USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Gorham > Celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Gorham, Maine : May 26, 1886 > Part 1
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M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01091 7794
E
CELEBRATION
OF THE
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH
1.
ANNIVERSARY f
OF
GORHAM,
MAINE
MAY 26, 1886
PORTLAND, MAINE B. THURSTON & COMPANY, PRINTERS 1886
1506645
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Preliminary Statement.
1
Centennial Anniversary-1836. 2
Address of Hon. Josiah Pierce-1836 ..
7
One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary
33
Action of the Town.
33
Meeting of Committees. 35 36
Invitation Sent Out.
Programme.
37 42
Procession.
FORENOON EXERCISES. 45 48 56
Ode by Mrs. Jennie Bodge Johnson
AFTERNOON EXERCISES 57
Address by Rev. Elijah Kellogg.
59
Hymn by Prof. Henry L. Chapman. 84
Address by Hon. John A. Waterman 85
Address by George B. Emery, Esq .. 90
National Hymn, "To Thee, O Country "
Address by Edward Gould, Esq.
94 94 97
Response by Dr. H. H. Hunt
101
Response by Rev. George Lewis.
102
Address by Charles W. Deering 103
The Sham Fight. 107
EVENING EXERCISES. 108
Reception at Academy Hall. 110
Address by Rev. George L. Prentiss, D.D. 111
Notice of Celebration by the "Eastern Argus"
123
125
Committees, - Continued from page 34
Contributors 129
Treasurer's Report. 131
Anecdotes. 132
Errata. 132
Address of Welcome by Gov. Frederick Robie.
Address by Rev. Edward Robie, D.D,
APPENDIX. 127
PRELIMINARY STATEMENT.
THE celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the town of Gorham took place on the 26th of May, 1836.
It was probably the result of individual effort on the part of public spirited citizens, as the town records do not show any municipal action in regard to the matter, until some months afterward, when, September 12th, 1836, the town voted to have the address delivered on that occasion printed, and that each family in the town have a copy of it. The committee of arrangements, consisting of Gen. James Irish, Col. Samuel Stephenson, Hon. Toppan Robie, Joseph M. Gerrish, Esq., and Caleb Hodsdon, Esq., were among the most prominent, as well as most active and efficient citizens of their day; and the names of most of them are intimately connected with the history and prosperity of the town. The celebration was entirely successful, and an occasion of pride both to those who participated in, or witnessed it, and to those whose knowledge of it was only traditionary.
In a recent endeavor to find some published account of it, written at the time, the Portland newspapers for a week preceding and a week following the day of the celebration were carefully examined, but not a word was found in them, either of previous announcement, or subsequent notice of the event.
A more extended search, however, brought to light an ac- count of it in the "Portland Advertiser " of June 10th, and in the " Eastern Argus" of June 14th, of the same year. A somewhat striking contrast to the newspaper enterprise of the present day.
Below is given the notice of the celebration above re- ferred to, and also an account of the same occasion, which appeared in the "Gorham Anniversary Gazette," of May 26th, 1886.
2
2
GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
[From newspaper of 1836.] CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY.
A large number of the citizens of Gorham, together with many citizens from adjoining towns, celebrated the first centennial an- niversary of the settlement of the town, at Gorham Village, on Thursday last, the 26th inst., agreeable to previous arrangement.
The procession was formed in front of Gen. James Irish's house, under the direction of Gen. Wendell P. Smith, Chief Marshal, assisted by the following Deputy Marshals, viz., Col. Edward T. Smith, Maj. Samuel T. Baker,* Capt. Simeon C. Clements, Capt. Benjamin Mosher, jr., Capt. Charles F. March, Capt. James Whitney, Capt. William B. Freeman,* Capt. Chas. Harding, Capt. Christopher Way, Lieut. Francis D. Irish,* and Lieut. Charles Paine.
The procession was then escorted by the Gorham Light In- fantry, under command of Capt. James Whitney, and the Mili- tary Band, to the First Parish Meeting-house, where the ser- vices were performed in the following order: Reading of the Scriptures, Voluntary by the Choir and Band, Prayer by the chaplain, Rev. Thaddeus Pomeroy, Hymn, Address by Hon. Josiah Pierce, Anthem, Benediction.
Of the abilities and extensive acquirements of the orator, nothing need be said of one who is so well known to the public. All concur in the opinion that the address was just such an one as was wanted, admirably adapted to the occasion.
The enumeration of the most important events that have trans- pired in town for an hundred years, the patriotism of our ances- tors, and the happy manner in which their privations and suffer- ings, while realizing the horrors of that system of warfare which directs the weapon of the ruthless savage against the breast of the defenceless victim, were contrasted with the blessings of peace, liberty, and plenty which we enjoy, could not fail to satis- fy the highest desire of all concerned, and to kindle a glow of gratitude in every bosom, for the innumerable blessings of which we are the happy recipients. The services being concluded, the procession was re-formed and escorted through the principal streets of the village, after which they were amply provided for at the two public hotels in the village.
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
To add to the interest of the occasion, a company of Indians, commanded by their celebrated chief, in person, appeared in imi- tation of the Aborigines, of Narraganset, No. 7, armed with muskets, tomahawks, scalping knives, etc., and presented them- selves in all parts of the village, performing their feats in true Indian style. They then seemed to show a spirit of fight, by firing from behind fences and old buildings, till at length they attacked a company of light infantry that had just returned, with the military band, from a visit to the old Fort ground, which resulted in a " bloody fight," and they were captured and conveyed to headquarters, in spite of the efforts of their distin- guished chief, where they were treated as prisoners of war; but on their promising no further hostilities, they were set at liberty. This added greatly to the amusement and satisfaction of the be- holders. And thus the day was passed off with perfect good feeling and unanimity, and " no one killed and no one hurt."
GORHAM, May 27th, 1836.
[From the Gazette of May 26, 1886.]
GORHAM'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Fifty years ago today, Gorham celebrated the centennial anni- versary of her settlement. There are quite a number of people now living in town who can clearly recall to mind the leading events as they occurred in the exercises of that day. Very few are now left, however, who were participants in those exer- cises. The late Capt. Charles Harding was one of those who took part in the sham fight, a feature of the day, and it was from him, - just prior to his decease, - and two or three others, that the following brief history of the day was gathered.
An irregular firing of salutes began at daybreak, in front of the Gorham Hotel (now a dwelling-house, opposite Joseph Rid- lon's store, on High street). Isaac Phinney acted as chief gun- ner, and Isaac Libby and Thomas Patrick as assistants.
Later on in the morning the people commenced to congregate about the principal thoroughfare, which was then, as now, where School Street crosses the western termination of Main.
The building which is now the store of R. G. Harding was then the hotel of the place, kept by Col. March. About this
MONUMENT ERECTED BY THE TOWN IN 1805.
ADDRESS.
WE have come together this morning to commemorate the first settlement of our town. We have met to celebrate an event that has been productive of important consequences, not only to those who were immediately engaged in that transaction, but also to those who have followed them, to us, and to our succes- sors in all ensuing time.
We have come to look backward for a hundred years ; to call up some of the prominent events that have occurred in this town during a century ; to contemplate the characters and deeds of our fathers; to hold converse with the departed dead; to awaken our sympathy in their sufferings, and to express our gratitude for their prosperity, our reverence for their piety, our approbation of their love of order, and of civil and religious liberty.
While we, on this centennial anniversary, acknowledge the worth of our ancestors, and admire their virtues, by the review of their lives may we be led to copy their example in all that was good, and be roused to make new efforts for the welfare and happiness of our contemporaries ; to attempt and execute pro- jects that shall promote the good of those who may come after us ; to leave behind us a fair and honorable name, that shall merit the affectionate veneration of those who shall people these fertile and happy lands, when our earthly existence shall have been ended, and we shall have been gathered to our fathers.
Standing here this day, and looking back through the long vista of a hundred years, what a crowd of interesting associa- tions throng upon the mind! Within the lapse of a century, how many events, important and wonderful, have transpired, I will not say in the world, but in our own beloved country ! How have property and comfort been multiplied ! How have books and other means of acquiring knowledge been in- creased ! How have science and the arts advanced ! Were the first settlers of this town permitted to revisit the places of their former abode, and witness these wonderful changes, how aston- ished would they be! Our fathers never dreamed of a steam- engine, and its incalculable powers ! They never imagined that
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
machinery could perform such wonders! A railroad, a steam- boat, never entered into their conceptions !
Within a hundred years how much of joy and of sorrow have been exhibited here! How many of the great, the good, and the wise, have arisen, and flourished, and faded from the earth ! How many, even within the limits of this town, in the period of a century, have passed from time to eternity! How many, in the loveliness of infancy, the bloom of youth, the strength of man- hood, and the feebleness of age, have been consigned to the grave! The rich and the poor, the haughty and the humble, the gay and the sad, the favorites of hundreds, and the neglected of all, have left the varied pursuits of life, and gone down in silence to the tomb !
During the hundred years last passed, our State has arisen from abject poverty to high pecuniary prosperity. A few desti- tute inhabitants, scattered along the sea-coast, have multiplied to hundreds of thousands of wealthy citizens ; log tenements have yielded to elegant mansions, and garrisons and watch-towers have given place to lofty edifices, consecrated to Art, Science, Litera- ture, and Religion. The narrow path has widened to the capa- cious and well-made street, and gardens, and orchards, and cul- tivated fields, occupy the former ground of thick and gloomy forests.
When we look around on the prosperity of our country, on the quiet and peaceable possessions of our citizens, when we look on the graves of our fathers, and reflect on their privations, their toils, and their sufferings, let us learn to estimate more highly than we have heretofore done the value of the inheritance they have left us.
The settlement of the town of Gorham was one of the conse- quences of the war with the Narraganset Indians. The Colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts for many years lived on terms of friendship with that powerful tribe of natives; at length jeal- ousies arose, evils, real or imaginary, sprang up, and in 1675 mat- ters had come to a crisis, and war became inevitable ; it broke out with violence; the tomahawk, the scalping-knife - inhuman tortures, and severe captivity, awaited the Colonists! Many towns were laid in ruins, many victims slaughtered by an unre- lenting foe. At that time the whole population of New England
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
was not probably more than sixty thousand. Every able-bodied man, capable of bearing arms, was commanded to hold himself in readiness to march at the shortest notice. Six companies were raised in Massachusetts, five in Connecticut, and two in Ply- mouth Colony. The Plymouth companies were commanded by Captains Rice and Gorham. The Narraganset battle was one of the most memorable ever fought on this continent. The hard- ship and sufferings of that fight have hardly a parallel. The bat- tle was fought on the tenth of December (old style), 1675 - the ninth was an extremely cold day; the whole white army num- bered one thousand, one hundred and twenty-seven men; four hundred of these brave fellows (more than one-third of the whole effective force) were so frozen as to be completely unfit for duty. The snow fell fast and deep ; the troops marched all the preceding night through a tangled and pathless wood. The battle commenced early in the morning, and lasted six dreadful hours. Of four thousand Indians, not two hundred escaped, and on our side six brave captains fell. Of Captain Gorham's com- pany, thirty were killed, and forty-one wounded. Such, fellow- citizens, were your heroic ancestors - such were the men to whom the town of Gorham was granted !
The Narraganset war occurred late in the year 1675. There were eight hundred and forty men belonging to Massachusetts, who took arms in that conflict. For these men and their heirs the Legislature of that province resolved to make grants of unim- proved land, on account of their military services ; accordingly, two townships were granted in 1728, and five more in 1732.
These seven townships were granted on the conditions then generally imposed, viz. : the grantees were to meet within two months, and organize each proprietary, to consist of one hundred and twenty persons ; to settle sixty families in seven years ; to settle a learned, Orthodox minister; to erect a meeting-house ; to clear a certain number of acres of land, and to reserve a certain proportion of the township for the use of schools, the ministry, and the first settled minister.
The Narraganset grantees first met in Cambridge in 1729. They then petitioned for more land, and five townships were granted in 1732. This grant passed the House of Representa- tives on the thirtieth of June, but was not consented to by Jon-
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
athan Belcher, the then Provincial Governor, till April 26th, 1733. The grantees held a meeting on the common of the town of Boston, on the sixth day of June, 1733, at two o'clock P.M., and formed themselves into seven distinct societies, each consisting of one hundred and twenty persons, who should be entitled to one of the townships granted to the Narraganset sol- diers. Three persons were chosen from each society, to make out a list of the grantees to assign the towns to each company, and to assemble the grantees of the respective societies, to elect officers, and manage their affairs. At this meeting it was voted " that one of the societies, consisting of one hundred and twenty persons, should consist mostly of proprietors belonging to the towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth, Eastham, Sandwich, Plymouth, Tisbury, Abington, Duxbury, and one from Scituate."
To this society was assigned township denominated Narragan- set, No. 7, which is now the town of Gorhamn.
The seven committees met at Luke Verdey's in Boston, Octo- ber 17, 1733, and assigned the several townships, viz .:
Narraganset No. 1, on Saco river, now Buxton, Maine.
66 No. 2, at Wachuset, adjoining Rutland, Mass.
No. 3, on Souhegan river, now Amherst, N. H.
No. 4, at Amoskeag, N. H.
No. 5, on Merrimac river, now Merrimac and Bedford, N. H.
66 No. 6, called Southtown, now Templeton, Mass. No. 7, on Presumpscot river, now Gorham, Me.
The committee for the township Narraganset, No. 7, were Colonel Shubael Gorham, Timothy White, and Robert Standfort. The township being granted and assigned to the company of Nar- raganset soldiers, under the command of the late Captain John Gorham, the grantees immediately took measures to bring for- ward the settlement of their town. It was determined to make a survey of one hundred and twenty lots, of thirty acres each, for the first division, each grantee was to have one right, esti- mated at the value of ten pounds, which right was to consist of one thirty-acre, one seventy-acre, and one one-hundred acre lot. The General Court of Massachusetts passed an order, authorizing and empowering Colonel Shubael Gorham to call the first meet- ing of the grantees of Narraganset, No. 7. It was also voted by
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
the Legislature that the seven years assigned for the time in which to perform the settling duties, should be computed from the first day of June, 1734, and would consequently end June 1, 1741. In 1734 a survey of part of the town was made, and in the succeeding year, 1735, the thirty-acre lots were located, drawn, and confirmed to the several grantees. Several roads were also located and named. Thus was our town prepared for settlement, but as yet no tree was felled, no habitation for white man erected.
One hundred years ago this morning the sun threw his cheer- ing beams over the unbroken forests of our town; on the suc- ceeding evening " the moon, walking in brightness," shed her mild rays on a small opening, made by the hand of civilized man !
A hundred years ago this morning, John Phinney, a son of one of the conquerors of the Narragansets, a descendant of the Pil- grims, a wanderer from the Old Colony, disembarked from his canoe on the Presumpscot river, with his ax, and a small stock of simple provisions, attended by a son of fourteen years of age, with a design to make a home for himself and family, in this then wilderness, but now large and flourishing town.
Having selected a spot for his future dwelling, that son, Ed- mund Phinney (afterward distinguished, not only in our town, but as a colonel in the War of the Revolution) felled the first tree for settlement. The event is worthy of commemoration. The snows of winter had passed away; "the time of the singing of birds had come"; the trees had put on their fresh and ver- dant robe, the woodland flowers
" Were gay in their young bud and bloom,"
unpicked and untrampled upon by civilized man.
John Phinney, the first settler of Gorham, was the son of Dea- con John Phinney, of Barnstable, Massachusetts, and was born in that town April 8 (old style), 1693. He removed from Barnsta- ble with his wife and five children to Falmouth (now Portland), about 1732. He had two children born in Falmouth. He re- moved to this town, as has been stated, in May, 1736. He had three children born in Gorham, viz., Mary Gorham, Colman, and James.
Mary Gorham Phinney, daughter of Captain John Phinney, and Martha his wife, was born in August, 1736, about three
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
months after the commencement of the settlement. This daugh- ter was the first white child born in Gorham ; she married James Irish, father of General James Irish, and left numerous descend- ants. She was a professor of the Christian religion for seventy years, and during that long period ever lived an exemplary and devoted Christian, maintaining the domestic relations of daugh- ter, wife, and mother, in a most unexceptionable manner ; distin- guished for kindness, hospitality, industry, and Christian cheer- fulness. She was a worthy example for all the numerous daughters since born around her, and she left behind her a memory dear to many, and a character worthy the commendation of all. This lady died in 1825, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years.
Colman Phinney, the second child of Captain Phinney, born in this town, was killed by the fall of a tree when about ten years of age, and James Phinney, the youngest son of Captain Phin- ney, was born April 13th (old style), 24th (new style), 1741. He lived almost to this time, beloved and respected wherever known. We have seen his venerable form moving among us, the patriarch of almost a hundred years ! in a green old age, intelligent and cheerful, in full possession of a sound mind, correct judgment, and retentive memory. He enjoyed through life the confidence of his townsmen, and for a long number of years was one of their officers.
Captain John Phinney lived here two years before any other white family came; he lived on land now owned by Edmund Mann, Esquire. The first land cleared was where the orchard now grows ; some Indians had wigwams near by, and for two years Phinney's children had no other play-fellows than young Indians. During those years Captain Phinney had to go to Pre- sumpscot lower falls to mill ; he used to transport his corn and provisions in a float on the river, carrying them round the falls at Saccarappa and Amon-Congin, there being no pathway even to Portland, through the forest. In these fatiguing and dangerous journeys to mill he was frequently assisted by his eldest daughter Elizabeth (who afterward married Eliphalet Watson). She used to help her father carry his boat round the falls, and assist in rowing and transporting his heavy loads.
The second settler of this town was Daniel Mosier, who re- moved from Falmouth in 1738. He was the father of James
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
Mosier, who died in 1834, at the age of ninety-nine years and three months. Soon after came Hugh Mclellan, from the north of Ireland, and settled near where the widow of his son Thomas McLellan now lives; within a short period from the time of Mclellan's coming here, William Pote, William Cotton, Ebene- zer Hall, Eliphalet Watson, Clement Harvey, Bartholomew Thorn, John Irish, John Ayer, Jacob Hamblen, Benjamin Skil- lings and others moved into the town as settlers.
It required no small share of courage, firmness, and enterprise to go into the wilderness and commence a settlement at that period. Let us for a moment contemplate the situation of the province of Maine, at the time when Captain Phinney began the settlement of this town. There were but nine towns, and a few feeble plantations in Maine. Portland, Saco, and Scarborough, were but just recovering from their recent destruction by the Indians. A second line of townships from the coast had just been located, and were frontier places, all back of them was wil- derness. The Indians, though nominally at peace, were discon- tented, jealous, and meditated revenge for past chastisements, and victories obtained over them.
In 1690, all the settlements east of Wells were destroyed. In the Indian wars from 1703 to 1713, Maine lost one-third of all her population ; and a large proportion of the personal property was destroyed; through extreme want and suffering, many persons were driven away, never to return. In 1724, the Nor- ridgewocks were broken up; in 1725, Captain Lovell and his company killed or dispersed the Pequawket Indians at Fryeburg. In 1736, the whole population of Maine was probably not more than seven thousand. In 1735-6 and 7, the scarlet fever, or (as it was usually called) the throat distemper, raged throughout Maine, and more than five hundred died with the disease; in some towns it was peculiarly fatal; in Scarborough, no one at- tacked with the distemper recovered. The inhabitants in all the new towns suffered greatly for want of food, clothing, and com- fortable houses ; while danger from the Indians was constant and pressing. Famine, massacre, and captivity threatened them con- tinually. It required men like the puritans to undertake and carry through the hazardous enterprise of settling new towns among savage beasts and savage men. The early fathers of Gor-
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GORHAM CENTENNIAL.
ham were persons of such characters. The first settlers of our town were from a noble stock; the direct descendants of the Pil- grims ; almost all the first inhabitants were from the old Colony ; nearly every town on Cape Cod contributed one or more settlers for Narraganset No. 7. The greater number, however, were from Barnstable, Yarmouth, and Eastham. The immediate grantees were the conquerors of the famous and far-dreaded In- dian King Philip.
The early inhabitants of Gorham partook largely of the char- acter of their ancestors, the Pilgrims. They were a hardy, en- terprising, virtuous race of men ; of indomitable courage - un- bending firmness - uncompromising integrity ; sober, industrious, frugal, temperate in all things. They were distinguished for enduring fortitude, for open-handed hospitality. It is true they were not eminent for attainments in literature, nor did they make much progress in the sciences : not that they were deficient in talents, but they had not leisure, or opportunity for the cultiva- tion of letters. They did all they could do, and more than might have been expected of them to do, in such times, and in their position. In their humble dwellings in the wilderness, they had little leisure for the study of books, even if they had possessed them. Their minds were incessantly occupied in devising ways to obtain sustenance and clothing for themselves and families ; and in providing means for defence against artful and revenge- ful foes. Exhausted with fatigue, and worn with cares and anxieties, could they be expected to attend to the elegancies and blandishments of older, more numerous, and wealthier communities ?
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