Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary, Part 20

Author: Ridlon, Gideon Tibbetts, 1841- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Portland, Me., The author
Number of Pages: 1424

USA > Maine > Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary > Part 20
USA > New Hampshire > Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary > Part 20

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).

Many of the original proprietors never set foot on the township land, but sold their rights to others. The shares of those who were delinquent in com. plying with the conditions of the grant, were, after due notice, regranted on petition of Andrew McMillan, Apr. 6, 1772, to those who became actual set- tlers. Colonel McMillan was personally interested in the settlement, and exerted himself to induce families to enter the lands. In 1772 there were forty-three polls reported within the town.

The only roads by which the inhabitants traveled were the broad, well- trodden Indian trails down the banks of the Saco and across to the Great Ossipee ; these had been kept open by hunters who had camps in the l'equaw- ket country.

The early pioneers of Conway were not as wise as the Sokokis, for they built their first houses on the low intervales, and the great freshet that inun- dated the Saco valley in October of 1785 proved very destructive to property.

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Three hundred and twenty-seven acres of arable mowing land were covered with debris and spoiled; two barns with all the hay and grain stored in them were swept away; seven dwellings and four barns so badly damaged as to necessitate rebuilding; ten oxen, twelve cows, eighty sheep, two horses, and twenty-five swine were drowned; large quantities of flax spread upon the inter- vales to dry, and corn remaining unharvested, were destroyed, and every bridge and rod of fence in the valley carried away.

Among the afflictions that befell the settlers was a scourge of rattlesnakes; a pest much worse than rabbits and hares, to destroy which the British parliament passes elaborate bills. On May 11, 1767, the inhabitants of Con- way voted that any person who should kill a rattlesnake or snakes in the township and should bring the first "joynt of the rattle of said snake or snakes to the person appointed-who should consume the same immediately - should be paid three pence lawful money." The snakes were to be killed and their rattle "consumed " on or before the 20th day of June. Following this action it was voted that Joshua Kelley receive the rattlesnakes' tails and "execute the same."

They voted a bounty of $20 on wolves' heads; twenty-three cents on crows' heads; six cents on grown blackbirds and two cents on young ones.

An article in their warrant to see if a bridge should be built across the Saco at a place called "Chautaugui" was passed over. At another meeting it was voted to build a bridge at "Shataugua."

The largest bodies of water in Conway are Walker's and Pequawket ponds. The tributaries of the Saco in this town are Swift and Pequawket rivers.

The scenery of Conway is the grandest and most picturesque to be found in New England, and has been the subject for admiration to travelers from many lands.

On the western bank of the Saco are two remarkable ledges. The most northerly, known as "Hart's Looking-Glass," nearly perpendicular, rises 650 feet. That below rises 950 feet, and is called "White Horse Ledge."

FOUNDERS OF CONWAY.

Thomas Chadbourne built the first framed house. His land was granted in 1773. He had a mill privilege on Kesaugh brook. The following lines were found on the inside of the cover of an old book, and show that as early as about 1774 the names found therein were well known :

"Thre men went up from dollof town, And stop al nite at Forsters Pockit,

To mak ye Road Bi injun Hil, To git close up to nort pigogit, To Emris Kamp up Kesuck Brok, Wha Chadbun is Beginnen -"

PLANTATION AND TOWNSHIP SETTLEMENTS.

Ile was granted fifteen acres of land with mill privilege on Pudding brook, on condition that he build a good saw mill, to be kept in good repair forever, and to saw logs into boards or other lumber for the proprietors for one-half of the lumber, or at the rate of nine shillings per thousand for boards. He was to build a grist-mill on the same stream to grind in proper manner for inhabitants, and keep mill in repair forever and be at all times ready to serve. As encouragement for building saw-mill and grist-mill, one hundred acres of land were granted him.

Col. Andrew McMillan, of Scotch descent, was born in Ireland. He was an officer in the French war, and received, Oct. 25, 1765, as a reward for services, a tract of land which included the whole intervale on the east side of the Saco in Lower Bartlett. He purchased shares in Conway, consisting of intervale and upland, which were subsequently known as the "McMillan farm." Here he established his permanent home in 1764. He was prominent in town affairs and filled many offices. He was representative to the General Court, and paid the highest taxes of any man in town. His house was the headquarters of those who entered the township prospecting for land. He was a man of hot temper, whose generous heart prompted him to assist his fellow-men. He supported a fine establishment, open hospitality, and colored servants. He died Nov. 6, 1800, aged 70 years.

Richard Eastman, son of Richard who came from Pembroke to Con- way with his family, was the fourth in descent from Roger Eastman, who came from Wales to Salisbury, Mass., about 1640. The elder Richard purchased the mill lot, and such improvements as had been made there, of Thomas Chadbourne, Esq. Included in this estate was the first framed house built in Conway, of date about 1766. This property was conveyed to Richard, Jr., and Noah, his brother; these, with other members of the family, moved into the house, which was on the intervale north of Kesaugh brook, in 1769, and therein was born the first male child cradled in Conway. Mr. Eastman was a useful townsman and lived to do good among men for a long term of years. He was a deacon for rising half a century. He found great delight in the worship of God, and enriched his fertile mind with quotations from the sacred records. His long, calm, and fruitful life was undoubtedly attributable to his habits of strict temperance and prudent industry; and as a result of his good example his name, as a synonym of many excellencies, has been embalmed in the memories of many who honor men for honorable conduct. When Chris- tian services were established, in 1778, his name, with that of his wife, Abiah Lovejoy, were two out of eight signed to a covenant which required them to "walk with the Lord." As justice of the peace, he was well known for careful business, and as one of the foremost townsmen, who promoted every com- mendable enterprise, he was respected. His death occurred in 1826, at the age of 79. From his seventeen children a numerous race has sprung up, now

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scattered over our broad land, and their blood has fused with that of nearly all families in the upper section of the Saco valley. Children :

I. SALLY, m. Abial Lovejoy.

2. JONATHAN, m. Phebe Lovejoy.

3. POLLY, m. Amos Barnes.

4. PHEBE, m. Humphrey Cram.

5. HANNAH, m. Isaac Merrill.

6. RICHARD, m. Elmira Morrill and Louisa Morrill.

7. ABIAH, m. William C. Ford.

S. WILLIAM, m. Mary Lovejoy and Mary Trickey.

9. DORCAS, m. Samuel Merrill.

IO. PATTY, m. Jonathan Stickney.

11. KEZIAH, m. Henry Tucker.

12. BETSEY, m. John Hill.

13. AMos, m. Betsey E. Merrill.

14. HARRIET, m. Gen. George P. Meserve.

15. JOHN L., m. Margaret Douglass.

16. CLARISSA, m. Rev. Stephen Merrill.

17. IRENE, m. Jonathan E. Chase.

One died unmarried.

Noah Eastman, brother of Dea. Abiatha, was born Mar. 20, 1753 ; mar- ried Hannah Holt, Sept. 10, 1775. He was a miller in North Conway for fifty years and was locally called " Honest Noah "; when in old age, "Uncle Noah." He was an industrious, frugal man, who held the respect of respectable people, and that was good enough. He died Aug. 26, 1823.

Daniel Eastman was born Sept. 6, 1792; married Martha, daughter of Dr. William Chadbourne, who died in 1880, aged 82 years. He died Aug. 22, 1885 ; was a major ; oldest Free Mason in the state at time of death ; largely engaged in real estate business; purchased the top of Mt. Washington for ten cents an acre and sold out for twenty-five ; owned principal part of Conway intervales; was in mercantile business; built the Washington House and "kept tavern " many years. Of his children, five in number, William C. is now living.

Rev. Benjamin D. Eastman was born Dec. 21, 1802. In 1831 he united with the Maine Methodist Conference. He served as pastor in various churches; was twice representative and served a term in the state Senate; in Conway was trader and postmaster; was a student of the Indian language ; prosecuted historical researches and wrote for the press. He married Lois F. Averill; second, Nancy F. Whitney; had two sons, George W. and Charles W.

The descendants of the three Eastman brothers, before mentioned, are said to be more numerous than of any other three settlers in the Saco valley. Their wives were of commensurate worth, and were adapted to fill their

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responsible places in a new settlement. They were robust, brave-hearted, and faithful to their vocation.

Thomas Merrill, Esq., was a son of Dea. John Merrill, of Concord, and was one of the first settlers in Conway. His house was on the south side of the Saco in 1766 ; three sons permanently settled in 1771. He was a man of great usefulness, whose integrity and ability won the esteem of his fellow- citizens; and when they required a justice of the peace their petition to Governor Wentworth read: "We shall be glad and rejoice if your Excellency should appoint to that office Lieut. Thomas Merrill." He was clerk for the proprietors and town many years. He was a man of superior education and an accurate scribe; died July 2, 1788, and was interred in an old lot near the centre of the town.

Col. David Page came from Dunbarton to Concord about 1761, and settled first at the "Seven Lots," where Fryeburg village now stands, about 1765. He removed across the river previous to 1770, and was from that date conspicuously identified with public affairs in Conway. He was selectman, justice of the peace, and representative ; had been a colonel in the Revolu- tionary army; was one of the " Rogers Rangers." and carried wounds received in service.

Samuel Dinsmore, from Lee, was a soldier of the French and Indian war. His son Elijah raised a company and marched to Cambridge in 1775, and after the Revolution came to Conway, in the dead of winter, on snow- shoes with his wife. He carried an enormous pack lashed to his shoulders, in which were their "airthly belongings." He built a camp near that of John l'endexter, and afterwards resided near the site of the present Intervale House. lle was a tavern-keeper and a deacon of the Baptist church ; two rather incon- gruous offices to fill contemporaneously. He was financially successful.

Capt. John Hart, from Portsmouth, came to Conway and sat down on the west side of the Saco soon after the Revolution. The great rock now known as Cathedral ledge was near his homestead, and originally called Hart's ledge. He was a tavern-keeper. The coach road from Conway through the Notch passed his door. He owned land in Hart's Location. He married Polly Willey, who reached the age of 92. He lived to old age. He was a well-known and popular townsman. His daughter Lydia married Joseph Dinsmore; Honor married James Willey.

Lieut. Amos Barnes, of Groton, Mass., was born Jan. 9. 1757; father killed in French war. Amos was at Bunker Hill and Trenton. He enlisted three times in the Revolution; was with Washington at Valley Forge, and with Sullivan in the Indian expedition. He was on half rations two months. He married Polly, daughter of Richard Eastman, June 18, 1789. He was a commander of militia, and of a company in 1812. Hle died in Conway, Dec. 6. 1840.

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PLANTATION AND TOWNSHIP SETTLEMENTS.

Col. Abial Lovejoy came from Concord previous to 1774. His father was one of the grantees, and he represented him in settlement. He married Anna Stickney, and planted his roof-tree near Hart's ledge. He and his wife were two of the six "charter members " of the first church; was chosen deacon at the organization, and served forty years in the sacred office. He died May 27, 1817.

Moses Randall came from Sanbornton, and as one of the first pioneers located on the intervale below Sunset hill, where a grandson now resides. His journey to Conway was made with an ox-team through a road lined by spotted trees. Several of his children came with him. He was a man of great industry, and upon the valuable farm first cleared by him passed down to old age.

Joseph Thompson was an early pioneer. He came from Lee ; a clothier; owned a large tract of land. His first house was built on the intervale. After the great freshet he rebuilt on the high ground at a place since called the "Three Elms." His first wife was a Randall ; second wife, Sally Chesley; had issue by both. He divided his extensive farm of 500 acres into three parts for his sons.

Leavitt Hill settled on the west side of the Saco at an early day. He cleared extensive fields and became the owner of a good farm; was many years a tavern-keeper. He transplanted an elin from the intervale, in 1780, about one inch in diameter, that now stands near the house and measures twenty-six feet in circumference one foot above the roots.

Col. John Hill, who became an enterprising business man, was son of preceding ; was an owner of mills and extensive tracts of land in several towns ; owned the Pequawket House; was engaged in trade and manufacture of shoes and clothing; postmaster about forty years; was popular and held office ; acquired great wealth, which was lost by reverses. He died Apr. 24, 1870, aged 79 years. His wives were Sally Freeman and Elizabeth Eastman.

BARTLETT.

This town was incorporated June 16, 1794, and was named in honor of the distinguished Josiah Bartlett. If we were to describe the various tracts of land once comprised in the township our vocabulary would be exhausted. The geography of this wild, rugged, and forest-covered country was long in a transition state. The alternating of slices of territory, varying from fifty to a hundred acres, was like a game of "give and take" upon an extensive checker-board. Boundary lines were as uncertain as New England weather, and indefinite as a passing cloud. In consequence of this transitory state of affairs the early inhabitants did not have any permanent place to "hail from." If a pioneer of Hart's Location went "down country " to have his grist ground

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he might return and find his family living in Adams; or if he went to Dover for a supply of groceries, leaving his cabin in Jackson, he might, on his "hame- coming," have to acknowledge that he was an inhabitant of some other grant or township. On Monday the planter might cultivate his field in the county of Coos, and on 'l'uesday find the same acreage transferred bodily across the line into Carroll. No anchor was strong enough to keep the territorial ship from drifting; the land was constantly crawling from grant to township, and from shire to shire. Let us prove our assertion true.

The town of Bartlett is comprised in a grant to Col. Andrew McMillan, of 2,000 acres, dated Oct. 25. 1765 : a grant to Capt. William Stark, consist- ing of 3,000 acres, of the same date: a grant to Lieut. Vere Royse, of 2,000 acres, dated Sept. 6, 1769 : a grant to Adjt. Philip Bayley, of 2,000 acres, dated Aug. 9, 1770, and one to Maj. James Gray, of 3,856 acres, June 12, 1772. By an act, June 19, 1806, the town received a grant of 600 acres from the state lands situated in Adams. 300 for support of the gospel and 300 for schools. On June 3. 1822, a tract belonging to Nathaniel Carlton was cut from Bartlett and annexed to Jackson. A tract owned by Jonathan McIntire was annexed to the town by an act dated July 3, 1839. The farms of Nathaniel Tufts and Stephen Carlton, 2d, were sawed from Bartlett and " jined" to Jackson in 1853. In 1853 the town was transferred from Coos to Carroll county. A tract was taken from Chatham in 1869 and "spliced on" to Bart- lett. A slice was cut from Hart's Location and consigned to the town in 1878. The area is now 38,000 acres, a large part waste land : no, not actually waste, for the inhabitants ask an admission fee of the city folk who go to view the grand, majestic, natural scenery of the mountains.

This was a stern, uninviting country for settlement. It was broken, rocky, and resisting. The word spontaneous applied only to the growth of wood and wild plants. It required a good deal of harrow-tickling and hoe-coaxing to produce productive farms ; but when the soil had been curried into a generous mood it gave forth bountifully from its rich properties.

The isolation of the inhabitants made them mutually dependent upon each other, and stimulated a spirit of good-will and reciprocal attention to their needs. In the early days of settlement there were but few neighbors within thirty-six miles. The provisions were drawn over the snow on hand- sleds from Dover, seventy-five miles away. One of the pioneers went seven miles to borrow a plow and carried it home on his shoulders over a rough. stony path, interspersed with break-neck steeps and hard-scrabble hills.

Many of the inhabitants were non-resident and their land exempt from taxation ; this made the burden of expenses for public improvement, such as the building of roads and bridges, very heavy for the few who lived in the town. This condition of affairs was a source of discouragement and anxiety with the settlers, and culminated in a sharp-pointed petition which brought

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the snail-paced authorities to their feeling. In about two years after the prayers of the inhabitants had been offered for material mercies a tax of one penny an acre was levied upon the lands of non-resident owners.

The fluctuating character of the streams that come rushing down from the hills in their untamed madness has made it difficult to keep any bridges on them, and the people have been taxed many times to rebuild such.

FOUNDERS OF BARTLETT.

Richard Garland was one of the first five settlers who entered this mountain-hidden locality in 1783. These suffered many deprivations, and numerous anecdotes are told about their adventures. He was the first con- stable and collector ; was from Dover; had served in the army of the Revolu- tion. He married Sarah Watson, of Rochester; died in 1853, an aged man ; had children, and descendants reside in town.

Sergt. Jonathan Tasker, descended from John Tasker, who came from England to Madbury, N. H., was an early adventurer and settler. A brother of Jonathan, Ebenezer, also settled in town. Sergeant Tasker had served in the Revolutionary army under Colonel Reed; was one of the first selectmen ; had two sons and several daughters, who intermarried with descendants of other old families.

Clement Meserve came from Marlburg, near Dover, N. H., to Jackson, but soon removed to Bartlett. His sons and descendants constituted a large per cent. of the population, and were prominent and useful men. (See Genealogy.)

Hon. Obed Hall came from Madbury, N. H., and owned a farm in Upper Bartlett ; kept a house of entertainment for travelers. He was a gentle- man of many fine parts; was a member of Congress in 1811; had a family of intelligent sons and daughters, the latter known as the pink of beauty. His first wife was twenty years his senior, and the second wife twenty years younger ; the latter was the mother of his children. She spent her latter years with her children in Portland, as the wife of Richard Odell.

"Master" Ebenezer Hall, brother of preceding, was a man of superior education, possessed of excellent business capacity. He was called to fill the town offices, and in 1811 was appointed judge of probate for Coos county; was a man of kindly heart and graceful manners. His integrity was unques- tioned and his influence remarkably useful. He left a family of children of extra intelligence, who have filled stations of responsibility.

Joseph Pitman descended from one of Britain's ennobled families ; was born in London in 1759, and came to New England prior to the Revolu- tion. He espoused the cause of the colonists and served as a privateer. Having married Alice Pendexter, sister of Hon. John, he settled, before the organization of the town of Bartlett, in Hart's Location. He was one of the

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foremost pioneers, and was active in town affairs during life : filled many town offices. He left more descendants who have filled honorable positions than any of the first settlers.

HART'S LOCATION.

This township was granted to Thomas Chadbourne for his services during the French and Indian wars, before the Revolution, by Governor Wentworth. It was named for Richard Hart, who purchased the territory by payment of the small sum of one thousand and five hundred dollars. In this wild region the waters of the Saco find their way from the Notch of the White Mountains. and along its borders the Indians made their trail which led to Canada. But few white families have lived here. The Willey house was built three miles from the narrow pass in the Notch, in 1792, for the accommodation of a few travelers and the Vermont marketmen when on their way to Portland. Dr. Samuel Bemis, an invalid, who was seeking for a locality where he could find health, found his way to Hart's Location, and became so much attached to it that in consequence of its wild grandeur he built a sort of castle-mansion of the native granite, in which he spent the remainder of his days: his death occurred in 1881, at the age of 87. From this man Bemis Station derived its name. The Frankenstein gulf was named for a German artist, who was a companion of Doctor Bemis. On Avalanche brook there is a remarkable waterfall, one hundred and fifty feet in height and at the base seventy feet wide. Below this there is a fall on Bemis brook one hundred and seventy-six feet in height, but so difficult of approach as to be seldom seen.

It was in Hart's Location that the remarkable "Willey slide" occurred in August, 1826. During an awful tempest an avalanche started more than a thousand feet from the base of Mt. Willey and swept down with terrible momentum behind the dwelling of the Willey family. Had they remained within doors they would have been saved: but the roar of the descending mountain side and shock of falling boulders so terrified the family that they fled from a place of safety into the very jaws of destruction. The family, con- sisting of seven, were overtaken and with two men stopping there, David Allen and David Nickerson, were buried under the earth, stones, and trees. The bodies of three of the children were never found. There was a great boulder behind the house which held its place and divided the descending debris, saving the buildings.

FOUNDERS OF HART'S LOCATION.

Abel Crawford, from Guildhall, Vt., came through the rock-bound wil- derness to the White Mountain Notch when a young man, clad in garments made from moose skin. He was born about 1765. His wife was Hannah, daughter of Eleazer Rosebrook, and inherited strong traits from both her

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parents. Mr. Crawford became a mountaineer when a young man, and in old age was known as the "Patriarch of the Hills." In personal appearance he was attractive and remarkable. He was of stature six feet four, not broad but muscular and wiry; his complexion dark; in temperament genial and gen- erous. He was the first guide to the mountains, and assisted in cutting the first foot-paths. At the age of seventy-five he rode the first horse that ever reached the summit. When eighty he was a strong, hearty man. He and sons built the old Crawford House, kept many years by his son Thomas J. Crawford. During the last five or six years of his life he represented the eight voters of Hart's Location and those in Nash and Sawyer's Location and Carroll. He died July 15, 1851, aged 85, and lies buried by his wife, who died October 28, 1848, at the age of 76, near Bemis Station. His sons were men of gigantic physical proportions; none were under six feet; the eldest, Erastus Crawford, was six feet six, and Ethan Allen Crawford, who inherited his grandfather Rosebrook's estate, was nearly seven feet, a stature that enti- tled him to the designation, "The Giant of the Mountains."

Capt. Samuel Willey moved from Lee, N. H .. about 1775, and opened a clearing in Stark's Location, now Bartlett, but subsequently moved to North Conway, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying June 14, 1844, at the advanced age of 90 years. His wife, Betsey Glazier, was of Scotch descent and lived to the age of 83. Their children were eight in number, named as follows :

I. POLLY, m. Jonathan Thompson.

2. JAMES, a lieutenant in the 1812 war; lived in Conway.

3. SAMUEL, b. Mar. 31, 1788 ; m. Polly Lovejoy, Sept. 17, 1812, and had a family of five children. He removed from " Humphrey's Ledge " farm, the first cleared in Bartlett, to a house that had been built by one Davis near the Notch, in October, 1825. Mr. Willey was a most estimable man. He was kind hearted, of gentle spirit, sound judgment, and a sincere Christian. His companion was a person of many virtues; an excellent wife and mother. By industry and frugality these found enough to meet their daily needs, and with their children formed a happy and contented family. But the entire household was destroyed by a landslide from Mt. Willey, Aug. 28, 1826. In a small enclosure, on the Bigelow place, lie the remains of the parents and two chil- dren. Three, Jeremiah, Martha, and Elbridge, were never found and their bodies are still under the debris of the slide. On the base of the monument erected to their memory are these lines :

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Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary, Part 20

Author: Ridlon, Gideon Tibbetts, 1841- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Portland, Me., The author Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Ridlon, Gideon Tibbetts, 1841- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Portland, Me., The author
Number of Pages: 1424