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 7
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find no memorials of them here. It is observable that while many, who from relationship or intimacy wished to be near neighbors, located themselves on contiguous lots, as the Alexanders,* Kilpatricks,t McLeans,* Scots,* and afterwards the Lermonds; others, for the same reason, settled opposite each other on different sides of the river, as David and Abra- ham Creighton,* Wm. and John Walker,* as also Robert Spear and Phinley Kelloch, who settled opposite their fathers- in-law, John McLean and John Young. The last of these placed his house so near the edge of the river that one side of his cellar afterwards caved off and slid down the bank.
Some of these settlers brought some cattle, which found ample subsistence in the woods and marshes. They pro- ceeded to erect their several houses of logs near the banks of the river, covering the roofs with boards supplied by Wal- do's mill and probably brought round in rafts from Mill River. Most of them had a cellar, unwalled, large enough to contain a small store of potatoes, and entered through a trap-door near the centre of the principal, or, rather, the only room. In one corner of this room a large fireplace was constructed by erecting the back and one jamb of stone cemented with clay or lime, having a post of wood at the opposite angle sup- porting a mantel-tree and cross timber of the same material. All above this was constructed of cat-and-clay, that is, clefts of wood laid up cob-house fashion, with interstices filled and sides plastered with clay mortar. Upon a spacious hearth of flat stones an ample store of wood that grew at the door was heaped ; and the open jamb allowed a free passage into the room of the light and heat from the blazing pile. To assist in bringing the building materials together, the settlers sent twenty miles to Damariscotta for a yoke of oxen. Something was done towards clearing the land ; hay was secured for winter ; and in the autumn twenty-five or thirty families re- inoved to their new homes .¿
As their chief dependence, at first, was on provisions pur- chased of Waldo, they betook themselves to getting out cord- wood and staves, which, as the trees grew near the river, were transported to convenient landings on hand-sleds. This mode of transportation continued for several years, till, in progress of improvement, horses were introduced and cars substituted
* These, it is believed, bore the relation of father and son.
t These were brothers, and, with Andrew Kilpatrick probably another brother, lived bachelors and left no posterity.
# A. Kelloch, 1st., M. Copeland, Esq., Rev. J. Huse.
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for hand-sleds. The car was formed of two shafts framed together, one end resting on the ground, the other attached to the horse in the manner of thills. One foot of green wood, or 100 staves, made the usual load on this vehicle. Hunting and fishing were occasionally resorted to, and, at particular times, furnished a copious supply of food. Moose, deer, bears, and beavers abounded in the woods ; and frost- fish, smelts, alewives, shad, and salmon succeeded each other in the river ; while the ocean opened its stores to such as had the means of taking them. Clams and oysters were also very abundant. The settlers, being unacquainted with the management of new lands, did but little in the line of hus- bandry, except raising a few patches of potatoes, which they cultivated, after the Irish fashion, in beds with trenches be- tween, the marks of which are still to be seen in many places near the ancient cellars. These they usually manured with rock-wced. When supplies of provisions failed to arrive from Boston, they subsisted on fish, clams and ground-nuts, in a manner the present generation can form but a faint idea of. Though collected from different places, and composed of various characters, yet, being from the same country, a broth- erly feeling prevailed, and hospitality and kindness were common to all. A moose or a bear slain by one, was divided among the whole colony ; and when one had a house to build, or other work of magnitude to perform, all, or as many as were needed, turned out to assist him. Although they had many difficulties to encounter, yet their Christian fortitude and native buoyancy of spirits enabled them to do so with cheerfulness. Some had been used to poverty at home, and had little reason to complain ; others were men of property and were consoled in their present hardships by the prospect of future advantage. Waldo had at this time two lime-kilns in operation ; the upper one, mentioned in the contract, stood at the shore of the river near the present State Prison ; the other lower down. Among the earliest children of these set- tlers were John Spear, father of a numerous family, and Thomas Starrett, afterwards a distinguished citizen, both born on the western side of the river, about 1738.
1739. Gov. Belcher continued assiduous in his attention to the eastern country, frequently visited all parts of the coast, held many conferences with the Indians, and tried every means to induce them to remain friendly. But on his return he communicated to the Legislature his fears that a rupture would again take place, and recommended various precautions and measures of defence against such a contin-
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gency. A small garrison was placed in Fort Frederick, whilst the strictest care was enjoined upon the agents at the truck-houses, who were required to post up the invoice prices of their goods ; to render a fair account upon oath of all the sales made, and furs purchased ; and, if possible, to preserve a good understanding, at least with the Tarratines.
Wm. Pepperell of Kittery was at this time Colonel of the Yorkshire regiment ; by whose exertions a better military spirit was diffused among the officers and soldiers, the ranks filled, and new companies established. The next winter, his regiment was divided, and the command of the eastern or new one given to Samuel Waldo, who had now removed to Falmouth, and whose appointment met with entire accept- ance .*
In pursuance of these measures of defence, and at the re- commendation of Waldo, the inhabitants of St. George's about this time, assembled and made choice of Henry Alex- ander as a candidate for the office of captain.t This was an honor not to be passed over without acknowledgment ; and the Captain elect invited the people to a kind of enter- tainment, at his house, on a subsequent day. Tradition re- lates that on this occasion he procured at the fort one gallon of rum and a pound of tea. Directing his wife to prepare the latter for the women, he served out the former to the men who were enjoying their rude mirth out of doors. On com- ing in to see how matters went on within, he found his wife had served up the tea leaves, well buttered, as a species of food. On apprising her of her mistake and inquiring for the broth, his wife said, " THAT is good for nothing, for I poured it out, and the very pigs would not drink it." When we con- sider that tea had been used even in England but seventy years before this, we may well believe the truth of this an- ecdote.
1740. Letters of marque and reprisal having been au- thorized against Spain, and danger from Spanish privateers and the French influence with the Indians being apprehended, £3,000 were, on the 23d of June, 1740, appropriated for putting the various eastern fortresses in a posture of defence. A vessel was likewise built for the protection of the coasting
* 2 Will. His. p. 201.
t Militia officers under the royal charter were appointed by the Governor ; this choice therefore amounted only to a recommendation. Charter of Wm. & Mary.
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and truck trade ; and a fortress was erected or enlarged at Falmouth.
Notwithstanding the apprehensions of war, Waldo contin- ued the prosecution of his settlement at St. George's with vigor, and in 1740 erected a grist-mill at Oyster River, a little above the present bridge ; a strong proof that the set- tlers had made some progress in agricultural operations and were beginning to supply themselves with bread. In the same year he built, on the lot given for the support of the ministry near the western margin of the river, a meeting- house ; the outside of which was well finished in all respects but the hanging of the doors. It was 40 feet long and 30 wide, without perch or belfry, with one door on the front or south side, and one on the west end towards the burying ground. The timber was cut on the same lot, and being of clear pine, the posts and beams were planed and beaded to save the trouble of casing. The walls were formed of plank spiked on without studs, and well clapboarded. The window frames and door casings, only, were painted. The windows were glazed with small 3 by 4 inch panes, set in lead-sashes, but not in the diamond-form which prevailed in the carlier houses of New England. On the inside nothing was done but the completion of a pulpit; and temporary scats of rough boards were provided for the worshippers. Meetings were more or less frequently held in this house until after the dismissal of Mr. Urquhart in 1783. Another frame of a meeting-house was prepared at the same time and place, intended for the lower town, the settlement of which Mr. Waldo was then projecting or enlarging ;* but it was never moved from the spot.
It was at, or about, this time that letters were brought by the Indians from some shipwrecked persons on Mt. Desert, who were suffering every extremity and dying with hunger. The Indians had given them what little aid they could, and now came with letters to this settlement and that at Damaris- cotta for farther assistance. Measures were immediately con- certed by the people of these two places, and a vessel with provisions despatched to their relief. They proved to be passengers from the north of Ireland, who had embarked in the ship ' Grand Design,' of two or three hundred tons,
* There were a few settlers in the upper part of Cushing as early as 1733, where Archibald Robinson, son of Moses Robinson, was born in 1734, probably the earliest child of European parents on the river. - Will. His., A. Lermond, and others.
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bound to Pennsylvania, which was driven ashore and wrecked in a violent storm. Most of them were persons of wealth and distinction who were going to rejoin their friends and connex- ions in that colony. Many of them had with them a train of bond-servants, male and female, all of whom, on landing from the wreck, they immediately released and gave them an equal chance for life with themselves. After escaping from the wreck they examined the island and found it unin- habited. Under this discouraging circumstance they exerted themselves to the utmost to save what provisions and other necessaries they could from the ship. Exhausted by their efforts and fainting with thirst, numbers of them repaired to a brook to drink, and, overcome by the cooling draught, never rose again. Making the best shift for shelter and sub- sistence which their situation would permit, they dispatched a party of one hundred of their most able and vigorous young men to the main land, in hopes of finding a settlement there from whom assistance might be obtained. Nothing farther was ever seen or heard of this part of their com-
panions. The remainder, waiting for their return, spent many wearisome months of disappointment, exposure and starvation, relieved only by the scanty and uncertain re- sources which the waves and shore afforded. Many perished of want. At length a party of Indians visited the Island, and, though without interpreters, a barter was effected of a few articles of food in exchange for clothing and other matters furnished by the sufferers. Among these passengers were a Mrs. Galloway and another lady, who had not been long married when they left Ireland. The former of these brought with her an infant three months old, whom she nursed in this abode of wretchedness, till blood instead of milk followed its emaciated lips. Her husband gave to the Indians two pieces of fine Irish linen for one duck, which, refusing to taste him- self, he reserved exclusively for her. The sufferings of the mother were such as often to extort from the father a wish that the child might breathe its last. Yet both mother and child survived ; whilst the father, as also the husband of the
other lady, died from exhaustion. These two women dug graves and buried their own husbands, there being no men of strength enough remaining to afford any assistance. The vessel that came to their relief brought some provisions, but, as she was sometime detained, these were all exhausted, and they arrived at St. George's in a most famishing condition. Going on shore at Pleasant Point where there was then only one log house, they were received with all the hospitality the
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place would afford. Many of them were richly clad with the remnants of their wardrobes which had escaped the wreck; but now in the impatience of hunger they were ready to snatch half roasted potatoes from the ashes into lawn aprons and silk dresses, and devour them without plate, knife, or fork. Mrs. Galloway had imagined before landing, because burdened with a child, that no one would be willing to receive her ; but here she found herself provided with a bed, whilst the rest were glad to sleep on the floor and in hovels as they could. Before landing she had inquired what kind of people were settled here, and, hearing they were Irish, exclaimed " alas ! I sha'nt be able to speak to them, for I do'nt know a single word of the Irish language."* She was now rejoiced to find the inhabitants as ignorant of that lan- guage as herself, being all from the north of Ireland and of Scottish descent. Sixteen of these persons went to the settlement up the river, the rest to Pemaquid, Sheepscot and Damariscotta. Archibald Gamble, a young man from Ire- land who had then taken a farm in the upper town, (now the Bucklin lot,) offered himself to Mrs. Galloway, and Mr. McCarter to her companion before mentioned. Having lost their husbands, whose relations they were going to join in Pennsylvania, and having no acquaintances there themselves, these two women, whose sufferings had bound them together in the closest ties of friendship, accepted their respective offers and remained in the settlement. They were ever after extremely affectionate and intimate, more so than any two sisters ; and though they could never meet without embracing and weeping, it was always a day of rejoicing when either of them came to visit the other. The child of Mrs. Gallo- way was sent for by his uncle in Pennsylvania, who had taken offence at the mother for marrying again so soon, but she declined the offer till he should grow up to determine for himself. He was afterwards lost at sea. From one of these women are descended the Coombses and Creightons in Thomaston and the Bucklins in Warren; and from the other the McCarters in Cushing.+
The same year, 1740, forty German families from Bruns- wick and Saxony, tempted by the imposing offers which the
* The appellation of Irish was then in their own country given almost exclusively to those of Celtic origin who spoke the Gaelic, Erse or Irish language, and were then, as now, mostly of the Roman Catholic religion. - Macauley's His. Eng. vol. 2. p. 119.
+ Mrs. Il. Prince, J. Bucklin, Mrs. S. Fuller.
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indefatigable Waldo when in Europe had made and caused to be circulated in their language, after first landing at Brain- tree, Mass., arrived at Broad Bay and laid the found- ation of the present town of Waldoborough. Prior to this, there was no settlement nearer to St. George's than Pema- quid and Damariscotta.
These German families settled on both sides the river, or bay, as far down as the McGuire and Feyler lots. Those who set- tled on the western side, or Dutch Neck, were located there by Waldo's directions ; who then supposed his patent would cover all the lands from the Muscongus river to the Penobscot. But, as by that instrument, the patentees were restrained from interfering with any other patent, when Shem Drowne, agent of the Pemaquid proprietors, in 1746 claimed the land on that side, the Waldo patent was, by compromise, construed to commence at Muscongus Island and extending, not up the Muscongus river, but the main river at the head of the bay, usually denominated the Medomak .* It is said that Waldo made an agreement with Drowne, by the terms of which the latter was to give the settlers deeds of their lots, as also the ministerial and school lots which Waldo had promised them. However this might be, no deeds were passed till a subsequent period ; when the occupants were obliged by the heirs of Drowne to pay for their lands.
These settlers were unable to speak a word of the English language, and consequently could hold little intercourse and gain but little aid from their English neighbors. They were unacquainted with the art of fishing ; had been unaccustomed to seeing lands enclosed by fences ; and were inexperienced in the clearing up of new lands. Their progress in agricul- ture was slow; their crops were injured by wild beasts and the cattle that strayed from the neighboring settlements ; and they suffered incredible and almost insurmountable hardships. They had been induced to leave Germany by the promise of one hundred acres of land adjoining the salt-water ; a supply of provisions for a given number of years ; and the mainten-
* From this circumstance the name of Muscongus has, in later times, been frequently applied to the Medomak; and the heirs of Waldo, the Legislature of 1786, and Williamson, in his History of Maine, seem to have considered the latter river as the true Muscon- gus. By the Indians, however, it was always called Medomak, which signifies a 'place of many suckers.' The name Muscongus was applied to the stream which empties into the bay between Bremen and Bristol, and was sometimes extended to the bay itself.
6
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ance of a gospel minister for the period of ten years. They complained much of disappointment in these promises ; even when kept to the ear, they were broken to the hope. Their lots were laid out but twenty-five rods wide, and ran back two miles in length. This was an inconvenient shape for a farm ; but they were easily reconciled to it at the time, as it brought their dwellings into close proximity. But the soil was hard, and covered with an unbroken forest, haunted by unknown beasts of prey, and strange and savage men. The salt-water indeed was there ; but no wharves, streets, or places of busi- ness were on its margin, and they could not avail themselves of the rich abundance which its depths concealed. There was then no fort, block-house, or place of retreat, in case of a hostile attack ; no grist-mill nearer than St. George's or Damariscotta to grind their scanty crops of rocken, the only grain they raised. Most of it was prepared for cooking by bruising merely at home. Sighing for their father-land, but unable to return, they lingered out the tedious years, till the expedition to Louisburg, when they enlisted under Waldo, and removed their families to that place .*
On the arrival of these German settlers, they found estab- lished in their neighborhood, near Broad-Cove, a Mr. Burns and a man by the name of Boice Cooper, both recently from Pemaquid. The latter was a humorous, eccentric character ; a genuine son of the Emerald Isle, fearless and reckless, pas- sionate and profane, but generous and hospitable, prodigal of his money, his time, and convivial hilarity. His father was a man of property, who emigrated from Ireland in a brig of his own, with a numerous train of dependents bound to him for a certain number of years to pay for their passage over. He resided first at Portsmouth, and afterwards at Pemaquid, coasting in his own vessel ; his wife and family sometimes making their home on board. As characteristic of the son, it is related that when the vessel needed repairs, the father hauled her up at Pemaquid for that purpose and went to Bos- ton to procure workmen. During his absence, some of the people, influenced either by motives of mischief or profit, persuaded Boice that it would be better to build a new one with the iron of the old. He seized upon the idea at once,
One of the principal men among these settlers was John Ulmer, who, though not a regular clergyman, acted as their preacher, and as such was paid by Waldo for about half the ten years stipulated - that is, till they removed to Louisburg .- Joseph Ludwig, Esq., Capt. Sproul, and Land Claims before Com. 1811.
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set the brig on fire, and on the old gentleman's return nothing remained but her ashes. After this the father removed to Broad Bay and contracted with Waldo for several lots of land, performed the settlers' duties on two of them, and after two years died there, leaving his property to his only child, Boice. The latter remained there till after the coming of the Ger- mans ; but his habits, temper, and recklessness brought him into perpetual collision with them - their fists being more than a match for his tongue, especially as the latter was not understood. Tired of the unequal contest, he relinquished his possessions to Waldo and removed to George's River. Thomas Henderson having removed to Pleasant Point, Cooper took his two lots in the upper town, which with two back lots which he had the liberty of selecting, were deemed an equiv- alent for his possessions at Broad Bay.
Not long after this removal, Mr. Cooper returned to Ireland, sold an inheritance there, and brought back a number of men and women, who signed an obligation to work for him seven years in payment of their passage. Among these were Law- rence Parsons, Thomas Holden, and two young women whom they afterwards married. Parsons was patronized by Cooper, was married at his house, and received from him the farm at Broad Cove in Cushing for no other consideration than one yoke of steers, which were not to be paid till he had time to raise them on the farm. Parsons went on to this farm in 1750. He built several houses, such as they were, moving each time farther from the water, till his son Lawrence, who succeeded to the estate, built the two story house still stand- ing, set up tanning, and died having acquired a handsome property. The father survived him many years in the full possession of his faculties, living with his grand-children and dying at a very advanced age. Holden was likewise provided with a lot of land at Boothbay. Cooper brought up one of his daughters who was married to Joseph Skinner of this town .*
* Wm. Burns' Dep. Com. Rep. 161. Mrs. Montgomery, daughter of Cooper. L. Parsons, Ist. and others.
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CHAPTER V.
FROM 1741 TO 1753, INCLUDING EVENTS OF THE 5TH INDIAN WAR, AND THE SCOTTISH SETTLEMENT AT STIRLING.
1741. Gov. Belcher was, in 1741, succeeded by Wm. Shirley ; one of the first measures of whose administration was the improvement of the currency. The paper money, or bills issued by the Colony, having now depreciated, in pro- portion to silver, as five and a half to one, a compromise between the different parties that divided the province on this subject was effected by a new emission of bills at 6s. 8d. to the ounce of silver, with a provision, that, when they sank below that rate, the difference should be made up to the cred- itor. This was called the new tenor, in contradistinction to the former emission or old tenor.
Symptoms of dissatisfaction among the Indians continued to be observed. Amongst other things, Alex. Lermond of St. George's testified that an ox belonging to his brother William, had been killed and his bones and hoofs found in the camp of the Indians. Andrew Kilpatrick of the same settlement, and two Indians, Col. Lucy and Maj. Moxas, confirmed the statement, having seen the same in the Indians' camp .*
1743. Though great pains were taken to arrest this dissatisfaction at a conference held at St. George's in August, 1742, yet the growing apprehensions that France was about to engage in the existing war on the side of Spain, and the certainty that her subjects would attempt to persuade the Indians to join them, induced the Legislature, in 1743, to appropriate &1,280 for putting the eastern posts in a state of defence. Of this sum, £75 were apportioned to Broad Bay, and £100 to St. George's. The fort at St. George's was rebuiltt and enlarged ; but the expenditure at Broad Bay was for the present delayed. The garrison at the former place was increased by the addition of 13 men, and placed under the command of Capt. Jabez Bradbury ; who also had a
* Mass. ' Indian' Archives, vol. 2, p. 415.
t According to tradition by one Capt. Robinson, who had for some time commanded the garrison and at his death was buried there .- A. Lermond.
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Justice's commission .* The settlers above, experienced, pro- bably for the first time, the loss of one of their number, John McLean ; who died April 14, 1743, in the 58th year of his age. The settlement below, continued to increase by the accession of new comers, and about this time, was extended down the western side to the mouth of the river, forming what was called the " lower town of St. George's." Some settlers, probably from other parts of New England, were also locat- ed at Medumcook, now Friendship.
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