USA > Maine > Knox County > Warren > Annals of the town of Warren; with the Early History of St. George's, Broad Bay and the Neighboring Settlements on the Waldo patent > Part 20
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returned to his aid; after which, they arrived safe at the house of their old friend and acquaintance, Boice Cooper .*
Cooper, zealous and officious, accompanied them to the ferry, and, thoughtless of the danger if any lurking parties of the enemy had been in wait to intercept them, hailed Capt. McIntyre across the river, and announced the General's return in a voice that might be heard for miles. After recruiting, some days, at Capt. McIntyre's, and having no longer any force at his disposal here, the General proceeded to Falmouth by land, accompanied by a guard of soldiers drafted from the militia. One of these, John Montgomery, then seventeen years old, is still living, and remembers that on taking leave of Mrs. Wadsworth she presented him a $50 bill, with which he was able to purchase one glass of rum and one felt hat.t
The mutual depredations committed in Maine and Nova Scotia, and the acts of retaliation and revenge which they gave rise to, had now arrived at their greatest height. It was some relief to this border warfare, that the Indians, influenced by the French, their old friends, now in close alliance with us, remained friendly and faithful to our interests. Still great distress prevailed; and the public burdens were heavy. Besides the pecuniary taxes upon every town and plantation in the State, there continued to be repeated calls upon each one of them for recruits, and for particular articles, such as blankets, shirts, pairs of stockings and shoes, and pounds of beef ; and in every county there were constantly muster-masters, and collectors of the different articles. In a resolve of the preceding December, Warren's quota of men for the Conti- nental Army was three, and that of the whole county, 126. Accordingly, at the annual meeting in March, the town voted " that there be £800 lawful money, paper currency, raised for the purpose of hiring soldiers." By resolves passed June 22d, Warren was to raise 1,409lbs. of beef, and to procure six shirts, six pair of stockings, and six pair of shoes.}
* Col. B. Burton. J. Montgomery. Dwight's Travels. Rev. J. L. Sibley, &c.
+ Mr. Montgomery's last application for a pension, to which he is thought to be justly entitled, was rejected in 1847, on the ground that by the pay-rolls, he seems to have received but £4 wages, a sum suffi- cient to cover but two months' service. Perhaps, from the capture of the General, the dispersion of the few men retained, and the little value of the paper money, the latter portion of his services was never presented for allowance, and the testimony of persons not in the service was deemed insufficient proof at the War Office.
į Mass. Records.
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The depreciation of paper money was now so great, and inflicted such injustice upon the soldiers, who were obliged to receive their wages in it, or not at all, that a new emission was this year issued, and made a legal tender. Being also receivable for taxes, this, for a time, maintained its credit near- ly at par. It might be in reference to this new emission, that the town voted the assessors 4s. a day for their services this year.
The fluctuating state of the currency seems to have pro- duced some difficulty in the collection of taxes, as it was not till two others had declined serving, that Boice Cooper con- sented to serve as constable with a commission of one shilling on the pound, just twice that of the preceding year. In the two following years, a commission of 17d. was given.
The settlers in Dr. Taylor's township, or Stirlington, seem, perhaps in consequence of their having been included with Warren in the State tax, to have been, in 1779, assessed there in all the other taxes of the town. This gave rise to a controversy, particularly with Philip Robbins, who resisted the payment till his property was seized and sold at auction. In November, 1780, the town appointed a committee to en- deavor to settle with him respecting his taxes, and empowered them to sign arbitration bonds. They, probably, effected noth- ing, as in December of that year, the Stirlington settlers, 11 in number, petitioned the Legislature for redress, complaining of the disadvantages they labored under in their remote situa- tion, and alleging that the town of Warren had refused to lay them out a road between the two settlements. Warren was not represented in the General Court that year, and seems to have made no remonstrance. On the 11th May, 1781, the General Court passed a resolve that said Warren " be directed to pay to the inhabitants of Sterlington, such taxes as they have taxed and received of said town ; and the said town of Warren is further directed not to tax the inhabitants of Sterlington until the further order of the General Court, any law to the contrary notwithstanding." In confor- mity with this resolve, the town, June 26, 1781, chose a com- mittee to settle with said plantation, with power to give an order on the treasurer to pay Mr. Robbins his tax .*
A schooner, of which Mr. Copeland owned one-half, was, sometime during this season, taken by a British vessel, and condemned.t
On the 13th of December, a national Thanksgiving was
* Rev. Resolves, 1781, vol. 28, p. 64. t Copeland's MS.
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observed for the signal victory obtained at Yorktown by the combined forces of France and America, and the surrender of the entire British army under Lord Cornwallis. This may justly be regarded as the closing act of the great drama of the Revolution ; although hostilities continued for more than a year after.
No mention is made in the records, this year, of any min- ister's salary, nor of any action upon ecclesiastical matters whatever. But it would seem from the votes of the subse- quent year, that the paper, which, the preceding year, the town voted to be satisfactory for the present, did not prove to be so long. This paper, purporting to be a confirmation of the story Mr. Urquhart had told of his wife's death, turned out to be, at least in the opinion of his parishioners, not genu- ine ; and was thought to be a forgery.
1782. On the 15th Aug. 1782, the town voted that ££15 of the salary voted Mr. Urquhart, lie in the treasury till further orders. It also chose a committee to confer with him; and appointed M. Copeland, with a compensation of $20, " to go to the Presbytery," we presume with charges against him.
Of this Presbytery, called, from its most usual place of meeting, the Salem Presbytery, Mr. Urquhart was an active member ; and it may be owing to his address and manage- ment, that the particular charges against him, if any were made, do not appear on its record. If Mr. Copeland attend- ed, we are ignorant of the complaint made, and the action had upon it. Perhaps a citation was issued, and, not improb- ably, private advice given to both parties to compromise their difficulties, and agree upon the terms of separation. In the mean time, the public odium against the minister had increas- ed; the people refused to attend meeting ; and his influence here was irretrievably lost. His audience dwindled away till, at last, it consisted only of his own family, his wife's mother, D. Kirkpatrick, a hired boy, and his unchanging adherent, Mrs. James. In this state of things, a separation appeared equally desirable to both parties ; and the only difficulty was to agree upon the terms. Mr. Urquhart claimed, and, as it is said, had sued for $500; and the town offered to give him £25. In March, 1783, T. Starrett, M. Copeland, Wm. Ler- mond, Wm. Watson, and R. Hall, were appointed a committee to try to settle all matters of dispute with Mr. U., with power to choose arbitrators and sign bonds in behalf of the town. The arbitrators agreed upon, were Thomas Rice, Samuel Nichols, and McCobb, Esquires, who met soon after
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at Waldoboro', and, after a full hearing, in which M. Cope- land, Esq. appeared for the town, decided, July 4th, that the town should pay Mr. Urquhart £25. The town voted, July 24th, to pay this sum, and to raise £30 for that purpose and the payment of the referees.
Whether the complaint of the town remained before the Presbytery, or Mr. Urquhart had applied for his dismission, is not known ; but, in August, he issued a somewhat angry citation to the town to appear before the Presbytery at Salem on the second Tuesday of Sept. following, to answer to the charges which he meant there to substantiate, as follows : " Ist, Your suing me to Court and atteaching my interest contrary to the laws of justice or humanity. 2d, Your rob- bing me of my interest by voting away my hay, which re- duced me to the greatest hardships. 3d, Your breach of Covenant, injustice, oppression and barbarity, of which you have been guilty towards me. 4th, Your sending to the Presbytery with charges against me in a clandestine way and manner, without giving me a copy of the same. 5th, The base treatment which I have received from the people in every respect, by endeavoring to murder my character at all times, upon suspicion, contrary to the directions of Christ." What the suing and attaching property refers to, the author has not been able to ascertain ; but the voting away his hay, seems to refer to a vote passed in March of the same year, allowing S. Peabody, for the sum of £2 14s. to cut the meeting-house marsh, which heretofore had probably been a perquisite of the minister.
The town, having now settled, as the people supposed, all matters of dispute with the minister, and ordered him to desist from preaching, thinking he could have no farther claim, seems to have taken no notice of this citation, and was not represented at the session of the Presbytery. This neg- lect to substantiate charges, or to reply to those of Mr. Urqu- hart, was probably construed into an abandonment of the one or an admission of the other. Mr. Urquhart was regularly dismissed from his charge, and the town laid under censure for its conduct towards him. This was considered by many as rash and injurious. The Rev. Mr. McLean of Bristol, who, as the near associate and fellow-countryman of Mr. Urquhart, was disposed to put the most charitable construction upon his conduct, and had incurred some odium on that account, seems to have taken alarm at this decision; and wrote to the moderator of the Presbytery on the one hand, and to the elders of the church and people in Warren
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on the other, recommending a re-examination of the whole matter, and advising the town to vindicate its conduct towards Mr. Urquhart, and endeavor that any unchristian carriage of his might be duly exposed. The Rev. Mr. Whitaker of Salem, moderator of the Presbytery, also wrote to the town, Jan. 26, 1784, inviting them, on account of some supposed errors in the late decision, to attend the rehearing at the next session with all their complaints and witnesses.
In the mean time, a letter was received from Mr. Urquhart's first wife, dated at Wapping, London, August, 1783, com- plaining much of his conduct in not writing to her. This letter, coming unsealed, was read and shown to many before it reached him, confirming former suspicions, and removing the doubts of the most skeptical. On the 10th of May, 1784, the town chose a committee to write to the Presbytery a letter with charges against Mr. U. and, likewise, to write to the Rev. Alexander McLean. What was the purport of these letters, or what farther action was had, does not appear. Mr. U. still continued an active member of this Presbytery, which henceforward held all its meetings in Maine; and he, this year, took a conspicuous part in two ordinations. In 1785, he preached for a season at Topsham, and on the 7th of Septem- ber was installed at Union River, now Ellsworth, where he continued five years. But new difficulties awaited him. The return of peace having opened the way, his deserted wife had crossed the water to Philadelphia, and, after support- ing herself and daughter in extreme indigence there, for a time, by spinning cotton, was charitably provided for by Dr. Witherspoon, President of the college at Princeton, N. J. A correspondence was opened, of which the following letters form a part.
" Mrs. Jane Urquhart.
" Smithfield, Aug. 31, 1785. My Dear, I received a let- ter from you Jan. 1784, to which I returned two answers directed to Wapping, No. 14, as you desired, and in them gave you a particular account of my misfortune and the trouble and sorrow I have underwent on your account. And that was the only one which I received from you since I left Scotland, as the Searcher of all hearts knows. None but God knows the sea of trouble I have gone through these few years, all owing to your means, inasmuch as I never heard from you notwithstanding the many letters I sent you & the press- ing invitations to come over to this country. He to whom I must give an account at the great day, is witness that I never
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meant to deceive you, and whatever you or others may think respecting my conduct, I have the testimony of a good con- science, which is the best support - If I had not heard of your death I never could have been married to another. But the Lord saw fit to contend both with you and me and that it may be for the everlasting good of our immortal souls by leading us to sincere and unfeigned repentance. The first accounts that ever I had of you was from one Capt. Fraser who saw you at Gravesend, upon your return from England after receiving your legacy, which was more dreadful to me than death considering my unhappy situation. The 29th of this month was the first certain account I have had of your arrival in America. Matters have been conducted strangely, for instead of writing to me, letters have been sent to others and I never acquainted with it till now. After Fraser's ac- count, I was turned out of employment and suffered the greatest hardships in life and never expect to be settled again. If you knew my situation and condition you could not but be grieved for me as well as for yourself. I have a poor weakly woman with four small children to provide for, which is more than I can do, and sure I am you could not desire me to leave them to the mercies of the wide world. If it was in my power to help you, how gladly would I do it. Pray believe, for I do not dissemble, for I can say with the Apostle, before God I lie not. You have your £200 Sterling of a legacy that I will never lay any claim to - if you want any power from me it is at your service. As for the child I would be glad to do the best by it I could if I knew how to get it. But Providence frowns upon me, O that God would show me why he is contending with me and lead me to the fountain of the Redeemer's blood, which cleanseth from all sin. If it were the will of the Most High I would prefer death to life ; but not my will but his be done. Before this late account sent by Dr. Witherspoon, I had a little employ- ment ; but now I am obliged to go I know not where - may the Lord direct my way. It will be my constant prayer to Almighty God that he may take care of you and the dear child, and if your trouble will lead you to God it will be happy for you. O take care that it may not drive you to bad courses or make you forget the God who made you and gave his son to be a ransom for your soul. I hope you'll try to do the best you can ; I think it would be a genteel way of living to teach young children, which you are capable of doing. And whenever it is in my power to help you I shall be ready to do it. I should be glad to give you directions to write, but as
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I am about to leave this country I cannot. When I shall be fixed I will write you again and if ever I have it in my power I will contrive to send you relief, so I conclude, wishing you all the blessings of the upper and nether springs and re- commending you to the care of a kind Providence who is able to take care of you.
" Yours, affectionately till death, John Urquhart.
" N. B. I have been obliged to travel 30 miles to see this letter put into the post-office least it should fail. J. U."
This letter was inclosed in one to Dr. Witherspoon, of the same date, and of much the same tenor, which was mailed at Falmouth on the 5th Sept. and reached him on the 15th. Whether there was then any place hereabouts, called Smith- field, or whether this was assumed for the purpose of misleading, we are unable to say. Both letters were sent with the following from Dr. Witherspoon, to Rev. Isaac Story of Marblehead. It is given with the blank spaces just as they occur in the original, together with a few others enclosed in brackets, which seem to have been filled up, as all were probably intended to be, at a time when it could be done with due attention to accuracy of language : -
" Dr. Sir : - On Monday the 20th, I received your favour of the 4th of this month. I also received the 29th of Jan. last, yours of the 6th of that month inclosing two from Mr. McLean with information respecting Mr. Urqueheart. I per- ceive I was much to blame for not immediately answering that letter, but [having received] what I now send you from Mr. Urqueheart and not knowing where he was, I [unfortunate- Jy] delayed writing and expected to hear by some other means where he You all please to know therefore, that I was all along of opinion with you and other friends, that the interest of religion required his being fully convicted and would have sent his wife on, but having been at a considerable expense on her passage and support, and not knowing that she could have any certainty of provision, I embraced an opportunity a very good place for her, as housekeeper to a gentleman in St. Johns in New Brunswick, whose lady is from New York, they paid her passage there and I have had several letters from her since. I thought also that perhaps he would take his course that way, and she might meet with him.
However, in consequence of your letter just received, I write herewith this a coppy of his letter to his wife, to whom I forwarded the original, and the original letter in his own hand which he wrote to me, and of which I have kept a coppy
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that you may communicate both where you think proper and as it appears to me very generous and in the people to let her have [some assistance] I will write to her to repair wherever you direct, in your next to me
as to the legacy, which he mentions, I always understood that she went to London in expectation of a legacy or some money due to her but did not get it, and having asked her daughter just now if she could remember any thing about it she said who should have paid it
was gone to Jamaica, so she got nothing and the girl was but young when she left London ; this appears very proba- ble for it is certain she was in extreme poverty when she came to me, being subsisted by spinning some cotton in very mean lodging, together with what Dr. Mayo begged for her before I went there, and myself after. She had indeed some beding and cloths & I got some clothes for the child when she bound to me till she should be of age.
" Though there is much religion I fear there is also much disingenuity in his letters by observing which you will be able to judge of his declarations to those who have spoken to him.
" A letter to Mrs. Urqueheart, if you forward any, from your parts, may be directed to the care of Ward Chipman, Esq., St. Johns, N. Brunswick.
" I shall be glad to hear from you immediately on receiving this, as I shall not write to Mrs. Urqueheart till then.
" I am, dear Sir, your most obed't humble servant, " Rev. Mr. Story." " John Witherspoon."
This letter was not dated, but was, with the other two, sent to the people of Warren, December 22, 1786, by Mr. Story, who had interested himself in behalf of Mrs. U. and wished, if any thing was due from the town, to secure it for her benefit. But as Mr. Urquhart was now settled at Union river, and, it is presumed, had received all that was due him from Warren, nothing resulted from this correspondence. After waiting
some time in suspense, and seeing no prospect of redress, the impatient spirit of his wife could brook no longer delay. Pride and anger spurred her on to seek, in person, that satis- faction which her friends had failed to obtain. Passing from St. Johns to Marblehead, after consulting with Mr. Story, she took passage with Capt. Killeran, who brought her to this river. Here she was kindly received by the inhabitants, who sympathized with her unfortunate situation, though they found little to admire in the temper with which she bore it. She could, indeed, when off from the subject of her grief,
17*
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make herself agreeable, even to young people and children ; but no sooner did the fatal theme recur, than the rising tide of passion would carry her away to the very borders of insanity. At her request, M. Copeland, J. Watts, J. Mckellar, and R. Young, took a boat, went down with her to Union river, and introduced her to her husband. He was thunderstruck,
abashed, confounded. Her salutation was that of anger, taunting, rage, fury. "Dinna ye cry, Johnny, it's yer ain loving wife ye've been mourning for sae lang ;" and pass- ing from irony to rage, she bestowed upon the new wife, every opprobrious and scornful epithet ; and, assuming her authority in the house and her place at table, ordered her about like a menial servant. To the excuse that they sup- posed her dead, she answered " you hoped I was, at the very time you were pasting my letters into your bairn's bonnets." But no language can do justice to this interview. The sec- ond wife, quailing before the imperious temper of her rival, sought the protection of her townsmen, who, pitying her dis- tress, brought her back to her father's.
How the loving couple passed the second honey-moon, is more easily imagined than described. They did not remain together long. Receiving no proffer of that assistance which his letters had promised, whenever it should be in his power, she again threw herself upon the hospitality of her friends ; and the second wife, drawn by maternal affection, returned to the care of her children. After spending more than a year with the people of this river, and holding consultations with friends, the discarded wife resolved to resort to the law for that redress which nothing else was likely to obtain. Ac- cordingly, she engaged Reuben Tolman; who, with John Ma- thews, then his apprentice, embarked with her in a boat, and, taking R. Young for a pilot, sailed to Castine. There Tol- man was appointed deputy sheriff for Hancock County, and taking out a legal process of some kind, we are not informed what, proceeded on to the place of Mr. U's residence. Ar- riving in the evening, they found him at home, his wife and children in bed. Tolman made known his business, and Mrs. U. inquired for brandy to treat her men with. Informed that there was none in the house, she declared she knew better ; and ransacking the closets and finding a case bottle partly filled with vinegar, she poured out a tumbler full, and, hav- ing tasted it, threw it violently over the bed, mother, and child. Raving like a mad woman, she proceeded to the chest of drawers, threw out the caps and other linen upon the floor, and trampled them under foot, pouring out a torrent of abuse
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and invective, and bestowing the most scornful epithets that language can furnish. The unfortunate clergyman, being told he must repair to a magistrate living at some distance, requested leave to change his clothes, and, going into another room, made his escape at a back window. When his flight became known, nothing could exceed the fury to which the disappointed wife was wrought up; her frame shook, her eyes, in the language of an eye-witness, became scarlet, and her whole appearance truly terrific. However, a guide was obtained, and the fugitive arrested at a haymaker's camp in a meadow at a considerable distance up the river. Being carried before the magistrate, he reluctantly entered into an arrangement, by which, if our information is correct, he relinquished his farm to his first wife, gave an order on Capt. McIntyre to allow Tolman his trouble and expenses out of what was due from him, for Mr. U's farm, which he had purchased in Warren; and with his second wife and children removed to New Brunswick, and finally ended his days at Mirimichi. Prior to his leaving Union River, charges were preferred against him by the people of that place, and he in turn complained of the people. In 1790, the Pres- bytery decided that he was not guilty of the charges prefer- red against him, and left it optional with him to take his dismission whenever he should wish. This was one of the last acts of the Presbytery. Mr. McLean's connexion with it had, some time before, been dissolved at his own request ; and in 1791, the number of its members was so reduced by the removal of Messrs. Urquhart and Whitaker, that it became informally dissolved, and ended this form of church govern- ment in Maine .*
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