Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 91

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

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PERSONAL PARAGRAPHS.

George H. Ames, born February 15, 1840, is a son of Asa and Bet- sey (Hunton) Ames. He was in the quartermaster's department in the United States army from 1864 until 1865. From 1869 until 1884 he was a marble cutter at Hallowell, and since 1884 has been deputy sheriff in Chelsea. He married Pamelia A., daughter of George Evans, and they have one daughter, Carrie A. (Mrs. Fred A. Hinckley).

Edwin H. Blanchard is one of Chelsea's enterprising and success- ful farmers. He married August 7, 1853, Charlotte A., daughter of James and Martha J. (Coss) Brown, and granddaughter of James and Hannah (Meady) Brown. Their only son, James E., is mentioned at page 94.

Eugene A. Brown, born January 30, 1851, is a son of James F. and Olive (Wells) Brown, grandson of Nathaniel and Nancy (Lyon) Brown, and great-grandson of Joseph and Charlotte (Tinges) Brown. Mr. Brown is a farmer in Chelsea, though he devotes some attention to shoemaking. He married June 18, 1870, Jennie L. Dunton, who is overseer of the stitching department of the Hallowell shoe factory. Their children are: Burton, Eugene and Carrie May.

GEORGE BROWN .- John Brown1, born in England in 1715, emi- grated to America about 1750, and settled in Charlestown, Mass., where he was a man of wealth and influence. He was loyal to the British at the beginning of the revolution, and refused to take any precaution for the protection of his property from the British invaders, declaring that the fact of his loyalty to the king would be sufficient protection. When Charlestown was attacked his house was the first to be de- stroyed, and with it the family silver and other valuables. He soon after removed to Nova Scotia, with those of his sons who favored the Crown, his wife and part of the children remaining in Massachusetts, but none of the large estate was ever secured to them.

George Brown

PRINT E. BIERSTADT. N. Y.

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TOWN OF CHELSEA.

Joseph Brown2, one of the sons, was born in Charlestown, Mass., in 1754. He married Charlotte Tinges, of Massachusetts, in 1777, and soon after came to Maine, settling on the east bank of the Kennebec river, opposite the island that has since borne his name. He was a successful farmer and lumberman until his death, in 1825.

James Brown3, one of his ten children, was born at the liomestead April 14, 1782, where he died October 27, 1858. His business and saw mill operations in Chelsea are noticed in the earlier pages of this. chapter. His wife, Hannah Meady, bore him nine children: Hannah, Thomas, James, David, John, George, Lucy, Charlotte and Eliza.

George Brown4, the sixth of this family, was born September 30, 1816. on the farm where he now lives, which has been in the family for more than a century. The common school education which he received served to stimulate rather than to satisfy his taste for knowl- edge. The foundation thns laid has been built upon by a thorough course of reading, which he has pursued regularly for the past fifty years. He is thoroughly conversant with the topics of the day, as well as sacred and profane history, of which he has been a close and criti- cal student for many years.

Being a farmer, he has always been keenly interested in the im- provements of agriculture, and has been a prominent factor in various agricultural organizations. He was the first president of the South Kennebec Agricultural Society, and is now serving his fourth term in that position.

He is a republican in politics, and though not a politician, he has. been several times chosen to fill responsible offices in his native town .. He has been a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church since 1843, and his habits and character are above reproach.

His first marriage, May 13, 1841. was with Mary A. Thomas, a sister of Captain J. B. Thomas, mentioned in Chapter XXVII. She died August 6, 1875, leaving one daughter, Araminta T., now Mrs. Green- leaf W. Ward, of Vassalboro. Her two children are: Mary Brown and Josephine Thomas Ward.

Mr. Brown's second marriage, which occurred March 14, 1877, was with Mrs. Abbie J. Clifford, widow of Captain Edwin W.Clifford. She is a daughter of Green and Sarah J. (Greeley) Longfellow, of Augusta. Mrs. Brown is a lady of genial bearing, a broad, well disciplined mind, and rare courage. She made several sea voyages with Captain Clifford, who commanded vessels in the merchant service. While on these voyages she studied navigation as a pastime, and when the ne- cessity came of putting her knowledge of chart and compass to the test, her courage was not wanting. During her last sea voyage, which was on the brig bearing her name, while south of the equator, Cap- tain Clifford, his mate, steward, and two of his seamen died of yellow fever. She, the only person left on board who understood navigation,

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

assumed command of the vessel on the 10th of April, 1872, and with the aid of her crew brought it with its valuable cargo, to New York, her port of destination, arriving on the 12th of May, 1872.

Here, in Chelsea, on the shore of the beautiful Kennebec, Mr. Brown is passing in rural peace the evening time of an active day, enjoying with his estimable wife, the well-merited esteem of a wide circle of intelligent contemporaries.

William S. Chase, born in 1846, son of John and Eliza (Maker) Chase, and grandson of Samuel Chase, is a farmer, owning a farm of what is called the intervale of Chelsea. His first wife, Mary Hum- phreys, died leaving one daughter, Maud. His present wife was Abbie Winter. Their children are: Fred, Samuel E. and William A.

Henry M. Clark, youngest of three sons of Henry and Sarah (Stick- ney) Clark, and grandson of Thomas Clark, was born in 1854. His father died in 1859, aged forty-nine years. Mr. Clark is a farmer. He married Mildreth, daughter of Thomas J. Fitzgerald, and their chil- dren are: Arobene, Inza and William J. Mr. Clark has two brothers -George T., of California, and James W., who lives at the home- stead.

Stephen Cobb, son of Benjamin Cobb, was born in 1830 in Pitts- field, and died in Chelsea in 1886. He came to Chelsea from his na- tive town, where he was teacher and farmer, and held various town offices. He served one year in the late war in Company K, 21st Maine, enlisting as orderly sergeant. He married Harriet, sister of William T. Searls, of Chelsea. Their children were: Stephen A., Charles S., William O., George A., Hattie M., Florence E. and three that died.

Alfred Davenport®. born September 22, 1807, is the only surviving child of Jonathan® and Joanna (Bradbury) Davenport (Jonathan4 and Susanah White Davenport, Ebenezer3 and Submit Howe Davenport, Ebenezer, and Thomas Davenport', who was at Dorchester, Mass., in 1640). Jonathan Davenport4 came from Dorchester, Mass., to the farm where Alfred now lives in 1762, and was the first town clerk of Hallowell. Mr. Davenport married Almira, daughter of Thomas and granddaughter of Thomas Kennedy. Her mother, Sally, was a daugh- ter of Joseph and granddaughter of John Weeks. They have one adopted daughter, Elizabeth S. (Mrs. F. E. Sager).

Alonzo P. Gardner, born in 1838, is a son of Ambrose and Lucinda (Howe) Gardner, and grandson of Joel Gardner, who came from Vas- salboro to Chelsea, where he owned and operated a saw mill which was afterward owned and run by his son, Ambrose. Mr. Gardner spent five years in California. Since 1864 he has owned the home- stead where he now lives. He is a farmer and keeps a livery stable. He married Frances M., daughter of Jacob Pike, and has one son, John H.

Henry W. Gaslin, born in 1830 in Vassalboro, is a son of Jacob and

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TOWN OF CHELSEA.

Ann (Palmer) Gaslin, and grandson of John Gaslin, who came from Ireland when two years old and was among the early settlers of Vas- salboro. Mr. Gaslin was a saw mill operator and farmer until 1865, and from that time until 1881 he was at sea, mostly as engineer of a steamer between New York and Savannah. He was a farmer in Chelsea from 1881 until June, 1885, since which time he has kept a store at Togus. He married Emeline, daughter of Adam and Betsey (Bailey) Hutchin- son. Their children were: Josephine, and one that died, Hettie.

John L. Gray, son of Benjamin and Alice (Withem) Gray, was born in Dresden, Me., August 22, 1807. He learned the blacksmith trade with his father and followed that trade in connection with farming and cattle driving until 1874. He lived in China from 1840 until 1863, when he came to Pittston, and in 1874 came to the farm where he now lives. He was selectman of China two terms, several terms juror at Augusta and one term juror in the United States circuit court at Port- land; and was twice chosen to represent his district in the house of representatives. His book learning was limited, but his practical knowledge has been demonstrated by the public positions he has held. His first marriage was with Elizabeth Francis. Their children were: John C., Lemuel (deceased), Lydia, Harriet and Dora. John C. is a lawyer at Oroville, Cal., where he was made judge in 1890. Mr. Gray's present wife was Margaret Given.

Daniel S. Heath, born in 1847, is a son of Shurbern and Hannah J. (Clifford) Heath, grandson of David and great-grandson of Asa Heath. Shurbern Heath was a cooper by trade and came from New Hamp- shire to Pittston in 1836. Daniel S. was engaged as toll gatherer and assistant tender on the Gardiner and Pittston bridge from 1865 until 1890. In 1889 he bought the N. R. Winslow farm, where he now lives.

J. Howard Hunt, born November 28, 1840, is a son of Caleb, grand- son of Ephraim, and great-grandson of Daniel Hunt, of Wareham, Mass. His mother, Hannah, was a daughter of Philip Bullen, son of Samuel Bullen, who in 1763 came from Billerica, Mass., to what is now Chelsea, and the same year received a deed from the original Ken- nebec proprietors for the farm where Mr. Hunt now lives. Mr. Hunt was two years treasurer and collector of the town and has held other town offices. He married Ann M., daughter of Wentworth Hayes, and their children are: Millie M., Chauncey W., Marcia H:, Sadie E., Han- nah B. and Maurice, who died in infancy.

Joseph E. Lewis, born in Bowdoin in 1843, is a son of Thomas S. Lewis and grandson of Captain Thomas M. Lewis. He served two years in the late war in Company B, 15th Maine; he enlisted as private and was discharged as quartermaster sergeant. He was a bookkeeper in Boston until 1870, and since that time has been a machinist and engineer. Since June 1, 1887, he has been chief engineer at the

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

National Home, at Togus. He married in Boston, in 1867, Marcella Rogers, of Windsor, who died June 22, 1892. They had three children: Ralph, J. Arthur and Byron.

Otis W. Littlefield, born March 19, 1843, is a son of William and Sarah Louisa (Whitten) Littlefield, grandson of William B. and great- grandson of Seth Littlefield, who died in 1804, and was buried in the family cemetery on the farm where he settled when he came to the town. Mr. Littlefield is engaged in farming and the milk business, and owns and occupies the Major Stickney farm of 125 acres. He was ·one year selectman, four years town clerk and one year auditor of Chelsea. His wife, Emma J. Turner, died leaving eight children: Ella A., Louie F., A. Belle, Charles O., Fred W., Harry R., Clara L. and Lucy E.

Palmer S. Moody, born in 1825, is a son of Richard and Polly (Cooper) Moody, and grandson of Scribner and Martha (Bailey) Moody. He is a farmer, and in 1850 settled on the farm where he now lives. He married Antoinette W., daughter of Benjamin and Eunice (Fountain) Hall.

Isaac F. Plummer, born in 1854, at Jefferson, is a son of Isaac and Lucinda Plummer, and grandson of Benjamin Plummer. He has lived in Chelsea since 1869, where he is a farmer. He has devoted some attention to local newspaper correspondence. He served as town clerk in 1889 and 1890.

John Pope, born in 1823, in Windsor, was a son of Edward and Hannah (Tibbets) Pope. He was engaged in various kinds of busi- ness in Windsor, where he lived for several years. In 1883 he came to Chelsea, where he died in July, 1887. He married in 1846, Mary A., daughter of James and Betsey (Johnson) Given, and granddaughter of David Given. Their two children were: Algie M., who died, and Lizzie A.

Mark L. Rollins, born in 1843, is one of three sons of Washington .and Hannah (Little) Rollins, and grandson of Nathaniel Rollins, who was a soldier in the war of 1812. He has devoted his attention to various business enterprises, including the ice, milk and meat busi- ness. Since 1889 he has been constable of Chelsea. He was repre- sentative from his district in 1890 and was appointed deputy sheriff August 11, 1891. He married Etta S., daughter of Benjamin Flitner, of Pittston.

Ashford A. Sampson, born in 1844 in Bowdoinham, is a son of Cannon and Eleanor (Jack) Sampson. Mr. Sampson was employed from 1864 until 1884 at the insane hospital at Augusta, fourteen years of the time as head farmer. Since 1884 he has lived in Chelsea and is a farmer. He is now one of the board of selectmen. He married Mary Frazier, of Pictou, N. S. Their children are: Ella M., William A. and Donald F.

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WILLIAM T. SEARLS, whose father's father and whose mother's father both came from Walpole, N. H., to Wilton, Me., was born Sep- tember 1, 1833, in Pittston. His father, Thomas Searls, born August 11, 1803, at Wilton, Me., was the second of twelve children. At the age of twelve years he lost his left leg from the effects of a fever sore. When he was fourteen years old he came from Wilton to Pittston, where he learned the tailor's trade, but not liking the business, he afterward learned shoemaking, and followed that business till 1833, when he came to what was then East Hallowell, now Chelsea.

April 9, 1829, Thomas Searls married Mary A. Kidder, of Pittston, by whom he had three boys and three girls. Two boys, the younger of whom is the William T. of this sketch, and one girl were born in Pittston. The home of Thomas and his family, the first winter they spent in East Hallowell, was a camp near the Togus stream. One Sunday he found a good water power on that stream, and the next year (1834), in company with Philip Bullen and James Brown, he built a saw mill there, and each of the three men built a house near by, all of which are gone now. In 1850 Thomas Searls' first wife died and the same year he married Malintha D. Towns, by whom he had one boy and three girls. He was active, observing and intelligent. He paid considerable attention to Freemasonry, in which he was well advanced and well informed. He was a strong temperance man. Such a man usually has a taste for public affairs, and we accordingly find him a selectman in 1851, 1858 and 1860, and moderator of town meeting in 1857. He was also overseer of the poor in 1861, school committee in 1863, town collector and treasurer in 1863, 1864 and 1865, and in 1866 he was again a selectman. His active and useful life closed in 1877.

Such a father would train his children to habits of industry and mental growth. William T. went to school winters and learned dur- ing the balance of the year the routine of farm and mill work, till he was nineteen years of age. Two years later, in 1854, he bought fifty- four acres of land of his father, and went to work and paid for it. Later he purchased another farm, cut and sold a great deal of hay, bought a press and helped his neighbors get their hay ready for market. This kind of industry and thrift soon paid for the second farm. Later on, a few years after the decease of his brother, David, which occurred in 1863, he purchased the farm he left, nearly all of which is in his possession now.

November 29, 1860, he married Susan R. Tasker, daughter of Ben- jamin and Mahala (Savage) Tasker, of Readfield, now part of Man- chester. Their children have been: Susan E., born August 16, 1862, now a school teacher; Herbert W., born January 31, 1864, died March 6, 1882; Edmund D., born April 13, 1869; Thomas, born July 31, 1871; Mary A., born May 25, 1876; Sadie E., born December 13, 1878, and

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

died March 7, 1880; and Lettie B., born June 13, 1880. Edmund D., Thomas and Mary A. are all at the Kents Hill school.

Successful management of private affairs is one good measure of ability for public service. In this case there was evidently an adapta- tion for both. In 1861 Mr. Searls was elected one of the constables of Chelsea, and held the office sixteen of the ensuing twenty years. Between 1868 and 1891 he served fifteen years as selectman, overseer of the poor and assessor, acting as chairman ten of those years. He was collector of taxes and treasurer for his town five years, and was chosen moderator from 1886 to 1891. He has been a member of the board of health since that law was passed and for a while was deputy sheriff.

Mr. Searls was elected a member of the legislature, where he served on the insane hospital and on the public printing committees. He has always been a republican, and since he was twenty years old he has been an active member and for many years an officer in the Randolph Methodist Episcopal church. As soon as his age made him eligible he was made a Mason by Hermon Lodge, Gardiner, to which he still belongs. When the Chelsea Grange, P. of H., was organized he be- came its first master, and has been master or secretary nearly every year since. He has been identified for twenty years with the Sons of Temperance and was the first citizen of Chelsea to join Soldiers' Di- vision, No. 5.

This is a partial record of the life of a faithful man, not yet sixty years old. Mr. and Mrs. Searls have a bright, promising family and a happy home-the greatest of earthly blessings.

Alden W. Stevens, son of Reuben Stevens, was born in Northfield, Mass., in 1843. He was in the army three months in 1861, and from December, 1863, to August, 1866, was in the 57th Massachusetts, Com- pany F. In July, 1883, he came to the National Home at Togus, where he was an inmate until March, 1890, when he was discharged. While at the home he was employed in the treasurer's office one year and in the post office the balance of his stay there. Since 1890 he has kept an eating saloon and cigar store one mile north of Togus. He married in 1890, Harriet, daughter of John Smith, of England. She came to America in 1872.

James S. Tenney, born in 1851, is a son of Enoch A. and Sarah O. (White) Tenney and grandson of Samuel Tenney. He is a farmer and owns the farm that was owned by his mother's father, James White, and was settled by his father, Benjamin White. Mr. Tenney was two years selectman of Chelsea. He married Ann Elizabetli Chapman.

William E. Trask, born in 1837, is a son of Samuel and Alvira Trask and grandson of Edwin, whose father, Joseph, was a son of Samuel Trask. Mr. Trask is a farmer, and in 1870 he bought the farm

WWW. J. Pearls

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TOWN OF CHELSEA.

of one hundred acres where he now lives. He married M. Ellen, daughter of James and Martha J. (Coss) Brown, and granddaughter of James and Hannah (Meady) Brown. Mrs. Trask died March 12, 1890, leaving three children: Etta A. (Mrs. Samuel Packard), William B. and Bessie A.

Colonel Ezra C. Stevens, born in Gardiner in 1845, is a son of Ezra A. and Naomi Stevens. He was educated in the public schools and at Hallowell Academy. He served seventeen years as chief clerk in the railway mail service between Boston and Bangor, and four years as post office inspector, having charge of the First division, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the northern section of New York. He was postmaster at Hallowell and was appointed by Gov- ernor Marble as municipal judge, but declined to serve ; was private secretary to Governors Bodwell, Marble and Burleigh; also commis- sioned by Governor Burleigh as aid-de-camp on his military staff, with rank of lieutenant colonel. Mr. Stevens has been a resident of Chel- sea for the past six years, where he is trial justice. He is a republican and has always taken an active part in politics.

George Woodbury, son of William and Martha (Murry) Woodbury, was born in Windsor in 1824, and has lived in Chelsea since 1840, where he has been engaged in saw mill work and farming. He was several years employed by the government running a steam saw mill on the Togus Home property. He married in 1850, Emeline, daugh- ter of John and Jane (Freeman) Dearborn, and granddaughter of Henry and Permelia (McKnight) Dearborn.

John H. Yeaton, born in Chelsea in 1826, is a son of John and Abi- gail (Rollins) Yeaton, and grandson of Phineas and Pheba Yeaton, who came from Berwick to Chelsea in 1798. Mr. Yeaton went to Bos- ton in 1845, where he learned the carpenter's.trade, and from May, 1859, until he bought the farm where he now lives in 1879, he was employed at the insane hospital and nearly all the time he had charge of the carpenter work there. He married Cynthia D. Howe, and their children are: Frank H., who is a farmer and contractor on the Pacific coast; George A., who was traveling salesman for several years, but is now at home helping to run the farm; and Sarah C., deceased.

Joseph Young, born in 1827, is one of eleven children of Thomas and Rebecca (Kies) Young and grandson of Hezekiah Young, who was born in England and died in Wiscasset, Me. Mr. Young followed the sea for six years and from 1850 to 1866 he was gold mining in California. Since 1867 he has lived in Chelsea, a farmer on a part of the old Davis farm. He married Catherine, daughter of Joseph H. Ellis. Their children are: Allen J., Fannie P., William H., Katie M., Fred B. and George T. Thomas Young was a soldier in the war of 1812. He came from Damariscotta to Kennebec county in 1828.

CHAPTER XXX.

TOWN OF MONMOUTH.

BY HARRY H. COCHRANE.

Land Features .- Ponds .- Indian Names .- Area .- Boundaries .- Surface .- Soil. -Settlers .- Civil History .- Churches .- Schools .- Villages .- Post Offices .- Societies .- Military .- Industries .- Personal Paragraphs.

W ITH its breastwork of hills guarding every quarter, and its out- lying moat of ponds and streams, Monmouth, as it appears on the map, is a strong reminder of one of the baronial fast- nesses of the days of the Plantagenets. On the north, Mount Pisgah, catching a foothold on the boundary, springs far above all neighbor- ing hills, and descends with a long sweep along the Wayne line to the foot of Berry pond, in Winthrop, nearly four miles from its starting point. From the crown of this hill the range of view over-reaches everything in the north and east to Mount Desert, the Camden hills and Mars hill, and the Haystacks of Aroostook county, except the Dix- mont mountains. East from Pisgah, a short chain of low hills follows the northern boundary down to the shore of South pond, where it meets another range which passes through the center of the town, swelling up at a point about half its length, and again at its south- ern terminus, into two prominent hills which respectively bear the names of Stevens' and Sawyer's. A chain on the east, the highest points of which are known as Pease and Oak hills, follows the line to its southern extremity, where it throws off the shoot known as the Ridge, which, again, clings to the southern boundary. On the west a high range commanding a grand view of the Oxford hills and White mountains rises from the rim of the Cochnewagan, and, bearing a little east of north, gradually descends with a series of bounds until it falls at the foot of Mount Pisgah.

From the northwest to southeast angles, five ponds with their tributaries form a complete water line; while the first of these, the Androscoggin, stretches out a long arm which cross-stitches the entire western boundary, and nearly meets the Jocmunyaw on the south. Before the days of dams and bridges, the native boatman could, by carrying his canoe over short portages, aggregating only about two miles, circumnavigate the town-a distance of more than

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twenty miles. Of these ponds, the one lying next to the Androscog- gin received the name Wilson, from a white hunter who was drowned in it by Indians. The next two south are Anabessacook, generally called South Pond, and the Cobbosseecontee. Concerning the name of the Cochnewagan, a pond about one and a half miles long by one- half mile wide near the Center village, there is considerable contro- versy. Drake, who is considered good authority on questions relating to the aborigines, claims that the literal translation of the word is, " a place of praying Indians," while the natives themselves cling to the inter- pretation, " a battle, or fight." From abundant evidence, both tra- ditional and circumstantial, we are led to believe that the celebrated Cochnewagas who, in 1690, destroyed the town of Schenectady, N. Y., once made the shores of this pond their camping ground. The Joc- munyaw received its name from John-or " Jock," as he was familiarly known-Munyaw, who made the banks of the stream his principal resort.

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Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 91

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