USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume IV > Part 50
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Stephen (3) Marden married Abigail Black, of Newmarket, New Hampshire. Children: I. Stephen, born October 9, 1793. 2. Polly, November 19, 1795, married John Spiller. 3. Betsey, May 14, 1797. 4. Benja- min, subject of the next paragraph. 5. Char- ity, October 6, 1800. 6. Alvah, August 14, 1802. 7. Alley, September 8, 1804, wife of Hiram Worthing. 8. Infant, June 27, 1806. 9. Area, October 3, 1807. 10. Roxanna, Jan- 11ary 10, 1809. II. Racene (died young). 12. Albra, April 10, 1812.
(VI) Benjamin, second son of Stephen (3) and Abigail ( Black) Marden, was born Octo- ber 26, 1798, and died 1866, in Palermo. He resided on a farm on Marden Hill, which he purchased of John Spiller. In addition to farming, Benjamin Marden also carried on blacksmithing, and was also a practical wheel- wright, a man of more than usual intelligence and looked up to by his neighbors, who bore for him the highest respect. He took an ac- tive interest in all the affairs of his town, and was instrumental in forming its first library, known as the Palermo and China Social Li- brary. Here his first three children were born and in 1826 he went to live with his Uncle Benjamin Marden, whose heir he became, and was known as Benjamin (2). He married Hannah Carr, their intentions being published
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June 5, 1819. Children : I. Stephen P., sub- ject of the next paragraph. 2. Frances Cas- sandra, November 18, 1821, married Samuel Gurdy. 3. Louise R., born April 7, 1823; married Nathaniel Lincoln. 4. Abigail Jane, born February 26, 1827; married Harrington Osgood. 5. Sumner Melville, born August 29, 1830; married Albie Ricker. 6. Benjamin F., born March 22, 1833; married Octavia San- ford. 7. Lucia O., July 18, 1835; married Peter Sinnott. 8. William P., born November 24, 1838; died 1868. 9. Allston R., born Au- gust 22, 1843, died December 24, 1862; was a member of the First Maine cavalry ; was taken prisoner and served for a time in Belle Isle Prison.
(VII) Stephen P., eldest child of Benja- min and Hannah (Carr) Marden, was born March 3, 1820, in Palermo. He was a far- mer, and in his early years conducted a brick yard; later ran a saw mill, and made rakes and lumber. He was one of the substantial and representative men of the time. Like his father, he attended the Universalist church, in which he took an active interest. In his home town he filled various local offices, and served as representative of his district in the Maine legislature. He married, September 23, 1849, Julia A. Avery, of Whitefield, Maine, a de- scendant of an old Essex family. She was born December 13, 1824. Children: I. Wil- lie E., born July 4, 1850, died March 20, 1871. 2. Oscar Avery, mentioned below. 3. Frank Webster, born May 25, 1855, an extensive wholesale dealer in oils, with offices in Bos- ton, New York, Chicago, Louisville and San Francisco, resides in Somerville, Massachu- setts.
(VIII) Judge Oscar Avery, second son of Stephen P. and Julia A. (Avery) Marden, was born August 20, 1853, in Palermo. He was reared upon the homestead farm, being accustomed to perform such duties as fall to the lot of farmers' sons. The district schools, with an occasional term in the high school and Westbrook Seminary, supplied his education up to the age of seventeen years. At the early age of fifteen he commenced to teach school during winter terms. In 1871-72 he had charge of the English department of the Dirigo Business College at Augusta, Maine, and in the spring of 1872, in his nineteenth year, went to Boston. There he was employed as book-keeper in the New England office of the Victor Sewing Machine Company of Mid- dletown, Connecticut, and this connection con- tinued until the fall of 1874, when he became a student in the law office of Samuel K. Ham-
ilton, of Boston. Simultaneously he com- menced a course of study in the law school of Boston University. In June, 1876, he received the degree of LL.B., and was admitted to the bar in the succeeding autumn. Ever since that time he has been engaged in legal practice in Boston during the greater part of the time, having his offices in the Rogers Building. He is now located in the Sears Building, and also maintains an office at his home in Stoughton, Massachusetts, where he held a position as trial justice from 1877 to 1891. In the last named year the district court of Southern Nor- folk was established, and Mr. Marden was ap- pointed as judge of this court, which position he still continues to hold with eminent satis- faction to the bar and the public. The district includes Canton, Sharon and Avon, besides Stoughton, a populous section. Though a Democrat in political principles, Judge Mar- den is not an active partisan, and enjoys the esteem and confidence of his fellow towns- men regardless of their political views. He was a member of the Stoughton school com- mittee from 1886 to 1889, and again from 1892 to 1894, and has been president of the Stoughton Grenadier Association since 1880. For many years he has been a leading mem- ber of the Norfolk Bar Association, and was its secretary from 1886 to 1891. He is a mem- ber of the Pine Tree State Club, composed of natives of Maine resident in and about Boston. Possessing broad views of human destiny and activities he was naturally early allied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has gained distinction, having served as grand patriarch of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts in 1893, and president of the Encampment Deputies Association in 1894: Since 1877, his home has been in Stoughton. He is a member of Rising Star Lodge, A. F. and A. M. of Stoughton, of which he is past master, and past district deputy grand master for the 22nd District of Massachusetts; Mt. Zion Royal Arch Chapter, of Stoughton; of Stoughton Council, Royal and Select Masters. He attends the Universalist church of Stough- ton.
Judge Marden married (first), October 19, 1882, at Stoughton, May Theresa, daughter of Francis M. and Rosetta Ball. She died April 4, 1890, and Judge Marden married (second), January 1, 1896, Caroline A. Avery, of Whitefield, Maine. The children of the first marriage were: Edgar Avery and Os- cár Herbert. The latter died before reaching the age of four years. The former was born July 29, 1884, graduated at Dartmouth Col-
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lege, and is now a student at the Harvard Law School.
HARPER William Harper, father of Hon. John Harper, of Lewis- ton, Maine, was born in Liver- pool, England, in 1812, and when he attained his majority left his home and settled in the province of New Brunswick, making his home in St. Andrews, in which port he fol- lowed the occupation of seaman, and he worked his way until he commanded a large ship trading with Australia, in which coun- try he accumulated a considerable estate. He married, in St. Andrews, Lovina, daughter of Levi and Mary ( Eastman) Handy. Children : William, born in St. Andrews, New Bruns- wick, was lost at sea; Isabella; John, see for- ward; Mary; Nathan, died in 1907. William Harper (father) died in Australia about 1862. His estate in Australia did not come into the possession of his children, and they were en- tirely dependent on the small property they possessed in St. Andrews.
John, second son of William and Lovina (Handy) Harper, was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, May 23, 1844. His mother died when he was five years of age, and his father shortly afterward went to Australia, where he died as aforementioned, and John, from the time of his father's departure until the breaking out of the civil war, resided with an aunt at Calais, Maine. September 4, 1861, when seventeen years of age, he enlisted in Company A, Ninth Maine Regiment, and served until the close of the war. He was with his regiment in every engagement in which it took part, and when mustered out of service had attained the rank of sergeant. After the close of the war he moved to Lew- iston, Maine, and engaged in the manufac- ture of short lumber. He carried on this busi- ness until 1880, when he engaged in the coal and wood business with Mr. M. J. Googin, of Lewiston, under the firm name of Harper & Googin, with office on Bates street and coal and wood yards on Bates and Whipple streets. Mr. Harper is a staunch Republican in poli- tics. He was a member of the Maine house of representatives from Lewiston in 1887-89, and state senator from Androscoggin county in 1891-93, and his popularity with the voters of his city is shown by the fact that he has run ahead of his ticket every time he has been a candidate for elective office. As representa- tive and senator he made an enviable record. He made no pretensions to eloquence or skill in debate, but his tact and shrewdness in ap-
proaching and handling men, his inexhaust- ible fertility in expedients, his capacity for or- ganization and combination, made him a re- markably effective worker in legislative con- tests. Few men could win more votes for any measure than he. In 1887 Mr. Harper was chairman of the pensions committee and served on the military and labor committees. He was instrumental in securing the passage of chapter 102 of the laws of that year, re- pealing the provision that a deceased soldier or a sailor must have died "from wounds or injury sustained in the service while in the line of duty" to enable his widow or orphan children or dependent parent or sister to a state pension. In 1889 he introduced a bill giving a state pension to the dependent chil- dren of a deceased soldier, and providing for the payment by the state of the burial ex- penses of ex-soldiers and sailors of the re- bellion who died in destitute circumstances, and forbidding the selectmen of any town from removing to the poor house any old sol- dier who might become a public charge. That all the measures became laws was largely due to his untiring efforts in their behalf, and the same may be said of the large pension appro- priations made by the legislature for the years 1887 to 1893 inclusive. Mr. Harper took a prominent part in the fight over the "Ten Hour Bill" in 1887. Mr. W. H. Laoney, of Portland, the author of the measure, acknow- ledged his obligation to Mr. Harper for his valuable and effective support in an open let- ter to the Lewiston Journal, and his constitu- ents have to thank him also for his persistent and successful work in favor of the appropria- tion of 1891 for the Central Maine General Hospital of Lewiston, which enabled that in- stitution to enter at once upon its benificent work, and the appropriations of 1893 in favor of the same hospital, the Sisters of Charity and the Orphans' Home. In 1889 Mr. Harper was appointed inspector general upon the staff of Governor Burleigh, with the rank of briga- dier general. This position he held with credit to himself and the service until 1893, when his successor was appointed by Governor Cleaves. In August, 1893, he was one of the five members of the governor's staff selected to receive President Harrison upon his visit to Maine. In Grand Army circles and in the Ninth Maine Regiment Association, of which he has been president, General Harper is prominent and popular, while in private life his well-known integrity, his disposition to stand by those who have helped him, his cor- dial manner, his kindly temper and unosten-
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tatious charity have won him a host of friends. He is a member of Rabonni Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Lewiston Commandery, Knights Templar.
General Harper married, November 22, 1869, Estelle, daughter of Robert and Grace (Philbrook) Knowles. Their first born child, Frederick L., died in infancy, and their sec- ond child, Grace M., born October 1, 1874, died in 1890, aged sixteen years.
PLIMPTON The family bearing this name is among the most an- cient in England and has been distinguished in America for its fine mental qualities, its longevity and great physi- cal endurance. It furnished one martyr and several soldiers in the Indian wars, and was numerously represented in the revolutionary army. The name is found as applied to a monastery established by the West Saxon kings, and is often found in the early records of England as spelled Plumpton. In 1086 the village of Plimpton existed in the parish of Spofforth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The first of the line continuously followed were two brothers, Gilbert and Nigel, who were born on the Manor of Plumpton ; in 1184 the first of these was a grown man. The line is traced through the second, who had a son Peter, born of his first wife Maria. Peter's lands were seized by the king for some dis- pleasure, but were restored to his son. The line runs down through twenty generations in England, including numerous baronets, knights, esquires, and others who distin- guished themselves in various ways. The line which has been traced by American genealo- gists ends with the twentieth generation in John Plimpton Esq., born 1693, who had no issue. It has been impossible to connect the family in America with the English family traced, but there can be no question that it is descended from that stock.
(I) John Plimpton, immigrant ancestor, was born about 1620, probably in Lincoln or Cambridge county, England, and in his time his branch of the family was very zealously attached to the Roman Catholic church, but he became a Puritan, and on account of this fact left his native land and came to America. He settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he came as the servant of Dr. George Al- cocke. Probably this ruse was adopted to enable him to get out of England, as the re- strictions at that time were very severe, and all regular immigrants were compelled to make oath of conformity to the church of Eng-
land. He was a man of good education, and probably did not remain long in service. The will of Dr. Alcocke, made January 22, 1641, provides that his servant, John Plympton, should receive his liberty after midsummer upon payment of five pounds. It is apparent from this that he was possessed of some means, and as he was a man of education he soon took an active position in the settlement. He was received into the church of Dedham, January 20, 1643, and was made a freeman May 10 following. In the same year he be- came a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery, a military organization which- has been preserved to the present day. October 10, 1649, he was among those assembled to plan for the settlement of a new town, then called Bogastow (now Medfield). The peti- tion for this town was granted by the general court on the 22d of the same month. John Plimpton removed thither in 1652, and built a log house which was the shelter of himself and family for a time. His grant of six and a half acres was soon increased to thirteen, and ultimately he was the possessor of two hundred acres in that town. At the end of the year 1652 his estate was valued at forty- six pounds; ten years later it had more than doubled, amounting to one hundred and two pounds, thirteen shillings, three pence. In 1669, seven years later, it had again more than doubled, amounting to two hundred and thirty-eight pounds. It is evident that he was industrious and thrifty, for it is recorded that he received two pounds, five shillings, two pence for sweeping out the meeting house in 1661-62. In 1669 he received ten shillings for two hundred feet of boards used about the school house. He is listed among those from Medfield who contributed to Harvard College, his portion being "2 bushells of En- dian corne." He was recognized by his fel- lows as a man of ability, and was frequently in the service of the town on various com- mittees and in official capacity. He was among those who were attracted by the beautiful meadows at Pocomtuck (now Deerfield), Mas- sachusetts, and despite his age removed thither. The records in that town, December 4, 1672, show that John Plimpton was allowed to buy land there, "provided said Plympton will settle there in his own person." He re- moved in the following spring and set up his residence near the present Boston. & Maine railroad station, on lot No. 24. Very soon the threatened uprising under King Philip was foreseen, and John .Plimpton was ap- pointed sergeant of the forces at Deerfield ; he
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was probably the highest officer there. His "house was made a garrison, and he was in charge of the troops there stationed. On the fatal 18th of September, 1675, occurred the terrible massacre at Deerfield, and those who escaped were forced to abandon their homes. With characteristic enterprise, Sergeant Plimp- ton began the resettlement only two years later, his house being the first one built and the only one that year on the old site. This was a cabin eighteen feet long. Despite the death of his son Jonathan, whom he had looked upon as the mainstay of his old age, he was still determined to hold his ground and begin life anew. On September 19, 1677, just at dusk, he was suddenly seized by a band of savages, with the few of his old neigh- bors who were engaged in restoring their homes there, and was marched northward. In the party were several women and children. With characteristic fortitude, Sergeant Plimp- ton refrained from any attempt to escape, though opportunity offered, lest vengeance be visited upon the others by his savage captors, and before the close of that year he was burned at the stake near Chamblee, Canada. He married, January 13, 1644, at Dedham, Jane, daughter of Abigail Dammant, who was then a widow. The daughter was nine years of age in 1635 when she came to Amer- ica with her mother, who subsequently mar- ried John Eaton. John Plimpton's children were: Hannah, John (died young), John, Peter and Jonathan.
(II) John (2), second son of John (I) and Jane (Dammant) Plimpton, was born June 16, 1650, and baptized one week later. He died January 13, 1704, in Medfield, where he was a husbandman. The provisions of his will indicate that he had a clay pit of three acres, which became a part of the portion of his widow, and was also an owner of a grist mill which was inherited by his eldest son. The estate remained unsettled thirty-five years, and in 1739 his grandson was appointed ad- ministrator, none of the children being then alive. In early life he was a tailor in Boston, but succeeded his father on the original home- stead in Medfield, and engaged in the manu- facture of brick, as well as being a part pro- prietor of the grist mill. He was a soldier in King Philip's war in 1675, going from Bos- ton in Captain Mosely's regiment. He mar- ried (first) January 25, 1679, before Mr. Dan- forth, of Cambridge, Elizabeth, daughter of John Fisher. She died May 13, 1694, and he married (second) February 28, 1696, Sarah
Turner, who survived him and died about 1740. His children included John, Henry and Sarah.
(III) John (3), elder son of John (2) and Elizabeth (Fisher) Plimpton, was born May 17, 1680, in Medfield, and died in 1730. He was the third of the name in succession on the original homestead. The first house was occupied about seventy-five years and John (3) built a new one east of the first site. He was among the petitioners for the grant of a town to cover unoccupied land between Brookfield and Woodstock, Brimfield and Ox- ford. This petition was granted by the gen- eral court September 3, 1779, and three days later the petitioners gathered at the house of Joshua Morse, in Medfield. Among these were John, Joseph and William Plimpton. At this meeting the first was chosen constable and collector of New Medford, now Sturbridge. When the first division of land was made in the following spring, his share was set off and described "to ye heires of John Plimpton." He married, 1707, Susan Draper, of Dedham, who married ( second) Stephen Sabin, and (third) in 1739, Joseph Plimton, being the latter's second wife.
(IV) James, second son of John (3) and Susan (Draper) Plimpton, was born Septem- ber 4, 1709, in Medfield, and died August 29, 1784, in Stoughton, Massachusetts. He was a cordwainer by occupation, and resided in what is now Foxborough. His home was destroyed by fire May 18, 1749, during the absence of the family in attendance upon a general muster. He subsequently built a house in a more accessible spot, on the opposite side of the meadow from the original home, on the road from South Walpole to Roxboro. This home has always been owned by his descendants. The inventory of his estate amounted to 543 pounds, 12 shillings in real estate, and 744 pounds, 5'shillings, II pence personal property. He married, in 1736, Hul- dah, daughter of Alexander Lovell, of Med- ford. She was born 1709 and died April 2, 1783, about a year and a half before her hus- band. Their children were James, Catherine, Asa, Elijah and Ziba.
(V) Asa, second son of James and Huldah (Lovell) Plimpton, was born 1748, in Stough- ton, and died March 22, 1808, in Foxboro, where he resided on the paternal homestead. He was a soldier of the revolution, as were his brothers Elijah and Ziba. He married (first) Sarah Dexter, born 1752, died Sep- tember 17, 1779, and (second) Mary Smith,
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born 1750, died February 22, 1823. His chil- dren were Daniel, James, Henry, Lydia and Elias.
(VI) Elias, youngest child of Asa and Mary (Smith) Plimpton, was born Novem- ber 12, 1794, in Foxboro and acquired his education at the town school and Wrentham Academy. At the age of sixteen years he went to Walpole to learn the trade of hoe- making, with his elder brother, Henry Plimp- ton. While there the second war with Eng- land began, and by order of Governor Strong the Walpole Light Infantry, of which 'Elias Plimpton was a member, was called into active service. He continued on duty during that struggle, and after its close resumed work at his trade in the employ of his brother at Wal- pole. Immediately after his marriage he em- barked from Boston in a sailing vessel to seek his fortune in the then new country known as "Way Down East." August 1, 1820, found him comfortably settled with his bride in their new house in Litchfield, Maine. Here he commenced a flourishing business in the manu- facture of hoes, and afterward added the pro- duction of forks of all kinds. In that day transportation facilities were very different from those of the present time, and all of his goods were marketed within a compara- tively short distance of the place where pro- duced. The business prospered, and after he resigned it was continued by two of his sons under the firm name of E. Plimpton & Sons. He was an intelligent and useful citi- zen, and worthily filled the offices of town clerk, selectman and overseer of the poor. Both he and his wife labored and took a prominent part in all the moral reforms of the day. They may justly be denominated pioneers in the temperance work in Maine. Mr. Plimpton aided greatly in the enforce- ment of the state liquor law and in prosecuting illegal rum sellers. He was appointed one of the five in his town for that purpose. His wife aided in the institution of the first Ladies' Temperance Society in the state, its first meet- ing being held at her house. They were very much interested in the freedom of the slaves, and Mr. Plimpton was one of the first in his town to step boldly out and advocate abolition principles. His wife added her influence and support, and was very early elected one of the vice-presidents of the Female Anti-Slavery Society of the state, of which Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe was president. Mr. Plimpton retired from active business life at the age of seventy years, and subsequently led a good and easy life at the old homestead, a spacious,
substantial brick house built according to the ideas of himself and wife. In their old age they were cared for by their only daughter, who ministered to them with loving care. Their exemplary life is indeed an honorable monument of temperance, sobriety and Chris- tian benevolence. Their marriage occurred July 16, 1820, in Sharon, Massachusetts, the bride being Nancy, daughter of James and Mercy Billings of that town. She was born March 25, 1795, and died at her home in Litchfield, October 15, 1885. Her husband died October 9, 1886. Their children were: Elias Hewins, Asa Warren, George, Albert Franklin and Nancy Maria. The third son and the daughter now reside upon the paternal homestead in Litchfield. The fourth son prac- ticed medicine at Gardiner during his life.
(VII) Asa Warren, second son of Elias and Nancy (Billings) Plimpton, was born November 7, 1825, in Litchfield, and con- tinued to reside in that town through life, where he died August 16, 1902. He was a man of great physical endowments, and was actively engaged in the hayfield the season im- mediately preceding his death, which was the result of heart disease, and came without warning. During his lifetime he performed many feats of physical strength which caused surprise to observers. Without being a man of large stature, he was very compactly built and extremely muscular. His education was supplied by the schools of Litchfield and Mon- mouth Academy. He qualified for admission to the West Point Military Academy, and was appointed to a cadetship, but the strong ob- jections of his father persuaded him to aban- don a military career and engage in business with his father and younger brother George. The business was prosperous and he led a busy and useful life. He retired from active business in 1896, and subsequently gave his attention to the management of the home farm. He was a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, having attained the Royal Arch de- gree, and was a regular attendant and sup- porter of the Congregational church. Though prominent and active in the management of town affairs, he never desired or accepted any official station. He was a staunch Republican in political sentiment, and as chairman of a committee was the first to invite James G. Blaine to make his first political address. Mr. Plimpton married, November 9, 1854, Harriett Elizabeth Fuller, of West Gardiner, born May 3, 1835, in West Gardiner, daughter of Dea- con Daniel and Ann (Lord) Fuller, promi- nent residents of that town. They became the
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