USA > Maine > Waldo County > Unity > A history of the Town of Unity, Maine > Part 3
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24. See Republican Journal, July 1845 which contains her obituary. The life of Hannah Chase is remarkable, if only for its length. She was the mother of ten children, all of whom lived to maturity. Unity was her home for another sixty-three years for Hannah's life spanned one hundred and six years. She was born in the town of Swansea, Massachusetts, six years before the first siege of Louisburg and died during the administration of President Polk. On her hundredth birth- day her descendants paid homage to an old, shriveled up, tiny woman. Feeble and going blind on the day of her birthday she spoke to each of her descendants and called them by name. Yet she lingered in life until June, 1845. At her death she was mourned by seven children, sixty-six grandchildren, one hundred and sixty great grandchildren, and twelve of the fifth generation; and one hundred and thirty per- sons walked in her funeral train.
25. Everett S. Stackpole, History of Durham, Maine, Lewiston, 1899, pp. 42, 77.
26. Coffin, "Missionary Tour, 1796," p. 318.
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A HISTORY OF UNITY, MAINE
an exhorter of no sect."27 Stephen Chase considered himself as a religious leader in the small settlement. When more settlers came, Chase held meetings and frequently spoke to the people.26 He was noted for his quaint and whimsical sayings. Coffin's diary shows that Chase preached and baptized much to the consternation of Coffin. Coffin recorded in his diary concerning both Chase and a Baptist preacher, John Whitney, "The deceit of him and Chase at baptizing was amazing." Coffin accused Chase of deceit; "Chase, the Quaker acted deceitfully in not telling the people of my lectures. .. The peo- ple were angry with Chase for secreting more than publishing my presence and lectures, for some lost the opportunity of hearing me by his guile."29 Here is the way Coffin described his relations with Chase :
Yesterday before lecture, Chase came to me and was almost raptured at my knowledge in the grace of the spirit, and supposing my union with him in doctrine, called on me before the assembly, to own or reject his notions. I answered with caution and tied his spirit to the word. This answer and my sermon on 'the quick and powerful word of God' cost me his esteem and prevented his glory among the people which he seemed to hope he should make me the occasion of promoting, by concurring with him. O, how I sank from high esteem to nothing in the space of two hours! O, that all new settlements could fully know and feel the damage which these two good men have done in this place.30
Note that Coffin referred to Chase and Whitney as "good" men. This points clearly that the chief difference between them was on religious matters, and "Father" Chase was as sincere in his convic- tions as Coffin. It also seems that Chase had a strong desire to act as "squire" of the community and the leader in town affairs; conse- quently, he had no taste for an outsider like Coffin disturbing com- munity affairs under his jurisdiction.
The next year Coffin again visited Stephen Chase, but this visit was cut short because Chase desired to engage him in religious argu- ment, which Coffin wished to avoid. "Father Chase talked so much of sacred writ, and so mixed hetergeneous (sic) matters that I left him after dinner."31 The observant preacher was impressed by Chase's beautiful upland and intervale farm. "His farm is at the southwest end. The prospect is admirably good. From his seat to a point one- half mile off on the west side of the house the walk is nearly equal to Boston Common."32
The second settler was probably John Mitchell. If Taber's history is correct, Mitchell arrived from Machias the same year as Chase. Taber wrote, "The first mill of which I find any record was built by
27. Coffin, "Missionary Tour, 1796," p. 351.
28. Chase, Twice Told Tales, p. xvi.
29. Coffin, "Missionary Tour, 1796," p. 320.
30. Ibid., p. 319.
31. Coffin, "Missionary Tour, 1796," p. 351.
32. Ibid.
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THE COMING OF THE SETTLERS
John Mitchell in 1782. . . "33 John Mitchell was born in North Yar- mouth in 1738, a grandson of Jacob Mitchell, one of the early settlers of that town. John Mitchell was a man of integrity and sterling qualities, representing the best in New England character.34 Again Paul Coffin provided a glimpse of an early settler in Unity35 referring to Mitchell as a "steady" man, indicating one who paid attention to business and labored diligently to improve his property. By 1796 he had already cleared a hundred acres, which represented long hours of hard work for the few years of settlement. In that year he had raised one hundred and twenty bushels of corn, a bountiful harvest for those times. His farm was situated on the east side of the pond, which Coffin called a "pleasant place."36 This farm was passed down to his son, Isaac Mitchell. Later the property passed into the Bither family, who owned it for many years. Even today the stone walls which John and Isaac Mitchell made, as they wrested the land from total wilderness, may be seen. Isaac built a dam and saw mill on the Bither Brook (then called Mitchell Stream) situated a stone's throw from the large house he erected for his wife and eleven children.
Between 1782 and 1790 settlers moved in slowly. By the latter date there was a total of one hundred and nineteen persons in Unity.37 Thirty of them were listed as heads of families, three males over six- teen years old, and twenty-seven of ages ranging from babyhood to sixteen. Fifty-nine or about half were women. Twenty-five Mile Pond Plantation then included part of the area now representing the town of Burnham, thus many of the families lived on the opposite side of the pond and are more closely associated with the settlement of that place.
33. Taber, History of Unity, p. 25. Taber had access to the Hayden field notes which were not accessible to the author.
34. John Mitchell removed from Machias to which place he had moved from North Yarmouth about 1765. In Machias he had been one of its leading citizens, which brings us to another story about Mitchell and his generous and excellent character. In 1775, the schooner Margaretta, was sent to Machias to convoy two sloops, loaded with lumber, owned by Ichabod Jones, a Tory. As hostilities had just broken out, there was strong anti-loyalist feeling among the Machias patriots. A number of citizens of Machias, John Mitchell among them, planned to seize the Margaretta. The schooner was dramatically cap- tured with the help of Jeremiah O'Brien, who received the lion's share of the applause for the daring feat. Paul Coffin wrote in his diary concerning John Mitchell's part in the affair that, "He was a chief leader of those men at Machias who took a privateer schooner of the British. .. He was also the means of raising his neighbor (Benjamin) Foster to the office of colonel in the army and O'Brien to that of a captain of a privateer." (For full detail of the event read George W. Drisco, Narrative of the Town of Machias, Machias, 1904, pp. 72, 73. For Mitchell's story see Coffin p. 351.)
35. Coffin, "Missionary Tour, 1797," p. 351.
36. Ibid.
37. First Census of the United States, 1790, "Heads of Families, Maine," Washington, D. C. 1908, pp. 9, 47. See list of towns under Lincoln County, and families listed in Twenty-five Mile Pond Settle- ment.
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A HISTORY OF UNITY, MAINE
About 1785 Lemuel and Benjamin Bartlett, brothers from Plymouth, Massachusetts, moved to Unity.38 All their possessions between them comprised an ox chain and an axe.39 Within a few years the brothers were so well established, that they sent for their father and mother. In 1792 Joseph Bartlett, his wife Lydia and two daughters came in a packet to Hampden, where they were met by Lemuel with horses. Lydia, a little girl of four, rode on a pillion behind her brother while the others followed carefully observing the blazed trail as they traveled. When they reached Unity, father and mother Bartlett en- tered the cabin and saw before the hearth a baby granddaughter lying in a hand-hewn log cradle.40
When Joseph arrived in Unity, his son, Lemuel, had taken up al- ready a sizeable tract of land on the west bank of Sandy Stream. His house stood at the junction of the so-called Penobscot Post road; one road leading to Hampden, while the other went to Thorndike. His farm included all the land within the triangle between the roads lead- ing to the Unity station and the road to Troy, as well as on the opposite side of the road comprising the land of Charles Mussey and the Portland Packing Company. Although most settlers were unable to receive titles to their lands, Lemuel Bartlett bought of the proprie- tors, William and Benjamin Goodwin and John Harris, in 1797 the tract described previously comprising one hundred and forty-two acres for the sum of forty-three pounds and three shillings.41 Lemuel Bartlett was a mason by trade as well as a farmer. Because Lemuel was trained as a mason, about 1813, he built the present square brick house located directly across from the Union Church. Bartlett may have also built the other brick house near the railroad station.42
Lemuel and Benjamin Bartlett were regarded as town fathers and participated actively in the management of plantation and town affairs. Both were addressed as Squire Bartlett, regarded in those days as a title of respect, and indicating that they were persons of social standing and importance. Lemuel served as selectman in 1803 and 1805, and for the years, 1805, 1808, 1809, and 1811 served as town treasurer. In 1810 he was elected to serve a term at the General
38. Family tradition asserts that Lemuel started for Maine alone, but Benjamin, eager to try his hand in the world, ran away from home and overtook him. Also the "submission to settlers" of 1802 showed that Benjamin possessed land in Unity not later than 1788, while Lemuel's marriage to Hannah Chase proved his presence here as early as 1786.
39. Murch, History of Unity, p. 5.
40. Miss Lois A. Varney, (1851-1947) Sketch written as told to her by Jane Bartlett Ayer, supposedly the baby lying in the cradle. Joseph Bartlett had fought in the Revolutionary War and served in the Cherry Valley campaign against the Indians. The original sketch is in the possession of the author.
41. Lincoln County Deeds, Vol. VIII, p. 174.
42. This may have been the house which Joseph Bartlett and fam- ily entered when they came in 1792 from Plymouth. Miss Lucy Ayer told me that her grandmother, Jane Bartlett Ayer, was carried into this brick house as a baby.
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THE COMING OF THE SETTLERS
Court in Boston.43 After 1815 he gradually retired from office hold- ing. Lemuel, who had married a daughter of Stephen Chase, fathered ten children. His wife, Hannah, had joined the Friends' Society much to her husband's disapproval. When the Quaker elder came to call, Lemuel chose to sit in the kitchen, while his wife entertained in the front room.44 Lemuel died in 1834 previously dividing his farm between his sons, Stephen and Jefferson.
Benjamin Bartlett purchased land on the east side of Sandy Stream. His house, built in the year 1800, still stands, and is situated directly across from the old Town House. Active in town affairs, he assumed the leadership in promoting the town's incorporation in 1804; he served as moderator frequently in town meetings and served on the board of selectmen for the years 1803, 1811, and 1812. For the years 1803 and 1805 he signed town orders as town treasurer, as well as later becoming one of the surveyors of highway, in 1807, 1809, and 1811.45 Also Benjamin became one of the justices of peace, an important office in olden days, in which capacity he performed mar- riages and certified official documents.
Early in March 1814 Benjamin Bartlett was taken suddenly ill with "spotted fever" and died within a few days. His will drawn up on his death bed revealed that he had progressed a long way from the young man with the axe and ox chain in 1785. It is not difficult to imagine the sick man thinking of himself as the country squire, draw- ing up his will as becoming a man of his dignity and position.
In the name of God, I, Benjamin Bartlett, Esquire, ... being weak in body, but sound of mind and memory considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and being happily blessed by Almighty God for the same ... do make and publish this, my last will and testament . . . First, I give and bequeath unto my mother and my wife, Esther, the homestead of three hundred acres . . . and all personal property and furniture in the house, during their life and also my farm in Kingsville to be converted to their use. I do give and bequeath unto my brothers and sisters and their children and her sisters an equal portion of all property that shall be left at their decease. I do also do give and be- queath unto the local Methodist preachers income from my farm lay- ing on the county road that runs through Unity for those that are not provided for elsewhere and will settle on the same and carry it on, which are to be put on by the choice of my wife, and she is authorized to deed the same farm to the Methodist trustees . .. and the boys that are with us, if they remain with my wife till they are out of their time, she shall pay them one hundred and twenty dollars each to be paid in
43. Before he had left home Lemuel probably had received ex- plicit instructions to bring them something from Boston. He did bring several yards of silk from which his daughter, Jane, designed a wed- ding dress.
44. Papers on the family history of Bartletts and Vickerys, compiled by Mrs. Ethel Vickery Hambleton of Pittsfield, Maine. Her material was received from recollections of her grandfather and grandmother, Nelson and Isabelle Vickery, and from Ann Fogg. This story is also corroborated by Mrs. E. D. Chase of Unity.
45. Unity Town Records Book I, (1802-1828) Town Clerk's Of- fice, Unity.
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A HISTORY OF UNITY, MAINE
neat stock if they remain obedient children and also the girls if they remain obedient until they are out of their time. . . 46
His total estate was appraised at $3,363.00, an average estate of the times, but more than most for a rural community of such short settle- ment. Among the household effects were a clock, a desk, another desk with bookcase, numerous chairs and tables, a candlestand, a chest of drawers, six bedsteads, a case with bottles, twelve earthen plates, six pewter plates, one platter, two basins, nine silver teaspoons, a warming pan, a brass kettle, a looking glass, two handirons, two pairs of tongs, five featherbeds, a small library, consisting of one large and one small Bible, three volumes of Massachusetts laws, a "Justice's Assistant," a "Town Officer," and other books. The farm stock consisted of four yoke of oxen, one yoke of three-year olds, one bull, thirteen cows, one mare, three steers, five yearlings, three swine, one horse, one year old colt, thirty sheep and an equal number of lambs, one pair of ox cart wheels, two plows, one harrow, one ox sled, and numerous other farming tools. Such was the property of a prosperous farmer during the first decade of the nineteenth century.
The house was built in 1800 and is the oldest frame house still standing in Unity today according to Miss Lois Varney. The brick house near the station is probably the oldest structure in town, built about 1795.
His wife and mother did not long enjoy their inheritances. Within a month his mother passed away. His widow married Jacob True- worthy, much to the disapproval of the Bartlett family, who feared that Trueworthy might get possession of this property. However, before the estate was settled, Esther Bartlett Trueworhy died sud- denly. Brother Lemuel was named administrator whose task it was of settling up the estate for the many inheriting nieces and nephews.47
Between 1785 and 1790 the following heads of families came into town and cleared the forested lands: Matthew Fowler, James Flye, Joseph Mitchell, John Foote, George Whitten, Benjamin Whitney.48 Other persons living in Twenty-five Mile Pond Plantation not pre- viously mentioned, lived on the west side of the Pond and are regarded as first settlers of the town of Burnham.49
Sometime before 1790, Matthew Fowler made a beginning settle- ment here, because he is listed in the 1790 census, but it is apparent that he did not make a permanent settlement until later. The sub-
46. Benjamin Bartlett's will recorded in the Probate Office, Augusta, Maine.
47. Following Esther Trueworthy's death the Bartletts lost no time in taking over in order to prevent Jacob Trueworthy getting his hands on what they regarded he had no right. Asa Jones with his family moved into the house, but only for a short time since it was agreed that 'James Gilkey, who had recently married Eliza Bartlett, should have the homestead. The Gilkeys lived here for the rest of their days. In their old age in order to keep the farm in the family, they deeded it to a son-in-law, Jedediah Varney, who married Jane Gilkey. The Var- neys passed it down to their children, George and Miss Lois Varney who owned it until the death of Mrs. George Varney in 1945. Since then it has passed into the hands of a Mr. Alexander.
48. See the Census of 1790 for Maine, p. 47.
49. They were Ephraim Runnels, Caleb Dodge, John Smart, Miller Hinckley, John Burton, and William Douglass. One lone woman, Ra- chel Brainerd, is given as a head of a family. Probably she was a widow, but where she lived and what became of her is not known.
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THE COMING OF THE SETTLERS
mission of settlers which gave Matthew claim to fifty acres in 1804 revealed that this land was first taken up by him in 1792:50 His first two children were born in Clinton, the third in Unity and the fourth in Clinton, so without doubt he did not remove here permanently until about 1795. Matthew Fowler was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1763 of presumably Puritan Massachusetts ancestry. In 1788 he married Sarah Burton; they resided in Clinton before final removal to Unity. Matthew settled on a hill about a mile from the village on the Albion road, known as "Dog Hill."52
Henry Farwell, another of the very early settlers, was born in Charleston, (No. 4) New Hampshire in 1772 and came with his parents, Josiah and Lydia Farwell, to Winslow about 1788. One record states that Henry Farwell stayed only four months in Winslow, before he removed to Unity.53 Since he was not listed as a resident of Unity in the 1790 census, this writer believes that he did not settle here permanently until a few years later. In 1789, when only seven- teen years old, Henry Farwell married Anne Pattee, second of the ten daughters of Ebenezer Pattee.54 When Henry and Anne Farwell moved to Unity, they made their home near the Mussey Brook, a few rods west and opposite the Mussey farm now owned by Robert Elwell. After a few years he sold this location to Jacob Trueworthy and moved to the junction of Sandy and Half-Moon Streams, now called Farwell's Mills. He and his father-in-law, Ebenezer Pattee, erected the first saw and grist mill on Sandy Stream.55 He was a justice of the peace, but was not prominent in town affairs. He mar- ried twice, and became the sire of twenty-one children.
50. Kennebec Purchase Papers, "Submission of Settlers on Ply- mouth Company Land," - Massachusetts Archives, Vol. IV, pp. 91- 92.
52. One day Matthew Fowler set out for the village on foot accom- panied by his dog. The dog attacked a sheep belonging to neighbor, Nathaniel Stevens, who happened to be looking on. Without saying anything, Stevens seized his gun and shot the mongrel. Since then it has not been uncommon to hear some one speak of "Dog Hill."
53. Bangor Historical Magazine, Henry Farwell of Unity, Maine, Vol. 5, 1889, p. 36.
54. Vassalboro Vital Records show the intentions of Henry Far- well of Winslow to Anne Pattee of Vassalboro, June 27, 1789.
55. In connection with this saw mill there is an interesting inci- dent worthy of noting here. Some settlers of Montville, who had taken up land on Goosepecker Ridge, were accustomed to have their mill- ing done in Vassalboro. The early settlers it is told carried their corn to either Vassalboro or Winslow depending which place was the near- est to have it ground. These settlers of Montville had no knowledge of Farwell's Grist Mill until one morning they heard the sound of a saw mill far to their north. Whereupon, out of curiosity, a Mr. Thomp- son and one of his neighbors walked through the woods until they came upon the site of this mill, though it is probably no more than a half a dozen miles from their home. (Murch, History of Unity, pp. 9-10) The strange sound which first attracted their attention was the loud, droning noise of the old-fashioned vertical saw. It is said that the vertical saw was so slow and its progress through the log took so long and was so noisy, "that its screaming could be heard two miles away." Robert G. Albion, Forest and Sea Power, Cambridge, 1926, p. 233.
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A HISTORY OF UNITY, MAINE
Between the years 1790 and 1800 the population of Twenty-five Mile Pond Plantation more than doubled. Of the four hundred forty-one inhabitants about three hundred lived within the present boundaries of Unity. Under the presidency of George Washington a new prosperity and a new confidence appeared in the United States. More and more people sought the unclaimed lands of Maine for set- tlement. Soon after 1790 the following names appear: Ebenezer Pattee, Amos Jones, Thomas Fowler, Jonathan B. Ordway, Benjamin and Clement Rackliff, David Vickery, and Nathan Parkhurst. In 1792 Philip Danford and Aaron Kelley appear. Aaron Kelley and his family of three sons and two daughters moved from Boothbay, but previously they had lived in Palermo, or Great Pond Plantation, as that place was known then. Aaron settled on a piece of land situated on an old Indian trail, which led from Augusta to Bangor. He was a squatter in the technical sense, as he had not bargained with the proprietors for sale of land. Kelley cleared his farm, but in his spare time helped build bridges and construct roads through the plantation. For this work he received from the land agents of the Plymouth Company land scrip, which were certificates for his services. The scrip was redeemable later by deeds to the land. Aaron was a poor manager and was never to re- ceive the deeds in his life time, but his scrip was turned over to the proprietors by his son, Samuel Kelley, who in time got the precious documents.56
About 1796 Samuel Philbrook, a son of Captain Jonathan Phil- brook of Clinton, settled on land adjacent to Thaddeus Carter's land. Two years before, Samuel had married Sarah Carter, one of Joseph's daughters. They lived on the west side of Sandy Stream on the road leading to Burnham. Samuel carried on lumber busi- ness, but after the disappearance of good timber, resorted to farming. Sarah Philbrook died in 1799; her gravestone is the oldest in the Pond Cemetery. Samuel remarried not long afterwards. He remained in Unity until his death in 1847. However, the wanderlust was in the blood of his sons, and after 1856 the name disappears from the annals of the town.57
In 1793, Nathan Parkhurst, another Revolutionary soldier, re- moved to Unity from Patrickstown (now Somerville) Maine.58 Na- than Parkhurst was born in 1758, in the town of Harvard, Massachu- setts. Nathan Parks (often a corrupt spelling for Parkhurst) enlisted from the town of Westfield, Massachusetts in 1780, at the age of twenty-two. Without doubt it was Nathan Parkhurst who served
56. James B. Kelley, "Kelley Family History," a typewritten ac- count of Aaron Kelley's family sent to the author.
57. Ralph Palmer, "Rufus Philbrook, Trapper," The New England Quarterly, Vol. XXII, December 1949.
58. James R. Taber, "Notebook." This book written in Mr. Taber's handwriting contains items of Unity families. It is in the possession of the author.
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THE COMING OF THE SETTLERS
with a regiment stationed at Fort Ticonderoga.59 After his war career, Nathan moved to Pownalborough, Maine, and was a resident of Pat- rickstown in 1786 when he married Martha Patrick. She died within a few years and Nathan then of Palermo married in 1791, Sarah Bradstreet, a daughter of "Sir" John Bradstreet of Palermo. About 1793 they settled in Unity on the main thoroughfare between Augusta and Bangor about two miles from Unity village. In 1797, Nathan received from part of the Bowdoin tract, divisional lot number five, being part of the large check lots L-1.60 This was a small acreage of twenty-one acres, to which he later added divisional lots numbered thirty-four, and thirty-six from the property of Lady Elizabeth Tem- ple of Boston. These three lots totaled three hundred and ninety-one acres, making Parkhurst one of the largest land owners in the town.61
Nathan Parkhurst carried on as a farmer and blacksmith, but also operated a saw mill.62 Evidently before his death he had presented two of his sons with farms, since he left his son, Thomas, only a pair of small cartwheels, and his son, Nathan, one cow. His son, Hale, inherited the family homestead of one hundred and twenty-three acres with stock.
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