History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 3

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

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Although the ample preparations and other circumstances attending the expedition show that the adventurers intended to make a permanent settlement, yet a succession of pecu- liarly unfavorable circumstances terminated the hopes and the existence of the colony in one year from its commence- ment. They retired from the contest with savage and in- hospitable nature, not without strong prejudices against the country, feeling, as Capt. Smith expressed it, that it was " a cold, barren, rocky, mountainous desert." Prince says that " they branded the country as over cold, and not habit- able by our natives."

Capt. Popham died during the winter, which was one of great severity, and Rauleigh Gilbert was obliged to return to England on account of the death of his brother.

From this time for several years little was done on the coast of Maine except fishing and trading with the Indians. The two principal actors in these enterprises were Sir Fran- cis Popham and Sir Ferdinando Gorges,-the latter, as a future ruler, proprietor, and promoter of colonization, des- tined to play a very important part in the affairs of the country. In 1614 an expedition was fitted out by these gentlemen, under command of Capt. John Smith, "to take whales, and also to make trial of mines of gold and copper." If these failed, " fish and furs were then to be their refuge."t Smith adds,-

"We found this whale-fishing to be a very costly conclusion ; we saw many and spent much time in chasing them, but could not kill any : they being a kind of jubartes, and not the whale that yields fins and oil, as we expected."

They were also disappointed in the mines, and he thinks the representation was " rather the device of the master to get a voyage, than any knowledge he had of such matters." During this voyage, Capt. Smith left his vessel, and with

* In August, 1862, the Maine Historical Society and a very large concourse of people assembled here to celebrate the two hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the plauting of the colony.

+ Smith's New England, p. 175.

eight inen in a boat traversed the whole coast from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. He describes Casco Bay, and other places along the coast.

After speaking of Casco Bay, under the name of Auco- cisco, and describing it as " a large deep bay full of many great islands, he comes to Sawoco-tuck, in the edge of a large sandy bay, which hath many rocks and isles, but few good harbors, except for barks." This last. mentioned river was evidently the Saco, from which the last syllable ( if ever really attached to it ) was subsequently dropped.

In 1615, Capt. Smith was again employed by Gorges and others to visit New England with a view of beginning a settlement ; for this purpose he was furnished with two ships and a company of sixteen men as emigrants. But he was unsuccessful, being driven back to port in a violent sterm which carried away his masts; on the second at- tempt he was captured by the French. It does not appear that this celebrated adventurer came to America after 1614. He published his description of New England in London, in 1616, and died in that city, in 1631.±

Every year after this vessels were sent to the coast to trade with the natives and to fish, many of which made profitable voyages. In 1615, Sir Richard Hawkins sailed from England, with a commission from the Council of Ply- mouth to do what service he could for them in New Eng- land ; but on his arrival here he found a destructive war prevailing among the natives, and passed along the coast to Virginia.§ In 1616, four ships from Plymouth and two from London made successful voyages and obtained full cargoes of fish, which they carried to England and Spain. Sir Ferdinando Gorges also, the same year, sent out a ship under the charge of Richard Vimes, who afterwards became prominent in the early history of Maine, particularly in that portion of it of which it is the object of this work especially to treat. He passed the winter at the mouth of the Saco River, from which circumstance the place received the name of Winter Harbor, which it still bears.

The next settlement planted in Maine was that estab- lished by Sir Ferdinando Gorges, on the Island of Monhe- gan. in 1621. This plantation was established as a fishing and trading post, but it had become of sufficient importance to draw thither for supplies the people settled in Massa- chusetts Bay, during the hard winter of 1623.|| This was the first settlement which continued for any considerable length of time within any part of the territory of Maine. We find also that a settlement was commenced at New Harbor, on Pemaquid, in 1625, which continued to in- crease without interruption till the destructive war of 1675.||

CHAPTER II.

PATENTS GRANTED BY THE PLYMOUTH COUNCIL.

Sir Ferdinando Gorges-His Agency in Procuring the New Charter -Council for the Settlement and Government of New England- Landing of the Pilgrims-Summary of Grants made by the Council.

A NEW movement was now about to be made for the more effective colonization of the country. Sir Ferdinando

# Willis' History of Portland. 2 2 Prince, p. 43. "[ Ibid.

PATENTS GRANTED BY THE PLYMOUTH COUNCIL.

Gorges, whose commercial operations on the coast of Maine had already become conspienous, was the prime mover in a petition to the king for a new charter prescribing a defi- nite extent of territory, the necessary powers and privileges of the patentees, and giving an exclusive right to the soil and to the management of the fisheries and trade within its limits. The charter was granted on the 3d of November, 1620, its corporators consisting of forty noblemen, knights, and gentlemen, who were collectively styled " THE COUN- CIL ESTABLISHED AT PLYMOUTH, IN THE COUNTY OF DEVON, FOR PLANTING, RULING, AND GOVERNING NEW ENGLAND IN AMERICA." Among the gentlemen com- prising this Council were the Duke of Lenox, the Mar- quises of Buckingham and Hamilton, the Earls of Pem- broke, Arundel, Bath, Southampton, and Warwick; Sir Edward Seymour, Sir Dudley Driggs, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Sir Francis Popham, and many other distinguished men and dignitaries, designed to give strength and charac- ter to the movement in view of which public attention was largely attracted to New England.

The more zealous and prominent men in the Council were two who may properly be placed . at the head of the list. One was Sir Ferdinando Gorges. He had been presi- dent under the former charter ; his many years' experience of the country, through his various agents, had given him a knowledge of New England which no other member pos- sessed ; and the settlement of the country was still his fa- vorite pursuit. Capt. John Mason, returning home about this time from Newfoundland, of which he had been Gov- ernor, also exhibited great courage and confidence in the cause ; and when there was an occasion to fill an early vacancy in the Council, he was elected a member and became the secretary .*

The territory granted in the charter embraced all the country between the fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. It included in width the whole coast line between Pennsylvania and the Bay of Chaleurs, which opens into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The charter of 1606, and all the settlements made and possessions acquired under it, were expressly recognized by the new charter. The privileges granted in the former were confirmed, such as the rights of citizenship, the ex- clusive trade and fisheries within the limits of the grant, importation from England free of duty for a period of seven years, and the right to expel all intruders. The coining of money and the settlement of Catholics was prohibited in the colonies. This charter, which existed upwards of fourteen years, or till its surrender to the king, in 1635, is the foundation of all the subsequent patents by which New England was at first divided, and its settlements and colonies located and limited.

In order to clear the ground of difficulties which may otherwise arise in our future history, it may be well, before proceeding further, to give a brief summary of the grants made by the Plymouth Council during the period of its existence as a body corporate.

It may be remarked here that the movement of the

Pilgrims, which resulted in their settlement at Plymouth, Mass., had no connection with the doings of the Plymouth Council, which was not fully organized until after they had undertaken their voyage. Indeed, the charter was granted only seven days previous to their arrival at Plymouth Rock, on the 10th of November, 1620. Without any concert with the patentees, without their concurrence, in fact, with- out any design of their own, it would appear they had reached a place on the shores of New England, in the affairs of which, and of the county at large, they were des- tined to exert a controlling influence. This company of Pilgrims started from Leyden, Holland, to which they had before removed from England, determined to seek security and freedom of worship in the wilderness of America. In the summer of 1620 they commenced their voyage for the Hudson, designing to make a settlement somewhere on that river or in the vicinity ; but, either by design or acci- deut, they fell short of their destination, and landed at Cape Cod on the 10th of November. Here they determined to remain, and selecting a spot, previously named Plymouth on Capt. Smith's map, established there the first permanent settlement in New England. The French had then a plan- tation at Port Royal, Nova Scotia, and the English had settlements in Virginia, Bermuda, and Newfoundland.

From this brief digression we return to the grants of the Plymouth Council.

1. On the 10th of September, 1621, the northeastern part of the territory included in the charter was granted by James I. to Sir William Alexander .; This was done by the consent of the Council, as Gorges expressly declares. The grant, to which the name of Nova Scotia was given, extended from Cape Sable north to the St. Lawrence; it included Cape Breton, all the islands within six leagnes of the eastern, western, and northern shores, and within forty leagues south of Cape Sable. In 1622, Sir William Alex- ander subdued the French inhabitants within his grant, carried many of them prisoners to Virginia, and planted a colony there himself.

2. On the 10th of August, 1622, the Council of Plym- outh granted to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason " all the lands situated between the rivers Merri- mack and Sagadahoek, extending baek to the great lakes and river of Canada." This grant was called the province of Laconia, but it retained that name only for a short time. In 1623 the proprietors sent over David Thompson, Edward and William Hilton and others, who commenced a planta- tion upon the west side of the Piscataqua River, which was the first settlement in New Hampshire, and the beginning of the present city of Portsmouth. Gorges and Mason con- tinued their joint interest on the Piscataqua, having pro- cured a new patent in 1630, including all their improve- ments ou both sides of the river. In 1634 they made a division of their property, Mason taking the west side of the river and Gorges the east side, each procuring distinct patents for their respective portions. The grant to Mason became New Hampshire; that to Gorges, New Somerset- shire, afterwards changed to Maine. Gorges did not con- fine his attention exclusively to Piscataqua. In February,

# Belknap's New Hampshire, p. 14.

+ 2 Prince, p. 1Il.

Į 2 Hazen, p. 387.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

1623, we find that he had already the plantation established upon the island of Monhegan, referred to in the preceding chapter, which had been founded at a considerably earlier period, -some think before the landing of the Pilgrims. The plantation is admitted to have been in existence in 1621, and how much earlier cannot be positively deter- mined. It was a well-known settlement in 1623, as is proven by the faet of the Plymouth colonists coming here for provisions in the winter of that year.

3. On the 9th of November, 1626, the Council of Plym- outh granted to the New Plymouth Company a tract of land on the Kennebec, which was subsequently enlarged so as to include the Penobscot, the company having erected a trading-house on Bagaduce Point, at the mouth of that river. They also erected a trading-house on the Kennebec, in 1628, and supplied it with corn, and the necessary accommodations for trade up the river .*

4. In 1628, Thomas Purchase settled at Pejepscot Falls, now Brunswick, having, in connection with George Way, obtained a grant of land of the Plymouth Council. The name of Mr. Purchase appears frequently in the early political affairs of York County. He was a fisherman, and trader with the Indians, prior to the war of 1675. The land ineluded in his patent subsequently passed into the hands of the Pejepscot proprietors.t

5. In 1628 the Massachusetts Bay Company procured a charter from the Council of Plymouth, and in June sent over Capt. John Endicott and a few associates to take pos- session of the grant. They arrived in September, at Maum- beag, now Salem, and laid the foundation of that respect- able town and the colony of Massachusetts Bay.

6. In 1629, Aldworth and Elbridge sent over to Shurte a patent from the Council of Plymouth for twelve thousand aeres of land on Pemaquid. A settlement was made on the grant the same year, as appears from the wording of a subsequent grant. Thomas Elbridge, the son of Giles, the patentee, came over a few years after, and held court within this patent, to which " many of the inhabitants of Mon- hegan and Damariscove repaired, and made acknowledg- ment of submission. This court was probably at a later date than the one held at Saco in 1635.

7. On the 12th of February, 1629, the Council of Ply- mouth made two grants on the Saco River, each being four miles upon the sea and extending eight miles into the country. The grant upon the west side of the river was made to John Oldman and Richard Vines Oldman had lived in the country six years, partly within the Plymouth and partly within the Massachusetts jurisdiction, and Vines had become acquainted with the country by frequent voyages to it, and by spending one winter in the place where his patent was situated. He took possession of his grant June 25, 1630, and entered with zeal and ability into the means of converting it into a source of profit. This patent, in later years called the Biddeford patent, was the foundation of the present flourishing city of Biddeford.

The patent upon the east side of the river was given to Thomas Lewis and Richard Bonython. The patentees undertook to transport fifty settlers here in seven years at their own expense. Livery of seizin was given June 28, 1631, and the proprietors in person successfully prosecuted the interest of their patent. This patent was the beginning of the settlement which has since grown into the prosperous city of Saco. This subject will be found more fully treated in the histories of Biddeford and Saco, farther on.

8. In 1630 the colony of New Plymouth procured from the Council a traet of land fifteen miles wide on each side of the Kennebec, extending as far up as Cobbiscontee. Under this grant they carried on trade with the Indians upon the river for many years, and in 1660 sold the title, for £400, to Messrs. Tyng, Brattle, Boies, and Winslow.§

9. March 13, 1630, a grant was made to John Beau- champ, of London, and Thomas Leverett, of Boston, Eng- land, of ten leagues square between Muscougus, Broad Bay, and Penobscot Bay. Large preparations were imme- diately made for carrying on trade there, and agents were employed. This was originally called the Lincoln grant, and afterwards the Waldo patent, a large part of it having been held by Gen. Waldo, to whose heirs it descended. It now forms the county of Waldo.||

10. In 1630 the Council of Plymouth granted to John Dye and others forty miles square, lying between Cape Porpoise and Cape Elizabeth. This was named the Pro- vinee of Lygonia,f though commonly known as the " Plough patent," probably from the ship called the " Plough," which brought over the first company. They arrived at Winter Harbor in the summer of 1631, in the ship " Plough," but not being satisfied with the prospects of the country, most of them continued on to Boston and Watertown, where they were soon broken up and scattered. In 1643 the grant fell into the hands of Alexander Rigby, under whom a government was established, which will claim our attention farther on. The claim to soil and sovereignty in the Province of Lygonia, as it was called, occupies con- siderable space in the early history of this portion of Maine and of York County, and gave birth to a conflict with Gorges and his heirs, which was only finally settled by the submission of all the contestants to the authority of Massa- chusetts in 1653 and 1658.

11. The next grant we meet with was that of Black Point, now Scarborough. This was made by the Council of Plymouth to Thomas Cammock, Nov. 1, 1631. It ex- tended from Black Point River to the Spurwink and back, one mile from the sea. Cammock is supposed to have been a relative of the Earl of Warwick, one of the members of the Council. He was one of the company sent to Piscat- aqua, and was there as early as 1631. Possession of his grant, which included Stratton's Island, lying about a mile from the Point, was given him by Capt. Walter Neal, May 23, 1633 .** The patent was confirmed to him by Gorges

$ 2 Prince, p. 62. + History of Brunswick.

¿ In 1675 there were no less than one hundred and fifty-six fami- lies east of Sagadahock, and near one hundred fishing-vessels owned between Sagadahock and St. George's River .- Sitrauns Darin' state- ment to the Council in 1675.

¿ Archives of Maine Historical Society.

Willis' History of Portland.

" From William Lygon, of Madresfield, Worcestershire, an ancestor of the Earl of Beauchamp, and father-in-law of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. See Gorges Genealogy, chap. v., this work. ** York Records.

FIRST CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN MAINE.

in 1640. The same year he gave a decd of it to Henry Jocelyn, to take effect after the death of himself and wife. He died in the West Indies in 1643. Jocelyn married his widow, Margaret, and came into possession of the whole estate. The tract is now held under this title by convey- ances from Jocelyn to Joshua Scottow, July 6, 1666.

12. Dec. 1, 1631, the Council of Plymouth conveyed to Robert Trelawny and Moses Goodyeare, merchants of Plym- outh, England, the tract lying between Cammock's patent and the bay and river of Casco (Fore River), extending northward into the mainland as far as the limits and bounds of the land granted to the said Thomas Cammock do and ought to extend .* This included Cape Elizabeth, but Winter, the agent of the proprietors, contended for a larger extent north, which, under the management of Winter's attorney and executor, Robert Jordan, led to a severe contest of many years' continuance. The limits claimed included nearly all of the ancient town of Falmouth and part of Gorham. The claim, after several attempts to establish it, was finally decided against Jordan, and wholly relinquished by his heirs.

13. In 1634, Edward Godfrey procured of the Council of Plymouth a grant for himself and associates, Samuel Maverick, William Hooke, and others, of twelve thousand acres of land on the north side of the river Agamenticus. The same year another grant was made, of twelve thousand acres, on the south or west side of the river, to Ferdi- nando Gorges, grandson of Sir Ferdinando.

Edward Godfrey had settled at Agamenticus (now York) in 1629, five years before his patent was obtained. He was for several years an agent for the Laconia Company at Piscataqua. After he established himself in Maine his ac- tivity and intelligence soon brought him into notice. Sir Ferdinando Gorges appointed him a councilor of his prov- ince in 1640; in 1642 he was mayor of Gorgeana ; he was chosen Governor by the people in the western part of the province in 1649, and was the first in Maine who exercised that office by election. He died about 1661.

All the grants which we have thus briefly alluded to were made by the Council of Plymouth, notwithstanding the patent to Gorges and Mason of 1622, which nominally covered the whole territory. From this circumstance it is reasonable to conclude that the patent of 1622 was unexe- cuted, and that no title passed by it. Such we find to be the fact. In the opinion of Sir William Jones, the attor- ney-general in 1679, it is stated that " the grant was only sealed with the Council seal, unwitnessed, no seizin endorsed, nor possession ever given with the grant .; It is obvious that the conveyance must have been incomplete, for Gorges himself was sitting at the council-board, and was a party to all the subsequent conveyances. Besides, he and Mason both procured new grants in 1630 to portions of the same territory lying on each side of the Piscataqua River.

# York Records.

+ 1 Hutchinson, 258; Hubbard, 614.

CHAPTER IIL.

FIRST CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN MAINE.

Rulers Appointed by the Council of Plymouth-Operations of Gorges at Agamenticus-The Council Surrender their Charter-Government formed under William Gorges-First Courts at Saco-New Charter obtained by Sir Ferdinando Gorges-Peculiarities of his Govern- ment over the Province of Maine.

THE first civil rulers in Maine were those sent over by the Council of Plymouthi,-Robert Gorges, Francis West, and William Merrill,-who were invested with authority to superintend and manage all the public affairs of New Eng- land. Gorges was a son of Sir Ferdinando, an active, en- terprising man and a brilliant officer. He was commis- sioned lieutenant-general and governor-in-chief of the coun- try. His Council was to consist of Francis West, Christo- pher Leavitt, the Governor of New Plymouth, and such others as he might select. Francis West was commissioned admiral of New England, with special instructions to re- strain all unlicensed ships from fishing or trading within the limits of the Plymouth patent, or to exact penalties from all interlopers. He proceeded to execute his orders with so much rigor that the fishermen and traders revolted against his authority. He returned to England only to find that the mariners had preferred charges against him before Parliament for interfering with their rightful em- ployment, and had requested an order to make the fisheries entirely free. The Commons, being opposed to exclusive corporations created by the king, were ready to view the charter of the Plymouth Council as a public grievance. Sir Ferdinando was called to the bar of the House to an- swer for his management, and that of his associates. He defended the conduct of the Council with great spirit and ability. The matter was laid before the king, who refused to revoke the charter ; nevertheless, the Council, in defer- ence to public opinion, concluded to suspend their opera- tions, and call home the Governor. Thus, in about a year from its inauguration, the first attempt at a general govern- ment of the colonies proved a signal failure.

Disappointed with the general state of affairs, Sir Ferdi- nando Gorges now turned his attention to the establishment of an independent colony at his own expense. He selected for his site the river Agamenticus, which afforded a good harbor at and above its mouth, on both sides of which he procured by patent from the Plymouth Council twelve thousand acres of land. The immediate management of the settlement was intrusted to William Gorges, his nephew, " a young gentleman of rank and ambition, and to Francis Norton, who, having risen by his own merits to a lieutenant-colonel, was desirous to perpetuate his fortune." Sir Ferdinando bestowed special attention on the new colony, and expended his fortune freely to promote its interests. He provided his first company of emigrants with every facility to make a successful beginning in a new country. The first company sent over by him embraced artisans, mechanics, and husbandmen. He supplied them with implements and machinery to clear away the forests, manufacture lumber, build mills and ships, and cultivate the soil. This settlement hecame in a few years the capi- tal of the province, and the first incorporated city on the

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

continent of North America. The history of this city, however, and of the remarkable form of government estab- lished for the province, belong to a later period than that of which we are now speaking.

The affairs of the Plymouth Council becoming compli- cated and wearisome to the corporators, they resolved to surrender their charter to the king. Before doing so, how- ever, they divided the territory of Maine between three of the patentees. Gorges' share extended from the Piscataqua to the Kennebec, or Sagadahock ; another portion lay be- tween Sagadahock and Pemaquid ; the third extended from Pemaquid to the St. Croix .* The proprietors of the two latter divisions are not named, and there appears to be no evidence that any occupation was had of them under this title. The prospect of trouble with the French at that period, who claimed as far west as the Kennebec, probably deterred the proprietors of these eastern grants from making any attempt to settle their patents. Gorges considered him- self peculiarly fortunate in securing that portion of the ter- ritory about which there was no dispute with the French.t In the instrument of surrender the Council provided for all existing titles made by them, and prayed the king to con- firm the grants which they had divided among themselves. These were recorded in a book which accompanied the sur- render. The division among the patentees was made by lot, on the 3d of February, 1635, the grant was executed April 22d, and on the 7th of June, following, the President and Council made a full transfer of their charter to the king. They, at the same time, urged upon the king the necessity of taking away the charter of Massachusetts Bay, and of appointing from among the lords proprietors a gen- eral governor for the whole country. This met with some favor, and probably would have been done but for the breaking out of the civil war in England, which soon ensued.

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History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 3

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