USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bremen > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 25
USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Bristol > A history of the towns of Bristol and Bremen in the state of Maine : including the Pemaquid Settlement > Part 25
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William and Margaret (Stilson) Hilton had nine children, all of whom, according to Mrs. Teuxbury, were born here before they were driven off by the Indians, and this last event she shows, by a recital of several circumstances connected with the life and death of her mother (a daughter of Stilson Hilton, and granddaughter of Wm.), to have been in 1718.
The 9 children of Wm. and Margaret Hilton were
1. Elizabeth, who m. 1st John Knowlton, and 2d, Farnham.
2. Stilson, who married and had 6 children, among whom was Hannah, who married Teuxbury and left this very valuable and reliable deposition.
3. Joshua, who married and had 1 child named William.
4. William, who married .. Lee and had several children (four sons, James, Richard, John and William,1) several years after his father's death (which we have seen oe- curred in 1723) he removed to this place, and occupied the old homestead of his father.
It is very probable that this may have been about the time the English rule was reestablished in this region by the rebuild- ing of l'emaquid fort under Dunbar, in 1729; but no positive evidence of the kind has been found.2
Wm. Hilton and family appear to have lived here, without serions molestation by the Indians, until the time of the French
1 Charles V. Hilton.
" According to a tradition in the family, he had come into possession of a claim to a large tract of land in the present town of Bremen and towns adjacent. Very probably the claim may have been to the eight miles square tract, the history of which will be given further on in this work. (Ante, p. 227.)
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
and Indian war, which, as we know, terminated with the cap- ture of Quebec, in 1759.
Ile carried on his farming operations chiefly at Broad Cove, but his family, at least a part of the time during this war, re- sided at Muscongas Harbor, the communication between the places being mostly by water. He had given his sons (or some of them) farms here, and they had made some progress in clear- ing them, and had built a small house.
When going up to the farm, if danger was apprehended, they usually took their dog's with them, and made them swim ashore before landing themselves ; so that if any Indians were about the place they would be likely to be discovered. Going up at one time with three of his sons, William, Richard and John, the usual precaution was neglected, and they were fired upon just as they landed, by an Indian previously con- cealed from view. The son William was shot dead; and subsequently his father was badly wounded in the knee by another Indian, who had rushed forward and seized the loaded gun the young man had dropped as he fell. One ac- count says that Richard was wounded, but John escaped un- hurt. Richard discharged his fowling piece at one of the Indians, wounding him badly in one knee, so that he was a cripple for life. Many years afterwards, in one of the early years of the present century, the same Indian, then an old man and very lame, visited the place, and affirmed that his lameness was occasioned by a shot from a white man, at the very spot where this fight occurred. Ile related other circumstances which showed conclusively that he was the man that was wounded by the shot from Richard Hilton, and probably the man that fired the first gun, killing William Hilton jr.
The two sons with their father, badly wounded in one knee, made their way back to their home at Muscongus Harbor, where he died of the wound a few days afterwards. Some per- sons ou Dutch Neck, hearing the firing, came over to the place, but the Indians had gone. Finding the body of William jr., in the place where he fell, they wrapped it in some bed clothing obtained from the house, and buried it without a coffin on the bank near by.
Richard Hilton (brother of William, who was thus buried), died here, early in the present century; and about the same time it was observed that the grave of William was in danger
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
of being carried away by the falling of the bank; so the bones were taken up and reinterred in the same coffin with the re- mains of Richard.1
This party of Indians had come here from Walpole, where they committed other depredations, and we shall have occasion to refer to them again in another connection.
5. Benjamin, who died in the service of the government, but when or in what capacity is not known. Ile left four children.
6. Samuel.
7. Amos, who married ., and was killed by an Indian, but under what circumstances is not known. He had two children.
8. Molly.
9. Margaret.
From this family, it is believed, all of the name of Hilton, now in the place and the immediate vicinity, as well as many others that have removed to other places, have descended; but the limits prescribed for this work will not permit a further continuance of the family pedigree.
'Charles V. Hilton, Esq., of Bremen, grandson of James Hilton, above mentioned, who was born and has always resided on, or near by, the old Hilton homestead. Richard Hilton in his old age showed him, then a boy, all the localities connected with the transaction. He remembers the visit of the lame old Indian, and was present at the funeral of Richard and reinterment of the bones of William Hilton.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
CHAPTER XXII.
Condition of affairs east of the Kennebec, immediately after the destruction of Fort William Henry - Disagreement between the British government and that of Massachusetts, in regard to the rebuilding of the fort - Report of the lords of trade on the condition of affairs in these parts - Conference between Indian chiefs and agents of Government -- Capture of Port Royal in Nova Scotia, and reduction of that province by the English - Close of the third Indian war, sometimes called Queen Anne's war - Rebuilding of the fort on George's river, and also Fort Richmond, on the Kennebec -The Kennebec Indians begin the fourth Indian war - Indian Conference at Arrowsic, in 1717 --- Fishing schooners seized by the Indians- The Penobscot tribe peaceably disposed -- Indian Conference at Falmouth, in 1727 -- Truck houses to be established.
The destruction of the fort at Pemaquid, in 1696, put an end for the time being to any English influence in all this region ; and every English settlement east of the Kennebec was broken up and abandoned. Patrick Rodgers, who was for a time lieutenant of the fort, testified in 1773, that about 1720 or 1721, he lived in Georgetown, and there was not then a house that he knew of between Georgetown and Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia,1 except a single fish house on Damariscove island. West of the Kennebec, the settlements had suffered badly, but they were not, like those east of this river, so utterly devastated ; and very soon, most or all of them began to recover; but for Pema- quid, and its dependencies, there seemed to be no hope.
Many of the old settlers who had fled to the westward, as the phrase then was, were still living and anxious to return to their old possessions, but a new obstacle was now interposed in the disagreement that sprung up between the British govern- ment and that of Massachusetts, in regard to the rebuilding of the fort. Both governments earnestly desired to see the fort rebuilt, but each preferred that it should be done at the expense of the other.
1 Lincoln Rep., 1811, p. 60. At the time mentioned (1720 or 21), it may have been literally true that there were no families living on these shores, or islands, as testifed by Rodgers, but at a little carlier period, Win. Hilton and family, re- sided at Broad Cove, as we have seen.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
Massachusetts, as we have seen, had for many years embraced every favorable opportunity to extend her jurisdiction cast- ward ; but her people in doing it preferred not to incur too great expense. . Moreover all the settlements in the region having been abandoned by the English, their restoration was a matter for the consideration and effort of the British nation rather than the people of the single colony of Massachusetts Bay. The French, ever since the treaty of Breda, in 1668, had held undisputed possession of Acadia, as the undefined territory east of Saga- dahock, was called ; but the two governments of England and France had never been able to agree upon the true dividing line between these provinces. The English claimed for the territory of Sagadahoc, all the country from the Kennebec as far east as the St. Croix, and were actually in possession as far east as the Penobscot ; while the French claimed for Acadia, all the country as far west as the Kennebec, but were in actual possession as far west as the Penobscot. The bitter enmity between the English and French was probably never more de- cided, than in this age of which we are speaking ; and in their respective colonies this feeling was rather intensified than other- wise. Among the people of the French colonies plans were every year discussed for extending their own jurisdiction over not Maine only, but the whole of New England; while the people of the English colonies, on the other hand, were talking of schemes for the utter expulsion of the French from the whole castern country.
The progress of events in that age was comparatively slow, but no one could fail to see that a crisis was approaching, when the British nation would find it necessary by its mighty arm to defend this territory, or else to relinquish their claim to it altogether. The people of Massachusetts, being well assured that the latter alternative would never be submitted to, were content to adopt for themselves a course of "masterly inac- tivity," so judiciously recommended by a renowned statesman, in regard to another matter at a later period in our country's history.
By the treaty of Ryswick in 1697 a quasi peace was established between England and France, but it lasted only a few years, and its benefits were scarcely felt in these colonies of the two nations. On the accession of Queen Anne, in 1702, war again broke out; and in the western part of Maine, and in New
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Hampshire, the Indians failed not to murder any straggling Englishmen they might meet with, or to fall upon and destroy any unprotected English settlement.
The last fort at Pemaquid having been erected at the expense of the colony, it might be expected that it would be rebuilt in the same manner ; but no movement being made for this pur- pose, the home government soou began to see the need of some action. January 10th, 1700, in obedience to an order from the king, the lords of trade made a report upon the condition of the several forts in his Majesty's Plantations, in which is the following recommendation for Pemaquid.
" About five leagues to the Westward of St. Georges lyes Pemaguid a Spacious River of great Consequence as covering three other Rivers, Dama- riscot, Sheepscot, and Kennebec, and therefor deserve to be well Guarded. At the Entrance of this River within two Leagues of the main Sea, formerly stood & Fort which at the approach of two men of war with 100 French & 500 Indians was Shamefully Surrendered in August, 1696, and de- molished.
For the Security of this Fort! & Harbour and all that Country, and to encourage people to settle there as formerly, a good Fort ought to be built in the same place, or thereabout, and for its better defense in Case of an attack from the Sea a Battery may be raised on the next point of Land & a redoubt or Round Tower on John's Island.2
Towards the mouth of the Kennebec River (seven Leagues from Pema- quid) are many little Islands. On that of Damaras Cove there was before the war a Pallisadoed Fort for the defense of ye fishermen, and another on Cape Nawagen where they used to cure their Fish. But to Guard the Entrance of the River a Redoubt ought to be raised on the Island Saga- dahock, and a little Fort at New Town in Rowseck ( Arrowsic) Island two Leagues up the River where there was formerly a small square one Pallisa- doed."3
It was wise in the ministers to begin operations in this general way, but the object chiefly aimed at was the erection of the two forts, the one at Pemaquid, and the other at Piscataqua. Joseph Dudley, appointed governor of Massachusetts Bay, arrived in Boston early in the summer of 1702, and immediately entered
1 " Port" in the New York Col. Documents.
" This name, applied also to the bay as well as this island, is derived very pro- bably from the name " St. John's Tower," given to the place in Smith's map .- Me. Hist. Col. [3] Vol. II.
3 Muss. Arch., 70 ; 486-493, Doc. Col. HIist., N. Y., IV, 831.
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
upon the duties of his ofice. At the first session of the gene- ral court,1 in obedience to his instructions from the ministry, he urged with much earnestness the rebuilding of the fort at Pema- quid, as a means of retaining possession of the eastern country, the loss of which was seriously threatened. But the repre- sentatives of the people could not be persuaded, and nothing was donc.
The next spring Dudley invited a conference with the Indian chief's at Casco, and took occasion, with several of his council, to make a visit to the ruins of Pemaquid. Several years before this Governor Bellomont had sent Col. Romar [Romer,] a dis- tinguished engineer, to the place ; and elaborate maps of the locality, and accurate drawings of the ruins, were prepared by him for the government.2
At the meeting of the general court, the committee of the council, who had accompanied the governor to Pemaquid, pre- sented a report in which they say: " we are humbly of Opinion, that the Stones being already in place, the ground already trenched, and the foundation probably still good, and lime to be had near and easy, the General Assembly may, in obedience to Her Matys pleasure and direction therein," make the necessary appropriations " for the raising of the walls," etc.
This actually passed the council, but was rejected by the house, upon whom all argument was utterly lost. To the ur- gency and chidings of the governor, they, by their committee replied: " For the Building a Fort at Pemaquid, we humbly con- ceive Her Majesty has received Misrepresentations concerning that Affair ; At least our Apprehensions of it do not Concur with what hath been represented to Her Majesty ; But was there no other Impediment than the present War, we are of opinion that would be Argument enough for the not Erecting a Fort at Pema- quid. "3
I At this time, it will be remembered, the General Court, consisted of a house of representatives, chosen by the people, and a council, chosen by the house of representatives, but subject to be vetoed by the governor.
" Very probably these might now be found in the British Archives by sufficient research.
" A collection of the proceedings of the Great and General Court or Assembly of Her Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay, etc., printed by order of the house of Representatives, 1999, pages 10, 12, 13, 26. This very rare volume is a collection of all the doings of the house on those two subjects of dispute, the granting a fixed salary to the governor and the rebuilding of the Pemagnid fort. Soc also Hutch. Ifistory, 11, 138, Where was the lime obtained that was needed for the work ?
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
Thus the matter rested until the close of Dudley's administra- tion, but was resumed again in 1706, by his successor, Governor Shute. But all produced no effect, neither the arguments of the governor, nor the repeated commands from the throne could per- suade the representatives of the people to vote away the public money, contrary to their convictions of duty. "The low Cir- cumstances of the Province," they say, "and the heavy Debts upon it are such that His Majesty's subjects here are not able to come into so great a charge, as the Rebuilding the Fort at Pema- quid would be ; and that in case of a Rupture a Fortification there would be no security to the Lives and Estates of His Majesty's Subjects here, as our past Experience, has abundantly convinced us, by reason that Pemaquid is at so great a distance from our English Settlements." At the same time they took occasion to say they would always be ready, as good and loyal subjects, to supply whatever means might be necessary for the proper . defense and preservation of the government.
What secret conference may have been held by the members of the cabinet in London, or what subdued curses they may, among themselves, have flung at Massachusetts, in this con- juncture of affairs, we know not, but certain it is, it was not deemed expedient to press the matter further; and the British government silently retired discomfited from the field. We shall soon see the new aspect the matter subsequently took.
In the year 1710 the position of affairs in this region was considerably changed by the capture of Port Royal,1 in Nova Scotia, by the combined English and New England forces under Col. Nicholson.
This easy and inexpensive conquest prepared the way for further operations under Nicholson, the next year (1711), for the reduction of Canada, and the subjection of the whole north country to the English crown ; but it resulted disastrously, and requires mention here only because of its effects on the minds of the Indians, who were always inclined to unite their interests with the party, which for the time seemed most likely to win.
By the capture of Port Royal, the English acquired such a foothold in that region, that the French were obliged to retire; and the retrocession of Acadia to England, by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, followed almost as a matter of course. The in-
! The name was afterwards changed to Annapolis Royal (in honor of Queen Anne) which it has since retained.
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ITISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
fluence of the French being thus withdrawn from the Indians, they soon began to sue for peace ; and at their request a con- ference was held at Portsmouth, in the month of July. Here, after making humble confession of their misdoings towards the English, they east themselves upon the mercy of the British government, and renewed their allegiance, promising, in the most solemn manner, ever afterwards to conduct themselves as good and loyal subjects of the queen. When news of the new treaty was received by the eastern Indians, they rejoiced exceedingly, agreeing on their part to fulfill faithfully all its stipulations.
Thus ended this third Indian war, which has sometimes been called Queen Anne's war. Its disastrous effects in the loss of life and property, were severely felt in all the settlements west of the Kennebec; but those in this region having been pre- viously depopulated and therefore taking no part in the strife, the details do not require to be given here. During the contest of ten years, it is believed that Maine lost from a fourth to a third of all her inhabitants.2 . The Indians also suffered great loss, and the whole number of their fighting men in the tribes east of the Kennebec did not probably now exceed 300.
Peace being again restored, nominally at least, and under circumstances that seemed favorable to its continuance, some few of the former settlers began to return to their old places on Arrowsie island, and other points near the mouth of the Ken- nebee; but as there still remained not a little fear of further Indian outrages, little progress could be made towards recovering the former prosperity. The government desired to adopt a policy altogether conciliatory towards the Indians, notwithstand- ing their previous outrages, and even proposed to provide religious instruction for them ; but it availed nothing. They had no desire for Bibles, and were altogether satisfied with the teachings of the Romish church, with which they had long been connected.3 This occurred at a conference held on Arrowsic island in 1717, between Governor Shute attended by some of his council, and several Indian chiefs of neighboring tribes.
" The war called the second Indian war was that beginning under Andros's ad- ministration, and terminating with the capture of Fort William Henry, in 1696. : Williamson, Ir, 68, 69.
3 There were, however, in these parts. a few praying Indians, as those convert- ed to the Protestant faith were called, several of whom, October 3, 1717, sent a petition " to the Great General Court at Boston," " that ye Great Governor and
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
The next important movement in these parts was the rebuild- ing of the fort on George's river, in 1719, by the claimants of the lands there. This fort was of wood, and stood near the spot where the mansion of Gen. Henry Knox was erected near the close of the last century. Fort Richmond, in the present town of Richmond, on the Kennebec, was also built about the same time.
The so called proprieters of land in several other places in this vicinity also made some movements to regain possession of their claims.
In 1719 or 1720, Rev. Christopher Tappan of Newbury, who claimed to own a large tract of land on both sides of the Dama- riscotta river, sent down Michael Thomas, as a tenant, with two hired men, Samuel Gatchell and Benjamin Cheney, who spent a summer in cultivating three or four acres near the lower or salt water falls. They were not molested in any way ; and the object being simply to make a show of actual possession, in due time evidence of these facts was put on record, in the shape of depositions from the individuals named.1
The facts in regard to Wm. Hilton and family, who from the first or second year of the last century to the year 1718 resided at Broad Cove, will be recollected in this connection. The fact of their residence here seems to be well established, though it has been entirely overlooked by preceding writers. How they managed to maintain amicable relations with so treacherous neighbors as the native savages, at such a time, and for so long a period is a mystery.
The peace that followed after the treaty of 1717, was con- stantly violated by straggling Indians, and occasionally, it must be confessed, by the English; but several years elapsed before open hostilities again broke out between the parties.
The Indians had good reason for alarm, as they witnessed the continued expansion of the English settlements, and correspond- ing diminution of their own hunting grounds; and if some of them were at times driven almost to frenzy as they saw and
- Councill would order a small Praying house to be built near the ffort the English and vs to meet in on Sabbath days."
Fort George at Brunswick, Oct. ve 3, 1717, JOHN GYLES, Interpreter, 1 Lincoln Report, 1811, pp. 95, 96. .
SABATES (mark)
WARENOWBE ( " )
HENNEQUE 1
(Mass. Arch., 31, p. 94.)
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HISTORY OF BRISTOL AND BREMEN.
felt their own utter helplessness in the matter, it is not to be wondered at. Such seems to have been the feeling which actuated many of the Kennebec Indians in the movement now to be narrated. That an educated and intelligent Frenchinan, as Father Rasle was, should be found urging them on in a movement by which there was nothing to be gained by them and everything to be lost, is more a matter of surprise.
At length it was resolved by the Kennebec Indians, to make a formal demand upon the English. In August, 1721, some 200 in number, in 90 canoes, made their appearance in the mouth of the Kennebec, attended by Father Rasle, 1 a Roman Catholic priest, and several other Frenchmen, and bearing a French flag. Landing on one of the islands, a large party of them prosented themselves before Capt. Penhallow, who commanded the garrison on Arrowsie island, boldly declaring that " if the settlers did not remove in three weeks, the Indians would come and kill them all, destroy their cattle and burn their houses," giving as their reason " that the Englishmen had taken away the lands which the Great God had given their fathers and themselves." 2
This, of course, occasioned much alarm in all the settlements ; the governor convened a special session of the general court in Boston, and measures were taken to seize and punish all of- fenders against the laws. An expedition was sent against the Norridgewock Indians with the particular object to seize Father Rasle, and take him to Boston " either dead or alive ; " but the wily missionary, having heard of their approach, took himself out of their way. Some damage was done to the Indian vil- lage, Rasle's house was plundered, and his papers seized, which were found to implicate him, as having been engaged in excit- ing the Indians, to their recent outrages upon the citizens.
1 Rasle (Rale, Rales, Ralle) was long a missionary among the Norridgewocks, by whom he was highly esteemed. He had great influence with them, and, as the English believed, was the evil counsellor by whom they had been urged on to commit many of their recent outrages. His history is too well known to need repetition here. After a residence in Norridgewock as a missionary to the Indians for more than thirty years, he was slain in the memorable attack upon that village by the New England forces under Moulton, only three years after this transaction. " N. H. Hist. Coll., 1, 90 ; Will. Iist. Me. II, 100 ; Garneau's Hist. of Canada, translated by Bell, 1, 431. From the last author we learn that before sending this expedition to make so formal a demand upon the English, accompanied by sach an awful threat, the matter was fully discussed and the course agreed upon between the Indians and the French priests among them.
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