USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume II > Part 43
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Company, all of Portland, and the Rumford National Bank of Rumford Falls. Ile is a member of the Universalist church, and votes the Republican ticket. He is a member of the following Masonic organizations : Portland Lodge, Greenleaf Royal Arch Chapter, Port- land Council, Royal and Select Masters, St. Alban Commandery, Knights Templar. Ed- ward W. Cox married, November 14, 1888, at Portland, Lena Maud Prince, born July 28, 1869, daughter of William N. and Annie C. Prince, of Portland. Children : Margaret Prince, born December 3, 1893, Eleanor \Ves- ton, February 3, 1902.
HUSSEY The Husseys of New England are descended from various im- migrant ancestors, among whom are: Christopher, of Lynn, 1632; and Ste- phen, probably his brother, of Nantucket; and Joseph, of Hampton, another brother; Robert, of Duxbury, 1643; Robert, of Dover, on the tax list, 1659; Robert, of Boston, freeman, 1690; William, an early settler of Reading; and Richard of this sketch.
(I) Richard Hussey, with his wife Jane, settled in Dover, New Hampshire, about 1690. He is supposed to have migrated from Eng- land or Ireland. He died before August 21, 1733, when his son Richard was appointed ad- ministrator of the estate of Jane Hussey. June 20, 1696, Richard Hussey, his wife Jane join- ing, conveys to Leonard Weeks, for fifty pounds, all his interest in thirty acres of up- land "adjoining to ye Great Bay in ye town of Dover." In this deed he is described as a weaver. February 25, 1710, he conveys to Benjamin Waymouth, of Dover, for thirteen pounds, "One Messuage or tract of Land being a Grant to me the said Richard Huzsey by the Town of Dover. Sittuate, Lying and being att a Garrison Called Sligoe." (Somersworth), "In the Town and Province above said Con- taining by estimation thirty acres." In this deed Jane releases "all her right of dowrie and power of thirds," but does not sign. Her signature to the first deed and Richard's sig- nature to both deeds is by mark. July 5, 1743, Job and Joseph Hussey, two of Richard's sons, deeded to Thomas Wallingford some "upland & Swamp Ground" near the Great Falls in the parish of Somersworth, which is described as part of a "Fifth Acre Grant" made to their late father in 1694. The children of Richard and Jane Hussey were : Richard, Job, Robert, Mary, Josephi. Elizabeth, Eleanor, Abigail, Jane, William, Margaret and Benjamin.
(II) William, tenth child and fifth son of
Richard and Jane Hussey, born in Dover. March 24, 1711, died January 22, 1773. He was a Friend, and in deeds is called a "taylor," but in his will he calls himself a "husband- man." He resided in Dover and owned real estate there. His will, dated the "27th day of 7th month, 1777," was probated on the second Wednesday of February, 1778. In it he men- tions wife Hannah, sons Paul, William, Ste- phen, Timothy, and daughters Mercy Hussy, Mary Fry, and Abigail Varney. Timothy was executor. William Hussey married, about 1730, Hannah Robinson, born November 21, 1707, died April 20, 1793, aged eighty-six. She was the daughter of Timothy and Mary (Roberts) Robinson. Her mother was the daughter of John and Abigail ( Nutter) Rob- erts, and Abigail was the daugliter of Hatevil and Anne Nutter. The marriage was "out of Friends orders." The children of this union were: Paul, Mercy, William, Mary, Abigail, Timothy and Stephen.
(III) William (2), third child and second son of Willianı (1) and Hannah ( Robinson) Hussey, born on the second day of the sev- enth month, 1739, died June 3, 1821, aged eighty-two. He married (first) at Dover, New Hampshire, January 6, 1768, Phebe, daughter of John and Phebe (Austin) Han- son. She was born on the eighteenth of the fourth month, 1744, and died July 16, 1792. He married (second) at Berwick, Maine, Sep- tember 24, 1795, Sarah, daughter of Isaac, late of Somersworth, and Sarah Hanson, and widow of Batchelor Hussey, of Berwick, to whom she was married in Berwick, December 12, 1768. His children, all born in Berwick, Maine, were: James, John, Hannah, Sarah, William, Paul, Abigail, Mary and Elizabeth.
(IV) James, eldest child of William (2) and Phebe (Hanson) Hussey, born in Ber- wick, Maine, November 14, 1768, died Decem- ber 27, 1850, aged eighty-two. He married (first) at Berwick, February 28, 1793, Tem- perance Buffum, born December 25, 1772, died November 18, 1815, daughter of Caleb and Hannah (Varney) Buffum; second, Elizabeth Buffum, sister of Temperance, born Septem- ber 9, 1774, died January 3, 1852. His chil- dren, all by the first wife, were: Joseph, Pliebe (died young), Hannah, William, Sarah, John, Phebe, James and Temperance.
(V) James (2), eighth child and fourth son of James ( 1) and Temperance ( Buffum ) Hus- sey, born in North Berwick, August 3, 1810, died in Portland, Maine, February 21, 1892, aged eighty-two. He was a farmer and a member of the Friends Church. He resided
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in early life in North Berwick, where all his children were born. He married, at North Berwick, October 2. 1834, Rebecca J. Prescott, born in North Berwick, April 26, 1816, died in Vassalboro, January 8, 1873. She was the daughter of Josiah and Elizabeth ( Hill) Pres- cott, of North Berwick. Four children were born of this marriage: Elizabeth Jane, John Meader, Almira Cynthia and Ellen Rebecca.
(VI) Almira Cynthia, third child and sec- ond daughter of James (2) and Rebecca J. ( Prescott) Hussey, born in North Berwick, December 29. 1848, married, in Vassalboro, December 11, 1872, Henry P. Cox, of Port- land.
THOMPSON There is ample record that several of this name were among our earliest seven- teenth century settlers. Sir William Thomp- son, of England, was the owner of property about Boston, and his coat-of-arms has come down through many generations of James Thompson's descendants, but patient research has failed to establish the exact connection be- tween the English and American house. Ed- ward Thompson came over in the "Mayflower" in 1620; John, his brother, came over from England in 1643: Archibald Thompson set- tled in Marblehead in 1637; Edward Thomp- son settled in Salem in 1637: Dr. Benjamin Thompson settled in Braintree and was town clerk in 1696, and left at his death eight chil- dren and twenty-eight grandchildren.
(I) James Thompson was among the orig- inal settlers of Woburn, Massachusetts, and settled in that part of the town which is now known as North Woburn. He came in Win- throp's great company. in 1630, and probably first settled in Charlestown. He was born in 1593, in England, and was accompanied on his journey by his wife Elizabeth and three sons and one daughter. He was then thirty- seven years of age, and tradition has it that he was one of the party who landed at Salem, Massachusetts, in the early part of June, 1630. His coat-of-arms is identified with that of Sir William Thompson, a London knight, and it is probable that he came from the family. Withi his wife, Elizabeth, James Thompson was ad- mitted to membership in the First Church of Charlestown, August 31, 1633. In the fol- lowing December he was admitted as freeman of the town. In December, 1640, he was one of the thirty-two men who subscribed to the noted town orders for Woburn. He was among the few adventurers who early pushed their way into this wilderness region. Charles-
town Village was incorporated in 1642, under the name of Woburn, and it is believed that this was in memory of the ancient town of that name in Bedfordshire, England, whence some of the emigrants possibly came. James Thompson was chosen a member of the first board of selectmen and continued to serve the town in that office nearly twenty years with brief intervals. In 1650 he was the commis- sioner to carry the votes for town officers to Cambridge. The exact location of his resi- dence canhot he positively stated, but it is probable that it was near the junction of Elm street and Traverse. It appears by the records that he was an extensive landowner for that time. It is probable that he disposed of most of his property before his death, as his will makes no referenc to real estate. His first wife Elizabeth died November 13, 1643, and he married second, February 15, 1644, Susan- na Blodgett, widow of Thomas Blodgett, of Cambridge. She died February 10, 1661. He survived his second wife about twenty-one years, and died in Woburn, 1682. His chil- dren were: James, Simon, Olive, Jonathan, and possibly another daughter.
(II) Simon, second son and child of James and Elizabeth Thompson, was a native of Eng- land, but there is no record of his birth. With his father he came to Charlestown and subse- quently to Woburn and became a freeman of that town in 1648. After a residence there of several years, he became a purchaser with others from that town and Concord of the ter- ritory which is now the town of Chelmsford. He was one of the seven men who held a meeting in that town to arrange for some form of local government. It is the tradition that he became the first town clerk. They made pronipt arrangements for the settlement of a minister. Within three years after the com- pletion of the organization of the town, he died in May, 1658. He was married December 19, 1643. in Woburn, to Mary Converse. She was a daughter of Edward Converse, one of the foremost men of that town. His widow was married February 1, 1650, to John Sheldon, of Billerica. Simon's children were : John, Saralı. James, Mary, Ann and Rebecca.
(III) James (2), second son and third child of Simon and Mary (Converse) Thompson, was born March 20, 1649, in Woburn, and was the only son of his father who lived to reach manhood. After his father's death, he lived to the age of twenty years with his uncle, Samuel Converse. in the south part of Wo- burn (now Winchester), and assisted in the care of the mill. built by his grandfather, Ed-
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ward Converse. James Thompson married first, January 27, 1674, Hannah Walker, who died February 4, 1686. He married second, April 13, 1687, Abigail Gardner, of Charles- town, who survived him and married Deacon Edward Johnson. James Thompson died Sep- tember 14, 1693. He made no will. His prop- erty was assigned by the court in 1700 to his widow and five sons and the only daughter then living. The children of the first wife were: Hannah, Joshua, James and Ebenezer, and of the second wife, Richard, Abigail and Simon.
(IV) Joshua, eldest son and second child of Lieutenant James (2) and Hannah ( Walker) Thompson, was born September 15, 1677, in Woburn, and settled in that part of the town which became Wilmington, in 1730. He was admitted as member of the church in that place in 1742. He with others of the name was somewhat prominent in the affairs of the town. On March 2, 1731, he was elected "Clerk of the Market," an officer whose business seems to have been to aid in regulating the prices of labor and goods. He died July 10, 1760. He married, May 6, 1702, Martha Dayle, who died June 3. 1749. Their children were : Joshua, IIannah. Martha, Robert, James, Ebe- nezer, Esther, Abigail, Phœbe, Jacob and Hezekiah.
(V) Robert, second son and fourth child of Joshua and Martha (Dayle) Thompson, was born in what is now Wilmington, probably about 1708. Early in life he settled in Wind- hanı, New Hampshire, where his descendants were long numerous and active, efficient citi- zens. Two of his sons were soldiers in the French and Indian war, and three or four of them were soldiers of the revolution. He died October 31, 1756. No record of his marriage or of his wife's name appears, but it is evi- dent that he had children: Robert, Andrew, Samuel, James, Jonathan and William, and it is strongly probable that there was another son who figures in this article, named Benja- min. While it is known that Benjamin was the son of Robert, it has been impossible to definitely locate that Robert so that there may be no dispute as to the connection.
(VI) Robert (2), eldest child of Robert (I) Thompson, resided in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and was a member of the board of selectmen of that town in 1782. He was a soldier of the revolution, and was an elder of the Presbyterian church, which proves him to have been a man of standing and character in the town. The maiden name of his wife Margaret is not discovered, but she is de-
scribed as a "genteel woman." They were the parents of nine children, namely : Robert, Jenny, John, Smith, Thomas, James, William, Betsey and Peggy. The sons seem to have been of an adventurous spirit, and all except James made trips to South Carolina. The eld- est died in his thirty-first year on the passage home from California in 1794.
(VII) James (3), probably fifth son of Rob- ert (2) and Margaret Thompson, was born August 18, 1764, in Londonderry, and settled in Buckfield, Maine, when a young man. There he cleared up a farm and spent the remainder of his life. His first wife was a Gregg, prob- ably a daughter of Jonathan Gregg, of Lon- donderry, and she bore him one son, Jonathan Gregg, born August 12, 1792. He married second, Martha Gilmore, probably daughter of Whitefield Gilmore. She died November 17, 1833, and was the mother of a large family of children, namely : Whitefield Gilmore, Robert, Margaret, Saralı Boies, James, Jeremiah Smith, Elizabeth, William Nelson, Mary, Adam, John, Mary Jane and Charles. His third wife was a Chase and she bore him one son, Elisha.
(VIII ) James (4), third son of James (3) Thompson and fifth child of his second wife, was born June 21, 1801, in Buckfield, and died in Dover, Maine, in 1873. He was brought up on his father's farm, receiving a common school education, and from early youth was accustomed to work on his native farm. In 1826 he removed to Sangerville, Maine, where he engaged in farming and lumbering business until 1850, and also conducted a general store. In the last-named year he opened a general store in Dover, Maine, in partnership with C. O. Palmer. He was also interested in the lumber business at Dover. He was a very capable and successful man, of wide influence and useful citizenship. Three years before his death he retired. In politics Mr. Thompson was a Republican, and was selectman of the town and town treasurer for several years. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Dover, a liberal contrib- utor to its funds and especially to the building fund at the time of erecting the new edifice. He married, 1826, Hannah Hunt Coombs, born in Brunswick, Maine, 1806, died in 1884, daughter of Deacon John Coombs. Children : 1. Elbridge Augustus, born January 4, 1828, mentioned below. 2. Amanda E., born Feb- ruary 7, 1830, married C. O. Palmer, her fa- ther's partner. 3. Hannah, born April, 1835, married first, A. M. Foss, of Charlestown, Maine, and second, Edward H. Guernsey, son
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of Deacon Samuel Guernsey, of Bangor. They were the parents of: Frank E. Guernsey, a lawyer and representative elected to the United States congress. He married a daughter of Dr. Lyford, of Vinalhaven, Maine, and they have one son, Thompson Guernsey. 4. Dr. Edwin J., born 1842, a practicing dentist of Lynn, Massachusetts.
(IX) Dr. Elbridge Augustus, son of James (4) Thompson, was born in Sangerville, Jan- uary 4, 1828. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, in the Foxcroft Academy, at Bowdoin College where he was a student for two years, and at the Medical School at Castleton, Vermont, from which he received his degree of M. D. in 1852. He be- gan to practice his profession in the town of Charleston, Maine, and continued until he en- tered the service in the civil war, in 1862. He was on active duty as surgeon until Decem- ber, 1864, and afterward was connected with the provost marshal's office in Bangor, Maine, from January 1, 1865, until the close of the war. He began general practice in Dover, Maine, where he has made his home to the present time. Ile was unusually successful as a physician and surgeon, became a leader in his profession, and his practice extended throughout Piscataquis county. He retired in 1903. Dr. Thompson had an aptitude for business. He invested his savings wisely in various local enterprises, and his services came to be souglit in various fiduciary positions. He became president of the Piscataquis Sav- ings Bank, of which he is now a trustee; is now president of the Kineo Trust Company ; treasurer of the Dexter & Piscataquis Railroad and of the Dover & Foxcroft Light and Heat Company. He has been very prominent in political life. For many years he has been a prominent Republican leader. He was select- man of the town for four terms; member of the school committee thirty-five years ; repre- sentative to the state legislature for one year ; surgeon-general on the governor's staff in 1871, rank of colonel ; member of the executive council of the state in 1873 and 1874; alter- nate to the Republican National Convention of 1876; delegate in 1880 and one of the four delegates-at-large from the state of Maine to the national convention of 1896. He served on the United States board of examiners for pensions for twenty-eight years. He is a trus- tee of the Foxcroft Academy, and interested especially in educational affairs. He donated the land and building with an endowment of ten thousand dollars for the Thompson Free Library at Dover. Dr. Thompson is a thirty-
second degree Mason, a member of Mosaic Lodge; of Piscataquis Chapter, Royal Arch Masons of Dover ; of St. John's Commandery, Knights Templar, Bangor ; of the Maine Con- sistory, Portland; Kora Temple, Lewiston, Maine. He belongs to C. S. Drouty Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and to the mili- tary order of the Loyal Legion.
He married first, 1854, Marion Foss, born in Charleston, Maine, died 1855, daughter of Job Foss. He married second, in 1858, Lucia A. Eddy, born 1833, daughter of Jonathan Maynard and Eliza ( Morrill) Eddy, of Cor- inth, Maine. He has no children.
Robert Thompson was the THOMPSON immigrant ancestor of the family in America. He was in Durham, now Dover, New Hampshire, as early as 1635, and Thompson's Point, just south of the mouth of the Cocheco river, was named for him. Ile was taxed in Dover in 1648 and witnessed a deed in 1652.
(11) William Thompson, according to fam- ily tradition, was the son of Robert Thomp- son, above mentioned. He received a grant of land in Dover in 1656, "beyond Cocheco Log Swamp," and a grant October 15, 1656, which was originally assigned to John White, in Kittery, a short way below the mouth of Sturgeon creek. He probably married a daughter of John White, and in 1659 was pre- sented at York court "for rebellion against his father and mother-in-law." He died in 1676 and his estate was appraised at fifty-two pounds eighteen shillings. He left twenty- three acres of land, a house and orchard in Kittery, and fifty acres in Dover. Children : 1. John, born 1659, married Sarah Woodman. 2. William, 1661, married probably Mary Lov- ering. 3. Robert, 1664, lived "with Tobey Hanson at Dover." 4. James, 1666, married Elizabeth Frye. 5. Alexander, 1671, men- tioned below. 6. Judith, 1675.
(111) Alexander, son of William Thomp- son, was born in 1671. He had a grant of land in Kittery, Maine, in 1694, and died there July 13, 1720. He married Anna Curtis, of York, Maine, and she survived him, being ap- pointed his administrator October 4, 1720. Children : 1. Elizabeth, married John Allen. 2. Abigail, married, 1720, at York, John Geary. 3. Benjamin, born October 14, 1702, mentioned below. 4. John, December 30, 1704, married Priscilla Davis. 5. Samuel, April 6, 1707, married Hannah Brackett, of Berwick. 6. Jo- seph, May 13, 1711, married Mary Welch, daughter of Philip Welch, in 1733. 7. Jona-
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than, May 1, 1713, married Dinah Thompson, daughter of James Thompson. 8. Curtis, June 2, 1715, married Sarah Junkins, daughter of David Junkins. 9. James, died October 22, 1724.
(IV) Benjamin, son of Alexander Thomp- son, was born October 14, 1702. He married, the intention being published November 27, 1726, Hannah Smith, daughter of Joseph Smith, of York, Maine. Children: I. Benja- min, born September 7, 1727, mentioned be- low. 2. Hannah, married Jeremiah Linscott. 3. Alexander, February 20, 1733-34, soldier in the revolution ; married, 1772, Abigail Emery ; resided in Berwick. 4. Daniel, married, 1764, Sarah Linscott. 5. Abel, married, 1767, Eleanor Staples. 6. Ebenezer, married, 1772, Mercy Staples. 7. Meribah, married, 1760, Thomas Moulton. 8. Mary, married, 1767, Daniel Linscott.
(V) Benjamin (2), son of Benjamin (1) Thompson, was born in York, Maine, Sep- tember 7, 1727. He came to Kennebunk, Maine, with his uncle, Jonathan Thompson, and lived with him. He married, December 31, 1752, Eunice Lord, daughter of Nathan Lord, of Berwick. He married, second, Mary Foster. Children of first wife: 1. Benjamin, born 1754, mentioned below. 2. Nathan, born 1756. died 1843; married, first, Hannah Thompson; second, Esther Littlefield. 3. Alexander, married Lydia Wildes, of Kittery. 4. Stephen, married Lois Taylor. 5. James, born 1761, married Anna Walker, died 1846. 6. Eunice, married Daniel Perkins. 7. Lemuel, married Susan Haley, of Bath, Maine. 8. Isaac, died at sea. 9. Hannah, married Abner Littlefield. 10. Ezra, married Mary Merrill. II. Miriam, died young. Children of second wife: 12. Moses. 13. Mary, died young. 14. Lydia, married Israel Burnham.
(VI) Benjamin (3), son of Benjamin (2) Thompson, born in 1754, died February 6, 1839. He married (first) Elizabeth Lord, daughter of Captain Tobias Lord. He mar- ried (second) Hannah Luques, widow. He was a soldier in the revolution, and it is re- lated that after he was discharged from the army he walked barefoot all the way from New York to his home in Maine. Children : Nathaniel. David, Benjamin, mentioned below ; Eunice. Mary, Betsey, Lavina.
(VII) Benjamin (4), son of Benjamin (3) Thompson, born December 29, 1793, on the old homestead at Kennebunkport, Maine, died March 6, 1894, over one hundred years old. When a youth he worked on the homestead
and lived in the house built in 1779 by his father in Kennebunk near the present location called Day's Siding on the Eastern railroad, about four miles northeast of the village. At the time of itserection the nearest county or town road was three miles distant. It had the advantage, however, of being near a running brook, and surrounded with heavy timber land that afterward came into the possession of his father and descended to him. To the end of his long life Benjamin kept the first dollar he ever earned, a Spanish coin of 1798, received for a fowl that he raised, sold by one of his older brothers in the market at New Orleans. He remembered the death of Washington which took place when he was less than four years of age. He used to attend school in his own home where a schoolmaster named Thompson taught. When only ten years of age he rode horseback to Kennebunkport to sell butter from the farm. At the age of twenty- two he left home and went to sea. His last voyage was as first mate of the brig "Trident" of Kennebunkport, commanded by his brother, Captain Nathaniel Thompson (who was father of the late Captain Nathaniel L., Colonel Will- iam L., Frank and Charles Thompson, of Ken- nebunk), bound from New Orleans to Amster- dam. Captain Nathaniel Thompson died at New Orleans, and the command of the vessel devolved on Benjamin, who took it to Amster- dam. He suffered from malarial fever, con- tracted in the south, and was obliged to give up his life on the sea. He returned to the homestead and devoted himself to farming, ac- quiring a substantial fortune during his long life. When he relinquished the farm to his son Horace on account of advanced age, he continued to live in the old home with his son and his daughter Mary Elizabeth, the only surviving children. At the time of the father's centennial birthday, the son was seventy-one years old.
Captain Thompson was a leading citizen of Kennebunkport ; was for seven years on its board of selectmen, managing its affairs with ability and discretion. Before the civil war he was a Jacksonian Democrat; afterward a Republican. He retained excellent health al- most to the last. Until he was ninety-eight years old he never engaged the services of a physician or took a dose of medicine ; never used tobacco and never bought a glass of liquor over a bar except once. When he was in his prime lie was six feet in height and he never weighed more than one hundred and sixty- eight pounds, yet he was of extraordinary
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strength. Once in Gibraltar he lifted three fifty-six pound cannon balls by his little finger, a feat none of his shipmates could equal.
A few days after the centennial birthday of Captain Thompson, Charles O. Huff, a per- sonal friend, wrote of him: "He is now quite erect, standing or sitting, and moves as spryly as the average men do at seventy-five. His head is well covered with iron-gray hair, and his eyes are quite brilliant under his heavy eye- brows. He reads easily with glasses and, save his hearing, which is quite dull, his senses and mind are well preserved. He is buoyant in spirit and appears to be in perfect health. * * During the interview many memen- toes of ancient date were produced and shown by the captain. Among them were the old musket and powder-horn used by his father in the revolutionary war; the fire shovel and tongs that were his grandfather Thompson's ; the dining table which is over two hundred years old, now in daily use by the family ; the old clock in the corner of the sitting room, which has done duty for seventy-five years, and is now ticking away the time of the sec- ond century of the captain's life. The room where he was born and which he now occu- pies was noticed. There is no stove in it, and no heat but what is furnished by a wood fire in an adjoining room. The captain says he believes in having a good circulation of air, and that wood fire is more healthy thian coal. His appetite is good, his sleep generally un- disturbed ; and he arises refreshed in mind and body."
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