USA > Maine > The beginnings of colonial Maine, 1602-1658 > Part 29
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Here Mr. Wheelwright established a church. But his theologi- cal opinions still removed him from the fellowship of other minis- ters and Christian people, who had been his early friends, and whom he still held in high esteem; and in December, 1643, he addressed a communication to the governor and assistants of the colony of Massachusetts bay, in which he made confession that in the matter of justification his differences had been magnified by the "glass of Satan's temptations", and distorted by his own imaginations. In this way, his differences had secured an impor- tance in his thinking that was unwarranted. "I am unfeignedly sorry", he wrote, "I took so great a part in those sharp and vehement contentions, by which the churches have been dis- turbed ; and it repents me that I gave encouragement to men of corrupt sentiments, or to their errors, and I humbly crave par- don".2 The communication, because of its frankness and the excellent spirit that characterized it throughout, made a very favorable impression upon those to whom it was addressed; and Mr. Wheelwright not only was given a safe conduct to Boston, but in the summer of 1644, that action was followed by the revo- cation of the sentence of banishment.8 At a later period he made his way back to England, where he remained a few years during the Puritan rule, possessing, it is said, the friendship of Crom- well, and then returned to New England.4
1 Sullivan, History of the District of Maine, 408.
2 Winthrop, Journal, J. K. Hosmer's Ed., II, 165-167.
3 Records of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, II, 67; III, 6.
4 Williamson, History of Maine, I, 294. On his return, Mr. Wheelwright settled in Salisbury, Mass., where, according to Williamson (I, 293), he died in 1679, aged 80 years. Sullivan (History of the District of Maine, 234) says he died in 1680.
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SOME UNRELATED MATTERS.
Matters connected with the settlement of Wells were among the last that received the attention of Thomas Gorges in his wise administration of the affairs of his uncle's province. That admin- istration was now drawing to a close. Unlike his uncle, the dep- uty governor was in sympathy with Parliament, rather than with Charles, in the breach between the king and the House of Com- mons; and as things in England while he was here had gone from bad to worse, and the civil war had opened, in which was to be decided the great issue as to which of the contending parties should rule England, Thomas Gorges regarded his place of duty there and not here ; and he began to make preparations to leave the province and return home.
From the first, his management of affairs as deputy governor strongly commended him to all those who longed for the estab- lishment of law and order in the Province of Maine. At Agamen- ticus, which he made his place of residence at the time of his arrival, he at once had his attention called to a scandal that, in his treatment of it, illustrated in a most striking manner Gorges' administrative ideals as well as the low condition of the morals of the community. The affair required boldness, as well as firm- ness, in its proper handling. The man involved, Rev. George Burdett, was a prominent resident at Agamenticus, yet was known to be grossly immoral in life and had assumed an attitude of brazen defiance to just requirements, human and divine. Wil- liamson says, "Pride and abilities had given him self-confidence and obstinacy, and he regarded no law otherwise than to wrest it and make it sanction or excuse his iniquities".1 On being made acquainted with the facts in the case, Thomas Gorges at once ordered Burdett's arrest, and he was promptly brought before the court instituted by Gorges at Saco. The accused was found guilty not only of immoralities, but of "slanderous speeches", and
1 History of Maine, I, 284. Baxter (Trelawny Papers, 249) says of Bur- dett, "Instead of leading his flock into paths of righteousness, he proved to be a wolf among them, and the records of his misdeeds stain the pages of history."
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
received sentence accordingly. Evidently Burdett had expected to manage matters at the court as he had at Agamenticus; but as he was adjudged guilty, he appealed from the decision in an out- burst of indignation, claiming the right of a rehearing in England. The charter of the province, however, contained no provision for such a rehearing ; and the deputy governor, denying the appeal, ordered execution to be levied on the property of Burdett for the payment of the fines imposed when sentence was pronounced. Railing against the deputy governor and the court, Burdett returned to Agamenticus and soon after made his way to England, threatening a reopening of court proceedings there. Failing in this, he joined one of the two great parties in the conflict then raging in the kingdom, and while thus engaged, falling into the hands of the party to which he was opposed, he was thrown into prison, and while there he passed into such obscurity that his subsequent career is unknown.1
With the same firm adherence to high moral standards, Thomas Gorges conducted the affairs of the Province of Maine throughout his administration. From first to last he had the respect of all law-abiding citizens, and his manifest aim in the management of public interests was to proceed along the same lines that were so strictly followed in the administration of the government of the affairs of the Bay colony by Governor Winthrop, whom Gorges visited upon his arrival in New England, and from whom he wisely sought counsel and advice. The three years he spent here, from 1640 to 1643, were passed in a way not only exceedingly creditable to himself, but helpful to the settlers in their desires to secure better conditions ; and his name deserves to be accorded high honor for the services he rendered at an important period in the beginnings of colonial Maine. It is not too much to say of Thomas Gorges that his was by far the one conspicuously attrac- tive personality in the province in all its early history.2
1 Hubbard, New England, 361. Winthrop, Journal, 207.
2 Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, II, 186-190.
CHAPTER XVIII.
AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
B Y this time things had come to such a pass in England that one must choose between the supremacy of Charles and the supremacy of Parliament. The question at issue was whether the King or the House of Commons was the strongest power in the realm.1 Certainly things were not going well with those who supported the crown. Strafford had already been brought to the block as an enemy of the country. Archbishop Laud, who mingled ecclesiastical matters with those of the state, and had given great offence in so doing, was behind prison bars as early as 1641. In the opening of 1642, the king, unable to dis- cover the real significance of the great uprising against his arbi- trary rule, had separated himself still farther from his opponents in Parliament by demanding the impeachment of Lord Kembolton, in the House of Lords, and Pym, Hampden and three others in the House of Commons. When the Commons returned an evasive answer to this demand, Charles, followed by a crowd of armed retainers, proceeded to the House. As he stepped to the speaker's chair he addressed the Commons, saying that he had come to fetch the traitors. The words eliciting no response, the king, looking over the House and failing to discover any of the five whom he had named in his demand, turned to the speaker and asked if the men he sought were present. "May it please your majesty", replied Lenthall, "I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me".
1 S. R. Gardiner, The Puritan Revolution, 118. Concerning the attitude of the members of the House of Commons toward the king, Gardiner says : "It is useless to ask whether they might not have regulated the king's authority instead of shattering it. It was its business to shatter it because, with Charles upon the throne, it was impossible to regulate it."
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
The king, again using his own eyes, remarked, "I see that all my birds have flown". He then renewed his demand, saying that if the men he had named were not surrendered to him upon their return, he would be obliged to take his own course to find them. As the king left the House, shouts of "Privilege! privilege!" fol- lowed him.
Echoes of this parliamentary struggle soon reached every part of the kingdom, and the lines of the two great parties contending for the mastery were now still more closely drawn. The affairs of the nation weighed heavily on all hearts, and Gorges, unable to throw himself into the conflict on account of advancing years, sought relief by directing his thoughts toward his Province of Maine. Reference has already been made to a grant of land on the "west most side" of the Agamenticus river made December 2, 1631, by the council for New England to Ferdinando Gorges, Sir Ferdinando's grandson and heir; and also to a grant on the east side of the river made at the same time to Lieutenant Colonel Francis Norton and others.1 In his Briefe Narration, Gorges, referring to these grants, says his grandson Ferdinando and some of his associates hastened to take possession of their territories, carrying with them their families and necessary provisions ;" "and
I sent over for my son [grandson] my nephew, Captain William Gorges, who had been my lieutenant in the fort at Plymouth, with some other craftsmen for the building of houses and erecting of saw mills ; and by other shipping from Bristol, some cattle with other servants, by which the foundation of the plantation was laid, and I was the more hopeful of the happy success thereof, for that I had not far from that place Richard Vines, a gentleman and servant of my own, who was settled there some years before. " 2
Gorges' statement is a general one covering a number of years. Captain William Gorges came hither as governor of New Somer- setshire probably in the spring of 1636, and therefore several years after the Agamenticus grant was made. If at any time during his
1 Farnham Papers, I, 159-161. Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, II, 57.
2 Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, II, 58.
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AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
governorship he made his residence at Agamenticus, there is no record of the fact. He established his government at Saco, and apparently he resided there during the short time he remained in the province. But Sir Ferdinando had not lost sight of his name- sake's grant. As early as 1630, Edward Godfrey was living at Agamenticus. It is possible that Godfrey went there in accord- ance with an arrangement made with Gorges before he left Eng- land. At all events, his first appearance in this country was as the "lawful attorney" of the council for New England in trans- ferring to Gorges and Mason the grant made to them November 17, 1629, and known as the Laconia patent. Godfrey served the grantees for a short time at Piscataqua in connection with their fishing interests, but with broader aims in view he soon took up his residence at Agamenticus, "being the first that ever built or settled there".1
Another indication of Sir Ferdinando's acquaintance with God- frey, and of the favorable opinion he held concerning him, is found in the fact that when, in 1634, Gorges and Mason made a division of the lands they had received from the council for New England in 1622, Godfrey acted as one of the referees. Also, when Sir Ferdinando organized the government of his province in 1636, with William Gorges at its head, Edward Godfrey of Aga- menticus received an appointment as a member of the court of commissioners, and took his seat with his associates at the open- ing of the court March 21, 1636, in the house of Richard Bony- thon of Saco. In a letter to Winthrop under date of January 25, 1640, Richard Vines wrote: "Three or four years since, Mr. Cleeve, being in England, procured a writ out of the star chamber office to command Mr. Edward Godfrey, Mr. John Winter, Mr. Purchase and myself to appear at the council table to answer some supposed wrongs". It is known that Godfrey proceeded to Eng- land in answer to the summons, and made a successful defence against the charges Cleeve had preferred. Probably this was in the year 1637. Godfrey remained in England, it is supposed, a 1 Me. Hist. Society's Coll., First Series, IX, 344.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
year or more.1 A part of his time, he says, was employed in an endeavor "to provide a patent from the council for New England for himself and partners, the south side to Ferdinando Gorges and only the north side to himself and divers others his asso- ciates".2 This was the tract of land granted by the great council December 2, 1631, to Ferdinando Gorges (grandson and heir of Sir Ferdinando), Walter Norton and others. Vines, in his state- ment with reference to the matter, says that he was obliged to take this course with reference to the patent "by oppression of Sir Ferdinando Gorges".3 What is meant by the word "oppression" is not indicated. It may be that the right to that part of the tract of land granted to Norton and others had lapsed, partly because of failure to fulfil prescribed conditions with reference to settle- ment which became the occasion of disagreements with Gorges, or partly because of claims against those who had settled upon these lands and were not legally in possession of them. As there was a renewal of the grant to Edward Godfrey and others March 22, 1639,4 the matter seems to have been adjusted amicably, and if there had been differences between Godfrey and Gorges previous to this visit they were now forever settled. From that time on Gorges in various ways manifested high regard for Godfrey and gave him appointments to positions of honor and influence.
While Godfrey was in England at this time he performed a serv- ice that could not have been otherwise than helpful to the colony of Massachusetts bay. This service was in connection with Quo Warranto proceedings brought in England against the Bay colony by Sir John Banks as attorney general, the charge being that the colony, without any warrant or royal grant, had usurped certain "liberties, privileges and franchises"." During these proceedings, when the agents and friends of the Puritan colony were "called
1 Me. Hist. Society's Coll., First Series, IX, 310.
2 Ib., IX, 344.
8 IX, 344.
4 Farnham Papers, I, 159.
5 Hazard, Historical Collections, I, 423, 424.
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AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
on to confront a peremptory demand from the lords commission- ers in England for the surrender of the Massachusetts charter, coupled with the threat of sending over a new governor general from England", and these agents and friends of the colony "stood mute",1 Godfrey, who was present, rose and made an effective plea in their behalf. Apparently this service was not estimated by the Massachusetts colonists at its real value. At least, Win- throp and his associates preferred to attribute their deliverance in such a crisis to the fact that "it pleased God so to order in his good Providence".2
An important result of Godfrey's interviews with Sir Ferdi- nando Gorges at this time is discoverable in the latter's thoughts and plans with reference to his Province of Maine. First of all, Gorges turned his attention to measures for securing "the better government and welfare of the inhabitants" of his province, a need which doubtless Godfrey had not failed to impress upon him.
But especially at this time were Gorges' thoughts and plans directed toward Agamenticus. In all probability it was not with- out his suggestion, inspired by Godfrey, that Thomas Gorges, in coming hither and taking up his duties as deputy governor, decided to make his residence there. Agamenticus as yet was a small community, and the character of its inhabitants, as indicated in court records, was not of the best ; but by making Agamenticus the seat of the provincial government, and with adequate provi- sions for securing a firm and just administration of law, better conditions, it was believed, would inevitably follow with the result that Agamenticus would soon develop into a large and prosperous community.
In thus making Agamenticus the center of his thoughts in his colonial undertakings, Sir Ferdinando first of all sought to confer distinction upon the place by elevating it into a borough. This was done by a charter3 signed and sealed April 10, 1641. With
1 Gardiner, New England's Vindication, 5. Hazard, Historical Collec- tions, I, 564.
2 Winthrop, I, 161.
3 Hazard, I, 470-474.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
characteristic regard for his official relation to the "humble suit- ors" who had asked for the incorporation of Agamenticus, Gorges, in the charter, referred to himself not only as "Lord of the Prov- ince of Maine", but as "Lord of the Province of Maine within the territories of New England", calling attention in this way to that wider field over which the king had made him governor gen- eral, and toward which his colonial dreams at this time seem very frequently to have attracted his thoughts.
The charter, in its unfoldings, conferred upon "his majesty's liege people" at Agamenticus the right to exercise civil govern- ment among themselves, freed from the jurisdiction and authority of any other officer or officers whatsoever, unless called upon as assistants in repelling armed invasion or in suppressing rebellion against the due course of justice. In the charter, provision was made for the election of a mayor, eight aldermen and a recorder by the voices of the burgesses ; but in order to assist in the organi- zation of the new government Gorges proceeded to nominate in the charter, as the first mayor of the borough, his "well-beloved cousin", Thomas Gorges, the deputy governor of the province. As the first eight aldermen, he nominated Edward Godfrey, Roger Garde, George Puddington, Bartholomew Barnett, Edward Johnson, Arthur Bragington, Henry Simson and John Rogers. Edward Godfrey was also nominated as justice of the peace for the first year and Roger Garde as the first recorder.
The mayor and aldermen were authorized by the charter to make such laws, orders and ordinances as were "accustomed to be made in towns corporate in England", and they were to exe- cute the same for the benefit of the inhabitants of the borough and the peaceable ordering of the business of the corporation. They had power also to make as many free burgesses as they should "think fit'', and also to disfranchise any for just and reasonable cause. Provision, also, was made for "one town hall", which should also serve for court uses in hearing and determining civil cases. There were to be court sessions also for the "dispatch of criminal causes" by indictment and trial before jurors, provided,
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however, that no proceeding in such causes should be contrary to the laws of England, nor for offences committed outside of the limits of the borough.
To the mayor was given authority to muster men and levy arms for defence of the borough in case of hostile invasion, and to appoint and commission such officers as should be found neces- sary ; also to erect fortifications and provide armaments for the same.
In granting to Agamenticus such extraordinary powers and privileges it was evidently the design of Gorges to give the place a prominence that would attract to it additional settlers, and at the same time make it a fitting location for the residence of the deputy governor of the province. For awhile the scheme thus outlined occupied Sir Ferdinando's thoughts and gave him pleas- ing occupation ; but other dreams followed and the scheme was enlarged to such an extent that March 1, 1642, only one year later, Gorges gave to Agamenticus a second and more elaborate charter,1 transforming the borough into a city, and bestowing upon it the designation Gorgeana. Flattering himself with the assertion that he had settled the Province of Maine in a helpful way of government, Sir Ferdinando now announced his purpose by all good means to further and advance the same; and he increased the borough limits, extending them "from the begin- ning of the entrance in of the river commonly called and known by the name of Agamenticus and so up the said river seven English miles and all along the east, and northeast side of the seashore three English miles in breadth from the entrance of the said river and up into the main land seven miles, butting with the seven miles from the seaside up the said river the breadth of three miles opposite thereunto".
It was a grand scheme and the territorial boundaries of Aga- menticus required such ample expansion as the second charter outlined. But with the enlargement of the territory of Agamen- ticus there was a corresponding enlargement of the governing
1 Hazard, Historical Collections, I, 480-486.
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THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
body, which was now made to consist of a mayor, twelve alder- men and twenty-four councilmen. The first mayor of Gorgeana and also the aldermen were to be appointed by the deputy gov- ernor of the province, while the councilmen were to be elected by the freeholders. Courts were to be instituted, one to be held twice a year in the interest of the public weal, and for the pun- ishment of all offenders; also a court of justice to be held on Monday of every week for hearing and determining "all actions and differences", the proceedings to be "as near as may be to the course of his majesty's court of chancery at Westminster, wherein the mayor for the time being [ was] to sit as judge with the recorder and aldermen, or so many of the said aldermen as shall be there". The right of appeal from any decree of this court to Sir Ferdinando, or his deputy, was granted. Provision also was made for two or four sergeants, known as sergeants of the white rod, who should serve and return all precepts issuing out of this court. They were to be appointed by the mayor and aldermen, and were also to wait on the mayor. A market, also, was estab- lished to be held on Wednesday of each week; also two fairs annually "upon the feast days of St. James and St. Paul, the benefit of the toll, and other customs incident and belonging to fairs and markets", to redown "to the use and advantage" of the mayor of Gorgeana. In a word, Gorgeana, as a municipality, received "such and so many privileges, liberties and freedoms as the city of Bristol", of which Thomas Gorges was a resident.
When, in 1642, Sir Ferdinando Gorges drew up this charter of Gorgeana, he was living, it is said, at Bristol in the Great House at St. Augustine's Back, so long known, at a later date, as Col- ston's School. He had married September 28, 1629, as his fourth wife, Lady Elizabeth Smyth, daughter of Sir Thomas Gorges, and widow of Sir Hugh Smyth of Ashton Court, near Bristol.1 The Great House was the property of his wife, as also was the Ashton Phillips residence in which Gorges is said to have died. At this time Sir Ferdinando by several years had passed the limit
1 Sir Ferdinando Gorges, II, 167.
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of threescore years and ten. He was too old for the duties of camp and field, but he was not too old to busy himself with his possessions on this side of the sea. Accordingly, as Gorges mused and the fire burned, he saw a new empire springing up on the shores of New England, and stretching westward over an unex- plored continent. Imagination was enkindled. Even if Gorges should not cross the sea and assume the governorship of New England, he could still be influential through others ; and thoughts of Gorgeana filled him with new and brighter hopes. Again the aged knight was young and he saw visions, he was old and he dreamed dreams.
In the charter of 1641, Thomas Gorges, the deputy governor of the province, was nominated by Sir Ferdinando as the first mayor of Agamenticus, then elevated into a borough. In the charter of 1642, Thomas Gorges was not mentioned, and it is supposed that Edward Godfrey was made the first mayor of Gorgeana.1 In all probability Thomas Gorges was already in sympathy with Parlia- ment in its contentions with the king; and when, in the summer of 1642, Charles set up his standards at Nottingham, and sum- moned his loyal subjects to come to his aid against a rebellious Parliament, Thomas Gorges with others could hardly have failed to raise the question of personal duty and to give to it thoughtful consideration. When his decision was made cannot now be ascer- tained, but it was in favor of a return to England; and he com- menced to arrange the affairs of the province with reference to that end. The precise date of his retirement from the deputy governorship is not known. In a letter to Governor Winthrop, dated June 28, 1643, however, he announced his purpose soon to sail for England ; and in all probability his arrival in England fol- lowed in the autumn of that year. How he was received by Sir Ferdinando can only be conjectured in the absence of any known record. Interviews the two doubtless had. Gorges naturally desired to have a full report of the conditions of things in the
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