USA > Maine > Knox County > Union > A history of the town of Union, in the county of Lincoln, Maine : to the middle of the nineteenth century, with a family register of the settlers before the year 1800, and of their descendants > Part 20
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Fisher Hart
David Cummings."
Richard Gay
MAINE ASSOCIATION. - A letter, dated July 1, 1826, says : " On Wednesday and 'Thursday of the present week, we had the Universalists' Association for the State of Maine at our central meeting-house in Uni- on ; - seven ministers and as many delegates ; a large concourse of people from different parts of the State ; many ladies, who made a good appearance; excellent music; lectures more popular than any which have ever been delivered aforetime in this town. I did not see at meeting one Methodist or one Calvinist."
Another letter, dated June 21, 1829, says : " Yester- day, about 5 o'clock, P.M., all connection between J. B. Dods, alias J. D. Bovee, and the Universalist Society here, was dissolved by mutual consent. Bovee
Nathaniel Tobey
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ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
asked a dismission, and his society readily granted his request. We have had a remarkable excitement in Union and Thomaston for about ten or fifteen days,"1 &c.
CONSTITUTION. - Sept. 9, 1840, the society was re- organized. Rev. Albion S. Dudley, Elisha Harding, and Nelson Cutler, were chosen a committee to draft a constitution ; and Oct. 3, after some modifications, the following, drawn up by the chairman, was adopt- ed : -
" Whereas it is the duty of every rational creature to pay his homage to the Supreme Creator and Governor of the universe; and whereas we are permitted in this land the un- restricted liberty of conscience and right of private judgment in matters of faith and duty, and are allowed to worship God in whatever manner it may seem good to ourselves,-we, the undersigned, believing in the existence of one living and true God, whose nature is love and whose perfections are infinite, and confiding in his gracious purpose, as revealed to us in the gospel of his Son and the Scriptures of truth, to be- stow upon all his intelligent offspring a glorious and blessed immortality ; and further believing that it is at once the duty and interest of all men to be careful to maintain good works, for these things are good and profitable unto men, - do hereby, for the better security of these objects, unite ourselves in an associate capacity, and agree to be governed by the following constitution :
"1. This society shall be called the First Universalist Society in Union.
"2. The officers of this society shall consist of a clerk ; a prudential committee, who shall manage the affairs of the society ; a treasurer, who shall collect all subscriptions and pay them out at the order of the prudential committee.
" 3. This society shall hold their annual meeting on the third Monday in November, at such place as the standing committee may direct ; at which meeting the officers of the
1 There was great excitement during nearly the whole time of Mr. Dods's residence in Union. Very grave charges against him were published in the Bangor Register, March 23, 1820. These were re- printed, together with his reply, in the Thomaston Register, Jan. 9, 1827. Mr. Dods was subsequently at Taunton and at Provincetown, Mass. Afterward he was in various parts of the country, lecturing on animal magnetism.
225
UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY.
society shall be elected, and such other business shall be transacted as shall appear for the good of said society.
"4. It shall be the duty of each member to contribute for the support of the ministry liberally as he can, without in- jury to himself and family.
"5. Any person may become a member of this society by signing the constitution.
"6. Any member may withdraw from this society by leaving a written notice of his intentions with the clerk of the society.
" 7. No member shall be expelled from this society, except by a vote of two-thirds of its members, and not then unless the reasons of such expulsion are given in a public manner to the society.
" 8. Ten members shall constitute a quorum for the trans- action of business ; but a less number may adjourn.
"9. This society is hereby declared independent of all other ecclesiastical associations, and will acknowledge no allegiance to any other power save the express will of a ma- jority of its own members, in accordance with its own con- stitution and the laws of the land.
"10. This constitution may be altered or amended at any time, by a vote of the majority of the members present at any regular meeting, provided the amendment proposed is submitted in writing at a previous meeting and secured with its ministers.
" Obadiah Harris
Charles Miller
Christopher Young
Nathaniel Bachelor Lyman Alden Noah S. Rice
Gavinus Henderson Rufus Gillmor Lewis Bachelder
Cyrus G. Bachelder
Ebenezer Cobb Nathan Hills John Payson
Nelson Cutler John P. Robbins
Wm. G. Hawes
George Cummings Fisher Hart William Gleason
Nathan Bachelder James Rice George W. Morse
Spencer Mero
Willard Robbins
A. S. Dudley."
Stephen S. Hawes Elisha Harding Samuel Hills John S. Bean Milton Daniels 20
Asa Messer Edward Alden
Jesse W. Payson
226
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
PREACHERS. - Nov. 4, 1841, Rev. Mr. Dudley, who probably came here in the preceding spring, tendered his resignation ; and it was resolved that " the connection, as påstor, between himself and the First Universalist Society, be amicably dissolved." He is now a phy- sician and dentist in Boston. Mr. Whittier was the preacher in 1842. In 1843,1 the preacher was F. W. Baxter.2
THE MEETING-HOUSE, containing sixty-two pews, and situated a little back of the first meeting-house built in town, was erected in 1839, and dedicated on Christ- mas Day.
THE BELL, weighing twelve hundred and thirty-nine pounds, was cast by Holbrook, of Boston; bought Oct. 22, 1839, and hung the day before Thanksgiving. It cost $322.14; and the wheel and yoke, $25. It was paid for by subscription, as follows : -
Nelson Cutler $15
Spencer Walcott
C. G. Bachelder
15
George Cummings 10
Jason Robbins
15
Leonard Barnard
5
Nathan Bachelder
15
Joshua Morse
10
John Payson
15
Samuel Hills
5
John Burns .
10
James W. Brown
2
Ebenezer Cobb
10
William Libbey
3
Willard Robbins
10
William G. Hawes
5
Nathaniel Robbins, jun. 5
William Gleason
5
James Littlehale, jun. .
6
Ebenezer Alden
15
Jesse Robbins, jun. 2
Augustus Alden
5
Rufus Gillmor
10
Nathaniel Bachelor 25
Nathaniel K. Burkett .
2
Nathaniel Robbins . . 20
1 Dec. 4, 1843, " voted that the Congregational Society in Union be allowed to have the use of the bell, when not occupied by the Universalist Society, provided they employ the same man to ring that is employed by said Universalist Society, and paying him for the same.
"N.B. The time of ringing to be arranged by the committees of the two societies, and notice given from the pulpit."
2 During his ministry, the lamps in the Universalist Meeting-house were procured for $20.50, by subscriptions in sums of one dollar and of fifty cents cach, with the addition of five dollars, given by the Female Sewing Circle, making the total amount raised $25.
227
SIGNS AND OMENS.
Fisher Hart .
$15
Jason Davis .
$2
Levi Morse
10
Reuben Hagar
2
Lewis Bachelder
15
Philo Thurston .
2
Spencer Mero
15
John P. Robbins
5
John Bachelder .
15
Jesse Robbins, jun.
2
Elisha Harding.
15
James Grinnell . 2
James Rice
10
Charles Fogler .
2
Thurston Whiting 2
Joseph Gleason .
2
Jonathan Eastman .
10
Reuben E. Lyon 5
P. C. Harding
10
Marlboro' Packard, jun. 5
John Lermond, jun.
5
Zuinglius Collins
5
Lyman Alden
5
D. F. Harding .
5
John M. Thorndike
5
John W. Lindley
2
Stephen S. Hawes .
5
CHAPTER XXV.
DELUSIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS.
Signs and Omens. - Witchcraft. - Bewitched Horse.
SIGNS AND OMENS.
NOT entirely unconnected with ecclesiastical history is that of popular delusions and superstitions. Many persons recollect the time when the breaking of a looking-glass was regarded as premonitory of a death in the family. If a cock crowed at the door, a stranger would come. " It was a bad sign" for a person to pick up a pin, if he found it with the point toward him. The acceptance of a knife, scissors, or other sharp instrument as a present, would certainly lead to a cutting of friendship between the receiver and the giver. A ringing in the left ear indicated slander from some one in that direction. Good news would follow a ringing in the right ear. If accidentally the new moon was first seen over the left shoulder, it was ominous of evil; but the reverse if it was over the right shoulder. When a corpse lay unburied over Sun-
228
DELUSIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS.
day, there would certainly be another death in town before the end of the week. These and similar super- stitions were considerably prevalent in the country at the beginning of this century; and there were some persons who, in their credulity or for mischief, took delight in inculcating them. Even now, kindred fol- lies are perpetuated by the advocates of " clairvoy- ance " and " spiritual rappings."
WITCHCRAFT.
At the time of the persecutions in Salem in 1692, there were but few persons, either in Europe or Ame- rica, who did not believe in witchcraft. Though the community in general is now too enlightened for such an absurdity, there may yet be a few individuals cher- ishing, amid many misgivings, the follies with which their minds were imbued in childhood. Some men and women have not forgotten the dreadful stories which the large school-girls, during the intermissions, mischievously repeated to the small children, till their eyes opened wide and cheeks turned pale. The super- stition, however, never gained much credence among adults in this town; though there was one case which attracted considerable attention.
About the year 1813, a horse belonging to Henry Esensa was parted with to Samuel Daggett. Mrs. Es- . ensa, who unfortunately had the reputation among a few ignorant people of being a witch, was dissatisfied with the trade. When the horse was taken away, she remarked that it had "always been a plague, and would never do the Daggetts any good." It was not not long before the horse was mysteriously untied in the stable. No vigilance could prevent it. John To- bey, an upright sea-captain, familiar with every kind of knot used on. shipboard, warmed a new rope, " made a horse-knot, and put it round the horse's neck in proper style." He went to the barn, bored several holes through the planks, took half a dozen over-hand knots, and then carried the rope up to a brace and made it well fast, sailor-fashion, with two or three round-turns, and two or three half-hitches. After re-
229
WITCHCRAFT.
maining a short time at the house, he started to go home; and, on stopping at the barn to see if all was right, he discovered that the horse and rope were gone. A light having been procured, the horse was found in a remote part of the barn, with the rope coiled securely around him. At another time, the horse was on the haymow, and the rope was stuck so far into the hay that it required two or three men to pull it out. At another time, the waxed ends, which were used about the seizings, were found lying uncut where the ani- mal had been standing.
These circumstances could not be accounted for. The horse was tied, and the barn-doors nailed. Snow was sifted · round so as to show tracks, if any person came. But the horse was nevertheless untied, and crawled out under the sill of the barn, leaving the marks of his shoes, where it was considered impossible for the animal to get through. If any person was pre- sent, the witches would not do any thing. Accord- ingly, after the horse was fastened, all the company would retire to the house, where Mr. Daggett would entertain them for an hour or so with the revolution- ary and sailors' songs and stories. Then, going to the barn, they would find the horse untied. A great number of feats was performed. The community was excited. People thronged from all parts of the town. Even from Searsmont, persons came to see the be- witched horse. On some nights, fifty or one hundred and fifty, prompted by a variety of motives, were in attendance. Finally, to put an end to the witchcraft, the tips of the horse's ears were cut off, and to the bleeding ends was applied a red-hot shovel. This act drove off the witches. But Samuel Daggett told Cap- tain Tobey that he broke the end of his awl in fixing the seizings to the rope to prevent it from ravelling, and left the point in the rope, and that afterward there was no more trouble. Shrewd people have latterly " guessed" that the Daggetts, and possibly one of Captain Tobey's sons, knew more about the matter than they ever had credit for.
20*
230
POLITICAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER XXVI.
POLITICAL HISTORY.
Voting. - Separation of Maine from Massachusetts. - Harmony and Diversity of Sentiment. - Embargo. - Petition to the President of the United States. - Reply. - Remonstrance. - Petition to the Legislature of Massachusetts. - Celebration, July 4, 1810. - Cele- bration in 1814. - Ode and Hymn.
VOTING.
THE votes of a town are not always an index of its political sentiments. Elections in Union, as well as as in other towns, have been affected by tempe- rance,1 sectarianism, private animosities, sectional
1 The subject of temperance has at times excited much interest. The First Temperanee Society, like all contemporary societies, did not exclude the use of wine. This was excluded in the Second Tempe- rance Society, formed Nov. 24, 1835. At the town-meeting, April 5, 1830, it was voted to pass over an article "to see if the town will authorize the seleetmen to grant licenses for mixing liquors." The subject was again brought forward Sept. 13, and it was distinctly " voted not to have licenses granted to sell mixed liquors." April 2, 1832, "voted that the seleetmen be authorized to grant licenses to retailers to sell mixed liquors in their stores or shops." April 1, 1833, it was voted to drop the article on the subject. "Sept. 24, 1836, agreeable to notice, the seleetmen, treasurer, and town-clerk met, and licensed Ebenezer Cobb, as an innholder, to sell strong liquors. Li- censed Nelson Cutler as a retailer." April 17, 1843, it was voted to drop the article on licensing. Members of the Temperance Society commenced prosecutions. April, 1844, the town voted not to refund the amount of a fine imposed on Henry Fossett, jun., "at the last December term of the District Court, Middle District, on complaint of D. F. Harding." An unsuccessful application to the town was made in April, and again in May, 1846, " to see if the town will re- fund the fifty dollars fine-money paid by Nathan Hills, in consequence of retailing ardent spirits without license." April 5, 1847, the select- men were instructed "to sue for penalties that may be due for selling spirituous liquors without license."
The first person ever licensed here was Philip Robbins. This was within one or two years after he came. Before temperance societies were popular, almost every man in the country drank ardent spirits. Rum was considered a necessary beverage. Washington, in detailing the distresses of his army, speaks of the want of rum much as he does of the want of provisions. Every workman thought it indispensable. Sling
231
SEPARATION OF MAINE.
feelings. Besides, in some instances, the records are not so explicit as they ought to be. Accordingly, the results, as recorded on the town-books, are sometimes to be taken with qualifications.
SEPARATION OF MAINE FROM MASSACHUSETTS.
One of the subjects early brought before the town was the separation of Maine from Massachusetts. May 7, 1792, at a town-meeting held in the barn of Moses Hawes, there were 27 votes to 2, in favor of a separation according to a resolve of the General Court, passed Feb. 13 in that year. Dec. 2, 1793, the town again voted in favor of a separation, and chose Samuel Hills, Edward Jones, and Moses Hawes, a committee "to write to Hon. Peleg Wadsworth, as chairman of a committee consisting of a number of gentlemen from various parts of the district, on the 18th of October last, holden at the court-house in Portland." April 6, 1795, it was voted, 21 to 12, " to have the three upper counties in the province of Maine set off for a separate State." May 10, 1797, there were 26 yeas and 12 nays for separation; April 6, 1807, yeas 53, nays 69; May 20, 1816, the yeas were 41, nays 61, and the number of legal voters 216. Sept. 2, 1816, yeas 56, nays 98; at which time Robert Foster, having 83 votes, was chosen a delegate to represent the town in a convention to be holden at Brunswick, Sept. 30; John Lermond having 62 votes, and Nathan Blake, 1. Aug. 26, 1819, there were for separation, 19; against it, 84. Sept. 20, 1819, Robert Foster was chosen delegate to the convention, to form
and flip, as well as rum, were common at stores and taverns. Spirit, in some form, as well as wine, was provided at balls and parties. Even funeral solemnities were sometimes disturbed by the rappings of toddy- sticks. There have been cases, though none are recollected in Union, in which the tumblers and the decanter stood on the coffin, and that, too, in worthy families. The present generation has no conception of the extent of drinking throughout the country at the close of the revolutionary war, and afterward. The practice of " treating," when friends meet, has died away; and the false notions of former days have of late been giving place to a sense of duty, of humanity, and of happiness.
232
POLITICAL HISTORY.
a State Constitution. Dec. 6, 1819, of 53 votes, 49 were in favor of the constitution formed in convention at Portland, Oct. 29, 1819. Since that time, Maine has been an independent State.
HARMONY AND DIVERSITY OF SENTIMENT.
According to the records, the vote for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, as recently as 1797, 1798, and 1799, was unanimous. After the extraordinary vote of 1800, in which the two candidates are voted for, both for Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, there was a change. In 1801, there was one dissentient vote ; in 1802 and 1803, there were two. It is not improbable that great electioneering efforts were made in the fol- lowing years, by persons who moved into town. The harmony which had existed was disturbed ; and violent political feelings were shortly aroused.
EMBARGO.
After the embargo was laid, an article was intro- duced into the warrant for the town-meeting, Sept. 17, 1808, " to see if it be the mind of the town to petition the President to have the embargo taken off, or act or do any thing relative thereto." The vote passed in the affirmative. "Samuel Hills, Edmund Mallard, William Pope, Esquire [Nathaniel] Robbins, and Capt. [ Peter ] Adams, were chosen" the committee, and in- structed to " withdraw and report as soon as possible." The town voted " to accept the ... petition, with such alterations as the committee think proper to make with regard to punctuation and spelling only ;" and that the committee should send it to the President. The document, however, is not to be found. Presi- dent Jefferson replied in a printed circular dated Oct. 8, 1808, superscribed to " Nathaniel Robbins, Esq."
It is said that the government-party thought the other party took advantage of them, and had the peti- tion brought forward and accepted when there were but few persons present. They made an application to the other party for a copy of the petition. It was
233
EMBARGO.
unsuccessful. They then issued a remonstrance which was signed by all the party, and forwarded to the Pre- sident. The other party, confident of their strength, brought forward the subject again; and the following extracts, penned by William White, are from the town- records : -
PETITION TO THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Feb. 6, 1809, upon an article "to see if the town will petition the Legislature of this State to use their influence in any constitutional method which they may devise, to effect a removal of the embargo-laws, or act or do any thing relative thereto. ... Voted that a committee be chosen to draught a petition to the Legislature of this State. . . . Voted that Charles Pope, Ebenezer Alden, Samuel Hills, Calvin Chase, and Esquire Robbins, be this committee. ... Voted that this meeting be adjourned to Monday next.
"Feb. 13, 1809, voted to petition the legislature of this State to intercede for us in a constitutional way to have repealed the embargo-laws .. Voted to accept the following resolves : -
"To assemble at all times in an orderly and peaceable manner, consult upon the common good, and request of the Legislature, by way of addresses, petitions, or remonstrances, a redress of the wrongs we suffer, is a right guaranteed by the constitution of the United States and of this common- wealth ; and at a time when our greatest and most essential rights are attacked, -the right to acquire, protect, and enjoy property, and even our liberties threatened with being wrested from us, -it not only becomes a right, but a duty of the first importance, to watch with a vigilant eye every encroachment, and, as a free and independent people, remonstrate against every innovation, in a firm, manly, and dignified manner.
"Resolved, as the sense of this town, that we view the several acts of Congress, laying an embargo and prohibiting all foreign commerce by sea and land, as arbitrary, oppres- sive, and unconstitutional.
" Resolved that the numerous restrictions and embarrass- ments laid upon our coasting-trade are calculated to reduce many thousands of our scafaring brethren, together with all those whose dependence is on commerce, to a state of abject penury and want.
234
POLITICAL HISTORY.
"Resolved that the raising a standing army in a time of peace, and subjecting the civil power to the military control, is alarming to our apprehensions, and creates a trembling for the liberties of our country.
" Resolved that the power given to the collectors and their deputies places them entirely out of the reach of the law; af- fording them a strong temptation to oppress, and deprive the oppressed of the right of a trial by jury, with the almost cer- tain consequence of being taxed with treble cost, without the collectors' being obliged to prove an intent to evade the law, or so much as a well-grounded suspicion; and the au- thority given them to array the naval and military force of the United States against the peaceable inhabitants in the prosecution of their lawful business, is a stretch of power never before witnessed in the annals of a free, independent people.
" Resolved that the patriotic though ineffectual struggle made by the minority in Congress to save the country from impending ruin, entitles them to our warmest gratitude.
" That a respectful address be transmitted to the Legisla- ture of this State, stating our grievances, and praying that honorable body to use every constitutional measure which they in their wisdom shall deem expedient to put a speedy termination to our sufferings.
"Voted to accept the following petition : -
" To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
"We, the inhabitants of the town of Union, county of Lin- coln, beg leave humbly to represent, that we have long en- dured the evils which press peculiarly hard on this portion of the Union, resulting from the strange system of policy pur- sued by the government of the United States; and, having petitioned the executive of that government without deriving the least consolation, but on the contrary the burthens hav- ing been unmercifully and unconstitutionally increased, we now turn our eyes and our hopes to the Legislature of this State. We look to you as our fathers, feeling an inward presentiment that when we ask bread you will not give us a stone, and when we ask a fish you will not give us a ser- pent. We are willing to eat our bread in the sweat of our faces ; but we are not willing that our hard-earned morsel
235
EMBARGO.
should be plucked from the mouth of labor by idle spies or greedy harpies.
"The spot we inhabit does not furnish the luxuries nor all the conveniences of life. Much of our living has been drawn from the proceeds of articles exported ; and, if we are not suffered to barter our lumber for needful supplies, vast numbers will be reduced to a most forlorn and wretched condition.
"Many owe in part for lands, or are indebted for the necessaries of life, and no way is left to cancel the demands. A dreary prospect opens upon the eyes of the debtor. He knows not which way to turn himself. His former sources are dried up. Dejection is seated on his brow; we see no possible method of procuring a sufficiency of money even to pay our taxes. To demand them from us now would be like exacting brick without straw. We cannot compare the pre- sent with the past without a sigh; for we experimentally feel that our glory is departed. ' We turn back our eyes to the golden days of federal administration, and lament the folly that has reduced us to our present humiliating condition.
" The embargo-system appears void of all form and come- liness, the offspring of night and twin of chaos. The total occlusion of the port of Boston, effected by the aid and ter- ror of military force, is a wanton stretch of power, calculated not only to injure the capital, but to spread additional dis- tress among the inhabitants of the district of Maine. The constitution of the United States plainly shows us, that the coasting trade within the State is not under the care of Con- gress even for regulation. This trade has been subject to regulations of Congress, only because no inconvenience re- sulted therefrom.
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