to 
be available for current use, and the balance to be added to the 
principal until it reaches one hundred thousand dollars, after 
which the whole is to be utilized within the line of the ndow- 
ment. In this case, his determination being to have his name 
associated with that of Mr. Washburne, the title of " Wood- 
man's Astronomical Library" wns prescribed, and is to be per- 
petuated, and upon failure or neglect in this particular the fund 
is to be forfeited. 

The uniqueness of his methods is further illustrated by two 
acts commemorative of his father-in-law, Deacon Flint, for 
whose memory he cherished profound respect. A few years ago 
he caused to be erected in Baldwin two stone posts and marked 
11 The Deacon's Road " to distinguish one the good deacon had 
in early life cut through the woods. Remembering also the spot, 
at the intersection of the old county road leading to Fryeburg 
with the newer one leading to Cornish, where was formerly 
located a trough whence travelers were accustomed to refresh 
their horses, and which doubtless he had personally utilized at 
an interesting and tender period of his life, he caused to be 
there placed a perpetual fountain in the form of a capacious cir- 
cular receptacle of granite for water supplied from two sources 
on the elevated ground above, and to be marked indelibly upon 
it " In Memory of Deacon Ephraim Flint." A gift of this, costing 



122 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

more than one thousand dollars, was made to the town accompanied 
by a fund adequate to keep the fountain in good condition, but 
coupled with a requirement securing its perpetuity. The inhab- 
itants gladly recognized both the gift and the tribute paid to one 
of the honored fathers of the town, but insisted upon perpetu- 
ating at their expense the name of the donor upon the same 
monument. To this he consented, but requested his name to be 
inscribed on its rear where it now appears. 

Mr. Woodman's mind seems often to have recurred to monu- 
ments to others, though oblivious of any for himself. Among 
his early and valued friends at the West, was Colonel William 
S"., a son of Alexander Hamilton, who in 1850 died in California, 
but whose grave was unmarked and threatened with desecration. 
Many years after this, on learning the condition of things, he 
caused suitable gravestones to be prepared in Boston with 
proper inscriptions thereon, and to be placed so as to perpetuate 
the memory of his friend, and protect the sacred spot from, 
molestation. 

Some one has truly said, " The world knows nothing of its 
greatest men." It is not affirmed in behalf of the subject of 
this sketch that he possessed a genius which dazzles by its efful- 
gence, or that his life was characterized by events to elicit popu- 
lar applause. To the one he made no pretence, and to the 
other he paid but little respect. What is claimed is, that his 
ideal of life was noble, and the measure of its attainment was 
high and honorable. What that ideal was, he has not left in 
doubt. In the closing words of his address at the Buxton Cen- 
tennial, his prayer was that the orator on the next similar occa- 
sion " may be able to say of us, as we of those who have gone 
before, that though our names are forgotten and we sleep in 
unknown graves, yet that in the humble path allotted us we too 
served our generation faithfully and well, and that the world was 
the better for our having lived." They esteemed him most who 
knew him best. Though not demonstrative in his professions, 
his regard for his friends, embracing a wide circle, was strong 
and abiding. His hospitality, though unostentatious, was hearty, 
largely extended, and generous. Nothing gave him more pleas- 
ure than to gather about him a circle of kindred spirits where 
free play could be given to the spirit evoked by reminiscences of 



CYRUS WOODMAN. 123 

his youth, and to the discussion of themes which interested him 
most, though seldom alluding to himself or his own affairs. He 
was surrounded in his library, his daily workshop when at home, 
by books of history, biography, and standard literature on all 
subjects of the choicest kinds, and these were to him an unfail- 
ing source of pleasure and profit. But when wearied by the 
work, which his business and wide correspondence with his 
friends entailed upon him, or when his spirit was inclined to sad- 
ness in seeing the circle of endeared ones narrowing more and 
more, he would fly away to visit his native state, or to some 
distant section of the country with every portion of which he 
became familiar. 

The religious element was more strongly and deeply rooted in 
his nature than from his ordinary conversation an observer would 
naturally infer. He was a despiser of shams both in politics and 
religion, and this he was apt to indicate on all suitable occasions 
without fear or favor. But he respected true statesmanship, and 
gave credit to it when found in the ranks of any party. He was 
also a believer in the fundamentals of Christianity from the Uni- 
tarian standpoint, was an accustomed worshiper, a diligent 
reader of the Scriptures, very fond of sacred poetry, and though 
not closely allied with any church, he took care to note in the 
genealogy of his father's family the date of his own baptism; 
and while, as he said, not attaching much importance to it, he 
was not infrequently heard to revert to this consecration of him- 
self by his " blessed mother " with pleasure. 

The following extract from the address delivered on the occa- 
sion of reading his grandfather's sermon is a fitting close to this 
paper, 

Let us, their descendants, see to it, and especially let those whose lines 
have fallen in these pleasant places see to it, that the altar becomes not 
desolate, that its fire goes not out, but that in the future as in the past, 
the divine flame shall be a lamp to the feet and a light to the path of 
erring man a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the per- 
fect day. 

His death occurred March 30, 1889, suddenly and without 
suffering from protracted disease, and his remains were interred 
in Buxton, in the cemetery adjacent to the old church where 
repose the ashes of his ancestors, whose memory he signally 
honored, and of whom he was a most worthy descendant. 



124 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

In closing this public testimonial, the writer said he could 
hardly refrain from adding in his individual capacity, that he 
counted himself fortunate in having enjoyed the intimate frierid- 
ship of Mr. Woodman for more than fifty years, and though 
shocked and saddened by the abrupt severance of earthly ties, 
the pathway now so shaded by recollections of endeared compan- 
ionship in the past, is illumed by anticipation of a reunion with 
him, and with other departed worthies, 

Where the faded flower shall freshen, 
Freshen never more to fade ; 
Where the shaded sky shall brighten, 
Brighten never more to shade ; 
Where the sun-blaze never scorches, 
Where the star-beams cease to chill, 
Where no tempest stirs the echoes 
Of the wood, the wave, or hill; 
Where the morn shall wake in gladness, 
And the noon the joy prolong, 
Where the daylight dies in fragrance 
'Mid the burst of choral song. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF WILLIAM GORGES. 125 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
WILLIAM GORGES, 1636 TO 1637. 

Bead before the Maine Historical Society, December 22., 1885. 

BY CHARLES EDWARD BAtfKS. 

FOR fifteen years (1620-35) the Council for New England 
had guided the political destinies of the colonization of these 
shores under the wise leadership of Sir Ferdinando Gorges "who 
hath been," said King Charles, " an imediat mover and a princi- 
pal Actor to the great prejudice of his Estate." Early in 1635 
the Council determined to surrender their great charter to the 
king. They had been bereaved by the death of prominent 
members, oppressed with great pecuniary losses in the pursuit of 
their colonial schemes, assailed before the Privy Council again 
and again by the rival Virginia companies and other envious 
persons until, as they say, " These Crosses did draw upon us such a 
disheartened weakness as there only remained a Carcass in a 
manner breathless." * The king accepted the resignation of 
their patented rights as tendered by them June 7, 1635, with 
reservation of all grants and vested privileges. The year before 2 
they had mutually agreed upon a division of the territory among 
themselves, and now they asked his Majesty to confirm these 
allotments. To Sir Ferdinando Gorges fell the segment between 
the Piscataqua and Kennebec rivers, to which he gave the name 
of Province of New Somersetshire. This allotment did not 
give him power to establish a civil government, and it was still 
necessary for him to secure a charter from the crown for the 
sovereignty, as well as the title to the soil of the territory. The 
death of his intimate associate and co-worker, John Mason, 
whom he describes as " a man of action " took place November 
26, of this same year. This untimely misfortune necessitated 
renewed activity on the part of Gorges, as he was now the only 

1 Records of the Council for New England, April 18, 1635. Ibid. 



126 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

one of the patentees who attempted to develop the resources 
and possibilities of the several divisions of the patent. While 
pursuing, therefore, the work of acquiring seigniorial privileges in 
the new province, he provided for the immediate wants of his 
future subjects by dispatching his nephew Captain William 
Gorges to the colony, clothed with such authority as he could 
delegate to an agent at that time. 

Captain William Gorges was the second son of Sir Edward 
Gorges of Charlton Manor by his wife Dorothy, daughter of 
Sir George Speke, K.B. He was baptized at Wraxall, February 
9, 1605-6, and was therefore thirty years old upon his arrival in 
the province 1 . Sir Edward died when William was nineteen 
years of age, leaving four sons and four daughters, of whom 
Thomas, the youngest son, was in orders, and became arch-deacon 
of Winchester, prebendary of Westminster and doctor of 
divinity. William chose the profession of arms and became an 
officer in the garrison with his uncle Sir Ferdinando. 2 He was a 
favorite nephew " whome I esteme next my owne children " 
wrote the old knight. From the parapets of the magnificent 
fortress of Plymouth overlooking the banks of the Tamar, this 
subaltern was transported to the forest wilds of an almost 
unknown country, to govern scarce half a thousand people from 
the loop-holes of a blockhouse on the banks of the Saco. The 
province from Piscataqua to Kennebec was " no other than a 
meer Wilderness, here and there by the Sea-side a few scattered 
plantations, with as few houses." 4 To this fringe of settlements 
on the coast of Maine, he came in the winter of 1635-36, as I 
judge, in company, perhaps, with his kinsman Francis Champer- 
nowne. 5 

As soon as the distant portions of his new territorial jurisdic- 
tion could be informed of his arrival, it is probable that prepara- 
tions were immediately made to organize a provisional govern- 
ment and hold court, although it is not the earliest recorded 
instance of a formal judicial tribunal in the limits of the present 

1 New England Gen. Hist. Register, xxix, 112. 

2 Sir Ferdinando Gorges says he "had been my lieutenant in the fort of Plymouth" 
and in extant letters and documents of that period he is called captain. Trelawny 
Papers, 98, 99, 105, 139, 390. 

Letter, Gorges to Winthrop, August 23, 1637, printed in 4 Mass. Hist. Coll. Vol. vii. 

4 Underhill, Newes from America, 20. 

B Chainpernowne was related by marriage to Sir Ferdinando. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF WILLIAM GOUGES. 127 

state of Maine. 1 The persons selected as his official advisers 
by Sir Ferdinando, or perhaps chosen by himself were mostly 
early settlers and patent proprietors, and generally older than 
himself. They represented all sections of the province, east and 
west. Richard Bonython the first named was fifty-six years old 2 ; 
Thomas Purchas was sixty years 8 ; Edward Godfrey was fifty- 
two years 4 ; Thomas Lewis was 'certainly as old MS his partner 
Bonython 5 ; while Thomas Cammock and Henry Josselyn were 
the only gentlemen whose birth was within a half-decade of their 
new Deputy-governor. 6 The first public session of this Com- 
mission was holden in Saco, Friday, March 25, 1636, at the house 
of Captain Richard Bonython at which all the above-named 
persons were present. The jurisdiction of the court seems to 
have been co-extensive with the limits of the province and the 
records of its sessions show that the inhabitants " were influenced 
by the same litigious spirit and the same passions which charac- 
terize a denser population and a more refined state of society." 7 
The first four cases brought before this court were a quartette 
of men " for being drunck," and the august councilors promptly 
fined the culprits u 5s. a piece for being drunck." Mr. William 
Hooke, a "godly gent," according to Winthrop, 8 son of Alder- 
man Humphrey Hooke of Bristol was fined thirty shillings " for an 
uprore comitted in shouting of divers peces in the night." At this 
court George Cleeves and John Bonython began their turbulent 
public careers as prisoners before the bar, the former for "rash 
speeches " and the latter for licentiousness. 9 The court records 

1 The existing court records contain the entry of a probate return dated July 15, 1635 
showing the existence of such a court of record before the arrival of William Gorges. 
In 1662, when Ferdinando Gorges resumed control of the province for a brief period his 
trustees in convention a e sembled directed their marshal to gather from all previous 
recorders and clerks all "Rotula, Books, Records, Instruments, Scales and Writings of a 

publick nature since the year of our Lord 1634." [P. R. O. Col. Papers, xvi, 34.] 

This takes back the probability of an organized government one year more and if we can 
rely on the genuineness of the " Wheelwright Deed " of 1629, and some of its c Hater al 
documents we have the evidence of an official status appertaining to Vines and Josselyn 
in 1633. [N. H. Provincial Papers, i, 83-86.] 

8 The Bonython family of Maine, by the writer of this article. 

8 History Brunswick and Topsham, 788. 

* Edward Godfrey, his Life and Letters; by the writer of this article. 

B Folsom, Saco and Biddeford. 

6 Their ages are not definitely known however, but this statement is based upon many 
collateral circumstances too numerous to cite. 

7 Willis, Portland, 68. 8 Winthrop, Journal, ii, 125. 
9MSS. court records, deposited at Alfred, Me. 



128 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

of Maine in subsequent sessions were generally enlivened by the 
appearance of one or the other of these two unquiet persons as liti- 
gants or prisoners. During the nineteen recorded sittings of the 
Commissioners' Court l nearly sixty cases came up for adjudica- 
tion, ten criminal and forty-four civil, a large moiety of the latter 
being " for debt " and the remainder " slander." At the first 
session the ancient and important office of constable was trans- 
planted to our shores 2 when Mr. William Smith was " sworn as 
constable for his Ma ties servus for the weale publique from Cape 
Elizabeth to the furthermost parte of this province eastward." 8 
The court also provided for the erection of a pair of stocks for 
the punishment of offenders, and it appears that Richard Hitch- 
cock of Saco had the honor of inaugurating them in April, 1637, 
as the first occupant. 4 

The traffic in liquor also received attention at the third session 
of the court and the following order was passed, the first statute 
in the temperance annals of Maine : 

"It is ordered iff any man that doth sell strong liquor, or 
wyne, shall suffer his neighbor laborer or servant to continue 
drinking in ther house except men invited or laborers upon the 
working day of one hour att diner, or strangers or lodgers there, 
that the offender should forfeit 10 shillings for every offense 
and the persons so drinking three shillings four pence each." 6 

The Indians came up for a share of legislation and the follow- 
ing statute was passed because of the losses of live-stock, to 
which the settlers 'had been subjected in the past : " Every 
planter or Inhabitant shall doe his best Indevor to apprehend, 
execut or kill any indian y* hath binne knowne to murder any 
English, kill ther cattle or any waie spoile ther goods doe them 
violence and will not make satisfaction." This was a direct 
stamp of approval on the modern " lynch law." But this spirit 
of fair dealing with the natives, received a confirmation in the 
order passed the next year, that John Cousens of Westcustago 
(North Yarmouth) should " give full satisfaction to an Indian 
for wrongs don to him " and this honorable attitude toward the 
Indians bore good fruit. For forty years following this order 
they lived in amity with the whites, and it was not till King 

1 MSS. court records, deposited at Alfred, Me. 

2 Norman Constables in America, by Herbert B. Adams, Ph. D. 
MSS. Court Records. *Ibid. 6 Ibid. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF WILLIAM GORGES. 129 

Philip's war in 1676, which started in another colony, that the 
long peace was broken. 1 

No sooner however was young Gorges initiated in his new 
work than he incurred the enmity of Master George Cleeves of 
Casco, whom Governor Edward Winslow of Plymouth called the 
<c arrantest knave that evt j r trod on New English shores." 2 To 
those, who have had occasion to ex-imine the biographical details 
of this notorious person, this opinion of the great Puritan magis- 
trate will not seem underserved. He went to England in the 
latter part of 1636, bearing scandalous tales to Sir Ferdinando 
Gorges concerning his favorite nephew and the assistants who 
made up his commission. <c By his misreports to mee of theire 
miscarriage in their places," said Sir Ferdinando, " hee intruded 
himselfe into my good opinion," 8 and the wily schemer, to whom 
Parson Jenner of Saco rightly gave credit for having " sub till 
head, 4 " having gained his foothold with the unsuspecting old 
knight, did not leave him until he had succeeded in poisoning the 
mind of Sir Ferdinando against his nephew and his dismissal 
was thereupon determined. It might have saved Sir Ferdinando 
much pain and Captain William this mortification, if the former 
could have met Mr. Matthew Craddock at the Exchange in 
London early in 1637, and learned from him some facts about 
Cleeves, who had made a proposition to Craddock so question- 
able in its character that he " disavowed for having aught to doe 
therein." 5 Meantime while the young captain was attending to 
his duties in court across the Atlantic the scandal-monger was 
prospering and had secured from Sir Ferdinando, January 27, 
1637, a patent of one thousand five hundred acres, the present 
site of Portland, and a joint commission with John VVinthrop to 
manage his affairs in New England. Cleeves triumphant sailed 
immediately for Maine, and reached his home about the first of 
June of that year, where having first got possession of his land 

1 MSS. Court Records. 

2 Letter, Winslow to Winthrop, September 11, 1643, printed in Mr. J. P. Baxter' 
" George Cleeve" (Gorges Society) p. 124. Mr. Baxter's argument that this characteriza- 
tion, which was jointly applied to Cleeves and Morton of Merry- Mount, "should not be 
allowed to prejudice us against Cleeve " and that it was probably intended to hit Morton 
rather than Cleeves is an ingenious bit of special pleading (Ibid. p. 125). 

Letter, Gorges to Winthrop, see note 3. p. 126. 
* Letter, Jenuer to Winthrop, April 6, 1646. 
5 Letter, Craddock to Winthrop, March 15, 1636. 

9 



130 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

(June 8), hurried off to Boston to enlist the support of Governor 
Winthrop in his behalf. 1 But the Governor, who had but just 
received a letter from Craddock relating the dealings he had had . 
with Cleeves, and the suspicions he had of his sincerity, was 
doubtless glad to avail himself of a technical flaw in the author- 
ity conferred on himself and Cleeves. Winthrop says that the 
proposed joint commission " was observed as a matter of no good 
discretion, but passed in silence." 2 Cleeves however was not a 
person to be deterred by such trifles, and with this documentary 
authority from Gorges in his possession he proceeded to exercise 
the functions of chief magistrate. 3 

Captain William Gorges was recalled home in disgrace and a 
"generall discharge" of all the commissioners, including his 
faithful servant Richard Vines, was made by Sir Ferdinando. 
Thus closed the short and unhappy administration of young 
Captain Gorges, who held his first council March 25, 1636, and 
before midsummer of 1637, was cashiered as a sacrifice to the 
malicious slanders of an ambitious and unscrupulous politician. 4 

The victory of Cleeves was but ephemeral, and he soon fell in 
the good opinion of Sir Ferdinando never to rise again while the 
good nobleman lived. Nevertheless he made the most of his 
temporary elevation to power. John Winter writing to Tre- 
lawny July 8, 1637, on business of the plantation at Richmond 
island says in speaking of current public affairs, ** Syr Ferdi- 
nando Georg hath made Cleeves governor of his province as 
he reports, now he thinkes to wind all men to his will," 5 
and Cleeves openly boasted to Winter of his influence with Sir 
Ferdinando. As soon as Captain William Gorges arrived home, 
probably in the middle of August, he must have convinced his 
uncle of the utter falsity of the representations of Cleeves about 
himself and associates. Vines and others had already protested 
in "severall letters" against the injustice of the dismissal of the 
late deputy governor, and when the young nephew presented his 
case in person, the deposition of the exalted adventurer was 

1 Winthrop, Journal, i, 276. 2 Ibid. 

8 George Cleeve and his Times, p. 70. 

4 He was not here probably on June 30, 1637, when Vines as joint attorney with Gorges 
for the council for New England, gave possession of certain land to John Winter the fac- 
tor of Trelawny, and the inference is good that he had gone home prior to that date. 
(Trelawny Papers, 105.) 

6 Trelawny Papers, 111. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF WILLIAM GORGES. 131 

soon resolved upon. " I am offended with myselfe," said Gorges 
"for being over credulous of another ; neither needes it seeme 
strange it should bee soe, consider acion being had to the sincer- 
ity of one and the fraude of others." 1 On the 23d of August, 
1637, Sir Ferdinando wrote to Governor Winthrop requesting 
him to see that Vines and his former officials under the deposed 
administration should be properly vindicated before the people, 
and obtain justice against the slanders of Cleeves. Richard 
Vines was at the same time reappointed deputy governor as he 
had been before William Gorges held the office, and George 
Cleeves returned to his plantation at Casco, to nurs.e his wrath 
and plot new schemes for political advancement. In a previous 
paper which I had the honor to present to this Society on the 
Plough Patent I showed how his <c subtill head " developed the 
startling plan of digging up the dead " Plough " title and making 
it the means of again disturbing the peace of the province for 
over four years. 2 

1 Letter, Gorges to Winthrop, see note 3. p. 126. 

* Colonel Alexander Rigby. The Plough Patent and the Province of Lygonia, Port- 
land 1885. Private edition of fifty copies printed for distribution, reprinted from the 
Maine " Recorder." 



A TOPOGRAPHICAL SURMISE. 



133 



A TOPOGRAPHICAL SURMISE. 

LOCATING THE HOUSES OF GORGES AND GODFREY AT YORK, ME. 

[Extract from an "Abstract of Title of Mr. Samuel S. Allen's Farm in York." 
By Wm. M, Sargent.] 

Read before the Maine Historical Society, February %0, 1890. 

BY WILLIAM M. SARGENT. 

THE presence of an ancient foundation within the confines of 
this title gives rise to speculation as to its builder and purpose. 
Mr. Marshall has, and Dr. Banks and other writers, following his 
deductions, have, argued for the location of Governor Edward 
Godfrey's house, " the first ever built " in York in this vicinity ; 
their location of it somewhere near Godfrey's Pond and Cove 
being so indefinite as to confound it with the traces of a perhaps 
earlier occupancy on our tract. 

On pages four and five of this "Abstract," it has been shown that 
the site they call Godfrey's came to Ann Messant-Godfrey by mort- 
gage from Rev. George Burdett ; and is the same place conveyed 
by her daughter, Mrs. Shapleigh, to Raynes (see York Deeds, 
iv, 20; iii, 116 and 34). This was where she, as Godfrey's 
widow, took up her abode after the failure of her husband's 
title to his homestead on the north side of York river. It was 
called Mr. Godfrey's farm only by the old custom and law of 
coverture, of which Mr. Marshall, from his written deductions, 
seems to have been totally ignorant deductions the other writers 
have adopted without independent research. It was not even 
invariably thus designated, but quite oftener the other way, Mrs. 
Godfrey's. (See York Deeds, vi, 158 and 169 ; ix, 11.) 

Godfrey's deed to his son precisely locates his residence upon 
the north side. (York Deeds, i, 4.) 

Godfrey's own language shows that he had no original title on 
the south side " the south side to Ferdinando Gorges, and only 
the north side to himself and divers others his associates." 



134 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

(Banks' Edward Godfrey, page 48, and Maine Hist. Soc. Coll., 
ix, 344.) 

Moreover, whatever title Godfrey had to land on the south 
side of the river, except by coverture, as above, : was to two 
hundred acres by an alleged deed from Vines, as Gorges' agent ; 
(see York Deeds, i, 4), but allowing this allegation to be true, 
that transfer was made some years after his asserted date of 
building the earliest habitation and the land could not have been 
its site ; and his conveyances away of the whole of this tract to 
Moore, Adams and Donnell without any mention of. any build- 
ings is additional proof that he did not locate upon that side of 
the river. (Pages 82 and 83, Banks' Edward Godfrey, and page 
378, vol. ix, Maine Hist. Soc. Coll., and York Deeds.) 

Besides the above it is only necessary to point out that Dr. 
Banks' notes on pages eleven 1 and twenty-one 2 of his "Edward 
Godfrey" are not only inconsistent with each other, but the latter 
conclusively proves, by the surveyor's return in 1644, that God- 
frey's house was between " from above the wolf- trap to Mr. Nor- 
ton's " locations well known to be on the north side of the 
river. 

Having thus banished beyond these titular limits the most 
formidable claimant, and the one who has hitherto had the most 
supporters, for the honor of selecting this early site, to whom is 
to be assigned the upraising of a house, that from its remains, 
was evidently too pretentious and too grand in its proportions 
for the work of any of the poorer fishermen or earlier settlers? 
To no less a person than Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Knight, Lord 
Proprietor of the Province of Maine. 

That Gorges had a house a sort of governmental residence 
on the south side of the river is beyond all question. In his 
" Instructions," the second set, dated March 10, 1639 ( Court 
Records, i, 38), he directs " y* there may be a place appointed 
for the hearing and determining of causes, I have thought to 
assigne the same to be as neare as may be in the midst of that 
parte of the p'vince w ch is most inhabited, and that there be a 
house built for that purpose at my own charge if it cannot 
otherwise be setled." By his letter (Sainsbury's Calendar of 
Colonial Papers, x, 55), he shows that his house had been com- 

1 p. 307, vol. ix, Maine Hist. Soc. Coll. 2 Id. p. 318. 



A TOPOGRAPHICAL SURMISE. 135 

pleted during the next year ; "Ashton, 28 Jany 1640, Sir Ferd 
Gorges to Sec. Windebank Perceives by letters received from 
New England that had he not lately [3 Apr.,. 1639] obtained the 
grant from the King, he should not have been master of more 
land than his house stands upon ; his title to the rest being dis- 
puted by one and the other. Shall speed in his resolution to 
make good the King's grant, but does not purpose to take ship- 
ping before he receives commands." 

In the deed to the "Maijor & Coality of Gorgeana" (York 
Deeds, iv, 46), "y e sd sir Fardind Gorges house" is located with 
great precision between "Poynt Ingleby" and the harbor mouth 
on " a Necke of Land [then and now called Gorges' Neck] lijng 
at the Harbours mouth of Gorgeana aforesd, on the South side 
of the riuer there." 

(Court Records, i, 141, 18 Oct., 1647.) " Robert Nanny shall 
have an extent upon the house and land of Sir Ferdinando 
Gorges, as two indifferent men shall judge it untill his debt of 
aleaven pounds starling be payd." 

Now, as, in the progress of this "Title," the grants by the town 
of York, upon Gorges' Neck, have all been accounted for as far 
west as up to Point Ingleby and to the line of the two hundred 
acres Godfrey alleged he had from Vines, and as that grant did 
not include any house, the conclusion is irresistible that Mr. Allen 
is the present possessor of the site of Gorges' stately house, the 
first and only feudal manor of Maine.' 



NOTE BY DE. CHAS. E. B'ANKS. 

Having had an opportunity to examine the evidence presented by Mr. 
Sargent on the location of the Godfrey house, I think it proper to say 
that a re-examination of the matter (as published in my monograph, 
printed in vol. ix, pp. 295-384, of the Society's Collections), has convinced 
me of the correctnesss of Mr. Sargent's conclusions. I am very glad to 
admit my error for the sake of historical truth, and his clear and logical 
presentation of the case leaves but little more for me to say. That 
little is to explain that the statement placing Godfrey's house on the 
south side of the river was based upon the unqualified report of the 
late Hon. N". G. Marshall of York, of whose enthusiastic and open- 
hearted interest in the local antiquities of the old town so many of us 
have had knowledge. Being unable to visit the locality, as I was then 
residing on the Pacific coast, I relied on Mr. Marshall's statement, that 
by local tradition and legal title the old farm of Godfrey, near Godfrey's 
Pond and Cove, could be shown with the ruins of the cellar. I am con- 
fident that Mr. Marshall would have been the first to admit his error, 
which under all circumstances was a natural one. 



ENOCH LINCOLN". 137 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 

Read before the Maine Historical Society, December 23, 1882. 

BY EDWARD H. ELWELL. 

W HEN, after an agitation extending through a period of more 
than thirty years, the District of Maine, then known as the "three 
Eastern Counties," separated itself from Massachusetts and set 
out on an independent career, the question might well have 
arisen, Has she among her sons, men capable of taking the new 
ship of state out of port, and safely guiding her over the untried 
waters of local self-government ? For more than a century and 
a half her people had been in the leading-strings of Massachu- 
setts, and although they had contributed their full share of able 
men to the councils of the state, it was thought by many a dan- 
gerous experiment to intrust to them the entire management of 
their affairs. Besides, the people were poor and dreaded the 
expense of a state government. It was estimated that the whole 
cost of a separate government would be one thousand nine 
hundred and seventy- two pounds, and this was enough to deter 
many from favoring the project ; yet there were large-souled, 
patriotic men in those days. In the debate, a citizen of Portland, 
very zealous in the cause of separation, in order to obviate the 
objection of increased expense, replied that he would serve as 
governor two years for nothing. 

When the time came governors were not wanting. The new 
state was especially fortunate in the selection of the three men 
who filled the executive chair during the first decade of her 
existence. Two of them were her own native sons, and the 
third was not surpassed in devotion to her interests by either of 
the others. The three form a trio of able men, diverse in 
character and gifts, but one in patriotic purpose. 

William King, the man of affairs, active, energetic, distin- 
guished in the legislature of Massachusetts by his efforts in 



138 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

behalf of religious freedom, an early and ardent advocate of the 
separation of Maine from Massachusetts, presiding over the con- 
vention which formed the constitution of the new state brought 
to the administration of her affairs a wide experience in prac- 
tical matters of business as well as of legislation. 

Albion K. Parris, the jurist and administrator, without bril- 
liant talents, but a man of great industry, promptness, fidelity, 
sagacity, and so courteous in manner that he was the most pop- 
ular man of his day attested at this hour by the great number 
of citizens bearing as their front initials the familiar letters A. 
K. P. succeeded to the gubernatorial chair at the early age of 
thirty-three years, and held it for five years a longer term than 
that of any other of our chief magistrates. 

Enoch Lincoln, the scholar and statesman, had the remarkable 
fortune to follow Mr. Parris as member of Congress from Oxford, 
to take his place in the town of Paris when he left it, and to be 
his successor in the gubernatorial chair and was of the same 
age. 

It is of the last of these three eminent men that I purpose to 
speak on this occasion. Mr. Lincoln differed from his predeces- 
sors in office in that, while not falling behind them in the man- 
agement of practical affairs, and in devotion to public interests, 
he was a man of more scholarly attainments, of wider reading, 
of finer sensibilities and more comprehensive views of society, 
possessing in short some sparks of the divine fire of genius. My 
sketch of his life must necessarily be meager, from the lack of 
materials at hand. Although brief notices of him have appeared 
in the publications of the Maine Historical Society and in the 
cyclopedias, no complete memoir of his life has yet been written. 
He died more than half a century ago, and those yet remaining 
who remember him are not many. In this paper my purpose is 
rather to dwell on his scholarly attainments, and broad and lib- 
eral views, than to sketch his public career, and more especially 
to call attention to the fact that he was a poet, and probably the 
first to publish in this state a poem of considerable length and 
of no inconsiderable merit. 

Enoch Lincoln came of distinguished lineage. He was one of 
a family of governors. His father, Levi Lincoln, served in Jef- 
ferson's cabinet as attorney general of the United States, was 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 139 

lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1807 and 1808, and on 
the decease of Governor Sullivan, in December of the latter year, 
he discharged the duties of chief magistrate from that time till 
the following May. Enoch's elder brother, Levi Lincoln, jr. 
six years his senior an eminent lawyer and statesman, was in 
1825 selected by both the political parties in Massachusetts as 
their candidate for governor of the state, and was elected with 
great unanimity by the people. In 1834, he was elected repre- 
sentative in Congress, serving three terms. 

Enoch Lincoln, the subject of this sketch, was born in Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts, December 28, 1788. He was the fourth 
son of Levi Lincoln. Entering the sophomore class of Harvard 
College in 1806, he subsequently received the degree of Master 
of Arts from Bowdoin College, studied law with his brother 
Levi, at Worcester, and was there admitted to the bar in 1811. 
He began practice in Salem, but soon returned to his native 
town, where he practiced with considerable reputation, but in 
1812 removed to Fryeburg in Maine. 

The choice of a remote inland village, on what might be said 
to be the border of civilization, as the starting-point of his pro- 
fessional career, may at this day seem a little strange. But it is 
to be remembered that at that period, before the railroad had 
concentrated nearly all social and professional life in a few great 
centers, such villages as Fryeburg had a local importance far 
exceeding that which they possess today. Besides, Fryeburg 
was comparatively an old and interesting town. It had been in- 
corporated as early as 1777, .and had been the scene of one of 
the most memorable and important combats with the Indians 
which ever took place in our state. It is not improbable that 
this fact had some influence Tvith the young lawyer in determin- 
ing his choice of residence, since he ever took great interest in 
all that related to the aborigines of our state, and made the study 
of their customs and languages one of the chief pursuits of his 
leisure hours. Fryeburg has had the distinction of numbering 
Daniel Webster among the preceptors of her famous academy ; 
she has given the state many eminent men, among whom may be 
mentioned the Fessendens and John W. Dana, governor of the 
state from 1847 to 1850 ; but it may be accounted not the least 
among her claims to consideration that it was amid her beautiful 



140 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

scenery that our poet-governor conceived and executed his poem 
of "The Village." It is her scenery that is described in this 
poem, and its pictures of rural life are drawn from the pursuits 
and occupations of her people. 

As a young practitioner, just entering upon his career at the 
bar, Mr. Lincoln, then in his twenty-fifth year, would not unlike- 
ly have much leisure upon his hands. With his studious habits 
these hours could not be idly spent, and he made the aboriginal 
inhabitants still remaining in the neighborhood, the subject of 
his researches. It was his custom to spend some weeks or 
months in each year rambling in the woods, and holding con- 
verse with nature and her simple children. His hatred of 
oppression led him to sympathize with the Indian in his fallen 
condition, and he spent much time in collecting all those objects 
and documents, which might throw light upon the manners, cus- 
toms, habits and dispositions of the ancient lords of the soil. 
His study bore testimony to his zeal in this direction, being orna- 
mented with the branching antlers of the moose, the caribou, 
and the deer, with a map of the Umbagog lakes drawn on birch 
bark by one of the natives, over which hung a full-length por- 
trait of an Indian chief. While residing at Fryeburg he deliv- 
ered a poem at the centennial celebration of the fight at Love- 
well's pond, and he also made an imitation of a Penobscot song 
in welcome of the French, whom he always considered to have 
been the truest friends of the Indians. 

But that while thus pursuing his favorite studies, and dallying 
with the muse of poetry, he did not neglect his professional duties 
and opportunities, is manifested by the fact that he soon gained 
a prominent position at the bar, and was thought of as a suitable 
person to be sent to Congress. It is said that the people of the 
shire town of Paris, and of the eastern section of the county, 
promised to send him to Congress, if he would take up his res- 
idence in that town. However this may be, he removed to Paris 
in 1817, and March 16, 1818, was elected to Congress to fill out 
the unexpired term of the Hon. Albion K. Parris, who had been 
appointed judge of the United States District Court for the 
District of Maine. 

Paris was at that time a village of local importance, and not 
without attractions of scenery and society. Yet, although he 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 141 

extended his professional practice and reputation while living 
there, it seems not to have had the charm for him which Frye- 
burg possessed. In a letter written at Paris, May 9, 1819, he 
says: "I have long anticipated the pleasure of visiting Frye- 
burg, to which I remain as much attached, and to some of the 
inhabitants of which I retain as partial recollections as when I 
left it for a place which will never be a home to me." Mr. 
Lincoln some time after removed to Portland, though at what 
precise date I have not been able to ascertain. 

Mr. Lincoln served eight years in Congress, viz., 1818 and 1819, 
the unexpired term of Mr. Parris; then three full terms, 1819 to 
1825, and also 1825 and 1826, when he resigned because of his 
election as governor of Maine to commence January, 1827. I 
have not had the opportunity to trace his congressional career, 
but there can be no doubt that the records of Congress would 
show that he performed with ability his full share of legislative 
labors. Certain it is that his congressional career brought him 
into such prominence in his own state, that in 1826, ( he was 
chosen with great unanimity to succeed so popular a governor as 
Albion K. Parris, and this before he had arrived at the age of 
thirty-eight years. He was twice re-elected, serving from 1826 
until 1829. 

As governor of the state, he was distinguished by a zealous 
devotion to its interests, and the scholarly character of his state 
papers. His messages were noted for their suggestiveness, point, 
brevity and good taste. One of his Thanksgiving proclamations 
was so brief and comprehensive, and was so popular, that it was 
printed on satin by his admirers for preservation. 

During Mr. Lincoln's administration as governor, the question 
of the northeastern boundary of our state acquired serious and 
alarming dimensions. He vindicated the rights of the state to 
the territory in question with great energy and earnestness. 
He took strong state sovereignty ground, boldly and decidedly 
denying the right of the national government to cede any portion 
of the territory of the state without its consent. Had his coun- 
sels prevailed, the historian of Maine would have had no such 
chapter of concessions, submissions and humiliation to record as 
that written by another governor of Maine a distinguished 
member of this society and printed in the eighth volume of 
its collections. 



142 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Governor Lincoln appointed the Hon. Charles S. Daveis of 
Portland a commissioner to New Brunswick, on the subject of 
encroachments by the Provincials on the territory of Maine, and 
of the arrest and imprisonment of John Baker, a citizen of the 
state. I have here an autograph letter of Governor Lincoln 
giving instructions to Mr. Daveis as to the conduct of this com- 
mission. Under date of Portland, November 4, 1827, he writes : 

DEAR SIR: I am so anxious that you shall not leave New Brunswick 
without presenting to the government of that province the views enter- 
tained by this state in regard to the objects of your commission, that I 
write specially to request you, if no more suitable opportunity shall 
occur, to exhibit those views at large, in conformity to the facts you may 
ascertain, and the principles we have settled in our minds in various 
conferences as to the merits of our cause, in the form of a memorial. 
This will preclude all future pretense of acquiescence in the foreign occu- 
pation or jurisdiction by which, it is feared, that the wrongs which are 
growing may be expected to ripen into rights. 

It will be seen here how careful the governor was to forestall 
any claim of acquiescence in the pretentions of New Brunswick 
to jurisdiction over any portion of our soil, and we may also 
notice the pithiness of the phrase, " it is feared that the wrongs 
which are growing may be expected to ripen into rights." This 
mission resulted in an able report by Mr. Daveis in January, 
1828, and brought about a change in the practice of the provin- 
cial government. 

Governor Lincoln gave much attention to the subjects of 
internal improvement, and of education, pressing them upon the 
attention of the legislature in communications always filled with 
appropriate suggestions, and recommendations. Even at that 
early day a road to Canada was anticipated in an able report 
made by the Hon. George Evans. It was during Governor Lin- 
coln's administration also, that Capitol Hill in Augusta, was 
determined on as the future site of the capitol, at a session of 
the governor and council held at Augusta in June, 1827. 

But while thus devoting himself, with a high sense of duty, to 
the interests of the state, Governor Lincoln looked forward to a 
period of 'retirement in which he could indulge in pursuits more 
congenial to his scholarly tastes. Before completing his last 
gubernatorial term, he declined being again a candidate, desiring 
to devote his time to agriculture, to the study of the classics and 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 143 

the natural sciences, and to literary avocations, especially to the 
completion of a work on the history, resources and policy of 
Maine, for which he had collected many materials. He had also 
in view a work on the language and history of the aboriginal 
inhabitants of the state, a specimen of which may be found in 
the first volume of the collections of the Maine Historical 
Society. In this learned paper Mr. Lincoln points out the beau- 
ties of the Indian languages spoken in Maine, showing that they 
had an unbounded susceptibility of composition, which rendered 
them copious and expressive. They did not suffer their language 
to be corrupted or changed, adopting no words from the English 
or French, but forming words from domestic materials to express 
objects which they had never seen. Thus they had their Indian 
names for elephant, lion, and a great diversity of objects, 
unknown to them, except through the medium of verbal or 
pictured representation. 

But it was not permitted Mr. Lincoln to complete the chosen 
labors of his leisure hours. During the last year of his term as 
governor his health began to fail. In the month of July of that 
year, 1829, he delivered an oration at the ceremony of laying 
the cornerstone of the capitol, at Augusta. In the following 
October he was again called to Augusta to deliver an address at 
the establishment of the Cony Female Academy. This was his 
last public performance. I find in the " Yankee and Boston Lit- 
erary Gazette " John Neal's paper so full and interesting an 
account of his last hours that I venture to introduce it here : 

" He left Portland with a belief that he should not return. He 
said so and repeated it, as he stood on the floor of his room pre- 
paring to go and playing with a piece of paper, which he had 
suffered to drop twice without perceiving it. ' I am very weak,' 
said he, ' my strength is leaving I do not expect to return.' 
This was uttered with striking solemnity, and the impression will 
never depart from the recollection of those who heard it. On 
his arrival at Augusta, whither he had gone to deliver an address 
before the children of the Cony Female Academy, he men- 
tioned two or three times that he had come to die there; and 
when his friends gathered about him, and reminded him of the 
state of his health, and begged him to forbear, he said, in his 
mild, firm way, ' It is my duty.' Afterward, he alluded to his 



144 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

mother, an extraordinary woman who had * left him ' suddenly 
but a few weeks before ; and it was evident from his behavior, 
even more than by his language, that her sudden death was a 
heavy blow to him. He was thoroughly possessed with the belief, 
that as he owed so much to his mother, he owed it to her memory 
by the last of his public acts to impress the future mothers of 
our country with a becoming sense of their own value. On the 
day when he delivered the address, he had been quite unwell 
before he made the attempt ; during the delivery he grew so ill 
that he was obliged to sit down, and after it was delivered he 
went straightway to bed the bed of death. He was not afraid 
of death, after he knew that death was' inevitable ; nor was he 
afraid of it before, properly speaking, though he would have 
resisted the approach and avoided the presence of unworthy 
danger, like every rational man, if he had been able to do so. 
He conversed on the subject hour by hour, and with perfect 
composure nay, with a sort of strange, mournful pleasantry ; 
for it so happened that one day, as he and Gen. Cony, the 
adjutant general of the state, an old and very intimate friend, 
were sitting together, he remarked that he should have to stay 
with him ; to which the general, who had no idea of his danger, 
and who saw nothing in the observation but a desire to converse 
on a favorite though dangerous theme, replied, 'Well, well, 
governor, we can give you a good tomb here.' The next day, or 
the day after, finding that he could keep no food upon his 
stomach, not even a light broth, the governor turned to the 
general's wife, as she sat near, and said with a smile which 
never quite abandoned his mouth, ' Well, madam, I believe I 
shall have to accept your husband's invitation.' 

'* But one of the most remarkable circumstances that attended 
his death was this : During the whole of his delirium, he never 
uttered an equivocal sentiment nor an improper word. Nay 
more, he never lost sight of his own personal dignity, nor of 
what he owed as a man to the presence of a female ; for in his 
fiercest paroxysms, he would suddenly recollect himself so far as 
to wrestle down with over-mastering power, the spirit that shook 
him, and apologize in the language of a gentleman for the unhap- 
py ' hallucination,' as he termed it, by which he had been par- 
tially subdued. 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 145 

"On one occasion he insisted on getting up. The general 
remonstrated with him and urged him to lie down. But he 
refused; he could not be controlled. 'You may have the phy- 
sical superiority,' said he, ' but you shall not control my mind.' 
The general saw it was in vain to argue with him in the usual 
way. Governor,' said he, ' you are a philosopher, and will not 
contend with what is inevitable.' The poor, delirious man 
looked at him, smiled faintly, and lay down like a child at the. 
bidding of its mother. And not long before he breathed his last, 
as an elder son of the general sat watching by him, he took it 
into his head to get up. The young man argued with him, and 
putting his hand upon his shoulder, told him he must lie down. 

* Must, there is no such word for me. I will not be controlled, 
sir.' < But,' continued the other, alarmed at the probable con- 
sequences, * I entfeat you, I beg of you to lie down.' * Oh,' said 
the governor, 4 that is another affair; that is talking rationally;' 
and he lay down, as quietly as if nothing were the matter, although 
unquestionably delirious at the time. 

" These facts are not mentioned lightly they help to show the 
man's character; he would not be dealt with by anybody, nor 
anything, to the abridgement of his liberty. No outrage affected 
him in health like that of one person daring to exercise improper 
dominion over another. And weak though he was a small man 
of a slight frame he would have resisted even to death the 
oppression of brute force over knybody. 

" But the last scene of all was yet more striking. He addressed 
the troops in eloquent and powerful language, though it was 
occasionally incoherent; and the last words he spoke were 

* Gentlemen, I call you all to witness that I die in the presence 
of Franklin ; ' after which he appeared to forget himself, to sink 
into a lethargy, and then he revived and added, as if communing 
with a congress of shadows, c A sacred and solemn scene.' And 
with this, the spirit of the sufferer prepared for departure, and 
his last hour was an hour of untroubled sleep." 

Governor Lincoln died Oct. 8, 1829, having nearly completed 
his forty-first year. He was never married. He was buried with 
public honors on the grounds fronting the capitol at Augusta, 
where his remains still repose. 

Governor Lincoln was possessed of a gifted and well-endowed 
1, 



146 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

mind, and the genial qualities of a universally benevolent and 
fervently affectionate heart. A striking characteristic was his 
hatred of oppression. Though naturally of a mild and gentle 
disposition, he was aroused to indignation by any injustice or 
tyranny, no matter how it was protected by law or usage. As 
has been well said of him, " He was the advocate of as entire 
freedom of thought and action as human society can endure." 

He is spoken of by those who knew him in social life as being 
very agreeable, dignified and entertaining. He inspired all who 
became acquainted with him with an exalted opinion of his char- 
acter. An aged lady who knew him in her youth, gives me a 
little incident of his life, which illustrates the benevolence of his 
heart. "Mr. Lincoln was traveling in New Hampshire, and 
through some of the then remote places, and not feeling quite 
certain that he was in the right way to the place of his destina- 
tion, he inquired of a small boy whom he took to be not over six 
or eight years of age, who was out, ax in hand, chopping one of 
the logs of a formidable looking pile of wood. * My little lad,' 
said he, ' can you tell me if I am on the direct road to the town 

of where Mr. W. resides ? ' 'Yes, sir,' and the little 

fellow answered all the questions promptly and with more than 
usual self-reliance, for one of his years. Mr. Lincoln thanked 
him, and said, < Now will you tell me your name? ' ' He looked 
at me with a penetration that belonged to older years, and said 
unhesitatingly, " My name is Levi Lincoln Osgood, sir. I was 
named for one of the governors of Massachusetts." Mr. Lin- 
coln said, while relating the above, * For a moment I was almost 
in doubt as to my sense of hearing correctly.' Mr. Lincoln took 
from his pocket a coined dollar, handed it to the boy, and 
said, ' Tell your father I shall come this way again, and if he will 
let me, I will put you in a school, you are such a smart boy. 
The boy took off his hat, bowed, and thanked me, and,' adds 
Mr. Lincoln, ' I started on my way, leaving him running to the 
house to tell his father. I have since put the boy in one of the 
best schools in New Hampshire, and he bids fair to be an honor 
to the school.' That boy may be living now. " 

A marked characteristic of Mr. Lincoln's character was his 
enthusiastic love of rural nature. This led him, while residing at 
Fryeburg, to visit the retired haunts of the aborigines, and make 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 147 

acquaintance with the lingering remnants of the large and power- 
ful tribe that once occupied that beautiful region of country. 

It was the charm of this varied scenery that inspired him to 
the composition of the poem entitled "The Village," which was 
published in Portland, by Edward Little & Co., in 1816. It is a 
descriptive and didactic poem of more than two thousand lines, 
written in the heroic measure, and marked by smoothness of 
versification and elevation of sentiment. One detects at times 
an echo of Pope in the structure of the lines, and the influence 
of the author's classical studies is evident throughout. Though 
professedly descriptive of rural scenes, the local coloring is not 
strong, much the larger portion 6f the poem being devoted to 
general views of society and mankind at large. It would appear 
that the poet set out with the purpose of sketching the scenery 
and the conditions of society around him, but not finding the 
task congenial, gladly launched out into general discourse on 
human nature and the various classes of society. He apologizes 
in his preface for this divergence from his theme, and the diffuse- 
ness with which it is pursued, alleging that the vocations of 
business had prevented his filling out the poem in those propor- 
tions which were necessary to complete its plan. His mind nat- 
urally expanded to wide views of human nature, as seen in the 
light of history, rather than confined itself to minute observation 
of the conditions of life around him. With all his love of nature 
he went rather to books than to personal observation and expe- 
rience, for the materials of his verse. This is seen in the copious 
appendix which takes rather the form of essays than of notes, 
consisting of three parts, the first of which is devoted to a history 
of slavery, the second to a learned review of lawyers, the princi- 
ples of criminal law, and the modes of punishment in different 
countries, and the third to a dissertation on religious persecu- 
tion. These essays show the results of wide reading, and the 
influence of classical studies, the experiences of Greece and Rome 
being constantly cited. 

What is most remarkable about the poem is its advanced senti- 
ments on all humane subjects. As regards slavery, the treat- 
ment of the Indians, the education of women, and the ill-treatment 
of brutes, the poem is far in advance of the views generally 
held when it was published, seventy-four years ago, and antici- 



148 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

pates many of the reformatory and humane movements of our 
day. It is something of a surprise withal to find this young 
man, notwithstanding his inexperience of the ways of life, dealing 
so caustically with the faults of the learned professions, and 
betraying no little knowledge of the crooked courses pursued by 
many of their members. He has considerable power of satire, 
and a noble scorn of all that is low, mean, or oppressive of the 
rights of the poor and humble. He holds up a high standard 
throughout, and is ever true to the highest convictions of truth 
and duty. 

The poem opens with a description of White Mountain 
scenery : 

Kange upon range, sublimely pil'd on high, 
Yon lofty mountains prop the incumbent sky. 
Such countless tops^ascend, so vast the heap, 
As if, when gushed the deluge from the deep, 
The rushing torrents wrecked the guilty world, 
And all the rocky fragments thither whirl' d. 

From the description of nature, the poet passes to consider 
the happy state of the Pequakets before the invasion of the 
white man : 

The nation's boast, in undisturbed repose, 
Pequaket, then thy numerous wigwams rose. 
Thy active hunters, arm'd with bow and spear, 
The stately moose pursued and bounding deer, 
For howling wolves contrived the secret snare, 
Or trapped the sable, or waylaid the bear. 

The native traits of the Indians are thus sketched : 

Rude was the savage, but to friendship true, 
No fickle change his fix'd affections knew : 
In hatred firm, a fierce and fearless foe, 
He owned no umpires but his spear and bow. 
The warwhoop's discord was his soul's delight, 
His eye's first joy the slaughter of the fight. 

The savage tortures inflicted on his enemies are described in 
these strong lines : 

Sullen and sad the captive victims go, 
To meet the direst ills, the deepest woe, 
The scoffing insults, the triumphant yell, 
Each mode of suffering, and each pain of hell. 
The cruel conqueror dreadful vengeance takes ; 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 149 

Midst torturing fires he binds them to the stakes, 
Tears off their flesh, cuts circlets round their joints, 
Lights all their frames with slowly burning points, 
Plucks out their nails, bruises their feet with stones, 
Gashes their. bodies, dislocates their bones, 
Pinches their naked nerves, and torture plies, 
Till, all one wound, each mangled sufferer dies. 
Ye, too, my countrymen, such ills have borne, 
And, captives, thus by earthly fiends been torn. 
At scenes like these must tender Pity weep, 
And heartfelt execrations, harsh and deep, 
From Indignation's swelling bosom burst. 
Chieftains, for these, be all your tribes accurst. 

But the poet's sense of justice will not permit him to stop 
here without presenting the other side of the picture. Immedi- 
ately he sees, " from the grave beyond the neighboring plain," 

-~ an angry sachem's rising shade, 

In ancient dress and warlike arms arrayed, 

and bursting into a lyrical strain, thus gives voice to the red 
man's complaint and defense : 

Te spoilers of all that the red man possessed, 
"Why disturb ye my shade in the peace of the grave? 

In the region of spirits why trouble my rest, 
And blacken the fame of the great and the brave ? 

When ye came o'er the big rolling waters afar, 

We received you as brothers and gave you our food ; 

But ye burst on our heads with your thunders of war, 
Ye plundered our wigwams and drank of our blood. 

Ye robbed from our hunters the wilds of their game, 
With our wives and our children ye drove us away. 

To our chiefs with the furies of discord ye came, 
And incited our tribes on each other to prey. 

Ye never with us from the calumet smoked, 
Nor the sagamite feast of our friendship partook. 

Ye white men, complain not of ills you provoked, 
For our laws and our customs we never forsook. 

Passing from savage man to nature, the poet next describes 
" the tall, straight pines," which in his day " appeared on every 
side," pictures the lumberman going forth to his camp : 

His couch the hemlock twigs, his household ware 
A jug and basket filled with simplest fare ; 



150 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

calls on those who " indulge in indolence and ease," to 

Observe his frugal board, be wise at length, 

And gain, like him, from temperance, health and strength. 

Then follows the hardy settler, lifting his ax not against the 
pines alone, but striking alike unsparingly on all, and clearing 
the cumbered land : 

And last the bonfires burn, the boughs consume, 
And spreading flames the hemisphere illume. 

Turning from the lordly pine, the poet pays his tribute to the 
maple, as the queen of the wood : 

More sacred than the Thunderer's chosen oak, 
Let not the maple feel the woodman's stroke. 
Fair maple ! honors purer far are thine 
Than Yenus' myrtle yields, or Bacchus' vine ; 
Minerva's olive, consecrated tree, 
Deserves not half the homage due to thee ; 
The queen of trees, thou proudly . to wer'st on high, 
Yet wave thy limbs in graceful pliancy. 

By a curious association of ideas, the contemplation of the 
maple leads the poet to consider the sin of slavery : 

Fair mapleS ! let thy leaves my brow surround, 
And laurel wreaths I trample on the ground. 
The suffering Negro in West Indian isles, 
Sooth' d at thy name, amid his sorrow smiles, 
Hope's cheering rays dispel his gloomy care, 
And tinge with dawning light his deep despair. 
Do not our soil and frosty clime insure 
Sweets as salubrious, exquisite and pure, 
As those which burning suns, or humid air 
With swarming insects filled, and slaves prepare ? 
They do ! Our blest New England's fruitful soil 
Requires no culture by a servile toil : 
No master's torturing lash offends the ear, 
No slave is now, nor ever shall be, here. 

Our poet is now fairly launched on a theme which arouses his 
hottest indignation. His hatred of oppression blazes forth in 
every line. He loses sight altogether of the scenery of the Saco, 
forgets the avowed subject of his verse, and ransacks all history 
to afford materials for his picture of " man's inhumanity to 
man." These are mostly accumulated in the appendix, but they 
appear also in his verse : 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 151 

O'er slavery's plagues, ye happy freeman, pause, 

And learn to love your country and its laws. 

See how oppression, ever since the flood, 

Has filled the earth with tears and groans and blood ; 

See the poor Negro, happy in his home ; 

Observe the man-thieves through his country roam ; 

Behold him seized, from wife and children borne, 

From country, freedom, friends, forever torn, 

Yok'd like the ox, and forced through burning sands, 

To seek the distant shore, o'er desert lands, 

Then, with some hundred kidnapp'd wretches more, 

Stowed in to fill the noisome vessel's store. 

Resolved on death, in sullen, fierce despair, 

He strives by suicide to end his care ; 

But watchful keepers guard from that relief, 

And save his hated life for deeper grief, 

For other tyrants, other modes of pain, 

For trade and traffic, anything for gain. 

The poet then turns to the experience of Greece and Rome, 
and he utters the following prophetic warning which has been so 
amply fulfilled in our day : 

Avenging Justice follows after crime, 
And sure o'ertakes it in the lapse of time. 
Oppressed humanity its chains will spurn, 
And meanest slaves upon their tyrants turn. 

Should lawless Rule, aspiring here to reign, 
Fair Freedom's holy empire dare profane, 
Thus o'er our fields would rush the crimson flood, 
And every spot be drenched with tides of blood. 

Turning to the appendix, we find him thus pleading the cause 
of the Negro: "But they are men, and no plea of private 
advantage or public policy can justify their enslavement, or 
palliate the enormities committed in stealing them from their 
native country, subduing them to obedience, and working them 
as if they were beasts in human shape. ... It is idle to talk of 
legal restraints upon men whose crimes are witnessed only by 
accomplices or sufferers, of the former of whom the testimony 
would be evasive through interest and corruption, of the latter, 
excluded by law. Indeed when you have given power, you will 
legislate in vain about its exercise, and if you tolerate servitude, 
you cannot separate from it the horrors of barbarous tyranny." 



152 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

These are true and forceful words, and when we consider 
that they were uttered seventy-four years ago, when as yet no 
voice had been raised against slavery in this land, and to doubt 
its sacredness was the one unpardonable crime, we are all the 
more struck with the high sense of justice and hatred of oppres- 
sion which ever characterized their author. 

From the woes of the slave the poet goes on to speak of the 
cruelty of shooting song birds, and in reference to the cruel 
forest and game laws of England, he says : 

ne'er shall our yeoman's soil 

Be subject to a tyrant's lawless spoil ; 

Ne'er shall the pasture and the cultured field, 

Subsistence to the deer be forced to yield ; 

And flocks and herds deprived of their support, 

To spread extensive parks for royal sport ; 

But the prerogative of each shall be 

That NONE BE PRIVILEGED AND THAT ALL BE FREE. 

With these ringing lines the poet gladly turns from the 
contemplation of nature which he has not too closely followed 
to the consideration of man in his various social aspects. He 
leaves his little "village" and launches out upon the wide sea of 
human society, yet still holds to it by the slender thread that 
" the epitome of all is there. " It is very evident, however, that 
he did not confine his views of human nature to what he saw 
and learned in "that little village of the plain." He ranges 
wide o'er all "this scene of man," and draws largely upon 
history for his examples. 

The poet visits his indignation upon those who would deny 
to woman the higher education, deemed by many in his day 
beyond her needs or capacities, he being in this true to his 
habitual condemnation of everything looking like the denial of 
the rights of any human being : 

Still would it seem the base, degrading plan 

Of selfish, proud and domineering man, 

By education trifling and confined, 

To check the progress of the female mind. 

" A learned woman ! I would spend my life 

As soon with fierce Erinnys for my wife ; 

' Tis ours to cull the sweets which science yields, 

And range alone its vastly varied fields ; 

From female weakness, far be such affairs ; 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 153 



Its only province is domestic cares ; 
These woman ne'er should seek to soar above, 
For lovely woman's made for these and love." 
The Christian tyrant's Turkish doctrine this, 
Fatal to love, and foe to human bliss ; 
For know that Beauty's all-subduing charms, 
Secures no conquest without mental arms ; 
The fair complexion and the eye's bright glance, 
And pleasing form may conquer in advance ; 
But wit's munitions, discipline of Thought, 
With Caution's panoply, by Prudence wrought, 
And virtue to withstand seduction's shocks, 
Secure and strong as proud Gibraltar's rocks, 
Must be combined to form the perfect whole, 
And give complete dominion of the soul. 

The poet now turns to man and introduces him first in the 
character of the lawyer : 

First comes the lawyer; 'tis an honored name, 
A title glorious on the roll of Fame ; 
Too dear for wealth, which birth cannot bestow, 
Or flattery wreathe around a lordling's brow; 
A title from the fane of science borne, 
By weary vigils earned, by Wisdom worn, 
Of import vast, in which the honors blend 
Of Honor's champion, and of Freedom's friend; 
Yet Justice fails the sacred name to save 
From profanation of the fool and knave, 
Who, jackdaws still, the peacock's pomp assume, 
And strut in pride with half a pilfered plume. 

Having thus honored the profession, the poet plies his lash 
upon the pettifogger in this pitiless fashion : 

So various the concerns of human kind, 

No code can circle their prodigious range, 

Apply to all, and follow as they change. 

To break them, therefore, and be still secure, 

To find out legal ways to grind the poor, 

To cheat the honest, and the rogue to aid, 

Has grown an odious, pettifogging trade. 

Prompt with demurrers, skillful in abatements, 

To circumvention trained, and bold in statements, 

Each villain's hireling, used by every knave, 

Of meanest wretches e'en a meaner slave, 

To rob too cowardly, too proud to steal, 

The pettifogger preys on public weal, 



154 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

And makes some justice, a commissioned fool, 
For paltry aims a secret legal tool, 
Or deeper cheats, to gain him larger fees, 
Performs by quibbles, sophistry and pleas. 

This is severe enough, but there is much more to the same 
effect. If we are to suppose the satirist painted from real life, 
the village lawyer of half a century ago was a despicable char- 
acter indeed. But, as I have said, the poet evidently drew his 
material from a wide survey of mankind, and his noble scorn of 
all meanness caused him to paint in strong colors all dereliction 
from his own high standard. To the honest lawyer he pays due 
tribute : 

When blessed with soul and gifted with a mind, 
(And such there are), we honest lawyers find, 
Those whose high office is to guard the laws, 
And vindicate from wrong the righteous cause, 
We yield the meed of merited applause. 

But for the country justice he has no mercy. His portrait pro- 
bably had many originals in his day : 

'Squire Quirk, the justice, to dispense the laws, 
Sits in the pride of power to judge the cause, 
Grave as an owl in solemn state presides, 
And as sly Yarus bids, the cause decides : 
Vain all authorities, and justice vain, 
Not Dexter' s self a single point could gain : 
Cold as the snows which freeze around the pole, 
No eloquence could warm his frigid soul ; 
Dark as the shades of Milton's Stygian night, 
His mind admits no glimmering ray of light ; 
Too dull for reasoning, and too proud for shame, 
No power can move him from his steadfast aim. 

In like manner the poet reviews the clerical and medical 
professions, mercilessly lashing the quack ; dwells on the evils 
of intemperance, exposes the dangers of party spirit, and antici- 
pating the complaints of the civil-service reformers, thus portrays 
the arts of the politician : 

Some meanly selfish, a more venal crew, 
With naught but power or riches in their view, 
While frowning virtue interdicts in vain, 
Use basest means the favorite end to gain. 
At patriot merit slander's shafts they aim, 
With vacant heads and noisy tongues declaim, 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 



155 



Decry the statesman, puff the stupid knave, 
Support the traitor, stigmatize the brave, 
Call wisdom folly, Honor's self defame, 
Discolor truth and everything misname. 
And why? Forsooth a rival to disgrace, 
To win a salary or to steal a place. 

Elections, it would seem, were not more pure in those days 
than in ours : 

Alas ! Caprice, too oft, election rules, 

Too oft preferment falls to rogues and fools. 

Judge not by honors, learn the thing to scan, 

And separate the officer and man. 

Creature of form, exterior, and parade, 

Too oft the officer by fraud is made ; 

Some fourteenth cousin, potent in the state, 

Formed him his tool, and placed him with the great. 

After these specimens Gov. Lincoln's powers as a satirist will 
not, I think, be denied. His high standards of public as well as 
private conduct are seen in his portrait of the patriot : 

Aloof, the Patriot eyes the scene below, 

With calm contempt or with indignant glow. 

His wide philanthropy spreads unconfined, 

Beyond a party's bounds to all mankind; 

His liberal mind a general system frames, 

And in that system knows no private aims, 

No views to self, no patronage of friends, 

No mean contrivances for paltry ends. 

No factious tumults move his steadfast soul, 

No lures entice him, and no threats control ; 

Through changing times, midst all the scenes of state, 

As stern as Justice and as fixed as Fate, 

He stands sublime and nobly stems the storm 

Of Folly's rage and popular alarm, 

Till, all his greatness by the world confessed, 

Feared by the vicious, by the good caressed, 

He meets at last the meed he spurned to claim, 

The unsought prize of office and of fame. 

The poet now lays down his pen and bids a long farewell to 
the Muse : 

Reader, farewell! The humble lay is o'er, 

The "Village" bard's faint voice you'll hear no more. 

With bleeding heart he throws his harp away, 

To toil in Law and climb its rugged way. 



156 



MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



Accept, thou Muse, his long, his sad adieu. 
O, might he still the pleasing task pursue, 
He'd strive to reach at last your sacred spring, 
And strike with abler hand the tuneful string, 
Yield worthier offerings and a temple rear 
Which time might reverence and oblivion fear; 
And when, by Heaven's irrevocable doom, 
His frame should molder in the silent tomb, 
His voice might then from Echo's caves resound, 
And virtue listen to the grateful sound; 
But no! vain dreams! away! the client calls, 
The vision flies, the air-built fabric falls. 

I ought, perhaps, to apologize for detaining my hearers so long 
with these extracts from a forgotten poem, but I have felt it in 
some sort a patriotic duty to rescue it from oblivion as a highly 
creditable specimen of the early literature of our state. As 
such it seems to me, it deserves to be remembered. We must 
bear in mind that when this poem appeared in 1816, very little 
poetry had been writte n in America. Bryant's " Than atopsis " 
had appeared two years previous in the "North American 
Review." John Pierpont's " Airs of Palestine " appeared the 
same year. John Neal's " Battle of Niagara " came out in 1818, 
as did also Woodworth's poems, of which the "Old Oaken 
Bucket " still survives. Halleck did not publish anything beyond 
the newspapers until 1821. Our elder poet, Richard Henry 
Dana, did not appear in print until 1827. Longfellow, Whittier, 
Holmes, the illustrious trio who have given American poetry a 
place in the world's literature, were boys at school. Lowell and 
the younger brood who have followed the elder bards, were not 
born. So far as I know no poem of so wide scope and sustained 
length as " The Village," dealing with nature and with man in 
so many of their aspects, had then appeared in our land. As 
the production of a young man with no wide experience of the 
world, it must be considered remarkable, not only for its high 
standard of right, and its advanced moral sentiment, anticipating 
many of the reforms of our day, but also for its erudition and its 
evenly-sustained poetical merit. I have waded through many 
of the shorter productions of our earlier poets, and I can con- 
scientiously say that I should find it impossible to read two 
thousand consecutive lines of theirs. Yet I have perused this 
poem from beginning to end with interest and attention. While 



ENOCH LINCOLN. 157 

its author attempts no lofty, imaginative flights, he is always 
clear, strong, correct in versification, at times lyrical in expres- 
sion, and always has a fixed object in view. I have no means of 
knowiqg how this poem was received at the time of its publica- 
tion. It does not appear to have gained much attention in the 
literary world. Governor Lincoln's name has no place in the 
cyclopedias of American literature. Undoubtedly the fact that 
it was published anonymously in a small provincial town, such as 
Portland then was, had much to do with its falling into obscurity. 
Then its great length would deter many from reading it. This 
is due to the diffuseness with which the author treats his topics. 
Not content with making his point, he, with a lawyer-like habit, 
restates it and wanders wide over all collateral themes. With 
greater conciseness, not so much in expression as in treatment, 
this would have been a very readable poem. As it is, it justifies 
the poet's aspiration in his closing lines, and one sympathizes 
with his regret in throwing aside the harp, which he seems never 
again to have taken up. 



CAPITAL TRIALS IN MAINE. 159 



CAPITAL TRIALS IN MAINE 

BEFORE THE SEPARATION. 
Bead before the Maine Historical Society, May 25, 1883. 

BY JOSEPH WILLIAMSON. 

THE feudal charter granted by King Charles i. to Sir Ferdi- 
nando Gorges in 1639 gave him as lord palatine almost absolute 
power. Under it a recorder's court for the city of Gorgana 
was established, having jurisdiction over all criminal offenses, 
and from whose judgments no appeal could be taken. It is pre- 
sumed that a trial by jury was allowed; but whether as a matter 
of right is -uncertain, as but few particulars exist as to the modes 
of procedure. The first capital case before this novel tribunal 
was that of a woman charged with murdering her husband in 
1644. A quaint account of the affair is thus given by Governor 
Winthrop of Massachusetts : 

" One Cornish, dwelling for some time in Weymouth, removed 
to Acomenticus for more outward accommodation, and last 
month was taken up in the river, his head bruised, and a pole 
sticking in his side, and his canoe laden with clay found sunk. 
His wife coming to her husband, he bled abundantly. The 
woman was arraigned before the mayor, Mr. Roger Garde, and 
others of the Province of Maine, and strong presumptions came 
in against her, whereupon she was condemned and executed. 
She persisted in the denial of the murder to the death." 

From this brief report it would seem that conviction was 
established more by superstition than by legal evidence. Although 
the ancient trial by ordeal never existed in America, it was 
imagined, down to a much later period than the time of Gorges, 
that touching the body of one killed would prove the guilt or in- 
nocence of the accused. Such miraculous interposition is sanc- 
tioned by King James i. of England, in his " Demonology," 
written in 1597, as follows : " In a secret murther, if the dead 
body be at any time thereafter handled by the murtherer, it will 



160 MAINE HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 

gush out blood, as if the blood were crying to heaven for revenge ; 
God having appointed that secret supernatural sign for trial 
of that secret unnatural crime." The delusion was generally 
accepted as truth by the New England colonies. 

Under the date of June 30, 1647, the York Records show the 
following proceedings in the case of Charles Frost, who was 
indicted at the General Court held at Saco : " Whereas, there 
was slain Warwick Heard, of Sturgeon Creek, by Charles Frost 
(who) does stand here presented and indicted, that he feloni- 
ously, contrary to the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, his 
Crown and Dignity, did, the 23d of March last, with a fowling- 
piece, murder the said Warwick Heard, not having the fear of 
God before his eyes: You are therefore to inquire whether it 
was willfully done with malice prepense, quarrel, by accident, or 
unawares or misadventure. 

"The jury find the killing was by misadventure, and Charles 
Frost quit by proclamation." 

The third capital trial in the province took place in 1666. 
Christopher Collins of Scarborough, an enterprising settler, and 
a man of considerable property, having died suddenly, suspicions 
were fastened upon James Robinson as his murderer. Robinson 
was arrested and tried at Casco. The verdict of the jury was 
" that the sayd Collins was slayne by misadventure, and culpable 
of his own death, and not upon anie former malice, and therefore 
the sd Jam es Robinson not guilty of murder." He does not now 
appear to have been held as entirely guiltless, for the records of 
the court show that he recognized to " sue over his pardon within 
a twelvemonth and a day." 

Upon the subjection of Maine to Massachusetts, in 1677, until 
1699, all offenses of magnitude were tried in Boston, and during 
nearly the whole of the next century the records of the Superior 
and Supreme Courts for the eastern counties were kept there. 
For this reason, local historians make little mention of crimes 
and punishments during that period, except where Indians were 
concerned. Under date of 1670, Judge Bourne's History of 
Kennebunk mentions " J. Pottle, the murderer," but gives no 
account of his trial, and the Life of Sir William Pepperell con- 
tains a letter from Governor Shirley concerning one Dearing, 
"a poor, condemned prisoner in York jail." "I am favored," 



CAPITAL TRIALS IN MAINE. 161 

the governor writes Sir William, u with yours per last post, in- 
closing Dearing's petition ; and have thereupon ordered the Sec- 
retary to make out a reprieve for him to September, which I 
hope he will improve to prepare himself for a better death, than, 
I fear from the heinous, unnatural offense for which he is con- 
demned, his life has. been. However, I shall pay so much further 
regard to his petition, since he intimates that the court and jury 
were deceived by the evidence produced against him, as to in- 
quire into the circumstances of it from his judges." This was 
probably William Bearing of Scarborough, who, in 1749, in a fit 
of sudden passion, murdered his wife with an ax. No provoca- 
tion had been offered on the part of Mrs. Dearing, who was an 
amiable woman, and a worthy member of the church. South- 
gate's History says that remorse for his crime rendered the mur- 
derer insane, and he ended his life by suicide. 

In June, 1735, Patience Sampson, otherwise called Patience 
Boston, an Indian, was brought before the supreme court of 
judicature, at York, charged with the murder of Benjamin Trot 
of Falmouth, a child of about eight years of age, whom she 
drowned in a well, July 9, 1784. She went immediately and 
accused herself "before one of His Majesties Justices of the 
Peace, continuing her self-accusation from first to last, even on 
her trial." The sentence of death was pronounced on the 
twenty-fourth of June, and carried into effect on the following 
thirty-first of July. 

Among the treasures of the Prince Collection, is a quaint 
pamphlet containing her " Confession, Declaration, Dying Warn- 
ing and Advice," signed by Samuel Moody, Joseph Moody and 
William Allen, ministers of York and vicinity, and others, who 
attended the prisoner in her last hours, and bore testimony to 
what they termed " her conversion, and the Work of Grace upon 
her heart." 

Between 1740 and 1757, five indictments for capital crimes 
were found in York County, viz., against George Necho, an 
Indian, in 1740, Edmund Browne, in 1740, John Seymore, in 
1746, David Doughty, in 1747, and Edmund Torrey in 1756. 
The proceedings upon them are not found'in the clerk's office. 

In 1749, an affray took place near Wiscasset, between several 
white men and some of the Canabas tribe, in which one Indian 
11 



162 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

was killed and two severely wounded. Three of the former, 
named Obadiah Albee jr., and Richard and Benjamin Holbrook, 
were taken into custody, and being removed to the jail in York, 
were indicted for murder at a special term of court, held by 
resolve, during the last week in February, 1750. Albee was 
acquitted, but the court being dissatisfied with the verdict, 
ordered a change of venue to Middlesex County for a trial of the 
others ; the relatives of the deceased, the wounded Indians, and 
the chief of the tribe being invited to attend. No trial, how- 
ever, took place, although the prisoners were remanded to York 
for further proceedings. So strongly seated was the feeling of 
resentment against the Indians, that no white person, even in 
times of profound peace, could be convicted for killing one of 
them: it being found impossible to impanel a jury not contain- 
ing some members who had suffered from savage depredations, 
either in their persons, families or estates. 

The first capital trial in Cumberland County, took place in 
1772, when one Solomon Goodwin was convicted of murder. 
Smith's Journal relates that he was charged with throwing a 
man overboard from a boat. Some doubt of his guilt existed, 
but after several reprieves, he was executed in November, fol- 
lowing the commitment of the crime. A great concourse of 
people, said to have been the largest ever assembled in Fal- 
mouth, collected on the occasion. Rev. Mr. Clark of Cape 
Elizabeth preached a sermon to the multitude, in presence of 
the prisoner. 

In September of the same year, William Tate of Falmouth, 
was indicted for killing his wife. He had connected a loaded 
gun for thieves, with the door of his storehouse ; his wife 
attempting to open the door, received the contents of the gun, 
causing her immediate death. Tate pleaded guilty, but when 
brought up for sentence produced the king's pardon, and was 
discharged. 

In 1773, an indictment was found in Cumberland County 
against Joseph Weare for a capital offense. It is not known 
whether he was tried. 

During the revolution, two men in Maine were tried by court- 
martial, and sentenced to death. The first was James McCor- 
mick of North Yarmouth, a soldier in Arnold's expedition 



CAPITAL TRIALS IN MAINE. 163 

against Quebec. In a quarrel, he shot and killed one Reuben 
Bishop at Fort Weston, now Augusta. He was reprieved by 
the commanding officer, and sent to Washington at Cambridge. 
The other, one Jeremiah Baum of Damariscotta was accused, in 
1780, of conducting a marauding British party through the back 
settlements. Martial law then prevailed in that section, and 
General Wadsworth, who commanded the eastern department, 
had proclaimed death as the penalty for giving aid or comfort to 
the enemy. Baum's trial took place at the general's quarters in 
Thomaston. He was found guilty and ordered to be hung. 
Being of feeble intellect, and as many thought, scarcely responsi- 
ble, his sentence was generally regarded as a mere feint, to 
frighten him and prevent a repetition of the crime. Many patri- 
ots interceded for his pardon. But the crisis demanded deci- 
sion ; an example was necessary, and Wadsworth remained 
inflexible. On the day after his sentence, his execution took 
place on Limestone hill, where the state prison now stands. 
Friends of the revolution regretted the exercise of such severity 
upon so manifestly inoffensive a victim. 

At the annual term of the Supreme Judicial Court for Lincoln 
County, in 1788, John O'Neil was tried for the murder of 
Michael Cleary. Both were Irishmen, and lived together at 
Pemaquid Falls. The crime was committed for money, which 
was found in the possession of O'Neil, and which he pretended 
had been given him by the deceased. The body showed bruises 
about the head, and one deep cut, supposed to have been caused 
by an ax, or an iron bar. O'Neil claimed that the wounds re- 
sulted from a fall. At the coroner's inquest he told several 
inconsistent and contradictory stories to account for the facts. 

Three judges composed the court, Hon. William Gushing, 
chief justice, and associate justices Nathaniel P. Sargent and 
David Sewall. William Lithgow of Hallowell, and George 
Thacher of Biddeford were assigned as counsel for the accused. 

Soon after the trial, an account of it appeared in a newspaper, 
of which the following is an extract : 

Thi&heing the first capital crime in the county, it drew together a 
numerous concourse of spectators ; the solemnity of the occasion was 
still heightened by the able and spirited defence of General Lithgow. 
The trial took up the most part of the day, and when the jury returned 



164 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

they declared they could not agree. One of them, a good man, seemed 
to think he ought not to give his voice against the prisoner, because 
there was no positive evidence. The chief justice then gave them some 
further instructions, after which they retired for a few moments only, 
and brought in a verdict of guilty. 

Before court adjourned, O'Neil received his sentence, in pur- 
suance of which he was executed at Pownalboro, on the first day 
of October, 1788. 

The statement that this was the first capital trial in Lincoln 
County is questionable. Crimes meriting the extreme penalty 
of the law were of frequent occurrence in that part of Maine, 
both before and during the revolution. The Rev. Jacob Bailey, 
writing from Pownalboro, in 1773, says: "We have a man 
nanled Carter (probably McCarthy) in jail for the murder of 
Josiah Parker. The prisoner has -no chance for his life. Since 
my residence here (1760) five or six murders have been com- 
mitted on Kennebec river, and neither of the murderers nor the 
persons killed ever frequented any Divine worship. Indictments 
for capital crimes were found in that county against Benjamin 
Ledilo (1761), Jonathan Sampson (1770), Daniel McCarthy 
(1773), and Andrew Cancalus (1776). "No record of their dispo- 
sition exists at Wiscasset. 

In 1789, George Pierce of Otisfield was tried at Portland, for 
killing John Mclntosh. The parties had quarreled ; words 
ensued; Mclntosh approached Pierce with clinched fists, and 
the latter struck him on the head with a mallet, causing his 
death. Pierce was convicted of jnan-slaughter, it appearing that 
he acted in self-defence. The prisoner was tried before Chief 
Justice Sargent, and Judges Sewall and Paine. 

The next two trials were also in Portland ; one being for mur- 
der and piracy, and the other for arson. Of them, Mr. Willis 
gives the following account : 

Thomas Bird and Hans Hanson, one an Englishman, the other a 
Swede, had murdered the master of a small vessel on the coast of Africa, 
in 1789, and brought her into Casco bay, where they commenced a traffic 
with the inhabitants of Cape Elizabeth. They were arrested and bound 
over to the Supreme Court. Before the next session, the jurisdiction of 
maritime causes having been transferred by the states to the United 
States, the trial was had in the District Court held in Portland, in May, 
1790. The prisoners were defended by John Frothingham and William 



CAPITAL TRIALS IN MAINE. 165 

Symmes. William Lithgow, District Attorney, represented the govern- 
ment. To gratify an excited public curiosity, the trial took place in Dr. 
Smith's meeting-house. At the close of the first day, the jury rendered 
a verdict of guilty against Bird, but acquitted Hanson, who was only 
nineteen years old. Sentence of death was impressively pronounced 
by Judge Sewall, which was carried into effect on Bramhall's hill, on the 
25th of June following, in the presence of several thousand persons; 
that being the first execution under the laws of the United States. 

At the July term of the Supreme Court, 1791, two boys, James Todd 
and Francis Hilton, were tried for arson. They were charged with 
burning a dwelling-house in New Gloucester. One of them had con- 
fessed having committed the crime. They were defended by Theophilus 
Parsons, afterward chief justice, who procured an acquittal on the 
ground that the confession was extorted, and not voluntary; there being 
no other direct evidence against them. 

In 1792, Joshua Abbott was convicted of murder in York. 
No account of the trial has been found. Preparatory to his 
execution, sermons were preached to him by the Rev. Matthew 
Merriam of Berwick and the Rev. Dr. Buckminster of Ports- 
mouth, after which his pardon was read by the sheriff. The 
indictment of Henry McCausland for murder, in 1793, at 
Augusta, then a half-shire of Lincoln County, excited much 
interest. The prisoner was an ignorant laborer, residing in 
Pittston, who became insane upon religious subjects. He was 
thought harmless, but finally had become impressed that the Lord 
had commanded him in a vision to make a burnt-offering and a 
sacrifice. The offering was to be in the Episcopal church in 
Gardiner, and the sacrifice a woman named Warren, who lived 
near. Accordingly, in August, 1793, he set fire to the church, 
an humble, unfurnished wooden edifice, and it was destroyed. It 
only then remained to perform the sacrifice. Two months after 
the burnt-offering, at midnight, he entered the house where the 
victim was watching a sick person, and deliberately murdering 
her with a knife, escaped without obstruction. The next day, a 
great crowd, some of them armed, came after him, but he offered 
no resistance, and was quietly secured. On being arraigned, he 
pleaded guilty. The chief justice stated to him the nature of 
the plea, and suggested a substitution of not guilty. He replied 
that he killed the woman, and did not like to tell a lie about it. 
The court did not then record the plea, but remanded him. On 
the following day, a retraction of the plea was again proposed, 



166 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

and rejected. Several witnesses were then examined as to his 
mental condition and conduct before, at the time of, and after 
the murder. He was never sentenced, and as there were then no 
insane asylums, he was committed to jail where he remained until 
his death, which occurred thirty-six years afterward, at the age 
of seventy. During his long confinement he was harmless and 
contented. 

In July, 1798, Jeremiah Pote of Falmouth was convicted of 
the murder of his wife, with a shovel, while he was in a fit of 
jealousy, aggravated by intoxication. He was sentenced to be 
executed, but died in Portland jail before the time appointed 
arrived. 

In May, 1 808, Joseph Drew and Levi Quimby were tried at 
Portland, for the murder of Ebenezer Parker at Falmouth, in 
January. Daniel Davis, solicitor general, represented the com- 
monwealth. The accused were defended by John Stephen 
Emery, Stephen Longfellow, and Prentiss Mellen. Parker, a 
deputy sheriff, in attempting to break and enter a shop where 
the prisoners were at work, to arrest Quimby on what proved an 
illegal execution, was struck by a bludgeon in the hands of 
Drew, thrown to the latter by Quimby ; receiving wounds which 
proved mortal. 

The prisoner's counsel argued that the offense was manslaughter 
and not murder ; that as the precept did not authorize an arrest, 
therefore Parker was a trespasser in breaking open the door, and 
bis entry might lawfully be resisted by Drew, who had possession 
of the shop. 

In reply, the solicitor general contended, that when the blow 
was received, the deceased had not given Drew any provocation, 
sufficient in law to reduce the homicide below the crime of 
murder. 

It was held by the court that the act of breaking open the 
door did not excuse the crime, because, where a trespass is bare- 
ly against the property of another, not against his dwelling- 
house, the owner is not justified in using a deadly weapon ; and 
if he do so, and death ensues, this will be murder, because it is 
an act of violence beyond the degree of provocation ; " but if the 
beating be with an instrument, and in a manner not likely to 
kill, and the trespasser should, notwithstanding, happened to be 



CAPITAL TKIALS IN MAINE. 167 

killed, it will be no more than manslaughter." As to the forci- 
bly breaking the shop door by Parker, in order unlawfully to 
arrest Quimby, the second provocation used, the court said "it 
was a principle of law, that if any man, under color or claim of 
legal authority, unlawfully arrest, or actually attempt or offer 
to arrest another, and if he resist, and in the resistance kill the 
aggressor, it will be manslaughter." And so as to any one "aid- 
ing the injured party by endeavoring to rescue him, or to prevent 
an illegal arrest, when actually attempted." It was held that 
when Parker received his death-wound, he had not arrested 
Quimby, nor had he in fact offered or attempted to do so. 

After a long and laborious trial, which took place in the 
meeting-house of the second parish, Drew was convicted of mur- 
der upon the ground that the officer had not even offered to 
arrest Quimby when the blow was inflicted, and that the 
bludgeon used was a deadly weapon. The jury acquitted 
Quimby, not being satisfied that he threw the weapon to furnish 
Drew with a deadly instrument to assault the deceased. 

On the last day of the term, Drew was brought up to receive 
his sentence, when his council moved a delay of judgment, be- 
cause they had evidence that a material government witness had 
declared before the trial, that he would hang the prisoner by his 
testimony if he could ; and because one of the jury did not agree 
to find the prisoner guilty of murder, but only of manslaughter ; 
and through mistake of his duty, he believed that he must assent 
to the verdict of the major part of the jury. The court observed 
that these allegations, if proved, could not avail the prisoner on 
any legal principles, by which alone the court must be bound, but 
if they supported any equitable claims to favor, he might apply 
to the supreme executive, who had discretion in the matter. 
Judgment of death was then pronounced against Drew, and he 
was executed on the twenty-first day of July following, walking 
from the prison in the rear of the courthouse to the gallows 
near the observatory, a full half-mile, with sheriff Waite on one 
side, and the Rev. Mr. Bradley of Stroudwater on the other. 

Early in the present century, much trouble arose in portions 
of the country between the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, by 
a class of people called squatters ; " men who," to quote the lan- 
guage of the late John H. Sheppard, esq., " either without color 



168 - MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

or title, or under implied grants from pretended agents or spec- 
ulators, have entered upon lots, cleared them up, built houses, 
and raised families. Numerous lawsuits, ejectments and quarrels 
were the result. Many of these settlers believed that i the higher 
law' the law of conscience justified any measures, even the 
shedding of blood, in defense of their clearings against the 
proprietors, and combinations for resistance were formed." The 
difficulties culminated, in 1809, in the murder of Paul Chadwick, 
while assisting a surveyor in Malta, now Windsor. He was way- 
laid and shot by an armed party consisting of Elijah Barton and 
others, disguised as Indians. Eight of their number, including 
Barton, were arrested, and lodged in Augusta jail. Their rescue 
was attempted, and the militia was called out for protection. 
At the October term of the Supreme Court, the prisoners were 
indicted for murder, and a special session for the trial was held 
during that month. Chief Justice Sedgwick and Associate 
Judges Sewall, Thacher and Parker were present. Samuel S. 
Wilde of Hallowell and Prentiss Mellen of Portland were 
engaged in defence, while Daniel Davis, solicitor general, 
appeared for the government. The defendants elected to be 
tried together. 

The trial occupied ten days, and forty-four witnesses were exam- 
ined. The fact of guilt was proved beyond any reasonable 
doubt, at least against some of the prisoners. All of them had 
been recognized in Indian disguise, on the afternoon of the 
murder, near the place where it was committed. Seven vol- 
untarily confessed their participation in the crime. Two of 
their number were identified in the dying declaration of the 
deceased. 

Judge Parker charged the jury, who, after being out two days, 
to "the surprise of the court, bar and spectators, returned a ver- 
dict of not guilty. " Higher law " had prevailed. The court 
made some pertinent and judicious comments upon the extreme 
danger of setting aside the law of the land, and breaking down 
the partition walls between right and wrong; remarking that 
" the last prayer of a good citizen should be that the discreet 
integrity of jurymen may be as well preserved from the contam- 
inating influence of the threats or patronage of the great, as 
from the whimsical misguided current of public opinion. 



CAPITAL TKIALS IN MAINE. 169 

The effect of this trial, upon the whole, was salutary in induc- 
ing a spirit of conciliation and an acquiescence in the justice of 
the quieting and remedial statute, passed two years previously, 
known as the " Betterment Act." 

The first capital trial east of Lincoln County took place at 
Castine, in 1811, before the Supreme Judicial Court for the 
counties of Hancock and Washington. Ebenezer Ball of Rob- 
bin ston was the party accused. He was charged with shooting 
one John S. Downes of Robbinston, who had an illegal warrant 
against him. His counsel, William Crosby and Nathaniel Coffin, 
claimed that the conduct and pursuit of the deceased were 
such a provocation as reduced the offense from murder to man- 
slaughter, and that there was an attempt to arrest, without legal 
authority, which must have the same effect. In several particu- 
lars, the case resembled that against Drew and Quimby, which 
was tried three years before at Portland. The judges, who were 
Sewall, Thatcher and Parker, severally addressed the jury. 
They took a particular view of the evidence produced, and 
agreed that " the facts essential to maintain the indictment were 
fully proved by uncontradictory testimony." They also agreed 
that the warrant, by virtue of which the deceased intended to 
arrest the prisoner, was entirely void, and that he must be con- 
sidered as having pursued the prisoner with the intention of 
arresting him without lawful authority. The court also stated 
to the jury the law to be clear, " that if one arrests or attempts 
to arrest another, without lawful authority, and is killed, the 
homicide may be manslaughter, but cannot be murder." The 
only point on which the court differed in opinion was whether 
there was any evidence of an attempt to arrest. 

Two of the court in their charge to the jury stated, that 
though an intention to arrest was manifest, there was no evi- 
dence of an actual arrest, or an attempt to effect it. The true 
definition of an attempt to arrest, as contradistinguished from 
an intention to arrest, being that the assailant should be within 
reach of the object of his pursuit, and actually proceeding to lay 
hands on him ; in like manner as to constitute an assault, which 
is an offense short of a battery, the party must be so near that 
his design to strike may take effect, if he be not intercepted. 

Judge Sewall delivered it as his opinion to the jury, that the 



170 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

circumstances would authorize them to believe there was an 
attempt to arrest, and if they did believe it, they ought to convict 
only of manslaughter. 

The jury retired about ten o'olock at night, and in the fore- 
noon of the next day returned a verdict of guilty, when Judge 
Sewall, after a very eloquent and pathetic address to the prison- 
er, pronounced against him the sentence of the law. 

It was then stated by Judge Sewall that as a difference of 
opinion had appeared among the members of the court, upon an 
important question of law, the case would be stated to the chief 
justice for his opinion and if either of the judges continued of 
an opinion upon the question favorable to the prisoner, a state- 
ment of the case, with the several reasons would be laid before 
the executive. 

The chief justice concurred with his associates who thought 
that the crime, as proved, amounted to murder, and Judge 
Sewall, after due consideration, adopted the same view. There- 
fore the court offered nothing in mitigation of punishment, and 
the sentence was carried into effect. 

Four years afterward, Castine became the scene of another 
capital trial. Moses Adams, sheriff of the county of Hancock, 
who had officiated at the execution of Ball, was arraigned upon 
an indictment charging him with a more atrocious crime than 
that for which the latter suffered. Adams resided in Ellsworth. 
He was a physician of good reputation, a graduate of Harvard 
College, and a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. 
On the afternoon of the twelfth day of May, 1815, his wife was 
found murdered with an ax, in her house. No cause for the 
crime on the part of the accused was shown. He had been 
noticed walking rapidly from the premises about two hours before 
the body was seen, according to several witnesses. Others 
called it later. His absence during that intervening time was 
satisfactorily accounted for, His clothes exhibited marks of 
blood. He claimed that money had been stolen from his desk. 

Chief Justice Parker, and Judges Thacher and Jackson held 
the court. Attorney General Morton represented the govern- 
ment. By request of the prisoner, Samuel S. Wilde and Pren- 
tiss Mellen were assigned as his counsel, who claimed in, defense, 
that the deed was committed by a thief, who robbed the house ; 



CAPITAL TRIALS IN MAINE. 171 

that the stains in the clothes were acquired in his surgical prac- 
tice, and that the vital heat of the body and the unclotted 
appearance of the blood, excluded the theory of guilt, as Adams 
had proved an alibi for two hours before the discovery of the 
murder was made. The evidence, however, developed wide 
inconsistencies as to time, as to the state of the body, as to 
warmth, when found, and to the dryness of the blood. In 
charging the jury, Judge Jackson remarked : "The prisoner 
was on that day, in such a situation that he had opportunity to 
perpetrate this deed. It was possible that he did it. This is a 
necessary step, although a very short one, towards a conviction. 
Even if it were more probable that he did it than any other per- 
son, such a probable presumption is never sufficient to affect the 
life of any party accused." The chief justice and Judge 
Thacher observed, that they had intended to have charged the 
jury; but as they concurred entirely in what had been said by 
Judge Jackson, they should omit it, and would only add that the 
question was not whether the jury were entirely satisfied of the 
innocence of the prisoner ; but whether he was proved to be 
guilty. 

After two hours deliberation, a verdict of not guilty was 
returned. From the high social standing of the accused and 
his murdered wife, and the wickedness of the crime, the trial 
attracted more than ordinary interest. The meeting-house, in 
which it took place, was crowded, and during a panic which 
ensued from a fear that the galleries were breaking down, sev- 
eral persons were injured. John Bulfinch, who is, now living in 
Waldoboro, at the advanced age of ninety years, and who, with 
the exception of our venerable associate, John Mussey,* is now 
the oldest lawyer in Maine, reported the proceedings which were 
published in a pamphlet. 

Public opinion did not sustain the acquittal of Dr. Adams. 
His character was destroyed, and he soon sought obscurity in a 
remote settlement, where after many years of physical suffering 
he died in 1839.t 

*Mr. Mussey has deceased since the reading of this paper at the advanced age of ninety 
six years. 

t After his acquittal Dr. Adams lived for many years on a farm in "Number 8" on the 
stage road, and about half-way between Ellsworth and Bangor. It is the same farm men- 
tioned by Llewellyn Deane, esq., in his paper in this number upon the character and 
public services of his father, John G-. Deane, as the place of residence of William Jel- 
lison, visited by that writer in his boyhood. It stood near the top of a long ridge or 
hill of mostly cleared land, whence a wide view was had of gleaming ponds, * 



172 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

The last capital trial before the separation was in Castine. It 
was that of Peol Susup, an Indian of the Penobscot tribe, who, 
when intoxicated, killed William Knight, an innkeeper at Ban- 
gor. The latter had ejected him from the door, and endeavored 
to drive him away. Susup admitted his guilt, but pleaded not 
guilty to a charge of murder. The trial took place at the June 
term of the Supreme Court, in 1817, before Chief Justice Parker 
and Associate Justices Thatcher, Putnam and Wilde. According 
to the position urged by Mellen and Williamson, his counsel, the 
verdict was manslaughter. In mitigation of sentence, John Nep- 
tune, an Indian of the Penobscot tribe, deliberately addressed 
the judges in an impressive speech of several minutes. He used 
broken English, yet every word was distinctly heard and easily 
understood. His gestures were frequent and forcible; his 
manner solemn ; and a breathless silence pervaded the whole 
assembly. 

Susup was sentenced to imprisonment, and required to find 
sureties for keeping the* peace. 

by the everywhere spreading forests of lofty wooded hills and by the purple masses of 
the Mount Desert mountains. The house was kept as a hotel, post-office and relay for 
the daily stage-coach service, and its comfortable and capacious rooms, its neat portico, 
green blinds and white paint, the numerous barns and out-buildings, and especially the 
extensive and fruitful orchard starred with yellow and crimson apples, are well remem- 
bered as affording one of the pleasantest resting-places in the long journey from home to 
college, which used in old times to consume the better part of a week. Of course it 
devolved upon to "mine host" tell to each inquisitive traveler the tragic story of his 
predecessor, and he was wont to show in the hearth of the public room a circular hole 
drilled nearly through the brick, v here for hours and hours the poor doctor, oppressed 
with painful memorips, sat by the fireside and with one hand supporting his sad face, 
with the other hand slowly twirled the tongs back and forth with a monotonous grinding. 



ENTEKPKISE AND BOXEE. 173 



LETTER 

ACCOMPANYING THE GIFT OF A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE BRIG "BOXER." 
BY FRITZ H. JORDAN. 

Bead before the Maine Historical Society, May %8, 1885. 

PORTLAND, May 27, 1885. 
Mr. II. W. Bryant^ Secretary Maine Historical Society : 

I PRESENT to the Society herewith a framed photograph of the 
brig " Boxer " as she appeared when entering the port of Mar- 
seilles in 1815. With the exception of some slight changes ren- 
dered necessary in fitting her for the merchant service this is, I 
think, an accurate representation of this famous brig, which was 
captured by the United States brig " Enterprise " a few miles to 
the southward and eastward of Seguin in the memorable action 
of Sept. 5, 1813, that, to quote from the inscription on the tomb 
of the gallant commander of the latter vessel, " contributed to 
increase the fame of American valor." 

The "Enterprise," while notoriously a dull sailer and a poor 
working vessel,' had always been a very fortunate one. She was 
originally built in 1799, and was then a schooner of one hundred and 
thirty five tons, carrying a battery of twelve six-pounders and a 
crew of ninety men. In the war with Tripoli she engaged and cap- 
tured a Tripolitan cruiser of twice her size ; and later formed a part 
of Commodore Preble's fleet at the blockade and bombardment of 
Tripoli. Previous to the war of 1812 she had been rebuilt, en- 
larged and rigged as a brig. She then measured one hundred 
and sixty-five tons, was classed as a vessel of fourteen guns ; car- 
ried fourteen eighteen-pound carronades and two long nines, and 
was manned by a crew of ninety men. After the action with the 
" Boxer " she was employed as a guard ship at Charleston, South 
Carolina, and was lost at Little Curacoa, West Indies, in 1823. 
The early records of our custom house having been destroyed 
by t he burning of the Exchange in 1854, I have been unable to 



174 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

learn the exact tonnage of the " Boxer," but she is thought to 
have been about two hundred and twenty -five tons register. 

Our older citizens tell me that she was a very able, weatherly 
vessel and a fast sailer ; qualities which her picture would seem 
to indicate. Her armament consisted of twelve eighteen-pound 
carronades and two long sixes. The " Enterprise " was command- 
ed by Lieutenant William Burrows, a young man twenty-eight 
years of age, and was on a cruise on the coast of Maine. She 
entered Portland harbor the third of September, 1813, and 
sailed again the morning of the fourth. The next morning, 
at day-break, being Sunday, September 5, she saw the " Boxer " 
at anchor under Pemaquid. After maneuvering for some time 
to learn each other's size and armament, the two vessels engaged 
each other at three P.M. They were well matched. The " Box- 
er" was superior in men, tonnage and sailing qualities. The 
" Enterprise " was twenty-one pounds heavier in the weight of 
her broadside. The action lasted but forty-five minutes and was 
decided, as in the frigate actions of the same war, by the 
superior gunnery and seamanship of the American vessel ; for, 
while the " Enterprise " was hulled but once and with the excep- 
tion of some slight repairs to spars and rigging was ready for 
another action, the "Boxer " sustained very severe injuries. 
Captain Hull, who came here to represent the federal govern- 
ment, wrote to Commodore Bainbridge that she had eighteen 
round shot and an innumerable quantity of grape-shot in her 
hull and that her spars, rigging and sails were completely rid- 
dled. The " Enterprise " had two men killed and seven wound- 
ed. One of the former was her gallant commander ; and two 
of the latter died of their wounds. It is not known how many 
were killed on board the " Boxer," as some of the bodies were 
thrown overboard during the fight. Among the killed, however, 
was her commander, Captain Blythe, who was cut in two by a 
cannon ball early in the action. He was twenty-nine years old, 
and had but a short time before been a pall-bearer at the funeral 
of the gallant Lawrence at Halifax. 

The two vessels arrived at Portland harbor the next day ; and 
on \V ednesday, the eighth, the two captains were buried with 
the honors of war. Portland has seen few sights more impres- 
sive than this funeral pageant. The procession formed at the 



ENTERPRISE AND BOXER. 175 

court house at nine o'clock A.M., with Robert Ilsley and Levi 
Cutter, assisted by twelve others, as marshals and proceeded 
to Union wharf. The vessels lay in the stream and the bodies 
were brought on shore in barges of ten oars each, rowed by 
masters and mates, rowing minute strokes, minute guns be- 
ing fired from Forts Preble and Scammell. The procession 
was formed as follows : The escort consisted of three companies 
of militia, Captain Atherton of the Rifle Company being senior 
officer, then preceded by the marshals and the reverend clergy 
came the body of Lieutenant Burrows, with Captain Isaac Hull, 
of the frigate " Constitution " as chief mourner, and followed by 
the officers and. crew of the "Enterprise," then the body of 
Captain Blythe followed by the officers and crew of the " Boxer," 
then the selectmen, judges, consuls, officials of all kinds and cit- 
izens generally. The route of the procession was up Union 
wharf through Fore and Pleasant streets to High street and 
thence through Main and Middle streets to the Second Parish 
Church, where the funeral services were conducted by the Rev. 
Dr. Payson, and from thence to the Eastern cemetery where the 
bodies were entombed. 

This action was a source of much pride to our nation and has 
been commemorated in several seamen's songs, one of which 
beginning with 

There was an enterprising brig 
and with the refrain 

We boxed her into Portland, 
We boxed her off the town, 

is well known. 

Coming so soon after the capture of the " Chesapeake " by the 
" Shannon," in Massachusetts bay, it, in a measure, counteracted 
the despondency caused by her loss, and restored the prestige 
previously gained by the capture of the " Guerriere," the " Ma- 
cedonian," the " Frolic," and others. 

The "Boxer" was sold at marshal's sale, November 12, 1813, 
and was bought by Thomas Merrill, jr., for five thousand, six 
hundred dollars. He also bought ten carronades of her arma- 
ment and many articles of her inventory, some of which are still 
in possession of our family. The carronades are thought to have 
been sold to Bryant & Sturgis of Boston, and to have been put 



176 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

on board the privateer * Hyder All," which was built for them 
near the foot of High street, Portland. 

In 1814, there being danger of a British descent on the coast, 
the shipping in the harbor was taken above Vaughan's bridge ; 
guns were taken from the Portuguese ship "San Jose Indiano" 
(a prize to the privateer "Yankee"), and mounted on the 
" Boxer," which latter vessel was moored to protect the shipping 
and was manned by the Rifle Company. Happily the descent 
was not made. In 1815, the " Boxer" was refitted for the mer- 
chant service, went to New York and from thence sailed under 
letters of marque for Marseilles, under command of Captain 
William McLellan, father of our Ex-mayor Jacob McLellan. At 
Marseilles, Captain McLellan had the water-color painting made 
of which this photograph is a copy. This painting is now the 
property of Captain Jacob McLellan who has kindly allowed me 
to have it photographed. The name of the painter is unknown. 
He was, however, apparently an artist of no mean merit, and as 
it is known that he made accurate measurements of the vessel 
and spars, it is probable that he has given us a correct represen- 
tation of her as she then appeared. E(e has represented her as 
under top-sails, top-gallant sails, and jib with main try-sail scanda- 
lized, royal yards across and foresail and mainsail brailed up. 
She is on the starboard tack, with the walls and fortifications of 
Marseilles and a Mediterranean polacre in the distance. Her hull 
does not differ greatly in appearance from vessels built in the 
north of England twenty-five years ago. Her bowsprit is very 
long, her foremast stepped well forward and standing nearly 
straight, her mainmast rakes aft, peculiarities common at that 
day. Her waist is low, her deck is apparently flush. She shows 
seven ports on a side. At her peak is an American ensign of 
fifteen stripes, at her fore the private signal of Thomas Merrill 
jr., blue, white and blue in three vertical stripes. From the let- 
ter of Captain Hull, it is known that she had hammock nettings 
and a top-gallant forecastle ; these were, without doubt, removed 
when she was refitted, as they do not now appear ; her high cat- 
heads and knight-heads, hovever, still show. Her bottom is 
apparently wood-sheathed, probably to cover up plank injured 
by shot. 

This photograph has been much praised by several of our older 



ENTERPRISE AND BOXEK. 177 

shipmasters on account of its accuracy and life-like appearance 
and from its recalling to them many nautical appliances long 
since gone out of use. Her topsails are single, the weather 
leeches being hauled flat by fore and maintop bowlines, her 
cables are hemp, her anchors stowed well aft, her long boat is 
carried on deck amid-ships, she is apparently steered by a tiller. 

In connection with the repairs made to the -vessel there is a 
curious tradition in our family. Much of the material was of 
course unfit to use again and Mr. Merrill had some of the con- 
demned wood hauled to his house for fuel, when an old Scotch 
serving- woman employed as a domestic peremptorily refused to 
use it because it had human blood upon it. How the matter was 
settled is not known. After the " Boxer " returned from this voy- 
age she was sold to a Portuguese house and was employed by 
them for many years as a mail packet between the Cape de Verde 
islands and Lisbon. 

Capt. Jacob McLellan tells me that in 1825 he was second offi- 
cer of the ship " John " of Portland one hundred and seventy- 
five tons, employed in the African trade. On the outward pas- 
sage they made the Cape de Verde islands at dusk, and on enter- 
ing the harbor of Port Praya, after dark, were passed by a heavy 
brig outward bound ; this vessel they learned the next day was 
the " Boxer." What was her final end is not known, but she is 
thought to have been lost on the Brazil coast. 
Very respectfully, 

FRITZ H. JORDAN. 



12 



JOHN G. DEANE. 179 



JOHN G. DEANE. 
A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE, 

WITH A RECAPITULATION OF HIS SERVICES, IN ESTABLISHING 
THE NORTHEASTERN BOUNDARY OF MAINE. 

BY HIS SON, LLEWELLYN DEANE, OF WASHINGTON, D. C. 

Head before the Maine Historical Society, January 8, 1885. 

JOHN GILMORE DEANE was born in Raynham, Massachusetts, 
March 27, 1785. His parents were Joseph and Mary (Gilmore) 
Deane, both of whom were born and lived and died, in that 
town. 

He graduated at Brown University in the class of 1806 ; read 
law in Taunton, Massachusetts, with Judge Seth Padelford, and 
settled in Ellsworth, Maine, about 1810. He married, Septem- 
ber 13, 1810, Rebecca, who was born in Taunton, May 29, 1792, 
and was the youngest daughter of Judge Padelford and Rebecca 
(Dennis) his wife. 

Mr. Deane was admitted to practice as attorney in the Court 
of Common Pleas, Hancock county, in 1810, and, according to 
the rule in those days, four years later as counselor in the 
Supreme Court. For many years Hancock county was very 
large territorially. From 1810 to 1816, it included a portion of 
Penobscot county, and from 1810 to 1827, most of what is now 
Waldo county, as well as a part of the present Knox county. 
Castine was its shire town till February 17, 1837. Mr. Deane 
acquired a very extensive law practice, and was held in high 
esteem by the Court and Bar. He enjoyed the warm personal 
friendship of Simon Greenleaf, John Orr, Jacob McGaw, Wil- 
liam Abbott, Samuel Fessenden, William P. Preble, Thomas A. 
Deblois, Edward Kent, Joshua W. Hathaway, Prentiss Mellen, 



180 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

George Herbert, Charles S. Daveis, and most of the judges and 
leading lawyers of the state in the earlier period of its history. 
He was an assiduous student of the law, and became well versed 
in its principles, but he had besides a fine taste for general litera- 
ture, and his style of composition was remarkably pure and grace- 
ful. His law library was a very large one for the period when 
he was in practice, and comprised the standard text-books, and 
the principal American and English reports, and he gathered, 
during his life a very good miscellaneous library of the best and 
standard works in history, poetry and fiction. He was a sub- 
scriber to the North American Review from its first issue. 

Mr. Deane undoubtedly held some town offices, but as the 
records of Ellsworth were destroyed by fire some years ago, it is 
not now possible to say what offices he filled, or when he was the 
incumbent of the same. It appears by official papers in the Mas- 
sachusetts State House that, in 1813, he was one of the select- 
men who signed the petition to reimburse the town of Ellsworth 
for the expenses of the militia, ordered out to suppress the riot 
in Castine, in July, 1813. 

He was connected with the militia organizations during his 
earlier professional life, and was in brief service as an officer dur- 
ing the war of 1812. He subsequently rose to the position of 
lieutenant colonel in the militia, and in his later years was com- 
monly known as " Colonel " Deane. 

He had a great fondness for all kinds of manly sports ; loved 
to have about him good horses and fine dogs, and was enthu- 
siastic in hunting and fishing. His ardent pursuit of these pas- 
times led him very often to make long excursions into the then 
wild regions north and northeast of the town of Ellsworth. He 
was famous in all the region round about as a marksman. It 
was commonly reported that at the Thanksgiving shootings he 
was either ruled out, or obliged to shoot double or treble the dis- 
tance of the ordinary range. 

While I have spoken of my father as a lawyer and a man, I 
deem it only proper to say a few words about him personally and 
socially. In stature he was about five feet ten inches in height, 
of medium size, rather spare in flesh, with a dark complexion, 
and brown hair and eyes. He never wore a beard. Though a 
good conversationalist he was more inclined to taciturnity than 



JOHN G. DEANE. 181 

to garrulity. In his family, however, and with his children he 
was more the "big brother" than the stern parent, and had a 
pleasant and affectionate way of entering into the studies, sports 
and engagements of our youth. I well remember, when in the 
winter of 1838-39, he was busy with a draughtsman in the prepar- 
ation of his map of Maine, and used the parlors of our State street 
house in Portland as his office, how intensely he was delighted at 
finding one day among his papers my childish attempt at a war 
romance. The marvel and fun of it were on his tongue for many 
a day afterward. Nor can I ever forget the romps we younger 
children used to have with him on the floor, sofas and about the 
room. When I was only ten years of age, once on his return 
from a brief absence, he gave me " Botta's American Revolu- 
tion, " saying that though written by an Italian, it was the only 
good history of that war. He was greatly concerned that his 
boys should be well versed in history, and took a youthful pride in 
the account my brothers, Joseph and Henry, gave of the debates 
before the Pnyxian and Philomathian Debating Societies, 
which at that time had considerable local reputation, particularly 
the former. Always on his return from a trip to the " west- 
ward, " that is Massachusetts, he was sure to remember each of 
his boys with the present of a book. 

My father was not a member of any church. In his earlier life 
in Ellsworth, after the organization of the Congregational church 
in 1812, he with my mother worshiped there, and the whole 
family attended that church till our removal to Portland. The 
pastor from September 8, 1812 to November 11, 1835, Reverend 
Peter Nourse (brother to the late Dr. Amos Nourse of Bath, for- 
merly U. S. Senator from Maine), was a famous man in those days, 
renowned for his integrity in doctrine, for his zeal in the gospel 
ministry, and for the goodness of his heart. I know we little 
folks, in the latter days of his pastorate, used to think his ser- 
mons exceedingly long. I am sure that he sowed good seeds in 
that soil, and watered them faithfully with prayers and tears. 
When I first read Goldsmith's " Deserted Village " it seemed to 
me that his parish clergyman 

Passing rich with forty pounds a year. 

was either the real or counterpart Pastor Nourse. This godly 
man was indeed highly useful in his time in educational as 



182 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

well as religious matters ; but, if my childhood's memory serves 
me well, his life was not a gay period of enjoyment, or rich with 
present rewards for work well done. I hold his memory in 
warm esteem because of the respect and affection with which my 
parents regarded him. Our family were not allowed to talk 
lightly or with disrespect of ouf religious teacher. He was my 
mother's pastor and spiritual counselor in the many scenes of 
afflictipn she was called to pass through in the sickness and death 
of those of her children who deceased before we moved from 
Ellsworth, and in the death of her mother, Mrs. Judge Padelford, 
who had made her home with my parents, for some time before 
her decease, which occurred about 1822. The funerals of all these 
were attended by Pastor Nourse. They were all buried in the 
Congregational churchyard, where a modest stone tells their 
resting-places and names. 

Nor was my father interested only in the upbuilding of the 
church where his family worshiped his catholic views in relig- 
ious matters led him to make a donation toward the building of 
the Baptist church which was erected on the west side of the 
river, not far from the present county buildings. I suppose his 
gift amounted at least to the price of a pew, for I know that not 
long before we moved from Ellsworth, I attended services in that 
church one afternoon with some older members of our family, 
and sat in what we called, " Father's " pew. 

I am greatly surprised, as I write, to note how vividly the 
names of many of the active business men in Ellsworth in those 
days come to my mind. I am sure I could have had next to no 
personal acquaintance with any of them. There was Andrew 
Peters, who lived in the fine large house on the Bangor road 
opposite the Congregational church, and who did business in a 
brick store on the northwest corner of this road and the Bucks- 
port road close by the bridge. His son John A., now chief jus- 
tice (who, also, was not long since and for several terms a dis- 
tinguished member of Congress), was one of the famous boys of 
those early days. Of a summer's day in passing Mr. Peters' resi- 
dence on my way to school at the town house, I used to linger 
and gaze with longing eyes at the wonderful bounty of apples 
on the trees in front of his house. I have never seen any such 
apples since. There was, too, Deacon Samuel Dutton, of blessed 



JOHN G. DEANE. 183 

memory, who raised a large family of good business men ; and Dr. 
Peck with his wonderful saddle-bags filled with medicine of all 
sorts, and marvelous to cure, who was to my youthful mind a sort 
of superhuman being in his wonderful possession of power to heal 
the sick and diseased. But how shall I call the roll in which 
appears the names of Jordan, Black, Whitaker, McFarland, Tis- 
dale, Tinker, Parcher, Buckmore, Joy, Whiting, Jarvis, Macom- 
ber, Lowell, Grant, Warren, Hopkins, Robinson, and many 
others ? I would not fail to remember with most sincere affection 
William Jellison one of a large family all good and true, both 
men and women. He married my relative, Miss Julia Tisdale, 
whose acquaintance he made while she was visiting my mother, 
her kinswoman. They lived a short time after their marriage in 
Ellsworth village, or at the " Bridge, " as we called it in those 
days. Then they moved to " Number 8 " on the Bangor road, 
about half-way between Bangor and Ellsworth, and settled on a 
farm in what is now called North Ellsworth. Of Mr. Jellison's 
large family, I remember well his son Charles, a promising young 
merchant in Portland, who died suddenly in his early manhood ; 
Edward, a young man of great promise, who died while in Union 
College ; George a prosperous business man in New York ; 
Zachariah, who was some years a merchant in Boston, and later 
in Nebraska, who now holds an important office in the New York 
custom house, and John, who, after a good war record, died 
with his armor on. There were other sons and two daughters. 
Their farmhouse was often visited by me, once with my father 
and mother in the early summer of 1839, and alone at later dates. 
Mr. Jellison was possessed of intellectual power of more than 
ordinary grasp, and I never met a man of nobler heart or more 
genuine wit the kind that runs over with humor and delicious 
fun. 

There comes up before me as I write a curiously intangible 
vision of an old gentleman carrying a cane, and dressed in short 
clothes, wearing a cue, and a bountiful white shirt bosom. I can- 
not certainly fix any name to him, and yet, though the vision is 
dim, I am sure that it has a foundation in some personage of 
those early days. Yet I have a shadowy recollection of such a 
name as Major Phillips. It occurs to me, too, that there was a 
wonderful fiddler, one " Black George, " who was always on hand 



184 MAINE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

when a dance took place. Captain Jesse Button, the renowned 
authority in all martial matters, and the hero of all the musters, 
that I heard talked of in those times, with their sham lights, is a 
prominent figure in my memory. 

About the same time, or just prior to my father's settlement in 
Ellsworth, John Black, a young Englishman, settled there as the 
agent of the Bingham heirs, who owned very extensive tracts of 
land in Hancock and Washington counties, called in common 
phrase, the " Bingham Purchase." The acquaintance between 
the two young men ripened into a strong and enduring friend- 
ship, which lasted uninterrupted till my father's death. " Colo- 
nel " Black was the name by which he was familiarly known, 
from the fact that, after he became an American citizen, he 
entered ardently into the militia service, and by regular promo- 
tion, became as I have been always told, colonel of the regiment. 
He built on the Blue Hill road, about half a mile from the 
" Bridge " a very large brick house, set at some distance back 
from the road, which he occupied till his death, and which is yet 
standing. I recall with pleasure many visits in early youth, and 
later, at this delightful home. He was not only one of the best 
business men ever known in Maine, but he was thoroughly edu- 
cated and equipped with many of the elegant accomplishments 
peculiar to the aristocratic classes in the land of his birth. He 
was a good draughtsman and an amateur painter of no mean skill. 
Though not large in stature, he was very noticeable in appearance, 
and in his personal address he was commanding and dignified, 
and his manners were polite and courteous. His management of 
the great trusts of the Bingham estate was characterized by the 
strictest diligence and fidelity, as well as the most scrupulous 
honesty. He was quiet in his mode of life, simple in his tastes, 
and by tact and careful management without oppression or 
extortion he accumulated a very large property. He reared a 
numerous family, and many of his descendants are now residents 
of Ellsworth. He married a daughter of Gen. David Cobb of 
Gouldsboro, Maine (who came from Taunton, Mass., to act as the 
agent of the " Bingham Purchase "), and reared a numerous fam- 
ily, and many of his descendants are now residents of Ellsworth. 
On the death of Gen. Cobb in 1830, he became, as his successor, 
full agent of the " Bingham Purchase." He died in Ellsworth, 



JOHN G. DEANE. 185 

October 25, 1856, at a ripe age, and profoundly regretted not only 
by the citizens of that town, but by a very large circle of friends 
and acquaintances in Maine and in Massachusetts. His' remains 
were interred in the family tomb on his estate. 

Colonel Black was able to throw a good share of legal business 
into Mr. Deane's hands, and in attending to it Mr. Deane was 
required to make long expeditions through the wild and sparsely 
settled portions of Hancock and other eastern counties. By 
means of his hunting tours and these extended excursions, Mr. 
Deane acquired a very thorough experience with life in the 
woods, and became most peculiarly well fitted for the perform- 
ance of the public duties which devolved upon him later, in con- 
nection with the northeastern boundary. 

He was active as a Federalist in politics ; and was a represen- 
tative from Ellsworth to the General Court of Massachusetts in 
1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, and representative from Ellsworth to the 
Legislature of Maine in 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1831. What 
he did, as well as the value of his services as a legislator in the 
estimate of his associates, may be generally understood from the 
following memoranda of the reports he wrote and the resolves 
passed, viz : 

1828. Report upon the Northeastern Boundary Question 8vo., 
pages 55, accepted by Legislature. 

1830. Resolve of Legislature allowing him one hundred and seventy 
dollars for negotiating release of land claims with Penobscot Indians. 

1831. Report of Committee on State Lands of which he was Chair- 
man, 8vo., pages 12. 

1831. Report as Chairman of the Committee on the Northeastern 
Boundary, pages 4. 

1831. Report as Chairman of the Committee on the Northeastern 
Boundary, pages 13. 

1831. Resolve granting him half township of land. 

1831. Letter to Governor Samuel E. Smith about the Northeastern 
Boundary. 

1839. Resolves paying him four hundred and sixty-five dollars for 
locating the Northeastern Boundary line under resolve of March 23, 1838. 

Most probably, however, this list represents but a very small 
part of the actual work he did while in the Maine legislature ; 
but it indicates how busy he was and the kind of work that 
engaged his attention. 

It should be stated in this connection that the search for my 



186 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

father's legislative history has been somewhat difficult, because 
the state documents were not printed till 1833, and some of the 
archives were lost in the removal of the public records from 
Portland to Augusta, when the latter town was made the 
capital. 

By degrees, and from his varied experience in the woods and 
wild portions of the state, as well as from his education in public 
affairs, he had become intensely interested in the questions relat- 
ing to the northeastern boundary. Among my earliest recol- 
lections relating to him and our Ellsworth home, are the constant 
talks between him and his visitors about the " disputed terri- 
tory " and " Madawaska, " and our public rights to the fine lands 
in the northern part of our state, just above the St. John river. 
From the glowing description of the fine wheat soil up there, and 
the agricultural possibilities of that region, in my childish imagin- 
ation I used to think it was a very " Beulah " land. In his fre- 
quent journeys in search of evidence or otherwise to the northern 
part of the state, officially or privately, he accumulated an 
immense amount of evidence in the form of affidavit, or other 
testimony on points relating to this boundary question. He 
published articles in many of the newspapers of the state embo- 
dying his information or views upon this important theme. These 
contributions, over the signatures of "Cato," "Ishmasl," and 
" Peter Parley," attracted great attention and had a deep influ- 
ence in educating and directing the public mind. I have an auto- 
graph letter from Gov. Enoch Lincoln to my father, ref en-ing to 
these writings and thanking him for what he had done in this 
way. I have recently found a portion of the original drafts of 
these papers. They are now being very carefully edited by a 
valued friend, rarely capable in such matters, and will in due 
time be deposited in the archives of the Maine Historical Society. 
His unpublished manuscripts on the subject were very volumin- 
ous there being at the time of his death enough of them to fill a 
large trunk all written in his very plain and rapid hand. I 
suppose that the family thought that the settlement of the 
national disputes had taken all value from these papers, since by 
degrees, and chiefly by neglect, they were lost. In one of his 
later journeys to the disputed territory, he cut from a tree, which 
he said was on the exact northeast corner of Maine, according to 



JOHN G. DEANE. 187 

his loyal idea, a stick which he had fashioned into a cane, in the 
ivory head of which he had engraved a record of the place 
whence he obtained it. This cane he carried constantly thereafter 
till the day of his fatal illness. 

Honorable Israel Washburn, jr., in his very able article on 
" The Northeastern Boundary, " read before the Maine Historical 
Society at Portland, May 15, 1879, makes frequent and most 
honorable mention of the value of Mr. Deane's services in the 
prosecution of our state's great controversy with her foreign 
neighbor. 

In this same connection I recall with a son's pride the very 
warm and generous remarks made to me in 1846, while I was in 
college, by ex-Governor Robert P. Dunlap, who was then living 
in Brunswick. Though he and my father were of opposite poli- 
tics, he entertained the most profound respect for the ability and 
energy with which my father had done his work for the state, in 
this behalf. Governor Dunlap asked me once when I was visit- 
ing at his house if I had ever read my father's reports on the 
subject, and on my answering " No, " took them from his library 
shelves and handed them to me, remarking that I ought to know 
all about these matters, thoroughly and well, for if ever a son 
had cause for being proud of his father's public services, I had. 

I also call to mind what Honorable Nathan Clifford, afterward 
judge of the United States Supreme Court, remarked to me on 
this subject in 1851, soon after he moved to Portland. He said 
that though not of the same political faith as my father, he had, 
as a young member of the legislature in 1831, cast no vote which 
he remembered with more pleasure than that in favor of grant- 
ing a township of land to my father, as a proper recognition of 
the value of bis services in this great public matter. 

Late in life Mr. Deane had accumulated quite a large property, 
chiefly in timber lands. Nor was he so selfish in his knowledge 
of good timber lands, as not to advise his friends frankly as to 
his opinion in these matters. His assistance in this behalf was 
once so valuable to Honorable Elijah L. Hanilin of Bangor, and 
Mr. Ruggles of Columbia, that they jointly presented him a very 
handsome and complete service of silver plate. I well remember 
the marvel of its display, when in 1835 the package was opened 
in our Ellsworth home, fresh from the store of Jones, Low & 



188 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Ball of Boston. This service was more than a nine days' won- 
der in the little village. 

In the fall of 1835, he moved to Portland and bought the 
property on the south side of State street, between Gray and 
Spring streets, which Mason Greenwood had finely improved. 
This property continued to be the homestead of his family, or 
descendants, till the spring of 1884. 

My father was at Cherryfield in the fall of 1839, attending to 
business in connection with his large landed interests, and be- 
coming ill early in November, was treated with such success that 
he was supposed to be recovering. By some accident the nurse 
gave him by mistake tartar emetic instead of cream tartar. 
When the mistake was discovered, all possible remedies were 
tried but to no purpose. He was sick at the residence of J. Til- 
den Moulton, who married my cousin, Ann P. Cook, (she had 
been raised in our family), and died there November 10, 1839. 

When we read in these latter days the history of the bound- 
aries of Maine there is much to marvel at and much to excite 
our ire. In the conscious strength of our national power of 
today, we are apt to forget that once the nation was weak, and 
in comparison with Great Britain quite insignificant, having no 
rights which that 'haughty nation was bound to respect. The 
boundaries of Maine contiguous to the British provinces seem 
to be so clearly stated in article second of the treaty of peace 
concluded at Paris, between Great Britain and the United States 
in 1783, that it now appears very strange that any dispute ever 
arose about them. The northerly line is thus described : 

From the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, to wit, that angle which is 
formed by a line drawn due north from the source of the St. Croix river 
to the highlands, along the said highlands which divide those rivers that 
empty themselves into the St. Lawrence from those which fall into the 
Atlantic ocean, to the northwestern most head of Connecticut river. 

The eastern line is described thus : 

East, by a line drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix, from its 
mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source directly 
north to the aforesaid highlands which divide the waters that fall into 
the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence, 
comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the 
United States, and lying between the lines to be drawn due east from 
the points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia, on the 
one part, and East Florida, on the other, shall respectively touch the Bay 




Iii the above map, the lines referred to by colors in Mr. Deane's paper (page 189) being 
all of one color are designated in small type upon the same. 



JOHN G. DEANE. 189 

of Fundy and the Atlantic ocean, excepting such islands as now are, or 
heretofore have been, within the limit of the said province of Nova 
Scotia. 

In regard to the eastern line it seems to have been proved 
beyond any reasonable doubt that there were three rivers 
which had been in turn, or interchangeably, called the " St. 
Croix " ; viz., the Magaguadavic, the most eastern ; the Schoodic, 
the present St. Croix, the middle ; and the Cobscook, the western ; 
and that the true St. Croix of the treaty of 1783 was the Magagua- 
davic. But the superior finesse of the British on the " St. Croix 
commission," in 1798, succeeded in causing the Schoodic to be 
permanently called the St. Croix, and thus our state lost on the 
east a tract of land nearly two hundred miles long by about 
thirty broad. 

It was the evident determination of the British government in 
some way to get land enough from the eastern and northern 
sides of Maine to afford ample room for all desired or necessary 
communication between the Canadas and New Brunswick and 
Nova Scotia. After they had sliced off so large a piece from the 
eastern part of the state, then their whole force was redoubled 
to gain all that part of our state above a line drawn west from 
Mars hill ! If this had been accomplished the size of the state 
would have been very seriously reduced. The outrage of these 
claims will almost be obvious by a glance at any map in view of 
the above extracts from the treaty. 

I have endeavored to picture these facts of our great loss of 
territory, north as well as east, in the accompanying map, where 
are shown the treaty lines of 1783, in which the red line indicates 
the original eastern and the northern bpundaries ; the yellow 
line across the state and down the eastern side represents the 
one claimed by the British some considerable time after the 
treaty of 1783 as the northern line of the state not always 
confidently, but with increasingly loud protestations after the 
dispute over the boundary question had waxed warm. The 
present eastern, northern, and northwesterly boundary lines 
are indicated in full blue lines, and by the St. John river. It 
will be seen at a glance how great and valuable is the territory 
which we lost in 1798 and 1842. 

This present northern boundary was the result of the Ash- 
burton treaty of 1842. The rule devised by the exalted states- 



190 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

manship of that treaty seems to have been to split the difference 
between the claims of the two parties. But it is not necessary 
here to go into any details, since in the aforesaid monograph 
by Hon. Israel Washburn, jr., all these matters are treated with 
careful detail. It answers all my present purposes to show what 
our state had then already lost, and to indicate what my father 
was contending for, namely, the territory between the St. John 
river and the "highlands" of the treaty of 1783, and the great 
public value of the interests concerned. His unfaltering advocacy 
of our good cause fairly indicate the large-minded and public- 
spirited man he was. The people of the state of Maine do, I am 
sure, now fully approve what is sometimes called Governor John 
Fairfield's "declaration of war" in 1838, when he ordered out the 
state militia to defend our territory as we then claimed it. It is 
not necessary now to enlarge on all this. It is an historical fact 
in which the people of Maine take great pride. 

But I should have dwelt more at length upon the character 
and value of my father's public services in connection with this 
Northeastern Boundary question, if the matter had not many 
years ago been treated very justly, fully and ably, in the follow- 
ing excellent, feeling tribute to his memory which was written in 
1839, by Hon. Charles S. Daveis, LL.D., of Portland, then one of 
the first lawyers at the Cumberland bar, and in the full prime of 
his brilliant talents and high reputation. Mr. Daveis had been re- 
peatedly called upon to act a very distinguished public part in con 
nection with this very Northeastern Boundary question, and was 
thoroughly acquainted with all the men who had had any connec- 
tion, great or small, in this very important matter. He knew well 
to whom praise belonged. He had been long intimately associated 
with Mr. Deane in matters pertaining to the Northeastern Boun- 
dary question; had known him as a legislator, a lawyer, a man of 
business and affairs. He wrote generously, but with a full 
acquaintance of everything pertaining to the subject. 

The article appeared in the " Portland Advertiser," Tuesday 
evening, November 19, 1839, and is as follows : 

JOHN G. DEANE. 

On Saturday afternoon were committed to the grave the remains of 
John G. Deane. They had been removed from Narraguagus (Cherry- 
field), where he expired on Sunday, the tenth instant, and were conveyed 



JOHN G. DEANE. 191 

from his late residence on State street to the South burying ground in 
this city, attended by his family and friends. The deep domestic sorrow 
was accompanied by a most sincere attestation of sympathy and respect. 

The decease of Mr. Deane, indeed, thus suddenly occurring in the 
prime of life, upon a mere occasional absence from home, is not only a 
severe private loss, but it is also a great public one. To estimate it 
properly, it is necessary to refer to the memorial of the past, which he 
has raised for himself by his talents and services, inscribed as well upon 
the tablet of his social and professional relations, as upon the large, 
laborious and faithful record of the duties which he has performed to 
the public. 

If there was any among us who had a right to stand up and say, 

"I have done the state some service, and they know it." 

this was a persuasion of which Mr. Deane may have been justly and 
honestly conscious ; and so marked and prominent an object of consid- 
eration and esteem has he been, now for a long space of time in the view, 
of the people of Maine, that it needs only to pronounce his name, at this 
moment of unexpected and melancholy bereavement to those who cher- 
ish his memory, to present at once a living and expressive image of his 
person, character and virtues. Who in this land did not know John G. 
Deane, and who, knowing him, would be likely soon to forget him, or 
be willing to suffer his honest fame to pass into silent oblivion? A few 
faint traces from recollection, and from the slight materials at hand, are 
all that is proposed, in this scanty and hasty notice, to furnish. 

John G. Deane was a native of the Bay state of Massachusetts, and 
was a descendant, it is stated, of John Deane who early came to that 
old colony from England, and settled at Taunton, the stock, it is sup- 
posed, of those that bear that numerous name in New England, and who 
have reflected no dishonor on the fair inheritance of their Puritan ances- 
tors. He was himself born in Raynham, and was a graduate of Brown 
University in Rhode Island about the year 1806, and studied law, it is 
understood, with the late Judge Seth Padelford, one of whose daughters 
he afterward married. He commenced the practice of law at Ellsworth 
in this state, which he pursued with credit and success ; and where he 
established not only the solid reputation of a learned, sound and dis- 
criminating lawyer, but enjoyed also, in an eminent degree, the general 
confidence of his clients and fellow citizens. This latter portion of pub- 
lic favor he shared with his friend, George Herbert, a most amiable and 
worthy brother of the profession, whose fine tastes, elegant accomplish- 
ments and exquisite sensibility, will long be preserved in remembrance 
by those who had the pleasure and privilege of his personal acquaint- 
ance. Ellsworth being entitled to but one representative in the legis- 
lature of Massachusetts, Mr. Deane was chosen alternately with Mr. 
Herbert for several years, and was a member of that body, it is believed, 
as early as 1813. He was marked as a man of talent, spirit and 
application. 



192 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Mr. Deane' s location in the eastern part of the state, and the course 
of his professional business led him to an increasing acquaintance with 
the proprietary lands in this state, large tracts of which were lying in 
grants from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the principal of which 
were the "Bingham purchases." It was this that probably first turned 
his attention toward that subject, which afterward engaged so large a 
portion of it,' in one very important direction. After the separation of 
Maine, Mr. Deane became again a member of the legislature while it 
sat in Portland, where he began to be widely known and his value 
equally understood. He did not make that his place of residence, how- 
ever, till 1835. 

It was here during the session of 1827 and 1828, at the period when such 
a vigorous impulse was given to the vital interests of this state by the 
measures adopted by Governor Lincoln in relation to our territorial 
rights, that Mr. Deane distinguished himself by the active and leading 
part he took, and the persevering study and unwearied diligence he 
bestowed in regard to the perplexed and protracted question of our 
northeastern boundary. It was the intrinsic justice, as well as the 
strict and perfect legal character of this right on our behalf, that first 
recommended itself to the native integrity, while it presented itself also 
in the clearest light to the discriminating sagacity of his mind, and 
inspired that honest zeal which gave such a concentrated energy to all 
his powers and faculties in this single cause. It was this that urged 
him to spare no pains, to relax no effort, to lose no opportunity of pro- 
moting that great end to which he then and thenceforward entirely and 
almost exclusively devoted himself. He shunned no labor, and thought 
no day long in which he could do anything to advance it. Of this all- 
absorbing, and to him engrossing subject, it may be truly said that he 
summered and wintered it. He ate, drank and slept it. It was his 
thought by day and his dream by night, and the first idea to which he 
awakened again in the morning. On this point he was instant in season 
and out of season. He was ever ready and alert on every occasion which 
presented, and prompt for every service which the interest of the state 
demanded. At every turn and crisis of the question when it was first 
put in the shape of a convention and about to be submitted to an arbi- 
ter, or swamped by his preposterous award when our citizens were one 
after another seized and consigned to foreign prisons, and the ensigns of 
an alien and intrusive jurisdiction were planted on our independent soil 
and the sovereign power of self-protection, which this political com- 
munity was bound to exercise for those who put their trust in it insult- 
ingly set at defiance, then it was that his spirit rose with every emer- 
gency; it quailed at no peril or trial to the virtue of the question, and 
sunk only with any visible declension of its interest, of which there were 
spells and symptoms in the public mind. It was only at those intervals 
of repose to this exciting question, during which it has been so strangely 
and inexplicably adjourned, that the ordinary interests and occupations 
of life resumed with him any actual measure of their importance and 



JOHN G. DEANE. 193 

influence. Never, it may be nearly said, did they regain their real 
ascendancy. Still the invincible energy of his spirit on that predomin- 
ating subject was not to be subdued or broken down. No danger 
appalled, nor difficulty disheartened him. With an industry that noth- 
ing could either tire or escape; with a memory faithful to every circum- 
stance that it ever seized, with an instinct sure as the magnet, and a soul 
as true as steel to the cause in which he was embarked, this was the 
master subject of his mind. It was his ruling passion. When he once 
got upon this theme, "His foot was on his native heath and his name 
was Mac Gregor!" It is no injustice to say that he had probably mastered 
more of its details historical, statistical and geographical connected 
together than any other individual ; and that he had written, spoken 
and printed, it might almost be said, not only more than any other per- 
son, but more than all others put together. No one engaged in the vari- 
ous calls of this question had looked into it more thoroughly, or was 
more intimately or profoundly acquainted with all its bearings. If there 
is any overallowance of the measure of merit and praise that may pos_ 
sibly be accorded to him on this head, it can be hardly more than is due 
to his unbounded and indefatigable devotion to this supreme object, 
which ended only with his breath. 

Mr. Deane' s first reports on this subject, which brought the matter 
most distinctly into public view, were made, as already adverted to, in 
1827 and 1828. In 1830 he made a tour of observation over the ground of 
controversy, by order of the government, in immediate connection with 
Judge Preble. In 1831 and 1832 he again became conspicuous for the 
part he took in incorporating the precinct of Madawaska, and resisting 
the no doubt well-intended but idle and absurd arbitrament of the king of 
the Netherlands. It was on this account, and at this period, that the 
legislature made Mr. Deane a grant of a half township of land on the 
upper waters of the St. John, as a testimonial (it is believed unanimous) 
of the grateful sense entertained of his services. This grant has prob- 
ably, however, been unproductive, to say the least, owing to the distance 
of the spot and the unsettled state of the question. Perhaps it was the 
design that Mr. Deane, who had been its champion, should be set there 
as a pioneer. At all events, the grant and the post should be made 
good. In 1838, when the resolves of the legislature for an ascertain- 
ment and survey of the northeastern boundary of the state were 
required to be carried into execution by Governor Edward Kent, Mr. 
Deane was the person at once designated by him as most peculiarly 
fitted for the performance of that important duty. How zealously and 
faithfully he entered upon the service assigned to him, striking out and 
pursuing his own route, under the general directions he had received, 
leaving nothing unexplored which lay within his reach, and not quitting 
the ground until it was covered with snow too deep to proceed in the 
search, and the face of the earth was obscured from further investiga- 
tion, his recent report on the subject fully demonstrates. In this expe- 
13 



194 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

dition lie was seconded by two worthy and useful associates whose 
assistance was valuable, and who justly share in the credit of the under- 
taking. The new map of the territory which he prepared from this 
survey and the former materials at his command, was a work upon 
which he bestowed great pains and expense; and it may be feared that 
the author of it died with a feeling that his task in this report had not 
been duly appreciated and the service properly considered. It is still to 
be*hoped that this important labor will not fail to be suitably estimated. 
No man. it may be said, was ever more inflexibly tenacious of his own 
just purposes, and at the same time more truly regardful of the invaria- 
ble principles of right, and of whatever was due to the proper claims of 
others, wether few or many. He was simple in his tastes, undisguised 
in his intentions, plain and transparent in all his aims, unostentatious, 
and even negligent in regard to some of the forms and observances of 
society. Like governor Enoch Lincoln, he loved to feel himself in the 
sublime, ennobling presence of nature, and to pierce the vast profound, 
unpeopled solitudes of the forest. He liked also to meet the remnant of 
the ancient race of proprietors in their native woods, or on the streams 
which they navigated in their bark canoes and to associate and hold 
converse with the hardy cultivators of the soil although these genuine 
sympathies did not estrange him from the more busy, social haunts of 
men. 

The cast of his countenance was remarkably intellectual, and indicative 
of acuteness, foresight and sagacity. It had also something of a more 
grave, reflective and resolved character. The upper part of his face, 
particularly the intersection of the principal features bore a striking re- 
semblance to the bust of Alexander Hamilton ; while the perpetual ac- 
tivity of its fibers in their animated expression, might remind one who 
had seen the original of the incessant motion of Lord Brougham's. He 
also had something in him of antiquity something of the Codrus and 
Curtius some strain of that Roman spirit of self-sacrificing patriotism 
which tells in the stories of Boratius Codes and Mutius Scaevola some 
vein too of the Russells and Sidneys of the seventeenth century spirits 
prepared for all the emergancies of moral, political and physical martyr- 
dom for the ordeals of a virtue that had not ceased to be more than an 
empty sound and aspiring to an elevation superior to the sordid sub- 
terfuges of shuffling selfishness and compromising expediency. This 
was an aspiration worthy of the object of this obituary ; and there was 
that within him which did not derogate from this lofty calling. That he 
did not live to see the end of all his travail is most certain. 

But he lived long enough to see the cause for which he had labored, 
adopted by the unanimous voice of the Congress of the United States, 
and its justice and purity acknowledged by the world. And it is no 
less certain that if he does not deserve a marble monument from the 
people of Maine, he deserves a monument as durable as marble in their 
undying remembrance, affection and respect. 
In the multitude of emotions that throng and mingle in the mind 



JOHN G. DEANE. 195 

which this sudden stroke of providence is calculated to call forth 
amid these last dying traces of autumnal' change when the splendid 
month of November is speaking the great moral lesson of the year if 
there was nothing else in the world if there was not something infin- 
itely superior to all the visible manifestations of the material universe 
and above all that this glorious organic structure is capable to afford, 
we might well mourn over these melancholy vestiges of mortality and 
decay. If it were not otherwise, were it not for higher hopes and the 
interior supports of a sublimer faith, by which the spirit is sustained in 
its far upward flight, through its sinking moments of occasional de- 
spondency, it would be sad indeed to linger upon the last lineaments of 
the departed object of our affection and esteem, the features so lately 
beaming with animation and intelligence, the head so lately full of im- 
portant knowledge, and fervid with the glowing operations of genius 
and intellect, the heart just beating with the most ardent pulsations of 
parental love and patriotic zeal, now silent and insensible, about to be 
reduced to the cold clods of the valley. Yet there is still something in 
the circumstances of this mournful public and domestic deprivation to 
produce a deep, a lasting and wholesome impression. 

The memory 

Of our dying friends comes o'er us like a cloud, 
To damp our brainless ardor, and abate 
That glare of life that often blinds the wise. 

Mrs. Deane survived her husband and resided at the home- 
stead on State street, Portland (with the exception of about a 
year, 1369-70, spent with her sons, Llewellyn and William, in 
Washington, D. C.), till the day of her death, May 12, 1872. Her 
remains were interred by the side of her husband in the Western 
cemetery in Portland. They were the parents of eleven chil- 
dren two died in infancy, two daughters when comparatively 
young ; John was lost at sea in 1836, while on a voyage as super- 
cargo of his brig to South America. Six sons survived him, all 
of whom grew up to men's estate. 

Joseph became a lawyer, lived awhile in Cherryfield, looking 
after the landed interests of his father's estate ; then practiced 
law in Taunton, and later in Quincy, Illinois, where he died in 
July, 1869. 

Melvin was a civil engineer; in his youth he accompanied his 
father, in 1838, on his last excursion to the northeastern part of 
the state. He was engaged in the construction of several 
railroads, the Atlantic & St. Lawrence, the Androscoggin & 
Kennebec, and others. He was city engineer of Portland in 
1853-54, and died there in March, 1854. 



196 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Henry graduated at Bowdoin in 1844, and became a lawyer 
represented Portland in the legislature of 1850-51, was county 
attorney for Cumberland county 1852-55, and later was solicitor 
for the city of Portland and afterward, 1868-70, surveyor in 
the custom house. He died in Boston, March, 1873, on his way 
home from Florida. 

Frederick graduated at Bowdoin in the class of 1846, and 
became a lawyer but never entered on the practice, as the 
gold excitement of those days bore him away to California, 
where he lived, with the interval of a short visit home, till 1861, 
when he entered the volunteer service and was an officer of the 
'first California volunteers. At a later period he was in the 
thirtieth Maine regiment after some service he was duly com- 
missioned an officer, but the war closed before he was mustered 
in. He died at sea in March, 1867, while returning to California. 
Llewellyn graduated at Bowdoin in 1849 became a law- 
yer and practiced in partnership with Henry in Portland from 
1852 to 1861. In 1858 he represented Portland to the legisla- 
ture. In 1861 he moved to Washington, where he subsequently 
held an important position in the U. S. patent office. In 1873, 
he resigned his official position and has since practiced law in 
that city. 

William Wallace became a lawyer and settled in Saccarappa 
in 1861 he joined the twelfth Maine infantry and afterward 
became adjutant of the regiment. In 1863 he was appointed 
assistant adjutant general of volunteers, with rank of captain, 
and at the close of the war was brevetted lieutenant colonel in 
that branch of the service. In 1867 he was appointed lieutenant 
in the regular army ; he died in July, 1870, in Washington, 
B.C. 

Melvin's son John, while a mere lad, enlisted in the sixth 
Maine battery and later became lieutenant thereof. He was in 
active service from the date of his enlistment in 1862, to the 
close of the war and was never hurt in battle, though in every 
fight where his battery was engaged, and was never in the hos- 
pital during his entire service. He engaged in the paper manu- 
facturing business after the war and died in Denver, Colorado, 
in the fall of 1873. No doubt the toil, duties and excitement of 
his war life hastened his end. 



PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS IN 1881. 197 



PROCEEDINGS 

OF THE 

MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

MAY 25, 1881. 

At the evening session a paper on the fight at Piggwackett 
was read by James P.' Baxter, and Edward H. Elwell read a 
paper on the White Hills of New Hampshire. 

FIELD DAY EXCURSION. 

SEPTEMBER 1315, 1881. 

By the .courtesy of the secretary of the United States 
treasury and the kind invitation of Hon. Lot M. Morrill, the 
collector of the port, members of the society with guests made 
an excursion to Thomaston and Pemaquid by the revenue 
steamer Dallas. 

NOVEMBER 16, 1881. 

The Society met in the library at the city building, Portland, 
November 16, 1881, at 2.30 P.M., the president, Hon. James W. 
Bradbury in the chair. 

The librarian and cabinet-keeper, H. W. Bryant, read his 
report of the accessions to the library and cabinet received 
since the July meeting. 

A report of the field day meeting at Thomaston and Pem- 
aquid was made by the Rev. Henry S. Burrage, who also read 
a paper on Rosier's relation of Waymouth's voyage of 1605, 
with some account of Georges river and Pentecost harbor. 

A memoir of General Henry Knox was read by Joseph 
Williamson. 

A committee from all parts of the state was appointed to 
collect books, pamphlets, manuscript, relics and other material 



198 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

relating to the history of the state, to be deposited in the 
archives of the Society. 

At the evening session, Hon. James W. Bradbury read a 
memoir of the late associate justice, Nathan Clifford, and Hon. 
William Goold read a biographical sketch of General Lafayette 
with personal recollections of Lafayette's visit to Portland 
in 1825. 

FEBKUAKY 27, 1882. 

Pursuant to the call signed by Messrs. Elwell, Goold, Bur- 
rage, Brown and Bryant, a special meeting was held to do honor 
to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on his seventy-fifth 
birthday. The opening address was made by the vice president, 
Hon. William G. Barrows. Mr. James P. Baxter read a poem 
" Laus Laureati," and placed a chaplet of oak leaves upon the 
bust of the poet. Rev. Henry S. Burrage followed with a paper 
on Henry W. Longfellow and his paternal ancestry. Hon. Wil- 
liam Goold read a paper on General Peleg Wadsworth, the mater- 
nal grandfather of Longfellow, and Mr. Edward H. Elwell read 
a paper on the Portland of Longfellow's youth. Rev. Prof. A. 
S. Parkard read a paper on Longfellow as a student and pro- 
fessor of Bowdoin college. Mr. George F. Talbot followed with 
a paper on the genius of Longfellow. Tributes were received 
from Hon. James W. Bradbury, Hon. Israel Washburn, jr., and 
Hon. Joseph Williamson. 

MAY 25, 1882. 

Meeting of the Society held at its rooms in Portland. 

In the absence of the president, Hon. Israel Washburn, jr., 
presided. The librarian presented his quarterly report of gifts 
to the Society's library and cabinet. 

Rufus K. Sewall, Esq., of Wiscasset, called the attention of 
the Society to the archives of Spain as probably containing 
some documents of interest to writers of Maine history. 

Hon. Joseph Williamson read a tribute to the memory of 
General John Sullivan of the revolution. 

A paper by Hon. Albert W. Paine of Bangor, on the Territo- 
rial History of Bangor and Vicinity was read by Mr. Washburn. 



PEOCEEDINGS AT MAY MEETING, 1882. 199 

EVENING SESSION. 

Presentation of the banner borne by citizens of Portland at 
the railroad celebration in Montreal, in 1853, to commemorate 
the completion of the railroad connecting the river St. Law- 
rence and the navigable waters of the Atlantic ocean at Port- 
land, also the banner of the Portland Rifle Corps, 1811-61, 
both from Edward M. Patten, Esq., now of San Francisco. 
Historical papers concerning the railroad celebration and the 
Portland Rifle Corps were read by Hon. William Goold. Mr. 
Goold also read an account from an English newspaper of the 
recent restoration of the Gorges family tomb in the parish 
church of St. Budeaux, Wraxhall, Devon, England. The fund 
for the restoration of the venerable monument was contributed 
to by the Maine Historical Society in 1877. 

Mr. Goold was followed by Mr. Sewall of Wiscasset, who read 
a paper on Samoset of Plymouth. A letter from President 
Bradbury giving some reminiscences of the poet Longfellow's 
college life was read, and Mr. Bryant, the librarian, offered a 
brief tribute to the memory of the poet as a lover of books. 

George F. Talbot for the committee reported the following 
resolutions, commemorative of the poet Longfellow, which were 
accepted and ordered recorded : 

Resolved, That the Maine Historical Society, honored in counting 
among its members the illustrious poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 
lately deceased, desire to join their fellow countrymen everywhere in 
paying their tribute of gratitude and admiration for those productions 
of his genius which have made his name immortal. 

Resolved, That while death has removed from association with living 
men his revered presence, and so far as can be seen, has arrested that 
assiduous labor which has so enriched the pages of permanent literature, 
it has extended his fame and brought to millions who had not known 
him, an appreciation of the nobility of his nature and the purity of his 
life. 

Resolved, That the. Society whose office it is to cherish the memory of 
the men of Maine who in literature, science, politics, war, business en- 
terprise, and the inventive arts, have shed luster upon our history, ac- 
knowledge the indebtedness of our citizens to Longfellow for the honor 
his long and brilliant career in the highest departments of creative art 
has conferred upon our country, and especially upon our state that gave 
him birth. 



200 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Resolved, That the Society be requested to communicate, with a copy 
of these resolutions, the respectful sympathy of this Society to the 
family of the distinguished deceased. 

The resolutions were adopted and the meeting adjourned. 



ANNUAL MEETING, JULY 14, 1882. 

The annual meeting of the Society was held at Adams Hall, 
Brunswick, and was called to order at 8.30 A.M., by the president, 
Hon. James W. Bradbury. 

The record of the last annual meeting was read by the 
recording secretary and approved with a slight modification. 

The annual reports of the librarian and cabinet-keeper, the 
corresponding secretary, the treasurer and the standing commit- 
tee were read and accepted. 

The following officers were elected for the ensuing year : 
President, James W. Bradbury of Augusta. 
Vice-president, William G. Barrows of Brunswick. 
Corresponding secretary, William Goold of Windham. 
Treasurer, Lewis Pierce of Portland. 
Recording secretary, librarian and cabinet keeper, 

H. W. Bryant of Portland. 
Standing committee, 
Israel Washburn, jr., of Portland. 
Rufus K. Sewall of Wiscasset. 
William B. Lapham of Augusta. 
Edward H. Elwell of Deenng. 
William Goold of Windham. 
Stephen J. Young of Brunswick. 
Joseph Williamson of Belfast. 

-The following were elected resident members : Oscar Holway 
of Augusta, Joseph W. Symonds of Portland, Henry C. Leven- 
saler of Thornaston, Asa Dalton of Portland, Wakefield G. Frye 
of Belfast, Prentice C. Manning of Portland, Stephen Berry of 
Portland. 

The following were elected corresponding members: Hon. 
Elihu B. Washburne of Chicago, Hon. Horatio Bridge of Wash- 
ington, Hon. John Went worth of Chicago, John N. McClintock 



PROCEEDINGS AT ANNUAL MEETING, 1882 201 

of Concord, 1ST. H., Frederick C. Pierce .of Rockford, 111.', Henry 
Phillips, jr., of Philadelphia, Rev. Anson Titus, jr., of South 
Weymouth, Mass., John F. Pratt, M.D., of Chelsea, Hon. Dex- 
ter A. Hawkins of New York, Rev. Benjamin F. De Costa of 
New York, Prof. Sidney Colvin of Cambridge, England, Edmund 
M. Barton of Worcester, Mass., Rev. Samuel Longfellow of 
Cambridge, Mass., George Warren Hammond of Boston. 

The use of a steam yacht was tendered to the Society for 
their field day excursion by Robert H. Gardiner, Esq., and 
Messrs. Gardiner, Burrage and Gilman were appointed a com- 
mittee to make arrangements for the field day. 

On motion of Mr. William Goold of Windham, it was voted 
that the Society hold a meeting in Portland on the twenty-third 
day of December next, to congratulate our revered associate, the 
Rev. Alpheus S. Packard, D.D., on the attainment of his eighty- 
fourth birthday. 

The following were appointed a committee of arrangements : 
Israel Washburn, jr., William Goold, Stephen J. Young, Edward 
H. Elwell. 

The proposition to adopt sundry amendments to the by-laws 
was brought up, and after some discussion the amendments were 
postponed for consideration at the next annual meeting. 



Adjourned. 



DECEMBER 23, 1882. 



The winter meeting was held at the rooms of the Society 
December 23, 1882. 

At the afternoon session Professor F. W. Putnam of Cam- 
bridge delivered an address on the shell heaps of Maine, and dis- 
played specimens of ancient bone and stone implements taken 
from the heaps, many of which appeared to be identical with 
specimens found in the shell heaps of Europe. A paper on the 
noun of the Abnaki grammar was read by the Rev. M. C. O'Brien 
of Bangor, which was followed by a paper on Thomas Chute, an 
early settler of Windham, Maine, by Mr. William Goold. Mr. 



202 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Edward- H. Elwell then read a biographical sketch of our poet- 
governor, Enoch Lincoln, with extracts from his poem entitled 
" The Village." 

Mr. John T. Hull presented a memorial on the early records 
of Maine, which was referred to a committee consisting of James 
P. Baxter, William Goold and Edward H. Elwell. 



HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. 203 



HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. 

THE Machias Union, of January 14, 1890, has a paper, apparently pre- 
pared by its editor, Mr. George W. Drisko, of considerable local and 
general interest, from which some excerpts are copied below. 

MACHIAS IN THE WAR OF 1812. 

"IN less than forty years after the battle of the 'Margaretta' British 
uniforms and muskets made a second appearance in Machias. Like 
most all towns, not excepting Portland, Boston, and even Washington, 
Machias was obliged to surrender; the flag came down. There was no 
discredit in this to the citizens; it was a choice, this or a conflagration. 
The British troops landed at or near Bucks harbor, came ashore in 
small boats from the two or three war vessels, marched, following the 
road near as they could, to Machias. The fort at Machiasport, held by 
a very small garrison of militia, was completely surprised. 

"Colonel Jeremiah O'Brien who fought the 'Margaretta,' and with his 
neighbors won the battle, was decided in his opinion of resistance : 
'Have a force of militia,' he said, 'go out and meet the advancing foe 
on the Port road and turn them back or kill them!' Fortunately for 
Machias different counsels prevailed and no battle was fought, very lit- 
tle or no property destroyed. O'Brien, when it was decided to show no 
resistance, being in his saddle near the custom house, turned his old 
white horse, struck a gallop toward his house and did not make his ap- 
pearance while the British officers remained in town." 

The ease with which the British invasion of Eastern Maine, in the 
war of 1812, overcame all the feeble resistance the two frontier coun- 
ties made, the fact that British forces occupied Eastport, Machias, 
and the strong fort at Castine, during the greater part of the war, 
might have cost Maine a large slice of her territory, had not the fortunes 
of battle been more favorable to our country elsewhere, and especially 
upon the ocean. It would have been a fine opportunity to have gotten 
by the terms of a treaty of peace that portion of Maine, proved after- 
ward so essential to the military defense and commercial development 
of the British provinces in North America, that England afterward did 
get by persistent claim, and by the superior finesse of her negotiators. 



204 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

But the war left our adversary no pretext for claiming any ces- 
sion of territory; and she would hardly have wished to incorporate 
among her loyal subjects such sturdy rebels as those who had captured 
the " Margaretta," and repulsed the attack made in 1777 upon the settlq- 
ment of Machias; and we owe it more to the memory of the old spirit 
rather than the exhibition of the later spirit, that our boundary in the 
negotiations of 1815 did not get established at the Penobscot river. 

FRAGMENTS OF HISTORY. 

"SOMETIME about 1800 Albert Gallatin, a Scotchman perhaps, a for- 
eigner, landed at St. John, made his way through the woods via Calais to 
Machias, and spent several weeks in town, his home mainly being in the 
family of Jeremiah O'Brien, son of Morris of earlier fame. While in 
O'Brien's house he fell sick, and Mrs. O'Brien, as indeed all the family, 
cared for him. Gallatin made his way on to New York. Thomas Jef- 
ferson was inaugurated the third president in 1801, and in selecting his 
cabinet, he made Gallatin secretary of the treasury. Shortly afterward 
Jeremiah O'Brien received a commission as collector of customs for 
the port of Machias, accompanied by a private letter by the secretary, 
giving as a reason for the courtesy as well as the 'honor here con- 
ferred,' the kind hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien a few years be- 
fore ! Bread cast upon the waters ! The custom house was then kept 
in Captain Smith's long shed before mentioned, already famous in 
local history." 

Albert Gallatin, Mr. Jefferson's able secretary of the treasury, and' 
whose financial reputation in our country is second only to that of Alex- 
ander Hamilton, like Hamilton, was of foreign birth. He was born in 
Geneva in 17(h, and his family, though belonging to the nobility for 
many generations, had been -distinguished in Switzerland for their re- 
publican sentiments. When the French revolution came they wel- 
comed it with sympathy. 

Albert Gallatin himself, having been required after his graduation 
from college, by his grand parents he was an orphan to enter the 
army of the landgrave of Hesse, ran away from Geneva and secretly em- 
barked for America. The statement of Mr. Drisko, that he tarried 
awhile at Machias, is undoubtedly correct. The course of trade after 
the revolutionary war brought many English merchant ships, which at 
that time were also the only packet ships carrying passengers, to St. 
John. It was in 1780 however and not about 1800. 



HISTORICAL MEMOKAKDA. 205 

The fact that he spent the first winter after his arrival in the United 
States "in the wilds of Maine," as told in his biography, and the cir- 
cumstance also therein told, that he engaged in certain land specula- 
tions, which in the end made him penniless and sent him first to Boston, 
and ultimately to Pennsylvania, where he settled and became a citizen, 
makes it probable that his land journey through the magnificent Maine 
wilderness in 1780, from St. John to Boston, gave him exaggerated ideas, 
as it did many other visitors, of the great value of our forests. He 
found, like most amateurs at lumbering, that it takes the hard practical 
sense of Maine men to turn this natural wealth into dollars and cents. 

*' TALLEYRAND, the French exile, banished for his patriotic sentiments, 
about 1798 visited Machias. The house (Bruce homestead then) where 
the distinguished diplomat lodged is still standing, if not on the same 
lot, latterly known as the Doctor Wetherbee house. Before Bruce lived 
in this house Joseph White, who came from Salem, Massachusetts, occu- 
pied it a few years with his family and then returned to Salem. In 1830 
the terrible murder took place in Salem, Joseph White being the victim, 
although our local historian says he was a son of the White who lived 
in Machias. Joseph and Francis Knapp and Richard Crowninshield 
were the alleged murderers. Daniel Webster, then in the zenith of his 
popularity as a legal advocate, was one of the counsel in the trial which 
lasted several days and attracted attention not only in this country but 
Europe. 

"James Gordon Bennett, who afterward founded the 'New York 
Herald,' tarried one night in Machias. The same winter he, Bennett, 
taught a term of school in Steuben, the western town in Washington 
county." 

Talleyrand was an ecclesiastic of high rank in the Roman Catholic 
hierarchy of France. He had been created an abbe through the favor of 
the infamous Madame du Barry, and made bishop of Autun in spite of 
his open immoralities, in fulfillment of a promise by the king to his 
father on his deathbed. But it is as an able diplomatist, and as a mas- 
ter of political intrigue, as well as by the levity with which all his con- 
victions, political, moral and religious, sat upon, whereby he was able 
to keep himself in favor first with the king and the old regime, then 
with the Revolution, then with Napoleon, and finally with the Restora- 
tion, and to die quietly in his bed surrounded by his admirers at the 
age of eighty-four, when so many of his clerical brethren and political 



206 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

associates had spent their lives in exile, or perished under the stroke 
of the guillotine, that he is best known in history. 

He was not "banished" to America "for his patriotic sentiments," 
for he never had any sentiments that were permanent, and was not a 
man to suffer any inconvenience on account of his convictions. The 
political changes between 1792 and 1794 the very crisis of the revolu- 
tion were so rapid that with the best intentions the nimble ecclesiastic 
could not quite keep up with them. Having been sent as ambassador to 
England by Louis xvi, the former year, he prudently spent most of the 
dangerous years, when the click of la guillotine in Paris affected nervous 
people unpleasantly, engaged in political and statistical writing and 
publication. He Avould have prolonged his stay in England but that 
the convention had issued a decree against him as an aristocrat, an 
emigre and public enemy, and the British ministry had set in opera- 
tion against him the provisions of their Alien Act. He sailed for the 
United States in January, 1794, furnished with a letter to Lord Lans- 
downe, British minister at Washington. 

Louis Philippe, afterward citizen king of France, accompanied Tal- 
leyrand on his voyage to the United States. It is probable that these 
distinguished visitors, like Gallatin before them, landed at St. John, 
New Brunswick, and thence made their way partly by land into and 
through the United States. 

There was no road in 1794 between Eastport, then a small frontier 
settlement, and Machias, an ante-revolutionary colony ; and the mode of 
communication was up some of the numerous arms of the Passama- 
quoddy Bay, turbulent with tides, and barred by rocks which became 
cataracts with the in and outflow of the sea, across carrying-places to a 
chain of lakes with connecting streams flowing into the Machias river. 
Birch canoes were the packet vessels, and the Quoddy Indians the skill- 
ful pilots and voyageurs. 

I have often heard my father narrate that traveling by that route the 
French exiles, destined to fill so large a place in European history, came 
with their Indian guides to the house of one David Gardner, a Nan- 
tucket Quaker, who had found his way from Massachusetts into the 
eastern wilderness, and built a saw mill on the outlet of Gardners lake, 
named for him, at the point where the longest carry separates the waters 



HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. 207 

flowing into Passamaquoddy bay from those flowing into the Machias 
river. 

It was noon of a hot, mid-summer day, and the travelers turned in at 
Gardner's house, weary and hungry, and asked for dinner. It was after 
the scant crops of the preceding year had been consumed, and before 
the late crop of the year was ready for consumption ; and though Friend 
Gardner lived generally rather better than his poor neighbors, his pru- 
dent wife, much doubtless to her chagrin, had no " daintier dish to set 
before a king," than boiled greens without meat, bread, or other vege- 
tables. Such as it was, a Quaker welcome went with it, and the exiles 
magaged to "stay their stomachs" until at Machias, at the inn of Cap- 
tain Ellis, or under the free hospitality of Judge Jones, it is to be hoped 
they found more substantial fare. 

We gather the following historical item from a recent number of the 
Eastern Argus. 

AHf INTERESTING LETTEK. 

" We have been permitted to copy the following interesting letter now 
in a good state of preservation, written by Sir William Pepperrell of Kit- 
tery to Judge Hill of Berwick, and now in possession of N. J. Herrick, 
Esq. The letter as will be seen, was written one hundred and forty-six 
years ago, just previous to Pepperrell' s departure on the famous Louis- 
burg expedition in which he achieved the highest distinction as a mili- 
tary commander." 

KITTEEY, February 21, 1744. 
Dear Sr. 

The day Last past I heard that Capt. Butler had Enlisted in Berwick 
his fifty brave Soldr's this News was Like a Cordial to me to hear that 
Berwick Brother to Kittery my own Native Town has such a brave Eng- 
lish Spirit. I received Last night a Letter from ye Honor'ble Committee 
of Warr who write that they tho't there was upon our making up five or 
six Companys of our brave County of York men ye full number that 
was propo'd are Enlis'd & more so that there will be a number Clear' d 
off, but you may assure Your Selfe that our brave County of York men 
Shall not be Clear' d off without they desire it. 

Speak to Capt. Butler to hasten down here for I have some Inlisting 
money Sent me for him. I am sorry that some of your Commission of- 
ficers in Your Town Seem to be uneasy because they had not had ye 
offer of a Commission in this Expedition; I understood you Spoke to 
them ; did they Expect that at this time I should have wait'd on them, I 



208 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

think if they had ye Least inclination to have gone I think it was iKity 
they owed to God their King & Country to come and offer their Selves. 
My love to yr Lady and all inquiring Friends. 

I am Your Affectionate 

Friend and Servant, 

WM. PEPPEKRELL. 

I dont doubt in ye Least but the Commission Officers in Berwick are 
Brave good men as any in this Province and would willingly Venture 
their Lives with their Coll. and I believe that nothing would now hinder 
them but their business in going on ye inten'd Expedition, therefore I 
excuse them willingly; please to tell them all I Sincerely Value and 
Love them, and that if there should be occation for forces to be Sent af- 
ter us I dont doubt in ye least but they will be reddy to come when 
their business is over. I begg all their prayers. 

Dear Brother I wish you well. 

W. P. 
[ Addressed.] 

On His Majs'tys Service 
To the Honor' ble John Hill 
Esqr Att Berwick." 



We are confident that our readers who have read with interest the 
pleasant brief biography of his distinguished father, the late John Gil- 
more Deane, by his son Llewellyn Deane, Esq., of Washington, D. C., 
among the collections of the present number, and have enjoyed the bits 
of local history and the delineations of some famous personal characters 
who made up the somewhat unique and peculiar society of the earlier 
period of the present century, will be glad to have that paper supple- 
mented by other documents relating to the same history and the same 
character. 

We copy from a pamphlet prepared by the author of the biography 
above referred to the chapter from the Deane Genealogy, also some ex- 
tracts from letters written by Mr. Deane to his wife before their mar- 
riage, descriptive of the eastern country, its people, and his adventures 
among them, and a charming letter from Mrs. C. J. Milliken of Boston, 
in May, 1885, descriptive of old times in Ellsworth. 



HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. 209 

A CHAPTER FROM THE DEANE GENEALOGY. 
THE DEANE SIDE. 

Family of Joseph Deane of Raynham, Massachusetts, fifth in descent 
from John Deane, who came from England, and, with his brother Walter, 
was one of the pioneer settlers of Taunton, Massachusetts. 

Joseph Deane was born in Raynham, November 20, 1753, and died Feb- 
ruary 16, 1837. 

He married January 10, 1783, Mary, daughter of Capt. John Gilmore, 
who was born May 18, 1760, and died May 10, 1837, a few months after 
her husband's death. 

Their children, all born in Raynham, Massachusetts, were : 

John Gilmore, born March 27, 1785; died in Cherryfield, Maine, No- 
vember 10, 1839. 

Mary, born September 25, 1790; died August 10, 1820; married Abiezer 
Dean of Taunton, Massachusetts, leaving two children, Joseph Albert 
and Elizabeth Hall. 

Joseph Augustus, born June 25, 1802 ; died in Ellsworth, Maine, May 
4, 1873; married Eliza, daughter of Colonel Nathaniel Fales of Taunton, 
August 17, 1830; they had three children. Mary Agnes, died October 6, 
1862; Sabra W. (now Mrs. Amory Otis), and John G., died June 17, 1841. 

THE PADELFORD SIDE. 

Children of Seth Padelford and Rebecca, his wife, all born in Taunton, 
Massachusetts. 

Seth Padelford of Taunton, Massachusetts, born December 7, 1751; 
died January 3, 1810; married, June 1, 1777, Rebecca Dennis, who was 
born December 8, 1756, and died March 16, 1822. 

Their children were : 

Polly Dennis, bora April 13, 1778; married Mason Shaw of Bangor, 
Maine ; died May 19, 1805. 

Ezekiel D., born September 23, 1779; died October 27, 1779. 

Sally Kirby, born October 27, 1780; married Nathaniel Fales of Taun- 
ton, Massachusetts; died at Quincy, Illinois, November 26, 1858. 

Melinda, born February 14, 1782; married Enoch Brown of Hampden, 
Massachusetts; died January 23, 1836. 

John, born May 1, 1783; died June 29, 1801. 

Charles, born January 12, 1785; died February 21, 1785. 

Nancy, born March 14, 1786; married Samuel E. Cooke of Tiverton, 
Rhode Island; died October 21, 1817. 

Harry, born September 29, 1787 ; married Susan Crosman of Taunton, 
Massachusetts; died in New York about 1850. 

Rebecca, born 1789; died 1791. 

Rebecca Dennis who married John G. Deane. 

Caroline, born 1794; died 1796. 

Francis, born 1796; died 1798. 
14 



210 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

OUR OWN FAMILY. 

Children of John G. Deane and Rebecca, his wife, all born in Ells- 
worth, Maine. 

Seth Padelford, born August 3, 1814; died August 21, 1814. 

John, born November 14, 1815; lost at sea November, 1836. 

Joseph P., born September 29, 1817; died at Quincy, Illinois, August 
19, 1869; married Eleanor S. Reed of Taunton, Massachusetts, January 
27, 1842. 

Mary, born October 8, 1818 ; died at Portland, May 14, 1839. 

Rebecca Padelford, born March 31, 1820 ; died at Ellsworth, August 7, 
1833. 

Melvin Gilmore, born November 16, 1821 ; died at Portland, March 21, 
1854 ; married Sarah E. Shepherd, of Bristol, Rhode Island, August 9, 
1843, who died May 18, 1847; and Harriet Ann Thurston of Winthrop, 
Maine, October 12, 1848. 

Henry Padelford, born October 9, 1823; died at the Revere House, 
Boston, en route from Florida to Portland, March 25, 1873; married 
Annie E. Morse, of Brunswick, Maine, March 23, 1848. 

Frederick Augustus, born September 17, 1825; died at sea, on ship 
"Majestic," en route to California, March 16, 1867. 

Llewellyn, born September 17, 1827, died March, 1828. 

Llewellyn, born April 23, 1829; married Mrs. L. E. Ricks of Washing- 
ton, D. C., August 29, 1871. 

William Wallace, born August 2, 1832 ; died at Washington, D. C., 
July 21, 1870; married Abbie Edwards of Saccarappa, Maine, May 14, 
1868. 

EXTRACTS FROM MR DEANE' s LETTERS TO Miss REBECCA D. PADEL- 
FORD (AFTERWARD HIS WIFE). 

The postage on the single letters was twenty cents. 

He sailed from Boston Thursday, September 21, 1809, for Ellsworth, 
and reached the mouth of Union river the Saturday following. He 
writes Monday, September 25, 1809, from Ellsworth : 

" When.we arrived at the head of the bay the tide did not suit for pass- 
ing the bar, therefore I requested the Captain to set me ashore. I was 
landed in the town of Surry, two miles from Ellsworth. After traveling 
nearly a mile on an unconscionable road, I was surprised at finding one 
nearly as good as roads in general in and about Taunton. The people 
bear no sort of resemblance to the natural appearance of the country. 
They have treated me, so far, with great attention. I took coffee last 
evening with Mr. Herbert, and found him an intelligent, learned and 
social man ; and was much pleased with Mrs. Herbert, she is a very 
chatty lady. ... I attended meeting yesterday, and was very agreeably 
entertained by their minister, Mr. Brewer, who was sent to this place by 
a missionary society ; from his sermons I should judge him to be a man 



HISTOKICAL MEMORANDA. 211 

of more than ordinary promise. I have found a room for an office, and a 
place to lay my head. The boarding-house is the best in this part of the 
country ; it is kept by Mr. Sawyer. Mr. Brewer boards here, and a doc- 
tor ;and schoolmaster. I calculate on having a very social time. Mr. 
Black was here to-day. To-morrow I shall visit the Penobscot country, 
and shall undoubtedly call on Mr. Brown. It is necessary for me to go 
to Castine to procure some blanks before I can commence business in 
this place. . . . The Western mail arrives here on Tuesday evening, 
and goes out on Monday evening or Tuesday morning. If you put your 
letters in Taunton post-office on Monday, I shall receive them the Sun- 
day following." 

"Ellsworth, Oct. 3, 1809, ... I concluded to take a tour to see of 
what material the country was made, as well as to see if I could find a 
more eligible situation. The first six miles were tolerable ; the next 
seven ran through a wilderness, and I saw not a human being in that 
distance. Then I came to Bluehill, a large and pleasant town for this 
country. The road was good through that town. The next two miles 
were bad, beyond all description ; then the road grew more and more 
pleasant, until I arrived at Buckstown, a very pleasant village." From 
thence he proceeded to Hampden, to visit Mr. and Mrs. Brown (Melinda 
Padelford). 

"The second day after my arrival, by the aid of Mr. B., I became 
acquainted with General Ulmer. The General recommended Lincoln- 
ville to me, and made some very fair offers if I should see cause to settle 
there. His offer was to take me into his family to board, and would 
give me business enough to pay my board. But previous to any positive 
determination on my part, the General very politely invited me to visit 
him at his house in Lincolnville. I consented. Lincolnville is on the 
west side of Penobscot bay, thirty-five miles below Hampden. Friday 
last I started from Hampden for Castine ; three miles from Castine I 
found Major Langdon of Ellsworth, and sent my horse home ; traveled 
on foot to Castine ; found General Ulmer there ; spent the evening with 
him and several gentlemen. Early Saturday morning went in quest of a 
boat to set me across the bay, but I found none that would sail till even- 
ing. Some time in the forenoon I went into Judge Nelson's office, pro- 
cured all necessary blanks, and dined with his honor, and passed four or 
five hours very sociably ; at sunset the boat set sail across the bay, which 
is about fourteen or fifteen miles wide. Was landed at Northport at 
little past nine o'clock ; it was very rainy, and exceedingly dark ; the 
roads were rough and muddy, but, notwithstanding all these difficulties, 
I traveled two or three miles till my guide found me a place to lodge. 

In the morning I set out for General Ulmer' s, who lived five miles dis- 
tant. I spent Sunday with the General, conversed with the people rela- 
tive to my settling here, but the prospect was not flattering. . . . 
Monday morning the General furnished me a horse, to travel to Belfast, 
but the packet in which I took passage was under way, and I was obliged 



212 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

to leave the horse one and a half miles from Belfast, near to the shore 
and hail the packet. I was fortunate in obtaining my passage. My next 
object was to gain the post road from Ellsworth to Buckstown before 
the post should pass, but, alas, the attempt was fruitless ; I was on foot 
and had fiteeii miles to travel over such a road as your eye never beheld. 
. . . About 4 o'clock P.M., today, I arrived in Ellsworth. The dis- 
tance from Castine is about thirty miles ; the most of it I traveled on 
foot. . . . To set out well with the people is an object of the first 
magnitude. Herbert is extremely popular ; he is established, and I can- 
not succeed if my efforts are not unremitting." . . . 

" Oct. 6, 1809. I have progressed very slowly in preparing my office. 
I have set up my books, procured one chair, one bench and a table ; 
now am, quite ready to begin. My prospects are not flattering. The so- 
ciety of the place is very good, considering all circumstances. I have 
met none so good in this country, and I believe in but few places in the 
vicinity of Taunton." 

Oct. 16, 1809. To-day I came near failing to send you a letter. The 
reason was this : a new carrier brought the mail, who traveled with 
more expedition than the old one, and I, unapprised of the alteration, 
had made my calculation of depositing my letter at the usual hour. But, 
when I found I was too late, I set out and ran half a mile and put the 
letter into the post's hand ; he promised to place it in the mail at Blue- 
hill. ... I hope to visit Taunton before January. I must go by 
water ; traveling by land is terrible, I have tried it to my satisfation." 

"Nov., 1809. General Ulmer has called on me and again urged me 
to settle in Lincolnville. As an inducement, he has offered to board 
me, and do something more for me in the business he will put into my 
hands. From the first the General has treated me with the greatest po- 
liteness, and I feel much indebted to him." 

"Nov. 2, 1809, Thursday. I never witnessed a more pleasant au- 
tumn, so far as relates to the weather, since I have been here ; we have 
had but two or three small rains, and those in the night ; today it is 
raining you can hardly conceive how muddy the roads are ; the soil is 
clayey, and in wet weather a person's feet stick fast." 

" Sunday evening, 5th November I have not seen your letter as I an- 
ticipated ; I suppose it has arrived, but the post-office is on one side of 
the river and I am on the other. The bridge has been broken down, but 
people can pass over its ruins on foot in daylight. The post does not ar- 
rive till seven or eight o'clock at night, and it would have been very dan- 
gerous to attempt crossing the bridge at night." 

" December 12, 1809. By last mail no letter from you. I console my- 
self that it was not your fault, but more from the following cause : The 
last mail was soaked through, the contents very wet and much worn ; 
no mail went east of this place ; the carrier said he would not have left 
Bluehill had he known how bad the traveling was. ... I spent the 
whole of yesterday afternoon in pursuit of the apples, and obtained a 



HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. 213 

barrel, on which we all feasted last evening. The vessel brought seven- 
ty barrels, and we are to have six. As a reward for my diligence and 
success my landlady is busy making pies, on which we shall feast this 
evening. We have had some apples before, occasionally, but they were 
such as would not be eaten at the Westward. These are really large and 
excellent. The condition of the poor of this place will not be so 
wretched this winter, as I apprehended some time ago. Provisions 
have arrived, and if they will work they can obtain a supply." 

December 17. Yesterday I was again employed in a voyage down the 
river, to aid Mr. Sawyer in boating up winter stores." 

" December 18. I received, not one, but three letters in the last mail. 
There was company at our house, so I read only one before going to bed ; 
when the house was still I built a fire and read the others." 

" June 27, 1810. I had an invitation to ride today, but declined. The 
party consisted of six, all mounted on horseback ; they made a very 
good appearance, but could you see the road you would doubt if they 
could have a pleasant ride. I have done scarcely anything for past few 
days, beyond attending to a little military business and some Fourth of 
July matters." 

"June 30. Strawberries are very thick, and just ripe; strawberries 
and gooseberries are almost the only fruit this country produces, and 
they are very nice. Our company have agreed on their uniform, which 
is a red coat trimmed up with black, white waistcoat and pantaloons 
trimmed with red cord, black gaiters, and caps like the Raynham com- 
pany, or hats in form of officers' hats, with feathers." 

"Sunday. We trained last night till dark, and I was tired enough to 
go home and go to bed. I have not one spark of military enthusiasm 
not enough to make this business the slightest amusement." 

" Thursday, July 5, 1810. Last Monday night I went to Frenchman's 
bay, and was all night on the water in an open boat ; returned Thurs- 
day, had a fair wind ; sailed the boat by the assistance of slabs. We ap- 
peared more like Indians than civilized beings. The voyage, on the 
whole, was not unpleasant, though I was goaded by flies and mosquitoes 
and exposed to the scorching rays of the sun. You may wish to know 
what induced me to take this voyage of seventeen or eighteen miles ; it 
was only to procure a field-piece for the Fourth of July. Yesterday we 
had as pleasant a time as could be expected in this place; indeed, it far 
exceeded my expectations ; nearly sixty dined at one table. Our amuse- 
ments were training, discharging our muskets, bowling, drinking, etc., 
etc., and conversation. There was a ball in the evening ; I went to it, 
but only staid a short time. Today four of us went into the field and 
picked nearly a peck of strawberries ; in places the surface of the ground 
was almost red with them." 



214 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

I have above quoted as much as seems to be well from these, to me, 
most interesting and vivid letters. In places in them my father de- 
scribes his first boarding-house. It was kept by Mr. Sawyer, " a clever 
and industrious man ; he likes good living and good cheer ; he came 
from Reading, Massachusetts." But it is evident that, so far as the 
management of household affairs, Mrs. Sawyer was the chief personage. 
She is described as an " intelligent and, considering her opportunities, a 
superior woman." There were also at the same house "Mrs. Captain 
Peters ; her husband resided in Boston." Mrs. Peters "has a fine little 
boy, named Alexander Hamilton Peters, with whom I frequently amuse 
myself. A missionary preacher, John Brewer by name, boards here ; he 
is an intelligent, social and well informed young men. He has been a 
great traveler, and frequently amuses us by narrations of his adventures. 
He has traveled by land and by water, horseback and on foot ; he has 
been everywhere, and seen everything; as a preacher, he holds high 
rank and is very popular with the people of this place. He will con- 
tinue here but three weeks more; I am sure I shall miss him, and regret 
his absence. The physician of the place boards here; he is a clever 
young man ; but the place is very healthy, therefore the people can dis- 
pense with a physician of the first rank. The schoolmaster is likewise 
a boarder." 

Mention is also made of occasional calls on Squire Herbert, who was 
at one time very sick ; also of visits to Colonel Jordan's ; also of Mr. 
Jones and his family, the female members of which are spoken of as very 
well educated ; also of his acquaintance with Captain Black. I suppose 
this to be John Black, and that his title of Captain was derived from his 
position in the Cobb Light Infantry, the military company, probably, re- 
ferred to in the foregoing extracts, and, I think, named after General 
Cobb, who had large landed possessions in the vicinity of Ellsworth. 
He came from Massachusetts, and Captain Black married his daughter. 
LETTER FROM MRS. MILLIKEN. 

I wrote Mrs. J. C. Milliken of Boston, Massachusetts, for the tempo- 
rary loan of a manuscript history of Ellsworth, written by her kins- 
woman, Mrs. Martha Jellison. Mrs. Milliken very kindly sent me the 
following copy of the mention made therin by the author : 

" In 1811 John G. Deane, from Eaynham, Massachusetts, established 
himself in Ellsworth as attorney-at-law. He married Rebecca, daughter 
of Judge Padelford of Taunton, Massachusetts. Mr. Deane followed 
the legal profession until he was the father of a large family. He then 
made some profitable investments which enabled him to move to Port- 
land. 

" Mr. Deane was respected by all classes of society as a man .who con- 
scientiously discharged the business entrusted to him. He was a kind 
husband, an affectionate father, and a good neighbor." 



HISTOEICAL MEMORANDA. 215 

And then Mrs. Milliken adds the following notes by herself, which 
contain so many interesting and valuable facts that I take the liberty to 
print them here. 

" BOSTON, MAY 31, 1885. 
"Mr DEAR MB. DEANE : 

" Ellsworth must have been a very crude little town in 1811, although 
it was settled as early as 1773. Its only means of communication with 
the world was by water, the voyage to Boston often taking several 
weeks. There was a road to Castine at an early date after the settle- 
ment, but the road to Bangor was not built until 1815, that to Bucksport 
in 1812,and there was no better way through the eastern wilderness than 
a hunter's and lumberer's path until much later. For years there was 
one mail west each week, carried on horseback through Surry and Blue- 
hill to Bucksport, the postboy fording the creeks. 

" The wealth was for years exclusively in lumber, the inhabitants find- 
ing it more profitable to send their lumber west in exchange for sup- 
plies. 

"My great grandfather, who was the original settler and owner of a 
large part of the town, and who, being a loyalist, went off with the Eng- 
lish troops from Castine, built the first mills and vessels, and brought 
with him a superior class of men from Scarboro and Spurwink. Early 
in 1800 (I think) Colonel Black came with a Mr. Williams as agent for 
the great Biiigham purchase, which comprised many townships. About 
the same time the Jarvis family came to improve their tract of timber, 
called the ' Jarvis Gore,' and settled in Surry, where they built a fine 
house. You may remember that Leonard Jarvis represented the dis- 
trict in Congress. 

" The Otises came from Boston as agents for the property that after- 
ward bore their name. I think they were not owners. General Cobb's 
grant of land for military service was in Sullivan, and when he came to 
live on it the Sargents of Boston, came as neighbors. Mary Cobb be- 
came Mrs. Black, and Katharine Sargent, Mrs. Jones, or Madame Jones, 
as I knew her. 

" These families, though they lived at some distance, constituted a 
more cultivated society than many of the pioneer towns could boast, and 
the more cultured of the earlier settlers gathered about them. As late 
as I can remember there was a superior tone to the society. 

" The only religious worship before 1812 was irregular, there being no 
church organization and no clergyman of repute. In 1811 Mr. Nourse of 
Bolton, Massachusetts, was settled as pastor and schoolmaster, the two 
offices having always been united. In 1812 the first church was organ- 
ized, and the system of education, which made a complete revolution in 
the whole district. No more enthusiastic or self-denying teacher ever 
lived than Parson Nourse, and the town owed more to him than to any 
other of its citizens. 



216 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

"As lumbering was the principal business, all other was subsidiary 
to it. There had been several ' traders ' before Edward D. Peters, and 
Major Pond, who afterward moved to Boston. I think that Andrew 
Peters came from Bluehill about the time that your father came, and 
Jesse Dutton (father of the Deacon), who succeeded him in business. 
They had the usual variety stores that we all associate with country 
places. The Blacks only supplied the families of their own lumbermen 
and the men who took up farms on the Bingham lands. 

"I think there was but one lawyer in town before your father 
George Herbert. Judge Hathaway followed soon after. For a long 
time the only physician was Dr. Peck, whose lumbering figure and gen- 
erous powders you may remember. The old revolutionary pensioner in' 
breeches and cue, of whom you speak in your article, I remember ; I 
think he had no friends in town, and I cannot remember his name. 

"There were more than the usual number of 'characters' in Ells- 
worth, and it has always seemed a pity that some one at that early time 
should not have ' made a note ' of them. Your mother, with her won- 
derful facility of language, could have done it admirably. 

" I remember the great respect in which your father was held, both in 
Ellsworth and Cherryfield. He was a great loss to the town, which 
needed just such wise and liberal men to offset the smaller race of trad- 
ers that were coming up. I copy on the opposite page the short notice 
of him found in the manuscript, and I am sorry that I can do you no 
better service. 

" Very sincerely, - 

"C. J. MILLIKEN." 

A CENTURY OF EXISTENCE. 

AT the January meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society 
the oldest association of the kind in America, Dr. George E. Ellis the 
president said : " We are brought very near to, if we have not al- 
ready reached, the date in time which will mark the completion of a 
century of the existence and activity of this society the first in our 
country to lead the succession of the numerous and generally efficient 
and prosperous societies of like purposes in our states, cities, counties, 
districts, towns and villages. An interesting question at once pre- 
sents itself, as to the precise date of our nativity, from which we are to 
begin our reckoning. Usage and recognized precedent have established 
the rule that the life of a chartered or incorporated society, intended for 
perpetuity, begins with its authoritative official sanction. Yet it is a 
well-known fact that very many schemes have been in active existence, 
and many associations and fellowships for a great variety of purposes 
have had organizations and meetings of members before charter and seal 
gave them incorporation. The Royal Society of London received its 
charter from Charles n, in 1661. But for at least a score of years pre- 
viously the scholars, savants and philosophers, who asked for and ob- 



HISTORICAL MEMORANDA. 217 

tained that charter, with seal and mace, had held their meetings and 
conferences, and had been gathering materials to promote in the same 
way the same objects which received the royal sanction. Our own now 
venerable and honored university still poor and suppliant with its 
flood of wealth dates its life from September, 1636, because the Gen- 
eral Court of the colony then recorded its purpose to plant and foster a 
college among the stumps in a patch of the wilderness in a new town. 
The court also made a promise of money for the object and designated a 
committee to take order of it. But none the less the memorial statute 
on the delta is inscribed " John Harvard, founder, 1638. " This earliest 
and most munificent benefactor was the founder of " Harvard College.' 
But the date of two years preceding fitly marks the inception of the 
seminary. 

' ' Following so honored a precedent this society might claim that this 
year will complete a full century of its existence. Curiously enough 
the first book plate in some of its earliest volumes bears the inscrip- 
tion, 'Established in 1790.' There was then something 'established ' 
which, soon after, it was thought best to have 'incorporated.' Those 
are the premises which we have before us for fixing the year of our na- 
tivity. And what is the significance of that word 'established'? It 
means something that is in being, not only in purpose, but in fact. The 
new-born infant is a reality in a household for watching over and for 
nutriment, perhaps before its name is decided upon. And that name 
may have been adopted in the household before it has been formally 
cpnferred in a sacred rite. It is, however, noteworthy that the faithful 
scribes of church and parish records in the mother country and in our 
early colony times, while very scrupulous in entering the date of bap- 
tism, fail to give the date of birth; as if a child's life began on the day 
when, as the phrase is, it was "christened." About many of our own 
worthies in whose biography we are interested, as, for instance, of John 
Harvard, we know the date of baptism, but not of birth. 

"Our records satisfactorily explain to us what was meant by the words 
'Established in 1790.' The books in which the legend was stamped 
were not private property, did not belong to individuals, but had passed 
into the ownership of associates, a fellowship formed of a few gentle- 
men brought intimately together to advance a common object. They 
were the same men who afterward sought and obtained a charter for 
their society. They had been holding meetings, gathering and contribu- 
ting materials for a common purpose. Later on one of this series of 
meetings was held at the house of an associate, Judge Tudor, on January 
24, 1791. Eight persons were present. They agreed to regard this as 
their ' first meeting.' It was not because it was the first meeting, but be- 
cause they then first gave organic form to their association by voting on 
'arti cles for its constitution and government.' Continuing their 'reg- 
ular ' and ' special ' meetings, at one of them, on January 29, ,1794, a 
committee was appointed to apply to the legislature for a charter. This 



218 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

was granted under an act of incorporation passed on February 19. Here 
again the date of baptism, so to speak, is given more definitely than the 
date of birth. 

"In any recognition, therefore, which we might see fit to make of the 
completion of our first centennial, we have an alternative for choice of 
date. Honoring the memory of that little group of cultivated and zeal- 
ous gentlemen who had found a joint attraction in intelligent historical 
interests and aims, we may find the origin of our society in their meet- 
ings held in 1790. Or we may date from the grant of our formal charter. 
It is for the members of the society, if the matter has interest for them 
and if any view should be entertained of recognizing our centennial, to 
discuss and to dispose of the question." 



HISTORICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 219 



HISTORICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 

THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF GEORGEANA. AND THE 
TOWN OF YORK. 

HAVING occasion recently, while elaborating a land-title in York to 
make some investigation of its ancient boundaries, I was surprised at 
the wide circulation given to erroneous statements of the extent and lim- 
its of this township; and as, from the character and official prominence 
given to one, and the wide circulation of others, these errors are liable 
to be re-copied and still further disseminated, these notes have been pre- 
pared to counteract these mis-statements. 

The particular point to which it is desired to direct attention is this : 
that the great majority of the so-called authorities, that touch upon this 
point at all, give only twenty-one square miles of territory to the ancient 
city of Gorgeana, instead of the forty-two square miles it received by its 
charter from Sir Ferdinaudo Gorges, which were recognized in its re- 
incorporation as the town of York, by Massachusetts in 1652, and which 
have, substantially, continued included in its borders to the present day. 

To give these erroneous statements in the order of their prominence : 

Note by the Commissioner on the sources of land titles in Maine, p. xi, 
prefixed to the Revised Statutes of Maine (1883). 

. . . "and by a second charter dated March 1, 1642, incorporated it, 
with a territory of twenty-one square miles, into a city called Gorgeana." 
(Varney's Gazetteer of Maine (1882), p. 607.) 

" Its limits were seven miles inland from the sea by three in breadth; 
and the Agamenticus (York) river formed its southwestern boundary." 
(Emery's Gorgeana and York, (1874), p. 40.) 

. . . "he incorporated a territory of twenty-one square miles." . . . 
(Sanford, Everts & Co.'s Atlas of York County (1872), p. 114.) 

" Her limits were seven miles inland from the sea, by three in breadth, 
with the Agamenticus (York) river for the southwestern boundary." . . 
. . . "In 1652, Massachusetts assumed control, the city charter was 
revoked, the name changed to York, iind an incorporation as a town 
granted, with limits enlarged probably nearly to those now existing." 

Such attempts, as this last clause, at manufacturing presumable; hi story 
cannot be too severely reprehended. By comparison with the extract 
from the incorporation by Massachusetts, cited from the records, below, 
it will be seen that this writer leads his reader into supposititious reason- 
ing at direct variance with the facts. 



220 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Cf., also (Everts & Peck's History of York County (1880), p. 217.) 

Do these writers suppose that Gorges intended by the terms of his 
charter to exclude from the benefits to be derived therefrom his grand- 
son for whom he had obtained a large grant (Records of -the Council for 
New England), or his "tenants who hold land upon the river of Acom- 
enticus" (York Deeds, i, Part ii, 6), or alderman, and afterward mayor, 
Roger Gard and his dwelling-house, all of whom were located upon the 
south side of the river of York (York Deeds i, 119). 

This error was undoubtedly promulgated by some- careless interpreter 
of the Gorges charters of incorporation, and the others have, apparently, 
blindly followed his lead. Extracts from these charters are reprinted 
here, to sustain the stand taken by the writer and make it clear to others, 
from Hazard's Collection of State Papers, wherein they were printed in 
1792, as "copies of originals now in possession of Daniel Moulton as 
clerk for the town of York," viz: (i, 470, the first, or borough charter, 10 
April, 1641) .... "establishe the Planters and Inhabitants of Acomen- 
ticus to continue .... by the name .... Towne of Acomenticus," . . 
. . . "the limitts of the said Corporacon which shall extend East West 
North and South three miles every way distant from the Church Chappell 
or Oratory belonging to the Plantacon of Acomenticus." 

(Id. i, 480, the second, or city charter, 1 March, 1642.) "My 

will is that the same from henceforth bee nominated termed and called 
by the name of Gorgeana And by that name of Gorgeana the said 

Circuite Precinctes Lymitt and Places I do establishe," &c. . . 

..." And doe therefore for mee my heires and assignes graunte ordeyne 
and establishe that the Circuite of the said Incorporacon within the Pro- 
vince aforesaid shall extend from the beginninge of the entrance in of 
the River Commonlie called and knowne by the name of Agameiiticus 
and soe vp the said River seaven Englishe Myles, and all alonge the Easte 
and North East side of the Sea-shore three Englishe Myles, in bredth 
from the entrance of the said River and vp into the mayne land seaven 
myles buttinge with the seaven myles from the sea-side vp the said River 
the bredth of three myles opposite there vnto." 

It is incomprehensible how this careless interpreter, who has been 
primarily responsible for so much subsequent blundering, could have 
disregarded all the plain indices to Gorges' intent; both the plainly ex- 
pressed seven miles by three miles on the opposite side of the river ; the 
" Circuite," which plainly indicated the three miles in all directions in 
the borough charter; and could have supposed that the area of the town- 
ship would be diminished in an Amplification of its privileges ; or that 
Gorges would have left out from participation in the proposed increased 
benefits his own tenants and adherents on the south side and have con- 
ferred these extra city privileges on the north side alone. 

For a clear distinction of the difference between a town and a city at 
that early date, see Coke's Commentary on Littleton, p. 115, cited in 
Richardson's introduction to York Deeds, i, p. 46 and note; and see 



HISTORICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. 221 

also the context for the best explanation yet given for Gorges' motive 
in changing the charters of incorporation. 

When Massachusetts, in 1652, annulled the city charter of Gorgeana 
and re-incorporated the place by the name of the town of York, she did 
not meddle with its ancient boundaries: 

(York Deeds, i, 27). " At a Court holden at a Place called Agamenti- 
cus or Gorgeana 22 Novemb r 1652 by the Comiss 8 of the Generall Court 

of the Massachusetts." "Further we do consent that the 

Town now called Agamenticus shall be hence forward called Yorke." . . 
. . . . " It is further agreed that the inhabitants of York & Kittery shall 
set out their Bounds betwixt them & the Inhabitants of Wells & York 
shall set out their Bounds betwixt them within One Year next ensuing 
otherwise it shall be done by Comiss rs appointed by the General Court." 
These bounds were from Brave-boat Harbor on the West (York Deeds, 
iii, 58) to the Ogunquit river on the east (Id. iii, 134 & i, parti, 9), and 
these have been its confines, with a slight change in the eastern line ever 
since. Cf. Hon. David SewalPs Topographical Description of York: 
Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 1 S. iii, 6. 

It might prove an entertaining pursuit to trace out the originator of 
this error, as he certainly started it long after Sullivan's and Williamson's 
time neither of whom were responsible for such a mistake and most- 
probably after Coolidge & Mansfield's valuable Description of New Eng- 
landMaine (1860), because they were the only authorities to properly 
set out the boundaries of both town and city and to leave the computa- 
tion of the areas to the student and investigator; but such pursuit might 
result in less than is sought to be accomplished by these notes, i. e. to 
counteract these mis-statements and to prevent their repetition in the 
future. WM. M. SARGENT. 

QUERY POINT INGLEBY. 

In his deed of 1643 to the mayor and commonalty of Gorgeana (York 
Deeds, iv, 46), Gorges names the point on the south side of the river 
"Point Ingleby:" Court Records, i, 303, " Country way laid out from 
the lot called Inglebys Lott from York through the woods to house of 
Hugh Gunnison at or near mouth of Piscataqua River," sufficiently 
identify this point as the one formed by Rogers' cove brook. 

For what part of the mother country was this so christened? 

I am indebted to Mr. James P. Baxter for the following information, 
from his valuable maps: that North and South Ingleby are hamlets in 
the county of Lincoln; and the suggestion that as one of the daughters 
of the Earl of Lincoln married one of Sir Ferdiuando Gorges' sons, and 
as the Countess of Lincoln was much interested fn colonization, if these 
hamlets can be shown to have been parts of the landed possessions of 
that family, a very plausible conjecture would be quite strongly con- 
firmed. 

Any further information bearing on the subject matter of this query is 
requested. WM. M. SARGENT. 



222 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

AN ALLEGED DEED BY PRESIDENT DANFORTH TO TRUSTEES OF THE 
TOWN OF YORK. 

At page 114 of Sanford, Everts & Co.'s Atlas of York County (1872), p. 
217 of Everts & Peck's History of York County (1880), p. 141 of Emery's 
Gorgeana and York (1874), p. 607 of Yarney's Gazetteer of Maine (1882), 
the following statement is printed: 

"In 1684 Thomas Danforth in behalf of the governor and council of 
Massachusetts deeded to Major John Davis, Edward Rishworth, Capt. 
Job Alcock and Lieut. Abraham Preble, trustees in behalf of the town, 
all land in town granted to it by Sir F. Gorges, thus .giving the town the 
right to dispose of the commons or ungranted lands as it saw fit. The 
consideration was that each family was to pay two or three shillings 
annually to Massachusetts." 

The indiscriminate use of the pronoun "it" by the writer of the above, 
renders this sentence one of the most difficult of apprehension it has 
been my bad fortune to meet with. I have assumed the writer meant to 
convey the idea that it was such a deed as President Danforth made to 
North Yarmouth, Scarborough and Falmouth, 1681-84. But we gener- 
ally understand that those deeds were given to extinguish the Rigby 
claim of title, and that such deeds were considered necessary only for 
such townships as fell within the Plough Patent. Cf. Williamson's 
Maine, i, 571 and 574. 

It certainly was not necessary for Massachusetts to give such a deed 
under her extended claim of boundary eastward under her charter of 
1628, because she had already passed such rights as she could confer to 
the townspeople by the incorporation of 1652. 

It was not necessary for her to give a quit-claim to any lands granted 
by Gorges personally (as for instance, Gorges' Neck, York Deeds, iv, 46) 
because all such prior grants by the proprietor were to be binding upon 
Massachusetts by the terms of the purchase deed of 1677. 

But there is very grave doubt whether there ever was, in fact, any such 
deed. It is not recorded chronologically; nor is it revealed by a search 
of the present imperfect index to the deeds still tolerated in use by York 
County; the present town clerk knows nothing of it; it is not mentioned 
by either Sullivan or Williamson. 

Who ever saw it? Who made the above alleged abstract from it? It 
is, of course,' possible that such a deed was executed to trustees for the 
town, as alleged, and that it may have been destroyed with the other 
papers in the Indian raid of 1692, without having gone upon the county 
records ; but, even in that case, it is very peculiar that it was not known 
to Sullivan or Williamson, or at any rate, not considered worthy of 
mention by them. 

At the present writing the impression prevails in my mind that this is 
another bit of made-up history by some irresponsible writer, who inju- 
diciously digested Williamson's remarks about the conveyances that 



HINTS TO CONTKIBUTOES. 223 

were made, and precipitously assumed that a similar conveyance was 
necessary in the case of York; and this impression is so strong and well- 
grounded upon the foregoing reasoning, that it will take the production 
of the genuine original of such alleged deed to overthrow the presump- 
tion against it. WM. M. SAKGENT. 



HINTS TO CONTRIBUTORS. 

IT was expected by the active members of the Maine Historical Society 
that the enlarged facilities for the prompt and complete publication, by 
means of a quarterly volume of its collections and transactions, would 
stimulate historical research and composition among its greatly increased 
membership. The experiment thus far has certainly indicated that these 
expectations will be realized. 4 

While historical study and investigation have been thus somewhat 
quickened, while the ranks of the workers have been reinforced by the 
accession from all sections of the state of competent and scholarly men, 
it may not be inopportune to indicate in some general way how the 
hoped-for intellectual industry may be most advantageously occupied. 

Much has already been done to make clearer the facts and data of 
Maine's first discovery and settlement, and doubtless there are unex- 
plored fields in which materials of value will yet be found to make more 
complete the story of our origin as a people. But in this field we have 
the efficient aid of a similar society in our parent state, now in the one 
hundredth year of its existence the early history of Maine being that 
also of Massachusetts, of which we formed a constituent part. The dis- 
tinctive history of Maine began in 1820, with the beginning of its inde- 
pendent political life. While we carefully study every document, every 
record, every relic, and the memory of every aged person, for facts bear- 
ing upon the settlement of our towns, and the beginnings of our social 
institutions, it must be remembered that the duties we owe to our pos- 
terity are to act well, and tell truly the history that falls within our own 
observation and memory, which will have all the glamour and romance 
for our children that the lives of our fathers and grandfathers have 
for us. 

Our collections require, to give them completeness, to make them a 
repertory for people at home and abroad, who may ask what Maine is 
and has been, and what part she has contributed to the upbuilding of 
a marvelous civilization under the auspices of freedom, biographical 
sketches of her foremost citizens. 

Among Maine judges we have the lives of Shepley, of Clifford, and a 
meager sketch of Judge Mellen ; there ought to be added a fitting his- 
tory of Ware, of Emery, of Whitman, of Parris and of Preble. Mr. 
Poor enriched our collections with the biography of one of Maine's sen- 



224 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

ators Reuel Williams; they ought, too, to contain a history of the po- 
litical services of Lot M. Merrill and of William Pitt Fessenden, unless 
the conspicuous part the latter statesman bore in the events of the civil 
war and the reconstruction of the national constitution entitle him to a 
volume devoted to himself. 

Those leading statesmen, Peleg Sprague and John Holmes, ought to 
have conspicuous places in our annals. 

The popular interest with which some of our great lawyers and advo- 
cates are remembered, ought to be perpetuated, as we have tried to 
perpetuate the impression which George Evans made upon his time. 
And there are teachers besides, Professors Cleaveland and Packard, 
whose humbler, but equally important labors, ought to be magnified, to 
stimulate the ambition of youth. 

Besides prominent individuals, there are remarkable families, that 
have furnished more than one worthy worker in the development of our 
social and political life, whose story might be told like the Kings, 
from which we chose our first governor, the Washburns and Love joys, 
who have carried their enterprise and intelligence and practical abili- 
ties to aid in the upbuilding of more than one western state ; the Good- 
enows, with their fine culture, the Jarvises of Hancock county, with 
their high spirit and courtly manners, the Pettes of the eastern border, 
with their shrewdness, originality and force, and many others. 

There are too great popular movements which the facile historian 
might make both edifying and picturesque. We ought to have a just 
nd sympathetic account of the first Temperance Revival of 1825-30, 
and of the second or Washingtonian movement of 1840. 

The Know-Nothing movement of 1853-54, and the Greenback revolt of 
1878, and the land speculation of 1835-36, have never been fitly described. 
The time will soon come, if it has not already come, when we are far 
enough removed from the personalities affected, and the passions ex- 
cited by them, to tell with dispassionate candor and fullness the story 
of the Paper Credit frauds, and of the disputed election contest of 
1879-80. The actions of masses and classes of men in concert are still 
more interesting and significant than are the actions of individuals. 

ED. 



EEBATA. Above on this page, 14th line from bottom, Pettes should 
be Pikes. 

Page 169, 9th line from top, John S. Downes should read John T. 
Downes. 



JAMES SHEPHERD PIKE. 225 



JAMES SHEPHERD PIKE. 

Eead before the Maine Historical Society, December 22, 1885. 

BY GEOKGE POSTER TALBOT. 

IN exploring the ancient beginnings of the history of our state, 
we must not overlook the grand events, nearer our own times, 
that have already become historic. In these events in the great 
political changes, which have renewed and confirmed the popular 
liberties, and given strength and stability to our republican con- 
stitutionJames Shepherd Pike, a citizen of Maine, whose demise 
has lately happened, was a prominent actor. The tribute we pay 
his life of disinterested public service is all the more necessary 
and grateful, in that his public service was so inconspicuous. 
Applause follows loud and fast upon the footsteps of the military 
hero. The reputation that rewards brilliant oratory in the courts, 
or in the state or national legislature, and the distinction and 
emoluments that accompany the holding of high office, are 
promptly, spontaneously and universally accorded. But the 
private citizen, who becomes the advocate of the people, too dis- 
organized to concert for the maintenance of their rights, too poor 
to compensate, sometimes too short-sighted to appreciate their 
voluntary defender, whose only incentive is zeal for a just cause, 
whose only reward is the approval of a good conscience, and 
who discusses public questions in leading journals, where his per- 
sonality is merely shadowed in the initials of his name, or quite 
obscured in an association of unnamed editors, does not make a 
conspicuous exhibition of himself to the world. If the general 
public overlook such men, we must rescue them from their privacy 
and honor their achievements ; for it is the historian's business 
to discover and proclaim the men who really guide the thought 
of their times, and who initiate the movements which in their 
issues overthrew or established social and political institutions. 

James Shepherd Pike was born in Calais, in the state of Maine, 
on the eighth of September, 1811. His father was William Pike, 
15 



226 MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

who was born in Portland, August 18, 1775, and his mother was 
Hannah Shepherd, born in Jefferson, Maine., in 1785. William 
Pike was twice married, and by his first marriage had a son, the 
late William Pike of Calais, and a daughter, who became the 
wife of Judge Anson G., son of General John Chandler, one of 
Maine's first senators in congress. James Shepherd was the 
eldest but one of the children of Hannah Shepherd, of whom 
Edgar, a brilliant scholar, graduate of Bowdoin College, died at 
the very opening of a promising career as a lawyer in the state 
of Louisiana, where he established himself immediately after 
leaving college ; Charles E. became a lawyer, practicing success- 
fully in Machias, Maine, in Boston, and in Wisconsin, where he 
now lives, and having been a member of the legislatures of both 
Maine and Massachusetts, and solicitor of the internal revenue 
bureau at Washington ; and Frederic A., late of Calais, deceased, 
is well known in the political history of the country as an influen- 
tial member of congress, during the important period of the civil 
war, as a leading lawyer and a sagacious, enterprising and suc- 
cessful business man. 

The Pikes are of the New England Puritan stock, the first im- 
migrant and progenitor having been John Pike, born in Langford, 
England, who removed to America in 1635, bringing his son 
Robert, then nineteen years of age, and four other children. He 
seems to have been mentioned in some old record as " John Pike, 
laborer, from Langford," but it is explained in Mr. Savage's 
" Genealogical Register," that it was sometimes necessary for the 
more prominent and zealous dissenters to conceal their places of 
residence and real description of their persons, to avoid detention 
and arrest ; and the.f act that his young sons, John, jr., and Robert, 
were educated persons, accomplished in the arts of speaking and 
writing, indicates that their father must have been of an estate 
above the condition of most laborers at that time. The old records 
of the Essex county court show that John Pike, sr., appeared 
in the courts more than once as the attorney of persons who 
prosecuted suits and obtained judgments in civil causes; and his 
own will, evidently written by himself, probated at Hampton in 
1654, shows by its phraseology, and by the amount and kinds of 
estate devised, of which an inventory is recorded, that the testa- 
tor was prominent among an emigration made up, as no other 



JAMES SHEPHERD PIKE. 227 

emigration ever was before or since, of educated and well-to-do 
people of the middle and upper classes. 

This Robert Pike became famous in the history of New Eng- 
land settlement, and was the " New Puritan," whose character and 
history his descendant, the subject of this sketch, has made illus- 
trious in a biographical work of great merit and interest, published 
by the Messrs. Harper in 1879. He seems to have been a man in 
whom the modern and liberal spirit appeared and asserted itself 
a full century before its time. The poet Whittier writes of Robert 
Pike : - 

I have been accustomed to regard him as one of the wisest and worthi- 
est of the early settlers of the region of the valley of the Merrimac the 
most remarkable personage of the place and time. I have always had an 
admiration for him, and in my story, " Leaves from Margaret Smith's 
Journal," I endeavored to do justice to him. 

The matters in which the radical and prophetic clear-sighted- 
ness of Robert