Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 108

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 818

USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III > Part 108

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CHASE The annals of North America are frequently embellished by this name, which has been borne by statesmen, jurists, soldiers, clergymen and others honored in the various walks of life.

For many years the earliest known ancestor of the American family of this name was Aquila Chase, who was among the founders of Hampton, New Hampshire, and said to be from Cornwall, England, by several antiquar- ians on the authority of tradition. A long search has established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that he was from Chesham in Bucking- hamshire, some thirty miles northwest of Lon- don. The family is said to have been of Nor- man origin, and it has been suggested that the name was formerly La Chasse. In the old English records it is spelled Chaace and Chaase, and in the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- turies it was modified to the form now most in use-Chase.

(I) Matthew Chase, of Hundritche, parish of Chesham, gives his father's name as John, and the father of the latter as Thomas. As the name of Matthew's wife is the first female found in the line, this article will number Mat- thew as the first. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Bould.

(II) Richard, son of Matthew and Eliza- beth (Bould) Chase, married Mary Roberts, of Welsden, in Middlesex. He had brothers, Francis, John, Matthew, Thomas, Ralph and William, and a sister Bridget.

(III) Richard (2), son of Richard and

Mary (Roberts) Chase, was baptized August 23, 1542, and was married September 16, 1564, to Joan (or Anne) Bishop. Their children were: Robert, Henry, Lydia, Ezekiel, Dorcas, Aquila, Jason, Thomas, Abigail and Mordecai. (IV) Aquila, son of Richard (2) and Joan or Anne (Bishop) Chase, was baptized Au- gust 14, 1580, and died December 24, 1670. The unique name of Aquila is found nowhere in England, before or since, coupled with the name of Chase, which makes it reasonably cer- tain that this Aquila was the ancestor of the American family. One tradition gives the name of his wife as Sarah, and another as Martha Jellison. Record is found of two sons, Thomas and Aquila, the latter born in 1618. It is generally believed that William Chase, the first of the name in America, was an elder son, and that the others came with him or fol- lowed later. The fact of their being minors would lead to their absence from the records of the earliest days of William in this country. Some authorities intimate that Thomas and Aquila were employed by their uncle, Thomas Chase, who was part owner of the ship "John and Francis," and thus became navigators and so found their way to America. This theory is borne out by the fact that Aquila was granted a house lot and six acres of marsh by the inhabitants of Newbury, Massachusetts, "on condition that he do go to sea and do service in the Towne with a boat for foure years."

(V) Aquila (2), son of Aquila (1) Chase, settled in Newbury, Massachusetts (that part now Newburyport), about 1646. He was for- merly in Hampton (now part of New Hamp- shire), where he and his brother Thomas re- ceived grants of land in June, 1640, along with fifty-five others. There, as owner of a house lot, he was listed among those entitled to a share in the common lands, December 23, 1645. This he subsequently sold to his brother, as shown by town records after his removal to Newbury. His eldest child is said to have been born in Hampton. His wife, Anne (Wheeler) Chase, was a daughter of John Wheeler, who came from Salisbury, England. In September, 1646, according to the county records, Aquila Chase and his wife, with her brother, David Wheeler, were presented and fined "for gathering pease on the Sabbath." They were admonished by the court, after which their fines were remitted. Mr. Chase died December 27, 1670, aged fifty-two years. His widow married again, and died April 21, 1687. Aquila Chase's children were named : Sarah and Anne (twins), Priscilla, Mary,

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Aquila, Thomas, John, Elizabeth, Ruth, Dan- icl and Moses.

(VI) Moses, eleventh and youngest child of Aquila (2) and Anne ( Wheeler) Chase, was born December 24, 1663, in Newbury. He was married November 10, 1682 or 1684, to Anna Follansbee, and settled in West Newbury, on the main road, about one hundred rods above Bridge street (present). A large majority of the Chases in the United States are said to be his descendants. He died September 6, 1743. His children were: Moses (died young) and Daniel (twins), Moses, Samuel, Elizabeth, Stephen, Hannah, Joseph and Ben- oni.

(VII) Samuel, fourth son and child of Moses and Anna (Follansbee) Chase, was born May 13, 1690, and married, December 8, 1713, Hannah Emery. Their children were : Francis, Amos, Hannah, Mary (died young), Anne, Samuel, Mary, Betsey, Benjamin, John. (VIII) Deacon Amos, second son and child of Samuel and Hannah (Emery) Chase, was born in Newbury, January 15, 1718. He emi- grated to Saco, Maine, then called Pepperell- borough, in honor of Sir William Pepperell, Baronet, who owned a large tract of land, a portion of which was granted for a "towne settlement" about 1740. "Mr. Chase was with- out doubt one of the fruits of the great re- ligious revival beginning in 1735 in Newbury, Massachusetts, under Jonathan Edwards, con- tinued by Whitefield, Tennant, and others, the account of which would fill a volume." Mr. Chase attempted a settlement in Buxton, on a right belonging to his father. Tradition says "he was the first person to drive a team into the town; and that his daughter Rebecca was the first white child born in Buxton." The war of 1744 caused him to return to Newbury, from which place he returned to Saco, and settled at "the Ferry" at the mouth of the Saco river. In 1760 he removed to the estate two miles above, where he spent the remainder of his long and active life. "The stately elms which overshadowed the residence of the good deacon" he carried to the spot and set out with his own hands about the time of his removal. No one knows their size or age at the time they were transplanted, but they have already stood one hundred and fifty years in their pres- ent environment. The first meeting held in Pepperellborough was in July, 1762, when Amos Chase, Tristam Jordan, and Robert Pat- terson were chosen selectmen. October 13, 1762 (a day set apart for fasting and prayer ), a church was organized consisting of eleven members. Rev. John Fairfield was chosen for

first pastor, and Amos Chase for first deacon. Mr. Chase was ordained April 21, 1763. The first committee of correspondence selected to prepare the way for the Revolution, was chosen in Pepperellborough, November 9, 1774, and was composed of Deacon Amos Chase, Tris- tram Jordan, James Scammon, and James Foss. A separate committee of inspection was chosen consisting of the same persons with two others, to see that the several "Resolves of the County Congresses be complied with." Deacon Amos Chase was "Stately and com- manding in figure, six feet in height, vigorous and erect even in old age, eloquent in conver- sation and pre-eminently so in prayer." On July 17, 1817, the deacon, then ninety-nine years old, rode three miles on horseback to the rural seat of George Thatcher, where he met President Monroe and suite returning from Portland to Biddeford, and extended to him an eloquent welcome, concluding with the invocation of a blessing on the illustrious chief magistrate. Deacon Chase died March 2, 1818, having overlapped his century one month and eighteen days. The record of that time states that "He had been hopefully converted to Christianity 85 years, has had 14 children, 81 grandchildren, 188 great-grandchildren, and 19 great-great-grandchildren, 195 of whom are now living." He married, November, 1741, soon after settling in Saco, Sarah, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Cole. Their children were: Samuel, Rebecca, Hannah, Betsey, Moses, Sarah, Amos, Joseph, Anna, John, Olive, Daniel, Mary and Abner.

(IX) 'Daniel, twelfth child and sixth son of Deacon Amos and Sarah (Cole) Chase, was born August 28, 1762, and inherited his father's homestead, then and since known as "the Elms." There he spent his life and died September 1, 1827, surviving his father, on whose estate he administered, nine years. He is described as "a man of sterling integrity, an honored citizen, modest and unassuming in manner, kind and generous, beloved by all his neighbors and acquaintances." He married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Benjamin Tap- pan, of Huguenot descent, who spent the en- tire period of his sacerdotal life as pastor of the Congregational church in Manchester, Massachusetts. One of her descendants thus speaks of her: "My grandmother, Elizabeth Tappan Chase, spent her married life at 'The Elms.' She was a woman of great strength of character, strong religious convictions inher- ited from her Huguenot ancestry, which were impressed on her children. She outlived her husband seven years, and died June 26, 1834,

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after an illness of a few hours only." The children of this union were: Benjamin Tap- pan, Sarah, Daniel, Amos, 'David, Eliza and Mary.

(X) Amos (2), fourth child and third son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Tappan) Chase, was born in Saco, January 14, 1799, and succeeded his father in the possession of the ancestral seat, "The Elms." One who knew him well in the varied relations of life wrote of him: "Mr. Chase was the grandson of the remark- able centenarian whose name he bore, and with him died the name so long identified with the interests of Saco. Born at the old home- stead on the 'Ferry Road,' occupied by the family more than one hundred years, he spent almost his entire life in Saco. At an early age he embarked in mercantile business which he pursued for some time, then engaged in lum- bering in which for years he was the leading operator in this market. Subsequently he was extensively engaged in navigation, but for sev- eral years has retired from active business. Mr. Chase was a fine illustration of New Eng- land energy and capacity. With but a limited early education he achieved success by careful use of his opportunities, strict integrity, shrewd foresight, and prompt attention to business. Beginning without other capital than his own ability he raised himself to be a power in the business community. In his domestic and so- cial relations he was beloved for his gentle courtesy and thoughtfulness for others. Nat- urally reserved, he seldom gave expression in words to his feelings, but generous and con- siderate deeds showed the spirit which actu- ated him." His daughter thus writes of him : "My father, Amos Chase, was one of the most lovable men I ever knew. He was respected as a citizen, valued as a friend, honored as a man of integrity, and endeared in all the re- lations of family and kindred. 'Uncle Amos' was a household name in the homes of two generations." He possessed a commanding figure, very erect, and in countenance, it was said, he strongly resembled Hon. Edward Ev- erett, for whom he was often taken. He died in Saco, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Eastman, August 12, 1873, aged seventy-four. He married, about 1833, Mary Frances Aker- man, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who was born October 15, 1817, and died August 10, 1887. She was considered very beautiful in her youth both in face and figure, and re- tained her beauty through life. She was a woman of superior endowments and good judgment, was a consistent Christian, with all the essential qualities of a good wife, mother

and grandmother. She died during a visit to the summer home of her daughter, Elizabeth Chase Palmer, in Kennebunkport, August 10, 1887, having survived her husband fourteen years. Two children were born to Amos and Mary F. (Akerman) Chase: Mary Elizabeth and Frances Ellen.

(XI) Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Amos and Mary Frances (Akerman) Chase, was born in Saco, June 22, 1834, and married, De- cember 12, 1855, Bartlett Palmer, of Boston, Massachusetts, by whom she had six children : Chase, Bartlett, Nelson, Lillian, Clinton and Francis.

(XI) Frances Ellen, second daughter of Amos and Mary Frances (Akerman) Chase, was born in Saco, August 23, 1843; married, in Baltimore, Maryland, June 18, 1868, Ed- ward Eastman, of Saco. (See Eastman, VIII.)

WOOD This name is exceedingly numer- ous, both in England and Amer- ica. Add to those born Wood or Woods the foreigners who have acquired the patronymic by translating their original names, the French DuBois and the German Wald, to their English equivalent, and it will be readily seen how the tribe increases. Happily the fam- ily are noted for their respectability as well as their multiplicity ; so there can hardly be too many of them. In England, Wood is the fam- ily name of the Viscount Halifax. A historical magazine, published at Newbury, New York, would associate the patronymic with another noble family, for it says that Israel Wood, only son of Israel Wood, Earl of Warwick, came to New Amsterdam with the Duke of York and purchased a tract six miles square in the township of Brookhaven, Long Island. He married his wife in this country, and left three son, Israel, Cornelius and Alexander. There is evidently some mistake here, for the family name of the present Earl of Warwick is Brooke. But American Woods have no need to search for distinguished relatives bearing foreign titles. There are plenty of the Ameri- can branch who have won distinction on their own merits. Among them may be mentioned Dr. Alphonso Wood, the eminent botanist, born in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, whose first manual was put forth in 1845. Com- mander Edward Barker Wood, of Ohio, won distinction at the battle of Manilla by silenc- ing the Spanish forts from the little gunboat "Petrel." Miss Frances A. Wood, the hon- ored librarian of Vassar College, has been con- nected with the institution from its foundation

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in 1865. Of the fame of General Leonard Wood, the original colonel of the Rough Riders, it is not necessary to speak in detail.

It is difficult to say who was the first Ameri- can immigrant bearing the name of Wood, be- cause so many came here in the early days ; among them, no less than nine under the given name of William. William Wood, a husband- man, came over in the "Hopewell" in 1635. There was a William Wood at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who married Martha Earle. We find a William Wood at Marblehead in 1668; one at Ipswich who took the oath of fidelity in 1678; one at Newton, Long Island, in 1640, who may have come from Stamford, Connecticut ; one who was a freeman at Salem in 1670; and one at Burlington, New Jersey, in 1677. This leaves out of account the Will- iam Wood, of Concord, Massachusetts, the ancestor of the following line ; and the William Wood who wrote "New England's Prospects." This book was published in England in 1634, and there is some doubt as to which William wrote it. The volume has been erroneously attributed to the founder of the clan whose history is traced below; but the probabilities are that the William who wrote the book did not become a permanent settler. He came to this country in 1629, going first to Salem, Massachusetts, and the next year to Lynn, and remaining there till his return to England, August 15, 1633.

(I) William Wood was born in England in 1582 and died in Concord, Massachusetts, May 14, 1671. He emigrated from Matlock, Derby- shire, with his wife and family in 1638, being fifty-six years old at the time. His ancestry is unknown, though there has been an effort to trace him to James Wood, a cornet of dra- goons under Cromwell, who was a Yorkshire man and finally settled in the county of Sligo, Ireland. All that we surely know is that Will- iam Wood and his wife Margaret with their two children, Michael, who had a wife Mary, and Ruth, an unmarried daughter, came to this country in 1638. They were accompanied by William Wood's nephew, Thomas Flint, who was probably married at the time. Ruth Wood afterwards married Captain Thomas Wheeler, noted in Indian warfare. William Wood seems to have stood well with his fellow set- tlers in Concord, Massachusetts, and held many town offices. His will was made Sep- tember 15, 1670, and an inventory of the es- tate was returned the following June, about a month after his decease. Among the other items one notes "putre," sixteen shillings;

"napkins and pillow coates," ten shillings. The total inventory amounted to seventy-seven pounds, six shillings and two pence; but the testator explains that he has already given half of his movable estate to his daughter, Ruth Wheeler, at the time of her marriage. In addition he bequeaths her "two brown cowes, also a great Brass kettle and a brass pot, and Mr. Bulklyes Books upon the Cove- nant and all the Augors that my son Wheeler hath in his hands, except the bigest." The rest of the property, except a brindled cow given to his grandchild, Abigail Hosmer, is bequeathed unreservedly to his son Michael, as his wife Margaret's death had taken place eleven years before, on September 1, 1659.

(II) Michael, only son of William and Margaret Wood, was born in England, prob- ably at Matlock in Derbyshire, and died at Concord, Massachusetts, May 13, 1674, only three years after his father. He migrated to this country with his father in 1638, and on the first settlement of Concord had a house and lot near the common. Later he moved to a farm farther away; and it is said that he was also heavily interested in the iron-works in that township. It is thought that his death must have been sudden, as he left no will. Michael Wood had a wife Mary, whom he married in England, but no further facts are known about her. There were eight children, all born in Concord, Massachusetts: Abigail, April 10, 1642; John, whose sketch follows; Nathaniel; Mary ; Thomson; Abraham; Isaac ; and Jacob, March 3, 1662. The order of the children is conjectural, as the births of two only, probably the eldest and youngest, are recorded. Two of the children died before their father, Nathaniel Wood on March 7, 1662, and Mary Wood on April 24, 1663.

(III) John, son of Michael and Mary Wood, was born at Concord, Massachusetts, some- where about 1650, and died there January 3, 1728. On November 13, 1677, he married Elizabeth Vinton, of Concord, and they had five children : Elizabeth, born July 15, 1678; John (2), whose sketch follows; Abraham, August 17, 1682; William, March 4, 1687; and Ruth, February II, 1692. Mrs. Elizabeth (Vinton) Wood died April 8, 1728, three months and five days after her husband. Their youngest child, Ruth, died at the age of twenty-three years.

(IV) John (2), eldest son of John (I) and Elizabeth (Vinton) Wood, was born at Con- cord, Massachusetts, November 13, 1680, died July 12, 1746. On May 22, 1707, he married

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Mary Lee, daughter of Joseph Lee, and they had eight children : Mary, born February 16, 1708, died September 26, 1728; Millicent, Oc- tober 23, 1710; Eunice, March 8, 1712; Eliza- beth, February 22, 1714; John (3), whose sketch follows; Martha, March 23, 1718; Michael, August 28, 1721, died September 18, 1721; and Zepheniah, January 12, 1725, died November 6, 1794, leaving a wife Abigail, but no children. Out of this large family John (3), mentioned in the next paragraph, was the only one to continue the name.

(V) John (3), eldest son of John (2) and Mary (Lee) Wood, was born at Concord, Massachusetts, March 1, 1716, and died at Mason, New Hampshire, November 9, 1785. In 1778, only seven years before his death, he left his native town and moved to Mason, be- ing the first of his line to migrate from their original dwelling-place in Concord. About 1744 he married Elizabeth Boutelle, born in 1719, died November 13, 1794. Children : John, born February 27, 1745; James, born and died April 18, 1751; James, November 4, 1755; Nathan, whose sketch follows; and Bet- sey, who died young.

(VI) Nathan, fourth and youngest son of John (3) and Elizabeth (Boutelle) Wood, was born August 16, 1758, at Concord, Mas- sachusetts, and died March 26, 1830, at Starke, Maine. He married Susannah Dunton, born January 5, 1761, at New Ipswich, New Hamp- shire, and died June 25, 1844, at New Sharon, Maine. Among their children was Nathan (2), mentioned below.

(VII) Nathan (2), son of Nathan (I) and Susannah (Dunton) Wood, was born July 4, 1788, at Starke, and died July 4, 1887, at Mercer, Maine, having just passed his ninety- ninth birthday. He was instructed to mow with a scythe when he was ten years old, and as it is the custom in Maine to commence har- vesting about the Fourth of July, he followed this each and every year until his death. The last he mowed was a strip about one hundred feet long, when he was ninety-nine years old. The feat was always performed on his birth- day. Married (first) Rebecca Gault. . Chil- dren : Nancy, Sabrina, Ann, Olive, John N., whose sketch follows, William, Susan, Betsey. Nathan (2) Wood married (second) Annie Hallway, and they had one son, Charles.

(VIII) John Nathan, son of Nathan (2) and Rebecca (Gault) Wood, was born Sep- tember 29, 1825, at Norridgewock, Maine, and attended the common schools of his native town till the age of fourteen. Being one of a large family he was obliged to go to work,

and he went to Augusta, where he found em- ployment in a hotel. At the age of eighteen he went to Waterville, and for four years he drove the stage between that place and Skow- hegan. About that time came rumors of the wealth to be had in California merely by wash- ing the sands, and Mr. Wood, like so many others of the Argonauts, was attracted by these alluring dreams of gold. Being a sober and thrifty young man, he had saved enough of his earnings to pay his passage by way of the Isthmus of Panama, which cost three hun- dred and seventy-five dollars. The voyage took thirty-one days, and when he landed at San Francisco, California, he had only one ten-dollar gold piece left, and it was a walk of sixty miles to get to the "placer diggings." With several others, all from the same locality in Maine, he began the long tramp to the long- sought El Dorado. When they started, each was carrying a heavy valise, but they had gone but little way when they began to find many valises by the roadside, which had been emptied of the absolutely necessary articles, and abandoned with the rest of their contents. A short distance farther on, the valises of the newcomers were added to those already left. During Mr. Wood's stay of four years in the placer fields, he, with nine other Yankees, all from Maine, who in fact were the only other New Englanders or Yankees in that district, walked nine miles to cast their presidential vote for Fremont. After his return from California, where he was very successful, Mr. Wood came to Lewiston, Maine, and purchased a quarter interest in a stave mill, later known as the Wood mill, and had charge of this for several years. In 1865 he founded what is now one of the largest coal and wood yards in central Maine. Mr. Wood is a Republican in politics, and served in the common council of the city government in 1865 and again in 1869. Mr. Wood has been a director of the First Na- tional Bank of Lewiston for over thirty years, and was vice-president of the bank for five years. He is a member of Lewiston Board of Trade, also a member of Ashler Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, King Hiram Chapter, R. A. M., Lewiston Commandery, No. 6, K. T., and Portland Consistory, thirty-second de- gree, and Kora Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Lewiston, Maine, of which he was treasurer for four years and one of the sixteen charter members. In religious preferences he is a Universalist.

On September 4, 1849, John Nathan Wood married Mary J. Pratt, daughter of Collins and Nancy (Coffin) Pratt, of Damariscotta,

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Maine. Children : Helen Augusta, born Jan- uary 21, 1852, married Frank N. Kincaid, July 5, 1882; they had one child, John Everett, born September 21, 1883. Mary Ella, Decem- ber 14, 1861, died April 6, 1865. George, De- cember 21, 1862, died April 7, 1865. George Everett, August 31, 1866, married Mary Ma- rion Straw, daughter of J. B. Straw, October 20, 1887; he died June 29, 1888.

The history of this Mat- MATTHEWS thews family, of which some account follows, be- gins, so far as definitely proven, in Boothbay, although it is almost certainly established that the next preceding four generations were of Dover, New Hampshire, and the surrounding towns, where the name is often spelled Mathes. The earliest ancestor at Boothbay was John Matthews, whose origin is somewhat conjec- tural, though probably derived from one of the four sources. First, but not most probable : A Scotchman named Thomas Matthews was among the early settlers of Pemaquid who were killed or driven away by the Indians in the last quarter of the seventeenth century to Massachusetts and other sections further west. One, William Matthews, appears in 1743 as one of some twenty-five petitioners to Governor Shirley, they being settlers on the shore of the Damariscotta river, where they had re- sided twelve years. This William may have been a son or grandson of Thomas Matthews, of Pemaquid, and had probably settled there with Dunbar settlers, 1729-31. William Mat- thews was of the right age to have been the father of John Matthews, of Boothbay, who could not have been born later than 1735, and the location is near by. Second: A John Matthews came from Massachusetts with those who settled Merryconeag, then a part of North Yarmouth, now Harpswell, and was there as early as 1740, when he appears among the thirty petitioners. He appears again in 1743 and 1748, and is there as late as 1768. It is possible that John Matthews, of Booth- bay, was one of his sons by his first marriage, born before he went to Harpswell. Third: A John Matthews, said to have come from York, Maine, was a petitioner among those living on the Kennebec in 1752 and again in 1755. Fourth: The last and altogether most probable supposition leads to the same immi- grant ancestor as the third; that is : that John Matthews of Boothbay came from Dover, New Hampshire, or one of the surrounding towns,

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Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 108

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe Publication date: 1909 Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company Number of Pages: 818

Author: Little, George Thomas, 1857-1915, ed; Burrage, Henry Sweetser, 1837-1926; Stubbs, Albert Roscoe
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 818