USA > Maine > Knox County > Union > A history of the town of Union, in the county of Lincoln, Maine : to the middle of the nineteenth century, with a family register of the settlers before the year 1800, and of their descendants > Part 1
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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
GIFT OF THE FAMILY OF REV. DR. GEORGE MOOAR Class
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/historyoftownofu00siblrich
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
JOHN L. SIBLEY.
J H. Buffords, Lith
A
HISTORY
OF THE
-
TOWN OF UNION,
IN THE COUNTY OF LINCOLN, MAINE,
TO
1
THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ;
WITH A
FAMILY REGISTER
OF THE
SETTLERS BEFORE THE YEAR 1800, AND OF THEIR DESCENDANTS.
BY
JOHN LANGDON SIBLEY, 11
MEMBER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
" E minimis maxima."
BOSTON: BENJAMIN B. MUSSEY AND CO. 1851.
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY
F29 . 4555
BOSTON : PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON AND SON, No. 22, SCHOOL-STREET.
C
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. Page.
GEOGRAPHY. - Situation. Boundaries. Rivers and Brooks. Ponds. Soil. Climate. Freshets. Hail and Frogs. Lightning. Health and Longevity. Scenery.
. 1
CHAPTER II.
ANTE-PLANTATION HISTORY. - Muscongus or Waldo. Patent. Disputed Terri- tory. St. George's River proposed as a Boundary. Indians. Hart's and Boggs's Escape from them. Dické and the Comet. 22 .
CHAPTER III.
PLANTATION HISTORY. - 1772, 1773 : First Settlers. The Anderson Party. 1774, Plan of Anderson's Lot. Purchase of the Township by Dr. John Taylor. His Arrival with the Butlers and others. First Public Act of Devo- tion. Frightened Moose. Occupation of the Anderson Camp. Clearing commenced. High Words with the Anderson Party. Taylor's Return to Massachusetts. Deed to Taylor. 1775: Taylor in Congress. Butlers again at Work. First Rye sowed. Butlers go West. Taylor comes back and labors. Butlers return : are hired out to Benjamin Packard. Packard's Log-house. Timber for Taylor's Buildings. Privations. Butler and the Bear. . 27
CHAPTER IV.
PLANTATION HISTORY, continued. - 1776 : Philip Robbins's Purchase. David Robbins's the first Family. Richard Cummings. Taylor again. First Frame House. First Crop of Rye. Raising of a Barn. Log-houses of Richard Cummings and David Robbins. Arrival of the Families of Philip Robbins and Richard Cummings. Crowded House. Timber House. Barn. Tay- lor's Mills ..
36
CHAPTER V.
PLANTATION HISTORY, continued. - 1777 : Phinehas Butler enters the Army. Purchases by Abijah Hawes ; by Ezra Bowen ; by Jonathan Amory ; by Joel Adams, Jason Ware, and Matthias Hawes. Settlement of John Butler. 1778 : Suchfort the Hessian. Blacksmithing. Calamitous Fire. Suffering for Food.
41
123155
iv
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
Page.
PLANTATION HISTORY, continued. - 1779 : Wheaton's Purchase. Settlement of Joel Adams, Matthias Hawes, and Jason Ware. Woodward. Fairbanks. Settlement of Moses Hawes. Ebenezer Robbins. 1780: Jennison's Pur- chase. 1781 : First Wedding. Jessa Robbins. 1782 : Settlement of Phinehas Butler. Elisha Partridge. Taylor's Conveyance to Reed. 45
CHAPTER VII.
PLANTATION HISTORY, concluded. - 1783 : Log-house. Bride. Bride's Dower. Jessa Robbins. 1784 : Amariah Mero. 1785 : Josiah Robbins. Gillmor. Cat- and-clay Chimney. Royal Grinnell. Elijah Holmes. 1786 : Arrival of the
. Families of Josiah Robbins ; of Samuel Hills. ' Samuel Martin. Organiza-
tion of the Plantation.
.
51
CHAPTER VIII.
INCORPORATION HISTORY. - 1786, Petition for Incorporation. Act of Incorpo-
ration. Number and Names of the Inhabitants.
.
60
CHAPTER IX.
SETTLERS AFTER THE INCORPORATION. - 1787 : Levi Morse. Oliver Leland. William Hart. 1788: The Maxcys. 1789: The Daggetts. Seth Luce. Chris- topher Butler. Ichabod Irish. Barnabas Webb. 1793: Casualty to the Maxcy Family. Remarks on the Early Settlers. 64
CHAPTER X.
POPULATION .- Census, Aug. 1, 1790. Abstracts from Censuses. Hawes's
Census in 1826. State Census, March 1, 1837. 73
CHAPTER XI.
POPULATION IN 1850. - Census, June 1, 1850, with Names and Ages. . 77
CHAPTER XII.
MINERAL AND ARBORAL PRODUCTS. - Minerals. Timber. Felling of Trees. Burning of Cut-downs. Shingles. Benjamin Speed. Lakin. Boards and Saw-mills. Lime-casks.
. 97
CHAPTER XIII.
AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS .- Barley and Rye. Indian Corn. Wheat. Potatoes. Fruit. Peaches and Plums. Apples. 105
CHAPTER XIV.
MANUFACTURES AND T'RADE. - Spinning Wheels. Looms. Home-made Cloth- ing. Fulling Mills. Carding Machines. Factories. Paper Mills. Tan- nerles. Potash. Iron Works. Fossetts' Mills. Stores. Carting Goods to Boston in the War of 1812. Canals. . 108
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XV. Page.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY. - Town Meetings. Notifications. Places of holding them. Town Officers. Oath of Office in 1787. Town Clerks. Selectmen. Assess- ors. Constables. Collectors. Treasurers. Tithingmen. Fish Wardens. . 114
CHAPTER XVI.
TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. - First Burial Place. Old Burying Ground. First Private Burying Ground. Second Private Burying Ground. East Union Burying Ground. Hearses. Common. Pound. Town House. . 130
CHAPTER XVII.
FIRST MEETING-HOUSE. - Early Efforts for a Meeting-house. Spot selected. Location changed. Contracted for. Porch. Raising. Enclosed. Pillars. Pulpit Window. Outside to be finished. Temporary Seats. Pews. Roof to be painted. Sale of Pews. Names of Owners. Lock voted. Descrip- tion of the House. Pews built in the Gallery. Repairs. Stove. Decay and Desecration of the House. Taken down. Associations with it. Cus- toms. Marriage Publishments. Dogs and Dog Whippers. 143
CHAPTER XVIII.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. - 1779 to 1806: Going to Meeting at St. George's. John Urquhart. Isaac Case. Nine Pounds raised for Preaching. William Riddel called. Aaron Humphrey. Two hundred Dollars raised. Mode of dividing the Money. Abraham Gushee called. Jabez Pond Fisher called. Jonathan Gilmore. Henry True called and settled. 161
CHAPTER XIX.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, continued. - Organization of the First Congrega- tional Church. Mr. Huse's Account of the Proceedings. Conduct of Samuel Hills and the Rev. Messrs. Sewall, Bayley, and others. Articles of Faith. Covenant. Signers' Names. Opposition by the Hills Party. Hills's " Ex Parte " Council, Sept. 10, 1806. Conduct of the Hills Party about the Ordination. Hills censured. Council, June 29, 1808. Hills's "Ex Parte " Council, Feb. 15, 1809. Second Congregational Church or- ganized. Mr. Huse's Letter concluded.
171
CHAPTER XX.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, continued - 1807 to 1819: Proceedings of the Town to pay Mr. True. Remission of Ministerial Taxes. Signers to the Metho- dists; to the Friends ; to the Baptists. Movements to dissolve the Town's Contract with Mr. True. Incorporation of the First Congregational Society. Dissolution of the Town's Contract. . 192
CHAPTER XXI.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, continued. - 1816 to 1825 : Attempts to raise Money. Dissolution of Mr. True's Pastoral Connection with the Church and Society.
a*
vi
CONTENTS.
Page.
Result of the Council. Proposals for uniting the Congregational Churches. Obstacles to a Union. Union effected. . 204
CHAPTER XXII.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, continued. - 1825 to 1850 : Preachers after the Union. Freeman Parker. George W. Fargo. Ordination and Dismission of Oren Sikes. Meeting-house. Ordination and Dismission of Uriah Balkam. Samuel Bowker's Ordination. . . 214
CHAPTER XXIII.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, continued. - METHODISTS AND BAPTISTS. - Metho- dist Church and Society. First Methodist Preaching. Circuits and Dis- tricts. Organization. Places of Worship. Meeting-house. Camp Meetings. Parsonage. Preachers. Baptist Church and Society. Central Baptist Church. 217
CHAPTER XXIV.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, concluded. - UNIVERSALISTS. - First Universalist Preaching. Organization. Maine Association. John Bovee Dods. Con- stitution. Preachers. Meeting-house. Bell. 222
CHAPTER XXV.
DELUSIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS. - Signs and Omens. Witchcraft. Bewitched Horse. .
. 227
CHAPTER XXVI.
POLITICAL HISTORY. - Voting. Separation of Maine from Massachusetts. Harmony and Diversity of Sentiment. Embargo. Petition to the President of the United States. Reply. Remonstrance. Petition to the Legislature of Massachusetts. Celebration, July 4, 1810. Celebration in 1814. Ode and Hymn. . 230
CHAPTER XXVII.
POLITICAL HISTORY, concluded. - Members of Congress. Governors. Lieute- nant-Governors. Town Representatives. Justices of the Peace. Coroners. Post Offices and Postmasters. 239
CHAPTER XXVIII.
FINANCIAL HISTORY. - Taxes. Early Apportionment of Taxes. Controversy with Warren. Petition to the Legislature in 1780. Petition to the Legisla- ture in 1783. Plantation Taxes. Taxes since the Incorporation. Taxes paid in Produce. Exemption of Philip Robbins, jun. Table. Adams's Petition to the Legislature in 1794. State of the Finances in 1795. Dollars and Cents. Taking the Valuation. Payment of Taxes. 256
CHAPTER XXIX.
FINANCIAL HISTORY, concluded. - Reed's Case. Surplus Revenue. Paupers. Warning out of Town. Maintenance of the Poor. . . 266
CONTENTS. vii
CHAPTER XXX. Page.
HIGHWAYS. - Early Difficulties in Travelling. Moss. Paths. Spotted Trees. Exposure of Matthias Hawes. First Roads. First Highway Districts. Character of the Roads. Corduroy Roads. Boating and Visiting. Ox
Sleds. First Teaming to Neighboring Towns. 273
CHAPTER XXXI.
HIGHWAYS, concluded. - Surveyors and Commissioners. Taxes. Compensa- tion. Time for doing the Work. Breaking Roads in Winter. Comparative Value of Money and Labor.
. 279
CHAPTER XXXII.
BRIDGES .- Log Bridges. Lower, or True's Bridge. Middle Bridge, at Bache- lor's Mills. South Union Bridge. Upper Bridge, at Hills' Mills. Report on Bridges in 1805. Appropriations.
. 287
CHAPTER XXXIII.
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. - Earliest Schools and Teachers. Schools at a later Period. School Children in Summer. Drink. Recess. Josiah. Com- plaints and Punishments. Girls' Work in School. Reading. Spelling. Noontime and Dinners. Winter Schools. Severer Punishments. Intermis- sions in Winter. Studies. Evening Schools. 294
CHAPTER XXXIV.
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY, concluded. - School Districts. School Houses. School Committees. School Agents. School Children. School Money. High . 302
Schools. Lyceum. Libraries.
CHAPTER XXXV.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY. - College Graduates. Lawyers. Physicians. Indian
Doctor. Urine Doctor. Singing Masters and Singing Schools. Brass Band. 318
CHAPTER XXXVI.
MILITARY HISTORY. - Revolutionary Soldiers. Loyalist. Incidents in the Revolutionary War. French War. Military Appropriations. Powder House. Military Spirit.
.
327
CHAPTER XXXVII.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Infantry Officers. Light Infantry. Its Or- ganization and Dress. Its Officers. Rifle Company. Its Organization and Dress. Rifles. Its Officers. Disbandment. . 338
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - War of 1812. Pay voted by the Town. Drafts. Alarm. Companies ordered out. Parade on Sunday. March to
vili
CONTENTS.
Camden. Peace. Soldiers from Union in the Army. Texan War. Mexi-
Page. can War.
343
CHAPTER XXXIX.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Difficulty with the Waldonian Officers. The Dinner. Waldonian Influence in the Field. Election of Lieut .- Col. Bachelder. Precedence of Rank on the Field. Remoteness of Musters. Pecuniary Considerations. Indignation at a Military Election. Acts of the Legislature. Excitement.
. 350
CHAPTER XL.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Violent Rain-storm. The Companies at Waldoborough Meeting-house. Uncomfortable Feelings. Burial of the Colonel under Arms. Uneasiness. Anecdotes. Line formed. Irregular March to the Muster-field. Rogue's March. Unsuccessful Attempt to
. stop the Music. Orders misunderstood. Confusion. Desertion. Hur-
. 354 rah.
CHAPTER XLI.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Col. Avery Rawson. Charges against him stopped. Charges against Officers in Union. Trial of Lieut .- Col. John Bachelder. · Trial of Capt. Lewis Bachelder. 361
CHAPTER XLII.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Trial of Capt. John P. Robbins. Objections and Protest. Charges and Specifications. Result.
366
CHAPTER XLIII.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Evasion of the Laws. John Chapman Rob- bins becomes Clerk. Loss of the Company Roll. Muster near Trow- bridge's, in Warren. Lieut. Ebenezer Cobb. " A good time." Horsemen ride about the Muster-field. Robbins gives Orders. Unsuccessful Attempts to arrest him. Notes for Fines burnt as Wadding. 370
CHAPTER XLIV.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Orders to elect Officers. Movements to Re- elect Capts. Bachelder and Robbins. Nathan Bachelder chosen Captain. Pardon Robbins and the Cabbage. Re-election of Capt. Noah Rice. He is cashiered. Voluntary Trainings and Muster. Aroostook War. Rifle Com- - pany disbanded. Philo Thurston. Ebenezer Ward Adams chosen Captain. His Trial and Imprisonment. . 373
CHAPTER XLV.
MILITARY HISTORY, continued. - Two Companies of Infantry. Election of Officers at Amos Walker's. Marchi to the Common. . . 379
CONTENTS.
ix
CHAPTER XLVI. Page.
MILITARY HISTORY, concluded. - Qualifying Remarks. Extension of the Un- military Spirit. Change of Public Sentiment. Military Musters. . . . 382
CHAPTER XLVII.
ZOOLOGICAL HISTORY. - Early Hunting and Hunters. Boggs. Anderson. Davis and the Tortoise. Dické. The dogs Tuner and Lion. Laws about Deer and Moose and Deer-reeves. Deers. Moose. Their Haunts. Time and Manner of hunting them. Their Yards. Transportation of Moose Beef. Dressing and cooking it. Moose in Summer. One killed in Seven-tree Pond. 386
CHAPTER XLVIII.
ZOOLOGICAL HISTORY, continued. - Bears. Bear Traps. Setting Guns. Bears caught by David Robbins and Jessa Robbins. Baited and killed by Ezekiel Hagar. Love Rum. Taken to Boston and shot. Encounters on. Seven- tree Pond ; on Hart's Hill; on Hills Point; on Simmons's Hill; on the Robbins Neck. Adam Martin. Jason Ware and his Dog Sambo. Fate of Sambo. Mrs. Hart and the Bear Trap. . 395
CHAPTER XLIX.
ZOOLOGICAL HISTORY, continued. - Wolves. Wolf-hunt. Cat-vaughan. Foxes. Personal Experience. Fox seized by Asa Messer. Beavers. Raccoons. Musquash. Minks, Sables, and Loup-cervier. Weasel. . 406
CHAPTER L.
ZOOLOGICAL HISTORY, continued. - Ducks. Wild Pigeons. Loons. Crows . 413 -
and Blackbirds. Hunting Matches. .
CHAPTER LI.
ZOOLOGICAL HISTORY, concluded. - Fish Laws. Salmon. Alewives. Fish- hawks and Eagles. Eels. Smelts. Trout and Pickerel. Other Fish. . 418
CHAPTER LII.
CONCLUSION .- Design. Sources of Information. Changes since the Settle- ment. Possibilities and Responsibilities. . 425
FAMILY REGISTER
.
429
GENERAL INDEX
519
ERRATA. 1
On pages 2 and 20, for 1707 read 1607 ; p. 9, for "July " read May ; p. 111, for " bolt " read bolter ; p. 133, for "Jane " read James; p. 318, for " Freeman Luce Daggett " read John S. Daggett ; p. 323 for "JOHN HAWES" read JOHN BROWN ; p. 360, for " sergeant-major " read major ; p. 390, for " windward " read leeward.
The inaccuracy of the different records which have been transcribed has led to inconsistency in regard to several names ; the middle name of the same individual in some instances being omitted, and in others retained.
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HISTORY OF UNION.
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HISTORY OF UNION.
LIBRARY O" THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHY.
Situation. - Boundaries. - Rivers and Brooks. - Ponds. - Soil. - Climate. - Freshets. - Hail and Frogs. - Lightning. - Health and Longevity. - Scenery.
SITUATION.
THE town of Union, in the county of Lincoln and State of Maine, is situated in about 44° 15' north latitude, and 7° 50' east longitude from the city of Washington. The Common, or principal village, is twenty-eight miles east-south-east of Augusta, eight miles from the head of the tide-waters of St. George's River at Warren, and twelve miles from the State Prison in Thomaston.
BOUNDARIES.
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The town is bounded on the south and south-west by Warren and Waldoborough; on the west by Medo- mac River, which separates it from Washington; and on the north and north-east by Appleton and Hope and Camden, till at its eastern extremity it makes with Camden and Warren an angle on the north-west side of Mount Pleasant, near its summit.
RIVERS AND BROOKS.
ST. GEORGE'S RIVER, formerly the Segochet, Segoh- - quet, or Segocket, enters the town through Sunnybec Pond on the north. After running about a mile and
1
2
GEOGRAPHY.
a half, in which it passes Hills' Mills and Bachelor's Mills, it flows in a westerly and southerly direction into Round Pond. Thence it runs east into Seven-tree Pond. Its course afterwards is southerly through Warren, towards the Atlantic Ocean.1
The PETTENGILL STREAM runs from the Cedar Swamp in Appleton, across a corner of Union, by
1
1 Belonging to the splendid library of John Carter Brown, of Pro- vidence, R.I. is a manuscript, copied from the " Mus. Brit. Bibl. Sloan. No. 1622." It is the " historie of Trauaile into virginia Britania . . .. gathered & observed as well by those who went first thither, as col- lected by William Strachey, Gent." In a detailed account of the unsuccessful attempt to plant a colony at " Sachadehoc," the name of this river is incidentally introduced and spelled Segohquet. Capt. John Smith, in his " Generall Historie," spells it Segocket. David Crockett, Esq. of Rockland, who has had much intercourse with the Penobscot Indians for sixty or seventy years, thinks they did not give the name Segocket to any part but the branch which rises in Cush- ing, and, pursuing a north and west course, joins the main river near the dividing line of Union and Warren. He says, moreover, that Governor Neptune, of the Penobscots, told him Jorgis, or Chorchis, as the word is pronounced by them, is the Indian word for George's, and that the meaning is " delightsome" or " delightful." Governor Sullivan, in a Topographical Description of Thomaston, in the Col- lections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. iv. says "its Indian name was Georgekee, from whence was probably derived its present name of George's." May not the governor be mistaken in spelling the word Georgekee, instead of Georgekeag; and the termi- nal syllable have been used to mean the same as in Wessaweskeag, another place in the vicinity ; and the Indians have prefixed the word George's, which was in use by the whites after the river was dis- covered ?
In 1605, Capt. George Weymouth, probably in honor of the patron- saint of England, gave the name St. George's to an island, whichi, according to Rosier's description, agrees with Monhegan. St. George's now is the name of a cluster of islands. St. George's Island Harbor, at the mouth of St. George's River, is probably the place which Weymouth visited, and named Pentecost Harbor. There can be but little doubt that the river derived its name from the island mentioned by Rosier. The five Indians seized and carried off by Weymouth, it is supposed, were taken from this river. That there was an Indian village on the river seems probable from Capt. John Smith's map, on which he assigns to a village the name Norwich, given by Prince Charles, afterward King Charles the First. May not this village have been at the fishing-ground by the head of the tide in Warren ?
The Strachey MS. states, that, when Popham was on the way to Sagadahock in 1707, he anchored near " St. George his Island," and " found a Crosse sett vp, one of the same wch Capt. George Weymou
. . . left upon this Island." On Sunday, Aug. 7, " the chief of both
3
RIVERS AND BROOKS.
Fossett's Mills ; and enters Medomac River, about two miles southerly of the north-west corner of the town.
MUDDY BROOK conveys the water of Muddy Pond from the north-west into Round Pond. It carries a stave-mill.
BOWKER BROOK, or CASHMAN BROOK, as it is fre- quently called from a family which resided near it early in the nineteenth century, runs southerly, and enters St. George's River about half a mile above Round Pond.
SEVEN BROOK rises in Appleton, east of Sunnybec Pond, and enters Seven-tree Pond at its north end.
CRAWFORD'S RIVER, commonly called the MILL STREAM by the early settlers, and afterward MAXCY's MILL STREAM, runs west from Crawford's Pond to Seven-tree Pond. Its water is comparatively warm in winter, and, being uncommonly pure, is very valua- ble for manufacturing purposes. The Indian name, which was known to the early settlers, is lost. On this stream is the village of South Union.
MILLER'S BROOK, sometimes called the DANIELS BROOK, rises in Hope, and, taking a southerly direction, passes through the farms of John Payson, Nathan Daniels, and others, and enters Crawford's Pond near Miller's Point.
EASTERN STREAM, sometimes called LERMOND'S STREAM, rises in Hope, passes through " The Lakes," and, after a south-south-west course, in which it car- ries several mills, flows into Crawford's Pond.
FISH'S STREAM, rising in Barrett's Pond near Hope Corner, runs in a southerly direction, and passes
the shipps wth the greatest part of all the Company landed on the Island where the Crosse stood .... and heard a Sermon delivered unto them by Mr Ri: Seymour."
Rosier's account of Weymouth's Voyage in " Purchas his Pil- grimes," iv. 1659, and Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. 3d series, viii. Holmes's Annals, i. 123. Map in Smith's Description of New England. Smith's " Generall Historie of Virginia," &c. 205. Belknap's American Bio- graphy, ii. 137, 146. Williamson's History of the State of Maine, i. 192.
4
GEOGRAPHY.
through Fish's Pond. There is another stream, which rises in Grassy Pond, and runs south-south-westerly. These two unite in Crawford's Meadow, whence their waters flow by Hilt's Mills, and enter Crawford's Pond at its south-east corner. Both streams carry mills be- fore and after they are united.
Some of the small streams, Seven Brook for in- stance, are occasionally dry or nearly so in summer, though it was not the case when the town was first settled. Some persons think this is caused by the soil washed in from the ploughed and cultivated banks, and by the clearing up of the forests, which overhung the springs by which they were fed.
PONDS.
SUNNYBEC POND, situated partly in Hope and partly in Union, is 198 rods wide, on the Hope and Union line. There is a tradition, that several Indians came from the East on a hunting and fishing excursion. At the harbor in Lincolnville they caught some ducks, and called the place Duck Trap. They proceeded with their ducks to Camden, which they called Me- gun-ti-cook,1 because there they began to cook them. On arriving at Friendship, they broke their cook- ing pot, and called the place Me-dun-cook.2 Pro- ceeding up the St. George's, they came to Sunnybec Pond, which they named Sunny-bake, because they were obliged to cook their fish and food in the sun on the rocks. In the earliest document in which it is mentioned, it is spelled Sunnyback. If Sunnyback be the correct orthography, there is room for conjecture that it was so called because the sidehill back of the pond is particularly exposed to the rays of the sun. Vegetation there comes forward much earlier than in
1 It is more probable that the word is Indian, and means large bay, or place of great swells of the sea.
2 By some said to mean "a sandy, gravelly, poor place, or poor country." D. Crocket says, cook, in a compound word, means haven or harbor ; and the, other part of the compound word designates some- thing which is peculiar or distinctive in the harbor.
5
PONDS.
other places. Governor Neptune, and some others of the Penobscot tribe of Indians, are not able to give the meaning of the word Sennebec. A year or two ago, David Crocket suggested, diffidently, that Soony-bach or Soony-bech might mean the appearance presented by an enclosure of water, or of water almost sur- rounded with woods and hills; and that, from this general appearance, the name may have been derived. Recently, he made inquiries of the Indian doctor of the Penobscot tribe, who intimated that " soony meant shady, and that bec meant a place where other water comes in across the main channel," as the Androscog- gin, or, more properly speaking, the Ameriscoggin, comes into the Kennebec, and thus furnishes part of the name to the latter river. Perhaps one or more of the streams which enter the pond were much larger, and the entrance more noticeable by the Indians, when the whole town was covered with a forest than since it has been cleared.
ROUND POND, which is about three quarters of a mile in diameter, is called LITTLE POND on a plan of a sur- vey of the Mill Farm, at South Union, dated May 13. 1774. It probably derives its present name from its circular shape. If a person stands on the ice in the . middle of it, he will hardly perceive a difference in the distance to any part of the shore.
MUDDY POND, covering from fifty to one hundred acres, and having a cranberry meadow, is situated a little more than a mile north-west of Round Pond.
SEVEN-TREE POND is about three miles long, and extends into Warren. It derives its name from seven trees, which grew on the only island in it when the first settlers came to the place. Several of these trees were standing thirty or forty years ago. They have fallen, till now only one of the smaller of them remains. They were very large, and must have derived their nourishment mainly from the water, which was reached by the fibres of the roots extending down to it through the crevices of the rocks. The island has so
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