USA > Maine > York County > History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 84
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TOWN OF BERWICK.
paid in lumber and labour at market price towards a Minis- ter's Settlement." On the 25th day of February, 1755, Mr. Morse presented through the committee his letter of acceptance of the call.
He was ordained April 30, 1755, and died November, 1764. He was a serious and godly young divine, whose brief ministerial life was adorned by Christian graces, and his qualifications for a pastor endeared him to his people ; his death was greatly lamented. He was succeeded by Matthew Merriam, who was ordained Sept. 25, 1765, a man of piety and influence, possessing rare ministerial gifts. He remained their pastor till his death, more than 30 years. He was succeeded by Joseph Hillard, a graduate of Har- vard College, who was ordained Sept. 11, 1797, and re- mained their pastor until 1825, when he relinquished his charge by reason of failing health. About this time the old church in Somersworth, N. H., was discontinued, and Reuben Porter, their pastor, came to preach in Berwick, at an unfinished dwelling-house on Bridge Street, belonging to the Great Falls Manufacturing Company. Mr. Porter continued his labors there until the organization of the first Congregational Church in Great Falls, N. H., which he supplied until Josiah Hawes, who had been supplying the church at Blackberry Hill, received a call, and was or- dained as their first settled minister in 1827. From this time the church at Blackberry Hill became extinct, but a small invested fund has served to keep up a parish organi- zation. Oliver Butler, father of H. A. Butler, Esq., of North Berwick, was the last clerk in 1838.
The old meeting-house continued to be used as a town- house until its destruction by an incendiary fire on the night of May 4, 1848. Some years previous it had been struck by lightning, and one of the large porches being displaced, it was removed to the house on the corner, and is still standing as the kitchen-part of the residence of Capt. Jacob Wentworth. The grave of Rev. Mr. Merriam occupies a part of the old church-yard with some of the early members of his pastoral charge.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Methodists first began to exert an influence in Ber- wick about 1810. Meetings were held in private dwellings in various parts of the town. About 1815-16 there were several revivals under the preaching of John Lord and others, and many were baptized. Although they continued to increase in numbers and influence, no meeting-house was erected exclusively for the denomination for thirty years, when a house was built in 1839 at the location known as Cranberry Meadow. The house took fire after it had been completed, and was consumed a few days before it was to have been dedicated. Another was soon after built, about a mile from the former, and dedicated by Rev. Gershom F. Coxe. A church was organized, and still continues in a prosperous condition. Membership, 57.
The meeting-house was moved to the village of Berwick, and finished January, 1876, during the pastorate of Rev. Isaac Lord, and dedicated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Foster.
Present officers: J. H. Corey, pastor ; John Gowell, John Hurd, C. H. Horne, Moses E. Clark, J. H. Downs, Elijah W. Hayes, James H. Clemmens, J. O. Gowell, stewards.
An act of the General Court of Massachusetts, passed Dec. 11, 1816, authorized the sale of the ministerial lands in the North Parish of Berwick, and the interest accruing on a fund so formed to " be appropriated and uniformly applied for the support of the Gospel Ministry in the said North Parish of Berwick." The town-house lot, formerly the site of the Old Blackberry Hill meeting-house, was sold in 1878, and the proceeds added to the fund, which yields an annual interest of about $70. This goes to the support of the Methodist, which is the only church in the town.
PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST.
Richard Tozer (so he spelled his own name) was known as Sergt. Tozer, and was a prominent man from 1684 to after 1723. It is said that he was captured by the Indians twice, and his wife three times. At one time her capture was attempted when she was boiling soap. This she threw upon the Indians, hot from her kettle, until they abandoned the attempt. She was one of the prisoners ransomed at Quebec in 1695. At her last capture her husband took the feather-bed upon his back for protection, and telling her that he would ransom her if he lived, retreated under cover of the house to the frozen river, into which he fell through the thin ice, and lost his bed. The Indians tracked him, saw the bed, and supposed him to be drowned. While he remained hidden upon the bank they pillaged and burned the house, and carried away the inmates. He then crossed the river and alarmed the inhabitants of Dover, N. H., who pursued them without success.
After the recovery of his family, Mr. Tozer erected the garrison which is still standing. He sold his place to Sam- uel Lord in 1734, and moved from the town. The garrison stands on the north side of the Boston and Maine Railroad, a third of a mile distant, and between the road leading from South Berwick to Great Falls. It is not greatly unlike the other old farm-houses, having been somewhat remodeled. The roof was blown off by a storm in 1830, and the father of Mr. John Spencer, the present occupant, removed the upper story. Its commanding position and solid, compact appearance is still suggestive of its early use, though the old stockade of upright sharpened posts has long since disappeared.
The old Wentworth House, half a mile to the north, was built about the year 1800, on the site of the house be- queathed by Paul Wentworth, with his barns and store- house, in 1747, together with six days in the upper mill on Salmon Falls, and land at the head of Berwick, joining Jeremiah Rawlens and Thomas " Douns." This was one of the earliest occupied points to the northward, and was the extreme settlement in the early Indian wars. It is now occupied by Daniel Wentworth, the youngest son of Tim- othy Wentworth, and sixth generation of the family in America. The will referred to also gave his " negro man Sampson, negro man Tom, negro woman Dinah, and negro child Tom" to his different heirs. Rev. Mr. Pike was made executor of the will.
BURIAL-GROUNDS.
On a knoll to the southward of the business part of Berwick village is an acre of land partly surrounded by
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HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.
a high bank wall and tall elms. Within this inclosure are many of the early dead of Berwick and their later desceud- ants. Some of these were soldiers in the first army of the republic. Others were in the last, and their graves bear throughout the year the faded flags placed there bright and new each decoration-day by their comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Among the noted graves are those of Elder Ebenezer Lord, who died in 1811, aged ninety-one; Rev. Noah Hooper, son of Rev. William Hooper, died in 1854, aged seventy-eight ; Richard Moody, died 1836, aged forty-six ; Jeremiah Locke, died 1858, aged eighty ; and the family monuments of the Horne, Lawrence, Moses, Longee, and Gibbs families. Frank Tuttle, M.D., and John McCrillis, M.D., both early physicians, are also buried herc.
The old burying-ground at Blackberry Hill and the Sul- livan ground have been abandoned, and many of the more honored inmates removed. Nearly every old family can look from the windows of the old homestead upon the graves of their ancestors near by. Many of these family grounds are finely kept.
SCHOOLS.
A school was kept in Berwick at the expense of the town as early as 1714. Mr. Rock was "called" to be school- master for £40 a year, in 1716. In 1718 it was voted that John Bradstreet shall keep school in the house by Mr. Spencer's till one is built for £40, in boards, at the market price, to be delivered to him when the sloops use the river. A school-house was built for him six rods northwest of a brook, upon the highway, near to Humphrey Chadbourne's new house. In 1724 there were two school-houses above Great Works River, one of which, twenty feet square and eight fect high, was on Baker Nason's land. In 1725, James Grant, the representative to the General Court, was authorized to hire a schoolmaster brought up at the college. The next master was James Pike, in 1726, and Joseph Newmarch, who taught reading, writing, and " cyphoring" in 1727. In 1749 school was kept in six places, two months cach, by one teacher. In 1751 it was voted that the master teach two weeks at one point, then two at another, returning. Rev. Mr. Moody taught one-half in each parish. In 1858 a whole-year school was kept in the upper parish. Fifty pounds were voted in 1761, and two " schools" kept. A committee " to better regulate schools for the future" was chosen in 1766, after which two schools were regularly kept. One hundred and forty pounds were voted for four five-months' summer schools in 1770. In 1790 a plan for the school was laid out agrecable to the new act, and teachers were required to have a certificate of " Morrell Carrictor." The appropriations were $150 in 1800; $1100 in 1825; 82000 in 1862; 83000 in 1872; and in 1878, 82500 by the town, and $4032 total expense for 563 scholars registered. There are 896 school children in the town, and 16 school-houses, representing an aggre- gate value of $16,800.
Three joining districts included in Berwick village joined to form a grammar school, and erected a fine three-story, wooden building, in 1872, at an expense of $9000. This was dedicated by Governor Sidney Perham, and other prom-
inent educators, on its completion. Its management has been successful under Professors Amos W. Pike, Mr. De Merret, and William S. Pierce, the present principal. School Supervisor, Elijah H. Hayes.
ASSOCIATIONS.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS.
Echo Lodge, No. 52, was instituted Jan. 14, 1876, by R. W. G. M., B. C. Stone. The first officers were Joseph E. Lord, N. G .; Alvin B. Spencer, V. G. ; John C. Hurd, R. S. ; Charles C. Wentworth, Treas. ; Chas. R. Bragdon, Warden ; John H. Stillings, Conductor ; Charles W. Gup- til, O. G .; Darius Blake, I. G .; Levi K. Brackett, Chap- lain. The officers in November, 1879, were Charles M. Guptil, N. G .; Daniel H. Toothacher, V. G .; Hiram Hurd, Sec. ; Chas. C. Wentworth, Treas. ; Hezekiah Fall, Warden ; Geo. W. Stillings, Conductor ; Walter S. Willey, O. G .; George W. Knox, I. G .; Levi K. Brackett, Chap- lain. The membership is 99. This association owns a fine brick building, 32 by 55 feet floor, and 3 stories high. The corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremony, Oct. 9, 1878, and the building dedicated by the A. W. G. M. of Maine, March 31, 1879. The lodge is in flourishing con- dition.
Golden Gate Encampment, No. 24, was instituted May 29, 1876. The first officers were Joseph E. Lord, C. P .; William H. Rich, H. P .; Frank P. Goodrich, S. W .; Benjamin L. Clark, J. W. ; A. B. Spencer, Scribe; C. C. Wentworth, Treas. ; Darius Blake, O. S. S .; Thomas A. Chadwick, P. S. S. ; John H. Stillings, Guide. The offi- cers in 1879 were Darius Blake, C. P .; Hiram Hurd, H. P .; Charles M. Guptil, S. W. : Frank B. Clark, J. W .; Levi K. Brackett, Scribe ; Charles C. Wentworth, Treas. ; Andrew S. Bradeen, O. S. S .; Fred. V. Stanley, I. S. S .; John H. Stillings, Guide.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF GOOD TEMPLARS.
Wilson Lodge, No. 75, was organized June 14, 1878, with 39 members. The officers were Rev. C. A. Wilson, W. C. T .; Miss Nettie Lord, W. V. T. ; Geo. S. Downs, W. Chap. ; F. H. Warren, W. Sec .; Miss Sadie Merrow, W. A. S .; Miss Nellie Tibbetts, W. F. S .; S. P. Brackett, W. T .; M. A. Hatch, W. M .; D. M. Frye, P. W. C. T. January, 1879, the lodge changed its name to Rescue. The officers in November, 1879, were C. E. Hutchins, W. C. T. ; John W. Downs, P. W. C. T. ; Daniel Hemingway, W. R. S .; W. S. Willey, W. T .; W. S. Fall, W. M .; Annie Hooper, W. I. G .; Daniel Edson, W. O. G .; Alice Curtis, R. H. S .; Nellie Jones, L. H. S .; Eunice Cooper, W. A. S. ; Delia Hodge, W. D. M.
PROMINENT MEN.
John Sullivan sailed from Limerick, Ireland, in 1723. The vessel was driven by stress of weather into York harbor. Being a man of education, on the recommendation of Dr. Moody, of New York, he was employed as a teacher at Berwick, where he opened his public schools,-one for boys and one for girls. These schools were opened but a part of the year. On his voyage out, his attention was at-
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RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM J. COPELAND, BERWICK, MAINE.
William
WILLIAM J. COPELAND, son of Rev. William H. Copeland, a resi- dent of Lebanon, Me., was born in Albion, Kennebec Co., Me., Jan. 24, 184I.
The Copeland family trace their ancestry to Sir John Copeland, who fought at the battle of Neville's Cross, during the reign of Edward III., Oct. 17, 1346, and with his own hand captured King David of Scotland, whom he bore from the field, with a company of attendants, and, proceeding to Calais, delivered him into the hands of his royal master, then in France. For this service he was created a banneret (an honorable order of knighthood) by the king, and given a pen- sion of five hundred pounds per annum. He was also made warden of Berwick, sheriff of Northumberland, and keeper of Roxburgh Castle. Lawrence Copeland, a lineal descendant of Sir John, from whom sprang all the Copelands in America, came to this country and settled at Mount Holliston, Mass., where he died Dec. 30, 1699, aged one hundred and ten years. Hon. Moses Copeland, a great-grandson of Lawrence, and from whom William J., the subject of our sketch, is a direct descendant in the fifth generation, went with his brother Joseph from Milton, Mass., to Warren, Me., in 1763, being among the early settlers of that place.
He was a man of great activity, shrewd, and calculating, and gained wealth and distinction, taking a prominent part in the enterprises nf the town. In early life he had served in the army, entering at seventeen ; was at Ticonderoga in 1758, and at the taking of Quebec the following year. Soon after his settlement in Warren be was appointed sheriff, and held the office eleven years. He also held the office of crier of the court several years. From constant contact with lawyers and observation of legal proceedings, he became the principal lawyer of the place, and his advice and assistance in legal controversies were the most valuable that could be obtained in that reginn.
This Moses Copeland was a cousin of President John Adams, and a descendant of John Alden on the maternal side.
William J. Copeland attended the common schools in Shapleigh and South Berwick, where his father was then preaching. In 1855 he attended the academy at South Berwick, and afterwards for a time
the West Lebanon and Limerick Academies, earning the money to defray the necessary expenses by teaching in the winter and farm labor in the summer, teaching his first school at Shapleigh before he was sixteen years of age.
He entered the office of Hon. Increase S. Kimball, of Sanford, Me., at an early age, where he pursued the study of the law until be was admitted to the bar, which was before he was twenty-one years of age. He then located in Presque Isle, Aroostook Co., where he entered upon the practice of his profession, remaining there until April, 1868, when he removed to Berwick, opposite Great Falls, where he has since resided, having established his office at the latter place. During the past ten years, it is safe to say, Mr. Copeland has attained a degree of success in his profession seldom enjoyed by any practitioner in the country outside the great cities; being attributable to his indomi- table energy, intense application, and thorough devotion to his pro- fessional work. With powers of physical endurance far greater than those with which most men are endowed, with a keen insight into human nature, and a strong love for the contests of the legal arena, he has the ability to command success in cases where others would see only failure from the start.
Mr. Copeland married, in March, 1862, Miss Ellen L. Wade, youngest daughter of Loring and Sarah ( Foster) Wade, formerly of Machias, Me., and a granddaughter of Col. Benjamin Foster, Jr., of Machias, prominent in the early history of that town. By this union he has had three children, all daughters, two of whom are living,- Mabelle, born April 10, 1864, and Kate, born Jan. 13, 1867.
In politics he has always been a Republican, but has never held office, or engaged in political life until during the campaign of 1878, in Maine, when he espoused the cause of the National Greenback party, and made several effective speeches upon the stump. In his private and domestic life Mr. Copeland combines the attributes of the gentleman with the nobler qualities of husband, father, and friend. His career has been singularly free from ostentation, and it is, perhaps, the absence of vainglorious display that lends a charm to his character, and sustains, despite all obstacles, bis ever-increasing popularity.
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TOWN OF BERWICK.
tracted to a pretty child nine years of age, named Margery Brown, whom he appears to have brought up as his own child, whom he afterwards made his wife, in 1735. He soon after purchased 70 acres of land, on the easterly side of the Salmon Falls River, near Great Falls, where he re- sided for sixty years. He died in May, 1796, in his one hundred and fifth year, and his widow died in 1801, aged eighty-seven ; they were buried upon the place which they occupied so many years, and which is now occupied by Winslow T. Ricker, Esq. On this farm were born John and James Sullivan. The former was a leader in the first overt act of the Revolution, a general in the war, and Governor of the State of New Hampshire; the other, the acknowledged leader at the bar, a Governor of Massa- chusetts, and who, by his speeches and writings, contrib- uted to the successful establishment of our national liber- ties. They were companions in counsel with Hancock and Adams, and in arms with Washington and Warren, and of whom Washington said that when a spirit of insubordi- nation or despondency prevailed in the army, all that he needed to dispel it was the eloquence of one of the Sulli- vans. From these men have descended some of the most pleasing orators and eminent men of New England.
Nathaniel Low, Richard Foxwell Cutts, and Capt. Elijah Hayes were delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and were all prominent men, filling public offices for a long period of years. Mr. Cutts was elected to the Senate in 1800.
Hon. John Hill was justice of the peace, member of the General Court, and a major in the army.
Col. John Plaisted was a prominent man in 1716.
Among the leading military men have been Capt. Moses Butler, Capt. Joseph Chadbourne, Capt. Philip Hubbard, Cols. Jonathan Hamilton, Love Keay, Moses Hubbard, Nathan Hobbs, George Hobbs, Elijah Hayes, Nathan Murray, Capts. Sheldon Hobbs, William Ilatch, and Jacob Wentworth.
Among the present leading citizens are Alvin B. Spen- cer, John H. Stillings, George W. and Frederick A. Lord, Richard L. Goodwin, Moses Clark, John Gowell, Darius Blake, Charles M. Guptil, Daniel H. Toothacher, L. R. Herson.
REPRESENTATIVES IN THE GENERAL COURT.
Capt. John Hall, 1711 ; Ichabod Plaisted, 1712; Capt. Elisha Plaisted, 1714; Capt. Samuel Plaisted, 1716-18; Capt. Elisha Plaisted, 1719-20 ; Humphrey Chadbourne, 1722; Elisha Plaisted, 1723; Capt. James Grant, 1725- 27; Roger Plaisted, 1730; Samuel Plaisted, 1731 ; Capt. James Grant, 1732 ; Richard Lord, 1735; William Ger- rish, 1753; Benjamin Chadbourne, 1756-58; John Smith, Jr., 1760 ; Benjamin Chadbourne, 1763-70 ; Capt. Nathan Lord, 1772 ; Capt. William Gerrish, 1774 ; Maj. Ichabod Goodwin, 1775-76; Col. Joseph Prime, 1778-79; John Hill, 1780-87 ; Richard Foxwell Cutts, 1790-91 ; Maj .- Gen. Ichabod Goodwin, 1792; Richard Fox. Cutts, 1793- 97 ; John Lord, 1798; Richard Fox. Cutts, John Lord,* 1800; Richard Fox. Cutts, 1801-3; Richard Fox. Cutts, Capt. Stephen Prime, William Hobbs, 1805-6; Nathaniel Nason, 1806; Richard Fox. Cutts, Joseph Prime, William Hobbs, Micajah Currier, 1808-9 ; Richard Fox. Cutts, Jo- seph Prime, William Hobbs, Benjamin Green, 1810-11 ; Micajah Currier, Richard Fox. Cutts, Joseph Prime, Wil- liam Hobbs, Joshua Chase, 1812; William Hobbs, Benja- min Green, Jedediah Goodwin, Jr., Richard Fox. Cutts, 1813; William Hobbs, Joseph Prime, 1814-15 ; Wm. Hobbs, 1816 ; none, 1817-18; Wm. Hobbs, 1819.
PROFESSIONAL. PHYSICIANS.
Among the earliest physicians was Dr. John McCrellis, who was here as early as 1730. Frank Tuttle, M.D., who was boro in 1826, died here io September, 1867. Na- thaniel Low practiced medicine here in 1784. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention, in 1787. Wil- bur Waadworth, a graduate of the Philadelphia, Pa., Eclectic College, commenced practice in Berwick in 1879.
LAWYERS.
Win. J. Copeland, a son of Rev. Mr. Copeland, of Great Hill, read law with Hon. I. S. Kimball, entered the prac- tice of law in 1858, at Great Falls, and has become prom- inent since 1870. J. G. Jordan was a prominent lawyer until his death, in 1873. H. V. Moore.
* In place of R. F. Cutts, elected senator.
NORTH BERWICK.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
THE town of North Berwiek is the northeastern half of what was left of Berwick after the incorporation of South Berwick, in 1814.
In 1713, when Berwiek was incorporated, it formed a portion of that town, and was a part of Kittery, known as " the Common," in 1652. The town of Berwick, which con- tained 31,650 aeres, was divided, in 1831, by a southeast line, commeneing on the line of Lebanon, and intersecting the head-waters of Frost Brook, which it followed to the South Berwick line. That part of the town lying to the east, including all but one range of lots of the old " Kittery Common," and containing 18,579 acres, was incorporated as the present town of North Berwick. Of this area uearly 14,000 acres are improved lands.
The town is bounded on the north by Lebanon and San- ford, on the east by Sanford and Wells, on the south by South Berwick, and on the west by Berwick.
The western line was continued southward to the west of Frost Brook in 1875, so as to form a right angle with the south line, and includes about 1300 acres formerly in Ber- wick.
The surface is moderately uneven, lying in ridges. Bonny Beag Hill consists of three rocky spurs in the northeast ; nearly to the summits of which, on the north and east, cultivated fields are found. Its name was given it by the Indians.
From the top of this hill a fine view of the surrounding country may be obtained.
The soil is fairly productive, though somewhat stony on the hills and ridges. Corn, potatoes, and hay are the lead- ing crops. Good erops of grass are produced on the inter- vale land of the Great Works, and also on Beech Ridge. Near the village, in the south part of the town, clay is found, from which a good quality of brick is made.
SETTLEMENT.
The Morrills and Purintons are generally supposed to have been the first settlers. Nicholas Morrill bought a large traet about Doughty's Falls, and about 1735 deeded the west side to Thomas Ilobbs, and the eastern side to Peter and Jedediah Morrill, his two sons. Peter lived a short dis- tance out of the village, where Morrill Sherburne now re- sides.
Thomas Hobbs, the aneestor of the Hobbs family in this town, came from Kittery in 1735. He first acquired a piece of property at the mouth of the Neguntaquit, where he built a saw-mill. J. E. Hobbs, a descendant of Thomas, holds deeds from the town of Kittery, of date as early as 1707.
The Hussey family were among the early settlers. Moses Hussey, the present occupant of the Hussey place, is of the
fourth generation from the first settler. The Buffums were among the early settlers in this vicinity.
The earliest settlers on Beech Ridge were Capt. William Hall, and Silas Hall, grandfather of Hon. John Hall. About 1775 they cleared farms, which are still occupied by their descendants. Benjamin, Joseph, Thomas, and Silas Hurd took up places about the same time. Silas Hurd, the old surveyor, bought a part of lot 36, in September, 1777. He came from Dover. Their descendants are worthy citizens, and retain in the family name the old homesteads.
On the road leading from the village to Oak Woods, above where the road crosses Great Works River, Jedediah Morrill settled. A descendant occupies the premises. John R. Randall settled above about 1774, and Mr. Buffum near him the same year. The settlers advanced north, and Daniel Quint, father of Daniel, settled on the southwest side of Bonny Beag Hill. The Staples family came from Kittery. They are said to have been true to the king. One was an officer under the crown.
In the north part of the town, above Bonny Beag, Chris- topher Hammond, grandfather of John H. Hammond, the present occupant, settled about 1810. Christopher Ham- mond came from Eliot, then Kittery, where numerous rela- tives still live. Samuel Hurd, father of Peter, settled where B. Walker now lives, and John Fall on the farm where Peter Hurd now resides. S. Roberts settled on the east side of the hill.
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