USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Portland > A history of Peaks Island and its people : also a short history of House Island, Portland, Maine > Part 4
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 (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
HISTORY OF PEAKS ISLAND.
battle the surgeon, the captain of the top, and two marines from the Boxer were on shore and were unable to get on board before the engagement commenced, and stood with the people of the island. The fight was quite near the island as he always told of it to his acquaintances and family.
Luther Sterling saved the life of a young lady named Maria E. Harwell, of Manchester, N. H., in August, 1849. She was thrown overboard from the yacht Odd Fellow in our harbor, and he saw the accident and went to the rescue, arriving in time to save an almost extinct life. In her gratitude to her, then unknown, rescuer, she came to Portland the next spring determined to find who he was, and after weeks of inquiry found it was he. She presented him with a family Bible, in which she, in her own hand, inscribed her gratitude to him for saving her life, with fer- vent hopes for his success and happiness. Luther Sterling died April 16, 1880, aged 75 years.
John Sterling bought for his next son, Josiah, in 1840, about thirty acres of land on Peaks Island, at Evergreen Landing, of Alex- ander Johnson, Jr. Of this lot it was said that it "was set off to William Woodbury in 1834."
73
HISTORY OF PEAKS ISLAND.
Josiah Sterling lived here, having married, · in 1828, Philena Gove, of Edgecomb, Me. His children were: Robert Thayer, born in 1830, and married, in 1860, Catherine J. Craig. He died June 19, 1876. Patience Augusta, born in 1832, and married William Keene, of Bris- tol. Quincy, born in 1833, and died in 1835. Josiah, Jr., born in 1835. Mary Caroline, born in 1837, who married, in 1855, George M. Latham, and died in 1858. Elizabeth C., born in 1839, and died the next year. Elizabeth, born in 1840, and married Andrew England. John E., born in 1843. Quincy M., born in 1845, and Brunette, born in 1847. Josiah Sterling died Sept. 25, 1889, aged 82 years.
TREFETHEN.
The Trefethen family are of Welch origin. The first ancestor known to this family was Henry Trefethen, of New Castle, N. H., a shipwright, whose wife, Deborah, was a grand- daughter of Robert Jordan. They were alive in 1760. Henry Trefethen made for himself a clock case of solid mahogany and purchased the movement in England. In his will he left the clock to his son Henry, to go to the next one of that name in each generation, and it is now owned by his great-grandson Henry, at Peaks Island, and still keeps good time.
74
HISTORY OF PEAKS ISLAND.
His son, Henry Trefethen, Jr., went to Monhegan Island, and his sister, Mary, mar- ried Josiah Starling in 1783. They were the parents of John Starling, who came to House Island about 1822. Henry Trefethen, third, son of Henry, Jr., acquired a title in House Island in September, 1823, and later the one- half not owned by the government was divided equally by purchase between John Starling and himself. The dwelling-house was occu- pied by both families, but was divided through the middle crosswise, so that each family had their half separate from the other. The busi- ness of the families was always carried on separately.
Henry Trefethen, third, of House Island, was born on the island of Monhegan about 1797. His wife was Mary Thompson, of Friendship, Me., who was born about 1795. Their children were: Harriet N., born in 1821, who married Robert F. Skillings, in 1842, and lives on Peaks Island. William S., born in 1823, who married, in 1841, Emily P. Reed. Jane H., born in 1825, who married David Fairweather, in 1851, and Caleb Blake, in 1856. Henry, Jr., born in 1828, and died in 1833. George, born in 1830, who married Abby Chamberlain, of Scarborough, in 1851.
75
HISTORY OF PEAKS ISLAND.
Charles E., born in 1832, married, first, Caro- line Willard, in 1852, and second, in 1859, Louisa A. Keith. Henry, Jr., born in 1833, married, first, Mary E. Hamilton, in 1853, and second, in 1861, Apphia T. Holbrook, and Elizabeth, born in 1836, who married, first, Newton Gross, of Buckfield, and, second, Daniel E. Angell. Henry Trefethen died June 29, 1880, aged 83 years, and his wife, Mary Thompson, died Sept. 2, 1880, aged 85 years.
William S. Trefethen moved to Peaks Island about 1844; Charles E. Trefethen about 1860, and Henry Trefethen, Jr., about 1875. Trefethen Landing receives its name from this family.
SCOTT.
Baxter Scott, the first of the name on Peaks Island, came from Georgetown, Me. He was the son of Joseph Baxter Scott and Eleanor Trafton. He first lived on Cushing's Island and afterwards was a farmer on Hog (Great Diamond) Island. He was born April 6, 1808, married Mary P. Manson, who was born in 1805, and died May 7, 1873, aged 67 years. They bought the porgy factory, land and wharf, in April, 1868, and soon after
76
HISTORY OF PEAKS ISLAND.
moved to Peaks Island, north side. They also purchased other land.
Their children were: Lafayette W., born in 1838, married Lizzie J. Trefethen, in 1863, and died Dec. 3, 1885, aged 47 years. Valarie J., born in 1840, who died, unmarried, in 1860, aged 19 years. Azubah A., born in 1843, who died, unmarried, in 1867, aged 33 years. George W., married, in 1870, Elizabeth H. Putnam. Adelia D., who married, in 1873, Alpheus G. Sterling, of House Island, and Manson W., who married Mrs. Eliza (Savage) Smith, and lives in Boston. Baxter Scott died May 8, 1893, aged 85 years.
What was known at one time as Scott's Landing is now the Steamboat Landing, but was formerly the old Brackett Landing.
"So closed our tale, of which I give you all The random scheme as wildly as it rose: The words are mostly mine."
HOUSE ISLAND.
HOUSE ISLAND.
CHAPTER VII.
THE OWNERS AND SOME OF THEIR HISTORY.
"Oh! give me a home by the sea Where the wild waves are crested with foam."
HOUSE ISLAND, from its proximity to Peaks, has some history in common with that island. For the last three-quarters of a cent- ury the families of both islands have been closely connected and the interests of one have been that of the other. This island has never been a pleasure resort, but has been occu- pied by those engaged in the more serious occupation of the fisherman; those "who have enriched the country by drawing wealth from the seas." The story of the island's name and that of its owners becomes more interest- ing as time rolls on, and should be so cared for that the succeeding generations may have the advantage of the knowledge in our time.
House Island has borne that name from the earliest times. As early as 1661 it was "commonly called House Island," and in 1663 there was an old house upon it, and a new one
78
HISTORY OF HOUSE ISLAND.
that had been built by "Joseph Phipenny." An old house in 1663 might have been a new one when Capt. Christopher Levitt spent the winter of 1623 and the next summer in the harbor. On the southeast side of the island, on the north side of the cove, are the remains of the foundations of two buildings, one now partly washed away, of which nothing is known. The Sterling family have lived on the island seventy-five years, and have never heard any explanation of why they were there or any traditions about them, although they have expressed an interest to know. The present old house was built very early in this century by John Green Walden. The old foundations may be those of the two first houses on the island. There seems to be no reason why any one should have taken the trouble to have leveled off the ground. Then the settlement at Portland was of little account and they would have been likely to have built on the south side of the island. Perhaps one may date to Levitt's house? The description of Levitt's Island, where he lived, applies as well to this island as to any other, and certainly it is "an island lying before Casco (Fore) River." The name of the island indicates that it was the first island to
79
HISTORY OF HOUSE ISLAND.
have a house upon it. Many difficult questions have been settled in time and this may be.
House Island was early improved by per- sons in the fishing business. The first recorded deed, Oct. 23, 1661, says Nicholas White, of Casco Bay, planter, sold one-quarter of the island to John Breme, a fisherman, with the house, for £5-3s., but reserved the right for Sampson Penley to make fish upon it during his life and to have refusal of the purchase if he should sell. In September, 1663, Penley levied an execution on one-quarter of the island, with half of the old house and all of the new house together with half of the stages, and March 9, 1664, Penley sold all his interest to George Munjoy for £17. In November, 1663, William Noreman, a fisherman, sold a quarter part of the island and a quarter part of the house, for £3-15s., to George Munjoy. The price would indicate that the house must have been a rude affair. Munjoy finally acquired the whole title to the island, which was confirmed to his widow by President Dan- forth in 1681, and it descended to his heirs. In the inventory of his estate, in 1685, House Island was valued at £30.
Probably after the re-settlement of Port- land, about 1716, House Island was claimed
80
HISTORY OF HOUSE ISLAND.
by John Wallis, who owned the land at Spring Point, where Fort Preble now is. He may have been granted it by the town. This John Wallis, with many others, returned to Spring Point in the spring of 1703, as peace had been declared. There were then nine families living near that Point not protected by any garrison. The Indians came suddenly upon them, in August, while the men were away, and killed twenty-five persons and took several prisoners. Among the killed were Thomas Lovitt and his family, Joel Mediver, and the wives of Josiah and Benjamin Wallis and of Michael Webber. The wife of Joseph Wallis was taken captive. Webber's wife was horribly mutilated and several children were killed. Josiah Wallis escaped and carried his son John, then about seven years of age, to Spur- wink, part of the way on his back. For many years after no one lived there.
In the division of John Wallis' estate, in 1724, it was agreed among the family that House Island should be kept for the equal benefit of all the heirs and not divided. The children were Josiah, James, Joseph, Benja- min, and Susannah Wallis. Perhaps Dorcas Lane, wife of John, was a daughter, and Joshua Woodbury was interested in the estate, his wife's name being Sarah.
8I
HISTORY OF HOUSE ISLAND.
Martha Munjoy, wife of Josiah, of Bos- ton, who was a grandson of George Munjoy, sold, in 1722, one-ninth of House Island to Col. Penn Townsend, of Boston. Townsend sold the next day one-half of his purchase to John Buttolph. These fragments of the title to the island were probably purchased by Parson Smith until he had acquired one-third, as he stated in 1742.
Peter Woodbury, of Cape Elizabeth, a son of Joshua, purchased House Island of the Wallises and Parson Thomas Smith, and, in 1798, he sold it to Abigail Barstow for $333.33. She became the wife of John Allen, in 1800, who soon died. Then she married, in 1803, Enoch Ilsley, being his third wife, and died in 1842, aged 88 years.
Jedediah Collins, a merchant of Portland, purchased the island in 1799 at an advanced price of one hundred dollars, and sold it at the same figure to John Green Walden, in 1801, who was then living on the island. The purchase price indicates that whatever house there was then there must have been of little value. Walden probably built, soon after his purchase, the present old house, where he lived. In 1808 he sold the southern half of the island, about twenty acres, to the
82
HISTORY OF HOUSE ISLAND.
United States, and the deed of that land has the only reference to the name Howe's, as applied to the name of the island. There appears no reason for it, as no person of that name, as far as known, ever owned the island.
John Green Walden came from Salem and carried on fishing and farming. His son, Capt. Green Walden, who died at Cape Eliza- beth in 1875, aged 78 years, was a coxwain of a guard boat in the harbor during the War of 1812, and received a pension for the service. In 1830 he was appointed second lieutenant in the revenue service, promoted to first lieu- tenant the same year, and was made captain in 1838. He served in the Mexican War with credit and retired from the service in 1857. A writer who knew him personally said of him that " he was a courageous man who was always seeking an opportunity to assist another." The father, John Green Walden, had another son named Nathaniel, and daugh- ters Mary, and Anne who married Edward Mansfield, in 1817, and lived on Peaks Island. John Green Walden's wife, Mary, died in 1843, aged 76 years.
John Sterling bought an interest in one- half of House Island in 1822 and moved there. The next year Henry Trefethen, both from
83
HISTORY OF HOUSE ISLAND.
Monhegan Island and relatives, purchased the balance of the title to one-half of the island and also moved there. They soon after each owned one-quarter of the island by purchase. Both were engaged in fishing, but separately. One-half of the island is now owned by the United States, one-quarter by Alpheus G. Sterling, who lives there, and the other quarter by George Trefethen, trustee, and Harriet F. Skillings, his sister. It was used for fishing purposes up to within a few years, but the flakes so familiar to our younger days are used no more. In early times, probably, the island was covered with trees and bushes, but they have long since been destroyed.
When the first Fort Scammel was built, in 1808-9, on the highest point was erected an octagonal block-house of timber, with a point- ed roof of eight sides, on which was placed a carved wooden eagle with extended wings. On each of the eight sides of the block-house was an embrasure or port-hole and a gun. The upper story projected over the lower story two or three feet, and the building was painted white. It presented from the harbor a pictur- esque appearance. During the rebuilding of the fort, about the beginning of the Rebellion,
84
HISTORY OF HOUSE ISLAND.
the block-house was taken down. The fort was named for Gen. Alexander Scammel, a gallant officer of the Revolution, and a classmate and friend of Gen. Peleg Wadsworth. In case of an emergency Fort Scammel could be used to defend the main channel and White Head passage with but slight alterations for modern guns.
The story is told. It is but a part of Port- land's history, a city "seated by the sea," that has no rival as a summer home. Those who here live know its beauties, and those who spend their vacation days in our harbor depart with its praises warm upon their lips. Longfellow, who was born in " an old square wooden house upon the edge of the sea," says :
"I remember the bulwarks by the shore, And the fort upon the hill; The sunrise gun with its hollow roar, The drum-beat repeated o'er and o'er, And the bugle wild and shrill. And the music of that old song Throbs in my memory still:
'A boy's will is the wind's will, And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.'"'
3193
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.