Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 112

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790

USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892 > Part 112

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He has always occupied a prominent place in public affairs in the county, and has filled many positions of trust and responsibility. He was elected first president of the Kennebec County Agricultural So- ciety. In 1856 he was elected one of the selectmen of Mount Vernon, and filled that office, at different periods, for sixteen years. He repre- sented his district in the state legislature in 1863, as the candidate of the republican party. He also filled the office of county commissioner for six years, and was the candidate of the greenback party, in fusion with the democratic party, for congress in the Third Maine district in 1882, making an excellent showing and running ahead of his ticket. He has administered on many estates, and has been a justice of the peace for forty years. He has been a member of Vernon Valley Lodge No. 99, A. F. & A. M., for thirty years, and is a past master of that or- ganization.

He has been particularly interested in Grange affairs, was one of

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the organizers and first master of Starling Grange, of Fayette, in 1877, and two years later was elected master of the State Grange, serving four years. He was also elected lecturer of the State Grange, and at the request of the executive committee of the National Or- ganization, lectured in sixteen different states upon Grange matters.

During his entire life,. Mr. Thing has manifested great activity, and has uniformly attained prominence in whatever direction he has become interested. He has displayed considerable independence in political affairs, having first been identified with the republican party, subsequently with the greenback movement, and is now a consistent supporter of democratic principles.

He married June 27, 1847, Marianne, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Hunt) Kent, of Kents Hill, the family having originally come from Marshfield, Mass. Of this union were born two children: Mil- lard F., who is now engaged in farming at New Sharon, and who when sixteen years of age, enlisted as a private in one of the Maine regi- ments at Augusta; and Nathaniel Kent Thing, who located at Breck- enridge, Col., where he subsequently died, and where his daughter now resides.

Augustus Thomas, born in Oxford county, Me., in 1827, is a son of Daniel and Sally Thomas. He had two brothers, Justin and Daniel. He married Adelia, daughter of Benjamin and Sybil (Foster) Robin- son, of Winthrop, who died March 16, 1892. Their children are: Frank A., who lives in California; Fred M. and Flora M., who married Fred H. Shattuck. Mr. Thomas lived in Peru, Me., for eleven years after his marriage, and came to Mount Vernon in 1865.

Isaac Tucker, born in 1815, is a son of Isaac and Sarah (Smith) Tucker, and grandson of Isaac, who lived in New Hampshire and had two sons, Isaac and Stephen. Mr. Tucker came to Maine in 1833 and was for five years a workman on the arsenal at Augusta. In 1840 he married Abigail Bartlett, by whom he had four children: Joseph, Sarah, Thomas and Mary. She died in 1847, and he afterward mar- ried Philina G. Smith, who bore him five children: Lizzie V., Frank, Josie, Minnie and Henry. He was selectman for several years.

Ozro A. Weston, farmer, born in Mount Vernon in 1850, is a son of Alfred and Saphronia B. (Watson) Weston, and grandson of Thomas F., who came from Massachusetts, and had three sons: Alfred, Simeon and Thomas. The children of Alfred were: Sylvia T., Dura, Emily A., Lorenzo, Costello, Roscoe and Ozro A. The latter married Nettie W., daughter of James Dill, and their children are: Roscoe A., Harry O., Charles O. and Gertrude M. Mr. Weston was selectman for three years prior to 1890. He came to the farm where he now lives in 1878.

Allen F. Williams, born in 1821, is a son of John and Mary Wil- liams, who settled in Readfield, where John died in 1839. His wife

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

died in 1887. Allen F. Williams married Lydia A., daughter of Alvin and Nancy Courier, and in 1853 moved to Mount Vernon, on the farm where he now lives. Their two children are: Estelle (Mrs. Hannibal H. Bachelor) and Clarence E., who stays on the farm with his father.

Luther Woods and his two sisters are the only survivors of the eight children of Sampson and Dorathy (Wadleigh) Woods, who came to Belgrade from New Hampshire in 1806, and in 1817 moved to- Mount Vernon, settling on the Nathan W. Copp farm. Their chil- dren were: Jacob S. (Sampson, who died young), Dorathy J., Emily, Luther, Greenlief W., Martin V. and Ellen C. Emily is now living in Randolph, Me., and Ellen C. resides in Washington, D. C.

Elbridge G. Wright, born in 1819, is one of five sons of John and Jane Wright, the others being: John, Alden B., Warren and George W. Their grandfather was John Wright, who came from England and settled in Woolwich, Me. Elbridge G. Wright married Hannah, daughter of Amasa Porter, and their children are: James M., Sarah E., Martha J. and Isaac P. Mr. Wright came to Mount Vernon in 1835 and worked as a carpenter until 1861, when he enlisted in the 4th M aine Battery, and in 1864 returned to Mount Vernon, where he has since lived.

John B. Wright, born in 1822, is the son of John and Jane (Blinn) Wright, and grandson of John Wright, who came from Massachusetts in early life, settled in Woolwich, and had three sons: Roland, John and Daniel. John B. married Betsey Dunn, who died in 1846. He afterward married Mary A. Whittier and they had two children: La- forest B. and Josiah W., who died in 1869. Mr. Wright has been a farmer and drover. He was selectman for nine years prior to 1886, and a justice for fourteen years. He has lived at his present resi- dence for fifty-seven years.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

TOWN OF FAYETTE.

By GEORGE UNDERWOOD, Esq.

Natural Features .- Early Mills .- Settlement and Settlers .- Cemeteries .- Incor- poration .- Civil Lists .- Churches .- Schools .- Societies .- Business Interests. Post Offices .- Personal Paragraphs.

F AYETTE, originally Starling Plantation, is located in the north- westerly part of the county, fifteen miles north of west of Augusta, and contains about thirty six square miles. It is bounded on the north by Chesterville, in Franklin county, and Mt. Vernon, on the east by Readfield, on the south by Wayne, and on the west by East Livermore, in Androscoggin county. The surface is somewhat more broken and hilly than that of her sister towns, but it compares favorably with any of them for farming purposes, while her grazing lands excel those of many of them. Her lakes, abounding with many kinds of fish, are not surpassed in numbers, magnificence or beauty by those of any town in the county, and probably not by those of any town in Maine. The picturesque view of the Andros- coggin valley from the Ridge, the magnificent lake view from Watson hill, and the extended view from Baldwin hill, are truly wonder- ful. The westerly and northerly portions abounded in pine timber, which long since gave way to the lumberman's axe. There has, how- ever, sprung up in its place another growth of pine, which is already being utilized for timber purposes, and is quite abundant. Other por- tions of the town were generously supplied with hemlock and cedar and the hard woods indigenous to this region, of which there is now a large quantity.

There are three water-powers in town-one in the north, one in the south and one in the east part, besides one partially in the town, on its western border. These localities were formerly known as Bacheller's, Fisk's, Underwood's and Smith's mills. At Bacheller's Mills a saw mill has been in active operation from the settlement of the town, manufacturing long and short lumber, shingles, etc. At Fisk's Mills Mr. Alden Wing, of Wayne, built and operated a saw mill and a grist mill between eighty and ninety years ago. This prop-

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

erty has passed through several hands in these many years. There is still at this place a saw mill and an excellent novelty mill.

At Underwood's Mills, in early days, there were upon the water- power, a saw mill, shingle and clapboard mill, grist mill, wool carding and cloth dressing establishment, and tannery. Subsequently the North Wayne Scythe Company constructed extensive scythe works here. In 1857 every building on the power was destroyed by fire. A new scythe shop and tannery were at once erected and put in opera- tion. The new tannery, however, shared the fate of the old one within a few years. Later a new saw mill was placed on the site of the old one, and is now in successful operation. The North Wayne Company occupied the new shop a few years and then suspended operations, when the late R. B. Dunn purchased the property. The Dunn Edge Tool Company operated the works until within a few years, when the business was again suspended.

At Smith's Mills there was once a saw mill, erected partly in Fay- ette and partly in East Livermore, the saw holding the line between the two towns. An officer attempted to serve a process on an opera- tive in this mill. The fellow was a little too sharp for him. When an officer from one or the other of the counties appeared, his man was found at the wrong end of the log to make the service valid, conse- quently it required the two to arrest the culprit.

FIRST SETTLEMENT AND EARLY SETTLERS .- Chase Elkins located in town in 1781 and was the first man who settled here. " He was the first man who broke the wilderness for cultivation in this town." Vestiges still remain and mark the spot where this first settler's shanty stood. The rude hut was located about midway between Oak hill and Fayette Corner. Asa Wiggin came to the locality now called Fayette Corner and felled a few trees in 1779, but soon left and did not come to remain until after Mr. Elkins had made a clearing and a home. It is a well established fact that Mr. Elkin's son Chase, born January 7, 1784, was the first white child born in town, in honor of which Mr. Elkins was awarded a prize. Polly Judkins was the first female. She was born February 9, 1784.

Among the early settlers were: Benjamin Clifford, William Mor- rill, Joel Judkins, Nathan Lane, James Bly, James Bamford, Stephen French, Richards Tilton, Eleazer Goodwin, Enoch Watson, Perley Dow, Jeremiah Tuck, Cyrus Baldwin, John Judkins, Henry Watson, Abner Talbot, Benjamin Bodge, Matthew Pettengill, Unight Brown, Benjamin Pike, John Berry, Abijah Crane, Joseph Anderson, Moses Judkins, Joshua Walton and Elnathan Wing. This Wing was captain of a coasting schooner and while he was away on a voyage his wife heard that the proprietors of Starling Plantation were to have a meet- ing to dispose of some lots of land. With a child in her arms, she traveled all the way from East Readfield, about ten miles, following

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a trail by spotted trees. She bought 150 acres of new land, paying for it a cow and a feather bed. Her husband afterward moved his family to the locality.

While Elnathan and his sons, Benjamin and Joseph, were felling trees, one struck and killed him. Benjamin cleared and occupied the farm. Thomas Wing married Benjamin's daughter and settled on this farm sixty-two years ago. He is now eighty-one years of age, the oldest inhabitant in South Fayette. He says that there is not another person living between Fayette Corner and Wayne village who owns and lives on the same farm as at the time when he took up his resi- dence there. On this place was the first stoned-up well and the first brick chimney in town. The first framed and painted house built in town is still standing just across the green from the Baptist church at Fayette Corner, and has been occupied by Eliphalet S. Gordon for many years. It used to be known as the " white house."

Among those who followed these early settlers were: James Young, Turner Swift, Andrew Sturtevant, Ezra Fisk, Scott Wing, James Wat- son, Francis Hubbard, Joseph H., Thomas and Parker L. Underwood, John Lovejoy, John Bodge, Elias Craig, William Bussell, Reuben Ham, Israel Chase, John Hewett, Jeremiah Lane, a Mr. Norcross, Ru- fus Walton, Samuel Williams, Lewis Stacy, Gilman Bacheller, John Dane, Asa Hutchinson, Benjamin Palmer, James Lane, Joel Fuller, Samuel Page, John and Isaac Fellows, Samuel Walton, Jonathan Per- kins, William Bamford, Captain True, Jesse, Jeremy, John, Samuel and Joseph Tuck, Joseph, Noah and Thomas Watson, Montgomery Morrison, Nathan Raymond, Rufus Davenport, Jacob Stevens and Harvey and Alden Josselyn. At one time there were nearly or quite one hundred persons in town by the name of Watson, and the name of Tuck followed closely upon it. There are but two of the former and four of the latter name now in town.

In early days and for many years the Corner was the business cen- ter-the " hub" of all the town. At one time there were three ineet- ing houses-Baptist, Free Baptist and Methodist-three taverns and five stores in the place. Solomon Bates was the first postmaster and the first tavern keeper. He was the father of Rev. George Bates, a prominent Universalist clergyman, and of Dr. James Bates, once superintendent of the Maine Insane Hospital. Daniel Judkins suc- ceeded Esquire Bates in each position, keeping the tavern and holding the post office for many years.

Among the store-keepers may be named: Elisha Pettengill, John A. Page, James Underwood, Jesse Aiken, Jotham Crane, John Haines, Richard Packard, Sullivan True, Dearborn Fellows, David Watson & Son, Gilman Bacheller and Merrill Smith. For many years there has been neither store nor tavern at the Corner, and the Free Baptist and

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

Methodist churches disappeared long ago. However, since the dis- appearance of these churches a Methodist chapel has been erected.

The main thoroughfare leading through this place was thronged with teams of horses and oxen, drawing clapboards and shingles from towns in Franklin and Oxford counties to Hallowell, and bringing back merchandise for the country trade. Daniel Judkins used to make the statement that any time when he stepped to the door of his tavern, summer or winter, night or day, he could hear the rumbling of wheels, the creaking of axles or the jingling of bells.

The old Baptist meeting house, with its high galleries built on three sides of the audience room, was torn down and the present one erected more than seventy years ago. When the Bowdoinham Bap- tist Association met here in those days there were booths and shanties all round the green and along the roadside, where rum and other refreshments were dispensed to the hungry and thirsty assemblage. The pious laymen patronized freely and the preachers took generous drams as a stimulus for their sermons.

The only post office in town was maintained here for many years. This, too, brought the townspeople together once a week, on Saturday afternoons, to get their mail and glean the news. This office was on the regular mail route from the Kennebec river to the Androscoggin, and a four-horse coach brought in the mail.

When the Underwood road was built it changed the current of travel through the town, and the glory of Fayette Corner departed. After the building of this road Annis Tilton established on its line, at North Fayette, a tavern which, under his administration and that of his successors, did a flourishing business until the completion of the Androscoggin railroad, when the patronage ceased and the hotel business in Fayette has been at a standstill since that day.

The first merchant who opened a store at Underwood's Mills- more familiarly known as the " Mills"-was Joseph H. Underwood. He was in active business in this place more than fifty-five years. He not only carried on his store, but for several years was engaged in wool-carding, cloth-dressing and tanning. His business at one time was so extensive that he had accounts open with more than eight hun- dred people at the same time. His patronage extended all along the line from Andover, in Oxford county, to Edgecomb, in Lincoln county. He was the first to introduce and breed Hereford cattle to any extent in Maine. Merchants who followed him were: Jesse Aiken, Samuel Nason, Daniel Hutchinson, Howard B. Lovejoy, Wil- liam H. Thorn, Dean Smith, N. B. Buxton, Daniel Safford, Andrew Pinkham, Lowell Sanborn, W. D. Weymouth, G. & M. Nolan, J. S. W. Hewett, Frank Laughton, Fred A. Wing and Enoch Whittemore.

Deacon Elias Craig owned and operated a grist mill here for many years. The deacon and Esquire Underwood were both practical jest-

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ers, and many of their mutual jokes have been handed down and have . afforded amusement even to the present generation. In the earlier days Henry Craig manufactured hats and John Bodge earthen ware in this place.

Prominent among the original proprietors of Starling Plantation was one Esquire Emerson. When his estate was settled many lots were bought at auction by the early settlers. One Mr. Brown was also quite a heavy original owner. Nathaniel Gilman Bacheller bought of Robert Waugh the place on the hill near the Ridge, which has ever since been known as the Bacheller place. He formerly owned a farm and mill property in Kensington, N. H. On this farm, in re- cent years, the Boston & Maine Railroad Company have built a depot, and the old Bacheller house stands intact. With the proceeds of the sale of his New Hampshire property Mr. Bacheller bought in Fayette about 1,500 acres of new land and about 600 in Chestervile. He owned so much real estate that he bequeathed to each of nine of his children about 200 acres of land and made ample provision for the maintenance of two unmarried daughters.

The first settler in the north part of the town was Daniel Bachel- ler. His wife did not see another white woman for six months after they moved here. Then three women came on snow shoes to visit her. They were Mrs. Wiggin and Mrs. Judkins, from Fayette Corner, and Mrs. Davis, from the Ridge. Mr. Bacheller planted orchards in his clearing, and later he raised two hundred bushels of pears, besides large lots of apples, and made large quantities of cider.

David Walton was one of the first settlers in the Moose hill region. Mrs. Walton was often seen going to church, at Fayette Corner, on Sundays. At times she would go on horseback, with one child in her arms and two on the horse behind her. In the summer season she frequently went on foot, with one child in her arms and leading another by the hand. So careful was she of her shoes that she would often go barefoot until within a short distance of the church.

So steadfast in the faith and so zealous to attend public worship were the saints in those days that they were determined to overcome any and all obstacles. Among the early residents there were firm believers in witchcraft. The wife of John Knowles had the reputa- tion of being a witch, and having the baleful power of the " evil eye." When somebody was churning and the butter was "long a com- ing," it was thought that Mrs. Knowles bewitched the cream. So a red hot horseshoe was thrown into the churn. Straightway there was heard a most unearthly scream, and it was believed that the witch was so badly burned that she suffered for several days.

Mrs. Harriet Crane, of Fayette Ridge, widow of Abijah Crane, jun., was born in 1802. She is the oldest person now living in town. Her father, the late David Fifield, was one of the first settlers on the

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

Ridge. She remembers events and relates incidents clearly that oc- curred in her childhood. Since Mrs. Crane was seventy years old she has set and sewed seventy patch-work quilts. Some of them contain from one thousand to two thousand pieces each. These are now the property of persons residing in several states of the Union. The aged lady retains her faculties to a remarkable degree and converses fluently and intelligently on general subjects. She is the mother of Rev. A. R. Crane, D.D., a prominent Baptist clergyman.

Reuben Crane, son of Abijah Crane, sen., was a man who figured conspicuously in musical circles, and will long be remembered for his fine musical talents and for the sweetness and melody of his voice. For a long time he was the leading instructor of vocal music in this vicinity. For many years he was the leader of the choir in the Bap- tist church at the Corner and the beloved superintendent of its Sab- bath school.

Frederick A. Chase, nephew of Mr. Crane, inherited the musical talent of the Crane family to an eminent degree. He, too, has been a popular teacher of vocal music, and for many years has occupied the same position in the Baptist choir and Sabbath school that Mr. Crane held so long. At the age of more than three score and ten years, he still retains his musical ability and is yet an acknowledged leader in the service of song. His brother, Mr. Simeon Chase, at the age of eighty-five years, does the greater part of the work on his farm, and still takes a lively interest in the affairs pertaining to the welfare of his town. At this advanced age he seems to possess a good share of vitality and apparently a firm hold on life. He is the oldest man in town.

CEMETERIES .- The old burying ground near the Mills is located about one mile south, on the old road leading to North Wayne. It is on an eminence commanding a beautiful view of the surrounding country. It is supposed that the spot was once used, to a limited ex- tent, by the Indians for burial purposes. The names of nearly all the early families in this vicinity are to be found on the tomb-stones in this lot.

Recently another beautiful spot, more conveniently situated and nearer the village, has been selected, in which several have already found their last resting place. At the Corner the cemetery adjoins the Baptist church grounds. Here, too, may be found the names of the very early settlers, as well as those of all the generations that have succeeded them. On Chase Elkins' head-stone in this lot is the following inscription: " He was the first man who broke the wilder- ness for cultivation in this town."

A half mile distant from this cemetery Mr. E. H. Kent has a neatly graded and finely located ground. In it he has allowed others to bury when preferring to do so. Near the church, at the north, are two

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grounds, also one on the Fellows road. These are conveniently situated and neatly kept.

INCORPORATION .- The town was incorporated February 28, 1795, taking its present name. The first town meeting was held April 13, 1795. Joseph Davis was chosen moderator, "to regulate the meet- ing;" Eleazer Goodwin, town clerk: Eleazer Goodwin, Benjamin Clif- ford and Ebenezer Hutchinson, selectmen. Another meeting was called for the fourth of May, at which Abijah Crane acted as modera- tor; John Knowles was chosen treasurer; David Knowles, constable; James Young, Francis Hubbard, Richard Tilton, Abijah Crane, Sam- uel Bacheller, Stephen Abbott and Joseph Anderson, surveyors of highways; John Knowles and Stephen Abbott, tythingmen; Asa Wig- gin, pound keeper (his barn being used for a pound); and Samuel Smith and Stephen French, hog-reefs.

" Voted that swine should run at large by being yoked and 'rung' according to law. Chose Abijah Crane and Francis Hubbard a com- mittee to assist the selectmen in dividing the town into districts of highway and schools. Voted £150 to be spent in the repair of high- ways, and that laborers on the highway shall be allowed four shillings per day till the last of September. Voted to lay out £30 in schooling and £30 to defray town charges. Voted that Mr. Daniel Rowell's house be the public place to put up warrants and advertisements."

In 1790 the plantation contained 166 inhabitants. They steadily increased until the number reached more than one thousand. The last few decades show a corresponding decrease. The last census in- dicates but 649.

CIVIL LISTS .- The names of town clerks from the organization of the town are: Eleazer Goodwin, Solomon Bates, Joseph H. Under- wood, John A. Page, Gilman Bacheller, Ezra Fisk. Jotham Crane, James Underwood, Andrew Sturtevant, Howard B. Lovejoy, A. G. Underwood, J. H. Sturtevant, T. F. Palmer, Fred A. Wing, J. F. Ste- vens, J. S. W. Hewett and Lester R. Fellows.

The names of the chairmen of the board of selectmen are: Eleazer Goodwin, Francis Hubbard, Solomon Bates, Joseph Davis, Ebenezer Turner, Ezra Fisk, Joseph H. Underwood, Charles Smith, Samuel Parker, Merrill Clough, Samuel Smith, Henry Craig, Jotham Crane, John Hewett, Abijah Crane, jun., John S. French, Lewis Chase, Mar- shall Lane, Peleg F. Pike, J. W. C. Jones, Dr. Noah Watson, F. A. Chase, Dr. A. G. French, A. G. Underwood, Dr. Charles Russell, J. S. W. Hewett, Elias H. Kent, George Underwood, Enoch Whittemore and H. J. Hutchinson.

Superintending school committees: Rev. Mr. Bond, Rev. Arthur Drinkwater, Ezra Fisk, Joseph H. Underwood, Thomas Anderson, R. M. Wing, Marshall Lane, F. A. Chase, Dr. A. G. French, S. C. Tuck, George Underwood, Albion F. Watson, J. H. Sturtevant and Fred A. Wing. Those who have acted as supervisors of schools: F. A. Chase,

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Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 112

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York, Blake Number of Pages: 1790

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790