Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 61

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 61

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A survey and division into lots was made by William Barker No- vember 24, 1795, and is that by which all the lots were assigned and sold. The front, 176 rods, was divided into seventeen lots, extending back half a mile, the remaining six rods being reserved for roads, and numbering from the south line from 1 to 17, and the land in the rear of the half-mile limit was divided into thirty fifty-acre lots, those on the south side of Bowman street being numbered from the east from 18 to 32, and on the north side from the west 32 to 47.

The sale was not fully completed till April 2, 1796, when the deed was executed, and for the sum of $5,600 Judge Bowman conveyed the tract to "Peter Grant, trader; James Parker, physician, and James Springer, Moses Springer, Joseph Glidden, jr., and Hugh Cox, ship- wrights." These grantees admitted as associates William Springer, Augustus Ballard, Samuel Hodgdon, Daniel Norcross and Jeremiah Wakefield, and the lands were apportioned in fifteen parts, the holder of each fifteenth having one front lot and two rear lots, making 110 acres each, excepting James Springer, to whom was assigned three front lots and only two rear lots, he being the holder of two-fifteenths.

Peter Grant was a son of Samuel Grant, a captain in the revolu- tionary army, and was born at Berwick, Me., in February, 1770. He came to Gardiner with his father soon after the close of the war, mar- ried Nancy Barker, daughter of William Barker, of Gardiner, in Sep- tember, 1791, and had already gained a prominent position as a busi- ness man in Gardiner before this purchase, and was then only twenty- six years old. In the allotment he received front lots 9 and 10, and first built a small house near the river on the south side of No. 9, but soon after erected the large house, the remains of which, partly burned, still stand on the north side of No. 10. Here he lived, sur rounded by his constantly increasing business interests-a merchant shipbuilder, and engaged in commerce-till his death, June 10, 1836 He was in command of a company and afterward commissioned as

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

major in the war of 1812. He was a man of good business ability and amassed a considerable property.

The Small house was afterward occupied by Henry Mellus, who well deserves a place in history, he having been one of the famed "Boston Tea Party." He died in February, 1832, aged eighty years. The house now stands on the east side of the road, on lot 13, and was the homestead of the late Thomas Aspenwall.

William and Moses Springer, brothers, and James Springer, their cousin, were of German descent and came to Pittston in 1786. They were engaged in shipbuilding near Agry's point. They came to Bow- man's Point in 1795, and William settled on lot No. 8, where he erected a large two story house on the site of the house now owned by George E. Warren. He was born November 29, 1754, and was the oldest of the settlers at Bowman's Point. He was a shipmaster and was lost at sea. He married Mary Norcross, by whom he had seven children, and after her death, Betsey Jewett, and had four children, of whom the youngest, Harriet, who was born July 17, 1816, and mar- ried William Perry, still survives.

Moses Springer was born October 17, 1767, married Susan Nor- cross, June 10, 1793, and died October 24, 1832. He received front lots 1 and 6 and erected his house on the southerly part of lot 7, and a 3} rod strip, and 8} rods deep, on which it stood, was conveyed to him by his brother, William. He lived here several years and then built a house on one of his rear lots, on the south side of Bowman street, next east of the James Collins place, where he died October 24, 1832, at the age of sixty-five years. His first house was where Loring C. Ballard now lives, and the cellar still remains, marking the location of that on Bowman street.

James Springer married Mary Lemont. He originally held lots 2, 5 and 17, but bought and occupied the house on the east side of the road on lot 13, it being the same house now occupied by Mrs. Springer, widow of his son, Benjamin Springer.

Joseph Glidden had front lot 11, and there erected a house and lived till about 1845. He left no descendants. He sold a house lot on the south corner of Bowman street to Anna S. Marshall, a widow, who with her three children, William, Enoch W. and Betsey Marshall, came here in 1798 in the first chaise owned in the town.

Hugh Cox had lot 12, and there in 1797 erected the large, two story house which was burnt in 1890. He was born in 1759, came here from Bristol, November 17, 1835. He married Mary B. Dunbar, of New- castle, who was born in 1779 and died April 5, 1866. They had seven children, of whom two still survive: George T. Cox, at the age of seventy-eight, and Mrs. Seidus, eighty-five, and to them I am indebted for many interesting facts in the history of this section.

The extension of Bowman street from the road to the river was

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TOWN OF FARMINGDALE.

known as Meeting House lane, and on the north side of it in 1803 a church was built. It was a large building, but never finished inside. It fronted on the lane, facing south, having a porch, with doors open- ing into it on its east and west sides, and stairs leading to a gallery. Here the Methodist society held its meetings. There was no settled minister, this being part of a circuit and the minister in charge being here but little. Twice conferences were held in this building, one being presided over by Bishop Hedding and the other by Bishop Fillmore.

A minister named Wells often officiated there. It was the only Methodist church in this section till 1830, when it was given up and the materials used for a stable in Hallowell. Mrs. Seidus remembers a day in the war of 1812, September 11, 1814, when a service was being held in the church, a messenger came bringing a report of the ap- proach of a British force to attack Wiscasset. There was great excite- ment and hurrying to and fro, the men starting away at once for Wiscasset, and were there the next morning, but the enemy had not and did not come.

Next north of Mr. Cox on lot 13, James Lowell built a cottage house, which stood where Henry Peacock now lives, and on the same lot Augustus Ballard built the honse which is still occupied by his de- scendants.

All these men were interested in shipbuilding and the shore in front of their lots was a succession of ship yards from the later Hal- lowell line to the present location of Grant street.

Samuel Hodgdon had lot 14. He erected the house on the east side of the road, now owned by Mrs. Springer. He sold a house lot of one acre on the west side of the road and next to Mr. Ballard's lot, to Samuel Davis, who built the house now owned by Charles E. Barker. Mr. Davis lived there a few years and then sold to Jesse Jewett, who was a man of great influence and was for years sheriff of the county. Mr. Hodgdon afterward sold to James Springer and settled on Bowman street on the lot still owned and occupied by his descendants. He had three sons-John, Jeremiah and Sullivan- and two daughters-Betsey and Mary.

Dr. James Parker had lots 15 and 16, and built the house now owned by H. L. Crocker and lived there till 1803, when he bought the lot on which James A. Jackson now lives, where he built a house and lived till his death. He was born in Boston in 1768, came to Pittston about 1790, had been educated as a physician by his father who was himself a physician, and while skillful and successful in his profession, was also active and influential as a business man and citizen. He repre- sented the town in the legislature and also the district in the 13th congress, 1813-15. He was shrewd and careful in his management and acquired quite a large property. His wife, an adopted daughter

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

of General Henry Dearborn, was a woman of remarkable goodness and charity and beloved by all. Doctor Parker died November 9, 1837, and Mrs. Parker survived him till 1863.

Nathaniel Kimball bought lot 2 of James Springer and built a house on the east side of the road in 1800. He was a native of New Hampshire and came from Pittston, where he had built several dams and mills which had in succession been swept away by freshets. He married Sally, daughter of Major Henry Smith, who came from Ger- many in 1747 and settled in Pittston in 1764. Major Smith served as a continental soldier in the French war, was at Ticonderoga and saw Lord Howe fall, and was at Quebec under Wolfe. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball afterward built a large, two story house about where Mr. Brann's house now stands which, with a small house now standing near it, was burned some thirty years later, and these were the only early settlers' houses burned before the Cox house in 1890. They had six children, of whom two were residents of Farmingdale after its incorporation: Nathaniel, who was long and well known as an enterprising steamboat owner and captain; and Hannah, who married Alexander S. Chad- wick.

William G. Warren also came here about the year 1800, and built the house now owned by Gilbert Eastman. He was a prominent man, and was for many years a vestryman and warden in Christ church, as were also Doctor Parker and Major Smith. He was grandfather of George E. Warren.

On the lot and near the house of Doctor Parker, was the first school house on Bowman's point, and in 1800 the whole number of inhabit- ants on this tract was 117. This tract was in Hallowell till 1834, when it was annexed to Gardiner.

South of this old Hallowell line, numbering from north to south, the front, west of the road, was divided into acre lots five rods in width, and extending thirty-two rods back, having been surveyed and plan made by Dudley Hobart in 1803. This plan was afterward copied into, and made part of, the Solomon Adams plan, by which all the lands in Gardiner were sold after its date, December 30, 180S.

Samuel Elwell was one of the first purchasers, he having lots 10 and 11, being the same where the houses of Ephraim Hatch and A. Davenport now stand. He at once built a house on lot 10, and this was afterward conveyed to Hon. George Evans, whose eminent ability and long and noble career find a more fitting place in another chap- ter. No. 11 was conveyed to Captain Nathaniel Kimball, the well known pioneer in steamboating between Gardiner and Boston. No. 9, the last home of Dr. James Parker, was sold by Mr. Gardiner, "subject to the rights of Elizabeth McCausland, widow of the late Henry McCausland, and their son, Robert Mc- Causland." These rights were those of occupancy without title, but

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the records are also a record of the shrewdness of Doctor Parker, he having bought them for $20 two weeks before the conveyance from Mr. Gardiner to him. No. 8 was sold to James Purinton in 1803, and he erected the house thereon, which was afterward the homestead of Robert Gould, who engaged in shipbuilding in front of the lot, and where the wharf now is. Mr. Gould was a keen business man, and was fast acquiring a leading position, when he died of con- sumption in 1835, thirty-nine years old.

The lots now owned by J. C. Atkins were held by Mr. Gardiner till 1826, when he sold them to Captain John P. Hunter, who was long engaged in the lumber business in Gardiner. The lots next south of North street, now owned by A. C. Stilphen, were sold in 1827 to Alexander S. Chadwick, and he erected the house now standing there in that year. Mr. Chadwick was a son of Dr. Edmund Chadwick, of Deerfield, N. H., and was born there May 8, 1789. Doctor Chadwick was descended from Charles Chadwick, who came to Boston in 1630, and served in the revolutionary war as a surgeon in the American army. Mr. Chadwick studied medicine with his father until the war of 1812, when in 1813 he received a commission from President Madi- son, and was stationed at Fort Erie. In the bloody fight there July 4, 1814, his command of fifty men took fifty-two prisoners, including a major, and lost thirteen killed and wounded. He received six shots through his clothing, but was unharmed. He came to Maine in 1816, and married Hannah, daughter of Nathaniel Kimball, and grand- daughter of Major Henry Smith. He lived in Frankfort till 1821, when he removed to Gardiner. He represented the town in the legis- lature four years, and was selectman of the town six years, and the justice of the peace before whom most of the minor cases were tried for many years. He was one of the prime movers and most indefati- gable workers in the incorporation of Farmingdale, and was one of the first selectmen of the new town. He died October 18, 1867.

Eighty years ago, in addition to the houses already named, the house known as the old Vigoreux house, and for many years owned by that family, stood just north of H. W. Jewett's. It was then occu- pied by Rev. Aaron Humphrey, who had been a Methodist minister, and had officiated one year at Christ church, in Gardiner. He then took orders in the Episcopal church, and was settled as minister of the so- ciety. It was later the home of Samuel Collins. The house now owned by Captain George W. Chase was then owned by Mr. Drew, who was father of Allen Drew, and grandfather of Captain John H. Drew, mentioned at page 258.

The present Vigoreux house was then owned by James Bowman and later by a family named Ramsdell, from whom it acquired the name which is still applied to it, the Ramsdell house. They were Quakers and stood high in the esteem of their neighbors. James

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

Lowell had built a house where Henry Peacock now resides and it was his home till his death in 1849. He was a shipbuilder and had a yard on the banks of the river. Enoch Marshall occupied the home- stead which at his death descended to his son, Samuel E., who has so recently left it to join those gone before.

On the further part of Bowman street, the first settlers were Samuel Titcomb, who in 1814 came from Yarmouth, Me., and settled on the farm now owned by S. W. Rice, and F. J. Danforth and Benjamin Grover, who came from Newry, Oxford County, in 1820, and settled on the farm still owned by his descendants.

In 1819, Abner Lowell bought of Gideon Gilman the lot which, with subsequent purchases, constituted the farm so long the home of his son, Joshua Lowell, and now owned by his grandson, Frank Lowell.

North street was not as a whole settled so early as the other parts of the town, and its earliest settlers were descendants of men already named. Among them were John and Andrew McCausland, grandsons of Henry McCausland; George Church, grandson of Ebenezer Church; Jerry Hodgdon, son of Samuel Hodgdon and a man of influence in the town and for years one of the town fathers; Hiram Lord, son of Isaac Lord, who had been one of the early settlers on Bowman street; and the Collins family, of whom mention is elsewhere made.

This then comprises a history of the early settlement of the old homes included in the present town of Farmingdale, which was incor- porated June 3, 1852. It borders on the Kennebec river and rises by easy grades to its highest lands near the old post road and thence sloping back to the Sanborn and Jamies ponds on the western border, the only bodies of water in the town. It consists of gently rolling country, seldom broken by sharp hills or valleys and comprises some of the best farming lands in the county.

Its incorporation was secured chiefly by the indefatigable efforts of A. S. Chadwick, Thomas B. Seavey and William S. Grant, aided by an enthusiastic and almost unanimous support of the people. Mr. Grant was a grandson of Major Peter Grant and son of Captain Samuel C. Grant, and established his home in the town and owned the beautiful homestead now the property of Isaac J. Carr. He was a leader in every movement for the improvement of the town.

The town is essentially a farming town. The busy blows of the ship-yard have long since ceased to be heard, and the only manufac- turing enterprises now conducted in the town are the glue factory of George H. Seavey and the tannery of Frank Atkins.

MUNICIPAL OFFICERS .- The Selectmen, Assessors and Overseers of the Poor of the town from its incorporation, and the number of years they have held these offices, have been: 1852, Alexander S. Chadwick, 3 years, Thomas B. Seavey, 3, Daniel Lancaster, 5; 1854, Samuel War-

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TOWN OF FARMINGDALE.

ren, 4; 1855, James Stone, 2, John Graves; 1856, Hiram B. Colcord, 2; 1857, Thomas L. Crocker: 1858, William S. Grant, Jerry Hodgdon, 7, Alden Rice, 2; 1859, Joshua Lowell, 2: 1860, Sumner Smiley, Isaiah Stevens, 3; 1861, Philip Larrabee, 2; 1863, Benjamin F. Sandford, 6, James S. McCausland; 1864, A. B. Collins, 2; 1865, Joseph C. Atkins; 1866, Addison G. Davis, 4, John Baker, 6; 1868, Andrew B. McCaus- land, 2, William Winter, 3; 1870, Samuel E. Marshall, 2; 1871, Sumner B. McCausland, 19, R. S. Neal, 2; 1872, George Wheeler, 9; 1873, John W. Church, 2; 1878, Thomas H. Dow, Zeri S. Parker, 2; 1879, George H. Seavey, 2; 1880, Carlton Blair, George W. Paul, 2; 1882, Joseph F. Clement, 3; 1883, Levi M. Lancaster, 4; 1885, Edwin Manson, J. Frank Brookings, 2; 1887, William C. Horn, 4, Andrew E. Cunningham; 1891, Ezra S. Smith, 2.

The Clerks have been: Edmund A. Chadwick, 2 years; George Tar- box, 2; Sumner B. McCausland, 3: Sumner Smiley, 2; Rev. L. L. Shaw, 1: George Warren, 7; A. B. Collins, 1; John T. Magrath, 1; A. C. Stil- phen, 2; Thomas S. Paul, 2; and George E. Warren, the present clerk, 17.

The Treasurers have been: Joshua Lowell, 7 years; Charles W. McCausland, 1; John Baker, 9; Charles Trafton, 1; Benjamin U. Mc- Causland, 3; Levi M. Lancaster, 2; Benjamin F. Sandford, 1; Loring C. Ballard, 1; George Wheeler, 2; James N. Cannon, 1; Ephraim Hatch, 3; and A. C. Stilphen, the present treasurer, 10 years.

VALUATION AND APPROPRIATIONS .- In 1852 the total valuation of the property in the town, as appraised by the assessors, was $283,878, and the amount of tax assessed was $2,327.86 on property, and $186 on 186 polls. The appropriations for that year were: For support of schools, $675; for support of the poor. $400; for town purposes, and state and county tax, $1,325.

In forty years of town life the valuation has nearly doubled, and the assessors' inventory and valuation for 1892 is on: Buildings and lots, $250,435; 6,6963 acres tillage, pasture and woodlands, $140,096; 208 horses and colts, $20,050; 314 cattle, $7,166; 32 swine, $172; 121 sheep, $394; household furniture (over $200 each), $4,275; 48 musical instruments, $3,315; 38 pleasure carriages, $3,020; stock in corpora- tions, $54,110; vessels, $6,315; money, $17,000; stock in trade, $500; total valuation, $506,848. The number of polls was 221, and the num- ber of dogs taxed, 66. ·

The appropriations for 1892 were: For common schools, $1,000; school books, $50; for high school tuition, $200; highways and snow bills, $2,200; support of poor, $1,000; incidental expenses, $600; fire department, $400; town debt, $500; discounts, $750; state tax, $1,381.50; county tax, $502.99.

The tax assessed was on: 66 dogs, $66; 221 polls, $663; $506,848 @ $.016, $8,109.52; total assessment, $8,838.56.

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

SCHOOLS .- The provision made by the town for education of its children is liberal and judicious, three full terms of school each year being provided for scholars below the high school grade, the school houses being above the average, and well furnished and supplied with globes, maps and text books. The town pays the tuition for all its children attending the high schools of Gardiner and Hallowell, and by these provisions every child in the town can be fitted for ad- mission to any college in the state without any direct cost to the parent for tuition or school books.

PRESENT CONDITION .- The southeasterly part of the town is most thickly settled, being a suburb of the city of Gardiner, and the street extending from Gardiner along the bank of the picturesque Kenne- bec is lined with fine residences, and is claimed to be one of the most beautiful streets in Maine. Many of the residents here are engaged in business in Gardiner, and are an important factor in the progress and enterprise of that busy and growing city.

In addition to their own municipal taxes, Farmingdale citizens pay annually into the treasury of Gardiner from fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars, and furnish a not inconsiderable part of the banking and business capital of that city, and from its broad pastures and fertile fields come liberal supplies of produce for the markets of Gardiner and Hallowell.

Great improvements have been made within a few years in the methods of farming, and the town can now boast of very superior milk and stock farms. Among the notable herds of cows are those of Albert H. Averill, Warren J. Carter and Wallace M. Tibbetts, and the " Pine Tree Stock Farm," under the management of Mr. A. J. Libby, already ranks as one of the finest horse-breeding farms in the state. The strength of the town is in its farms and its farmers. They honor the name of their town .*

PERSONAL PARAGRAPHS.

James W. Carter, son of Hiram and Virtue (Averill) Carter, and grandson of Jefferson P. Carter, was born in 1841. He is a stone cut- ter and farmer, and since 1875 has lived in Farmingdale. He married Achsah A., daughter of Jacob and Eunice (Carter) Welch, and grand- daughter of Jacob Welch. Their children are: Hiram J., Eunice A. (Mrs. E. Crocket), Minnie E. (died 1873) and Arthur W. (died 1881).

Joseph F. Clement, born in 1838, at Palmyra, Me., was a son of Samuel Clement. From 1873 until his death in 1886 he was a farmer where his widow and family now live. He was several years on the school committee and held the office of selectman. He was in the late war in Company A, 14th Maine, and from November, 1864, to Febru- ary, 1866, he was captain of Company G, 109th U. S. Colored Infantry.

* Mr. Stilphen's responsibility for this chapter ends here .- [ED.

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TOWN OF FARMINGDALE.

His first marriage was with Maria C. Keene, who died in 1873, leaving two children: Charles J. and Carrie M. His second marriage was with Augusta J. Greene, who has one adopted son.

Charles E. Dearing, born in 1837 in Webster, is a son of John and Caroline (Perry) Dearing, and grandson of Deacon Samuel and Mary (Drinkwater) Dearing. In 1887 he moved to Farmingdale. From 1855 until 1887 he was a machinist and since then has been a farmer. He was in the army from July, 1862, until June, 1865, and was dis- charged as quartermaster sergeant. He was taken prisoner at Gettys- burgh July 1, 1863, and was taken to Richmond, Va., and held three months. He married Emma, daughter of Dea. David A. and So- phronia (Macomber) White, and granddaughter of David and Mary White. Their children are: Ernest W. and Marion P., living, and Albert C., deceased.

Gilbert Eastman, born in South Gardiner, is a son of Samuel and Eliza (Luce) Eastman, and grandson of Samuel Eastman. He was a carpenter until 1890, when he opened a music store in Gardiner, firm of G. & C. L. Eastman. He married Ellen M., daughter of Seth and Sarah (Stewart) Rines. They had one daughter, Lulie Grace, born May 28, 1869, died November 10, 1870. Their only son is Charles L., who began the study of music when a boy and studied at Kents Hill, Boston and New York, and is now the junior partner of the above firm.

William Faunce, born in 1813, was a son of John Faunce, who came from Ipswich, Mass., to Waterville, Me. Mr. Faunce came to Hallowell in 1845 and twenty years later he came to Farmingdale, where he was a farmer until his death in 1890, where his widow and son now live. He married Lucy, daughter of Timothy B. and Eleanor (Webb) Haywood. Their children were: Fred B., Ellen H. and John F., who are deceased, and William, born February 5, 1860, who is now carrying on the farm of ninety acres.

Thomas Gilpatrick, only survivor of eight children of Robert and Temperance Gilpatrick, grandson of Charles and great-grandson of Charles Gilpatrick, was born in 1836. He is a farmer, and since 1877 has owned and occupied the Joshua Carr farm. He married Louisa H., daughter of William Springer. Their only child is Adelle R., who is a teacher in the Hallowell school.

William A. Hodgdon, born in 1839, is the only survivor of three children of Jerry and Hannah (Lord) Hodgdon, and grandson of Sam- uel Hodgdon, who was a shipbuilder during his life at Bowman's Point. Mr. Hodgdon is a farmer. He married Laura, daughter of James S. McCausland. They have two children: Myrtle H. and Jerry L.

Captain Abner M. Jackson, born in Pittston in 1803, was a son of Captain Benjamin Jackson. Captain Jackson began going to sea with

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

his father when a small boy, and at the early age of eighteen he be- came captain, which position he continued to fill very successfully until six years prior to his death, in 1873. His first vessel was the brig Milton, followed by the Gardiner (which he commanded eight years in New York and Liverpool mail service), Kekokey, Rainbow, Jane H. Glidden, Medalion, Edenburg and Consolation. His wife, who is still living, was Lydia W., daughter of Nathaniel Bailey. Their two sons were: Charles E., who died in 1864, of yellow fever, while on a voyage as mate of a vessel, and James A. Jackson, born in Pittston September 12, 1832, a druggist, of Gardiner. He married Lucy D., daughter of Robert Thompson, and has had three sons: James R., Benjamin W. and Donald, who died young.

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Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 61

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