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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01092 2836
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Wiscasset in Pownalborough
The Brayson House, the Meeting-house and the Court House.
Wiscasset in Pownalborough
A History of the Shire Town and the Salient Historical Features of the Territory between the Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers
By FANNIE S. CHASE
WISCASSET, MAINE
1941
Copyright, 1941, by Judith Chase Churchill
Foreword 1176044
TT was the long cherished hope of those concerned with such matters that the history of Wiscasset, formerly Pownalborough, would be written by that accurate and able historian, the late William Davis Patterson, whose brochures and biographies read at patriotic gatherings and the regular meet- ings of the Wiscasset Fire Society made those evenings replete with interest- ing local subjects; but when, at the time of his death in the summer of 1931, no consecutive story had been begun by him, the present writer was delegated to attempt the work which has been largely based on his researches.
The following account of Wiscasset in Pownalborough was undertaken in order to preserve, in so far as possible, the Indian lore, tales, traditions, and ships which brought to this town its all-too-brief period of prosperity, as well as the salient historical features of the territory lying between the valleys of the Kennebec and Sheepscot Rivers, without encroaching upon that part of Pownalborough now called Dresden, which has been amply dealt with by Charles Edwin Allen in the History of Dresden, Maine, although the line of y research from plantation days to the dismemberment of Pownalborough has necessarily been identical.
The result of seven years of intensive labor has been accomplished only through the invaluable and generous assistance of Mr. Albert Matthews of Boston, former editor of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, whose ex- tensive and accurate knowledge of history and untiring faculty for research, together with his blue pencil, have saved the writer from many a pitfall. No tribute here given would be an adequate recognition of the altruism of his voluntary service.
Among the historians of earlier times whose records and researches have been most helpful are: Rev. Alden Bradford, John Hannibal Sheppard, Rufus King Sewall, Alexander Johnston, Jr., and Joseph Wood, erstwhile editor of the Wiscasset newspaper, Seaside Oracle, all of whom were long-time residents of Wiscasset; Charles E. Allen of Dresden; Hon. Stephen Parsons, of Edge- comb; the manuscript history of the late Rev. Henry Otis Thayer of Wool-
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Goodspeed -20.00
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Foreword
wich; Francis B. Greene, now living at Boothbay Harbor; the late Dr. J. Franklin Jameson, chief of the Manuscript Division of the Library of Con- gress; and Capt. Dudley Wright Knox, of the Navy Department, Washing- ton, D. C.
For assistance in geology and topography the compiler is indebted to Ed- ward H. Perkins, Assistant State Geologist, and to Frederick W. Toppan of Union College, Schenectady, New York. For guidance throughout the Indian research, a great debt is due Mrs. Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, of Brewer, Maine, as well as to Prof. Charles Clark Willoughby and the late Roland B. Dixon of Harvard University; Dr. Frank G. Speck, of the University of Pennsylvania; Prof. William F. Ganong, of Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts; Henry Lorne Masta of Odanak, P. Q., Canada, and to Hallie A. Simpson, with his excellent knowledge of the many local routes and trails of the Wawenock tribe.
Among the libraries from which help has repeatedly come are: the Boston Athenaum, Charles K. Bolton, Miss Elinor Gregory and Miss Marjorie Crandall; the Massachusetts Historical Society, Julius H. Tuttle; the Boston Public Library, Milton Edward Lord; Harvard College Library, Walter B. Briggs; Harvard College Observatory, L. B. Andrews; Edward J. Robbins, Chief of Archives, State House, Boston; New England Historical and Gene- alogical Society, Miss Josephine Elizabeth Rayne and Mrs. Franklin Earl Scotty; Essex Institute of Salem, Miss Harriet S. Tapley; Peabody Museum, Lawrence Waters Jenkins; the Maine State Library, the late Henry E. Dun- nack and Mrs. Marion Cobb Fuller; Maine Historical Society, the late Miss Ethel Paige Hall and Miss Mae Gilman; Bowdoin College Library, Gerald G. Wilder; Bowdoin Museum of Fine Arts, the late Miss Annie E. Smith; Charleston Library Society, Miss Mabel L. Webber; Rhode Island Historical Society, Howard M. Chapin; Dartmouth College Library, Miss Mildred L. Saunders; Brown University, S. Foster Damon and Dr. E. B. Delabarre; Leyden University, H. T. Colenbrander, professor of Dutch history; and the Wiscasset Public Library, Mrs. Elizabeth Lane Webb.
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Foreword
In military matters information has been furnished by Frederic W. Cook, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Porter B. Chase, Adjutant General of Massachusetts; and J. W. Hanson, Adjutant General of the State of Maine. Others whose time has been freely given to aid in research work are: Edward C. Wynne and J. A. Metzer of the Department of State in Wash- ington; H. Freeman Matthews, First Secretary of the Embassy of the United States at Habana; the Lords of the British Admiralty; Denis H. Bates of the Anchor-Brocklebank Line, Liverpool; Edward M. Groth of the American Consulate General at Copenhagen, Denmark; C. Létang, professeur au Col- lège de Garçons de St. Dié-des-Vosges, France; the Berlitz School of Lan- guages at Boston; George A. Nelson, Deputy Collector U. S. Customs Service, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Commander Donald B. Macmillan and Ralph Porter Robinson.
Much valuable information has been gleaned from the diaries of Moses Davis of Folly Island and Alexander Johnston, Jr., of Wiscasset, as well as from the scrap-books of Joseph Wood, Mrs. Josephine McNear Chaney, Miss Mary Catherine Boyd and Miss S. Gertrude Mackenzie.
Among those who have contributed by personal recollections, old letters, ships' logs and lists, as well as by actual labor are: William Guild Hubbard, George P. F. Hobson, Alfred Hathorn Lennox, and Joseph P. Tucker, all of Wiscasset; Samuel B. Doggett of Boston, and Dr. James A. Spaulding of Portland, all recently deceased. Also Horace E. Henderson, Rev. Henry W. Webb, Joseph L. Neal and Charles E. Knight of Wiscasset; and Charles Thornton Libby of Yarmouth, Maine, Mrs. Ruth Tangier-Smith of Palo Alto, California, Miss Elizabeth F. Reed of Boothbay Harbor, Mrs. Eliza- beth French Bartlett of Boston, Miss Harriette E. McGill of West Medford, Mrs. Ida B. Creamer, Mrs. Nina Rundlett Lennox, Miss Jane A. Tucker, Miss Carolyn S. Knight, Miss Helena Bellas of Wiscasset; Miss Mary L. Amory of Edgecomb, Mrs. Ralph A. Rockwood of East Kingston, New Hampshire, Mrs. Virginia A. Duerr and Mrs. Wolcott Andrews of New York, Mrs. Dorothy Washington of South Newcastle, Mrs. Daisy Welch of Wool-
[ vii ]
Foreword
wich, Mrs. Philip A. Harriman of New Haven, Connecticut, and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence A. Averill, of Sheepscot, Maine. Also acknowledgment is made for the many photographs taken especially for this book by George Brayton.
At least one member of each family descended from the early settlers of the town has graciously supplied data and incidents and their whole-hearted interest and co-operation have encouraged the compiler to carry on the work. FANNIE SCOTT CHASE.
Wiscasset, Maine, June 20, 1938.
[ viii ]
Contents
Foreword
I. Maine 3
II. The Valley of the Sheepscot 5
III. Lincoln County 3I
IV. Early History of Wiscasset 35
V. Thomas Pownall 60
VI. Pownalborough 66
VII. Land Claims 97
VIII. Public Buildings 100
IX. Roads and Taverns I45
X. Church History 20I
XI. Schools 261
XII. Pownalborough in the Revolution 278
XIII. Privateering 294
XIV. Prosperity and Adversity 320
XV. War of 1812 340
XVI. Organizations, Cemeteries and Banks 371
XVII. Industries 405
XVIII. Ships of the Sheepscot 447
XIX. Ships and Pirates 461
[ ix ]
Contents
XX. Separation 528
XXI. Newspapers 535
XXII. Railroads 537
XXIII. Patriotic Celebrations 543
XXIV. Old Houses 546
XXV. Writers and Art 57I
XXVI. Physicians and Lawyers 596
XXVII. Quaint Personalities 613
Index 629
[ x ]
-
Illustrations
The Brayson House, the Meeting-house and the Court House. Frontispiece
Facing page
Mrs. Davis, the wife of one of Wiscasset's earliest settlers. 56
Thomas Pownall. 1722-1805. 57
View of High Street showing the Congregational Church, Court House, and the house built by Judge Jeremiah Bailey before 1803. IO0
The Georgian Court House of Lincoln County, built in 1824. IOI
Interior of the Lincoln County Court House. IOI
The Lincoln County Jail built in 1809. I28
Part of the Equipment of the Lincoln County Jail. I28
The Westport Ferry, run on a cable. From Westport Island to Birch Point. I29
Ferry landing on Folly Island by side of Fort Edgecomb, showing the natural formation. I29
The First Bridge. Looking east from Wiscasset. Rundlett Block on the right. I44
Wiscasset-Davis Island Bridge built in 1847. I44
The Frederic Lewis House and Vincent House. Built on the site of Josiah Brad- bury's House. I45
The Hilton House built in 1843 on the site of the Whittier Tavern which was built in 1766. I45
Grover's Tavern, built before 1789. 164
Joe Ebierbing, Tookoolito, Ishlartoo Hans Christina, Merkut, Augustina, Tobias Succi, the second daughter, and Charlie Polaris, the infant. 164
Lean-to of Grover's Tavern in which was the tap room, built with the original house before 1789. 165
A Bill from the Bunch of Grapes Tavern. 165
The William Stacy House built in 1827, now the Wiscasset Inn. A part of the old Nymphas Stacy house on the right. I72
Wiscasset Point. Tinkham's Tavern at the left, burned 1913. I72
[ xi ]
Illustrations
The Lee-Payson-Smith House, built in 1792 by Silas Lee. Purchased by Gov. Samuel E. Smith in 1836, and still in possession of the Smith family. I73
The old wood and hay market, Hilton House, Belle Haven and Dana's drug store. I73
Formerly the residence of Col. Erastus Foote, the first attorney-general of the State of Maine. Built about 1785. 196
Dr. Kennedy's house, now Webber's Tavern. 196
Bell hung in the tower of the First Parish Church in 1800. 197
First Congregational Church and Lincoln County Court House on the west side of the Common. 197
Picture of the Common taken about 1878, showing the First Parish Church built in 1840 and burned December 31, 1907. 204
A foot stove used in the First Parish Church. 204
St. Philip's Church built in 1823 by the Baptists. 205
The Methodist Church, built 1834-1835. 205
Rev. Alden Brad ford. 256
Rev. Hezekiah Packard. 256
Henry Van Bergen Nash, lay reader at St. Philip's Episcopal Church for nearly thirty years.
257
Powder House, 1813.
257
The Academy. 272
House built by William Thaxter. 273
The Old Blockhouse in Edgecomb. 273
Water Batteries, Fort Edgecomb. 368
Garrison Fort at Wiscasset Point, erected 1730-1735. 368
The Lost Pitcher of the Masons. 369
Wiscasset Fire Society, 1886. 372
Wiscasset's First Fire-engine, the second oldest in Maine. 372
[ xii ]
Illustrations
"The Nile." 373
Buckets, Bag, and Bed Wrench. 373
In Evergreen Cemetery. 400
In the Ancient Cemetery. 400
The present Wiscasset Public Library. 40I
Hobson's Mill with Birch Point in the distance. 40
Sturgis Mill and Ice Houses, the Narrows and Goose Island from Birch Point. 416
Sturgis Mill. 416
Richard III loading deals at Hobson's Mill in 1875. 417
Products of Porter's Pottery, owned by Mrs. John Ed. McKenny. 417
Telassar, built at Wiscasset in 1847. George H. Wood, master. 432
Bark Casilda built at Wiscasset in 1837. Tonnage 257. Master E. H. Hall. 433
Wiscasset in 1 878. 448
Franklin, owned by William P. and Alfred Lennox. Capt. William Colby, master. 449
Schooner R. T. Rundlett, launched in 1892. J. W. Fountain, master. 449
Register of the ship Sally. 464
Capt. Stephen Parsons lost with his vessel in 1843(?). 464
A model made of the Sally from measurements at the Wiscasset Custom House. 465
The Samoset, one of the Tucker ships. 465
Golden Horn, 1,193 tons, built at Wiscasset by Henry Clark in 1854. George H. Wood, master. 480
The Othello, built in 1826-1827. 481
The Tamerlane II, built in 1854-1855. 48 I
Alliance, 524 tons, built in Kittery, Maine, in 1836. Belonged to Capt. Rich- ard Hawley Tucker. 486
Ellen Austin, one of the Tucker ships, built in 1854. Capt. Joseph Tucker,
part owner. 487
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Illustrations
Richard III, launched October 29, 1859. 490
Ship Wiscasset, 1791. David Silvester, Esq., owner. 491
The whaleship Wiscasset, launched in October, 1833. 49I The bark Mary T. Rundlett. 514
"Nearly lost." The ship Ida Lilly in a hurricane January 16, 1868. 514
Tam O'Shanter in Hongkong Harbor. 515
Schooner Jefferson Borden of Fall River, Lemuel Hall, master, entering Leghorn in 1868. 526
Celestial Empire, 1,630 tons, built by Jotham Stetson at South Boston, 1852. 527
Plan of Wiscasset Harbor when the Knox and Lincoln Railroad was built about 1871. 540
Narrow Gauge (two feet ) Engine No. I of the Wiscasset and Quebec Railroad. 540
Wiscasset.
54I
Moses Carlton. 544
Capt. Joseph Tucker. 544
Gen. Abiel Wood. 545
The elliptical flying staircase in the house built by Hon. Silas Lee and now owned by the heirs of Richard H. Tucker.
545
Christopher Spencely House. 548
The Clapp House on the eastern side of the Common. 548
The Silvester House built before 1784. 549
Hodge House now owned by Richard Taylor heirs. 549
Capt. Richard H. Tucker House built by Hon. Silas Lee in 1807-1808. 556
House built by Hon. Abiel Wood. Begun in 18II and completed in 1824. 556
The house Moses Carlton, Jr., bought for one hundred puncheons of rum. 557
The Scott House on High Street. 557
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Illustrations
Nickels-Sortwell House, erected in 1807 for Capt. William Nickels, its first owner.
560
Francis Cook House, 1795. 560
Joseph Christophers' House built in 1786. 561
The Hartley Wood House built in 1807. 561
Manasseh Smith House now owned and occupied by Dr. DeF. S. Day. 564
The Wood-Elmes House dating from the eighteenth century. 564
The Cook-Call-Hubbard House built in 1828 by Francis Cook, Collector of Customs.
565
The Timothy Langdon House burned in 1891. 565
Sally Sayward Barrell who married Gen. Abiel Wood. 572
H. Augusta Moore, 1824-1900. 572
Alexander Johnston, Jr. 573
Sarah Wadsworth Neal. 573
Rufus King Sewall. 592
Patience Stapleton. 592
Rebecca Kingsbury. 593
Judge Thomas Rice. 593
Judge Jeremiah Bailey. 608
Samuel Emerson Smith, 1788-1860. 609
Louisa Sophia Fuller, daughter of Henry Weld Fuller and wife of Governor Samuel E. Smith. 609
Rachel Quin in her doorway and the tree she planted the day Lee surrendered at Appomattox, April 9, 1865. 624
Rachel Quin. 624
Moving Day. Etta Turner's shed moved to the ice house and used as a tool shed. 625 Lydia Blunt and Mr. Seigars collecting garbage. 625
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Wiscasset in Pownalborough
I
Maine
A BRIEF review of the region in which Wiscasset is located may not be irrelevant to the history of a township whose roots, deep struck in ancient Pownalborough, developed into the shire town of the County of Lincoln.
Although Sheepscot Farms was the oldest inland town in Maine, all that is definitely known of its first settlement, which was contemporaneous with Pemaquid and Arrowsic, is the lasting record of cellars and traces of habita- tions found in the next century by those inhabitants whose descendants are still in undisturbed possession. Two theories have been advanced regarding these unknown pioneers. One: that they were an offshoot of the Popham Colony. This theory is discredited by historians on the ground that "they all resolved to quit the place and go away; would stay no longer in the country; they all returned to England in 1608." As there was a brisk fishing trade carried on between New Harbor and Europe, an opportunity was not lack- ing for some of them to return and settle on the banks of the river which had been explored by members of the Sagadahoc group. The other question raised is: what became of the fifty or sixty men of Wessagussett under John Sanders, said to have been conducted to Monhegan by Miles Standish in the Swan, whose further history is a mystery?
On July 31, 1789, in "An Act to regulate the Collection of Duties," Congress divided Massachusetts into twenty districts, of which nine were in Maine; and on September 24, 1789, in "An Act to establish the Judicial Courts of the United States," Congress divided the United States "into thir- teen districts, to be limited and called as follows, to wit: one to consist of that part of the State of Massachusetts which lies easterly of the State of New Hampshire, and to be called Maine District."
The nine districts in Maine were: York, Biddeford and Pepperelborough, Portland and Falmouth, Bath, Wiscasset, Penobscot, Frenchman's Bay, Machias, and Passamaquoddy.
During the Indian wars, these eastern parts were utterly desolated. As the "sound of going in the mulberry trees," had been the sign to the Israel- ites to go forth to battle, so the death of King Philip was a like signal to the
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Wiscasset in Pownalborough
Indians. In 1690 the only settlements in Maine which had survived the savage Indian atrocities were Kittery, York, and Wells.
A century later when the counties of Hancock and Washington were taken out of Lincoln County by a Massachusetts Act dated May 1, 1790 "There were also several measures adopted by Congress which were of in- terest to these eastern counties. A late Federal Census taken, exhibited a population in them to the number of 96,540 souls; considerably exceeding all previous calculations. For many purposes, Maine, as if it were a separate State, was now expressly formed into a District, and jurisdiction assumed over all its affairs belonging to the national government. Such, among many, were light-houses; - the single one in Maine, at Portland-head, and the ap- purtenant lands, being conceded to the United States. All the coasts and ports in Maine, were classed into nine commercial districts, in each of which there were appointed a Collector and other Custom-house officers."
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II The Valley of the Sheepscot
A LTHOUGH it is generally stated that the eastern branch of the Sheep- scot River rises in Branch Pond and Sheepscot Great Pond (also called Bradstreet's Pond), its actual source is near the center of Montville, in Waldo County, where rises a ridge called the Hogback, on the west side of which the water flows into the Sheepscot River. Its eastern water-shed flows into the Georges River, and the north side sheds its streams into the Sebasticook.
The hill where the Sheepscot River rises is forty-two miles beyond Wis- casset, which makes its length from source to sea, between Griffith's Head and the Cuckolds, approximately fifty-five miles.
Generally speaking, it follows the usual movement of our fluviatile rivers in taking a course in a south-southeasterly direction. The western fork of this river rises in China, Maine, passes through the eastern part of that vil- lage, thence through Windsor and, following an irregular course to the southeast, joins the main branch of the Sheepscot River at Whitefield, fur- nishing many good mill privileges all along the way.
The Sheepscot River expands to its greatest width in Wiscasset Bay. It discharges about 7,410,000,000 cubic feet from the portion of its basin above the lowest falls. The mean height of the tide at Wiscasset is 9.4 feet, but during the neap tides the rise and fall will sometimes reach 12 and 14 feet in a storm.
Wiscasset Harbor is an enlargement of the Sheepscot River, and occupies about one-third of the eastern side of the town. It is one of the finest har- bors on the eastern coast, thirteen miles from the ocean with an approach by river averaging one-third of a mile in width, and even in its narrowest part it is over 800 feet wide.
The river varies in depth from ten fathoms at Decker's Narrows, oppo- site the town, to thirty fathoms at its entrance off Hendrick's Head.
The length of the harbor is two miles, and its width from one-half to three-quarters of a mile, with a depth of from five to ten fathoms. From Pottle's Cove to the Eddy the distance is one and four-tenths miles. At the wharves there was a depth of five fathoms of water at low tide. The long
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Wiscasset in Pownalborough
railroad bridge stands in sixty-one feet at high tide. The depth of the chan- nel at the draw of the long bridge is twenty feet at low tide.
The harbor has been frozen but few times in more than a century, and then only when the thermometer registered far below zero.
Because of its open water a plan was projected to make Wiscasset the winter port of Quebec, with which city it was to have been connected by a railroad. That would have made Wiscasset the outlet for the St. Lawrence when navigation in that river was obstructed by ice. It has been estimated that one hundred large vessels can anchor here at the same time, and so advantageous is its location, that in 1813 the commissioner of the United States Coast Survey recommended it to the Navy Department in Washing- ton for a naval station.
The report of the Navy Department sums up the advantages and disad- vantages of Wiscasset Harbor in the following terms:1
Advantages
I. Sheepscot River is deep, bold and safe, from Cross River to the town of Wiscasset, having from 6 to 20 fathoms of water; no shoals in that distance that vessels of any size can ground on.
2. The harbor inside the river is from 5 to 9 fathoms, where large vessels may lie safe from storms and worms, or any event.
3. The port embraces a good harbor, free from storms, where a large fleet may ride in safety; in Trask's Cove, 50 sail of the line may lie within 150 feet of the shore, in 6 fathoms of water, without being affected by any current whatever. This river can, with a very small sum (compared with others) be safely fortified, possessing very commanding ground and situation for the purpose, and not more than from one-half to three-quarters of a mile wide.
4. Birch Point belonging to Hon. Silas Lee, contains about 50 acres of land, with a fine cove on each side for docking, and on the southwest side, is now made up for a mill- dam, to turn a saw and grist mill,which are erected thereon. This point of land is al- most closed in by two coves, which nearly meet on the west part, and make the pas- sage very narrow, which is a very great convenience. The bank is about 12 feet above the tide : the land is not very uneven; several docks may be built on Mr. Lee's ground, on the aforementioned point; sufficient depth of water at a convenient distance.
5. Sufficiency of good stone for docks.
Disadvantages
I. The fogs are frequent on this coast.
I. American State Papers. Class 6. Naval Affairs (1794-1825), 1, 91 (1802).
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The Valley of the Sheepscot
2. The great distance from the center of the Union.
3. The difficulty of procuring artificers, seamen, &c.
4. The price demanded by Mr. Lee for his land and mills, being $ 12,000. (From a re- port by Joshua Humphrey to Hon. Benj. Stoddert, Sec. of Navy) Page 101-102, 1802. Remarks of Joshua Humphrey. Remarks at Wiscasset. March 10th. This day the tide fell from high to low water II feet, tomorrow, full moon. The situation proposed for a dockyard at this place belongs to Mr. Lee: it contains forty to fifty acres; it is surrounded by large coves on each side, that on the south is dammed out, and a large grist-mill with two pairs of stones and a saw-mill which, I suppose, may work half time. This mill I think Mr. Wood informed me, cost $4000; either of the coves will contain an immense quantity of timber.
The upper end of Jeremy Squam Island, which is called Decker's Point, is but half a mile from Folly Point, and about the same distance from Edgecomb. Those three places well fortified, would prevent any ship from passing into what I call the inner har- bor and against the town.
Between the aforementioned places, there is a very rapid tide, it is called the Narrows, which I think runs from 4 to 6 knots and makes two very short turns in the channel. Between the Narrows and the town is a very fine harbor, that will contain 100 ships of the line, and very still water, there being very little current either flood or ebb; in this basin there are from 5 to 12 fathoms of water at high tide, except a small ledge of rocks which lies in the opening of the channel into the basin of the harbor, and a soft middle ground which lies opposite the town; ships may ride with perfect safety; the harbor is so land-locked, that a stranger cannot from the town form any idea of the outlet or course of the river. I am informed the worm does not eat the timber in this port, nor are they ever troubled with ice. This point lies about 20 miles (correct dis- tance is 13 miles) up the Sheepscot River from its mouth. There is a communication from this river into the Kennebec River; in this passage the tides of the two rivers meet and are called Hell Gate. This place is considered dangerous to pass except at the change of the tides.
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