A history of the town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine, Part 4

Author: Hatch, William Collins. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Farmington, Me., Press of Knowlton, McLeary & co.
Number of Pages: 938

USA > Maine > Franklin County > Industry > A history of the town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine > Part 4

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And whereas James Johnson, since the War with Great Brittain, to- wit, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety- six, was a settler on a lot of - No. 39, sixty-nine acres of land, situated in Industry Plantation, the bounds whereof shall be ascertained and set- tled by the said Commissioners in their report hereon, the same lot being part of the land held under the Proprietors of the said Kennebec Purchase, James Johnson, a claimant now in possession thereof.

Now, in pursuance of the said Resolve and appointment, 1, Charles Vaughan, Agent to the Proprietors aforesaid, and the said James John- son, do refer and submit it to the said Commissioners, they, or the major part of them, to settle and declare the terms aforesaid, on which the said James Johnson. his heirs and assigns, shall be quieted in the possession of the said lot, the said Proprietors, by their Agent afore- said, and the said James Johnson, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, respectively holden and bound by the report of said Com- missioners in the premises, when made into the Secretary's Office of said Commonwealth. as directed by said Resolve.

In Witness whereof We hereto set our hands this sixteenth day of

LAND TITLES.

October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and two.

(signed) Chas. Vaughan, Agent.

Signed in presence of (signed) Lemuel Perham. (signed) James Johnson, by his attornies, W'm. Allen, Nahum Baldwin.

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

This Sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and two, on the foregoing reference between the Proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase, by their Agent Charles Vaughan and James Johnson, for quieting the said James Johnson agreeably to the before mentioned Resolve, in the possession of the said lot of land, being lott number Thirty-nine on Plan No. 4. situated in the Plantation of Industry, containing sixty-nine acres,

As by the plan and description signed by Lemuel Perham surveyor, hereto annexed will appear, reference thereto being had.

We, the Commissioners before named, having met and heard the parties, do settle, declare, and report, that the said James Johnson be quieted in the possession of the above bounded premises - To have and to hold the same to the said James Johnson his heirs and assigns, to his and their use forever, on the terms following, namely ;

That the said James Johnson, his heirs, executors, or administrators, shall, on or before the first day of June which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and four, pay to Thomas Lindall Winthrop, esquire, Treasurer of the said Proprietors of the Kennebec- Purchase, or his successor in said office, the sum of ninety dollars, and fifty cents with interest, from the first day of April next, then the said Proprietors by their Agent, shall make or cause to be made to the said James Johnson his heirs or assigns, a deed of the above described premises, whereby he and they may hold the same in fee-simple for- ever.

Given under our hands and seals.

(signed) Elijah Brigham. P. Coffin.

Thomas Dwight.

CHAPTER III.

SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.

The Plymouth Patent. - The New Vineyard Gore. - The Lowell Strip. -- North Industry.

Who are the nobles of the earth, The true aristocrats, Who need not bow their heads to lords, Nor doff' to kings their hats? *

* * *

Who are they, but the men of toil, Who cleave the forest down, And plant, amid the wilderness, The hamlet and the town? Stewart.

AFTER the close of the Revolutionary War many who were in straitened circumstances were induced to come to Industry to settle, from the fact that this land had for the most part be- longed to Tories, or sympathizers with England, who, when the tocsin of war sounded, either clandestinely left the country or remained and used every means at their command to aid and abet the English soldiery. Under these circumstances, the assumption was not an unreasonable one that by such disloyalty all right and title to their estates would be forfeited and their lands become the property of the United States. On the strength of this hypothesis, many who had served faithfully in the Revolutionary War, having no means to buy, came hither and took up wild land, which they hoped to hold by posses- sion, or by the payment of a nominal sum to the government in consideration of their faithful service. These were substan- tially the circumstances under which many came and settled on

SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.

the Patent, appropriating land and erecting log cabins for their families wherever a desirable location could be found .*

The first settler within the limits of Industry, as the town was afterward incorporated, was Levi Greenleaf, who settled on lot No. 61, in 1787.1 Mr. Greenleaf was from Massachu- setts,¿ a native of Bolton, and a young man of character and energy. He married about the time of his removal to the wilds of Maine, and brought his wife and household goods here on a sled drawn by four large oxen. The farm cleared by him was in that part of the town set off to New Sharon in 1852, and is now known as the Daniel Collins farm.

Peter Witham, who came to Industry from the vicinity of Hallowell, in 1788, and settled north of Mr. Greenleaf, on Lot No. 67,§ was the second settler on the Patent. He was coarse, vulgar and illiterate, and was not prosperous-possibly in con- sequence of intemperate habits.

No further settlements were made on the Patent until 1792, when Nathaniel Willard and sons came from Dunstable, Mass., and settled on lot No. 14, at Thompson's Corner. A portion of this lot, if not the whole, is included in the Thomas M. Oli- ver farm, just south of the school-house in George W. John- son's district. Three years later, Mr. Willard's son, Levi, took up lot No. 15, adjoining his father's on the north. Samuel,

* To the writer it seems a singular circumstance that the courts should invariably decide in favor of the disloyal proprietors when this matter was brought before them for adjudication some years later.

+ Esq. Wm. Allen says ( Hist. of Industry, p. 17): "The first settlers in Industry on the patent were Joseph Taylor and Peter Witham in 1792, on that part set off to New Sharon, also about the same time Nathaniel Chapman, who was a Revolutionary soldier." Documentary evidence in the State-house in Massachusetts shows that Peter Witham came in 1788, Taylor in 1799, eleven years later, and that Mr. Chap- man did not settle in town until 1801. These same records show Levi Greenleaf to have been the first settler in town, as stated above.

* Jonathan Greenleaf, in his Genealogy of the Greenleaf Family ( see p. 78), says Mr. Greenleaf came to Maine from Dunstable, N. 11., but the author has been unable to find a New Hampshire town of that name in any Gazetteer he has consulted.

§ Although the Plymouth Patent was not surveyed until many settlers had become residents thereon, the writer has, for convenience, designated the lots as subsequently numbered when the survey was afterward made.

HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.

another son, settled on lot No. 62, in the south part of the town, in 1799, his lot joining that of Levi Greenleaf. Jonathan Knowlton settled on lot No. 18, north side of Bannock Hill, the same year as Mr. Willard. Mr. Knowlton was one of the original purchasers of the township of New Vineyard, and also owned the northwest section of the New Vineyard Gore. It is supposed that he occupied his lot but a short time. He was probably succeeded by Archelaus Luce, and in 1798 the lot reverted to Mr. Knowlton's son, Jonathan Knowlton, Jr., who lived there until after the town was incorporated and then sold his improvements to Dr. Aaron Stoyell, who obtained a title to the land from the proprietors' agent, and subsequently sold to Jacob Hayes, who came from Berwick, Me., about 1809. Mr. Hayes remained there a few years, and then exchanged farms with John Patterson and removed to the south side of the hill. Mr. Patterson and his son Samuel occupied this farm for many years. The land is now ( 1892) owned by George W. Johnson. A few apple-trees which stood near the house, and traces of the cellar, are still to be seen. Mr. Luce, on giving possession to Knowlton, settled on lot No. 27, at Goodridge's Corner, where he remained until 1808, when he sold to James Davis and moved to George's River .* Mr. Luce was from Martha's Vine- yard, as was also Mr. Davis. The farm he occupied was owned for many years by the late Hovey Thomas.

John Thompson, Jr., and Jeremiah Beane, settled near Mr. Greenleaf, in 1793, on lots No. 64 and 66; but nothing has been learned concerning them. Mr. Beane is supposed to have left the settlement prior to the incorporation of the town. Mr. Thompson is not known to have been related to Capt. John Thompson, who figured prominently in the early history of the town. The following year saw quite an influx of immigrants among whom were James Thompson, Thomas Johnson and Zoe Withee. Mr. Thompson had resided in Norridgewock for some years previous to his settlement on the Patent, but was a native of New Hampshire. He settled on lot No. 2, a near neighbor

* Allen's History of Industry, p. 44.

SETTLEMENT OF THE TOUW.

to Nathaniel Willard. He was a man of energy and enterprise, cleared a good farm, built a commodious frame house, and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. He eventually sold his farm to Samuel Norton, of Edgartown, Mass., and moved to the State of New York. This farm is now owned by George W. Johnson, and among the older townspeople is known as the Albert George farm.

Thomas Johnson and sons, from Martha's Vineyard, came to Sandy River in 1793, and the following year began to clear land on lot No. 8 on the Patent, built a log cabin, and moved his family there in the autumn of the same year. His sons, Abraham and James, took up lots No. 13 and 39, adjoining their father's, in 1796. The land embraced in lots No. 8 and 39, is now owned by Augustus H. Swift, while No. 13 comprises the farm of Mclaughlin Bros. Esq. Wm. Allen states that another son settled on lot No. 37; but there is nothing to show when he settled there or how long he remained. In " quieting" the settlers upon their lots, agreeably to a resolve of the General Court, in 1802, this lot was claimed by Joseph Moody, and the record shows that he took possession in 1797.

Zoe Withee settled at Withee's Corner, a near neighbor to Mr. Johnson. His lot, No. 38, is now ( 1892) owned and occupied by Alvin L. Chapman. Mr. Withee was a soldier of the Revolution, and when he first came to Industry, intemperate in his habits. He was soundly converted, under the preaching of "Father John Thompson," and ever after lived an upright christian life. He came from Vienna, but was a native of New Hampshire. His farm in former years was regarded as one of the best in town.

John Thompson, also from Vienna, came to Industry in 1795, and settled on lot No. 16, adjoining that of his brother James on the east. Ilere he cleared land, erected a cabin and made his home for some years; but subsequently, after the incorporation of the town, removed to lot No. 53, by Stark's line. John B. Stevens was the original settler on this lot in 1795, and had made some improvements thereon. On giving posses- sion to Mr. Thompson, he left town, and nothing of his subse-

HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.

quent history is known. Mr. Thompson cleared up a nice farm, erected mills on a small stream which flowed through his lot. and also a commodious two-story house, which still stands on the place. He was largely instrumental in erecting the " Red Meeting-House," the first house of worship in town, and figured prominently in every good work. The homestead fell by heir- ship to his son Robert, who spent his whole life thereon. It is now owned by the sons of Alvin L. Chapman. Joseph Badger settled on lot No. 51, at an early date, but made only a brief stay. The next settler on this lot was Joshua Pike, who came from Salisbury, Mass., in 1795. He spent the whole of his active life on this lot, clearing and bringing into cultivation the farm now owned by Wm. J. Gilmore. Samuel Crompton, a blunt Englishman, from Staffordshire County, came to Industry and settled on lot No. 46,* in 1795, having commenced a clearing the previous year. His lot was located in that part of the town set off to New Sharon, and is now (1892) known as the John Yeaton farm. Mr. Crompton was an honest, hard-working man, but rather poor when he first settled on the Patent. By diligence and perseverance, however, he made a good farm and acquired a comfortable competency. John Webber settled on lot No. 48, adjoining Mr. Crompton's lot, in 1796, and lived in town until after its incorporation. Further than this, nothing is known concerning him. Jonathan Bunker, a ropemaker, from Nantucket, Mass., settled on lot No. 5, on the east side of Ban- nock Hill, where he lived for fifteen years. He then sold to Henry Johnson, who came from Thomaston, Me., and removed to the State of New York. Samuel Moody and several of his sons, came to the settlement on the Patent in 1797. Of these, the father settled on lot No. 22, and Joseph, one of the sons, on lot No. 37, which is embraced in the farm now owned by Horatio A. B. Keyes. One or two other sons lived in town ; but all were very poor and eventually moved away. They were from Shapleigh.

Joseph Broadbent took up lot No. 7, lying to the south of

* Wm. Allen says ( Ilist. of Industry, p.37) that Mr. Crompton's lot was No. 47, which does not agree with the records of the Appraising Commission.

---

RESIDENCE OF CAPT. JOHN THOMPSON.

Engraved by the LUX ENGRAVING Co., Boston. From a photograph made in 1802 by Ingalls & Knowlton, Farmington, Me.

SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 45

the Jacob Hayes farm, in 1798, but left the settlement before the incorporation of the town. Hugh Thompson, who may have been the father of James and John, settled on lot No. 17, lying north of the forenamed John's lot. His name does not appear as a petitioner for incorporation of the town, or as one of the legal voters of 1803. The writer has been unable to ascertain anything in relation to his final destiny.

Capt. William Allen, father of the historian, commenced a clearing on lot No. 34, on what has since been known as Allen Hill, in October, 1796. The next year he cut more trees, built a log-house, and on the 30th day of April, 1798, moved his family to their new home on the Patent. William, his eldest son, commenced a clearing on lot No. 28, in the spring of 1801, and sowed two acres of wheat and one of rye that season. This lot was made into a productive farm by young Mr. Allen. It is now known as the Deacon Ira Emery farm, and is owned by Charles V. Look. Bartlett, another son of Capt. William, set- tled on the farm now owned by Francis S. Rogers. Capt. Allen was a clothier by trade, and worked at that business be- fore coming to Industry. He was a native of Chilmark, Mass. Atkins Ellis, a Revolutionary soldier, came to Industry from Harwich, Mass., and settled on lot No. 35, on New Sharon line, in 1798. He was the father of a large family who frequently suffered for the common comforts of life. Being unable to pay for his land, he moved to lot L, south of Pike's Corner, and later to Ripley, Me. His lot is now known as the Russell Macomber farm.

Alvin Howes commenced improvements on lot No. 44, in 1798. Being a single man, he boarded with James Johnson and others, until he finally married, in 1801. He was a practi- cal farmer, and labored incessantly to improve his farm and render it more valuable and productive. He was a native of Dennis, Mass., but came to the settlement on the Patent from Farmington. The farm on which he spent the whole of his active life is now owned by George W. Bailey.

Lemuel Collins, a native of Massachusetts, settled in Indus- try on lot No. 50, the same year as did Mr. Howes who subse- quently married his eldest daughter, Mercy Collins.

HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.

Isaac Young, Jr., and Benjamin Gray, also came to the Patent in 1798, and settled on lots No. 59 and 70, but both moved away prior to the incorporation of the town.

Samuel Brown made a settlement on lot No. 19, in 1799. He came from Farmington, his father and Nathaniel Davis hav- ing been the first permanent settlers in that town. His lot is now included in the Thomas Stevens farm, owned and occupied by David W. Merry.

Elisha Luce made a small clearing on lot No. 33, in 1799, burned his chopping and sowed an acre of wheat, which he hoed in, being too poor to hire a yoke of oxen. He afterward enlarged his clearing, built a log-house, and sold out to Jona- than Goodridge. This farm is now the property of Alvarez N. Goodridge. Ephraim Moody and Eleazer Crowell settled on lots 32 and 43 the same year as Mr. Luce, but neither remained long. William Ladd from Mt. Vernon settled in town in 1798, first on lot No. 22, where he remained three years and then moved to lot 21. His habits were bad, and he was always poor. He eventually removed to Stark .*

THE NEW VINEYARD GORE.

The first settlement within the present limits of the town of Industry was made on the New Vineyard Goret in 1791. This tract of land was a remnant, of rectangular shape, left after the survey of the township of New Vineyard, its longest sides being from east to west. It was bounded on the north by the township of New Vineyard, on the west by Readstown (now Strong), on the south by Sandy River Plantation (now Farmington ), and on the east by the Lowell or Mile-and-a-half Strip. In extent it was six hundred and three rods long, four hundred and fifteen rods wide, and contained one thousand five hundred and sixty-four acres. This tract of land was purchased

* More extended sketches of many of these settlers may be found in the genea- logical portion of this work.

t The early surveyors in laying out townships invariably applied the term gore to any fragment of land remaining after the survey, irrespective of size or shape.

SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.

of the land agent of Massachusetts in 1790 by a company consisting of Jonathan Knowlton and Ebenezer Norton, Esq., of Farmington, Deacon Cornelius Norton, Abner Norton and Daniel Collins, of Martha's Vineyard, for forty-five pounds sterling, or a little less than fourteen cents per acre. Knowl- ton, Ebenezer and Cornelius Norton, each taking a quarter section, and Abner Norton and Daniel Collins each taking one-eighth of the tract. During the following winter these gentlemen proceeded to explore their purchase, and made a preliminary division of the same, so that those who wished could commence a clearing at once. They first divided their purchase into two equal parts by running a line, with a pocket compass, through the center from north to south. They then agreed to a proposition made by Esquire Ebenezer Norton, in consideration of the lots on the south half being more valua- ble on account of being nearer the settlement at Sandy River, to make those on the north half wider, and consented to run the line east and west from a beech-tree two rods south of the centre. They then proceeded to draw lots for the sections. The northwest section fell to Jonathan Knowlton, the northeast section to Deacon Cornelius Norton, the southwest section to Esquire Ebenezer Norton, and the southeast section to Abner Norton and Daniel Collins. It was said that after the division, Esquire Norton, who had designated the starting point for the east and west line, complained that Knowlton and Deacon Nor- ton had got too much of the land, their lots being four rods wider than the others, whereas he had intended that there should have been only two rods difference. Doubtless this was the intention of the gentleman, but not stopping to think, in the haste of the moment, that it would be necessary to move the line but one rod south of the centre to make the required two rods difference in the width of the two lots on the north, he made an error in his calculations. But as all the others were satisfied with the division, it was confirmed; and Esquire William Allen says: "To pacify the complainant, the others relinquished to him their right to purchase a fragment of good land adjoin- › ing Clear Water Pond." Early in the spring of 1791, Abner

HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.

Norton and Daniel Collins commenced to make a clearing on their section of the Gore. They ran a line through the centre, from north to south, and agreed that in the final survey, pro- vided any errors occurred in the first division, that the perma- nent line should be so varied as to give each one the benefits of his improvements, and at the same time give each his equal share of the land. After the division was made, Mr. Norton took the western and Mr. Collins the eastern portion. These tracts of land comprised the farms now owned and occupied by J. Simon Furbush and John Vehue, the latter having been diminished by the sale of a strip containing fifty acres from its castern extremity. In order to make an opening sufficiently large to secure a good draft of wind and thus insure a good burn, Messrs. Norton and Collins made their first clearings adjoining each other. During the summer following they each built a substantial log-house. Mr. Collins's new house stood on a ridge of land near where John Vehue's new house stands, at a turn in the road as it strikes the Farmington line. Mr. Nor- ton's was located on his clearing some rods further to the west. The walls of these houses were laid up of logs notched near the ends so as to fit each other snugly. The roof was covered with hemlock or spruce bark held in place by long poles withed down. The gables were also covered with bark, while the cracks between the logs were caulked with moss on the inside and plastered with clay on the outside. The chimneys were of stone laid in clay mortar and topped out with sticks. A path having been bushed out from their clearings on the Gore to the settlement at Sandy River, so that they could pass with a horse-sled before the snow became deep, Mr. Collins and Mr. Norton moved their families from Martha's Vineyard in Decem- ber, 1791, to their new homes in the then almost unbroken wilds of northern Maine. At that time Mr. Collins's family consisted of himself, his wife and eight children. This number included two pair of twins, the eldest two and youngest two being coup- lets. The oldest two were twelve years of age, while the young- est two had hardly completed their first year. During the journey to their new home, Mr. and Mrs. Collins rode on horse-

SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.

back, carrying the two infants in their arms, the other children riding on the horse-sled with the goods. Mr. Norton's family was not so large as Mr. Collins's, though he had several children.

A year later, in the fall of 1792, Capt. William Allen, also from Martha's Vineyard, settled in Farmington, within two miles of them, on the farm now occupied by Obed N. Collins, on a route from the River Settlement to the westerly part of the Gore. Captain Allen continued to live here until early in the spring of 1798, when he removed to land belonging to the Plymouth Company, east of Allen's Mills, and since known as Allen Hill.

Cornelius Norton, Jr., of Tisbury, Mass., commenced clear- ing land on the northern part of his father's section of the Gore, about the same time that Mr. Collins came, but as he was a single man he did not make his permanent home there until the summer of 1794, when he married Margaret J. Belcher, a daughter of Supply Belcher, Esq., of Farmington, and com- menced housekeeping in his log-house. His father, Deacon Cornelius Norton, moved with his family into a log-house on the southern half of his section, about the same time. This house stood but a little distance to the southeast from where Wesley N. Luce lived in 1885. A small orchard is standing near the spot, and the limpid waters still bubble up from the spring which furnished the household supply for Mr. Nor- ton's family.

John and Ebenezer Oakes, step-sons of Jonathan Knowlton, commenced a clearing on his section of the Gore, just west of the road leading to the Wesley N. Luce farm, in 1792. These gentlemen built a convenient log-house, and, as both were un- married, spent the following winter there in single blessedness. About the same time, one hundred and twenty-five acres from the northeast corner of Mr. Knowlton's section was sold to Elisha Lombart .* This lot he afterward exchanged for one on the western part of Mr. Knowlton's section. A stream of suffi-

* This name is also spelled Lumbert, Lumber, etc., and is supposed to have originally been identical with the name now spelled Lambert.

HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.

cient size to run a mill flowed through Mr. Lombart's last men - tioned lot, and on this he built a grist and saw-mill. In 1794, Ansel Norton bought Jonathan Knowlton's possession of John Oakes, and lived there until his death, which occurred in 1810.

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A history of the town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine, Part 4

Author: Hatch, William Collins. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Farmington, Me., Press of Knowlton, McLeary & co. Number of Pages: 938

Author: Hatch, William Collins. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Farmington, Me., Press of Knowlton, McLeary & co.
Number of Pages: 938