USA > Maine > Androscoggin County > Wales > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 30
USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Monmouth > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 30
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When Joseph was a lad, he went to live with Dr.Dwel- ley. Here he had opportunities to improve his mind such as the sons of the pioneers seldom enjoyed. The atmosphere of the home of a professional man is in it- self educational, and young Merrill came to inan's es- tate with an intel' ect well stored with practical knowl- edge.
He married Sally, daughter of Daniel Smith, of Mon- mouth, and settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Mann, in the Warren district. Here the remainder of his life was spent.
Nothing could be adduced which would more clearly demonstrate that Mr. Merrill was a man of principle and strong individuality than the fact that he was one of the first three who had the courage to vote the Abo- lition ticket in Monmouth. The other members of the trio were Zelotes Marrow and Washington Wilcox.
In 1829 Mr. Merrill sustained a severe loss which nearly ruined his earthly prospects. In the fall of that year, all his buildings, stock, furniture and produce were consumed by fire. The family barely escaped
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
with their lives through a warning given by a member of Dr. Daly's family who was awakened by the light. Mr. Merrill had just harvested and stored his crops, and nothing remained to cover the scowling face of a rapidly approaching winter but the land on which the buildings stood. The house now occupied by Mr. Mann was erected a few rods south of the old site the follow- ing year. It has undergone no change whatever, and the accompanying sketch shows it as it appeared sixty years ago.
Mr. Merrill had six children, two of whom died in infancy. Of those who reached maturity, Joseph A. was the oldest. He married Sarah Robinson, a sister of Rev. Ezekiel Robinson and aunt of Mrs. Dr. Torsey, of Kent's Hill. After her decease he married Han- nah Haskell, of Auburn. He first settled in Gardiner, and removed to Lewiston. His present home is Boston, Mass., where he has resided about twenty-five years. Since living in Boston, he has been nominated by the Republican party for representive to the General Court and ran ahead of his ticket.
Alcander F. Merrill, the second son of Joseph, mar- ried Olive Andrews, daughter of John Andrews, jun., of Wales, and, after her decease, Lucinda Blaisdell of Lew- iston.
He was book-keeper for the Lewiston Woolen Mill under Col. John Frye, and was subsequently elected, for a long series of successive terms, treasurer of Andro- scoggin county, to which office he was succeeded by his son, John Frye Merrill, who is now a practicing attorney in Redwing, Minn.
Joseph Merrill had two daughters who married and
House Erected by Joseph Merrill about 1830.
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settled in Monmouth-Frances Ann, the wife of Capt. Joseph A. Basford, and Elvira, the wife of Geo. W. Norris, Esq.
Capt. John Arnold moved from Lebanon, Conn., to Hallowell, Maine, near the close of the last century. He settled in Hallowell, and established mills for saw- ing lumber and fulling cloth. In 1801, he purchased a half interest in the mills at East Monmouth, and a large tract of timber land.
It was not far from 1808 that he removed to this town. He came then in a stylish chaise, a vehicle ut- terly unfitted for the rough roads of a new settlement, and the first one that entered the town. It was a nov- el turnout to the natives, and not less so to the captain and his good lady when it became necessary to attach oxen to draw it through the deep bog holes.
Captain Arnold had been a wealthy trader and ship- owner. Before the French Revolution his income was reckoned high in the thousands. That war put an end to his temporal prosperity. His ships were seized by the French fleet, his cargoes confiscated, and he was left without business, income, or hope of recovering his property .* With more courage than capital and enterprise than advantages, he again launched into great commercial ventures. With youth instead of middle life on his side, and the ardent hope of early manhood instead of a spirit crushed by the death of his wife, he might have regained his opulence. This he did not succeed in doing, although his projects were far from being failures.
*His grandchildren are still trying to recover damages from the govern- ment under the French Spoliation Claim act.
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
The maiden name of Mr. Arnold's first wife was Bar- rel. By her he had eight children, the oldest of whom married Samuel Avery, who lived on the place lately owned by Geo. L. King, near Monmouth Center. Mr. Avery, as has been stated in a previous chapter, set- tled in this town in 1799, and was the first person buried in the Center cemetery.
Capt. Arnold's second wife was Mrs. Sewall, of Hal- lowell, the mother of Stephen Sewall of Winthrop. By her he had two children. He died at the home of his son Eben, in Monmouth, in 1847, at the age of ninety. three years.
Under the influence of Capt. Arnold, business was greatly accelerated throughout the town. He en- larged and made extensive repairs on the saw-mill at East Monmouth, adding a sort of gang-saw arrange- ment that did double the work of an ordinary saw, and established in connection with it a fulling mill and a mill for the manufactory of linseed oil. Rais. ing flax to supply this mill became an industry of some importance, but by no means as considerable as the lumbering interest which was awakened by Mr. Arnold's enterprise. From his mill at East Mon- mouth, he rafted lumber down the stream to the Cob- bossee-contee pond, and across to the point now known as Hammond's Grove in Manchester, but then known as Brainerd's Landing, where it was landed and drawn with teams to Arnold's wharf in Hallowell, and then loaded on his ships and carried to Boston and the West Indies. Before he built his mill at East Mon- 1011th, he ran the logs through the Munjaw stream and the Cobbossee pond to Hallowell to be sawed. The
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labor of conducting logs through this course, while by no means as hazardous as river driving, yet re- quired considerable skill, and afforded employment for a large number of men.
It is claimed that up to this time no section had been discovered so rich in heavy, rank pine growth as that which Mr. Arnold and his men handled. The lumber cut through the line from Sawyer's was said to be the finest and cleanest ever cut in Maine. The writer states this on the authority of a citizen who makes few rash statements, and is in no way respon- sible for it himself. That there were very large trees through this belt cannot be disputed. On the farm of E. K. Blake, at East Monmouth, not many years ago, was a pine tree twenty-one feet in circumfer- ence, having three prongs, any one of which was large enough for the mast of a large ship. It was 165 feet tall and was probably in its prime when Columbus discovered America. In South Monmouth, on the bank of the Munjaw stream, stood an elm, said by those who probably knew nothing about it to be the largest in Maine. It grew on a rich intervale, very near the water. Several years ago, during a severe · freshet,it was undermined and carried into the stream.
After a few years, Capt. Arnold left East Monmouth and built a house near the Cochnewagan stream on the East Monmouth road. This house is still standing, unoccupied, and is fast going to decay. He hired Capt. Judkins to build a saw-mill near by, paying him in land. Considerable business was done at this place un- til the Mill was built at the Center. This was not a very successful enterprise however.
As a reservoir,
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
could not be constructed with sufficient head to carry a large wheel without flooding quite a portion of the low- lands in the vicinity of the Center. The mill was very appropriately termed the "Mud mill." It was burned many years ago, and was supposed to have been fired by the torches of men spearing pickerel beneath.
A man by name of William Heath was hired to run this mill. He lived in the new house, and the Captain spent the most of his time in Hallowell attending to his shipping. Arnold was a man of great enter- prise and considerable ability. He was a member of the Congregational church, and although keen at a trade, was, so far as is known, an honest and esteem- ed citizen.
The Captain's mills were, a great portion of the time, under the management of his son, John Arnold, jun., a man of great energy and considerable executive ability. He shipped when young as supercargo of a vessel and earned over $2000 for his father before he was twenty-one years of age. During the French Revolution, the vessel on which he sailed as second officer was captured, and the crew carried to Dartmoor prison, where they were held twelve months.
He was married, in 1815, to Mary Bosworth, of Bath, Me. Of the seven children that came of this union only two, John B. and Nathaniel B., are now living. The former resides at Dexter, and the latter, at Garland, Me. Mr. Arnold lived during his closing years in the house already mentioned as standing on the line east of the Cochnewagan stream. He died Feb. 22, 1845, aged sixty-four years, five years later than his wife, who died at the age of fifty-three. He was third in a family
7
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5
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7.
East Monmouth as it appeared in 1810.
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ily of ten children. Ebenezer, the eighth child, born in New London, Conn., Sep. 4, 1795, was long identified with the business circles of Monmouth and Bath. The "old Arnold store," now occupied as a grocery by Plum- mer & Thompson, has stood as a monument of his en- terprise, while every companion of its juvenility has been swept away. He married Mary J. Hill, of Bath, and, after hier decease, Mrs. Lucy P. Donnell, of the same city. He passed a large portion of his later life in Bath, and died there, Mar. 10, 1870. His sons William and Jolin followed their father in the grocery business. The former was for many years one of Monmouth's most active, enterprising and respected citizens. The latter, who at one time was engaged in business with his brother at the Center, removed to Natick, Mass., where he died, May 16, 1888. William was never mar- ried. John married Sarah J. Sheldon. Of their five
children, only three reached maturity. Frederick W., the eldest, married Sarah M. Whitbeck, of Springfield, and resides in Brockton, Mass. Lizzie S. and Fannie M. married and reside in New York City and Boston respectively.
David Sinclair came from Brentwood, N. H., in 1808, and settled on the farm now owned by Mrs. Emily Smith, on the North Monmouth road. Peter Lyon had made a clearing there, but, as he was unable to pay the exorbitant price charged for the land, the heartless proprietors sold it to Sinclair. Mr. Sinclair was born not far front 1778. He married in New Hampshire. Not more than three years after he set- tled in Monmouth, he sold his farm and removed to Danville, Vt. The opening of the war of 1812 found
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
hin at the front, a rugged, hearty man, with no end of courage and muscle, and just enough sailor activity about him-gained while a youngster on a merchant ship-to make him a saucy specimen in a hand-to- hand conflict. One of his comrades, Gilman Shaw, was attacked by a dangerous disease; and as there was apparently no chance for recovery, a coffin was pre- pared to receive him as soon as possible after his de- cease. It was an "off day" in camp. No duty other than picket-duty being required, the brigade made ar- rangements to have a grand ring-wrestle. It was the closing scene of the old time "raisings" on an im- mense scale. A ring was formed covering acres and acres of open field, and, at a signal, the sport com- menced. Within a minute hundreds of men lay sprawl- ing on the greensward. Round after round followed ; and as the fallen ones picked themselves up and retired, the ring drew steadily toward the center, until only a handful of men wrestled for the mastery. At last only two men stood face to face, in the center of an eager, excited multitude. One of them was to be the hero of the brigade.
They stood panting and nerving themselves for a moment, and then grappled in the fiercest contest of the day. Around and around they went, wrestling, tripping, dodging and twisting. The crowd about them became more earnest. Not a word was spoken ; every man held his breath, and glared with fixed eyes on the magic center, hardly daring to wink lest he should fail to see the result. A trip, a catch, another trip and a quick twist, and one man lies upon his back. The other staggers a bit, then draws himself up and
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turns his heated face and blood-spangled eyes proudly toward the applauding crowd. It is David Sinclair, and seven regiments are ready to bear him on their shoulders. He returned exulting to his sick compan- ion, and pity took the place of pride as he thought of his own manly strength and the other's pitiable weak- ness. The next day the brigade was ordered out again ; this time to prepare for a far different service. As they stand shoulder to shoulder with reversed arms and uncovered heads, four men pass slowly down the line to the mournful cadence of muffled drums, bear- ing a coffined companion. They place the coffin be-
side the shallow grave and tenderly drape it with the stars and stripes. With a simultaneous movement, seven thousand muskets are brought to a horizontal position, and a roar more deafening than the shouts of yesterday's jubilation swells out upon the air. Yes- cerday it was David Sinclair's acclamation ; today it is his final eulogiun. Gilman Shaw recovered, and, at last accounts, was a Baptist minister in Palmyra, Me.
Benjamin Sinclair, a half-brother to David, and the oldest son, settled in Monmouth one year later than his brother. He made a purchase of land, a portion of which was cleared. He remained here but a short time; and removed to Waldoboro, Me.
Jonathan Sinclair came to Monmouth, it is supposed, with his younger brother David, and located where Mr. Sanford Plummer now lives. He built a log-cabin, and never attempted a more pretentious structure, as he soon removed to Palmyra. Hiranı Sinclair of Win- throp is his grandson.
Ebenezer Sinclair, another brother, and the young-
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est of a family of nine children, was born in Brentwood, May 7, 1780. On the 17th day of June, 1802, he mar- ried Polly Sanborn, of Epping, N. H. Three years lat- er he came to Monmouth. Ebenezer Sinclair was a thorough farmer, a mechanic and a practical chemist. Understanding, as he did, the nature of the different soils, he made farming a successful vocation. He had eight children, Abigial, Ann B., Betsey, H. Blake, James W., Harriet, Cynthia O., and Joseph D.
Newell Prescott, a son of Simon Prescott, of Deer- field, was another immigrant of 1808. He had worked for Major Wood of Winthrop, and it probably was while he was living at the Major's that he was mar- ried to Sally Danielson. On coming to Monmouth, he first settled at North Monmouth, on the farm now oc- cupied by Christopher Hammond. Thence he re- moved to the Lyon district. The house in which he lived while a resident of the latter part of the town disappeared many years ago. It stood on a knoll east of the Oscar True place.
In 1827 he again changed, and located on the farm on Monmouth Neck now owned by his grandson, George Newell Prescott, and occupied the deserted house which stands on the opposite side of the highway from the one in which the latter lives. Mr. Pres- cott was a woolen weaver. He was well connected, numbering among his immediate relatives two govern- ors. Governor Wells of Maine was his cousin, and the late Gov. Prescott of New Hampsire was his nephew. He was one of a family of six children. One of his sisters married a Dicker, who settled in the western part of Monmouth at an early date, and another mar-
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ried, for a second husband, Joseph Prescott who pur- chased the Swift place, on Monmouth Neck, several years ago.
Newell Prescott had three children. Sally, the old- est daughter, married Harrison Allen, of Litchfield. One of their daughters is the wife of Jeff. Coburn, the Lewiston architect. Dolly, the second child, remained at home. The only son, George Prescott, married Mary, daughter of James Smith, of Monmouth Neck. He was a carpenter and mill-wright. Being an only son, the care of the farm claimed much of his atten- tion; but this did not prevent his gaining the reputa- tion of being one of the best master-workmen in town. His only son, George Newell Prescott, inherited the farm and mechanical skill of his parent. Perhaps the most delicate and intricate piece of work he has ever attempted is a violin. The manufacture of a violin is not an exceedingly difficult task ; but the construction of one possessing the timbre and volume of a first-class instrument calls forth all the powers of a high order of genius; and such an instrument was the result of Mr. Prescott's efforts. He married Lois A., daughter of Dennis G. Howard and has one child, Frank H., who resides at home.
William Brimijine, who for more than fifty years was a citizen of Monmouth, came from Bowdoin in 1809. He was then in his twenty-first year. His wife was a Fisher, of Durham. They settled first on Pease Hill, a short distance north of the house lately occu- pied by Joseph Plummer. Brimijine sold to Levi Harri- man, who, in turn, sold to his brother Andrew, and the latter, to Ebenezer Pease. Mr. Brimijine reared a
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
large family, but the name has been unknown in Mon- mouth for many years. He died on Christmas day, 1860.
John Freeman, a veteran of the Revolution, came from Winthrop to Monmouth in 1809. He lived in a house that stood about eight rods south of the Jireh Swift place on the Neck. The maiden name of his wife was Prudence Follet. Five children were born to theni -William, Elvena, Lydia, Caroline and Ebenezer. Elvena married Harvey Pettingill ; Caroline, George Welch, of Monmouth, and Ebenezer, Abigail Perkins, of Winthrop. The latter moved to Monmouth about the time his father came, and settled on the "Clark Wilcox place" near the store, at East Monmouth. Several years later, he built the house on the Neck now owned by Charles W. Woodbury, where he resided until his de- cease. He served in the war of 1812 as sergeant in Capt. Samuel Randlet's company of artillery. In 1821 he was raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, a posi- tion which he resigned after three years. He held the office of selectman for an aggregate period of fifteen years, served three terms as town treasurer, and was elected more than once to represent his town in the legislature.
Col. Freeman was a man of noble character, and was respected and esteemed by his contemporaries. He took a deep interest in music, and for many years played the bass viol in the East Monmouth church choir. He had two sons, Charles H. and Alexander, both of whom died at an immature age.
Near John Freeman, on the south, as nearness was then counted, Ebenezer Starks took up a squatter's
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claim as early as 1798. A flat rock that once served as the door-stone of his cabin is still seen by the traveller as he ascends the hill leading to the home of the Misses Til- ton, resting on the exact spot where it was placed by the pioneer's hands. Mr. Starks was the father of Hon. Alanson Starks, who, for many years, was a famil- iar personage in Kennebec county politics. Alanson Starks was born June 20, 1804. From the age of four years he was an invalid. Rheumatism in its worst form settled upon him at this early age, and left its marks permanently upon his physique. For three years he was unable to walk, and the children of the neighborhood drew him to and from the school-house on a hand-sled in the winter and on trucks in the sum- mer. Nor was this his only misfortune; for just as the excruciating pains which bent his body began, his left eye was put out by an accident. "Under these difficult circumstances, which would appall timid minds, he ob- tained an excellent education in the town schools and at Monmouth Academy." After completing his ed11- cation, he taught school for several years with good success and then embarked in trade at Monmouth Cen- ter. He continued in trade until 1844, a term of twelve years, when he was appointed register of deeds, to fill the place made vacant by the death of Hon. Albion Richards. Mr. Starks was elected to the office by a large majority for the two succeeding terms of five years each. He then removed to Neenah, Wis., and
engaged in trade. Being 1111successful in business, he returned to Augusta, at the end of two years, and was elected a member of Gov. Cony's council. This position he held two years. He was next nominated
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH
treasurer of Kennebec county, was honored with ten consecutive elections to this office, and was the only one to whom the people looked as the prospective in- cumbent at the time of his decease.
"While a resident of Monmouth, he held many responsible positions, and was chairman of the board of selectmen a number of years. He was called to ad- minister on many estates, and his advice was often sought on difficult questions, or on matters of diffi- culty between parties." He died at his home in Au- gusta in 1878, and was buried in the family lot at Monmouth Center. Mr. Starks was married on the third day of Dec., 1846, to Sarah C., daughter of John Welch, jun.
Ebenezer Starks had another son, by the name of Benjamin, whose heroic gallantry was once the sub- ject of every tongue in Monmouth. When Benjamin Starks and Elmira Torsey were little children, they were playing one day beside the Winslow brook. Of a sudden, a large, dark-colored animal emerged from the water and made toward them, snarling and gnash- ing its jaws. While the little girl ran, the boy, with heroic courage, vigorously attacked the ferocious animal with a stick. After a severe battle, in whichi the brave little fellow got severely handled, and had his clothing badly torn, he ran; but was soon over- taken, and another fight ensued. Time after time the boy attempted to run, only to be caught by the legs from behind, and compelled to fight for his life. At last he reached his father's doorstep, lacerated, bleeding, and almost exhausted, the animal still pursuing. He gained entrance to the house, and the otter, for such
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it proved to be, was about to catch hin again, when his grandfather, Samuel Torsey, who happened to be near the door, struck it on the head with his huge walking- stick, and repeated the blows until he had despatched it. The otter measured seven feet in length, and was so old that its teeth were worn down almost even with the gums. This circumstance, and this alone, saved the children from a terrible death.
Capt. Samuel Ranlet was born in Gilmanton, N. H., Mar. 28, 1780. He was the son of Charles and Elizabeth (Lougee) Ranlet, and was seventh of a family of eleven children, three of whom came to Mon- mouth. The first of the family who entered the town as a resident was Moses, who was taxed here in 1805. He was a blacksmith. His shop was in the vicinity of Smart's Corner, and near by was a building which he stocked with general merchandise. There is no proof that he did not erect this building for a store, and that he was not the first occupant; but papers have re- cently been unearthed which show that the firm of Norris and Evans (probably Lieut. James Norris and Daniel Evans, who came to town about that time) was in trade in 1803; and it is to be presumed that they occupied the same building. This, however, is mere speculation. A store at Smart's Corner to-day would appear about as much in keeping with its surround- ings as would a school-house on the top of Mount Sabat- tus; but ninety years ago a small stock of general merchandise was an essential feature in every neigh- borhood. There was at that time a store at Chand- ler's, one mile north of Smart's Corner, but in the rush of haying it was not always convenient to go a
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mile for household necessities, such as a "pig" of tobac- co or a gallon of rum. Charles, another brother, was taxed here in 1813; but it is probable that he removed almost immediately to Thomaston, Me. Samuel Ran- let came from New Hampshire to Augusta when a young man, and learned the clock-maker's trade. In 1809 he took up a residence in Monmouth, and, two years later, married Molly Dearborn Norris, a daughter of Lt. James Norris. He purchased, and settled on, the farm now owned by the Jacobs brothers. This place he sold some years later, and, probably at about the same time, bought out the interest of the other heirs in the farm of his father-in-law on Norris Hill. Here he resided until 1867. During all these years, until the market became overstocked with a cheaper grade of clocks, he worked at his trade. The brass time- pieces he made were wonders of mechanism. Some of them recorded the days of the week and month, the changes of the moon, and all other notable events, ex- cept births and marriages. His brother-in-law, Jacob Miller, made the cases, and the combined skill of these two men wrought out some of the finest eight-day clocks that ever graced the parlors of the wealthy citi- zens of central Maine.
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