USA > Maine > Aroostook County > History of Aroostook. vol. I > Part 6
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portions of the town and come trrenty year
opposte 1 :. Taylor's and built a beat set of belldings, where
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he now lives with his son. The venerable Captain is now in his 99th year, but is hale and strong and still walks about among his neighbors. He is a pensioner of the War of 1812. Near Capt. Young's is the comfortable home of Mr. Wm. D. Bither, one of the oldest living residents of the town. Mr. Bither had four sons in the Union Army and is a patriotic citizen. His son, Mr. Charles O. Bither, has a handsome residence nearby. He is one of the active citizens of the town and two years ago rep- resented his class in the State Legislature. Mr. John H. Clough was for many years a resident of Linneus. He was engaged in the construction of the Military road and afterwards settled in Linneus in the west part of the town. He is now an old men and lives with a son in the village of Houlton.
Mr. Africa Buck, an early settler, took a lot west of Benj. Bither's, where he made a farm and lived upon it until his death some twenty five years ago. Mr. John Hutchinson settled on the east side of the Military road something over a mile north of the Corner. His farm comprised the farms now owned by John Taylor, Frank Hutchinson, John Stewart, Wm. D. Bither and Chas. O. Bither. Mr. Hutchinson lived on this farm some twenty years and removed to Oakfield.
Mr. John C. Carpenter came from Corinna in 1841 and set- tled in Haynesville. In 1848 he removed to Linneus and took a lot some distance west of the Military road, where he made a farm upon which he lived until 1869, when he removed to Houlton, where he now resides. Mr. Carpenter was a member of the Board of County Commissioners in 1873.
NEW LIMERICK
The township lying immediately west of the town of Houl- ton now comprises two incorporated towns, the north half of the township having been incorporated in 1864, as the town of Ludlow, and the south half dating back as a town to 1837, when it was incorporated as the town of New Limerick. This latter half township was granted by the Massachusetts Legislature to the trustees of Phillips Limerick Academy sometime previous to the year 1810.
The first settler upon the territory now included in the town of New Limerick was Mr. Samuel Morrison. Mr. Morri-
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son was born in the town of Wells, in York County, and at the time of the Revolutionary War was old enough to serve as a 'soldier. He served through the campaign against Burgoyne and was present at the surrender at Saratoga. At the conclusion of the war he settled in the town of New Limerick in the District of Maine, in which town people from Massachusetts commenced to settle as early as 1775. Here he resided for many years and accumulated some considerable property. After the grant by the Massachusetts Legislature of the half township of land in aid of Limerick Academy, Mr. Morrison purchased of the trus- tees several lots in the grant. The half township was located and surveyed by Major James Irish and was laid off in six par- allel ranges running from east to west, each range being one half mile in width. These ranges were lettered A. B. C. D. E. F. beginning at the northeast of the grant and lettering south on the east line. The lot lines were then run from north to south, di- viding each range into twelve lots, thus making in the grant seventy two lots, each one half mile square and containing 160 acres.
The first deed to Samuel Morrison was made in 1810 and was given by "Wm. Swasey of Limerick, County of York and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, physician, in the capacity of secretary for and in behalf of the trustees." The deed declares that "In consideration of $480 to said trustees paid by Samuel Morrison of Limerick, in the county and state aforesaid, hus- bandmen ** do hereby sell and convey unto the said Samuel three lots of land situated in the County of Washington, be- tween the Schoodock waters and the River St. John, being lot No. 1 in F Range, No. 2 in A Range, and No. 7 in E Range, con- taining 480 acres, more or less, as laid down on the plan of sale."
In 1817 Mr. Morrison started with his family on their long journey through the forest to their new home in the wilderness of northeastern Maine. They came with their own teams, bring- ing with them a sufficient supply of provisions to last until a crop could be raised. The family arrived in Houlton in the fall of 1817. Houlton was then in its infancy as a settlement, and con- tained but few families, with small clearings in the forest. The Morrison family remained for a time in Houlton, until a small clearing was made upon the lot in the extreme southeast corner of the town next to the Houlton line, being the lot described in the original deed as lot No. 1, Range F. Mr. Morrison afterwards acquired the lot adjoining this, being lot No. 1, Range E, and upon this lot he built the large square two-story house, which is
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still standing on the road running from the Military road to the Shaw Tannery in New Limerick, the farm being now owned and occupied by Mr. Britton. Isaiah Morrison afterwards set- tled upon Lot No. 7 Range E, now occupied by Mr. Hatfield. Samuel Morrison afterwards purchased three more lots in the half township and these lots, viz: Nos. 4, R. E., 4, R. F. and 3, R. F., containing four hundred and eighty acres, were conveyed to him by Wm. Swasey for $480, the deed being dated Jan. 31, 1818. The Morrisons remained in New Limerick for a number of years and then removed to Linneus, where the descendants. of Samuel Morrison still reside.
In 1820 True Bradbury and Christopher C. Bradbury of Limerick purchased a large tract of land in the Limerick Acad- emy grant and True Bradbury soon afterwards came to the grant and built a mill on the Meduxnekeag Stream. His bro- ther, Christopher, went at the same time to New Brunswick, where he was for a number of years engaged in the business of wool carding. The Bradburys did not move to New Limerick with their families until 1828, when True Bradbury established his home on the lot now occupied by Stephen Hunter, near where the road from the tannery intersects with the "County Road," so called. The large barn built by Mr. Bradbury is still standing. Christopher C. Bradbury took the lot immediately west of his, now occupied by Edward Hannigan. He lived there for eight years and in 1836 removed to Hodgdon. Mr. Jabez Bradbury, a cousin of True and Christopher, settled on the lot north of Christopher, which lot is now occupied by C. C. Bradbury, a grandson of True Bradbury. Jabez Bradbury was engaged in building a mill in Hodgdon as early as 1829, but retained his residence in New Limerick for a number of years after that time.
True Bradbury remained in New Limerick and engaged in farming and lumbering until his death in 1844. His son, Thomas M. Bradbury, then came into possession of the estate and car- ried on the farm and mill until 1861, when he removed to Houl- ton, where he is now engaged in trade.
Another of the early settlers who was for many years a resident of the town and was well known throughout the County, was Capt. Moses Drew, who came from Limerick to the Acad- emy grant in 1820. He first settled near where Mr. George Smith now lives, where he made a clearing, built a house and barn and lived for a number of years. He afterwards took the lot immediately south of Christopher C. Bradbury, now occu-
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"pied by Rufus Piper. Here he lived upon this farm until the fall of 1844, when he purchased the lot at the foot of Drew's lake, where he continued to reside until his death in 1877. Mr. Jonathan Hayes had made a small clearing near the lake where the pine grove now stands and there was an old dam at the foot of the lake built for driving purposes. Capt. Drew built a mill at the foot of the lake and also cleared up a farm and built a good set of buildings. He was also for many years engaged in lime burning, the rock being procured in the adjoining town of Linneus. In 1861 he built the mill which is now standing. After the opening of the road from Houlton Drew's lake was for many years a pleasure resort and Capt. Drew kept a house of entertainment and also kept boats for the use of fishing parties.
This was before the passage of the Maine law and pond water was by no means the only liquid required by the fishing parties of those days. Capt. Drew was a man of large physique, of a most kindly disposition and an inveterate joker. His son, Moses Drew, now carries on the farm and mill. He has built a new dam and enlarged the mill and in place of the old up-and-down saw, now has a rotary, planer, clapboard machine, lath machine and machine for planing and fitting clapboards. The mill is nine miles from Houlton and the lumber is hauled to Houlton station for shipment.
The town of New Limerick was organized April 15, 1837. There were present at the organization, True Bradbury, his sons, Ebenezer C., Aaron N., Moses and Cyrus K., Hall J. Bradbury, son of Ebenezer C., John Dow, Moses Drew, Lemuel Drew, father of Moses, Royal B. Colbroth, John Felch, Joseph Good- enow, Oliver Gould, Jonathan Hayes, Samuel Morrison, Samuel Morrison, Jr., Stephen Randall, Joseph Stimson, Charles Spoon- er, Moses Philpot, Ira Webber and Ivory Webber. From the valuation list of that year we find that there were 23 resident taxpayers and 59 scholars. There were in the town in 1837, 119 acres of mowing land, 67 acres of pasturing, and 11 acres of tillage. The tillage land was valued at $6.00 per acre and wild land at $1.00. There were 15 horses in the town valued at $30 each; 14 oxen at $20 each; 28 cows at $15 each; 7 head of young cattle and 28 swine valued at $3 each. True Brad- bury was the heaviest taxpayer. His entire valuation, includ- ing one mill valued $10, and 1300 acres of wild land at $1.00 per acre, was $1426, and his tax was $12.27.
Of those who were present at the organization of the town we have already spoken of the Morrisons, the Bradburys and the
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Drews. Most of the others we have been able to trace. John Dow was a Maine man, a ship carpenter by trade, and went to New Brunswick about 1830 to work at that business. He came to New Limerick in 1836 and bought the farms of Christopher C. and Jabez Bradbury. Mr. Dow resided upon the first named farm until his death in 1852. His son, Absolom S. Dow, has been town clerk of New Limerick for many years. He resides. on a small farm not far from Drew's Lake. Royal B. Colbroth came from Limerick soon after the Morrisons. He married Samuel Morrison's daughter, Mehitable, and settled on the lot adjoining the Morrisons near the New Limerick lake. The
farm is now occupied by Hiram Nickerson. Mr. Colbroth af- terwards moved to Ludlow and died there. John Felch came from Limerick and settled on what is now known as the Mullen farm. Mr. Felch cleared up the farm and was for many years a prominent citizen of the town. He removed to Minnesota in 1856. Joseph Goodenow was an adopted son of Aaron Putnam, one of the pioneers of the town of Houlton, and was living in Houlton when the Morrisons arrived there in 1817. He soon after married Miss Dolly Morrison and removed to New Lime- rick, where he afterwards died. Oliver Gould came from Ber- wick. He is taxed in 1843 with lot 9, Range D, which is the lot next east of the Rufus Piper farm, and part of lots 9 and 10 Range E, north of Drew's Lake. Mr. Gould was the first town treasurer of New Limerick. Jonathan Hayes came from Lime- rick and made the first clearing on the Moses Drew lot at the foot of Drew's Lake. Stephen Randall came from Limerick and settled on the lot next north of the Drew farm. He cleared up the farm and lived on it until his death some ten years ago. Charles Spooner came from Limerick and settled on a part of the lot upon which the tannery is now situated. Mr. Spooner married a daughter of Samuel Morrison. He was the first col- lector of taxes in the town. Simeon Lougee was one of the early settlers and made a farm east of the tannery lot upon which his son now resides. In 1841 Ephraim Nickerson and Benjamin F. Nickerson of China came to New Limerick and bought the Morrison farms. Benj. F. Nickerson afterwards pur- chased considerable land in different portions of the town and was a prominent citizen. Daniel Cookson, James Meservy and Daniel James came about 1840, and James Monahan and Pat- rick Fleming in 1845.
The early settlers of New Limerick, like the pioneers of the Houlton settlement, whose nearest neighbor they were,
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were subjected to many hardships and privations in their strug- gles to make for themselves homes in this then remote forest region. There were no roads passable by carriages and many of the settlers were obliged to carry grain on their backs to mill and bring back flour to make bread for the r families. The first road opened into the town was the road now leading by the tannery. This road was cut out soon after the settlers com- menced to come upon the town, but was not pascable for car- riages until long afterwards. In 1840 the "new county road" so called, was opened. This road runs entirely across the town from east to west on the line between Ranges B and C, and now forms a part of the mail route from Houlton to Patten. The establishment of the tannery at New Limerick has resulted in building up quite a little village in the vicinity of that enter- prise and has added much to the business of the town and to its valuation.
In the spring of 1875 Messrs. C. and W. I. Shaw of Dexter purchased the lot upon which the tannery now stands, compris- ing 160 acres, and also 3000 acres of hemlock timberland in the adjoining town of Linneus. The south branch of the Medux- nekeag Stream runs through the tannery lot and the Messrs. Shaw first commenced the construction of a saw mill in which to manufacture the lumber for the extensive buildings of the plant. They erected the tannery buildings the same year.
The road from Houlton to the tannery runs near New Limerick Lake, or Nickerson Lake, as it is now called. This is a beautiful little sheet of water some two miles or more in length and perhaps a fourth of a mile wide. On the north side of the lake the ground slopes gradually from the road to the lakeside, while on the south it rises in an abrupt wooded bluff to a considerable height, adding much to the beauty of the landscape. This little lake furnishes a pleasant summer resort for the citizens of Houlton and many fine cottages have been erected on its shores.
New Limerick is exceptionally well watered and there are pretty little lakes and swift flowing streams in nearly every por- tion of the town. Drew's Lake, a handsome sheet of water some four miles long and two miles wide, lies partly in the southwest portion of New Limerick and partly in the town of Linneus. From this lake flows a branch of the Meduxnekeag River, which after running southward a short distance into Lin- neus, turns again northward and re-enters New Limerick about midway of the south line flowing up by the tannery and then
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turning to the east and flowing on to Houlton and beyond. In the northwest corner of the town is Cochrane's Lake, the outlet of which runs into Bradbury's Lake, a short distance farther to the east, and from the latter lake a considerable stream flows in a southeasterly direction, uniting with the Meduxnekeag branch a short distance from the tannery.
SMYRNA
The town of Smyrna was originally Township No. 6, in the third range of townships west from the east line of the State. It is bounded on the north by Township No. 7, R. 3, on the east by the southern part of Letter B, R. 2, town of Ludlow and the northern part of New Limerick, on the south by Oakfield, and on the west by Merrill Plantation.
The surface of the town in the southern portion is consider- ably broken, and in some places high wooded ridges or bluffs rise to a commanding height and can be seen from all the sur- rounding towns.
Leaving the village of Houlton near the residence of Col. B. H. Putnam, the stage road runs in a westerly direction across the western portion of the town of Houlton, cutting through the "horseback" and passing some very handsome farms in that town. It then continues due west for about two thirds of the distance across New Limerick, when it turns to the northwest and skirting the foot of Cochrane's Lake, near Titcomb's mill, leaves New Limerick at the extreme northwest corner of that town and enters Smyrna about half a mile north of the southern line of the town. The road continues across Smyrna in a general westerly course, when it turns to the south and runs in a south and southwesterly course across the plantation of Dyer Brook to Island Falls.
The first settler upon the town of Smyrna was Mr. Nehe- miah Leavitt of Royalton, Vt. who came to the town about the year 1830. Mr. Leavitt had, previous to that time, received from the State Legislature, a grant of the township on condi- tion that he should place 100 settlers upon the town within five years, build a saw mill and grist mill and four schoolhouses.
The East Branch of the Mattawamkeag runs in a southerly direction entirely across the town near its western line Mr.
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Leavitt made his first clearing on a lot in the southwest part of the town on the bank of the East Branch. He was a minister of the Methodist denomination and induced a number of settlers of that faith to come and make homes upon the new township. Not having the required number of settlers at the end of five years, he obtained from the State an extension of five years more in which to comply with the conditions of his grant, and near the expiration of this second term he sold his claim upon the town to Messrs. Dunn and Jefferds. Mr. Leavitt continued to live upon his farm until about 1846, when a Western fever broke out, and he, with a number of the other early settlers left for the West.
About 1841, Dunn and Jefferds built a sawmill on the east side of East Branch, in which there was an up-and-down saw and one run of stones. The mill run for a number of years, but after the building of Cary's mill at Houlton it was aban- doned and allowed to decay.
Among the early settlers of the town we have been able to trace the following: John Marley came from England to Boston, and in 1831 moved to Smyrna and settled on the lot where his son, B. T. Marley, now lives. He cleared up the farm and lived on it until his death twenty years ago.
Willard Corliss came from Lubec in 1833 and settled on a lot next to the east line of the town. He cleared his farm and lived on it until twelve years ago, when he moved to Wade Plantation, near Washburn. He has been a hunter and trapper in this region for many years. Elias Blodgett came from the western part of the State and settled on the lot where Charles Adams now lives. He afterward took the lot where John Rosie now lives. He married a daughter of Nehemiah Leavitt and left for the West with him. Franklin Blodgett, brother of Elias, settled on a lot south of the Marley farm now on the Oakfield road. He also removed to the West. Thomas Adams came from Mirimichi and settled near the east line of the town. He after- ward moved to Linneus, where he lived for many years. Samuel Drew came from Limerick in 1820 and settled in New Lime- rick, where he lived until 1835, when he moved to Smyrna and settled on a lot near the east line of the town. Mr. Drew was a brother of Capt. Moses Drew of New Limerick and was a local preacher of the Free Baptist denomination. He lived in Smyrna until 1866, when he removed to Dyer Brook, where he died some four years later. His son, Moses Drew, bought half the lot south of his father's, where he cleared a farm and built
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a set of buildings. He lived upon this farm until 1874, when he bought the lot upon which the Yerxa Hotel now stands. He. kept hotel here for twelve years and then bought a lot near the East Branch, where he made a clearing and built the large hotel which he has since kept. Mr. Drew's wife was a daugh- ter of John Marley, and was the first child born in the town of Smyrna. Johnson Frost came from Norway, Oxford County, and settled near the east line of the town. He lived here a number of years and then returned to Oxford County. Thomas Hassett came from Ireland and settled upon the lot upon a part of which the Baptist meeting house now stands. He cleared a large farm upon which he lived until his death, some
years ago. Alexander Herrick came from Norridgewock and seven settled on a lot on what is now the Oakfield road. He left the town many years ago. William Irish came from Buckfield, in Oxford County, and settled on the lot where Mr. John Roste now lives. He cleared a large farm and lived upon it until about 1850, when he removed to Sherman. He afterwards went to the West, where he died a number of years ago. Mr. Irish was a man of considerable ability and force of character. He was for many years a prominent citizen, was a representative to the Legislature and was afterwards a senator from Aroostook County.
Enos Leavitt was a nephew of Nehemiah Leavitt. His farm was at Smyrna Centre. He has been dead a number of years. Oramil Leavitt, a brother of Enos, had the farm where Edward Estabrook now lives. He moved to Hodgdon and afterwards to Sherman, where he died some years ago. Thomas S. Leavitt, with his father. Nehemiah Leavitt, Jr., had the farm upon which Henry McGary now lives. He was a land surveyor and in 1836 lotted the town of Smyrna and all deeds in the town refer to his survey. He also went to the West with his father.
Luther Laughton settled on the farm upon which Augustus Benn now lives. He did not remain long in the town. Michael Lyon came from Ireland and settled on a lot north of the Centre. He has been dead many years. Gideon Oakes came from Ar- gyle and settled in the east part of the town on a part of what is now the Hemore farm. His daughter is the wife of Dr. T. S. C. Berry. He left the town about 1850. James Perkins came from Parsonsfield and settled on the lot where Wm. Sewall now lives. He cleared the farm and lived upon it for many years. Jonathan Sleeper came from New Hampshire and settled near the Centre. He moved to Sherman about 1850 and
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died there. His sons, Moses, Daniel P., William T. and Jona- than, Jr., all had farms in Smyrna in 1839. William T. Sleeper became a clergyman of the Congregational denomination and was for a time settled in Sherman. He afterward removed to Caribou and for a number of years published the North Star at that place. He is now pastor of a church in Worcester, Mass. George Taylor came from New Hampshire and settled on a lot near the Mills. He cleared a farm and kept hotel for many years. He removed to the West about 1846. Mr. Charles Wiers now lives on the farm.
Sheubael C. West came from Industry and settled on a lot in the east part of the town, where he made a farm. He became insane and was removed to the asylum at Augusta. William Woods came from Rhode Island and settled on the lot now occu- pied by Artemas Leavitt. He did not remain long. Elijah Wiggin settled on the lot now occupied by Amos Noyes. His brother, Ephraim Wiggin, llived with him and was afterward employed in the mill. They both went West with Nehemiah Leavitt.
Thomas McGary came from Ireland and settled on the farm where I. N. Robinson now lives. He afterward took a lot near the Centre, where he cleared a large farm, upon which he lived until his death some 30 years ago. Ira Webber came from Limerick and lived on a part of what is now the Hemore farm. He soon after removed to Bangor, where he has been a house carpenter for many years. The above named are about all the settlers who were in the town at the time of its incorporation in 1839.
Mr. Osgood Pingry came from New Hampshire in 1840 and settled at Smyrna Centre on the farm now occupied by Henry Donlley. He was elected to the Legislature in 1841. He after- ward lived at Smyrna Mills, where he kept a hotel for a number of years. He was also a justice of the peace and was a prom- inent man in the town. Mr. Pingry afterward moved to Island Falls, where he died a number of years ago. Levi Berry moved from Wilton, Franklin County, in 1841, and took the lot upon which Mr. D. D. Hemore now lives. Samuel Dunn had made a small clearing and abandoned it. Mr. Berry cleared this farm and built the buildings now standing. In 1860 he bought of Wm. Briggs the farm upon which Wellington Yerxa now lives and remained upon this farm until his death in 1873. Mr. Berry was for many years a prominent man in the town and was large -- ly engaged in lumbering and trading. He built the mills at
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the foot of Cochran Lake now owned by F. W. Titcomb of Houl- ton. His son, Andrew J. Berry, was a small boy when he came with his father to Smyrna, where he has resided ever since. When he became of age he bought the farm upon which Mr. Chas. E. Lilly now lives. There was then but a small clearing on the lot. Mr. Berry cleared a large farm and built a sub- stantial set of buildings. He sold the farm six years ago, re- serving a building lot upon which he built a neat and convenient residence. He is now postmaster and does conveyancing and pension business. Mr. Peleg Berry, a son of Levi Berry, was for some years a merchant in Houlton and has now retired from business on account of ill health. Dr. T. C. S. Berry, another son, was for some years a physician in Houlton, and is now living in the West.
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