USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 4
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1 Now known as the Camden Mountains, which are over twelve hundred feet in height.
2 One of the group called Muscle Ridges.
31
EARLY VOYAGES TO PENOBSCOT BAY.
" The codde of the river, where he went with his shallop, and marched up in the country, toward the mountains, I think, must be Belfast Bay.
"The canoe that came from the further part of the codde of the river, eastward, with Indians, probably came from Bagaduce.
" The word codde is not common ; but I have often heard it, - as, ' up in the codde of the bay,' meaning the bottom of the bay. I suppose what he calls ' the codde of the river ' is a bay in the river.
" The latitude of St. George's Island Harbour, according to Hol- land's map, is 43º 48', which is nine leagues more north than the observation made by Captain Waymouth." 1
Until recently the theory advanced by Dr. Belknap, that the river which Waymouth explored was the Penobscot, has been adopted by different historians without question. It is unequivo- cally indorsed by the editors of Rosier's " Journal " 2 and of Gorges's "Briefe Narration," 8 and by Williamson and Bancroft. The latter says, ' Turning to the north, he [Waymouth ] approached the coast of Maine, and ascended the western branch of the Penobscot beyond Belfast Bay ; where the deep channel of the broad stream, the abundance of its spacious harbors, the neighboring springs and copious rivulets, compelled the experienced mariner to admire the noble river, which is just now beginning to have upon its banks and in its ports the flourishing settlements and active commerce that it is by nature so well adapted to sustain."4 But, in 1857, the late John McKeen, of Brunswick, in a paper read before the Maine Historical Society, argued that the harbor visited by Way- mouth was Boothbay, and not St. George's; and the river, the Kennebec, and not the Penobscot.5 This view is partially recognized by the Rev. Dr. Palfrey, whose History of New England appeared the following year. "The Kennebec," he says, " agrees best with Waymouth's observation of the latitude. I may add, that the subsequent choice of the Kennebec by Gorges and his friends, as the site of a plantation, affords a presumption on this side, so much of the information npon which they proceeded having been derived from Waymouth."6 To any one, however, familiar with the coast
1 Belknap's Am. Biog., edition 1798, II. 146.
2 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., Third Series, VIII. 154, note.
8 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc., II. 17.
4 Bancroft, Hist. United States, II. 114. In his centenary edition, published in 1876, the Penobscot theory is rejected, and that of the Georges is substituted.
5 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc. V. 814.
6 Palfrey's Hist. New Eng., I. 76, note.
32
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
of Maine, it is evident that this position cannot be sustained. The absence of "the very high mountains " referred to by Rosier, in the vicinity of that river, is alone sufficient to negative it. Mr. McKeen contends that they were the White Mountains, which are occasionally seen from Monhegan. Yet, after going up the river and landing, Waymouth's party judged these mountains to be "within a league of them." They are over twenty times that distance removed.
Many of the indications noticed by Rosier are irreconcilable with the Penobscot theory, and suggest that Dr. Belknap and Captain Williams formed their conclusions on a misapprehension of the facts and localities. So experienced a navigator as Captain Way- mouth could hardly have mistaken Penobscot Bay, which is over ten miles wide in Belfast Bay, for a river which " beareth in breadth a mile, some time three-quarters, and half a mile to the narrowest." To have "passed six or seven miles altogether fresh water," would have carried the explorers above Marsh Bay, and near Bangor, or over sixty miles from the starting point, yet the account states that on returning they rowed down in seven hours. The mountains, which were kept constantly in sight, from the time of reaching Monhegan, would have been left far astern, yet, after landing in " the codde of the river," they marched directly towards them. There is wanting to Penobscot Bay and River the " very gallant coves on both sides, every half mile ; some able to contain almost a hundred sail, where ships may lie without either cable or anchor, only moored to the shore with a hawser;" "the bordering land all along on both sides, in an equal plain, neither mountainous or rocky," and "the divers branching streams from each bank." The fact that the river does not trend " westward into the main," but in an opposite direction, seems alone to destroy the Penobscot theory.
Perhaps the most satisfactory solution of this much mooted question is that given by Captain George Prince, of Bath, who, in 1858, published the reasons for his conviction that the Georges River was the scene of Waymouth's explorations.1 This view is more elaborately maintained in an article communicated by him to
1 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc., VI. 290. Among the distinguished converts to the opinion of Mr. Prince are Cyrus Eaton, who adopts it in his History of Thomaston., Rev. D. Quimby Cushman, and Professor John Johnston, LL.D., author of the History of Bristol and Bremen. The latter gentleman gives a careful analysis of the arguments adduced in support of each view. He concludes that, if the Georges theory is rejected, there is reason to doubt whether the question be capable of solution.
33
EARLY VOYAGES TO PENOBSCOT BAY.
the sixth volume of the Collections of the Maine Historical Society, and in a subsequent pamphlet, containing Rosier's narrative in full, with remarks of his own. In referring to the Georges, he writes as follows : -
" Here we see the 'gallant coves,' viz., Turkey Cove, Maple Juice Cove, Teel's Cove, Smalley's Cove, Broad Cove, Hyler's Cove, &c., &c., the river itself running up directly towards Camden Mountains, from a mile to half a mile wide, with its bold shores and deep water, also its excellent places for docks in which to grave and careen ships. The distance sailed, to be sure, is less than 'twenty-six miles,' being but eighteen: but it must be remembered that Mr. Rosier's distances are allowed to be over- stated; yet how much nearer the mark than the distance from St. George's Islands to Belfast, which is more than fifty miles."1 Extravagance of description is common to nearly all of the early adventurers. If the estimate of Rosier in regard to distances is received with the same allowance as his assertion that the river was " the most rich, beautiful, large, and secure harboring one that the world affordeth," having in his preceding paragraph mentioned the Oronoco, the Rio Grande, the Loire, and the Seine, there will be less difficulty in reconciling his statement of distances as applicable to the Georges. But, while accepting the theory of Mr. Prince as the most probable one, so many inconsistencies in applying it to Rosier's narrative arise, that it can never be regarded as conclusive.2
Although the honor of discovering the Penobscot must be withheld from Waymouth, it is certain that the bay and river were explored during the same summer by other parties. Under a patent. from the King of France, the colony of De Monts had passed the winter of 1604-5 on an island in the St. Croix, where a settlement was projected. Dissatisfied with the rigorous climate, the celebrated Champlain, with several of these pioneers, embarked on the 18th of the following June in a bark of fifteen tons, in search of a more auspicious site, whereon to rear a capital of their wilder- ness domain.8 Guided by the natives, they sailed by Mount Desert,
1 Rosier's Relation, with comments hy George Prince. Bath, 1859.
2 The early voyagers seem not to have esteemed the Georges highly for navigable purposes. The Dutch map made hy Hendrickson, about 1616, of which a fac-simile - appears in 13t Col. Document, N. Y., gives no indication of such a river; nor does John Smith, whose work was published in 1631, allude to it, although he refers to Muscongus. M. de la Mothe Cadillac, writing in 1692, says, "This river is not very safe, on account of the numerous rocks."
8 Parkman's Pioneers of France in the New World, 230. 3
34
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
and the Isle au Haut, which received from Champlain their present names, and entered a river, called Pemptagoet, which they be- lieved to be the Norombega. The earliest maps depict a fabulous city also called Norombega, on the banks of a river, fifteen or twenty leagues from the sea. Milton has rendered the designation classic, in Paradise Lost, where he alludes to "Norombega and the Samoed shore," as constituting the Ultima Thule of creation. For many years this barbaric city had been sought with an avidity almost equal to that which marked the pursuit by Ponce de Leon of the fountain of youth, or of the El Dorado. The visit of Champlain destroyed the illusion. He sailed twenty-two leagues up the Penobscot, but saw no evidences of civilization, and affirmed that there were only cabins, covered with bark or skins, to be found.
" And Norombega proved again A shadow and a dream."
Champlain described the places he visited with such accuracy that we can at this day identify them without difficulty.1 Fort Point, Fort Point Ledge, the Kenduskeag, Treat's Falls, and other localities, are so minutely referred to as to preclude the possibility of any mistake. After leaving the river, the party proceeded to Cape Cod, and thence returned to Nova Scotia.
Immediately after the visit of Champlain, Penobscot Bay began to be resorted to for purposes of trade. Under the name of Penta- goet, the peninsula where Castine stands has a conspicuous desig- nation upon the maps of that period; and in 1616 Penobscot is mentioned by Captain John Smith as the principal habitation he saw at the northward.2 According to Bancroft, the first intelligible welcome which greeted the Pilgrims at Plymouth was from an Indian who had learned a little English from the fishermen at Penobscot.3 Perhaps the representations of this native induced the establishment of a trading-house at Pentagoet in 1630, by the Plymouth Company. An extensive traffic was maintained here for five years, when Charles d'Aulnay de Charnise, a subordinate commander under Razillai, the governor of Acadie, took possession of the country in the interest of France. Erecting a fort, he made this his fixed place of residence until 1654, when Acadie was con- quered by the English. Colonel Temple, the first English governor,
1 Address of Hon. John E. Godfrey at the Centennial Celebration, Bangor, 20.
2 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., III. 21, Third Series.
8 Bancroft's Hist. United States, I. 316.
35
EARLY VOYAGES TO PENOBSCOT BAY.
was also established there for several years. By the treaty of Breda, in 1667, Penobscot became restored to the French; and, with the exception of two brief interruptions by the Dutch, in 1674 and 1676, they retained possession for nearly a century. Jean Vincent, the Baron de Saint-Castin, resided there from 1677 to 1701. Some of his family remained as late as 1726.
--
36
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
CHAPTER III.
THE MUSCONGUS OR WALDO PATENT.
Charter for New England granted in 1620 to the Plymouth Council. - Its Extent and Powers. - Abandoned in 1635. - Superseded hy Massachusetts Charter. - Official Copy of the Waldo Patent. - Original Document accidentally destroyed. - Area of the Grant. - Powers of the Patentees. - Rights of Civil Government reserved. - Ashley and Peirce. - Trading-house established. - Broken up by King Philip's War. - Territory desolate. - Sketch of Lives of Beauchamp and Leverett. - The Ten Proprietors. - The Twenty Associates admitted. - New Settlements undertaken. - General Samuel Waldo. - Account of his Life and Character. - Portrait. - Exertions to develop Resources of the Patent. - His Death. - Waldo Family. - Grand-danghter marries General Henry Knox. - Knox obtains Large Interest in the Patent. - Boundaries established. - Formal Possession taken. - Squatters. - Extensive Meas- ures for Settlements. - Residence of Knox at Thomaston. - His Death. -- Mortgages of Lands foreclosed. - Thorndike, Sears, and Prescott become Large Proprietors in Waldo County. - Establish Agency at Belfast. - Death of Mrs. Knox. - Family Name extinct. - Brigadier's Island the only Portion of the Patent remaining intact.
N 1620, while the Pilgrims were on their way to this continent,
I King James I. granted the " Great Charter for New England " to forty noblemen, knights and gentlemen, styling them " The Council established at Plymouth, in the County of Devon." Among the associates were the Earl of Warwick and Sir Ferdi- nando Gorges. By this memorable document, composing the foundation of subsequent conveyances of territory in New England, was transferred all that part of America which extended from the fortieth to the forty-eighth degrees of north latitude ; embracing nearly the whole of the present British Possessions, all of New England, the State of New York, parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, besides that vast country in the west, comprising more than a million square miles. Absolute property in the soil, un- limited jurisdiction, the regulation of trade, sole powers of legis- lation and the appointment of officers, were among the privileges conceded by the king. Owing either to the conflicting interests of the members, their indistinct knowledge of the country, or the feeble management of their government, the corporation lasted but a few years, and in 1635 formally abandoned all their rights.
37
THE MUSCONGUS OR WALDO PATENT.
The charter of Massachusetts, conferred upon active and resolute men, who settled within the territory given to them, operated as the death blow to a land patent controlled by persons residing abroad.1
Before surrendering their charter, the Plymouth Council made several grants of land within the State of Maine, which, through all subsequent revolutions of government, have been generally respected and upheld. One of these subordinate grants was the "Muscongus Patent," called from the river of that name; after- wards known as the "Lincolnshire Patent," from the place of residence in England of one of the grantees, and at a later date the " Waldo Patent." The following is a copy of this important document. About 1833, the original was destroyed by an acci- dental fire, while in the possession of the Knox family.2
To all to whom these Presents Shall Come Greeting. Know ye y: ye counsell, established at Plimoth in ye County of Devon, for ye planting Ruling Ordering and Governing of New England in America for Divers good.Causes, & Considerations them thereunto especially moving. Have given granted Bargained Sold Enfieffed allotted & Sett over & by these presents doe Clearly & absolutely give grant Bargain Sell alliene enfiefe allott & assigne & confirm unto John Beauchamp of London Gentleman, & Thomas Leverett, of Boston in ye County of Lincorn. gent their heirs associates & assigns all & Singular those lands Tenements, & hereditments whatsoever with ye appurtenances thereof in New England afors.ª which are Cittuate. Lying & being within or between a place thence Commonly Called or known by ye name of Muscongrus towards ye South on Southwest & a straight line Extending from thence directly ten leaugs -up -into ye Maine land & Contains thence towards ye great Sea Commonly Called ye South Sea & ye utmost Limits of ye Space ten Leauges . . . on ye North & North East - of a River in New England aforesª Commonly Called Penobscott Towards ye North & Northeast & ye great Sea Commonly Called ye westarn ocean, towards ye east & a strait and direct line extending from ye most western part & Point of ye sd Straight line which extends from Mecongoss aforest towards ye South Sea to y: uttermost Northeram limmits of ye sª ten leagues
1 Holmes, An. I. 164; Prince, 180.
2 Letter from James S. Thatcher to William D. Williamson, in library Maine Hist. Soc. An inaccurate copy of the Patent is contained in the Appendix to White's History of Belfast, and an abstract in Hazard's Coll. State Papers, p. 304.
38
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
on ye North side of ye sª River of Penobscott towards ye west & all land & ground wood Soils River waters Fishings Herreditt- ments Profitts Commodityes Priviledges Fraimchises - & Emoli- ments whatsoever situate Lying & being arising happening or Remaining or which Shall arise or Remain within ye Limmits & bounds aforesª or any of them together with all sª land yt ly & be within ye Space of three miles within ye Space of sª land & Pmisses or any of them to have & to hold all & Singulary ye sª land teniments & hereditments & Pmisses whatsoever with ye ap- purtanances & every part & parcel thereof unto ye sª John Beau- champ & Thomas Leverett their heirs associates & assigns forever to their only proper & absolute use & behoof of ye sª Jnº Beau- champ & Tho! Leverett their heirs associates & assigns forever- more to be holden ye Kings most Excellent Majesty & successors as of his manner of East-greenwich by Fealtie only & not in Capite nor by length of service yeilding & paying unto his Majesty his heirs & Successors y: fifth part of all such oare of Gold & Silver y: shall be gotton & obtained in or upon ye Pmisses or any part thereof.
In Witness whereof y: sª Counsell established at Plymoth in y: County of Devon for ye Planting Ruling ordering and Govern- ing of New England in America have hereunto putt ye Common Seal ye Thirteenth day of March in ye first year of ye Reign of our Soveraign Lord Charls by ye Grace of God King of England Scotland France & Irland Defender of y: Faith &c. anno Domini 1629.
SEAL.
R. WARWICK.
Recorded according to ye Origanall Jan. ye. 17th. 1721.
P. ABRA." PREBLE, Reg.
State of Maine. York ss. Registry of Deeds.
A true copy of record Book 10, pp 236-7.
Attest : ASA L. RICKER, Register.
The area of the patent comprised by estimation nearly a thou- sand square miles. It almost equalled that of several of the United States, and exceeded that of many of the principalities of Europe. It included the whole of the present county of Knox, except the Fox Islands,1 and of Waldo County, except what is now Troy,
1 Islesboro' was included, being within three miles of the main land.
39
THE MUSCONGUS OR WALDO PATENT.
Burnham, Unity, Freedom, Palermo, and a part of Liberty. Sub- sequent surveys added a portion of Penobscot County. For this immense tract of land no consideration was asked or required. As will be noticed, a fifth part of all the gold and silver ore found on the premises was reserved to King Charles ; and the premises themselves, in the language of the grant, were "to be holden of his most excellent Majesty by fealty." Fealty, according to the English laws, was a tenure, wherein the tenant swore to be faithful to his lord, and to perform all services and customs which were due from him. Rights of government were also retained by the king. In other respects, the powers of the patentees were complete ; no subjects could receive an estate of a higher nature, or be clothed with more exclusive privileges. The main lands and islands, rivers and harbors, mines and fisheries, were all under their absolute control. Without license, no one could shoot a bird, fell a tree, or build a hut. The patent was a commercial monopoly, - " open, notorious, exclusive, and adverse."
To the suggestive question, What induced the Plymouth pro- prietors, without consideration, to surrender this large territory ? an answer may be given by referring to recent bestowals of acres of our national domain in aid of public improvements. It was expected that the settlement of one section would enhance the value of another intermediate or more remote, and such ultimately proved to be the case,
The fisheries were early and vigorously prosecuted by the Ply- mouth colonists, who had fishing stations at Monhegan and in other localities along the coast of Maine a few years after their arrival. Success in this enterprise hastened an occupation of the Muscongus grant; and in the spring of 1630 Edward Ashley and William Peirce, agents of the patentees, came with laborers and mechanics, and established a trading-house on the Georges River, in what is now Thomaston. Although this settlement was only temporary, it may be regarded as the first occupancy of any part of the patent. It was broken up by King Philip's or the First Indian War, which terminated in 1678. After this, the whole territory lay desolate for nearly forty years.1
Beauchamp, one of the original patentees, was a merchant of London, or a "salter," as denominated by Governor Bradford, and one of the company that sent over the " Mayflower." He never came to America, and his affairs here were conducted by agents. His-
1 Eaton's Hist. Thomaston, I. 29.
40
HISTORY OF BELFAST.
tory affords but scanty information concerning him. While most of the merchant adventurers who aided the Pilgrims were doubt- less influenced by the hope of gain, Beauchamp and some others are said to have been guided by far higher aims, in which the con- siderations of profit had but a secondary place.1 It appears that he found a settlement with his partners difficult. In 1645, Myles Standish and others of the Pilgrim fathers pledged their estates for security of a debt due him. Seven years after, certain of their houses and lands were sold in payment.2
On the death of Beauchamp,8 the date of which is unknown, Leverett, in the right of survivorship, became by law possessed of the whole grant, and for several years assumed its management. He came to the New World in 1633, with John Cotton and others, from Boston in England, where he had been an alderman. The same year he was chosen a ruling elder of the church, and the following year is designated as one of the first selectmen. Governor Win- throp mentions him as " an ancient, sincere professor ; " and Hubbard, as "blessed with a singular gift in the practice of discipline."+ He died April 3, 1650. Through him the patent descended to his son, Governor John Leverett, of Massachusetts, and in 1714 to President John Leverett, of Harvard College, the grandson of the latter, and the great-grandson of the original grantee. Previously, in 1694, Madocawando, Sagamore of the Penobscot tribe, whose daughter married Saint-Castin, sold to Governor Phips at Pemaquid a large tract of land included in the grant. Although the Indians denied the authority of their chief to make this conveyance, yet, probably to avoid any controversy, President Leverett purchased the title of Spencer Phips, the heir of the governor. In 1719, peace was apparently restored, and Leverett entered upon meas- ures for resettling and reorganizing the patent. Finding the en- terprise of too great magnitude for a single individual, he parcelled the whole land into ten shares in common, and conveyed them to certain persons thenceforth called the " Ten Proprietors." These owners admitted twenty other partners, termed the "Twenty Associates," among whom were Cornelius and Jonathan Waldo, of Boston. The Twenty Associates afterwards transferred to the
1 Russell's Plymouth, 30.
2 Old Colony Rec. Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., Fourth Series, III. 404.
8 The name is perpetuated by a point of land in Camden, called Beauchamp's Point. Locke's Camden.
+ Winthrop's Journal, 114; Hub. N. E., 190.
.
41
THE MUSCONGUS OR WALDO PATENT.
Waldos one hundred thousand acres. Under their auspices, in 1719-20, two plantations, which subsequently became the thriv- ing towns of Thomaston and Warren, were commenced. This may be regarded as the first permanent settlement of the patent. For only a short distance from the coast had the territory then been visited by the white man. The lofty pine forests of Mont- ville and Searsmont, the lakes of Quantabacook and Lineoln- ville, were alike unknown with the undeveloped fertility of Jackson and Thorndike, and the vast mineral resources of Rock- land and Frankfort.
The new proprietors entered upon the work of improvement with great vigor. In Thomaston, they built two blockhouses on the site of the old fort, and established a garrison. The progress of the settlements was soon disturbed by a new Indian war, of three years' duration, during which all the houses and mills were destroyed. The blockhouses, however, being well de- fended, withstood several formidable attacks, the last of which was a siege maintained for thirty days. Peace being finally concluded in 1726, the efforts of the Associates were renewed. A minister of the gospel and one hundred families were engaged to establish themselves, when an unexpected interruption was created by the aggressions of one David Dunbar, who had ob- tained an appointment styling him "Surveyor-General of the King's woods." Clothed with this authority, he seems to have reversed the Scriptural language, and regarded every man as in- famous, " according as he had lifted up axes against the thick trees." Disregarding the vested rights of the patentees, Dunbar claimed a reservation of all pine-trees in Maine, in diameter over two feet, as masts for the British navy. Attended by an armed force, he drove the lumberers from their homes, seized their tim- ber, and burned their saw-mills. His extortions were so rapacious and so disastrous to the interests of the proprietors, that they de- termined to send an agent to England for relief. Samuel Waldo, afterwards General Waldo, from whom the patent derives its later name, was selected for the purpose. After great exertions and a long stay abroad, he succeeded in procuring a revocation of Dunbar's authority. So valuable were Waldo's services, that the thirty partners. conveyed to him one-half of the whole patent, as a remuneration for the money and efforts which he had ex- pended in obtaining a recognition and future guarantee of their rights.
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