Presented to the
LIBRARY of the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
by
KHNE [TATE
CO.,
Au;- a, - fvie.
COLLECTIONS
OF THE
PISCATAQUIS COUNTY HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
VOLUME I
*N
jTOJuaawrm-rt.1. COLLECTIONS
1
OF
l
Piscataquis County, Maine
CONSISTING OF PAPERS READ AT MEETINGS OF
Piscataquis County Historical Society
ALSO
The North Eastern Boundary
Controversy and the Aroostook War
With Documentary Matter Pertaining Thereto
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
DOVER:
OBSERVER PRESS
1910
\
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
An Address Delivered Before the Piscataquis
County Historical Society by Its President,
John Francis Sprague, at Sebec, Maine, July
23, 1908, 1
Early History of the Town of Sebec. Its Incor-
poration and Development. Read at the
meeting of the society in Sebec July 23, 1908,
by Major Wainwright Gushing, 10
Some Facts in Regard to the Early History of the
Town of Guilford. By Henry Hudson, Esq. , 35
Some Facts Relating to the Early History of
Greenville and Moosehead Lake. Presented
by Charles D. Shaw, Esq., 52
History of the Baptist Churches in Piscataquis
County. By Rev. F. H. Pratt, 66
Universal] sm in Piscataquis County. By Rev. A.
Gertrude Earle, 86
Foxcroft Academy. By Hon. Willis E. Parsons, 100
Historical Sketch of Monson Academy. By John
Francis Sprague, 118
Early Navigation on Sebec Lake. By Charles W.
Hayes, Esq., 127
Peter Brawn and His Celebrated Bear Fight on
Sebec Lake. By Edgar Crosby Smith, 138
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Sketch of Hunter John Ellis. By Sarah A. Martin, 142
Edgar Wilson Nye. By John Francis Sprague, 147
Sketches of Some Revolutionary Soldiers of Pis-
cataquis County. By Edgar Crosby Smith, 154
Notes of the Crosby Family and a Sketch of the
Life of Josiah Crosby. By S. P. Crosby, 204
The North Eastern Boundary Controversy and the
Aroostook War. By John Francis Sprague, 216
Documentary History of the North Eastern Bound-
ary Controversy, 282
State Papers Relative to the North Eastern
Boundary Controversy, 328
History of the Shaw Family with a Sketch of
Milton G. Shaw of Greenville. Presented by
Charles D. Shaw, 424
William Bingham and the Million Acre Tract.
By John Francis Sprague, 434
The Blanchard Family of Blanchard. By Edward
P. Blanchard, 442
Resolutions on the Death of Dr. William Buck of
Foxcroft. 446
Resolutions on the Death of Columbus W. Ellis of
Guilford. 449
An Address Delivered Before the Pis-
cataquis County Historical Society by
its President, John Francis Sprague,
at Sebec, Maine, July 23, 1908
MEMBERS OF THE PISCATAQUIS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Ladies and Gentlemen :
IT is customary with the members of historical soci-
eties to have an outing, or, as it is usually called,
a ' 'field day, ' ' at least once a year, and the places
usually selected, are those of especial historical interest,
thus combining the work which they are engaged in with
pleasure and recreation.
Your standing committee concluded, and I think
wisely, to have our first outing at this sylvan lake, and
in this pretty and picturesque little village, quietly
reposing at its gateway, and which was one of the earliest
settlements in our county.
At first thought it might seem that while they desig-
nated a most delightful spot for pleasure and enjoyment
it is not of particular historical interest ; that it is only
one of hundreds of other lakes in our Pine Tree State
where nature has been lavish in fashioning the scenery,
the beauty and the grandeur about it that it is after
all only Sebec Lake, bearing the same name as the town
of Sebec.
This would appear to be true to the casual observer,
but possibly it will occur to the more thoughtful that we
2 .HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
may be to-day upon what is really and in fact historic
ground. In the early part of the present year some
prominent men from the new State of Oklahoma, who
were interested in the Indians, their reservations, lands
and varied interests in their state, called upon President
Roosevelt to present to him some plans or projects rela-
tive to those Indians. In his reply Mr. Roosevelt gave
utterance to one of his characteristic expressions that,
"It should ever be remembered that the Indian was the
first American."
We are now within the limits of a route traveled
when this was all a vast wilderness by the first Americans
for untold centuries, before the white man ever saw it,
in their journey ings from the land of the Dela wares, the
Iroquois, and other more western nations to the country
now known as Canada, and especially to and from what
is now known as Mount Kineo, midway of Moosehead
Lake.
The rock formation of Kineo mountain is what in com-
mon language we know as hornstone or horn flint and
is peculiar to itself in many ways, so that whenever a
mineralogist or geological student familiar with it finds
its fragments in any part of the country he can immedi-
ately recognize it as the Kineo rock.
Jackson in his report on the geology of Maine, in
1838, says of this mountain, "Hornstone, which will
answer for flints, occurs in various parts of the State,
where trap-rocks have acted upon silicious slate. The
largest mass of this stone known in this country is
Mount Kineo, upon Moosehead Lake, which appears to
be entirely composed of it, and rises 700 feet above the
lake level. This variety of hornstone I have seen in
every part of New England in the form of Indian arrow-
heads, hatchets, chisels, etc., which were probably
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 3
obtained from this mountain by the aboriginal inhab-
itants of the country. ' '
Henry D. Thoreau in his valuable work, which has
done so much to make our magnificent forestry famous
throughout the world, "The Maine Woods," referring
to this subject says: "I have myself found hundreds of
arrow-heads made of the same material."
The late Honorable Augustus Choate Hamlin of Ban-
gor, besides being an eminent physician and surgeon,
was also a mineralogist of considerable fame, and several
of his books upon these subjects were published from
1866 to 1870.
He once informed me that the Kineo rock was in
some respects so much different from the ordinary horn-
stone that scientists could easily distinguish it from that
found in any other localities, and that arrow-heads, etc.,
made from this rock had been discovered much farther
south and west than the boundaries of New England.
Thus the evidence seems to be conclusive that aboriginals
traveled from distant parts of the country to obtain this
rock, which they made into crude implements for their
use in war and in peace and in the pursuit of game.
We are now within the limits of their great thorough-
fare from the Penobscot River to Kineo and Canada,
which has, perhaps, been trodden by millions during
ages which we know not of.
To substantiate this contention I will refer to "An
account of a journey from Fort Pownal, now Fort Point,
up the Penobscot River to Quebec, in 1764, by Joseph
Chadwick, surveyor," who was employed by the Colony
of Massachusetts to make a survey and exploration of a
route for a highway from Fort Pownal to Quebec, which
was published in Vol. 4 (1898) of the Bangor Historical
Magazine, edited by the late Col. Joseph W. Porter,
4 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
who was a most accurate student of the history of east-
ern Maine.
A journal of the work of Mr. Chad wick, accompanied
by a plan of the territory over which he passed, is now
in the archives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
a copy of which was furnished to this magazine by
Doctor John F. Pratt of Chelsea, Mass.
He (Chadwick) was a stranger and had no knowledge
of the country and had to depend entirely upon Indian
guides whom he employed at Old Town. The party
consisted of John Preble, who acted as captain and in-
terpreter, and who was afterwards much employed dur-
ing the Revolutionary War in that capacity and in
dealing with the Indians. He died in Portland in 1787.
Also Joseph Chadwick, surveyor ; Doctor William Craw-
ford, second surveyor; Philip Nuton, assistant; and
Joseph Askequenent, Sock Tomah, Assony Neptune,
Messer Edaweit, Sac Allexis, Joseph Maiy, Sakabis and
Francis, who were the Indian guides.
Here was a man penetrating an unknown wilderness,
relying entirely upon the knowledge and good faith of
the Indians to lead him and point out the way to Que-
bec. The Indians were friendly and had no object in
traversing other than the old trails which they and all
of their ancestors had ever traversed so far as they knew.
From the Penobscot River they went up the Piscata-
quis, which in Chad wick's journal is spelled Perscatie-
quess, and the notes are that it, "Is a rapid stream and
rocky, rough land, but in some parts are good tracts of
land on which grow pine and other timber."
The next place noted in the journal is Soback Pond,
and now known as Sebec Lake. The name given the
beautiful and charming Lake Onawa is Obernestzame-
booh Pond, and the notes mentioned Borestone Mountain
by saying that, "It has a very remarkable mountain
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 5
which serves to rectify our reckoning about 50 miles
each way."
Moosehead Lake is called Lake Sebem or Moose Hills,
and Chesuncook Lake is named Gesencook, while Mount
Katahdin is given the name of Satinhungemoss Hill.
These unfamiliar names for places, which conflict with
our ideas regarding their original Indian names, can be
accounted for from the fact well known to students of
Indian history and tradition, that different tribes often
had different names for the same places.
We find in this journal further evidence that this had
been a way long used by the Indians when it states:
"At Quebec some of the gentlemen being desirous of
forwarding so good a design of opening a road to New
England, they began an inquiry of their hunters and
Indian traders, who all advised that the above passage is
the nighest and most practicable part of the country for
opening a road from Quebec to New England," etc.
When one contemplates the awful story of that disas-
trous and fatal expedition of Arnold 'sup the treacherous
Dead River and through the Maine woods to Quebec,
and thinks of its tragedies, its cruelties, its terrible
sufferings, of soldiers resorting to eating all of their dogs
except one which belonged to the beautiful half-breed
girl enamoured of Aaron Burr, and who accompanied
the little army, as did two or three other women who
were the wives of officers, and at last boiling their moc-
casins for a soup in their desperate efforts to sustain life,
he cannot but speculate as to what might have been the
result if they had gone up the Penobscot instead of the
Kennebec.
It is among the possibilities that if Washington and
Arnold had informed themselves regarding this passage
where we are to-day, and had found and studied this
Chadwick survey and sailed to Penobscot Bay and not to
6 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Merrymeeting Bay, the history of North America might
have been changed.
Those of you whose imaginative powers are developed
along poetic lines, who are often inspired by the muse,
may here, at this moment, upon this ground, in your
mental visions behold myriads of red men for ages un-
counted paddling their birch canoes over these shimmer-
ing waters and softly treading these shores, or you may
see the deadly arrows and tomahawks aimed at enemies
and hear the war-whoops and conflict of tribal battles;
or your strange reveries may lead you into the realms
of mysterious romances, of a mysterious past peopled by
sleek and swift-footed hunters, valiant and brave warriors
and coy and fascinating maidens.
As has been expressed by our sweet singer of Piscata-
quis, Anna Boy n ton Averill, we may well imagine that,
In the sunbeams Paleface fairies hide their tiny spark;
In the raindrops Indian fairies veil their faces dark.
Brightness hides the sunbeam fairies, smiling, fair and warm;
Shadows shroud the dusky fairies, dwellers of the storm.
As this is the first meeting of our society since its
organization, a word in regard to its objects may not
be out of place.
History, concisely speaking, is a record of human
events. Since the earliest dawn of civilization man has
preserved this record and it has ever served as a beacon
light to guide his footsteps in his advancement and prog-
ress.
The rise and fall of the republics of history aided our
forefathers in laying the firm foundation for our govern-
ment for freedom and liberty. And the history of the
formation of the integral parts of our nation such as
states, counties, cities and towns, is in a smaller way of
the utmost importance and value to the generations as
they appear and disappear in the mysterious procession
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 7
of human existence, having in their keeping the
material, political, moral and intellectual welfare of the
community while engaged in life's activities.
For these reasons historical societies are formed for
the purpose of collecting and preserving such incidents
in the lives of men and women, and such events in
the history of localities as would necessarily be overlooked
by the writers of general history. In this work we
gather from state, county and town archives, recorded
facts relating to the founding of municipalities and the
lives of the founders; we save from destruction the con-
tents of fugitive papers, letters, scrap-books and docu-
ments, and rescue from the weakening memories of aged
citizens facts and traditions which are rapidly passing
into oblivion.
Then we make record of contemporaneous facts and
events as we have knowledge of them ourselves, for the
best time to write history is when it is being made.
Such labors are not only an inspiration to those engaged
in them, but their fruition will be of inestimable worth
to those who will soon come after us.
The Maine Historical Society was organized in 1822
and has had a most prosperous career ever since, and
has performed a great work for the State; but it cannot
do for the subordinate communities all that ought to be
done, hence local societies have been formed and are
being formed to carry on this work.
Piscataquis County, although' not chartered until
1838, was composed of towns taken from Somerset
County, organized in 1809, and Penobscot County, or-
ganized in 1816.
When the representatives of the people of the Prov-
ince of Maine assembled at Portland on the eleventh of
October, 1819, for the purpose of forming a constitution
for the new State of Maine, five towns from Penobscot
8 -HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
County, which are now a part of Piscataquis County,
were represented upon the floor of the convention as
follows: Foxcroft, Samuel Chamberlain; Guilford,
Joseph Kelsey; Sangerville, Benjamin C. Goss; Sebec,
William Lowney ; Atkinson, Eliazier W. Snow.
Among other members of this convention whose
names are interwoven with the history of our county
may be mentioned Col. Joseph E. Foxcroft of New
Gloucester, proprietor of the township of what is now
known as the town of Foxcroft; Sanford Kingsbury of
Gardiner, once proprietor of Kingsbury Plantation, and
for whom it was named; and Alexander Greenwood of
Hebron, who subsequently became a citizen of Monson
and a land surveyor of note in this county.
Ten of our municipalities have been named for men of
prominence in the affairs of their day and generation as
follows: Atkinson, Blanchard, Brownville, Foxcroft,
Orneville, Parkman, Sangerville, Williamsburg, Elliotts-
ville Plantation and Kingsbury Plantation.
Thus it will be seen that we have a field for exertion
which reaches back into and is a part of the early history
of our State. Very little, as compared with other parts
of Maine, has been written of Piscataquis County, and
yet its history, if compiled, would be of great interest
to all.
The liberal policy which our Legislature has pursued
in aid of the Maine Historical Society and similar in-
stitutions is an earnest that we may not be too optimistic
in believing that our society may receive some assistance
from the same source.
I sincerely hope that we may be enabled to publish
occasional volumes of the proceedings of these meetings
and the papers and collections which may come to us
from our members regarding the early days of our
county, its pioneers, its civil, religious, political, indus-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 9
trial and military history, its Indian traditions and
legends, its schools, churches, etc.
Whether the objects of this society are ever fully ac-
complished will depend on the efforts which the members
put forth and upon the sympathy and aid which we re-
ceive from our fellow citizens generally.
We invite, therefore, the cooperation of all in carry-
ing forward the work which we have begun.
Early History of the Town of Sebec
Its Incorporation and Development
THE following paper was read by Major Wainwright
Gushing July 23, 1908, at the meeting of Pis-
cataquis County Historical Society in Sebec. Mr.
Gushing took pains to examine the early records of the
county in Boston in order to get facts :
Petition for the incorporation of the town of Sebec
which was circulated for signatures in the spring of
1811:
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled :
Your petitioners, inhabitants of township number 4
in the seventh range, north of Waldo patent in the
County of Hancock, beg leave to represent that although
it is now but about eight years since the commencement
of the settlement of said township, it already contains
between thirty and forty settlers, and that we are sub-
ject to all the great and many evils that arise from our
unincorporated state, we your petitioners therefore pray
that said township may be incorporated into a town by
the name of Sebec, vested with all the powers and
privileges that other towns do or may enjoy in the Com-
monwealth, and your petitioners are in duty bound and
will ever pray.
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 11
No. 4, range 7, County of Hancock, May 1811.
James Lyford Alex Thompson
Hez Hall Joseph Dennett
Daniel Hall John Smart
John Wentworth John Brien
Ric'd Downing Noah Cross
Clement Bunker Abiel Gould
Jason Hassell Joseph Noyes
Silas Herriman Abel Chase
Geo. Knight Peter Morrill
Jonathan Lyford James Douglass
Jeremiah Douglass John Keene
Wm. Douglass, Jr. Wm. Douglass
Seth Dowman Jacob Doe
Joel Crockett Wm. McKinney
Patrick Morrill James Dennett
Moses Page
Boston, Mass., June llth, 1811.
Read and committed to the Committee of towns.
Sent up for concurrence.
Joseph W. Story, Speaker.
In the Senate June llth. Read and concurred.
Samuel Dana, President.
Remonstrance against the incorporation of the town
of Sebec.
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representa-
tives, Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court
assembled.
Humbly represent your memorialists inhabitants of
township 4 range 7 north of Waldo patent in the
County of Hancock, that a petition was presented to
your Honorable Body last session praying that this
12 .HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
township might be incorporated into a town by the name
of Sebec, which prayer your memorialists, some of whom
were subscribers to said petition, beg leave to say ought
not to be granted. Because the signatures to said peti-
tion were obtained in an improper manner, and under
the influence of false representations, inasmuch as there
was never any meeting of the inhabitants to consult
upon the subject, or any means to take the sense col-
lectively, but the petition was originated by a few in-
dividuals and presented to the inhabitants separately,
with a representation to each that the other inhabitants
were mostly if not altogether in favor of the measure,
that not only the inhabitants but the non-resident
proprietors were desirous of incorporation, and that if
the inhabitants would not petition the proprietors in-
tended to take measures to procure an assessment of
taxes on them which representations and the reasoning
obviously drawn from them, were the prevailing if not
the sole motives which induced many, among whom are
some of your memorialists to sign the said petition, and
it was circulated through the township with such rapidity
that though the representations under the influence of
which they signed said petition, have been since found to
be wholly without foundation in truth, yet there was no
opportunity to detect the deception which had been
practiced upon them to obtain their signatures until it
was too late to make a proper representation of their
case at the last session of the Legislature. Therefore
your memorialists pray that the petitioners for the in-
corporation of the township aforesaid may have leave to
withdraw their petition, and the prayer thereof may not
at present be granted. As in duty bound will ever
pray. Aug. 1811.
Ezra Gould Ezekiel Chase
Moses Cross Jeremiah Moulton
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 13
Caleb Cross John Johnston, Jr.
Thomas Roberts Jonathan Chase
John Webster Luke Perry
Jonathan Carter Noah Cross
Abel Chase Richard Townsend
Bill to establish the town of Sebec.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve.
An act to establish the town of Sebec in the County
of Hancock.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by
the authority of the same, that the township numbered
four in the seventh range of the Waldo Patent in the
County of Hancock, be and hereby is established as a
town by the name of Sebec, and by the following bound-
aries, viz: East by number three in the same range,
South by the river Piscataquis, West by number five in
the same range now incorporated as Foxcroft, North by
number six in the eighth range. And the said town of
Sebec is hereby vested with all the corporate powers and
privileges and subject to the like duties and requisitions
of other towns according to the constitution and laws
of the Commonwealth.
Section 2. Be it further enacted that any Justice of
the Peace for the County of Hancock is hereby author-
ized upon application therefor to issue a warrant directed
to a freeholder and inhabitant of the said town of
Sebec requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants
thereof to meet at such convenient time and place as
shall be appointed in said warrant for the choice of such
officers as towns are by law required to choose at their
annual town meetings.
This bill having had two general readings passed to
14 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
be engrossed. Send down for concurrence. In Senate
Feb. 25th, 1812.
Samuel Dana, President.
In the House of Representatives.
Feb. 20th, 1812.
This bill having had three several readings passed to
be engrossed.
In concurrence. E. W. Ripley, Speaker.
For some reason the town of Sebec did not vote at
the annual election in 1813.
The first vote recorded was in 1814.
For Governor
Samuel Dexter, 33 votes
Caleb Strong, 21 votes
For Lieutenant Governor
William Gray, 29 votes
William Phillips, 22 votes
1812
To James Lyford one of the freeholders of the town
of Sebec.
Greeting :
(L. S.) You are hereby required in the name of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts to notify and warn the
freeholders and other inhabitants living within the
territorial limits of Number 4, seventh range North of
the Waldo Patent now incorporated into a town by the
name of Sebec, qualified by law to vote in town meet-
ings, viz: Such male citizens as are twenty-one years of
age and upwards, liable to be taxed, who have resided
within said number four one year preceding his voting,
to meet and assemble at the dwelling house of James
Lyford in said town on Saturday the twenty-first instant
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 15
at ten o'clock in the forenoon to act on the following
articles, viz:
First, to choose a town clerk.
Second, to choose a moderator to govern said meeting.
Third, to choose three able and discreet persons for
selectmen.
Fourth, to choose a suitable person to be treasurer.
Fifth, to choose three meete persons to be assessors.
Sixth, to choose a constable.
Seventh, to choose a meete person to be collector of
taxes.
Eighth, to choose two or more suitable persons for
surveyors of lumber.
Ninth, to choose one or more suitable persons for
surveyors and measurers of boards, plank timber and
slitwork.
Tenth, to choose surveyors of shingles and clapboards.
Eleventh, to choose two or more judicious and dis-
creet freeholders for fence viewers.
Twelvth, to choose a tythingman.
Thirteenth, to choose a fish warden.
Fourteenth, to choose two or more persons to be hog
reeves.
Fifteenth, to choose a pound keeper.
Sixteenth, to choose a field driver.
Seventeenth, to choose a school committee if the town
see fit.
Eighteenth, to agree in what manner they will have
the future town meetings warned, or act anything rela-
tive to the subject.
Nineteenth, to make such by-laws as the town sees
fit, and choose all such committees as the town think
necessary.
Given under my hand and seal the seventeenth day
16 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
of March in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and
twelve.
John Whitney,
Justice of the Peace.
Hancock, S. S. March 17th, 1812. Then personally
appeared the within named James Lyford and made oath
that he would faithfully and impartially notify and warn
the inhabitants of Sebec as herein required agreeably to
law.
Before me, John Whitney,
Justice of the Peace.
Pursuant to the within warrant I have summoned and
notified the inhabitants of said town qualified as herein
expressed to assemble at the time and place and for the
purposes within mentioned.
James Lvford.
Pursuant to the foregoing warrant the inhabitants
assembled at the dwelling house of James Lyford on
Saturday the 21st day of March 1812. Meeting opened
by James Lyford.
Sworn Voted Jason Hassell Town Clerk
Voted James Lyford Moderator
Selectmen voted
Sworn John Sleeper, First
Sworn James Lyford, Second
Sworn Alexander Thompson, Third
Town Treasurer voted
Sworn Jeremiah Molton
Assessors voted
Sworn John Sleeper, James Lyford and Alexander
Thompson.
Constable and Collector voted Abel Chase, he ap-
peared and took the oath prescribed by law.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 17
Voted to choose three surveyors of highways.
Voted, James Lyford, George Knight and George
Brier (sworn.)
Surveyors of Boards, Plank Timber and Slitwork,
voted Jonathan Chase and George Thompson (sworn.).
Surveyors of Clapboards and Shingles, voted Jonathan
Chase and George Thompson (sworn. )
Fence Viewers, voted Jeremiah Molton and Silas
Harriman (sworn.)
Tythingman, voted Moses Cross (sworn.)
Fish Wardens, voted, William Douglass, Jr., Heze-
kiah Hall, Moses Cross, Jr., Peter Morrill and Jeremiah
Douglass (sworn.)
Hog Reeves, voted, Jason Hassell and Luke Perry.
(Sworn) Pound Keeper, voted, James Lyford.
(Sworn) Field Driver, voted, George Knight and
John Sleeper.
Voted to adjourn the meeting until the first Monday
in April next at ten of the clock in the forenoon to this
place.
Met according to adjournment.
Voted to choose five school committee men. Voted,
Jason Hassell, William P. Lowny, Peter Morrill^ Jere-
miah Molton and James Lyford.
Voted to hold future annual town meetings on the
second Monday in March. Voted that future town
meetings should be warned by posting up written noti-
fication in some one central place.
Voted to choose a committee to settle with the select-
men at the close of the year. Committee voted, Silas
Harriman, Jonathan Lyford and Ezra Gould. Voted
to dissolve the meeting.
Jason Hassell, Town Clerk.
18 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
%
(Early in the summer of 1812 the British were mak-
ing their way up the Penobscot and the town of Sebec
made preparation to repel the invaders.)
These are to notify and warn the freeholders of the
town of Sebec qualified by law to vote in said town
affairs to meet at the barn of James Lyford near the
centre of said town at three of the clock in the after-
noon to act on the following articles that is.
1st. To choose a moderator to govern said meeting.
2d. To see if the town will vote to equip themselves.
3d. To vote in what way and manner they will equip
themselves.
4th. To act on any other things relating to the
above articles if thought proper.
Sebec, July 8th, 1812.
John Sleeper,
James Lford,
eeper, j
yford, J
Pursuant to the foregoing warrant the inhabitants of
the town of Sebec assembled at the barn of James
Lyford in said Sebec.
Voted Mr. William R. Lowny, moderator.
Voted the town should equip themselves.
Voted the arms should be bought at the expense of
the town.
Voted to choose a committee to send for the arms.
Voted the committee should consist of but one.
Voted Mr. James Lyford be the committee.
Voted to send for forty -five guns and sixty pounds of
powder.
Voted the committee get what lead and balls he shall
think proper.
Voted the committee shall get cartridge boxes or
materials to make them as he thinks best.
Voted to close the meeting.
Jason Hassell, Town Clerk.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 19
Formation of Militia Company Aug. 1st, 1812.
Ezekiel Chase, Captain.
Jason Hassel, Lieutenant.
Jonathan Chase, Ensign.
%
In the year 1812, the following sheep marks were
registered :
May 5th. Abel Gould's artificial mark for sheep a
swallow tail out of the left ear.
June 6th. James Ly ford's artificial mark for sheep
crop off the right ear and a slit in the left.
June 6th. James Douglass' artificial mark for sheep
a crop from under the left ear.
June 6th. Abel Chase's artificial mark for sheep a
swallow tail in left ear.
June 6th. Hezekiah Hall's artificial mark for sheep
a crop off the left ear and a slit in the same.
June 6th. Daniel Hall's artificial mark for sheep a
crop off the right ear and a slit in the left.
June 10th. John Sleeper's artificial mark for sheep
a crop off of the left ear.
June llth. Wm. R. Lowny's artificial mark for
sheep a slit in the right ear, and a slit and a hapenny in
the left.
Jason Hassell, Town Clerk.
In the election held Monday, Sept. 10th, 1821, the
inhabitants of Sebec brought in their votes as follows :
f Albion K. Paris, 50
lor Governor, \
{
Gen. Joshua Wingate, 9
Dr. Isaac Case, 61
Simeon Stetson, 3
For Representative to ( Wm ' R ' Lown J> Es q-> ^
i Ichabod Thomas, Esq., 8
Legislature of Maine, ( Moses Qreenleaf, Esq., 3
For Senator, !
20 .HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Sebec was originally Number Four, Seventh Range,
the eastern of the Bowdoin College Townships. Its
area is 22,228 acres. It was lotted in 1802 by Moses
Hodgdon. In May, 1803, the treasurer of Bowdoin
College deeded 16,000 acre's to Richard Pike of New-
buryport, Mass. ' He paid about seventy cents an acre.
At the outlet of Sebec Lake among the hills lies Sebec
Village. In a short distance there is a fall of 18 feet,
making an excellent mill privilege. In 1804 Mark
Trafton, Samuel Kimball and others built a dam and
erected a mill, the first framed building raised in the
county.
Roger Chase of Carratunk built the water-wheels and
put a saw and grist-mill into operation. In these mills
the first boards were sawed and the first grain ground in
the county. For 25 years Sebec Village was the leading
business center of the county. Large amounts of
lumber were sawed and rafted down the rivers to Bangor.
Capt. Ezekiel Chase, a soldier of the Revolution, was
the first settler, locating near where the Hon. A. J.
Chase now lives, in 1802. Capt. Chase was a self-taught
physician, very skilful among the sick. He was active
in politics and was chosen a presidential elector by the
Democrats. A grandson, Jonathan A. Chase, still lives
on the farm which was settled by his father, Ezekiel
Chase, Jr. A great-grandson, Ezekiel L. Chase of
Brownville, is one of the deputy sheriffs for the County
of Piscataquis.
In 1808 James Lyford settled on what is now known
as the John Lyford place, now occupied by a son of
Fremont Livermore. Later he was followed by his
brother Jonathan. The Lyfords came from Canter-
bury, N. H. James Lyford, Silas Harriman, John
Morrill and By lie Lyford, who settled in Atkinson, married
sisters, whose maiden name was Lyford. John Morrill
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
was my maternal grandfather and father of Joseph
Morrill, who was for many years prominent in town
affairs and was at one time one of the county commis-
sioners. The late A. M. Robinson told me this story
of Joseph Morrill: During a session of the Supreme
Judicial Court Uncle Joseph was foreman of one of the
juries. A pauper case was on trial between the towns of
Atkinson and Foxcroft ; the case was tried and after the
jury retired a ballot was taken and the vote was 11 to
one. Uncle Joe was the one. They commenced to dis-
cuss the matter, and after a five hours' session the 11
men changed their views and a verdict was given accord-
ingly.
Wm. R. Lowny settled in Sebec in 1812. He was
prominent in town affairs, and in 1819 was a member of
the convention which framed the Constitution of the
new State of Maine and was the first member elected to
the Maine Legislature from this section.
The "Minister's lot" so called, was voted in town
meeting to Elder Asa Burnham, a Free Will Baptist
minister, who labored in town for 40 years.
In 1816 Ichabod Young put a fulling-mill in oper-
ation, the first in the county, and at a later date a card-
ing mill, the second in the county. John and Nathaniel
Bod well succeeded Mr. Young. In 1835 the Bodwells
sold out to my father, Joseph W. Gushing. The next
year a woolen factory company was incorporated, a
building was erected and two sets of machinery were put
in operation. Mr. Gushing ran the mill for five years,
when he moved to Milo and erected a new mill. The
first store at Sebec Village was opened in 1821 by Mr.
Towle, and soon after Solomon Parsons became his
partner. In 1823 Jos. Lamson, Sr., and his son, Jos.
Lamson, Jr., opened a second store. I have in my
possession a day-book kept by J. Lamson & Son. The
22 ' HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
most frequent charges were for New England rum. Isaac
Terrill comes to town from Bowerbank. The following
charges in the day-book will follow: Isaac Terrill to
glass rum 4 cts. ; before returning to Bowerbank Isaac
makes another purchase, Isaac Terrill to two qts. N.
E. rum 25 cts., to one jug 12 cts.
In I860 Benj. P. and John Gilman succeeded Towle
& Parsons and also acquired the Morrison lumber mills
and did a large business. B. P. Gilman afterwards
moved to Orono, where he formed a partnership with
Hon. John Morrison in lumbering and in manufacturing
lumber. At Mr. Gilman 's decease he left a goodly
estate. Mr. John H. Gilman lived in Sebec for many
years, was prominent in town affairs, represented his class
in the State Legislature, and in the early sixties, during
Israel Washburn's term as governor, served as a member
of the executive council. He was an incorrigible wag
and many stories have been handed down of his oddities.
Once while at home on a furlough during the Civil War
I called on Mr. Gilman. He had an ill turn and was
lying on the lounge. While chatting with him his wife
came into the room, and he said to her: "While Wain-
wright is here I want to make a request of you ; I am not
feeling well and am liable to be taken away suddenly,
and I want you to promise me that when I die you won't
have any d d copperheads for bearers, for if you do I
shall rise right up in my coffin and protest." Mrs.
Gilman assured him that his wishes would be respected.
Mr. Gilman moved to Foxcroft and later to Orono, where
he resided until his death.
J. W. Jewett opened another store in 1832, and in
1833 Theodore Wyman formed a co-partnership with
him. The business is still continued by Theodore H.
Wyman. Mr. Theodore Wyman was prominent in town
affairs and at his decease he had the respect of every one
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 23
in the community. He was an honored member of the
Piscataquis Lodge, F. & A. M. At his funeral services
the members evinced their respect by being present in
large numbers.
The first lawyer to open an office in Sebec was Henry
Parsons. He was followed by John Appleton, who after-
wards moved to Bangor and became Chief Justice of
Maine. He was succeeded by his brother Moses in 1833,
who after a few years also moved to Bangor. In 1838
Hon. A. M. Robinson opened an office at the village.
After six years he moved to Chase's Corner and later to
Dover where he resided until he died.
David Shepherd was the only physician in town from
1825 to 1863, when he was elected Register of Deeds
and moved to Dover. He was an estimable citizen and
at one time represented Piscataquis County in the Maine
Senate and held many offices of trust in town.
By the courtesy of Judge Martin L. Durgin of Milo
I am enabled to make extracts from an address made by
him at the celebration of the eightieth anniversary of
the formation of Piscataquis Lodge, F. & A. M., which
was organized at Sebec Village: Eighty years ago last
December 19th a certain number of Master Masons met
at the house of Advardis Shaw in Sebec to discuss the
expediency of establishing a lodge of Free Masons in that
vicinity, and there were present at that meeting the
following named brethren, Advardis Shaw, Eben
Greenleaf, Josiah Towle, Moses Greenleaf, Jason Hassell,
Col. Wm. Morrison, Eben Weston, Esq., Daniel Chase,
Esq., John W. Thompson, Jonathan Robinson, Moses
Morrill and Capt. Ephraim Moulton. These brethren
came together again on January 2d, 1823, and it was
voted that they thought it expedient to organize a lodge,
and Moses Greenleaf, Josiah Towle and Wm. Morrison
24 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
were chosen a committee to transact all business neces-
sary thereto.
On February 13th a meeting was held and it was then
voted to postpone the designation of a name for the
lodge until the next meeting when each brother was to
propose a name. At the next meeting held on March
13th, 1823, it was voted unanimously to adopt the name
of Piscataquis Lodge. At this meeting for the first
time a record was made designating the three chair
officers by their proper titles and Moses Greenleaf was
acting as Master, Jason Hassell as Senior Warden and
Wm. Morrison as Junior Warden. From that time on
meetings were held at stated intervals.
On April 10th a petition was addressed to the Grand
Lodge praying to be constituted a regular lodge, and
Worshipful Master Moses Greenleaf was chosen a com-
mittee to attend the next meeting of Penobscot and
Rising Virtue Lodges, (being the two nearest) relative to
the organization of Piscataquis Lodge. On November
6th Moses Greenleaf, Josiah Towle and Solomon Parsons
were selected as a committee to procure the charter,
jewels and furniture for the lodge; also a place to hold
its meetings and to prepare a code of by-laws for the
government of the lodge. And it is here worthy to note
that the code of by-laws presented by the committee 80
years ago is practically unchanged to this day. I have
learned that during the space of about a year Brother
Towle was building a convenient hall for the accommo-
dation of the lodge, and that the committee was procur-
ing furniture, jewels, etc., as fast as the state of the
treasury would permit.
On receiving the charter, which bears the date of Octo-
ber 28th, 1823, from the Grand Lodge of Maine, a meet-
ing was held on March 31st, 1825, and for the first time
an election of officers was held, resulting as follows : Moses
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 25
Greenleaf, W. M. ; David Shepherd, S. W. ; Solomon
Parsons, J. W. ; Wm. Morrison, Treas. ; Eben Greenleaf,
Sec'y ; Josiah Towle, S. D. ; Jason Hassell, J. D. ;
Ephraim Moulton, S. S. ; Jonathan Robinson, J. S. ; J.
W. Thompson, Tyler. In January, 1826, our breth-
ren were asked to donate something for a monument to
Washington. Just how much that fund was swelled
by the brethren of Piscataquis Lodge I am unable to
say. In September and October there were no commun-
ications of the lodge by reason of the unparalleled
prevalence of fevers in Sebec. At the December meet-
ing a petition was received from sundry brethren in
Sangerville, praying for the right to form a lodge in that
town to be known as Mosaic Lodge. The petition was
unanimously granted. Mosaic Lodge is now located at
Foxcroft. Our brethren in those days did not let lodge
matters interfere with business, for the Secretary tells us
that on account of the pressure of other business in
September and October, 1828, the members held no
meetings of the lodge.
In April, 1829, owing to the extreme "badness" of
the traveling no lodge was held. In September of this
year action was taken looking to the surrender of the
charter of the lodge and personal notice was given to
each member to be present at next meeting to discuss
the matter. In October and November owing in part to
the inclemency of the weather, but more to the apathy
of the members, meetings of the lodge were not held.
December 10th, however, a meeting was held and it was
decided inexpedient to surrender the charter. I desire
to call attention to three brothers who attended this
meeting, namely, David Shepherd, Joseph Chase and
Abner Ford, and you will agree with me that these men
had tenacity of purpose, that they possessed what we
term in these later days staying qualities. At this meet-
26 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ing proposals were made to change by-laws so that our
meetings should be held quarterly in the months of
January, April, July and October. After some discus-
sion a decision upon the foregoing was postponed until
our next communication.
On November 22d, 1831, nearly two years later, the
next meeting of the lodge was held. This was a special
called by the Master and the lodge was honored by a
visit from the D. D. G. M. of the seventh district,
Dr. David Shepherd. At this meeting the question of
amending the by-laws relative to time of meeting where
it had been for two years, and it was sought to further
amend it by having semiannual communications in the
months of March and September and that a yearly tax
of 25 cents be collected from each member as dues. It
was finally decided to postpone the decision of this
question until the next communication of the lodge ; but
I fear that when the next meeting was held the commit-
tee to whom this matter had been referred had passed to
"that land where ends our dark uncertain travel," for I
have failed to find their names recorded in any of the
proceedings since. The members of that committee
were Moses Greenleaf, Solomon Parsons and Advardis
Shaw. I feel, however, that these brothers were excus-
able for not being present at the next communication,
or for dying before it was held, for twenty-three years,
two months and twenty-two days elapsed before the next
communication was held. Now permit me to revert to
the three named brothers I spoke of as possessing so
much tenacity of purpose, Brothers David Shepherd,
Joseph Chase and Abner Ford. At the meeting of this
lodge held in November, 1831, they were present and
holding office. At the next meeting in February, 1855,
they were present and acted as W. M. , S. W. and J. W.
What, many of you may ask, was the cause of this long
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 27
hiatus of nearly 24 years? I am told however that one
William Morgan was claimed to have told tales out of
school in 1826 and later he disappeared. He published in
1826 a pretended exposition of Masonry which attracted at
the time more attention than it deserved. Morgan soon
after disappeared, and the Masons were charged by some
of the enemies of the order with having removed him by
foul means. There were various myths of his disap-
pearance, and his subsequent living in other countries.
They may or may not be true, but it is certain that
there is no evidence of his death that would be admitted
in a Court of Probate. I am told that feeling in the
matter ran high, enemies of the order were certain that
Morgan was slain by members of the fraternity and
missed no opportunity to injure the craft wherever
dispersed, and we know that Masons are forbidden to
talk back. The result was the craft suffered until time
somewhat cooled the passions of men and reason once
again asserted itself. This may have been one of the
causes at least why Piscataquis Lodge lay fallow for so
many years.
On March 14th, 1855, officers were once more regu-
larly elected, and installed March 30th by R. W., E. B.
Averill, Past Master. Following are the names of officers
installed : David Shepherd, W. M. ; Edward Nason, S.
W. ; Abner Ford, J. W. ; Russell Kittredge, Secretary
and Treasurer, by proxy ; Wm. H. Stanchfield, S. D. ;
James W. Burton, J. D.
At the Grand Lodge session held in Portland May
4th, 1855, it was voted that Piscataquis Lodge be
restored to the list of lodges under the jurisdiction and
that it be removed from Sebec to Milo and that a dis-
pensation be issued by the Grand Master for that
purpose.
28 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Note. Mr. Gushing in his sketch of Sebec carries
the history of Piscataquis Lodge no farther than its
connection with that town ; the following is the rest of
the history as prepared by Judge Durgin. [ED.]
On May 25th, 1855, Piscataquis Lodge, No. 44, met
at Temperance Hall in Milo. At this meeting four
petitions were received a very good start in Temperance
Hall.
On September 21st Piscataquis Lodge met at their
lodge room and later at their hall instead of at Tem-
perance Hall. At the November meeting Brothers J.
S. Sampson, Russell Kittredge and William Stanchfield
were chosen as a committee to furnish and fit up the
hall. On December 7th our late Brother Stephen D.
Millett was initiated. December 31st occurred the
election of officers, and we find Abner Ford and David
Shepherd still "in it," and W. E. Gould was elected S.
D. It was decided not to install until the next regular
communication, and that each Mason have the right to
invite his wife or spouse. In these days we would say
his "best girl." At this meeting Joseph Chase disap-
peared from the stage with a ' 'Card. ' '
On July 18th, 1856, Caleb J. Ford, father of our
present Brother Ford, was raised as a M. M.
On January 24th Brother Henry Snow of Mechanics
Lodge, Orono, visited this lodge.
On February 1st, 1856, occurred the first public
installation, the installing officer being Brother E. B.
Averill of Dover. Before the services began they listened
to music from the choir, and closed with the same.
May 16th stated communication was substituted for
regular communication.
On February 12th announcement was made that a
Masonic convention would be held at Dover on the 12th
OF P1SCATAQUIS COUNTY 29
of the next November. Surely no one could say that
he hadn't sufficient notice.
December 4th, 1856, our present esteemed Brother
William E. Gould, was elected W. M. We doubt if
any other lodge in the State can present a P. M. of
46 years' standing.
On December 18th a special meeting was held for the
purpose of installing officers which was done publicly by
P. M., E. B. Averill, assisted by the perennial David
Shepherd. After the installation a very appropriate
address was given by Brother Averill.
In October, 1857, Brother Caleb Tolman of Hender-
son, Ky., was a visitor.
On January 12th, 1858, the lodge was called off and
its members met the ladies of Milo, who presented to
them the Holy Writings, after which a prayer was offered,
and the officers installed.
At a meeting held December 24th, 1858, a committee
on resolutions on the death of Brother Abner Ford
reported. From this report I learn that he died at Sebec
November 10th, 1858. On June 10th, 1859, this lodge
was incorporated.
In December, 1859, another public installation
occurred, after which a collation was prepared.
On May 24th, 1860, the lodge attended the funeral
services of Brother James Burton, who was buried with
Masonic honors.
On June 29th the late Sheriff E. S. Ireland was
initiated. December 5th, 1862, the committee of guard-
ians was succeeded by our present committee of enquiry.
In September, 1863, the lodge purchased the hall in
which it met, of Russell Kittredge.
Fearing to weary your patience I pass over years of
our existence, as nothing of importance transpired of
particular interest, except to the fraternity. I find
30 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
scarcely a meeting recorded when there was not some-
thing doing in the way of work, however.
On December 1st, 1865, there was an election of offi-
cers, and Isaac Leonard was elected Treasurer, Charles
S. Leonard, Secretary, and Abial E. Leonard, J. D.
Members of this family have been much in evidence as
officers of this lodge, ever since.
On January 22d, 1869, it was decided unanimously
to let the Odd Fellows have the use of the hall at
$12.50 per quarter.
March 3d, 1871, consent was given for the formation
of a Masonic Lodge at Brownville.
September 22d Russell Kittredge was selected to
complete the history of our lodge for the last decade.
On November 24th consent was given for the forma-
tion of a Masonic Lodge at La Grange.
April 19th, 1872, a committee, consisting of our late
Brother S. D. Millett, and Brothers J. M. Palmer and H.
F. Daggett, was chosen to ascertain on what terms our hall
could be sold, and to confer with other societies, etc.,
relative to building a new hall.
At the next meeting the committee, as is usual in
such matters, asked for further time. At the following
meeting the committee was released and it was decided to
take no action that summer.
On December 13th it was decided to have a public
installation and a cordial invitation was voted to be given
to Pleasant River and Composite Lodges of Brownville
and La Grange.
In March, 1878, another committee was appointed
to consider the question of building a new hall, and our
late Brothers Wm. P. Young, Lambert Sands and W. H.
Owen were appointed. This committee at the April
meeting reported and asked for further time. In
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 31
September it was decided to accept an offer from Brother
Fenno of $300 for our hall.
On August 29th, 1879, the stated communication
was held at the office of W. P. Young. On September
26th the long anticipated moment had arrived when the
Secretary could record the fact that Piscataquis Lodge
met at its new hall, since which time this room has been
our Masonic home. The furnishings of this room were
but scanty. Hard wooden chairs and wooden settees
with never a soft spot in them. Cloth curtains and bare
walls; a debt that was as hard to get rid of as the pro-
verbial seven years' sar-cop-tus scabeie, but thanks to the
prudence and good judgment of "the boys" the debt
has now become only a nightmare of the past.
Some years ago a committee on improvements was
chosen and is still in harness. As a result of its labors
you now see these tasty and comfortable furnishings.
Our latch-string is always out and we are always at
home, to the craft.
I have given you in a slipshod manner something of
the history of this lodge covering a period of some sixty
years, and leave that part of my subject. May I add a
word relative to our ancient institution as a whole?
No great moral force for the uplift of humanity was
ever organized in this world that did not meet a counter
force, whose tendency was to degrade. Take for instance
the Christian Church, founded as it is upon the pure pre-
cepts enunciated by the Nazarene, yet it has been encom-
passed roundabout continuaUy by the forces of sin,
watching for opportunity to destroy it. The church,
however, is stronger to-day than in the beginning because
of its inherent principles of right.
Truth and right may be obscured for a while by the
dust of abuse and error, but in the end must prevail,
because it is truth and right.
32 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Standing not long since in the Cliff House at the
Golden Gatej I watched for an hour the great waves as
they came rolling in from across the ba}\ Like an army
of white-plumed knights they came, tossing their foamy
banners on high, and hurling themselves against the
giant cliffs that disputed their farther progress. Again
and again they came in their mad fury, beating like
great demons at those silent, time-stained rocks, only
to be hurled back into old ocean, and their white banners
flung mountain high in air, and those grim and storm-
beaten sentinels, whose foundations are as strong as the
Eternal Will, will stand there bidding defiance to every
onslaught of those mad, relentless waves until time shall
cease writing her record across their weather-beaten
faces. So it is with our ancient institution. Founded
upon the rock of Truth, which is eternal, it has stood
unwavering against the onslaught of every opposition.
Twenty-nine years ago, when living in Idaho, I had
occasion to go to the town of Fairview on the summit of
War Eagle Mountain. From this place, on a clear day,
one may look off to the east and see lying before him
the green valley of the Snake River, and traversing the
valley from west to east I could mark here and there the
glistening waters of the Shoshone or Snake River. On
this day the clouds and mist had dropped down from the
mountain tops and had spread like a dark funeral pall
over the valley, and in imagination I was looking down
into the Valley of the Shadow. Now and then light
winds with deft fingers would draw aside those misty
curtains, opening to my view long, dim aisles leading
down into that gloomy underworld, while here and
there I could see dusky glimmers of the river Styx, with
Charon waiting at the crossing. Suddenly, as I looked,
the sun came out from behind a cloud and shot a ray of
light down into that restless valley of cloud and mist.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 3S
In an instant those particles of mist became grains of
gold and .precious stones, and lo, instead of the Valley of
the Shadow, I was looking upon the city of the New
Jerusalem coming down out of heaven prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. Looking out over the
valley of glorified color, I could see the golden streets,
its walls of jasper and gates of pearl, while below, glis-
tening with radiant light, I could see the River of the
Water of Life proceeding out from the throne of God
and of the Lamb. Once again the scene shifted, the
city with golden streets and jasper walls had slowly
drifted away on the wings of the lazy summer wind, and
there was once more the broad valley of the Shoshone
lying like a great emerald between the mountains and
the sea.
Just when or where Masonry had its birth I am not
able to say, but at some period in the remote ages it
came as a ray of light out of the blackness of the night,
leading man up from the gray, desolate barrens of Super-
stition into the peopled cities of Reason ; up out of the
slough of Disappointment into the broad highway of
Hope. A study of the art has broadened the intellect,
and given to man a more profound and comprehensive
understanding of life. It has taught you and me to
answer that question that man has been asking ever since
the morning of life, "If a man die, shall he live again?"
It has helped its true adherents to divest their minds
and consciences of at least some of the vices and super-
fluities of life, thus fitting them as living stones for that
spiritual building eternal and in the heavens. It is not
an opponent of Christianity, but walks hand in hand
with it. Fierce antagonism and papal decree have
sought to destroy the institution, but as some white-
winged ship sails serenely on through troubled waters
and past dangerous rocks to finally moor itself in a sun-
34 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
kissed harbor of safety, so also will our grand institution
survive and outride all the perils of antagonism and
misconception.
I beg not to be misunderstood as taking this occasion
to advertise the institution. Such an idea is farthest
from my thought. I would as soon think of advertising
the majesty of some lofty mountain standing in its silent
grandeur amid the decay of the centuries, or some
mighty rolling river sweeping along in all its restless and
resistless power toward the sea ; or the golden sunshine
that kisses the green sod of the valley; or the gentle
rain that falls upon the just and unjust. My chief
desire is no more than to pay humble tribute with my
brethren, and to bring this simple testimony before you
of my great esteem for an institution that is a part of
the world's history.
"To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the
hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in
the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth
saving he that receiveth it." As Free Masons we know
what it is to be overcomers, and have received the white
stone with the new name.
Some Facts in Regard to the Early
History of the Town of Guilford
By Henry Hudson, Esq.
ON May 1, 1794, the committee of the Common-
wealth of Massachusetts for the sale of eastern
lands, through Daniel Carey, issued letters of in-
structions to Samuel Weston to proceed and survey three
ranges of townships between Penobscot River and the
east line of the million acres, located on the river Ken-
nebec, to be bounded west on the million acres, south on
the sixth range and a line extended east from the north-
east corner of township number one in the sixth range
aforesaid to Penobscot River, easterly on Penobscot
River and north on unlocated lands to be numbered the
seventh, eighth and ninth ranges progressing northerly,
and the townships to be laid out six miles square except-
ing those bordering on the Penobscot River. A copy of
these instructions I embodied in my sketch. Under this
letter of instructions Samuel Weston did in the year
1794 locate said three ranges and divide the ranges up
into townships. I have also incorporated and made part
of my sketch a letter written by Samuel Weston to the
committee for sale of eastern lands under date of October
15, 1801. It would appear that complaint had been
made in regard to the survey of township 4, range 7,
and a request was made for a resurvey of that township.
Township 4, range 7, is now the town of Sebec. This
36 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
letter is a full explanation of the way in which said
ranges and townships in the ranges were located. I
incorporate a copy of these two original documents as a
matter of historical interest to be preserved. These
copies were obtained at considerable expense. I will say
that in the case in this county between Edward Stetson
and others and Sprague Adams and others these two
documents were used as evidence.
On February 25, 1795, the Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts granted to Bowdoin College four townships of
land. These townships were number four, five, six and
seven in the seventh range of townships north of Waldo
Patent. These townships subsequently became the
towns of Sebec, Foxcroft, Guilford and Abbot. Guil-
ford was township number six, range seven. The north
line of Waldo Patent is the south line of the towns of
Hampden and Dixmont. The ranges, therefore, are
numbered consecutively commencing at the south line of
Hampden and Dixmont.
In 1803 Deacon Robert Lowe and Deacon Robert
Herring, both of New Gloucester, bought from Bowdoin
College a few thousand acres of land in township six,
range seven, now Guilford. Immediately after said pur-
chase they began to make preparations for forming a
settlement therein.
In the plantation records of the town of Guilford is a
short historical sketch, no doubt written by Robert
Lowe. In this sketch he says that, "These men (mean-
ing no doubt Deacon Robert Herring and Deacon
Robert Lowe) formed a determination to admit on their
part no person as a settler who was not industrious,
orderly, moral and well disposed. In this they so far
succeeded that for many years thereafter contentions,
lawsuits and broils among neighbors were known only
in name among the inhabitants."
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 37
We quote further from the historical sketch as follows :
"In A. D. 1804, trees were felled in several places in the
town and the next year corn was raised. On the 16th
day of February, A. D. 1806, the first family moved into
the town, and about the middle of March the second
family came, together with several men who worked dur-
ing the summer, and remained here the winter following. "
These two families were those of Deacon Robert
Lowe, Jr., and Deacon Robert Herring, Jr. Robert
Lowe, Jr., settled on the farm now occupied by Joseph
H. Deering. Robert Herring, Jr., settled on the farm
now occupied by Herbert L. Crafts.
In 1806 there were seven men residing in said town-
ship. These men were Robert Lowe, Jr., Robert
Herring, Jr., David Lowe, John Bennett, Isaac
Bennett, Nathaniel Bennett and John Everton.
These men, deeming that there should be some suitable
regulations to preserve good order and harmony, met and
made such by-laws for one year as were deemed necessary.
They chose a clerk to keep a record of their doings and
such other officers as were thought necessary to carry
these laws into execution. These laws so adopted were
respected and rarely ever known to be evaded.
The public schools were supported by private sub-
scription. Public worship was carried on constantly
from about the time of the first settlement. Robert
Lowe records the fact in regard to the obedience to
these laws as follows: "Here let it be noticed that
although the only barrier which supported the execution
of these laws was a pledge of honor, they were rarely
known to be evaded."
From the records we find that Robert Herring was
born June 1, 1764, and his wife, Sally Herring, May 20,
1765. The record further shows that they had eleven
children. The eldest of these children was Robert
38 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Herring, Jr., who was born January 1, 1784. Robert
Herring, Jr., was married as early as 1806 according to
the above statement, and was, with Robert Lowe, Jr.,
the first settlers in the town of Guilford. Robert
Herring, Jr. , married Polly Herring, who was born April
25, 1782. They had eleven children. Robert Herring,
Jr., died in Guilford in 1847. At the date of his death
he owned the mills at North Guilford now owned by
Ellis & Wise. The sons of Robert Herring settled in
Guilford. Some of the girls, however, after marriage
went to other places.
Robert Lowe, Jr., was born in New Boston, N.
H., March 1, 1781. His wife, Rebecca Lowe, was
born in New Gloucester September 1, 1782.
John Everton was born in Dorchester, Mass., April
5, 1765. Rebecca Everton, his wife, was born in North
Yarmouth, Me., 1771. His second wife was born in
North Yarmouth in 1767.
John Everton had three children, two sons and a
daughter. John Everton settled on the road from Dover
to Guilford on what is known as the Maxfield flat. We
find nothing on the records in regard to what became of
Mr. Everton and his family.
John Bennett was born in New Gloucester January 29,
1773. His wife, Sally Bennett, was born in New
Gloucester March 14, 1772. They had eight children,
seven sons and one daughter. The daughter, Sally
Bennett, was the wife of Isaac Edes, whose descendants
now live in Guilford. The seven sons all settled, lived
and died in Guilford. Many of their descendants are
now living in town. John Bennett was known as
Captain John Bennett.
Nathaniel Bennett was born in New Gloucester Novem-
ber 19, 1768. His wife Rachel was born in North Yar-
mouth June 22, 1774. Nathaniel Bennett had bv his
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 39
first wife eight children, two sons and six daughters.
Nathaniel Bennett's second wife was born in Lewiston
July 9, 1778. She was the widow of James Douglass.
At the time of her marriage to Nathaniel Bennett she
had four children by her first husband, James Douglass,
all boys. The youngest of the four was George H.
Douglass, a respected citizen of our town and father of
Henry Douglass, who recently died in our town.
Nathaniel Bennett by his second marriage had six chil-
dren, four sons and two daughters.
Isaac Bennett was born in New Gloucester December
8, 1770. His wife Peggy was born in New Gloucester
May 29, 1771. They had eleven children, six sons and
five daughters.
I have given a sketch of the first seven men who
settled in Guilford, except David Lowe. I find no
mention of David Lowe in the records. The three
Bennetts were brothers. The descendants of some of
these first settlers are still living with us.
In the conveyance of township six, range seven, now
Guilford, by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to
Bowdoin College, four lots of 320 acres each were reserved
for public uses. These uses were as follows : One for
the first settled minister, one for the ministry, one for
the schools and one for the future disposition of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These lots after
Guilford was incorporated as a town were located.
In the plantation records, at a warrant issued by the
assessors for a meeting to be held on the 22d day of
April, 1815, we find the following article: "To see
if the plantation will agree to give Elder Thomas
Macomber an invitation to settle here as a town minister
on such conditions as shall be thought proper when
met." At the doings of said meeting, "It was voted to
give Elder Thomas Macomber an invitation to settle here
40 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
as a town minister on the condition following, to wit :
That he shall serve the town as their minister ten years,
but should he or the people be dissatisfied, or should he
leave the town before ten years, then to have such pro-
portion of the land appropriated for the first settled
minister as the time he shall serve as aforesaid shall bear
to ten years. ' '
It would seem that after this vote was called the people
must have thought that the terms were rather exacting
with their pastor, therefore a meeting was held on the
15th day of June, 1815. We find the article in the
warrant for that meeting to be : ' 'To see if the plan-
tation will agree to settle Elder Thomas Maco'mber as a
town minister." At this meeting it was voted that
Elder Thomas Macomber be the minister of the town
when it shall be incorporated so long as he and a
majority of the people of the town are agreed.
We will say that Elder Thomas Macomber did settle
as minister and preached at Guilford Center for many
years. He died in Guilford. Some of his descendants
now live in Guilford.
Thomas Macomber was born in Marshfield, Mass.,
August 17, 1773. His wife Phebe was born in Bedford,
N. H., August 25, 1778.
On the 6th day of October, 1812, Phillip Leavitt of
Athens, by virtue of a warrant from the treasurer of the
County of Somerset, issued his warrant for organizing
the township into a plantation. On November 11,
1812, said township was organized into a plantation.
Robert Lowe was chosen clerk. Robert Herring,
Nathaniel Graves and Robert Lowe were chosen assess-
ors. Isaac Herring was chosen collector.
On July 7, 1813, the first road in the plantation was
accepted by the plantation. This was known as the
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 41
river road and extended from the Foxcroft town line to
Abbot town line on the north side of the river.
On February 8, 1816, Guilford was incorporated as a
town. The original township line of township six, range
seven, Guilford, was south of the Piscataquis River from
the southwest corner of said township to a point nearly
opposite to the buildings recently occupied by Mr.
Samuel Crafts. When the town of Sangerville was
incorporated June 13, 1813, its northern bound was the
Piscataquis River. When Guilford was incorporated its
southern bound was the original township line. There is
therefore a small piece of land at the extreme southern
bound of the Crafts farm nearly opposite the buildings
which was not incorporated in either town. The center
of the Piscataquis River, however, is the true division
line between said towns.
The burden of supporting two of the bridges on the
Piscataquis River was upon the towns of Guilford and
Sangerville. Within three miles and a half there are
three bridges across the Piscataquis River. The most
westerly bridge is at Guilford village, entirely within the
limits of the town of Guilford. The other two bridges
are supported by said Sangerville and said Guilford as
before stated.
From careful examination of the plantation records
and of the early records of the town of Guilford facts
have been learned which in some instances are different
from what the popular opinion has been. The first
record upon the record books of the plantation and of the
town of Guilford in regard to any bridge is in the year
1822. On September 9, 1822, the voters in town meet-
ing assembled voted to accept one half of the bridge
across the Piscataquis River between Joseph Kelsey's and
Carleton Mills. The first bridge across the Piscataquis
River within the limits of the town of Guilford was built
42 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
where Sangerville station now is. Prior to building the
bridge at this place the river was forded. In 1821 we
are informed that a bridge was built at this place by sub-
scription. It was a primitive affair but it served its
purpose. In the spring of 1824 this bridge was carried
out by the freshet.
At a special town meeting on April 16, 1824, the
town raised the sum of two hundred dollars to be applied
to the building of the bridge across the Piscataquis River
near J. Kelsey's. At the same meeting a committee of
three was chosen to act with a like committee, chosen by
the town of Sangerville. This committee was Joseph
Kelsey, Seth Nelson and Stedman Davis. The town,
"Voted to allow Joseph Kelsey one dollar and fifty cents
per week to attend the ferry until the bridge or some
other thing shall render it unnecessary, provided that the
town of Sangerville shall agree to pay to the town of
Guilford one half of said expense and one half of the
expense of a boat. ' ' The bridge which was then con-
structed at this place was more substantial than the
former one. There was a trestle in the middle of the
river which supported the bridge.
Mr. Loring, in his history of Piscataquis County,
says that this bridge was carried away by the high
freshet in 1832. The bridge, however, at that time
must have gone to decay considerably because we find on
the records where a meeting was held on the 4th day of
June, 1831, when the town voted, "That the selectmen
cause Sangerville bridge, so-called, to be repaired in the
cheapest and best possible way they can consistently with
the interests of the town considering it is an old bridge
and unworthy of expensive repairs," and voted, "To
raise fifty dollars in corn or grain as we raised it in
March last to pay the expense which may arise in repair-
ing said bridge."
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 43
The first record, however, which we find in regard to
our rebuilding the bridge after it was carried out by the
freshet was held on September 8, 1834. The town at
this time passed a vote to take measures to have the road
across the river at this point discontinued. Sangerville
would not agree to this. Thereupon the town chose a
committee to rebuild the bridge. This meeting was
held on the 29th day of September, 1834. Joseph
Kelsey, Robert Herring, Jr., and Seth Nelson were
chosen a committee to superintend the building of the
bridge.
At the annual town meeting held on March 2, 1835,
the town raised six hundred and eighty-one dollars to
defray the expense of building a bridge near Joseph
Kelsey 's. The bridge, therefore, must have been built
in 1835. Mr. Loring, in his history, states that the
bridge was completed in the fall of 1835. The records
of the town of Guilford substantiate his statement.
We are aware that the popular opinion has been for
many years that this bridge was built in the year 1833.
For many years there were the figures 1833 on the south
end of the present bridge. The bridge is now in fair
repair although it has done service for seventy-two years.
It now is the oldest bridge on the Piscataquis River.
Where the places of business now are in Guilford vil-
lage, on the north side of the river, there was a very thick
cedar swamp. In 1824 Robert Herring, Jr., and S.
and J. Morgan built a dam across the Piscataquis River
and in the fall of that year put a sawmill in operation.
In the fall of 1825 Addison Martin built the first store.
This store was built on the spot where the building now
is which is occupied by Straw & Martin. The road from
what was called the river road near the old meeting-house
to the river was accepted on September 12, 1825.
Moses Stevens purchased from Bowdoin College all the
44 % HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
land on the north side of the river where the places of
business now are. From him titles were taken. Moses
Stevens lived where David Stevens lived in his lifetime
near the station. On April 3, 1826, the town accepted
the road from Herring and Morgan's mill towards
Moses Stevens'. This now is Water Street.
In the early part of the year 1828 it had become
necessary to have a bridge across the Piscataquis River
at Herring and Morgan's mill. During the summer of
that year a bridge was started to be built by subscription
across the river, substantially where the present bridge
now is. On September 8, 1828, a town meeting was
called. Article four in the warrant was, "To see if the
town will assist in building a bridge over the river near
Herring's Mills." The town voted to pass over the
article. At this time no road had been located across
the river at this point or near the point. There must
have been considerable contention as to just where the
road should be located and the bridge built. We find
upon the record where there was an attempt to locate the
road and bridge across the river near the west end of the
lot now occupied by Dr. Cowie. There was also an
attempt to locate the road and bridge near where Hussey
& Goldthwaite's elevator now is. Thereupon there must
have been considerable agitation because we find that on
the third day of November, 1828, there was an article,
"To see if the town will petition to the Legislature to
set off that part of the town lying between the river and
the town of Parkman to the town of Parkman. " The
town in town meeting, however, voted to pass over this
article.
There were numerous town meetings held in regard to
the building of the bridge across the river at Herring
and Morgan's mill. We do not find, however, any
definite action taken by the town towards the construction
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 45
of the bridge until the town meeting held on the 19th
day of November, 1829. At that meeting the record
states, "There are considerable sums subscribed by indi-
viduals to expend on the bridge aforenamed." "Voted
that after so much of the sum that can be collected has
been expended the town will finish it in manner herein-
after described. ' ' The town voted that a town agent be
chosen to superintend the finishing of the bridge and
made provision as to the amount to be paid for the ser-
vices rendered, fixing the compensation of such persons.
Isaac Smith was chosen such agent. The town voted,
"That a man and his oxen shall be entitled to eight
cents an hour." In the fall of 1830 the town held
meetings and passed votes towards the completion of this
bridge. We do not find that the bridge which was
built at this time was carried away by the freshet of
1832. Mr. Loring states that it was. We find, how-
ever, that after the year 1832 considerable sums of
money were raised to build the bridge at Guilford village.
We are of the opinion that this bridge was either carried
away by freshet or became so unfit for service that it was
necessary to build a new bridge, for the reason that in
the year 1839 the records state that the bridge was not
safe for travel, and a new bridge was built at that time.
This bridge which was built was carried away in the
spring of 1855 by the high freshet. During that season
the bridge which has recently been removed was built.
Willard W. Harris and Isaac B. Wharflf took the con-
tract to do the stonework and build the bridge. The
selectmen for the year 1855 were George H. Douglass,
Charles Loring and Isaac Weston. In the high freshet
in the spring of 1857 this bridge received some injury
and the town raised money that spring to repair it.
The first bridge built, where the bridge now known as
Lowe's bridge is, was in the year 1830. This bridge was
46 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
damaged seriously by the freshet in the spring of 1837.
It became necessary to rebuild this bridge and it was re-
built in 1843. In the high freshet in the spring of 1857
the bridge was carried away. During the summer of
1857 this bridge was rebuilt. Isaac B. Wharff did the
stonework. We wish to say that the abutments under
this bridge show the thoroughness with which the work
was done, and are a credit to the man who did it.
Mr. Loring, in his history, states that there have been
nine bridges upon the Piscataquis River. From the
statements above it can be seen that there have been
three at Lowe's bridge, three at Sangerville and three at
Guilford village prior to the present structure. The
burden upon the town in its early years must necessarily
have been large. It will be noted, however, that there
must have been public sentiment in favor of them be-
cause we find no record of any dissensions except possibly
the one when the bridge was carried out at Sangerville
in the year 1832.
Note. The following letter of instructions to Samuel
Weston, Esq., from the committee for the sale of east-
ern lands, and a letter from Mr. Weston to the com-
mittee, both relating to the survey of certain townships
of lands in Piscataquis County, of which Guilford is one,
are appended to Mr. Hudson's paper. These are not
only important in so far as they relate to Guilford. but
are valuable documents in considering the history of all
the towns and townships in the seventh, eighth and
ninth ranges. [Eo. ]
Copy of Instructions
to Samuel Weston, Esquire.
May 1, 1794.
In behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 47
Committee for the Sale of Eastern Lands to Samuel
Weston, Esquire, Surveyor Sir you are hereby Author-
ised and directed with Judicious Chainmen under oath
to proceed and Survey three Ranges of townships between
Penobscot River and the East line of the Million Acres
located on the River Kenebeck and to be bounded West
on the Said Million Acres South on the Sixth Range
already Surveyed and a line to be extended east from the
North East corner of township number one in the Sixth
Range aforesaid to Penobscot River Easterly on Penob-
scot River and North on unlocated lands all the lines
are to be run and well Spotted and the corners of each
township marked the Ranges to extend from east to west
and to be numbered the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth
Range progressing northerly and the townships to be
numbered in each range and to be laid out Six miles
Square excepting those bordering on Penobscot River
which townships are to contain as nearly the quantity of
Six miles Square as the course of the River, and the
adjoining townships will permit the number of Acres
to be noted on the plan in each township which contains
a greater or less quantity than six miles square And
you will Survey accurately the Western bank or Water
Edge of Penobscot River so far as the three Ranges
aforesaid join on the same taking proper care in the
whole of this Survey to inspect the Chainmen ascending
and descending the hills and dales, and make such allow-
ance as to have the lines hold out horizontal measure.
And you are to make Return of the Survey with
Duplicate plans representing the lines of the townships
a border or margin of the adjoining lands the Rivers,
Streams, Lakes, Ponds, and the most prominent heights
and to be accompanied with such notes, minutes, and
a field-book as may be necessary to illustrate the Survey
Shewing the quality of the Soil the growth of the
48 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
timber, and the quantity of Land covered with water
Such Return to be made into our office at Boston or
to either of the Committee as soon as may be after the
business is completed for which Service you shall be
entitled to receive including all expense attending this
business when completed twelve pounds for each township
Surveyed and returned in manner as aforesaid.
/ in behalf
DANIEL CAREY, j of the
( Committee.
HaUowell, May 1, 1794.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the Secretary,
Boston, Sept. 10, 1895.
Compared with the Original and found Correctly
Copied.
WM. M. OLIN,
Secretary.
Mr. Wes ton's Letter.
Canaan, Oct. 15, 1801.
To the Committee for Sale of Eastern Lands.
Gentlemen :
In compliance with the directions forwarded on
the back of the Resolve of the Genl. Court authorizing
a resurvey of Township No. 4 in the seventh range north
of the Waldo Patent, I have employed by Brother
Stephen Weston who assisted in the Original Survey to
perform that business, after first writing to the College
Com. to know what was the ground of the application
for a resurvey not knowing whether any error was sup-
posed to be discovered in the contents of the Town-
ship or only in Numbering.
I did not suppose there was any need of employing
more than two persons as my Brother aforesaid had
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 49
measured the line that divides the No. 3 and 4 ranges
and found the three ranges to overrun 18 M but 6 rods
only, he therefore from his own measure performed under
oath has run a line West about, or nearly to the Million
acre line, and consequently has rectified the error in all
the Townships West in the 6 and 7 ranges.
How the mistake or error has crept into this business
is at this time an absolutely mystery to me.
When the 7, 8 and 9th ranges were surveyed I
employed my Brother to run the N. line and one Mr.
John O'Neil to run the line between the 8th and 9th
ranges with particular instructions where to leave the
Million acre line. I proceeded up the Penobscot by
water to the N. E. corner of Township No. 1, in the
sixth ranges thence run east to the Penobscot. I then
surveyed said River up and by casting the northing
Easting dis I found where to make the corners of the
Townships on the Range lines until I came to the N.
E. corner of the Township No. 1, 9th range and there
I waited until my brother arrived, and so true were my
calculations and measure that my brother struck the
River with his line within Six rods of my Station before
made and by repeated measurations said three Town-
ships are honestly 18 miles wide together I have never
had any reason to doubt but the Stations I had so care-
fully made on the Penobscot were true and lines extend-
ing from them west would be the true dividing line for
the ranges Master O'Neil met with so many obstacles
from low swampy land and ponds on the line between the
8 and 9 ranges that he did arrive at Penobscot untill
after my brother and I had left and gone to checking off
the Towns But he came down to the mouth of the Pis-
cataquis and found me there and gave me some account
of his voyage, and I rather concluded he had struck the
River above my station made for him to come out at and
50 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
%
concluded there might be some difference in the Com-
passes w. h. in so long a line had a " * een easily dis-
covered. I then sent my own land up to the corner I
had made for him and gave up my * * * * own com-
pass and fitted him out for to in the dividing * * * *
line between the 7 and 8 range complained of by the
* * * * trustees of Bowdoin College under these cir-
cumstances I confess I cannot tell how to account for the
difference in the width of the 7 and 8 ranges as alto-
gether the measure is good and Master O'Neil has been
a practical Surveyor, is called a man of ability and good
understanding and the objection any person made against
him when I enquired into his ability to undertake the
task assigned him, was that he would be rather to nice,
and curious to have the work performed Just so which
I thought would not by any means unqualify him as
the amount of the objections was that he would do the
work well but it would take the longer But that he
never would slight it nor can I now think that it is
slighted as an Instance of his faithfulness he was so
afraid lest a line be crosses and made a corner thereon
which was undoubtedly the million acre line should not
prove so eventually that he continued running West
until he had got within four miles of Kennebec River
and his being so much behind with the lines he ran pre-
vented a discovery of the Error Absolute exactness
cannot be expected in so broken a country as that is, so
many obstacles from ponds with all their arms legs inlets
and outlets, swamps, bogs, thickets morasses, Mountain
Cliffs and Gullies in so close a succession render it much
more difficult to close lines than might often be wished
for sometimes interested persons wish to exaggerate
any little errors, or rather they appear greater when
found by the measure of persons influenced by interest
a Where asterisks are inserted words are missing in the original.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 51
altho' I do not pretend this to be the case in this instance
I am conscious of the most upright and honest intentions
in the whole progress of the survey of those ranges of
Townships and the error in the amended line must have
proved from and ought I think to be corisi rod * * * *
as a misfortune and I hope I shall be exc * * * * I
say that I think the expense ought rath * * * * fall
on the Government than on the Committee.
most obed. Hum. Ser.
SAMUEL WESTON.
State of Maine.
Land Office, Augusta, Jan. 15, 1897.
I certify the above to be a true copy of the original
as filed in this office.
CHAS. E. OAK,
Land Agent.
Some Facts Relating to the Early
History of Greenville and Moosehead
Lake
Presented by Charles D. Shaw
"Memories waking happy tears,
Bringing back the yester-years."
THE friends of other days often come before us, and
then we see once more their pleasant faces and almost
converse with them again. "Some moments there
are that send their glad ripple down through life's stream
to the very verge of the grave, and truly blest is one who
can smile upon and kiss those memory waves and draw
from them a bliss that never fails." To gratify a desire
to review the past, we will invite the memory to bring
back the scenes of other days, and write something
remembered about Greenville and Moosehead Lake.
In the fall of the year 1844 Josiah Hinckley and
Milton G. Shaw bought of Charles Gower the first hotel
ever built at Greenville and also the farm connected with
the same. What is now Greenville Village consisted at
that time of one hotel, one store, two dwelling-houses,
two blacksmith shops and a schoolhouse. One dwelling-
house and one blacksmith shop was owned and occupied
by old Mr. Hildreth ; the other dwelling-house was built,
owned and occupied by Mr. Benjamin Bigney. After
Mr. Gower sold the hotel he occupied the tenement over
his store. The store is still standing and owned by M.
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 53
G. Shaw Lumber Company. Mr. Hildreth's blacksmith
shop was on the corner of the street where D. T.
Sanders' store now stands; the other blacksmith shop
was on the corner of the street leading to West Cove,
then so called. It was occupied by John Atwood. He
was then unmarried and boarded at the hotel.
The hotel was two stories high, with ell running back
to the north. It had been enlarged from time to time as
the interests of business demanded, and at the time it
was burned (March 15, 1849) would accommodate from
fifty to sixty guests. (It was rebuilt in part the next
year by Capt. Joshua Fogg. ) It was not an uncommon
thing during the winters from 1844 to 1849 for from
thirty to forty teamsters to stop there overnight. They
were called toters; their business was hauling supplies
for lumbermen about the lake and its tributaries, and on
the waters of the Penobscot River.
In the year 1844 there was a hotel at Sandbar kept
by Mr. Ephraim Nason and one at Kineo kept by H. G.
O. Barrows. There were shanties kept as follows : One at
the foot of the lake near what is now Eveleth wharf by
John Pollard, one at Deer Island by Gen. Capen and his
son Aaron, one at Lily Bay by Hildreth Bros., one at
Roach River by Deacon Ford, one ten miles beyond on
the road to Chesuncook Lake by Thomas Grant,
one at the head of Chesuncook Lake by Ansel Smith.
There was a hotel two miles from the foot of the lake on
the road to Shirley kept by B. F. Greeley.
According to tradition the first settlers came to Green-
ville by a road leading from Monson Village directly
north to the easterly part of the town of Greenville,
and the first settlements in town were along that road.
The names of those living there in the year 1844 were
as follows: Mr. Wilson, William Shaw, Dea. Darling,
Silas Cummings, Oliver Young, Orrin Grant, Joel
54 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Sawyer, Isaac Sawyer. Names of inhabitants living on
the road leading from Greenville to Lily Bay were Jerry
Varney, John Tyler, Rev. James Withee, Ed Scammon.
Names of inhabitants living on the road leading from
Greenville to Shirley were Charles Meserve, B. F.
Greeley, William Connor, Hiram Mansell, Jefferson
Mansell. Those on the road leading from foot of lake
to the east part of the town were George Simpson,
Elijah Young, Thomas Young. Those on the road
leading to West Cove were John Masterman, Samuel
Cole, James Nash. Mr. Cole was a farmer by occu-
pation, and in connection with farming owned and
operated a sawmill, the power of which was an overshot
wheel. The saw was an up and down saw. As a matter
of course each board had a stub-short. The mill could
be run only in times of freshet, but with his mill he could
supply the demand for boards in that vicinity.
At that time shingles were made by hand. They
were made of cedar and pine trees. The trees were
sawed into blocks and were then split and shaved by
hand. It was called a day's work for a man to split,
saw, shave and bunch one thousand shingles. Some
shingle weavers, as they were then called, became experts,
and some men claimed that after the shingles were
split and ready to shave they could shave and throw them
across the room where they were to be bunched and keep
one in the air all the time. It may not be easy to prove
such a statement now, but it is quite certain that some
men could shave them very fast. Bangor was then the
principal market for shingles. Pine shingles were then
worth $4.00 per M.
The principal business of the inhabitants then was
farming. They raised cattle, sheep and horses; sold to
the lumbermen hay, grain and other products of the soil.
As a rule they were industrious, prudent, discreet, honest
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 55
and prosperous. Their land at that time, being new,
yielded large returns. One farmer at one time went to
Foxcroft to mill with a grist of ninety bushels of wheat.
This of course was an exceptional case but it emphasizes
the push and energy of the early settlers of Greenville.
In the year 1844 the shipping of the lake consisted of
one steamboat called the Amphitrite. She was about
ninety feet long and very wide on the beam. Her
boiler and engine were of primitive make and her rate of
speed was about six miles an hour. She was used in the
spring of the year for towing logs, and in the fall for
carrying lumbermen's teams, crews and supplies, but she
was too slow for a passenger-boat. She was commanded
by Capt. King. There was also a two-masted schooner
commanded by Capt. George Varney. She was also used
for carrying heavy freight for lumbering business. There
were two smaller one-masted vessels, one commanded by
Captain Fletcher Flint, the other by Captain Monroe
Brown. They were both fine vessels of their kind, and
did a good business for several years. There were several
kinds of small boats; one was the bateau, sometimes
called the Maynard boat, and used mostly for river driv-
ing, the other was the birch canoe made by the Indians.
It was often the case that a canoe was made of the bark
of one tree, and all of one piece.
At that time there was felt a pressing need of a pas-
senger-boat with steam-power; sailing vessels often
required too much time. The Amphitrite was lacking
in too many points to meet the demand of the times.
Business men demanded more speed, tourist and pleasure
parties wanted more style, stockholders wanted quicker
returns. Public sentiment would be satisfied with
nothing short of a new and better steamboat, and the
stock raised for that purpose was sold almost as soon as
it was put onto the market. In the year 1848 the
56 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
steamer Moosehead was built at Varney's landing, Mr.
Benjamin Bigney, master builder. She was built
expressly for a passenger-boat, her finish and furnishings
were fully up to date, a locomotive-boiler and engine
with modern improvements gave her speed of fourteen
miles per hour. She was very attractive in appearance,
and gave general satisfaction to all concerned, as a pas-
senger-boat. In early spring the Moosehead was used
for towing logs, but in the summer she was used for pas-
senger work, making two trips per week from Greenville
to Northeast Carry, stopping at Kineo, going and com-
ing, and at other points as business demanded, also one
trip per week from Greenville to Kineo. She was com-
manded by Captain Thomas Robinson.
At that time logs were towed from Moose River and
North Bay by steamboat, and from Spencer Bay and the
lower part of the lake by head works : a big raft made of
logs with a small house on one end, where the men cooked,
ate and slept. On the other end of the raft was the
capstan. A rope one half mile long was attached to the
capstan, the other end to an anchor. The anchor was
carried out to the end of the rope and thrown over-
board ; the rope was then wound in on the capstan by
twelve men with six bars. In this way a raft of twenty
acres of logs could be moved one half mile an hour.
During the years from 1844 to 1854 the means of con-
veyance to and from Greenville was by stage. One route
was from Greenville to Bangor, the other from Greenville
to Skowhegan. The last named made three round trips
per week. The names of the drivers in the order named
were: Warren Potter, Henry Potter, John Downing,
William Young, William Blackden. Heavy freight was
then hauled from Bangor to Greenville, with two, four
and six-horse teams, making one trip per week.
In the year 1849 a wooden railroad was built from
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 57
the shore of the lake to the bank of the Penobscot River
at Northeast Carry, distance two miles, twenty-seven
rods. As the water at the shore of the lake was very
shoal, it was necessary to build a pier forty rods from
the shore and continue the track to the pier, making the
entire length of the road two miles, sixty-seven rods.
It had a wooden track and a platform car, drawn by one
horse, weight of common load about two tons, making
four trips per day. The business of the road was taking
lumbermen's supplies from the steamboat pier to the West
Branch of the Penobscot River. The cost of building
and equipping the road was about S3, 000, price of
freightage $4.00 per ton, length of business season
about two months each year. It went to decay and was
discontinued in about ten years, and a turnpike road was
built in its place.
The principal fishermen during the early history of
Moosehead Lake were Mr. Bard and the Cross brothers.
Mr. Bard, in the winter, had a house on runners and
hauled it from place to place. He lived in his house and
fished in deep water. The Cross brothers fished in the
thoroughfares. They were all quite successful in their
line of business. The leading hunters and trappers were
Uncle John Ellis and William Lyford. They both
lived in the woods nearly all of their lives. Uncle John
Ellis, as he was called, was a great story-teller, and when
he was in company with those who liked to hear him talk
he would relate his adventures with wild animals, (mostly
bull moose) by the hour. He continued in the hunting
business until he was an old man. His last camping
place was near Spencer Bay ; the smoke of it could be
plainly seen from Mr. Capen's house at Deer Island.
They, knowing that he was liable to fall into distress at
any time, kept a close watch for the smoke of his cabin,
and one day there was no smoke to be seen. Mr. Capen
58 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
^
went immediately to his place and found him sick and
unable to help himself. Mr. Capen, like the good
Samaritan, took him to his own home (which was an inn)
and took care of him. It proved to be his last sickness.
He had a family and accumulated quite a good property.
Mr. Lyford was quite a fur hunter, and enjoyed telling
his adventures with bears and wolves. He, too, was
quite a successful hunter and trapper and followed the
business until he was quite old.
Until the year 1850 there were no laws to protect
large game in Maine. At that time moose and deer
were very plenty in northern Maine, especially along
the West Branch of the Penobscot River and around
Moosehead Lake. No one seemed disposed to kill more
than he needed for his own private use. In the
year 1850 large numbers of St. Francis Indians came
through from Canada and made great slaughter of
moose, taking nothing but their hides, leaving their car-
casses along the shores of the lake and the West Branch
of the Penobscot and in the woods in almost every
direction. So certain did it seem that large game would
become extinct that complaints were made by the Penob-
scot Indians, and large numbers of citizens petitioned
the Legislature to pass laws to protect large game, and
in response to the request of the people, laws were
passed to that end and game wardens appointed,
Isaac Labree being the first game warden in the vicinity
of Moosehead Lake.
In the early days of game-laws the warden's duties
were not always pleasant or even safe, as in the case of
Calvin Graves, who killed Wardens Hill and Niles of
Calais, Maine. The violators of the game-laws would
shield themselves with the fact that they were in the
solitude of the great wilderness of Maine and would
sometimes say that there was no law where there was no
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 59
stone wall, and their means of defense was their rifle and
sheath- knife.
Notwithstanding the liabilities incident to the enforce-
ment of the game-laws, Warden Labree went to the
Northeast Carry to meet a party of Indians who were
coming up the West Branch of the Penobscot with their
canoes loaded with dried moose hides. (The Indians'
method for preparing moose hides to be carried in large
quantities in their canoes was to stretch them on poles,
shave off the hair, dry, fold and pack them in bales.)
He read to them the game-laws of Maine and the penal-
ties. They seemed very much surprised, and with much
indignation assumed a very savage and threatening
position, and it looked for a while as though something
serious might take place, but after much parleying they
were allowed to go with their booty, on condition that
they were not to come to Maine again to kill moose,
deer, or caribou. But large game had got such a set-
back that after fifty years it has hardly recovered
from the loss.
Warden Labree in making his report gives the follow-
ing reasons for making the settlement before named :
1. To have seized the property, canoes, rifles and
hides would doubtless have resulted in bloodshed, and
perhaps in loss of life and limb.
2. The property confiscated would have been nearly
worthless to the State.
3. The property would not in any way make good
the loss or replace the large game that had been destroyed.
Therefore by the advice of his associates he concluded
to settle as before-named.
CASUALTIES.
The first death by drowning known to white men,
occurred in the fall of 1849. The circumstances were
60 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
%
as follows : Three young men, viz. , Downs, non-resident,
Charles Stratton of Boston, Mass., clerk in the Eveleth
store, and William Meserve, son of Charles Meserve of
Greenville, went to Squaw Bay on a hunting excursion in
a small boat, and when they returned they came through
the narrows between Moose Island and Harford's Point.
The wind was blowing a gale from the north and as they
came around the point their boat filled with water.
Downs jumped overboard and swam ashore. He said
the boat was only a few rods from the land. After
reaching the shore he said he told the boys to jump over-
board and swim. Stratton jumped into the water but
went down when about half-way to land. Meserve was
in the boat when last seen by Downs. He started
immediately for Greenville by the shore of the lake,
where he arrived near night. Two boats were manned
and started at once to search for the boys. The wind
was blowing hard and the lake was rough. It was nearly
dark when they reached the place. The boat was found
on the shore of a small island, but neither of the boys
were found that night. The next morning the search
was renewed and the body of the Stratton boy was found
near the place where Downs said he went down, but
the body of William Meserve was never found. The
search was continued for several days. The bottom was
dragged with grapples many times over from Harford's
Point to the place where the boat was lodged. Thus
the tragedy was left somewhat surrounded in mystery.
In the early winter of the same year John Capen was
drowned while out skating. He was alone at the time,
and his body was found by means of his mittens being
frozen to the ice where he broke in.
In the year 1851 or 1852 Freeman Shaw of Greenville
was drowned from off the steamer Moosehead, near
Scammon's landing. He was leaning over the gang rail
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 61
dipping a pail of water. When the pail dipped the
water, the rail came out of its socket and he went over-
board into the water. It was supposed that he was
struck by the wheel, as he did not come to the surface.
The water was very deep, and the bottom uneven and
ledgy. After several days of searching, the body was
found by a professional diver from Bangor.
MISCELLANEOUS.
In the early fifties Louis Annance, chief of the St.
Francis tribe of Indians, came to Maine with his family
and resided here during the remainder of his life. He
gave as a reason for leaving his tribe that they had practi-
cally lost their visibility as a race of North American
Indians, the lineage of which he himself was truly proud.
He said that they had so mixed with the Canadian French
that it was impossible to tell where the Indian left off
and the French began.
Louis Annance was a true type of the North Ameri-
can Indian. He was tall, straight, broad-shouldered,
copper-colored, high cheek-boned, athletic in his general
make-up. He was educated and graduated at Dart-
mouth College, according to a treaty once made between
the English Government and the St. Francis tribe. He
spoke pure English. He was a great reader and an easy
speaker. Although he lived in the solitude of the
wilderness, nearly all of the time he kept himself well up
on current events of the times. He could sit down with
an educated person and converse with him on almost
any subject. He was gentlemanly in his appearance, a
member of the Congregational church, and also of the
Free and Accepted Masons.
In the summer of 1852 Dr. John Hubbard, then
Governor of Maine, made a tour through northern
Maine with his two sons, twelve and fourteen years of
62 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
age. They went to Greenville, across the lake to North-
east Carry, and down the West Branch of the Penobscot
River to Katahdin Mountain. At the Northeast Carry
he met his old college classmate, Louis Annance, for the
first time since they left college. Contrary to former
plans, Mr. Hubbard stopped over at the Carry one day
to talk with Mr. Annance. It was a privilege of a life-
time to listen to their conversation, not because two
educated men were conversing, but because the chief
executive of the State was conversing on a literary level
with an Indian whose glory was in the hunt and the
chase.
EDUCATIONAL.
Previous to the year 1855 the only institution of
learning in Greenville was the "little red schoolhouse, "
situated about forty rods north of Hotel No. 1. This
memorable, unpretentious little building served the town
for many years as schoolhouse, town house, church and
city hall. Here the scholars in town received their first
school education, and all the education they ever received,
(eight weeks in summer and ten weeks in the winter)
except such as were able to go away from home to older
and larger towns, and yet it is true that the literary
attainments of the scholars of Greenville at that time
were fully up to the average rural towns of the State.
Many of them could pass an academic graduating exami-
nation with honors, and in history and passing events and
many other branches they could lead the scholarship of
fifty years later date. The latter may know a little of
more things, but the former were so thoroughly estab-
lished in the essential principles of a complete education
that each seemed to be led in the active duties of life,
making them useful and successful more or less.
The municipal records of Greenville will show that
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 68
the early settlers were self-supporting almost without
exception, a state of things due largely to early instruc-
tion. Their early education not only aided them in
selecting the vocation for which they were best suited,
but for the development of the resources found every-
where in the vicinity of Moosehead Lake. It is a
remarkable fact, and almost without parallel, that nearly
all of the enterprises of northern Maine (railroads
excepted) were instituted, improved and operated at the
present time by home talent and home capital.
The few brief thoughts already presented can but
inspire feelings of gratitude and sincere respect for the
ancestral blood to which every institution of Greenville
today is largely indebted. "It is easy to say how we
love new friends and what we think of them, but words
can never trace out all the fibres that bind us to the
old."
ENTERTAINMENTS.
Entertainments even of small importance were few and
far between, although family visits were highly enjoyed
and of frequent occurrence; but many of the society
entertainments as they are enjoyed at the present time,
were then unknown. Cheap traveling shows were quite
common and patronized to some extent, but the results of
those entertainments were not very encouraging to the
proprietors. Dancing-schools, balls and social dances
were indulged in to some extent, and as a rule were with-
out the damaging effects to society that are often realized
in later times. It is sometimes said that persons with
strong and healthy constitutions may come in contact
with germs of contagious diseases without serious effects,
and sometimes it is the case that persons of strong moral
training are not seriously affected by that which is
classed as moral evil. This thought is not offered as an
64 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
apology for any moral wrong, but as a reason for the
moral stamina that characterized the early settlers of
Greenville and vicinity.
Open air excursions were some of the entertainments
that were highly enjoyed by the people of Greenville,
and were held at different points of interest around and
in the vicinity of Moosehead Lake. All who have ever
enjoyed an occasion of that kind will bear witness that
words cannot express the enjoyment of such. To sail
on the silvery sea, the pride of Maine, with your face
Mount Kineo-vvard, with Mount Katahdin on the
right hand and Mount Squaw on the left, fills one with
feelings too sublime to be expressed in words. It is a
sensation that can be appreciated only by actual experi-
ence. To creep along the crest of grand old Mount
Kineo, whose fame is the joy of the world, to drink from
that crystal fountain whose pure waters are sent up by a
power known only to the Eternal Creator, to stand on
the very top of Mount Kineo, to breathe the pure air
among the clouds nearly 1,000 feet above the lake, to
look upon the surrounding scenery as God has created it,
as far as the eye can reach, is to feel that one is standing
in the presence of the Infinite.
MORAL AND RELIGIOUS.
Some things have already been mentioned about the
morals of the early settlers of Greenville, and perhaps
if more is said some may think that there is an attempt
at flattery, but if such were the case it would only be
saying some good things of those who have gone to that
bourne from whence no traveler ever returns. Suffice it
to say that the municipal and judicial records will show
conclusively that the early settlers were not given to over
much litigation or home disturbances, but as a rule were
not only moral but religious, according to their most
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 65
serious convictions of true orthodoxy. The recognized
leader in religious things was the Rev. James Withee.
Mr. Withee was a farmer by occupation. He received but
very little by way of salary but he was a man who had
the spiritual interest of the people at heart. It is not
certain that he ever developed any angel's wings, and it
is very doubtful whether or not religious sentiment at
that time would have allowed the use of such appendages
if he had been in possession of them. But he was a
true and faithful pastor of the people. Preaching to
them the word of life on the Sabbath, "giving to each
his portion of meat in due season," whenever and
wherever opportunity opened the way, attending the
funerals of the departed loved ones and solemnizing the
marriages in town. As a man and pastor he was loved
and respected by all. Mr. Withee was of the Methodist
persuasion, but the people were divided among the differ-
ent denominations. Some were Free Baptists, some
regular Baptists, some Methodists and some Congrega-
tionalists, but in their religious work denominational
lines were left in the background, and by common con-
sent all were allowed to worship God according to the
dictates of their own consciences.
DM"
History of the Baptist Churches in
Piscataquis County
By Rev. F. H. Pratt
VERY properly should the history of the churches
become a part of the history of Piscataquis. This
is the more appreciated and the more necessary
because of the almost entire lack of the history of the
churches in the secular histories of the state and nation.
Not that the churches are not mentioned in such histories,
they are mentioned, but little more than that, and this
despite the fact of the large place the Christian church
has held in the lives of the people of the state and
nation. The church historians have done something
along the line above mentioned but very often this has
been found to be incomplete.
The present treatise claims to be a history of but one
branch of the church, and therefore is not a history of
the church in the county.
If there is to be a history of the county written, of
which various papers presented in the meetings of this
historical society are to become a part, the other
Christian bodies should be represented.
One hundred years ago the settlements in this part of
the State of Maine were hardly beyond the experimental
stage. People came into the forest and made their
homes on sites that promised well for the work of their
lives, which was largely farming. In many instances
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 67
these places of settlement did not prove to be the centers
of future populations, when the history of manufactur-
ing was well under way.. < Of course this would affect the
churches that might have been formed by the first
settlers. Very often the financial resources of the
settlers were very meager which prevented the support
of pastors or the erection of places of worship, thus the
church at its birth would be shorn of what would be
called in this day the strong pillars under the structure
of the church's existence. Besides this, the country was
almost without roads and the means of transportation,
and of course had no railroads and few mail routes.
Hence traveling for the strengthening of the weak
churches, and the sending of literature (of which there
was very little at best) for their encouragement was
difficult. Those were the days of sharp disputes and
strong prejudices preventing the uniting of weak and
struggling church interests, and besides these things
many other elements of division, and these would hinder
the organization of the churches and tend to their disso-
lution after they were organized. Hence the weakness
of some of the early attempts to give these frontier
settlements permanent church homes.
According to Rev. Amasa Loring's History of Pis-
cataquis County, the Baptists were the first to preach
gospel truth in these parts. He says towards the close
of 1807 Elder Thomas Macomber of Sumner and Elder
Nathaniel Gould of Vassalborough were sent by the
Baptist Society on an exploring tour into these frontier
settlements. In Amestown, now Sangerville, they found
only thirteen families. Here they preached the word,
an interest sprang up and very soon twelve persons were
ready to be organized into a Baptist church, and in
January of the following year one was organized, the
first Baptist church in the county ; in fact we are told by
68 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
other authorities that it was the first church of any kind
in this county. The number of members above named
was increased to sixteen. Splendid help was given the
church by Rev. H. Kendall. William Oakes, who had
fallen away from the faith, was reclaimed about this time
and was soon licensed to preach, and he also rendered
valuable service. During the interest above mentioned
several from Guilford were converted and united with the
church.
Rev. Joshua Millett says further concerning the church :
"In 1809 the church reported to Bowdoinham Associa-
tion twenty-one members, but being small, and without
a leader, and situated at so great a distance from the
places where the association usually met, it withdrew its
relation from that body, and remained isolated and alone
until it lost its visibility. In 1823 it was again organ-
ized with several members from Guilford, and Rev.
Daniel Bartlett became the pastor. It united again
with the Bowdoinham Association with thirty-four
members. Rev. Mr. Bartlett officiated until 1828, when
he resigned, leaving the church with its numbers increased
to seventy-two by a revival in 1827. This was the
most prosperous period of the church. The year 1831
was a fruitful one for the church, their numbers being
increased by fifty-four by baptism. It has since had one
pastor, Rev. A. Clark, from 1836 two or three years. A
train of trials now began, which for some years disturbed
the peace of the church, and although aided by the semi-
monthly labors of Rev. W. E. Cressy, in 1838 and 1839,
and C. P. Sinclair, in 1841, yet constant internal com-
motion and the separation of some of the members to
form a new church, have operated to reduce the numbers
to the small total of twenty-one. These brethren are in
a low, discouraged state." It might be well to say
in addition to what the gentleman has stated, that the
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 69
Sangerville church has ceased to exist as a church. The
writer above quoted speaks of a number of the members
of the church withdrawing to form another church.
This church, composed of eleven members, was formed in
1839, and was located in the south part of the town.
It maintained worship a part of the time until 1847,
when it was dropped from the association. This church
was always small. This makes three Baptist churches
that have had an existence in the town, but of course
not all in the same part of the town. None of these
churches survive to the present. None of them ever
owned a church building. The second church that was
organized in 1823 started to build a house of worship in
1830, but it was not completed until 1835, and then it
was partly owned by other denominations.
Mr. Loring speaks of a church that was organized in
"Atkinson and Milton," now Orneville, in 1825, in the
south part of the town, but does not say in which of the
towns. He speaks of Mr. Jonathan Page being instru-
mental in the organization of the church, and this
brother being set apart as an evangelist by this church.
The church at one time had thirty-four members, but is
now extinct.
Before the town of Blan chard was incorporated a
Baptist church was organized there in 1828. It resulted
from the labors of Rev. Zenas Hall and William Oakes.
It was a hard field to cultivate, but the church at one
time had thirty members. It ceased to exist in 1837.
The historian above named mentions a church that
was organized in one of the towns of Greenville or Shir-
ley, but does not mention which town, (perhaps organ-
ized to accommodate both towns) in 1843, by O. B.
Walker, he becoming this same year the pastor of the
church in Dover. The church did not long survive.
A church was organized in Bowerbank in 1836 and at
70 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
one time had thirty members, but its earthly career was
short.
Another church of as short a life as some of the others
was organized in Foxcroft. Many of the older settlers
were Congregationalists, but as the population increased,
quite a number of Baptists were sprinkled through it.
A church was organized at what is now called "Foxcroft
Four Corners," in March, 1832, composed of nineteen
members. The following September they were increased
to thirty-two by a revival; in 1838 nineteen more were
added by baptism. The church received only occasional
preaching and after the organization of the Dover village
church, now known as the People's Baptist church, the
church in Foxcroft was disbanded and the most of the
members of the church united with the church in Dover.
Many of the churches of the present time feel that
they have a hard struggle for life in the mad rage of
worldliness that is coming in like a flood, but the strug-
gles of the present time are not worthy to be compared
with the trials and hardships of the brethren of the for-
mer time. All that is true of the Baptist churches is
also true of the other churches. Many of them lived only
to be overcome with the hastening feet of time which
takes away the worthiest and best, and the changing
character of the population, and above all the great
indifference to the things of the spirit, for the rank and
file of the people are after the things that make for
wealth rather than the things of the soul. Among the
people, however, were some of the staunchest and the
most saintly of the children of God anywhere, but they
were unable to stem the tides of opposition that set
against them ; yet many lived their lives and closed the
full measure of their days in the faith of the Lord and
the apostolic zeal of the early fathers.
The first permanent Baptist church that was formed
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 71
in the county, of which we have any record, was organized
in Guilford. Settlement began here in 1806. Among
those who came in 1808 was Deacon Robert Herring,
a member of the church in New Gloucester. As this
was about the time of some of the special revivals in
Sangerville, and as people were going from Guilford to
Sangerville to attend services, special desire was exercised
as to the beginning of work in Guilford. Deacon
Herring began with a prayer service in his own home.
It is said that while a number of believers were engaged
in prayer at this place, and praying that a messenger of
God would be sent to them, they were surprised by the
coming of Rev. John Daggett, who came as a missionary
among them. He is reported to have been of great
strength to these believers in this far-away wilderness.
After others had moved to these parts, some coming
from New Gloucester, Elder Robert Lowe, the pastor,
organized a church in Guilford in 1813. This was what
is now known as Guilford Center. The visits of the last
named gentlemen were continued for several years, some
of the visits being before the organization of the church.
There were thirteen members when the church began its
visible existence. There was considerable growth for
several years, and in 1815 he visited the place and meas-
ures were taken to make him the pastor of the church,
and he received the minister's lot of land of 320 acres.
The next year he moved to the place and remained pas-
tor of the church for nineteen years. The pastorate was
as profitable as it was prolonged, for soon after his set-
tlement, and again in 1827, strong revivals were sent to
them, and in a little while the church numbered one
hundred members.
In the spring of 1831 the church raised a meeting-
house, the first in the town, and dedicated the same July
4, 1833. Rev. R. C. Spaulding preached the dedica-
72 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
tory sermon. This was a day of religious as well as ol
patriotic joy for this people. In 1835 Mr. Macomber
resigned, but preached here and at other places, as he
was able, his health being impaired. Without the edu-
cation of the schools, this brother was a well-learned man
in the things of God and the school of experience, and
served his day and generation well, receiving one hundred
and eighteen persons to the church during his pastorate.
Aside from the lot of land, he had received no compen-
sation for his services, that could in these days be
called a salary. He remained the rest of his days in
the town, and died December 18, 1852, aged seventy-
eight, loved and honored by all for his loving service
for the kingdom, and his stalwart Christian character.
After Mr. Macomber 's retirement there was an effort
to raise the church to the dignity of paying the pastor a
salary, and to it they rallied grandly. This was prob-
ably because an educated ministry was now sought.
Elder D. E. Burbank was the first beneficiary of this
new arrangement, a student of Waterville College, the
present Colby College. His labors were much blessed
but ill health soon terminated his days in the pulpit,
after a two years' pastorate, and he died in Winthrop at
an early age. Rev. Lucius Bradford came to the pastor-
ate in 1838, and was followed by T. Goldthwaite, L.
Kingman, O. B. Walker and others for short periods
from 1837 to 1873, dividing their labors with some
neighboring church or churches. Rev. Sewall Browne,
who is well known in these parts, was for quite a long
time pastor, and saw great prosperity of the church,
many being gathered into the fold.
During all the years the church has had many trials,
but has met them in the spirit of fairness and firm deal-
ing ; liberal to the causes represented across the seas in
heathen lands, a missionary, Rev. James F. Norris, being
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 73
for some time pastor of the church. The church at one
time had a parsonage, and still has a small fund of
money in the bank and some real estate besides the
church property. It has however been in a weakened
condition for some years and receives only transient
pastoral help. The pastor and people at Dover have
given it considerable aid lately. Some splendid men
have been reared in this church, among them being
Revs. C. M. Herring, A. J. Nelson and E. B. Haskell,
and Elders Zenas Hall and Daniel Bartlett. The
churches in Monson, Parkman, Sangerville and Abbot
have received members from this church. While no
church should rest on its laurels, the church in Guilford
would have some excuse, if not reason, for doing so, for
their gifts to the Christian world have been by no
means small.
The next church by way of seniority is the church at
South Dover, which came into existence in June, 1818,
composed of six members. The forest here was first
broken by the settlers in 1803, who at first were few
and scattered, but some of them were members of
distant churches and of course longed for the church
privileges of their home surroundings. Besides this they
saw their children and those of their neighbors' grow-
ing up in ignorance and carelessness as to their moral
and spiritual concerns. Without any help from out-
side the place, so far as we can learn, they called the
council that recognized the church on the above date.
Before long there were a few additions, as the result of
missionary work done among them, but the first three
years were ones of trial, much of which was caused by
Christians of other names who resided in the place, and
church discipline, which they seemed to be obliged to
administer. In 1821 Elder Nathaniel Robinson of
Cherryfield visited them, and by their request became
74* HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
their pastor in 1822, and he received the one half lot of
land and lived thereon and retained the pastorate till
1834. This church was the first religious society in
town, and this brother was probably the first pastor in
the town. This is interesting, since in the whole town
there are now seven.
Mr. Robinson left the church to engage in the exten-
sion of Bible work among all churches. Elder E.
Hunting was then employed for several months, and in
1835 Elder J. F. Page became the pastor. In 1838 a
house of worship was built, and dedicated Oct. 10, Rev.
Adam Wilson preaching the sermon. In 1826 the Free
Baptists were organized in the same neighborhood, and
eventually they obtained an interest in the church on
condition that they support preaching one half the time.
This excellent arrangement still continues. During
much of the time since, the church has received pastoral
care from the village church, that was later organized.
For several years Rev. George H. Hamilton (a Methodist
clergyman who was reared here and who had come back
to regain his health) has been engaged by the two
churches to supply jointly the pulpit, he giving much of
his time to labor on his farm.
The church in South Dover did not long antedate the
church in Parkman for in two months and nine days from
the organization of the South Dover church, the church
in Parkman was organized, Aug. 29, 1818. Many of
the early settlers in the town were Baptists, some coming
from Greene, those who first came uniting with the
church in Guilford in 1813, and although the roads
hardly deserved the name and the distance was consider-
able, attendance on the covenant and other meetings was
well kept up. It was not long after this however that
William Cole, Peter Cummings and Joshua Coburn began
holding meetings in their own town. Elders Macomber
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 75
and Zenas Hall assisted these brethren considerably, and
in 1818 a special work of grace among them made it
possible to organize an independent church, and on the
date above named they were duly organized with sixteen
members. Peter Cummings and Joshua Coburn were
made the deacons of the new church. Zenas Hall had
been licensed by the Guilford church, and the people of
Parkman becoming attached to him, he was invited to
become the pastor and on the 14th of January, 1819,
he was ordained. He received a salary of from $60 to
$100 per year and the minister's lot of land, a part of
which he afterwards relinquished to the Universalists and
the Methodists.
Notwithstanding this the Baptists seem to have been
the only ones that held religious services in the town,
and as the showers of divine grace were frequent the
growth of the church was steady and its life healthy.
Their present house was dedicated Dec. 20, 1831, during
the sessions of a quarterly meeting that was being held
with them, at which time also a special work of grace
was begun among them and not a few were brought into
the church, and in the years 1839 and 1843 great showers
of blessings came upon them and the church was much
enlarged.
Mr. Hall, the pastor, was unceasing in his labors, not
for his own town alone but for the other parts also.
The churches in Dexter and Blanchard owed their exist-
ence to Mr. Hall and the members of the Parkman
church. This brother was also active in his interest in
the matter of politics and was clerk and selectman of his
town, and was also sent to the Legislature and was withal
a very active and useful man. At the time of the great
temperance movement in the town Mr. Hall took no part
and those that were carrying it on did not consult him,
which would have been a very wise thing to do because
76 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
of his prestige and the benefit it would have been to the
cause. He was as great in confessing his faults as in the
other elements of his character. His political views
being such as they were he opposed the war of secession
but after moving to Ohio he changed his views on this
point, and when he returned made full confession of his
change of political faith on that point. He probably
opposed the Maine law and the town of Parkman rolled
up a larger vote against that measure than any other
town in the county. Mr. Hall was, however, always
temperate in his personal habits.
The church in Parkman had in 1845 two hundred
members. In after years when it was somewhat weak-
ened, it made an arrangement with the Free Baptists to
occupy the house of worship with them. Still later, the
Free Baptists having failed somewhat in keeping up the
arrangement, they made terms with the Maine Baptist
Missionary Convention in 1890, by which they relin-.
quished the use of their house and gave up their own
society on condition that the Baptists hold regular serv-
ices in the church. Rev. W. H. Clark was the first
pastor under this arrangement, and the work carried on
by him and his talented wife was successful. At the
present time this church is an example of what help
can be given through the wise expenditure of denomina-
tional funds. While at the present time it is not
large it may be called a strong church. About three
years ago the church bought a parsonage.
The next in the order of seniority is the church in
Monson. Like many of the other churches the reason
for the organization of a church there was the immi-
gration of Baptists from other towns, but we are not
told from where. The church was organized August 10,
1827, consisting of fourteen members. It only had
occasional supplies till 1842, when the Rev. Lebbeus
' OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 77
Kingman became the pastor. In 1845 a house of wor-
ship was built and the Rev. Lucius Bradford was from
this time the pastor for six years. In 1853 Rev. Dudley
P. Bailey became the pastor, spending half the time in
other places in preaching the Gospel; the length of his
pastorate being eighteen years. From 1871 to 1880
there were several short pastorates. In connection with
these Rev. W. S. Knowl ton's name appears three times
in the annual minutes of the association, and the name
of Rev. J. S. Bicknell once. Since that time have been
such men as Rev. E. C. Long, the sainted B. F. Shaw,
D. D., Revs. A. C. Chipman, C. F. Whitcomb, E. M.
Bartlett, H. C. Speed and E. S. Drew. At the present
time the church is without a pastor. It reports one
hundred and one members. The last few years have
been on the whole fruitful ones, and the pastors have
done well for the church.
The church in Abbot should be treated next. This
was organized in 1829. This has been a small interest,
and at the present time (1909) the light has nearly gone
out. At the beginning of the life of the church they
had nine members, coming from different parts of the
settlement, they having only partial acquaintance with
each other. Very soon the voice of young converts
gladdened their hearts and the wilderness rang with the
songs of praise. In 1831 Joseph Hall was qualified to
preach, and until difficulties arose he was successful, but
this pastorate lasted for only two or three years, and in
1835 the church nearly became extinct. Life was
revived again by the efforts of Rev. Thomas Macomber
of Guilford and William Oakes of Sangerville, who gave
them help in 1836 and 1837. In 1840 they united with
other denominations in building a church. Among these
was the Free Baptist, which church has for some years
been extinct. At the present time there are but very
78 % HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
few members left and the matter of dropping them from
the list of the churches of the association has several
times been discussed. There are however one or two
strong Christian believers left.
The church of Sebec claims for itself to have begun
its organized life in 1836. But 1859 is given as the
probable date, and I can find no record of its existence
before that date, yet Rev. Thomas Macomber is said to
have preached there, and he died in 1852. We shall
have to say the beginnings in Sebec are doubtful so far
as the exact date is concerned. No record of the exist-
ence of the church is found in the reports of the asso-
ciation for several years before 1878, when the church
is supposed to have been reorganized. At this time a
pastor was secured and the church building in the village
belonging to the Congregationalists was secured and
repaired. At times the outlook for the church has been
regarded as hopeful. For more than twenty years it
has been in a very weakened condition and has had no
pastor for much longer than that, but has occasional
supplies.
Baptist beginnings came in Milo in June, 1840. The
church then had twelve members, the number of the
twelve apostles, and the number of the associations in
the State. Like almost every other church, the Baptists
came here by immigration, some of them probably soon
after the town was incorporated in 1823. Here, also,
the Rev. Thomas Macomber did efficient service in the
early days of the church, preaching monthly. These
monthly services continued through 1842, when a revival
came to them, and in 1843 they had preaching every
third Sunday by Elder A. G. Tibbetts. They built a
union meeting-house in 1853, uniting with the Free Bap-
tists, and alternating with them in the use of the house.
This church is now owned by the Free Baptists.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 79
In 1888 they built a very attractive church of their
own, and then began their separate existence from other
churches. They have been prospered in men and money,
and the church and the work of the same, has grown and
been strengthened. Because of increasing numbers they
were obliged to enlarge, and therefore the present beauti-
ful edifice was erected in 1907, being an enlargement of
the structure built in 1888. This church has had a suc-
cession of faithful pastors, and with the increase of the
business that has come to the town within a few years,
the church has kept pace. All departments of the
church life are well kept up and it probably has one of
the largest, if not the largest Sunday-schools in the
county. As there are only three churches in the town,
including Milo Junction, if rightly managed they are
all bound to be progressive and useful and eminently suc-
cessful. The church has a very convenient parsonage.
The church in Dover was not long in following the
church in Milo in seeing the light. It came August 26
of the same year, 1840, two months later than the
church in Milo. Members of this church came from the
church in Foxcroft before referred to, and tradition has
it that some came from the church at South Dover also
referred to before. This church became necessary and
possible because of the growth at the village commonly
known as the "Falls." The council met in Foxcroft
village schoolhouse on the above mentioned date and
after discussion the church was organized under the
name of the "Foxcroft and Dover Village Baptist
Church," Rev. Z. Bradford being moderator of the
council. The members were: William Farnham, B. B.
Vaughan, Joshua Jordan, Dr. Samuel Laughton, John
Ames, Benjamin T. Buck, Joshua Hazelton, Elizabeth
Farnham, Almira Tucker, Martha Jordan, Rachel Rob-
inson and Almira Buck, twelve members in all. The
80 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
articles of faith and church covenant of Piscataquis Asso-
ciation were adopted, together with a strong temperance
pledge. After this the moderator of the council
preached from John 21:22, "What is that to thee?
follow thou me." William Farnham was elected deacon
and B. B. Vaughan clerk. The public services of the
church were held in the schoolhouse, the vestry of the
Congregational church and other places. It is quite
likely the moderator of the council, Mr. Bradford,
helped the church in a pastoral way for some time, but
two histories assert that Rev. C. P. St. Clair became
the first regular supply, who preached twice a month,
and this was followed by an arrangement by which the
church had preaching monthly. Rev. O. B. Walker
came in 1843 and remained till 1846. The first church
was built in 1842 and dedicated in December of that
year, the land being bought of Messrs. Harmon and
Douglass for one hundred dollars. The pastors of the
church besides Mr. Walker have been Rev. S. Adlum,
Rev. J. M. Follett, Rev. C. M. Herring, Rev. A. D.
F. Palmer, Rev. A. B. Pendleton, second pastorate
of J. M. Follett, Rev. E. A. Van Kleek, Rev. S. P.
Pendleton, Rev. George E. Tufts, Rev. Thomas N.
Lord, Rev. C. C. Tilley, Rev. William J. Clouse, Rev.
T. M. Butler, Rev. H. R. Mitchell, Rev. H. B. Tilden,
and the present pastor, Rev. F. H. Pratt, who came here
in 1901. The first church, which was built in 1842, was
used as a part of the present People's Baptist church that
now stands on the old lot. The vestry of the present
church is a part of the old church, which however had
in 1851 been enlarged. The new church was built in
1886 and 1887, and the part containing the present
auditorium and tower was entirely new, the entire cost of
rebuilding amounting to $5,375.75. The church was
dedicated September 21, 1888, G. D. B. Pepper, D. D.,
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 81
L. L. D., president of Colby University, preaching the
sermon. The building committee was G. A. Meder,
Daniel S. Dexter and H. J. Dexter; James T. Roberts
being the treasurer of the building committee. This
church is modern in all its appointments, and now after
more than twenty years, stands as a model of church
architecture, having the largest seating capacity of any
church in the town. The annual reports of 1908 give
the church a membership of 188, the largest of any
church of the same order in the county or the asso-
ciation. It ought to continue to be one of the strong
village churches in the State. During the pastorate of
Rev. H. R. Mitchell, a parsonage was built, costing
$3,500 above the foundation.
The church in Wellington was organized in 1896.
Rev. A. A. Walsh was quite instrumental in the organi-
zation of the church, he being at the time pastor of the
church in Cambridge. A neat church was built at about
this time, also one at "Burdin's Corner" so called in the
same town. The church holds its services in the former
that is located at what is called ' 'Wellington Stores. ' '
Mrs. A. A. Walsh, the wife of the man who organized
the church, is the pastor at the present time, he being
engaged in evangelistic work in different parts of the
State and country. They report a membership of
thirty -three. While young, they are rich in faith, and
while they are small in numbers as yet, they entertained
the quarterly meeting of Piscataquis Association in the
summer of 1908.
This completes the churches in the Baptist denomi-
nation belonging in Piscataquis County. But this
history, to be of the greatest use, particularly of the
church above named, should contain the history of
Piscataquis Association. This will be referred to later.
82 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Other churches that should be referred to are in the
main as follows :
The first of these to deserve mention is the church in
Cambridge. This church is located in Somerset County
and is one of the two belonging to this association that
are located in that county. This church was organized
in 1822. The name of the town was formerly "Ripley, "
and before that "No. 5." In the winter of 1808 Rev.
Thomas Macomber, while doing mission work under the
Maine Mission Society, passed through the place visiting
the different openings in the forest, and called at the
house of Mr. Jacob Hale for the night. He found them
sympathetic with the work he had come to perform, and
he was asked to preach that evening, and word being
sent to their nearest neighbor, who lived four miles away,
he preached to the two families. In 1809 Rev. H.
Kendall visited the place and reported that at this time
there were two pious families in the place and they lived
a, mile apart and a swamp between them in the midst of
which they used to meet and pray. About two years
after this Mr. Kendall again visited the place and bap-
tized Mr. Hale and his wife, the first to receive the
ordinance in Ripley. In 1822 Rev. Isaac Case, the man
famous for the preaching of the Gospel in many parts of
the State and a man of great power and influence, visited
the opening in the forest. He reported there had been
a, revival, the fruits of a pious school-teacher, and Mr.
Case reported "The new settlement resounded with the
praise of God." Before Mr. Case left, the present
church was organized, and Jacob Hatch became the
pastor, he being ordained for the purpose, under whose
pastorate the church gradually increased. In 1828
Deacon Forrest Hatch was ordained pastor and was very
successful until his death in 1834. During his pastorate
he baptized twenty -two persons, his sister, daughter and
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 83
aged father being among them. The church has seen
its days of prosperity and adversity, but after these many
years it still sheds forth its light and is a very useful
church of Christ, and I believe has never in its history
received any outside aid towards its financial support.
Many years ago a very useful house of worship was built
and later a tower was built and a bell placed in position.
The fruit of this church may be seen when it is under-
stood that the present secretary of the Maine Baptist
Missionary Convention, I. B. Mower, D. D., came from
this church; also Rev. B. F. Turner, another useful
pastor in this State ; and Rev. T. E. Ham, who lives in the
place, and has on many instances at present supplied the
church, beside the fact of preaching to many surrounding
churches. This is one of our good rural churches.
The only church belonging to the association in
Penobscot County is the church in Dexter. The pastor
of the Parkman church, Elder Zenas Hall, amid the
very busy life he lived found time to do much religious
work at Dexter as well as at many other points. For
many years this interest was carried on as a branch of
the Parkman church, Mr. Hall giving a part of his
ministry to that church. It became independent in
1825, and from 1826 to 1832 Elder Jacob Hatch was its
pastor, coming here from Cambridge, but from 1830 he
gave them only a part of his time, Elder W. Marshall
taking his place. In 1839 they built their house of
worship ; later a vestry was built on the same level as the
floor of the church, and still later a splendid parsonage
was also built, and after this the church was remodeled.
The present pastor is Rev. J. Chester Hyde, coming to
them from Newport, R. I. The present membership is
158 and it is one of our progressive and hopeful
churches.
84 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The last church to be mentioned is the church in Hart-
land. This is also in Somerset County. This was
organized somewhere between 1843 and 1849 and has
usually been one of the weak churches so far as men and
means are concerned. In 1854 it reported only sixteen
members. Many of its years have been sad ones, but
the last few years have been more prosperous, it having
called to its pastorate, Rev. H. L. Caulkins, bought
a parsonage, and is enjoying a state of prosperity
seldom before known.
Among the Baptists the State organization is known
as the Maine Baptist Missionary Convention. The
object of this organization is to support the weak
churches by collecting from all and distributing to those
in need. Existing under this convention are the associ-
ations of which there are twelve. The association to
which the churches here belong takes its name from the
county and is known as Piscataquis Association. For
the most part the churches composing it belonged to
Penobscot Association. The churches composing it were
dismissed from that association in 1838 and the first
meeting was held in Parkman in 1839 where the asso-
ciation was organized with the above name. Including
the churches that were received at this time that had
been but a short time organized, together with the older
ones, the association contained sixteen churches, ten
ordained ministers, two licensed preachers and 807 mem-
bers. Rev. Joshua Millett in his book, "Maine Bap-
tists, ' ' says concerning the churches of the association :
"There is no cause of benevolence or wide spreading sin
that receives the attention of other associations, that is
indifferently passed over by this body. Their resolutions
are copious and spirited and their zeal corresponds to
their resolves. In their minutes of 1843 instead of the
usual long list of resolves published by the associations
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 85
almost annually, they inserted the following one as
expressing the will and spirit of the churches : Resolved ;
That our views in regard to all the benevolent operations
have not changed, nor our zeal abated. And we recom-
mend more of the book of Acts and less of the book of
resolves. Although the association has usually been
small as to numbers of the churches and the aggregate
membership they have always maintained the spirit as
above. ' '
At the present time there is a movement to bring the
Baptist and the Free Baptist churches together. This
will doubtless be consummated in a few years at the most.
When this is done it will be a very desirable union of
forces between two bodies that are very much alike, the
differences that divided them about one hundred years
ago having largely disappeared. The intended union
will include all the bodies in the entire nation in so far
as each individual church chooses to unite with it, which
will be very far-reaching.
Universalism in Piscataquis County
By Rev. A. Gertrude Earle
r iHE history of Universalism in Piscataquis County
L antedates the organization of the county itself.
Universalism had its beginning in Maine in the later
years of the eighteenth century, in the towns of New
Gloucester, Gray, Turner and Norway.
The Eastern Association of Universalists was organized
in 1799, later merged into the State Convention at its
organization in 1828. Soon after the beginning of
settlements in this part of the State, Sylvanus Cobb and
other Universalist preachers paid visits here and were
heard by large numbers. Rev. William Frost was the
first minister to live in the county.
On March 7, 1825, an informal meeting was held at
the schoolhouse in District Number 1, of such of the
inhabitants of Dover, Foxcroft and Sangerville as were
desirous of forming themselves into a Universalist
society. This resulted in the organization of a society
on April 4, 1825. Nathaniel Chamberlain was the
moderator of this meeting and Isaac Allen the clerk. A
committee was appointed to enact by-laws, and a dele-
gate to the General Convention to be holden the follow-
ing July was chosen. It was voted to meet every Sab-
bath whether we have preaching or not.
It would be interesting to know whether this worthy
plan was carried out, but the records do not tell us.
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 87
Rev. William Frost is the only minister mentioned in
this early period. At one annual parish meeting he
was invited to preach one half the time, at another, such
part of the year as the funds would permit.
In 1827, assistant clerks were chosen, William Campbell
for Sangerville and Nathaniel Chamberlain for Foxcroft.
The constitution of this early society is interesting.
Its opening paragraphs read as follows :
"Whereas the Almighty has manifested the most per-
fect order in all his works it is reasonable that we, his
offspring, should pattern after him in all that we do.
Under this impression we, the undersigned, have formed
.ourselves into a society to be known by the name of the
First Universalist Society of Dover, Foxcroft and Sanger-
ville, and have adopted the following rules for our own
government and regulation.
"1st. Any person may become a member of this
society who professes a belief in the doctrine of Uni-
versal Salvation by Jesus Christ, and supports a good
moral character.
"2d. There shall be a committee chosen annually for
the purpose of admitting members, whose duty it shall
be to examine all who apply to them for membership as
to their sentiments and moral character and to report the
names of all they admit to the clerk, who shall record the
same in a book kept for that purpose, whereupon they
shall become members.
"3d. It shall be the duty of the standing committee
to admonish disorderly members in love and meekness."
The signers are William Frost, John Spaulding, Seth
Spaulding, Artemus Spaulding, Allen Dwelley, Bela
Hammond, Thomas Rose, Asa Sprague, Henry Coy,
William Campbell, Isaac Beaver, David Bryant, Moses
Buck, William Thayer, Pelham Bryant, Nathaniel
Chamberlain, Daniel Brown, Jonathan S. Plummer,
88 HISTOEICAL COLLECTIONS
M. H. Plummer, Adoniram Blake, Benjamin Spaulding,
James Call, Moses Sawyer, Zarah Hammond, Daniel
Buck, Owen Record, Isaac A. Thayer.
Meetings were called at the schoolhouse in District
Number 1, at Potter's store, at J. S. Philbrick's hall
and at Patten's store. There is no record of the place
where preaching services were held, but it is perhaps fair
to assume that it was the schoolhouse. This was
undoubtedly the first schoolhouse built in Dover village,
on the lot where the Blethen House now stands.
These earliest records end with 1830. The next record
which has been preserved is of the organization in 1837
of a society called the Dover and Foxcroft Universalist
Society. The meeting for this organization was called
at "the Meeting House in Dover upper village." This
must be the meeting-house which stood on the lot now
occupied by the Dover schoolhouse. The land was given
by John Merrick and Charles Vaughan, proprietors of
the town. No records of the erection of this church
are preserved, but an old Bible in the Thompson Free
Library records that it was dedicated in 1833 by Rev.
George Bates of Turner.
This old Bible has the following list of ministers :
J. R. Fulmer, 1834
Gibson Smith, ) -. QCi _
Joel Miller, j
B. Tasker, 1836
A. A. Richards, ) n OQ^
Joel Miller, j
Joel Miller, 1838
J. M. Dennis, 1839-41
E. B. Averill, 1842-45
W. A. P. Dillingham, 1850-51
Other information enables us to add the names of W.
C. George, W. W. Wilson and Hiram P. Osgood.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 89
No mention in records or in print is found of a
minister named Burnham, but some of the older people
tell of a minister of that name who lived in a house just
beyond the Dover bridge. The tradition is that he
wore a full beard, which was an offense to the congre-
gation. In deference to opinion he shaved and con-
tracted a cold which led to his death.
Some interesting items appear in the records. Mr.
Tasker was engaged for one half the time at Dover, one
fourth at Guilford and one fourth at Charleston. A. A.
Richards came from Milo and was engaged for six or
seven Sabbaths at six dollars a day.
The ministry of that period was itinerant in its
methods. The "Gospel Banner" of the thirties and
forties mentions many different preachers who visited the
Dover church, preaching at the same time in the neigh-
boring towns. In 1851, the care of the meeting-house,
sweeping, building fires, etc., for the ensuing year, was
let out to the lowest bidder. It was bid off by E. B.
Averill for $6.75. It is related that it was a son of
that gentleman who did all the work, and evidently the
lad thought the price too low, for the next year the
amount voted was $12, and the name of the son, George
Averill, appears as the recipient. If a boy must work
for so small pay, surely he would prefer to receive the
money in his own name.
During the fifties, this church was very prosperous.
Its choir was led by Ann Holmes. Dr. Elliott played
the violin, Isaac Plummer the bass viol, Gilbert Chandler
the melodeon, and Mordecai Mitchell the clarionet.
The public exhibitions of Foxcroft Academy were
often held in this church, and the building was used as a
court house from 1838 to 1845.
In the winter of 1838, when the bill establishing
Piscataquis County was before the Legislature, one of the
90 ' HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
objections to it was the expense of county buildings.
To obviate this difficulty the proprietors of the
Universalist church in Dover signed a written obligation
that the county might use their church as a court house
so long as desired, free of expense, provided that Dover
be established as the shire town. They finished off a
jury room in the church and cut down the pulpit so as to
make a more convenient judge's desk, and took out two
of the body pews.
The first court held in the county was the session of
the S. J. Court held in Dover in the Universalist meet-
ing-house June 25, 1838. Nathan Weston, chief justice,
presided.
The first term of the Court of Common Pleas held in
Dover in the Universalist meeting-house convened Sep-
tember 18, 1838, Judge David Perham presiding.
Other justices who presided over this court in the meet-
ing-house were Asa Redington, Anson G. Chandler,
Frederick H. Allen.
The prosperity and prestige which have come to Dover
because of its rank as the county seat are due to the far-
seeing public spirit of the proprietors of this old
church.
William W. Wilson, minister of this church from
1851 to 1856, lived in Foxcroft, in the house now known
as the Pillsbury house. Some extracts from his diary
are very interesting :
"December 17, 1851. Thermometer sixteen degrees
below zero. Persons froze their faces in going a few
rods.
"March 27, 1852. Snow four feet deep. Went out
this morning with several children and spent two hours
sliding down hill on a hand sled. Fine time; it revived
the scenes of boyhood days.
"April 29, A. M. , wrote sermon. P. M., walked six
miles and made calls.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 91
"April 30, 1853. Opened the Court of Common Pleas
with prayer, by request of the High Sheriff.
"February 19, 1854. Sunday. I felt obliged to
rebuke certain noisy mirth-making persons in the singers'
gallery, for their improper conduct during divine service
today. Doubtless I gave offense, but I thought it was
my duty.
"March 12, 1855. Town meeting. Unanimously
elected Superintendent of Schools for the coming year.
"March 30, 1856. Close my labors with this parish
today. Under God my labors have been measurably
successful. Solemnized twenty marriages, attended fifty-
five funerals, revived the observance of the communion
and admitted five members to the church by water
baptism. ' '
But during these years that the church in Dover was
flourishing, there was preaching of the faith in other
towns in the county. In Milo, Sangerville, Guilford,
Parkman and Abbot the faith was preached with more
or less regularity.
Among the early settlers of Guilford were two Bennett
brothers, who came from New Gloucester and had been
identified with the Universalist movement there. Captain
John Bennett died in Guilford in 1854, aged eighty-one,
and of him it was written, "If every one believing our
heavenly faith would do as Father Bennett did, the
desert would rejoice and blossom as the rose." Joshua
Buck, another early settler of Guilford, married Lovisa
Barnes, daughter of Rev. Thomas Barnes, the first
Universalist minister to settle in Maine.
Mr. Moses Carr, the oldest resident of Sangerville,
now nearly ninety-nine years old, and who came to San-
gerville as a young man, was also a Universalist.
At Sangerville, the Universalists owned some pews in
the church built by the Baptists. At Guilford, Joseph
92 * HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Kelsey, Universalist, and Abel Curtis, Methodist, built
a union or free meeting-house and sold the pews to get
their pay. Mr. Kelsey was a member of the Consti-
tutional Convention of Maine and held many offices in
the gift of his town. Later Mr. Curtis sold his interest
in the church to Mr. Kelsey. This building still stands
in the village of Guilford, transformed into a dwelling-
house. The land upon which it stands was deeded to the
proprietors of the Guilford Free Meeting-house in 1834
by Jesse Washburn.
Amos A. Richards was the first minister to live in
Milo. He was there in 1837, when the Dover church
engaged him for six Sabbaths. An item in the Gospel
Banner in 1838, states that the cause was in a flourishing
condition in Milo at that time.
In 1838, the Maine Convention met at Sangerville.
The invitation, published in the Gospel Banner, is signed
by Barnabas Burseley. Some paragraphs from the invita-
tion are of interest :
"You will meet at the convention a great multitude
of people who have never attended a meeting of the
kind, and many perhaps of whom have never been cor-
rectly informed as to the doctrines which will be advanced
on the occasion.
4 'The convention will be a new thing under the sun to
many, and will excite an interest which would not be felt
in an older part of the State. In no community more
than in this is the spirit of inquiry abroad.
"Our friends from abroad, as they arrive in the village,
will please call on Brothers Stephen Lowell and Moses
Parshley who will conduct them to places of entertain-
ment."
The minutes of the convention tell us that twenty-
eight preachers and twenty-five delegates were present.
The prophecy of the invitation that the occasion would
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 93
excite much interest was fulfilled. Not half the people
could get into the church. Simultaneous meetings were
held in the church at Sangerville and in the schoolhouse,
and on one day at Guilford. The first business meeting
for organization was held at the home of Barnabas
Burseley, and subsequent business sessions at the school-
house. Three ministers were ordained during the session.
Delegates named from this county were Joseph Kelsey,
Guilford; A. S. Patten and J. Miller, Dover; B. Davis,
Milo.
Rev. William A. Drew, editor of the Gospel Banner,
describes his journey from Augusta to Sangerville. It
was made by team, of course, and he was joined by others
on the way. He speaks of the rich resources of the
new county and is surprised to find the season two weeks
behind Kennebec County. He declares that he shall long
remember the convention both on account of the spiritual
blessings and also on account of the brethren who enter-
tained so hospitably.
No parish records have been discovered in either Guil-
ford or Sangerville, so the only facts obtainable are the
somewhat uncertain memories of the older people.
Rev. Charles Hussey is said to have been the first
minister to live in Sangerville. This was about 1848 or
'49. The names of Robert Blacker, A. A. Richards,
D. T. Stevens, Nathaniel Gunnison and J. M. H. Smith
are mentioned as preaching both at Guilford and Sanger-
ville.
In 1843, the church at East Sangerville was built by
the Baptists, Methodists and Universalists, and occasional
services were held there by Universalist preachers. It
was in that church that one of the good Methodist
sisters made a famous mistake. She was accustomed to
fan herself during service with a turkey-tail fan, and
murmur gently as her favorite preachers discoursed, ' 'Do,
94 * HISTOEICAL COLLECTIONS
Lord. Do, Lord." But one day the preacher was a
Universalist but no one had told the good sister, so she
fanned herself as usual and murmured her approval.
Presently some one whispered to her the denomination of
the preacher. The turkey-tail fan still waved, but the
murmur was promptly changed to "Don't, Lord. Don't,
Lord."
In those days of itinerant preachers, these mistakes often
occurred. It was also in the town of Sangerville that a
Baptist deacon in his favorite seat in the schoolhouse,
slept calmly through the sermon, all unconscious that
the heresy of Universalism was being preached. At the
close of the sermon opportunity was given for all who
wished to speak, and the deacon, now awake, rose and
testified to the truth of the preaching, much to the
amusement of his Universalist neighbors.
But with the dawn of the sixties came a new teaching
into the county that of Spiritualism. Hiram P.
Osgood, minister of the church at Dover, and some other
leaders, embraced it. In Milo and in Sangerville the
same influence was felt. Throughout the county, Uni-
versalism suffered a decline.
The doors of the old church at Dover were closed and
the building fell into decay. Efforts were made to
reopen it by the Spiritualists and by Unitarians, but
unsuccessfully. The land reverted to the Merrick heirs
and was secured by the town for the schoolhouse. The
old church was torn down and the lumber used for the
construction of the building used as a grist-mill, just
east of Foxcroft bridge.
Universalism seems to have held its own longer in
Guilford than in any other town, for in May, 1866, a
Sunday-school was organized with fifty-four scholars and
sessions held once in two weeks. Amasa Loring, in his
county history, published in 1880, speaks of Guilford as
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 95
the only place then maintaining Universalist preaching
and that only in the summer. Thus ends the first
chapter in the history of Universalism in Piscataquis
County.
But with the present generation has come a renaissance
of this faith. In the seventies, a Ladies' Circle was
organized in Sangerville and through their efforts a min-
ister named Carr was engaged, who drove from Milo to
preach on Sunday afternoons.
In the early days, no names are mentioned in con-
nection with the work except those of men, but from this
point on the women are prominent and are often the
leaders.
It was also in the seventies that the Universalists of
Milo built a church in union with the Adventists. But
after a time both societies declined and the church has
been made into a tenement house.
In the spring of 1884, a few Universalist people in
Monson, desiring to hear their own faith preached, sent
for the State superintendent, Rev. J. H. Little. He
came and preached two Sundays. A parish was organ-
ized with T. P. Elliott as clerk, and a Ladies' Circle
with Mrs. A. B. Crockett as president. Dr. J. C. Snow
and Rev. G. G. Hamilton each preached two Sundays
during the summer of 1884.
In 1885, Rev. C. F. Mclntire, then a student in Tufts
Divinity School, preached three months in Tarr's Hall.
Other services were held in the academy, the Congre-
gational or the Baptist church.
Dr. O. F. Safford, at that time editor of the Sunday
School Helper, preached during the summer of 1886 and
1887. In 1887, Dr. Safford was engaged in writing the
life of Hosea Ballou, one of the earliest and greatest of
Universalist theologians. It was his custom to gather
the people together on Sunday mornings and read to them
96 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
what he had written during the week, while in the after-
noon was held the preaching service. Since his time, no
preaching has been held in Monson, but a fund raised by
the ladies during their activity is now in the hands of the
State Convention, held in trust for Universalist work in
Monson.
In 1889, Rev. R. H. Aldrich came to Guilford, an
event of the utmost importance to Universalism in Pis-
cataquis County. A young man with the genuine
missionary spirit, he is the leading figure in the reorgani-
zation of the Universalist church in this county.
During May, 1890, a new parish was organized in
Guilford with M. L. Hussey as moderator; John
Houston, clerk ; Z. L. Turner, treasurer ; S. Webber, Z.
Grover, and A. Beal, standing committee. In July of
the same year it was voted to buy the lot upon which the
present church stands. The church itself was completed
in 1891. In 1903, a parsonage was added to the prop-
erty of the parish. The ministers have been R. H.
Aldrich, 1889-1901; A. M. Bradley, 1901-1904; C. F.
Mclntire, 1904-1906; and Rev. F. L. Payson, who is
the present incumbent.
Mr. Aldrich preached also at Sangerville, and in 1890
a parish was organized with S. M. Gile as moderator ; H.
C. Ford, clerk; Chester Coburn, collector; E. N. Mc-
Kechnie, treasurer. In 1897, it was voted to solicit
funds for building a church. Rev. R. H. Aldrich, F.
H. Carr and H. L. Thomas were the building com-
mittee.
The church was dedicated in 1898. In 1904, largely
through the generosity of Mr. Moses Carr, the church
was freed from debt. The ministers have been R. H.
Aldrich and A. M. Bradley, both of whom served also
at Guilford, and Harry Enos Rouillard and Hannah
Jewett Powell, who have preached at Sangerville only.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 97
At about the same time that the new movement began
in Guilford and Sangerville, there were stirrings of life in
Dover and Foxcroft. During the years 1887-1889 there
were occasional preaching services by Rev. H. K. White
of Dexter, Rev. E. F. Pember of Bangor and Dr. O.
F. Safford, who came from Monson. In the late fall of
1890, a little band of thirteen women met at the home
of Mrs. E. B. Averill and organized the "Ladies' Uni-
versalist Circle. ' '
It was not until March, 1894, that the parish was
organized in the Town Hall, Foxcroft. D. F. Ayer was
moderator; V. A. Gray, C. W. Hayes, O. P. Martin and
A. M. Warren, trustees; K. P. Sargent, treasurer, and
Anna B. Averill, clerk. The second meeting of the
parish was held at the home of A. M. Warren. At this
time it was suggested that the Ladies' Circle purchase
the Brann lot, so called, on Pleasant Street. It was
voted at the same meeting to extend a call to Rev. F. E.
Wheeler.
In 1896, the erection of the present church edifice
was begun. The building committee was Rev. M. B.
Townsend, then the pastor, Geo. W. Goff, C. W. Hayes,
B. L. Batchelor and K. P. Sargent. The church was
completed in the spring of 1897 and dedicated in June
of that year.
In June, 1898, the parish entertained the State Con-
vention, sixty years after that gathering in Sangerville
in the first year of the organization of the county. The
pastors of this church have been Rev. F. E. Wheeler,
1894-1895; Rev. Manley B. Townsend, 1895-1898;
Rev. Harry L. Canfield, 1898-1902; Rev. A. Gertrude
Earle, 1903 to the present date. During Mr. Canfi eld's
pastorate the parish was freed from debt.
About 1897, Rev. W. W. Hooper, then State super-
intendent, visited Milo and aroused enough interest so
98 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
that preaching was supported two summers in connection
with La Grange. Efforts to secure a permanent organ-
ization at Milo were continued by Rev. F. E. Barton,
Mr. Hooper's successor, and by Rev. H. H. Hoyt, the
present State superintendent.
A parish and a Ladies' Circle have been organized and
a lot of land purchased. Mr. Hoyt preaches once a
month in the Free Baptist church, and also at Milo
Junction in the office of the Bangor & Aroostook Rail-
road.
In the town of Greenville, there was occasional preach-
ing of Universalism in the early days. Father French,
W. W. Lovejoy of Old Town arid J. M. H. Smith of
Guilford were among the preachers. These services were
held in the Union church. Among early Universalists
were Mr. and Mrs. B. S. Bigney, Mr. and Mrs. Joel
Sawyer, Mr. and Mrs. George O. Varney, Mrs. Marshall
Walden and D. T. Sanders.
March 13, 1899, an organization of the ladies was
formed under the direction of Rev. W. W. Hooper,
State superintendent. The officers were : President, Mrs.
D. T. Sanders; first vice president, Mrs. C. D. Shaw;
second vice president, Mrs. L. H. Folsom ; secretary and
treasurer, Miss E. Adeline Bigney.
In 1903, a chapel costing $5,000 was built, the land
being given by D. T. Sanders and Harry Sanders. It
was dedicated in September, 1904, immediately after the
session of the Piscataquis Association of Universalists,
held at Dover. Occasional preaching services are held
under the direction of the State superintendent.
The present status of Universalism in the county is :
Four parishes : Guilford, Sangerville. Dover and Fox-
croft, Milo.
Three churches : Guilford, Sangerville, Dover and Fox-
croft.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 99
One chapel : Greenville.
Land owned for church : Milo.
Three settled ministers: Guilford, Sangerville, Dover
and Foxcroft.
The work at Greenville and at Milo is under the
direction of the State superintendent, Rev. H. H. Hoyt.
April 1, 1909.
Foxcroft Academy
By Hon. Willis E. Parsons
THE town of Foxcroft, which is one of the six
townships granted to Bowdoin College by the
Massachusetts Assembly in 1794, and purchased of
that college by Joseph Ellery Foxcroft in 1800, received
its first permanent settler in 1806.
Although incorporated as a town six years later, or
February 29, 1812, clearing the forest and establishing
homes in the wilderness proved a slow process, even for
the sturdy pioneers of those early days, and when the act
of separation from Massachusetts took effect in 1820,
Foxcroft numbered but 211 souls.
Common schools, furnishing the rudiments of edu-
cation, were then supported by Foxcroft and the sur-
rounding towns, but nothing like a high school was
attempted until 1822.
Early in that year James Stewart Holmes, a brilliant
young lawyer and graduate of Brown University, opened
at Foxcroft the first law office in the county. Presuma-
bly while waiting for his first clients and seeing the great
necessity of a higher branch of learning in the county,
Mr. Holmes organized a high school in Foxcroft, acting
himself, as preceptor.
This high school immediately became the Mecca of
learning for the more advanced students of Foxcroft and
other towns, and so much enthusiasm was created among
the inhabitants by this young lawyer, that the next
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 101
Legislature was asked for a charter for an academy, which
was promptly granted, January 31st, 1823.
That charter the institution is still working under;
hence, Foxcroft Academy lacks but three years of being
as old as the State and it was the first one incorporated
after Maine became a separate commonwealth.
By the act of incorporation certain conditions were
imposed, which, if not complied with, would render the
charter null and void. From a perusal of that act we
may understand something of what this then poor and
sparsely populated town had to contend with in order to
establish for themselves and posterity this higher insti-
tution of learning, or what they termed "poor man's
college. ' '
ACT OF INCORPORATION.
STATE OF MAINE.
In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and twenty three.
An Act establishing Foxcroft Academy.
Section 1st. Be it enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives in Legislature assembled. That
William Emerson, Daniel Wilkins, Thomas Williams,
John Bradbury, Samuel Chamberlain, James S. Holmes,
Philip Greeley, Joshua Carpenter, Joseph Kelsey, Samuel
McClanathan, Samuel C. Clark and Jason Hassell and
their successors forever, be and they hereby are consti-
tuted a body politic by the name of the Trustees of
Foxcroft Academy, with power to prosecute and defend
suits at law ; to have a common seal and to alter it at
pleasure, to establish an academy at Foxcroft in the
county of Penobscot for the promotion of literature,
science, morality and piety ; to make any by-laws for the
management of their affairs, not repugnant to the laws
of the State; and to choose such officers as they may
102 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
%
deem proper, to hold any property, real and personal,
by gift, grant or otherwise, the yearly income of which
shall not exceed the sum of $3,000, and to receive all
property which may heretofore have been given or sub-
scribed for the benefit of such Academy.
Section 2d. Be it further enacted, That said trustees
may at any time remove any one of their number whom
they shall adjudge incapable of discharging such trust,
and choose additional trustees, and fill vacancies in said
board by ballot. Provided, however, that the number
of said trustees shall at no time be less than nine, nor
more than fifteen, any five of whom shall constitute a
quorum.
Section 3d. Be it further enacted, That Joshua
Carpenter, Esq., is hereby authorized to call the first
meeting of said trustees, in such manner as he shall deem
proper; provided, however, that the Legislature shall at
any time have power to alter or repeal the provisions of
this act; and provided further, that unless the said
trustees shall within one year from the passing of this
act, be in possession of funds or property for the use of
said academy or vested in a building for the same purpose
which together shall amount to at least fifteen hundred
dollars, and have also commenced instruction in said
institution, within that time, the powers granted by this
act shall be null and void.
It will be seen by the act that the trustees must,
within one year from its passage, have in possession funds
or property for the use of said academy, or vested in a
building for the same purpose, which together should
amount to at least SI, 500, and also commence instructions
in said institution within that time.
The voters of Foxcroft in 1823, as shown by the
records of the town meeting held in April of that year,
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
103
numbered but fifty-seven. The whole assessment for
town purposes in 1823 was but $1,140, $900 of which
was to be paid in work on the highways, $100 was for
schools, $90 for town charges and $50 for powder and
balls. The records do not show whether the powder and
balls were to be used for shooting bears or Indians, but
the aggregate was $1,140, or $360 less than was required
to be raised by subscription for the academy in a single
year. The same ratio above our assessment last year
would have given a fund of over $35, 000.
How should that large amount be raised in so short a
time? The records of the academy disclose something
of the difficulty which those trustees and the inhabitants
encountered.
Here was an amount to be raised by voluntary sub-
scription, largely from those fifty-seven voters, many of
whom with difficulty maintained their families and kept
their children in the common schools, which could
only be acquired through great personal sacrifice and
heroic devotion to their children and posterity.
A meeting was promptly called, however, on February
22, 1823, by Joshua Carpenter, Esq., as authorized
in the act, at the house of John Bradbury, located where
the Exchange now stands, and the trustees proceeded to
organize under the act.
David Wilkins, Esq., was chosen president and James
S. Holmes, secretary, which position he held for many
years, and Samuel Chamberlain, Esq., was chosen
treasurer.
At this meeting a committee consisting of John
Bradbury, Joshua Carpenter, Samuel McClanathan,
Jason Hassell, Thomas Williams, Samuel C. Clark and
Daniel Wilkins was appointed to ascertain "what sum
of money could be obtained for the purpose of erecting
104 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
a building for an Academy and as funds for the use and
benefit of the same."
And the records further say that "Nathaniel
Chamberlain, Esq., then came before the Board of
Trustees and informed the president that Joseph E.
Foxcroft, Esq., had deposited in his hands $50 to be
paid over to the treasurer of the Board of Trustees of
Foxcroft Academy for the use and benefit of said
Academy, provided the Trustees should fulfill the
requisition of the act establishing the same.
"It was then voted that we accept the very liberal
donation of Joseph E. Foxcroft, Esq., and that the
Secretary be directed to return him the thanks of this
Board for his generosity and the early encouragement he
has given to an object so deeply interesting to them
all."
Other meetings were held in rapid succession to hear
reports of committees on subscription and to discuss
generally ways and means of raising the coveted amount.
The subscriptions were made to be paid in labor, boards,
shingles, and other necessary materials, with small sums
of money, and so much encouragement was given that on
March 8th of the same year a committee consisting of
Joshua Carpenter, John Bradbury and Rev. Thomas
Wilkins was appointed to select a site for the building.
This committee a few days later reported in favor of a
half acre of land ' 'situate and lying between the house of
David Greeley, Esq., and his sawmill." This half acre
was secured and is the present site of the academy. The
house of David Greeley, Esq. , stood where the Congre-
gational chapel is now located and his sawmill occupied
the present site of Mayo & Son's woolen-mill.
On the 28th day of the following May, Col. Joshua
Carpenter was appointed agent to superintend the
erection of a building for an academy, and a general
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 105
superintending committee from whom the agent should
receive instructions, was appointed, composed of John
Bradbury, Thomas Davee and the Rev. Thomas
Williams.
Work was soon begun, but the building was not ready
for a school until 1825, although it was let for religious
services as early as October 1, 1824.
One of the provisions of the act of incorporation was
that instruction should be begun within one year from
the passage of the act, and December 31, 1823, at a
meeting of the trustees, a committee consisting of
James S. Holmes, Thomas Williams and Thomas Davee,
was appointed to notify the Legislature that they had
complied with the conditions of the act, showing that a
fall term must have been held in 1823, although not in
the academy building.
The records also disclose the fact that James Gooch
taught from March, 1824, until the following June, as a
committee was then appointed to settle with him ; and
no other teacher being mentioned, it is presumed that he
taught the previous fall term.
Then followed Charles P. Chandler, as preceptor, for
several terms and Foxcroft Academy was well launched on
its long career of usefulness.
That the trustees understood the value of continuous
educational work is shown by the by-laws, which provided
for three terms a year of twelve weeks each ; and that
they also stood upon a proper amount of decorum is
evidenced by the fact that one of the first of the by-laws
provided that no trustee should speak in any meeting of
the board without first rising and addressing the presi-
dent.
In 1825 a half township of land was granted to the
academy by the Legislature, being what is now the north
half of the town of Springfield. This half township
106 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
embraced 11,020 acres and was sold the same year for
30 1-2 cents per acre, thus creating a fund for the use of
the academy of $3,361.10. A small tuition of $2.50
per term was charged, but in some instances even this
was abated.
At the annual meeting in 1829, James S. Holmes,
Charles P. Chandler, Thomas Williams and Thomas
Davee were chosen a committee to "look into the pro-
priety of purchasing some land to be connected with the
academy whereby scholars, if they desire, may have the
privilege of working thereon and thereby pay a part of
their expenses, and further to consult the public opinion
on that subject."
Two years later, in 1831, a committee was appointed
to inquire into the expediency of having a mechanic shop
connected with the academy. So much interest was
manifested that the committee was reappointed the next
year although no such building was erected. They did,
however, by their action anticipate instruction in manual
training which is a comparatively new idea among edu-
cators in this country.
In 1832 a committee was chosen "to finish off the
chamber and entry of the academy. ' '
That the academy was formerly used by the preceptors
as a stepping stone to the professions is shown by a vote
taken in 1838, not to engage as preceptor any person
"who is or may be studying for any profession or
engaged in any other business than the care and attention
of the academy." Certain it is, as will be seen by a
perusal of the list of preceptors annexed to this article,
that many did rise to professional distinction in later
years.
The academy in the early days, the same as now, was
a great blessing to the entire community. Students
gathered within its walls from near and far and in 1843
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 107
there were one hundred and thirty pupils. Young men
did not cease their attendance on arriving at the age of
twenty-one. Not having the present advantage of thirty-
six weeks a year in the common schools, but only a short
term in the fall and winter, or winter and spring, rarely
more than two terms a year, the young men and women
were usually of a maturer age on entering the academy
than now.
I remember well of hearing my father, Levi Parsons,
who fitted himself for teaching in this institution, speak
of the young men who attended after they had become
voters.
The students had their exhibitions and one was given
in 1840, which continued six hours. It does not state
whether the auditors sat on benches or in cushioned
pews.
The young men had, too, their lyceums, or debating
societies. The first one in the academy was organized
October 4, 1 842, and it may interest the good people of
the present day to know that the first question opened
for debate was in relation to temperance: "Resolved
that the old temperance society has done more towards
advancing the temperance reformation than the Washing-
tonian society, now in operation. ' '
A story is told of A. G. Lebroke, when a student in
the academy, that indicated at least that masterly oratory
for which he afterwards became famous. He had entered
into the spirit of one of the debates with such vigor
that it was promptly decided in his favor. He there-
upon asked for the privilege of speaking again, which
was granted. He then took the other side, tore his
former argument into fragments and won that side of the
question, the students then and there voting that he had
beaten himself.
108 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
In 1859 the first academy building, which had long
been inadequate to the needs of the school, was removed
to the north end of Foxcroft bridge on the east side of
Main Street, where it is now occupied as a store and
workshop, and in 1860 a much larger and more commo-
dious building was erected. Although this was done
partly by subscription, it reduced very materially the
funds of the institution.
In 1868, by Chapter 277 of the Resolves, the Legis-
lature granted $1,000 to the trustees of the academy to
be deposited in the treasury of State, the annual interest
to be paid annually to the trustees of said academy.
The annuity of $60, thus created, is received regularly
by the trustees.
The second academy building, like the former, stood
on stone posts and was heated with stoves. Its rooms
were ill arranged, with poor ventilation, and in 1891 the
trustees voted to make general repairs. A cellar was dug,
a good stone foundation put under the building, large
furnaces installed for heating, and the rooms generally
remodeled, at an expense of about $2,500, which was
paid out of the balance of the fund and liberal subscrip-
tions of the citizens. Also a large piazza was thrown
across the front end of the building, adding much to its
architectural appearance as well as the comfort of the
students.
The piazza was the liberal gift of the late Eliza Ann
Mayo, who later joined her husband, Hon. Josiah B.
Mayo, in presenting to the trustees the imposing three-
story structure which, annexed to the former, makes one
of the finest academy buildings in the State.
Many students from Dover as well as Foxcroft fitted
for college, or completed their education in this old
institution, and for many years there was a strong feel-
ing on the part of some that it would be an advantage
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 109
to both towns to unite in the support of Foxcroft
Academy.
Finally, in 1903, the voters of Dover discontinued
their high school and voted to expend their free high
school money in Foxcroft Academy, to pay tuition for
such of their high school scholars as wished to attend
that school.
By this move the student body was increased about one
third and, although additional seats were provided and
everything done that could be to make room for the
increase, the old building proved wholly inadequate, and
an enlargement of the building became absolutely neces-
sary. Architects were employed to draw plans and speci-
fications for a new building on the front of the old and
annexed to it so as to make one large school building.
At a meeting of the trustees held March 4, 1904, the
plans were examined and approved by the trustees, but
as the academy had no fund for the purpose, the erection
of a large three-story structure provided with an expen-
sive heating plant, school furniture and necessary equip-
ment, seemed an almost hopeless undertaking. It must
be done by voluntary contribution.
While the ways and means were being discussed in a
not too cheerful mood, one of the trustees, Edward J.
Mayo, in behalf of his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs.
Josiah B. Mayo, made the following offer : That if the
trustees and other citizens would raise a fund sufficient to
put in a good heating plant, build the foundation for the
new building and thoroughly equip the school, Mr. and
Mrs. Mayo would erect the building, according to the
architects' plans.
The generous offer was promptly accepted and an
earnest vote of thanks and hearty appreciation of the
same then and there spread upon the records. Two of
the trustees, James Bathgate and W. E. Parsons, acted
110 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
as soliciting committee, and not only the trustees but
citizens of both towns responded generously, raising a
fund of about $3,100 for the purpose.
Three trustees, E. J. Mayo, C. C. Hall and W. E.
Parsons, were appointed a building committee, and work
was immediately begun on the new building and the next
year saw the present large and beautiful structure which
faces Foxcroft Square, fully completed and thoroughly
equipped as one of the best fitting schools in Maine.
In June, 1905, the new building was dedicated and
formal presentation of the keys made by Mr. J. B. Mayo
to the treasurer, W. E. Parsons, in the presence of a
grateful throng of Dover and Foxcroft citizens.
In addition to the contributions previously spoken of,
Mr. John G. Mayo gave $600, for the purchase of a
laboratory equipment, which is of great advantage in
physics and chemistry.
The school is now thoroughly equipped and in a
prosperous condition, being well patronized by the sur-
rounding towns. What it needs most is an endowment
fund. Some years ago a small endowment fund was
raised of about $2,700, of which Josiah B. Mayo and
Sarah C. Vaughan gave $1,000 each. Hannah E. and
Julia II. Gilman by soliciting made up largely the balance,
while Evans S. Pillsbury, one of its alumni, gave $100.
Last fall it was found that some of the students who
sought admission to the academy had to return to their
homes because boarding places for them could not be
found either in Foxcroft or Dover. The trustees then
purchased with the endowment fund the large house on
Grange Street known as the Chamberlain house, to be
furnished the coming summer for a dormitory for the out
of town students.
The school has always been non-sectarian and has
gathered within its portals for mental training and
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 111
advancement the well-meaning seekers of knowledge of
every sect or denomination in the county. It has ever
been the aim of the trustees to furnish a school where
students could not only fit for college but where the
great majority who could not afford to attend higher
institutions of learning, could equip themselves for busi-
ness and the great duties of life, and well they have
succeeded.
The long list of illustrious names among its alumni
testifies to that success. After the early struggles of
this institution, followed by a noble career of usefulness,
its future seems now assured. Its commodious building,
its thorough equipment, and loyal support of Dover and
Foxcroft bespeaks for it that success which must meet
the expectations of its most sanguine supporters.
The recent development of the school has been such
that reference to it can scarcely be made without giving
credit to the board of trustees, who labored so zealously
for its accomplishment. The board of trustees in 1904
consisted of E. A. Thompson of Dover, president; J.
B. Mayo of Foxcroft, vice president; Willis E. Parsons
of Foxcroft, secretary and treasurer; the remaining
trustees being also residents of Dover and Foxcroft: S.
O. Brown, J. B. Cochrane, J. B. Peaks, C. C. Hall, F.
E. Guernsey and Henry S. Towne of Dover, and
William Buck, A. W. Oilman, W. T. Stubbs, John F.
Hughes, E. J. Mayo and James Bathgate of Foxcroft;
the fifteen trustees being divided as nearly as possible
between the two towns, with a preponderance of one in
favor of Dover.
Foxcroft Academy has no doubt had some poor
instructors, but on the whole during its long career has
been remarkably successful in its preceptors, thus enabling
it to keep abreast of like institutions and up to date in
its educational methods, being ranked to-day as one of the
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
best fitting schools in Maine. In fact, it has been on the
preferred list for several years, and is one of the few fit-
ting schools of our State whose graduates are admitted
to the New England colleges on certificate, without
examination.
A four years' commercial course is now well established,
whose graduates are qualified to perform intelligent work
in offices and business houses, for, unlike business colleges,
no one can be admitted who has not had at least two
years in the academy or its equivalent. No grammar
school scholars can gain admission to the commercial
department.
A feature of the school is the school city government,
introduced by Principal Fred U. Ward in 1905, with
consent of the trustees, which has proved a great success,
and was the first to be undertaken by any school in
Maine. It is no longer an experiment. Space will not
permit an explanation of its workings, but by it the
students take pride in not only maintaining the best of
discipline in the assembly-room, but in all departments
of the school, so that the expense of one teacher is
practically saved to the institution each year. And the
students are also getting valuable training in the forms
and duties of municipal government.
The graduating class of 1906, at an expense of $100,
furnished with desks and chairs a room in the third story
of the academy for the school city government.
Other gifts have been made by friends of the insti-
tution. The Cosmopolitan Club gave the institution
$50 for shelves and furniture in the library, and,
recently, $50 towards furnishing a reception-room in the
dormitory, the balance required to be made up by the
club as needed.
The C. S. Douty Circle, Number 11, Ladies of the
Grand Army of the Republic, of Foxcroft, gave $75
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 113
for furnishing an additional recitation room ; the citizens,
$105 to furnish cabinets for the laboratory; and the
carnival committee gave a balance on hand of $80 to
the academy. Hon. J. B. Mayo donated some electric
lights, and Sarah J. Lebroke a cluster of electric lights
in the library in memory of her deceased husband, A.
G. Lebroke, and daughter, Harriet Beecher ; these recent
gifts showing the kind regards which the people have
for the academy. Others have suggested furnishing
rooms in the new dormitory the coming summer, this
substantial aid from time to time being greatly appre-
ciated by the trustees.
The student body is increasing steadily, the Freshman
class alone numbering fifty at the beginning of the
present school year.
The career of Foxcroft Academy has been in many
respects a remarkable one and the value to the county
and State of eighty-six years of uninterrupted educa-
tional work is beyond estimate. There have been many
dark days, however, and this article would not be com-
plete without a list of those trustees who in the past
have given liberally of their time and moneys that it
should not falter, but be preserved in all its usefulness to
future generations.
A LIST OF THE TRUSTEES AND DATE OF THEIR
ELECTION.
Appointed by the act of incorporation were : Joseph
E. Foxcroft, William Emerson, Daniel Wilkins, Thomas
Williams, John Bradbury, Samuel Chamberlain, James
S. Holmes, Philip Crosby, Joshua Carpenter, Joseph
Kelsey, Samuel McClanathan, Samuel C. Clark and Jason
Hassell.
Trustees elected: February 22, 1823, Thomas Davee;
May 28, 1823, Oliver Crosby and Nathaniel Robinson;
H4 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
November 17, 1824, Samuel Whitney; November 15,
1825, Isaac E. Wilkins; November 15, 1826, Isaac
Macomber and Charles P. Chandler; October 15, 1828,
Costillo Hamlin, Nathan Carpenter and Nathan W.
Shelden; November 24, 1829, James Norcross; October
20, 1830, David R. Straw; October 19, 1831, Dennis
Lambert, Anson Hubbard and Solomon Parsons ; Octo-
ber 17, 1832, Moses Greenleaf; October 16, 1833,
Jonathan C. Everett and John H. Loring; October 15,
1834, Gilman Clark and Abram Sanborn; October 21,
1835, Gilman Burleigh; October 19, 1836, Jonathan F.
Page, Caleb Prentiss and Harvey Evans; October 18,
1837, William Oakes, Benjamin P. Gilman and Stephen
P. Brown ; October 17, 1838, Calvin Chamberlain ; Octo-
ber 16, 1839, Richard R. Rice and James S. Wiley;
October 20, 1842, Salmon Holmes; October 21, 1846,
Benjamin Johnson; October 15, 1850, Woster Parker
and Alex. M. Robinson; October 16, 1855, Simeon
Mudgett and Elihu B. Averill; October 19, 1858,
Thomas S. Pullen; October 15, 1861, Ephraim Flint;
October 21, 1867, Edwin P. Snow, Stanley T. Pullen
and S. Orman Brown; October 18, 1870, Elbridge A.
Thompson, Theodore Wyman and David R. Straw, Jr. ;
October 15, 1872, Elias J. Hale and William Buck;
October 21, 1873, William P. Oakes; October 19,
1875, Ezra Towne and Benjamin F. Hammond; October
17, 1876, Augustus W. Gilman; October 15, 1878,
Augustus G. Lebroke; October 19, 1880, Josiah B.
Mayo; October 18, 1887, Willis E. Parsons, James B.
Cochrane and William T. Stubbs; October 15, 1889,
Joseph B. Peaks and John F. Hughes; October 25,
1892, Crowell C. Hall; October 30, 1894, Edward J.
Mayo; October 23, 1895, James Bathgate; October 27,
1898, Frank E. Guernsey; October 29, 1900, Henry S.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 115
Towne; October 31, 1906, Charles W. Hayes; October
29, 1908, Walter J. Mayo.
Much credit is due to those members in the early days,
who, living at a distance, were constant at the meetings
of the trustees and active in their support of the insti-
tution, notably Colonel William Oakes of Sangerville
and Joseph Kelsey of Guilford, both of whom were at
different times president of the board.
The presidents of the board, in their order, have been
Daniel Wilkins, Thomas Williams, Nathaniel Robinson,
Abram Sanborn, Thomas Davee, Joseph Kelsey, Dennis
Lambert, James S. Holmes, William Oakes, Elihu B.
Averill, Stephen P. Brown, Ephraim Flint, Elias J.
Hale, Calvin Chamberlain, Alexander M. Robinson,
Elbridge A. Thompson and the present incumbent,
Josiah B. Mayo.
The secretaries have been six in number, James S.
Holmes, Thomas Davee, John Bradbury, Caleb Prentiss,
James S. Wiley and Willis E. Parsons.
In eighty-six years there have also been six treasurers,
Samuel Chamberlain, sixteen years ; Charles P. Chandler,
twenty years ; James S. Wiley, three years ; Freeland S.
Holmes, a part of two years; Ephraim Flint, three
years ; James S. Wiley, again, twenty-five years ; since
1889, Willis E. Parsons.
From the records of the secretary and books of the
treasurer, a list of preceptors is gleaned and here given
in the order in which they were employed and approxi-
mately their terms of service:
James S. Holmes, 1822-3; James Gooch, spring of
1824; Charles P. Chandler, faU of 1824 and until 1827;
Samuel H. Blake, spring of 1827; Charles P. Chandler,
fall of 1827; Randall A. Sanborn, Mr. Richardson,
Dr. Stevens, William H. Ropes and James S. Wiley,
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
then fill up the time to 1838; Thomas Moulton, fall
term of 1838; Robert Wyman, spring term of 1839,
and Samuel Johnson, fall term of 1839; Mr. Dole,
1840; Ezra Abbot, 1841; Thomas Tash from 1842 to
1848. In 1845, David Bugbee, late of Bangor, held
his first writing school in the academy. Samuel F.
Humphrey taught, 1848 to 1851 ; J. F. Butterfield,
1851-3; Freeland S. Holmes, 1854; Warren Johnson,
fall of 1854; Silas Hardy, 1855; F. C. Davis, 1856-7;
S. C. Belcher, 1858-60; Mark Pitman, 1861-3; Stanley
T. Pullen, 1864; William S. Knowlton, 1865; M. C.
Fernald, 1866-8; J. G. Soule, 1868-70; James S.
Rowell, 1871-3; Thomas N. Lord, 1873; William S.
Rix, 1874; William Goldthwaite, spring of 1875 ; James
R. Brackett, fall of 1875 to 1878; Edwin P. Sampson,
1878-83; Stephen A. Lowell, 1883-4; Frank Rollins,
1884; R. E. Donald, 1885-8; C. E. B. Libby and G.
H. Libby, 1888-90; Eugene L. Sampson, 1890-4;
William F. Sims, 1895; W. R. Fletcher, 1896-8;
Lyman K. Lee, 1898-1903; Fred U. Ward, 1903-7;
since September, 1907, Louis B. Farnham.
Among the alumni of Foxcroft Academy have been
many who have distinguished themselves in civil and
military life. Hon. Josiah Crosby, late of Dexter, is
remembered for his great ability and legal acumen. Hon.
N. A. Luce, once State superintendent of schools, is
still remembered.
Mrs. L. M. N. Stevens, president of the National
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, received her
early training in this academy, as did Hon. Charles E.
Littlefield, late distinguished member of Congress ; the
late Hon. Samuel F. Humphrey of Bangor ; Hon. Alfred
E. Buck, late minister to Japan, now deceased ; the late
Hon. A. G. Lebroke of Foxcroft, and Hon. A. M.
Robinson of Dover. The late Hon. Lewis Barker, the
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 117
lawyer, and David Barker, the poet, were both educated
in this institution.
M. C. Fernald, so long president of the college at
Orono, received a part of his training here, and there
were the military heroes, General Jameson, Col. Calvin
S. Douty, Col. Charles P. Chandler, Col. Lowell, Col.
Clark, and a hundred more, gallant defenders of the
Union in her hour of peril, better qualified to serve
their country by reason of the instructions received in
the old academy.
The roll of honor, embracing many distinguished
citizens, both living and dead, is a long one ; too long to
be included here, as this article must be brought to a
close.
Already Maine is indebted to this academy as to but
few others within her borders, and may the years to come
increase its power and prolong its usefulness to the State
and nation.
It stands to-day a monument to those sturdy pioneers
who, by great sacrifice and heroic devotion to the cause
of education, wrought valiantly in establishing for their
own and succeeding generations such an institution of
learning.
Historical Sketch of Monson Academy
By John Francis Sprague
THE very earliest settlement of what is now the town
of Monson was in 1815, and seven years later in
1822 it was incorporated as a town by an act of
the Legislature, and only two years after what was
formerly the District of Maine was admitted into the
Union of States.
Many of the earliest settlers came from Monson,
Massachusetts, and located on the east half of the town-
ship which had been granted to Monson (Massachusetts)
Academy, and our town derived its name from the fact.
The west half of the township was granted to Hebron
(Maine) Academy, hence quite a number of men, many
with families came here from that town and vicinity and
made homes in that part of Monson.
These hardy pioneers penetrated the depths and the
shadowy fastnesses of the forest primeval and were sub-
ject to such hardships and privations, and encountered
such obstacles as all are subject to and as all encounter
who emigrate to untrodden soil. But they were the
intrepid descendants of brave men who had been Separa-
tists, Puritans, Round Heads and followers of John
Calvin in England, and the iron blood of the Puritan
flowed in their veins.
These brave-hearted men who chopped down the huge
trees, subdued the wilds of nature, cleared the land and
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 119
made happy homes for themselves and their posterity;
built mills, cut out the roots of fallen giants of the for-
est and made highways, also stood for something besides
the material advancement of the new settlement.
They had high ideals and noble aspirations. Next to
their abounding zeal for their austere religion was a belief
inherent in their breasts that a community could never
be well and safely founded unless intelligence and learn-
ing were among its bed-rocks.
They were the sons of men who had shed blood for the
maintainance of principles from which had evolved the
freedom of universal education.
And so it is not at all strange that among the many
plans which the progressive ones discussed very much in
the first days, the one for an academy was ever upper-
most in their minds. Some of the older citizens who
have since passed into the unseen have told me when they
were here, that when our village consisted of only a small
cluster of dwellings, a crude saw and grist-mill, a black-
smith shop, a store and a schoolhouse at the foot of the
pond, "academy talk" was even then heard among those
who had the public welfare at heart ; and it may well be
presumed that the good parson, Lot Ryder, and his
devout successors would seldom reach the "fifthly" in
their sermons without alluding to it and were often
mindful of it when addressing the throne of grace.
There were pessimists then as now, those who are
born with a cold sneer upon their lips, who seem to be
created for the sole purpose of engaging their cheap
abilities in the work of obstructing the advance of the
world about them, and undoubtedly the advocates of
this worthy enterprise met with many rebuffs and many
a scornful laugh.
But they were not to be discouraged by croakers, and
what was for a long time considered by such as only a
120 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
%
fanciful dream of a vague vision was finally fully realized.
The persistent cultivation of a lofty ideal produced
the desired fruition. The Legislature passed an act to
incorporate the "Stockholders of Monson Academy,"
which is Chap. 62, Private Laws of 1847, and it was
approved by Gov. Dana on July 26th of that year, as
follows :
CHAPTER 62. PRIVATE LAWS OF 1847.
An act to incorporate the Stockholders of Monson
Academy.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives in Legislature assembled, as follows :
Ephraim Flint, Zenas Scales, Aretus Chapin, Peabody
H. Rice, Horace Pullen, Lucius Bradford, Samuel
Jenkins, Hiram Folsom, Josiah Jordan, Horatio Ilsley,
Henry Mills, Alpheus Davison, Benjamin Ward, Will D.
Horn, S. B. Kittredge, Abner Brown, Horace Flanders,
James K. Whiting, George H. Gates, Benjamin R.
Scribner, John H. Rice, Joseph M. Curtis, James H.
Whitney, Leonard S. Crafts, E. C. Buker, Josiah P.
Haynes, Robert Barbour, Horace Adams, Paul S.
Merrill, Josiah Norris, Samuel Pillsbury, Jr., John E.
Sawyer, Bowman Varney, Nelson Savage, Joshua Buck,
Norman S. Williams, William Tenney, Roland Taylor,
Alonzo H. Davee, Isaac Philips, Hiram Vinton, Henry
Hills, Ozias Blanchard, Leonard Howard, Robert
Barbour, Jr., John Pollard, Charles W. Gower, Davis
N. Gower, Samuel Cole, Stephen Brown, Solomon F.
Dane, Charles Blanchard, Solomon Cushman and Justin
E. Crafts, their associates, successors and assigns, are
hereby constituted a corporation by the name of the
Stockholders of Monson Academy; and by this name
may sue and be sued; have a common seal; appoint
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
trustees to manage their affairs ; take and hold any estate,
personal or real, that they may receive by donation or
otherwise, the annual income of which not to exceed
two thousand dollars; said income to be faithfully
applied to the purpose of education ; and the stock-
holders aforesaid, are authorized to make any by-laws
they may deem necessary, not repugnant to the laws of
the State, and to have all the powers and privileges
incident to similar corporations.
This act was approved by Gov. Dana July 26th,
1847. So far as known these incorporators have all
passed away except John H. Rice, who is now (1908)
living in Chicago, at the advanced age of 92 years.
By virtue of this authority an organization was formed
for the purposes indicated and has been maintained ever
since. Its by-laws provide for a board of trustees con-
sisting of not less than nine nor more than fifteen per-
sons. At the first election October 25th, 1847, fifteen
trustees were elected as follows :
Charles W. Gower, Isaac Philips, P. H. Rice, Ozias
Blanchard, Horatio Ilsley, William Tenney, Leonard
Howard, Wm. D. Hoar, Alpheus Davison, Samuel
Pillsbury, Hiram Folsom, Horace Pullen, Roland Taylor,
J. Henry Pullen and Abner Brown.
A notice of this meeting was published in the Piscata-
quis Farmer.
The trustees at their first meeting chose Lucius
Bradford, president; Zenas Scales, vice-president;
Ephraim Flint, clerk ; Aretus Chapin, treasurer.
Elder Lucius Bradford, who was a resident Baptist
minister, served as president until 1861. Zenas Scales
was chosen for the years 1861-2. There is no record of
an election of officers for the years 1863-4. In 1865
Wm. Tenney was chosen president and served until
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
1870. Since then the presidents have been Charles
Davison, 1870-1877; Sumner A. Patten, 1877-1879;
Horace Pullen, 1881-1902. In 1903 Alvin Gray was
chosen president and is holding this office at the present
time.
The treasurers have been Aretus Chapin, Roland
Taylor, H. E. Homer, Alvin Gray and Albert F.
Jackson.
The principals of this academy from 1849 to 1873
were W. H. Seavey, Mr. Hunt, Jacob Tuck, V. B.
Oakes, Eben B. Higgins, F. W. Hardy, T. F.
McFadden, T. F. Batchelder, J. W. Staples, George
Webster, Reuben A. Rideout, W. S. Knowlton, Justin
S. Thompson, Miss Gilman and Thomas N. Lord ; and
from 1873 to 1908, have been Fred B. Osgood, G. B.
Hescock, James Jenkins, Edgar H. Crosby, C. E. B.
Libby, L. E. Moulton, H. W. Dunn, W. S. Knowlton,
John L. Dyer, W. H. Russell and John D. Whittier.
It is quite impossible for us of the present day to fully
appreciate exactly what it meant for those men to per-
form their self-imposed task of founding and maintain-
ing this institution.
The men that came here from old Monson and other
parts did not bring riches but only strong hands and
stout hearts. They had to dig out of these wilderness
hillsides the means for existence and a competency to
"save for a rainy day;" hence their methods and habits
of life were most strenuously frugal.
They were farmers and laborers in the woods and on
the "drives," with farm produce and labor bringing very
low remuneration, while whatever they purchased from
the store was in price extremely high.
Cotton cloth, brown sugar, lamp-oil and coffee were
luxuries which only the "forehanded" ones could afford.
It was men thus conditioned who united together and by
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 123
a popular subscription marshaled labor and materials for
the wherewith to erect a building to be used for the edu-
cational work which the State had imposed upon them
by this act of the Legislature.
The policy of the State of Maine then was to aid
academies, schools and colleges by donating to them
wild lands owned by the State ; in fact, the politicians of
those days favored anything that would be an excuse for
selling these lands to their favorites and friends, who
stood ready to grab anything for sale at prices so low
that we now look back upon the system as manifestly a
disgrace to our State. The trustees of our academy
very properly took advantage of that condition of pub-
lic affairs and in 1848 succeeded in obtaining a resolve
from the Legislature appropriating one quarter of a town-
ship of wild land in Aroostook County, which resolve
was, however, rescinded by the Legislature in 1849,
(Chap. 154, Private Laws, 1849) and at the same time
"one-half of a township of land from any of the lands
* * * * no j. otherwise appropriated" was granted
to this academy "not to exceed in value $3,000."
In 1860 a devastating fire swept over the village of
Monson and destroyed the academy buildings, and again
the Legislature aided it (Chap. 22, Resolves 1861) by
giving it one fourth of another township of land.
It is from these sources that our "academy fund" of
$4,000 was derived.
From the time of the erection of the first academy
building until the late James Tarr built a public hall in
Monson ViUage, which is now known as Spencer's Hall,
the upper story was used for town meetings, elections,
and other public purposes.
At the present time the entire building is used for
school work. Quite a large number of the graduates of
Monson Academy have become public men of prominence,
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
among whom may be mentioned Hon. Dudley P. Bailey,
a well known citizen of Everett, Mass., and a practicing
lawyer in Boston, and who has served in the Legislature
of his commonwealth two or three terms as representa-
tive from the city of Everett; Hon. Evans S. Pillsbury,
a lawyer in California, and who has held the office of U.
S. district attorney and other positions of trust; the
late Leonard D. Carver of Augusta, Maine, who formerly
practiced law in Kennebec County, and was for many
years the able and faithful librarian of the Maine State
Library; Prof. Norris H. Hart of Orono, Maine, now
professor of mathematics and astronomy in the Uni-
versity of Maine, and Artemus Gates, who became a
lawyer and financier of prominence in New York City.
Among the business men of note may be named Charles
W. Curtis of Dexter, Maine, who was for many years at
the head of the banking business of that town; the
late Walter D. Eaton, formerly a merchant in Dexter
and later in life engaged in mercantile business in Boston,
Mass., and Malcolm Hart, who holds in the West an
important position as civil engineer. It was the evident
design of the founders of this institution that it should
never become an annex to or a preparatory school for any
sectarian or denominational college or university, as the
original stockholders were of different religious faiths and
nothing appears in the old records to suggest any differ-
ent conclusion.
There were among them Congregationalists, Baptists
and Universalists ; the Rices belonged to the latter
denomination, while the late Hon. Ephraim Flint was
always a pronounced Unitarian.
It was established upon absolutely independent and
entirely non-sectarian grounds.
I herewith append the resolves of the Legislature rela-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 125
ting to these academy grants which I have herein referred
to as follows:
CHAPTER 73.
Resolve in Favor of Monson Academy.
Resolved. That the land agent of this State is hereby
authorized and directed to convey to the trustees of Mon-
son Academy, one-half township of land situated in the
County of Aroostook; said land to be selected by the
land agent, and to be equal in value per acre as near as
may be to the east half of township number three, range
four, in the County of Aroostook, at the time said half
township was conveyed to the trustees of Lee Normal
School ; provided however, that the land agent shall not
make the conveyance herein provided for unless the said
trustees of said Monson Academy shall, on or before the
first Monday of October, in the year of our Lord
eighteen hundred and forty-nine prove to the satisfaction
of the governor and council that the corporators apply-
ing for such conveyance shall have furnished a good and
convenient academical building and actually commenced
school herein and shall have corporate property at least
to the amount of twelve hundred dollars over and
above the debts of said corporation.
(Approved July 14th, 1848.)
CHAPTER 154.
Resolve in Favor of Monson Academy.
Resolved. That the land agent of this State is hereby
authorized and directed to convey to the trustees of
Monson Academy one half township of land from any of
the lands in which the State is interested in severalty or
in common, not otherwise appropriated ; said land to be
126 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
selected by the land agent; provided said half township
shall not exceed in value three thousand dollars. Pro-
vided, however, that the land agent shall not make the
conveyance herein provided for, unless the trustees of said
Monson Academy shall, on or before the first Monday
of October, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred
and forty -nine, prove to the satisfaction of the governor
and council that the corporators applying for such
conveyance, shall have furnished a good and conve-
nient academical building, and actually commenced school
therein, and shall have corporate property at least, to
the amount of twelve hundred dollars over and above
the debts of said corporation.
Resolved. That a resolve in favor of Monson
Academy, approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred
and forty-eight is hereby rescinded.
(Approved August 7th, 1849.)
CHAPTER 22.
Resolved. That the land agent be and hereby is
authorized and directed to convey to the trustees of
Monson Academy, Monmouth Academy, Limington
Academy and Corinna Union Academy, one township of
land of average quality and price in common and undi-
vided, in proportions of one fourth to each of said insti-
tutions.
(Approved February 23, 1861.)
Early Navigation on Sebec Lake
By Charles W. Hayes, Esq.
BEFORE the era of the overland thoroughfares, the
turnpikes, and the railroads, the waterways of the
country were the great highways of commerce.
Not only did Lo, the poor Indian, avail himself of these
waterways for the transportation of himself, and the
spoils of the chase, but succeeding him, our early settlers
used the lakes and rivers as a means of transportation.
It was owing to this advantage, as well as to the power
developed by falls in our rivers, that led the early settlers
to choose as sites of their settlements, the banks of
rivers and lakes.
I have been informed that the first farms cleared and
settled in Foxcroft, were those near the shore of Sebec
Lake, at and near the site of the old town farm, called,
in the olden time, the ' 'North Cant, ' ' because this place,
by means of Sebec Lake, gave them cheap and easy
access to the grist-mills and lumber mills of Sebec
Village.
The birch canoe of the Indian was succeeded by the
more substantial boat of the white man, but both pro-
pelled by ' 'one-man power, ' ' on Sebec Lake till about
1857. Just one half a century elapsed from the time
when Fulton's crude and primitive steamboat first suc-
cessfully navigated the Hudson River, when attention
was given to a power boat for navigating Sebec Lake.
128 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
%
The first attempt to propel a boat on Sebec Lake by
power, was made, apparently by Thomas A. Keating
and G. E. S. Bryant, and they conceived the idea of
using for power, the horse-power of the treadmill type.
And, although they did not invest a very considerable
sum in financing the enterprise, yet they felt that they
could not risk even what they did invest, unless protected
by legislative monopoly ; for we find that the Legislature
of Maine, in 1857, by a private act of that year, being
Private Laws, Chapter 49, granted to them a charter by
the name of Sebec Pond Boat Company, made them a
corporate body, authorized them to build a boat or boats
to be propelled by horse-power, and to hold real and
personal property to an amount not exceeding $12,000.
And, provided they should organize before the next
October, and should place upon Sebec Pond at least one
horse-boat in proper condition for conveying passengers,
they should have and enjoy the exclusive right for eight
years from the date of organization to operate a horse-
boat on Sebec Pond. The act provided that the county
commissioners for Piscataquis County might establish
prices for carriage of passengers and freight, and might
establish a ferry over any part of said pond, and place
such boats thereon as they might deem proper. They
should forfeit their monopoly, if they should fail for
thirty days to run a horse-boat on said pond during the
months of July and August every year.
Thus armed with their "Magna Charta," and pro-
tected from competition by the Legislature, they pro-
ceeded to organize, and they went down the Piscataquis
River, somewhere, and bought, or had given them an
old ferry-boat, which they transported to Sebec Pond.
They built a floor on it, equipped it with side paddle-
wheels and a shaft, connected this to a treadmill horse-
power, and when they had put in a pair of fairly heavy
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
horses, and the wind was not adverse, they were enabled
to navigate the length of the pond in the remarkable
time of about four hours. In bad or rough weather,
auxiliary power must be furnished by human exertion, or
navigation must temporarily cease.
Probably a cruder boat, or a more uncertain method of
transportation was never devised or operated by man;
yet it was a novelty, and commanded the trade of the
blueberry pickers, and campers on the mountains and
shores of the lake, which trade the enterprising proprie-
tors stimulated by the use of printer's ink. The follow-
ing is a copy of an advertisement in The Piscataquis
Observer of August 4, 1859, wherein the uncertainty of
the running time must be noticeable :
BOAT NOTICE!!
The subscribers would hereby give public
notice that they will run a
HORSE BOAT
Daily, for a few weeks, commencing August
1st, 1859, from Whittemore's Landing, to the
head of
SEBEC LAKE,
for the accommodation of those who wish to
engage in the delightful enjoyment of Fishing
in the Lake and Stream, or
SPORTING and BLUEBERRYING
on the surrounding mountains, or enjoying
Nature spread out in unsurpassed loveliness in
both Lake and Mountain Scenery.
The boat is large and safe, capable of carry-
ing from seventy-five to one hundred pas-
sengers.
Leave Whittemore's Landing at 7 1-2
o'clock, A. M., Returning the same evening.
Parties from a distance, so wishing, by noti-
130 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
p
fying us, will be accommodated so they can take
the Boat at 1 o'clock P. M.
Fare up and back only 50 cents.
BRYANT & KEATING.
Observing the advantages and disadvantages of this
enterprise, it must have occurred to certain people that
a boat operated by steam would afford a better and more
certain mode of navigation, and while Bryant and Keating
had authority and the exclusive right to operate a horse-
boat, their charter gave them no exclusive right, and in
the express terms of their charter, no right, to operate
a steamboat. And so, in 1861, Lathrop C. Jones and
William N. Thompson, both of Foxcroft, procured a
charter from the Legislature to navigate Sebec Lake by
steam.
This charter is Chapter 15, of the Private Laws of
1861, and creates the said proprietors into a body cor-
porate by the name of Sebec Lake Steamboat Company ;
authorized them to operate a steamboat or steamboats
on Sebec Lake, to hold real and personal property not
exceeding $15,000; gave them the monopoly of the
exclusive right of steam-navigation of said lake for a
period of fourteen years, from July 1, 1862; gave the
county commissioners the right to fix rates, if they
should see fit ; and obligated them, in order to maintain
the monopoly, to build and put in running order on said
lake, at least one steamboat of not less than fifteen tons,
and not more than fifty tons burden, and to run such
boat every day, Sundaj^s excepted, during the months of
July and August of each of said fourteen years, from
Sebec Village to the head of the lake. Now a legisla-
tive charter is of the nature of a contract. The Consti-
tution of the United States provides that no state shall
pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 131
Bryant and Keating had such charter as was above
described, which would not expire for more than four
years after the charter of Jones and Thompson was
granted. And so the Legislature inserted into Jones and
Thompson's charter this section: Sect. 4. Nothing
herein contained shall be construed to interfere with
rights and privileges granted to Thomas A. Keating and
G. E. S. Bryant and their associates, by "an act to
incorporate the Sebec Pond Company" approved March
30th, 1857.
Thus was the constitutional safeguard against the
impairment of contracts avoided, although the Jones
and Thompson charter did, as the Legislature well knew
it would, kill the rights of Bryant and Keating under
their charter, even more effectually than would a direct
violation of it, by the authorizing of another company
to operate a horse-boat.
Pursuant to their charter, and the monopoly thereby
granted, Jones and Thompson, in the winter and spring
of 1861, got together about $150 worth of material
with which to construct a steamboat. And here, Capt.
A. G. Crockett, then a young man of about thirty years
of age, and who had been employed on Bryant and
Keating's horse-boat more or less, becomes the prominent
figure in steam -navigation of Sebec Lake. He bought
out the interest of Mr. Thompson, and he, with Mr.
Jones, proceeded to construct a steamboat, which they
put in commission during the summer of 1861, which
they named the Favorite. For power, they placed in
her, at first a 4 h. p. donkey, or hoisting-engine,
which they connected to a shaft by wooden gearing, or
by one iron and one wood gear. She was a side-wheel
steamer. I have been unable to get her dimensions, or
amount of displacement. Crockett and Mr. Jones oper-
ated her with only moderate financial success till 1865,
132 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
when Capt. Crockett bought out the interest of Mr.
Jones. Meanwhile, in 1862, their charter was amended,
by changing the compulsory running season, from July
and August, to six weeks from the fifth day of July.
Capt. Crockett's and Mr. Jones' operation of the
"Favorite," it will be observed, was the period covered
by the Civil War, and naturally such an enterprise was
greatly hampered by that great struggle.
The motive power of the Favorite was changed,
after two years, to an 8 h. p. Hoadly engine, con-
nected with the wheel shaft by a belt. This engine was
owned by Mr. Charles H. Chandler, and while his engine
provided the power, he was a partner with Crockett and
Jones. The engine was put in the boat each summer,
and taken out each fall, being hauled to and from Fox-
croft village. Again, in 1866, the motive power was
changed to a 15 h. p. Hoadly engine, which was bought
second-hand by Mr. Crockett.
This last engine was for the first few years used in the
summer on the Favorite, and later on the Rippling
Wave, and in the winter, it was taken to Foxcroft Four
Corners, and used in sawing shingles.
After 1865, Capt. Crockett was the sole proprietor
of the steamboat Favorite. In 1866 and 1867, it proved
quite a financial success, and the business grew to such
an extent, that, in 1868, Capt. Crockett determined to
place on the lake, a larger and more convenient steamer.
Accordingly, in that year, he built the Rippling Wave,
a boat which all of the older residents easily remember.
She was built from lumber cut from the township of
Bowerbank, the knees being taken from juniper swamps
in Sebec. Her keel was 87 feet, 13 1-2 beam, 92 feet
over all, and with overhanging guards, making her entire
width in the widest part, 24 feet. She was double-
decked, had a commodious cabin in the stern of the
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 133
lower deck, and in the bow and between the cabin and the
engine-house were large spaces for baggage. In front of
the engine-house was a ticket office and a confectionery
store in one small room. The upper deck had a seat
extending around the entire boat, forming a guard-rail,
as well as seats for passengers. It had a small pilot-
house on the upper deck. Stairs from the space in front
of the cabin to the upper deck, gave the passengers safe
and ample means of reaching the upper deck. Her
power was the last engine described as being in the
Favorite. Her draft was small, only about 36 inches.
Her paddle-wheels were 12 feet in diameter, and were
well boxed in, the wheel-boxes extending about three feet
above the upper deck. She was a very convenient
steamer, capable of carrying five hundred passengers,
although her small draft of water, as compared with the
size of her hull, gave great wind resistance.
She was placed in commission in the summer of 1 868,
and replaced the Favorite, which was not thereafter run.
Joseph Lamson, Esq., of Sebec, Maine, a man who
figured quite prominently in the history of Piscataquis
County, was among other things, quite an artist, and
painted a picture of the Favorite and also of the Rip-
pling Wave. Capt. Crockett has preserved these
pictures, and has kindly loaned them to the writer, who
has placed them in the hands of F. H. Thompson, who
has redrawn and reduced them, and they are here for the
inspection of the society, and will remain in the archives
of the society as a part of this paper.
The writer's father, William C. Hayes, ever since
1866, and so long as Capt. Crockett operated the said
steamers, and for a few seasons after, was employed on
the above-named steamers, either in the capacity of
master or engineer, and so I have a very early recollection
of the scenes and happenings on the lake. I remember
134 IJISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
that a day's trip up the lake was the ne plus ultra of
enjoyment, the sail in the refreshing air, the boy's fasci-
nation with machinery, and the partaking of Aunt
Sarah's (Mrs. Crockett's) good dinners, consisting in
part, always, of blueberry pie, all made an enjoyable
day. That other and older people also were interested
in outings at Sebec Lake is evidenced by an article in
The Piscataquis Observer of May 7, 1868, concerning
the building of the Rippling Wave.
"NEW STEAMER ON SEBEC LAKE. We learn
from Capt. A. G. Crockett that work on his new boat,
which was commenced about a month ago, is progressing
favorably as was anticipated, and that it will probably
be ready for a trip on the 4th of July next. This boat
is 80 feet keel and 90 feet over all ; 24 feet beam, and
24 feet across the guards. It will have a cabin and six
or eight state-rooms. The boat will be about fifty tons
burthen with a capacity of 500 passengers, and will be
carried by a twenty horse-power engine. Its cost is
estimated at $5,000. The building of this boat is under
the superintendence of Major Bigney, who built the
Moosehead Lake boat, "Fairy of the Lake." It is
intended to launch this craft about the last of June ; due
notice of which will be given. Capt. Crockett deserves
much credit for the energy with which he has undertaken
an enterprise that the convenience of the public has so
long demanded, and we heartily wish him success. ' '
I can also remember in my very young days, of read-
ing, I think, in the Observer, a little poem from the pen
of Piscataquis County's well-known and well-appreciated
poetess, Anna Boynton Averill,* which showed the
*Since writing the above, Miss Averill denies the authorship of
the quoted lines and the writer is unable to find the original paper
but remembers the lines distinctly.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 135
poet's appreciation of the lake and the bodt, and beauties
of the lake. I think the first stanza was something as
follows :
"Over the lake, the Lake Sebec,
On the breezy deck,
Of the Rippling Wave,
Staunch little steamer
True and brave. ' '
I have searched the pages of her book of poems,
' 'Birch Stream and Other Poems, ' ' and regret that I fail
to find the poem there.
In 1876, the charter for the exclusive right of steam-
navigation on Sebec Lake was renewed to Capt. Crockett.
He operated the steamer till 1878, when he sold out his
boat to John Morrison of Corinth, who built her over,
and ran it for two or three years, and finally abandoned
her and allowed his monopoly to become lapsed.
The navigation of the lake since that time is within
the memory of most men now living here, and I pur-
posely close the history at this point. It can be readily
seen that the history of navigation on Sebec Lake could
not have been written without the aid of Capt. Crockett,
and the writer acknowledges the great assistance which
he derived in an interview with him in the fall of 1908,
when I found the Captain confined to his bed by rheu-
matism.
Capt. Crockett told the writer that he lost by drown-
ing accident only one person while he was engaged in the
steamboat business: Daniel W. Hayes, in 1870. He
told me the story and it so closely accords with the
account given in the Observer, August 18, 1870, that I
am inserting it.
4 'SAD CASE OF DROWNING. A young man
named Daniel Hayes, about twenty years of age, and
employed on the steamer Rippling Wave, was drowned
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
in Sebec Lake on Friday afternoon last. A passenger on
losing his hat overboard, the engine reversed steam, and
young Hayes jumped into a small boat attached to the
steamer, secured the hat and on approaching the steamer
ran his boat too near and was knocked overboard by the
guards of the boat. He arose, and under excitement it
is thought, or by being strangled, commenced swimming
towards the shore, and away from the steamer and small
boat, but was noticed soon to falter, and before assistance
could be rendered he sank for the last time, within a few
rods of the steamer. Grapples were soon procured and
parties commenced dragging the pond until Saturday
afternoon, when his body was found near where he sank
in about thirty feet of water. His body was brought to
Foxcroft, where funeral services were held on Sunday,
attended largely by the people. ' '
In the early days of navigation on the lake, there was
no hotel at the head of the lake, there were no cottages
along its shores, no industry at Willimantic, but it was
almost as it was when first formed by the hand of Nature,
unimproved and unmarred by the hand of man. The
surface of the lake was as left by Nature, the charter for
the Sebec dam being granted in 1866. Mr. Crockett
remembers the great benefit to steamboating occasioned
by the raising of the waters of the lake by that dam.
In more modern times, the management of that same
dam has caused more or less annoyance to owners of
boats and cottages on the lake.
Win. D. Blethen and Geo. W. Gilman built the Lake
House in 1865. Capt. Crockett said that the house
took $2,000 the first eight weeks after it was opened.
It was thereafter run by different individuals, Nelson
Thompson having it in charge at one time. Crockett
took a lease of it for $10 a year for fifteen years, and
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 137
later bought it. From this history of the house, it would
appear that its first glories fast faded, and from some
chance remarks dropped by the Captain, it might be
inferred that the strict enforcement of the prohibitory
law had something to do with the reduction of its
revenues.
Of the cottages now standing on the shores of Sebec
Lake, the first was built by Hon. A. G. Lebroke, on
Wilson Stream, part way up Granite Mountain. Hon.
Ephraim Flint had built and occupied a cottage on the
stream near Greeley's Falls, some ten or twelve years
before the Lebroke cottage was built. Now cottages
line nearly all the shores of the lake, an enumeration of
which would appear almost like a city directory.
Thinking of these changes, Captain Crockett told this
story :
Sometime not far from 1850, William Davis, the
father of H. S. Davis and B. H. Davis, was standing,
with Mr. Crockett on Dundee, the highest point of land
in Foxcroft, from which point a great part of the lake
can be seen. Mr. Davis, speaking to Mr. Crockett, and
pointing towards the lake, said : ' 'Mr. Crockett, that is
going to be a great resort. There will be steamboats
running on the lake, and there will be hundreds and
hundreds of people go there, but I shall be gone before
this happens."
When we remember that at that remote period summer
resorting was almost unknown, and Maine had not then
been discovered as the playground of the United States,
this prophecy and its accurate fulfillment seems truly
remarkable, and reflects great credit on the foresight of
Mr. Davis.
Peter Brawn and His Celebrated Bear-
Fight on Sebec Lake
By Edgar Crosby Smith
NO history of the settlements about the shores of
Sebec Lake, and of the characters who contributed
to make that history, would be complete without an
account of Peter Brawn.
But little is known of his ancestry. He was born in
Lowell, Massachusetts, about 1770, and moved to what
is now the town of Madison, probably in the latter part
of the eighteenth century.
He first came to Piscataquis County about 1805, when
he came to Dover and took up a tract of land on Lot
2, Range 12, which was afterwards known as the
Spaulding place. After making something of a clearing
and erecting a log cabin, in the spring of 1806 he
brought his family to Dover. During the next year he
lost his wife, and in 1808 he sold out his possessions in
Dover and moved to Moorstown, now Abbot. He was
the second or third settler of that town. Here he lived
until the memorable cold seasons of 1815-16, and becom-
ing discouraged with the prospects of farming in that
locality, he again sold out and removed to Foxcroft.
Just where he lived or what his occupation was while in
Foxcroft is not known. He remained there until 1826,
when the first clearing was made at the head of Sebec
Lake. He took up a lot of land on the shore of the
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
139
lake and Wilson Stream, and in company with John
Greeley, who erected the first mills there the same year,
moved his family thither.
I do not find that he paid so much attention to farm-
ing while living at the lake, as he did to the occupation
of a shingle shaver. It was during his residence here
and his connection with the mill, that one incident
occurred which will preserve his memory to future gener-
ations, even if all other things about him should be for-
gotten. I refer to his celebrated bear-fight on Sebec
Lake, of which I give an account below.
Mr. Brawn lived at the head of the lake for twenty
years or more, until Mr. Greeley sold out the mills, and
they were abandoned. He then moved to Guilford, in
that locality now known as the Brawn neighborhood,
and there passed his declining years.
In personal appearance Mr. Brawn was tall and erect.
His first wife was Catherine Becky, a woman of Scotch
descent, whom he probably married during his residence
in Madison. As above stated, she died in Dover in
1808, and was buried in Foxcroft. His second wife was
Betsey Kincaid, whom he married during his residence in
Abbot.
Mr. Brawn died in 1855, about eighty-five years of
age, and his remains rest in the Brawn cemetery, or
what was then known as the Poplar Hill yard, in an
unmarked grave.
I have been fortunate enough to secure an account
of the celebrated bear-fight above referred to, the account
being written just about the time the event occurred,
and one which I believe to be fully authentic.
Every one who has read Seba Smith's "Way Down
East Stories" remembers the story of "Uncle Pete and
the Bear. " It is said that Peter Brawn was the character
140 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
upon whom this story was founded. . Whether or not
this is correct, I am unable to state.
The story as recorded, is as follows :
"A few days since as Brawn and a Mr. Ayer were
coming down the Sebec Lake with a load of shingles, in
a batteau, they discovered a bear swimming in the water,
and they gave chase to him. As they approached him
the bear turned upon them and showed belligerent
symptoms, displaying a set of formidable teeth, and per-
forming his evolutions with an activity that convinced
them that they had no insignificant enemy to contend
with. Being, however, armed with a small axe, they
were not disposed to retreat. The moment they reached
him he raised his fore feet and placed them on the side
of the boat. Ayer struck at him with the axe, but it
glanced down his cheek cutting off a slice of it. Before
he could strike another blow, Bruin was on board the
boat and seizing Ayer by the wrist with his teeth, he
struck him a blow with his paw that tore the flesh from
his side to the ribs, and they both fell overboard together.
The bear relinquished his hold, and Ayer sank in the
water. 'And now,' said Uncle Peter as he told his
story, 'I begun to think it was time for me to be stir-
rin' myself. The bear had canted the boat and let a
couple of barrels of water in, and had like to tumblus
all into the puddle together, and the shingles were piled
so there want much gittin' about, but as I seed the old
feller swimmin' round waitin' for Ayer to come up so as
to make another grab at him, I swung the boat round a
little, and showed myself.
' 'At that the bear come grinnin' towards me as lovin'
as a meat axe. I had nothin' but a paddle to defend
myself with, but I gin' him a wipe with it over the
nose, an' he shook his head and snuffled a little, and
kinder turned broad side to me ; so I hit him a nudge in
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY ' 141
the ribs it didn't set easy, and he made off. I'd jest
time to give him a friendly lick on the hinder by the way
of a partin' salute, and the varmint was out of my
reach makin' his way across the pond. Well, Ayer had
been comin' up and going down two or three times, and
was about sinkin' for the last time, when I made a grab
at him and ketched him by the hair and hauled him in.
He'd got to be good for nothin' by this time, for he
couldn't help me nor help himself. There he lay a drip-
pin' as wet as a drownded rat and as bloody as a stuck
pig. He had lost his hatchet in his grapple with the
bear, and we had nothin' to fight with. I couldn't make
much headway along with the boat and the shingles and
two barrels of water, so we lost the bear. I tacked
about and run ashore got Ayer up to Steams' and left
him to have his scratches dressed, and hired Clark to help
me down with the shingles.' 'And now,' said Uncle
Peter, raising his arms and placing himself in the atti-
tude of taking aim, 'if ever that bear crosses my track
agin on the Sebec Pond he'll find me ready to give him
a blue pill from the barrel of my old fusee.' "
J. L.
Sketch of Hunter John Ellis
By Sarah A. Martin
HUNTER John Ellis is one of the familiar figures
which stands out as a remarkably original char-
acter in my remembrance of earlier days in my
native town, Guilford.
John Ellis was born in Smithfield, Me., in 1784,
resided for a time in Mercer and came to Guilford in
August, 1844, and from that time until his death in
1867, spent most of his time as hunter and guide in the
forests about Moosehead Lake.
He was a hunter before coming to Guilford, even in
his youth.
As a boy he had a cat which he had trained to accom-
pany him in his quest for squirrels and other small game,
and who was as sagacious and helpful as a dog. The
delight he took with this intelligent companion in these
early days may have been largely influential in making
him a lover of life in the woods.
Yet he was no hermit. He enjoyed his fellows, was
a genuine wit, and his return from the woods was an
occasion for rejoicing in the village; while the circle in
the loafing places had to be enlarged when Hunter Ellis
returned, that all might listen to his stories and
adventures.
Could these stories but be collected, they would make
a valuable asset to the literature of the county ; and yet
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 143
they would lack the inimitable setting of his magnetic
telling.
When planning for one of his long trips he began for
at least a month to place together articles he might
need.
This characteristic care saved him from leaving the
needed or being burdened with unneeded articles.
When trapping or hunting by himself, his camp was
made where suited best his purpose, but hospitably
open to the chance sportsman. The floor was the trodden
earth. On one occasion he made use of an Indian mound
as a pillow for his head. "How can you sleep with your
head on that mound?" said a visitor: "Why," said
Hunter, "I fear no live Indian; why a dead one?"
In trapping, hunting and fishing his skill was unsur-
passed. Spare of figure, lithe as an Indian, no white
man was his equal in his chosen craft.
From his trips he ever returned laden with furs, often
most valuable; frequently with four or five hundred
muskrat skins and in the earlier days with wolfskins.
Frequently he was alone for weeks and perhaps months,
seeing no white face. As a guide, his services were
eagerly sought by sportsmen who rarely failed to render
him due courtesy.
However on one occasion, one of a party of New
York men failed to show him the respect to which
Hunter was accustomed. Ellis bided his time. One
day "New York" complained that his watch, an elegant
gold one, had stopped. Hunter said he was used to
watches and could take it apart all right and see what
ailed it. He did so and told the sportsman it was but a
bit of dirt which had got in and he had removed it.
"Well put it together now." "O !" says old Hunter,
"I can't put watches together; I can only take them
apart." "New York" took his valuable watch home
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
tied up in a handkerchief but he didn't chaff old
Hunter any more.
There are stories of wonderful adventures, the partic-
ulars of which are hard to get at this late date when
they are rarely obtainable from those who listened to
them, but from a later generation as told them by their
fathers. There is the story of the struggle with the
two bears ; the second putting in an active appearance
while Hunter was busy with the first. For a time it
was a question who would win out. Old Hunter, how-
ever, came into camp with two bearskins.
Another is an exploit with a moose who took him on
his antlers and carried him across a brook. An account
of this was published in the Somerset Journal in 1824 to
the files of which I have not had access.
Old John had a quiet way of overcapping the big fish
stories as often told by sportsmen. The following story
to that effect is as told in The Piscataquis Observer of
November 15, 1860: "Around the fireside at the Kineo
House a party of sportsmen were recounting the wonders
which they had at various times accomplished in the way
of trout-catching. Hunter John listened for a while in
silence. At length with a contemptuous whiff from the
pipe which he was smoking, he broke in: "Call that
fishing do you boys? Let me tell you: I get trout on
this lake anywhere, day or night any time or any season
of the year. Let me tell you : I was crossing the North
Bend last winter; ice three feet thick; I happened to
have with me a one-inch auger which I was going to use
for some purpose or other. The thought struck me:
wonder if trout could be found here this time of year !
No sooner said than done. I had a bit of twine and a
pointed nail in my pocket. I just took the auger, bored
a hole in the ice, and in less than five minutes had a
sixteen-pound laker on the ice before me. What do
,
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY f)f,,. 145
you think of that?' The crowd was dumb with astonish-
ment, while the hunter smoked his pipe in triumph.
Presently one of the number, turning suddenly,
exclaimed : 'Uncle John, how came that sixteen-pound
trout through that one-inch auger hole?' 'Goodness
gracious!' exclaimed the old man, starting to his feet
and clapping his hands together, 'I never thought of
that. ' Laughter went round at once, but no more big
fish stories were told that night. ' '
I have spoken of him as ever companionable, but he
did not believe in new-fangled notions. The late Dwight
Maxfield in an article published in the Dexter Gazette in
1882 tells this story: "Once some sort of a reformer
lectured in the old schoolhouse against eating animal
food. Hunter was there and was terribly disgusted and
interrupted the man by asking him, 'What can we fry our
doughnuts in if we can't use lard?' and other pertinent
questions which the lecturer found hard to answer.
Finally old Hunter was too disgusted to remain any
longer, whereupon he arose, pointed his finger at the
speaker and said: 'Mister your talk is all mune-shine.
You'd better go to a woman's skule awhile and then
maybe you'll know sunthin. ' He then went out of the
room followed by the whole assembly, for the meeting
was essentially done for."
Your historian herself recalls an episode in which
Hunter Ellis figured in that same old schoolhouse. The
lyceum was a feature of Guilford life then, where ques-
tions serious or otherwise were wisely discussed by the
village men-folk. I remember as a little girl once listen-
ing to a discussion by the dignitaries on this question :
' 'Resolved ; that women are less intelligent than men. ' '
The subject was discussed with much vigor, and my
girlish heart swelled with anguish as the affirmative
seemed to clinch the argument by asserting and appar-
146 HISTORICAL, COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
ently proving by figures that women's brains are
smaller than men's. Old Hunter Ellis was sitting
quietly in the corner but he rose angrily and exclaimed
as he stalked vigorously from the house, "Calves have
large brains." The negative won out, and your histo-
rian ever after loved Hunter Ellis.
But the days of the old Guilford lyceum are past,
and the huntsman hunts no more. His last venture was
in the fall of 1866. Camping alone far beyond Spencer
Bay, he was taken seriously ill, and crawled ten miles on
hands and knees to reach human aid. Word was sent
to his family at Guilford. It was late in November and
the lake was not frozen over. Mr. Joseph Cousins, the
husband of his step-daughter, to whom I am indebted
for reliable data, went with a logging sled, the long dis-
tance around the lake and brought the worn hunter
home.
It was in February of 1867 they laid him away in
beautiful Elm wood Cemetery, and the sparkling waters
of the lovely Piscataquis come murmuring by, whisper-
ing softly of the woods and streams he loved. He rests
with the many who with him had dwelt happily together
in the dear old town "in the old days."
"There bide the true friends
The first and the best;
There clings the green grass
Close where they rest;
Would they were here ? No;
Would we were there !
The old days the lost days
How lovely they were ! ' '
Edgar Wilson Nye
By John Francis Sprague
PISCATAQUIS County has produced men who have
become famous in the professional, industrial and
military life of the country.
Two of her sons have acquired international renown,
although in widely different spheres. Sir Hiram Stevens
Maxim, the great inventor and the inventor of the origi-
nal machine gun, was born in the town of SangerviUe ;
and Edgar Wilson Nye, known in the world of letters
as Bill Nye, the prolific humorous writer and lecturer,
was born in the town of Shirley, Maine, February 26th,
1850, and died in Asheville, North Carolina, February
22, 1896.
He was the son of Franklin Nye, who was a direct
descendant of Benjamin Nye, who came to this country
from England in 1637. He married Elizabeth Loring
of Shirley, November 5th, 1846; the marriage ceremony
having been performed by Stephen Brown, Esquire, a
justice of the peace.
Elizabeth Loring was one of the well-known family of
Lorings in Piscataquis County, who were prominent in
its early history. The Rev. Amasa Loring, a clergyman
of the Congregational denomination, and the author of
Loring' s History of Piscataquis County, was of this
family.
When Edgar Wilson Nye was about three years of
age his parents emigrated to Wisconsin. The territory
148 -HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
of Wisconsin had then been a state less than two years,
and its early settlers were subject to all of the hard-
ships, sacrifices and sufferings which are the fate of all
pioneers in a new country.
The Nyes had but little except their own hands for
capital with which to start in life, hence his boyhood
days were spent in the dark shadows of a family struggle
with poverty.
He was what is popularly known as a self-made man,
never having obtained from schools any education except
what he was able to acquire when a youth from the crude
system of district schools, which the poor and struggling
Wisconsin pioneers were able to maintain in those days.
His son, Frank Nye of New York, at a reunion of the
Nye family in Sandwich, Massachusetts, in an address
delivered at that meeting, is authority for the statement
that his father never attended a high school.
Apropos to this may be cited an anecdote of him
related in this same address. Once he was sitting at the
breakfast table of a Sunday morning with James
Whitcomb Riley. Riley said to him : ' 'Bill did it ever
strike you that all of this praise and adoration offered
God has never spoiled him?" And Mr. Nye's quick
retort was: "Yes, Jim, and I sometimes think he is self-
made."
Bill Nye failed as a farmer, a miller, a teacher, a book-
agent and a lawyer. At the age of twenty-four he went
to Toring, Wyoming, where he did his first literary
work as a correspondent for a small weekly newspaper
published in a new mining town, for which he received as
compensation the sum of one dollar a column. Years
afterwards he quaintly describes this event by saying,
"The column was short, the type was large and I needed
the dollar."
He became postmaster and it was his letters to the
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 149
officials in Washington, written in a humorous vein,
which first brought him into the public view.
Later he moved to Laramie, where he first met Miss
Clara T. Smith, who was destined to become his wife.
Of this Frank Nye has said: "He went to the
station one night in search of any news he could find
there and saw Miss Clara T. Smith alight from the
train. She saw Mr. Nye ; Mr. Nye saw her, and imme-
diately the sensation of love at first sight thrilled two
hearts. Anyway, they finally visited the parson and
she became the wife of Mr. Nye."
His own humorous version of the affair was that he
' 'had two reasons for marrying ; the first was to get rid of
one more Smith ; the second was that Miss Smith being
an orphan there would be no mother-in-law sequel to
the wedding. ' '
He subsequently became a citizen of New York, where
he resided several years. It is most often the fate of
genius to influence mankind in the serious and tragic
aspects of life, to lead the race in the gloom of human
passion, avarice, and the cruelty of one to another.
It was Bill Nye's mission to make the children of
earth laugh and to cheer the hearts of the weary, the
sorrowing and the despondent.
Who can say that his mission was not as noble as that
of the warrior, the preacher or the statesman? His
tarry in this life was brief but it cast a broad ray of
sunshine athwart the path of men while it endured.
During his life he visited Shirley and the following is
from his account of that visit as published in Wit and
Humor :
"A man ought not to criticise his birthplace, I
presume, and yet, if I were to do it all over again, I do
not know whether I would select that particular spot or
not. Sometimes I think I would not. And yet, what
150 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
memories cluster about that old house ! There was the
place where I first met my parents. It was at that time
that an acquaintance sprang up which has ripened in
later years into mutual respect and esteem.
"It was there that what might be termed a casual
meeting took place, that has, under the alchemy of resist-
less years, turned to golden links, forming a pleasant but
powerful bond of union between my parents and myself.
For that reason, I hope that I may be spared to my
parents for many years to come.
"Many memories now cluster about that old home, as
I have said. There is, also, other bric-a-brac which has
accumulated since I was born there. I took a small stone
from the front yard as a kind of memento of the occa-
sion and the place. I do not think it has been detected
yet
"There was another stone in the yard, so it may be
weeks before any one finds out that I took one of them.
"How humble the home, and yet what a lesson it
should teach the boys of America! Here, amid the
barren and inhospitable waste of rocks and cold, the
last place in the world that a great man would naturally
select to be born in, began the life of one, who, by his
own unaided effort, in after years rose to the proud
height of postmaster at Laramie City, Wy. T., and
with an estimate of the future that seemed almost
prophetic, resigned before he could be characterized as
an offensive partisan.
"Here on the banks of the raging Piscataquis, where
winter lingers in the lap of spring till it occasions a good
deal of talk, there began a career which has been the
wonder and admiration of every vigilance committee
west of the turbulent Missouri.
' 'There on that spot, with no inheritance but a predis-
position to baldness and a bitter hatred of rum ; with no
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 151
personal property but a misfit suspender and a stone-
bruise, began a life history which has never ceased to be
a warning to people who have sold goods on credit.
"It should teach the youth of our great broad land
what glorious possibilities may lie concealed in the rough
and tough bosom of the reluctant present. It shows
how steady perseverance and a good appetite will always
win in the end. It teaches us that wealth is not indis-
pensable, and that if we live as we should, draw out of
politics at the proper time, and die a few days before the
public absolutely demands it, the matter of our birth-
place will not be considered.
' 'Still, my birthplace is all right as a birthplace. It
was a good quiet place in which to be born. All the
old neighbors said that Shirley was a very quiet place
up to the time I was born there, and when I took my
parents by the hand and gently led them away in the
spring of '53, saying, 'Parents, this is no place for us,'
it again became quiet.
"It is the only birthplace that I have, however, and I
hope that all the readers of this sketch will feel perfectly
free to go there any time and visit it and carry their
dinner as I did.
"Extravagant cordiality and overflowing hospitality
have always kept my birthplace back. ' '
He died near Asheville, North Carolina, February 22,
1896.
Among his published books are :
Bill Nye and Boomerang, (1881); Forty Liars,
(1883); Remarks, (1886); Fun, Wit and Humor,
(1889) with James Whitcomb Riley ; Comic History
of the United States, (1894); Comic History of Eng-
land, (1896) and Baled Hay.
152 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
I received the following letter from Honorable Frank
Mellen Nye, a member of Congress from Minneapolis,
Minnesota, and a brother of Bill Nye, in response to a
letter requesting information relative to his family
history :
Washington, D. C.,
January 26th, 1909.
Mr. J. F. Sprague,
Monson, Maine.
My dear Sir:
Several days ago Mr. Guernsey handed
me your letter requesting some further facts
concerning my family. I have been exceed-
ingly busy, and hardly know now exactly what
you want. You seem to know something of
my mother and father, and brother, Edgar
Wilson Nye, who died in February 1896. My
parents moved to Wisconsin when I was two
years old. I grew up on a farm, attained a
common school education, and attended the
academy at River Falls, Wis. ; studied law,
and was admitted to practice in the spring of
1878. Practiced law in Wisconsin until
1886. Was prosecuting attorney in Polk
County, Wis., and a member of the Wisconsin
Legislature in 1884. Removed to Minneapolis
in '86, where I have since resided. Have been
prosecuting attorney four years in Minneapolis,
and continued actively in my profession until
1906 when I was elected to Congress. Was
reelected last fall to the 61st Congress. I have
one brother living, nine years younger, whose
name is Carrol A. Nye, and whose home is
Moorehead, Minn. He is also a lawyer, hav-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
153
ing met with unusual success. He is now on
a trip around the world. My father has been
dead twenty-two years. Mother is still living,
and is now in New York City with an adopted
sister of mine. She is in her 82d year. As
you say she was a Loring. I shall be glad to
answer any further specific questions you may
desire to ask.
Sincerely yours,
Frank M. Nye.
Sketches of Some Revolutionary Sol-
diers of Piscataquis County
By Edgar Crosby Smith
DURING the period covered by the Revolutionary
War the territory which is now Piscataquis
County was but a wilderness, visited only by the
Indian and an occasional trapper ; hence hers could not
be the honor of furnishing any of her sturdy sons to her
country. However, a number of the veterans of that war
were among the early settlers of the county.
In the sketches which follow, will be found chronicled
some account of the lives of a number of these pioneers,
but at present the writer has been unable to obtain data
to any degree of completeness regarding them all.
PHINEAS AMES. SANGERVILLE.
Phineas Ames was the son of Samuel Ames and
Sarah (Ball) Ames, and was born in Rutland, Mass.,
October 26, 1757.
His first service in the Continental Army appears to
have been eleven days, commencing August 20, 1777.
The battle of Bennington occurred August 16, 1777,
and although the result was a complete victory for the
Americans, the whole northern country was up in arms.
Men poured in from New York and New England. A
company was detached from Rutland to march to Ben-
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 155
nington, and Phineas Ames was a member of this com-
pany. The captain was David Bent, and he was in Col.
Nathan Spar hawk's regiment. As the British were so
completely routed it was not deemed necessary to keep a
large force at the place, and most of the companies
ordered out for this special service were discharged and
sent home. Ames returned to Rutland with his company
after a service of eleven days.
His second service of which we have any record is that
of his enlistment of September 27, 1777. After the
battle of Bemis' Heights, September 19, 1777, reserves
were hurried on to Saratoga to assist Gen. Gates. Ames
enlisted in Capt. John Boynton's company, Col.
Sparhawk's regiment, under the command of Major Jonas
Wilder, and this regiment was ordered to join the army
of the Northern Department. It is probable that he
arrived at the seat of war in season to participate in the
battle of October 7. Burgoyne surrendered and laid
down his arms October 17, 1777, and many of the militia
companies were then discharged. Phineas Ames' dis-
charge was dated October 18, 1777, the day after
Burgoyne' s surrender. Service, twenty-nine days.
This is all the recorded service that can be found on
the rolls credited to Phineas Ames, but he undoubtedly
saw other service as he frequently used to relate his
experiences, "while with the army in Marsey'."
About 1780 he removed from Rutland to Hancock,
N. H., and in 1785 he married Mehitable Jewett of
Hollis, N. H. During the years 1781 and 1782 he was
one of the selectmen of Hancock. His two oldest chil-
dren, Daniel and Samuel, were born here. In 1796 he
moved to Harmony, Me., and was one of the first set-
tlers there.
It was in 1801 or 1802 that he first came into Piscata-
quis County. He then came across from Harmony and
156 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
4
cleared an opening in Sangerville on the north side of
Marr Pond, near Lane's Corner. In the fall of 1803 he
moved in with his family, and became the first settler in
Sangerville. His trip here, like all others of those early
settlers, was attended with hardship. He came by the
way of a spotted line, his wife on horseback, carrying in
her arms a babe only a few months old; but they
reached their destination in safety, and went to work
with a will to make for themselves a comfortable home.
The township was then called Amestown.
From 1803 to 1810 were busy years for Mr. Ames;
besides clearing his farm and getting a number of acres
under cultivation, he built a grist-mill on Black Stream,
on the upper falls, and sometime before 1807 he surveyed
Col. Sanger's lots in the town. On account of the crude
construction of the mill it was not a success, and did not
prove to be a source of profit to the owner. About
1810 Mr. Ames exchanged the mill and privilege with
Col. Sanger for three lots of land. On one of these he
settled, leaving his place on Marr Pond. He lived here
but a short time and then exchanged with Edward
Magoon and settled near Knowl ton's Mills.
Mr. Ames was always prominent in the deliberations
of the settlement, plantation and town. He was called
King Ames, and his counsel was frequently sought, and
generally accepted in affairs of moment. It was he who
advised moderation when the Indian scare pervaded the
settlements at the declaration of war with Great Britain
in 1812. The settlers all along the Piscataquis River
were much alarmed, fearing the Indians, incited by the
British, would take to the tomahawk and scalping-knife.
A mass-meeting was held at Foxcroft in August, 1812,
to see what means should be taken for mutual defense.
After listening to the remarks of various settlers express-
ing their views, who had as many ideas as there were
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 157
speakers, King Ames was called for. He told them that
the Indians, if they took any part at all in the hostilities,
would undoubtedly attach themselves to some portion of
the enemy's army, and that in his opinion little need be
feared at present from the red men. His view of the
situation was generally accepted and the people retired
to their homes with their fears somewhat abated.
Mr. Ames lived at Knowlton's Mills until 1824, when
he, with his son Samuel, moved to West Dover and set-
tled upon what is now the Dover poor farm. Here he
lived for a number of years, but his last days were spent
in the family of his daughter Betsey, who married James
C. Doore, and lived near South Dover. He died in
1839, at the age of 82, and is buried in an unmarked
grave in the South Dover cemetery.
Phineas Ames was a man of many occupations; the
records of Hancock, N. H., give him as a carpenter; he
was also a farmer, blacksmith, land-surveyor and mill-
wright. He reared a family of eight children. The
town of Sangerville was known as Amestown until its
incorporation in 1815, and it is said that Col. Sanger
made Mrs. Ames a present of quite a substantial sum in
cash for the privilege of changing the name to Sanger-
ville.
ENOCH BROWN. SEBEC.
Enoch Brown was born in the year 1751, but of what
place he was a native it is impossible to obtain any
information. It may have been Arrowsic, as he was a
resident there in 1777, but this is mere conjecture. Of
his ancestry, like that of many of our pioneers, time has
obliterated the last trace. Interviews with all his living
descendants fail to bring to light a thread which it is
possible to take up and unravel to any solution.
158 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The Arrowsic settlement is one of the oldest in Maine,
yet but little is preserved regarding its early families,
and it has been impossible to glean any information
relative to Mr. Brown's family from any early records.
He enlisted in 1777. The best record obtainable of
his service in the Continental Army is that over his own
signature, made in his application for state bounty in
1835. It is as follows:
"I Enoch Brown of Sebec in the county of Piscata-
quis and State of Maine, aged eighty-four years, do,
upon oath declare, in order to obtain the benefit of a
Resolve of the Legislature of Maine, passed March 17,
1835, entitled a 'Resolve in favor of certain Officers and
Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and the Widows of
the Deceased Officers and Soldiers, ' that I enlisted in the
year 1777 for one year into and joined a Company in
Portland, Commanded by Capt. Blaisdell, went to Ticon-
deroga in Capt. Johnson's Company and Col. Brewer's
regiment. At the close of the year I was discharged at
Albany. In the month of December following, I enlisted
at Ticonderoga under Lieut. James Lunt, for during the
war and joined Capt. Stetson's Company and Col.
Alden's regiment, and employed William Wallace to take
my place by giving him two hundred dollars, who was
accepted in my place, and who fulfilled my time, for dur-
ing the war and I was then discharged. I am now upon
the U. States pension roll of the Maine agency.
"I do further on oath declare that at the time of my
said enlistment, I was an inhabitant of Rousick Island
(Arrowsic) in the then district of Maine, and was on
the 17th day of March, 1835, have been ever since, and
am now an inhabitant of the State of Maine, residing in
Sebec aforesaid, where I have resided for several years
past. That neither I, nor anyone claiming under me,
has ever received a grant of Land, or money in lieu
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 159
thereof, from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for
my said service, or any other service during the Revo-
lutionary War, and that I am justly entitled to the
benefit of said resolve.
Witness his
Joseph Lam son Enoch X Brown
George P. Logan mark
Dated September 12, 1835."
From the Massachusetts Archives we find Enoch Brown
credited to Capt. Samuel Johnson's company, and Col.
Wiggles worth's regiment.
After his service in the army he returned to Arrowsic,
and he probably lived there until his removal to Sebec.
Here we are again at a loss for accurate information ;
just when Mr. Brown came to Sebec it is impossible to
determine. His son Samuel came there quite early,
probably not far from 1820, and took up lot number one,
range eight, being the lot j ust across the road from the
old town farm. After the son had made a clearing and
built a cabin he brought his parents from Arrowsic 'to
his new home. Samuel at this time was unmarried ; he
afterwards married Mary Angove, and their first child
was born in 1829. This child, Mrs. Sarah Bartlett, is
now (1908), living in Dover.
The remainder of his life Mr. Brown lived with his
son Samuel, on the homestead that their labors had
rescued from the wilderness. The simple, rugged life of
the pioneer combined with a strong constitution meted
out to him a long span of life ; he lived to the age of 93
years, and died December 17, 1844. His ashes rest in
the little cemetery just south of his old home, but there
is nothing to mark the grave, and its exact location has
now been forgotten. He received a pension for his
Revolutionary service January 8, 1819.
160 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Where or when he married, or the maiden name of his
wife, are not known. Her Christian name was Phebia.
She died March 10, 1843.
EZEKIEL CHASE. SEBEC.
Ezekiel Chase was born in Hallowell, July 9th,
1761, his father being one of the early settlers at
"The Hook," as the locality was then known. At the
breaking out of the Revolution he was very anxious to
enlist, though but a boy of fourteen ; his parents, how-
ever, kept him at home, but as the months passed the
desire grew stronger, and the first of the year of 1778,
hearing that his brothers, Jacob and Jonathan, who then
were at Kittery, intended to enlist, he ran away from
home and joined them there and with them went on to
Roxbury where they enlisted. Ezekiel was enrolled for
the town of Milton, Mass., May 18, 1778.
He was in Capt. Cox's company, Col. North's regi-
ment, but a part of this regiment was turned over to
Major Stephen Badlam and was conducted by Capt.
Benjamin Burton of Col. Sherburne's regiment to Brig.
Gen. Jonathan Warner at Fishkill, N. Y. , agreeable to
the order of the General Court of April 20, 1778.
Here he was transferred to Gen. Varnum's brigade, and
in June marched for Rhode Island, and was in the action
at Newport. His regiment went into winter quarters
at Bristol and remained there until the British marched
on the place in the fall.
Mr. Chase was transferred a number of times to differ-
ent commands. He was in Capt. Scott's company, Col.
H. Ogden's regiment, also in Capt. Hastings' company,
Col. Jackson's regiment. It was in the latter regiment
that he served the longest. While in Capt. Scott's
company he was under the command of Gen. de La
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 161
Fayette. The winter of 1779-80 his regiment was in
winter quarters at Morristown, N. J. The winter of
1780-81 his winter quarters were at West Point. It
was here that he reenlisted for "during the war," Janu-
ary 7, 1781, and was again attached to Capt. Hastings'
company, Col. Jackson's regiment.
On his reenlistment he was granted a furlough of
three months, and he visited his parents in Hallowell.
At the expiration of his furlough he started to return to
his regiment, and was on his way to Philadelphia by
water, when he was taken prisoner by the British ship
Renown, and was confined in the Jersey Prison Ship in
New York harbor. Here Mr. Chase remained for nearly
two years and suffered the greatest tortures. While here
he had the smallpox and yellow fever. The treatment
of the prisoners on board this ship is said to have been
most inhuman ; over eleven thousand died from exposure,
neglect and disease. As said before Mr. Chase remained
here for about two years, or until the close of the war,
being released at the declaration of peace. His two
brothers with whom he enlisted never reached home, one
being killed in battle, and the other dying from disease.
After his release he was for some time unable to return
home on account of his feeble condition, but finally was
taken to Boston in a horse cart.
After his return to Hallowell he married Betsey
Goodwin, and moved to and settled in Bingham, then
called Caratunk. Here some of his children were born.
In the summer of 1802 he came to Sebec and felled an
opening on the intervale near the present Atkinson
bridge. He returned to Bingham for the winter, but
came back in the spring of 1803 and put in a crop, and
in September of the latter year he moved in his family
and became the first settler in Sebec, and the second in
the county.
162 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
He had raised a crop of corn, and stacked quite an
amount of meadow-hay during the summer, and when he
came with his family he drove in some stock, which was
the first on the Piscataquis River. On July 15, 1804,
a son was born, Charles Vaughan Chase, the first white
child born within the limits of Piscataquis County.
Mr. Chase, during his residence on the Kennebec, had
commanded a rifle company, and consequently ever after
was known as Captain. He was a great hunter and
trapper, and on one trip is said to have taken over four
hundred dollars' worth of furs. During his service in the
army, and his long confinement on the prison ship he
acquired quite a knowledge of medicine, and for many
years after his settlement in Sebec his services as a physi-
cian were in demand in all the nearby settlements.
In September, 1814, when the British occupied Ban-
gor, much anxiety was felt in the up-river districts as to
what the outcome would be; fearing that the Indians
might be induced to start on the war-path, also that the
inhabitants of Bangor might need assistance to repel the
invaders. A company was formed of citizens of Dover,
Foxcroft and Sebec, and Ezekiel Chase was elected
captain. They started on their march for Bangor, but
before reaching there they received the humiliating news
of the capitulation, and they turned about for home.
Capt. Chase lived for a number of years in his log
cabin, built when he first settled in Sebec, and then he
built himself a frame house on the shore of the river
near the present Atkinson bridge. This house is still
standing, and is now occupied by Andrew J. Chase, hav-
ing been moved a few rods north from its original loca-
tion and somewhat remodeled.
Ezekiel Chase received a pension in 1818 for his army
service. He died September 14, 1843, and is buried in
the Chase cemetery at Sebec Station. He has numerous
descendants living in Piscataquis County.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 163
EBENEZER DEAN. BLANCHARD.
Ebenezer Dean was born December 5, 1760, or
1762. Probably 1760 is the correct date. The
record of births and deaths of the town of Blanchard
give the date 1762, but in the list of Revolutionary pen-
sioners published in connection with the census returns
of 1840, and compiled from information collected by the
enumerators, his age is given then 80 years ; in his per-
sonal application for State bounty, dated September 14,
1836, he there states his age to be 75 ; and in the notice
of his death in the New England Historical and Genea-
logical Recorder the date of his birth is given 1760.
All these seem to indicate that the date given on the
Blanchard records is an error.
Mr. Dean was the fifth in descent from William Dean
of Woburn, Mass. The line is as follows : William Dean
by his wife Martha Bateman, had John, born 1 677 ;
John by his wife Mary Farmer, had Ebenezer, born 1709 ;
Ebenezer by his wife Mary, had Ebenezer, born 1733;
Ebenezer by his wife , had Ebenezer the subject
of this sketch, born 1760. Where Mr. Dean was born
I am unable to state, but it is quite probable that it was
in Woburn, Mass. , as this was the home of his ancestors
for a number of generations.
He was one of the very early settlers of Canaan, of
that part now Skowhegan, and he enlisted into the Revo-
lutionary army from that town in 1781. His Revolu-
tionary service was in Col. Jackson's regiment of the
Massachusetts Line. He enlisted for three years in
1781, and received an honorable discharge at the close
of the war.
In an article in The Piscataquis Observer of June 22,
1876, dealing with the early settlement of Blanchard in
this county, and signed "Historicus, " reference is made
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
to Mr. Dean as follows: "E. Dean had been in the Revo-
lutionary army, but for good reasons had left hastily,
not stopping for an 'honorable discharge,' and never
obtaining a pension." That this is incorrect is certain,
and it was possibly malicious. He was a pensioner in
1836, on the Maine agency, as is evidenced in his appli-
cation for State bounty, and in this application he makes
particular mention of his "honorable discharge." The
census returns of 1840 list him as a living pensioner,
then a resident of Madison. There is no question about
his having been a pensioner of many years' standing.
The town of Abbot was settled in 1807 and Ebenezer
Dean was among the first settlers, coming there about
1810, possibly before. He lived in Abbot but a few
years, five or six, and then moved to Blanchard, and
became the first settler of that town, coming there May
5, 1815.
The story of how he became the first settler of
Blanchard, winning his choice of land, and his strategy
in so doing, is told in Loring's History of Piscataquis
County; another account of it was published in The
Piscataquis Observer in 1876, agreeing in the main with
Mr. Loring's, from which the following is taken:
"Moorstown, (now Abbot) was settled in 1807; and at
the time of this event several families were residing there.
Among them were A. Moore, Peter Brawn, E. Richards,
Eben Dean, and others. * * * * Brawn had
moved to Moorstown from Dover, and was now plan-
ning another up-river move. So one afternoon in June,
probably in 1810 or '11, he passed his neighbor Dean,
and tells him : 'Tomorrow I start for the great intervale,
up river, to fall a piece of trees there.' Dean said
nothing, but when Brawn had passed out of sight, he
and his oldest son, Eben, ground up their axes, packed
up provision, shouldered their burdens and started for
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 165
the same intervale. Ten miles of rough, unbroken, path-
less forest lay before them ; the night was dark. Rocks,
ledges and fallen trees obstructed their way. Swamps,
marshes and brooks must be crossed, for, as the river was
their only guide they must keep near its rippling current.
But they were 'stealing a march' to gain preoccupancy,
and they quailed at nothing, and by daylight next morn-
ing, stood upon those coveted acres. Near the middle
of the intervale they unslung their packs, lunched hastily
with a keen appetite, and began to level those monarchs
of the vale, breaking the stillness of the forest with the
echoes of their axes. Brawn, too, started that same
morning, axe in hand and pack upon his back, to make
an onslaught upon those sturdy maples. Towards noon,
as he drew near, those echoes fell upon his ear and he
began to fear that someone had stepped in before him ;
and so it proved, for a half acre of trees was already
felled. But when he saw who had supplanted him, loud
talk and bad adjectives made the air very blue. Had
there not been two of the Deans there probably would
have been a pitched battle, as it was words alone vented
the volcano and ended the strife. Brawn gave up set-
tling in that part and went elsewhere. Dean stuck to
the intervale, cut out a road to the settlement below and
moved in his family. * * * * * "
The date of the event as given in this narrative as
1810 or '11, is incorrect; 1813 was the year. Mr.
Dean, as stated previously, moved his family into Blanch-
ard in 1815. He lived there on his intervale farm for
twenty-one years and then sold out his possessions and
in June, 1836, moved to Madison, where he resided the
rest of his life.
While in Blanchard Mr. Dean was a successful farmer ;
he raised the first crops the year he moved in, 1815.
That year he had four or five acres of wheat and nine
166 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
acres of corn. In 1817 he put in twenty acres of rye
and raised three hundred and fifty bushels.
When the town was incorporated in 1831 he was its
first fence-viewer, also was pound-keeper.
He was twice married; to his second wife, Jane, he
was united in marriage at about the time he moved into
Piscataquis County. The first child born in Blanchard
was John Dean, born December 31, 1817, son of
Ebenezer and Jane. Who his first wife was is not known,
but at least two children were born to this marriage,
Ebenezer, Jr., and Daniel, who lived with their father
during his residence in this county, and assisted him in
clearing his lands in Abbot and Blanchard. Frank
Butler now (1909) lives on the farm in Blanchard, taken
up by Mr. Dean.
Ebenezer Dean died in Madison, Me., June 24,
1857, at the age of 97 years.
ALLEN DWELLEY. DOVER.
Allen Dwelley was a native of Massachusetts, probably
of the town of Pembroke, as he enlisted into the Conti-
nental Army from that town when but eighteen or nine-
teen years of age. He was born in 1762 or 1763. Of
his ancestry and life prior to his settlement in Paris,
Me., I am unable to find anything, other than the
record of his service in the Revolution.
He enlisted April 3, 1781, for three years, into Capt.
Lebbeus Drew's company, Col. Shepard's regiment,
(4th Mass. Line). He served with his regiment until
the proclamation disbanding the army in October, 1783,
and soon after received an honorable discharge. A part
of his service was under Capt. Clapp, but in Shepard's
regiment. He received a pension for his war services
under the act of March 18, 1818, being placed on the
pension rolls September 7, 1819, commencing to draw
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 167
from April 29, 1818, from which time until his death he
received his annual allowance of ninety-six dollars.
The town of Paris, Me., was settled about the close
of the war, and among the early settlers was Allen
Dwelley ; just when he came there, there are no records
to determine, but he was one of the petitioners for the
incorporation of the town, October 11, 1792. He
lived there until 1808 or 1809 when he removed to
Dover. We take from the Paris records the following,
showing his continued residence in that town : October,
1792, he was one of the petitioners for the incorporation
of the town; in 1796 he was one of the hog-reeves; in
1798 he was taxed for fifty acres of land, valued at two
hundred dollars; in September, 1802, he was one of the
petitioners for the division of the town ; and from an old
deed, dated December 3, 1807, his residence is given as
Paris.
In February, 1808 or 1809, Mr. Dwelley moved to
Dover. I think it more probable in 1808, as he had
purchased land here in December, 1807, with the evident
intention of coming here, so he quite likely came at
once. He bought of Jeremiah Fifield, lot 1, in range 12,
the deed being dated December 3, 1807. This land is
on the south side of the river just west of the present
village, a part of which is now owned by Volney A.
Gray, and on which his homestead stands.
Of Mr. Dwelley 's trip from Paris to Dover, Mr.
Loring in his history of Piscataquis County, gives an
account, and from which I quote, as showing some of
the hardships encountered by the early settlers in reaching
these then remote settlements. He says : ' 'He started
from Paris, but on reaching Mr. Hale's in Ripley, the
road was so poor, and his team was so worn out, that he
could not proceed with his load. Upon hearing of his
condition, Capt. John Bennett started from Lowstown,
168 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
(Guilford) with a team to help him through. On
Bennett's arrival at Hale's, Mr. Dwelley started, leaving
one daughter there sick and another to nurse her, but
taking his wife and seven other children, and their lading
with them. Full ten miles of unbroken forest lay
between Hale's and the next settlement. Deep and
loose snow impeded their progress ; they soon concluded
that without more team they could not get through the
woods before night, so they sent William Dwelley (a lad
of thirteen) forward on horseback, to raise more help.
But darkness overtook him before he reached inhabitants,
and he tied his horse to a tree and camped out as best he
could, for the night. In the morning he found he was
only a half a mile from a habitation. Making known his
message, the people promptly started to aid the slow-
coming party, and met them only about half way through
the woods. They, too, had camped out through the
night. With these recruits they pressed on, but were
all day in getting to Dexter. ' '
He finally reached his coveted destination in the new
settlement, where he took up his abode and reared him-
self a home, and where he lived comfortably for about
twenty years.
In June, 1825, Mr. Dwelley sold his Dover property
to John Bradbury of Foxcroft, and soon after moved
away. While in Dover he was interested in the pros-
perity of the community, and from 1814 to 1825 he
held various minor offices. Mr. Loring says he moved
to Old Town. In June, 1836, when he applied for land
granted to Revolutionary soldiers, he resided in the town
of Springfield. In 1840, when the census was taken,
the government published a list of all the living pen-
sioners, giving their residences and in whose family they
resided. In that list we find Allen Dwelley residing in
the west half of Township No. 6, Penobscot County.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 169
That is the present town of Lee ; he maintained a home
of his own ; his age was given as 78 years. He undoubt-
edly died there shortly after. He has descendants still
living in that locality.
JOHN HART. ATKINSON.
The ancestry of John Hart cannot be accurately
determined. He was born in the month of July, 1766,
probably in the town of Gilmanton, N. H. He was
brought up in the family of Capt. Jacob Sherburne of
that town, and until his removal to Piscataquis County
was closely connected with Capt. Sherburne in business
interests.
When barely sixteen years of age he enlisted into the
army. His enlistment papers bear date of July 1,
1782, and he was in Capt. Chase's company, Col. George
Reid's regiment, of the New Hampshire Line. During
all of Mr. Hart's service in the army his regiment was
stationed in the state of New York, at Saratoga and on
the Mohawk River.
He was not of large stature, and at the time of his
joining the army he was obliged to stretch up to his
extreme height, almost standing upon his toes, to pass
muster, and in addition declare himself a few weeks
older than his actual age; but his ardor to give his
country his assistance in her time of need was such that
he finally passed all the requirements, and was permitted
to attain the coveted place, a member of the Continental
Army.
Although his regiment, after his enlistment, did not
engage in any great battles, yet he suffered all the hard-
ship attendant on the life of a soldier in camp. The
men were poorly clothed, and during the winter his feet
were frozen, necessitating the amputation of his toes,
leaving him with that halting walk for the remainder of
170 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
his life as a reminder of the suffering and sacrifice neces-
sary in giving his service to his country.
He received his discharge July 10, 1783, making him
a few days over a year of service ; he then returned to
Gilmanton to the family of Capt. Sherburne.
About 1790, probably a little before, Capt. Sherburne
settled in Orland, Me. , taking up a lot in partnership
with Ebenezer Eastman, on which they built a sawmill
and erected a dwelling house ; Mr. Hart came with them.
On October 5, 1791, Mr. Hart bought out Eastman's
interest in the property, Mr. Eastman returning to New
Hampshire. Mr. Hart lived here but a few years and
then moved to Penobscot. We find by the Registry of
Deeds in Hancock County that he was a resident of the
last named town on August 2, 1794, that being the date
on which he purchased of Abraham Stover, one hundred
acres of land, being the same on which Mr. Stover then
lived, and lying between that of his two sons, Jeremiah
and Jonathan, and fronting the bay.
During Mr. Hart's residence in Penobscot he married
Elizabeth, the daughter of Abraham Stover ; the exact
date of which I am unable to determine, but about the
year 1795. He lived in that town until 1813, when he
exchanged his place in Penobscot with James Hadlock of
Atkinson, Hadlock being desirous of moving to the coast,
and Mr. Hart being particularly anxious of getting back
into the country on account of his boys, John and Peleg,
who early showed an inclination to follow the sea, much
to the distress of their mother.
The land he purchased in Atkinson was lot 14, range
5, and a part of lot 13 in the same range, according to
the plan of Andrew Strong. Here he brought his family,
consisting of his wife and five children, Olive, Polly,
John, Peleg and Lucy ; the last two being twins. His
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 171
farm was originally taken up by Deacon Harvey, who sold
to Mr. Hadlock.
Mr. Hart lived a useful and energetic life, and spent
the remainder of his days on his Atkinson property.
His wife died November 9, 1839, and he survived her but
a little over two years, departing this life December 21,
1841, at the age of 75 years and five months.
He is buried in the Hart cemetery, within a stone's
throw of his old homestead ; he and his life companion
resting side by side, their graves being marked with
modest marble slabs, his bearing the simple inscription :
John Hart
a soldier of the
Revolution
Died
Dec. 21, 1841
M 75 yrs. & 5 ms.
NIMROD HINDS. DOVER.
Nimrod Hinds was the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth
(Temple) Hinds, and was born in West Boylston, Mass. ,
January 12, 1758.
He was the fifth in descent from James Hinds, the
immigrant, who probably came from England and settled
in Salem, Mass., as early as 1637. The line of descent
is as follows : John, son of James, born in Salem 1 639,
died in Lancaster, Mass., 1720; Jacob, son of John,
born in Brookfield, Mass., 1685, died in West Boylston
about 1765; Benjamin, son of Jacob, born in Shrews-
bury, Mass., 1725, died in 1794; Nimrod, the subject of
this sketch, was the son of Benjamin.
Benjamin Hinds settled in West Boylston in 1746; he
was a farmer, and apparently a very prosperous one as he
loaned the Continental Congress the sum of $60,000
J
172 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
to assist in carrying on the war of the Revolution, and
received a part of his pay, at least, in Continental
currency.
Nimrod Hinds' first enlistment in the Continental
Army was May 4, 1777, as a private in Capt. Isaac
Martin's company, Col. Joseph Whitney's regiment.
His regiment was under Maj. Gen. Spencer in Rhode
Island, and he served at this time two months and eight
days. On August 12, 1777, he enlisted in Capt. Francis
Wilson's company, Col. Danforth Keyes' regiment, and
was finally discharged January 3, 1778. During all of
his service he was stationed in Rhode Island.
In 1779 Mr. Hinds came to Maine, and was one of
the early settlers of Norridgewock. In March, 1794, at
Fairfield, he was united in marriage to Betsey Pishon,
and went to reside in Fairfax (now Albion). He lived
in Fairfax until about 1800, when he returned to Nor-
ridgewock; he lived there until about 1812 and then
settled in Bloomfield, now a part of Skowhegan. He
made his home in Bloomfield until the early thirties,
when he came to Dover.
We are able to trace his itinerary by his family record,
which fortunately has been preserved. From his tomb-
stone in the Dover village cemetery we take the inform-
ation that he "was born in Boylston, Mass., and was
one of the early settlers of Norridgewock in 1779."
Three children were born in Fairfax, Nimrod in 1795,
Betsey Temple in 1797 and Jason in 1798; five were
born in Norridgewock, Peter in 1800, Mary in 1802,
Lydia in 1805, Amos in 1807 and Ulmer in 1809; and
three children in Bloomfield, Rebecca in 1812, Asher in
1815 and Charles in 1819.
The life of the pioneer must have held fascinations for
Mr. Hinds, as we find him among the earliest settlers in
several Maine towns. In 1779 the settlers in Norridge-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 173
I
wock were few*and far between, but it was about this
time that a number of men, who had seen service in the
Revolutionary War, came into the town and took up
lots. William Allen in his history of the town says:
"The first settlers of this town were mostly young men,
whose robust constitutions had been formed by the hard
services of the camp, in the army, and by breathing the
bracing air of poverty in their youths. ' ' This was true
of Mr. Hinds, except possibly the poverty; it seems
that his father was a man of some considerable means,
but it also appears that his sons were nevertheless enured
to hardship, and their early training had been one that
taught that honest toil was an element of future success.
Fairfax was quite an old settlement at the time he
lived there, yet it was small and a long distance from the
larger towns where more of the comforts of civilization
might be had. Mr. Hinds was an early settler of Bloom-
field, going there about the time it was set off from
Canaan and incorporated as a separate town.
I have been unable to establish the exact date of his
coming to Dover, but it was in the early thirties. He
preceded his son Nimrod a short time. He took up a farm
on the Dexter road, about a mile south of the village,
on what is now familiar to all as Hinds' Hill. Nimrod
Hinds, Jr., the son, came here in 1835 at about the
time his father died; moved onto the premises made
vacant by his father's death, and here spent the remain-
der of his life. Nimrod Hinds, Sr., died February 12,
1835, at the age of 77 years and one month. His wife
Betsey survived him more than thirty years, living until
October 20, 1866, having attained the advanced age of
91 years and seven months. They are buried in the
Dover village cemetery, their graves being marked by a
marble slab.
174 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Mr. Hinds, Sr., living such a short time after his
settlement in Dover, left but little impress on the history
of this county, but his son Nimrod was prominent in the
affairs of the county and town during his residence of
forty years in Dover. He is remembered for his upright
life, honesty, and firm convictions. He was county
treasurer in 1847 and in 1870, '71 and '72; representa-
tive to the Legislature in 1856 and '57; he helped to
form the Abolition party in Piscataquis County, and
early joined in the temperance reform movement. He
had five children, one dying when very young, the other
four living only to attain young manhood and woman-
hood. He died June 19, 1875, at the age of 80 years.
He was the last of his race in this county, father,
mother, brothers, sisters, wife and all his children had
gone before him, and with him the line in this section of
the State became extinct.
Nimrod Hinds, Sr., received a pension for his Revo-
lutionary services July 19, 1833, with back pay from
March 4, 1831.
Ten graves side by side in the village cemetery are all
that remain except the memories. Father and son, the
father the soldier of the Revolution, the son a veteran of
the War of 1812, peacefully sleeping, and attended by
all their loved ones.
ENOCH LEATHERS. SANGERVILLE.
Enoch Leathers was born in Dover, N. H., October
2, 1763. In June, 1782, he enlisted in the Continental
Army in the company of Capt. Samuel Cherry, in Col.
George Reid's regiment. He served two years, and
received an honorable discharge in June, 1784.
Soon after leaving the army Mr. Leathers settled in
Maine. On November 15, 1788, he married Mary
Kxoi'H LEATHERS
OF PISCATAdUIS COUNTY 175
Cilley of Westbrook, and settled in Buckfield; here he
lived a number of years, but later removed to Brooks.
He was a resident of Brooks in 1810. From Brooks he
went to Etna, then called Crosbytown ; he was a resident
of the latter town in 1818.
Like many others of the early settlers in Maine, Mr.
Leathers seemed to have a desire to keep on the frontier
of civilization ; he was one of the very early settlers in
all of the last named towns.
When hostilities commenced in the War of 1812, he
again enlisted; he was in Capt. Vose's company and
Col. Ripley's regiment, and took part in several engage-
ments, among them was the battle of Lundy's Lane.
On November 26, 1829, his youngest daughter, Lois
Asenath, married Jonathan Roberts, a young man who
had just settled in Sangerville, and the newly married
couple went to live in their new home, which the husband
was making in Piscataquis County. Mr. Leathers, who
was a man quite advanced in years, being then 66, came
with them and ever after made his home in their family.
Mr. Roberts moved to Foxcroft in 1849, and Mr.
Leathers died there May 28, 1858, in the 95th year of
his age. His remains rest in the cemetery at East San-
gerville. His wife Mary died August 31, 1852, at the
age of 87, and she is buried beside him. He was
granted a pension September 7, 1819.
An obituary notice appeared in The Piscataquis
Observer in the issue of June 24, 1858, in part as
follows :
* * * * Died, in Foxcroft, on the 28th of
May last, at the residence of his son-in-law, Jonathan
Roberts, Esq., Mr. Enoch Leathers, a Revolutionary
soldier and pensioner, aged 94 years, seven months and
26 days.
*
176 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"He took part in several engagements during the war
of the Revolution, and in 1812, when our country was
again invaded, that same patriotic love of liberty that
fired his youthful bosom, called him to go forth and
vindicate his country's rights, and he again enlisted; he
was in the battle of Chisterfield (by him called) in which
the Americans attacked the fort ; on both sides a num-
ber were killed and wounded.
"Conversing with a friend in relation to the battle, he
thus remarked : 'I had serious reflections of the propriety
of war ;' said he fired forty-four rounds, and how many
proved fatal he did not know, but he prayed that God
would save him from any more battles, and his prayer
was answered.
"He was, during the remainder of the war, when not
in the hospital, stationed on the frontier to guard the
inhabitants against the Indians.
"Mr. Leathers was blessed with a very retentive
memory and could until a few weeks before his death,
relate the story of the Revolution and other events, very
accurately. Being of a social temperament and one who
had seen much of this world, his society was much sought
for and enjoyed by all; his age and the events with
which he had been connected, added to his virtues, caused
him to be respected by all who knew him, and if there
was ever a man without an enemy, he was one. * * *
He was a firm supporter of the political principles of
Washington and Jefferson, and if he ever went averse
therefrom, the dereliction should be ascrifced to that of
the hand, not of the heart.
"He lived to see his country's flag, the emblem of his
nation's glory, that he had in two wars helped to
sustain, proudly waving its stars and stripes over thirty-
two independent states of the Union.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 177
" * * * * The places that knew him will know
him no more, but though gone from this earth, his
memory is embalmed in the hearts of all who knew him,
and his name is enrolled with patriots of the Revolution
there it will remain, honored and cherished by the
friends of his country, and by all who loved liberty,
long after we, who are now enjoying the blessings of
that legacy bequeathed to us by the man of that day,
shall have passed away."
HENRY LELAND. SANGERVILLE.
Henry Leland was a native of Sherburne, Mass., and
was born April 30, 1761. He was the son of
Henry and Mary (Morse) Leland. His father was cap-
tain of a company of militia in Col. John Bullard's
regiment, and was one of Sherburne's minute-men who
were called out on the memorable alarm of April 19,
1775. The elder Leland was under arms eleven days at
this time.
The son, Henry, inherited the patriotism of the father,
for when he was a few days less than sixteen years of age
he enlisted as a soldier of the Revolution. The return
of Nathaniel Barber, muster master for Suffolk County,
shows that he was mustered in April 27, 1777, for three
years' service. He was in Capt. Alexander's company
of Col. Edward Wiggles worth's regiment, of the 13th
regiment of the Massachusetts Line, and was engaged
for the town of Sherburne. In an affidavit signed by
his widow, in an application for lands granted to Revo-
lutionary soldiers, she states, that he served the whole
of the three years, excepting about three months, when
he was at home on a furlough on account of sickness.
To follow the career of Col. Wigglesworth will give
the career of his soldiers. He first received a commis-
178 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
sion as colonel in June 1776; his regiment was raised in
the counties of Essex, York and Cumberland, principally
from the District of Maine. During the winter of 1777
he returned to his home in Newburyport to raise a second
regiment, and it was then, in April, that Mr. Leland
enlisted with him ; but before a full complement of men
could be recruited, he was ordered to march to Ticon-
deroga, to join the army of the Northern Department
under Gen. Schuyler, to assist in repelling Burgoyne's
invasion. Mr. Leland undoubtedly took part in the
battle of Saratoga. He was at Valley Forge and suffered
the terrible hardships of that winter, and then took part
in the battle of Monmouth. After completing his three
years' service, he received his discharge in the spring of
1780.
After leaving the army he returned to Sherburne, and
in 1783 married Sarah Phipps. His children were
Walter, Kesiah, Lowell, Henry B., Jedediah P., Sarah,
Lucy and Mary, all born in Sherburne. In 1802 he
removed to Hubbardston, Mass., where he resided until
1816, when he came to Maine, and settled in Sangerville.
The first member of Mr. Leland' s family to come to
Sangerville was his daughter Kesiah, wife of Samuel
McLanathan, they emigrating there in 1807. His son
Walter was the second of the family to come to the
town, he settling there in 1809. Walter was a nephew
of Col. Sanger, the proprietor, and acted as his agent.
In 1810 Sangerville had a population of one hundred
and twenty-six, and in 1820 it had increased to three
hundred and ten, being the third largest town in what is
now Piscataquis County ; Sebec and Guilford being larger.
There is no doubt but what the judicious management
of the resident agent contributed in no small degree to
the rapid settlement of the place.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 179
Henry Leland was of the fifth generation from Henry
Leland, the common ancestor of nearly all the Lelands in
America. All bore the name of Henry with one
exception; this was Hopestill, the eldest son of the first
Henry.
The common ancestor came to America about 1652
and settled in Dorchester. He lived there but a short
time when he removed to what is now Sherburne, then
an unincorporated place. The ancestors of the subject
of this sketch all were born and died there, and there
Mr. Leland lived until 1802.
In an unbroken line from the common ancestor, the
Lelands have been farmers, so it is not at all surprising
that the Lelands of to-day in Piscataquis County, are
successful farmers, they having the blood of seven and
eight generations of farmers behind them.
Henry Leland was quite a tall, spare man, of medium
complexion and very active. He was an exceptionally
good shot, and at the shoots held on Thanksgiving days,
it was said, if he chose, he could take his bird at every
shot. He would make misses in order not to dishearten
the other contestants. At one of the shoots, at his first
shot he took his goose; a neighbor of Mr. Leland's was
present with a stranger who was a visitor ; the neighbor
said to the visitor, "You notice the small knoll at the
left of the birds, well, you'll see the dust fly there this
time." True to his prophecy it did. Mr. Leland
missed his bird purposely, and so on throughout the
shoot when he saw fit he won his prize or missed, as
pleased him.
He settled in Sangerville on the farm now (1908)
owned by Edgar H. Leland, a great grandson. He died
June 26, 1835, at a little over 74 years of age. His
wife survived him about three years, dying May 26,
1838. They are buried in the Knowlton Mills cemetery,
I
180 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Sangerville, their graves being appropriately marked by
a marble slab.
ZACHARIAH LONGLEY. DOVER.
As near as can be ascertained, Zachariah Longley was
born in Groton, Mass., about the year 1758. His
father's name was Zachariah, and the subject of this
sketch sometimes had "junior" attached to his name,
and at other times it was omitted, so that in some
instances it is difficult to tell whether the father or the
son is intended in the records.
Zachariah Longley enlisted from Groton April 7,
1777, for three years. He first joined Capt. William
H. Ballard's company, Col. Ichabod Alden's regiment,
as a fifer. While in the records of the pension depart-
ment he is given as attached to that company and regi-
ment during the whole of his three years' service, the
records in the Massachusetts archives show him some-
times under other commands. For a short time he was
in Capt. Watson's company. During the last few
months of his service he appears to have been in Col.
John Brook's regiment, and in the company of Capt.
White. He completed his full three-years' term, and
received his discharge April 12, 1780.
He again enlisted as a fifer in a regiment raised for the
Rhode Island service for three months. The date of
this enlistment was July 27, 1780, and he was discharged
October SO. He was in Capt. John Porter's company,
Col. Cyprian How's regiment and Col. Commandant
Jacobs' brigade.
Mr. Longley was in the battle of Saratoga, and he
used to tell of witnessing the surrender of Gen.
Burgoyne.
After his last service he returned to Groton, and in
1781, he, with his father and another brother, removed
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 181
to Norridgewock, Me., and settled on lots C and D in
that town. He lived here for more than twenty-five
years, married, and raised up a family.
In 1806 his son Jonas came over into Piscataquis
County, and took up the northwest corner lot in number
3, range 6, now Dover, cleared a part of it and got it
under cultivation. He and his brother Luke were here
most all of the time working on the land and building a
house until 1808, when their father Zachariah moved in
with his whole family.
It was from this family that the first death in the
town of Dover occurred. Luke, the oldest brother,
while attempting to tow a raft of logs across the river
to the mill in Foxcroft, in the fall of 1807, was drowned.
He was in a boat and was towing the logs, and it is
thought that he got ensnarled in the rigging, lost his
balance and fell overboard. His body was not recovered
until the following spring, when it was found lodged
on some rocks at the Great Falls ; it was buried on the
bank of the river not far from the eastern end of the
present Dover bridge.
When Zachariah Longley came to Dover in 1808, he
settled on the northwest corner lot, on which his sons
had made improvements, and he lived there the remain-
der of his days. On his trip from Norridgewock he
brought with him a bushel and a half of potatoes, and
these he planted on his new farm, from which was
obtained the great yield of seventy bushels.
The second son, Jonas, met with an untimely death,
in December, 1811. He started out with his dog fox-
hunting; it is probable that he strayed farther away
from home than he intended, and traveled so far that he
was overcome with exhaustion, and died from exposure.
It is hardly possible that he was lost at the time of his
death, as his body was found on the Woodbury hill, not
182 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
J^
far from where James Woodbury afterwards built his
house, and in plain hearing of the sound of the falls.
His track showed that he was taking a straight course
for the falls.
Zachariah Longley had quite a large family. Among
his children were Betsey, who was the second wife of Eli
Towne, the first settler of Dover ; Susan, who married
Isaac Blethen; and Sylvanus, who remained a resident
of Dover until his death. Sylvanus was one of the
committee elected by the plantation in 1816 to present
the petition to the General Court, when it was voted to
petition the Legislature of Massachusetts for an act of
incorporation under the name of Manley, ' 'in honor of
the brave Commodore Manley. " The act was not passed
on account of some opposition.
Mr. Longley held various offices under the plantation
organization: In 1812 he was elected one of the com-
mittee to see how much the plantation was in debt ; in
1813 he was a fish- warden, highway surveyor, ti thing-
man, and a member of the committee to lay out a bury-
ing ground; in 1814 a member of the school committee;
in 1816 and 1817 a tithingman ; and in 1817 a highway
surveyor.
In July, 1824, he conveyed his farm near the village to
his son Sylvanus and the following year, June 28, 1825,
he died. His widow Betsey survived him a number of
years. He was undoubtedly buried in the Dover village
cemetery, but his grave is unmarked and cannot be
located to-day.
Mr. Longley received a pension under the first act
granting pensions to Revolutionary soldiers, and his
widow received a land bounty from the State of Maine
after his death.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 183
JEREMIAH ROLFE. ABBOT.
Mr. J. M. Marshall in his history of Buxton says : ' 'It
was asserted, on the authority of Nathaniel Gorham, and
has been reported by others, but on what authority I am
not informed, that the town of Buxton, in proportion to
the number of her inhabitants, furnished more soldiers
to the Continental army than any other town under the
government of Massachusetts Bay. ' ' It was in this old
York County town, in the year 1759, that Jeremiah
Rolfe was born. Nothing is known of his ancestry;
one Samuel Rolfe was one of the early settlers of the
town, being located there as early as 1751. John was
another of that name, who came there early. Jeremiah
was undoubtedly the son of one of these settlers.
Mr. Rolfe lived in Buxton up to the time of his
enlistment in the Continental Army, which took place
late in 1781 or early in 1782. The only official record of
his service is under the name of Jeremiah Ralf, and this
dated from March 1, 1782, twelve months, in Col.
Benjamin Tupper's (10th) regiment. In his applica-
tion for State bounty, dated September 20, 1836, he
states: "I enlisted as a private in the year 1781 for
three years into Captain Abbot's Company & Col.
Tupper's regiment, and received an honorable discharge.
The said regiment was in the Mass. Line, for which ser-
vice I am now a pensioner of the United States upon the
Maine Agency." Mr. Loring's statement in his history
of Piscataquis County that, "He * * * fought on
the field of Saratoga and after Burgojme surrendered,
marched with Gen. Gates to South Carolina, ' ' is clearly
incorrect, as we have Mr. Rolfe' s own statement that he
did not enlist until 1781.
After the close of the war he lived for a short time in
Rochester, N. H., but soon moved back to his native
184 HISTOEICAL COLLECTIONS
State, and settled in Buckfield. On April 2, 1799, he
bought a parcel of land in the town of Paris, being lot
29, in the 7th range, and probably settled there at
about that time, for the following year, 1800, the
records show that he was one of the officers of the town,
being elected a tythingman. In Paris he cleared a good
farm, and while there was more or less prominent in the
affairs of the town.
It was in 1808 that Mr. Rolfe first came to Piscata-
quis County. He settled in Foxcroft and cleared up a
part of the Daniel Buck lot. He lived in Foxcroft only
four years, when he sold out his interests, and in 1812
located in Guilford. He lived in the latter town until
1818 on what is now known as the Webber farm, and
then removed to Abbot, where he spent the remainder
of his days. Here he cleared up one of the finest farms
in the county, located about one mile south of Abbot
Village, and under his diligent and skilful tilling it became
one of the most productive agricultural properties in the
locality.
If there was nothing else to rescue his name from
oblivion, one thing alone will preserve and perpetuate his
memory ; that is the apple which bears his name the
Rolfe.
The following is a sketch of its origin :
A small part of the land bought by Mr. Rolfe when
he settled in Abbot had been cleared and cultivated, and
a former owner had planted some apple seeds taken from
the variety known as the Blue Pearmain. When these
seedlings became large enough to transplant, the farm
was in the possession of Mr. Rolfe. He presented twelve
of the small trees to Rev. Thomas Macomber of Guil-
ford, who set out eleven of them on his own homestead,
and the twelfth Mr. Macomber gave to his son, who lived
on a farm adjoining his father's. The son's farm came
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 185
into the possession of the father before any of the trees
came into bearing. Curiously enough, the one tree out
of all the seedlings which produced fruit of any par-
ticular merit, was the one planted on the son's farm;
and many were the apple-hungry youngsters chased from
under the young tree by the Elder's good wife in her
efforts to preserve enough of the fruit for a sample for
the old folks.
The apple is medium to large, yellowish in color,
shaded and striped with red, flesh white, fine-grained,
tender and juicy. Withal a most luscious fruit.
The original tree is dead, but a sprout which sprang
up from its roots developed into a hardy tree, and this
is still alive and bearing fruit on its native soil. The
apple was first called the Rolfe and then for a time was
called by some the Macomber, owing to its being first
grown on the Rev. Macomber's farm ; but gradually the
name Rolfe supplanted the other, and to-day Rolfe is
the only name by which the apple is known.
In his later years Mr. Rolfe was familiarly known as
' 'Uncle Rolfe. ' ' He died at his home in Abbot April
1, 1841, at the age of 82 years.
An obituary notice in The Piscataquis Observer says:
1 'He was one of the first settlers of Abbot. He endured
every hardship and privation of which human nature is
susceptible, and was a very industrious citizen. The
best d&ys of his life he spent in the struggle with the
mother country for Independence and Liberty his heart
burning with the love of country ; he manifested it by
periling his life in the faithful performance of a soldier.
He aided in securing the blessings that Columbia's sons
now enjoy, and lived long to admonish them not to
depart from the virtues of their fathers ; and at the event-
ful hour of death, though in much pain of body, met
his faith with composure and resignation, and went
'
186 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
down to the grave like a shock of corn that is fully ripe,
and is gathered to the sepulchre of his fathers."
ISAAC ROYAL. DOVER.
Unfortunately, records and documents relating to the
early history of our navy and the men who served in it,
have not been so carefully preserved as those relating to
the army, and to obtain official records of the service of
ordinary seamen is very difficult and oftentimes impossi-
ble. Each individual state kept the records of its sol-
diers, but the sailors for a single ship were often recruited
from widely scattered points, and the only record of
their names was the roster kept on board the vessel, and
in some instances this has been lost.
That Isaac Royal, the subject of this sketch, was a
sailor, or rather a cabin-boy, under the command of
John Paul Jones, is well settled. Many are still living
who have heard the story told by his sons, as told to the
sons by Mr. Royal himself, yet no official proof is now
obtainable.
Diligent search has been made, and correspondence
had with all those members of the family whom it was
thought might be able to furnish information regarding
the ancestry and place of birth of Isaac Royal, but it
has been impossible to obtain any data; but it seems
more than probable that he was born in New Hampshire,
at or near Portsmouth. The family Bible which is still
in the possession of a descendant, gives the date of his
birth, March 10, 1765.
Probably the memory of no one of those early settlers
of this county who served their country in the war of
the Revolution is better preserved in this locality, than
that of Isaac Royal ; quite likely from the fact that he
served under that eminent naval hero, Paul Jones.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 187
Popular local tradition has it that he served with Jones
on the Bon Homme Richard and took part in the cele-
brated fight with the Serapis, but those of Mr. Royal's
descendants who best remember the stories of his service,
as told by him, which have been handed down to the
present generation, fail to recollect anything ever related
by him about that great fight. Take all the facts obtain-
able and compare them with the history of John Paul
Jones and of his several commands, it seems quite con-
clusive that Mr. Royal was a cabin-boy on the Ranger,
and that his service was confined to that ship.
Mrs. Mary L. Proctor of Maynard, Mass., is a
descendant who seems to have the history of her ancestor
best preserved in memory, and she writes: "I got the
impression when I was very young that the Royals came
from New Hampshire. ***** j nave always
understood that my great grandfather (Isaac Royal)
enlisted as a cabin-boy at the age of twelve years, on
board John Paul Jones' vessel, the Bon Homme
Richard. ' ' Mrs. Proctor is undoubtedly correct, except
that the ship was the Ranger instead of the Richard.
A large part of the Ranger's crew was recruited in Ports-
mouth, and she sailed from that port November 1, 1777;
at that time Mr. Royal would have been twelve years
old, so this corresponds with the family tradition of his
enlistment at the age of twelve.
The crew of the Bon Homme Richard numbered three
hundred and seventy-five, but not more than fifty of
these were Americans, and these fifty were nearly all
exchanged prisoners from England. There is a complete
roster of the Richard in existence, including the cabin-
boys, and the name of Isaac Royal does not appear there.
So while we must somewhat reluctantly deny him the
honor of being a member of that celebrated ship's crew,
the honor of having served on the Ranger, the ship
188 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
which first caused an English ship of war to lower her
colors to an enemy of equal or inferior strength, is
hardly a lesser one.
No official roster of the crew of the Ranger is in
existence, hence it is impossible to determine authorita-
tively the service of all those who made up her comple-
ment of sailors and apprentice boys.
The story of the cruise of the Ranger, bearing the
official dispatches to our commissioners in France, con-
taining the news of Burgoyne's surrender, the prizes
captured by her, and the fight with the Drake, are mat-
ters of history of which there is no need of repeating
here. Those were the stirring scenes in which Isaac
Royal in his humble position as a cabin-boy, took part.
Maclay, in his History of the Navy, in describing the
make-up of the crew of a war frigate at the time of the
Revolution, says of the cabin-boy: "Then came that
institution peculiar to sea life known as the 'boy. ' He
was employed chiefly as a servant to officers and messes,
but in time of battle he was called a 'powder monkey,'
for then he was required to bring ammunition from the
passing scuttles to the guns. The captain of a frigate
usually had both a steward and a boy who acted as his
servants, while the lieutenants, purser, surgeon and sail-
ing master were entitled to one boy each. * * * *
One boy was allotted to the gunner, boatswain and a
few others as a special favor, while a man and a boy were
appointed to a certain number of midshipmen."
The following story was told to me by a great grand-
son of Isaac Royal, who said it was one of the many
told him by his grandfather, John Royal. Mr. John
Royal had heard it related many times by his father
Isaac. "At one time when I was a cabin-boy with John
Paul Jones, we were cruising in English waters and fell
in with an English merchant ship, at night, and anchored
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 189
near her. I think we were flying the English flag. In
the early morning Capt. Jones invited the English captain
on board for breakfast. The Englishman accepted the
invitation and came to our ship with several of his offi-
cers. While at breakfast, Jones, unbeknown to the
Englishmen, ordered the American flag to be run up to
the masthead. Breakfast over the visitors were escorted
on deck and Capt. Jones, directing their attention to the
colors, said, 'Look at the handsome flag at the masthead,
the colors under which I sail.' They did so, and to
their intense chagrin and wrath saw the stars and stripes.
They were made prisoners, and their vessel was taken as
a prize. ' '
Very little can be learned about Isaac Royal prior to
his settlement in Dover. He was married to his wife
Tabitha probably in 1786; their first child, Olive, was
born May 7, 1787. In 1806 he was a resident of Frank-
fort, Me., and it is quite likely that this was his first
place of settlement in this State. The fact of his resi-
dence in Frankfort is established by a reference to the
family record of the son, John, which record states that
he, John, was born in Frankfort, July 18, 1806.
Isaac Royal settled in Dover about the year 1810,
possibly a little earlier, on lot 12, in the 10th
range, and partially cleared the farm now (1909) owned
by Lincoln Dow. He brought with him his family of
ten or eleven children, and the first land cleared was the
field south of the present house of Mr. Dow.
He lived only a few years after his settlement in
Dover. He died of typhus fever November 20, 1816,
and is buried on the land that he first cleared when he
came to Dover. The grave has never been desecrated by
the several owners, and although at times the land all
around it has been cultivated, the plow has never turned
these hallowed sods since the time when that which was
190 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
mortal of Mr. Royal was placed there. One daughter,
Dorcas, who died April 1, 1814, at the age of about
sixteen years, is buried beside him.
Mr. Royal was the father of eleven children : Olive,
Jacob, Mitchell, Isaac, Ephraim, Dorcas, Eunice, Lucy,
Esther, John and Richard.
In 1896 some of the public spirited citizens of Dover
thought that the village cemetery would be a more fitting
resting place for the remains of Mr. Royal than the field
where they had lain so long. An article was inserted in
the warrant for the annual town meeting for that year,
to see if the town would vote to remove them to the vil-
lage cemetery and erect a suitable stone to mark the
spot. The town voted so to do, and appropriated fifty
dollars to purchase a monument. After this action by
the town, communication was had with some of the liv-
ing descendants, and it was discovered that it was one
of the last expressed wishes of Mr. Royal that he be
buried in the field that he had labored so hard to redeem
to cultivation, and at their request his wish was respected.
ELEAZER SPAULDING. FOXCROFT DOVER.
Eleazer Spaulding was born in Pepperell, Mass. , Janu-
ary 21, 1759, was the son of Eleazer, and was the oldest
of a family of seven children. He enlisted in the Con-
tinental Army as a private April 25, 1775, in Capt. Asa
Lawrence's company, Col. William Prescott's regiment,
of the Massachusetts Line, and served at this enlistment
three months and eight days. Later he reenlisted in the
same regiment, and his total service was about two years.
He was in the battles of Bunker Hill and White Plains.
In 1778 Eleazer Spaulding, Sr., with his four sons,
Eleazer, Josiah, John and Seth, moved to Norridgewock
in the District of Maine, and were among the early set-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 191
tiers of that place. In 1784, Eleazer, Jr., married
Sarah Spaulding, the daughter of Lemuel Spaulding.
He reared a family of eight children, all of whom
were born in Norridgewock. In 1806 he removed to
Foxcroft with his family and became one of the first
three settlers of the town. For a number of years the
place was called Spauldingtown, from the three brothers,
John, Eleazer and Seth, who were the three first settlers.
Eleazer, with his two brothers above mentioned, built
the first dam and erected the first saw and grist-mill in
Foxcroft. Col. Joseph E. Foxcroft, the proprietor, con-
tracted with John Spaulding and Abel Blood in 1805 to
build the dam and mills, and in 1806 Mr. Blood sold out
his interests to Eleazer and Seth Spaulding, and the three
brothers completed the contract, which was to have the
mills in operation on or before Ja/iuary 1, 1807. This
was the first dam across the Piscataquis River.
When one stops to consider the difficulties encountered
in undertaking such a contract he will then understand
something of the character of these sturdy pioneers who
settled our territory. Hardly a horse could be had to
haul the timber for the dam and mills ; every timber and
board was hewed and prepared by hand ; all the machinery
and hardware used in the construction were brought up
from Bangor, and for about twenty miles the road was
nothing but a trail through the forest, not passable for
wagons; there were no bridges across the streams and
bogs ; the load was hauled on two long shafts, the ends
of which dragged on the ground; and the horse stuck
fast in the mire, or the load dumped into a stream, were
not infrequent occurrences. Yet, in spite of all these
obstacles, the dam and mills were completed within the
contract limit.
When Eleazer Spaulding came to Foxcroft he settled
on lot number 11, near the falls, where the village
192 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
now is, and built himself a log house. Within a very
few years after the completion of the dam and mills all
the Spauldings sold out their interests in Foxcroft and
settled in Dover. Eleazer took up lot 27, in the center
range, Perham's survey, located on the south side of the
river about two miles east of the present village. Here
he cleared up a farm, erected comfortable buildings, and
lived the remainder of his days. During the last few
years of his life he lived in the family of his son Joseph,
to whom he deeded his farm in consideration of his life
maintenance.
He died April 19, 1850, aged 91 years and three
months, and his remains rest in the Dover village ceme-
tery. In 1818 he received a pension for his Revolu-
tionary services.
SAMUEL STICKNEY. BROWNVILLE.
Samuel Stickney was the son of William Stickney and
Mary (Sawyer) Stickney, and was born in Rowley,
Mass., May 13, and baptized in Bayfield May 16, 1762.
He was the eighth of a family of nine children.
Mr. Stickney enlisted in the army four times. His
first enlistment was July 6, 1778, as a fifer in Capt.
Simeon Brown's company, Col. Nathan Wade's regi-
ment, for six months. This was for service at Rhode
Island. He was discharged at East Greenwich, R. I., at
the expiration of his service. His second enlistment was
as a sergeant in Capt. Benjamin Peabody's company,
Col. Jacob Gerrish's regiment, October 14, 1779; was
discharged November 22, 1779, and was allowed one
month and nineteen days' service, which included eleven
days' travel home, which was a distance of two hundred
and twenty miles.
Mr. Stickney again enlisted July 31, 1780, and this
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 193
time for the town of Bradford, Mass. , and marched from
that place July 24, 1780, and arrived at Springfield
July 30, and then marched to camp the day following in
Capt. Moses Greenleafs company, where he enlisted.
He is described as eighteen years old ; stature five feet,
nine inches ; complexion rudd}'. This enlistment was for
six months and he was discharged at West Point, Decem-
ber 16, 1780, and was allowed five months and four days'
service, giving him travel home, two hundred and forty
miles. On August 4, 1781, he again entered the service
as a fifer in Capt. John Robinson's company, Col.
William Turner's regiment. He served until November
27 of that year in Rhode Island, when he received an
honorable discharge with the rank of major.
After his army service he returned to his home in
Rowley, and on May 11, 1784, he married Irene
Rawlings of Newbury. Not long after his marriage he
removed to Newbury and resided there until the death of
his wife, which occurred in September, 1787. Two chil-
dren, Irene and Samuel, were born to them. Soon after
the death of his wife he removed to Bradford, Mass.,
and on April 29, 1792, he married Patty Atwood. He
moved from Bradford to Ware, N. H. , before 1799.
He came to Brown ville, Me., in 1809, and was an
early settler here. By his second marriage he had eleven
children, making in all thirteen, all but three of whom
lived to grow to manhood and womanhood. When he
came to Brown ville he settled on the farm that is known
to-day as the Stickney place, about a mile east of the
village, on the road to Lake View, and that farm is still
occupied (1909) by one of his direct descendants, Clinton
Stickney, a great grandson.
Mr. Stickney was a man of strong physique, although
not of great stature, and many stories are told of his
great endurance and strength, many of which have
194 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
undoubtedly lost nothing in their repetition. He was
the first mail-carrier between Brownville and Bangor,
and some of the tales of the great loads carried by him
are remarkable. On one of his trips, it is said, he car-
ried on his back from Sebec to Brownville an old-fashioned
hand-loom. When he commenced his duties as mail-
carrier the trips were made on foot, and on one occasion
as he started to step over a fallen tree, an old she bear
rose up from the other side and was about to attack him.
He had nothing with which to defend himself, but on his
shoulder he was carrying a bag of potatoes; this he
threw, striking the bear full in the head, causing her to
beat a hasty retreat. He then gathered up his potatoes
and went on his journey unmolested.
He resided in Brownville until his death, which
occurred January 9, 1835, at the age of 72 years and
eight months. He had lived long enough to see that
which was a wilderness when he settled there, grow into
a prosperous community, and from his homestead on
Stickney Hill he could look down onto the village,
where, when he came to make a home for himself, there
were only two or three buildings.
His wife Patty survived him over ten years, residing
with her son Simeon on the old homestead. In 1840 she
received a pension as a widow of a Revolutionary soldier.
She died October 2, 1845; aged 73 years. They are
buried in the Brownville village cemetery, and a suitable
monument marks their last earthly resting place.
<
ASA STURTEVANT. DOVER.
Although Asa Sturtevant was not a long-time resident
of Piscataquis County, yet he lived in Dover for a num-
ber of years in the family of his son Asa; long enough
to be considered a permanent resident here, and he has
numerous descendants still living in the town.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 195
He was born in the town of Halifax, Mass., in the
year 1761.
Mr. Sturtevant had a long and varied career in the
Continental Army. His first service was as a private in
Lieut. Joshua Perkins' detachment from Capt. George
Hammond's company, Col. Thomas Lothrop's regiment,
on an alarm. This detachment marched to Bristol,
R. L, in March, 1777, and was in the service fourteen
days. His second enlistment was September 3, 1777, as
a private in Capt. Edward Sparrow's company, Col.
Danforth Key's regiment, to serve in the New England
States, and he served with his regiment in Rhode Island.
He received his discharge January 2, 1778, giving him
four months of service.
On February 3, 1778, he again enlisted, this time for
the remainder of the first three years. He was mustered
into Capt. Joshua Benson's company and Col. Rufus
Putnam's regiment of the Massachusetts Line. He was
discharged May 14, 1780, at the Highlands, near West
Point. His whole service at this enlistment was two
years, three months and twenty days, the last nineteen
months of which he had the rank of a fifer. He was
one of the twelve hundred men under Mad Anthony
Wayne, who participated in the storming and capture of
Stony Point, July 16, 1779.
In June, 1781, Mr. Sturtevant again enlisted for
another three years' service, making the fourth gift of
his services to his country in her great struggle for inde-
pendence. I will use his own words, found in an affidavit
signed by him in his application for a pension, to describe
this term. He states : "I again enlisted into the Revo-
lutionary War, against the common enemy, in the month
of June, 1781, for the term of three years, into the
company commanded by Captain (Henry) Sewall and
regt. commanded by Col. (Ebeneazer) Sproat, of the
196 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Mass. Line. After a few months I was transferred into
Capt. Robt. Bradford's company in the same regt. and
line. I continued to serve until the 18th day of Dec.
1783, when at West Point I received my final discharge
from the Army. My discharge was signed by Genl.
Knox. It has since been burnt in and with my camps
in the woods. My last three years above stated in the
Continental establishment, was as a private soldier."
So, from 1777 until the final discharge of the soldiers
in 1783, Mr. Sturtevant was almost constantly in the
service ; a record to be proud of, and an honorable legacy
to his heirs.
It is impossible to obtain data so as to give any con-
nected history of his life, as he seemed to be of a roving
disposition, and enjoyed the society of strangers to that
of intimates ; even in his old age he preferred to be alone
and by himself, rather than to be with his relatives.
As stated before, he was born in Halifax; three of
his enlistments seem to be credited to the town of
Plympton, Mass., and one to Middleboro, all Plymouth
County towns.
On June 3, 1786, he married Sally Washburn. It
was probably about this time that he came to Maine.
He settled on lot 4, range 9, in the place then called
Number 4, the present town of Paris. Just how long he
lived here cannot be ascertained. He was one of the re-
monstrants against the incorporation of the town in the
autumn of 1792; in 1798 he appears on the list of tax-
payers in the town, being the possessor of lands valued
at one hundred and twenty dollars; in 1802 a movement
was made to divide the town, and Mr. Sturtevant 's name
appears on a petition in favor of the measure, and later
he, with others, signed a second petition against the
proposed division, stating that the first petition was
signed under a misapprehension of the existing facts.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 197
In 1804 he sold his interest in lot 6, range 9, to Deacon
Caleb Prentiss. His wife Sally died October 3, 1805.
His children by this wife were William, Jonah, Asa and
Mary (?).
April 16, 1806, he married Eunice Morse, who died
in June or July, 1813. By her he had four children,
Mary A., Mercy, Azubah and Eunice. It appears that
he lived in Paris until his second wife's death, in 1813,
as we have it on very good authority that his daughter
Eunice was born there in 1812 or 1813.
From the last named date up to the time of his death
his itinerary cannot be accurately traced. He applied
for a pension April 25, 1818, and in his application
gives his residence as Fairfax, (now Albion). In 1820,
in affidavits filed in the pension department, he gives his
residence, Winslow; in this paper he mentions a third
wife, named Dorcas.
His son Asa was an early settler in the town of Dover,
Me., and for a number of years Mr. Sturtevant resided
with him. On April 30, 1835, he applied for State
bounty granted to Revolutionary soldiers, and gave his
residence as Dover. He lived here for a time after this,
but not long after removed ; to what place is unknown.
His descendants here and in other parts of Maine have
no trace of him after leaving Dover.
When he died, or where he is buried, are unknown to
any of the living.
"All that tread
The globe are but a handful to the tribes
That slumber in its bosom."
198 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ICHABOD THOMAS. BROWNVILLE.
Ichabod Thomas was born in Duxbury, Mass., the
latter part of the year 1757 or early in 1758. His
parents, Joseph and Eleanor Thomas, were of Quaker
stock.
Being one of the non-fighting Quakers, he did not
enlist in the army of his own accord, but was drafted for
the service. In the fall of 1776, after the disastrous
battle of Long Island and the evacuation of New York,
there was a great need of troops, and many were drafted,
and Ichabod Thomas was one of the many.
He entered the service September 23, 1776, and served
fifty-eight days with the Massachusetts militia in Rhode
Island. He was in Capt. Calvin Partridge's company,
and Col. John Gushing' s regiment. After the particular
exigency for which the militia was called out had passed,
he received his discharge. Mr. Thomas did not again
enlist; probably on account of his religious views.
Many of the early settlers of the town of Sidney, in
Kennebec County, were Friends, and Mr. Thomas
removed from Duxbury to this settlement at about the
close of the Revolution, or in a short time afterwards.
Sidney was incorporated as a town January 30, 1792,
and for many years Mr. Thomas was one of its most
prominent citizens. He was the first town clerk, in
1792 ; he also held that office in 1798 and in 1813. He
served five successive terms as selectman, from 1795 to
1800. He was town treasurer in 1802 and again in
1804. He represented his class in the General Court of
Massachusetts for two terms, 1812 and 1813. During
his residence in Sidney he married Mehitable Crosby.
In April, 1815, he purchased the north half of town-
ship number 6, range 9, N. W. P., now known as
Katahdin Iron Works township, gave up his comfortable
OF FISCATAQUIS COUNTY 199
home in Sidney, and moved into a new and rugged
country. He lived in Williamsburg for about a year
before going onto his new possession. He leased a farm
there, in that part now Barnard, and had a temporary
home while he was engaged in opening a road to his
lands, building him a house and making something of a
clearing for his farm.
It was in the year 1816 that he moved onto his farm
in number 6, with his family. The place is located on
the intervale about three miles above the present settle-
ment, and at that time he was ten miles or more from
his nearest neighbors in Williamsburg and Brownville.
He lived there but a few years, and in 1821 sold his Iron
Works property and moved to Brownville. His reason
for so doing I am unable to state, but it seems quite
probable that the isolation of the place, and the lone-
someness and inconvenience in living so far from any
other habitation, might have tended towards the change.
On January 8, 1821, he bought of Moses Brown, the
proprietor of Brownville, five hundred acres of land in
Brownville and immediately moved his family to that
town. His old home is still standing, known as the
Joseph W. Davis place, (1908), and Stephen A. Thomas,
a grandson of Ichabod, is still living on another part of
the farm in the buildings erected by one of Ichabod 's
sons. The farm at Katahdin Iron Works has never been
occupied since Mr. Thomas abandoned it, although it
has always been cultivated, and it is one of the productive
farms of the county to-day.
After his removal to Brownville, Mr. Thomas at once
assumed a prominent position in the affairs of the town.
He held various offices under the plantation organization,
and in 1824, when the town was incorporated, he was
elected one of the selectmen, also a ti thing-man ; he was
also elected to various minor offices such as pound-keeper,
I
200 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
fish- warden, etc. In 1821 he received every vote cast in
his town for representative to the Legislature, but did
not receive the election.
Mr. Thomas always dressed in the garb of the
Quakers, and a very few of the oldest residents of
Brownville remember him as he appeared, in the long
drab coat and broad-brim hat commonly worn by the
Friends.
He died in Brownville February 25, 1845, at the age
of 87 years. His remains are buried in the Brownville
village cemetery, beside his wife and mother, and the
spot is marked by a marble shaft. He received a pension
for his military services March 10, 1834.
THOMAS TOWNE. DOVER.
Thomas Towne was the son of Elisha and Mercy
(Foster) Towne, and was born at Topsfield, Mass.,
February 8, 1743. He was the fifth generation from
William Towne, who was the common ancestor of nearly
all the Townes of New England, and who came to this
continent about 1640 and first settled in Salem, but
shortly after removed to Topsfield, Mass.
Thomas Towne first married Elizabeth Towne of
Thompson, Conn. She lived but a short time after her
marriage, and for a second wife he married Sarah Burton
of Wilton, N. H. He was the father of a family of
thirteen children; the first, Sarah, born in 1775, and
the last, Mary, born March 4. 1790.
Mr. Towne was one of the early settlers of Wilton,
N. H., which was incorporated in 1762, but in the year
1778 or 1779 he changed his residence to Temple in the
same state, where he resided until he came to Maine in
1802 ; except he possibly may have lived for a short time
in Lyndeborough.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
Thomas Towne's first service in the Continental Army
was in Capt. Benjamin Taylor's company of militia,
which marched from Amherst, N. H., December 8, 1775,
to join the regulars at Winter Hill, near Boston. Just
how long his service was at this time is not certain, but
it appears that he served until after the evacuation of
Boston by the British, March 17, 1776. His next
enlistment was in Capt. John Goss' company, Nichols'
regiment and Gen. Stark's brigade, with the Northern
Department. He enlisted July 20, 1777, and was in the
service at this time two months and eight days, receiving
his discharge September 27, 1777. He was one of those
patriots who won enduring fame and glory at the battle
of Bennington, on August 16, 1777, and who assisted
Gen. Stark in winning for his services the just recognition
of merit so long deferred.
These soldiers under Stark to the number of about
eight hundred, were gathered together hurriedly, and
were entirely independent of the regular army ; in fact,
the whole conduct of the General in the matter was a
piece of insubordination, but such splendid success
crowned his doings that the insubordination was over-
looked, and the man and his services were accepted at
their true worth.
Thomas Towne's military services are credited to the
town of Wilton, N. H. , where he resided at the time.
As above stated, he removed to Temple, N. H., in
1778 or 1779, and lived there until 1802 when he came
to Maine. He came to that part of Piscataquis County
which is now Dover, in the fall of 1801, on a hunting
expedition, accompanied by his son Moses. While here
Moses bargained with Abel Blood for a part of a tract
of land which Blood had bought of the proprietors, and
on which he was then making a clearing. In the spring
of 1802, Thomas, with two of his sons, Moses and Eli,
202 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
returned and made a clearing, planted a small crop, and
built a cabin. Their land was located on the site of the
present village of East Dover. They remained here
until fall, when Eli went back to Temple, having made
arrangements to return the following spring with his
family. Thomas and Moses spent the winter of 1802-3
on their new possessions, subsisting on the small crop
they had harvested in the autumn, but no doubt well
supplied with fish and game by the old gentleman, whose
prowess as a hunter is unquestioned.
After the corn had been harvested Mr. Towne fash-
ioned from stone, a mortar and pestle by the means of
which, with considerable labor, they reduced the corn to
a coarse meal, or, as then called, samp, an article of diet
originating with the American Indians. Father and son
wintered in good health and with a fair degree of com-
fort, and were ready and waiting to welcome Eli, who
arrived with his wife and child on May 8, 1803. Eli
was the first settler who came into Piscataquis County
with his family, and became a permanent resident.
Moses sold out his interest to Eli and soon after took up
another tract of land nearby, but the father, Thomas,
always made his home with Eli.
Thomas Towne was a famous hunter. He once made
the remark, "I never lost any game for fear of being
bitten or scratched, sir." Some of the stories told of
him are well avouched for and are worth repeating.
Once a loupcervier was discovered in a cornfield not far
from the cabin, and one of his sons started out to capture
it ; the old gentleman followed close in his wake, and as
the younger man was about to fire, his father cautioned :
"Take good sight, son, take good sight." The shot
was fired, but the wound was not fatal, and before the
son could reload his firearm, Mr. Towne had rushed upon
the animal and throttled it.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 203
On another occasion he had fired a shot at a bear
swimming across a pond, and as the shot did not take
effect in a vital part, the bear kept on swimming for the
shore. As he neared the land the hunter's dog rushed
in and grappled with him; the bear, in self-defense,
started to put up a vigorous fight, and succeeded in
dragging the dog under water where he soon would have
drowned. Uncle Thomas seeing the danger to his favor-
ite comrade, took to the water himself with the cry,
* 'Drown my dog, will ye!" and soon, with his own
hands, came off the conqueror, and came to the shore
with a dead bear and a live dog.
Thomas Towne first received a pension under the act
of 1818, which benefit he drew until his death. During
the later years of his life his eyesight began to fail, and
for a few years before he died he became totally blind.
He lived to a ripe old age and before he passed away he
had seen the unbroken wilderness about his primitive
homestead assume the aspects of civilization ; a thriving
settlement grown up about his humble cabin, and Piscat-
aquis County, instead of having one lone family for its
inhabitants, supporting a population numbered by
thousands, with twelve incorporated towns and settle-
ments on nearly as many more townships.
Mr. Towne died May 28, 1824, at the age of 81
years. His remains rest in an unmarked grave in the
East Dover cemetery, almost within the shadow of his
first dwelling place here. He has numerous descendants
in this locality.
Notes of the Crosby Family and a
Sketch of the Life of Josiah Crosby
By S. P. Crosby
To THE PlSCATAQUIS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY I
I HAVE the honor of being asked by your president to
contribute a paper upon the ancestry of the Crosby
family, and especially a sketch of my father's life, the
late Josiah Crosby of Dexter, Me.
In consenting to undertake this work I have decided
to state the facts as well as I remember them in a plain
and simple manner, without rhetorical or literary effect.
Having visited the "Old Crosby Home" and farm in
Atkinson many times in my boyhood and manhood, and
usually in company with my father and other relations,
and having had many conversations with my father and
his brothers and sisters concerning the lives of their
parents, I feel somewhat informed concerning them.
My grandfather, Oliver Crosby, was born in Billerica,
Mass., March 17th, 1769; graduated from Harvard
College in 1795, (standing second in class rank) and
married Harriet Chase of Portsmouth, N. H., Septem-
ber 11, 1800.
It was in Billerica that grandfather heard the first
guns fired at Lexington, the commencement of the Revo-
lution. Later in life he frequently stated this thrilling
fact to his children, also giving many incidents of those
days.
He moved with his family from Billerica to Dover,
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 205
N. H. , where he was admitted to the bar and practiced
law until 1822.
In 1812 he was part owner in a sailing vessel which
was seized by the British; and in 1817-22 he was owner
of a cotton manufacturing plant in Dover.
In 1820 there was an exodus from the interior and
southern parts of New England to a more eastern part
of that section of the country, where land was selling
cheap. It was this movement, in part at least, that
induced Grandfather Oliver Crosby to leave the pleasant
and prosperous village of Dover and to seek a home in
the "woods of Maine."
This act of his, leaving a cultivated locality, happy
surroundings, the comforts of life, was not only criti-
cised by his family but met with many objections.
But the man being the head of the household (a com-
mon characteristic in the Crosby family) the move was
decided upon. The move was made by team. Atkinson
in Piscataquis County was the destination. A log house
was constructed, which was located about eight hundred
feet south of the large and commodious frame house subse-
quently built. This latter building yet stands in a fair
state of preservation.
It will be remembered by the elder residents of Piscat-
aquis that the "Old Crosby Place," so-called, is about
one mile east and a little north of Atkinson Corner.
The members of the family have often spoken of the
happy days spent in the log house, which served well for
several years, until the commodious frame "mansion"
was erected. One peculiarity of the latter house is the
sliding shutters on the windows, sliding into and through
the casings and into the walls, but when pulled out over
the windows excluding every ray of light, thus making
the rooms almost sealed, and more private than any mod-
ern curtain or blind.
206 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The old clock in the hall, with its dignified propor-
tions, the fireplaces, one in each room, a speaking-tube
from cellar to garret, the old well with its windlass and
oaken bucket in the ell of the house, with its never fail-
ing supply of water, sparkling and cold, were among the
many things of interest in the old house.
The towns of Atkinson and Charleston were originally
owned by Atkinson, Livermore and Crosby, the three
owning about equal parts.
When a boy I occasionally met a man who would say
during conversation, "I bought my land from your grand-
father." Resold many thousand acres, finally reserv-
ing for himself between three and four hundred acres for
his homestead, and farmed it all. Although before
the days of railroads, or even common highways, and
farm machinery and modern methods unknown, he made
farming on a large scale very successful.
In those primitive days more thought, or much
thought, was bestowed by the progressive citizen upon
rearing and educating a large family of children, build-
ing up character, and instilling into them strong man-
hood and womanhood, rather than concentrating their
forces upon accumulating large wealth.
In haying time about twenty extra men were employed.
They slept in the attic upon camp-beds. It was one of
my father's childhood delights during heavy rain-storms
to go up and sleep with the men, and hear the big drops
of rain patter on the roof.
In its day the old place was well known in that part of
the State, and its many social gatherings brought friends
from long distances. The old-fashioned "carryall"
being the only vehicle of comfort in doubtful weather,
was always used by friends from Bangor and other places
in what was called a "carryall drive." Some came on
horseback.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 207
The old barn-raisings, husking-bees and paring-bees
were in vogue in those days. Appropriate poetry was
written by someone upon the raising of the long barn on
the old place, and many years after this poem was
resurrected and published in the Bangor Commercial.
I remember the poem recited something about the refresh-
ments, and that one happy-spirited fellow climbed up
the newly erected frame to the ridge-pole and there pro-
posed a toast, and threw his bottle to the ground. I do
not think the nature of the contents of said bottle were
mentioned. It must not be forgotten, however, that the
temperance question did not engage the minds of the
people in those days so strongly and decisively as at the
present time, and prohibition had not achieved such
strength.
My grandfather had the acquaintance and friendship
of all the more prominent and intellectual families in
that vicinity, some of whom became especially eminent.
The late Chief Justice John Appleton lived at Sebec,
about three miles away, and was a frequent visitor, as
was also Hon. Abram Sanborn, Judge Kent and others
from Bangor. There were many visitors from Foxcroft
and Dover, and in fact from over Piscataquis County
and Penobscot, whose names I shall not attempt to give.
But it was safe to say the latch-string was always out at
the "Old Crosby Homestead."
The Piscataquis River runs through the farm on the
north, and in the days of which we are writing, salmon
abounded in plenty in the old river. They must have been
plentiful, as this delicious fish then retailed at three cents
a pound.
There were six children born to my grandparents:
Harriet, born June 12, 1801, married Ephraim T.
Morrill, and for a while they earned on the old farm.
She died in Bangor. Their children were Oliver Crosby
208 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Morrill, Caroline Frothingham, George Prentice and
DeWitt Clinton. Caroline (or Carrie) is the only sur-
vivor; she married a Mr. Brown, deceased, and the
widow now lives in the South. She has a grown son and
daughter.
Oliver, the second child, was born in Dover, N. H.,
November 60, 1802 ; married Elizabeth Foss. They car-
ried on a small farm in Atkinson, about half a mile from
the old place, nearer "the Corner." They moved to
Fountaindale, 111., in the early seventies, where they are
now survived by their two children, Harriet Chase (Mrs.
Edward Bebb) and Frances or Fannie.
William Chase, the third child, was born in Dover,
N. H., December 2, 1806. Early in life he was a farmer
in Atkinson and built the house now standing nearly
opposite the old home. Later he became a lawyer in
Bangor, whose counsel was much engaged in a certain class
of cases, especially in city affairs and bankruptcy pro-
ceedings. He married Mary Wilson, November 26,
1832, who died October 28, 1865. Their children were
Wilson, born October 18, 1834; Horace, born June 6,
1838; Mary, born December 24, 1839; and William,
born July 3, 1843. The survivors are Horace, residing
in New Rochelle, N. Y. ; William, residing in California,
and Mary, residing in Bangor. William was married
the second time to Susan W. Dunmore, now deceased;
no children.
Cornelia, the fourth child, was born in Dover, N. H. ,
March 20, 1810, married to Dr. Amasa Barett in 1844,
resided in Bangor for a number of years, and later on a
farm in Brewer. Their children were Martha and
Harriet. Martha died many years ago but Harriet still
]ives. She married Jules Golay, now deceased, and later
one Powers. She now resides in Machiasport, Me., with
her married daughters.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 209
Henrietta, the fifth child, was born in Dover, N. H.,
November 27, 1814; she married George W. Ingersoll
of Bangor; at one time he was attorney general for
Maine. Three children were born: Edward Chase,
Alice C. , and Frances H. The only survivor is Frances,
who now resides in Washington, D. C., and holds an
important government position.
Josiah, the youngest child of Oliver and Harriet, will
be mentioned under a separate heading.
There are now no survivors of the original family of
Oliver Crosby of Atkinson, the last to pass away being
Cornelia, in 1906, in the 95th year of her age. The
remains of Oliver and Harriet are interred in the old
family burying-ground on the farm, a short distance west
of the house.
The artistic stone wall surrounding this sacred place
is made of stones in their natural shape, with uniform
faces; an artistic iron gate forms the entrance, placed
there a few years ago by my brother Oliver, the name-
sake of the family. Some of the stately old evergreen
trees still remain, and others have grown up. Two plain
marble slabs stand erect, and silent. Upon the one
marking grandfather's resting place is a brief epitaph
mentioning some of the principal events of his life, and
closing with the Scriptural verse: "Mark the just man,
and behold the upright, for the end of that man is
peace. ' '
In writing of our ancestors we are naturally partial,
and no doubt lean in their direction in extolling their
virtues, perhaps unduly. While I never saw my grand-
parents I have talked with many who knew them well,
many besides the relations, and I believe I have portrayed
them truthfully. Grandfather was a man eminently just
in all things, but I do not think his mannerisms or mode
of speech were always attractive, being somewhat com-
210 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
111
anding and exacting of others, possibly a little self-
centered, and might not, if living at the present day,
be a very popular man. It is true, however, that those
who knew him best were his warmest friends. He was
classed as a rustic gentleman ; but if not possessed of
those finishing touches and suaveness of manner, he car-
ried through life those essentially sterling qualities which
make the man.
His wife was a woman of strong intellect and most
thoroughly informed for her sex. Was very benevolent.
She adhered to the old orthodox religion and its literal
teachings till late in life when she seemed to have out-
grown the old creeds and dogmas, and embraced the more
rational faith of the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the
Mount.
About twenty years ago quite an unusual incident
happened on my grandmother's side of the family. Her
father, Stephen Chase of Portsmouth, N. H., was a
ship owner, and engaged in the carrying trade. Three
vessels, one with a cargo, were seized and confiscated by
the French, in the days of Napoleon; these acts of
depredation giving rise to the so-called French Spoilation
Claims. It will be remembered that our government
received its indemnity from France by arbitration a few
years after ; but not until many years later and after a
presidential veto, and then after a change of adminis-
tration, were any of these claims allowed by Uncle Sam,
and then only in part. The value of a single vessel was
allowed and paid, which inured to the heirs of Stephen
Chase, either as heirs or by right of representation.
When divided a small sum was received by each of
them.
It has given me great pleasure to present the above.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
JOSIAH CROSBY.
Josiah Crosby was born in Dover, N. H., November
24, 1816. He was the youngest son of Oliver and
Harriet Crosby. He prepared for college at Foxcroft
Academy, and by private instruction, and entered Bow-
doin College, from which institution he was graduated in
1835, standing with the first five in his class in rank.
He was admitted to the Piscataquis County bar in
1838, and after commencing practice in Kenduskeag (then
Levant) and for a short time at Exeter, also, he located
permanently at Dexter in 1845, where he resided and
practiced law for fifty-nine years, being a member of the
Maine State bar for sixty-six years, and continued in
active practice up to the time of his death.
Josiah Crosby married Henrietta Hill of Exeter,
February 15, 1844, who died December 29, 1846. Two
children were born, but both died in infancy.
He married Mary Bradbury Foss of Dexter, daugh-
ter of Simon Foss, February 27, 1849, and to them nine
children were born, seven of whom are now living.
The old homestead in Dexter, beautifully situated on
Zion's Hill, a commodious structure with extensive
grounds, is quite a landmark. It was always the pleasure
of my parents to keep "open house" for friends, and
strangers were always welcomed. A short distance below
the beautiful terraces and among the stately elms is
located the law office, where for more than half a century
continuously clients were received, advice given, cases
prepared for court, and the practice of law pursued in
all its various forms. If those old walls could speak
they could tell of a vast amount of hard work. My
father was a great worker. Besides knowing the facts
of a case as represented to him, and the law as well, he
would give his most concentrated thought and reason as
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
to how and in what way his case would best impress itself
upon the court and jury. During all my close relations
with him in the same office during my student days, I
never heard him utter or hint, by a suggestive word to a
witness to modify or change his testimony ; but, on the
contrary, I have repeatedly heard him frankly advise
clients to drop a case, or lose a verdict absolutely, than
to attempt to win by questionable methods.
As a lawyer he believed his clients' rights should be
protected, and nothing left undone in their behalf,
and never failed to thrust his spear into the hole in his
brother lawyer's armor whenever he saw an opportunity.
Lawyers will concede that this is permissible, in a legal
fray.
Lawyer Crosby in the court room was quite a different
man than when in his home, on the street, or in his
office. I mean by this that while his honor and man-
hood were never forgotten, the gentle, amiable, unassum-
ing man out of court was a big contrast to this advocate
in the legal forum. In court his faculties were aroused
to a superlative degree, and, gladiatorlike, he was ready
for any new fact or legal question that might arise. He
had that characteristic quality of quick thought with
wise judgment, so that when opposing counsel changed
position and took a new tack he was equal to the occa-
sion. It was these qualities he possessed, of which many
more could be mentioned, together with his painstaking
preparation of cases that made him so successful in the
trial court. In the trial of a case he could not get his
mind off the matter in hand from start to finish, and
during the pendency of a case would eat lightly and
sleep but little.
In the room he always occupied in the Blethen House
in Dover he could be seen burning the midnight oil pre-
paring for the next day's battle.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 213
Among some of the noted cases he successfully tried
were, the arson case of the State vs. Trustam H. Hurd,
(associated with him being the late Hon. A. M.
Robinson,) for the burning of a dwelling-house in the
night time, a crime punishable by death at that time;
verdict, not guilty; State vs. Mrs. Hall (arson) of
Ripley; verdict, not guilty; State vs. Chadbournes
(murder) of Parkman; verdict, guilty; (the elder
Chadbourne died in prison, and a pardon was secured for
the son later;) State vs. Dr. Weed, charged with rob-
bing Peter Bennett of Plymouth of $30,000; verdict,
not guilty.
Lawyer Crosby's practice was large and successful upon
the civil side of the court, in law and equity. During
the last twenty years of his practice he was greatly
relieved and assisted by his son, J. Willis Crosby, who
became his partner, and has since succeeded to the busi-
ness, and who is held in high respect.
The most friendly relations existed between Josiah
Crosby and the members of the bench and bar. He was
often associated with legal brethren in important cases,
and with whom he would always take the part wherein
he could be most useful ; bending his energies towards
good results rather than for the glory or the emoluments
of the case.
In politics he was quite prominent, but in no sense
could he be called a politician as the term is understood
nowadays. He was a Whig until the Republican party
came into existence, of which he was one of the original,
and had a hand in the making of this popular party.
He stood by his party until the early eighties, when he
differed with its leaders upon the high protective policy
and what seemed to him a strong leaning to favor the
trusts and those who had accumulated large wealth, and
ignoring the people at large who were the consumers and
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
tt|
paid for these luxuries. From this time he joined the
Democratic ranks. As to whether he acted wisely or
otherwise I shall not attempt to say or express an opinion,
but will unhesitatingly assert that his change in politics
was not on account of disappointment of office nor
because he was personally disgruntled.
By this time he had liberally educated nearly all of
his children, which had been the great ambition of his
life. He was enjoying a good law practice, and in com-
fortable circumstances, and had no time or liking for
many of the modern political methods used in getting
elected to office.
In 1856, 1863 and 1865 he was a member of the
House of Representatives of Maine, and in 1867-8 he
was a member of the Senate from Penobscot County, and
was elected president of the Senate in 1868, being op-
posed in the election by Nelson Dingley and Frederick
Robie, both of whom were subsequently elected Gov-
ernors of the State. He took a conspicuous part in im-
portant legislation and made many effective speeches.
Without solicitation he was nominated as the Demo-
cratic candidate for Congress in 1890 from the Fourth
District. He did not look for victory and spent the
campaign period in Minnesota and Colorado, as he in-
formed the convention he should do when nominated.
He had no objection to being called a "mug-wump, "
a political name of this time which will be remembered.
My father was one of the happiest men in his family,
and the children well knew they could always learn from
him. It was while carrying on conversation with mem-
bers of his family and friends that some of the resources
of his mind were most noticeable. He would not be
considered a stranger when invited into any new field of
knowledge ; and as to what had been accomplished in the
literary world he was easily at home in discussing. He
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
was a great reader, and the books he especially liked he
would be found reading again and again. He was a
great admirer of the literature of the Bible; of some
portions of it beyond all other books. His familiarity
with Shakespeare was something remarkable.
His habits were abstemious, but he preferred high
license and local option to prohibition. He thought
cider a blessing to the human race, notwithstanding its
occasional abuse.
His habit of bathing in cold water out of doors
summer and winter, every morning, or jumping into the
newly fallen snow as a substitute, might be called his
eccentricity ; but he prized the daily practice as a means
of preventing fevers, and giving to him the health and
vigor which he enjoyed.
He had travelled much in his own country and in
1887 visited many parts of Europe.
In one respect, that of being town-meeting moderator,
he held the State record. From 1857 to 1887 he was
continuously Dexter's town-meeting moderator, and
after his trip abroad he was again several times elected.
The surviving children are Etta (now Mrs. James
Bird), residing in Anacortes, Wash. ; May (Mrs. A. B.
Stickney), residing in St. Paul, Minn. ; Oliver of St.
Paul; S. P. of Braham, Minn.; J. Willis of Dexter,
Me. ; Annie C. of St. Mary's College, Dallas, Tex., and
Clara L, (Mrs. Chas. Altenberg), of Fairmont, Minn. ;
and I am happy to add, all are in good health.
In closing this brief sketch I will say that no more
fitting words could be written of my father than those
selected by the writer, concurred in by the family and
engraved upon his monument: "His life was gentle;
and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might
stand up and say to all the world: This was a man."
The North Eastern Boundary Contro-
versy and the Aroostook War
By John Francis Sprague
A SERIOUS disagreement existed between the
United States and Great Britain from the treaty
of peace (1783) to the Webster- Ashburton treaty
(1842), respecting the boundary line between what is
now and was in 1842, the State of Maine and Canada,
and known in history as the Northeast Frontier.
In tracing back to the sources of this contention,
which was acute for more than a half century, it
seems to me that two causes were among the earliest and
most predominating which led up to the general confu-
sion.
The first was the fact that the English sovereigns
were very ignorant of American geography and were
perpetually making grants of lands irreconciliably and
often grotesquely conflicting, and the second was the
instinctive desire of the Anglo Saxon to possess himself
of all of the territory of this earth within his reach.
In 1493, Alexander VI, Pope of Rome, issued a bull,
granting the New World, which Columbus had discov-
ered, to the sovereigns of Spain and Portugal.
In that age a papal bull was generally regarded by
Christian nations as a sufficient title to heathen lands,
and under this title Spain claimed the entire North
American coast from Cape Florida to Cape Breton.
Joirx FAIRVIKLD
uxoii 01 MAIM-:, ]S:if)
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 217
France, although a Catholic nation, was in unison
with England, which had then become Protestant, in
protesting against such an exclusive and unfair grant.
So far as there was an issue between England and
Spain about American territory it was settled by Sir
Francis Drake in 1588, by the victory over the Spanish
Armada in the British Channel, which has been the scene
of so many famous naval battles and where so much of
the world's history has been made.
But England had not submitted to the slow process of
waiting for the God of battles to determine her rights
by discovery and conquest as they then stood in the
western hemisphere. In 1495-6, three years after its
discovery and before Columbus had seen it, Henry VII,
King of England, issued a commission to John Cabot
and his sons, "to seek out, discover and find whatsoever
Isles, Countries, Regions or Provinces of the heathens
and infidels" hitherto unknown to all Christians, and,
as vassals of the king, to hold the same by his authority.
In 1502, the same king issued authority to Hugh
Eliot and Thomas Ashurst to discover and take possession
of the "Islands and Continents" in America.
As early as 1524 and many years before England had
actually asserted jurisdictional rights on this continent,
Francis I, King of France, doubted the "clause in
Adam's will" which made this continent the incontro-
vertible possession of "his brothers of Spain and Portu-
gal' ' and sent out discoverers and explorers, who explored
the entire coast from the thirtieth to the fiftieth degree
of latitude, and named the whole region New France.
Ten years later Jacques Quartier, known in English
history as "Cartier," commissioned by the same king,
made several voyages to America and took possession of
Canada. The French government maintained it ever
after until its titles were lost by treaties and conquest.
218 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
On the 8th of November, 1603, Henry IV, King of
France, appointed Pier de Monts, his lieutenant-general,
in the country, territories, coast and limits of Cadia,
(la Cadia) since called Acadia, commencing at the fortieth
degree and thence to the forty-sixth degree.
By charter of the 10th of September, 1621, James I
granted to Sir William Alexander, a certain territory,
under the name of "Nova Scotia," with the following
boundaries: "Beginning at Cape Sable, in forty-three
degrees north latitude, or thereabout, extending thence
westwardly along the seashore, to the road commonly
called St. Mary's Bay; thence towards the north by a
direct line crossing the entrance or mouth of that great
ship road, which runs into the eastern tract of land
between the territories of the Souriquois and of the
Etchemins, (Bay of Fundy) to the river commonly
called St. Croix, and to the most remote spring or
source, which, from the western part thereof, first
mingles itself with the river aforesaid; from thence, by
an imaginary direct line, which may be conceived to
stretch through the land, or to run towards the north, to
the nearest road, river or spring emptying itself into the
great river de Canada (River St. Lawrence) ; and from
thence proceeding eastwardly along the seashores of the
said river de Canada, to the river, road, port, or shore,
commonly known and called by the name of Gachepe or
Gaspe; and thence south-eastwardly to the islands
called Baccaleos or Cape Breton, leaving these islands on
the right and the gulf of the said river de Canada or of
the great ship road and the lands of Newfoundland, with
the islands to the same pertaining, on the left; and
thence to the head land or promontory of Cape Breton
aforesaid, lying near the latitude of forty-five degrees, or
thereabout; and from the said promontory of Cape
Breton, towards the south and west, to Cape Sable afore-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 219
said, where the perambulation began, *****
all which lands aforesaid, shall at all times hereafter be
called and known by the name of Nova Scotia, or New
Scotland, in America."
Albert Gallatin in his introduction to "The Right of
the United States of America to the North Eastern
Boundary Claimed by Them," (1840) says:
"The western boundary thereby assigned to Nova
Scotia differs from the eastern boundary of the United
States, as described by the treaty of peace of 1783, in
the following particulars.
"1st. The western source of the river St. Croix was
intended by Sir William Alexander's charter; but by
the treaty of 1783, the said river from its mouth to its
source, without particularly designating which source, is
made the boundary ; and this has been decided to be the
river from its mouth to the source of its north branch.
"2nd. The line from the source of the River St.
Croix, is, according to the charter, to run towards the
north ; (versus septentrionem ;) by the treaty, it must
run due north, or directly north.
"3rd. The said line, by the charter, extends to the
river St. Lawrence, and, by the treaty, to the highlands
dividing the rivers, &c. "
On the 3d of April, 1639, Charles I granted to
Ferdinand Gorges, by the name of Province or Country
of Maine, a territory bounded on the west by Piscata-
way Harbor and the river Newichewanocke, (Piscataqua
River) to the farthest head thereof, and thence one hun-
dred and twenty miles northwestwards, extending from
Piscataway Harbor, northeastwards, along the seacoast
to Sagadahock, (the river Kennebec below the confluence
of the river Androscoggin, ) and up the river thereof to
Kynybecky River, and, through the same, to the head
thereof, and into the land northwestwards one hundred
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and twenty miles from the mouth of Sagadahock, Etc.
This last named grant was purchased in the year 1674,
by the Colony of Massachusetts.
By the twelfth article of the treaty of Utrecht, in
1713, "the Most Christian King of France" ceded to
the Queen of England in perpetuity Acadia or Nova
Scotia entire, "according to its ancient boundaries," Etc.
But what its "ancient boundaries" were was for
nearly fifty years after the treaty of Utrecht a matter of
dispute between England and France and more especially
between the pioneers and settlers of New France, and the
Massachusetts Colony and the inhabitants of the Province
of Maine, who had settled east of the Kennebec River.
The Governor of New France contended that the
ancient bounds of Acadia extended as far west as the
Kennebec River under the grant of Charles I to Gorges,
and had never been changed by any act of England.
Attempts at a settlement were made between the two
governments at various times but the results were futile.
When Wolfe conquered Quebec in 1759, all of Canada
passed to the domain of the English by conquest and the
minor questions of boundary lines were lost sight of.
Incidental to this long contention as to what was the
westerly line of Acadia, was the destruction of the Jesuit
Mission at Norridgewock and the killing of its missionary,
Father Sebastian Rale, in 1724, by the Massachusetts
colonists.
Gallatin in the work above referred to, in speaking of
this Gorges grant and its subsequent purchase by the
Colony of Massachusetts, asserts that it throws no light
on the question as to how England acquired any title to
the territory between the Kennebec and St. Croix, and
says: "Although the name of Maine has since been
extended to the country, eastwardly, as far as the bounda-
ries of Nova Scotia, the ancient Province of Maine,
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
221
according to the aforesaid original grant, was bounded
on the east by the river Sadahock or Kennebec. "
These facts are only referred to here, parenthetically,
for the purpose of calling attention to the generally
chaotic condition of the sources of the jurisdictional
rights of England in the Province of Maine, at the time
of the treaty of peace in 1783.
The English had themselves, whether wrongfully or
rightfully, whether by overt acts or not, made permanent
the title of Massachusetts to the Province of Maine as far
east as the St. Croix River, but how far north it extended
was another matter and one of the principal causes of all
the trouble between the people of Maine and New
Brunswick and the American and English governments.
In the several treaties between France and England
ceding to each other Acadia, no specific mention is made
of boundaries, so the student is obliged to rely upon the
grants from the English crown to its subjects for informa-
tion as to what was the original intent of the English
government, regarding the northerly line of the Province
of Maine.
On the 12th day of March, 1663, Charles II granted
to his brother James, Duke of York, "all that part of
the main land of New England, beginning at a certain
place, qalled or known by the name of St. Croix adjoin-
ing to New Scotland in America, and from thence extend-
ing along the sea coast, into a place called Pemaquin or
Pemaquid, and so up the river thereof to the furtherest
head of the same as it tendeth northward to the river of
Kennebec and so up, by the shortest course, to the river
of Canada, northwards."
All authorities agreed that the name "Maine" at some
time in some way extended over all the above described
territory and that the river Kennebec was what was in
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
the ancient maps Sadahock, and that "the river Canada"
was the river St. Lawrence.
October 7th, 1691, William and Mary, by grant,
annexed to the charter of the Massachusetts Colony,
Nova Scotia, the ancient Province of Maine, and Saga-
dahock, or the Duke of York's grant, containing how-
ever, this proviso, "and it is our royal will and pleasure
that no grants of any lands lying or extending from the
river Sagadahock (Kennebec) to the Gulf of St. Lawrence
and Canada rivers, (St. Lawrence River) and to the main
sea northward and eastward, to be made or passed by
the Governor and General Assembly of our said Province,
be of any force, validity, or effect, until we, our assigns
and successors shall have signified our or their approba-
tion of the same."
This grant is valuable herein, only for the purpose of
showing that the English then claimed territory as far
north as the St. Lawrence.
There does not seem to be any reason for this grant of
Nova Scotia or Acadia to Massachusetts, which had been
restored to France by the treaty of Breda, other than the
fact that a state of war existed between the nations in
1691.
By the treaty of Ryswick, (1697) Great Britain, how-
ever, agreed to restore to France "all countries, islands,
forts and colonies, wheresoever situated, which the
French did possess before the declaration of war. ' '
The Massachusetts Colony asserted jurisdiction over
all of that part of the Province of Maine annexed to
their charter by William and Mary, which was situated
east of the Kennebec River, and the last claim of the
French to this territory was extinguished with the
destruction of the Kennebec Mission in 1724.
Subsequent to this a question arose among the colonists
as to their legal title to the territory between the Kenne-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
bee and St. Croix, which was referred to the attorney
and solicitor general of the crown, who gave it as their
opinion (Aug. 11, 1781) "that all the tract of land
lying between the rivers of Kennebec and St. Croix, is
granted by their charter to the inhabitants of the said
Province; that the rights of government granted to the
said Province extend over this tract of land. ' '
In Mitchell's map in the year 1755, the river St.
Croix, in accordance with their decision, and a due north
line from its source to the river St. Lawrence, are made
the boundary between Nova Scotia and New England.
And Gallatin says that "in this map the river St.
Croix, and a due north line from its source to the river
St. Lawrence, are, accordingly, made the boundary
between Nova Scotia and New England; embracing,
under this last designation, the eastern part of Massa-
chusetts, by the name of Sagadahock. "
Both Nova Scotia and New England are, in that map,
published with the approbation of the board of trade,
bounded to the north by the river St. Lawrence. And
that river continued, accordingly, to be the northern
boundary of both, till the 7th of October, 1763; when
Canada, and all the possessions claimed by France in
that quarter, having, by virtue of the treaty of peace
of February, 1763, been definitively ceded by her to
Great Britain, His Britannic Majesty issued a proclama-
tion establishing new governments, and, amongst others,
that of Quebec.
The boundaries of that government were, by the said
proclamation, fixed as follows : ' 'Bounded on the Labra-
dor Coast by the river St. John ; and from thence, by a
line drawn from the head of that river, through the Lake
St. John, to the south end of the Lake Nipissing, from
whence the said line, crossing the river St. Lawrence and
the Lake Champlain, in forty-five degrees of north lati-
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
tilde, passes along the Highlands which divide the rivers
that empty themselves into the said river St. Lawrence
from those which fall into the sea, and also along the
north coast of the Bay des Chaleurs and the Coast of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, to Cape Rosiers ; and from thence,
crossing the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, by the
west end of the island of Anticosti, terminates at the
aforesaid river St. John. ' '
The Highlands designated above were thus assigned as
the southern boundary of the province of Quebec and
became the northern boundary of Nova Scotia; the
northwest corner of which, instead of being, as hereto-
fore, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, was thereby
placed on the Highlands.
This boundary of the Province of Quebec was again
ratified by the British government by the act of Parlia-
ment of the 14th, Geo. Ill, Chap. 83, (1774) commonly
called the Quebec Act.
The treaty of peace between the Colonies and England
at the close of the war of the Revolution and known in
history as the treaty of 1783, provides "And that all
disputes, which might arise in the future on the subject
of the boundaries of the said United States, may be
prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the
following are and shall be their boundaries, viz : From
the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, viz: that angle
which is formed by a line drawn due north from the
source of the St. Croix River, to the Highlands, which
divide those rivers, that empty themselves into the river
St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic
Ocean, to the northwesternmost head of Connecticut
River ; east, by a line to be 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 rivers which fall
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 225
into the Atlantic Ocean from those that fall into the
river St. Lawrence."
Subsequent to this treaty doubts arose as to which was
the St. Croix River, and commissioners were appointed
under the provisions of its fifth article who declared
October 25, 1798, that a river called "Scoodiac," and
the northern branch of it (called "Cheputnaticook") to
be the true river St. Croix as intended by the treaty,
that its mouth was in the Bay of Passamaquoddy at a
place called Joe's Point, and its source at the northern-
most head spring of the northern branch aforesaid.
During the War of 1812 the British seized and held
Moose Island on which the city of Eastport now stands,
and at the treaty of Ghent they refused to restore it.
It was generally stipulated that all territory, places,
and possessions taken by either party during the war
should be restored, and it was specially provided that such
of the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay as were claimed by
both parties, should remain in the possession of the party
in whose occupation they might be at the time of the
exchange or the ratification of the treaty, without
prejudice to either party, till the question of title should
be settled. For such a settlement Art. IV provided
that the question should be referred to two commis-
sioners to be appointed by the two governments.
The King of Great Britain appointed Thomas Barclay
and President Madison appointed John Holmes, who was
a resident of the Province or District of Maine.
Their decision, which was rendered November 24,
1817, seems to have been acquiesced in by all parties
and with a few exceptions I do not find that it was very
seriously criticised by the writers at that time. *
"The first question that arose before these commissioners was,
which of the three rivers falling into the Bay of Fundy was the St.
Croix contemplated by the treaty of 1783. [OVER]
226 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
It was well understood by both governments that the
boundary line of Nova Scotia was left very indefinite by
the treaty of 1783, but as there were but few settlers on
the disputed territory and but little business or com-
merce, and as both nations were engrossed in struggles
with each other of more consequence, there was but little
controversy about it.
The fact was, however, recognized by the treaty of
Ghent (1814) and they made provision for its adjustment
These rivers had all been known and described at various times by
the name of St. Croix. The most easterly had likewise been called
the Magaquadavic; the intermediate, the Schoodic; the most west-
erly, the Cobscook.
The decision of the commissioners was that the middle river,
known sometimes as the Schoodic, was the true St. Croix River. It
having been thus fixed, it was so regarded by both governments, at
the treaty of Ghent, and in the proceedings when the whole matter
was finally adjusted by the Webster-Ashburton treaty.
It has, however, been the opinion of students of history who have
since investigated the subject, that a grave error was committed, by
which the American government, and ultimately the State of Maine,
were grossly wronged, that if the subject had been properly con-
sidered and fairly adjudicated, the easterly river, rather than the
Schoodic or the intermediate river, would have been the easterly
boundary of the State of Maine.
Probably no man in the days of this controversy gave the subject
more consideration than the late Col. John G. Deane of Portland,
and formerly of Ellsworth. He was a leading member of the Legis-
lature during that time and was the author of several official reports
relating to the North Eastern Boundary, and he was firmly con-
vinced that the commissioners selected the wrong river for the St.
Croix.
By this blunder, if such it were, Col. Deane estimated that the
State of Maine "lost a strip of territory from fifteen to twenty
miles in breadth, and one hundred and seventy-five miles in
length."
(See a sketch of the life of John G. Deane, Maine Hist. Coll.
2d Series, Vol. 1, p. 179. "The North Eastern Boundary," by
Israel Washburn, Jr., read before the Maine Historical Society,
May 15, 1879.)
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
by the fifth article of this treaty, a part of which is as
follows :
"Whereas neither that point of the Highlands lying
due north from the source of the River St. Croix, and
designated in the former treaty of Peace between the
two Powers, as the north-west angle of Nova Scotia, nor
the north-western most head of the Connecticut River,
has yet been ascertained ; and whereas that part of the
boundary line between the Dominions of the two Powers,
which extends from the source of the River St. Croix,
directly north, to the above-mentioned north-west angle
of Nova Scotia ; thence, along the said Highlands which
divide those rivers that empty themselves into the River
St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic
Ocean, to the north-western most head of Connecticut
River; thence, down along the middle of that river, to
the forty-fifth degree of north latitude ; thence, by a line
due west, on said latitude, until it strikes the River
Iroquois or Cataraquy, has not yet been surveyed ; it is
agreed that for those several purposes, two Commissioners
shall be appointed, sworn and authorized to act, &c.
******* rp^ ga u Commissioners shall
have power to ascertain and determine the points above
mentioned, in conformity with the provisions of the said
treaty of Peace of 1783, and shall cause the boundary
aforesaid, from the source of the River St. Croix to the
River Iroquois or Cataraquy, to be surveyed and marked
according to the said provisions. The said Commission-
ers shall make a map of the said boundary and annex to
it a declaration under their hands and seals, certifying it
to be the true map of the said boundary, and particular-
izing the latitude and longitude of the north-west angle
of Nova Scotia, of the north-western most head of Con-
necticut River, and of such other points of the said
boundary as they may deem proper. And both parties
228 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
agree to consider such map and declaration as finally
and conclusively fixing the said boundary."
The same article further provided for a reference to a
friendly sovereign or state, in the event of the commis-
sioners being unable to agree.
The two governments appointed commissioners con-
formitory with this provision, namely, George III
appointed on the part of Great Britain, Thomas Barclay,
September 4, 1815, and President Madison appointed
Cornelius Van Ness, April 3, 1816. Mr. Van Ness was
a native of New York but at the time of his appoint-
ment resided in Vermont, and it appears that John
Holmes, who was one of the commissioners to adjudicate
in regard to the titles of the islands in Passamaquoddy
Bay, also acted with them. Henry H. Orne was
appointed secretary to this commission. Mr. Orne, who
in the record was simply described as "a citizen of the
United States," was presumably Judge Henry Orne of
Boston, from whom the town of Orneville in the county
of Piscataquis derived its name.
This commission, after sitting for five years, could not
even agree on a plan for a general map of the country
exhibiting the boundaries respectively claimed by each
party ; much less could they settle any of the matters
referred to them.
They accordingly dissolved and made separate reports
to both governments, stating the points on which they
differed, and the grounds of their difference.
Soon after the close of the War of 1812, settlements,
not only in the northeastern parts of the Province of
Maine, but in Nova Scotia and Quebec as well, began to
increase; business was expanding and land under both
flags was becoming more valuable.
All of these things tended to reawaken the interest in
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
the question of boundary lines between the two
dominions.
Maine became a state in 1820, and by the Articles of
Separation the Commonwealth of Massachusetts re-
served to herself one half of the unincorporated lands
within the Province of Maine. *
Hence not only the inhabitants of eastern Maine, but
both of these states were intensely interested in having
the matter decided.
Finally the statesmen of both governments concluded
that a condition had arisen which made it necessary to
refer the points of difference to a friendly sovereign under
the terms of the treaty of Ghent ; and on the 29th day
of September, 1827, a convention to that effect was con-
cluded.
Consequently in 1826, Albert Gallatin, who was one
of the commissioners of the United States at Ghent in
1814, went to England as minister of the United States,
charged with the duty of arranging various questions of
difference and among them the North Eastern Boundary.
He had many conferences with the plenipotentiaries rep-
resenting that government, the principal result of which
was the convention to refer the matter to a friendly
sovereign under the provision of the treaty of Ghent
herein before referred to.
The statements of the United States were prepared
and submitted to the arbitrator by Mr. Gallatin who had
associated with him Wm. Pitt Treble of Portland, t
*Act of Separation passed by Legislature of Massachusetts June
19, 1819, Sec. 1, part first.
tWilliam P. Preble was a' resident of Portland and was born in
York, Me,, November 27, 1783, and died October 11, 1857. He was
graduated from Harvard College in 1806, studied law with Benjamin
Hasey at Topsham and Mr. Orr in Brunswick. Practiced law in
Alfred and Saco before he removed to Portland in 1818. In 1814 he
230 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
It was stipulated therein that Mitchell's map, by
which the framers of the treaty of 1783 had regulated
their joint and official proceedings, and a map denomi-
nated A, had been agreed upon by the contracting
parties, as a delineation of the water courses and a
general outline of the territory.
The King of the Netherlands was selected as arbiter
and when he heard the case of the high contracting
parties, changes of magnitude had taken place in both
the American and English possessions since the treaty of
1783.
The Province of Maine was independent from the
mother Commonwealth of Massachusetts and had entered
upon her career as a sovereign state of the Union.
Nova Scotia had been divided and a new province
erected called New Brunswick, within the borders of
which was the territory about which the contention had
arisen, and Quebec had been made into two provinces,
then known as Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
The task imposed upon the arbiter was an onerous one
but the duties were plain and not at all obscure.
He was to construe the provisions of the treaty of
1783, which related to this boundary, and make a deci-
sion which, if ratified by the two governments, would be
binding upon them.
This necessitated his making findings among other
things as to the following questions :
received the appointment of U. S. District Attorney from President
Madison.
In 1820 he was selected as one of the three judges composing the
highest judicial court of the new State of Maine.
In 1828 he resigned from the bench and entered upon diplomatic
service.
President Jackson appointed him Minister Plenipotentiary to The
Hague, and he was serving in this capacity when the King of Hol-
land rendered his decision. He was in various ways active in the
affairs of the North Eastern Boundary question until its final settle-
ment by the Webster-Ashburton treaty.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 231
1. What was the "north-west angle of Nova Scotia?"
2. The "Source" of the St. Croix River?
3. What were the "Highlands," which "divide
those rivers that empty themselves into the River St.
Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean?"
4. What was the "North westernmost head of the
Connecticut River?"
Incidental with, or subordinate to these were other
questions which arose in the investigations and discus-
sions as the case progressed before him, but I regard the
foregoing as the principal or leading points in the con-
troversy.
It was undoubtedly unfortunate for all parties to this
imbroglio, that, in designating the northerly boundary
between the territory of Massachusetts (Province of
Maine) and Nova Scotia, in the treaty of 1783, the
term "Highlands" should have been used. It was
indefinite and susceptible of widely different construction.
No writer has since maintained or even insinuated that
the word was placed there by either party designedly or
for any ulterior purpose.
It was without doubt, purely and simply, a case of
careless and inconsiderate use of language. It should
be observed that this word was not used in these treaties
except in the sense of dividing rivers, and that in the
early grants the intention of making the St. Lawrence
River the northerly boundary of Maine seemed to be
apparent.
This was the position taken by the American commis-
sioners before the King of the Netherlands, and it was
furthermore contended by them that, taking the whole
article together, the word "Highlands" as therein
expressed, referred to an unexplored country and was
applicable to any ground, whatever might be its nature
or elevation, along which the line dividing the rivers
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
should be found to pass; and that the fact that the
ground dividing rivers was necessarily more elevated than
those rivers and their banks, was sufficient to entitle it
to the designation of "Highlands" in relation to those
rivers.
The United States claimed that a line from the source
of the river St. Croix "directly north" reaches a ridge
or "Highland" which divides tributary streams of the
St. John River, which falls into the Bay of Fundy, from
the waters of the Ristigouche River, which falls through
the Bay des Chaleurs, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence ;
that this line crosses no other rivers for a distance
exceeding ninety miles, but tributary streams of the
St. John and that river itself. And furthermore that
it was not necessary to find any continuous range of
mountains, but continuous land which divided these
rivers.
To be exact I copy the following from Gallatin's notes
on the "American line" (page 17) which he compiled
from the statements laid before the King of the Nether-
lands :
"At about ninety-seven miles from the source of the
River St. Croix, the due north line reaches a ridge or
Highland which divides tributary streams of the River
St. John, which falls into the Bay of Fundy, from the
waters of the River Ristigouche, which falls through the
Bay des Chaleurs, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. And,
in its further north course, the said line, after crossing
several upper branches of the River Ristigouche, reaches,
at the distance of about 140 miles from the source of
the River St. Croix the Highlands, which divide the
waters of the said River Ristigouche from the tributary
streams of the River Metis, which falls into the River
St. Lawrence. It is clear that there is no other possible
choice but between those two places, and that the north-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 233
west angle of Nova Scotia must, of necessity, be found
at the intersection of the said due north line with, either
the Highlands which divide the waters of the River St.
John from those of the River Ristigouche, or the High-
lands which divide the waters of the River Ristigouche
from those of the River Metis ; since there is no other
point, through the whole course of the due north line,
which divides any other waters but such as empty them-
selves into the same river.
"The selection between those two dividing Highlands
evidently depends on what is meant, according to the
treaty of 1783, by rivers that empty themselves or fall
into the River St. Lawrence, and by rivers which fall
into the Atlantic Ocean.
' 'The treaty recognizes but two classes of rivers. The
first class embraces only the rivers falling into a river,
designated by its specific name, and cannot be construed
to include any rivers that do not empty themselves into
the river thus specially designated. All the rivers, met
by the due north line, which do not actually empty
themselves into the River St. Lawrence, according to its
known limits, are, by the treaty, considered as falling
into the Atlantic Ocean. ' '
The British theory from first to last was that "High-
lands" represented a mountainous or hilly country or
district.
They would not admit its American significance as a
continuous line dividing rivers regardless of whether such
line was mountainous or not.
There may have been some reason for this as they had
been familiar with the term as applied to a region of
Highlands in Scotland which distinguished it from the
Lowlands, Etc.
Their writers from time immemorial had thus described
sections which were of high elevation and had not gener-
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ally used the word in the American sense as a dividing
line, a ridge or a range.
In the same notes (page 18) Mr. Gallatin says:
"It is denied on the part of Great Britain, that the
boundary thus claimed by the United States, is that
which is prescribed or intended by the treaty principally,
if not exclusively, on two grounds:
"1st. That the Bay of Fundy, as mentioned in the
treaty of 1783, is, (as well as the Gulf of St. Law-
rence,) intended to be separate and distinct from the
Atlantic Ocean; and that the River St. John, which
falls into the Bay of Fundy, (as well as the River
Ristigouche which, through the Bay des Chaleurs, falls
into the Gulf of St. Lawrence,) is intended, on that as
well as on separate grounds, to be excepted from that
class of rivers which are described in the treaty as falling
into the Atlantic Ocean.
"2ndly. That the ground over which the boundary
line claimed by the United States does pass, has neither
the mountainous character, nor the continuous elevation
necessary to entitle it to the designation of 'High-
lands, ' as intended by the treaty ; and therefore, that
the Highlands, claimed on the part of the United States,
conform neither in position or character, to the conditions
imposed on them by the treaty.
"From those premises, and with reference particularly
to the assertion, that the River St. John must be
excepted from that class of rivers described in the treaty
as falling into the Atlantic Ocean, it is inferred, on the
part of Great Britain, that, consequently the Highlands
described in the treaty must lie to the southward of that
River. And it is further affirmed, that the Highlands,
claimed, on the part of Great Britain, as those desig-
nated in the treaty of 1783, conform, in every particu-
lar, to the conditions imposed on them by that treaty."
OF PISCATAQUJS COUNTY 235
The north line would terminate at Mars Hill as the
British construed the treaty, while under the American
construction it would run as far north as the sources of
the Ristigouche River, which empties into the Bay des
Chaleurs.
The St. John River was midway between the two
lines, or in about the central part of the disputed terri-
tory.
Had the British claim prevailed, all of what is now
Aroostook County, north of Mars Hill, and the most of
what is now Piscataquis County, northerly of the Penob-
scot waters, would be a part of Canada; and if the
Americans had finally been sustained in all that they con-
tended for, the rich St. John River valley and a large
stretch of territory northerly, easterly and northwesterly
would now be a part of the State of Maine.
For the purpose of this sketch it is not necessary to
consider the numerous subjects which were involved when
the case was tried out before the arbiter. Thirty or
more maps published in London subsequent to the proc-
lamation of 1763, were among the exhibits placed before
him by the United States, eighteen of which were pub-
lished before the treaty of 1783.
The English made the point that the negotiators of
the treaty of 1783 had no evidence before them of the
actual geography of the country, and hence the words of
the treaty were not effectual, and yet these last-named
eighteen maps all made plain the situation of the basin
of the St. John, the sources of the Penobscot, which
were rivers and streams falling into the Atlantic, and
those of the tributary streams of the St. Lawrence.
The negotiators of that treaty had access to these
maps and made use of them, consequently the Americans
contended that the highland or ridge of land which
divided these tributary streams, was the "Highlands"
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
described in the treaty, and that it constituted a well-
defined boundary line which could be found upon the face
of the earth, and that there was no reason whatever for
assuming that when those words were mutually written
into the treaty their significance and meaning were
not fully understood.
It would seem that the gist of the entire issue before
the King of the Netherlands was, what were the inten-
tions of the negotiators of the treaty of 1783, and it is
difficult to perceive just how any acts of jurisdiction
subsequently exercised by either party over the contested
territory, could have thrown any light on these inten-
tions or affected in any manner the terms of the treaty.
And yet both sides were allowed to and did present
evidence of this nature, some of which is interesting even
though its materiality at that time may be doubted.
It appeared that in the year 1784, a native Indian
was tried and convicted by a court of the Province of
Quebec, and accordingly executed for a murder com-
mitted, as was suggested, on the waters of the river St.
John; that between the years, 1789 and 1791, two suits
were instituted and judgment obtained, before the courts
of Quebec by some inhabitants of Canada against persons
residing on the river Madawaska ; that an extract from
a list of 'the parishes in the Province of Quebec, taken
from the minutes of the Executive Council for 1791,
includes that of Madawaska,* and that, in the year
*A part of the disputed territory was during the entire contro-
versy over the North Eastern Boundary, known as Madawaska.
Upon a part of this is now situated the town of Madawaska in the
State of Maine. This territory was anciently called the Fief of
Madawaska; the original concession of it having been made by the
Government of Canada to the children of the Sieur Charles Auburt
de la Chenaye, November 25, 1683. This concession contained the
following condition :
"Subject to the Foi et hommage, which the grantees, their heirs
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 237
1785, that council issued an order for opening a road
from Kamarouska on the river St. Lawrence to Lake
Temisquata, which lies on the southeastern side of the
dividing Highlands, claimed as their boundary by the
United States.
Seldom has an international question been so thor-
oughly discussed as was that of this disputed boundary. *
and assigns, shall he holden to render at the Castle of St. Louis of
Quebec of which they are to hold, and subject to the customary
rights and dues in conformity with the Contume de Paris."
By an adjudication of the Prevotal Court of Quebec, dated Octo-
ber 29th, 1709, this Seigniory of Madawaska was seized by virtue of
a sentence of that court and was sold to Joseph Blondeau dit la
Franchise as the highest bidder at a public judicial sale for the sum
of 1,300 livres, and was accordingly adjudged to the said Joseph
Blondeau.
On the 15th day of February, 1723, it appears, by some kind of a
judicial proceeding or report, that "on the Fief of Madawaska there
was a domain, on which the buildings had been burnt by the
Indians, and that there were six 'arpens' of land cleared, but at that
time no settlement."
By an adjudication by the Prevotal Court of Quebec, dated July
29th, 1755, founded on what was called a "voluntary judicial sale,"
Madawaska passed to Pierre Claverie. After Canada became a part
of the dominion of Great Britain by conquest, the title to this terri-
tory passed by judicial sale to Richard Murray and on August 2,
1768, by deed of assignment by Richard Murray to Malcolm Fraser.
The latest deed of Madawaska under these titles that we have evi-
dence of was dated August 2, 1802, but between this and the last
named date there had been several transfers by judicial sale and
otherwise.
This chain of titles was introduced before the King of the Nether-
lands, by the British commissioners, to show continuous possession
and ownership by Great Britain to Madawaska. The reply of the
United States to this contention was, that since the conquest no one
had performed acts of feality and homage under the condition of
the original concession of 1683, and hence the title had been for-
feited and abandoned by reason of the failure to comply with these
feudal services.
(Appendix to the first British Statement before the King of the
Netherlands.)
""History and Digest of International Arbitrations, Vol. I, p. 91.
238 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Gallatin asserted that he devoted nearly two years in
studying and preparing the case, and bestowed on it
more time than he ever did on any other question.*
Finally on the 10th day of January, 1831, the deci-
sion of the King of the Netherlands was made public
and it was a surprise to both governments and to all
parties of interest.
When his award was analyzed, it was found that he
had sustained in words the American contention that the
term ' 'Highlands" was applicable to ground which, with-
out being mountainous or hilly, divided rivers flowing in
the opposite directions ; but that it was not shown that
the boundaries described in the treaty of 1783 coincided
with the ancient limits of the British provinces; and
that neither the line of Highlands claimed by Great
Britain so nearly answered the requirements of the treaty
of 1783 in respect to division of rivers as to give prefer-
ence one over the other.
Abandoning therefore the attempt to determine this
part of the boundary according to the treaty of 1783,
he recommended what was termed a line of ' 'conven-
ience" t or in other words, he made an arbitrary line,
not found in Mitchell's map, Map A, or in any of the
maps used by the negotiators of the treaty of 1783, of
the treaty of Ghent, or by either party before him.
It was evidently intended by him as a compromise,
pure and simple.
On the 12th day of January, 1831, Mr. Preble,
who was then envoy-extraordinary of the United States
at The Hague, addressed to the British Minister of
Foreign Affairs, a note, respectfully protesting against
the award and reserving the rights and interests of the
*Adams' Writings of Gallatin, Vol. II, p. 549.
fHistory and Digest of International Arbitrations, Vol. I, p. 136.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 239
United States on the ground that the proceedings of the
arbitrator constituted a departure from his powers.
Mr. Preble also took the ground that the object of
the arbitration was to have executed the terms of the
treaty of 1788 and that if this could not be done, the
question of boundaries ought never again be submitted
to any sovereign. And he thus formally entered his
protest against the proceedings.
The British government, while apparently not satis-
fied with the award, expressed its acquiescence in it, but
authorized its minister privately to intimate to the
United States that it would not consider the formal
acceptance of the award as precluding modifications of
the line by mutual exchange and consideration.
The government at Washington for a time hesitated
as to what course to pursue. Mr. Treble's protest had
been entered without instructions from his government
and President Jackson was at first inclined to accept the
award.
As the action of the King of the Netherlands became
more fully understood by the people of Maine and
Massachusetts, its discussion by newspapers and public
men became bitter and its criticism more and more
intense; and the President's political enemies in both
states were severely blaming him for his procrastination
in the matter.
At one time he was disposed to issue a proclamation,
accepting of the terms of the award without consulting
the Senate, but was driven from this course by his politi-
cal friends in Maine, who represented to him that such
a course would change the politics of the State.*
It is said that he regretted in after years that he did
"Webster's Works, Vol. 1, p. 119.
240 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
not follow out his own inclinations in regard to the
subject.*
President Jackson therefore submitted the question of
acceptance or rejection to the Senate on the 7th day
of December, 1831, and in June, 1832, the award was
rejected by a vote of 35 to 8, and the Senate at the
same time advised the President to open a new negotia-
tion with Great Britain for the ascertainment of the line.
The British government promised to enter upon the
negotiations in a friendly spirit ; and it was stipulated
and agreed that both sides should refrain from exercising
any jurisdiction beyond the boundaries which they actu-
ally possessed.
Meanwhile the government of the United States made
earnest though unsuccessful attempts to obtain from the
State of Maine full authority to adjust the matter with
Great Britain.
The proposition was for Maine to provisionally sur-
render to the Federal government all of her right to the
disputed territory for the purpose of a settlement.
These offers were, however, all rejected by the State
of Maine and then the British government formally with-
drew its offer to accept the compromise recommended by
the King of the Netherlands.
No real progress was made and nothing accomplished
towards a settlement of the controversy during the
remainder of President Jackson's administration.
President Van Buren sent a message to the Senate
March 20, 1838, with recent correspondence about the
subject between the Secretary of State, Mr. Forsyth,
and the British Minister, Mr. Fox.
Mr. Forsyth recommended a new conventional line, or
another submission to arbitration and the President in
*Webster's Works, Vol. 1, p. 119.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 241
his message expressed the hope that "an early and satis-
factory adjustment of it could be effected."
Governor Kent submitted the question to the Legis-
lature of Maine, which body on the 23d day of March,
1838, resolved that it was not expedient to assent to the
Federal government's treating for a conventional line, but
that the State should insist on the line established by the
treaty of 1783, and that the senators and representatives
in Congress be requested to urge the passage of a bill
then pending for a survey of the boundary.
In 1839, Messrs. Featherstonhaugh and Mudge,
employed by the English authorities, surveyed a part of
the line and the government at Washington provided
for a survey in 1840.
Nothing of importance resulted from either of these
surveys.
For a decade of years subsequent to the award of the
King of the Netherlands it was a theme of vast interest
to the people of Maine and of Massachusetts as well.
The General Court of that commonwealth made vari-
ous reports regarding it at different times. The Gov-
ernors of Maine discussed it in their messages and the
Legislature made several exhaustive reports upon it.
Indissolubly interwoven with this controversy is the
arrest, imprisonment and punishment of one John Baker,
a resident of what was known as the Madawaska Settle-
ment.
The rights of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to
Madawaska and adjacent lands on the Aroostook River
were recognized at an early period after the source of
the St. Croix was settled by the convention of 1794.
Grants were accordingly made by the Legislature of
Massachusetts of lots of land embracing both branches
of the Aroostook River* and bordering on the boundary
*This river was originally known as "Restook" and "Ristook."
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
line, namely : One to the town of Plymouth and one to
General Eaton.
Locations and surveys of these lands were made under
authority of Massachusetts.
Among other grants was that of a lot of land to John
Baker "of a plantation called and known by the name
of Madawaska Settlement, in the County of Penobscot,
and State of Maine," the deed of which was executed
jointly by "George W. Coffin, agent for the Common-
wealth of Massachusetts, and James Irish, agent for the
State of Maine," on the third day of October, 1825.
Another deed of land situated below Baker's was made
to James Bacon.
Baker had a farm and a small store, and also a grist
and sawmill. Other settlers soon became his neighbors
and his place was a center and headquarters for the
American settlers in that locality.
One George Morehouse resided in Tobique, in a parish
then recently formed and known as Kent.
He held a magistrate's commission from the Province
of New Brunswick, and the first of the Madawaska
troubles seem to have arisen from a practice which he
had instituted as magistrate, although there is no evi-
dence that he was in the first instance in any way
authorized or instructed by the province authorities to
pursue it.
This was no less a procedure than issuing precepts
directed to the constables of the Parish of Kent, for the
recovery of small demands against the inhabitants along
the Aroostook River.
Criminal processes against these inhabitants were also
occasionally issued by Magistrate Morehouse.
The serving of these precepts was often resisted by
them and sometimes by force.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 243
That Baker was a leader among these settlers is true
and that he may have advised them to thus resist the
officers which he believed had no authority or jurisdiction
there, is also undoubtedly a fact.
Thus the strife between Morehouse and his followers
on the one hand, and the American settlers, led by
Baker, on the other hand, continually increased until it
seemed to have culminated some time in the early fall
of 1827 by an incident which now seems more amusing
than tragic.
The Americans had erected a staff, or what might
have been known as a ' 'liberty pole, ' ' although it does
not appear that they had any flag, and upon the top of
it had attached a rude representation of the American
Eagle.
The Americans had occasional gatherings and festivi-
ties around this national emblem, which it may be
imagined, were more or less convivial, and they sometimes
jeered and perhaps annoyed passers-by from the province
who acknowledged allegiance to the Sovereign of Eng-
land.
When Morehouse learned of this he became enraged
and called upon Baker and ordered him to remove it.
This Baker refused to do, whereupon Morehouse procured
a subpoena from Thomas Wetmore, Esq., attorney-
general of New Brunswick, dated September 17, 1827,
for his arrest.
Early in the morning of September 25th, while Baker
and his family were asleep, his house was surrounded by
an armed force and he was arrested and taken before
Magistrate Morehouse,* who committed him to the jail in
*Report of Charles S. Davies to the Governor of Maine, January
31, 1831, p. 29. There may be some doubt however about this
statement as the subpoena commanded him to appear before the
court in Fredericton.
244 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Fredericton without even examination or trial, if the
accounts of the transaction published at the time are to
be believed.
But while Morehouse may or may not have been
incited by the New Brunswick authorities to do these
unlawful acts, they were themselves responsible for some
things equally as illegal, among which was that of assess-
ing and levying a special and wholly illegal tax upon
these settlers which was known as the "Alien tax."
Baker was prosecuted at various times and one of the
alleged grounds for action against him and for several
other similar proceedings against Americans in Mada-
waska and along the Aroostook River was, that they
were trespassers on crown lands. Lumber that had
been sawed at Baker's mill was seized and confiscated
while being transported down the St. John.
Magistrate Morehouse seems to have spent consider-
able time in harassing the settlers on the Aroostook in
devious ways.
Early in the spring of 1827 he assumed to have author-
ity to prevent them from working on the lands which they
occupied, and forbade their doing so, and also posted up
written notices to this effect on the Eaton Grant, and
in different places; and marked some small piles of tim-
ber which they had cut, for seizure.!
He did not even treat them as English subjects but
apparently regarded them as outlaws and intruders with-
out a country, and without rights which anyone was
bound to respect.
In July, 1827, Daniel Craig, a deputy sheriff of the
Parish of Kent, who was sent by Morehouse, delivered
summonses to all of the inhabitants to appear before the
*Gov. Lincoln's letter to the Secretary of State of the United
States, September 3, 1827.
tDavies' Report, p. 10.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 245
court in Fredericton in pleas of trespass and intrusion
on crown lands.*
This sudden and unexpected proceeding naturally
created a state of consternation and alarm.
The precepts were served only a few days before the
court was to convene. Some went to Fredericton only
to learn that the cases were delayed until the next winter.
Some went part way and then returned home, while many
did not heed the summonses at all.
It was said that those who did go suffered much hard-
ship as they were far from home without means of suste-
nance.
One man, James Armstrong, was seized in the house
of his brother, Ferdinand Armstrong, placed in a canoe
and forcibly deported beyond the territory.!
Their market was at Houlton and their only means of
transportation was down the St. John River, but as
their produce was often seized while en route and as they
were subject to so much oppression from the provincial
officers, in the fall and winter of 1827-8 they deter-
mined to cut out a woods road to Houlton which should
be wholly on undisputed American soil.
The first attempt at this was a failure as the explorers
who were employed to "spot" out the road, lost their
way and after much suffering and privation, found them-
selves in Foxcroft.J
It is evident that these American settlers desired to
live quiet and peaceful lives, for the means which they
resorted to to circumvent provincial authority fully
demonstrate this.
When they had endured the methods and practices of
Morehouse and others as long as they felt it was possible,
*Davies' Report, p. 11.
tlb. p. 12.
Jib. p. 12.
246 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
instead of organizing an armed revolt which might have
been natural under the circumstances, they conceived the
idea of a general agreement to avoid all resort to courts
or legal proceedings whatever.
The plan was simple and yet unique and perhaps in a
degree communistic.
A paper was accordingly drawn up and signed by the
American inhabitants generally, constituting a sort of
compact, by which they mutually agreed to adjust all
disputes of whatever nature which might arise among
themselves, by virtue of referees, without admission of
British authority, and that they would support each
other in abiding by this determination.
This was to be a provisional agreement, to continue
in force only for one year ; and, in the meantime, appli-
cation was to be made to the government, in order to
obtain, if possible, the benefit of some regular authority. *
Thus these isolated and primitive people in that deso-
late and remote region, buffeted by the persecutions of
one government, and forsaken and abandoned to their
own resources by another government, more than half a
century after the treaty of 1783, proposed to free them-
selves from the tyranny of all magistrates, courts,
lawyers and officers.
This paper or written agreement among the inhabi-
tants of Madawaska, was, as will hereafter appear, one of
the grounds for the indictment against Baker and others
for alleged conspiracy and sedition.
The redoubtable Morehouse, as might have been
anticipated, appeared upon the scene as soon as he
learned of the existence of this written agreement and
demanded it of them, but it was in their estimation, too
sacred a document to part with, and they refused to
*Davies' Report, p. 23.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 247
deliver it up as did the people of Connecticut refuse to
surrender their ancient charter to James II in 1687.
At the Hilary term* of the Supreme Court in 1828,
the grand jury for the County of York in the Province
of New Brunswick found a true bill of indictment against
John Baker, James Bacon and Charles Studson, for
conspiracy.
The defendants, Bacon and Studson, were never taken
into custody, but John Baker was arrested and arraigned
Thursday, May 8, 1828, before the Honorable Chief
Justice Saunders, Mr. Justice Bliss and Mr. Justice
Chipman.
The indictment alleged that the defendants "being
persons greatly disaffected to our said lord the now
King, and his Government, within this his Majesty's
Province of New Brunswick, and being factiously and
seditiously disposed, on the fourth day of July in the
eighth year of the reign of our said Sovereign Lord
George the Fourth, with force and arms, at the parish
aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, did amongst them-
selves, conspire, combine, confederate, and agree together,
falsely, maliciously, factiously, and seditiously, and to
bring hatred and contempt on our said lord the King,
etc, etc."
The first overt act complained of in this indictment
was that on the said fourth day of July at the place
above named, the defendants "in pursuance of, and
according to said conspiracy," * * * * did "cause
to be raised and erected, a certain flag-staff, and did
place thereon a certain flag, as the Standard of the
United States of America."
*Hilary Term. In English law. A term of court, beginning on
the llth and ending on the 31st of January in each year. Super-
seded (1875) by Hilary sittings, which begin January llth, and end
on the Wednesday before Easter.
248 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The second overt act relates to the provisional paper
which the inhabitants had signed as above referred to
and alleged that the defendants had "applied to divers
liege subjects of our said lord the King, and then and
there presented to the same subjects a paper writing,
which they the said John Baker, James Bacon and
Charles Studson, then and there requested the said sub-
jects to sign, then and there declaring that, by the said
paper, they the said subjects, would bind themselves to
oppose the execution of the laws of Great Britain, to
wit, in the Madawaska settlement, so called. ' '
The third overt act states that the defendants ' 'did
oppose and obstruct the post man" in carrying the mail
through Madawaska settlement, etc.
The attorney general appeared and prosecuted the
case for the crown while the defendant Baker appeared
without counsel and defended himself during the trial.
Baker was found guilty, and sentenced to two months
imprisonment, and to pay a fine of 25 to the king.
Prior to the arrest of Baker he and James Bacon had
been selected by the inhabitants as "a deputation" to
proceed to the seat of government of Maine with a
request to have their case laid before the Legislature at
its next session ; and to enquire of the executive authority
whether they were recognized as citizens of the State of
Maine and entitled to its protection.
These two men attended to this duty by traveling on
foot and by canoe much of the way ; they then "returned
through the wilderness by the way they came. ' '
One of the results of their mission was the following
proclamation by the Governor of Maine :
"Whereas it has been made known to this State, that
one of its citizens has been conveyed from it, by a
Foreign Power, to a gaol in the Province of New Bruns-
wick ; and that many trespasses have been committed by
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
inhabitants of the same Province upon the sovereignty
of Maine and the rights of those she is bound to
protect.
"Be it also known, that, relying on the government
and people of the Union, the proper exertion will be
applied to obtain reparation and security.
"Those, therefore, suffering wrong, or threatened
with it, and those interested by sympathy, on account
of the violation of our territory and immunities, are
exhorted to forbearance and peace, so that the prepara-
tions for preventing the removal of our land marks, and
guarding the sacred and inestimable rights of American
citizens may not be embarrassed by any unauthorized
acts.
ENOCH LINCOLN.
Portland, November 9, 1827."
The Legislature of 1828 also passed this resolve:
"Whereas the sovereignty of this State has been
repeatedly violated by the acts of the agents and officers
of the Government of the British Province of New
Brunswick, and that government, by its agents and
officers, has wantonly and injuriously harassed the citi-
zens of this State, residing on the North Eastern frontier
of the same, and within its limits, by assuming to exer-
cise jurisdiction over them, in issuing and executing civil
and criminal process against them, by which their
property has been seized, and some of them arrested and
conveyed out of the State, and subjected to the opera-
tion of the laws of that Province; and in establishing
military companies within the territory of this State;
imposing fines for neglect of military duty ; imposing
upon our said citizens an alien tax, and requiring pay-
ment of the same ; and Whereas, by the exercise of the
aforesaid unwarranted acts of jurisdiction by the govern-
250 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
ment of the said Province, some of our citizens have
been deprived of their liberty, their property destroyed,
many of them driven from their lands and dwellings,
the tranquility and peace of all of them disturbed, and
the settlement and population of that part of the State
adjoining said Province, greatly retarded, if not wholly
prevented : Therefore,
"RESOLVED, That the present is a crisis, in which
the government and people of this State, have good
cause to look to the government of the United States
for defence and protection against foreign aggression.
"RESOLVED FURTHER, That if new aggressions
shall be made by the government of the Province of
New-Brunswick upon the territory of this State, and
upon its citizens, and seasonable protection shall not be
given by the United States, the Governor be, and he
hereby is requested to use all proper and constitutional
means in his power, to protect and defend the citizens
aforesaid in the enjoyment of their rights.
"RESOLVED FURTHER, That, in the opinion of
this Legislature, the Executive of the United States
ought, without delay, to demand of the British Govern-
ment the immediate restoration of John Baker, a citizen
of this State, who has been seized by the officers of the
Province of New Brunswick, within the territory of the
State of Maine, and by them conveyed to Fredericton,
in said Province, where he is now confined in prison ; and
to take such measures as will effect his early release.
"RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Governor be,
and he hereby is, authorized and requested, with the
advice and consent of Council, from time to time, to
extend to the family of the said John Baker, such relief
as shall be deemed necessary ; and he is hereby author-
ized to draw his warrant on the Treasury for such sum
or sums as shall be required for that purpose.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
251
In the House of Representatives, Feb. 16, 1828.
Read and passed,
JOHN RUGGLES, Speaker.
Attest, James L. Child, Clerk.
In Senate, February 18, 1828,
Read and passed,
ROBERT P. DUNLAP, President.
Attest, Ebenezer Hutchinson, Sec'y.
February 18, 1828 Approved,
ENOCH LINCOLN."
In 1831 the attempt of certain persons to hold an
election at Madawaska Settlement under the laws of
Maine, led to their arrest and trial by the authorities of
New Brunswick.
They were convicted and sentenced to fine and impris-
onment, but were afterwards released on the request of
the United States government, their action having been
disavowed by the authorities of Maine.
In June, 1837, Ebenezer Greeley of Dover, Maine,
was employed by the State of Maine as an agent to take
the census of the people of Madawaska, and at the same
time, to distribute their share of the surplus money
which had accumulated in the United States Treasury. *
A provincial constable arrested Mr. Greeley and car-
ried him as a prisoner to Fredericton, N. B.
But while the Fredericton officials had for some time
unhesitatingly imprisoned humble and uninfluential citi-
zens of Maine when brought to them in custody, they
were alarmed at this bold procedure. The sheriff there
feared to detain in gaol an agent or officer of the State
of Maine while in the discharge of his duties, and
refused to receive the prisoner. After being liberated,
* Abbot's History of Maine, p. 431.
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Mr. Greeley returned to the Aroostook and resumed his
labors as census taker.
In a short time after this, however, Governor Harvey
of New Brunswick, hearing that Mr. Greeley was distrib-
uting money to the people,* assumed, without making
any attempt to obtain evidence of the facts, that it was
done as a bribe to induce the inhabitants to continue
their allegiance to the United States.
He therefore ordered Mr. Greeley to be rearrested,
and he was lodged in Fredericton jaiLf
Governor Dunlap of Maine issued a general order
announcing that the soil of the State had been invaded
by a foreign power and the militia was called upon to
hold itself in readiness for momentary and active service.
A few weeks later, the British authorities, influenced
by a message from President Van Buren, again liberated
Mr. Greeley, who once more returned to the turbulent
Aroostook and remained there until he had completed
his services. J
That the people of the new State of Maine were
actuated by a spirit of patriotism, in vigorously oppos-
ing the encroachment of the officials of the Province of
New Brunswick, upon what they believed to be their terri-
tory ; that the feeling, when the District of Maine was
separated from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in
1820, and admitted into the Union of States, was intense
and increased year by year, as they saw what they deemed
to be their unquestioned rights, trampled upon by the
"This was the famous "distribution of the surplus" under
Pres. Jackson which was one of the most notable events of his
administration.
fAbbot's History of Maine, p. 431.
JMr. Greeley was released "without trial or explanation and
returned to his home." (Message of Gov. Kent, 1839.)
OF PISCATAftUIS COUNTY 253
province, supported and protected by Great Britain, was
bitter and uncompromising, is true.
William King, the first Governor of Maine, in his
message to the Legislature, June 2, 1820, refers to the
importance of the North Eastern Boundary question, to
both Maine and Massachusetts.
Governor Paris, in 1822, expressed "great anxiety,"
because of the disagreement of the commissioners, under
the treaty of Ghent, "in relation to the true boundary,
between the United States and the British Provinces,"
and he again referred to it in his message, in 1824.
In 1825, he also called attention to it, and to the fact
' 'that depredations, to a very considerable extent, have
been committed on our timber lands, lying on the Aroos-
took and Mawascah and other streams, ' ' and that ' 'these
depredations were committed by British Subjects."
And in 1826, a considerable part of his annual mes-
sage is devoted to this subject.
On January 17, 1826, the Joint Standing Committee
on State Lands, made a report to the Legislature, rela-
tive to the boundary question accompanied by the follow-
ing resolve, which received a passage :
"Resolved, That the Governor, for the time being,
be authorized and requested to take such measures as he
may think expedient and effectual, to procure for the
use of the State, copies of all such maps, documents,
publications, papers and surveys, relating to the North
Eastern Boundary of the United States, described in the
treaty of 1783, and such other information on that sub-
ject, as he may deem necessary and useful for this State
to be possessed of; and that the sum of five hundred
dollars be appropriated to carry into effect the provisions
of this Resolve ; and that the Governor be authorized to
draw his warrants on the treasury for the same, as occa-
254 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
sion, from time to time, may require, he to be accounta-
ble for the same.
"Resolved, That the Governor of this State, in con-
junction with the Governor of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, (provided said Commonwealth shall con-
cur in the measure,) be authorized to cause the Eastern
and Northern lines of the State of Maine to be
explored, and the monuments, upon those lines, men-
tioned in the treaty of 1783, to be ascertained in such
manner as may be deemed most expedient."
In 1829, Gov. Lincoln said in his message, "that the
decision of the dispute, as to our North Eastern
Boundary, is referred to the King of the Netherlands,
and while I submit that no reference in such a case, was
warrantable, yet there seems to be no objection to the
personage selected, for how can he, the subject of
impartial history, and not apparently dependent on any
advantage from either party, being an umpire between
nations, act but as the magnanimous dispenser of justice,
who has the power to achieve the most glorious victory
by the suppression of the most extreme error?"
When the Legislature of Maine convened, in 1831,
the King of the Netherlands had rendered his decision.
An official communication from President Van Buren
to Governor Smith, together with a translation of the
full text of the award, was transmitted to the Legisla-
ture, with a special message by the Governor, who had
also devoted a considerable portion of his annual mes-
sage to the matter.
A joint select committee was appointed by the Legis-
lature to consider the whole subject, who submitted an
elaborate and exhaustive report, full of indignation at
the findings of the arbitrator, signed by its chairman,
John G. Deane.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
255
It not only attacked the impartiality of the arbitrator,
but strongly intimated, that he was not in fact, a sover-
eign, within the true meaning of the convention, which
clothed him with the power and authority to act.
These resolutions closed as follows :
"Whereas, By the convention of September, 1827,
an independent sovereign was to be selected by the gov-
ernments of the United States and Great Britain, to
arbitrate and settle such disputes as had arisen, and the
King of the Netherlands was pursuant to that convention
selected the arbiter, while an independent sovereign, in
the plentitude of his power, exercising dominion and
authority over more than 6,000,000 of subjects:
"And Whereas, By the force of the prevalence of
liberal opinions in Belgium, the Belgians overthrew his
power and deprived him of more than half of his
dominions and reduced him to the former dominions of
the Stadtholder, leaving him with the empty title of the
King of the Netherlands while he is only the King of
Holland, and thereby increasing his dependence upon
Great Britain for holding his power even in Holland,
which from Public appearances, he held from a very
doubtful tenure in the affections of the Dutch.
"And Whereas, The King of the Netherlands had
not decided before his Kingdom was dismembered and he
consented to the division, and his public character had
changed, so that he had ceased to be that public char-
acter, and occupying that independent station among the
sovereigns of Europe contemplated by the convention of
September, 1827, and which led to his selection.
"Therefore Resolved in the opinion of this Legis-
lature, That the decision of the King of the Nether-
lands, cannot and ought not to be considered obligatory
upon the government of the United States, either on the
principles of right and justice, or of honor.
256 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"Resolved Further for the reasons before stated,
That no decision made by any umpire under any circum-
stances, if the decision dismembers a state, has or can
have, any constitutional force or obligation upon the
State thus dismembered unless the State adopt and sanc-
tion the decision. ' '
At the session of the Legislature of 1831, an act was
passed to incorporate the town of Madawaska, including
territory southward of the river St. John, and the dis-
puted territory northward* of that river.
In 1832, Governor Smith, in his annual message said:
"In the month of October last, information was
received that a number of the inhabitants of Madawaska
had organized themselves into a corporation, chosen
municipal officers, and subsequently a representative;
and that in consequence of these acts, the lieutenant-
governor and other authorities of New Brunswick, accom-
panied with a military force, had proceeded to Mada-
waska, and arrested a number of American citizens, who
were carried to Frederic-ton, and there imprisoned.
"Though the measures adopted by the inhabitants,
voluntarily organizing themselves into a corporation at
that place, then claimed to be under the actual juris-
diction of the Province of New Brunswick, were unex-
pected by me, and undertaken without my knowledge;
yet, as they acted in territory known to be within the
limits of Maine, and in obedience to the laws and con-
stitution, I considered that they were entitled to the aid
and protection of their government.
"Immediately, therefore, on receiving evidence of
these transactions, they were communicated, together
with all the circumstances in relation to them within my
knowledge, to the Department of State of the United
*Now Upper Madawaska in the Province of New Brunswick.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
States, with a request that the proper measures might
be adopted by the General Government to procure the
release of our citizens, and to protect the territory of
our State from invasion. Upon the receipt of this com-
munication, though the proceedings of the inhabitants
of Madawaska were considered to be a breach of the
arrangement made with the British Minister, for preserv-
ing the state of things as it then existed on both sides,
till a final disposition of the question, those measures
were promptly adopted by the President, which resulted
in the release of our citizens from imprisonment, and
rendered further proceedings on the part of this State,
in reference to that object, unnecessary."
A special committee was appointed, to which was
referred that part of Governor Smith's message that re-
lated to the North Eastern Boundary. Among its
members appear the names of Reuel Williams and Nathan
Clifford. They submitted the following resolves :
"Resolved, That the Constitution of the United
States does not invest the General Government with
unlimited and absolute powers, but confers only a special
and modified sovereignty, without authority to cede to
a foreign power any portion of territory belonging to a
State, without its consent.
"Resolved, That if there is any attribute of State
Sovereignty which is unqualified and undeniable, it is the
right of jurisdiction to the utmost limits of State Terri-
tory; and if a single obligation under the Constitution
rests upon the Confederacy, it is to guarantee the integ-
rity of this territory to the quiet and undisturbed enjoy-
ment of the States.
1 'Resolved, That the doings of the King of Holland,
on the subject of the boundary between the United
States and Great Britain, are not a decision of the
question submitted to the King of the Netherlands; and
258 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
that his recommendation of a suitable or convenient line
of boundary is not obligatory upon the parties to the
submission.
"Resolved, That this State protests against the
adoption, by the Government of the United States, of
the line of boundary recommended by the King of
Holland as a suitable boundary between Great Britain
and the United States ; inasmuch as it will be a violation
of the rights of Maine, rights acknowledged and insisted
upon by the General Government, and will be a prece-
dent which endangers the integrity, as well as the inde-
pendence, of every State in the Union.
"Resolved, That while the people of this State are
disposed to yield a ready obedience to the Constitution
and laws of the United States, they will never consent to
surrender any portion of their territory, on the recom-
mendation of a foreign power.
"Resolved, That the Governor, with advice of
Council, be authori/ed to appoint a competent agent,
whose duty it shall be, as soon as may be, to repair to
the City of Washington, and deliver to the President of
the United States a copy of the preceding Report and
these Resolutions, with a request that he will lay the
same before the Senate of the United States; and also
deliver a copy to the Vice President, to each of the
Heads of Departments, and to each member of the
Senate, and to our Representative in Congress.
"Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be
instructed, and our Representatives requested, to use
their best efforts to prevent our State from being dis-
membered, our territory alienated, and our just rights
prostrated, by the adoption of a new line for our North
Eastern Boundary, as recommended by the King of
Holland.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
259
"Resolved, That the agent to be appointed by the
Governor and Council, be instructed to cooperate with
our Senators and Representatives, in advocating and
enforcing the principles advanced, and positions taken,
in the foregoing Resolutions, and in supporting all such
measures as shall be deemed best calculated to preserve
the integrity of our State, and prevent any portion of
our territory and citizens from being transferred to a
Foreign Power."
Governor Dunlap, in 1834, notes that this question
is still unsettled, but considers that the way ' 'is now open
for the ultimate attainment of our rights," inasmuch
that the President of the United States had announced
as the policy of the national administration, in negoti-
ations with foreign powers, to "submit to nothing that
is wrong."
In the years 1834, 1835 and 1836 the Governors'
messages refer to it only as "yet being in an unsettled
state," but in 1837, Governor Dunlap regrets that he
has "received no information to warrant the opinion
that a speedy adjustment is expected," and asserts that
"our soil and our sovereignty have been invaded."
A joint committee at this session of the Legislature
was appointed to investigate and report. John Holmes
was its chairman on the part of the House.
Their report of ten pages was one of the most search-
ing that had been made, and they submitted the follow-
ing resolutions :
"Resolved, That we view with much solicitude the
British usurpations and encroachments on the north-
eastern part of the territory of this State.
"Resolved, That pretensions so groundless and
extravagant indicate a spirit of hostility which we had no
reason to expect from a nation with whom we are at
peace.
260 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
"Resolved, That vigilance, resolution, firmness and
union on the part of this State, are necessary in this
state of the controversy.
"Resolved, That the Governor be authorized and
requested to call on the President of the United States
to cause the North Eastern Boundary of this State to be
explored and surveyed and monuments erected according
to the Treaty of 1783.
"Resolved, That the cooperation of Massachusetts
be requested.
"Resolved, That our Senators in Congress be
instructed, and our Representatives requested to endeavor
to obtain a speedy adjustment of the controversy.
"Resolved, That copies of this report and resolutions
be transmitted to the Governor of Massachusetts, the
President of the United States, to each of our Senators
and Representatives in Congress and other Senators in
Congress, and the Governors of the several States."
When the Legislature of 1838 had assembled, the
people of Maine had become exasperated, for since the
adjournment of the last Legislature, the depredations
and trespasses upon territory that was in dispute, also
upon portions of territory to which the title of Maine
was practically undisputed, had increased to an alarming
degree.
The province people, evidently fully supported by their
officials and the government of Great Britain, had never
before been so arrogant, defiant and insolent in extend-
ing by force and unlawful means, their alleged jurisdic-
tional rights, as during the years then drawing to a
close. The conditions were acute and the situation
serious.
The Whigs had gained the ascendancy in Maine and
had elected Edward Kent, governor. Governor Kent
was an able lawyer and a profound jurist, and was for
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 261
many years after, one of the ablest, members of the
Supreme Court of this State. He had informed himself
fully of the complex conditions and had given the whole
matter careful consideration, hence, his elaboration of it
in his annual message is such a lucid history of the
events to that time, and the rights of Maine as viewed
from a conservative and judicial standpoint, that copious
extracts are herein made from it. Among other things
he said:
"Constitutional Law is the broad and ample shield
under which a whole people rest in security and peace.
Like the atmosphere in which we move, it presses with
immense, but equal and balanced power, to sustain the
body politic. It protects the infant in its cradle and the
magistrate in the seat of Justice. It gives the conscious-
ness of security and safety to the unarmed and the peace-
ful, and is more than bolts and bars in guarding every
man's castle his own domestic hearth. The weak fear
not the strength of the powerful, and the poor and
despised tremble not at the oppressor's frown. To such
law every good citizen bows in cheerful submission, and
with ready acquiescence, for it is but the embodied
expression of his own sovereignty. But when, instead
of the law of legislation, we have the law of the strong-
est, and, instead of judicial and executive administration,
the summary inflictions of an infuriated mob, stung to
madness by temporary rage, savage, remorseless and irre-
sponsible, excited by some imagined insult or real injury,
or perhaps by the expression of obnoxious and unpopular
sentiments we have a state of society at which the
boldest may well tremble, and the most ardent despair.
*********
"It is certainly a remarkable fact, that fifty-five years
after the recognition of American independence by
Great Britain, and the formal and precise demarkation
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
of our limits, in the treaty of peace, the extent of those
limits, and the territory rightfully subject to our juris-
diction, should be a matter of dispute and difference.
I feel it to be my duty, in this my first official act, to
call your attention to that vitally important question,
the true limits of our State, and to express to you and
the people my views of the claim set up by a foreign
State to the rightful possession of a large part of our
territory.
"I do not intend to enter into a historical detail, or
an elaborate argument to sustain the American claim on
our North Eastern Boundary. The whole subject has
been for years before the people, and our rights, and the
grounds upon which they rest, have been ably main-
tained, and clearly set forth, in our formal documents
and informal discussions.
"I will not trespass needlessly upon your time and
patience by a recapitulation. If there is any meaning
in plain language, and any binding force in treaty
engagements if recognition and acquiescence for a long
series of years on the part of Great Britain in one uni-
form expression and construction of the boundaries of
her Provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia, is of any
weight, then the right of Maine to the territory in
dispute is as clear and unquestionable as to the spot upon
which we now stand. It requires, indeed, the exercise
of charity to reconcile the claim now made by Great
Britain with her professions of strict integrity and high
sense of justice in her dealings with other nations; for it
is a claim of very recent origin, growing from an
admitted right in us, and proceeding, first, to a request
to vary our acknowledged line for an equivalent, and then,
upon a denial, to a wavering doubt, and from thence to
an absolute claim.
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
"It has required and still requires, all the talents of
her statesmen, and skill of her diplomatists, to render
that obscure and indefinite, which is clear and unam-
biguous. I cannot for a moment doubt that if the same
question should arise in private life, in relation of the
boundaries of two adjacent farms, with the same evidence
and the same arguments, it would be decided by any
court, in any civilized country, without hesitation or
doubt, according to our claim.
"But Great Britain was anxious for a direct communi-
cation between her provinces. She sought it first as a
favor and a grant. She now demands about one third
part of our territory as her right.
"The pertinacity and apparent earnestness and confi-
dence with which this claim is urged, in the very face of
the treaty, and the facts bearing upon the question,
have been increased, I fear, by the probably unexpected
forbearance, if not favor, with which they have been
received and treated by the American authorities. It
can hardly be a matter of surprise that the claim is
pressed upon us, when instead of standing upon the
treaty plain, definite and capable of execution as it
manifestly is our own General Government has volun-
tarily suggested a variation of that line, certainly in
their favor, by running west of the due north line of the
treaty, and there to seek the highlands ; thus yielding up
the starting point, the northwest angle of Nova Scotia,
and throwing the whole matter into uncertainty and con-
fusion. Fortunately for us, the English negotiators,
thinking, probably, that a nation which would yield
so much, would probably yield more, declined the
proposition, unless other concessions were made. The
remarkable adjudication made by the arbiter selected
under the treaty, resulting merely in advice, the move-
ment on the part of Maine, in 1832, in the negotiation
264 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
to yielding up the territory for an equivalent, the appar-
ent apathy and indifference of the General Government
to the encroaching jurisdiction by New Brunswick, her
unopposed establishment of a wardenship over the terri-
tory the repeated incarceration of the citizens of
Maine, for acts done on this her territory, almost with-
out a murmur of disapprobation or remonstrance, and
the delay of the President to run the line as authorized
by Congress, have all, I fear, served to strengthen and
encourage the claim, which was first put forth with doubt
and argued with many misgivings.
"The commission and arbitration under treaty having
failed, and our ultra liberal offers either declined or
neglected, the parties are turned back to their rights and
their limits under the treaties of 1783 and 1814.
"But in truth, the only question in dispute, or about
which there was any difference between the two govern-
ments, until since the last war and the last treaty, was
to which river was the true St. Croix of the treaty.
This being settled, and its head or source fixed, (as it
has been) the line is to run due north to the south line
of Canada, and the northwest angle of Nova Scotia.
That line should be run without delay, as authorized by
Congress.
"We warrant the information and the facts; we wish
to examine the heigh th of land which divides the waters
flowing into the St. Lawrence from those running into
the Atlantic, and ascertain its elevation and character.
We wish to have our land marks placed on our exterior
limits, and maintain our own.
"We wish to test the truth of the assertion, that
there is no northwest angle of Nova Scotia, and no such
dividing heighth of land as the treaty contemplates, by
a correct and scientific examination on the face of the
earth. Surely rights of examination, which are secured
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 65
to individual claimants, are not to be denied to sovereign
States.
4 'Our situation in relation to this question, owing to
the peculiar nature of our government and institutions,
is interesting, viewed either with reference to the foreign
power with which we are at issue, or our own General
Government. Our right and title, clear and perfect as
we believe them to be, are, it must be admitted, subjects
of dispute, and the first and great question is, how is
this dispute to be settled? The line disputed is the
Eastern boundary of the United States and of the State
of Maine. The General Government is the only power
which by the constitution can treat with a foreign
government, or be acknowledged or known by that
government, in negotiations. Maine acknowledges the
right of the General Government to establish the line,
according to the terms of the treaty of 1783, and claims
a performance of that duty without delay. But whilst
she concedes that power, she insists with equal confidence
upon the position, that no variation of the treaty line,
no concession of any part of our territory, and no con-
ventional line can be granted or adopted, without the
consent of this State.
"Whatever territory is included within the line run-
ning from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia west-
wardly along the 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 the Connecticut river, and the line running
directly south from said angle to the established source
of the St. Croix, is within the State of Maine.
' 'If there is a dispute as to the location of that angle,
and those lines that question, and that question only,
is to be settled by the general government.
266 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
4 'In making this assertion, we do not more distinctly
acknowledge a power than claim the performance of a
duty. In the first sentence of the Constitution of the
United States, one of the important objects in the
information of that constitution, as there expressed, is
'to provide for the common defence,' and this duty is
afterwards in the same instrument, more specifically
pointed out in the provision, that, 'The United States
shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican
form of government, and shall protect each of them
against invasion. ' Under that constitution, the exer-
cise of certain rights was denied to the States ; all not
expressly taken away were reserved to the States and
certain new rights were created.
"Foremost, and most important, of these newly
created State rights, is the right, on the part of each
State, to demand the aid of all, by the action of the
general government, whenever any foreign power inter-
feres with the territorial rights of such State.
"No State is to be left to defend its soil and maintain
its just rights single handed and alone, to engage in
border skirmishes and partizan warfare, and sustain that
warfare at its own expense.
"It is the duty of a State to claim and assert its
rights to jurisdiction, and it is the duty of the general
government to protect and maintain them, if just and
well founded. The acknowledgement of this State right
to protection is particularly important to Maine,
environed by foreign territory, and forming a frontier
State in the Union. Denied the power to negotiate
with foreign governments, or to declare and carry on
war in defence of her rights, this State can call, in a
strong voice, upon that government to which has been
delegated those high powers, for protection in the exer-
cise of her jurisdictional rights. Perfect unity of pur-
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 267
pose and frankness in disclosures ought to characterise
all intercourse between the State and National Govern-
ments, on this topic. No course is so well calculated to
lead to distrust and embarrassment, and to inspire confi-
dence in the opposing claimants, as diplomatic evasions
and jarring and discordant correspondence. We would
use no threats of disunion or resistance. We trust that
it will never be necessary for a State to assume a hostile
attitude, or threatening language, to enforce practically
its claims to protection.
"But Maine has a right to know, fully and explicitly,
the opinion and determination of the general govern-
ment, and whether she is to be protected, or left to
struggle alone and unaided. I see little to hope from
the forbearance or action of the British government.
Their policy, it is apparent, is to delay a settlement of
the question, and to extend their actual jurisdiction over
the territory, that it may ripen into a right, or at least in
future controversies give them the advantage of pos-
session.
"The loose and extremely undefined jurisdiction over
the small French Settlement at Madawaska, has been the
foundation of a claim to actual jurisdiction, and the
establishment of wardenship over the whole territory.
In pursuance of this plan and policy, they have seized,
at various times, heretofore, American citizens, and
thrust them into prison, for alleged offences, and dur-
ing the past season, the Lieut. Governor of New Bruns-
wick has visited the territory in person, and received the
loyal assurance of such of its inhabitants as were ready
to acknowledge their allegiance. A citizen of our State,
Ebenezer S. Greeley, now lies imprisoned at Fredericton,
seized, as it is said, for exercising power delegated to
him under a law of this State. The facts connected
268 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
with this arrest are unknown to me, and I therefore for-
bear to comment at this time upon them.
"If the facts are, that he was so seized, for such a
lawful act, the dignity and sovereignty of the State and
nation demand his immediate release.
"I am aware that we are met by the assertion that
the parties have agreed to permit the actual jurisdiction
to remain, pending the negotiation as it existed before.
I have yet seen no evidence that such an agreement was
ever formally entered into by the parties. But certainly
Maine was no party to such an understanding, and at all
events it could never have been intended to be perpetu-
ally binding, or to extend beyond the termination of the
then pending negotiation. That negotiation is ended.
The old ground of claim at Mars Hill is abandoned; a
new allegation is made that the treaty cannot be exe-
cuted and must be laid aside. In the meantime this
wardenship is established, and the claim to absolute
jurisdiction, not merely at Madawaska, but over the
whole territory north, is asserted and enforced.
"If this jurisdiction is to be tolerated and acquiesced
in indefinitely, we can easily see why negotiation lags,
and two years elapse between a proposition and the
reply. They have all they want, and the jurisdiction is
claimed by them so absolutely that we cannot send an
agent to number the people, and must hesitate before
the disputed line can be run, to fix our limits and ascer-
tain important facts.
"The first duty of Maine, as it seems to me, is to claim
the immediate action of the general government, to
move efficiently and decidedly, to bring the controversy
to a conclusion. We have had years of negotiation,
and we are told that we are apparently no nearer to a
termination than at the commencement. Maine has
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 269
waited with most exemplary patience, until even her
large stock is almost exhausted.
' 'She has no disposition to embarrass the action of the
General Government, but she asks that some action be
had some movement made with a determined purpose
to end the controversy.
"She cannot quietly submit to have her territory
wrested from her, her citizens imprisoned, her territorial
jurisdiction annihilated, and her rights lost by the bold
and persevering and unopposed claims of a foreign
power. She cannot consent to be left alone in the con-
troversy, or to be left in doubt as to the aid or counte-
nance she may receive from the authorities of the Union
in maintaining her acknowledged rights. She asks the
quiet and undisturbed possession of her territory, accord-
ing to the treaty, and that foreign and intrusive posses-
sion be put an end to ; and by this claim she will abide.
She will do nothing rashly, and indulge in no spirit of
nullification ; and it will not be until all hope of settling
the vexed question by negotiation, and all requests for
other aid are denied or neglected, that she will throw
herself entirely upon her own resources, and maintain,
unaided and alone, her just rights, in the determined
spirit of injured freemen. But those rights must be
vindicated and maintained ; and if all appeals for aid and
protection are in vain, and her constitutional rights are
disregarded, forbearance must cease to be a virtue and,
in the language of the lamented Lincoln, Maine may be
'compelled to deliberate on an alternative which will
test the strictness of her principles and the firmness of
her temper. ' The recent movement in Congress by one
of our Representatives sustained, as we confidently
trust, by his colleagues, gives some encouragement to
hope that the day for decisive action is at hand.
"To you delegated guardians of the people's rights
J
270 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
I submit these remarks, and to you I leave the consid-
eration of this momentous subject, confident that you
will not yield to an unjust claim, or jeopardize our
rights by delay in asserting them. It is for you to say
upon mature reflection, whether, in speaking in the
name of Maine, I have exceeded the bounds of prudence,
or mistaken the feelings of the people. I confess that
my convictions are strong, that Maine has been wronged
by a foreign government, and neglected by our own
and I do not understand the diplomatic art of softening
the expression of unpalatable truths.
"I can only assure you that I most cheerfully co-op-
erate in maintaining our rights to protection in the exer-
cise of our rightful jurisdiction."
From the time when the King of the Netherlands in
1831, rendered his decision until the whole matter came
to a crisis in Maine in 1839, the Federal government
did not make any decisive move that would be a notice
to the world that her frontier in Maine was to be pro-
tected at all hazards.
History often repeats itself. Then even more than
now the party in power was inclined to consider first of
all what effect such action would have upon its political
fortunes.
President Jackson had not acted with his usual vigor
and aggressiveness in any attempts to settle this question
with England and preserve our rights, maintain our
national honor, and protect the rights and honor of a
sovereign state against the overt acts of a foreign power.
He had disappointed his political friends and lent
encouragement to his enemies in both Maine and Massa-
chusetts.
President Van Buren took his seat in 1838, and,
although the situation was much more serious than at
any time during Jackson's administration, he was equally
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 271
as inclined to procrastinate if not to vacillate about this
subject of such vast importance, as was his predecessor.
During this period Maine had been ably represented
in both houses of Congress.
In the Senate had been such men as Ether Shepley,
Peleg Sprague, John Holmes and Reuel Williams.
In the lower house had been George Evans, F. O. J.
Smith, Gorham Parks, Leonard Jarvis and Virgil D.
Paris. It was at this time, 1837-39, that Thomas
Davee of Blanchard was a representative.
The Maine delegation heartily supported by the
Massachusetts delegation had been incessant in their
efforts to force the administration to action.
Of their vigilance and faithfulness in this respect and
their endeavors to constantly keep this issue a prominent
one before the country there can be no doubt.
And yet eloquent speeches in Congress, convincing
passages in Governors' messages and exciting reports and
resolves of legislative committees, however much they
might have aroused public sentiment in Maine, failed of
having any salutory effect upon our arrogant neighbors
across the border, sustained as they were by the power-
ful arm of Great Britain, so long as the policy of the
national government was a passive one.
Rather did their magistrates become more defiant in
claiming jurisdictional rights over the disputed territory,
by issuing civil and criminal processes against the settlers
along the Aroostook, Madawaska and upper St. John
Rivers, and their officers more bold and domineering,
and trespassing on these lands was increasing.
On the 14th of December, 1838, the land agents of
Massachusetts and Maine, appointed George W. Buck-
more an agent to proceed to the Fish Rivers, and investi-
gate the trespassing by New Brunswick parties and pre-
vent such trespassing if possible.
272 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Based upon the report which Buckmore made to the
land agent and other similar reports Governor Fairfield,
January 23, 1839, submitted to the Legislature a mes-
sage, in which he asserted that, "By this report it
appears that a large number of men, many of them, I
am informed, from the British provinces, are trespassing
very extensively upon the lands belonging to this State :
that, they not only refuse to desist, but defy the power
of this government to prevent their cutting timber to
any extent they please.
"Upon the Grand River, it is estimated there are from
forty to fifty men at work. On the Green River, from
twenty to thirty.
"On the Fish River, from fifty to seventy-five men
with sixteen yoke of oxen and ten pair of horses, and
more daily expected to go in. On township H ten men,
six oxen and one pair of horses. On the little Mada-
waska seventy-five men, with twenty yoke of oxen and
ten horses. At the Aroostook Falls fifteen men with
six yoke of oxen.
"The quantity of timber which these trespassers will
cut the present winter is estimated in value, by the
Land Agent at one hundred thousand dollars. ' '
And the Governor very pertinently remarked that it
was not merely the property that was at stake, but "the
character of the State is clearly involved."
He recommended to the Legislature that the land
agent be instructed forthwith to proceed to the place of
operation on the Aroostook and Fish Rivers with a suf-
ficient number of men suitably equipped, to "seize the
teams and provisions, break up the camps, and disperse
those who are engaged in this work of devastation and
pillage. ' '
Rums
LAND AGENT m MAIXK, 1839
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 273
In this report Mr. Buckmore* says: "During my
stop at the Madawaska settlement, I was called upon by
Francis Rice, and Leonard R. Coombs, Esquires, two of
the Magistrates living at Madawaska, to learn my busi-
ness on the St. John River, which I freely communicated.
They said they were authorized by the Governor to arrest
all persons attempting to exercise jurisdiction, on the
part of the American Government, in the Madawaska
settlement, and that they should forward a copy
of my instructions to the Governor at Fredericton. "
January 24, 1839, the Legislature passed a resolve
instructing and empowering the land agent to carry out
the recommendations of the Governor and appropriating
ten thousand dollars for the purpose.
In 1838, the Democrats had defeated Governor Kent,
the Whig governor, and were again in power in Maine
and had elected John Fairfield, governor, who was
inaugurated in 1839.
He appointed Rufus Mclntire of Parsonsfield, land
agent.
Mr. Mclntire was unquestionably a man of ability and
integrity. He was a lawyer and had represented his
district in Congress four terms.
Pursuant to the legislative resolve above referred to,
Governor Fairfield ordered the land agent to go to the
Aroostook and Madawaska country for the purpose of
carrying out the provisions of the resolve.
Mr. Mclntire employed Major Hastings Strickland of
Bangor, then sheriff of Penobscot County, to accompany
and assist him in this work.
Consequently an expedition left Bangor during the
first week of February, 1839, consisting of the land
agent, Major Hastings Strickland, with a large civil
*Buckmore's report was made to Elijah L. Hamlin, land agent,
in 1838.
274 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
posse, Ebenezer Webster and Captain Stover Rines of
Orono, and Gustavus G. Cushman of Bangor.
They proceeded to the mouth of the Little Madawaska
River, where they encamped.
During the night of February 12, the house or camp
where Mclntire slept was surrounded by about forty
armed men. Mclntire and those with him were awak-
ened, placed under arrest and ordered to be ready at
once to march to Fredericton. Mclntire demanded by
what authority they arrested him, and the commander
pointing his musket at Mclntire's breast, said, "This is
our authority."
They were taken before a magistrate at Woodstock,
who issued a warrant against Land Agent Mclntire,
Gustavus G. Cushman and Thomas B. Bartlett of Ban-
gor, and they were forthwith marched to Fredericton
and lodged in jail.
On Sunday, February 17th, the citizens of Bangor
enjoyed the sight of two of the leading men among the
province trespassers, Mr. McLaughlin, warden of the
public lands in New Brunswick, and Captain Tibbets of
the Tobique settlement, being escorted as prisoners
through the streets of that city.
They had been captured by the Maine soldiers a few
days before and were taken to Bangor, but unlike the
prisoners captured by the British they were not lodged
in the Bangor jail, but were lodged in the Bangor House
and fared sumptuously.*
"The Bangor Whig, in speaking of this occurrence, editorially,
remarked:
"It is worthy of remark and remembrance, that our Land Agent,
when passing through Woodstock, was greeted with jeers and
insults by British Subjects, but when the British Land Agent rode
through this city, although there were over a thousand people assem-
bled in the streets, he was suffered to pass in silence. Not a lip
was opened or an insult offered."
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 275
On March 1, 1839, news was received in Bangor that
a regiment of eight hundred Fusileers had arrived in
the city of St. John, from Cork, Ireland, and would
march forthwith to the disputed territory. Five
hundred British Regulars had arrived at Madawaska
from the city of Quebec, and eight pieces of cannon
had been transported up the St. John River from
Fredericton. The people of Maine were kept informed
of the doings at the "Seat of War" by special mes-
sengers, stages and express teams, daily coming into
Bangor. The Bangor Whig was published daily, and
was one of the most enterprising of the Maine news-
papers of the day.
It kept a "war correspondent" at Houlton and had
a column or more in every issue for several weeks, giving
graphic descriptions of the scenes of "war," of the
hardships which were encountered, and of the soldiers
tenting on the melting snow-drifts, all the way from
Houlton to Madawaska. Some of this correspondence
would have done credit to the "stories" of the
"yellow" journals of today.
In one of these letters, published March 7th, the
writer says: * * * * "let us give every hireling
and subject of a monarchy, that grant to territory,
which King Harold of yore was willing to give to the
Norwegian King seven feet by two. ' '
The news of that day and the editorials in the papers
at the time, were more or less colored by the issues of
Maine politics. The Bangor Whig was violently parti-
san and for a time did not give Governor Fairfield, who
was a Democrat, and had been chosen governor over
Governor Kent, credit for being either competent or
patriotic. But as the public mind became intensified
in favor of protecting our border, it changed its course
and was soon supporting his official acts as loyally as did
276 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The Argus, The Age, or any of the Democratic papers.
When Sheriff Strickland first went to the Aroostook
with his posse, and when Mclntire was taken prisoner
by Sir John Harvey's officers, the Whig papers contended
that Mclntire* left his camp and troops and went within
a mile of the enemy to obtain a feather bed to sleep
upon, and was thus seen and captured, and that if he
had been content to have reposed upon spruce boughs he
would not have fallen into the toils of the enemy.
Some slurs were also cast upon Hastings Strickland for
what they termed his "untimely haste," in escaping from
the British officers, intimating that he was cowardly,
and retreated very unceremoniously. The facts however
were that he was alert enough not to be taken prisoner,
as some of his companions were, and perceived at once
the necessity for immediate and decisive action on the
part of Governor Fairfield and Adjutant General
Hodgdon, if Maine's rights were to be protected. Being
a man of great energy he went from Madawaska to
Augusta as rapidly as relays of swift horses would carry
himt for the purpose of prevailing upon the State gov-
ernment at Augusta to mobilize troops upon the border
without further delay. Maj. Strickland was a man of
political sagacity and a leader of influence in the Demo-
cratic party, and one that Governor Fairfield relied upon
for advice and counsel.
Naturally both political parties tried to make political
capital for themselves ; the effect of which was to hinder
efficient progress in protecting our frontier.
The Democrats criticized Governor Kent in 1838, and
*When Mclntire was imprisoned Governor Fairfield appointed
Colonel Charles Jarvis provisional land agent.
tBangor newspapers stated that Major Strickland did not even
stop at his home in Bangor but proceeded directly to Augusta.
MA.JOII HASTINGS STHIC KT.ANI)
SHEHIFF OF PKNOKSCOT COUNTY. 1H38-9
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 277
in turn the Whigs blamed Governor Fairfield whenever
it was possible to do so.
As the "Aroostook War" or the military movement
of troops to the frontier was made under Governor Fair-
field, the Whigs for many years thereafter, kept up an
incessant fire of ridicule against him, and Land Agent
Mclntire and Major Strickland.
In this way it became a false tradition that the latter
ran away from a conflict to escape imprisonment. One
of the doggerels of the day commenced :
"Run, Strickland, run!
Fire, Stover, fire!
Were the last words of Mclntire."
In the meantime the situation was becoming more and
more inflammatory. It was the subject of discussion and
agitation in England as well as America. On the 7th
of March, 1839, both Lord Brougham and the Duke of
Wellington made speeches regarding it in the House of
Lords, calling attention to information which had been
received from Canada and New Brunswick to the effect
that lawless Yankees were invading and trespassing upon
the British soil.
When the people of Maine received news of the proc-
lamation of Sir John Harvey, lieutenant-governor of
New Brunswick, of February 13, 1839, which was a dec-
laration of war, and the imprisonment of the land agent,
the feeling of indignation was deep and universal.
The Legislature appropriated eight hundred thousand
dollars to be used by the Governor for the protection of
the public lands.
A draft was also ordered for ten thousand three hun-
dred and forty-three men from the militia to be ready
for immediate action.
General Bachelder was commander of the western
division of militia. Many volunteers from Penobscot
I
278 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
and Piscataquis Counties and other eastern portions of
the State were also enlisted.
Within a week ten thousand American troops were
either in the Aroostook region, or on the march there.
The national government was at last awake to the
seriousness of the situation. Congress passed a bill
authorizing the President of the United States to raise
fifty thousand troops for the support of Maine, and
appropriating ten million dollars to meet the expense if
war became unavoidable.
General Scott was ordered to the scene of action,
informing Governor Fairfield that he was "specially
charged with maintaining the peace and safety of the
entire northern and eastern frontiers." He arrived in
Augusta with his staff the fifth of March, 1839, and
opened headquarters.
General Scott was also clothed with full power to act
as mediator between the State of Maine and the Province
of New Brunswick and on entering upon negotiations
which would if possible end further hostilities. He
immediately communicated officially with Governor
Fairfield and Sir John Harvey.
The result was that on March 23, 1839, Sir John
Harvey agreed to the terms of settlement negotiated by
General Scott, and on March 25 the same were ratified
by Governor Fairfield, who immediately issued orders to
recall the troops from the Aroostook and the prisoners
on both sides were liberated.
Thus ended the famous "Aroostook War," and
fortunately for the people of the State and the province it
was a bloodless one. It has been derided and scoffed at
and regarded as a huge international joke, and often
has it been the subject for jest and laughter on the
stump, and ever a fertile field for the grotesque wit of
newspaper writers.
OF PISCATAQUJS COUNTY
279
And yet it is an incident in international history, in
the history of the nation, and of the State of Maine,
that is of supreme importance and interest.
For years its solution puzzled the wisest of our states-
men. The people of Maine believed that the territory
which they possessed, and to which no one else had any
rightful or lawful interest, was being wrongfully and
illegally taken from them and that the government at
Washington delayed the assertion of our rights unnec-
essarily, because it feared Great Britain.
Two expeditions were made to the Aroostook and
Madawaska country. The first one as we have seen, was
by the land agent, accompanied by Major Strickland
as sheriff of Penobscot County, with a posse of men,
for the purpose of driving off trespassers upon Maine
soil. The second expedition was a military one to repel
an invasion of the State, which the lieutenant-governor
of New Brunswick, Sir John Harvey, had threatened to
make.
Patriotic sons of the Pine Tree State left their homes
and firesides in the most inclement season known to our
rigorous climate and marched through the deep snows of
a wilderness, two hundred miles, to defend our frontier
from foreign invasion, when the Federal government was
needlessly procrastinating and turning a deaf ear to the
cries of suffering and oppressed pioneers in the upper St.
John valley.
Because the good fortunes of diplomacy triumphed
and averted the shedding of blood, is no reason why they
are not entitled to a high place in the roll of honor, with
all of the other hosts of patriotic defenders of our
country, and the protection of her glory and renown.
In his annual message January 3, 1840, Governor
Fail-field in referring to the Resolves of the Legislature,
passed in March, 1839, explains the withdrawal of the
280 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
troops, by saying: "Soon after the adoption of the
resolution, I received the written assent of the Lieu-
tenant Governor of New Brunswick to the following,
made to him by Major General Scott, to wit: 'That it
is not the intention of the Lieutenant Governor of Her
Britannic Majesty's Province of New Brunswick, under
the expected renewal of negotiations between the Cabi-
nets of London and Washington on the subject of said
disputed territory, without renewed instructions to that
effect, from his government, to seek to take military
possession of that territory, or to seek by military force,
to expel the armed civil posse or the troops of Maine. '
Upon the basis of this arrangement the troops were
recalled by the Governor, but he kept quite a large force
or civil posse there after the withdrawal of the troops,
under the direction and control of the land agent.
But war between the United States and England was
averted through friendly diplomacy. What is known as
the Webster- Ashburton treaty in American history was
its final adjustment. This treaty was negotiated by
Daniel Webster and Lord Alexander Baring Ashburton
in August, 1842, and subsequently accepted and ratified
by both governments.
The commissioners who represented the State of Maine
at the hearings before Webster and Ashburton were
Edward Kavanagh, Edward Kent, Wm. P. Preble and
John Otis.
On the part of Massachusetts appeared Abbot
Lawrence, John Mills and Charles Allen.
At this treaty the frontier line between the State of
Maine and Canada was settled for all time.
By it, seven twelfths of the disputed ground, including
that part of Madawaska that lies on the southerly side
of the St. John River, were given to the United States,
and five twelfths of the ground to Great Britain ; but it
OF PISCATAQ.UIS COUNTY
281
secured a better military frontier for England, and
included heights commanding the St. Lawrence, which
the award of the King of the Netherlands had assigned
to the Americans.
Documentary History of the North
Eastern Boundary Controversy.
(From State Papers, 2nd Sess. 20th Cong. 1828-9,
Doc. No. 90.)
Report of the trial of John Baker, at the Bar of the
Supreme Court, on Thursday, the 8th May, 1828,
for conspiracy.
In the Hilary term of the Supreme Court, the Grand
Jury for the county of York found a true bill of indict-
ment against John Baker, James Bacon and Charles
Studson, for conspiracy. The two defendants, James
Bacon and Charles Studson, were not taken; but the
defendant, John Baker, being in custody, was brought
to the bar and arraigned, and thereupon pleaded not
guilty, at the same time protesting against the proceed-
ings, arid that he was not amenable to the jurisdiction
of this court.
He was afterwards, during the term, admitted to bail,
and entered into recognizance, himself in 100, and two
sureties in 50 each, for his appearance at the present
term, to traverse the indictment, and in the meantime
to keep the peace and be of good behavior.
On Wednesday, the 7th instant, the Attorney General
states to the Court, that, having understood the defend-
ant, John Baker, was in attendance, he should be ready,
at the opening of the Court on the next day, to proceed
with the trial. One of the bail for the defendant then
said that the defendant would appear whenever he was
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY
required. Thursday was, therefore, appointed by the
Court for the trial.
Thursday, May 8, 1828.
The Honorable Chief Justice Saunders,
Mr. Justice Bliss,
Mr. Justice Chipman,
came into court, and took their seats.
The defendant, John Baker, was called, and appeared,
and declared he was ready for his trial: Mr. Attorney
General then moved for trial, and the clerk of the crown
proceeded to call over the names of the jury.
Mr. Justice Chipman stated to the defendant that he
might challenge any of the jurors for cause, but he
declined availing himself of this privilege.
The following jurors were called, and sworn in the
order they appeared:
Michael Fisher, Joseph Estabrooks, Jr.,
William Miller, John Collins,
Edward Cambridge, Samuel Curry,
John Bain, Thomas W. Peters,
Joseph Sutherland, William S. Esty,
Donald McLeod, Anthony Stewart.
The clerk of the crown then read the indictment,
which is as follows :
York, to wit. The jurors for our lord the King,
upon their oath, present, that John Baker, late of the
parish of Kent, in the county of York, laborer, James
Bacon, late of the same place, laborer, and Charles
Studson, late of the same place, laborer, being persons
greatly disaffected to our said lord the now King, and
his government, within this, His Majesty's Province of
New Brunswick, and being factiously and seditiously
disposed, on the fourth day of July, in the eighth year
of the reign of our said sovereign lord George the
I
284 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
Fourth, with force and arms, at the parish aforesaid,
in the county aforesaid, did, amongst themselves, con-
spire, combine, confederate, and agree together, falsely,
maliciously, factiously, and seditiously, to molest and
disturb the peace and common tranquility of this Prov-
ince, and to bring into hatred and contempt our said
lord the King, and his Government, and to create false
opinions and suspicions in the subjects of our said lord
the King, of and concerning the Government and
administration of our said lord the King, and of the
royal power and prerogative of our said lord the King
within this Province.
First overt act. And the jurors aforesaid, upon
their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said
John Baker, James Bacon, and Charles Studson, after-
wards, to wit, on the same day and year aforesaid, at
the parish aforesaid, in the county aforesaid, in pursu-
ance of, and according to, the said conspiracy, combina-
tion, confederacy and agreement, amongst themselves
had as aforesaid, did erect, and cause to be raised and
erected, a certain flag staff, and did place thereon a cer-
tain flag, as the standard of the United States of
America, and did then and there declare, in the presence
and hearing of divers liege subjects of our said lord the
King, that the said place on which the same flag staff
was so erected was a part of the territory of the said
United States, and that they, the said liege subjects,
must thereafter, look upon themselves as subjects of the
said United States.
Second overt act. And the jurors aforesaid, upon
their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said
John Baker, James Bacon, and Charles Studson, after-
wards, to wit, on the 15th day of July aforesaid, in the
year aforesaid, at the parish aforesaid, in the county
aforesaid, in further pursuance of, and according to, the
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 285
said conspiracy, combination, confederacy and agreement,
amongst themselves had as aforesaid, applied to divers
liege subjects of our said lord the King, and then and
there presented to the same subjects a paper writing,
which they, the said John Baker, James Bacon, and
Charles Studson, then and there requested the said sub-
jects to sign, then and there declaring that, by the said
paper, they, the said subjects would bind themselves to
oppose the execution of the laws of Great Britain, to
wit, in the Madawaska settlement, so called.
Third overt act. And the jurors aforesaid, upon
their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said
John Baker, James Bacon, and Charles Studson, after-
wards, to wit, on the 18th day of July, in the year
aforesaid, in further pursuance of, and according to, the
said conspiracy, combination, confederacy, and agree-
ment, amongst themselves had as aforesaid, did oppose
and obstruct the postman then and there having the
custody and carriage of His Majesty's mail to the
Province of Lower Canada, in the prosecution of his
journey with the said mail; they, the said John Baker,
James Bacon, and Charles Studson, declaring to the said
postman that the British Government had no right to
send its mails by that route, meaning through that part
of the said parish of Kent called the Madawaska settle-
ment ; and that they, the said John Baker, James Bacon,
and Charles Studson, had received orders from the Gov-
ernment of the said United States to stop the carriage
of the said mail through the same.
Fourth overt act. And the jurors aforesaid, upon
their oath aforesaid, do further present, that the said
John Baker, James Bacon, and Charles Studson, after-
wards, to wit, on the tenth day of August, in the year
aforesaid, at the parish aforesaid, in the county aforesaid,
in further pursuance of, and according to, the said con-
$
286 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
spiracy, combination, confederacy, and agreement,
amongst themselves had as aforesaid, did hoist the flag
of the said United States of America on a certain flag
staff there erected and placed ; they, the said John Baker,
James Bacon, and Charles Studson, then and there
declaring, in the presence and hearing of divers subjects
of our said lord the King, that they, the said John
Baker, James Bacon, and Charles Studson, had so hoisted
the same flag, and that they had mutually entered into a
written agreement to keep the same flag there, and that
nothing but a force superior to their own should take it
down ; and further, that they considered, and had a
right to consider, themselves then and there on the terri-
tory of the said United States ; and that they had bound
themselves to resist by force the execution of the laws of
Great Britain among them there; in very great con-
tempt of our said lord the King and his laws, to the evil
example of all others in the like case offending, and
against the peace of our said lord the King, his crown
and dignity.
The Attorney General, who conducted the prosecution,
then opened the case to the jury, and stated generally
the nature of the offence, and the facts necessary to be
proved in order to support the indictment: he then
briefly set forth the evidence which he intended to adduce
to substantiate the charge; and particularly stated it
would be shown that the jurisdiction of this Province
had always extended over the part of this country where
the offence was committed: that the defendants were
acting under no authority whatever; and this was an
indictment found by the grand jury in the ordinary
exercise of their duties. He desired the jury to dismiss
from their mind every thing that they had heard or seen
written on this case, and decide on the guilt or innocence
of the party by the evidence alone; and, if they could
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 287
not conscientiously say he was guilty, to acquit him.
Several authorities were then read ; but as the whole case
was most fully and ably gone into by the learned judge
who charged the jury, and the same view of the law and
facts taken by him as by the Attorney General, it is not
necessary to go into a full detail of the opening speech.
Mr. Attorney General then proceeded to call the wit-
nesses.
William Feirio, one of the witnesses recognized at
the last term, was called but did not appear.
George Morehouse was the first witness examined:
his evidence was as follows:
I am a Justice of the Peace for the county of York,
and reside in the parish of Kent, on the river St. John,
about thirty miles below the Grand Falls. The Mada-
waska settlers commence a few miles above the Falls,
and extend up forty to fifty miles. I have been settled
where I now live six years ; but my acquaintance with
the Madawaska settlement commenced in the year 1819.
At this time the inhabitants were principally French;
there were a few American citizens. I cannot say
whether defendant was there then ; his brother Nathan
was. I do not recollect the defendant's being there
until September, 1822: he and the other Americans had
formed a lumbering establishment at the head of the
Madawaska settlement, on the east side of the river St.
John, by the Meriumpticook stream. That part of the
country where the French and Americans were has been
invariably under the jurisdiction and laws of this Province
since I knew it. I have been in the constant habit, as
a Magistrate, of sending my writs and warrants there,
and no interruption or objection was made to the service
of them until last August, until then, it was my belief
that all the inhabitants there considered themselves
under the jurisdiction of, and subject to, the laws of
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288 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
this Province, both American citizens and French set-
tlers.
When I speak of last August, I mean that this was
the first intimation I had of any objection being made
to the exercise of the jurisdiction of this Province there.
That intimation was made by a report or communication
from Mr. Rice, that John Baker, the defendant, had
been guilty of seditious practices. I forwarded the
communication to the Secretary of the Province ; a few
days after, about the third of August, I received writ-
ten instructions from His Majesty's Attorney General to
proceed to Madawaska and take depositions, and get a
copy of the written paper which it was reported the
defendants had handed about for signature. I accord-
ingly proceeded to Madawaska on the seventh of August,
and arrived at the place where Baker's house is situate,
and went into the house of James Bacon, and asked him
to let me see the paper which had been handed about for
signature: he said he had it not. I then requested
Bacon to go with me to Baker's to look for the paper;
he declined going: I then went towards Baker's house,
and met him on his mill dam. The mill dam is made
across the river Meriumpticook. I stated to him that
it had been reported to Government that he and other
American citizens residing there had been guilty of
seditious practices; that I was authorized to make
inquiry. I told him it was reported that he had drawn
up, and circulated among the settlers, a paper, the
purport of which was that they were American citizens,
and had bound themselves to resist the execution of the
laws of Great Britain : he neither admitted or denied it,
but said that he had been charged with an attempt to
stop the mail, which was false. I requested him to show
me the paper which had been handed round for signa-
ture: he said he believed it was not in his possession,
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 289
but did not deny the existence of such a paper : he said
he did not know whether it was in his possession or not ;
he thought Studson had it. I requested him to go to
his house and search his papers ; perhaps he might find
it; we proceeded together towards his house; between
his residence and the mill, there is a new house, where
ten or twelve Americans were assembled. I did not know
them to be Americans : bat supposed them to be so ; they
were not French settlers : when we got there, Baker took
two or three aside, and consulted with them a few
minutes; he then came back, and said to me, "Mr.
Morehouse, I have consulted with the committee, and
we have determined that you shall not see this paper :
we have formerly shown you papers in similar cases,
which has been very prejudicial to us." I observed,
when I went there, a flag staff erected on the point of
land where Baker lives; the point is formed by the
junction of the Meriumpticook river with the St. John ;
there was then no flag on it, but after coming out of
Bacon's, I observed a flag hoisted a white flag, with an
American eagle and semicircle of stars, red. In the
conversation I had with Bacon he deprecated Baker's
practices, and said he would not desist until he brought
the Americans there into trouble. I think the persons
Baker took aside to consult with, were Bartlett and
Savage. After I had received the answer before men-
tioned, I pointed to the flag, and asked Baker what that
was. He said, "the American flag, Mr. Morehouse:
did you never see it before, if not, you can see it now. ' '
I asked him who planted it there : he said, ' 'he and the
other Americans there." Bacon was present at the
time: I required him in His Majesty's name to pull it
down. He replied, "no, I will not; we have placed it
there, and we are determined we will support it, and
nothing but a superior force to ourselves shall take it
'290 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
%
down ; we are on American territory ; Great Britain has
no jurisdiction here; what we are doing we will be
supported in ; we have a right to be protected, and will
be protected, in what we are doing, by our Govern-
ment."
He did not produce or exhibit any authority. I then
turned to Bacon, and said, "Bacon, you have heard
Baker's declaration, do you mean to support him in it?"
He said, ' 'of course I do. " I then left him and came
away. Baker, about the 1st February, 1825, applied
to me, as a Magistrate, for summonses against some of
the Madawaska settlers to collect debts. I gave him
six summonses against persons all living in the Mada-
waska settlement: the return made to me was that the
debts were paid when the writs were served.
Baker has a considerable improvement, and raises more
or less grain every year. In 1823, I was at the place
where he resides. I understood from what passed, that
Baker and Bacon both acknowledged they had signed
the paper ; they spoke of having bound themselves by a
written agreement to resist the laws of England.
The direct examination having closed, the defendant
was informed he might cross-question the witness: he
declined doing it, saying, under the circumstances which
he stood there, he did not intend asking any questions.
To questions then put by the Court, the witness
stated :
The Madawaska settlement proper terminates at the
Madawaska river ; above the river, there are a few miles
interval, with a few scattering houses; the main settle-
ment then commences about nine miles above the Mada-
waska, and extends seven or eight miles. The Meri-
umpticook is about eighteen miles above the Madawaska.
This settlement has formerly gone by the name of Chat-
eangay : Lately it has been called Sainte Emilie by the
I
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 291
French settlers in the settlement. I mean distinctly
that the upper as well as the lower settlement has been
subject to the British laws. It is at the head of the
settlement the Americans reside. The whole settlement
has gone by the general name of Madawaska Settlement
throughout the country; the name Chateaugay caused
some difference amongst themselves ; the Priest changed
it to Sainte Emilie ; there has been no distinction in the
actual exercise of jurisdiction between the upper and
lower part of this settlement ; the lower bound of the
parish of Kent is eighteen miles below my residence.
Francis Rice sworn. I reside in the Madawaska settle-
ment, at the head or the first part. I am adjutant of
the fourth battalion York county militia: the Mada-
waska settlers are enrolled in this battalion. I have
been in court, and heard Mr. Morehouse's evidence. I
made a report to him, as he has stated. I did not know
the facts myself; they were reported to me. I accom-
panied Mr. Morehouse on his visit to the settlement on
the 7th August last, and was present at the conversations
with Baker and Bacon : the facts all took place as he has
stated: I can say nothing more. The Madawaska set-
tlers attend and turn out at the militia training pretty
regularly, both above and below the confluence of the
Madawaska. >
The French settlers not being able to speak English
distinctly, the witness, Francis Rice, had previously
been sworn as interpreter, and acted as such throughout
the trial.
Abraham Chamberlain sworn. I live in the upper
part of the Madawaska settlement, above the Mada-
waska river ; have resided there four years this Summer ;
was born at Bay Chaleur; came from there to this
Province four years ago and have always lived since in
the Madawaska settlement. Charles Studson presented
HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
me a paper, I think in July last. I don't remember
seeing Baker. Bacon and Emery, and some other
Americans, were present. I was passing by ; they were
drinking rum; they asked me to take some; I agreed.
When they handed the paper, I asked whether any of
the French had signed it ; they said, not yet.
The witness being then asked as to the contents of the
paper, and the propriety of such evidence being ques-
tioned by the court, the Attorney General cited the
case of Rex versus Hunt and others, 3 Barn, and Aid.
566, where it was decided, on an indictment for con-
spiracy, that secondary evidence of the contents of a
paper which was in the defendant's possession was
admissible without producing the original, or giving
notice to produce it; and that parole evidence of
inscriptions and devices on banners and flags is also
admissible. The question was then put; but the wit-
ness could say nothing as to the contents, stating that
it was read to him, but, being in English, he did not
understand it. They asked him to sign it; but he did
not understand for what reason. He wanted to know
whether any of the French had signed it. This took
place at the point of land near the mill. There was a
flag hoisted with an eagle and stars on it ; they did not
say anything about having signed the paper themselves.
Peter Marque sworn. I live in the St. Emilie settle-
ment, (the upper one.) Bacon and Studson, some time
last Summer, tried to make me sign a paper. Studson
handed it to me; I do not know for what reason: they
read the paper, but I did not understand it, and asked
whether the French had signed it : they said, not yet. I
then said I would not sign it. I told Mr. Morehouse
they wanted me to sign a paper. This was at the place
where the pole stands. I never understood the purpose
for which I was called to sign the paper. I worked
OF PISCATAQUIS COUNTY 293
eleven days for Baker last year, at the time of getting
hay : I now work for myself. They told me Chamber-
lain had signed the paper. I dont remember anything
more.
Peter Sileste sworn. I was employed last Summer to
carry the mail from Madawaska to Lake Timisconatee :
as I was taking it up the river, polling up in a canoe, I
met John Baker coming down the river on a raft; he
came off to me in a small skiff; neither of us stopped.
Baker asked me in English, "Do you carry the mail?"
I said "Yes." He said he had orders from America
not to let the mail pass that way. I replied, I had no
orders to stop there. This was all that passed. This
was, I think, in July.
Joseph Sanfason sworn. I live in the Madawaska
settlement, half a mile below the Green river : the Green
river is below the Madawaska. I was born at Mada-
waska. I bought land from J. Souci: he had a grant
from the government of this Province. I bought it
six years ago. I have been a constable for two years
for the parish of Kent. I was obstructed in my duty
of constable by Baker, Bacon, Bartlett, Savage, Shelly,
and Jones. I had an execution from Mr. Morehouse
against J. Bacon. I asked Bacon if he would come?
He said he would not leave the place. Baker said, it
is of no use for you to go there; you sh 
