USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Gorham > History of Gorham, Me. > Part 51
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Judge Gorham had but one child, a daughter, Frances, by his first wife, born Apr. 22, 1774. She married James Tyler, Dec. 11, 1796. The Hon. William Gorham died at his house in Gorham, July 22, 1804, aged 61. His second wife survived him, and married Dr. Barker.
Benjamin Gorham, the son of David Gorham, Esq., to distinguish him from the other Ben Gorhams, there being five of the same name in town (Barnstable) was called " Ben the Turkey-Foot." After his marriage with Miss Thacher, his father built him a house on Dimmock Lane, where he lived a while. In the year 1789 he had removed to Gorham, and in January, 1791, had returned to Barnstable, and died soon after. His children are not named in the Records of Barn- stable; some of them were probably born while the family were in Maine. The first, Edward, bapt. Apr. 28, 1776, married widow Joanna Poland (Webb). The second, William, bapt. Jan. 25, 1778, married Charlotte Beals, resided in Portland, and kept a grocery store for many years on the north side of Middle St., near where the hardware store of King and Dexter now is, and had William, Charlotte, and Joseph B. The third, Christopher, died at sea unmarried. The fourth, Polly, died unmarried. The fifth, David, bapt. April, 1786, resided in Maine. The sixth, Shubael, bapt. July II, 1790, died unmarried in 1840.
There was a Hannah Gorham, who was in some degree related to the Hon. William Gorham, and lived in his family. She married, Nov. 19, 1789, Sylvanus Davis, son of Mr. Josiah Davis.
524
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
GOULD.
Nathaniel Gould was the son of Mager and Abigail (Goodhue) Gould. He was born Feb. 3, 1767, in Ipswich, Mass., in the Che- bacco District, now Essex. In 1792 he settled in Gorham. Mr. Gould was a saddler, harness maker and chaise trimmer by trade. His shop stood where the house of Mrs. Geo. W. Lowell now stands, and his house was the one built by Enoch Frost and now occupied by Mrs. Martha Sawyer.
Mr. Gould had a brother Moses Gould ( senior) who married, Sept. 28, 1805, Susanna, daughter of George and Sarah Hamblen of Gor- ham, and lived in Portland. They were the parents of Moses Gould, Esq., and Daniel Gould of Portland.
Nathaniel Gould married, Nov. 28, 1793, Betsey, daughter of Rev. Paul Coffin of Buxton. She died Oct. 2, 1794, aged 26, leaving no children, and Mr. Gould married, May 6, 1798, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Ann (Dyer) Mclellan of Cape Elizabeth. Mr. Gould was a member of the Congregational Church for many years. He died Nov. 12, 1853. Mrs. Gould was a most exemplary Christian wife and mother, beloved by all who knew her. She died Feb. 8, 1836, aged 62. The children of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Gould were :
Eliza, b. Feb. 12, 1799, m. Humphrey Hight of Wayne, Jan. 22, 1822 ; d. May 24, 1888.
Jane McL., b. Feb. 4, 1801, d. Sept., 1801.
Jane, b. Sept. 20, 1802, m. Rev. Asa Mead, May 9, 1825. After the death of her husband and her little son, John Mooney Mead, she came back to Gorham with her two daughters in 1831. One of these, Maria, m. July 10, 1850, Thomas C. Welch of Buffalo, N. Y .; the other, Isabella, m. May 3, 1855, Rev. Laurentine Hamilton of Western New York, and d. in Oakland, Cal., June 24, 1870. The noted Mt. Hamilton of California was named for Rev. Mr. Hamilton, the husband of Isabella Mead. Mrs. Mead d. at Buffalo, N. Y., Sept. 2, 1893.
Edward, b. Jan. 27, 1805, m. Althea Chase.
Nathaniel, b. - , 1807, d. in 1807.
Samuel McL., b. Jan. 24, 1809, was a Presbyterian minister ; d. in Ambler, Penn., Apr. 11, 1894, and was buried in Norristown, Penn., the scene of his longest pastorate.
Margaret McL., b. Oct. 18, 1812, drowned at Wayne, June 21, 1822.
Edward Gould, son of Nathaniel, was married to Althea Chase, June 18, 1834. He was a deacon of the Third Parish Church in Portland, Me., from 1847 till the disbanding of the church, a year or two after the great fire of 1866. Dea. Gould was the cashier for sixty years (1833-1893) of the Manufacturers and Traders Bank, and its successor, the National Traders Bank, of Portland. He died May 11, 1894.
EDWARD GOULD.
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GENEALOGY.
GREEN.
John Green was the first school-master in the town of Gorham. He was an Englishman, and came to this country when about eighteen years of age. In the time of the Revolution he enlisted in the Amer- ican army, in Col. Patterson's regiment. During the war he was wounded in the face by a musket ball, which made a hole into his mouth through his cheek, and this did not close up for many years. His enlistment was for the war, but on account of his wound he was invalided and honorably discharged at West Point, two years prior to the close of hostilities. He lived on the Scarborough road, on a part of what is now the Burnell farm, nearly opposite the house of Dea. Rufus A. Fogg. His wife, whom he married Mar. 5, 1760, was Eliz- abeth, daughter of John Sharp of Biddeford. Children :
Jonathan, b. Aug. 29, 1761, m. Joanna Ch: Rebecca, b. in Falmouth, July 3, 1780, m. Elijah Evans (?) of Portland, Mar. 19, 1799; Samuel, b. in Gorham, Aug. 6, 1784 ; John, b. in Gorham, Oct. 2, 1786; Hannah, b. in No. Yarmouth, Oct. 15, 1791. Mrs. Joanna Green d. Jan. 24, 1794. We find on record the marriage of Jonathan Green and Rebecca Young, Sept. 18, 1796. Mr. Green moved to eastern Maine and d. in Jackson, May 26, 1834.
Thomas, b. Mar. 11, 1763, m. Oct. 1, 1787, Mary Durgin of Scarborough. Ch : Jeremiah, b. June 16, 1788 ; Polly, b. Aug. 16, 1792 ; Josiah, b Mar. 13, 1794.
Josiah, b. Dec. 26, 1767, m. Eunice Newcomb, Aug. 26, 1790. Ch : Betsey, b. in New Gloucester, June 16, 1791, m. - -Gould of Portland, had a son Josiah ; William, b. in Gorham, Apr. 4, 1793 ; Abigail, b. Sept. 30, 1794, m. her cousin, Parker ; Sarah, b. in Gorham, Aug. 29, 1798, d. Nov. 22, 1798; John, b. in Gorham, Sept. 22, 1799 ; Thomas, b. - m. Polly Libby; Alpheus and Abner, twins, went to Portland. Josiah Green was a blind man. He died in Scarborough.
Moses, b. Mar. 5, 1769.
Cary, b. -, d. young.
Isaac, b. -, m. Susanna Rowe, Nov. 15, 1801 ; went East.
Mr. Green married second, Nov. 27, 1802, Elizabeth Rand of Scarborough, by whom he had one child, Hannah, born May 20, 1804, who married, Sept. 10, 1826, Samuel Meserve of Scarborough ; Mrs. Gardner M. Parker and Mrs. Merrill T. Files of Gorham are among her children.
John Green died in Scarborough; Oct. 25, 1809, aged about 84.
In 1770 Joseph Libby of Gorham. sold the seventy acre lot 109 in equal shares to John Green and Benjamin Green, both of Gorham. What the relationship of John and Benjamin was, and who were their parents is not certain, but the supposition is that they were brothers, and the sons of Joseph and Hannah (Conant) Green, whose marriage at Cape Cod, Mar. 8, 1749, is recorded on the Gor- ham town records.
526
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
John Green married, July 3, 1770, Mary, daughter of Wentworth Stuart. Children :
Salome, b. Feb, 3, 1771, m. Ebenezer Shaw of Standish (2d wife), Mar. 4, 1793 ; d. in Bangor, in 1847.
Stuart, b. May 27, 1773, m. Apr. 14, 1806, Patience, dau. of Decker and Han- nah Phinney. Ch : James P., b. Jan. 2, 1808, was a sea captain, d. on board ship ; Martha P., b. Jan., 1810, m. Dr. Dow of Hiram ; Gardner, d. at sea ; Infant, b. 1814, d. 1815. Mrs. Green d. Oct. 22, 1814, ag. 32, and Mr. Green m. Sept. 13, 1835, Susan Thomes of Gorham. Mr. Green' I'd on Fort Hill, in the house since occupied by Dea. Chas. Jordan.
Wyer, b. Apr. 30, 1775, m. Ruhamah Morton ; I'd on Standish Neck.
John, b. June 12, 1777, m. Esther Shaw of Standish, Nov. 2, 1799; I'd on Ray- mond Cape ; m. 2d, -, and went down East.
Molly, b. Dec. 15, 1779, m. Nathan C. Penfield, Dec. 11, 1800.
Rebecca, b. May 26, 1782, m. Philip Cannell of Standish ; d. in Canton, aged about 92.
Joseph, b. Aug. 24, 1786, m. Eliza Marean of Standish, Nov., 1811; d. in Standish, Nov., 1836.
Elizabeth, b. May 6, 1789.
Sarah, b. , m. Benj. Morton of Standish, Aug. 15, 1818 ; d., aged about 90. Mr. Morton d. Nov., 1858. Susan, b. , m. - Pierce.
Benjamin Green purchased from the executors of the Rev. Solomon Lombard the thirty acre lot 94, and on this lot he made his home. In May, 1783, he sold this land to Josiah Lakeman. Mr. Green married, Sept. 29, 1774, Sarah, daughter of Jedediah and Susan Lombard. Children :
Joseph, b. Mar. 3, 1775.
Benjamin, b. May 15, 1777.
Jedediah, b. Jan. 30, 1780.
Hannah, b Oct. 4, 1781.
Hezekiah, b. Feb. 22, 1784, m. Lydia Lombard, July 18, 1807.
This family moved to Harrison and Otisfield.
GUTHRIE.
The Guthrie family is of Scottish descent. Michael Guthrie was born in the south of Ireland in 1800. He came to this country when a young man, and lived many years in Gorham, where his brother Thomas also resided for a time. Michael Guthrie married Mary Fitzpatrick. Their children were Bridget, Daniel, Thomas, Roger, Simon B., Mary, Kate, Michael and Lizzie. Mr. Guthrie died in 1883. His wife died Dec. 13, 1898, aged 73.
Simon B. Guthrie, son of Michael, was born in Gorham, Dec. 10, 1853. For many years he was engaged in the retail shoe business at the village, at one time in partnership with his brother Daniel. In 1893 he was appointed postmaster at Gorham village, and when this office was made a presidential one he received a commission
527
GENEALOGY.
from President Cleveland. He also served two terms as an assessor of the Gorham Village Corporation. He married Margaret E. Manning of Augusta. Children : Roger Hunt and Annie Elizabeth. Mr. Guthrie died Aug. 30, 1901.
HALL.
As early as 1741 an Ebenezer Hall and family were living in Gorham, where he owned the thirty acre lot No. 31. At the time of the breaking out of the French and Indian war in 1745 he left the town, going probably to Falmouth. Who this Ebenezer Hall was is not quite certain, but the weight of such evidence as we have been able to procure seems to point to his being identical with Ebenezer, son of Samuel, and grandson of George Hall. This Ebenezer was born in 1677, married Jane Bumpus in 1714, and in 1735 was living in Falmouth. He was a member of Capt. Moses Pearson's Falmouth company, raised in March, 1745, to take part in the expedition against Louisburg. Parson Smith records in his Journal, under date of Feb. 25, 1747, "We hear father Hall of this place lately died at Annapolis." His estate was settled by his widow Jane in October, 1747. There is no record of his family, but there was a Charles Hall living in Gorham in 1756 who may possibly have been his son. In 1765 this Charles was living in Standish.
Hatevil Hall and his wife, who was Sarah Furbish, came from Dover, N. H., to Falmouth about 1753 or 1754. He was of the fourth generation from John Hall, who came from England and settled in Connecticut.
Ebenezer Hall was the son of Hatevil and Sarah (Furbish) Hall and was born July 20, 1741. In 1764 he purchased in Gorham the hundred acre lot 104, one-half of which he bought of Seth Webb and the remainder of Joseph Whitney. This was wild land, on the east side of King street, and is now a part of the farm owned by the late Albion Johnson. In 1769 he bought of Ephraim Jones of Fal- mouth one-third of the whole right No. 66, which Jones purchased in 1744 of John Waite. Oct. 18, 1764, Ebenezer Hall married Hannah, daughter of Abraham Anderson of Windham. Children :
Abraham, b. Dec. 29, 1765, m. Elizabeth Sanborn, Apr. 18, 1790; 2d, Mary Giles. Bathshuah, b Aug. 14, 1768, d. young.
Isaac, b. May 23, 1770, m. Anna Whitney, May 19, 1793.
Dorothy, b. Mar. 9, 1772, m. John Woodward, Oct. 6, 1791 ; 2d, Joshua Emery. Israel, b. Mar. 10, 1774, m. Abigail Hutchinson, p. Sept. 11, 1795.
Ebenezer, b. Sept. 19, 1777, m. Susanna Hunnerwell, Dec. 1, 1799.
Bathshuah, b. Feb. 21, 1781, m. Edmund Hall of Falmouth, Mar. 2, 1805. Daniel, b. July 29, 1783, m. Abigail Bragdon.
528
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
In 1774 Ebenezer Hall was licensed as an inn-holder in Gorham. He died in this town, Aug. 26, 1807.
(2) Abraham Hall, son of Ebenezer, married Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Esther Sanborn. Chlidren :
Hannah, b. Sept. 2, 1790, m. William Smith of Buxton, Nov. 14, 1816.
Esther, b. Jan. 12, 1793, m. Moses Hanscom, Apr. 10, 1814.
.Achsah, b. June 15, 1795, m. Sewall Libby, May 18, 1817; I'd in Durham ; d. Feb. 13, 1869.
Dorcas, b. July 6, 1798. Joanna, b. Feb. 11, 1800.
Elizabeth, b. Mar. 23, 1802.
James, b. Apr. 8, 1806.
Abraham Hall married second, Mary Giles.
(2) Isaac Hall, son of Ebenezer, married Anna, daughter of Joseph and Mehitable Whitney. Children :
Mehitable, b. Nov. 6, 1793.
Mercy, b. Jan. 31, 1796.
Mary, b. Oct. 16, 1798.
Joseph W., b. June 29, 1801.
Betty, b. Mar. 18, 1803.
(2) Israel Hall, son of Ebenezer, lived in the corner of the road, opposite where the house of Albion Johnson now stands. He mar- ried Abigail Hutchinson. Children :
John, b. Apr. 14, 1796.
Stephen, b. Jan. 19, 1798.
Sarah, b. Mar. 23, 1800, m. Ebenezer Spencer of Buxton, Oct. 14, 1821.
Levi Hall, the eldest son of Winslow and Mary (Hussey) Hall of Windham, was born Jan. 28, 1787. His grandfather was Daniel Hall (brother to Ebenezer, and son of Hatevil Hall spoken of above) who married Lorana Winslow, and lived in Falmouth. Col. Levi Hall settled in Great Falls, (North Gorham,) and was an influential citizen of this town. He was one of the selectmen in 1828. He married Hannah Harmon of Standish, May 31, 1812. She died July 25, 1813, aged 27, and he married, Jane, daughter of Joshua and Tirzah Emery. Children :
Winslow, b. Mar. 1, 1815, m. in Dover, N. H .; I'd and d. there.
Cyrus, b. Dec. 27, 1816, went West in 1838 ; d. in California.
llannah N., b. Jan. 20, 1819, m. Rev. Almon Libby of Poland, Jan. 19, 1842; d. in Stroudwater about 1897.
Emeline, b. June 5, 1821, d. Sept. 29, 1828.
Joshua E., b. Dec. 15, 1823, m. Lucy A. Kilborn, 1851.
Ellen Jane, b. 1826, d. Oct. 10, 1828.
Emeline, b. --- , m. Wm. R .. Tapley of Dover, N. H., Nov. 26, 1857.
Levi, b. Apr. 20, 1832, m. Caroline Harding of Gorham; I'd in Mass .; d. Dec. 24, 1895.
Freeman, b. 1834, l's in Kalamazoo, Mich.
John Milton, b. Oct. 25, 1836, m. Marion Whipple ; I's in Providence, R. I.
529
GENEALOGY.
Mrs. Jane Hall died Jan. 19, 1845, aged 50, and Col. Hall married in 1845 Mrs. Elizabeth (Leavitt) White of Standish, widow of Rev. Joseph White. Col. Levi Hall died Feb. 9, 1851, aged 64.
(2) Joshua E. Hall, son of Levi, lived at Great Falls. He was on the board of selectmen in 1854, '55 and '56 ; and was Representative to the State Legislature in 1857-58. He was a man of considerable prominence, and a respected citizen. He married Lucy A. Kilborn of Minot. Children :
Augusta, b. 1853, d. Dec. 1, 1864.
Edwin H., b. Nov. 7, 1855, is a professor at Harvard College.
Emeline T., b. 1858, d. June 1, 1859.
Frederick, b. about 1860, I's in Oakland, Cal .; is a lawyer.
Horace G., b. about 1862, d. Feb. 28, 1865.
Col. Joshua E. Hall died Apr. 12, 1864, aged 40, and his widow moved to Cambridge, Mass.
Daniel Hall, brother of Col. Levi, was born Aug. 17, 1789. He married in 1815, Margaret Harmon of Standish. He resided for some years in Windham, where he held various town offices, and was also State Senator. At one time he was a general in the militia. He removed to Gorham about 1836-40, and in 1851 was a member of the board of selectmen of this town. He carried on the business of brick making at the brick yard about half a mile from Great Falls. Children of Daniel and Margaret Hall :
William M., b. Dec. 31, 1815, m. Ann E. Reed of Westbrook.
J. Porter, b. June 26, 1817, m. Sarah J. Gammon. Ch : James H., b. Aug. 14, 1839, m. Julia Buxton; Cyrus M., b. Mar. 28, 1841, k'd at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863 ; Sarah L., b. Dec. 27, 1843 ; Lydia J., b. Mar. 11, 1847. Mr. Hall I'd for some time in Naples; then went to the State of New York, where he and his wife died.
Otis T., b. Apr. 30, 1819, m. in 1844, Sarah Maria, dau. of William and Annie Harris. Ch: Anna H., b. Nov. 5, 1846, d. y .; William H., b. Nov. 29, 1849, d. July 5 1850 ; Flora E., b. Nov. 10, 1851, m. Mr. Foote of Port Henry, N. Y. Mrs. Sarah M. Hall d. Nov. 13, 1854, ag. 32, and Mr. Hall m. her sister, Harriet E. Harris. She d. at Port Henry, N. Y., May 21, 1895. Mr. Hall d. some y'rs ago.
Valentine M., b. Apr. 8, 1821, d. Aug. 22, 1841.
Abigail H., b. May 31, 1824, d. Aug. 18, 1841.
Esther,
b. Oct. 23, 1826,
d. young.
Peter R., S
d. in Portland, July 28, 1869; was a lawyer.
Frances, b. Dec. 25, 1828, m. in Dover, N. H.
Maria, b. July 26, 1831, d. in Saco.
Helen M., b. Nov. 13, 1834, d. Nov. 23, 1852.
Sarah C., b. Aug. 27, 1839, m. Noah Ladd, July 4, 1856.
Daniel Hall moved to Sebago and went into the lumbering busi- ness. He died Jan. 9, 1864. His wife Margaret died July 31, 1860, aged 68.
530
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
David Hall of Windham moved to Gorham, and lived for about twenty years on the Ephraim Lombard place. His wife died soon after moving to Gorham. Their children, born in Windham, were :
Porter, m.
Benaiah, m. Ann S. Cummings of Norway, Mar. 20, 1849; 2d. Sarah Hawkes; returned to Gorham about 1850, and I'd at Great Falls. He was dep- uty sheriff and tax collector at one time. Mr. Hall d. June 8, 1872. Mrs. Sarah Hall d. May 31, 1884, ag. 57.
Mary, m. Elder James Crockett.
Harriet, m. - - Luce ; I'd in the eastern part of Me.
Sarah M., m. Daniel H. Baker, 1846.
Alonzo, m. Mrs. O'Neil.
Lawson, killed by a falling tree.
Elizabeth, m. Nelson ; I'd at Westbrook.
Lucius, b. - -.
Ebenezer Hall, son of Thomas, lived in Gorham on Hall's Hill. He married Christiana Knox, Dec. 26, 1832. Children :
Iraac M., b. Apr. 4, 1834, went into the army.
Harriet S., b. Nov. 13, 1838, d. Sept. 13, 1842.
Ebenezer W., b. Oct. 5, 1844.
Daniel R., b. 1851, d. Sept. 4, 1851.
Mrs. Hall died Nov. 28, 1851, aged 44, and Mr. Hall married Mrs. Nason of Saccarappa, and moved West. He had a sister Hannah, and a brother Isaac. Hannah married, May 26, 1832, Isaac Morton . of Gorham. Isaac Hall went West.
HAMBLEN.
Jacob Hamblen, who was cotemporary with the Phinneys, McLellans and Moshers in the early settlement of Narragansett No. 7, or Gorhamtown, was the grandson of James and Anna Hamblen, who were among the early settlers of Barnstable, Mass., and probably the first of the name in America. They came from London about the year 1639. It was the fashion of the day for all good people to have their children baptized as soon as convenient after their birth. Mr. Hamblen appears to have been one of those who conformed strictly to the ordinances of the church. His first child that received bap- tism in Barnstable was Bartholomew, Apr. 24, 1642. He had older children who, we presume, were baptized before they left England. There were probably ten children : James, Sarah, Mary, James, Hannah, Bartholomew, John, Sarah, Eleazer, and Israel, who was baptized June 25, 1652, the same day he was born. Bartholomew and Eleazer, two of the sons, were soldiers in Capt. John Gorham's company, in the Narragansett, or King Philip's war, and their names appear on the list of names of the original proprietors of Gorhamtown.
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GENEALOGY.
Israel, the aforesaid tenth child of James and Anna, resided in the east parish of Barnstable. His house stood by a pond yet known as Israel's pond, on Dimmock's lane, about a mile and a half south of the county road. His nearest neighbor was more than half a mile distant. He lived in a solitary spot, and had but a small clearing which has again grown over with trees. Farming could not have been his principal occupation ; the fact that he was entitled to be called " Mr.," in those days would indicate that he was a man of property, and a person of some note. As he did not come to this distinction from any civil employment, or office held by him, it is pre- sumed that he was employed as Master, or Captain, of some of the numerous fishing or whaling vessels employed on the coast of Maine in the summer, and in trading voyages to the West Indies in the winter.
Israel was twice married ; first to Abigail, probably a daughter of Joshua Lombard. She must have died about the year 1700, when for his second wife he married Jemima, whose surname is not recorded. By his first wife he had six children, first a child not named, then Thankful, Prudence, Israel, Joseph and Jemima. By his second wife he had two, Jacob and Anna. Jacob was born May 28, 1702. He married Content, the daughter of Jonathan Hamblen, the son of James the second; consequently she was his second cousin. She was born Dec. 12, 1707 ; they were married Aug. 18, 1731. They both joined the East Church in Barnstable, March 4, 1733, and were dismissed from that church and recommended to the church in Gor- ham, Oct. 28, 1750, to which town, as the records say, they had pre- viously removed. The name of Jacob Hamblen disappears from the records of Barnstable about the year 1733, and it was said he moved to the eastern country. He could not have moved direct from Barn- stable to Gorham, for at that time (1733) there was no settlement in Gorham. It is probable that he remained in Falmouth, or some of the adjoining towns, a few years ; for the first we find of him as a proprietor and resident of Gorhamtown is about the year 1743. We cannot fix the number of his first lot or right, but his final settlement was on Nos. 16 and 25. These were not his lots by a proprietor's right, but were purchased by him at auction, at a tax sale, July 2, 1752, for the sum of five pounds, eighteen shillings, being three shil- lings, four pence less than the tax. The purchase of these two lots or rights would indicate him to be the proprietor of at least four hundred acres, even if he owned no right previous to this purchase.
532
HISTORY OF GORHAM.
Jacob Hamblen was one of the early settlers. He was here certainly as early as 1743, and was here during the Indian war of 1745. He and his family, with the other settlers, were confined to the fort nearly seven years, where they suffered great privation and hardship. They had not only the Indians, and at times nearly a famine, to contend with, but a dreadful disease broke out in the fort, said to have been brought on in consequence of lack of food : many of the children died, and every dweller in the fort was affected by it.
We should judge that Mr. Hamblen was a good business man and a useful citizen, one in whom his fellow settlers had confidence. His name is prominent on the old Proprietors' records; he was always at their meetings, often on the important committees for surveying the lands, running lines, fixing boundaries, making roads, getting min- isters, and the general business of the proprietary. His homestead consisted of the two thirty acre lots, 16 and 25. By the old plan of the thirty acre lots, they were bounded northerly by Hamblen street and easterly by King street (now High and School streets), extending southerly from the corner now occupied by Joseph Ridlon's store, to the line of the railroad, and westerly to Harding's Hill, so called. His dwelling house was on 16, where the store of R. G. Harding lately stood. Here he kept a " house of entertainment " from 1757 to the time of his death. The meetings of the old Proprietors were often held at his house. A part of this old tavern house was moved, and with some additions, used by Maj. Simeon Farnham as a dwelling house. The old house of late years was known as the old Gammon house, and stood near where the late Mrs. Stephen Hinkley's house now stands.
Mr. Hamblen, in the year 1770, made a present to the town of the burial ground at Gorham village, which has since become the quiet resting place of so many of the worthy old proprietors. Near the northeasterly corner of this lot stands a time-worn and broken monument of slate stone, bearing the following inscription :
In Memory of Mr JACOB HAMBLEN, Who Died June 3d 1774, Aged 72 Years.
Mrs. Hamblen in her day was a famous comber of wool for the purpose of making worsted. Few of the present generation have ever seen this operation of combing wool on the old-fashioned ketchel, or flax comb, laying the fibers all one way, straight and smooth, and -
533
GENEALOGY.
winding it into balls in order to spin it on the small, or flax wheel, into very fine thread. In an old account book we find Mrs. Hamblen has credit for combing worsted, five shillings, and for one hundred cabbage plants, two shillings. At this time there were no factories, and imported cloth was rare and expensive. Every household was expected to manufacture its own cloth and clothing, and the lady who came to the possession of a worsted gown, colored with dye made from the bark of trees or roots of the forest, and manufactured by her own hand, had a treasure of which she was deservedly proud, and was thought to be well dressed.
In our notices of the early settlers of Gorham it is possible we may sometimes not do them justice in relation to their religion and piety. In those days matters of neglect and dereliction were subject to penalties of the civil law, and we fear sometimes, conscience had but little to do in those matters. But in speaking of old Mrs. Content, the wife of Mr. Jacob Hamblen, from what we have heard of the old lady we are inclined to believe her conscientious in some things. She made it strictly the rule of her house, for herself and every member of her family, to attend all the meetings on the Sabbath day, or keep close within doors. Fast and feast days were rigidly observed according to law and the ordinances of the church. No person within her house was allowed to eat a morsel of food on fast days between early morning and evening, if she could prevent it. Even the cattle within her barns had to come under the rule ; they were fed the night before, and allowed no more till the day had passed, and consequently were allowed an abundance of feed on Thanksgiving day. Whether the old lady was one of those who believed that all dumb animals would be found on their knees at twelve o'clock on Christmas eve, in thanksgiving for the birth of the Savior, we cannot say; nevertheless it was once the current belief of the day, and some there be at this time who are unwilling to give it up.
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