USA > Maine > York County > Eliot > History of the centennial of the incorporation of the town of Eliot, Maine, August 7th-13, 1910 > Part 6
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In 1850, the wealth of the country was seven billions of dollars; and on the first day of January, 1909, we had more than one hundred billions of dollars worth of prop- erty in this Republic. As late as 1876, when we held our Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, the amount of our farmers' products was two hundred million dollars ; last year they were more than eight billion, seven hundred sixty million dollars; and the output of last year was
Col. Francis Keefe
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eleven billion, one hundred eighty-four million.
Such progress ; such advancement ; such achievements ! They are the greatest of any period of recorded time.
But, Ladies and Gentlemen,-not wealth, increase in territory, or numbers of people are altogether indicative of progress. Knowledge is better than gold, and manhood and womanhood better than vast estates or splendid cities. We are living in a wonderful age. Towns have sprung up, and cities grown to a marvelous proportion.
My dear friends,-when I read of what you have achieved in the past, and think of what you may achieve, of what these boys and girls may accomplish in the next one hun- dred years, It makes me thankful we are citizens of a Great Republic ; that a mere barefoot boy has a right to aspire to the highest office in the land, and say :
" That office has been filled by men who were boys such as I am."
It is but a step All here have an equal right, in this magnificent, glorious country, the " Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave."
I am proud of this grand old town of ELIOT. I am proud of it because she is so superb, I love the old Republic. We love it because we love Liberty.
As Executive of the State of Maine, I bring you the greetings and the congratulations of 700.000 of the best people on earth.
-0-
President Cole, said :
How can a man be otherwise than a good Governor, who descends from Eliot ? And I want to say that the present Chief Justice, the Hon. Mr. Emery, is a descendant from Eliot. We have them everywhere.
Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the President of the Maine Historical Society,-the Hon. James P. Baxter, -who is to deliver the Address on this occasion :-
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ADDRESS OF HON. JAMES P. BAXTER,
PRESIDENT OF THE MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
In ancient times men were esteemed as possessing especial virtues, who venerated and kept in remembrance those who had worthily distinguished themselves in the service of their tribe or clan. Today, having inherited the same idea, we measure the place which a community occupies in the scale of civilization, by the regard which it has for those who have wrought its development, and the care which it exercises in preserving its annals ; there- fore, the Town of Eliot has adopted a custom, sanctioned by the best experience, in celebrating this anniversary of its nativity as a town, and recalling to mind the men and the events which have contributed to its making.
While Eliot has a separate Town Lite of but a century, its real history goes back to a much earlier period. It is a part of the territory conveyed under the great charter of 1606, to the Northern Virginia Company, and later, in 1635, after several charter changes, to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who played a large part in the history of New England.
To obtain a passably fair understanding of the history of New England, and therefore of a New England town while it was an appanage of Great Britain, it is important to give a glance at the political history of the dominant state, not overlooking the diplomatic movements, which formed such an essential factor of it; hence it seems proper to me on this occasion not to confine myself to a mere relation of events, more or less important, which adorn our annals, but to take a somewhat wider survey of the historic field, in an endeavor to find causes which have contributed in shaping them.
The history of Eliot previous to 1810, is really the his- tory of Kittery, having been known as the North Parish of that ancient town, which was organized Oct'r 20, 1647, forming from 1623, a part of the Piscataqua Plantation, whose history may properly enough be said to begin
Hon. James P. Baxter
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with the advent of David Thompson at that date. This was a critical period ; the fate of English Colonization in North America was hanging in the balance, depending wholly upon the selfish aims of one of the least agreeable characters in the history of English rulers. Race hatred, leavened by religious bigotry had kept the nations in a ferment during the reign of Elizabeth. The Spaniard nursed a sullen hatred against the heretical Englishman, and cursed him at his devotions, while the Frenchman, although he would have delighted as much in doing his burly rival an ill turn, expended some of his animosity in ridicule and sarcasm. England had broken Spain's sea power, and France, while taking a mischievous pleasure in seeing the humiliation of so overbearing a neighbor, could but have a wholesome respect for the big stick. England, ever aggressively confident, regarded both popish rivals with bitter dislike mingled with a large measure of contempt.
James, however, unlike Elizabeth, had a horror of war ; indeed, it is said that he could not bear the sight of a naked sword. His faith was strong in his own wisdom, and he had schemed to bring about a marriage of his son Charles with the Spanish Princess, Maria which he felt would render it easy to compose future difficulties with Spain.
Although James had but a languid interest in his American possessions, having much more important mat- ters nearer home to occupy his attention, he was fully aware of Spain's extensive claims upon the North Ameri- can Continent, as well as the activity of France in the St. Lawrence. Quebec had been founded by Champlain in 1608, and a Spanish alliance might serve as a convenient check upon his ambitious rival in that quarter. The marriage, however, with the Spanish Princess was broken off, owing to the machinations of hisfavorite, Buckingham, who accompanied Charles to Spain to arrange details, but whose wild and dissolute habits caused enimity against him in the Spanish Court, and destroyed his future influ-
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ence in that quarter. He, however, ingratiated himself with the French, whose jealousy was aroused by the prospect of the English alliance which they realized would be disastrous to them at home, as well as threaten their colonial ventures; and they hurried to strengthen their naval armaments to meet the situation. Gorges, alarmed at this, warned Calvert, the Secretary of State, of the danger ; and James seems to have been aroused by rep- resentations made to him to show an interesting colonial affairs.
At a fortunate moment, Capt. John Mason returned from a voyage to Newfoundland, which was considered of great value to England on account of its fisheries ; and among those who were giving attention to colonial projects, was Sir William Alexander, who invited him to his house to gather from him information respecting the new country; and, Mason, who was particularly favorable to the territory in which Gorges was interested under the charter to the Council for New England, advised him to obtain a grant of the territory north of that comprised in. the Council's Charter, and to negotiate with Gorges for a portion of the Council's property on the South. Alexander, however, disregarded this advice, and went directly to the King, who, being a fellow Scotchman, was pleased with the idea of offsetting a New France with a New Scotland, and not only granted him the desired territory, but com- pelled Gorges to convey to him, gratis, a generous slice of the Council's property. Gorges, however, does not seem to have been over-troubled by this, as it was evident that it would give him a buffer against the French ; but, to strengthen his position, he hastened to form a copartner- ship with Mason, who proved to be a valuable coadjutor in his future colonial undertakings. With the grant to Alexander, and the advent of Mason, the colonial situa- tion was brightening.
In 1622, forty vessels are recorded as having been dis- patched from England to fish or trade on this coast: and seekers for places favorable for settlement hereabout, soon began to appear; among the first of whom were David
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Thompson, at Little Harbor, and the Hilton Brothers, and it is said that settlements were made within the limits of the Plantation of Piscataqua. James even went so far in supporting the Council's projects, that he issued proclam- ations forbiding any subjects from fishing or trading on the coast of New England, without the Council's licence ; and even warned the Dutch West India Company from trading there. These steps proved unwise; and made conspicuous the weakness of the King.
But affairs in England had assumed a new phase .- The Spanish marriage having failed, a new one was planned, and James naturally thought of a marriage alliance with his other formidable rival. Buckingham and Charles had seen the French Princess, Henrietta, when on the way home from Spain ; and both favored it ; hence, negotiations to that end were opened with the French King. One of the chief conditions in the marriage treaty proposed by the French minister in London, was the recognition by James of the French claims in North America. In these negotiations, Buckingham was an important factor, having the ear of the King, and exercis- ing over him and Charles almost unlimited influence. He was unfriendly to Gorges, as well as jealous of Alex- ander, who had not taken him into his councils when he .. obtained the Nova Scotia Charter ; hence, he was not . averse to giving them both a fall. The French minister informed the King that his country not only claimed Acadia but New England ; and indeed the whole of North America between Virginia and the Gulf ot Mexico.
To the three schemers who held the interests of England in their grasp, the loss of England's possessions in Amer- ica were trifling, when weighed against their own personal interests, and they decided to recognise the French claims to Acadia, which meant all of Nova Scotia, and an indef- inite portion of New England. This would have placed New England under French Rule, and shattered the hopes of those who had ventured so much in colonial undertakings. There seemed to be nothing to prevent
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the consumation of this wretched scheme, which would have placed the English colonists, who had ventured so much in planting settlements along our coast, at the mercy .j of the French, whose hatred of Englishmen was proverb- ial. Had it succeeded, the story of the Pilgrims, and of those brave men whose memories you cherish as founders of this town of Eliot, and of so many other New England - towns of which we are all proud, would be unknown.
But Gorges was a bold man and had able supporters, hence he succeeded in getting the recognition of the French claims postponed, by impressing the timorous monarch with a sense of the danger which might accue to him by the abandonment of his American possessions. The death of James occurred some months later, and the unpopular marriage of Charles to the French Princess speedily followed ; but the French claims in North Amer- ica still remained in abeyance. Charles was too much occupied with domestic troubles, and war with Spain, to give them much consideration. There was another clause in his unwise marriage treaty, which, fortunately for the New England colonists, secured prior action, as it directly appealed to the religious prejudices of the English people, while the French claims in North America might not have attracted so much attention. This clause provided that Charles should furnish his French brother with a number of ships to enable him to punish his Protestant subjects. . )
The attempt to do this raised a storm of disapproval. Even the sailors on the ships assembled to join the French fleet mutinied; and the project failed: War between England and France soon resulted, on the eve of which, Buckingham, whose unscrupulous rule had made him : many enemies, died by the hand of an assassin. These troubles in England were fortunate to New England as : they left the colonists free from interference, and enabled them to increase in strength.
: On April 30th, 1630, Capt. Walter Neale sailed from Plymouth for the Piscataqua and, as Governor, took pos- session of the house built and occupied by David Thomp-, son, on the peninsula now known as Odiorne's Point.
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Settlements increased along the coast and settlers multi- plied in this vicinity. Of course they encountered all the hardships of pioneer life. Their habitations were of the rudest sort, and it required the severest labor to clear the land for cultivation. Happily, fish and game were plenty, which helped them over many hard places. It required no great labor to secure a bear, moose or deer ; and of the feathered game, there was seemingly no end. The rivers and ponds were constantly frequented by water fowl ; and clouds of wild pigeons settled upon the trees at night in the vicinity of their cabins. It was sometime before they had any domestic animals except pigs, which were of great value to them.
Their isolation prevented them from hearing much from the outside world, and they were not troubled by political movements in England But when they heard in 1632, that Charles had at last yielded to the demands of France, and recognized the French claims, their anxiety was great. He had been outwitted by Richelieu, and had opened the way to French control of a large portion of New England, if La Tour's statement is to be accepted, that he possessed "Authority from the King of France," who claimed "The coast from Cape Sable to Cape Cod."
With the recognition of the French claims, it looked dark indeed for the English settlements in New England, especially in Maine, and when it became fully understood, caused great alarm. The French, elated with their suc- Cess, made raids upon the coast ; the Indians in league with them became threatening, and affairs assumed a discouraging aspect. Especially were the English colon- ists disturbed by the prospect of having colonies of Papists crowding upon them ; for Richelieu had dispatched from France at the outset, several companies of planters headed by Jesuit missionaries, to take possession of places in the Arcadian Country, and they did not know how soon they might have others coming into their own vicinity.
During the prevalence of this unrest, a band of pirates attacked the English Port at Pemaquid ; and proceeding
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along the coast, plundered for some time the English settlements. It was here, among the Piscataqua settlers, that Walter Neal organized a force of forty men to punish these marauders, and with a little fleet of five vessels, set out in pursuit, compelling them to flee from the country. This vigorous action discouraged similar piratical attempts upon the defenceless settlements. ₹4
The grants by the French King of large tracts of terri- tory covering the eastern part of Maine, and the assump- tion of authority therein by the French proprietors, awak- ened bitter feelings in the breasts of English settlers, which eventually bore fruit.
The savages encouraged by the French, were a constant dread to them, They even had to take their fire arms into the house of God. In spite of these discouragements emigration constantly increased, and many of the emi- grants found homes here, and greatly strengthened the English position.
On October 20th, 1647, the Piscataqua Plantation, which had thus far held a conspicuous position in the settlement of Maine, was transformed into a town, and named- Kittery,-from an ancient town in England ot that name ; and thereby acquired the honor of being the oldest town in Maine. This is also the date of the death of Gorges, the man who for over forty years labored unceasingly in the cause of the English colonization of New England, devot- ing not only the better part of a long life but all his private resources to its promotion. Two years later Charles Ist met death on the scaffold ; the result of an unwise rule ; and the Commonwealth assumed; power in England. By this change the hands of Massachusetts were strengthened to the advantage of the struggling settlements eastward, and, shortly after, the scattered inhabitants of this town came under her more orderly rule.
For many years the settlers "had been unable to main- tain a common meeting place for public worship ; but with more settled government, this became possible ; and in 1653, the town erected a building which, for a long time .
The Stepping Stones
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went by the name of the Old Field's Meeting House ; and there the people gathered on the Lord's day, and sang their solemn hymns, and devoutly listened to the long sermons of that period. In winter, without any warmth in a building very ineffectually protected against the cold, it must have required a superabundance of religious fer- vor to keep them on the hard benches with which the churches of that day were furnished, yet from chronicles of the devout people of the period, we know that they greatly valued the opportunity afforded them to meet together, even under the most distressing conditions, to worship God, and listen to the words of wisdom uttered by men so greatly reverenced for learning as were the ministers of the gospel. There were many men and women ,of remarkable character in the old days in this little parish. I wish that time would permit me to enumerate them, and recall to memory their worthy lives; but a town which had a Shapleigh, a Champernoun, a Cutts, a Pepperell in its beginning, is honored indeed.
In 1675, the Indians, who had been growing more and more threatening to the English settlements, took up the war hatchet and spread terror far and wide. The inhab- itants of this town were in constant alarm. There were at least eighteen Garrison Houses within its limits at that time, and these were often crowded with men, women and children. Many of the people were waylaid and carried into captivity, or ruthlessly murdered by the infuriated savages, often led by Frenchmen disguised as Indians. : No family could retire at the close of an anxious day, : without being haunted with the fear of sudden death. Many were awakened in the dead of night by the blood- curdling warhoop to face the hatchet and knife of a merciless foe.
. The relation of one or two incidents may not be out of
! place : Mary Heard was returning with her husband · from church, on horseback, when her horse taking fright " by the sudden discharge of fire arms from a party of sav- „ ages lying in ambush, threw her to the ground. Striving
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to remount, but failing, she was dispatched while urging her husband to hurry home to save the children. Major Charles Frost of this town, also returning from church, was shot at the same time; the spot is now known as Ambush Rock.
There were often almost miraculous escapes. The hus- band of Mary Heard, being pursued by savages, managed to conceal himself in a hollow log in the woods. The savages, while hunting for him, came to his hiding place ; he heard them boasting of what they would do when they found him ; but he was not discovered, and escaped to tell the tale.
For thirty-eight years, with a cessation of only four years of that trying period, war with the savages continued, and many stories of bloody deeds, and hair breadth escapes, could be related ; but the brave men of this town did not lose heart, and fought for their homes until the savage foe was subdued, and peace again enabled them to pursue their accustomed avocations. .
In 1677, Massachusetts by the purchase of Gorges Char- ter, assumed the proprietorship of Maine ; which caused considerable friction here and in other neighboring towns ; but the prospect of securing a more stable government under her prevailed ; and they soon submitted to her rule greatly to their benefit.
As time went on the feelings of the English colonists against the French increased in bitterness. They had persistently encouraged the savages in their warfare upon them, and as they grew in strength, their determination to retaliate became fixed. The French King had been all the while aiming to make his position impregnable. He had made Quebec a place of strength ; and his dream, which was to build up a seaport and stronghold at Cape Breton, easily reached from France, where his ships could lie in safety, and from which he could threaten New England, had been accomplished. To do this he had re-
: sorted to enforced emigration. Along the coast of France "men had been kidnapped and carried to Cape Breton, where many had been doomed to slavish toil, that the
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dream of an ambitious monarch might be realized. In this way a large community had been formed, extensive forti- fieations built, churches and other buildings erected ; in fact, a great city had been created on the sterile shores of Cape Breton, which, in honor of its projector, had been named Louisburg. So great had been the cost of building and peopling this city of vain illusion, that Louis bad complained that he had expended enough treasure upon it to pave its streets with gold. The strength of this seat of French power in America, was great as its extensive ruins even now indicate. It was often pronounced im- pregnable, yet the English colonists had grown powerful enough to contemplate the reduction of this formidable stronghold.
The colonists were men inured to hardship and priva-, tion, having struggled through long years in reducing a wild country to a place of civilized abode ; and in protect- ing their homes against a savage foe, who had been incited against them by a race alien in birth and religion a race which they had always considered an enemy to their own and as they discussed the subject, they came at last to regard the conquest of New Faance not only as necessary to their own peaceable existence, but equally as a religious duty. Perhaps this was not the most christian way of looking at the subject, but these men were intensely human.
The French inhabitants had not settled in New France with the same motives as their English neighbors. Many of them were there by compulsion, many were mere adven- turers, and few had that attachment to the soil which characterized the English colonists. Their rulers had not realized the importance of this sentiment, and were over confident in the masssive walls of their forbidding fortresses. But strong hearts are better than strong walls ; and those the long suffering colonists possessed ; and so it came about that in 1744 New England was ready for the great struggle.
It was purely a New England affair. Even the King
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had not been consulted by these virile men who had resolved upon breaking the power of their ever hostile neighbors. He had given, however, general orders to the Commander of the English fleet, then on the West India coast, to cooperate with the colonists in any enterprise which they might undertake, and that brave officer showed commendable zeal in supporting them.
The most important need was an efficient leader ; and providentially, one was ready at hand in this town .- Colonel William Pepperell was given the command of the forces. Probably no other man at that time in the colonies was so well fitted for the command in this critical under- taking as he, and his selection aroused the enthusiasm of the entire people.
The pulpits were eloquent with the subject of this holy crusade, as it was denominated by over enthusiastic spirits. The men of this town responded to the call to arms, and under their popular leader, set out for the distant field of war amid the blessings and tears of the people. The spirit of these men may be seen in the letters which they sent home. This is an extract from one of them :
" We are hazarding our lives in the field of battle, but we believe and trust that the Lord, the Lord God Omnip- otent reigneth ; the ever loving and true Cod goeth before us and fighteth for us. We have been and beheld it with our eyes. O I heartily wish you and yours health, espec- ially that our souls may prosper. The Indians have killed fifty men that were straggling from their duty. They are strangers to me. The French came furiously to the water side and fired on us to annoy our landing, but through the goodness of God our enemies fled before us. Some Frenchmen were killed and some taken. The second day of May we took possession of the grand battery, which is an exceeding strong fortress. I have not time to enlarge but desire to commit myself into the hands of him that judgeth righteously."
This is the utterance of an unselfish spirit, wholly ruled by a sense of duty ; indeed a pure patriot.
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