USA > Maine > Somerset County > Embden > Embden town of yore : olden times and families there and in adjacent towns > Part 7
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HOUSE LIKE THAT BACK HOME
who succeeded her mother as housekeeper for Isaac, Adaline A. (1831-1890) who married Cyrus Cleveland of the neighborhood and Rufina B. (1836-1914) who was Mrs. George McKenney only a mile away.
Therefore Isaac Albee's historic domicile continued a wel- come place for a large circle. One of his kith and kin was Fred L. Cleveland, a favorite nephew, whose efforts for his widowed mother and his brother and sisters commanded admiration. Fred, a great-great-grandson of Dorothy Cragin Cleveland, eventually went away, studied to be a dentist, and meanwhile Isaac Albee, tiring of the farm in his old age, went to Woon- socket, R. I., to be with him. Part of his cares had been in be- half of his brother, David Albee (1828-1905), the miner, whose tragic robbery in the Nevada mountains, was a shadow over the Embden household. The Cragin farm and mansion, upon Isaac Albee's death, passed to Dr. Cleveland, who has since been the owner. It has rarely been occupied, except during his occa- sional visits. The neighbors of 25 years ago - Albees, Pierces, Clevelands and McKenneys - nearly all moved away, much like the Cragins before them.
Over a mantel in his beautiful country seat at Barrington, R. I., close by Narragansett shore, Dr. Cleveland has a simple, ef- fective painting of the Cragin house as it stood in more glorious days. Except for stains of weather, the collapse of the carriage house, and closed portals, the old house is not much changed from days when the artist of the Barrington picture applied his brush to the canvas. The greater change is in the still ceaseless procession of vehicles and persons along the old Brook road, speeded up to automobile times and the newer conditions of existence.
CHAPTER V
ALMOST A CLEVELANDVILLE
A few steps down the road from the Cragin domicile - toward North Anson - is the Jonathan Cleveland place. It is on the north or opposite side, the width of a field from where the school- house with broad, battered front door on the fringe of a thicket used to be. Standing close to the Jackson burying ground, this first Embden seat of learning after the log cabin days was pulled down years ago. The Cleveland farmhouse, however, with some remodeling and after sheltering successively a nephew, William R. Jackson and his son Sylvester with their families is serenely weathering its second century.
Proceeding a bit further - past where the cross road up toward Gordon Hill begins - there looms to view the Stone House, home of John Pierce and John Pierce, Jr., and their interesting children. Next, through an avenue of lofty trees - past the old Pierce-Purington burying ground -is the farm where Dr. Edward Savage resided and, after him, Humphrey Purington of Bowdoin. A half mile northward was the bound- ary line of Francis Burns, Jonathan Cleveland's brother-in-law, and above Francis Burns - but north of the cross road which has here turned eastward - was a long 84 acre farm extending the width of two township ranges. That was the abiding place of Abel Cleveland and several sons. Northward of that and westward, on Gordon Hill were eventually Benjamin Pierce, brother of John, and Lieut. John, their father, and Capt. Ben- jamin Cleveland. Circling south and between Capt. Benjamin and the Jonathan Cleveland farm dwelt their brother, Timothy . Cleveland. The upper part of this expanse, now a forest, was of later development.
The Savage-Purington buildings were burned long ago. The Jonathan Cleveland buildings alone remain of many rooftrees in Embden under which the first generation of that family gath- ered. Their neighborhood was one with the Hutchinses and Cragins. It adjoined the Old Brook Meeting House community
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still further down, where - barely stepping over the Anson line - were the Jonathan Albees, Joshua Hiltons and Joseph Walkers, as well as the Benjamin Goulds on their little Gould hilltop in Embden. Over the Brook - in reality a river here - were more good neighbors, such as the Simeon Paines, whose transport from the south bank before the footbridge days, was an old row boat.
This perambulation sweeps an area in which the Cleveland name (spelled Cleavland in 1790 and Cleaveland about 1830)
THE JONATHAN CLEVELAND HOUSE
long predominated. The Jonathan house is somewhere near the center of several hundred acres that four brothers had filed upon by 1790 - perhaps the largest settler's tract in Embden. It was more than a mile long, north and south. The cross road toward Gordon hill, above mentioned, runs through the center of this acreage. Out of it on the east was carved the John Pierce farm, first owned, however, by Abel and Capt. Benjamin Cleveland. On the west were established three farms, mostly from the big tract. First was Jonathan, then Timothy and northernmost of all, Benjamin, as already indicated.
There soon grew up another large Cleveland neighborhood, although it was rather of the second generation. Directly east of the parent neighborhood it rested two farms wide on the
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Anson line and extended two miles up the valley of the Mill Stream out of Embden Pond, mostly on the eastern side. This was the realm of Luther Cleveland and his sons.
But a few years, with sons and daughters, issuing from sev- eral households, and Clevelands were bulking large in Embden annals. Cleveland acres extended continuously for miles along the highways. The sons reached out for virgin lands. Some of them realized the prospective value of mill sites when settlers had begun to think about the larger comforts of frame houses. And yet it was not many years after Embden appropriately could have been named Clevelandville that Clevelands began to join the swelling roster of fortune seekers in the West. Today, while Cleveland blood is in the veins of many older Embden people - perhaps because of a preponderance of daughters in the families - there is but one or two of the Cleveland name on the tax list of land holders.
Clevelands are a large and famous clan in Maine and America. The Embden branch is of identical line with Clevelands of Fair- field, Skowhegan and other Somerset towns. They sprang from Joseph (1738-1806) and Dorothy Cragin (1738-1813) Cleve- land, both born near Acton, Mass. Joseph's father, Jonathan, was a tailor at Sudbury, Mass., not far from the Wayside Inn of Longfellow's poem. Joseph's grandfather, Enoch, resided at. Woburn. Enoch's father was Moses Cleveland from England.
Joseph and family dwelt a while at Acton and about 1765 began their progress by stages to the Upper Kennebec. They were at Dresden, Me., a few years, till after 1773, then at Bloom- field a few years more. They resided a while in Embden, or near Seven Mile Brook, but as far as known never owned land there. Joseph, like not a few of his sons and grandsons, was an artisan. excelling as a wheelwright and builder. In the 1780's he was at New Portland, and credited with erecting the first frame house. His wife "was very useful among the sick and poor and highly respected." Both of them died at Fairfield.
Four of their eight sons were named on Titcomb's survey map as owners of the big settlers' lot. These were :
John Cleveland (1776-1836), a native of Bloomfield, who be- came a man of consequence at Fairfield, where he died. He was
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a major of militia and declined a colonel's commission. As a lad he must have lived with his parents in Embden. His career was entirely elsewhere.
Jonathan Cleveland (1764-1842), the oldest of the family and born at Acton. He was married in Embden to Polly (Mary) Burns (1771-1869), oldest daughter of James and Abigail (Spencer) Burns. He died on his Embden farm but his wife died in Lexington at the home of a daughter. Jonathan was a brickmaker by trade as well as farmer.
Timothy Cleveland (1770-1853) a native of Dresden. He was twice married, first to Jane McFadden of Embden in 1794 and in 1825 to Mrs. Betsey (Malone) Marston. His large family was all by his first marriage. Their house was a little back from the cross road and west of the house Austin Berry was occupy- ing about 1890. A cellar hole still marks the site. Timothy had a life of ups and downs but was identified with several en- terprises. He is said to have built the first gristmill at Skow- hegan. His children were exceptional men and women.
Luther Cleveland (1774-1858) born at Dresden. His wife was Abigail Young (1776-1849), a daughter of David and Rachel (Grant) Young, of Woolwich. He was a farmer and mechanic, dwelling, as stated, just north of the Anson boundary. If he resided at all. on the big Cleveland lot during his manhood it was probably on an acreage at the north, subsequently sold to his brother, Benjamin. Luther's children and grandchildren have been prominent in Embden. He moved in 1850 to Jordan, Green County, Wis.
Of the four other sons Calvin (1768-1808) lived at Fairfield, like his brother John, but before Calvin went there he had an Embden farm - the Francis Burns place - which he sold in 1795 to Dr. Savage. Joseph, Jr., (1773-1857) lived at Bloom- field, Fairfield and Bloomfield again. He had a son Joseph (1788-1848) who married Olive Steward and was said to have been the strongest man in Bloomfield. He had fallen ten acres of heavy growth trees in ten days. Dinsmore Cleveland, who taught 53 terms of school in Somerset County and had four children that were teachers, was his son. Dinsmore (1820) rep- resented Madison, Cornville and Athens in the legislature in
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1863 and was six years town clerk and treasurer of Madison.
Joseph, the champion tree chopper, had a brother Timothy (1790-1865) who liked to sing and dance. One of Timothy's achievements, applauded throughout the countryside, had to do with a husking bee when he was 68 years old, he having met there and floored a "bully wrestler from Old Town on the Penobscot."
The two remaining pioneer sons, Abel and Benjamin, were the youngest but were much identified with Embden. By some adjustment of the brothers' interests in the big settlers' lot, these two became owners of the fine farm on the east. They mortgaged it to Francis Cragin, of Ipswich, N. H., in 1811 for $300 and sold it two years later to James Adams, the tin mer- chant. About that time they must have selected their respective farms northward.
Abel Cleveland (1777-1831) married Rosanna Quint, daugh- ter of John. They made their home on the long Lot No. 141, which had been extended west across another range, but of less depth than in the original survey. Prior to Abel's death this had passed to his sons and was ultimately called the old Cleve- land family homestead. The land probably remained in the family longer than any other Cleveland property in the town.
Benjamin Cleveland (1781-1853), a native of Bloomfield, mar- ried Lydia Young (1785-1836), a daughter of David and Jane (McKenney) Young and thus a half sister of his brother Luther's wife. Benjamin was captain of the Seven Mile Brook Company, the first Embden Militia organization. His farm up near Gor- don hill comprised a 30 acre tract, that he bought of Luther Cleveland and Thomas McFadden, and 50 acres south of it. He also owned a part of Lot 205 where Lieut. John Pierce estab- lished himself as founder of the Pierce family in Embden. Benjamin deeded his home farm in 1837 to his sons Benjamin, Jr., and Simeon C., soon after they reached their majorities.
In their early married life Capt. Benjamin and his wife met with a tragedy, when, on July 9, 1814, their house took fire and the three oldest children, Cyrus (1806), Jesse (1808) and Josiah (1810) were burned to death during their absence. It was on the Timothy Cleveland farm, immediately south, that Matthew
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ALMOST A CLEVELANDVILLE
Daggett and his wife Dorothy, Capt. Benjamin's niece, perished in a similar manner on May 11, 1859.
There were two sisters of these eight Cleveland brothers of Embden, Skowhegan, Fairfield and the big West - Mary and Jane. Mary (1772-1846) was the wife of Ebenezer Stevens, of Solon, whose descendants to this day are in towns along the Kennebec. Mary's niece, Sarah, (1803-1826), daughter of Luther Cleveland, married Deacon David Stevens of Embden. Their household, too, was a notable one on the Kennebec.
Thus the five Embden brothers - Jonathan, Timothy, Luther, Abel and Benjamin - were all seated with their households early in the last century. All, except Benjamin, and their re- spective wives were among incorporators of the town in 1804. All were on the early lists of tax payers and long continued there. Their several marriages with the Burns, McFadden, Young and Quint families - all of Embden - enhanced their importance as industrious settlers. Abel Cleveland was a young man when he died, but he, as well as his brothers, reared many children, most of whom before long were assuming responsi- bility in the community.
Jonathan Cleveland resided more steadily and, apparently with more composure, than his brothers in his adopted town. He had one of the choice parcels of the big settlers' lot and was an active man in early affairs. He and Polly Burns were mar- ried in the 1790's. Ten children were born to them, only two being sons. One, Jonathan, Jr., (1805-1878) resided in Ken- nebec County, but married his wife, Frances Ferguson (1813- 1871), at Campbellton, N. B. Jonathan, Jr., died in the Prov- ince of Quebec. Some of his children lived at Restigouche and Metapedia and in New Brunswick. The other son, Joseph (1809- 1873), in 1832, married Olive Savage, daughter of Charles, of Anson. They lived at Dead River, where he was a blacksmith, and had several children. As none of his sons remained at home, Jonathan Cleveland in 1836, deeded half of his homestead to his nephews, Amos and William R. Jackson, for $600. They were sons of Abel and Rachel (Burns) Jackson. Rachel was the youngest sister of Jonathan's wife. The Jackson brothers had been on a farm on Black Hill. William subsequently bought
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the interest of his brother in the Cleveland place and not long after his uncle's death became the sole owner, while Amos went to the farm of Francis Burns, one of whose daughters was his wife. Jonathan Cleveland was interested prior to 1821 in Lot 72, on the Anson boundary, where his brother, Luther, had first been owner and seems to have resided there a few years.
The eight daughters of Jonathan and Polly Cleveland were born over a period of 19 years. Four remained in Embden. Mary (1793-1831) the oldest died unmarried. Esther Stevens Cleveland (1812) married Samuel Clark, Jr., over on the Canada Trail. Their son, Hiram S. Clark, went to Crompton, R. I. Abigail (1795-1877) married Henry Daggett, who became a resi- dent of Embden but was later in Penobscot County and then in Pennsylvania. Dorothy C. (1797-1859) was the wife of Henry's brother, Matthew. Their children included well known residents.
The other four Jonathan daughters were : Elizabeth W. (1800) who wedded Alfred Butler and died at Bayham, Canada; Rach- ael B. (1802-1882), Mrs. Samuel Rollins, of Chesterville, Frank- lin County; Anna T. (1807) who married (1) Joseph Marston and (2) Robert Scribner, both of Lexington; and Mercy Burns Cleveland (1809-1869), a twin sister of Joseph. Her husband was Calton Osgood Morton (1812-1842) of Brighton.
The Timothy Clevelands in their second generation went afield and were among the first emigrants westward. Their children and children's children now represent many households in the Mississippi Valley. Timothy, Jr., (1795-1866) paid early court to Sarah W. Pierce, daughter of Lieut. John Pierce, just come to the farm north of them. After marrying in 1817 Timothy, Jr., and his bride started for Ohio with David and Jesse Hilton, of Solon and their wives - Betsey and Hannah Gray (cousins of Timothy, Jr.). Their son, Thaddeus S. Cleveland, of Calais, Ohio, was born in 1818 in the woods near there. His brother, Thomas Cleveland (1822) became a lawyer in Muskingum County. Timothy, Jr., and his wife had the usual big pioneer family. There are many descendants from them in Ohio, particu- larly in Belmont, Monroe and Noble Counties.
(FROM TOP LEFT) HANNAH GRANT, CONTENT SMITH, JANE HAWES, CHARLOTTE BEAL, CALVIN CLEVELAND AND GEORGE SANFORD.
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Thomas Cleveland (1801-1861), brother of Timothy, Jr., lived and died at Orrington, Me., where he was a millman, but he re- mained at Embden till after 1827. His wife, Mary, was one of Dr. Edward Savage's daughters. Several of their children set- tled at Boston and at Oakland, Calif. Calvin Cleveland (1807) also settled in that part of Maine. He married Eliza Severence at Orrington but resided at East Hampden on the opposite bank of the Penobscot and then went to Whitefield in Lincoln County. Two sons, Willard and Alva W. Cleveland went to California; George B., another son, dwelt at Danvers, Mass. Calvin's daughters were Sarah Jane (1831), the wife of Joseph Rowell, and Lucinda (1838) who was Mrs. Otis Heald of Lynn. Timothy, Sr., had one other son, Eli (1811-1870), who first lived at Ban- gor and as a young man saw service on a United States man of war. He became a sea captain, changed his name to George Sanford and after a romantic career died at Sacramento, Calif., childless. His wife was Nancy Hicks.
Timothy Cleveland had six daughters: Hannah (1797-1876), who in 1820 married Gustavus Grant, of Anson, and accom- panied him to Manhattan, Will County, Ill .; Content (1799- 1875), Mrs. Aaron Smith, who died in Kankakee County, Ill .; Jane (1803) Mrs. John Hawes, of Embden; Charlotte (1805- 1894), wife of Zina M. Beal (1811-1882) of Anson and by 1850 of Embden; Ruth (1814-1894) whose husband was George Wash- ington Walker, in his day the largest tax payer in Anson; and Sarah (1818-1886) who married McKenney Hilton and lived at Earlsville, Ill. Five of Timothy's children first and last lived in the West.
John Hawes was the founder of his branch in Embden. At his marriage in 1822 he was of Anson. His children included Joseph Caldwell Hawes (1823-1865), Eli, Franklin F., Gustav- us A., who finally settled at Skowhegan, Nancy E. and Mary A. Hawes. The three last sons lived for some years about a mile above Solon ferry. Frank J. Adams, of Embden, was a son of Nancy, the first wife of Isaac W. Adams.
Joseph Caldwell Hawes had a good career in Pennsylvania. He married in 1848 Eleanor Gray (1826-1907) daughter of Thomas Gray of Anson and his second cousin. He studied at
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Colby College and, while teaching at Germantown, Pa., was appointed by the city of Philadelphia to collect subscriptions for soldiers. He did this while continuing his school work but fell ill from a severe .cold and died, leaving a widow and three small children. Three other children had died previously. The survivors were Albina J. (1858), Min- erva McF. (1861-1883) and John Gilmore (1863-1905). Minerva was of the class of 1882 at Anson Academy and taught school in Embden. Lexington and Madison. She was much admired for her beautiful character and bril- liant mind.
The Beal family in Embden were near the Kennebec and JOSEPH CALDWELL HAWES to their Hawes kindred. Zina and Charlotte had ten children : Lucy, Barbara, James, Olive, Timothy C., Hannah, Andrew. Rebecca, George S., and Mary. Timothy, George and Andrew were Union Soldiers. Andrew died at Harpers Ferry, George at New Orleans. Timothy lived at Pasadena, Calif.
Luther Cleveland - over near his Young-in-laws, with Ben- jamin Colby, Jr., as his next neighbor on the east and old John Wilson by the Fahi not far away - had seven fine sons. The old- est was Luther, Jr., (1795-1897). He cleared the present Lovell Berry farm at the head of Embden Pond, but married Lona Wil- son in 1818 and followed his cousin, Timothy, Jr., to Ohio. After a few years at Cincinnati, Luther, Jr., moved on to Indiana and later to Iowa. His youngest brother, Ansel (1812-1832) and William Harrison (1814-1846), a shoemaker, lived in Embden and did not marry. Their sister, Climena (1818-1902), was Mrs. George Gilman Collins, of Wausemon, Green County, Wis.
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John Cleveland (1797-1836), the second oldest son, was an active man in the town. His wife was Lydia Young Cleveland (1802), his first cousin and oldest daughter of Abel. They first lived on Lot 73, west of his father and then on Lot 102, a mile north on the Mill Stream. Although John died when 39 years old he left quite a notable family. First was Lovina (1824) a very matronly woman, remembered as the wife of Hartley Green, the Dead River bear hunter. He had a wide, white beard. Hartley's son, Frank Green, was in Embden after mar- rying Joanna Goodwin and their son, Perley, now resides in New Hampshire.
The younger daughters of John were Diadamia (1825) the wife of Benjamin C. McKenney (1823-1902) of New Portland ; Philomel, Mrs. Bryant Savage; and Lydia A. (1836) who lived in the West. John's only son was Benjamin F. Cleveland (1828), called Franklin to distinguish him from other Cleve- lands of the same name. His wife was Lydia M. Mullen, of Embden. Franklin enlisted from North Anson as a Union Sol- dier. His son, Elwin T., is one of the few Clevelands now in Embden. His home is on the east part of the old time Abel tract. Living near him is his daughter, Mrs. Ida M. Spaulding. Allen Cleveland of North Anson, is Franklin's grandson.
James Young Cleveland (1799-1868), the third son of Luther. had an exceptional record among his Embden townsmen and, during later years, in Wisconsin. His home was on Lot 70, west of Fahi Pond, a farm subsequently occupied by his nephew, Elias Cleveland, Jr. James was on the second farm north of his father and next to his uncle, Benjamin Young. He was closely associated with his brothers John, Elias, Sr., and Jefferson. They stood with one another in farm purchases, in some of which their father also had a hand. Luther Cleveland, for example bought of Nathan Daggett in 1827 Lots 102 and 103, on the latter of which Nathan had lived. Lot 102 was afterwards the Cyrus Cleveland farm and then the Robert Quint farm and Lot 103 was the Bryant Savage or Deacon Isaac Daggett farm. Luther brought his son John up from No. 73 to live on No. 102, while Elias, just coming of age, was placed on No. 103.
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Those two farms stood out in the land transactions of the Clevelands for 15 years or more. Elias, Sr., had a sheriff sale in 1836 - about the time Timothy Cleveland was having similar difficulties on his domain - but James and Jefferson came to his rescue. The previous year they had bought of Elias "the mill site and land for the mill, then in operation, with the privilege to dig and cart gravel for the dam." James and John in 1821 had taken over Lot 72, their father's farm. James lived there for a few years, for he did not purchase Lot 70 of Joseph Greene till 1832. He bought of John Lot 73 about this time. Thus with an interest in the mill property on the north and an interest in Lots 72 and 73 on the Anson line James started buying intervening land up and down the east side of the Mill Stream. He paid Joseph Greene $100 in 1835 for Lot 76, which was east of the Mill and in 1836 paid Greene $125 for Lot 75 immediately south. During this period John Cleveland had acquired a part of Lot 74. Reference to the surveyor's chart (page 13) will show the brothers now had almost a con- tinuous chain of properties. These comprised about 1,000 acres. At the height of their activities John Cleveland died when 39 years of age. His widow, Lydia, was confirmed in the owner- ship of the Quint farm by a deed from James. Lydia and the family of her nephew, Cyrus, 2nd., were residing there into the 1850's.
Probably Luther Cleveland and sons had visions of a profit- able lumbering enterprise on their extended holdings. Their two south farms were fertile land and their two north farms, although classed by early surveyors as "middling" land, are still fairly tillable. The three tracts in between were classified as "good land" but except for a few clearings have long been used as wood lots. The small water power did not survive many years against competition from the mill that Elisha Walker de- veloped in the 1830's at the foot of Embden Pond. There is hardly a vestige left today of this Cleveland mill, but traces of the old road from the main highway down through the field can still be followed. The mill shed was moved up from the stream and is the ell of the present house where Bryant Savage, Isaac Daggett and then Isaac's son-in-law, Michael Berry, lived.
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James Y. Cleveland continued an influential man in Embden. As town clerk and first selectman, he was a leading citizen many years. He held other positions of trust. He had com- missions as justice of the peace in Embden under ap- pointments from Gov Lin- coln and Gov. Kent for 14 years. He departed Oct. 16, 1850, for Jordan, Green County, Wis. This was near the Wisconsin boundary and not far from Lasalle and Will Counties, Ill., where daugh- ters of Timothy Cleveland and their husbands had set- tled. He was esteemed in his adopted town, even as he had been in Embden, serving at Jordan for six years as a magistrate, also as chairman of the board of supervisors.
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