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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
Gc 974.102 M75c v.1 1401486
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01092 9757
HISTORY OF
MONMOUTH AND WALES
BY
HARRY H. COCHRANE
MEMBER OF THE MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR
GC 974.102
V.I
M75c V.I
VOLUME ONE
EAST WINTHROP BANNER CO.
1894
1401486
PREFACE
1.0. 3490
3-2-67
-cc $ 35.00 (2 vol.)
Josephus in his "Antiquities of the Jews" says:
"Those who undertake to write histories, do not, I perceive, take that trouble on one and the same ac- count, but for many reasons, and those such as are very different one from another. For some of them apply themselves to this part of learning, to show their great skill in composition, and that they may therein acquire a reputation for speaking finely. Oth- ers of them there are who write histories in order to gratify those that happen to be concerned in them; and on that account have spared no paine, but rather gone beyond their own abilities in the performance. But others there are, who, of necessity and by force, are driven to write history, because they were concern- ed in the facts, and so cannot excuse themselves from committing them to writing, for the advantage of pos- terity. Nay, there are not a few who are induced to draw their historical facts out of darkness into light, and to produce them for the benefit of the public, on account of the great importance of the facts them- selves with which they have been concerned."
Had Josephus, in this enumeration, mentioned those whose love of the haunts and scenes of childhood en- genders a desire that the events which have been con-
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PREFACE.
nected with those resorts, and have largely contrib- uted to their formation and development, may be saved from the oblivion that awaits all oral history, luis list would have been well-nigh complete.
Not far from 1850, my grandfather, Dr. James Coch- rane, jun., at the solicitation of many of his friends, prepared and delivered, at different points in the town, a series of lectures on the early history of Monmouth. These lectures, while covering but a brief period, ter- minating at the eighth year after the town's incorpor- ation, contained an invaluable fund of information.
Having in his professional rounds opportunities for collecting data that few writers of local history enjoy, and being in himself a perfect hand-book of reminis- cence, the brief history prepared by him, although wanting methodical arrangement, possessed many rare attributes, not least among which was that of general authenticity.
About ten years ago, while reading the interesting incidents contained in the manuscript lectures, a de- sire was awakened to know more of my favorite town's history. With no conception of what the task involv- ed, or where it would end, the work was begun. The proverbial "oldest inhabitant" was interviewed, and his store of traditional lore extracted; correspondence opened with families whose fathers and mothers were natives of the town; the town records ransacked; the deeds in the court-house at Wiscasset transcribed; re- cords in the library of the New England Historico- Genealogical Society, at Boston, copied; time-stain- ed diaries and private account books surprised by hav- ing their musty pages opened to the light of day; old
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PREFACE.
newspaper files examined; and, in brief, every availa- ble sour e of information explored and its contents ap- propriated.
The reader whose task it is to criticise the arrange- ment, sneer at the diction and rave at the unavoidable errors that are presented in this volume has, and can have until he gains it by actual experience, no idea of the tremendous amount of labor involved in the produc- tion of a local history. "Oh, that mine adversary had written a book!" exclaimed the afflicted patriarch; and "Oh, that he would compile the annals of his town!" has been the most malignant desire of the author.
It is not a difficult matter to sit in a tilting chair and read, "Nathaniel Noname, who has been mentioned as one of the assessors for the year 1803, removed front Downeast, N. B., in 1797, and settled on the farm now owned by Samuel Someone, which he purchased of Moses Miserly. Many of his posterity have gained a national reputation, prominent among whom is Peter Puzzler, the author of Puzzler's New Treatise on Hy- drostatics," and yet it may have taken the author weeks to collect the data embraced in these two brief sen- tences. As these fictitious names cover actual histori- cal facts, it may be interesting to the reader to learn how the facts were secured. In the first place, among the stained and faded papers in the town clerk's hands was found a record of the town meeting for the year 1803, in which the name of Nathaniel Noname appears as one of the assessors.' No one in the village had any knowledge of a family by that name. After many fruitless inquiries, a trip was made around the town and the name presented to the oldest citizens that could
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PREFACE.
be found in the different sections, each one of whom was interrogated concerning the family. At last an old gentleman was found who had some faint recollec- tion of a Nathaniel Noname who lived on the place where Mr. Someone now lives, and who had a son who went to Arkansas. Going to Wiscasset,as nine-tenths of the deeds given in Kennebec county prior to 1799 are recorded there, an instrument dated 1789 was found which attested the transfer of real estate between Mo- ses Miserly, of Wales Plantation, and Nathaniel No- name, of Downeast, N. B. Referring to the assessors' books, it was discovered that Nathaniel Noname was taxed for real estate in 1789, but was first assessed for a poll tax in 1797, which proved that he did not move into the town until several years after he purchased his land. Nothing more could be learned of the fami- ly until a newspaper was accidentally picked up, sev- eral months later, which contained the obituary of Ne- hemiah Noname, formerly of Arkansas, in Scandal- ville, Conn. Thinking that there might be a connect- ing link here, a letter was addressed to the heirs of the late Nehemiah Noname, requesting the favor of a copy of the family records. Soon the informa- tion came which identified Nehemiah Noname as the son of Nathaniel Noname, of Monmouth, and giving among his posterity the name of Peter Puzzler, the celebrated scientist.
The above is no imaginary presentation. It is an actual experience of the author's, and is given as one of many similar instances to arouse in the reader an appreciation of what has been done.
In preparing this memorial, I have, more and more,
PREFACE.
been impressed with the importance of hastening the work. A few years hence, much that is note-worthy, much that is of incalculable importance in the line of histori ยท data, will be forever buried with those who hold it in trust. Let ten summers sweep over the rip- ening fields of humanity, let ten autumns bring their shadows and gloom into the waning intellect, let ten winters draw their shroud over the fallen relics of oth- er days, and what human power could gather from the withered residue the tissue of a comprehensive, authen- tic history? It would even now be impossible for the writer to collect some data that was contributed by aged citizens who have died since the work of compila- tion was conmenced.
The preparation and publication of this history have been attended by innumerable difficulties. Although the papers prepared by my grandfather were intense. ly interesting, and of inestimable value as a nucleus for a more extensive historical work, more especially so since they contained the only transcriptions of the lost plantation records in existence, they were arrang- ed simply for an evening's entertainment, and consist- ed of disconnected records, reminiscences, and tradi- tions which must be connected with long paragraphs of historical matter to produce a sequential arrange- ment; and, as the statements concerning the early set- tlement, purchase of land and titles were taken from old citizens whose memories were sometimes waning, it was necessary to verify these traditions, as far as possible, by the contempory records, and, in a few in- stances, correct errors. To insure accuracy, I have se- cured a copy of every deed given by the land-holders
PREFACE.
in Monmouth and Wales Plantation from 1774 to 1799, as recorded in the ancient archives at Wiscasset.
Especially has it been difficult to secure complete and accurate family records. Incredible as it may seem, there are intel igent, well-educated people in Monmouth who could not furnish the names of their grandfathers, when called upon to assist in the prep- aration of their family histories, and there are scores who can hardly be forced to believe that anything stretching so far back toward the brink of infinitude as a great-grandfather ever had a place in their ances- try. Anyone with average reasoning powers must realize how utterly impossible it is for one with no re- sources from which to draw except the badly-kept town records and inscriptions on grave-stones to com- pile complete family records without the assistance of the families themselves. And yet there will be cap- tious critics who, after having been appealed to in vain once and again for assistance in compiling their gen- ealogies, will condemn and execrate the author because he has not accomplished the labor which no one but themselves could perform. It has been my desire and in- tention to have the family records accurate and trust- worthy, but it is not claimed that that this desire has been fully realized. In the absence of written records, oral communications have been taken as a substitute, and the too prevalent desire to make one's grandfath- er appear a greater hero than "that other old fogy," renders it difficult to give a character his true place in the narrative. The statement of the proud scion cited by one of my historical correspondents, to the effect that his "great-grandfather came over in the 'Mayflow-
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PREFACE.
er' and fought in the Revolutionary War," was too ob- vious an incongruity to make it dangerous, unless, as the correspondent suggests, he may have been a direct descendant of Methuselah, but less glaring inconsist- ences are quite liable to pass unchallenged, unless the historian is extremely vigilant.
The long delay following the advent of the prospec- tus which has caused many ( the author included) to lose faith in the enterprise, can not be attributed to lack of energy or bad management. The one stroke of questionable policy is the attempt to publish a work which will not return one-half the amount it has cost.
As no account of expenditures has been kept, it is impossible to make even a fairly approximate estimate of what the cost of compiling and publishing has been; but it is perfectly safe to assert that if every copy of the edition should be taken, the net receipts will not afford anything like an ordinary laborer's pay for the time that has been consumed; and but for an appropriation of three hundred dollars which was se- cured from the town through the active efforts of Dr. H. M. Blake and his associates, it would have been an extremely difficult matter to complete the work.
As there has been an inclination on the part of some to question the propriety of this action of the town, it will be in order to state, in this connection, that it is customary for towns to make appropriations for such objects, and in no instance that has come to the writer's knowledge has the amount of the appropriation been less than that made in behalf of this enterprise. One Maine author of a local history received over one thou- sand dollars in voluntary contributions.
VIII
PREFACE.
But for the failure of the publisher who engaged to print the book on shares, it would have long since been placed in the homes of the people; and but for the heavy financial obligations that have hung over the author it would have been issued at a personal risk at an earlier date-
The History of Monmouth aud Wales is now placed in your hands. Prolonged expectancy has, undou bt edly, developed many an imaginary paragraph which a perusal of the pages which follow will dissipate. Criticise it considerately. Others could have perform- ed the task far more creditably and acceptably, but who ventured to assume the burden ?
It is not claimed that every event that has transpir- ed within the limits of Monmouth and Wales has been recorded within these pages. The intelligent reader can not fail to realize the utter impracticability of pre- paring a history on such a comprehensive basis. Were it possible to secure the minute data for such a work, "even the world itself", to use the somewhat hy- perbolical predication of John the Evangelist, "could not contain the books that should be written." To re- call the cardinal events in the history of Wales Plan- tation, those events that gradually modelled from a block of pristine wilderness, the sister towns as they are to-day, has been considered far more important than to state how many times John Smith shingled his barn, how many assistants he employed, and of whom he purchased lis hammer and nails.
If facts of supreme importance to some individual reader fail to appear, bear in mind that the writer does not boast oracular wisdom or the power of divination.
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PREFACE.
Items for publication have been solicited for a period of above six years, and if all that is essential does not appear, it is the fault of those who have withheld the data which they might have furnished.
To all who by contributions, advocacy, and sympa- thy, have assisted in this arduous and wearisome task I would proffer cordial acknowledgements. In addi- tion to those who have rendered pecuniary aid, many thanks are due to the officers of the New England Historico-Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., and to the Secretary of State, of Massachusetts, for permis- sion to examine records and for the use of valuable ancient documents; to the Register of Deeds of Lin- coln County, for assistance in tracing land titles; to Perley Derby, esq., of Salem, Mass., for genealogical papers; to Miss Gay and Mrs. H. W. Swanton, of Gar- diner, Me., for permission to copy a bust of Gen. Dear- born, and for the use of private family papers; to Mr. Andrew W. Tinkham, of North Monmouth, whose fund of historical knowledge is in exact proportion to his massive physique, for much invaluable informa- tion and encouragement; to John C. Fogg, esq., of Wales, for items concerning early settlers in that town; to Jacob G. Smith, esq., of East Monmouth and Mr. Everett Andrews, of West Gardiner, for important con- tributions; and to Dr. C. M. Cumston, and others whose names will appear in the body of the work, for kind council and assistance.
It would be ungrateful to close these introductory paragraphs without tendering a tribute of affecticiate acknowledgement to the memory of Phineas B. Nich- ols, of East Monmouth, whose reminiscences conCIL-
PREFACE.
ing the early settlers of that part of the town afforded opportunities for much fruitful research. Though not permitted to enjoy the perusal of the pages which lie anticipated with such great delight, his is the far more exalted pleasure of reading from the book the seals of which none but the Lion of the tribe of Judah could break, the revelation of events which no earthly histo- rian can unfold. May his mantle fall and abide on many!
Harry H. Cochrane.
Monmouth, Dec. 5, 1892.
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
CHAPTER I.
THE ABORIGINES.
-
THE sixth decade of the eighteenth century found the narrow interval between the Androscoggin and Kennebec rivers an unbroken wilderness. Here and there, along the shores of the ponds, the monotony of the vista was, in a measure, relieved by the appearance of groups of Indian wigwams. Game in abundance wandered aimlessly through the dense forests, un- arrested, save by the native huntsman's arrow. Dusky braves paddled their canoes lazily among the islands of the Cobbosee-contee, laved their heated bodies in the cool waters of the Cochnewagan, and ate their venison and salmon on the banks of the Anabessacook.
On the southern shore of the Anabessacook, in the pasture belonging to the Frederick estate, may still
2
HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
be seen deep, circular indentations, where their camp fires glowed more than a century ago. Research has been rewarded by the discovery, in these cellars, of many utensils used by the natives in their culinary employments. Stone implements and instruments of warfare have also been found in abundance, their form and nicety of finish-taking into consideration the difficulties under which they were constructed - giving evidence of that characteristic perseverance which has been transmitted to the modern American in painfully exceptional instances. And, occasionally, a school child, more fortunate than its envious companions, or a bather, tarrying for a moment on the warm sand, finds among the pebbles on the shore a flint arrow- head, where it has rested ever since the day, away back in the misty past, when a strong-armed native sent it whizzing after the bounding caribou, or, perchance, on a mission of death to some copper-hued enemy.
The glory of the red man is truly "a thing of the past." A few decaying families, gathering at their rendezvous at Oldtown in the winter, and scattering in small groups among the resorts of pleasure - seekers during the warm months of summer, but weakly rep- resent the powerful nation whose warriors were once numbered by thousands.
Originally, the Indians of Maine were divided into two distinct nations -the Etchekins, who occupied the lands from the Penobscot eastward, and the Abenaques, who held the territory between the Penobscot and the present New Hampshire line. The Abenaques nation was divided into four tribes; consisting of the Sokokis, who lived on the shores of the Saco river; the Wawe-
3
THE ABORIGINES.
nocs, whose grounds were east of Merrymeeting Bay ; the Canibas, who occupied both sides of the Kennebec river from Merrymeeting Bay to Moosehead Lake; and the Anasagunticooks, who claimed the banks of the Androscoggin and the section irrigated by the chain of lakes that unites the waters of the Androscoggin with those of the Kennebec.
These tribes were sub-divided into clans, one of which -a branch of the Canibas,-dwelling on the site now covered by the city of Augusta, was called the Cushnoc. A strange Indian custom was that of giving the tribal name to the place occupied as a camping ground, or, on the contrary, of assuming the words used to signify some peculiarity of a location as the name of the tribe. Thus Cushnoc, meaning, "the run- ning-down-place," became the generic name of all Indians living in that vicinity. Another of these clans was the Teconnets. Their home was near the falls of Teconnet, or Ticonic, at Waterville. Still another, was that of the Norridgewogs, whose headquarters were at Norridgewock. This clan possessed greater advan- tages than any other of the Abenaques nation. In 1698, Father Sabastian Rasle, a French Jesuit priest, touched with the true missionary spirit, left his home in France, and with it all that life could promise, and crossing the ocean, settled among the nativesat Norridgewock, purposing to teach them the arts of civilization, and, more particularly, the Jesuit faith. That he succeeded well in the latter, the tenacity with which descendents of the tribe have held to the precepts and principles which were inculcated by him on the hearts of their fatliers demonstrates. In 1724, the
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
English settlers, believing that Rasle's influence had much to do with inciting the Indians to ally themselves with the French, who were then conducting a bloody war against the colonies, sent a body of men from Fort Richmond to capture him. He was surprised and shot in the door of his wigwam. The story of his death is touchingly told, though perhaps with poetic freedom, in Whittier's "Mogg Magone."
The Anasagunticooks were, originally, a powerful and warlike people. Indeed, they once bore the un- enviable reputation of being the strongest and most ferocious of all tribes in New England. As we daily traverse the paths that were once pressed by their moccasined feet, and till the lands they once claimed as their hunting-ground, it will be eminently proper to give such incidents as history and tradition furnish concerning the sachems and warriors of this tribe.
At the first appearance of the white man, their advances were 111ost amicable; and, although much occurred to weaken their confidence in their new neigh- bors, their attitude toward them did not radically change until the opening of King Philip's war, when they became fiercer and more bloodthirsty than the wolves that howled in the wilderness about them. In the year 1615, a terrible plague, the terrors of which Longfellow has vividly portrayed in his "Song of Hiawatha," broke out among them. From an almost interminable host, their warriors were reduced to fifteen hundred in number. Later, wars and other causes brought them almost to the verge of extinction; so near it that, in the year 1726, there were only five Indians in the whole tribe above sixteen years of age.
5
THE ABORIGINES.
Twenty-five years later, they could boast one hundred and sixty warriors.
The first of their sagamores, whose name history has preserved, was Chogoandoe, whose signature, resem- bling a cross between a Chinese character and an Egyptian hieroglyph struck by lightning, appears on an Indian deed bearing the date 1653, and conveying to Thomas Lake, of Boston, and Mr. Spencer, of Charlestown, the historic lands east and west of the Kennebec. Another deed is on record, given by Wo- rumbo, another sachem of the Anasagunticooks, to Richard Wharton, July 7, 1684, attesting his title to the lands formerly held by Thomas Purchase, of Brunswick. Kankamagus, to whom the English settlers gave the name "Hawkins," was another of their chieftains. He had been a sachem of the Penna- cooks, but joined the Anasagunticooks in, or about, 1684, living with Worumbo, whom he succeeded. Philip Will, a young Indian who was born at Cape Cod, was taken captive by the French, at the seige of Louisbourg, when he was fourteen years of age, and, living among this tribe of savages many years, finally became their chief. He was educated by a Mr. Crocker, of whose family he was, for a long time, a 111ember. He measured six feet and three inches in heiglit, and was finely proportioned. The Anasagun- ticooks were many times saved from total extinction by his efforts.
The principal encampment of this tribe was at Brunswick Falls (by them called Pejepscot ) until the English immigrants forced them farther up the river. Here they gathered from all points along the banks of
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
the Androscoggin and its tributaries to hold their grand councils; and here they met other tribes to plan expeditions of warfare. Jay Point, or Canton, became their rendezvous after leaving Pejepscot. Rocomoco was the name by which it was known to them. This point possessed great advantages. It was too far back in the unexplored wilderness to be easily taken by the white forces; while, from its position at the head of a system of lakes, it not only commanded a vast terri- tory, but held the key to three distinct routes to the ocean. The first of these was down the Androscoggin in the direct course to the confluence of the Kennebec; thence, through Merrymeeting Bay to the "great waters." The second, through Dead River into An- droscoggin Pond; thence, by a short portage, in what is now Wayne,* into Wilson Pond; through the con- necting stream, into Cochnewagan Pond; thence, by the tributary into Sabattis Pond, and down Sabattis River, into the lower Androscoggin. The third route was like the second as far as Wilson Pond; thence down the Wilson stream into the South, or Anabessa- cook Pond; thence, into the Cobbosee-contee; through the Cobbosee-contee stream into the Kennebec, and down the Kennebec to Merrymeeting Bay.
At various points along these routes they had stop- ping places where they mended their canoes and buried their furs. One of these was on Norris Island, in Androscoggin Pond. Another, in the opinion of the writer's grandfather, Dr. Jas. Cochrane, who gave much attention to this line of research, was the site already referred to, on the shore of South Pond. In this he
*The Indian name was Pocasset.
um bes to plan CI -. n, became Rocomoco No them. This no too far back taken by the tise head of a adel a vast terri- metes to the Androscoggin the Kennebec; tle "great River into An- 1 ge, in what ch the con- thence, by Buon Sabattis The third route Pmd; thence Anabessa- : through Karzebec, and
had stop- es and buried ors Island, in epicion of the No gave much Le site already In this he
SKETCH SHOWING ONE OF THE INDIAN CELLARS ON THE SHORE OF ANNABESSACOOK POND. SEE PAGE 2.
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THE ABORIGINES.
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