USA > Maine > Oxford County > Woodstock > History of Woodstock, Me., with family sketches and an appendix > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
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
M. L.
Go 974.102 W86& 1136846
GERIFAIS GENEALOGY COLLECTION
L
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01092 2851
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofwoodsto00laph_0
٢
-
DR. WM. B. LAPHAM.
HISTORY
OF 1
WOODSTOCK, ME.,
WITH
FAMILY SKETCHES
AND
AN APPENDIX,
BY WILLIAM B. LAPHAM.
PORTLAND: STEPHEN BERRY, PRINTER. 1882.
-
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
1136846
PAGE.
INTRODUCTION, - - - - -
2
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK,
5
HAMLIN'S GORE,
58
CHURCH HISTORY,
67
TEMPERANCE,
85
SCHOOLS,
103
MASONRY,
108
MILITARY,
110
POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS,
118
HOTELS,
120
VILLAGES,
- 122
TRADERS,
124
PHYSICIANS,
125
LAWYERS,
127
PUBLIC LOTS,
128
MILLS,
130
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES,
- 132
PERSONAL MENTION,
150
FAMILY SKETCHES,
169
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS, -
269
APPENDIX,
271
CHASE'S DIARY, 273
CENSUS OF 1870,
-
292
-
1
-
NO
1
INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
BRYANT'S POND FROM DUDLEY HILL,
123
WM. M. BROOKS,
107
JOHN W. BROOKS,
184
ALDEN CHASE, - 193
PROF. A. F. CHASE, 153
REV. R. DUNHAM,
211
RUFUS K. DUNHAM,
109
JEFF. C. GALLISON, 155
HON. C. P. KIMBALL, 231
H. I. KIMBALL, -
- 157
WM. B. LAPHAM,
Frontispiece.
GEO. F. LEONARD,
237
ORSAMUS NUTE,
243
HON. SIDNEY PERHAM,
163
JOEL PERHAM, JR., -
247
CAPT. R. S. RANDALL, - 251
CHARLES O. WHITMAN, 265 -
HARRISON S. WHITMAN, - 167
PAGE.
*INTRODUCTION .<
The history of the town of Woodstock presents no startling incidents, and few if any circumstances not common to other of the late-settled, interior towns of the State. It was settled long after the last hostile demon- stration by the Indians was made in Maine, and therefore can contain no thrilling incidents common to Indian warfare in frontier life. The natural facilities for manufacturing were very limited, and from its settlement the inhabitants have mainly been engaged in pastoral pursuits. The his- tory of such a town, except to the people who inhabit it, cannot be es- pecially entertaining, and is valuable in a general sense only as its statistics aid in making up a complete history of the State. But to the inhabitants of Woodstock, and especially to those born there or descended from the pioneers, an account of its first settlement and its gradual development from an unbroken wilderness, through its plantation life, to a prosperous munici- pality, filled by an industrious, thrifty and intelligent people, should possess some degree of interest.
It is eighty-four years since the first clearing was made with a view to settling upon the lands within the limits of that town, and it will be eighty- four years in November next, since the first two families moved in. It is sixty-seven years since Plantation Number Three was incorporated and became a town, and all those who participated in organizing the new mu- nicipality have passed away. The last was GIDEON SWAN, who was born in 1784, and was a lad of seventeen or eighteen years when his people came here. He died in 1877. Next to the last was JACOB WHITMAN, who was one of the first five families ; he died in 1873. But few of the children of the early settlers now survive, and the number grows less year by year. Those who survive are old, and in the course of nature must soon pass away. When one of them goes, the sources of information concerning the early settle- ment of the town are diminished, and it will not be long before the last link that connects the present with that early period will be broken. It was this fact that induced me to undertake the task of collecting and recording, before they had all gone, some of the incidents connected with the first settlement, plantation period and early municipal life of the town of Woodstock. Its
4
INTRODUCTION.
people are endeared to me in various ways. Though reared elsewhere, it was among them that I first launched my boat upon the sea of life, and my compagnon de voyage was a native-born of the town. My mother, also, first saw the light of day in Woodstock; there she died and there her dust re- poses. Her father was one of the first five settlers.
I am well aware of the imperfections of this history. One source of diffi- culty and regret is, that it was not begun sooner, when more, of the earlier settlers were living, and I was a resident. It is a too common neglect. I have also labored under the disadvantage of living at a distance from the town while the work was going on, and of being too much cumbered with other cares and labors to be able to make that original research that is desirable in such cases. The most interesting part of a town's history is that which may be denominated unwritten; it is also much more difficult to obtain. Statistical facts, relating to municipal affairs, if the records are properly kept, are always at hand, can be copied at any time, and at one time as well as another; but the unrecorded incidents in the history of a town can be obtained only from living witnesses, and if not gathered up and preserved during their life-time, they pass into tradition, and facts soon become so distorted as to be wholly unreliable. It was not until most of the early settlers had gone, carrying with them the story of the hardships, priva- tions and perils of their pioneer life, and the few who remained had become so aged and infirm as to make communication with them very difficult, that any effort was made to gather up and preserve unrecorded facts ; that portion of this history, therefore, which could have and should have been gleaned from these now extinct sources, will necessarily be brief.
It may appear to some, that in certain directions I have gone unnecessarily into detail, but such should remember that facts with which they themselves are familiar from personal recollections, will be new to their posterity. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS once said that "Posterity delights in details," and most of us can testify to the truth of the saying. To all who have rendered me assistance in the compilation of this work, I am under great obligation. There are so many of them who have aided me in various ways, and the sources from which information has been derived are so numerous, that to enumerate all would occupy more space than can be given to an introduction which is already too long; and without further remark, the following pages are respectfully submitted to the charitable and discriminating consideration of my former towns-people.
Augusta, 1882.
WM. B. LAPHAM.
.
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
The territory comprising the town of Woodstock is generally hilly or mountainous. Its hills are often high and abrupt, and within the limits of the town are several mountain peaks, though none of them are remarkable for their great height above the sea level. In the west part of the town, a bold bluff forms the western boundary of Bryant's Pond, rising abruptly from the water about three hundred feet, and for the first two hundred nearly perpendicularly. The summit of this mountain is in Greenwood. Nearly due north from this is a mountain which forms the easterly barrier to the waters of North Alder River Pond. Besides these, there are nearly twenty distinct peaks, where the primary rocks have broken through and formed elevations of greater or less altitude above the sur- rounding country. Some of these were formerly wooded to their summits, while others show their rock-ribbed structure and are capped with granite or gneiss. Some of these have received distinctive names and others have not. There is very little level land in town. Along the beds of some of the streams, belts of bottom land have been formed, but they are generally narrow.
The natural bodies of water in Woodstock are situated at the extreme west part and near the north-eastern extremity. Bry- ant's Pond is the most important, as forming the head waters
6
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
of the Little Androscoggin River. North Alder River Pond discharges its waters into South Pond, the latter lying wholly in Greenwood, and thence through Round Pond in the same town and Alder River, to the Great Androscoggin River at Bethel. In the north-east part of the town, Great and Little Concord Ponds empty their waters through the Concord River into the Androscoggin in Rumford. Shagg Pond, situated a short distance south of the last two, discharges its waters easterly through the adjoining town of Sumner. We have no very im- portant streams of water. The outlet of Bryant's Pond soon passes into Greenwood; that of the North Alder River Pond is all in that town. There are numerous brooks fed by smaller mountain streams, but in most of them the water is reduced to a mere thread in summer. Most of the streams have their origin in the mountain region, which is situated a little to the north and east of the center of the town, and flow away from them, toward every point of the compass. This fact accounts for their insignificance for manufacturing purposes ; the con- formation of the land is such that they cannot unite and form larger streams until they get beyond the limits of the town, if indeed they do at all. The mountain region here referred to occupies about nine square miles, or one-fourth of the entire surface of the town. There are in the region ten distinct out- croppings of the rocky foundation of the earth, and most of the entire surface is unfit for cultivation. An interesting Kame or horse-back enters Woodstock from Bethel toward the north-west. part of the town, and passing south-easterly to Pinhook, bears westerly to near Bryant's Pond, and then passes into Greenwood a mile or two below. This ridge was known as the " Whale's Back," long before Woodstock had a settler. This was probably the bed of an arctic river, and the effects of glacial action are apparent in many parts of the town. Huge boulders are scat- tered here and there, and ridges of rounded cobbles are found in many places. These are all interesting from the standpoint of the scientist, but they make agriculture tedious.
1
7
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
The physical features of Woodstock are not unlike much of the surrounding territory. The same general characteristics are observed as we go northwardly to Canada, easterly to Katahdin, westerly to the White Hills and beyond, and south- erly for a considerable distance toward the sea coast. The only important difference that exists is found in the fact that those towns through which the larger rivers pass have broader belts of interval, and consequently more and better arable land. This is true of all the Androscoggin towns, and some others through which some of its more important tributaries pass, such as the Ellis, Bear, the Swift, the Little Androscoggin, and some others. In its physical aspect, there is a close similarity in the entire region, embracing Franklin and Milton Plantations, Woodstock, Greenwood and Albany, and portions of the ad- joining towns, while a larger portion of the towns which circle around this territory are made up of better agricultural terri- tory. The soil of Woodstock is strong, but hard to work. In part compensation for this, we have a large area of most excel- lent grazing lands, and our facilities for sheep husbandry could not very well be improved.
The rocky formation of Woodstock is generally granite. In some places, as at Bryant's Pond, are deposits of excellent rift, and valuable for building purposes. There is some resemblance between this and the Quincy granite. It is free from the com- pounds of iron and of other metals, and is therefore durable. The constituents of granite, which are mica, quartz and feldspar, are often found in considerable masses by themselves, and in many places they unite and form coarse granite or gneiss. Some small deposits of clay are found in the town, and occa- sionally slaty formations, though not of any great extent. Veins of trap rock are not uncommon. Fine specimens of crystallized quartz are found in some localities, and also other interesting minerals of which quartz forms all but the coloring substances. Mr. NATHAN A. PERRY, of West Paris, formerly. a resident of this town, and who has given much attention to its
8
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
mineralogy, sends us the following list of Woodstock minerals, as the result of his personal investigation : Amphibole, Apatite, Arsenopyrite, Beryl, Biotite, Calcite, Canaanite, Chalcopyrite, Columbite, Dove Marble, Epidote, Tibrolite, Galenite, Garnets (Yellow and Red), Granular Limestone, Graphite, Green Mica, Gypsum, Limonite (Brown Hematite), Muscovite, Orthoclare, Phlogopite, Pyrites, Pyrrhotite, Pyroxene, Rutile, Rhyolite, Scapolite, Tourmaline (Black), Vesuvianite (Idocrase) Radiated, Vesuvianite (Idocrase) Zeolites (in boulder).
Ores of iron, lead, copper, arsenic, zinc, gold and silver have been found within the limits of this town, in small quantities. Their distribution, in minute particles, in some of our rocky formations, have led some to believe that the precious metals and also lead exists here in paying quantities, and considerable time and money have been expended in prospecting, blasting and sinking shafts, but the supposed treasures yet elude the grasp of the eager seekers, and the realization of their hopes seems to be as far off as ever. If they are there-which is ex- ceedingly doubtful-they are probably so deeply hidden that human eyes will never behold them.
The Flora of Woodstock differs in no respect from other places in the same latitude all through the State. The forests are made up of the usual mixed growths of rock, white and gray maple, beech, yellow birch, ash in several varieties, spruce, hemlock, fir, cedar and pine, though the original growth of the latter was not as valuable here as in some of the neighboring towns. There were very extensive areas of spruce and hemlock and of hard woods on the sides of the mountains. Red oak is found in some localities, and poplar and white birch are very common as a second growth. Our hill-sides and valleys pro- duce an abundance of wild flowers in their season, and on some of our highest elevations are found flowers and plants of a semi- arctic character.
From the character of the rocks, as already described, the nature of the soil will be readily understood. It is generally a
9
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
gravelly loam, though alluvial soils are found in the bottom of the valleys, and in narrow belts along the margin of the streams. In some localities, also, as from North Woodstock to the outlet of Bryant's Pond, the soil is of that peculiar kind denominated drift. It is thrown into ridges, is full of rounded pebbles and cobbles, and in some places sandy. But this occupies only a small part of the area of the town. The soil generally was hard to subdue, is hard to work, but is strong and retains its pro- ductiveness in a satisfactory degree.
The mountains of Woodstock, with the intervening forests, have always been the favorite haunts of the bear and some other wild animals, and the first settlers found them here in great force-much greater than they have been found since. This condition of things developed some quite famous bear hunters, and many of these animals have been killed here since the town was first settled. They have often been very de- structive to the corn fields, but much more so to the flocks of sheep. Sable and beaver, and also the otter, were once here. When the town was first settled, several of our ponds abounded in the finest trout. Bryant's Pond, in particular, soon became famous, not only for the quantity of trout it and its tributaries and outlet contained, but for their fine quality. The water is clear and cold, it being fed largely by springs that bubble up beneath its surface; it is the natural habitat of the trout. But these things are past; the voracious pike has been introduced into nearly all of our ponds, and the trout are nearly extermin- ated. Other fish in our waters are of the inferior kinds, and of comparatively little value.
The coast of Maine had been settled for more than a hundred years before the interior lands were even lotted out. There were two principal reasons for this. One was the importance of the food supply of the ocean, which would not be available in the interior ; and the other, the hostile attitude of the Indians. It was not until the close of the French War, in 1760, which
10
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
resulted in wresting Canada from the French, that new settle- ments could be made away from the coast with any degree of safety. After the close of the year 1760, the great wilderness was pierced by settlers in various directions. There was a general movement all along the line, the lands on the larger rivers being those first selected. Fryeburg, on the Saco, was settled in 1762 by emigrants from Concord, N. H., this being the first settle- ment made within the limits of Oxford county. Settlers also came there from Andover and from other points, and Fryeburg soon became a rallying point for new settlements farther back. Bethel was settled, or a settlement was begun there, in 1773, and Waterford in 1775. Brunswick was also a rallying point for settlers farther up the Androscoggin, and New Gloucester and Gray for the central parts of this County. But the break- ing out of the Revolutionary war called all the able-bodied men of New England into the army, and the farther settlement of the interior of Maine was postponed. Towards the close of the war settling movements were again resumed, though not pushed with much vigor. Paris was settled from Plymouth and Worcester Counties, in Massachusetts, in 1779, Rumford in 1780, and Buckfield in 1777, by people from New Gloucester. It was after the war closed, that a great rush was made for eastern lands by those who had been in the service. They were generally poor, government money, in which they had been, paid, having become worthless, and they turned to the unsettled wilderness as the only place where they could hope to make homes for themselves and their families. There was a great rush of new settlers to the towns before named, and other set- tlements were begun. Sumner was settled in 1783, Norway in 1786 and Peru in 1793. These towns are circled around the territory which now comprises Woodstock, Greenwood, Albany, Milton Plantation and Franklin Plantation, which was still left unsettled. Its rough surface was not inviting to the set- tler, and its situation away from any considerable water course kept settlers away from it.
11
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
The first road built through Number Three (Woodstock) was opened for travel before a clearing had been made in town. It was in the year 1795 that the settlers in No. 4 (Paris) and those at New Pennacook (Rumford) petitioned the Court of General Sessions for the location of a road that should connect the two settlements. Previously, and at this time, the distance -about twenty miles-could only be made on foot by the aid of spotted trees. The petitioners prayed that a County road might be laid out, beginning at the southeast corner of No. 4, and ending at the south line of New Pennacook. The petition was duly received by the Court in session at Portland, and received favorable consideration. A committee, consisting of JOHN GREENWOOD, NATHANIEL COIT ALLEN, ISAAC PARSONS, ICHABOD BONNEY and PELEG CHANDLER, was appointed to view the route and locate the road. They begun at a hemlock tree in the easterly line of Paris, and laid out a road two rods wide on each side of it. Some of the points named are "Solomon Shaw's House," "Abner Shaw's Barn," "Benjamin Hammond's Barn," to the center of a County road formerly laid out to the center lot in Paris ; thence to "Swift Brook," "Fall Brook," " Biscoe's Falls, at the bank of the Little Amariscoggin River "; to the "northwest corner of Paris "; to the " southerly end of a ridge called Whale's Back "; to a "brook at the north end of said Whale's Back; to a "Norway pine, standing in the south- erly line of New Pennacook." They were ten days in locating the road, and the entire expense to the County, including the pay of two assistants, was only ninety-nine dollars. This is the present traveled road which enters Woodstock from Greenwood a short distance above the Bacon place. Some changes have since been made. The old road went nearer the Swan, since called the Gilbert place, than now, and down the hill into the " Common " lot; then turned quite abruptly toward the east and up the hill to where the present road is. Another change has been made on the Joseph Whitman, now the Danville J. Libby farm, the road formerly going on the east side of the
12
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
house. During the summer of 1796, the road was cut out and made passable, though still very rough.
Mention has already been made of the fine fishing afforded by the ponds and streams of this region, and especially of the fine quality of the trout in "Long Pond," as Bryant's Pond was then called. There was also, in addition to bears which have already been mentioned, an abundance of small game in the woods, such as foxes and sable, and around the ponds and on the streams, minks and muskrats. This, then, was a favorite resort for hunters and fishermen from the settled towns, and especially those from Paris, who early found their way up the Little Androscoggin to its source in Long Pond. Among the frequent visitors to this pond, and who were in the habit of spending much of the summer here and then returning to Paris in winter, were the sons of SOLOMON BRYANT, an early settler of Paris. They thus became thoroughly familiar with this en- tire region, and it only required the building of the road just described to induce them to make their homes here.
The first two settlers of the west part of Woodstock, after- wards granted to Dummer Academy, were CHRISTOPHER and SOLOMON BRYANT, JR. The territory was yet owned by Massa- chusetts, and had not even been surveyed and lotted out. These BRYANT brothers had another brother not then of age, and sev- eral brothers-in-law living in Paris, and their purpose was to locate ten families upon this territory. They accordingly employed THOMAS JOYCELIN, of Buckfield, a surveyor of land, to run out ten lots of one hundred acres each, five on each side of the new County road, for a family settlement. This was in the spring of 1797. When the town was subsequently lotted out, the survey of JOYCELIN was not disturbed, and the " thou- sand acres " remained, and has so continued, to trouble sur- veyors and mar the plan of the town to the present time. In the summer of this year the two BRYANT brothers cut trees on the two lots they had selected, spending most of the season here in hunting, fishing and cutting trees. CHRISTOPHER began
.
13
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
on the lot now owned by JOHN DAY, and SOLOMON on the one where his son ELI long lived. In the following year (1798), they again came here, burned their trees and built for themselves log huts preparatory to moving in their wives. In October they came with their household goods, and on the twelfth of Novem- ber, the wife of CHRISTOPHER BRYANT gave birth to her first child, a son, who was named CHRISTOPHER, Jr., and this was the first birth of a child in town.
In the spring of 1799, LUTHER BRIGGS, whose wife was a sis- ter of the BRYANTS, came into the place and took the lot where SAMUEL S. SWAN now lives. The same summer, JACOB WHIT- MAN, JR., from Buckfield, who had fallen trees the year before, came and burned them, built a log hut and moved in with his wife. He settled on a part of what is now the Town Farm, where he long lived, and was followed by his youngest son, ELAN G., who recently disposed of it to the town. In the sum- mer of 1799, LUKE OWENS, an Irishman, said to have been a deserter from an English man-of-war, made a clearing on the Morton Curtis farm. He lived there four or five years, and then went to Paris. LEVI BERRY, from Buckfield, fell an open- ing on the farm since known as the Alexander Day, Jr., farm, it being lot Number Eleven in the west part of Woodstock, according to Greenwood's survey. He was not married, and boarded with his sister's husband, JACOB WHITMAN. In the fall of 1799, SAMUEL BRYANT built himself a cabin on what has since been known as the "Common " lot, and moved in. There were therefore five families in town during the winter of 1799-80, namely : CHRISTOPHER, SOLOMON and SAMUEL BRYANT, LUTHER BRIGGS and JACOB WHITMAN. LUKE OWENS, who was then unmarried, also remained. In 1800, LEVI BERRY married a sister of the BRYANTS, and moved to the lot where he had com- menced a clearing the year before. LUTHER WHITMAN, brother of JACOB, also moved to the lot where he afterwards lived, and which has since been occupied by his son. It is probable that during this same year 1800, ASA THURLO, from Buckfield,
14
HISTORY OF WOODSTOCK.
settled upon the lot which' long remained in his family; that JOHN NASON, from Paris, made a clearing on the farm in the Perham neighborhood and moved there. It is quite probable, therefore, that nine families wintered in No. 3 during the win- ter of 1800-1, not reckoning OWENS.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.