Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary, Part 37

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 37
USA > New Hampshire > Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary > Part 37

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).

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preparations for leaving were made. White-haired old men sat at the chim- ney side with bowed heads, wiping away the falling tears. Venerable mothers, who had spent their strength for their children, with many a sigh were now assisting their sons and daughters to leave them. There were brothers and sisters who had come from twenty to forty miles, from the back towns, to say farewell to those who had been nursed upon the same maternal bosom and rocked in the same old cradle. More distant relatives and neighbors had also congregated about the old house-place.

Elder Lewis, called "Uncle Eben," was there, and as all bowed together for the last time, on earth, he commended them to the care of an all-merciful God in a most tender but powerful prayer. Amid falling tears these fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters fondly embraced each other. One by one the children were kissed and handed up to the great covered wagon. "Farewell, Abram!" said a patriarchal father with uncovered head, as his snowy locks floated in the wind. "Good-by, Patience!" sobbed a poor, old, wrinkled mother, as she looked upon her first-born daughter for the last time. "Good- by, gran'pa and gramma," cried a quartette of little voices from the wagon. Crack! went the great leather whip, and the party moved away.

Long and sadly did the group about the door stand and silently watch the receding teams. Scarcely a word could be uttered by reason of the full- ness of every heart. One by one they separated and pensively went their way. The aged ones went back to their lonely hearth-stone, where they wept and groaned aloud. But little work was done during the day; a thick, sombre cloud hung over all. This is no imaginary picture; it is but the too cold attempt to describe, in brief, what actually took place, as related, with much pathos, by one who clearly recalled all the particulars. Nor does this account apply to one family, to the parting of one kindred band, but to many. Those who moved down river from the upper part of Phillipsburgh, now Hollis, were witnesses of what occurred at other homes, as the caravan was made up on the road.

Cooking utensils were carried in each wagon, and when night came on the train was drawn up in a circle, their horses tethered to hubs driven into the ground and watched in turn by their owners, while the busy women were preparing food for supper. Seeing their fires, people living in the neighbor- hood of the encampment would come out to see them and often bring them something for refreshment. Jolly times they had around those evening circles. I asked my old informant if Elder Witham took any of the "O-be-joyful" on the journey, and he replied: "Why, yes; everybody drank the ardent in them days."

The women had been spinning "stockin'-yarn " all winter, and as they journeyed or camped around the fire continued their knitting work, and the cold season found many a little foot encased in the stockings knitted while on the way to 'Hio.

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Their horses wore wooden hames, and when they reached Pennsylvania, the poor creatures had become so badly galled, that it was found necessary to halt for two weeks, while these sore shoulders healed. During this time, being in a Dutch settlement, the men threshed grain and the women spun flax for those with whom they tarried to "pay their keeping." After waiting as long as circumstances would admit of, and finding their horses still too sore for harness, some of the Yankees exchanged with the Dutchmen. One of these found a "tight-bitted mear" on his hands, and the "ole critter would run and kick like a mu-el." Lively incidents were of frequent occurrence en route. They ran horses until the wagon rattled like an "airth quaker," and the dust rose like a thick cloud for a half-mile along the road. One of their company had taken his fiddle to while away a pleasant hour on the road, and betimes there would be music and dancing around the fire at evening. This reminds me that my quaint old story-teller said his mother, "Pashunse, was a powerful dancer, and could tucker down any man she ever met."

When ascending the Alleghany mountains, the road was so steep that they found it necessary to double up their teams and draw their heavy wagons up by stages, two men walking behind to trig the wheels when a stop was made to allow the horses to rest. In descending, long withes were twisted into the sides of their wagon-covers. and by these, held in the hands of men who walked on the upper side, they prevented their wagons from capsizing. One of the lads was riding on a young horse which stumbled, threw him upon the ledge, and fractured his arm. This sad accident happened at a point where the declivity was so steep that the teams could not be stopped; consequently, the dad was placed in one of the great, jolting wagons, where he was left to suffer excruciating pain, until the foot-hills were reached ; then was laid upon a quilt by the road-side, and his broken arm bound up between rough "splints " hewed from a sapling cut for the purpose. Again he mounted his young horse and suffered terribly by the stepping of the beast upon the stony road.

At Redstone creek, on the Ohio river, the company waited to build great flatboats, upon which to transport their families, horses, wagons, and gear down to the place of landing. Here a stranger fell in with them, who stated that he was also on his way to Ohio, prospecting for land. As he seemed to be honest, and as his objective point was near that of the emigrants, they allowed him to take a pair of their horses down by land; this would help the stranger and reduce their boat-load. Their passage down the river was uneventful. At the landing they were greeted by kindred and old acquaintances, who had followed Elder Witham west a few years previous. Joyful was the meeting ; but the man who had borrowed the horses did not appear as promised. After waiting for several days, the owner found one of his horses some distance up the river, where it had been turned out to care for itself. This animal was too poor and weak to be driven, and was exchanged for a heifer, and note

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which was never paid. The other horse, a valuable one, was not found, nor was the scoundrel, who had charge of him, ever afterwards heard from.

Some of these families were permitted to spend their first winter in the homes of their kindred who had comfortable cabins ; others went immediately to work, and put up small log-houses. One family passed the winter in a hut, built of puncheons, entrenched in the ground and roofed with chestnut bark. This was small and had but one room. A store of meal and potatoes was laid in, and all the meat they had was furnished by two Dutch hunters, named Van Eaton, who betimes came to sleep in their hut, bringing with them venison and wild turkeys. In this dwelling a family, consisting of the parents and four children, was sheltered, and a fifth was born there during the winter. The father spent the time splitting rails to pay Elder Witham for his land.

Thus it will be seen that these families, by removing west, exchanged com- parative independence and comfort for poverty and suffering; in other words, turned themselves and families out of doors, besides sacrificing, what was con- sidered to be at that time, a handsome estate in New England. It was a wild, reckless venture, and nothing but unsanctified selfishness upon the part of Elder Witham would have caused him to use the influence which he employed, to induce these well-housed and contented families to sacrifice all they had gained, by years of toil, to gratify his personal ambition for selling his land in the West.

They reached their destination at "roast-ear time," so Uncle Sam said. Nothing to do but build a log meeting-house that very season. The following year several new houses were put up for families who passed their first winter in homes of their friends. The hamlet was called "Witham settlement" at that time. Thus far the projector of the scheme had executed his plans remarkably well, and the time had come for bringing about another phase of the undertaking. The flock had been gathered to the landed enclosure; he now wished to gather them into the denominational fold, thus to shepherd the sheep and their lambs and to shear them as well as he could. And to accom- plish this the elder went to preaching with all his might. A deep religious interest immediately sprang up, and nearly all who were "'countable" were found to belong to the "elect" and made excellent timber for a "Gineral " Baptist church; they were baptized and gathered into that fold. Elder Witham could have sat "under his own vine and fig tree with none to molest or make him afraid." But ambition sometimes hurls headlong those who are led too far by its bewitching wiles. He expanded his plans and started for Wash- ington to enter another tract of land. On this journey he was taken vio- lently ill and soon died. He was buried "somewhere" on the bank of the Ohio river, but his own descendants do not know the place of his earthly rest. Thus ended the plans of the speculative preacher. His old parishioners, interviewed by me while in Ohio, thought well of him. Had he survived,

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there is no reason for doubt that he would have made another journey to the Saco valley for recruits to augment his colony and enlarge his church mem- bership; a movement that would have left a dozen more abandoned hearth- stones, and obsolete old wells like those known to exist today in the Saco valley, where were once happy homes, in neighborhoods made up of kindred con- nections, who were naturally helpful in time of health, and kindly attentive in the hour of sickness.

Around the old log meeting-house, built in Witham's settlement, a burying- ground was laid out, and there many of the parents and children, who removed from the river towns on the Saco, many of them when advanced to old age, were laid down to rest. There the widow and children of Elder Witham were interred, and a fine monument marks the spot today. This old grave-yard is now enclosed in the public cemetery at Withamville. Nearly all of the early families are dead or removed farther West. A grandson of Elder Witham, now quite aged, survives. Some members of the Lane family remain. Abra- ham Townsend and his family were among the first to remove from Phillips- burg to the Western Reserve. His sons were well-to-do farmers there many years ago, and descendants were living on the homestead, not far from Cin- cinnati, when I was in the West twenty years ago.

Elder Morris Witham and his wife, Hannah, had eleven children, seven of whom were daughters ; to these he gave 100 acres of land, to his sons, 150 acres each.

Primitive Courtship and Marriage.

E are fully aware of the gravity of our subject, the almost insuper- able difficulties to be encountered in its literary treatment, and the criticisms which it may engender; nevertheless, the inquiry involves much that was considered important at the time of which we write, and we have no scruples in our attempt to delineate the customs of the early inhabitants who sat down in the Saco valley. Whatever was toler- ated at that puritanical period ought to bear the light of this decade of the nineteenth century.

The affairs of which we shall make mention in our thesis were at the very foundation of well-ordered society, the foundation of the homes of the com- munity. Courtship meant something more than a formal introduction of strangers, followed by a few days or weeks of acquaintance among the pioneer families. It was serious and moderate business then, and required the exer- cise of considerable skill on the first skirmish line.

A pretty face and charming personality created rivalry as arbitrary among suitors then as anything witnessed in the more sensitive communities of today; and it was not always an easy matter for a maiden with two eyes and a com- passionate heart to decide between two gallants of about equal manly quali- ties and personal prepossession, who had laid siege at her castle ; to set one adrift on the cold stream of time with a wounded spirit, the roar of the falls in his ears, and nothing but his hands to paddle with.

And so, while the one sought for was deliberating and balancing her chances, it was policy for those who paid court to cultivate and bring to the front all those evidences of goodness and graces of manner that were at their command. And didn't they do it? Muscular religion had a potent influence upon the fair sex in the pioneer days; much more so than now. It manifested itself in divers ways and sometimes with resistless power.

Athletic sports were then popular; were practised in every neighborhood and encouraged by all classes. On nearly all secular public occasions-at the military trainings and barn raisings- the brawny young men were sure to engage not only in throwing and lifting at stones and stiff-heels, but in friendly but formidable tussle, and the broad-shouldered champion who could down any one in the rural hamlet was then regarded as a hero; indeed, his chances for winning fair lady, when family support depended more upon

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brawn than brains, were far more hopeful than of one who was of handsome person and courtly manners, unfortunately deficient in physical development.

At house-rolling and house-raising there was an excellent opportunity for the expenditure and exhibition of as much muscular strength as the average young man had in stock, and the spirit of competition often waxed warm while the contentions for the mastery were radical and vehement. On these occasions there were always interested spectators, whose twinkling eyes and smiles of approbation proved a powerful incentive to the competition in athletic encounter.

Now it came to pass, in the year of grace 1770, that Zachary Walderman, of the Narragansett township, No. 1, was ready to raise the frame of his new farm-house, that was to supersede the small log-cabin in which he was then living with his family. Mr. Walderman had been an inhabitant of the plan- tation since about the time that hostilities had ceased in the French war. A native of England, he had come with his parents to the settlement at the mouth of the river; had passed through the trying experiences of the Indian wars; had taken his wife from a family of robust maidens at Winter Harbor, and spent the earlier years of his married life in a home on the coast. From the advent of his first-born his wife had been a fruitful vine, and her rich cluster of children were now ripening into young manhood and womanhood. Since their removal to the up-river township Mr. Walderman and his sons had, by patient toil and the reward of bountiful harvests gathered from the rich new land, gained property, and the family required more house room.

As the neighbors assembled upon the spot where the house was to stand, where the heavy broadsides were laid out and firmly pinned together ready for the raising, several stalwart young bucks, dressed in tow shirts and home- spun trousers, emerged from the woodland paths and seated themselves upon the timbers. Meanwhile, three or four of the Walderman girls, whose sweet- hearting day had fully dawned, were standing in the shady kitchen of the log-house, close at hand, gazing through the little window upon the motley groups. Their prudent mother observed their behavior and mildly rebuked them by the ingenious interrogation: "My children, why do you stand glow- ering at the strangers yender ?"

Now every young man who had crossed Walderman's clearing had taken a census of his family and knew how many of his daughters had reached the attractive period of young womanhood ; and, to be candid and confess the bare truth, the presence of these charming girls, whose fame for beauty had reached every clearing on the river, was the prime magnet that drew so many of the young men together, in response to the invitation sent forth by their father for help to raise his house frame.

The able-bodied men in the settlement were still few in number, and after waiting some time, with the hope that others would come forward, the

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master-workman declared that the raising must be postponed until more help could be procured. Zachary Walderman, however, was not the man to have his purposes thwarted by such trivial obstacles as this seemed to be, and found, in his own family, a contingent force that was equal to the occasion. Sum- moning four of his robust daughters, who came blushing toward the frame, he announced that they were fully competent to hold the foot of the posts, or, if otherwise needed, they could put their shoulders under and raise about as many pounds as any of the masculine gender in the plantation.

At the foot of the four great posts the quartette were stationed and as the heavy broadside was slowly elevated they all acquitted themselves of their charge without a murmur or evidence of over-exertion, save a richer tint brought to their already rosy cheeks. When the frame had been raised and secured in position, the daughters retired to the house to help their mother, who was serving refreshments to the men.

There was now an opportunity for the superabundant animal life of the bra wny young men to show itself in the wrestling feats that followed. To them grave interests were at stake, and these muscular gladiators knew they were striving in their manly sports for something more substantial, more practical and valuable, than a fading crown of laurels. An occasional side-glance proved too plainly that there were bright eyes gazing upon the herculean encounters and that the effect of successful competition would be far-reaching in its re- lation to a happy or dissatisfactory life thereafter. And so they wrought and tugged like giants in the arena, cheered on by the shouts of the men who watched them, until they left no ground for doubt as to the championship. The enthusiasm of the girls who witnessed the sport knew no bounds, and, in spite of their mother's restraint, they clapped their hands with delight when some favorite fellow gained a victory. This helped wonderfully to "settle the coffee," and paved the way for some prolonged, old-fashioned courtships that culminated, several years afterwards, at the marriage altar, and records of the event are still extant.

There, we have now attended to our preliminaries; have laid our founda- tion and must describe, in as clear form as possible, how the old time gallants and sweethearts proceeded along the mazes of the fickle road in which so many feet have been pierced with thorns. Our attempt to gain reliable information to weave into this chapter was attended with some very amusing circum- stances, which seem to be worthy of notice, being part and parcel of the theme under treatment. Aware that there was an aged pair still living, who were present at the raising of the Walderman farm-house, when taking my notes twenty-five years ago, I ventured to visit them for an interview. They were very aged, as a comparison of dates will indicate, but remarkably well pre- served, lively, and conversational. In a round-about way, I approached the subject that I wished to elucidate, and at my first inquiry started a blush to

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the wrinkled cheek of the dear old lady, and a ripple of laughter in the man at her side. It was a delicate matter, to be sure, but he who writes with the confidence of authority must boldly push his investigations, and secure his materials from original sources. I could not turn back. The shell of the cocoanut was now well cracked, and I must have the milk within. And so, rallying my courage, I proceeded to ask the old lady how love-making was carried on in "ye olden time." She seem embarrassed and ingeniously evaded my question. But I pressed my suit, and as I teased her for partic- ulars she shook her fist at me and said: "There! there! young man, don't you be so inquisitive." She put on a serious expression and declared that it was so many years ago that she could not distinctly remember how she and her husband had managed their courtship; she had, however, a vague recollection that it lasted for several years, was exceedingly pleasant, and wound up with an old-fashioned wedding.

Finding that I was not likely to attain my object in this way, I resorted to an expedient. ] saw that the dear old couple were of a humorous turn, and told them a pretty, romantic story about the boy who, when on his way to school, used to call and kiss a pretty little girl through the bars, where she often waited for his approach; how he afterward made her his wife, and re- moved to a distant land, and how, in after years, when he and his wife had become advanced in life, they returned and visited the homestead, where the flame of love had first been kindled; and how, as they walked down the old road that led to the schoolhouse, he had extemporized these lines :

"This old, gray wife of mine, When walking 'neath the stars, Slyly asked me how I'd like To kiss her through the bars."

This had the desired effect, and before leaving, the two modestly gave me enough of romantic materials to fill a volume. From my notes I condense the remainder of my narrative.

On the day of Zachary Walderman's house-raising, Than Greenlaw had lingered behind when the neighbors had gone homeward, and found an oppor- tunity to drop a pretty word into the pink ear of blushing Mollie Walderman that made her little heart jump like a hungry fish ; and her dreams, through the livelong night, had been fringed with delicious ripples of blissful sweetness that were indescribable, but distinctly remembered for many days.

Now Than Greenlaw was far from being handsome, according to the standard of handsomeness in vogue at the time of which we write, but he was called a "likely young man " by those who valued brawn and bone. He was manly, of good habits, and brave as a lion. But he was comparatively poor, and had nothing to begin life with but the generous endowment of physical strength, with which nature had favored him. He gave evidence of possess- ing sound judgment, was a resolute worker, and, in the estimation of those who

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had hewed homes from the wilderness, he stood a fair chance to succeed as well as others had done. But there was to be a thorn in his side, a skeleton in his closet.

About this time, one of the most wealthy proprietors of the township, con- nected with a respectable old Newbury family, had moved into the settlement with his family of sons and daughters, who had been reared amid influences of refinement and culture. This new family had brought to their somewhat pretentious home good furniture and wardrobes. The sons and daughters came to the old meeting-house, on Sabbath mornings, dressed in fashionable gear, were exceedingly decorous in behavior, and prodigal of politeness. Of them, we are sorry to say, the young people of the rude settlement were envi- ous, and held themselves at a distance. Still we find that the sons, handsome fellows, had excited the admiration of some of the planters' daughters, and their appearance in the settlement had quickened the palpitation of several susceptible young hearts. It was a busy time for the little fellow who carried the silver bow, and his arrows, tipped with love's infectious nectar, were flying everywhere.

Ned Flanders. one of the new-comers, was a stranger respected for his respectable conduct and family connections. His education and genteel breed- ing made him appear, in the estimation of the young men born in the settle- ment, somewhat lofty and important in his bearing, but his urbane and gentle manners won the attention and held the warm esteem of many fair ones ; there was no denying this. His course of life for the future, if marked out, was not known. He was considered competent to succeed in any calling, but he was too young to prophesy about.

Somehow Than Greenlaw had come to believe this new inhabitant stood between him and the heart of Mollie Walderman. He had accidentally seen him at the window of the Walderman house, and was painfully annoyed in consequence. He was, however, too independent and high-minded to betray any change in his feelings; too noble to play the spy. He would allow matters to take their course, and go about his own business.

Zachary Walderman loved his daughters, wished to see them well settled in life, and was not averse to Than Greenlaw's coming to see Mollie. He had begun with nothing but his hands, and thought a young man of Green- law's build and sound judgment would be more likely to succeed in clearing new land and in providing for a family on the frontier, than some stripling with soft hands who had come from the city, westward. But, unfortunately, Mrs. Clarinda Walderman had a different view. She had been much taken with Ned Flanders, and had declared to her husband, in the presence of her daughters- a very unwise thing to do, of course-that the conversation of the young man recently at the house was delightfully entertaining, and she considered him to be a very nice fellow. Such a flattering commendation

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Saco Valley settlements and families. Historical, biographical, genealogical, traditional, and legendary, Part 37

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