Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 6

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 6

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) Joseph (3), eldest son of Colonel Will- iam (2) and Mary (Osgood) Allen, was born February 24, 1746, in Dover, New Hamp- shire. He came to Piscataqua Corner in Fal- mouth in early youth with parents, and died and was buried at Gray, 1847-48. From a deposition made by Joseph Allen, of Gray, county of Cumberland, Maine, it is learned that he enlisted in the revolutionary war, March 4, 1777, for three years, joined Colo- nel Alden's regiment, and after the death of Colonel Alden the regiment (Seventh Massa- chusetts) was commanded by Colonel Brooks. He served the period of his enlistment and was honorably discharged at West Point, New York, March 4, 1780. In April, 1780, he en- listed for eight months' service, joined Cap- tain Pride's company, Colonel Prince's regi- ment, stationed at Falmouth, now Portland, and was discharged at Portland, November, 1780. At the time of his enlistment he was an inhabitant of Falmouth, from whence he removed to Gray, Maine, March 17, 1835. In his deposition subscribed and sworn to June 23, 1835, Mr. Allen stated that he never received a grant of land, or money in lieu thereof, from the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts, for his said service in the revolution- ary war. In another deposition he appointed Josiah Hobbs, of Falmouth, his true and lawful attorney to receive from the land agent of the state of Maine such certificate as he may issue to him, in virtue of a resolve of the said state, passed March 17, 1835, entitled a "Resolve in favor of certain Officers and Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and the Widows of the deceased Officers and Soldiers," to the benefit of which resolve he was entitled. He also ap- pointed Harlow Spaulding, Esq., of Augusta,

Maine, his attorney to receive from the land agent of the state of Maine such certificate as may be issued to him, in virtue of said re- solve, and for me and in my name and stead to bargain for, sell, dispose of and transfer to any person, and upon such terms as he may think best. Joseph Allen married (first), De- cember 30, 1782, Mary Baker; married (sec- ond) Dorcas Meserve. Children: I. Emery. 2. Andrew. 3. Joseph. 4. Josiah. 5. Otis, see forward. 6. Daniel, a farmer, Free Baptist preacher, died April 9, 1855, aged sixty-three years, buried at Gray. Married (first) Betsey Leighton, daughter of John and Leonia (Saw- yer) Leighton, who was buried at Gray. Chil- dren : i. David, born March 15, 1818, died 1844, buried at Poland; ii. Leonia, born June 23, 1820, married Ansel L. Libby, deceased ; she is now living with daughter at Lewiston; iii. Peter Leighton, born October 8, 1822, died June 17, 1897, aged seventy-four years ; buried at Cumberland. Daniel married (second) Mary Fenley, daughter of Abigail Fenley, who came from Scotland and who married Jere- miah Fields. Mary (Fenley) Allen died Jan- uary 19, 1855, aged seventy-seven years, and was buried at Gray. Children: iv. Betsey, died at Poland, October 15, 1842, aged seven- teen years ten months; v. Jane, died (light- ning stroke) at Baker Corner, Windham; vi. Caroline M., died October 29, 1853, aged twenty years ten months ; she married, Decem- ber 14, 1851, William Hancock, of Buxton, had one child, Georgie Caroline, who married Alonzo Allen. 7. William. 8. Hannah. 9. Dorcas. IO. Statira. II. Lucy. 12. Elvira, married, January 10, 1847, Isaac Adams. Jo- seph Allen, father of these children, had a half- brother, Edward Allen, of Gray, lived in Fal- mouth, 1826, and was the father of four chil- dren : Dr. Nicholas, Alfred, Thomas, Arexine.

(VI) Otis, son of Joseph Allen, was born in Windham, Maine, and lived there until about 1866-67, when he removed to West Gray, and there died, in 1872-73, at the age of seventy-six. . He was a well-known farmer. He served in the war of 1812. The name of Otis Allen appears with the rank of private upon the roll of Captain Watson Rand's de- tached company of militia from the First Bri- gade, Twelfth Division, in service at Forts Preble and Scammel, Portland Harbor, from August 5th to November 5th, 1814, under Ma- jor George Rogers, and under supervision of United States officers, were paid by the United States government. He also served in Cap- tain Ira Bartlett's company of militia in Lieu- tenant-Colonel Samuel Holland's regiment

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raised in Hartford, and in service at Portland from 14th to 24th September, 1814 (with three days additional for travel). Served as a private. He married Clarissa, daughter of John and Leona (Sawyer) Leighton, of Cum- berland; she was born there 1800, and died 1887. Children: 1. Mary Jane, died Novem- ber 22, 1838, aged sixteen years. 2. Betsey, died February 12, 1839, aged twelve years. 3. Cynthia A., died October 20, 1842, aged thirteen years. 4. Alvin, died November 23, 1858, aged twenty-two years two months seven days. 5. Huldah, married John Dolley; lived at South Windham, where both died; two daughters and one son. 6. Alfred R., see for- ward. 7. William, married, and had daughter who died in infancy; he served during the entire civil war, in First, Tenth and Thirtieth Maine regiments, and at close of war died of yellow fever. 8. Sarah, married (first) Ama- sa Wentworth, and (second) Alvin Frank ; several children by second marriage; lives in Westbrook. 9. Charles B., died 1905; mar- ried a Miss Doughty. 10. Alonzo P., see for- ward. II. Lovina, married Benjamin Elwell, lived in Westbrook, and both died there. Of these children there are living only Sarah, aged seventy-six, and Alonzo P., aged sixty- three.

(VII) Alfred R., son of Otis and Clarissa (Leighton) Allen, died May 6, 1855. He spent some years as a mariner, then settled on a farm in Gray, where he resided several years, and was killed by an explosion while working in the South Windham powder mill. He mar- ried, June 12, 1847, Salome Libby, born March 16, 1824, died March 24, 1902, aged seventy- eight years eight days. She was the daughter of William and Hannah (Gould) Libby ( see Libby, VII). Two children were born of this union : William Alfred, see forward. Cynthia Ann, died young.

(VII) Alonzo P., son of Otis and Clarissa (Leighton) Allen, was born 1845, married Georgie Caroline Allen ; had son Edgar, who lives at Peaks Island, Portland. In August, 1862, at the age of eighteen, Alonzo P. Allen enlisted as a drummer in Company D, Twen- tieth Regiment Maine Volunteers. He partici- pated in the battles of Antietam, Fredericks- burg, South Mountain, Gettysburg, and sev- eral less important engagements, and was dis- charged in 1864 for disability, due to diphthe- ria. In 1877 he enlisted in Battery H, First United States Artillery, at Fort Preble, Maine, and with which he served ten years. He en- listed at the recruiting office in Portland, Maine, and served at the recruiting stations at

Washington City, Boston and Portland; was four years fife and drum instructor, and was transferred to First United States Infantry, in California, and served several years at Bene- cia, Angel Island and the Presidio, San Fran- cisco; accompanied his regiment to Cuba, and served there during the Spanish-American war; was assigned to Fifty-ninth Company, Coast Artillery, in Porto Rico, and served with same until 1904, when he was honorably re- tired after thirty years' faithful and meritori- ous service.

(VIII) William Alfred, only son of Alfred R. and Salome (Libby) Allen, was born in Falmouth, May 8, 1849. When six years old he was left to the sole care of his mother, who continued to reside in her home in Falmouth until 1860, when she removed with her son to Portland. There he attended the public schools until 1865, and then entered the em- ploy of Moses Colley for the purpose of learn- ing the trade of carpenter. Mr. Colley suffered serious injury by the great fire of 1866, and his apprentice was compelled to seek other employment. For a time he worked in the market, and then went with his uncle, Joseph G. Libby, to complete his knowledge of the trade of carpenter. In 1868 he began learning the trade of stair builder with George L. Hooper, and remained one year. In 1869 he became superintendent of the plant of John Edwards, stair builder, of Marblehead, Mas- sachusetts, and filled that position until 1873. In the latter year he returned to Portland, Maine, and established a business of his own on a very modest scale on Preble street, as a stair builder, his only assistant being a young apprentice. The quality of his work created a good demand for his product, his success surpassed his expectations, and his orders, before the summer was over, demand- ed the assistance of three men. After a time he removed to Doten's mill on Cross street, where he remained nine months, and then went to Brackett's mill on Kenebec street, where for a time he was in partnership with W. H. Stone. In July, 1876, the mill burned to the ground, Mr. Allen having no insurance, he lost all he had invested there. He immediately rebuilt and continued his business at that place for a number of years, when he built his first mill, but still continued the occupancy of the leased mill. In 1888 he completed his own mill, which was fifty feet by eighty-seven, two stories high, well equipped, and there he turned out mantels, hall work and furnishings for in forty-six days Mr. Allen had a three-story builders. In 1890 this mill was burned, but

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building, fifty by eighty-seven feet in dimen- sions, fully equipped, with machinery in run- ning order to take the place of the structure that was lost. He now has the largest con- cern of the kind east of Boston, employs twen- ty-five men, and turns out all kinds of interior finish, store fixtures, show cases and stairways. In 1894 he erected a storehouse one hundred by twenty-two feet, two stories high, and in addition to his manufacturing he handles tiling and has a salesroom at No. 424 Congress street.

In politics Mr. Allen is a Republican. He is much interested in aquatic sports, owns a yacht, is a member of the Portland Yacht Club, and lives in summer with his family in a pleasant cottage on the shore. He is a member of Hadattah Lodge, Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows; Eastern Star Encamp- ment ; Daughters of Rebekah ; Ivanhoe Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of which he is a past chan- cellor ; Michigonne Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men, of which he is a past sachem ; Tribe of Daughters of Pocahontas; New England Order of Protection, of which he is a past grand warden and supreme representative; Maine Charitable Mechanics' Association.

Mr. Allen married Kate W. Carle, a na- tive of Eastport, Maine. Children: I. Anna Belle, born December 26, 1868, married Charles E. Beane, of South Portland; one child, Leona Beane, born August 19, 1894. 2. William Fernald, born November 30, 1870, married Elizabeth T. Cogan, of Rochester, New York. 3. Emma Ada Rogers, born April 2, 1873, married Harry Rowe, of Ellsworth, Maine. 4. Nellie, born July 1, 1874, died Sep- tember 2, 1874. 5. George Emery Bartlett, born September 17, 1875, married Ethel Jor- dan, of Portland, Maine. 6. Harry Frederick, born October 15, 1876, married Veda Bennett, of Portland, Maine. 7. Benjamin Franklin, born November 18, 1878, married Mabel Hol- man, of Colebrook, New Hampshire; one child, Katherine Margaret Allen, born Decem- ber 8, 1903. 8. Eva May, born November 18, 1878, died February 13, 1880.

The family of Libby, one of the LIBBY most ancient in Maine, is first mentioned in the herald's visita- tion of Oxfordshire, England, for 1574, as stated by Charles T. Libby in his valuable and comprehensive work, "The Libby Family in America," from which most of the data for this article is obtained. The name seems to have first appeared either in Cornwall or Devon, England, and spread into other parts

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of that country. Tradition states that the originator of the American family came from the west of England, but of what stock, wheth- er of Saxon, Welch or French, is a matter of which no man has any knowledge. The posi- tion of the members of this family with ref- erence to rank has been in that sturdy, up- right and honest division which constitutes the chief reliance of the nation for its character, and is generally termed the "middle class." Concerning this great family, one of the most numerous in Maine, it was recently stated by one best qualified to know, that he had never known of a criminal or a pauper in it. Strong- ly domestic in their nature, the Libbys have been builders and owners of homes where in many instances the same family has resided for generations. As love of home is next to a love of country, the family has shown its patriotism by sending many of its sons to every war in which the country has been en- gaged. One hundred and seventy-five were in the revolution from Maine and Massachu- setts, and two hundred and fifty-six enlist- ments are credited to the family in Maine alone in the civil war. As a family, the peo ple of this stock have been very devout, and much more largely in evidence in the religious than in the civil institutions of the communi- ties in which they have lived. The family has abounded in Christian ministers, elders and deacons, while generation after generation have died in the faith. In most recent years various members have made themselves prom- inent in the state in mercantile and profession- al pursuits.

(I) John Libby, born in England about the year 1602, stated in a petition in July, 1677, that "the good and pious report that was spread abroad, into our Native Land of this country, caused your petitioner to come for this land 47 yeares agoe, where he hath ever since continued." If the statement is literally true, he came to this country in 1630, but it is believed that his landfall occurred some- what later. In 1631 Robert Trelawny and Moses Goodyeare, of Plymouth, Devonshire, England, procured a patent which included Richmond's Island, a small island on the coast of Cumberland county, distant about a mile from the coast of Cape Elizabeth, and soon after established a trading post, with John Winter as their agent, and carried on fisheries, bought furs from the Indians, and supplied the wants of people on the numerous fishing ves- sels who might come to them for such articles as they had use. John Libby was doubtless one of those sent over by Trelawny to aid in

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the prosecution of his business. July 15, 1639, Winter made to Trelawny a report of his man- agement of the station for the year. In that report it appears that John Libby received for his year's service the sum of five pounds, as follows: Aqua vitæ (brandy), four shillings sixpence ; wine, thirteen shillings; money paid to Jolin Sharpe by Trelawny, three pounds ; and the balance of one pound two shillings and sixpence he received in beaver skins at eight shillings each. From this and other accounts it appears that John Libby was in the employ of Trelawny four years, from the summer of 1635 to the summer of 1639, at five pounds a year paid to him, and another and probably larger amount paid for the support of his wife whom he had left in England. In 1640 he took up his residence on the neighboring main- land. On what has since been called Libby river, in Scarborough, he built a house, and for years he seems to have been a tenant there, and probably devoted a good deal of his time to fishing until he could prepare the place for agricultural processes. January 1, 1663, John Libby received from Henry Joscelyn a grant of land, and finally became one of the principal planters of Scarborough. In 1664 he was constable, and his name stands first of the four selectmen in a grant made in 1669. In King Philip's war, which carried devastation to all parts of New England, John Libby lost everything he had except his plantation. In the late summer of 1675 he was compelled to leave his homestead and the diary of Captain Joshua Scottow, who had charge of the Boston soldiers who were trying to protect the settlers, contains the following: "Sept. 7, 1675, Being Lords day * * the enemy

* * before of their designs early in the morning burnt those houses and barnes our Company saved the day before-they burnt also 8 or 9 deserted houses belonging to Libby and children." In October, 1676, Black Point Garrison was deserted, and most of the in- habitants fled to Boston. John Libby and his wife and younger children were still in Bos- ton, July 10, 1677, and on that date petitioned the governor and council there assembled, that his sons Henry and Anthony, on whom he stated he was dependent for support, might be discharged from the Black Point garrison, which at that time had again been taken pos- session of by the English. The petition was granted the same day. John Libby probably returned to Black Point soon after and spent the remaining years of his life there, and ac- quired a comfortable property. He died at about eighty years of age. His will is dated

February 9, 1682, and his inventory May 5, 1683. The value of the property enumerated in the latter was one hundred and eighteen pounds six shillings. From proceedings re- corded in the probate court in 1720, it appears that John Libby left one hundred acres of up- land, nine acres of fresh meadow, and one hundred acres of salt marsh. His first wife was the mother of all his sons except Matthew and Daniel, and probably of all his daughters. Nothing more is known of her. His second wife was Mary. She survived her husband some years. The children of John Libby were : John, James, Samuel, Joanna, Henry, An- thony, Rebecca, Sarah, Hannah, David, Mat- thew and Daniel.

(II) John (2), eldest child of John (1) Libby by his first wife, was born probably in England, in the year 1636. He was brought up in Scarborough. In August, 1668, which was probably soon after his marriage, he bought fifty acres of land adjoining his fa- ther's plantation. There he probably lived during his sojourn at Black Point. After- ward he received several other grants from the town. The part he took in town business was active, and he served as selectman dur- ing the years 1670-74-83 and 1687. In May, 1690, while the settlement at Black Point was still ill equipped to repel -an invader, Fort Loyal, on Casco Neck, a few miles north of Black Point, was attacked by a large body of Indians and French. The fort stood a siege of five days, and then surrendered, and the inhabitants of Scarborough, not waiting to be attacked, immediately deserted their homes and fled to safer localities. John Libby as- sembled his family and betook himself to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, his youngest son Jeremiah then being ten years old. Mr. Libby remained in Portsmouth the remainder of his life, and followed the occupation of miller. During the earlier part of his term of residence there he was often chosen to fill minor offices. In 1720, when he was very old, he made a deposition about early affairs in Scarborough. How much longer he lived after that is unknown. His wife's name was Agnes ; she was living in 1717, but probably died before her husband. They had seven children, all born in Scarborough: John, Jo- seph, Samuel, James, Daniel, Benjamin and Jeremiah.

(III) James, fourth son and child of John (2) and Agnes Libby, was born in Scarbor- ough about 1676. From the time he was four- teen years of age until his death he lived in Portsmouth. He followed the occupation of

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house carpenter, but received large grants of land, and lived on a farm up to 1747, when he sold to Colonel Nathaniel Meserve, and bought a house and garden spot, where he died in 1754. He was a man of considerable activity, and among the New Hampshire state papers is now to be seen an order about agree- ing with James Libby, carpenter, for finishing a line of fortifications near Portsmouth. He was at the first town meeting of Scarborough. In 1712 he was constable "for the Bank," that is, Strawberry Bank, the ancient name for Portsmouth, and subsequently had many town offices, from selectman down. He was a mem- ber of the Church of Christ. He married, June 9, 1698, Mary Hanson, daughter of Isaac and Mary Hanson, of Portsmouth, who was probably the mother of his children. She is last mentioned in August, 1718. In 1736 he married a second wife, whose name was Eliza- beth, and she survived him ten years or more. His children were: James, Mary, Sarah, Isaac, John, Hanson, Ichabod, Shuah and Elizabeth.

(IV) James (2), eldest child of James (I) and Mary (Hanson) Libby, was born in Portsmouth, November 23, 1700. He was a carpenter, but after receiving from his father all his lands and rights in Scarborough, he took up his residence there about 1729, and became a farmer. He lived to the east of Oak Hill, and died about 1770. He married, December 23, 1725, Elizabeth Meserve, who lived to an advanced age, and died about 1790. She was the daughter of Clement Meserve, who removed from New Hampshire to Scar- borough soon after it was settled the second time. He died about 1740. Among his chil- dren was Nathaniel, the celebrated New Hampshire colonel. The children of James and Elizabeth (Meserve) Libby were: Clem- ent, Anna, Arthur, Asa, James, Ichabod and Elizabeth.

(V) Asa, fourth child and third son of James (2) and Elizabeth (Meserve) Libby, was born in Scarborough in 1737, and died in Belgrade, November 5, 1828. He was a far- mer. A few years after his marriage he set- tled in Falmouth, and from that place shortly before the revolution he removed to Gray. He and John Nash went to Gray about the same time, and both lived with Daniel Libby until they had built houses and cleared some land. Asa Libby settled about two miles west of Gray Corner. There he lived until he was far advanced in age, and then took up his abode with his son Asa, in Belgrade. He was a revo- lutionary soldier ; the Massachusetts Revolu- tionary Rolls state: "Asa Lebby, private, Cap-

tain Samuel Knight's Company ; enlisted July 15, 1775; service six months one day; com- pany stationed at Falmouth, Cumberland County, for defence of sea-coast." He mar- ried, April 15, 1759, Abigail Coolbroth, of Scarborough, who died in Belgrade at the house of Asa, her son, about 1814. The chil- dren of this union were: Arthur, Joel, Abi- gail, Betsey, Asa, Sally and Shuab.

(VI) Arthur, eldest child of Asa and Abi- gail (Coolbroth) Libby, was born in Scarbor- ough, February 28, 1760. He moved before his marriage from Gray to Falmouth, and there resided several years on a farm which he subsequently sold, and settled in Windham. The original house on the latter farm, built in 1802, is still standing. He died in June, 1835. He married Mary Allen, daughter of Isaac and Dolly (Leighton) Allen, of Falmouth, who died in March, 1846. Their children were: William, Abigail, Gideon, Isaac, Asa, Peter, James, Martha, Betsey and Lewis.

(VII) William, eldest child of Arthur and Mary (Allen) Libby, was born in Falmouth, December 6, 1786, and died in the same town at the home of his son Fernald, March IO, 1861. After his marriage he divided his time for some years between Windham and Gray. In 1820 he moved from Gray to Windham, and settled on the farm afterward occupied by his son Arthur. In 1832 he removed to Fal- mouth, and settled on a farm still occupied by his descendants. He married, November 14, 1809, Hannah Gould, daughter of Moses Gould, of New Portland. She survived her husband, and died in Portland, December 14, 1864. Their thirteen children were: Abigail, Arthur, William, Elizabeth, Moses Gould, Asa, Mary Jane, Salome, Lucy Ann, Edward Gould, Hannah, Joseph Gould and Fernald.

(VIII) Salome, eighth child of William and Hannah (Gould) Libby, was born March 16, 1824, and married, June 12, 1847, Alfred R. Allen, of Gray (see Allen VII).

Luther Franklin Mckinney. MCKINNEY former clergyman of the Universalist church, later member of congress from New Hampshire, still later minister of the federal government to the Republic of Colombia, South America, and now engaged in mercantile pursuits in Bridgton, Maine, is a native of Ohio and a descendant of an old and prominent Scotch- Irish family which has been seated in the southern border counties of Pennsylvania for more than a century and a half.

His grandfather, John McKinney, was born

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in Chambersburg, York county, Pennsylvania, in 1758, died in 1850, and even before his time his parents had dwelt in that region, where the people were largely of Scotch-Irish and German descent. The wife of John Mckinney was Rachel Belford, who was born in Virginia and came of one of the well-known families of the "old dominion." Children : Mary, Ra- chel, Margaret, Nancy, Alexander, Martha, John, Joseph, William, Samuel, Robert. Be- sides these there were two other children, both of whom died in extreme infancy.

Alexander, son of John and Rachel ( Bel- ford) Mckinney, was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1798, and died in January, 1880. He attended the common schools of his native township until he was about fourteen years old, and after that age he made his own way in life, his best equipment for which was a good elementary education, a strong physical constitution and a determination to succeed and establish himself in comfort. He was one of the pioneers in the region now Ohio, having settled himself near what now is Newark, and was a farmer there all his life; thrifty and successful, building from the stump, opening up and developing a fine farm in a frontier region and ultimately attaining the end he set out to accomplish. It is not known that Alex- ander Mckinney was particularly interested in public affairs during the long period of his life in Ohio, but it is known that he early al- lied himself to the old Whig party and later became a Republican upon the organization of that party in 1856. And he always adhered firmly to the religious teachings of his father, who was a Scotch Presbyterian, the faith of his ancestors. In 1824 Alexander McKinney married Elizabeth Miller, of Newark, who was born in' 1805 and died in 1882. She was a daughter of Abraham Miller, of Newark, but a descendant of a Virginia family. Of this marriage ten children were born: Eliza, Fi- delia, Sarah, Mary M., Luther Franklin, Ann, Martha, Alexander, besides two others who died very young.

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Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III, Part 6

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