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 30
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 30
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 30
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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 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
Whilst the North Parish was thus disappointed in its pleas- ing expectations, in the First or South Parish a serious awakening had commenced under the auspices of Elder Snow, which, by the accession and aid of the Rev. Samuel Baker, rapidly spread and soon became the greatest revival ever experienced there. Not far from 150 persons were baptized and received into the church as the fruit of this work, which continued several months. Mr. Baker, then a Methodist minister, had, about the time of its commencement, visited the place ; and soon after, Feb. 4th, 1808, was re- baptized, admitted to the church, and ordained, March 31," 1808, as the colleague of Elder Snow. He was then young,
* H. Prince's Journal; who notes, on the day of the ordination, ' weather moderate."
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possessed of good natural 'talents with some literary ambition ; and his discourses, differing considerably from those of Mr. Snow, attracted greater numbers, and crowned his labors with great success.
In 1808, an association called " the Temperate Society" was formed in the Southern division of the town, and held its meetings at stated intervals by rotation at the houses of its members, for the double purpose of promoting social inter- course and moderation in the use of ardent spirits, - the more safe and effectual remedy of letting them entirely alone, being at that time unthought of. This being the first step taken toward checking the great evil then pervading the land, · we give the names of some of those known or believed to have belonged to it; viz., H. Prince, then of St. George, Elisha Snow, Jr., Wm. Russ, Wymond Bradbury, Joshua Adams, and Josiah Ingraham.
The first gristmill, built by Elder Snow at Wessaweskeag, having been consumed by fire, a second one was this year built, at the same place, by him and Mr. Coombs; who sub- sequently bought out Snow's part and became sole owner. Another fatal accident occurred in that part of the town, the present year, by which Timothy Spalding (2d), a lad twelve years of age, was drowned at the mouth of the river on the 10th of July.
The town in 1808 chose no less than fourteen inspectors of lime-a number nearly equal to one half of the.lime-kilns in operation.
The disastrous effect of the embargo upon the prosperity of the place, began to manifest itself in the diminution of the school tax from $1500, as it had been for the two previous years, to $1000, as also in the election of Mason Wheaton, republican, with Joshua Adams, federalist, as representatives in the General Court, against Dr. Isaac Bernard, the opposing candidate to each of them. This apparent staggering of the party, however, beneath the burden that so heavily pressed upon it, was in this town but temporary ; for in the following year, 1809, the republican candidate for governor received a majority here, of more than two to one ; and Drs. Dodge and Bernard, of the same party, were elected representatives.
1809. The sch. Aurora, built the previous year, at Stack- pole's shore, on George's River. this year proved a total loss to her owners, Messrs. Stackpole, Jacobs, Keith, and others. She sailed on the 4th July, 1809, from Wessaweskeag River, loaded with lumber, and navigated by Capt. Isley of this town, before mentioned, and a crew of five men, among whom
.
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was John Leeds, then residing in the Clark or Bradford house. She arrived safe at her destined port at Bristol, England, where the captain, too much engaged in dissipation, paid lit- tle attention to the lading of the return cargo, which, being mostly of iron, overloaded the vessel to such a degree that, when she came out, the water was standing on deck and warning was given the captain that she would never reach port in safety. This proved true; at the end of 70 days, her sails and rigging having become much worn, she at length shipped a sea, which threw her upon her beam ends, and car- ried away her foremast whilst in the water. By the exertions of the mate and crew, she was kept above water two or three days; when a Scituate vessel took them off, with their imbe- cile captain, and carried them into Halifax, N. S. From that place they found their way home as best they could. This was Isley's last voyage from this port. He removed to War- ren, kept a tavern there some years, but finally left his home and wife, found temporary employment at Baltimore, and never returned.
The weather of February, 1809, was remarkable for the severity of the cold, with frequent badly drifting snow storms. All the rivers and harbors were frozen up. The snow was very deep, and sleighing continued more than three months prior to April 1st. Wild animals, though now thinned by advancing settlements, were still productive of trouble. Saml. Fales, at the Beech Woods, missed six or eight sheep, and, after much search, was unable to find them. Shortly after, Nathaniel Fales (3d), who had been aiding his brother-in- law, Blood, to construct his log house, returning thence through the woods or bushes, saw a crow fly up at a little distance, and having the curiosity to go and see what she had been feeding on, soon found the carcass of a sheep buried in the leaves. Others were discovered round about; and, in a clear space of some 14 feet square in the midst of a spruce thicket, he came upon a large mound of dry leaves, and on his coming up close to examine it, a large bear, roused from her sleep on the other side, rushed by him with such velocity that he plainly felt her shaggy coat, or the wind of it, brush his clothes as his dog took after her. The marauder escaped, however, unharmed; and the dog with a loud yelp returned, discomfited
The Fourth of July was quietly celebrated at Wessawes- keag, and an oration delivered by Rev. S. Baker. At the same village a ship named the Holofernes, built, as before mentioned, by Elias Phinney, was launched at the yard of VOL. I. 24
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
Elisha Snow, jr., Nov. 23, 1809, -being the second of her class built on that river, -one only having been previously built by Snow and Spalding for men in Boston, about 1805. Phinney's master builders were McLoon and L. Hayden of this town, who emploved Weston of Warren to aid and su- perintend the work. The commercial restrictions, however, and the war that followed. prevented the sailing of this ves- sel, and she lay in the river till the close of the war in 1815. A similar fate awaited the "Bristol Trader," a ship built by Charles and William Pope, on a wharf which they about this time constructed above Watson's ferry-way on the George's, since called Pope's, or G. Robinson's, from its ·successive owners, and now, we believe, the Commercial wharf. The Popes, originally from Spencer, first commenced business in Union ; but about this time removed here, and traded at first in partnership, afterwards separately - William at the wharf and Charles at the Prison corner. But the building of this ship, and the subsequent obstructions of trade, clouded their prospects, and they eventually relinquished business here, - William, about 1821, returning to Spencer, and Charles be- taking himself to teaching and other employments, being at one time deputy sheriff. The ship, after the peace, was pur- chased and rigged by Mr. Paine, and for many years plied between here and Bristol, England, under command of Jas. Spalding.
It was during the depression of business of this year that a new trader was added to the Shore settlement in the person of Iddo Kimball, from Bradford, Mass., who, having at the age of three years lost his mother, and on the subsequent death of his father been denied any share of the estate on pretence of some want of formal legality in the marriage, was early left to his own resources. Acquiring some educa- tion, he had spent the preceding winter in teaching school here, and now returned in the autumn with a small stock of goods that were most in demand among the Shore settlers, such as ox-bows, white beans, dried apples, cheese, thick boots, &c., -thus humbly commencing a mercantile career of long continued and uniform success. With that career, com- menced and gradually grew up the business of that part of the town, now Rockland city, to an extent and degree equally unexampled. To its prosperity his scrutinizing mind and sound judgment contributed no small share; as did also his example of devout strictness to that of the Congregational Church in that place, of which he was long a deacon and bountiful benefactor. Having great power of concentrating
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his thoughts on a single subject, he engaged in few unprofita- ble speculations, and amassed a large property, which at the time of his death was appraised at $136,179,45; after re- tiring from business and suffering much from mental depres- sion and a temporary loss of sight, he planned, amid the in- firmities of age, and, by his single energy, brought to comple- tion, the most expensive brick block then in the county, which remains a memento to the people of Rockland of one of its ablest business fathers. As an evidence of the little advance made in the place at the time of Mr. Kimball's coming, it is stated that the whole of Ulmer's Point was, this year, 1809, offered to Daniel Emery for the sum of $500, with his own note only for security ; and nothing was more common than for the Shore people to resort to the store of Win. Hovey in Warren, or J. Paine in the western extremity of Thomaston, for the purchase of English goods .*
The tax for schools was this year reinstated at its former rate, $1500. In like manner the town, or rather the North Parish, seems to have re-awakened in some degree to the im- portance of religious instruction. Rev. John Lord had sup- plied the pulpit, with some interruption, from Aug. 30, to Dec. 7th, 1808 ; during which time, a proposition was made for settling him ; and, after several conferences between him and the parish committee, and several meetings adjourned from time to time, a committee was appointed, Feb. 7, 1809, to make arrangements for his installation. For this, $50, subsequently increased to $100, were appropriated; and his salary seems to have been fixed at $500, until he, on the one side, or two-thirds of the parish voters on the other, should give one year's notice of a wish for a discontinuance of the connection. The installation took place on the 15th of June, 1809; the ministers invited, being Huse of Warren, Coch- rane of Camden, Johnson of Belfast, True of Union, Cutting of Waldoborough, Kellogg and Payson of Portland, Blood of Buckstown, Webster of Hampton, N. H., and Morse of Charlestown.
The same day a Church, the first in the place of the Con- gregational order, was duly constituted, consisting of the fol- lowing members, viz., -Rev. John Lord, Elias Phinney, David Fales, Jr., Chas. Bradford, Perez Tilson, Andrew El- lison, Reuben Fales, Sarah Stackpole, Elizabeth Paine, Sarah Lord, Nabby Fales, and Elizabeth P. Bradford.
* Hon. I. K. Kimball of Rockland; Obituary, and Inventory ; Capt. D. Emery of South Thomaston.
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
Mr. Lord came from Lyme, Ct., graduated at Dartmouth College, 1799, was a man of some talent and energy, and is believed to have been a faithful laborer in the vineyard: But be lacked the prestige of youth ; the times were hard; the parish taxes were collected with difficulty, even on a com- mission of ten per cent. to the collector ; the community was rent by civil dissensions ; and, after mutual consultation, the parish and pastor, Aug. 18, 1810, came to an agreement that he should leave on the first of May, 1811, his salary be con- tinued to the 15th of June succeeding, and six per cent. in- terest allowed him on such parts as remained unpaid. During his ministry, two baptisms, only, took place ; and four female members, viz. : - Mary Ellison, Sarah Vose, Melinda Tilson, and Hannah Fales, were added to the church. Of Mr. Lord's subsequent history, no particulars have come to our know- ledge, except that he died in 1839, at the age of sixty-six.
1810. This year, no inspectors of lime were chosen by the town, as they had been annually since 1796. The omis- sion was in consequence of a law then recently enacted, which provided for a general inspector of lime for the three towns of Warren, Thomaston, and Camden, with power to appoint deputies, for whose conduct he was to be responsible, and receive from them a given per centage of the fees. The inspector first appointed under this law was Ebenezer Thatch- er, Esq.
Among the disasters of this year, the sloop Margaret, be- longing to Mr. Ulmer, and commanded by Capt. James Sears of the Shore, loaded with plaster and bound south, was lost on that day, long called the cold Friday, Jan. 19, 1810, in a. tempest of snow and N. W. wind. She probably sprang a leak, and sunk with all on board, among whom, besides the captain, were Jonathan Spear (3d) and - Gray of this town. Capt. James Watson, at his home on Watson's Point, thus makes note of the weather at this time, in his account book. " 1810, January about the 20th, on Saturday the Cold Snow; Sunday and Monday veary Cold; pretty Cold till February the 9th. River full of Ice."
About this time, Sullivan Dwight came to the place and established at Mill River the first successful marble manufac- tory; which he carried on with such spirit and enterprise that Thomaston marble soon came into fashion, and found a ready sale in all the principal seaports in the Union. A sec- ond factory was subsequently established by his apprentice, John O'Brien, in connection with J. Ruggles; and at still later periods the business has been carried on with success by
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Otis Edgarton, and continued in company with his son to the present day, as it was also by Joel Levensaler till interrupted by death ; - both of whom were also among Dwight's ap- prentices. Col. Dwight was possessed of a fine taste, a mechanical genius, and a love of natural science. He early led the way in that cultivation of flowers, trees, and shrub- bery, which has since added so much to the beauty of Thom- aston. His services in the militia, also, were highly appre- ciated at the time, and contributed much to its martial ap- pearance and discipline. His æsthetic enjoyments were keen ; but he, with the family he reared, fragile as the flowers he cultivated, has been carried away by that destroyer, consump- tion ; and his residence passed into other hands.
1811. The pressure of the times continuing and increas- ing, the North Parish did little during this and the two suc- ceeding years, except making sundry abatements of taxes, and raising such further sums as were necessary for the pay: ment of Mr. Lord. In the South Parish, on the contrary, an extensive revival was experienced, and fifty new members were added to the church. But the relaxation or reaction which often succeeds such periodic revivals, seems to have given Mr. Baker leisure for further investigation, and led him into doubts respecting certain tenets held by that church. These he was too honest, and too destitute of worldly pru- dence, to conceal. His candor as a Methodist had led him to listen to the arguments of Mr. Snow, and his promptness in following the conscientious convictions of his understand- ing, had induced him to adopt the conclusions which that gentleman's vehement acuteness of logic rendered plausible, and which seemed so efficacious in awakening the thought- less and converting the sinful. Now, however, he began to inquire, "if the tenet be true that the atonement had made salvation sure to all for whom Christ died, and the equally plain declaration of Scripture that Christ tasted death for all men, be also true, why then is not salvation sure to all?" These doubts were freely expressed ; and, in spite of all re- monstrances, he soon became an open advocate of universal salvation. For this cause, after having enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his people for about five years, he was excluded from the church in 1813. The same year he so far entered into political life as to be elected representative to the General Court, together with Dr. Dodge. The latter felt little sympathy with either this society or its pastor, and when inquired of in Boston in regard to his colleague's change of sentiments, used
24 *
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HISTORY OF THOMASTON,
to reply, jocosely, " he has such a set of people to deal with, that he can get them to heaven in no other way."
Instead of a fish committee, the town, in 1811, chose seven fish wardens ; in order, we suppose, to conform more literally to the Act of 1795, regulating the shad and alewife fisheries in the counties of Lincoln and Cumberland. At the same time a vote was passed "not to take up Wheaton's Mill- dam to make Fish-ways the present year" -from which we infer that the shad and alewives then taken in Mill River
were very inconsiderable. The same fishery in George's river was chiefly prosecuted in Warren, whose particular priv- ilege it was, till the adoption of a new law, in 1844, by which its management was surrendered to wardens chosen by this town, Warren, Cushing, and St. George, and since which large quantities of alewives have been annually taken here in seines and weirs.
A committee was this year appointed to see about relin- quishing a small corner of the eastern landing-place, which had been purchased by the town near Spear's wharf, and upon which buildings were standing ; which corner was supposed to have been included by mistake in the conveyance. This committee's report was accepted by the town, May 27th; but the dispute continued until May 11, 1819, when the town, rather than lay out a road for Capt. Wm. Spear, the only alternative that would satisfy him, voted " that the selectmen be empowered to re-convey the town landing near Spear's wharf to Wm. and Jonathan Spear, the original owners."
In consequence of the embargo, non-intercourse, and other restrictions, which had nearly annihilated foreign trade and greatly embarrassed the general business of the country, new channels began to be sought out for the employment of cap- ital and enterprise. Scamen, no longer finding employment at sea, began now to look for it on shore ; and fishermen, to some extent, were driven to draw subsistence from the soil rather than the waves. Farmers, instead of further encroach- ing upon their valuable forests of lumber, began to clear up their waste lands and extend their fields and pastures. Many sold out or abandoned their mortgaged farms, and invested the scanty remains of their fortunes in the cheaper lands of our own or the more inviting soil of some western State. Others searched for wealth beneath the soil, attempting the discovery of hidden ores and minerals, which, for want of a foreign supply, were now at high price and in great demand. Among the many localities subjected to searching operations, Thomaston was selected at an early period. Brown Stimp-
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son, then of Boston, and engaged in mercantile pursuits, first called attention to the subject; and, having made several ex- plorations, he collected specimens which, on examination by those supposed to be skilled in mineralogy, were pronounced favorable indications of coal. Thus encouraged, he proceeded to bargain with sundry individuals for the right of digging and carrying off ores and minerals from their several lots ; and, the present year, 1811, took deeds to that effect from Oliver Robbins, 170 acres ; James Fales and James Fales, (3d), 150; Lydia and William Killsa, 55; B. Blackington and John Spear, enough to make up in all 680 acres. Shares of these rights were disposed of by him to Warren Dutton, Isaac P. Davis, Jos. R. Newell, John Heard, Jr., Dr. Wm. Mead, and others, of Boston. After some explorations, these were joined by several able and enterprising individuals of Thomaston. In 1816, the right to dig on large tracts of land, was purchased by Col. Dwight, Esq. Gleason, and Aaron Austin; and these with their associates were, in 1818, in- corporated into the Thomaston Coal and Mineral. Company. Under this act, the first meeting of the company was called by notice in the Portland Argus, and held at Gleason's tavern May 19th; when, and at other meetings here and at Boston, by-laws were passed, and a vote to divide the stock into 3000 shares ; 500 of which were reserved to be vended to defray company expenses. Being now duly organized, the company purchased of Messrs. Dwight, Gleason, Austin, and Stimpson, who had then become a resident of Thomaston, their several claims to minerals, at $1000 each, and Saml. Parkman's sim- ilar claims on three several lots the soil of which he had pre- viously sold to Tolman, Sherer, Marsh, and Norwood, for $10. In 1819, after several abortive meetings, a tolerably full one was held at the house of J. Dwight in Boston, Aug. 7th, when directors were chosen and a vote passed to refer to the next meeting the question "whether any means should be taken to continue the business of searching for coal." After other adjournments and transferring the books and papers to this town, the confidence, especially of the Boston members, having abated, a meeting was called July 19, 1820, at Mr. Gleason's ; but it is believed none took place, and nothing more was done by this company for the next twelve years.
Early in September of this year, a beautiful comet was ob- served above the western horizon in the evening; which, as it receded from the sun, increased in splendor and magnifi- cence for weeks and months, and, as it moved northerly, was visible also, mornings, in the N. E., - a spectacle of rare beauty to some, and of terror and ominous import to others.
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CHAPTER XV.
AFFAIRS OF THE PLACE DURING THE WAR OF' 1812.
1812. WM. White, Esq., who had been in practice of the law in Union since 1809, opened, this year, an office in town near Gleason's tavern; where he remained for a short period and then removed and spent the remainder of his life in Belfast. He was a native of Chester, N. H., and a grad- uate of Dartmouth. Another lawyer's office was also opened about this time by Joseph Sprague, Esq., at Mill River, whose quiet and unobtrusive life henceforth mingled, to its close, a genial element in the society of Thomaston. This year, also, the place received the accession of Jeremiah and Joseph Berry, two masons, who came from Portland, and to whose labor and skill in their vocation the place has been much indebted for many of its earlier substantial buildings. The former, after serving in the war then pending, settled at the Shore, where he many years kept the principal public house, and by industry, enterprise, and public spirit, did much to promote the growth and prosperity of what is now Rockland, leaving sons equally enterprising. His brother Joseph settled in the western village, and left no posterity, in- deed, but many mementoes of his interest in the public wel- fare.
From the pressure of the times and the gloomy prospect of the war, the school tax was cut down to one-half that of the preceding year, $500 only being voted for schools. Not- withstanding the hardness of the times and the apprehensions of further suffering, the town, though now by a somewhat diminished majority, maintained its allegiance to the Repub- lican, or as it now began to be called the Democratic party, and, in May, sont three representatives of that political school to the General Court.
Having been thus pledged to the party which commenced · and was carrying on the war against England, declared by Congress on the 18th of June, the inhabitants of this town did not content themselves with a pledge only, - but took immediate measures to aid in its prosecution and prepare for their own defence. At the most busy season of the year, July 9th, a town meeting was called and a vote passed " to give the detached troops, when called into actual service, $15 per month in addition to their other pay." The following votes were also passed; 1st. "to petition to the General government to grant us the aid of one or more Gun-boats or
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Batteries, as they shall think proper, for the protection of Owl's Head Harbor ; " 2nd., that " I. Bernard and Jos. Ingra .. ham, Benj. Webb, J. Adams and Otis Robbins, Jr., be a com- mittee to petition for that purpose ;" and 3d, that " Dr. Webb, Major J. Spear, and E. Thatcher, Esq., be a committee to con- fer with neighboring towns on Penobscot Bay, and concert measures with the General. Government for defending the waters of that Bay by similar aid." At this time, it should be recollected, the idea of meeting the enemy at sea (most successfully practised afterwards) had not entered the mind of the administration and party in power; whose favorite policy was to sell off or dismantle the ships of war so long the pride of our patriot Knox, to save them from falling a prey to the superior power of the British navy, and to rely on gun-boats and floating batteries alone for the defence of our harbors and sea-ports.
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