USA > Maine > Androscoggin County > Wales > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 4
USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Monmouth > History of Monmouth and Wales, V. 1 > Part 4
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
In 1850, Abial Daley offered to give the primitive burying ground below Dearborn's Corner to the town, on condition that that corporation should provide a suitable fence for enclosing it. If the owners of these Sacred lots will not relinquish them without compensa- tion, our town officials should take measures to pur- chase them, and to erect suitable monuments over the desecrated graves. The plea that nothing but dust remains of those who were buried in these unfortunate localities is an abomination. Fouler than the charnel prowler, and more despicable than the body-snatcher is he who not only permits the corpse of his honored father to be outraged, but sanctions the effacing of that father's name from the tablet of memory. If we of the present generation fail in the performance of this act of civilization, not to say of Christian duty, may the ploughshare and harrow scatter our bones as widely as theirs, and may the farmer whistle as cheerily as he reaps the grain nournished by the decomposition of our fresh!
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THE FIRST SETTLERS.
As in all new settlements, the first few years saw an eager struggle for an existence. The clearings being small, but little could be raised, and the crops harvested consisted mainly of corn and potatoes. These coarse products, with fresh fish and wild meat, formed their diet.
The ravages of wild animals were a constant source of annoyance. Sheep and small cattle could not be raised without much care and very close attention. Zadoc Bishop, who, as has been stated, lived near Gordon's Mill, had a sleek two-year-old heifer, which an edacious member of the bruin family living in the vicinity regarded with greedy eyes and finally appropriated. Bishop secured the services of an old hunter by the name of Howe, from Pondtown, (Winthrop), and set a trap for the offender. He was easily captured, and received due reward for his transgressions. In the southern part of Leeds, five bears were caught in log traps, in one night. Some years after Gray's rencounter, a bear was killed on the meadow east of the Metcalf saw mill, by a spring gun set by John Welch. As spring guns did not possess the power of discrimination, they were not always
safe neighbors. Ichabod Billington, one of the first settlers of Wayne, met with a severe accident from one of these indiscriminate engines, placed in a cornfield in the edge of Leeds. Fearing that guns might be hidden in the field that lay between him and the cabin he was approaching, and, to avoid all liability of cas- ualty, he went around the field, walking on the felled trees. But he had proceeded only a short distance, when a gun discharged its contents into one of his
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
lower limbs, shattering it in a frightful manner. The wounded man's cries soon brought assistance. He was carried to the camp, and a messenger was dispatched with all possible speed for the nearest surgeon, whose home was no farther distant than North Yarmouth. When the messenger, who of necessity made the jour- ney on foot, reached his destination, he found that the surgeon was not supplied with the necessary appliances for amputating the limb. After a delay of several hours, during which an outfit of suitable instruments was obtained at Portland, the surgeon started for the scene of the accident. Three days had elapsed in the meantime, and mortification had settled in the wound. The limb was amputated in the barbarous manner in which all surgery was then performed, and, strange to relate, the victim survived.
Soon after the Blakes settled at East Monmouth, Dearborn Blake discovered a bear's den in the field almost directly opposite the place where Mr. B. Frank Jones now lives. This was in the fall, and the den was empty. The following spring, Blake happened to think of his discovery one day, and, accompanied by his younger brother Pascal, proceeded to the spot to see if Bruin had used it as a hibernal home. On the way they fell in with John Torsey, who was clearing land near his cabin, and persuaded him to join the party. When they arrived on the ground, Dearborn Blake fell upon all fours and peered into the hole. An immense wind-fall, three or four feet in diameter, lay over it, leaving a close entrance on each side, but shutting out almost every ray of light. As he bent into the dark hole his nose touched something cold,
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THE FIRST SETTLERS.
and he darted back just in season to save his nasal organ from the jaws of the awakened bear. The something cold was the tip of Bruin's nose. A mo- ment later, there were sounds of war under the big log, and a snarling, yelping cub crawled up into the daylight only to meet the sharp edge of Torsey's axe, which, fortunately, he had not left behind. Another dashed by and fell into the jaws of Blake's dog. Torsey had hardly dispatched the cub when the grinning visage of the maternal bruin appeared over the top of the log. One well directed blow laid her quivering on the snow. In the meantime a third
cub crawled out and started for the woods. Pascal Blake picked up a rotten limb, the only weapon at his command, and started in pursuit. Torsey, attracted by the cries of the frightened animal, soon came up with his axe and dispatched it. In less than four minutes from the time that Blake and the bear exchanged greetings by rubbing noses-after the manner of the Nez Perces Indians -all four of the bruin family lay writhing in death. Torsey, who, like his son the doctor, was fond of mathematical quirks, afterward computed the amount of time that would have been consumed in killing an acre of bears at the same ratio of speed.
But little less troublesome than beasts of prey were the less sizable, but more numerous and voracious, insects. To prevent being carried off bodily by these pests, chip fires were built near the cabins every evening. The smoke of these smouldering piles drove the insects away, and but for the uncommon nerve of the settlers, would have driven them away also. The
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
great grandfather of the writer, Dr. James Cochrane, Sr., used to tell of an experience he had with fleas shortly after he came to the new settlement. He was called to William Day's, in Leeds, one hot night in summer. The thick woods shut out every breath of moving air, and the insects settled down like quails upon the children of Isreal. He was compelled to
remain all night. The prospect of sacrificing himself to the appetites of an army of fleas was not pleasant, but there was no alternative except to provide, as best he could, for self protection. A large, heavily-built cupboard stood in one corner of the room. He climbed to the top of this, and cramped his body into the position a dog assumes when preparing for a nap. Mrs. Arnoe, the sick lady's mother, sat in the fireplace over a pile of smouldering chips. Occasionly she would rise and shake her skirts, and the crackling that followed resembled the sound of fire in hemlock boughs. The old doctor said he thought the rascals would carry him off.
In 1780, between twenty and thirty families were scattered about on lands now included in the town of Monmouth, each of which was represented by one or more members qualified by the laws of the Common- wealth to vote. As yet no bonds of unity existed be- tween the settlers of the separate neighborhoods. To be sure, their relations were of the most harmonious nature, but individualism was the ascendant principle. Concerted action for the moulding of social and politi- cal institutions may have long been the dream of some active intellect, but it had not found a place in a dif- fused sentiment. About this time, however, questions
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THE FIRST SETTLERS.
arose which required an alliance of forces. All the settlers who had thus far taken up lots had a vague idea that they could hold their lands by possession, or, at all events, by the payment of a nominal sum to the state. Indeed, the earliest of these supposed that the lands were absolutely free. This misconception had its rise in the report that William Vassal, a prominent proprietor of lands on the Kennebec, had absconded. Vassal resided at Boston. He was a member of the Plymouth Company and an honored citizen. At the commencement of the war of the Revolution, he re- mained loyal to the crown, and, in company with Richard Saltonstall, of Haverhill, and three hundred others, embarked at the evacuation of Boston and re- turned to England. The Great and General Court of Massachusetts published a manifesto declaring these individuals tories and outlaws, subject to the pains of death without the benefit of clergy, should they return. Their estates, however, were not confiscated, and, after the treaty of peace was consummated, they returned to enjoy their rights in the grants. Whatever may have been the cause of the reaction of opinion concerning these estates, it is certain that the pseudonym, Free- town, which had been applied to the settlement, was about this time abandoned, and that measures for self- protection were immediately instituted. Thus drawn together in a unison of interests, incorporation under the laws of the Commonwealth was an easy and nat- ural sequence.
Of the first citizens' meeting, we have no record. It was, undoubtedly, held some time in 1780. The earliest warrant to which we have access reads as follows :
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
"A record of the proceedings of Bloomingboro'.
By the desire of a number of inhabitants of Bloomingboro, the whole are hereby notified to meet at the house of Ichabod Bakers, on FRIDAY, ye 24th day of August, 1781, at twelve of the clock, in order to act on the following articles. - First, to chuse a Moderator; 2dly, to chuse a Clark; 3dly, to see if the inhabitants will think proper to chuse one man to act as Capt. for the preasant year; 4thly, to see if the inhabitants will accept the proposals made to them by the committee of the general court; 5thly, to act on any other thing that shall be thought proper by said inhabitants-Signed -Peter Hopkins, Hugh Mulloy, Christopher Stevens, John Austin, Jeames Weeks, Oliver Hall, Timothy Wight, Nathan Stanley, James Blossom, William Welch, Edward Welch, Samuel Welch, and John Fish."
The clerk's record of this meeting reads as follows : "A town meeting of the inhabitants of the Destrict of Wales, held on ye 24th day of August, 1781. - Chose Peter Hopkins Morderator; 2dly, Chose Hugh Mulloy, Clark; 3dly, chose Peter Hopkins to act as Captain for the preasant year; 4thly, voted that this Destrict shall be known by the name of Wales, beginning at the south line of Winthrop, and running southward eight miles, or thereabouts; 5thly, voted, that whatever taxes the HON'BLE General Court shall lay on said Destrict, to be raised within ourselves; 6thly, voted, that the owners of lots from Mr. John Welch's lot to Mr. Zadoc Bishop's lot shall clear across their lots within one month; 7thly, voted, that every ratable POLE shall work one day on the Highways the preasant year; 8thly, voted, that William Welch, Samuel Welch, Edward Welch, and James Weeks shall be cleared from one days work on the highways the preasant year."
The ninth article acted on at this meeting, viz:
"Voted that those surveyors on the Highways chosen at the last meeting, to wit ;- Peter Hopkins, Thomas Gray and John Hewey shall stand for the preasant year"
is one of the evidences on which we base the supposi- tion that a meeting was held in 1780.
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THE FIRST SETTLERS.
Other evidence, pointing to the same fact, is found in a receipt given under the hand of the Treasurer of the Commonwealth.
"Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Treasurer's office, June 24th 1784. No. 6048.
Received of Mr. Ichabod Baker of Wales, Twenty-two pounds, ten shillings on Oct. 1781 tax. - in full for ditto, committed to him to collect for the year 1780. Thomas Ivers, Treasurer." 22-IO .-
The following, differing from the foregoing only in the order in which the articles were disposed, and bearing the signature of the clerk, appears to have been added to the original record :
"Wales, Aug. ye 24th, 1781. At the above said meeting, voted, as follows, viz: Istly that the Destrict wherein we now reside shall be known by the name of Wales, beginning at the South line of Winthrop, and running eight miles or thereabouts ; 2dly, voted, that whatever tax or taxes the Hon. Gen. Court shall think proper to lay on said Destrict we levy and raise within ourselves,
Wales, Aug. ye 24th 1781. Hugh Mulloy, Clark."
The plantation name was changed from Blooming- boro', to Wales, as a mark of respect for John Welch, one of the most highly esteemed of the pioneers, whose ancestors were natives of the country bearing that name.
The surveyors chosen at this meeting were, for convenience, selected from the extremities and centre of the plantation, - Hopkins at the north end, Hewey at the south, and Gray in the middle. The road extended from Hopkins' ,near the Winthrop line, to about one mile below Potter's tavern, in Wales, a distance of about nine miles on the present highway.
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
As the old road was very crooked, the distance must have been greater, although in the report of the meeting the distance was approximated at nine miles.
This was the first attempt to construct a highway. The settlers living on adjoining lots had, previous to this, cut rough paths from clearing to clearing, but a line of spotted trees had served as a thoroughfare from one end of the plantation to the other.
The road constructed this year extended from near the place where Mr. F. H. Beal's house now stands, to a point a few rods below Gordon's Mill, in North Monmouth; but by a course that deviated considerably from that of the present highway. The Baker and Welch cabins both stood nearer the pond than the buildings that time and fashion have ordained to take their places. The road took a direct course from Welch's to the outlet of the pond, crossing the stream by a bridge that spanned it at the point where the upper dam is now located. Then bearing to the left, and sweeping around the border of the pond, it ran across the Shorey field to a point about half way between the pond and the Rev. Mr. Cliffords, thence to the Barrows house, on High Street. Crossing the line of the modern road at this point, it continued in a diagonal course to a point half way between the Academy and Miss Charlotte Harvey's. Then following a course almost parallel to High Street, and about fifty rods east of it, for a distance of several rods, it finally re-entered the course of the new road at Ellis' Corner, where John Fish, the tavern - keeper, lived. From Fish's it ran down over the hill, below Gordon's Mill, to the edge of the stream where Bishop lived.
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THE FIRST SETTLERS.
This was then the northern terminus; but a few years later, it was continued from Bishop's, in a north-east- erly course, to Robert Withington's, in the Richardson neighborhood; and thence followed the line of the new road to the Winthrop line. The road from Baker's to the lower part of the plantation crossed the line of the road now travelled at a point near the Metcalf house; thence, a few rods east of the new road, nearly the whole distance to Dearborn's Corner.
John Hewey, whose name appears as one of the first highway surveyors, settled at the southernmost point in the plantation. Whence he came is unknown. As no mention is made of him after 1781, it is probable that he removed to Lisbon, where the name has, in later years, been quite common. A number of other settlers lived in the lower part of the plantation, so far from the principal settlement that it is doubtful if they knew of any of the proceedings relating to the act of incorporation. First to be mentioned among these was James Ross, who came from Brunswick in 1778, and located on the western side of Mount Sabattis, and who was, without doubt, the first white settler in Wales proper. Mr. Ross resided on the spot he first selected as his home until his death. The farm is now occupied by Mr. Isaac Witherell, who married his grand- daughter.
Patrick Keenan, who, probably followed Ross in the order of settlement, settled in the eastern part of the town not far from 1779. Nothing is known of his previous history, but his name suggests that he may have been of Irish extraction. Stephen Gray had settled not far from Keenan on the east, and Jonathan
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
Thompson on the line which now divides the towns of Wales and Monmouth. William Remick was living a short distance from the spot where the Baptist church was afterward erected, and the Weymouth brothers, Benjamin and Samuel, had started a clearing on the Watts place, now owned by Mr. Thompson, the carriage smith.
The next thing following the election of officers was the apportionment of taxes. Josiah Whittredge was hired to make the assessments. The labor consumed about a half day of his time, and he received a bushel of corn for his services. The correct and methodical manner in which this service was performed proves that he was a man of education.
Whence Whittredge came, has long been an unsolved problem. The manuscript lectures that have served to throw much light on other questions relating to the early settlers, refuse to elucidate the gloom that sur- rounds this character. A few months ago, while examining the old Lincoln County Records in the Wiscasset Court-house, papers were found, which show that Josiah Whittridge, of Danvers, Essex Co., Mass., carpenter, purchased, in 1785, a lot of land, consisting of two hundred acres, "near the Kennebec river, in the town of Wales;" designated as the westerly half of lot number twenty-one, in the first range. In 1793, Josiah Whittridge, of Muskingun, Ohio Co., Ky., car- penter, "recovered judgment" against a citizen of East Monmouth for "one hundred and twenty-seven pounds and twelve shillings, and four pounds, five shillings cost." The only inference we can draw from these records is that Mr. Whittridge came fromn Danvers,
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THE FIRST SETTLERS.
Mass., and squatted on lands in the plantation of Bloomingboro'; that he subsequently purchased real estate in the plantation, but soon sold his purchase and removed to the State of Kentucky.
The third plantation meeting was held on the 22nd day of April, 1782. It was called by Capt. Peter Hopkins, who was chosen to act as captain of the plantation at the meeting of 1781. The notification issued a few days earlier was a marvelous literary production :
"Lincoln. fs (scilicet) Purfuant to a warrant to me Directed These are in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to will and regain you forthwith to notify and warn all the inhabi- tants of Wales to meet at the Dwelling house of Joseph Allen in Said Wales on Monday ye 22d day of April next, at one Clock in the afternoon-then and their- viz-ily to Chuse a Moderator, 2ly to Chuse a Plantation Clark-3ly to Chuse afsefsors-4thly to Chuse a Collector for the preasant year, and anything Els, that shall be thought to act upon.
Wales, April ye 4th 1782.
Peter Hopkins."
The profcedings of a Plantation Meeting held at Mr. Joseph Allen's in Wales, on Monday ye 22d Day of April, 1782, then and their acted on the following articles, viz. Ily Chose a Moderator. 2dly Chose James Blossom Plantation Clark. 3dly Chose Mr. Jonathan Thompson, Afsefsor. 4thly Chose Capt. Peter Hopkins Afsefsor. 5thly Chose James Blossom Afsefsor. 6thly Chose Mr. Ichabod Baker Collector. 7thly Chose James Blossom Treasurer for the ensuing year. Sthly voted, to Raise Eight pound to Defray Plantation Charges. Sthly to work on the Roads by way of Tax for each lot to work two days. Real and Personal Estate to be eftimated according to the Province Law. rothly Chose Mr. Nathan Stanley Surveyor. itthly Chose Mr. Philip Jenkins an other surveyor. 12thly voted, Men to have four shillings Pr. Day, and Oxen two, and eight pence. 13thly and lastly voted that those Lots of Land that are or may be taken up the Preasant year Nobody apear to Do the Duty on the Road the Surveyor to sell their Pof-
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
sestion to do the work and return the overplus if any their be When Called for by the owners of Sd. lots.
Wales, April ye 22d 1782.
James Blossom, Clark.
The Province Law referred to in the foregoing record dates back as far as the year 1631. The settlement of Massachusetts was first chartered by King James, as the "Colony of Massachusetts Bay in New England," in the year 1628. In 1691, it was chartered by Wil- liam and Mary, king and queen of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, as the "PROVINCE of the Massa- chusetts Bay in New England." Under the colony charter, Massachusetts was often rendered "Mattachu- setts" and "Massatusetts," and under the province charter all the territories and colonies called, or known, by the names of "the Colony of Massachusetts Bay," "the Colony of New Plymouth," "the Province of Maine" and "Acadia" or "Nova Scotia," as well as all the land lying between the territories of Nova Scotia and the Province of Maine, were incorporated into one province, known as the Province of Massachu- setts Bay in New England. Provision was made in the charter for a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Secretary-all to be appointed by the crown-for the holding of a "Great and General Court," or assembly on the last Wednesday of May, annually, and at such other times as the Governor deemed proper and advisable, to consist of the Governor and twenty-eight Councillors, who should be chosen yearly by the Gen- eral Court, and, in addition, such freeholders as should be elected to represent the different towns. The property qualification of a represensative was a free- hold in land to the value of forty shillings annually, or
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THE FIRST SETTLERS.
other estate to the value of torty pounds sterling. The councillors were to be chosen as follows: eighteen, at least, were to be inhabitants, or proprietors of lands within what was formerly called the Colony of Massa- chusetts Bay; four, at least, of the Colony of New Plymouth ; three, at least, to the Province of Maine, and one, at least, to the territory lying between the "river of Sagadahoc" and Novia Scotia. The duties were to advise and assist the Governor.
The charter imposed upon the Great and General Court the full power to "make, ordain, and establish all manner of wholesome and reasonable orders, laws, statutes, ordinances, directions, and instructions, either with or without penalties, as should be judged for the good and welfare of the province, and for the govern- ment and ordering thereof and for the necessary support and defence of the government thereof; such laws, etc., not being repugnant to the laws of the realm of England;" and, also, among other duties, "to levy proportionable and reasonable assessments, rates and taxes upon the estates and persons of all the proprie- tors and inhabitants of said province, for the necessary defence and support of the government of the said province, and the protection and preservation of the inhabitants thereof." The same right to impose and levy taxes were granted in the first charter, establish- ing the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Accordingly. the Great and General Court of the Colony, in 1641. passed an act which provided that every inhabitant of the colony should contribute to all charges, "both in church and commonwealth whereof he doth or may receive benefit." And every such inhabitant as
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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH.
should not contribute, in proportion to his ability, to all common charges, both civil and ecclesiastical, "should be compelled thereto. by assessment and dis- tress," to be levied by the constable or other officer of the town, the lands and estates of all men to be rated for all town charges where the lands and estates lay, and their persons at their place of residence.
They also made provision, in acts passed in 1651 and 1657, for every town to make, from year to year, a list of the polls, and a true estimation of the value of all the personal and real estates-polls to be rated at one shilling and eight pence each, and estates at one penny a pound; merchants to be rated by "will and doom;" houses and lands of all sort to be rated at an "equal and indifferent value," according to their worth in the towns or places where they lay; bulls and cows of four years old and upward, at three pounds; heifers and steers between three and four years old, at fifty shillings; between two and three years old, at forty shillings; between one and two, at twenty shillings. Every ox of four years old and upward, to be rated at five pounds; every horse and mare of three years and upward, at five pounds; between two and three, at three pounds; between one and two, at thirty shillings. Every sheep above one year old, was rated at ten shillings; every goat above a year old, at eight shil- lings, and all swine above one year old, at twenty shillings each. These acts were approved by the Provincial government by an act passed by the Great and General Court, or Assembly of the Province, in 1692, and kept in force by subsequent enactments until the assembling of the General Court in 1751. This
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