History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 18

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730

USA > Maine > York County > History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 18

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" It is therefore Resolved, That if the Committee appointed by the late Honorable House of Representatives of this Province to meet the delegates of the other colonies in General Congress at Philadelphia or elsewhere; and the other members of said Congress shall advise to a nuiversal withdrawment of our commeree with the Island of Great Britain until the aforesaid oppressive acts of Parliament shall be re- pealed, we will strictly adhere thereto; And as our dependence under God is chiefly placed in the steady pursuance of such wise measures as shall be recommended by the Congress ;

"We therefore Resolve, That whatever measure shall be hy 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 deliver- ance 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 eom- merce with such person, but will esteem and treat him as an enemy to his country.

(Attest) " RISHWORTH JORDAN, Town Clerk."

At a subsequent meeting, Dec. 22, 1774, a Committee of Safety and Inspection was appointed, composed of Rish- worth Jordan, Esq., James Sullivan, Esq., Capt. Benjamin Hooper, Thomas Gilpatrick, and 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 delegate inform the Congress that his constituents think best to keep their own money to form a magazine for their own defense."

PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION.

" Resolved, That R. Jordan, J. Sullivan, B. Ilooper, James Carlisle, Thomas Gilpatrick, Benj. Staples, Allison Smith, Josiah Stimpson, Jeremiah Hill, Jr., Simon Wingate, James Staples, Aaron Porter, and Jeremiah Cole be a committee to provide a town stock of six half barrels of powder, five ewt. of lead, and a sufficiency of flints, ac- cording 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 shatl become necessary to deliver the same to the said persons in the train-band or alarm-list. Also

" Resolved, 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 defense of their country.

" Voted unanimously. Attest,

" JAMES SULLIVAN, Moderator."

Mr. Sullivan represented the town in the Provincial Congress until its close, when he was appointed a justice of the Superior Conrt. Soon after that he removed his family to Groton, Mass.

" A profound respect," says Mr. Folsom, " was ever entertained by our inhabitants for the character and talents of Mr. Sullivan from the period of his first settlement 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 obligations which their favor had imposed on him. ' I have a grateful remem- brance,' he says, in a letter to Col. Tristram Jordan, 'of the marks of confidence and the acts of kindness done me by the people on your river, and whenever I can reciprocate their goodness, I shall cheer- fully do it.'"

The patriotie views of Mr. Sullivan, ably and eloquently expressed, at the commencement of hostilities with Great Britain, materially assisted in seenring a united support of the war, and a harmony and concert of action in both towns .*

" Rev. Mr. Morrill was ardently engaged in the same cause. This gentleman, in the language of one intimately associated with him at that period, 'was a superior man, of deportment noble and dignified, seldom equaled and never surpassed in this quarter. To this was added a capacity fully corresponding ; 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 inde- pendence, considering the general weakness or ignorance of the people, the value of such a man was incalculable. So deep an in- terest did he take in that all-important concern, 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 inde- pendence were easily disclosed and generally embraced. A remark- ahly close and friendly intercourse between Mr. Morrill and Mr. Sullivan, uniting their exertions, bore down all opposition.'"

The Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety in Biddeford for 1776 was composed of Benjamin Nason, Jonathan Smith, Joseph Morrill, John Dyer, and Amos Gordon. The following order of the Massachusetts Council, accompanied by a copy of the Declaration of Independence, was received and complied with at this time:

" In Council, July 17, 1776, Ordered that the Declaration of Inde- pendence be printed, and a copy sent to the ministers of each parish, of every denomination within the State; and that they severally be required to read the same to their respective congregations, as soon as Divine service is ended in the afternoon, on the first Lord's Day after they shall receive it. And after such publication thereof, to deliver the said Declaratioo to the clerks of their respective towns or districts, who are hereby required to record the same in their re- spective town or district books, there to remain as a perpetual memorial thereof. In the name and by the order of the Council.

" R. DERBY, President."

The Committee of Correspondence for 1777 consisted of James Sullivan, Esq., Joseph Morrill, Obed Emery, Joseph Tarbox, and James Emery. Thomas Cutts, Esq., repre- sented both towns in the Provincial Congress. Colonel Cutts was devotedly attached to the cause of the Revolu- tion, notwithstanding his private interests suffered by the war to a very great extent. Fortunately 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 principles in defense of which they took up arms.

Pepperellborough also had its Committee of Correspond- ence, chosen Nov. 9, 1774, and both towns acted in coneert. The first committee consisted of Tristram Jor- dan, 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 Con- gress." A separate Committee of Inspection was raised " to see that the several Resolves of the Continental, Pro- vincial, and Connty Congresses be complied with in said Pep- perellborough," consisting of Tristram Jordan, Esq., Dea- con Amos Chase, R. Patterson, Deacon S. Scamman, Jo- seph Libby, Humphrey Pike, and Dominicus Scamman. At the March meeting, 1775, it was voted "to divide the Militia Company of the District into four separate squad- rons, to exercise half a day and once in every week for three months to come, and to begin their exercises at two 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 paid at the Old Or- chard, so called; another, to be from Rnmery'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 Scarborough road, adjoining the parish of Dunstan, in that town. Rumery lived at the corner of Old Orchard and the Ferry roads. It was also voted "to pay James Sullivan, Esq., a proportional part of his time aud expense as a delegate to the Provincial Congress, with the town of Biddeford, for the time passed."

The Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety for the following year were T. Jordan, Esq., Deacon A. Chase, Deacon S. Seamman, Joseph Bradbury, and Richard Burke.

When the first blood of the war was shed at Lexington, York was the first town in Maine to send forward soldiers. News of the battle reached that town in the evening after the engagement. Early the next morning the inhabitants assembled, enlisted a company of more than sixty men, fur- nished them with arms and ammunition, and knapsacks full of provisions, and, under command of Capt. Johnson Moul- ton, they marehed fifteen miles on their way to Boston that day, besides crossing the ferry at Portsmouth. Capt. Moulton remained in the service, and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in Scamman's regiment.

In the summer of 1779 a meeting of the inhabitants of Pepperellborough was called to see if they would send a reinforcement 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

# Folsom's Saco and Biddeford, 279.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

to be drafted, except Lient. James Foss' son, who has 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 paid, the selectmen shall have full liberty to raise on the inhabitants of Pepperellborough, in conse- quence of a resolve of the Great and General Court, made and passed June 9, 1779. "The next year Capt. P. Jun- kins, Elisha Ayer, Nicholas Dennett, James Foss, and Thomas Dearing were chosen a Committee of Safety and Correspondence. And it was voted to raise three hundred and fifty pounds for the men raised to go to Camden, if they go, otherwise to be paid to the treasnrer for the town service." In October the town " voted to raise money to pay for the 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 acconnt, and not to exceed thirteen dollars, with the Continental pay per month." The town was required at this time to supply the army with eleven thousand and sixty-two pounds of beef. The last Committee of Safety was chosen in 1782, and consisted of Col. James Scamman, Capt. Joseph Brad- bury, Lieut. Sammel Chase, Lient. William Cole, and Mr. James Coffin.

A large proportion of the inhabitants of these towns were occasionally in the service of the country during the war. Demands for men and provisions were constantly occurring, and no towns were more prompt and liberal in contributing to the wants of the army in both particulars. The exact number of men furnished at different times cannot now be ascertained, the necessary documents having perished. We give a partial list, such as has been preserved in the valu- able history of these towns by Mr. Folsom.

"Col. James Scamman led a regiment to Cambridge early in 1775, and remained about one year. This gentleman was well fitted to shine in the military profession, possessing energy, vigor of mind and body, and gayety of temper that engaged the good-will and at- tachment of those under his command. We have been assured by those who served with him that his bravery could not be justly ques- tioned, and yet a misdirection of his regiment on the memorable 17th of June has been made the occasion of reproach. Col. Scamman received orders to repair to Bunker Hill; while on the march, learn- ing 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 hattle which followed on Bunker Hill. An investigation of the colonel's conduct soon after took place, before the proper tribunal, when he was honorahly acquitted. Attempts were, however, made to injure his reputation hy 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 hluck, where at that period they both lived. The latter suhse- quently built the house now occupied by his son, Ilon. George Scam- man. The colonel died in 1804, at the age of sixty-four years.#

"Maj. Ebenezer Ayer accompanied Arnold in the expedition to Canada through the wilderness of the Kennebec, and was distin- guished 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 seale the walls. Maj. Ayer afterwards served in the engineer department, with the rank of major. lle did not return to Saco at the close of the war.

"The late Jeremiah Hill, Esq., enlisted a company for three years' service, which he led to Boston. His brother, Daniel Hill (of Gor- ham), held the commission of ensign. This company joined the regi- ment of Col. Joseph Vose (of Milton), at West Point, and was at the taking of Bnrgoyne, October, 1777. Capt. Ilill returned at the expi- ration of one year, having resigned his commission. In 1779 he was appointed adjutant-general of the forces sent by the State to the Penohscot River.

" The following names are those of non-commissioned officers and privates in the Continental service from Biddeford : Bellamy Storer (a brother of the late Capt. Seth Storer), who died at Mount Inde- pendence, opposite Ticonderoga, 1776 ; John Hill, a bruther of Capt. Hill, died of smallpox at Brooklyn Fort, Long Island, the same year, where a grave-stone was erected to his memory. He was twenty two years of age at the time of his death; Jotham Hill, son of Mr. Eben- ezer Hill, died in the conrse of the war, near Albany ; John Peirce, lived at Limerick after the war; Aaron Gray (deceased), a prisoner under the act of 1818 ; Noah Smith, James Urian, Ezekiel Gilpatrick, John Griffin Davis, Samuel Gilpatrick, Nathaniel Gilpatrick, Caleb Spofford (died in the war), John Lee, Joseph Linscott, William Haley, James Pratt, Sylvanus Knox. Stephen Fletcher, Jonah MeLucas (died in the war), John Haley, died at Monnt Independence; Josiah Davis. Those surviving in 1830 were the following: Col. John Smith, of Hollis ; Jeremiah Bettis, Little River, in Biddeford; Ralph Emery, Philip Goldthwaite, keeper of the Wood Island Light-House; Pela- tiah Moore, Joseph Staples, Dominicus Smith, Benjamin Goodridge, and Joseph Ilanscomb, of Buxton.

" From Pepperellborongh (now Saco) the following persons were in the Continental service at some period of the war : John Googins, killed at the action at Hubbardstown, July 7, 1777, the day after the evacnation nf Ticonderoga by the American troops. John was in the rear-guard, commanded by Col. Francis, a very gallant officer, who fell in the same engagement ; Stephen Sawyer, son of David Sawyer, Sr., died in the army ; John Hooper, died during the war, at Boston ; Abiel Beetle, Nicholas Davis, Jonathan Norton, Daniel Bryant, James Scamman, son of Ebenezer Scamman, John Tucker, John Runnels, John Ridlon, John Carll, Ebenezer Carll, Evans Carll, William Carll (sons of Robert Carll, the name was often written Kearl), Levi Foss, Pelatiah Foss,-the last fell at Ticonderoga (sons of Walter Foss) ; Zachariah Foss, Elias Foss (sons of Joseph Foss), John Duren, An- thony Starbird, William Starbird, died in the army : William Berry, James Evans, Samnel Sebastian, died on North River ; Joseph Norton, Maj. Stephen Bryant, afterwards an officer in the militia; Josiah Davis, Josiah Richards."

Those living in 1830 were Ephraim Ridlon, Stephen Googins, who enlisted for the year 1776, and were in Capt. Watkins' company, under Col. Edmund Phinney, of Gor- ham. Ephraim enlisted again in 1777, in Col. John Crane's regiment of artillery, and was gone three years, two of which he was waiter to Gen. Knox ; Thomas Means served under Capt. Hart Williams, in Col. Phinney's regiment ; Solomon Hopkins, James Edgecomb, Solomon Libby.

A company was raised for a short term of service in Feb- ruary, 1776, from Buxton, Arundel, Biddeford, and Pep- perellborough, commanded by Capt. John Elden, of Buxton. The other officers were First Lient. Amos Towne, of Arnn- del ; Second Lient. Samuel Scamman, of Saco ; Ens. Jere- miah Cole, of Biddeford. The subordinate officers and privates from Biddeford were the following: Moses Brad- bnry, John Poak, Elijah Littlefield, Peirce Bickford, Phineas McIntire, Thomas Gilpatrick, William Nason, John Chase, Jonathan Stickney, Humphrey Dyer, Jacob Townsend, Timothy Cole, Jedediah Smith, Eliakim Tarbox, Jonathan Smith, John Gilpatrick, Chris. Gilpatrick, Dodi- vah Bickford, Benjamin Woodman.

# The following lines, furnished hy 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 Scaunman lies;

But every friend coneults hie heart, For there he never dies."

PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION.

From Pepperellborough : Jerathuel Bryant, John Muche- more, Daniel Field, David Clark, Abner Sawyer, Joseph Norton, Andrew Patterson, David Sawyer, Jr., James Edge- comb, Robert Bond, Daniel Field, Jr., Abraham Patterson, Moses Ayer, John Young, Hezekiah Young, Joseph Pat- terson, William P. Moody, Samuel Dennett, John Scam- man, Samuel Lowell. The company belonged to a regiment of militia under Col. Lemuel Robinson.

We find in the Buxton centennial the names of four from that town who served in this company, furnished by Cyrns Woodman, Esq. They were James, Joseph, Benja- min, and John Woodman,-the latter a sergeant; there were probably many others.

Of those from Arundel we find no record separate and distinct from that of those who served in other companies and regiments. Those from Buxton in Capt. Jeremiah Hill's company, of Biddeford, were as follows : Eddy Ward, sergeant ; Phineas Towle, sergeant ; John Elden, corporal ; Matthias Redlon, corporal ; John Cole, Nathan Woodman, Samuel Merrill, Jr., Robert Brooks, William Andros, James Redlon, Ezekiel Bragdon, John Sands, Micah Whitney, Jonathan Fields, Joseph Goodwin, Samuel Woodsom, Ne- hemiah Goodwin, Daniel Hill, ensign. These men enlisted May 3, 1775, and formed part of Col. James Scamman's (30th) regiment of infantry. Col. Seamman and Capt. Hill both resigned at the expiration of one year. Part of the company joined the regiment of Col. Joseph Vose, at West Point, and were at the surrender of Burgoyne. Part of them were in the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, in Capt. Jabez Lane's company. Some of them served with Washington in New Jersey and in the South- ern campaign. John Cole was at the battle of Monmouth, and Joseph Goodwin was with Washington when he crossed the Delaware.

The following are the names of Buxton men who were enlisted for three years and during the war by Capt. Daniel Lane, of Col. Ichabod Alden's regiment. The most of them were attached to the 7th Regiment, Col. Brooks', and were in the Ticonderoga expedition with the forces of Gen. Schuyler, and were present at the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga. They were enlisted from Nov. 14, 1776, to March 20, 1777, and were accredited to different towns in Massachusetts : Daniel Lane, captain ; David Redlon, Eb- enezer Redlon, John Wilson, John Woodman, Nathan Woodman, Nathan Woodman, Jr., Samuel Cole, Benjamin Elwell, John Elwell, John Edgerly, Isaac Lane, John Cole, John Cole, Jr., William Hancock. Also Samuel Woodsom, John Woodsom, and John Smith, all of Buxton, appear on the pay-roll of the company, October, 1778. Capt. Daniel Lane was a prisoner, and was released Sept. 16, 1777, by order of Gen. Burgoyne, on his parole, to go home to his family. He served in the war till Jan. 1, 1780.

Capt. Jabez Lane, also of Buxton, served through most of the Revolutionary war. He was captain of a company in the 6th Massachusetts Regiment, Col. Thomas Nixon. No muster-roll of his company has been found, but an ac- count kept with his men shows the following names of Bux- ton men, enlisted under his command : Benjamin Woodman, Phineas Towle, Lemuel Rounds, Robert Brooks, Elijah Bradbury, John Hancock, William Andros, Ebenezer Rid- 10

ley, John Boynton, Daniel Boynton, Ephraim Sands, Moses Atkinson, James Woodman, Stephen Whitney, Richard Clay; and from Goodman's Narragansett, Samuel Brooks and Ezekiel Bragdon are added, who enlisted in the com- pany March 14, 1776.

John Lane, of Buxton, raised a company in 1775, and was appointed captain of it. They were in Col. Foster's regiment eight months, and stationed at Cape Ann. At the expiration of this time they joined the regiment of Col. Varnum, on Long Island, and were engaged in a battle there. Col. Varnum's regiment was in the army of Washington, at Valley Forge, during the winter of 1777-78. The Buxton men, as far as known, were John Lane Han- cock, Elijah Bradbury, Joshua Woodman, Samuel Wood- man,* Abiathar Woodsom, and Samuel Woodsom.

Stephen Whitney, Abijah Lewis, and Theodore Rounds, from this town, were in the company of Capt. Hart Lewis, of Gorham. They marched to Cambridge in 1775, and thence to Ticonderoga, in Col. Phinney's regiment. William Davis, Jonathan Whitney. and George Berry (?) were in the company of Capt. Richard Mayberry, of Windham, 1Ith Massachusetts, Col. Benjamin Tupper; were at Bur- goyne's surrender and at the battle of Monmouth. Samuel Rounds, Benjamin Emery, and John Smith enlisted in 1779 in Capt. Alexander McLellan's company, Col. Jonathan Whitney's regiment, and were in the Penobscot expedition. Daniel Emery and Joseph Rounds were in Col. Phinney's regiment, and at Burgoyne's surrender. Thomas Harmon was an orderly in Washington's Life Guard. Caleb Hop- kinson was one of Gen. Gates' body-guard. Michael Rand served five years ; was under Gen. Stark when he defeated Col. Baum at Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777, and after that was with Gen. Greene at the South ; fought at Cowpens, Guilford Court-House, Eutaw Springs, and was at York- town at the surrender of Cornwallis, Oct. 19, 1781; was then discharged and walked home. Roger Plaisted and Joshua Woodman were in the navy. Ebenezer Smith, Gideon Elden, Winthrop Bradbury, and John Wentworth served in the Revolutionary army nine months.

The town of Kennebunkport (then Arnndel) took an early and active part in the struggle for independence ; the list of its soldiers, as also the lists for Wells, Kennebunk, York, Kittery, Berwick, Lyman, and the other towns rep- resented in the army, will be found, so far as we have been able to obtain them, in their respective town histories.

Among the important events which occurred during the Revolution in Maine was the burning of Falmouth by the British Capt. Mowatt, Oct. 18, 1775. Great distress prevailed in the eastern part of the province this year. Capt. James Littlefield, of Wells, was appointed deputy commissary-general for the three counties in Maine, and the Committee on Supplies was directed, during the recess of the Provincial Congress, to grant succor out of the pub- lic stores to any of the eastern inhabitants who might apply for it. The eastern Indians, soon after the Declaration of Independence, entered into a treaty of alliance with the Americans. Truck-honses had been established for their benefit at Fort Pownal and at Machias.

# Samuel Woodman was one of Washington's Life-Guard.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

In 1775 the Continental Congress first established a general post-office, and put it in operation from Georgia to Maine.

CHAPTER XXI.

UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

State Senators from Maine-County Attorneys-Circuit Courts of Common Pleas-Militia-War of 1812-Movement for the Erec- tion of Maine into a State-Brunswick Convention-Portland Con- vention-Adoption of the Constitution-Delegates who signed it from the Towns of York County.

UNDER the State constitution of Massachusetts, adopted June 14, 1780, Maine was constituted a district, entitled to four State senators. York County was allowed two, and Cumberland and Lincoln Counties one each. The senators elected for York County were Edward Cutts, of Kittery, and Benjamin Chadbourne, of Berwick. In 1800 seven senators were assigned to Maine, of whom York County had two. In 1811 the apportionment of State sen- ators allowed Maine ten, and seven representatives in Con- gress. The First Congressional District embraced most of York County, from which Hon. Cyrus King, of Saco, was returned. On the 24th of February, 1813, nine senators instead of ten were apportioned to Maine.

In 1807, under Governor Sullivan's administration, county attorneys were made appointable by the Governor and Council, instead of by the Court of Sessions, and held office at the pleasure of the appointing power. Those for York County under Governor Sullivan's and Gerry's ad- ministrations were Dudley Hubbard and William Pitt Preble.

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History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 18

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 730

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730