USA > Maine > Somerset County > Skowhegan > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 11
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Canaan > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 11
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Bloomfield > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 11
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Starks > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 11
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Norridgewock > History of the old towns, Norridgewock and Canaan, comprising Norridgewock, Canaan, Starks, Skowhegan, and Bloomfield, from their early settlement to the year 1849; including a sketch of the Abnakis Indians > Part 11
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
172
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
Gospel on such terms as may appear to have a tendency to sweeten the tempers, conciliate the affections, and introduce love and harmony among all the reall friends of religion," a com- mittee was raised to provide ministers for the ensuing year.
Jonathan Powers preached a few Sundays in 1801 - 2. November 19, 1801, the church which had been allowed to slumber for a sea- son during the difficulties consequent on the dismissal of Mr. Calef, was aroused, and com- menced its regular operations. Certain altera- tions were made in the form of faith, discipline, &c., and a council of five ministers with their delegates assembled, and ten males and five females were organized into a new church. Their names were Solomon Clarke, William Steward, Phineas Steward, Jr., Solomon Stew- ard, Jr., Peter Heywood, Jr., Samuel Weston, Eli Weston, Selma White, George Bigelow, (living, about 80), John Hunt, Rebecca Jewett, Elizabeth Steward, Polly Weston, Sally Weston, (living, aged about 86), and Mary White. The foregoing names were the fruits of the Ran- dall Reformation, so called .*
Rev. - Marcy preached considerably in 1804, but the town voted not to settle him. In the year 1808, Rev. Jotham Sewall received a call to labor one half of the time in Canaan, at $200 per annum, but he did not accept. In the year 1808, there was quite an interesting revival.
Rev. John Cayford was employed six Sab- * Eusebius Weston, Esq.
173
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
baths in the fall of 1808, and in December was invited to settle. He was to have $250, one quarter cash. He was installed September 6, 1809, and the Rev. Messrs. Jotham Sewall, Eliphalet Gillet, and Jonathan Ward, assisted in the services. A dissatisfation which had been growing for several years, broke out in 1812, and the church and town united in demanding a council to investigate several charges against Mr. Cayford. The charges on the part of the town were, 1st, an unfaithful watch over his flock; 2d, too much talk of merchandise and politics, and too little of reli- gion ; 3d, ungentlemanly allusions to public characters in the pulpit.
The Council met, and advised his dismis- sion, and Dec. 29, 1812, it was voted in town meeting to dismiss him from his charge. The next year he had 55 out of 159 votes cast for representative to General Court. Mr. Cay- ford was an Englishman, and a man of bad character and reputation. He did not preach for the Congregationalists but a short time after his dismissal, when he went over to the Bap- tists. He was confined in Augusta jail, for misdemeanors altogether unworthy of a clergy- man. He went to Florida, where he was a postmaster for some time, and is supposed to have died there. He was a man of much tal- ent, a mechanic, an excellent business man, but void of moral principle.
By the division of Canaan, and the erection of Bloomfield, the remainder of the church history belongs to the latter town.
15*
174
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
CHRISTIANS.
This sect in Canaan owes much of its pros- perity to the long and faithful labors of Rev. Joseph Merrill. This gentleman was born in Raymond, N. H., September 7, 1779, and he commenced the work of the ministry in Ca- naan village, and other towns in the vicinity, in the year 1811. In 1818 a church was formed, of nine members, and a season of re- vival was soon after enjoyed, in which many obtained a hope. The meetings were held, at first, in barns and private dwellings. Gener- ally, for thirty-eight years, Mr. Merrill has preached to this people one fourth of the time.
The years 1836 and 1843 were distinguished by great revivals, and other seasons of refresh- ing have been experienced. The state of re- ligion has generally been low. The church now numbers ninety members, and has a Sun- day school of sixty scholars, called the Union Sunday School, and a Sunday School Library of one hundred volumes. The Christians of Canaan are among the best of the people.
UNIVERSALISTS .¡
The first beginnings of Universalism in Ca- naan were about the year 1823, when Rev. Sylvanus Cobb organized a small society in the town, through the influence of Joseph Barrett, father of Hon. Joseph Barrett, who re- moved to Canaan in 1805, and was for a long
* Rev. Joseph Merrill.
+ Hon. Joseph Barrett, H. C. Warren, Wentworth Tuttle, Jr.
175
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
time the only believer in the doctrine in the town. After Mr. Cobb's labors, other preach- ers spoke to the people, from time to time, among whom were Revs. M. McFarland, Dan- iel Young, F. A. Hodsdon, John B. Dodds, Fayette Mace, Alanson St. Clair, L. P. Rand, C. S. Hussey, C. H. Leonard, John A. Henry, and others, occasionally. Rev. C. S. Hussey is the present pastor, and occupies the Union church one fourth of the time. The church was organized in June, 183-, and now consists of thirty-five members. Since its organization, not one member has died. There is a Sunday school of sixty scholars, and a library of two hundred volumes.
The beautiful church in Canaan village was erected in 1831-2, and dedicated in November, 1832 ; sermon by Rev. C. H. Leonard, Univer- salist. It is owned by the Universalists, Chris- tians, Methodists, and Calvinistic Baptists.
METHODISTS.
Daniel Ela and wife were about the first Methodists in town. They came in 1826, and were soon joined by Theodore Ela and wife, until 1832-3, when three or four others united with them. This small band, making about nine or ten, held on together until March, 1835, when a general revival took place among the sects, and quite an accession was made to the church. This revival has since been re- membered as the great Methodist protracted
* Samuel Rollins.
176
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
meeting ; - it lasted about six weeks. The whole number of Methodists in Canaan, in regular standing, is forty. They worship a por- tion of the time in the Union house.
In 1835, the town was united to the Skow- hegan circuit, and Rev. Samuel P. Blake was preacher. In 1836, E. Hotchkiss, in 1837-18, Revs. D. Hutchinson and P. P. Morrill were preachers. In 1839-40, the town was on the Winslow circuit, and Revs. Sullivan Bray, L. P. French and J. C. Murch were the pastors. In 1841, 2, 3, 4, it was on the Palmyra circuit, and Revs. Zebulon Manter, C. L. Browning, Joseph Gerry, and F. A. Soule were pastors. In 1845-6, Rev. Joshua Nye, local preacher, supplied. In 1847, the town was on the Win- slow circuit, and Rev. B. F. Sprague was pas- tor. In 1848, the society was placed on the Palmyra circuit, and Rev. J. W. Dow was ap- pointed preacher.
FREE-WILL BAPTISTS.
There are several of this sect in different parts of the town, and a small church has been gathered in the eastern part. The numbers are few.
CALVINISTIC BAPTISTS.1
There is a small Baptist church, but its oper- ations have been limited. It was organized in 1819, with nineteen members. Rev. Mr. Cain, of Clinton, preached one fourth of the time till the year 1834. Rev. Samuel Knox spent a
* Rev. Joseph Merrill. + Hon. Joseph Barrett. Millet's Hist.
-
HISTORY OF CANAAN.
177
profitable ministry of two years in Canaan, from 1834 to 1836; and from 1837 to 1842, Rev. L. Packard labored with the church a por- tion of the time. It licensed S. Cook and Nathaniel Hubbard. There are thirty or forty members.
The Congregationalists have never made many efforts in modern Canaan, and it is not known that there is one of that sect in town.
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
IN the year 1769, the Plymouth Company advertised to give away all the land in the bend of the Kennebec river, beginning at Skowhegan falls, and running up to Old Point, on the north side, to any and all persons who would immediately settle on the same. The rule adopted by the Company was to give away two lots, and reserve two alternately, with the belief that the lots given away would encourage settlers to flock in, and thus enhance the value of the lots to be sold. This was the
general rule adopted down the river. But as Canaan and Norridgewock were regarded as being in the backwoods, the rule was so far de- parted from, that all the river lots in Norridge- wock, and those in that part of Canaan which is now Bloomfield, were given away. A slight fee of four or five dollars was all the land cost the settlers. They decided that the lots in Nor- ridgewock should commence on the river, and being seventy-five rods in width there, should run back from the river one mile and one third. As the land was declared to be rich and fertile, and the prospect for a prosperous
TURNER & HOTEL , UPPER END OF N VILLAGE
VIEW OF NORRIS GEWOCK VID. AGR
179
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
section of country very good, Lieutenant Wil- liam Warren, Obadiah Witherell, Eleazer Spaulding and William Fletcher, in 1771, came down at the request of several of their friends, John Clark, Seth Wyman, and others. They returned, and reported to the proprietors and their friends, that as there was not land enough for a town, nor a good mill privilege, it was not expedient to emigrate. The Company was very desirous that the region should be peopled, and in consequence of Mr. Warren's representation, immediately voted another tier of lots on the opposite side of the river, from Canaan to Sandy river, which would include a very good mill-site. The prospect for a flour- ishing town was made encouraging, and in 1773,
William Warren,* the first actual settler, came from Pepperell, Mass. He had kept a tavern in Pepperell, lost his wife, married a sis- ter of Dea. John Clark, and emigrated. He was a Lieutenant in the old French war. He settled on a farm, a part of which is now occupied by Mr. Obadiah Witherell. His log hut was erected near the present residence of J. S. Abbott, Esq. He left his sons in Pep- perell, and only brought his wife.
James McDaniels came at the same time, and also
- - Lamson, who settled about where the Bixby family lives.
William Fletcher, of Concord, a son of Wil-
* Levi Sawyer -Josiah Spaulding.
180
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
liam, came at the same time, in September, 1773. He settled above the village of Norridge- wock. He aided in building the first saw- mill ever erected on Sandy river. He remained but a few years, when he removed to Moscow, where he died.
In the spring of 1774, Warren, McDaniels, Lamson and Fletcher attempted a voyage to Sebasticook to mill, but the canoe struck the famous "Death Rock," and all but Fletcher were drowned. He was thus the first perma- nent settler. Sylvanus Sawyer, when he came, purchased Lamson's possessions of his widow. The widow of Warren immediately returned to the west.
The children of William Fletcher were Amos, William,* Thomas,t Asa,¿ Dorcas, Sarah,§ Pol- ly, Lucy.
Lieutenant Obadiah Witherell came down in 1773, and determined to locate on the farm where Mr. Simon Page now lives. He made some slight beginning, but returned for some purpose, and the Revolution breaking out before he left Concord, he entered the army. He did not return to Norridgewock until about 1780.
Nathan Parlin came down in 1773, from Concord. He was a single man, and settled on the farm now occupied by Mr. Seth Parlin. He accompanied Arnold's expedition up the Kennebec, and had the small-pox while there.
* Drowned in the Kennebec in 1800. +Drowned in the Moose river in 1800. ¿ Now in Moscow. § Sarah or Sally is the Sally Fletcher spoken of in another place as the first female white child born in Somerset County. Amos was a very prominent and respectable man in the early annals of Norridgewock.
181
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
His brother Jonas came down the next year, aged seventeen years, and settled on land own- ed by Mr. Isaac Page.
John Parlin, their father, came down several years after, and settled on the land owned by Mr. Hanson Hight.
Walker, who came in 1773, was the first settler on the south side ; he chose that side, while the most of the first settlers preferred the north. On the breaking out of the Revolu- tion, he entered the army, and never returned.
John Clark * was born in Townsend, Mas- sachusetts, January 24th, 1752. During the summer after his twenty-first birth-day, in the year 1773, he settled in this town, on land near that of Mr. Seth Cutler. He was unmarried, but he erected a log hut, and began to keep " bachelor's hall." After commencing his " clearing," and laboring with much industry for a while, he returned in 1774 to Massachu- setts, still holding his land and calling his home here, and in 1775 he entered the Revolutionary army. He served his country faithfully for a period of eight months, and in the year 1777 he was married, and returned to his log house on the Kennebec, where his eldest son was born. In a short time he changed his location to the site of the village of Norridgewock, and erected a log house, where Mr. Obadiah With- erell now lives.
For some years after his first settlement here, he was obliged to go to Gardiner, or Cobbos- seecontee, to mill, in dry seasons, when he did * Asa Clark, Esq.
16
182
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
not pound his corn ; and the first potatoes he used here, he bought at Augusta, and brought all the way on his back through the woods.
He built the first framed house in the village of Norridgewock, which was completed in the year 1788. It is now occupied by J. Baker,
Esq., near the town ferry. Mr. Clark became deacon, took high rank for his piety and respec- tability, and sustained several prominent town offices. For many years, the town meetings and sabbath gatherings were in his house, and the musters and trainings in his field. He gave the land where the church and village burial ground are located. After seeing his descendants settled, and the wilderness around him blossom with life, he died Sept. 3, 1832, aged eighty years.
His children were John, born July, 1778 ; Daniel, born Nov. 15, 1780; Rebecca, born 1782, died 1787; Dorcas, born Nov. 22, 1783, married Eliakim Tobey; Asa, born Aug. 5, 1785; Mary, born May, 1787, married Abijah Goodrich ; Sally, born June 17, 1789; Cyn- thia, born June 7, 1793.
Thomas Farrington * was employed by the Proprietors to survey the lots, and was to give to each person a farm seventy-five rods wide and one mile and one third in length, large measure. He scarcely left his boat as he passed up the river, and barely making bounds on the river shore, he neglected to run out the side lines and back bounds. Several disputes have arisen in consequence of his negligence. His
* MS. of Dea. John Loring.
183
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
survey took place in 1773. He procured the drawing of a plan by Dr. John McKechnie. He began at high-water mark, made an allow- ance of four rods for a road, and then com- menced with his bounds. The consequence was, owing to the curvature of the river, some of the lots at Sandy river were two miles in length, some at Bloomfield a mile and a half, while others were less than a mile. He settled in the early part of 1774, on land near Old Point, but he lost his wife in 1774, and returned to Groton in the following year. His son Abel was taken into the family of Sylvanus Sawyer, and lived in town many years.
Much discussion has prevailed in the town, on the question, "Who was the first white child born in Norridgewock ?" and tradition has mentioned several names. Rev. Obed Wilson declared, at the funeral of Dea. John Clark, that he was the oldest child living, born in Norridgewock, and from that statement peo- ple inferred that he was the first. He was born Oct. 15, 1778 ; John Heald was born Oct. 17, 1775; and James Waugh was born Jan. 10, 1775. Mr. Waugh's tombstone declares him to be the first white child born in Somerset county. Though unquestionably the first child born on Sandy river, there were three children born in Norridgewock before him. Sally Fletcher was born in August, 1774, Susannah Fairbrother in Sept., 1774, and Abel, son of Thomas Farrington, the surveyor, was born in the very earliest part of August, in 1774. He was, beyond all controversy, the first white
184
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
child born in Somerset county. Not only will this fact be learned from Maj. Meigs' diary, in the sequel, but the family of Sylvanus Sawyer, in which he lived, endorse the declaration. He was nearly six months old, when Col. Waugh was born.
Lovewell Fairbrother * came in the fall of 1773, with his family, and wintered. He occu- pied four hundred acres of land, now possessed, in part, by the Bixby family. He remained but five years, when he removed to Seven Mile Brook. His daughter Susannah, born in Aug., 1774, was the second child born in Norridge- wock.
Moriah Gould i was born in Groton, Massa- chusetts, June 5, 1754. His father was slain by the Indians at the Half-way brook, between Crown Point and Fort Edwards, in the year 1758, when he was about forty-three years of age. He left eight children, including Moriah, and another was added to the family soon after the father's death. He was early in life put out to service, and, as is often the case, he suf- fered. At the age of twelve years, he was attacked with an ague sore in his knee, which caused him much trouble, and which obliged him to undergo an amputation, many years afterward.
September 15, 1773, he left Groton for Bos- ton, and entered on board a coaster, to seek his fortune in the wilds of Maine. He arrived at Canaan, and began to work for Capt. Nehe-
* Levi Sawyer.
1 M. Gould's MS.
185
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
miah Pease. In the spring of 1774, he pro- cured a piece of land in Norridgewock, near the northern village, erected a hut, and cleared four acres of land.
In June, 1775, he went to Groton after some clothes, intending to return in three weeks, but he was persuaded to enter the American army at Cambridge, in August of the same year. He remained in the army sixteen months, and then returned to Norridgewock. He found a stranger on his farm, who paid him a few dol- lars for his improvements, but the money was in continental currency, which soon became worthless. He soon after procured other land in the " Glen," nearly opposite the residence of M. M. Gould, Esq., on the southern shore of the river. June 8, 1780, he was married. He continued to labor as long as he could, but his lameness increased, until the amputation spo- ken of above.
He died in September, 1825, aged seventy- one years, having been for twenty-eight years a professor of religion. He left a large family of highly respectable descendants, many of whom fill prominent places in community. So distinguished did he become for his piety, that he was termed "Saint Gould " for many years previous to his death. His children were Mary, who died an infant; Joshua, born Sep- tember, 1785; Maria, born November, 1787, married Calvin Heald; Melinda, born May, 1797, married Alden Fuller ; Mary, born Jan- uary 4, 1792, married Jotham Chase; Lucy, born Sept. 17, 1783, married W. W. Dinsmore.
16*
186
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
When Moriah Gould first settled here, he was accustomed to subsist considerably on the fine salmon that filled these waters. Finding the day's labor enough for his strength, and being unwilling to pass many of the night- hours in fishing, he was accustomed to capture his finny food in the following original manner. His house stood near the water's edge, and after he had set his net, he would tie one end of a line to his wrist and the other to the net, and go to bed; and as a fish, in endeavoring to dart by, became entangled in the net, the motion would awake him, and springing out of bed, he would secure his prey.
Although the Indians had all removed from this region, yet the early settlers were easily alarmed, if any indications of their appearance were seen. On one occasion Moriah Gould had some business to transact at a distance, and he went on foot through the east part of the town. Passing through a field where the owner was clearing up by burning, he sat down to light his pipe, and was sitting by a burning heap, smoking, when he was seen by a neigh- bor, who immediately gave the alarm of "Indians!" The bad news spread, and soon a terrified knot of people collected together to discuss the matter. Mr. Gould finished smok- ing, and very soon appeared among those alarmed, and explained the phenomenon to their entire satisfaction. - Mrs. Calvin Heald.
Sylvanus Sawyer * was born in Templeton, Massachusetts, and came to Norridgewock in
* Levi Sawyer.
187
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
June, 1774, accompanied by six sons and two daughters. He settled on the land first taken up by Mr. Lamson ; - he bought the widow's possessions. His son John, aged 17 years, was drowned the very day of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Sylvanus, John, and Captain Fletcher were going in their canoe to Sebasticook to mill, and they struck a rock in the Great Eddy below Skowhegan, overturned, and young Sawyer was drowned. Luke, another son, is buried at Starks Corner, and his epitaph reads thus: "LUKE SAWYER born in Templeton Massachusetts, in 1760, Emigrated to Kennebec in 1774, died July 5, 1841, aged 80 years, 9 m., 5 days. Gone but not forgotten."
One son and one daughter are now (1849) living ; the one aged 84, and the other S2 years.
Oliver Wood * was born in Concord, Massa- chusetts, April 11, 1730, and died in Norridge- wock, July 1, 1816, aged 86 years. His was an adventurous life. At the age of 28 years he entered the British army, and went to Lake George. He endured the hardships, and shared the dangers of a camp life, and though he was not wounded, his health and strength were much impaired. He kept a journal of his prog- ress, the different engagements and the occur- rences of the campaign, from July 17, 1758, to his arrival home, November 15. He relates, " June 22, marcht from Mr. Chays to Glasco,
* The facts relating to Oliver and Silas Wood were principally obtained from papers furnished by the widow of Silas, and by Mr. Abel Wood.
188
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
and Lodg'd at Mr. Ruts, whare we Cleared out, and Froliked allmost all night." " 24, marcht from No. 1. and came through the Duch Cuntry and the 25, arrived at Green Bush, on Sunday, about 3 of ye Clock, and went into a Duch Barn, and heard a very Good Sermon." " July 6, our army arrived at the narrows, and Fell upon the french advance Gard, and kild and Took them all. They took one hundred and Thirty Prisners, and stout men they was." His records are generally of a private nature.
When the Plymouth Company published its proposals, Mr. Wood, with others from Concord and vicinity, set out for Norridgewock. He arrived in September, 1774. He first located himself near the house now occupied by James M. Wood, his descendant. He built a log house, but he was hardly settled when the Revolution broke out, and fears of the Indians and a desire to engage in the struggle for liberty induced him to return. He entered the army, and remained in active service during several months.
Towards the middle of the year 1777, finding that the Indians did not molest this region, he returned, and located himself on the farm now occupied by James M. Wood. He built a log house, and, in process of time, became one of the most distinguished of the settlers in this region.
During his lifetime he sustained many town offices, and received the respect and confidence of the people. He transacted a large amount of legal business, and left many papers.
189
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
He was somewhat imbued with the supersti- tion of those days, and in his journal has left the following list of Unlucky Days. The reader can profit by them if he chooses.
January 12, 13, 15, 17, 21, 26, 28, 30; Feb- ruary 19, 28; March 2, 24, 27; April 1, 12; May 2, 26, 28, 31; June 25, 28; July 26, 31; August 31; September 5, 17, 18; October 17; November 16, 30; December 18, 22, 26, 30.
He died July 1, 1816. His children were Jonas, born September 14, 1750, died October, 1777; Silas, born August 28, 1753,* died De- cember 17, 1834; Lucy, born February 24, 1756, married Ezekiel Miles, died June 9, 1782, Anna, born January 3, 1758, died January 18, 1758; Ephraim, born November 19, 1759, died ; Lydia, born March 10, 1762, married Silas Parlin, died -; Rebecca, born May 26, 1764, died November 25, 1766; Abel, born November 17, 1766, died February 9, 1782; Hepsibeth, born July 3, 1771, married Simon Pierce, died -; Thomas born April 20, 1774, died September 16, 1811.
About 1774 -5, came down several young men named Keith, from Bridgewater, and made a location near Bomazeen rips, - Jona- than, Scotland, Unite, Ruel, and Israel. Israel, who was the eldest, merely came on a visit. He was aide.de-camp to General Heath in the Revolution, was Governor Hancock's aide, and
* Silas came down on a visit in the fall of 1774, and while here, he sowed on his father's land the first grain ever cast into the ground in Norridgewock. A good crop of winter rye was produced the following season. In the year 1782, he became a settler himself.
190
HISTORY OF NORRIDGEWOCK.
was a somewhat distinguished lawyer. He graduated at Harvard University. Major Zepha- niah, their father, came down at the close of the Revolution.
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.