USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Waldoboro > History of old Broad Bay and Waldoboro, Volume 1 > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
Waldo's father Jonathan had died in 1731 while his son was in England fighting the Dunbar commission. Since he had been one of the Twenty Associates in the Muscongus Patent, Samuel found himself on his return in 1732 possessed of his father's interest in the grant; and for his services to the proprietors while in Eng- land, he was granted a further substantial interest in the patent on October 19, 1734.23
Waldo promptly had his parts set off in severalty. These included the lands on both the Medomak and the Georges. Experi- ments made with the limestone on the latter river having demon- strated its excellent quality, the proprietor promptly had a kiln erected and started the burning of lime for the Boston market. He also began at this time surveys in the area and formulated his program for extensive settlements. These preparations met the decided disapproval of the Indians who had consistently objected even to a fort on the Georges. Hence in April 1735 Waldo went to his outpost and conferred with the Penobscot sachems in an effort to mollify them. On this visit of the proprietor, a number of prospective settlers gathered at the fort, attracted by the liberal terms which Waldo had advertised.24 These men came from Pema- quid and the settlements farther westward. The agreement entered into with these people in April of this year led in the following year, 1736, to the first permanent settlement on the Georges River. Throughout 1735 Waldo made preparations for his new colony; he erected a sawmill, surveyed the lots, and in November realized the need for holding a second conference with the Indians, whom he seemed to reconcile to his program in so far as they understood it.
At this time, or very shortly thereafter, began Waldo's strug- gle with Governor Jonathan Belcher. Their differences originated in an undercurrent of opposition in Boston to the new settlement projects. Doubts were expressed and rumors circulated relative to the validity of the Waldo title to eastern lands. Since all this would
23York Co. Deeds, Bk. 24, p. 213.
24\Valdo's Adv. of Eastern Lands (Boston, Mar. 3, 1734), given in James Truslow Adams, Revolutionary New England, p. 147.
64
HISTORY OF OLD BROAD BAY AND WALDOBORO
have a deterring effect on prospective settlers, Waldo was led, in order to offset this grapevine opposition, to publish in 1736 a pam- phlet entitled, A Defence of the Title . . . to a Tract of Land . . . Commonly called Muscongus Lands,25 which set forth in some de- tail the proof of his legal ownership. For all this covert opposition he blamed primarily Governor Belcher, whom he especially felt was trying to thwart him by lining up the Indians against his projects.
The Muscongus Grant was but one of several land develop- ments in Maine which intrigued Samuel Waldo. He was even at this time engaged in large plans with Thomas Westbrook for indus- tries on the Stroudwater River in Falmouth. There were also lands on the Sheepscot in which he maintained an interest. This latter enterprise had come about in something of the following way: In 1663 three Indian sagamores gave a deed to lands on both sides of the Sheepscot to George Davie, an English seaman from Corn- wall or Devon, who took up residence there until driven out by the Indians in King Philip's War. He returned only to be driven off in the Second Indian War. About 1729 resettlement of this area was undertaken; and the heirs of Davie residing near Portsmouth thought it best to dispose of their holdings. Among those becoming interested by purchase in the Davie claim were William Pepperell of Kittery, John Frost of Newcastle, N. H., Samuel Daggett of Marshfield, and Job Lewis, Thomas Boylston, Samuel Waldo and Thomas Hubbard, all of Boston, who at once organized for the concerted management of their property in this district.26
The Muscongus Patent, in contrast to these others, was Waldo's own individual sphere and the focus of his interest and activity, inasmuch as at this time he had settlements on both the Medomak and the Georges. In his frequently published circulars encouraging settlement on his grant, he always gave expression to the generous sentiment that from such enterprises he entertained no hope of profit or gain. This was the thinnest sort of propaganda. His primary objective at this time in promoting his settlement was commercial advantage and money-getting. With large and flour- ishing colonies on the Medomak and the Georges feeding the Boston market through him its cordwood, staves, lumber, lime, and fish, and he in turn providing these growing communities with hardware, cloth, provisions, tools, in short with all manufactured necessities, here, indeed, was a virtual monopoly and a handsome profit. The dream picture was destined to change somewhat with the lapse of time, but such it was in the 1730's.
Difficulties continued, however, to interject themselves. The settlers on the Georges having pushed up beyond the falls, the
25 Archives, Am. Antiq. Soc. (Worcester, Mass.).
26William D. Patterson, Sprague's Journal, XIV, 165-166.
65
The First Settlers
Indians became threatening and set forth a strong remonstrance. This was a bad situation for Waldo as the savages had it in their power to wipe out in a night everything that he had accomplished in these parts. As it was they showed more than their usual restraint when they marked a tree on the shore at the head of tidewater and forbade all white men to take up lands beyond it. Unable to get satisfaction from the foolhardy settlers or proprietor, they sent a delegation to Boston to lodge a protest with the General Court. They represented Waldo's tenants as "encroaching on their lands and rights to such a fearful extent that they could no longer endure the sight of such flagrant wrongs."
The proprietor had plenty of enemies in the government, and this protest accordingly found the Court sympathetic. The com- mittee to which their protest was referred reported that neither "Mr. Waldo nor any others ought to be protected in settling or improving any lands, on that river above the falls until this govern- ment shall be satisfied that these lands have been fairly purchased." Here again by inference doubt was cast by the Court upon the legality of the claim. Waldo staged a stiff battle against the report, but despite this it was accepted by the Legislature, and the Indians returned home well satisfied and bearing presents worth £100, the gift of the Court to their tribe.
Here again doubt had not only been publicly cast on the legality of Waldo's eastern claims, but the use of the lands in his Muscongus grant limited. Rightly or wrongly he thought he dis- cerned the frustrating hand of Governor Jonathan Belcher, and in his mind it became clear that he could not hope to push his plans as he wished for settlements on the Medomak or St. Georges as long as Belcher was at the head of the government in Boston. With this conviction clearly defined in his mind, he again took his depar- ture (1738) for England as the representative in the field of various political and economic factions bent on ousting the governor. The principal co-conspirator was William Shirley, Waldo's attorney in Boston, whose covert ambition it was to succeed Belcher as Gov- ernor of Massachusetts. The story of this conspiracy is revealed in some detail in Shirley's letters to Waldo in England. William Shirley was an extremely competent personage and later as gover- nor a popular and able executive. His duplicity as revealed in this correspondence is by no means unusual in the annals of political intrigue. A few excerpted sentences introduced here from these letters will not only shed light on the personalities and methods of both men under the conditions faced, but will also reveal the energetic Waldo at his covert labor of dislodging one more obstruc- tion from the path of his program in the Waldoborough and Georges areas.
66
HISTORY OF OLD BROAD BAY AND WALDOBORO
William Shirley to the Duke of Newcastle, Boston, N. E., March 3, 1738:
Having thus broke in upon your Grace, I must further beg leave just to mention my uneasiness at Mr. Waldo's indiscretion in his Appli- cation to yr. Grace in my favour: The Account which he has sent me of his intruding on your Grace in Sussex, and his manner of soliciting for me since, has given me no small pain. It is what I was much sur- prised at, and if I had been consulted in it, should never have consented to. I am well satisfied of Mr. Waldo's friendship for me, and hold myself much obliged to him for his good intentions; but I can appeal to my own letters to Mrs. Shirley27 and Mr. Waldo's letters to me for a full proof, that he had no commission from me to be so troublesome to your Grace.28
This letter reveals Shirley's fear of a lack of due tact on Waldo's part, rather than his indifference to an appointment as Belcher's successor.
The balance of the excerpts in the following paragraphs, bearing on this conspiracy, are taken from the Knox papers,29 and from those letters sent by Shirley to Waldo in London while he was indefatigably laboring with others to bring about the over- throw of Belcher. It was Shirley's role to remain in Boston and there collaborate under cover with Belcher's foes, advising those working in London and keeping Waldo supplied with funds for their common aim. So deep was Waldo's hatred of the governor that it was his avowed purpose to ruin himself if necessary in order to ruin Belcher. Shirley, in his letter to Waldo of April 15, 1739, had suggested that the latter bear his part of the expense of (Shir- ley's) obtaining the commission of governor on the grounds that Waldo would reap advantage from having his friend in such an office.
It would be the means of your own [Waldo's] saving a large sum of money by means of my interest. ... As to your calculation of the profits, I have no great notion of the 1/3 of Sheriff's fees, nor above £500 sterling commission in lands. . . . But you overrate the neat profits of that post, and Clerk of the Inferior Court of the County of Suffolk .. .. And as to your assurance of Mr. Phip continuing to be Lieut. Gov'r, if he quits upon terms as I propose, your word will be kept, and you may have that post if you please.
At this point there is set forth by Shirley a series of acts on the part of Belcher which were to be used by Waldo to weaken the governor before the Ministry by placing an unfavorable inter- pretation upon them:
27She was in England at this time.
28Correspondence of Wm. Shirley, ed. by Chas. H. Lincoln (New York; Macmillan Co., 1912), I, 14-15.
29 Archives, Mass. Hist. Soc. (Boston, Mass.).
67
The First Settlers
I must own that I think . .. . there is much in what Mr. Paris says of keeping up the resentment of the Lords, and not letting it flag or cool. ... I should think it would be of service, if you was to take an opportunity of convincing Mr. Holden30 what a stalking horse the Gov'r makes of religion; how ridiculously he stopped at the Quakers' Meeting House on his way to Piscataqua, and after they had done preach- ing, telling 'em in the Meeting House that he liked them very well, and had a great esteem for Quakers. .. . I am much surprised at Mr. Cor- nelius Waldo's31 behaviour; he declared to me over and over that you had to his certain knowledge a clear estate of more value than £80,000, and wondered that Mr. Fanueil should be so scrupulous as to insist on that particular security, and yet he does it in effect at the same time.32 .... I doubt not when the Grand Enemy33 is removed, but the In- dians34 will be complying enough, and I shall not scruple to act in favor of the settlements without an instruction.
On May 9, 1739, Shirley wrote to Waldo the following, apparently as a spur to Waldo's efforts:
His Exc'y and I had a quarrel in the Province House upon his threat- ening me about my being too busy in executing the Commissions of the Ld's of Admiralty. He also talked to me so insolently about your affairs concerning which he tells me he has wrote home volumes, and talked in such a manner that if you had heard him, it would have galled you to the heart; as it did me; . . . he threatens you much: And in short he must be got out, or I don't see how you can return in any comfort for the rest of your days.
The remainder of this correspondence addresses itself to in- trigue of every order, with the one end in view, viz., the removal of Belcher.35 Success eventually crowned these efforts, and in 1741 William Shirley succeeded Belcher as the Governor of Massachu- setts Bay. With the accession of his friend, the way was opened for Waldo to prosecute his program of settlement on the Mus- congus grant without the obstruction of his powerful enemy, and with the support, secret and open, of the government in Boston. He could now treat with the Indians with ample backing and map his ambitious plans for settlement according to his pleasure.
The foundations of the two colonies on the Medomak and Georges had been laid in 1735-1736. The origins of both were a part of one and the same plan and were begun at the same time. În April 1735 Waldo spent some time on his great estate and it was in this month that he had a considerable number of prospective colonists shown the sites on the two rivers. These men who gath- ered to meet the proprietor and to hear his terms were from Pema-
30 A nonconformist London banker and generous friend of the Puritan Church in New England.
31Cousin to Samuel.
32The reference is to a loan which Shirley was negotiating in Waldo's behalf, for which the security was a mortgage on Waldo's home.
33 Belcher.
34The Penobscots.
35"Shirley-Waldo Correspondence," Am. Hist. Rev., XXXVI, No. 2 (Jan., 1931).
68
HISTORY OF OLD BROAD BAY AND WALDOBORO
quid, Boston, and all parts of New England. A majority preferred the site on the Georges, and a minority elected to take up land and establish their residence on the Medomak. In the summer of 1735 Waldo had the survey made for his "town of Leverett." This was the first step taken in the direction of the systematic settlement of the present town of Waldoboro. Prior to this time the white man had, according to extant evidence, pushed his clearings up the river as far as Broad Cove. Before this, back in the seventeenth century, early settlers at Pemaquid and New Harbor had beyond question explored the Medomak to its falls and beyond, staked out their claims there, and quite probably erected cabins and started to improve the land. It would be folly to try to say, in fact, it will never be known, who first built a lonely cabin and made a home along its upper shores; but the settlement of 1736 is a verifiable fact supported by conclusive evidence.
The first Waldoborough, or "the town of Leverett," was located on the east side of the river and covered a territory of con- tiguous farm lots from a point about 100 rods below the present Farnsworth Point, reaching up the river to approximately the location of the present Trowbridge's Point in the heart of the Slaigo district. From this point up the river a gap occurred in which no lots were occupied until a point just below the first falls was reached, where the settlement was resumed, reaching up into the valley along fresh water for about two miles.
On the southern tip of the settlement below Farnsworth's Point was Lot No. 30, next north was No. 29. Both lots were of 100 acres, 40 rods in width, running back from the shore of the bay a due east course until the 100 acres in each lot were completed. These lots were allotted to Thomas Yeates in 1736, but the legal transfer of title was made by deed on January 26, 1743, to land "in his actual possession now being by virtue of a grant made formerly to him." Yeates, a farmer, received this land by paying five shillings for each lot, and "forever hereafter the annual rent of one peppercorn if lawfully demanded."36 It is probable that Yeates was a member of the Yates family of Pemaquid, and that he moved up to Broad Bay from the Peninsula in 1736. He seems to have taken refuge in Massachusetts during one of the subsequent Indian wars, for on August 13, 1761, he sold one of his lots, No. 29, to Jonathan Robbins; the deed of transfer stated that at the time both men were farmers of Attleboro, Mass.37
Next north of Yeates on No. 28 was William Carter. Little is known of this settler; but the name suggests that he, too, may have moved in from the Pemaquid Peninsula. His fate is unknown.
36York Co. Deeds, Bk. 24, p. 214.
37Lincoln Co. Reg. of Deeds, Bk. 5, p. 137.
69
The First Settlers
He may have fallen a victim to the Indians or sought a safer haven to the westward in the Indian wars. Apparently he never fulfilled the conditions of his tenancy; for the property reverted to the Waldo heirs and was sold by them on April 19, 1762, to Jonathan Robbins of Attleboro, Mass. for £13 5s. 8d.38
1'2 Miles
Samuel Waldo to Samuel, & William Douse of Clughereen County of' KERRY, in the Kingdom of IRELAND now of BOSTON, 2010 Acres, 1737.
Samuel & William
100 Acies Reserved by Samuel Waldo
Douse, 2100 A. 1737
Great Falls of the Madomuck River
First Falls
Staigo Brook
Meetinghouse Cove
Nº14.90A.
James Burns, 1736.
Nº15.90A. James Littel.1736.
Nº 2
Nº 16. 100 A. Francis Cooper, Circa 1738.
Nº 17, 100 A.Francis Cooper, Circu 1238.
Nº 18,100 A.Boice Cooper, Circa 1738.
Nº 19, Ministerial Lot
Nº 20, 100 A. James Norton, 1730.
ROAD A RODS
Nº21.100A. James Norton . 1736.
Lanes Pt
Nº 22.100A .Patrick Cannaugh, 1736.
Nº 23, 100A. John Voss Sr. 1736.
Nº 24. 100A. Jeremiah Voss, 1736.
ROAD A RODS
Nº25/100A. John Voss Jr, 1736,
Nº 26,90A. Dennis Cannaugh.1238.
No 27,95A, David Rood,1736.
Nº 28.100A.William Carter. 1736.
Roods Pre
INº 29,100A. Thomas Yeates, 1736.
Nº 30,100 A. Thomas Yeates. 1736.
Pitchers Pt.
1730
Havener Cove
1740
Broad Cove
Jones Neck
THE EARLIEST SETTLERS ON THE RIVER
The next lot, No. 27, embraced the Farnsworth Point. This was known in the earliest times as Roods Point, drawing its name from David Rood who was the original holder of this farm.39 Rood seems either to have met his end in Indian attack or to have retired to the west during one of the Indian wars. Later the lot came into the possession of James Sweetland, through Jonathan Robbins. Just how this happened the records do not reveal; but it was in
38 Ibid., p. 138. 3York Co. Deeds, op. cit., p. 213.
185 Rods
William Burns 90 Acres, 1736.
MusCONGUS RIVER
Nº1 Captain Lane
Long Cove
70
HISTORY OF OLD BROAD BAY AND WALDOBORO
Sweetland's possession in 1768, when he sold the shore front to William Farnsworth.40
Lot No. 26 next above the Rood farm was, as the others, 40 rods in width, but contained only 90 acres. This modification in acreage would seem to indicate a different date of settlement. This is indeed the case, for the deed reads: "Dennis Cannaugh in possession by virtue of a grant made to him by Samuel Waldo, May 14, 1738."41
Cannaugh seems to have died during his tenancy either from natural causes or in Indian warfare, leaving a widow and a lame son, Peter. The widow later married a German by the name of Schmidt, and both lost their lives in an Indian attack on their cabin in 1748. The son, Peter, escaped by taking refuge in the cellar.42 In all probability the heirs disposed of the property to Thomas Waterman of Marshfield, mariner, who probably was the captain of a coaster engaged in trade between Maine points and Boston. He in turn sold the lot on March 3, 1764, to William Farnsworth, "gentleman of Broad Bay" for £53 6s. 8d.43
Proceeding north up the bay the next lot was No. 25 in pos- session of John Vass or Voss, Jr. A little farther up the river were his uncle and father on Lots No. 24 and 23 respectively. Interven- ing between the lots of John Jr., and his Uncle Jeremiah, a mason, was a road four rods wide running due east parallel to the farms. The Vass families, according to the written record, were among the first permanent settlers on the river. Each lot was 40 rods wide and contained 100 acres. All three deeds were the same in lan- guage and dates, and were issued January 26, 1743. The deed to John Vass, Jr., reads: "Samuel Waldo to John Vass, Jr. ... a cer- tain lot in his actual possession by virtue of a grant made to him, Oct. 15, 1736." The document specifies the lot as No. 25 on the east side of Broad Bay, containing 100 acres "beginning at a stake on the south side of a 4 rod highway and running 40 rods down sd. Bay to another stake which is the north bound of Dennis Can- naugh's lot, then an east course into the woods by marked trees until the 100 acres are completed."44 The history of the Vass families in the early settlement is obscure. It is simply known that by 1760 John Vass, Sr., and John Vass, Jr., were no longer living, and that the only heirs were Elizabeth, widow of John, Sr., and her brother-in-law Jeremiah. It is also known that this Elizabeth's son John was killed in September, 1747, while fighting the Indians under Captain Jabez Bradbury.45
40Lincoln Co. Deeds, Bk. 8, p. 37. 41York Co. Deeds, Bk. 24, p. 213.
42See Chap. IX this volume.
43Lincoln Co. Deeds, Bk. 8, p. 34.
44York Co. Deeds, op. cit., p. 221.
45Colls. Me. Hist. Soc. Doc. Ser., XXIII, 390.
71
The First Settlers
On August 12th of this year
Elizabeth Vass of Gloucester, widow of John Vass, late of Broad Bay, and Jeremiah Vass of Gloucester, mason, in consideration of £60, lawful money, paid by William Farnsworth of St. George's, gentleman, he to discharge the quit rent in the deed of one peppercorn to be paid annu- ally, sells, conveys, transfers etc. three lots of land, Nos. 23, 24, and 25, on the eastern side of Broad Bay, each containing 100 acres, bounded in three Indentures, all from Samuel Waldo to John Vass, John Vass, Jr., and Jeremiah Vass.46
Next north of the Vass lots on No. 22 was Patrick Cannaugh, a brother of Dennis, on Lot No. 26.47 Patrick was a farmer, and seems to have outwitted the Indians and survived all the uncer- tainties of these very uncertain days in the settlement. Whether he did this at Broad Bay or sought a safer haven elsewhere during the Indian wars is not known. We do know, however, that he lived on into the days of peace; and on the 9th of March, 1761, "Patrick Cannaugh of Broad Bay" sold his lot, No. 22, to Captain Charles Leissner for £29 5s. 8d., Leissner undertaking to discharge the quit rent of one peppercorn required by the deed on each September 29th.48
Cannaugh's next-door neighbor on the north was James Nor- ton, who held two lots, Nos. 21 and 20, of 100 acres each. This fact places Norton in the settlement in 1736. In fact, from the deed it is to be noted that he was on October 15th a contemporary of the Vasses. These two lots were secured by Norton by a down payment of five shillings for each lot and a rent of two pepper- corns "yearly paid Sept. 29th. forever." Between Norton's two lots was a highway four rods wide "being hereby reserved for benefit of settlement."49 Little is known of Norton's life in the settlement. He apparently fulfilled the conditions of his tenancy on both lots, but was among those who fled to the westward during the Indian wars. Later he disposed of his lands to William Simon- ton of Cape Elizabeth. Simonton in turn in 1771 sold Lot No. 21 to Heinrich Burgkart (Burkett) of Broad Bay, yeoman, for £66 13s. 4d.50 This was the farm formerly owned by Daniel Schwartz, between the Burroughs and the old Will Ewell farm. Lot No. 20, the Will Ewell farm, was sold by Simonton on Novem- ber 13, 1769, to Henry Ewell of Broad Bay, farmer, for £60 13s. 4d.51 Both Ewell and Burkett obligated themselves to discharge the quit rent of one peppercorn per annum forever.
4^Lincoln Co. Deeds, Bk. 3, p. 116.
47York Co. Deeds, Bk. 24, p. 213.
48Lincoln Co. Deeds, Bk. 8, p. 33.
49 York Co. Deeds, Bk. 26, p. 54.
6º Lincoln Co. Deeds, Bk. 8, p. 160. 51Ibid., p. 158.
72
HISTORY OF OLD BROAD BAY AND WALDOBORO
The next lot, No. 19, was the ministerial lot,52 a lot reserved for the first pastor of "the town of Leverett," but it was destined never to be graced by a pastoral presence. Its first occupant was Adam Schumacher to whom it was allotted by Waldo in 1753. When Schumacher migrated to North Carolina, he sold the lot to Abijah Waterman of Marshfield, shipwright, for £60;53 and the farm remained in the Waterman family down to the time of its purchase in 1932 by its present occupant, Andrew Currie.
The next lots north were Nos. 18, 17, and 16, including the present farm of Alfred Davis and stretching along the hill to the George Simmons estate. In all probability Francis Cooper held two of these lots and his son Boice, the third. Cooper was a man of some means, who came to New England from Ireland in the fourth decade of the century in a brig of his own.54 He married Elizabeth, the daughter of John North, resided at first at Ports- mouth, and a little later moved to Pemaquid. Around 1738 he contracted with Waldo for several lots of land on Broad Bay, moved hither, performed a settler's duties on two of them and located his son Boice on a third. Cooper had several indentured servants which rendered easy the task of settling on two lots, clear- ing the required number of acres, and erecting cabins within the time limits prescribed. It is by no means improbable that these servants also performed most of the required work on the lot of Cooper's son. After a two-year residence on the bay, Francis Cooper died and probably lies buried in an unknown grave some- where near the shore on either the Mary Howard, Dr. Oldis, or Al Davis farm.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.