USA > Maine > York County > Saco > History of Saco and Biddeford, with notices of other early settlements, and of proprietary governments, in Maine, including the provinces of New Somersetshire and Lygonia > Part 24
USA > Maine > York County > Biddeford > History of Saco and Biddeford, with notices of other early settlements, and of proprietary governments, in Maine, including the provinces of New Somersetshire and Lygonia > Part 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
*The mother of the Judge, we have reason to suppose, was a grand- daughter of Edw. Rishworth, Esq. of York. Mr. Rishworth died 1601, having been an inhabitant of Maine about fifty years. See a- bove, pp. 119, 123.
tWolves appear to have annoyed the inhabitants down to a com- paratively recent period. As late as 1786, the following vote was passed in town meeting ; "Voted to allow any person belonging to
24
-
274
HISTORY OF SACO
-
The first BRIDGE over any part of Saco river was built with the proceeds of a Lottery, granted by an act of the General Court passed 1757 .* An advertisement appeared in the Boston Gazette 1758, announcing the `First Class of the Lottery to be drawn at York, in May, the following year, when the drawing took place. The bridge was built a short time after the passage of the act, before the completion of the drawings, and cros- sed the branch of the river on the east side of the island above the present one from Maine street, as already no- ticed. The small, old-fashioned shop of Mr. John Scam-
the town of Pepperrellboro' 30s. for all grown Wolves that shall be killed within the bounds of said Peppo. and 15s. for wolves' whelps." *The act is as follows :-
"An ACT for raising the sum of One Thousand two Hundred Pounds
- by Lottery, for building and maintaining a Bridge over Saco and Presumpscot Rivers in the County of York.
- Whereas the Eastern Part of said County of York has been for- merly broke up by the Enemy, and the getting Troops to their relief is extreamly difficult, if not impracticable, in some Seasons of the year, there being no passing in boats or any other way over the Rivers of Saco and Presuinpscot and the building a Bridge over said River will be of Public Service-
Be it therefore Enacted by the Governor, Council and House of Representatives, that Sir William Pepperell, Baronet, Daniel Moul- ton, Edward Milliken, Joseph Sayer, and Rushworth Jordan, Esq. Messrs. Benjamin Chadbourn and Stephen Longfellow, or any three of them, be and hereby are allowed and Impowered to Set up and Carry on a Lottery or Lotteries which shall amount to such a sum as by deducting Ten per Cent. out of each Prize will raise the sum of One Thousand Two Hundred Pounds to be applied by them, or any three of them, towards building and maintaining a good and suffi- cient Bridge over each of said Saco and Presumpscot Rivers, at or near the lower Falls of said Rivers, and for defraying the necessary Charges of the Lottery aforesaid, and the said Sir William Pepperell, Daniel Moulton, Edward Milliken, Joseph Sayer, Rushworth Jordan E'sqs., Benjamin Chadbourn. and Stephen Longfellow, or any three of them may, and hereby are imnpowered to make all necessary Rules for the regular Proceeding therein, and shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their Trust aforesaid and be answerable to the owners of the Tickets and for any deficiency or misconduct ; and that Mo- nies so raised shall be applied for the uses and purposes aforesaid and no other, and if the sum raised shall be more than Sufficient (after paying of the Charges of the Lottery) to build the said Bridges, the Surplusage shall be lodged in the hands of the Treasurer of the County of York, to be drawn out and applied towards Repairs of the said Bridges." Records Gen. Court. The highest prize, $1000, in this Lottery, is said to have been drawn by Mr. Ebenezer Ayer. It was probably the highest in the first class. The price of tickets was two dollars.
275
AND BIDDEFORD.
man, stands on the lower side of the former road, where it met the bridge. In 1772, the following vote was pass- ed by the District or town : "Whereas the Lottery Bridge in Peppo. so called, is out of repair, and the inhabitants of said District are presented for the same, and said pre- sentment is depending at the next Superior Court at York, it is voted that if said presentment should go against said District, to carry the cause to the Gen. Court for redress," &c. It does not appear that the bridge was put in com- plete repair, although it continued to be passed until swept away by the great freshet of 1785. A 'daughter of Mr. Andrew Bradstreet, four years of age, fell through an opening in this bridge, and was drowned, Oct. 22, 1779. She floated down to the brink of the Fall, when her clothes caught in a slab, where she remained suspen- ded a minute or more ; means were instantly taken by persons in the mill to rescue her from the perilous situa- tion, but at the moment when there was a prospect of success, a floating piece of wood struck against the slab by which she hung, and precipitated the little sufferer in- to the abyss below.
After the Lottery bridge was carried away, another was built on nearly the same spot, by Col. Cutts, with the assistance of the town, on which toll was taken from strangers. The town contributed £100, as it appears by the following votes passed 16 January, 1786 (when a meeting was holden at the public house of John Cleaves) : "1 Voted to assist in building a bridge across the stream on the east side of Indian island. 2. To raise £100 by the freeholders and inhabitants of Pepperrellboro' to be laid out towards the building a bridge across the stream on the eastern side of Indian island, and where the Lot- tery bridge was built, and on condition the inhabitants of said P. have free liberty to pass over said bridge when built, also over a bridge on the west side of said island, when built, free from all charge as long as said bridges shall remain, the aforesaid sum to be paid in lumber at the market price," &c. A committee for attending to this subject was then appointed, consisting of Capt. Jos. Bradbury, Col. Humphry Pike, and deacon S. Scam- man. The bridge built at that time, remained about
276
HISTORY OF SACO
twenty years, when it having become decayed and unsafe, the present one was erected by Col. Cutts. The di- rection of the road was at the same time altered.
The first bridge on the west side of the island was erected by Col. Cutts, deacon Chase, Thos. Gillpatrick jr., and Benj. Nason, 1767. The next year, the General Court passed an act, "making the bridge lately built over the west branch of Saco river, from Biddeford side to In- dian island, a toll bridge." Col. Cutts soon after bought out Chase and Nason ; hence it was commonly known as Cutts's bridge. Col. Tyng, who owned the ferry way on the west side, strongly opposed the erection of this bridge, but; the inhabitants of both towns considered it as a most valuable improvement, and highly applauded the enterprising proprietors. The freshet of 1785 proved fatal to the bridge, but another was immediately built by Col. Cutts at the same place, where the western free bridge now stands.
Two roads were laid out in Pepperrellboro', 1774; one in the lower part of the town, "from Old Orchard to the County road that leads from the lower ferry, so call- ed, to Saco Falls." The other, "from Saco Falls up Saco river, and by said river as far as David Sayer's land, and across said land," now called the Boom road, in lay- ing out which the selectmen began "on the mill privilege between Robert Bond's house and Humphry Pike's shop, and at the County road that leads from the Lottery bridge to Scarboro'," Col. Pike's blacksmith shop was nearly where that of Mr. John Billings now stands, and Mr. Bond's house was situated on the corner above. David Sawyer was settled near the boom, where his son, the late Abner Sawyer, sen. has since lived.
.
..
24 .
.
1
277
AND BIDDEFORD.
CHAPTER VII.
· Great unanimity prevailed in both towns on the subject of the differences with the mother country. The lead- ing individuals were staunch whigs, and defended to the fullest extent the measures taken by the provincial con- gress, cutting off all intercourse with Great Britain. The following Resolutions, probably drawn by Mr. SULLIVAN, express a tone of determination, which shows that great as the sacrifice might be, the inhabitants were early pre- pared to bear their part in the unequal struggle.
"At a Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Bid- deford the 30th Day of July, 1774-Resolved,
Ist. Whereas the Parliament of Great Britain has for the Express purpose of raising a Revenue, and an Un- constitutional Tax, on the English American Colonies, made Several Acts highly Distressing to said Colonies in General and this Province in Particular ; by which Acts the Metropolis of this Province is Blocked up and dis- tressed : the Civil Government of the Province Altered (as far as by said Act it can be) in the most Material and priviledged Points thereof : and particularly the Invalua- ble Right of a Trial by an uncorrupted Jury Intirely Destroyed :
2d. Therefore Resolved, that the Inhabitants of this Town now Assembled will in a Resolute, Manly and de- termined manner, pursue all such Legal and Constitutional methods as shall by the other Towns in this Province be thought- Conducive to the restoration of our Natural Rights as Men and our Political Rights as Englishmen, and that no Inconvenience however Injurious to the pri- vate Interest of any of us, shall be a Sufficient cause to break this Resolution : And whereas the Committee of Correspondence for the Town of Boston has Transmitted to us Papers to be Signed by the Inhabitants of this Town, Which Papers contain certain Covenant Oaths and Agreements that the Subscribers thereto Shall break off all Commercial Intercourse with the island of Great Britain until the Oppressive Acts aforesaid are totally Repealed : and the Inhabitants of this Town being very 24*
-
.
278
HISTORY OF SACO
Sensible that there is no Method yet Pointed out which tends so much to the advancing the Opulence of this Country and happy Extrication of it from its present dif- ficulties and Distresses as the Universal Coming into and the Religious Observation of those Covenant Oaths and Agreements, or Others Somewhat Similar thereto :
3d. It is Therefore Resolved that if the Committee appointed by the late Honourable House of Represen- tatives of this Province to meet the Delegates of the other Colonies in General Congress at Philadelphia or Else- where, And the other Members of said Congress, shall Advise to a Universal Withdrawment of our Commerce with the Island of Great Britain until the aforesaid Op- pressive Acts of Parliament shall be Repealed, we will - strictly Adhere thereto, And as our Dependance under God is chiefly placed in the Steady pursuance of such wise Measures as Shall be Recommended by the Con- gress-
We Therefore Resolve that whatever Measure shall be by said Congress Advised to and Complied with by the Majority of the other towns in this Province, shall be Literally and Strictly adhered to by us-
And we further Resolve that if any Person among us shall Demean himself Contrary to any Plan that shall be Laid for our Deliverance by the Congress and agreed to by this and the Majority of the other Towns in the Province, we will have no Society, Trade or Commerce with such Person, But will Esteem and Treat him as an Enemy to his Country .- Attest,
RISHWORTH JORDAN, Town Clerk." 1
At a subsequent meeting, 22 Dec. 1774, a committee of safety and inspection was appointed, composed of Rishworth Jordan, Esq. James Sullivan, Esq., Capt. Benj. Hooper, Thomas Gillpatrick, Capt. James P. Hill. Mr. Sullivan was chosen, at the same time, Delegate to the Provincial Congress, and empowered to correspond with the neighboring towns. It was also voted, "that the Dele- gate inform the Congress that his Constituents think best to keep their own money to form a magazine of their own for their own defence. Resolved, that R. Jordan, J.
279
. AND BIDDEFORD.
Sullivan, B. Hooper, James Carlisle, Thomas Gillpatrick, Benj. Staples, Allison Smith, Josiah Stimpson, Jere, Hill jr. Simon Wingate, James Staples, Aaron Porter, Jere- miah Cole, be a committee to provide a town stock of six half barrels of Powder, 5 cwt. of lead, and a suffi- ciency of flints, according to the number of persons in the Train band and Alarm list in said town, four barrels of which powder, and the whole of the lead and flints are to be kept entire until the Town shall otherwise order, or it shall become necessary to deliver the same to the said persons in the Train band or Aların list. Also, Re- solved, that the said committee dispose of the other two half barrels of powder at a reasonable price to such of the inhabitants of the town as have a mind to purchase the same with ready cash, to use it in defence of their Country. Voted unanimously. Attest, James Sullivan, Moderator."
Mr. Sullivan represented the town in the Provincial Congress until 1776, when he was appointed a justice of the Superior Court. Soon after that time, he removed his family to Groton, Mass. A profound respect was ever entertained by our inhabitants for the character and ta- lents of Mr. Sullivan from the period of his first settle- ment among them as a young attorney. He was himself ready to acknowledge, at a late date, when holding a high and enviable rank among his contemporaries, the obliga- tions which their favor had imposed on him. "] have a grateful remembrance," he says in a letter to Col. Tris- tram Jordan, "of the marks of confidence, and the acts of kindness done me by the people on your river, and wher- ever I can reciprocate their goodness, I shall cheerfully do it." The patriotic views of Mr. Sullivan, ably and eloquently expressed, on the commencement of hostili- ties with Great Britain, materially assisted in securing a united support of the war, and a harmony and concert of action in both towns. The Rev. Mr. Morrill was ardent- ly engaged in the same cause. This gentleman, in the language of one intimately associated with him at that period, "was a superior man ; of a deportment noble and dignified, seldom equalled, and never surpassed in this quarter. To this was added a capacity fully correspon-
-
280
HISTORY OF SACO
ding ; intelligent, easy of access, and communicative, he ranked high as a scholar, as a divine, and as a statesman. . In such a melancholy season as our struggle for indepen- dence, considering the general weakness or ignorance of the people, the value of such a man was incalculable. So deep an interest did he take in that all important con- cern, as a statesman, he spared no pains to guide every one into the right way, nor did he fail in this. To his long standing there, and the confidence of the people in him, was it owing in a great measure, that the principles of independence were easly disclosed and generally em- braced. A remarkably close and friendly intercourse be- tween Mr. Morrill and Mr. Sullivan, uniting their exer- tions, bore down all opposition."
The committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, in Biddeford, 1776, was composed of Benj. Na- son, Jonathan Smith, Joseph Morrill, John Dyer and Amos Gordon. The following order of the Mass. Coun- cil, accompanied by a copy of the DECLARATION OF IN- DEPENDENCE, was received and complied with at this time : "In Council, July 17, 1776. Ordered, that the Declaration of Independence be printed ; and a Copy sent to the Ministers of each Parish, of every Denomina- tion, within this State ; and that they Severally be re- quired to Read the same to their respective Congrega- tions, as soon as Divine Service is ended, in the Afternoon, on the first Lord's Day after they shall have received it : And after such Publication thereof, to deliver the said Declaration to the Clerks of their Several Towns, or Districts ; Who are Hereby Required to Record the same in their respective Town or District Books, there to Remain as a perpetual Memorial thereof. In the name and by Order of the Council. R. Derby, Presi- dent."
The following year, 1777, the Committee of Corres- pondence consisted of James Sullivan, Esq. Jos. Morrill, Obed Emery, Jos. Tarbox, and James Emery. Thomas Cutts, Esq. represented both towns in the Provincial Congress. Colonel Cutts was devotedly attached to the cause of the Revolution, notwithstanding his private interest suffered by the war to a very great extent ; for-
281
AND BIDDEFORD.
tunately for the country, the zealous whigs of that day considered their personal losses as light in the scale, when weighed against the sacred rights and cherished princi- ples, in defence of which they took up arms. The first Committee of Correspondence chosen in Pepperrellbo- rough, 9 Nov. 1774, was composed of Tristram Jordan, Esq. deacon Amos Chase, Paul Junkins, James Foss, and James Scamman. Messrs. Cutts and Junkins were appointed, at the same time, "Delegates for a County
Congress." A separate Committee of Inspection was raised, "to see that the several Resolves of the Continen- tal, Provincial and County Congresses, be complied with in said Pepperrellboro'," consisting of T. Jordan, Esq., deacon A. Chase, R. Patterson, deacon S. Scamman, Jos. Libby, Humphry Pike, and Dominicus Scamman.
At the March meeting 1775, it was voted "to divide the Militia Company in the District into four separate squadrons to exercise half a day, and once in every week, for three months to come, and to begin their Exercises at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and to have a teacher to learn them the military art, and said teacher to be paid out of the District treasury ; one part to be at the Old Orchard, so called ; another to be from Rumery's to the lower ferry ; another from said Rumery's up to the head of said District (or town,) and the other part at Dunstown so called." The last division included the families settled on the Scarboro' road, adjoining the parish of Dunston in that town. Rumery lived at the corner of the Old Orchard and Ferry roads. It was also voted, "to pay Jas. Sullivan, Esq. a proportionable part of his time and expense as a delegate to the Provincial Congress, with the town of Biddeford, for the time passed." The Com- mittee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, the fol- lowing year, were T. Jordan, Esq., deacon A. Chase, deacon S. Scamman, Joseph Bradbury, and Richard Burke. In the summer of 1779, a meeting of the in- habitants was called, to see if they would send a rein- forcement to the army, when it was agreed, that all those, and those only, in the first place shall be drafted, that have not been heretofore drafted, and by law are liable to be drafted, except Lieut. James Foss's son who has
282
HISTORY OF SACO
agreed to go into the Continental service, and when any persons are drafted and shall pay their fine, said fine shall be laid out in hiring men for said Continental service and what sum or sums of money may be wanting after the fines aforesaid be laid for the purposes aforesaid, the se- lectmen shall have full liberty to raise money on the in- habitants of Pepperrellborough, in the same manner as other public taxes are raised, sufficient to pay what shall be wanting to pay the full hire of those men who shall or may agree to go into the Continental service for the town - of Pepperrellborough in consequence of a resolve of the Great and General Court made and passed June 9, 1779." The next year, Capt. P. Junkins, Elisha Ayer, Nicholas Dennet, James Foss, Thomas Dearing, were chosen a committee of Safety and Correspondence. And it was "voted to raise £350 for the men raised to go to Cam- den, if they go, otherwise to be paid to the treasurer for the town service." In October, the town "voted to raise money to pay for beef for the army agreeable to a resolve of Court." In January, 1781, Messrs. Samuel Boothby and James Coffin were appointed "a committee to hire six or seven men as soldiers for the army on the town's account, and not to exceed $13 with the continental pay, per month." The town was required at that time to sup- ply the army with eleven thousand and sixty two pounds of beef. The last committee of Safety was chosen 1782, and consisted of Col. James Scamman, Capt. Josepli Bradbury, Lieut. Samuel Chase, Lieut. William Cole, and Mr. James Coffin.
A large proportion of the inhabitants were occasionally in the service of the country during the war. Demands of men and provisions were constantly occurring, and it is believed no towns in this quarter contributed more liber- ly to the wants of the army in both particulars. The ex- act number of men furnished at different times, cannot now be ascertained, the necessary documents having per- ished. . The names of all the officers and soldiers, to whose contempt of danger, patient endurance of unnum- bered evils, and patriotic exertions, the whole country is under so great obligation, assuredly deserve to be kept in, lasting remembrance, and to be inscribed in the annals of
1
283
AND BIDDEFORD.
the towns and parishes to which they may have severally belonged. A general history of the war necessarily distin- guishes but few of the actors, those only whose elevated rank, or signal daring, placed them in situations where they could be separated from the mass of heroes. As on the field of battle, the solid phalanx, with its principal leaders, can alone be discerned ; the individuals compo- sing the valiant host sink inglorious, undistinguished, un- honored. It thus becomes the grateful duty of the lo- cal annalist, whose range is circumscribed, to recall the names of the obscurest persons, where it is practicable, who "poured out their blood like water" in a noble cause, and award to them the meed of praise which is their due. We would it were in. our power to discharge this sacred obligation in a satisfactory manner, in reference to our townsmen, which the deficiency of materials, as al- ready noticed, prevents. The names of such as have reached us, will, however, be given.
Col. James Scamman led a regiment to Cambridge early in 1775, and remained about one year. This gen- tleman was well fitted to shine in the military profession ; possessing energy, vigor of mind and body, and a gaiety of temper that engaged the goodwill and attachment of those under his command. We have been assured by persons who served with him, that his bravery could not be justly questioned, and yet a misdirection of his regi- ment on the memorable 17th of June, has been made the occasion of reproach. Col. Scamman received or- ders to repair to Bunker hill ; while on the march lear- ning that the enemy were landing at Lechmere's point, he deemed it his duty to advance on that quarter, and by this diversion failed to be in the battle which followed on Bunker hill. An investigation of the Colonel's conduct soon after took place, before the proper tribunal, when he was honorably acquitted. Attempts were, however, made to injure his reputation, by individuals who aspired to his commission, and at the end of the year he resigned. Col. Scamman afterwards entered into trade with his brother, Mr. Nathaniel Scamman, and built the large house now in the rear of Messrs. Scamman & Andrews' stone block, where at that period they both lived. The
284
HISTORY OF SACO
latter subsequently built the house now occupied by his son, Hon. George Scamman. The Colonel died IS04, at the age of sixty four years .*
Maj. Ebenezer Ayer accompanied Arnold in the ex- pedition to Canada, through the wilderness of the Ken- nebec, and was distinguished for his energy and bravery at that time. It is said he had the courage to saw off the pickets of an English fort, to enable the party to scale the walls. Maj. Ayer afterwards served in the engineer department, with the rank of Major. He did not return to Saco on the close of the war.
. The late Jeremiah Hill, Esq. enlisted a company for three years' service, which he led to Boston. His bro- ther, Daniel Hill, now of Gorham, held the commission of ensign. This company joined the regiment of Col. Jos. Vose (of Milton) at West Point, and was at the taking of Burgoyne, Octo. 1777. Capt. Hill returned at the expiration of one year, having resigned his commission. In 1779, he was appointed adjutant general of the forces sent by the State to Penobscot river.
The following names are those of non-commissioned officers or privates in the continental service from Bid- deford. Bellamy Storer, (a brother of the late Capt. Seth Storer,) who died at Mount Independence, opposite Ticonderoga, 1776. John Hill, a brother of Capt. Hill, died of small pox at Brooklyn Fort, Long Island, the same year, where a grave stone was erected to his me- . mory. He was twenty two years of age at the time of . his death. Jotham Hill, (son to Mr. Ebenezer Hill,) died in the course of the war near Albany. John Peirce, lived at Limerick after the war. Aaron Gray, lately de- ceased, a pensioner under the act of 1818. Noah Smith. James Urian. Ezekiel Gillpatrick. John Griffin Davis. Samuel Gillpatrick. Nath'l. Gillpatrick. Caleb Spofford, died in the war. John Lee. Joseph Linscott. William
*The following lines furnished by the late Hon. Cyrus King, are inscribed on his tomb : "A man of infinite jest ; of most excellent fancy." 'This stone to strangers may impart The place where Scamman lies ; But every friend consults his heart, For there he never dies.'
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.