USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Gorham > History of Gorham, Me. > Part 50
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James, b. Apr. 29, 1756, m. Polly Marr, May 17, 1782.
Nov. 9, 1759, he married Mrs. Margaret Watts, widow of Samuel Watts of Falmouth, and daughter of Samuel Elder. By her he had :
Samuel, b. Oct. 21, 1761, d. at sea, unm.
John, b. Jan. 23, 1764, m. Susan Bacon, Mar. 14, 1789.
Isaac, b. July 14, 1768, m. Catherine Staples, Aug. 26, 1792.
Mr. Gilkey, a short time before his death, deeded half of his lot, 18, to his son John, who probably owned it with his mother, for in 1797, Mrs. Margaret Gilkey, with her son John, deeded to her son Isaac an acre from this lot near where the railroad bridge now is. On this acre Isaac built the two-story house known as the Baxter house, lately owned by Jonathan Fogg. This house Isaac Gilkey sold to Rev. Jeremiah Noyes, the fourth settled minister in the town of Gorham. Then Isaac built the two-story house on the thirty acre lot, 17, on the easterly side of South St., which he sold to Rev. Asa Rand. This house is the same lately owned by Dr. H. H. Hunt.
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HISTORY OF GORHAM.
James Gilkey died at his own house on South St., about the year 1790, being over eighty years of age ; and his wife Margaret soon after, or about the year 1800, aged about eighty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Gilkey were honest Christian people and members of the old church, but becoming much dissatisfied under the ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Thacher, they joined the Free Will Baptists.
(2) Joseph Gilkey, son of James, married Phebe Larrabee :
Betty, b. July 29, 1775, m. Frederick Stevens of 25 Mile Pond, Mar. 3, 1801.
Martha, b. Apr. 23, 1777, m. Benjamin Chandler of Pepperellboro, Oct. 20, 1799.
Sarah, b. Sept. 27, 1779, m. Hezekiah Chase of Sandy Stream, p. June 17, 1803. Phebe, b. June 3, 1782, m. - Whitney ; I'd in W. Troy, Me.
Samuel, b. May 25, 1784, I'd in Troy, Me. James, b. June 4, 1786.
Mary, b. June 11, 1788, m. James Patterson, Jan. 18, 1813.
William, b. May 17, 1790.
Isaac,
Joseph settled on a part of the thirty acre lot 115, and built a large two-story house a little east of where Mrs. Rufus Mosher now lives. This house was taken down soon after the death of Mr. and Mrs. Gilkey, about the year 1815.
Mr. Small, who married Rebecca, daughter of James Gilkey, moved to Gray. These are the ancestors of Samuel Small, Esq., now (1878) cashier of the Cumberland Nat'l Bank, Portland. James Gilkey, Sr., who married Polly Marr, moved to Limington. John Gilkey, who married Susan Bacon of Barnstable, had three children born in Gorham.
Ebenezer B., b. Sept. 14, 1790. Sally, b. Aug. 8, 1792.
John, b. Aug. 10, 1794.
About the year 1794 John, with his family, moved to New Port- land, where he had descendants living, a few years since.
(2) Isaac Gilkey, who married Catherine Staples, lived in his house on South St., till he sold it, about the year 1810, to Rev. Asa Rand, the fifth minister settled in Gorham. He then moved on to his farm above Fort Hill where Ezra Thomes lately lived, the old place of Dr. Stephen Swett. The children of Isaac and Catherine Gilkey were :
Samuel, b. Sept. 22, 1793, m. Hannah Phinney, May 5, 1816.
Joseph, b. July 26, 1795, m. Mary Johnson, Jan. 5, 1824.
Charles, b. July 11, 1797, d. Nov. 12, 1827.
Harriet, b. Sept. 2, 1799, d. young.
Frederick, b. May 22, 1802, m., 1829, Lydia Bangs ; I'd at the north part of the town, Ch : Isaac, b. Jan. 7, 1830; Mary M., b. Oct. 19, 1832, m. Mr. Nason at Great Falls, d. leaving no chn. ; Charles, b. Apr. 19, 1834, m. Elder of Portland ; Harriet, b. May, 1845, d. unm. Nov. 7, 1885.
-
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GENEALOGY.
Mrs. Gilkey d. Apr. 6, 1851, ag. 45, and in 1856, Mr. G. m. Margaret Wescott, by whom he had: Carrie, m. George Perkins of Kennebunk. Mr. G. d. in May, 1877.
Harriet, b. May 2, 1804, m. David Johnson, Jan. 31, 1825; 2d, Enoch Boothby of Buxton, in 1828.
Isaac Gilkey was in his day a famous carpenter or joiner. He was second under Wentworth Stuart in framing the First Parish meeting house, in Gorham, in 1797. He built a number of the old- fashioned ropewalks in Portland. The long-walk that stood on the shore of Back Cove, under the hill, was built by him, and framed at Gorham in the road (now South St.), in front of his house, in three sections, each reaching from his house to the old hay scales, which stood in the road opposite to where the new schoolhouse now stands. In those days there was no square rule, or framing by patterns : each stick had to be framed and fitted to its place, marked and draw- bored, separately.
Mr. Gilkey died on his farm May 14, 1814. His wife Catherine died Nov. 27, 1845, at the age of 75.
(3) Reuben, the son of James and Polly (Marr) Gilkey, was born in Limington, Dec. 19, 1788. He moved to Gorham in 1838, and built and occupied the cottage house at West Gorham, just southeast of the house of the late Reuben Lowell. He married first, Eliza Marr, by whom he had several children born in Limington. His second wife was Phebe Marr, sister of Eliza, whom he married May 8, 1831. Their children were :
Eliza C., b. in Limington, -- , 1833, m. Albion Sawyer.
Mary, b. in Limington, July, 1836, d. young.
Capt. Gilkey died in Portland, May 25, 1868. Mrs. Phebe Gilkey died in Gorham, Dec. 22, 1867, aged 62.
(3) Joseph Gilkey, brother to Reuben, married Louisa, daughter of Zebediah F. and Margaret (Clark) Jackson of Limington. Mr. Gilkey and his father-in-law Jackson came to Gorham in 1835 and purchased of Thomas S. Bowles the old Prentiss place at West Gorham.
Mr. and Mrs. Jackson had a family of six daughters :
Salome, m. Abner Libby ; I'd in Limerick.
Almira, m. Peletiah Gove, of Limington.
Louisa, m. Joseph Gilkey.
Tryphena S., m. Chesley D. Gove of Limington.
Olive F., m. Micajah C. Strout ; I'd in Limington. Gorham and Portland. Jane, m. George Waterhouse of Gorham ; d. in Portland.
Mr. Jackson died in Portland, Jan. 14, 1862, aged 87. His wife Margaret died Jan. 17, 1864, at West Gorham, with her daughter
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HISTORY OF GORHAM.
Tryphena. The old place descended to Mrs. Gove's daughter, Mrs. Cyrus Cressey, who sold it to Joseph Harrison.
Joseph Gilkey and his wife Louisa had but one child, Alphonso L., who was born in Limington, Nov. 7, 1829, married Susan Bradford Cook Jan. 1, 1856, and lives in Portland, where he has been a fur dealer. Joseph Gilkey died in Gorham, and his wife in Portland, Sept. 30, 1888, aged 82.
There was a Mary Gilkey in town at an early date, but of what family we do not know. She married, Dec. 7, 1775, Daniel Moxey, or Mussey.
GORHAM.
Capt. John Gorham, who commanded a company of the colonial troops in the King Philip war, and was at the taking of the fort in the swamp in the Narragansett country, Dec. 19, 1675, the capture of which crushed the hopes of King Philip and his allies, was the son of Ralph Gorham.
The Gorhams trace their genealogy back to the De Gorrams, of La Tanniere, near Gorram in Maine, on the borders of Brittany, where William, son of Ralph de Gorram, built a castle in 1128. During the reign of William the Conqueror several of the family removed to England, where certain ones of the name became persons of some standing ; but the immediate ancestors of Captain John do not appear to have been of much note. James Gorham of Benefield, Northamptonshire, England, who was born in 1550, married Agnes Bernington in 1572 and died 1576. Ralph Gorham his son was born in 1575. He married in England and came with his family in ship Philip to New England about 1635. Of his family but little is known ; the only record being of his son John. It is probable he had other children, and a son by the name of Ralph, as he was called the "elder," which shows that there must have been one other of the same name. Ralph Gorham died about the year 1643, leaving no widow and only one son, John, who inherited his father's estate. No other Gorhams are known to have been in the colony during the seventeenth century, after the death of Ralph, besides John and his descendants.
We have no record of the birth of Capt. John Gorham, but he was baptized in Benefield, Northamptonshire, England, Jan. 28, 1621. Of his early history, little is known. He had a good common school education, was brought up in the Puritan faith, and during life was a
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GENEALOGY.
consistent and exemplary Christian. His occupation was that of a tanner and currier of leather, which business he attended to in the winter, and carried on his farm in the summer. He was an honest boy, and grew up to be an honest man. In 1643, when about twenty-two years of age, he married Desire Howland of Plymouth, daughter of John Howland, and granddaughter of John Tilley, both of whom came over in the Mayflower. Desire was one of the first children born at Plymouth ; she was a Christian woman both in name and spirit.
John Gorham moved from Plymouth to Marshfield in 1646; June 4, 1650, he was made a freeman of the colony. In 1652, he moved to Yarmouth, where he purchased a house lot adjoining the line of Barnstable. From this time we find him adding to his estate until he became a large land owner, which with his grist mill and tannery must have kept him well employed. In 1677, in consequence of the good service Capt. Gorham had rendered the country in the war in which he lost his life, the Court confirmed to his heirs and succes- sors forever the hundred acres of land at Papasquash Neck, in Swanzey, which had been selected by him in his lifetime. He was one of the selectmen of Barnstable in the year 1674, and was appointed a Lieutenant of the Plymouth forces in the Dutch war in 1673. Oct. 4, 1675, he was appointed Captain of the second com- pany of the Plymouth forces in the King Philip war, and ordered to rendezvous his company at Providence, Dec. 10, 1675. The battle was fought Dec. 19, 1675, and was decisive in its result. This was the second expedition sent against the Narragansetts in which Capt. Gorham bore a part. The first was not successful, the English suf- fering a defeat, a fuller account of which can be found in the histories of the times. To the officers and soldiers of this war the grant of seven townships of land was made by the General Court of Massa- chusetts about the years 1728 and 1732. Capt. Gorham did not live long after the battle. He was seized with a fever, brought on in consequence of fatigue and exposure, and died, while in command of . his company, in Swanzey, where he was buried, Feb. 5, 1676. His wife Desire survived him, and died in Barnstable, Oct. 13, 1683.
In the distribution of the seven townships amongst the Narragan- sett soldiers, No. 7 was awarded to Capt. John Gorham and one hundred and nineteen others, to their heirs and assigns forever, according to the rules fixed by the General Court providing for descent or heirship. For a list of the co-holders in the proprietary, reference may be had to Chapter II of this work.
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HISTORY OF GORHAM.
The children of Capt. John and his wife Desire (Howland) Gorham were Desire, Temperance, Elizabeth, James, John (born in Marsh- field, Feb. 20, 1652), Joseph, Jabez, Mercy, Lydia, Hannah and Shubael. Lieut. Col. John Gorham, the fifth child of Capt. John and Desire, was brought up to work at the trade of his father. His tan- nery was near his father's grist mill. He inherited a part of his father's estate, and became wealthy, ranking second in town, next to his brother James. He was with his father in the King Philip war. He was afterwards much engaged during the French and Indian wars, from 1689 to 1704, on the eastern coast, under Col. Benjamin Church. Connected with these expeditions there was a whaleboat fleet, manned by whalemen, sailors and friendly Indians, which dur- ing most of the time was under the sole management and command of Col. Gorham. During the fourth and fifth of these expeditions, he was commissioned Lieut. Colonel and second in command, and in case of accident was named as commander. This fleet was of great service in transporting supplies, and in moving the troops from point to point when marching through the wilderness, which was nearly impassable. Lieut. Col. Gorham ranked as a captain in the unfortu- nate Canada expedition in 1690, under Maj. Walley. In this expedi- tion he commanded the whaleboat fleet, without which it would have been still more disastrous. Subsequently he was a Lieut. Colonel in the militia. He was a man of sound judgment, good business capacity, much employed by his fellow-townsmen as a conveyancer, writing wills, and in drawing public documents. He married, Feb. 16, 1674, Mary Otis, daughter of Mr. John Otis. Their children were born in Barnstable, and were as follows: John, Temperance, . Mary, Stephen, Shubael (born Sept. 2, 1686), John, Thankful, Job, and Mercy. Col. John Gorham died Dec. 9, 1716, in the 65th year of his age. His widow Mary died April 1, 1733.
Col. Shubael Gorham, who was the fifth child of Lieut. Col. John and Mary (Otis) Gorham, was like his father, something of a military man. He was Colonel of the 7th Mass. in the Louisburg expedition ; his commission bearing the date of Feb. 2, 1744; and he was also Captain of the First company. His son John was Lieut. Colonel and Captain of the Second company. Shubael Gorham was a man of enterprise, who persevered in whatever he undertook till he failed or succeeded. Much in public business, he was esteemed by all who knew him. It was principally through his instrumentality and the efficient part he took, that the grants were made by the General Court, of the seven townships of land to the officers and soldiers of
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GENEALOGY.
the Narragansett, or King Philip war, or their lawful representatives. When the assembly of grantees was held on Boston Common, June 6, 1733, Hon. Shubael Gorham was made chairman of the Committee for Narragansett No. 7. By an order in Council, Shubael Gorham was empowered, July 5, 1736, to call together the grantees of Narra- gansett No. 7. Col. Gorham spent much time and money in for- warding and fostering the settlement of Gorhamtown. He bought a great many shares of those who did not wish to emigrate, but his speculation proved unfortunate. He died insolvent in the year 1746, his children being his principal creditors. He married his cousin Mary, daughter of Col. John and Lydia (Gorham) Thacher of Yar- mouth. Their children were John, born Dec. 12, 1709, married Elizabeth Allyn ; David, born April 6, 1712, married Abigail Sturgis ; Mary ; William; Lydia; Hannah ; Hannah ; Shubael; Joseph; Ben- jamin. Mrs. Mary Gorham died June 28, 1778, aged 89.
Daniel Gorham, born Sept. 24, 1708, was the son of Shubael Gorham (the youngest son of Capt. John Gorham) and his wife Puella Hussey, and bore the same degree of relationship to John the elder as the Hon. Shubael, viz., that of a grandson, but by a different branch. He was a mariner by profession. He was the owner of four rights in Gorhamtown. On Aug. 9, 1739, he was in Gorham- town, and acted as Proprietors' Clerk at a meeting when two hundred acres of land were voted and granted to Edmund and Stephen Phin- ney. He died in London, of the small pox, in 1745. He was unmarried, and by his will left his estate of land in Gorhamtown to his brother and sisters, George, Abigail, Lydia, Hannah, Theodate, Desire, Ruth and Deborah. It does not appear that any of them came to Gorham.
Col. John Gorham, the first child of the Hon. Shubael Gorham, was a distinguished officer in the colonial forces in the later French wars. He was present at the capture of Louisburg, and rendered efficient service to the country during the war. In the Louisburg expedition he was Lieut. Colonel of the 7th Mass. and Captain of the Second company. His commission was dated Feb. 20, 1744. Col. Gorham resided in Barnstable till the year 1742, when he removed to Falmouth, Me., now Portland. While his residence was in Fal- mouth, he spent much of his time in Gorhamtown attending to his lands, and promoting the interests of the settlers. He married, Mar. 9, 1731, Elizabeth, daughter of James Allyn, who is said to have been one of the most accomplished ladies of her time. They had fifteen children. No complete list of them is on record. Those born in Barnstable were:
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HISTORY OF GORHAM.
Susannah, b. Nov. 21, 1732, d. Mar., 1733.
Mary, b. Dec. 3, 1733, d. Jan. 8, 1738.
Anna, b. July 28, 1735.
John, b. Dec. 26, 1736.
Christopher, b. Jan. 10, 1738, d. at sea unm.
Elizabeth, bapt. Dec. 16, 1739, m. Daniel Rogers of Gloucester. Daniel, bapt. Mar. 1, 1741.
The other children were born after their removal, in 1742, to Falmouth. The eighth child was Sea Deliverance, a daughter, named thus as she was born at sea ; she was christened at Barnstable, July 22, 1744. Three of the other children were : Mary, married Eben Parsons, Susannab, and Solomon, who died Dec. 20, 1795.
It does not appear that any of Col. John Gorham's family settled in Gorham. After the close of the French war, Col. Gorham and his wife visited Europe, were presented at the court of St. James, and had an audience with the King, a distinction then attained to by but few of the subjects of royalty. In 1749 Col. Gorham was a resident of Boston. He died about the year 1750, of the small pox, in Lon- don, while engaged in prosecuting his claim for expenses in the Louisburg expedition. His widow Elizabeth married, in 1775, Col. John Stevens of Gloucester, and died Dec. 25, 1786, in her 73d year.
Col. David Gorham, the second child of the Hon. Shubael Gorham, had three wives, namely . Abigail Sturgis, whom he married Aug. 2, 1733, and who died Feb. 11, 1775, aged 63; second, Elizabeth Stevens of Truro, in 1775 ; third, Hannah Davis, whom he married June 17, 1783, and who died Oct. 3, 1810, aged 79. David Gorham died in Barnstable, in 1789, aged 77. He resided on the old home- stead in Barnstable. He was with his brother John at Cape Breton and the taking of Louisburg, and was engaged in other military services. In the time of the Revolution some charged him with being a tory, as he would not advocate some extreme measures, but the charge was unjust. For many years he was Register of Probate for the County of Barnstable, was much in public life, and was an energetic and capable man. The children of David Gorham, Esq., were :
David, b. Aug. 24, 1735, d. young.
Elizabeth, b. Aug. 22, 1737, d. young.
Edward, b. Aug. 23, 1739, d. about 1756.
Lydia, b. May 30, 1741, m. Edward Bacon, Jr.
William, b. July 12, 1743, m. Temperance White; 2d, Temperance Garret.
Shubael, b. Feb. 3, 1745, d, in 1748.
Benjamin, b. Feb. 23, 1747, m. Desire Thacher, Oct. 15, 1775.
Abigail, b. Mar. 5, 1749, m. Jeremiah Barker.
Shubael, b. Feb. 18, 1752, d. at sea, unm.
Mary, b. May 21, 1754, m. Wm. Prentiss of Barnstable, 1778; d. July 8, 1784.
Lydia married Capt. Edward Bacon, Jr .; she died in Gorham at the house of her brother, Hon. William Gorham, Apr. 14, 1803, a
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GENEALOGY.
widow. William married, in 1769, widow Temperance White of Scituate, who died in Gorham, Apr. 14, 1788 ; for his second wife he married Miss Temperance Garret of Gorham, Mar. 8, 1789. Abigail married, Oct. 12, 1775, Dr. Jeremiah Barker, and died in 1790.
It appears that the contract made, Mar. 28, 1743, by the Proprie- tors with Col. John Gorham to complete the mills was not fulfilled by him in consequence of his decease, and the mills were finished by his brother David, when the following proceedings were had by the Proprietors :
YORK SS.
At a meeting of the proprietors of Gorhamtown, or Narragansett No. 7, held at the house of Jacob Hamblin, in said town, January IIth, 1759 -
Voted, The report of the Committee be accepted, VIZ:
We the subscribers being a Committee chosen by the Proprietors of Gorhamtown or Naraganset Township No. 7, at their meeting held at said township on thursday last, the eleventh instant, to search the records of said Proprietors with regard to Four hundred acres of land formerly granted to Jnº Gorham by way of exchange on condi- tions, having fully enquired and examined the Records, and find that it stands clear for the proprietors, to grant the same to his brother David Gorham, Esq., according to the following draft of a vote, and do report that the proprietors vote accordingly, VIZ: Whereas on the 28th of March 1743, at a meeting of the Proprietors, it was voted and granted to Jnº Gorham, four hundred acres of the common land in Gorhamtown or Naraganset township No. 7, on Presumpscot river next Falmouth line, Upon certain conditions &c, as per said proprietors records fully appears ; and whereas the said Jnº Gorham since deceased not having fulfilled said conditions, in said vote mentioned, and whereas David Gorham of Barnstable in the county of Barnstable, Esquire, has done and performed all and every article that was enjoined the said Jnº Gorham to entitle him to said grant, and has given surety to lay down and remit four hundred acres of his land in the last division, and also having been at great charge in bringing forward the settlement and of great advantage thereto at his own cost and charge : therefore, for and in consideration of said services, and giving security as aforesaid, Voted and Granted to him the said David Gorham, Esq., his heirs and assigns forever, the said Four hundred acres of Land adjoining to Falmouth line, as the same is surveyed, Delineated and planned, on the plan of the township now on file in ye Clerks Office of said Proprietors Office, Falmouth.
January 13th 1759
ENOCH FREEMAN EPHRAIM JONES WM COTTON JERE POTE JNO WAITE.
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HISTORY OF GORHAM.
Benjamin Haskell, in behalf of his father Thos. Haskell dissented against the foregoing Report and Vote of acceptance thereof.
Recorded Per MOSES PEARSON, Clerk.
David Gorham, of Barnstable, sold to Lemuel Rich, of Truro, thirty acres in the whole (thirty acre lot 64), with one-half of the mill, mill-dam, stream, and all material for building mills on said thirty acre lot, and one half the privilege of the stream running through part of said lot, also the whole of the thirty acre lot laying opposite the first 63. The sale was completed Feb. 11, 1762.
Hon. William Gorham, the son of David Gorham, Esq., came to the town of Gorham about the year 1760, when he was eighteen years of age, several years previous to his marriage, and settled on the thirty acre lot 114. His house was near the corner made by the Port- land road and what was called the Black Brook road, the then principal road to Horse Beef Falls, opposite the house where Mrs. Rufus Mosher now lives. His home farm consisted of the thirty acre lot 114 and the hundred acre lot 45, lying northerly of the thirty acre lot. His large two-story house and out-buildings, with the improve- ments thereto pertaining, constituted one of the best appointed estab- lishments to be found on the road from Gorham to Portland. The Hon. William Gorham was a gentleman in his manners, hospitable, and polite to all, a good neighbor much beloved and respected by his fellow townsmen. He had a good common school education. In his early life, by aiding his father in his office, Register of Probate, he became a good penman well versed in law proceedings, and understood the import and meaning of law and public documents, which fitted him to fill a conspicuous and useful place in the town of his adoption. He was chosen Proprietors' Clerk and Treasurer, and after the incorporation of the town held more or less of the municipal offices, till his Judgeship and other engagements compelled him to decline. He was often chosen to the several offices of town clerk, treasurer, selectman and committee on accounts. He was chosen a Delegate, with Col. Edmund Phinney and Stephen .Longfellow, Esq., to attend Conventions held at Portland, in the years 1785 and 1786, to take into consideration the separation of the then District of Maine from Massachusetts. He was President of the Conventions. During the Revolutionary struggle, in 1776, Solomon Lombard, Esq., being on the Committee of Correspondence and Safety, was thought to be not sound and true. He was immediately censured and deposed by the town, and the Hon. William Gorham put in his place, where he made himself an active and efficient man. In 1782 he was
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GENEALOGY.
appointed Judge of Probate, and in 1787 was made Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which offices he filled acceptably until his death.
Judge Gorham was occasionally inspired by the Muse of Poetry, as this little poem, written by him, and published in the Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser of Feb. 19, 1785, will show :
" Of wealth, ye Powers, I want but little store, One cent per annum, and I ask no more ;
Give me content enough thro' life to pass ; By turns a friend, a thought, a book, a glass ; A verdant walk inductive to some shade, Not formed by art, but by kind nature made,
A pond, and on its bank a wood-bine bower, A little garden, stock'd with every flower ;
A female mate, with virtue sparkling eyes, Her face not handsome, let her mind be wise ;
Of conversation innocently gay, And manners gentle as the breath of May ;
Friend to my friends, a bitter foe to strife, Kind to my children, and to me a wife."
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