USA > Maine > Knox County > South Thomaston > History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, Maine, from their first exploration, A. D. 1605; with family genealogies, Vol. I > Part 13
USA > Maine > Knox County > Rockland > History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, Maine, from their first exploration, A. D. 1605; with family genealogies, Vol. I > Part 13
USA > Maine > Knox County > South Thomaston > History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, Maine, from their first exploration, A. D. 1605; with family genealogies, Vol. I > Part 13
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To the same person, who had shipped a quantity of tea for him to dispose of, he writes, August 4th, of the same year. "Sir: I received yours of the 28th of July, and am much obliged to you for your kind recommendation of the Officers of the. 23d, but am extremely sorry for your mistake in con- signing Hyson Tea to this place. I have conversed with the first tea dealers in town, who say this is the dullest time for it they ever knew, and that 100 lbs. would supply the probable demand for a twelvemonth. The person who informed you about the price is also mistaken, as my informers say they would be very glad to take $3 per pound for theirs which is exceedingly good. Souchong tea would have answered much better than Hyson -but as they are both entirely out of my way I should be well pleased to have nothing to do with them. If by any good Fortune the ship should be detained till this arrives, by all means take it out. The Gentlemen of the army and navy brought their Tea with them, as they were informed it was not to be had here; and a report of its being scarce has occasioned great quantities to be poured in from the neighboring scaports." On the 18th August, after some further remarks upon the difficulty of disposing of the un-
* Letter Book of Gen. Knox, late in the possession of Capt. B. Webb of Thomaston.
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ROCKLAND AND SOUTHI THOMASTON.
popular article consigned to him, he continues : "we have no foreign news here. Mr. Gage by a letter has dismissed Col. Hancock from the command of his Independent Company of Cadets; upon the reception of which the Company were called together, who voted a. Committee to wait on the Gov- ernor with the Standard which his Excellency gave to the Company upon his taking the chair, and also to inform him that from the day Col. Hancock was dismissed from his com- mand they considered themselves as disbanded. His Excel- lency accepted of the standard and told them Col. Hancock had not treated him well, and he would not be treated ill by him nor any other man in the province, and added " had I known this to be your intentions, I would have disbanded you before now."
Again he writes: "Mr. Thomas Longman, London. Sir : I have received yours, per Capt. Callahan, and the books in good order, also the Magazines to August inclusive. I am sorry it is not in my power to make you remittance per this opportunity, but shall do it very soon. This whole Continent have entered into a General non-Importation agreement until the late acts of Parliament respecting this Government, &c., are repealed, which will prevent my sending any orders for Books until this most desirable End is accomplished. I can- not but hope every person who is concerned in American trade will most strenuously exert themselves in their respec- tive stations for what so nearly concerns themselves. I had the fairest prospect of entirely balancing our account this fall, but the almost total stagnation of Trade in consequence of the Boston Port Bill has been the sole means of prevent- ing it, and now the non-consumption agreement will stop that small circulation of Business left by the Boston Port Bill-I mean the internal business of the province. It must be the wish of every good man that these unhappy differences be- tween Great Britain and the Colonies be speedily and finally adjusted -the influence that the unlucky and unhappy mood of Politicks of the times has upon trade, is my only excuse for writing concerning them. The Magazines and new pub- lications concerning the American dispute are the only things which I desire you to send at present, which I wish you to pack together well wrapped in a brown paper as usual. Be pleased to accept my sincere wishes for your health and wel- fare and believe me Sir,
"Your most Obt. HIb. St. H. Knox." As the reader may feel some interest in the fate of the troublesomestea thus forced upon the future patriot and hero,
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
we give one more extract from a letter to his New York cus- tomer, being the last we find concerning it. "I beg some directions about your tea. I have tried every person in this town who usually deals in it, but have not been able to suc- ceed. One chest I sold to my particular friends at the rate of 12s. sterling per pound, but have not been able to sell one ounce to any other persons. Pray give me your speedy com- mands about it. As the Provincial and Continental Con -. gresses have determined to suspend the use of it after the first of March, it will be too great a risque for me to vend any of it after that time, altho' I should be glad to do every thing in my power to serve you." This was written on the 6th of February, 1775; and on the 19th of the following April the blood shed at Lexington brought matters to a crisis between the colonies and the mother country, and called the young book-binder and stationer of Boston to display his tal- ents and energy in a broader field and a more glorious cause.
The decided stand thus taken by Knox on the side of free- dom and the colonies, reflects the more honor upon his char- acter, when it is recollected that he had, but about one short year before, married the second daughter of the Hon. Thomas Flucker, a man of wealth, rank, and influence, strongly at- tached to the British cause, and at that time holding the office of Provincial Secretary under Gov. Gage. She was said to be a woman " of strong mind, fine education, and lofty man- ners;" who, being struck by the handsome countenance, graceful form, and manly bearing as an officer, displayed by Knox on occasion of some military parade, conceived an at- tachment, which, on further acquaintance resulting from a call made by her at his store for the purchase of a book, proved mutual, and soon ripened into a union likely to exer- cise no small influence upon his future career. It was thus announced in the Massachusetts Gazette of June 20, 1774. " Last Thursday was married by the Rev. Dr. Caner, Mr. Henry Knox of this town (Boston) to Miss Lucy Flueker, . second daughter to the Hon. Thomas Flucker, Esq., Secretory of the Province.
Blest tho' she is with ev'ry human grace, The mien engaging, and bewitching face, Yet still an higher beauty is her care, Virtue, the charm that most adorns the fair; This does new graces to her air inspire, Gives to her lips their bloom, her eyes their fire ; Thi, o'er her cheek with brighter tincture shows The lily's whiteness and the blushing rose. O may each bliss the lovely pair surround, And each wing'd hour with new delights be crown'd ! Long may they those exalted pleasures prove That spring from worth, from constancy and love.".
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ROCKLAND AND SOUTH THOMASTON.
A brother of the bride is said to have been at this time a Captain in the British army ; and, brought up as she had been in all the wealth and pride of aristocracy with the expectation of a large inheritance, it must have cost her many a pang and caused some hesitation on the part of her chosen com- panion, before it was resolved to separate their fortunes from those of a respected parent and brother, to embark in a cause from the failure of which so much might be lost and from its success so little apparently was to be gained.
Knox, however, could not keep aloof from the conflict which was now begun; but, regardless of wealth, family, and friends, plunged into it with all the energy of his nature and the ardor of his patriotism. He had in early life exhibited a predilection for military exercises, gunnery, and other kin- dred amusements, having on one occasion" whilst hunting lost the two smaller fingers on his left hand by the bursting of a fowling piece ; and was at the early age of eighteen chosen one of the commanding officers of a company of gren- adiers composed of young Bostonians, so distinguished for its martial appearance and the precision of its evolutions that it. received the most flattering encomium from a British officer of high distinction. This officer's prediction that "a country that produced such boy soldiers, cannot long be held in sub- jection," was soon verified. Knox gave up his business and took an active part in the contest that was now begun
* A writer in the Belfast Republican Journal supposes, but no doubt erroneously, Knox's hand to have been injured by a shot in the battle of Monmouth which forever disabled it. Two letters. preserved in a Letter Book of Knox owned by the late Capt. B. Webb of Thomaston, were probably written iu reference to this very occurrence; one of which is as follows :
" Boston, Feb. 10, 1774.
"Sir: The mariner, when the danger is past, looks back with pleasure and surprize on the quicksands and rocks he has escaped, and if perchance it was owing to the skillfulness of the pilot or great activity of some brother seaman on board, the first ebullitions of his gratitude are violent but afterwards settle to a firm respect and esteem for the means of his existence. So, Sir, gratitude obliges me to tender you my most sincere thanks for the attention and care you took of me in a late unlucky acci- dent.
"The readiness with which you attended, your skill to observe and hu- manity in executing, are written upon my heart in indelible characters. Believe me, Sir, while memory faithfully performs her office the name of Doct. White will be retained with the most pleasing sensations. Accept then. Sir, the annex'd as the smallest token of respect from him who is with the greatest pleasure your much obliged and mast obd't If ble Ser- Tant.
Henry Knox."
"To Doctor White of the King's Hospital, Boston." ( with 3 quincas. ) The other of the same date and mach the same purport, is directed " To Doctor Peterson of the ship 'Captain' and Surgeon to his Excellency Almiral Montague, Boston." ( with 5 guineas. )
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
between free democratic equality and aristocratic privilege. He left Boston on the evening before the battle of Bunker Hill; and, as every person suspected of being friendly to the patriots was forbidden by the British to leave the city, he was obliged to escape their vigilance in disguise, accompanied in his flight by his wife who concealed his weapons in the lining of her mantle. Though only a volunteer, not in commission, at. that battle, " he was constantly exposed to danger in recon- noitering the movements of the enemy ;" and in the immediate succession of events "his ardent mind was engaged with others in preparing those measures that were ultimately to dislodge the British troops from their boasted possession of the capital of New England." Of the different fortifications constructed by the American army now closely besieging the British forces in Boston, the strong work crowning the hill in Roxbury was planned and superintended by Knox and Waters. But the almost total want of artillery was a serious impedi- ment to the prosecution of the siege; and no resource ap- peared for supplying the deficiency. But the seemingly desperate scheme of procuring it from the Canadian frontier occurred to the mind of Knox; and, having obtained permis- sion and instructions from the commander-in-chief, he started for Ticonderoga, almost unattended, in the depth of the win- ter of 1775-6. Young, robust, and vigorous, supported by an undaunted spirit and a mind ever fruitful in resources, he relied solely for the execution of his object on such aid as he might procure from the thinly scattered inhabitants of the dreary region through which he had to pass." His deter- mined perseverence overcame every obstacle of season, roads,
.
* Whilst engaged in this service, it ehanced that Knox was compelled to pass a night in the same cottage and even the same bed with the cele- brated Major John Andre, who, as a prisoner of war, captured at the then recent surrender of Fort St. Johns, was on his way to Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Between these two there were many points of resem- blance. "Their ages were alike; they had each renounced the pursuits of trade for the profession of arms, each had made a study of his new oc- cupation, and neither was devoid of literary tastes and habits. Much of the night was consumed in pleasing conversation on topics that were rarely, perhaps, broached in such circumstances ; and the intelligence and refinement displayed by Andre, in the discussion of subjects that were equally interesting to Knox, left an impression on the mind of the latter that was never obliterated. The respective condition of the bedfellows was not mutually communicated till the ensuing morning as they were about to part ; and when Knox a few years later was called on to join in the condemnation to death of the companion whose society was so pleasant to him on this occasion, the memory of their intercourse gave additional bitterness to his painful duty." W. Sargent's Life and Career of Major John Andre, pp. 85 and 86.
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and climate; and, in a few weeks, the heavy ordnance * of that renowned fortress, drawn over the frozen lakes and moun- tains of the north, were planted in the fortifications before Boston. This service was duly appreciated by Washington and by Congress, who, before Knox's return from the expedi- tion, had appointed him to the chief command of the Artillery ; an office which he discharged with increasing reputation un- der the successive ranks of Colonel, Brigadier General, and Major General, to the end of the war.
"And now the strong Artillery claims its birth, Terrific guardian of the trembling earth, With voice of vengeance, and tremendous breath, That wake the fiends of ruin, flight, and death : - What daring arm directs its dangerous way ! What Chief beloved, ye brave Columbians, say ! - 'Tis thine, intrepid Knox, on Glory's car To shield the ranks, and guide the vollied war, And thine the clime of Freedom's early boast, Where the cold isthmus joins the stormny coast : - What time thy much-enduring country draws Thy active valor to her suffering cause, Warmed at her call, in winter's dreary reign Thy hardy step explored the northern plain ; - I see thee dauntless tread the trackless way, Where frowning forests quench the glimmering day, Through the bleak wild, and np the boreal steep3 Where, wrapped in frost, the stilled artillery sleeps, I see that arm its ponderous weight prepare And call its thunder to the distant war."f
.
* These were, 8 brass mortars, 6 iron mortars, 2 iron howitzers, 13 brass cannon, and 26 iron cannon, with 2300 lbs. of lead and a barrel of flints.
t Beacon Hill, a Local Poem, Historic and Descriptive, 1797. By Mrs. Sarah Morton.
VOL. I.
10 .
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
CHAPTER VII.
REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS AND INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN.
.
FROM this anticipation of time into which we have been led by the fascinating character of an ardent and patriotic young man, we return to 1774. A remarkable shower of hail and wind occurred here July 15th, and must have done considerable damage; some of the hailstones being found as large as the eggs of a hen." Monday, July 14th, on the recommendation of the General Court at Boston, with- out the advice of the Governor, was observed as a day of Fasting and Prayer on account of the perilous state of political affairs; but of the manner in which it was kept in this settle- -ment we have no record or tradition. In Meduncook, now Friendship, which was settled by the genuine sons of the Pilgrims, it was celebrated by meeting in the ministerial house and, after religious exercises, signing the Solemn League and Covenant, alluded to by Knox on a preceding page. This was a mutual pledge not to import, buy or use any British manufactures or other goods that shall arrive in America after the last day of August ensuing, and to break off all trade, commerce, and dealings whatever with the island of Great Britain and all persons who, preferring their own private interest to the salvation of their now perishing country, shall continue. still so to import goods, or shall purchase of those who do import, " until the Port or Harbor of Boston shall be opened, and we are fully restored to the free use of our constitutional and charter Rights." It was signed at Meduncook by 55 adults, male and female, besides many of their children.
a
The passage of the act alluded to, called the Boston Port Bill, the news of which arrived at Boston May 10, 1774, in- terdicting as it did all intercourse by sea with that place, had caused a scarcity of provisions and proved a great interrup- tion to the wood, lumber, and coasting business of the settlers here; whose trade was forced to Salem, Marblehead, and smaller places. Cord wood, the great staple from here, there found a less ready sale at greatly reduced prices; and its scarcity in Boston at the same time raised its price so high as to occasionally tempt a breach of the act by smaller craft, or
* James Fales's account book.
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the safer introduction of it by means of special passes granted by the official authorities of the Port. The sloop Sally of 50 tons, of this river, under command of James Watson, whom many of my readers may recollect to have seen in his old age, having gone into Marblehead with a load of this article, was . favored in this way, and duly cleared with a "Lett-Pass" at the Salem office for Boston with 30 cords of wood on the 14th of December, 1774. This, according to a tradition in the Watson family, was the first cargo taken into Boston after the passage of the Port Bill. His Lett-pass with Cocket an- nexed, reads as follows : -
" MARBLEHEAD IN THE PORT OF SALEM. "Lett-Pass.
" In pursuance of an Act passed in the fourteenth year of His present Majesty's reign intituled " An Act to discontinue in such manner and for such time as are therein mentioned, the landing and discharging, lading or Shipping of Goods, Wares, or Merchandise, at the town and within the Harbour of Boston," &c. SUFFER
"The Sloop Sally, James Watson, Master, 50 tons, - Guns, nav- igated with - men, plantation Built, registered at Boston, 13 Ap. 1774, to proceed to the town of Boston with Fuel, as per Cocket here- unto annexed, it having been certified to us by the proper Officers that the said Sloop hath been by them duly searched and examinedl. Custom House, Salem, the 14th of Dec. 1774, and in the 15th year of His Majesty's Reign.
"(Cocket.)
"Know ye That James Watson hith here entered Outwards for the use of the Town or Harbour of Be. ton, Thirty Cords Wood now on board the Sloop Sally, J. Watson, Master, bound for the Town or Harbour of BOSTON. Dated at the Custom House, Salem, the 14th Day of Dec. Anno Domini, 1774." These documents are sealed and signed in the margin, by R. Routh, Dept. Collector, C. Shimmen, Dept. Commissioner, and N. Taylor, Treasurer." *
This Capt. Watson continued to run the Sally, whenever it seemed prudent, as late as 1778,- a part of the time, as ap- pears from his book, in connection with Reuben Hall of War- ren. It would seem, also, that he had been, occasionally at least, in the sloop Three Friends ; as in the beginning of 1774 there are charges of wages paid Robert Young and others on board that vessel. Other vessels, mostly from the south shore of Massachusetts, were occasionally here; and one, name unknown, belonging to Capt. Mason Wheaton, with others above or below this place, were kept running awhile longer, as well as two or three from Wessaweskeag.
See the originals in possession of Messrs. A. W. & E. Brown of Thomaston. An entry by Jas. Fales says, " Boston Harbor was blocked up by the British in June the 20, 1774."
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
1775. But the time had now come when the commerce of the country and its affairs were to be subjected to other restrictions and to other authorities than those of the British parliament. During the interval between the legal authority of the Royal government, and the resumption of that of the Province in its own name, some authority had to be substi- tuted; and Committees of Safety and Correspondence were organized on this river as in almost all other places in New England, -who, without much regard to the habeas corpus and other personal rights and immunities, undertook to in- quire into the doings and designs of people in general, and to inspect, regulate, and in a measure control, all matters and transactions, as the public good in their judgment might re- quire. There being as yet no incorporated towns here, the inhabitants of the different settlements on both sides of the George's and at Wessaweskeag, about 250 in number, held a meeting early in the season, and seem to have directed Capt. Samuel Gregg, of what is now Warren, to enlist a company of minute men for the defence of the place and enforcing the regulations respecting coasters. In consequence of the British Capt. Mowett's conduct at Falmouth, Townsend, and Fort Pownal, in taking away cannon and ammunition, seizing and killing cattle, and committing other acts of arbitrary power, a part of these minute men were called into actual service ; and Capt. Gregg with 20 of his men well armed made a visit up the Penobscot to Fort Pownal, April 27th, to enquire of the commander, Thos. Goldthwait, the reason of his deliver- ing up the cannon to the British, and also to request a supply of arms and ammunition for the defence of the settlers here. These were obtained to the amount of 7 muskets, 10 lbs. of powder, and 24 lbs. of ball, for which a receipt was given by Gregg, Robt. McIntyre, and Benj. Burton, as a committee from St. George's. But as Goldthwait afterwards complained, apparently with justice, that this place was better supplied than he was, it is probable these stores were taken as a pre- caution against the suspected treachery of that officer and the improper usc he might make of them.
Another similar meeting of the people was held at the house of Micah Packard, on Tuesday, June 6, 1775, and, after choosing Mason Wheaton, moderator, and John Shibles, clerk, constituted the first Committee of Safety and Corres- pondence in the place of which we have any record ; consist- ing of M. Wheaton, Haunce Robinson, George Young, Wm. Watson, Samuel Creighton, Moses Robinson, Thos. Starrett, Jona. Nutting, and Elisha Snow.
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ROCKLAND AND SOUTH THOMASTON.
Four days after, this Committee met and ordered " that the money collected as a county tax be laid out in powder, lead, and other warlike stores," that the same be divided on June 14th at the house of Capt. J. Nutting, that Mason Wheaton be appointed to write to the Provincial Congress, Thos. Star- rett to receive the drum and colors, and that six pounds of powder be divided between Messrs. Dunbar Henderson, Geo. McCobb, and B. Burton, for alarming the inhabitants in case of need. A day sooner than that appointed for its division, the committee met and distributed their powder amounting to 90 or 100 lbs. between Capt. Hanse Robinson, Capt. J. Nutting, Moses Robinson, and Geo. Young, of what is now Cushing, Capt. T. Starrett and Samuel Creighton, of what is now Warren, and Wm. Watson, Elisha Snow, and Capt. M. Wheaton, of what was soon to be Thomaston. This dis- tribution was made for the convenient supply of the people of these places in any emergency, and also, probably, from the fear that, if deposited in one place only, it might be seized and carried off by the Tories, as one of the parties into which the people were now divided began to be called. The Com- mittee also ordered that if any vessel come into the harbor supposed to be of the Tory party, one or more of the com- mittee should take a sufficient force and go on board such vessel to make inquiries; that any persons that shall make parties against the committee of their orders shall be deemed tories ; that no mobs or parties join to go on board any vessels within our boundaries or do any unlawful action, without leave of the committee; that any person wanting to hire marsh or meadow belonging to the heirs of the late Brigadier Waldo apply to Capt. M. Wheaton, who should return the hire to the committee; and that this committee obligate them- selves to repay what moncy they shall receive of John Shibles, collector of the county tax, whenever it shall be demanded by the county. Mr. Flucker, the principal proprietor of the Waldo estate herc, having, as one of the Tory party, now left the country, this Whig committee seems to have deter- mined that one of its members should not be too much of a gainer from that absence, but voted that Mason Wheaton be accountable for what rents are due for the Waldo farm which he now enjoys. It was also voted " that Mr. Orquart's letter be recorded and sent to the Congrass." The person here named was the Rev. John Urquhart, a Scottish Presbyterian minister just settled by the inhabitants of the two townships on George's River, acting in their individual capacity, who preached in each place alternately and as a whig took an ac-
10*
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
tive part against the mother country in the politics of the day. Though his stated meetings for the Upper town were held in the old unglazed church built by Waldo in what is now Warren, he seems to have held occasional services in what is now Thomaston, as Mr. Watson notes in his account book, "July 9, 1775, Mr. Urquhart preached at Mr. Shibles's barn ;" when he ( Watson) paid him nine shillings. Tradition also speaks in high praise of a stirring discourse of his preached on Lime-stone Hill after the battle of Lexington, from the text, "behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth !" - and it is probable that his influence contributed much to the success of the Whig cause in this quarter.
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