USA > Maine > Oxford County > Otisfield > Vital records of Otisfield, Maine, to the year 1892; births, marriages and deaths > Part 1
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OTISFIELD, MAINE VITAL RECORDS BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, DEATHS
1800
١
Othe field Me
VITAL RECORDS OF
OTISFIELD
MAINE
TO THE YEAR 1892
BIRTHS, MARRIAGES and DEATHS
EDITOR WILLIAM S. SPURR
COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION
ELIZABETH RING
PUBLISHED UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1948
F29
This publication is issued in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 333 of the Public Laws of 1943, sections 19 and 20 of which read as follows:
Section 19. Published records of vital statistics to be purchased.
Whenever the record of the births, marriages and deaths of any town in the state, previous to the year 1892, beginning at the very earliest date, shall be collected from church records, church registers, records of clergymen, family Bibles, public records and other available sources, and shall be printed and verified in the manner required by the standing committee of the Maine Historical Society, under the editorship of some person selected by said committee, whose services shall be rendered free and without any compensation, and the work shall appear to them to have been prepared with accuracy, the librarian of the state library shall purchase 250 copies of such record at a price not exceeding two cents per page; pro- vided, that the written copies of the town records shall become the property of the state, and shall be deposited in the office of the registrar of vital statistics ; and provided, further, that not more than three thousand dollars shall be expended by au- thority of this section in any one year, and provided further, that on and after August 1, 1937, all projects to be undertaken within the provisions of this section shall first be listed with and approved in writing by the state librarian and the state historian.
Section 20. Records of vital statistics, distribution.
The records of vital statistics purchased as aforesaid shall be distributed by the state librarian as follows: to such librar- ies and historical societies in this state as may wish to receive them; to the Library of Congress and each Maine college li- brary and to each registry of deeds. The remainder shall be placed in the library for exchange or library use.
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2 10 49
OTISFIELD
In 1734, one Shubael Gorham of Barnstable, Mass., repre- senting that town in the state legislature (called the General Court of Mass.), petitioned that body for a grant of land to Capt. John Gorham and his Company, for meritorious services rendered and hardships endured in the unsuccessful expedi- tion against Canada in the French and Indian War of 1690.
This was the beginning of Otisfield, for the petition was granted on Jan. 13, 1736 and the boundaries of a township laid out.
The following is the wording of the grant:
In the Mass. House of Representatives, Jan. 13, 1736, it was ordered that a township of land containing twenty-six thousand, nine hundred and ten acres, excepting three thou- sand eight hundred and seventy acres previously granted to other parties, leaving twenty three thousand and forty acres, which was confirmed to the officers and soldiers in the com- pany under the command of Capt. John Gorham, deceased, in the Canada Expedition of 1690, and to the heirs, legal repre- sentatives and descendants of such of them as are since de- ceased, their heirs and assigns respectively forever, they per- forming the conditions of the grant to all intents and purposes, and does not interfere with any other or former grant.
Sent up for concurrance, J. Quincy, Speaker. In Council, Jan. 13, 1736, Read and Concurred. Simon Frost Deputy Secretary. Feb. 1st, 1736, Consented to, J. Belcher.
On running the lines between Mass. and New Hampshire, it was found that all but eight shares fell within the Govern- ment of New Hampshire and was consequently lost to the grantees.
Apparently nothing was done about it for thirty-five years, when another effort to obtain a township was made by a pe- tition of the Hon. James Otis, Esq. and Mr. Nathaniel Gorham in behalf of the former grantees, which petition was granted and a township of seven miles square was granted to them June 15th, 1771.
Otisfield is the most northeasterly town in Cumberland
11
County and is thirty-six miles N.N.W. of Portland. Thompson Pond separates it from Poland in Androscoggin County and from the southern part of the town of Oxford in Oxford County. Norway in the same county bounds it on the north. On the west is Harrison in Cumberland County and Casco and Naples bound it on the south and southwest. Crooked River forms the boundary line for the entire length of the town on the western side. It contains four ponds, Little (formerly Farwell), Moose, Saturday, and Pleasant (formerly Parker), beginning at the north of the town and increasing in size southward, the last containing two and one-quarter square miles of surface. Thompson Pond which washes the eastern side of the town has an area of eight square miles. The town is hilly, the highest being Scribner Hill, 880 feet, Bell Hill, 858 feet, Nuttings Hill, 780 feet, Lovells Hill, 780 feet, and Porcupine Hill, 850 feet. The soil is rocky but produces good crops. Corn and potatoes are the principal crops. There have been many sawmills and a few gristmills in town in the past but there are no permanent mills there now. There was for- merly a pant shop and shoeshop at Spurrs Corner, a tannery at East Otisfield, and an apple canning shop and cider mill at East Otisfield, also stores at East Otisfield, South Otisfield, Hancockville, Spurrs Corner, and Bolsters Mills. A stage line formerly ran through the town from Oxford Station on the Grand Trunk R.R. to Naples.
The packing industry was represented in town during the period of 1890 to 1898 by the Snowflake Packing Co. (H. C. Baxter & Bro.) of Brunswick, who packed corn in a shop built by local men, on the lower end of the Scribner Hill Road, known locally as "Cherryville" and the business was carried on later by Ephriam B. Jillson and his son, George C. Jillson.
June 1st, 1774 at a meeting of the Proprietors at the house of Capt. Daniel Jones, Innholder, in Boston, George Peirce undertook to build a saw and gristmill. The sawmill to be fin- ished by the first day of November, 1774, and the gristmill the first day of November, 1775, in consideration for which he demanded thirty pounds in hand, thirty pounds at the time the sawmill was finished and twenty pounds when the gristmill is completed, and the use of the Proprietors' boat for ten years, he to be under obligation to keep the said mills and boat in repair for ten years.
George Peirce was sent by the proprietors to lay out a town- ship seven miles square, somewhere east of the Saco River and adjoining an organized township. Whether any of the proprie- tors came with him to help in selecting a site for the town- ship is not recorded but it is probable that Capt. Jonathan
Brackett and David Purinton, who were surveyors and assisted Mr. Peirce in laying out the town, were with him.
The northwesterly boundary of Raymondtown was uncer- tain, evidently Mr. Peirce guessed at it and laid out the first division of sixty-four lots parallel to it as near as he knew at that time and adjoining the east line of Bridgetown (now Bridgton). That probably accounts for the diamond shape of the lots and is the reason for the township not being laid out square as was directed. Afterwards, on Aug. 16, 1774, James Prescott and Stephen Gorham were appointed a committee to "Compel the proprietors of Raymondtown to ascertain their boundaries with us." The first division of lots was laid out in the summer of 1773 and upon the boundary of Raymond be- ing found, there was a strip of land between the first division and Raymond which was 310 rods wide at the westerly end and 238 rods wide at the easterly end. This was divided into lots as well as could be done, but making them differently shaped than the other town lots. There was then a piece of land left west of the first division of lots and bounded S.E. by Raymondtown, S.W. by Flintstown (now Baldwin), and N.W. by Bridgetown and containing parts of Long Pond, Brandy Pond, and Muddy River Pond. This was divided into lots of various shapes and sizes and distinguished from the other town lots by X being added after the number of the lot. When the fourth and fifth divisions were laid out they were squared up so the lots had right angled corners and the triangular piece between them and the lots previously laid out was di- vided into whole lots and gores.
Sept. 6, 1785, the Proprietors of Otisfield met at Marstons Tavern, Boston, and voted that the committee be empowered to give to David Ray and his heirs a good and sufficient deed of that piece of land lying between his mill lot, Saturday Pond, and lot 150, provided he shall erect a good sawmill and finish the same for sawing boards within a year from this date.
July 2, 1788, the committee appointed by the Proprietors of Otisfield, made and executed a deed to David Ray of a lot of land in said town, adjoining lots 113 and 96, in considera- tion of his having built a gristmill in said town, also another piece of land containing thirteen acres and twenty poles, lying between his mill lot and Saturday Pond and lot 114, in con- sideration of his having built a sawmill in said town.
Oct. 16, 1776, at a meeting of the Proprietors it was "Voted the name of the township be Otis Field." The above is all that appears on the record regarding the naming of the township.
The reason why the township was called Otisfield was un- doubtedly from the fact that James Otis owned more rights than any of the other proprietors and that his brother, Samuel A. Otis was the proprietors' clerk, consequently it was in honor of them that the town was called Otis and Field added to it by general consent. There has been a tradition that the town was named for Harrison Gray Otis, the son of Samuel, but as he was a young man at that time and owned no lots in the township it is very doubtful if he had anything to do with the naming of the town.
Jan. 2, 1795, the Proprietors voted to give David Ray fifty pounds for "Procuring and raising a good and sufficient frame, 45 feet by 35 feet with posts 22 feet in heighth and underpin the same and that ye work be done by ye first day of Sept. next." This building for a Meeting House, to be set on lot 93 on an acre of land which David Ray donated for that purpose. George Peirce boarded, clapboarded and shingled the build- ing also putting in the windows and doors and was given two corner pews for his pay, also some pews in the gallery.
William G. Cobb was the first male child born in Otisfield being born Oct. 14, 1779 and according to Grinfill B. Holden born about a mile above Peirces Falls (now Edes Falls) on the east side of Crooked River. Another version gives his place of birth as being on the side of Bell Hill.
There is a tradition that a lot of land was given to Levi Patch, born Oct. 21, 1782, as being the first male child born in town but there is nothing in any record to substantiate the story. The lots were all divided among the original proprietors and all accounted for and none designated for the first born male child. Also there is no deed on record of any lot to Levi Patch from any of the proprietors.
The first plantation meeting was held in the house of Deacon Stephen Phinney, May 15, 1787, and chose :
David Ray Moderator
Joseph Wight, Jr. Clerk
David Ray, Benj. Patch and Noah Reed Assessors
Jonathan Moors Collector All sworn before George Peirce, Esq.
The first three roads were accepted by vote of the town, Sept. 18, 1797.
Jan. 12, 1795, the inhabitants met at the house of David
Kneeland and cast ten votes for the Hon. Peleg Wadsworth to represent the second Eastern District in the Congress of the United States.
May 10, 1797; There were 32 votes for the separation of the District of Maine from the Commonwealth of Mass.
Aug. 23, 1797; Voted to settle the Rev. Thomas Roby as the first plantation minister.
It was incorporated the 115th town, Feb. 19, 1798.
POPULATION BY U. S. CENSUS (Taken from the Maine Register)
Population
Polls
Valuation
1790
197
1850
1,171
1860
1,199
285
$255,904
1870
1,100
269
298,582
1880
927
214
262,027
1890
838
224
254,196
1900
728
234
248,564
1910
632
207
269,291
1920
581
183
329,565
1930
568
166
429,270
1940
488
163
409,123
JUNE 20, 1803. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
In the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and three. An act annexing the gore of land commonly called Phillips Gore in the County of Cumberland, to the town of Otisfield.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives in General Court assembled and by the authority of the same, that the gore of land aforesaid, with the in- habitants thereon, as described within the following bounds,
Viz; Beginning at the south east corner of Otisfield, thence north 25° west, on the easterly line of Otisfield, eight miles to the northeast corner thereof, thence north 60° east 410 rods to a stake and stones standing in a certain line marked by Captains Parker and Brackett in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy one, commonly known by the name of the Parker line, thence from said stake and stones, south 25° east on said Parker line, seven miles and 188 rods through Thompson Pond to a stake and stones, thence southwest 420 rods to the bounds first mentioned. Be and they hereby are annexed to and made a part of the town of Otisfield, to enjoy all such privileges as town inhabitants do by law enjoy.
Section 2. And be it further enacted, that the inhabitants of said Phillips Gore with their estates, shall be exempted from all state taxes which may be assessed on said town of Otisfield for the space of ten years from the 14th day of December, 1798, agreeable to the conditions of the purchase of said lands which was made with the committee for the sale of Eastern Lands.
John C. Jones Speaker. In Senate Feb. 8, 1803.
This bill having had two several readings, passed to be enacted.
David Cobb, President.
Feb. 9th 1803. By the Governor approved.
Caleb Strong.
AN ACT TO ANNEX A PART OF OTISFIELD TO OXFORD.
Approved Mar. 17, 1830.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in Legislature assembled, that all that part of the east corner of the town of Otisfield, in the County of Cumberland, situated east of Thompson Pond, together with a strip of land belonging to the State, lying between said Otisfield and the town of Poland, (which tract of territory is bounded on the west and northwest by Thomp- son Pond, south and southwest by Poland, and east and northeast by Oxford) be, and hereby is, set off from said town of Otisfield and annexed to the town of Oxford, in the county of Oxford; and the dividing line between the counties of Cumberland and Oxford,
shall be varied accordingly: Provided, that the inhabitants of, and the owners of land in the tract thus set off, shall be held to pay all arrears of taxes legally assessed upon them by said town of Otisfield, prior to the passing of this Act.
AN ACT TO SET OFF A PART OF THE TOWN OF OTISFIELD AND ANNEX THE SAME TO THE TOWN OF NAPLES.
Approved July 27, 1848.
Section 1. All that part of the town of Otisfield bounded as fol- lows, to wit: beginning on Crooked River, at the northerly side of lot number ten: thence by said line and the northerly side line of lot number nine, to the most northerly corner of said lot; thence following the line between lots numbered nine and eight; two and three; three and one hundred seventy four and one hundred sev- enty three, and between lots numbered one hundred seventy five and one hundred seventy two, to the line between Casco and Otis- field; thence following said last named line until it strikes Crooked River; thence up said river to the point of beginning, with the inhabitants thereon, is hereby set off from said town of Otisfield and annexed to the town of Naples.
Section 2. This act shall take effect and be in force, on and after the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty nine.
That portion of the town lying west of Crooked River and bounded southeasterly by Raymond, southwesterly by Baldwin and northwesterly by Bridgton was set off from Otisfield and annexed to the town of Naples in 1834.
AN ACT TO SET OFF CERTAIN LANDS FROM POLAND AND ANNEX THE SAME TO OTISFIELD.
Approved Mar. 20, 1858.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Legislature assembled, as follows;
Section 1. The tract of land bounded as follows; northerly by the Oxford county line; southwesterly by the easterly line of the town of Otisfield; and southeasterly by Thompson Pond; contain- ing about 47 acres; also the tract of land bounded as follows; commencing at the northeast corner of Casco; thence by the line between said Otisfield and Poland in a northeasterly direction about eighty four rods; thence southeasterly by the line between said Otisfield and Poland about one hundred and twelve rods to land belonging to Edward Scribner of said Casco; thence by the southerly boundary of said Scribners land to the easterly line of said Casco; thence northwesterly by the line between said Poland and Casco to the first mentioned bounds; are hereby set off from the town of Poland in the county of Androscoggin and annexed to the town of Otisfield in the county of Cumberland.
Section 2. This act shall take effect from and after its approval by the governor.
AN ACT TO ANNEX CERTAIN LANDS TO THE TOWN OF OTISFIELD.
Approved Mar. 20, 1933.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Maine, as follows; Certain lands annexed to the town of Otisfield; From and after the passage of this act, the parcel of land with the inhabitants thereon, viz: a part of a gore lot situated near the southeasterly part of Otisfield, bounded on the north by lot numbered 163 and lot numbered 4 in Phillips Gore; on the east by Thompson Pond; on the south by the Forty Seven Acre Lot set off from Poland to Otisfield in 1858; and on the west by a parcel of land set off from Poland to Otisfield by the same act of 1858, be and is hereby annexed to the town of Otisfield.
Phillips Gore owes its origin to the fact that it was dropped out of à grant made to Alexander Shepherd Jr. between the original grant and act of incorporation of what was originally the town of Hebron, now Hebron and Oxford. After the grant was made to Shepherd, he sold to James Prescott and Oliver Prescott of Boston and to George Peirce of Otisfield, for the sum of sixty pounds this tract of land, deed dated Sept. 23, 1777.
As this was two years before the act of confirmation, it may be inferred that the purchasers supposed they were getting a valid title and that Shepherd believed he was selling what he had good right to sell and believed that his title would be con- firmed to him by the legislature. Esquire Peirce as agent for his partners demanded payment of the settlers on the gore for the land on which they lived. The settlers refused to pay and a test case was brought against Ezekiel Rich but as far as is known was not successful.
Oct. 10, 1794, the Land Commissioners of Mass. sold to the Hon. Samuel Phillips of Andover, Mass., "A certain tract of land lying in the county of Cumberland containing about three thousand and nineteen acres"
The consideration paid by Mr. Phillips was one hundred and fifty one pounds.
This deed by some error did not include the whole of the gore and Judge Phillips in 1798 took another deed from the Land Commissioners which included 6,185 acres of land in- cluding water.
The following deed is also on record in Portland.
Alexander Shepard Jr. to Samuel Phillips, Apr. 20, 1782 for 125 pounds; beginning at a stake and stones in the west line of Shep- ardsfield 20 Gunters chains N.W. in said line from Thompson Pond, thence on a line running N.E. parallel to Thompson Pond and 20 Gunters chains distant as the S.E. boundary, thence be- ginning at the stake and stones first mentioned, running north 25° west, 4 miles, thence north 69° east until a line running south 14° east shall intersect the line running parallel to Thompson Pond, so as to include 2000 acres as aforesaid.
EXPLANATIONS
1. The fact that a birth, marriage, or death is recorded in Otisfield does not prove that it occurred in this town; when places other than Otisfield and Maine are named in the orig- inal records, they are given in the printed copy.
2. In all items from town records the original spelling is followed, and no attempt is made to correct errors appearing in the records.
3. The various spellings of a name should be examined, as items about the same family or individual may be found under different spellings.
4. A baptism is not printed if it occurs within one year after the record date or birth of a child of the same name and par- ents, or if it is clear that the child baptized is identical with the child of the birth record; but variations found in the bap- tismal record are added to the birth record.
5. The birth of a married woman is recorded under her maiden name if it is known. But if the maiden name cannot be determined, the entry appears under the husband's name, with a dash enclosed in brackets, i. e., [-], to signify that the maiden name is unknown. If it is not known whether the surname is that of a married or unmarried woman, ?m. is placed in brackets after the Christian name.
6. Marriages and intentions of marriage are printed under the names of both parties. When both the marriage and in- tention of marriage are recorded, only the marriage record is printed; and where a marriage appears without the intention being recorded, it is designated with an asterisk.
7. Additional information which does not appear in the original text of an item, i. e., any explanation, query, inference or difference shown in other entries of the record is bracketed.
Parentheses are used to show variations in the spelling of a name in the same entry, to indicate the maiden name of a wife, to enclose an imperfect portion of the original text, and to separate clauses in the original text.
ABBREVIATIONS
a. - age abt. - about b. - born bpt. - baptized bur. - buried ch. - child chn. - children
Co. - county Co. R. - county record d. - daughter, died Dea. - deacon dec'd. - deceased dup. - duplicate entry h. - husband hrs. - hours inf. - infant int. - publishment of intention of marriage. Jr. - junior Sr. - senior
Lt. - Lieutenant m. - married, month O. - Otisfield rec. - recorded Rev. - Revolutionary
s. - son sic. - meaning, this appears to be an error, but is correctly copied.
u.s.c. - United States Census for the year 1850, of Otisfield, found in Bureau of Vital Records, Augusta. w. - wife, week wid. - widow y. - year
G.R.1. - gravestone record, Otisfield Gore Cemetery. G.R.2. - gravestone record, Elmwood Cemetery.
G.R.3. - gravestone record, Bell Hill Cemetery. G.R.4. - gravestone record, Highland Cemetery. G.R.5. - gravestone record, Oakdale Cemetery. G.R.6. - gravestone record, Oak Hill Cemetery. G.R.7. - gravestone record, Cedar Crest Cemetery.
G.R.8. - gravestone record, South Otisfield Cemetery. G.R.9. - gravestone record, Scribner Hill Cemetery, upper yard.
G.R.10. - gravestone record, Scribner Hill Cemetery, lower yard.
G.R.11. - gravestone record, Winship Cemetery. G.R.12. - gravestone record, Wight Cemetery.
G.R.13. - gravestone record, East Otisfield Cemetery. G.R.14. - gravestone record, on old Reuben Keen farm. G.R.15. - gravestone record, Naples Village Cemetery. G.R.16. - gravestone record, Wrentham Centre Cemetery, Mass. G.R.17. - gravestone record, Paris Hill Cemetery. G.R.18. - gravestone record, Ryefield Bridge Cemetery, Harri- son.
G.R.19. - gravestone record, Bolsters Mills Cemetery, Harri- son.
G.R.20. - gravestone record, Grove Cemetery, Oxford Village. G.R.21. - gravestone record, Pike Hill Cemetery, Norway.
G.R.22. - gravestone record, Pine Grove Cemetery, Norway. G.R.23. - gravestone record, Stone Cemetery, Umbagog Lake. G.R.24. - gravestone record, Riverside Cemetery, Oxford Vil- lage.
G.R.25. - gravestone record, Webbs Mills Cemetery, Casco. G.R.26. - gravestone record, Mayberry Hill Cemetery, Casco.
Private Records
P.R.1. - Grinfill Holden's manuscript, in possession of Wm. F. Smith of Otisfield.
P.R.2. - William S. Spurr's Bible, in possession of William S. Spurr of Otisfield.
P.R.3. - Edwards' Genealogy, by Llewellyn Edwards.
P.R.4. - Genealogical Notes of the Wardwell Family, by Mrs. H. E. McQuesten, in the Oxford Public Library.
P.R.5. - Knight Families in Windham, by Nathan Goold. P.R.6. - History of Harrison.
P.R.7. - Edwin Patch's note book, in possession of Mrs. Mabel Wilbur of Otisfield.
P.R.8. - Mass. Soldiers & Sailors of the Revolution. P.R.9. - Report of the Adjutant General of Maine.
P.R.10. - Grinfill Holden's Graveyard Record, in possession of Wm. F. Smith of Otisfield.
P.R.11. - History of Waterford.
P.R.12. - Capt. Jonathan Sawyer and his family, by Wm. A. Robbins.
P.R.13. - Genealogical Notes of the Spurr Family, by Wm. S. Spurr.
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