Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 39

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 39

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

(V) Stephen, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Carlton) Pingree, was born in Methuen, August 7, 1752, and died April 30, 1840. He was a revolutionary soldier, served under Washington in New York, and was granted a pension. The "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution" con- tains two records of military service of Stephen Pingrey ; the former may refer to the Stephen of this sketch, the second undoubtedly does. They are as follows : "Pingrey, Stephen. Private, Capt. Aaron Jewett's Co., Col. Job Cushing's regt .; enlisted July 27, 1777; dis- charged Aug. 29, 1777; service I mo., 3 days; company raised in Littleton, Westford, Groton, Shirley, Townsend, and Ashby, and marched to Bennington on an alarm; also, Capt. Aaron Jewett's Co., Col. Samuel Bul- lard's regt .; enlisted Aug. 29, 1777; dis- charged Nov. 29, 1777; service, 3 mos. 12 days with Northern Army, including 11 days (220 miles) travel home; company marched to Saratoga; roll dated Littleton. Pingrey,

Stephen. Private, Capt. John Porter's Co., Col. Samuel Denny's (2d) regt. ; enlisted Oct. 19, 1779; discharged Nov. 23, 1779; service I mo. 15 days, at Claverack, including 10 days (200 miles) travel home ; regiment raised for 3 months." After his marriage he moved to New Salem, New Hampshire, thence moved to Derryfield in 1785, and to Norway, Maine, in 1808. He had visited Norway five years previously, and selected a lot of land in the northern part of the town. He was a devoted Methodist in religious faith; a Whig in poli- tics, he held various offices of responsibility. "He was an intelligent, industrious, and valu- able citizen." He married, September 21, 1773, Ruth Hoyt, of Methuen, who died Octo- ber 21, 1836. His seven sons and one daugh- ter were residents of the same neighborhood with their parents. Their names were : Dolly. Baker, Samuel, Stephen, Abner, Hezekiah, John, Hoyt and William.

(VI) Hoyt, seventh child of Stephen and Ruth (Hoyt) Pingree, was born in Manches- ter, New Hampshire, May 14, 1779, and died

in Waterford, Maine, June 23, 1865. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. In early life he was a Whig, and later a Democrat. In re- ligion he was a Swedenborgian. He and his wife were among the first settlers of Nor- way, Maine. He married Sarah Turner, of Durham, Maine, who died in 1876, aged eighty-six. Their children, all born in Nor- way, were named respectively: Mary Lowell, Luther Farrar, Dexter Bearce, Aaron Wilkins, Hoyt Milton, Levi Whitman, Ruth Hoyt died young; John Washington, Hannah Goodrich, Dexter Milton and Lawson M.

(VII) Luther Farrar, second child and eldest son of Hoyt and Sarah (Turner) Pin- gree, was born in Norway, May 25, 1813. He spent his minority in working upon the farm and in attending the district schools. He then served an apprenticeship as a machinist and pattern maker, and after that time gained honorable distinction as a mechanic and in- ventor. He received numerous diplomas and medals for useful inventions, and also for superior work, both from associations and from the United States patent office. Among the products of his skill were steam engines, carriages, mills for the manufacture of lum- ber, models for the patent office, and he was himself a patentee of artificial limbs which eminent surgeons pronounced the best in the world. He was always a practical worker, but was also a close student in the natural sciences, literature, and music, which were the pastime and delight of his life. He was in- terested in military affairs, served out four commissions in the old state militia; was on duty as aide-de-camp and orderly officer when the troops were recruited for the "Aroostook War," and was among the first to enlist in Maine for service in the war with Mexico. He had membership in several mechanical and charitable associations, and was a prominent Odd Fellow. He was a citizen of Portland for twenty-five years. Later he resided at Ferry Village, Cape Elizabeth. In religious faith he was an ardent Swedenborgian, and devoted himself lecturing and distributing re- ligious tracts. For a number of years he was a missionary in the New Church and was a great worker in Maine, Connecticut and New York. He was a "War Democrat" in the time of the civil war. He held various offices of trust in Portland. He married Elizabeth Marsh, daughter of Deacon David Dexter, of Bath, who was born November 9, 1816, and died September 28, 1893. Their children were: Ione Amelia, Helen Jane Guthrage, Frank Roundy Ashton, Sarah Charlotte Dex-

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ter. Consuelo Imogene, Malcolm Cameron, Virginia Dean and David Henry.

(VIII) Malcolm Cameron, sixth child and second son of Luther F. and Elizabeth Marsh (Dexter) Pingree, was born in Portland, Sep- tember 9, 1852, and died in South Portland, October 13, 1901. He was educated in the public schools, graduating from the Portland high school. He was a civil engineer for ten years, employed in the department of public works in Portland. In 1870 he began the study of medicine, and graduated from the New York Homoepathic Medical College in 1881, and then practiced in Portland. He was a Free Mason and Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and of the Golden Cross. He mar- ried, September 18, 1859, Cora Louise Dodge, only child of Dr. Rudolph L. and Harriet (Eaton) Dodge, of Portland, granddaughter of Moses and Louisa (Coffin) Dodge, and great-granddaughter of Abner Dodge, born August 18, 1765, died April 28, 1843, who married Lois Somers, who was born March 25, 1772, and died December 31, 1851. Dr. Dodge was born in Searsport, October 2, 1840. He was brought to Portland in 1844 and lived there until his death. He was educated in the public schools, and at the age of twenty-one enlisted in the first Maine cavalry and served during the war. He entered Bowdoin Medi- cal School in 1874, and took a course at the Boston University Medical School, from which he graduated the following year. He returned to Portland immediately and prac- ticed medicine there. He died suddenly July 28, 1907, while riding with his wife in his automobile, near Pride's Corner.

Dr. and Mrs. Pingree were the parents of one child, Harold Ashton, whose sketch fol- lows.

(IX) Harold Ashton, only son of Dr. Mal- colm C. and Cora Louise (Dodge) Pingree, was born in Portland, January 16, 1877. He graduated from Portland high school in 1894, and from the Maine Medical College in 1901. After practicing in Stonington and Portland, Maine, he became an interne at the Maine General Hospital, and held that position dur- ing the years 1902-03, and then settling in Portland, he joined Dr. E. G. Abbott in the practice of orthopedics, and together these two physicians have built up a famous practice and a paying business. Dr. Pingree is a Repub- lican. He is a Free Mason, member of Port- land Lodge, No. 1. He is a member of the Cumberland County Medical Society, the Maine Medical Association, the Portland Med-

ical Club, the Practitioners' Club, the Port- land Club, and the Phi Chi Medical Fra- ternity.

This line has a gene-

WHITEHOUSE alogical foreground worthy of any people.

The name comes from two words, "white" and "house." Way back in very early Saxon times the first to bear the name was the man who lived in a white house, and to distinguish him from his neighbors he was called Mr. Whitehouse. The family was first settled in this country in the state of New Hampshire, from whence certain members emigrated to the state of Maine. Judge William P. White- house, of the Maine supreme court, is of this lineage.

(I) Thomas Whitehouse was in Dover, New Hampshire, in 1658, and was the progeni- tor of the branch of the family herein treated. He was received as an inhabitant of Dover in 1665, upon the terms that he was to have what he brought with him, together with common- age for cattle, and no other privilege, the town having all it could accommodate. He was a blacksmith by trade, and in 1689 prayed pro- tection of Massachusetts. He was the father of two children, Thomas and Edward. He died December 3, 1707.

(II) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (I) Whitehouse, was born in Dover, New Hamp- shire. He married a daughter of William Pomfret, and they had a son, Pomfret.

(III) Pomfret, son of Thomas (2) White- house, was born in Dover, New Hampshire. He married Rebecca - -; children : Wil- liam, Pomfret, Elizabeth, Judith and Edward, twins, Thomas, Rosemes, Samuel, John and Moses.

(IV) William, eldest son of Pomfret and Rebecca Whitehouse, was born in Dover, New Hampshire, June 8, 1705. He married Eliza- beth -, and they were both baptized May 12, 1728. Children: Turner, John, Mary, William, Nathaniel, Lucy and Moses.

(V) Turner, eldest son of William and Elizabeth Whitehouse, was born in Dover, New Hampshire, December 19, 1742, and after arriving at adult age removed to Roches- ter, New Hampshire, a town adjoining Dover. By occupation he was a tanner and shoemaker. He married a Miss Hanson, who bore him eleven children, among whom was Nathaniel. (VI) Nathaniel, son of Turner and (Hanson) Whitehouse, was born in New Hampshire. He, with several of his brothers when they attained manhood, settled in Mid-

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dleton, Strafford county, New Hampshire, near Moose mountain, felled the forests and paved the way for civilization in that border- land of the Cocheco settlement. He married and among his children was Benjamin.

(VII) Benjamin, son of Nathaniel White- house, was born in Middleton, New Hamp- shire, January 14, 1790. He came to Oxford, Maine, in 1812, and cleared a farm on which he resided until his death in 1870, having attained the age of eighty-ninc, retaining his facultics to a remarkable degree. He married Sally (Pike) Buzzell, who lived to the ad- vanced age of ninety-two, expiring on her birthday. Children : Jonathan, Benjamin, Joan, Daniel, Harrict, Sarah, Jane and De- borah.

(VIII) Benjamin (2), second son of Ben- jamin (I) and Sally (Pike) (Buzzell) White- house, was born in Oxford, Maine, in 1815, died 1876, beloved and regretted by all who knew him. After attending the common schools, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, continuing throughout the active years of his life. He was one of the soldiers in the civil war from Maine, one of his sons enlisted in the Seventeenth Maine Regiment, and his son-in-law gave his life for the cause of free- dom. Mr. Whitehouse was a Universalist in religion, a Republican in politics, and was a consistent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married, in 1839, Susan C., daughter of Jacob and Susan (Cobb) Put- nam (see Putnam, VIII). Children : I. George H. 2. Eunice E., married (first) Osmond Town; (second) F. P. Putnam ; they reside at Rumford Falls. 3. Francis Clarke, mentioned below. 4. Alice M., married B. W. Marston ; resides in Norway. 5. Alfred W. 6. Edwin B. Benjamin Whitehouse married (second) and had one child, Freeland E.

(IX) Francis Clarke, second son of Benja- min and Susan C. (Putnam) Whitehouse, was born in Oxford, Maine, September 18, 1845. When he was eight years old his parents removed to Norway, Maine, and in the schools of that town he acquired his educa- tion. At the age of eighteen he left home and began life on his own account. At first he clerked in a general store, and then in a drug store as an apprentice in pharmacy. At the breaking out of the civil war, 1861, he en- listed, but was rejected on account of his youth, though his patriotism never waned. As express messenger on the Grand Trunk he ran from Portland to Montreal, and in this re- sponsible position acquitted himself in a way that was eminently satisfactory to his em-

ployers, and upon his severing his connection in 1867 regrets were entertained and expressed freely. But a man of Mr. Whitehouse's abil- ity was destined for a broader carcer, to con- trol men and to be the fiduciary custodian of vast sums. The dry goods business at Me- chanics Falls offered a fine opening, and in that thriving' town of rapid growth, then in the embryo period of its development, he en- tered upon his active career. In locating and investing in Mechanics Falls Mr. Whitehouse displayed his good business foresight. In 1872 he became connected with the Dennison Paper Company ; in 1888 he was manager of the Lisbon Falls Fibre Company, superin- tended the erection of their large mill, and later was made treasurer of the company; in 1893 he organized the Pejepscot Paper Com- pany, of which he was treasurer, and the dams and mill construction of this concern were all built under his personal supervision; he is president of the Bowdoin Paper Company ; in 1904 he organized the Bay Shore Lumber Company, purchasing one hundred and fifty thousand acres of timber land in New Bruns- wick and the Provinces, operating mills at each point ; in 1906 he promoted the Sagada- hoc Towing Company, of which he was made treasurer, and this company owns large ocean- going tugs and barges, conveying the products of the mills to Portland as a distributing point by rail. Mr. Whitehouse has great organizing ability, is a fine executive officer and is capable of enlisting the aid of capital seeking invest- ment in large industrial enterprises. To such men as he Maine owes its prominence in the manufacturing and business world. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and a Knight Templar, has held all the honors and been through all chairs to which one can aspire, and is a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. He attends worship with the Universalists, and has been a Repub- lican since attaining his majority. Mr. White- house married, in 1869, Mary E. Pettie. Children : I. Ada F., married Henry H. Wood, of Brookline, Massachusetts. 2. Ab- bie E., married Rev. Norman Mckinnon, of Middleboro, Massachusetts. 3. Francis A., died young. 4. Susan M., resides with her parents.

Elder Henry Cobb, progenitor of Susan (Cobb) Putnam, whose daughter, Susan C., married Benjamin Whitehouse, came to Plym- outh, Massachusetts, 1629, on the second trip of the "Mayflower." He was at Scituate in 1633, and died at Barnstable, Cape Cod, 1679. In 1631 he married Patience, daughter of

Demos Historical Pub Co

Frauen Glohet houes

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Deacon James Lothrop, of Plymouth. She died May 4. 1648. He married (second) Sarah, daughter of Samuel Hinckley, who survived him. They left fifteen children.

(II) James, second son of Elder Henry and Patience (Lothrop) Cobb, was born Jan- uary 14, 1634, in Scituate, Massachusetts. He married Sarah, daughter of George Lewis, and died in 1695. They were the parents of eleven children.

(III) James (2), fifth son of James (I) and Sarah (Lewis) Cobb, was born, probably in Barnstable, July 8, 1673. He married there and reared nine children.

(IV) James (3), first son of James (2) Cobb, married Elizabeth Hallett, and among their seven children was Sylvanus, see for- ward.

(V) Sylvanus, son of James (3) and Eliza- beth (Hallett) Cobb, was born in October, 1701. He married Marcia Baker, November 7, 1728. They were the parents of seven chil- dren, among whom was Ebenezer.

(VI) Ebenezer, son of Sylvanus and Mar- cia (Baker) Cobb, was born March 17, 1759. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Cobb, of Carver, Cape Cod. She was also descended from Elder Henry Cobb, mentioned above. Children : Elizabeth, Susannah, Su- sannah, Ebenezer, Lucy, Cyrus, Churchill, Syl- vanus and Samuel.

(VII) Lucy, fourth daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Cobb) Cobb, was born Feb- ruary 28, 1792, married Jacob Putnam (see Putnam). She was aunt to Sylvanus Cobb Jr., the prolific novelist, who was born in Wa- terville, Maine.

PUTNAM The lineage of a very large part of Putnams of New Eng- land is traced to John Putnam, the immigrant, the ancestor of several very prominent citizens of the early days of Massa- chusetts, and of the famous General Israel Putnam of the Revolution. The name comes from Puttenham, a place in England, and this perhaps from the Flemish word pütte, "a well," plural putten and ham, signifying a "home," and the whole indicating a settlement by a well.

· (I) John Putnam, of Aston Abbotts, in the county of Bucks, England, was born about 1580, and died suddenly in Salem Village, now Danvers, Massachusetts, December 30, 1662, aged about eighty years. It is known that he was resident in Aston Abbotts, Eng- land, as late as 1627, as the date of the bap- tism of his youngest son shows, but just when

he came to New England is not known. Fam- ily tradition is responsible for the date 1634, and the tradition is known to have been in the family over one hundred and fifty years. In 1641, new style, John Putnam was granted land in Salem. He was a farmer and exceed- ingly well off for those times. He wrote a fair hand, as deeds on file show. In these deeds he styled himself "yeoman"; once, in 1655, "husbandman." His land amounted to two hundred and fifty acres, and was situated be- tween Davenport's hill and Potter's hill. John Putnam was admitted to the church in 1647, six years later than his wife, and was also a free man the same year. The town of Salem, in 1644, voted that a patrol of two men be appointed each Lord's day to walk forth dur- ing worship and take notice of such who did not attend service and who were idle, etc., and to present such cases to the magistrate; all of those appointed were men of standing in the community. For the ninth day John Put- nam and John Hathorne were appointed. The following account of the death of John Put- nam was written in 1733 by his grandson Ed- ward: "He ate his supper, went to prayer with his family and died before he went to sleep." He married, in England, Priscilla (perhaps Priscilla Gould), who was admitted to the church in Salem in 1641. Their chil- dren, baptised at Aston Abbotts, were: Eliza- beth, Thomas, the grandfather of General Israel Putnam of the Revolutionary war, John, Nathaniel, Sara, Phobe and John.

(II) Nathaniel, the fourth child and third son of John (I) and Priscilla Putnam, was baptised at Aston Abbotts, October 11, 1619, and died at Salem Village, July 23, 1700. He was a man of considerable landed property ; his wife brought him seventy-five acres addi- tional, and on this tract he built his house and established himself. Part of his property has remained uninterruptedly in the family. It is now better known as the "old Judge Putnam place." He was constable in 1656, and after- wards deputy to the general court, 1690-91, selectman, and always at the front on all local questions, whether pertaining to politics, reli- gious affairs, or other town matters. "He had great business activity and ability and was a person of extraordinary powers of mind, of great energy and skill in the management of affairs, and of singular sagacity, acumen and quickness of perception. He left a large estate." Nathaniel Putnam was one of the principals.in the great law suit concerning the ownership of the Bishop farm. His action in this matter was merely to prevent the attempt

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of Zerubabel Endicott to push the bounds of the Bishop grant over his land. The case was a long and complicated affair, and was at last settled to the satisfaction of Allen and Putnam in 1683. On December 10, 1688, Lieutenant Nathaniel Putnam was one of four messengers sent to Rev. Samuel Parris to obtain his reply to the call of the parish. Parris was after- wards installed as the minister of the parish, and four years later completely deceived Mr. Putnam in regard to the witchcraft delusion. That he honestly believed in witchcraft and in the statements of the afflicted girls there seems to be no doubt, that he was not inclined to be severe is evident, and his goodness of character shows forth in marked contrast with the almost bitter feeling shown by many of those concerned. He lived to see the mistake he had made. That he should have believed in the delusion is not strange, for belief in witch- craft was then all but universal. The physi- cians and ministers called upon to examine the girls, who pretended to be bewitched, agreed that such was the fact. Upham states that ninety-nine out of every one hundred in Salem believed that such was the case. There can be no doubt that the expressed opinion of a man like Nathaniel Putnam must have in- fluenced scores of his neighbors. His eldest brother had been dead seven years, and he had succeeded to the position as head of the great Putnam family with its connections. He was known as "Landlord Putnam," a term given for many years to the oldest living member of the family. He saw the family of his brother, Thomas Putnam, afflicted, and be- ing an upright and honest man himself be- lieved in the disordered imaginings of his grandniece, Ann. These are powerful reasons to account for his belief and actions. The fol- lowing extract from Upham brings out the better side of his character: "Entire confi- dence was felt by all in his judgment, and de- servedly. But he was a strong religionist, a lifelong member of the church, and extremely strenuous and zealous in his ecclesiastical re- lations. He was getting to be an old man and Mr. Parris had wholly succeeded in obtaining, for the time, possession of his feelings, sym- pathy and zeal in the management of the church, and secured his full co-operation in the witchcraft prosecutions. He had been led by Parris to take the very front in the proceed- ings. But even Nathaniel Putnam could not stand by in silence and see Rebecca Nurse sacrificed. A curious paper written by him is among those which have been preserved : "Nathaniel Putnam, senior, being desired by

Francis Nurse, Sr., to give information of what I could say concerning his wife's life and conversation. I, the above said, have known this said aforesaid woman forty years, and what I have observed of her, human frailties excepted, her life and conversation have been to her profession, and she hath brought up a great family of children and educated them well, so that there is in some of them apparent savor of godliness. I have known her differ with her neighbors, but I never knew or heard of any that did accuse her of what she is now charged with."

In 1694 Nathaniel and John Putnam testi- fied to having lived in the village since 1641. He married, in Salem, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard and Alice (Bosworth) Hutchinson, of Salem Village. She was born August 20, and baptised at Arnold, England, August 30, 1629, and died June 24, 1688. In 1648 both Nathaniel and his wife Elizabeth were admit- ted to the church in Salem. Their children, all born in Salem, were: Samuel, Nathaniel, John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Benjamin and Mary. Benjamin and descendants receive mention in this article.

(III) Captain Benjamin, sixth child and fifth son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Hutch- inson) Putnam, was born in Salem Village, December 24, 1664, and died there about 1715. He was a prominent man in Salem, held many town offices, and always had the title "Mr." unless other titles were given. He held the positions of lieutenant and captain ( 1706-1I). From the time he was chosen tything man at the village in 1696, hardly a year passed but what he was honored by his fellow townsmen. He was constable and collector in 1700, was constantly chosen tything man and surveyor of highways at the village. In 1707-13 he was one of the selectmen, and the frequency with which he was returned to the grand and petit juries shows that his judgment was con- sidered valuable. He is last mentioned on the Salem records in 1712 when he was one of those chosen to delineate the bounds between Salem and Topsfield. December 30, 1709, he was chosen deacon of the church at the village, receiving every vote of the church except his own. The title of "Landlord" was often given to the oldest living Putnam, and Benjamin is thus designated in the diary of Rev. Joseph Green. In June, 1707, Mr. Green's diary men- tions "News of Captain Putnam having come to Marblehead"; and "Our country in great confusion, some of the army, and others against it. I went to Boston to ye Governor to release Benjamin Putnam"; but for what

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reason Captain Putnam was imprisoned can not now be discovered. He died in 1714 or 1715. He was a prominent man in Salem during the problem of the terrible witchcraft delusion, but does not appear to have taken any part in the persecutions. It seems that the members of the good family who had been the victims of this bloody hallucination were dependents in Captain Putnam's family, and when the indemnities were paid by the general court to the heirs of those accused and im- prisoned and murdered, William Good, through the instrumentality of Benjamin Put- nam, obtained a large proportion. Among the signatures to the certificate of character of Rebecca Nurse, one of the victims of the time, both those of Benjamin and his wife Sarah are found. He never seems to have appeared as a witness of any account, and probably kept clear as far as he was able of the whole affair. He married, according to the Salem records, Hanna -; another authority says Eliza- beth, daughter of Thomas Putnam. His wife died December 21, 1705, and he married (sec- ond), July 1, 1706, Sarah Holton. His chil- dren, all by the first wife, were: Josiah, Nathaniel, Tarrant, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Stephen, Daniel, Israel and Cornelius. (Stephen and descendants receive notice in this article.)

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Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 39

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