History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 89

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 780

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John spent his youth on the farm and in the common school.

* Samuel,5 Rev. Thomas,+ Francis,3 Daniel,2 Daniel,1 who was a descendant of Robert in the twelfth generation.

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

On Feb. 5, 1818, he married Sarah, daughter of Kim- ball and Sarah ( Pearse) Ramsdell, of New Gloucester. She was born Nov. 18, 1791. The result of this union was : Mary, born Jan. 21, 1819, married Samnel O. Cobb, of New Gloucester ; Elizabeth P., born Oct. 15, 1820, died Nov.

LITTLE

Plato. by Couant.

JOIIN MORGAN.

5, 1842; Harriet K., born July 19, 1822; Charles M., born Dee. 10, 1824, married Mary E. Locke, of Wood- stock, Me .; Elisha M., born Oct. 28, 1826; John F., born Sept. 24, 1829, now a Congregational minister in Portland.

Mr. Morgan remained on his father's farm till he was twenty-nine years of age, when he purchased a part of the farm where he now resides, and which has for the past thirty years been carried on by his son, Elisha M. Morgan. In politics he was first a Whig, and afterwards a Republican. Both he and his wife are members of the Congregational Church of New Gloucester, of which he was a deacon for six years.

OTIS C. NELSON.

Thomas Nelson, the emigrant, born in England in 1613, settled in Rowley, Mass., in 1631, and died there, 1702. Ilis descendant, David, came from Milford, Mass., about the year 1787, and settled in New Gloucester, Me., on the farm now owned by his grandson, Otis C. Nelson. Ile was a prominent and worthy citizen, and one of the organ- izers of the Calvinist Baptist Church of that town in 1818, and familiarly known as Deacon Nelson. He was a man of great hospitality, and especially so during the early history of the country, when the stranger and missionary always found a welcome to his home. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was at West Point at the time of Arnold's treasonable act. He was a representative in the General Court of Massachusetts, 1812-15, and was a captain in the old State militia. He is said to have erected the first brick house in the town, a view of which, with the modern improvements and spacious buildings, erected by the present owner, may be seen on another page of' this work. He died April 14, 1836. Otis Nel-

son, his son, born 1795, married first Lois G. Raymond, of New Gloucester, Aug. 30, 1818. He resided in Minot, Androseoggin Co., for seventeen years, and was prominently identified with that town. He afterwards returned to the old homestead, where he resided during the remainder of his life. He was a selectman for many years in New Gloucester; was ranked as major in the old State militia ; and was an active member of the old Whig party, and afterwards of the Republican. He died Sept. 15, 1861. His wife died July 11, 1853, having been born Feb. 26, 1798. Their children are, viz., Abigail R., Edwin N., Otis C., Charles II., and Persis T.

Otis C. Nelson was born in the town of Minot, Jan. 29, 1826. He received his education in the common school and at the Lewiston Academy, and was a teacher for seven winter terms. In 1848, February 14th, he married Martha Whitney. She died Nov. 3, 1853. In 1849 he went to California, where he spent seven years in the mines. Re- turning to the old homestead in New Gloucester, in 1858, January 31st, he married Julie, daughter of Hanson Bailey, of' New Gloucester. Of this union were born three chil- dren,-Lilian F, Charles H., and George B.

Mr. Nelson is a representative farmer and fruit-grower, a man of untiring industry and resolution, and a man of acknowledged good judgment and executive ability. He carries on quite largely on his farm the manufacture of eider-vinegar, making several hundred barrels of eider and vinegar every year. This business, begun by his father forty years ago, he continues. lle was formerly a Whig, then a Republican, and in 1863 became a member of the Democratie party. He has been chairman of the board of selectmen of New Gloucester for ten years past, was postmaster of the town in 1849, appointed by Post- master-General Cave Johnston. Ile was in the State Legislature in 1865, and was a member of the committee on the division of counties. In 1876 he was again a member of the State Legislature, and was placed on the committee on agriculture. He has been a candidate for county offices and for State senator, but his party being in the minority, he failed of election.

CHARLES P. HASKELL

is a lineal descendant in the fifth generation from Jacob Haskell, who came from Cape Ann, and was the first set- tler of this branch of the Haskell family in New Glouces- ter, Cumberland Co., Me. His grandfather, Peter Haskell, when quite young, came with his parents from Cape Ann, where he was born, to New Gloucester. His father, Peter Ilaskell, born in New Gloucester, Jan. 10, 1797, married Sally Pulsiver, of Poland, Me., April 1, 1823. She died Sept. 30, 1831, leaving four children,-Mary Parsons, Lucy Lufkin, Jacob Ward, and Ezekiel Whitman. For his second wife he married, Dee. 16, 1832, Betsey Hawes, born in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, March 5, 1806, and who came to New Gloucester with her parents when a little past two years of age. The children of this union were Charles Peter, subject of this narrative, and Thomas Hawes. Peter

Potomen H. Chanceler

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TOWN OF NEW GLOUCESTER.

Haskell, while a lad of twenty-two years, went to live with Col. Isaac Parsons, and resided on the Parsons farm during his life. Ile was known in New Gloucester as a worthy citizen and a man of sterling integrity. In politics he was a Whig, and subsequently a Republican. He was eaptain of a company of the old State militia ; was officially con- nected with his town, and in 1845 was a member of the State Legislature. He died May 6, 1878. Charles Peter Haskell, born March 8, 1835, spent his minority on the farm where he has since resided. His education from books was confined to the common school. He married, March 5, 1868, IIelen M., daughter of Hezekiah Crockett, whose father, Enoch Crockett, was the first of the family that settled in the town of Gorham. She was born March 22, 1841. Their children are Mary Cross, Eugene Mau- rice, Fanny Crockett, and Frederick Peter.

Mr. Haskell's occupation has been farming and lumber- ing. In early manhood he became an active and interested citizen in the local affairs of his town, and has filled the various offices of seleetman, member of the superintending school committee, and moderator at town-meetings for sev- eral years. He was appointed by Postmaster-General Montgomery Blair, postmaster at New Gloucester, which office he held for nine years. Ile east his first vote the year of the organization of the Republican party, and sup- ported the Republican platform until 1872, when he strongly advocated the election of Horace Greeley, since which time he has been identified with the Democratic party. A view of his residence, formerly the residence of Col. Isaac Parsons, settled in 1760, may be seen on an- other page of this work.

MAJOR SOLOMON H. CHANDLER.

Edmund Chandler, the first of the family in New Eng- land, was of English birth, and is supposed to have come to America about 1630, as he resided at Duxbury, Mass., in 1633.

Peleg Chandler, a lineal descendant of Edmund, born April 27, 1735, married Sarah Winslow at North Yar- mouth, Dec. 9, 1762, and settled in New Gloucester, Me., in 1764. He was one of eight who organized the Congre- gational and First Church in New Gloucester. He was one of the pioneers of the town. He was a man of strong foree of character, of sterling integrity, and a well-balanced mind. He was a member of the General Court of Massachusetts from New Gloucester. Among his descendants are Hon. P. W. Chandler and Theophilus Chandler, prominent mem- bers of the Suffolk bar, Boston, and the late Charles Chand- ler, a leading member of the Piscataquis bar for many years.

Philip, son of Peleg, born in New Gloucester, May 23, 1767, married Deborah Hewitt, a lady of high moral worth and great hospitality, and died Nov. 15, 1823. He settled the farm now owned by his grandson, Andrew C. Chandler. Their children were Solomon H. (subject of this sketch),. George W., Mrs. Gen. Samuel Fessenden, Mrs. Freedom Keith, Mrs. William Meserve, and Mrs. Joseph Cross, and four other children, who died young.

Solomon Hewitt, son of Philip Chandler, born in the town of New Gloneester, Nov. 21, 1790, married. Feb. 3, 1825, Sally, daughter of Andrew and Lydia (llewitt) Campbell, and granddaughter of Andrew and Sarah (Ar- cher) Campbell, of New Gloucester. Ilis wife, Sally Campbell, was a lady of high moral worth, and, although delicate in health from early womanhood, her great work was in the moral training of her children, and in her model, exemplary ways before the world.

Andrew Campbell, the first settler of the Campbell family in Cumberland County, was of Scotch descent, born in Salem, Mass., Feb. 7, 1744; married Sarah Archer, Aug. 1, 1779. She was born also in Salem, Oct. 20, 1748. Their children were Andrew and Mrs. Samuel Merrill. Andrew married Lydia Hewitt, Jan. 28, 1796. She was known for her excellent womanly qualities, and sympathy and charity for the needy. She had a vigorous constitution and strength of moral character, and lived respected by all who knew her. Her father, Capt. Solomon Ilewitt, fol- lowed the sea for many years ; was a man of a remarkably robust constitution, resolution, and force of character.

Solomon H. Campbell, son of Andrew and Lydia Campbell, was a man of rare financial ability, shrewd in the management of his own affairs, and equally careful of those intrusted to his earc. His sound judgment and strict integrity were acknowledged by all who came in contact with him. He died in New Gloucester, Aug. 20, 1870, aged fifty-ninc.

Solomon H. Chandler spent his boyhood on the farm and at school, and although his educational opportunities were limited, he was a successful teacher for some three terms.

Upon reaching his majority, unassisted pecuniarily, he started in life to carve out a fortune for himself; and his native energy, his resolution to carry to a successful completion whatever he undertook, his indomitable perse- verance, economy, and good judgment, so developed in early manhood, characterized his whole life, and gave him rank among the best financiers of Cumberland County.

At the age of twenty-four he began business as a country merchant at New Gloucester, where, by prudent manage- ment, he for many years carried on business successfully, and laid the foundation for his future opulence.

In 1837 he gave up his mercantile trade, and gave his attention to farming and general business, residing upon the old homestead after his father's death. He engaged quite largely in real-estate operations for many years, giving employment to a great number of men, and at the time of his decease he owned some two thousand acres of land in his native town.

He possessed that strong force of character that com- mands the confidenee of the public, and seemed able to comprehend future results arising from present business enterprises. Originally a Whig, he became a Republican upon the formation of that party in 1856. Ile always de- clined the emoluments of office and any political prefer- ment, although often solieited to represent his town in the State Legislature, preferring the quiet and independence of a business life.

As a citizen, he was interested in the local affairs of his town and county, and for a time was selectman of New

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

Gloucester. In the old State militia he took an active part, and ranked as major, by which title he was usually called.

He was one of the original stockholders of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, and director for many years; an original stockholder and director of the Androscoggin and Kennebec, and a stockholder of the Kennebec and Penob- seot Railroads. In these relations he was far-seeing, and his quick perception and rare financial ability were recog- nized in their judicious management.

He resided during his whole life in the town of his birth, and died Oct. 28, 1858. ITis wife died Oct. 7, 1837.

Their eldest son, Solomon Hewitt, died Nov. 17, 1825. Two sons are living : Solomon Hewitt, born June 5, 1828, and Andrew C., born July 30, 1830, married, Jan. 4, 1854, Catherine C. Cunningham, of St. Stephens, N. B .; of which union have been born four sons, viz., Andrew C., Charles Peleg, Fred. II., and Roland C. Chandler.

A. C. Chandler, Jr., was married Dec. 25, 1878, to Miss Cora E. Bean, of Readfield, Me.

WINTHROP TRUE,

a descendaut of Ilenry True, who came from England and settled in Salem, Mass., in 1632, and whose ancestor set- tled in New Gloucester in 1760, is the son of Moses and Martha (Pierce) True, and was born in New Gloucester Oct. 20, 1812. Moses, born in North Yarmouth June 15, 1790, and Martha in New Gloucester Aug. 3, 1788, reared a family of nine children, as follows : Winthrop, Moses, Elbridge, Nathan O., Calvin S., Martha P., Lewis P., Wil- liam P., and Jabez,-all living but Winthrop and Moses. Winthrop spent his boyhood on his father's farm and in the common schools of his native town. Ou Dec. 13, 1842, he married Ophelia 'T., daughter of John and Lucy Gooding, of Pownal, Me. She was born Sept. 17, 1814. The children of this union were Lucy E., born Jan. 16, 1846, married, Nov. 9, 1867, John Cunningham (they have one child, Alice W., born Aug. 18, 1868) ; John W., born Aug. 4, 1848, married, July 17, 1873, Caroline, daughter of Horace and Sarah Murdock, of Springfield,

Mass. (their children are Albert D., born Dec. 6, 1874, and Bertha O., born June 13, 1877) ; and Anna T., born July 29, 1850, married, Nov. 18, 1877, Elisha C. New- comb, of Portland.

Photo. by Conant.

Mr. True was a tiller of the soil, and deemed it the highest honor and pleasure. In that and in the educa- tion and advancement of his family he spent his life. In politics he was a Republican, but was never an office- seeker. Both he and his wife were for several years con- sistent members of the Congregational Church of New Gloucester. Hle died Sept. 9, 1874, aged sixty-two.

Mrs. True survives to mourn his loss, but her bereave- ment is tempered by the consciousness of his upright life and the high esteem and confidence reposed in him by all who knew him.

RESIDENCE OF JABEZ TRUE IN 1840

GOIST DIE

TRUE HOMESTEAD, OWNED BY D. W. TRUE IN 1880. POLAND, MAINE.

NORTH YARMOUTH.

ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES.

THE boundaries of North Yarmouth originally extended from the white rock adjoining Falmouth northwest eight miles ; thenee northeast about eleven miles, until intersected by a line running north west from the mouth of Bungonung River, and from the white rock and the month of Royal River southeast to the sea. It will be seen that these lines included Mare Point, Merriconeag Neck, Sebascodegan, a large number of lesser islands, and Cape Small Point at the mouth of the Kennebec River. Mare Point was set off to Brunswick in 1739, Small Point to Georgetown in 1741, aud Merrieoneag Neck and the islands adjacent were incor- porated in the town of Harpswell, Jan. 25, 1758. In this act one island lying south of Great Island was omitted through a mistake, and it has ever since borne the name of North Yarmouth Island, from the town to which it origi- nally belonged. At a later period it was annexed to Harps- well.

The township of North Yarmouth-originally called Wes- custogo, the Indian name of Royal River-was granted to Joseph Phippen and others in 1680; the same year it was incorporated as a town and its name changed to North Yarmonth, probably from Yarmouth in England. The Danforth government had then come into power, and President Danforth, acting under authority of Massaehu- setts, came to Falmouth to aid in the resettlement of the towns which had been destroyed by King Philip's war. While at Fort Loyal, in the discharge of this duty, he incorporated North Yarmouth, adding somewhat to its dimensions on the west side, as the following act will show :

" FORT LOYAL, IN FALMOUTH, 22d Sept., 1680.

" For the further Inlargement and Incouragement to the settlement of the township, by the Governor and Company of the Massechusetts, en the easterly side of Weseustogo River, on Casco Bay : It is hereby granted unto them that the waste lands lying between the said grant and Falmouth shall he added to the township, and also an island lying between the sea and said township, called New Dameras Cove.

" It is also herehy ordered and declared that the name of the said plantation shall be North Yarmouth.

" THOMAS DANFORTH, President."

FIRST SETTLEMENT.

Within the boundaries of this territory a number of set- tlers had established themselves from thirty to forty years before King Philip's war. Willis mentions the names of " John Cousins, near the mouth of Royall's River; Thomas Haines, at Maquoit ; James Lane, on the east side of Cousins' River; Richard Bray, on Maine's Point, in North Yarmouth ; John Maine, at the same place ; James Parker, on the Kennebec River, or its neighborhood; William Royall, on the east side of Royall's River, near its mouth ; and John Sears, probably on one of the islands. Besides

these there were Hugh Mosier, Thomas Morris, and Thomas Wise, who lived somewhere in the Bay, but at what particu- Jar place we are unable to determine, probably in North Yarmouth."

Mr. Russell, in his history of North Yarmouth, mentions George Felt as the first settler in 1643, at the place where he built his stone garrison* (Deacon Scales' place), unless John Phillips, of whom he bonght his land, was there earlier, which is uncertain. Willis mentions John Phillips as living on the " west side of Presumpscot River" prior to 1658, where he bought 50 aeres on the lower falls, " be- tween said mill falls and Richard Martin's land," of George Cleaves, Aug. 10, 1675, and adds, " Ile had previously lived on Broad Bay, in North Yarmouth, on a place which he sold before 1643 to George Felt." Phillips undoubtedly lived there prior to the date mentioned, but he was probably not the first settler. Willis says, " William Royall, the first of the family in this country, was settled in Casco Bay as early as 1636, and is probably the same person who is mentioned in a letter from the Governor of the New Eng- land Company to Endicott (I Haz. 265) as having been sent over to him in 1629. He was a ' cooper and cleaver.' In 1643 he purchased of Thomas Gorges the point of land on the east side of the river which bears his name, and on which he then lived." This agrees with a deposition made by John Royal, a son of William, in Boston. July 16, 1688, in which he states that his father had occupied the land " forty years," i.e., till the time he left it at the eom- mencement of King Philip's war.

William Royal was one of the leading men of the first period of settlement in Maine. He was a member of the General Assembly of the Province in 1648. In 1673 he conveyed to his sons, William and John, his land and buildings on Wescustogo River, in consideration of support for himself and his wife Phebe.+ His son John married Eliza Dodd, granddaughter of Nicholas Davis, of York, and was living there in June, 1680. His son William was born in 1640, and died Nov. 7, 1724, in his eighty-fifth year. Hon. Isaac Royal, son of the second William, was born in 1672, resided in Antigua nearly forty years, returned in 1737, and died June 17, 1739. John, son of the first William, was taken prisoner by the Indians. His house was used as a garrison by order of Col. Tyng and Judge Stoughton. The first William Loyal was the man after whom Fort Loyall, in Falmouth, was named. Ile was one

* The stone garrison referred to stood on Seales' Point (home-lots 56 and 57), in what is now Cumberland. It was not built by Georgo Felt, but by John Phillips, previous to his sale to Felt. See history of Cumberland, in this work.

+ William Royal died at Dorchester, June 15, 1676; his widow died July 16, 167S.

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HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

of the committee appointed by the General Assembly of Ligonia, to whom was referred the petition of Robert Jor- dan respecting the Trelawny estate, Dec. 18, 1648.

In 1645, John Cousins lived on the neck of land which livides the branches of Cousin River, and owned also Cousins' Island. Cousins sold half of the island to William Bray, in 1647, and in 1651, James Lane, of Gloucester, moved to the farm now owned by W. Fogg, in Freeport, and gave his name to the island at the mouth of the river. John Maine lived on the Foreside, at the point which still retains his name, in 1652. John Holman, in 1670, lived on Holman's, now Prince's, Point. In 1674, Walter Gen- dall and Harry Saward built the first saw-mill at the lower falls. Geridall lived next the Falmouth line ; Thomas Blash- field lived on the farm of the late Riehmond Loring; Ben- jamin Larrabee, on the Deacon Ilalpes' place ; Amos Stevens, who married the daughter of William Royal, lived on Wolf Point ; Thomas Reading, on the east side of Cousin River, and west of Lane's farm, and William Haines on Pine, now called Flying Point.

These were probably all the settlers of the first settlement previous to the Indian war of 1675,* or King Philip's war, during which the settlements were completely broken up, and the settlers compelled to fly from their homes. The mill was burnt, and probably most of the houses, and the settlement remained deserted till after the peace of 1678, when the inhabitants began to return, and measures were taken for the resettlement and organization of the town. We have already given an account of the incorporation in 1680, and the grant of the township that year to Joseph Phippen and others. We have no means of learning much about these grantees. Mr. Phippen was admitted an in- habitant of Falmouth as early as 1650. Mr. Willis says he probably came from Boston. He bought land of Robert Jordan in the northern part of Cape Elizabeth, where he was living, on the south side of Long Creek, in 1680. In 1662 he was a commissioner, with George Cleaves, for Fal- mouth and Scarborough, and was approved by the General Court.

The records commence with an order relative to the set- tlement of the town, dated July 13, 1681, signed by Bar- tholomew Gedney, Joshua Scottow, Silvanus Davis, and Walter Gendall, a committee " Empowered to order and regulate the settlement of a township granted by the Gov- ernor and Company of the Colony of Massachusetts, Propri - etors of the Province of Maine, on the northerly part of Casco Bay, formerly called Weseustogo, and now named North Yarmouth." The members of this committee were widely scattered. Bartholomew Gedney was a land-specula- tor of Salem, a physician, and judge of a court called to take immediate action against those charged with witch-

craft ; Capt. Joshua Scottow was a principal man in Scar- borough ; Capt. Silvanus Davis was an enterprising citizen of Falmouth ; and Capt. Walter Gendall was then a resident of this town. He was its first representative to the Gen- eral Assembly, held at York, in 1683.

In laying out the town the committee determined that the place of building should be " on the land commonly called Maine's Point, to be ordered so in the laying out as to be compact and most capable of defense : it being under- stood that Maine's Point includes that whole neck of land where John Maine and John Holman formerly dwelt." They laid out " 10 acres of plain land in a square lot, for a meeting-house, burial-place, minister's house-lot, market- place, and school." Around this 10-acre lot a street was laid out four rods wide, and on this street were house-lots of half an acre each, and in some convenient place a com- mon field equal to 6 aeres to each house-lot." Any two of the committee, with the selectmen, were authorized to grant lands " to such as they should entertain as inhabitants." A committee was appointed to procure a minister. A grant of land was made to Walter Gendall of 200 acres near the Falmouth boundary, "and George Peirson was appointed recorder to the town of North Yarmouth, aforesaid."

The town was formed in this compact little square, cal- culated for 24 house-lots, so as to be more easily defended from the attacks of the Indians.

In July, 1681, John Royal, John York, John Harris, and Walter Gendall were appointed trustees to parcel out the land of the town to inhabitants. We shall not attempt to follow the various grants made from time to time, as it would be impossible to do so with even an approximate degree of completeness. The records for many years are wanting, and besides, our space must be devoted to a mere summary view of the town history.

In 1688 the town was again destroyed by another Indian war. Capt. Gendall and others were killed; all the inhab- itants, amounting to 36 families, were compelled to abandon their homes, which they had gained at great cost and sacri- fice, to the merciless savages. Three houses and two barns belonging to Capt. Gendall were burnt, and also the saw- mill and grist-mill built by him. He was at that time the most enterprising and wealthy of the settlers.

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History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 89

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 780

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 780