USA > Maine > Androscoggin County > Wales > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 24
USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Monmouth > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 24
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Those who have read the epitome prepared from this manuscript for the History of Kennebec County will notice a slight discrepancy between the dates then given and the ones I now use. Since compiling the chapter on Monmouth for that work, an exhaustive comparison of records has enabled me to furnish more definite dates. I there stated that Joseph Chandler opened a store in the eastern part of the town in 1807, and Joseph P. Chandler one at North Monmouth about 1806. Both of these men began their mercantile ca-
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reer early in 1805. This date is well authenticated.
In 1806 "John Chandler" had given place to "Chand- ler & Co .. " and the business was conducted under the name of this firm until 1813, when it fell into the hands of John Alphonso Chandler, his illustrious father hav- ing risen from the rank of a country shop-keeper to that of a Brigadier General.
In 1806 Samuel Cook received a partner in the per- son of Shubael C. Stratton, and for one year the name of Stratton & Cook appeared on the fly-leaf of the led- ger. At the end of this time Mr. Cook removed to Aroostook county, and the business passed into the hands of Moses Ranlet. Mr. Ranlet continued the business two or three years. The store was then closed for one year, after which it was re-opened by John Sullivan Blake. This statement concerning Moses Ranlet comes from my grandfather's manuscript. It is generally supposed, however, that Mr. Ranlet's store stood near Smart's Corner. My grandfather also states that Peter Hopkins was the first trader in town, and that he was succeeded by John Chandler; but this is flatly contradicted by the town records. John Chandler may possibly have tapped a barrel of rum before A. & J. Pierce brought any into town; but he was not taxed as a trader until two years after the name of that firm appeared on the assessor's books.
In 1806 a singular entry was made on the town books. Mark Andrews, a personage about whom has hung well-nigh as great a mystery as enveloped the character of the ancient high priest of Salem, was taxed for stock in trade to the value of ten thousand dollars. Who was Mark Andrews? is a question that
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
I have, for years, pressed upon every person from whom I could hope to gather any information concern- ing this perdu nabob. But, although he was evidently the wealthiest man in town, none of the family bearing the name in Monmouth and Wales will accept him as an ancestor, or give him a place in their genealogy. The most I have been able to learn concerning him is that his daughter became the wife of Gen. Joseph Chandler the same year that he settled in Monmouth. and it is possible that he was engaged in trade with his son-in-law. He remained in town only two years. The following abstract from the history of Androscog- gin county concerning a man who came to Turner in 1780, may have some bearing on the matter: "Mark Andrews was the first trader in town. He kept his goods in his saddle-bags for some years. He and his brother, Samuel, who came in 1779, were soon in com- pany as traders on the farm on Lower street, so long occupied by Rev. George Bates. In 1786 Mark An- drews bought lot 76 in first division, and in deed was called of Berkeley." That this trading spirit found his way to Monmouth in later years is not improbable.
In 1808 Ebenezer Blake entered the mercantile lists, but, like several who had preceded him, fell out inside of a year. At the close of the decade only two out of the twelve who had started in business since 1802 were still behind the counter, and these two were Chandlers.
The spirit of immigration, which had for two or three years run so high. fell through in 1802 like a boomed city of the south-west. Between the early summer of 1801 and that of the year following only
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three new families took up a residence in the heretofore rapidly growing town. The heads of these families were John Shaw, Joshua Smith and Ebenezer Briggs. John Shaw and Joshua Smith came from Middleboro', Mass., and. after a short residence in Winthrop, settled on Monmouth Neck; the former, on the Tillotson Chandler place, which he purchased of the Plymouth proprietary and cleared. and the latter, on the farm now owned by George Howard. All the Shaw family were in the Revolutionary War. There were several boys, and all, with the exception of Jacob, went to the front with their father at the first call. Jacob waited patiently until he was old enough to be accepted as an able-bodied man, when he ran away, made his way the entire distance from Winthrop to the seat of war on foot, and enlisted, leaving his mother and sisters to run the farm.
John Shaw was a man of thirty-six years when he came to Monmouth. Coming at that early age, with a family of nine children, it would ordinarily be expected that his name would be perpetuated in the town through many generations; but he had not finished clearing his farm when all the plans he had made for his family were suddenly changed. In the prime of manhood he yielded to the grasp of that power which laughs at the boasted strength of man. After his de- cease the greater portion of his family moved back to their old farm in Middleboro'. on which the grandson that bears his name now resides. leaving in this town only one child, Clarissa, the mother of Lorenzo L. Allen and the two Mrs. Kings.
Joshua Smith, whose sister. Elizabeth, was the wife
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of John Shaw, was but little more fortunate than his brother-in-law in leaving a name among future genera- tions of the town, his grandson, Joshua Smith Noyes, being the only male descendant who has resided among us in recent years. Ile did not, like his brother-in- law, purchase his land in a wild state. John A. Tor- sey, who had been there before him, had not only got the land into a good state of cultivation, but had, it is thought, substituted for the primitive log hut the house in which Mr. Howard now lives. Mr. Smith, in ad- dition to carrying on the work of his farm, worked to quite an extent at his trade of manufacturing spinning- wheels and flax-wheels. He had a shop opposite his house furnished with a lathe which was a combination of hand and foot-power. He was a deacon of the Bap- tist church which was organized at East Monmouth in 1810, and when that society ceased to exist, as it did in 1824, became one of the first deacons of the Baptist church at East Winthrop. He was somewhat noted for his firm convictions and commanding manner, and the latter attribute, it may be, led to his election to the captaincy of one of the local companies of militia only four years after he became a citizen of the town. His first wife was Abigail Peccins. She died in 1814, and he married Nancy Carr, sister of Dea. Daniel Carr, of Winthrop. By his first wife he had five children, Eleazer, Cyrus, Betsey, Polly and Sabra. The latter married Isaac Clark, jun .; Polly married Otis Norris, son of Maj. James Norris; Betsey, Samuel Noyes; Cyrus, Sally Allen, and Eleazer, Hannah Allen, both daughters of Daniel Allen, of East Monmouth. Elea- zer moved to Augusta, Me. "Eleazer and Hannah
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Smith had four sons and one daughter, the two surviv- ors being Eleazer Hartley Wood Smith, the subject of this article, and his sister, Julia E., now Mrs. John H. Hartford. This son was born in Monmouth, Feb. 3. 1812. He learned the trade of bookbinding with Har- low Spaulding, of Augusta, before he reached his majority, and became foreman of the shop. Later he entered into partnership with George S. Carpenter, in the business of bookbinding and book selling, and af- terward was in the bookbinding business with his brother-in-law, Mr. Hartford.
"Mr. Smith is best known in his native county as a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church. * * * * His principal field of labor has been Augusta
and vicinity.
* In writing of Rev. Mr. Smith for a church publication, Rev. A. S. Ladd says: . He has for many years been a local preacher, a prom- inent business man, and a man of great intelligence. He now resides in Augusta, in the enjoyment of a se- rene old age, the earthly recompense of a temperate life, and with the natural results of business ability and integrity. *
Ebenezer Briggs, the other member of the trio of 1802 settlers, lived for some time in the central part of the town. Although he must have had an earlier resi- dence, the first that is known of him he was living in what was denominated the "plastered house," a some- what remarkable structure that stood on the "Blaketown road," about opposite the wood-colored house lately oc- cupied by Daniel Potter. This building was plastered in imitation of stucco work. Later, Mr. Briggs lived * History of Kennebec County.
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
in the house that stood on the cheese-factory lot. From there he removed to North Monmouth. William Briggs, the only descendant of this family of whom a large majority of the residents have any knowledge, distinguished himself at the battle of Bull Run, and for his valor was promoted first lieutenant. E. K. Blake, for whom he had worked prior to his enlistment, pre- sented him with a fine sword. He was seven times wounded, and finally shot through the temples.
Rev. Samuel P. Blake was born in Monmouth about 1802. His parents, John and Elizabeth Blake. who have been mentioned as early settlers on the "Kingsbury place," near Norris Hill, removed to Bath when he was a lad, and, with Lydia, the wife of Gen. McLellan, founded the Methodist church in that city. At the age of twenty-eight, Mr. Blake was admitted to the Maine Conference on trial, and, with the exception of a rest of four years, which the condition of his health demanded, he continued in active service until 1862. when he retired from the ministry and settled in Wor- cester, Mass. "Mr. Blake," says a contemporary, "was amiable in disposition, modest, unassuming and exem- plary in deportment, a good man and a faithful min- ister." He died at Worcester, Sept. 10, 1882. His wife, Sarah W. McDonald, of Canaan, Me., preceded him to the spirit land by nearly seventeen years. They had eight children, one of whom, Elizabeth, married Wm. T. Skillin, station agent of the Grand Trunk rail- road at North Yarmouth. Abby, another daughter, married Edmund W. Barton, assistant librarian of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester; Lydia Mcl. married Lt. Col. Edwin A. Webber of Chicago,
1
REV. SAMUEL PAINE BLAKE.
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111 .; Harriet II., Robert Bosworth of Bath. Me., and John, the only surviving son, resides in North Yar- mouth. Me.
The year 1803, brought quite an increase in the pop- ulation. Seventeen new names were recorded on the tax-books. representing a large class of squatters and driftwood, and a small number of substantial, perma- nent residents. One of the number was Jeremiah Thorn, who lived for a time in the "French house" just mentioned as standing on the cheese-factory lot. He afterwards moved into the "old yellow house," as it was called, which was built by Capt. Judkins near the spot where N. M. Nichols's buildings now stand. Mr. Judkins received the land on which it stood from Capt. Arnold, for building the saw-mill at "mud mills." Mr. Thorn was a joiner. There was nothing remark- able about the man, nor was there anything noteworthy in his career, and it is doubtful if his name would be found here were he not the first tenant, so far as we can learn, of the old yellow house, about which So much interest clusters. And this poor shell of a build- ing, too, might have crumbled to atoms and blown to the quarters of the globe, without a pen being dipped to defend its history from oblivion, but for the readiness with which the inexplicable is accepted as the super- natural. Several years after Thorn left the place, the house was opened to the public as a tavern. A tavern, in those days, implied a tap-room and bar. in the 'main, with occasional refreshment to a weary traveler, and a night's lodging, if he could put up with such accommo- dations as the place afforded. They could be found scattered all along the stage line at intervals of from
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
halt-a-mile to a mile. One evening a youth dressed in the garb of a sailor came swinging up the path, and was cordially welcomed at the door by the landlord. who knew that the money and appetites of followers of the sea were, alike, free. He was on his way from Hallowell, where he had left his vessel, to his mother's home at the head of Cochnewagan pond. Wearied. and perhaps thirsty, Curdevant, for such was the young man's name, turned in for a bit of refreshment. Mine host strained every nerve to do the agreeable. He en- tertained his guest with many a carefully treasured story, and urged him to refresh himself with his best "old Medford." He was soon joined by a boon com- panion, and the two drank to the stranger's health and entertainment, with their choicest jokes and raciest songs. Hour after hour passed, and still the trio sat in the reeking bar-room. A man going for the doctor late that night. as he passed the house, saw three men engaged in a fierce struggle. One. dressed like a sailor, was trying to hold his own against the tavern keeper and his companion. Such sights were too com- mon in those days of free rum to demand particular at- tention, even if his errand had not demanded haste. The widow in the little cottage at the head of the pond never saw her boy again. She heard nothing of his appearance at the tavern, and wondered if his ship had been wrecked on the homeward passage; and so won- dering and lamenting, died. The tavern-keeper soon gathered his effects and moved away.
A new family moved into "the yellow house," but not to stay. Evidently there were too many tenants for a rent of that size. Sounds were heard in the cel-
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lar; they issued from the walls, from the door steps. Sharp raps were heard on the door when no person was near. followed by the sound of a hoe scraping be- neath the foundation, and other noises, too numerous to describe, but not soothing to timid ears. One family after another tried in vain to cope with the perturbed spirit. Mr. Paine, preceptor of the academy in 1827. was one of the vanquished ones. All went well until he was called away on business for a day or two, leav- ing his wife and children alone. He engaged Everett Andrews, then a lad. to do his chores. Andrews per- formed his duties as quickly as possible, and quitted the premises as soon as courtesy would allow. He had just left the house, one evening, when a noise arose from beneath that, for a moment, completely paralyzed the inmates of the house with fright. Recovering from the first shock, Mrs. Paine made a dash for the door. followed by the screaming children. She was met there by a racket that sent her reeling back into the hall. An open window was near, and she fairly threw her children out, and, jumping through herself, ran for a place of safety. Andrews, hearing the uproar. looked back just in time to see the lady and her children come tumbling from the window. He was then down about as far as the Macomber house, and if he did not reach Monmouth Center in less than a minute, the fault lay in the shortness of his legs. On this. a body of men turned out to lay the ghost. They took up the door- stones, removed the foundation and dug in the cellar for the body of Curdevant. They found hair that was said to resemble his in color, and bones which were promptly pronounced sheep bones by the physician to
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
whom they were carried. No further discovery was made, and no ghosts troubled the peaceful inmates of the house from that day out.
Jonathan Currier, another resident whose advent was made in 1803, came from New Hampshire. He married Deborah Kelley, daughter of Capt. Wm. P. Kelley. He removed to St. Andrews, but returned later in life and died here.
The same year, Paul and Gideon Lombard made a clearing near South pond, and built a house, no traces of which are now to be seen. A part of the land taken up by them is included in the John Wood place.
William Bachelder, who came to Monmouth this year, settled on the D. H. Dearborn place, where he built a two-story house, which has been remodeled by Mr. Dearborn into the one he now occupies. He was a mason by trade.
John Harvey was born in Nottingham, N. II., Dec. 26, 1780. He was the second of a family of eight children, the rest of whom settled in Nottingham and adjoining towns. In 1803 he removed to Monmouth. The following year he purchased the farm on which he spent the residue of his days, and on which his daugh- ter, Charlotte A. Harvey, still resides. This farm had been partially cleared by Major James Harvey, the de- faulting treasurer of Monmouth, who. although he bore the same surname and hailed from the same town as John, was very distantly, if at all, related to him.
On the fourth day of June, 1809, Mr. Harvey was united in marriage to Asenath Fairbanks, daughter of Elijah Fairbanks, of Winthrop. They began life to- gether that day on the farm, where they remained un-
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til Mr. Harvey's decease, thirty-six years later.
John Harvey was one of the sterling men of the town. He held the position of selectman, at different periods. twenty years, being elected to the office the last time only one year before his decease; was appointed justice of the peace in 1822, and served two years as town treasurer. As he joined the Masonic fraternity before leaving New Hampshire, it is very probable that the claim of his relatives to the effect that he was the first member of the order in town can be substantiated. When the first lodge of Free Masons was instituted at Winthrop, his name appeared on the list of charter members. He died Dec. 20, 1845. Of his three children, two, Emily H. and Charlotte A., remained on the farm. Livonia, the oldest child, married Joseph Kimball and removed to Portland.
Epaphras Kibby Blake was born April 4, 1804. He was the son of Phineas Blake, jun., and was second in a family of seven. By inheritance, he received much that many are denied. First, and most important, of all, he received from his ancestors the gift of pure. healthy blood, and a vigorous temperament. Without this, the intense activity that marked his career could hardly have been supported. Perhaps, after all, the Christian example and training of his father should be placed before this physical endowment; but that could hardly be termed an inheritance. Next to this came the advantage of kinship, which was of no inferior grade. His father's mother was an own sister of Gen. Henry Dearborn, and her sister, Deborah. married Jonathan Cilley, of Nottingham, who was of the same family as Hon. Jonathan Cilley, the member of Con-
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gress whose unfortunate duel with Hon. W. J. Graves is a matter of national history. Although the follow- ing of father by son in the Christian life is not a purely natural sequence, it was hardly more than natural that Mr. Blake, when he became interested in matters of su- preme importance, should turn for religious fellowship to the Methodist "class" of which, it is supposed, his father was the first leader. Of his connection with the church, Rev. Dr. Day speaks thus in Allen's History of Methodism :
"He was converted when about eighteen years of age and soon united with the church of which for sixty-two years he was one of the most earnest support- ers, by wise counsel, consistent Christian life, and lib- eral benevolence. For nearly half a century, he served his church in nearly all of her lay offices.
"To Mr. Blake's progressive mind and large gener- osity is due the present admirable church prospects at Monmouth Center. In fact, there is no feature of Monmouth Methodism for the past fifty years that does not bear his imprint. He made his church a constant study, for his love for her was deep and unwasting. His constancy was undiminished through physical ob- ยท stacles or spiritual dearths. To all pastors he gave the same loyal support: from his lips never escaping an unkind criticism or complaint. With what cordial and hearty cheer were all ministers who sought his ac- quaintance, welcomed to the old homestead! And the Methodist preacher to whom he once gave his right hand had in Mr. Blake a warm friend for life.
"His was a modest, humble, but burning zeal, the heart of love, the intensity of joy in his Master's cause,
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no stiff opinions, no attempts to rule, no meddling. Leading by the force of a great character, an acknowl- edged wisdom, an undoubted devotion to that which was pure and of good report; he was always in the right place at the right time and did things in the right way.
"Mr. Blake was a man of remarkable ability in pub- lic speech. Methodism has been a grand arena for the development of such talent. In richness of thought, the unction of utterance and the happy timing of his efforts, he had few superiors among laymen in the en- tire denomination. An exhortation from Mr. Blake, in the old times when the brethren of the pews sometimes spoke after the preaching, has redeemed many a poor sermon and sent the congregation home in a high state of religious enthusiasm. His was a remarkable old age. . His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.'
"His wife, whom he married in 1828, and who pre- ceded him to the better land in 1878, was Clarissa True of Litchfield. a woman well suited to such a man, and who sympathized with him in all his zeal for the church."
At an early age, Mr. Blake was secured by the Wayne and West Waterville Edge Tool companies as general agent. In this capacity he traveled extensively in the New England States and Canada. After serving the company about forty years as the nominal agent. but recognized executive, of the corporation of which R. B. Dunn was the strategist, he retired to his farm at East Monmouth, where he died. in 1884, after a life of
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
useful and prolonged activity. * He had two sons. of whom mention will be made in a future chapter.
It has been stated that Mr. Blake was second in a family of seven. There were four sons and three daughters. The youngest of the latter died in infancy. Amelia married Rev. Elisha Stillman Norris, a member of the M. E. Conference of Iowa and son of Hon. Joseph Norris, of Monmouth; and Almira, Charles S. Norris, of East Monmouth. Of the sons, John married Deliverance Wilcox, and settled near the home place. where he died in 1838, at the age of thirty-seven. Henry Martin, who was four years younger than Epaph- ras Kibby, became prominent in religious circles.
"He was converted in 1829, while a student in Maine Wesleyan Seminary, at a campmeeting held on the Seminary grounds. In 1838, he was received. on trial, in Maine Conference, and appointed to Bartlett circuit, and continued in the itinerant service till the day of his death. January 15, 1865. Mr. Blake was a man of ardent temperament, careful and industrious habits and great singleness of purpose; he was strictly upright and wholly consecrated to his work as a minis- ter; he had a deep sense of his own responsibility and of the perilous condition of the impenitent; he was an uncommonly earnest and faithful minister. Few preachers can exhibit a more glorious record, or can point to such a cloud of witnesses of their pastoral fi- delity. He was a faithful friend and a pleasant com- panion. He was married in the early part of his
As the foregoing paragraph was written by the author of this work for the History of Kennebec County, it is no plagiarism to introduce it here without the use of quotation marks.
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ministry to Miss Lydia IIorne, of Great Falls, N. H., who was always in full sympathy with her husband's work and labors of love, and who finished her course a few years in advance of him.
"Mr. Blake was deeply interested in all the benevo- lent enterprises of the church, and was a constant and generous contributor towards them. He contributed liberally toward the erection of Sampson Hall, at Kent's Hill, and was in favor of the largest and most substantial designs for that building. Great confidence was reposed in him by his brethren. He served many years as a trustee of the Conference and of Maine Wesleyan Seminary, and was twice a delegate to the General Conference. His love for the church and its institutions continued to the last. By his will, written a few days before his death, besides gifts to other be- nevolent objects, there was a bequest of thirteen hun- dred dollars to the Maine Wesleyan Board of Education, as a fund for the benefit of the Seminary at Kent's Hill. His wife, at her decease, several years previous, had given five hundred dollars for the same object. The few last years of his life were overshadowed by afflic- tion. The death of his excellent wife left hin a mourn- er; the loss of his books, papers and other personal effects by fire was severely felt. But he was gracious- ly sustained, and continued his pastoral work with unfaltering fidelity to the last day of his life.
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