USA > Maine > Sagadahoc County > Bath > History of Bath and environs, Sagadahoc County, Maine. 1607-1894 > Part 25
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Pr. JOSEPH HEATH."
"This plat made by Adam Winthrop at the desire of Capt. Joseph Heath, laid before Messrs. Saml. Waldo, J. N. Lewis & Nathaniel Conningham, as they met upon November 11, 1731, to consider of the Pejepscot affairs, for their approbation & they did so far as they were concerned approve thereof as the Grant formerly made to sd Heath Provided it do not exceed the quantity of Land therein
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expressed and that sd Heath proceed to settle a family thereon the next Summer. Boston, Nov. 24th, 1736.
Attested by ADAM WINTHROP."
About where is now the old Peterson house, was "The Heath house," "where John Tarp has lived since 1731," -- as by a drawing of the house.
This map defines the north line of the Gutch tract, as starting from Winslow's Rock and running diagonally southwest across the north end of Bath, touching the New Meadows, evidently at Foster's Point. The Heath line appears to overlap the Gutch line slightly at its eastern end. "A west line to Small Point Bay from Winslow's Rocks." "A west line to Small Point Bay being the northerly bound of Mr. Robert Gutch's Indian Grant, made in the year 1660."
The Register of Deeds of old York, states that there does not appear on record any deeds of lands from the Gutch heirs to Nathaniel Donnell, but "July 10, 1753, there is on record a 'Par- tition of a tract of land owned by Nathaniel Donnell and others, said tract formerly belonging to Robert Gutch, lying and being on Kennebec River, of 3,480 acres of land laid out by Committee.'"
This survey of that portion of the Gutch tract that was sold by his heirs, comprises territory extending from Trufant's or Ropewalk Creek to south of Harward farm. A map was made of the plan, which divided it into quarters, commencing at the southern boundary. Quarter No. I is set down as sold to Capt. Nathaniel Donnell, entire; quarter No. 2 to N. Donnell, six hundred acres, from river to river, with three hundred acres to Wm. johnson which covered one-third of this quarter on its northern side; quarter No. 3, one-half to Capt. N. Donnell, comprising one hundred and seventy-six acres, the other half to John Milliken; quarter No. 4 is laid down, in part, to Elkins' heirs, comprising one-third of the quarter, the balance of the quarter being blank on the map. "Some of these divisions ran from river to river, others only part way, the copy of the plan not showing cross lines. Lamont and Philbrook, Sr., had lands west of Milliken, at north line beyond the creek."
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Margaret Lovering, a granddaughter of Robert Gutch, married William Johnson, and it is stated she "took possession of the family estate in 1734; that she became a widow, and while such lived and died in the house of James Springer," to whom she and her hus- band, in 1753, deeded several hundred acres of land to which she was heir from the Gutch estate. It is stated by writers that James Springer kept tavern near where is the David T. Percy homestead, on High street, and to have been the first inn kept at Long Reach. The boundaries of this tract were apparently northerly on North street, southerly on Academy street, easterly on the Kennebec River, and westerly on New Meadows River, with a deviation on its western portion.
A Famous Lawsuit .- The title to the tract on which the principal part of Bath stands was early the subject of a famous litigation. "It was claimed by David Jeffries, in 1761, by purchase from the Kennebec proprietors, who, by the name of the Kennebec Purchase, claimed the title to this territory under a deed from the Plymouth Company. In 1766, Jeffries brought his action for the premises, being about 12,000 acres [Williamson says 1,200 acres], describing them precisely according to the present boundaries of the town. In this action Nathaniel Donnell, of York, who had, many years before, purchased from the descendants of Robert Guteh a part of the demanded premises, was admitted to defend, he having in the meantime sold a considerable portion of it. Mr. Donnell disclaimed all except that part of the demanded premises which lies between the north line of the Edmund Pettengill farm and the north [should be south] line of the John Peterson farm, and as to that pleaded the general issue in such actions.
"The plaintiff, to prove his title, relied upon the grant from the Council of Plymouth, in England, to William Bradford and his asso- ciates, Jan. 13, 1630, commonly called the Plymouth patent, and sundry mesne conveyances to his lessor.
"The defendant denied, first, the right of the plaintiff to the prem- ises, and second, that if he had a colorable right, the right of entry was taken away. The original grant having included a tract of
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land on the Kennebec, it was contended that the tract sued for was not included within it, inasmuch as it lay on the Sagadahoc, which means the mouth of rivers. The defendant traced his title from the heirs and descendants of Robert Gutch, who resided on the premises prior to 1670, and who purchased the same of Robin Hood, a noted Sachem of one of the Indian tribes, by deed dated May 29, 1660.
"This action was tried at the Supreme Court at Falmouth, June, 1766, and a verdict rendered in favor of Donnell, upon which a motion was made by the plaintiff 'for an appeal to his Majesty in council'; and having been heard thereon by council, the motion was denied, it being the unanimous opinion of the Court that an appeal doth not lie by the Royal Charter in this case. The counsel for the plaintiff were Jeremiah Gridley, James Otis, Sr., and William Cushing; for the defendant, William Parker, Daniel Farnham, and David Sewall" (vide Joseph Sewall). Mr. Thayer states that a new trial was allowed, but never occurred, the chances for success having been too uncertain, and Donnell held title to his purchase. This decision must have settled the validity of all contemporary titles to land covered by the Gutch deed.
Christopher Lawton's possession of a tract of land, at North Bath, by Indian title, was mortgaged to a Mr. Walker who died, and the land came into the possession of the widow; she subsequently mar- ried Ephraim Savage, who was the executor of the Richard Wharton landed estate, and sold his wife's right to the Lawton tract to John Butler who married a daughter of this widow. There is a cove at North Bath, on Merrymeeting Bay, called Butler's Cove, deriving its name presumingly from this Butler who, it is inferred, lived at or near it. At the time of the Indian raids of 1719-20, upon the set- tlers on this bay and the Kennebec, Butler retired to lower Arrowsic for better security.
What became of the subsequent ownership of this tract, as well as of that composing the rest of the territory of North Bath, has not been definitely ascertained. It was afterwards claimed by the Pejepscot Company.
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OLD FAMILIES.
It is men who make history, and the character of a place is deter- mined by the character of its inhabitants. It becomes, therefore, a matter of historical interest to give an account of some of the repre- sentative men and women of past generations who were the makers of Bath history, as far as pertained to the period contemporaneous with their lives ; who gave character to the society of their day ; were identified with its business and with its domestie, religious, and political welfare. Consequently as much space in this book as could be spared, has been devoted to this department of local history.
The Early Settlers were stalwart men, ranking with the leading men of the state, while the women-intelligent and attractive- were truly worthy of their companionship. They were of Scotch and English blood, which is the best in European history.
"The men who were the early settlers of Bath were reckoned to be half a head taller than those of any other community in the country. There were no small-sized men among them and but very few who were of medium size. They might well be termed a race of giants. There were few who weighed less than one hundred and eighty pounds and they were five feet and six inches to six feet and two inches in height." -- Lemont.
The Early Construction of Dwellings .- In making a location in this uncultivated territory, with its lack of sawed lumber, the pioneer settlers were under the necessity of making their houses of logs, which abounded in the forest surrounding them, by placing one above another, hewn on the inner side, for the walls, roofing them with birch bark, the openings for windows being covered with transparent skins of the wild animals of the woods. Hovels for cattle were constructed in a similar but ruder manner. So rude were the fittings of these abodes of families that rocks were used for andirons, on which to place huge logs of hard wood, the smoke
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ascending through chimneys built of clay mortar. Those who came later, and were possessed of more means, constructed their dwellings of timber hewn on the four sides, laid lengthways one above another, and dovetailed together at the ends. Some of these had port-holes from which to fire upon the approach of hostile Indians. These were generally comfortable dwellings.
In the closer settlements there were buildings of larger dimen- sions, capable of temporarily housing several families, to which they would resort when signals of danger, from the Indians, were given. They were termed garrison-houses, block-houses, and forts. They usually were of two stories, the upper projecting over the lower to prevent the foe from entering to the floor above, as well as to afford facilities for firing upon them when approaching the building. There was a sentry-box on top, and port-holes through the outer walls ; flankers on two ends from which to enfilade the sides and ends of the fortification ; and the windows, without glass, were protected by stout shutters.
Huddled together in the garrisons, each family contributed its share of the provisions. The men, and boys that were old enough, had to go out of the garrison in the day-time to work at the risk of being killed and scalped before night; the women and little children keep- ing in the house. The men, collectively or alone, had to carry guns or some kind of weapons of defence, and whenever they would hear the report of a gun anywhere they suspected the Indians were kill- ing somebody, which generally proved true.
Some of the Old Houses. - The Edward H. Page house was built by his grandfather, Joshua Philbrook, in 1753. Because it was of two stories and larger than any other in the settlement, it was termed "the great house on the hill." Its site was on High street, a little south of where is now the soldiers' monument-the second house from the southeast corner. A portion of it is still in exist- ence, forming the rear portion of a frame house, the original front door now remaining. Major Page kept it as a tavern, and was by trade a tanner.
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The Isaiah Crooker house originally stood where is now the Cath- olic parsonage, on the west side of High street, and was built in 1756. In this Mr. Crooker lived and died. It is yet in exis- tence, moved to the rear of the catholic buildings, partly occupied for a Catholic Old Ladies' Home. It is a framed building, not a timber house as has been generally supposed. He was the village blacksmith, having his shop across the street from his house. His barn was where the old High street Academy building now stands.
Joseph Lambert's house was on the west side of High street, north of the Sewall houses, and is now in existence. He kept tavern, and in it was imprisoned the English timber agent that was arrested at the time the hewers were driven off, in connection with the War of the Revolution.
Where now is the brass foundry of F. B. Torrey, was a large build- ing occupied by Joseph Stockbridge for a tavern, and subsequently called the Mansion House. It was at this house that the town authorities found quarters for Governor Gore, of Massachusetts, when he visited Bath in IS10.
Capt. Simeon Turner owned and lived on the Peterson place up to the year 1798, when he sold it to Capt. John Peterson. He also built a house on the " Point."
In 1800, when Samuel Davis was in the zenith of prosperity, he built the original house that is now the Orphan Asylum, and subse- quently purchased by William M. Rogers, by whom it was enlarged and improved for his dwelling. His son, William Rogers, succeeded to its ownership and occupancy. It had been the most imposing dwelling-house in town and notable for its ample and highly adorned grounds. Some of the walks of its surroundings are underlaid with white chalk that at an early day had been brought as ballast in Davis' ships, and of no special value.
Among the other houses that were notable nearly a century ago, were those of William King and David Shaw on the " Point," David Trufant on Pine street, now occupying the position of an ell to a more modern house near that street, and the White timber house.
The earliest settlers who came from the old countries were gener-
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ally better educated than their children born in this country, for lack of schools. When peace and prosperity were firmly established, and facilities became favorable for improvements, a better class of houses were erected. When their vessels took cargoes of timber, fish, and furs to England, English furnishings composed a part of their return freight. These articles of furniture, of great solidity and fine work- manship, are highly prized now by their descendants who are so fortunate as to possess some of them.
How the Pioneers Lived. - They were an industrious and thrifty people. Domestic animals raised by the older settlers brought handsome prices, a good yoke of oxen often selling for fifty pounds sterling. Money was scarce, and all kinds of grain, with sheep, goats, and pigs, were considered as good as legal tender. People paid money or furs for clothing, which were then brought from Eng- land, and it was soon found important to raise flax and wool, from which, with the use of great hand looms, they wove strong cloth for bedding and wearing apparel. Until about this time, too, all the meal and flour used were brought from Massachusetts or ground in the mills at Sheepscot or Arrowsic, so there was a great demand for more mills for grain, as well as for sawing lumber. This demand was further increased by the opening of a trade in lumber with the West Indies, by which the settlers could, in return, Rave molasses, sugar, coffee, spices, and other tropical products, which they had before done mostly without.
Scotch-Irish Settlers .- As a considerable portion of the earli- est settlers who came from the Old Country to this section of the New World, were from the north of Ireland, it may be pertinent to illustrate who were their ancestors. By birth Scots, they were Irish by adoption only, by virtue of having settled in the north of Ireland at some remote period of their history.
The title that has been given to this truly stalwart people, who came to this country at an early date, is not justly applicable, as not a drop of Irish blood coursed in their veins. Their ancestors came from Scotland and settled in the north of Ireland. The first immi-
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gration from Scotland to Ireland was chiefly from the Highlands, in 1608, for the purpose of bettering their condition. There had been a rebellion of the Irish-Catholics in the northern section of Ireland, during the reign of Elizabeth, and when it was quelled the estates of the insurgents were confiscated. These lands were the best on the Island and included the province of Ulster. The gov- ernment of James I. held out attractive inducements for its resettle- ment by a Protestant population, which many Scotchmen accepted. This territory was at the extreme north, within twenty miles of the coast of Scotland. At a later date there was a larger exodus to Ire- land from the Lowlands of Scotland, which consisted of a class superior to those of the Highlands. They were Protestants escaping from Papal persecutions. These people never assimilated with the Irish race nor did they intermarry.
The Irish-Catholics were bitter enemies of the Protestants. Their religious rancor may have been intensified by the occupancy of these lands by a people of another nation, who increased in prosperity through their great thrift. The Catholics annoyed these new-comers in every possible way-making raids upon their farms, carrying off their products and stock. This state of continuous beligerancy culminated in civil war, which ended in the famous siege of London- derry and the decisive battle of Boyne, in both of which the Prot- estant cause triumphed.
Then came the dawn of the New World. Beholding, in the dim distance, the opening of prospective civil and religious liberty in this wilderness land, Scotchmen in Ireland crossed the ocean, preferring to court fortune among the savages in this new country to remaining in a land inhabited by a relentless and hostile race, with whom they could never affiliate. Many came direct from Londonderry and the Boyne to the Kennebec. Large numbers landed in Boston and diffused themselves throughout New England, and their sturdy independence and tenacious Protestantism did more for the country than the much vaunted influence of Plymouth Pilgrims and Massa- chusetts Puritans. Those of this generation who trace their ancestry back to the Scotch-Irish may well be proud of it. They had to struggle with the hardships of the wilderness; the dangers of the
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savage foe; the rigor of a sterner climate than that of their native land; the privations of a settler's life; the alternating neglect and oppression of the mother country; -- but they struggled successfully with all these disadvantages. To them is due the credit of intro- ducing into New England the cultivation of flax, and utilizing this useful fabric with the hand-card, the foot-wheel, and the loom, enabling whole families to be clothed by their own industry.
Numerous living descendants of the early settlers of Maine, and of the Kennebec valley, can trace their ancestry back to the Scotch- Irish race, whose fruitful blood permeates the veins of untold num- bers of the past as well as the present generations. Those who inherit it may well be thankful for the impress it has imparted to their traits of character, raising them above the characteristics of their less favored contemporaries. Maine owes much to those of the founders of its civilization who came to its shores as Scotch-Irish settlers, and who were as distinct from the Irish race as though their remote ancestors had never left the heaths and mountains of Scotland.
The Philbrook Family. - The ancestors emigrated from Lin- colnshire, England, to Watertown, Mass., in 1630. Thomas Phil- brook soon after moved to Hampton, and had three sons, Jonathan, Samuel, and William. William settled in Greenland, N. H. He left three sons, Jonathan, Samuel, and Walter. This Jonathan moved from Greenland, N. H., to Saco, in 1738, and to Bath in 1742. He owned and occupied land that is now the site of the custom-house, also that of the court-house and Old North Meeting-house.
In 1743 Jonathan Philbrook purchased land of Nathaniel Donnell, and built a residence on the site where, more than a quarter of a century later, stood the mansion of William King. This Mr. Phil- brook subsequently built a house on High street about opposite the site of the South Church, where he lived with his son, Job Philbrook. He built, in 1753, the timber, bullet-proof house afterwards owned and occupied by Maj. Edward H. Page. He built the first vessels on the west shore of Long Reach, as it was then called, very near where the custom-house stands. One of his daughters married a
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Thompson of Brunswick, and one married Isaiah Crooker, Sr. Joshua, one of the sons, married and died in Bath at the advanced age of 94 years.
In 1742 there were but eight families in what is now Bath and West Bath, and Joshua Philbrook said he had but one playmate near his age of fourteen years. Some families moved away in fear of the Indians, as they were very troublesome. In the years 1746 and 1747, the Indians were so troublesome that four of the eight families moved to some larger settlement for better protection, while the courageous built a bullet-proof block-house for their better security. The settlement was consolidated into one household. Mr. Jonathan Philbrook's family numbered ten, with five sons and three daughters; the other three families averaging eight each, which made a household of thirty-four souls. The nine males, with the assistance of the females, could repel an attack.
Joshua Philbrook was born in Greenland, N. H., October 10, 1727. He married, June 15, 1750, Miss Elizabeth Alexander, who was born in Georgetown, September 8, 1729. Her father was shot in Topsham by an Indian and the widow married Mr. Bryant Robinson of Long Reach. Joshua Philbrook in his minority was employed in furnishing game, mostly water fowl that were very numerous in the creeks and coves of the Sagadahoc. Joshua related, that he one one day went in his float to Whizgig Creek and firing into a dense flock of teal, killed twenty-four at one shot. One spring Mr. Phil- brook was up in the wilderness, as was his custom two months at a time, with traps, a bag of meal, and a blanket strapped on a very light hunter's sled, a pair of snow-shoes, a Bible that he carried in his pocket, with his pocket compass. He spoke of these latter as his im- portant guides. As the spring advanced, he made preparations for returning home by felling a birch tree to make a canoe. He arrived home safely, coming in contact with no Indians. It was a very dan- gerous but profitable business; he paid for his farm by means of his traps and disposing of his pelts. Mr. Philbrook and wife would go to Boston in one of their sloops with their pelts and buy whatever articles they were in need of for the next year; some years having an overplus of a stocking full of silver dollars. They often shipped
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to Boston a load of white oak rift staves, the first kind of lumber that was shipped and sold in Boston. Rift shingles and clapboards were the next articles shipped to Boston from Long Reach before the time of saw-mills. In 1761-62, Mr. Joshua Philbrook had a commission and warrant from Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, under George III. of England, authorizing him to collect a tax from the tax payers of the second parish of Georgetown, the money to be appropriated to paying for the building of the meeting-house in the present West Bath, which duty he performed.
Joshua worked with his father at building vessels and farming. When he married he bought a lot of one hundred and fifty acres of Mr. Donnell, of York, extending from the Kennebec River to the dividing line between Bath and West Bath, one-third of which later belonged to the City of Bath, extending from the east line of the old cemetery to the west by Sewall's Mill Pond. The first house Joshua built was of logs. In 1790 he built a log house near the county road, about three rods northwest of Mrs. Elisha Higgins' house. . He built the latter house with his son Daniel.
The first born of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Philbrook, was Sarah, said to be the first white child born in Long Reach. She married John Donnell, of Brunswick, and died April 15, 1822. George Philbrook was born September 18, 1752, and married Deborah Lambert, daughter of Mr. Luke Lambert. George Philbrook served during all the years of the Revolutionary War with honor, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis. He was 29 years of age on returning home. Mr. Thomas Philbrook, at Durham, has the gun which George carried all through the war. There is in existence a letter, 102 years old, written at Ticonderoga to his father, also one 99 years old to his brother. George Philbrook was present at the farewell address of General Washington to his soldiers and officers.
Hannah was born February 22, 1755, married Edward H. Page, who bought the timber house of Jonathan Philbrook, on High street. Elizabeth was born April 23, 1757, married David Lemont of West Bath, and died January 8, 1830. Susannah was born September 17, 1759, and continued with her parents as a loving and dutiful child
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to the end of their days. After the death of her parents, Susannah at the age of 60 years, in 1819, was married to Deacon Reuben Higgins, of West Bath. She died December 3, 1847.
Daniel Philbrook was born January 17, 1762. At the age of 16 years he assisted his father in transplanting the first apple orchard in this vicinity, some trees of which are still vigorous on High street and that neighborhood. In July, 1778, Daniel volunteered (then 17 years of age) as soldier in the expedition to Bagaduce, after which defeat he returned home, crossing the Penobscot at Bucksport to Wiscasset, through a wilderness, enduring suffering and almost star- vation. In 1780, he served a term at the trade of blacksmith. In 1790, he helped his father build their third house on High street (now the Elisha Higgins house), and owned and lived in half of the same. The Philbrook blood permeates a large portion of the fami- lies of Bath, and good blood it is.
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