USA > Maine > The beginnings of colonial Maine, 1602-1658 > Part 33
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
The death of Gorges not only removed the strong support on which the royalist party in the Province of Maine had leaned, but it brought bewilderment to the settlers in the province's diminished territory. At first only rumors of Sir Ferdinando's death were received by the colonists; but as soon as the tidings were confirmed, in their trouble and anxiety they endeavored to put themselves in communication with the heirs of Gorges in
358
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
order to obtain information with reference to their future inter- ests. Would the form of government under which they had hitherto lived be continued? If it should be continued, by whom would its affairs be managed? Moreover, was it to be expected that such a government and administration would be acceptable to Parliament ? These and other inquiries must have been made in 1647 and 1648, but they elicited no replies. Their failure in seeking information they attributed to "the sad distractions in England"; and certainly conditions there were such as to afford little opportunity for the heirs of Gorges to give any attention to matters in the far-away Province of Maine. In order, therefore, that there might be consultation and consideration with reference to matters of such vital interest in the province, Edward Godfrey, whom Thomas Gorges left in charge of the Gorges interests on his return to England in 1643, and who was still the leading spirit in the province, united with the other officers of the Gorges proprietary in calling the inhabitants of Piscataqua, Gorgeana and Wells to assemble at Gorgeana in July, 1649. Such an assembly was held, and after full and free discussion it was agreed to enter into a "combination" or social compact for the purpose of securing such a form of government as would enable the colonists to manage their provincial affairs until "further order, power and authority shall come out of England"; binding themselves "to see these parts of the country and province regulated according to such laws as formerly have been exercised and such others as shall be thought meet, not repugnant to the fundamental laws of our native country".1
It was then also agreed "to make choice of such governor or governors and magistrates as by most voices they shall think meet." In the election that followed Edward Godfrey received the "most voices" for the office of governor, and thus became the first governor elected by the people in what is now the State of Maine. Those who had assisted Godfrey in administering the affairs of the province in the preceding year were also elected to
1 Farnham Papers, I, 266.
359
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS MAINE TERRITORY.
fill the offices they had hitherto held. Under the organization thus effected, the governmental affairs of the colonists between the Piscataqua and the Kennebunk rivers were continued as hitherto. All the while, however, existing conditions in England were kept steadily in view, and with the change in the form of government there following the death of Charles I, regarding themselves as still holding to recognized authority in the country whence they came, the inhabitants of the province adjusted themselves to the new order of things in England and wisely and prudently awaited the further unfolding of events.
Very different in the Province of Lygonia was the effect of the death of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. It is true that men like Jos- selyn and Jordan were in sympathy with the Gorges interests and in their attachment to those interests they shared the views of Godfrey and his associates. But they had recognized Rigby's authority as the proprietor of the Lygonia patent, and had accepted office in connection with the administration of provincial affairs, which were in no wise affected by Gorges' death. When, how- ever, tidings reached the province of the death of Rigby, which occurred in London suddenly, unexpectedly, August 18, 1650, a new situation presented itself. All along the relations of Josselyn and others to the Lygonia government were not of their liking. Their association with Cleeve, the deputy president of the prov- ince, was for prudential reasons only. If an opportunity should open for a change in these relations, there was no reason in their view why they should not avail themselves of it; and such an opportunity they recognized on receiving information of the death of the proprietor and president of the Province of Lygonia.
Their action, however, was not hasty. In all probability they held open and secret meetings for consultation. Doubtless their public utterances indicated a desire for any change that would bring the Rigby authority to an end. But there is no evidence that on the part of Josselyn, Jordan and others there was any attempt to set up in place of the existing government such an independent government as was organized by the inhabitants of
360
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
the Province of Maine. Their leanings in no wise were toward democracy. On the other hand, Cleeve and those who were in agreement with him desired as a settlement of recognized difficul- ties a confirmation of the Rigby authority by Parliament. This was indicated in a petition to Parliament prepared by Cleeve and having such a confirmation in view. Similar action was desired by the inhabitants of the Province of Maine, as already men- tioned.
Undoubtedly, in this movement on the part of the general court of the Province of Maine, there was co-operation with Cleeve and those of the Province of Lygonia in agreement with him, not only as a petition with reference to Lygonia interests was pre- pared by Cleeve having the same end in view, but especially as Cleeve was the bearer of both petitions, when he sailed for Eng- land, probably not long after. Of the leading men in both prov- inces Cleeve unquestionably was the best fitted for the service required. His connection with the Rigby interests and his sym- pathy with the parliamentary party in the struggle through which England had passed in the preceding years, gave him easy access to those whose assistance he sought. First of all, on his arrival, he placed himself in communication with the heirs of Baron Rigby, and hastened to set before them an account of existing conditions in both of the provinces which he represented, and at the same time the perils with which they were threatened. Doubtless among the perils, so far as the Province of Lygonia was concerned, Cleeve mentioned the attitude of Josselyn and others. But the peril to which he especially called attention was occasioned by the encroachments of Massachusetts. In the pre- ceding decade, the Bay colony had gradually extended its jurisdic- tion over the New Hampshire settlements. Now, in the disturbed state of feeling north of the Piscataqua, it was the evident purpose of the Massachusetts authorities to extend their jurisdiction still farther up the coast so as to include the territory over which Gorges and Rigby had exercised proprietorship. This is made to appear in a paper in the Records Office in London, in which it is
361
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS MAINE TERRITORY.
stated that in 1652, Edward Rigby, the son and heir of Colonel Alexander Rigby, joined with the heirs of Gorges and other pat- entees of Maine and New Hampshire in a petition to Parliament for relief from such encroachments. Doubtless the reference is to the petitions to Parliament brought by Cleeve; and from the paper mentioned it would seem that Rigby, in uniting with the petitioners, resented the action of Massachusetts as hostile to the Gorges and Rigby interests. Inasmuch as there is no further information concerning these petitions, it is reasonable to suppose that the influential and watchful representatives of Massachusetts in London succeeded in defeating the efforts of Cleeve and his friends in their effort to secure parliamentary action.
While Cleeve was in England, he seems to have made a favorable impression upon Edward Rigby. The latter not only approved Cleeve's attitude toward Josselyn and others, who were endeavor- ing to bring the Province of Maine and the Province of Lygonia under one government as in the earlier period under the Gorges proprietary, but he increased Cleeve's land-holdings by adding one thousand acres to the territory already granted to him. More- over, he addressed a letter to the opponents of Cleeve, upbraiding them for their wrongs and abuses and demanding that both they and others, who had taken office under his father, should cease further activity in administrative relations as their commissions expired with his father's death. He expressed sorrow that they "should still act so directly" against his father's and his interests as they did, and insisted that they should no longer continue their "private and secret combinations", but should join with him, and his deputy and other officers, for the peace and quiet of the prov- ince. He closed the letter with the declaration that he should strive to do equal justice in all things, and to this end he informed them that "with all convenient speed" he should not only send back Mr. Cleeve but a near kinsman of his own with instructions and commissions to such as he deemed fitting to receive them, not doubting that upon the receipt of his communication those addressed would desist from their former illegal proceedings and
362
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
join with those to whom he should send commissions, adding the assurance that with the letter went "the respects of him that is your real friend if yourselves be not your own enemies".1
The letter furnishes us not only with information concerning Edward Rigby's knowledge of affairs connected with the Province of Lygonia, but at the same time it gives us such a glimpse of the writer himself as can be obtained nowhere else. Indirectly, also, the letter is a tribute to the character of George Cleeve; for it was of Edward Rigby that Roger Williams, in a letter to John Winthrop, Jr., governor of Connecticut, sent this message about a year and a half later : "We have sound [rumor] of a general governor [of New England], and that Baron Rigby's son is the man".2 That George Cleeve, in his position as deputy president, and now in repeated personal interviews, should have impressed such a man as Edward Rigby so favorably and so strongly as to continue him in office, furnishes certainly no slight testimony to the ability and character of George Cleeve.
The time for Cleeve's return had not been fixed when Rigby's letter was written. In fact, Cleeve lingered in England some time, doubtless in hope that added efforts might yet secure par- liamentary aid in behalf of the interests that he represented. The exact date of his return is unknown, but there are documents in the Massachusetts archives from which information is derived that he landed in Boston in September, 1653.8
During Cleeve's absence in England, Massachusetts had con- tinued earlier efforts to extend her jurisdiction northward. This was in accordance with a purpose suggested by the death of Mason, and was greatly strengthened by the success of the Puri- tan revolution in England. These successes, it was believed, had not only been destructive to the establishment of royalist and Church of England authority in New England, but had opened the way for Puritan ascendancy in the same territory. These
1 Baxter, George Cleeve, Collateral Documents, 284-286.
2 Mass Hist. Society's Coll., Fourth Series, VI, 260.
8 Baxter, George Cleeve, 161, 162, 287, 288.
363
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS MAINE TERRITORY.
efforts on the part of the Massachusetts authorities were now encouraged by political strife and the lack of law and order north of the Piscataqua. In the scattered settlements there were those who desired to see an end of the conditions under which they had lived so long. Some of them had visited the comparatively strong and prosperous communities in the Bay, and were familiar with the more favorable conditions under which the colonists there lived. It was but natural, therefore, that from time to time strong expressions on their part for the possession of like benefits and governmental regulation should find their way to the Massa- chusetts settlements.
Up to this time, however, Massachusetts does not seem to have given much attention, if any, to the provisions of her charter with reference to the northern boundary of the colony. In 1651, how- ever, Joseph Mason, a kinsman of Captain John Mason (to whom in 1635 the grant of New Hampshire was confirmed), came over to New England in the interest of the widow of his deceased rela- tive. Finding Richard Leader in possession of land on the Newichwannock (Salmon Falls) river,1 he brought an action for trespass against Leader in the Norfolk county court, then in ses- sion at Salisbury, Mass. At the trial the defendant, Leader, held that the lands in question were not within the limits of Massa- chusetts territory, and on the point thus raised the court declined to rule and referred the matter to the general court of the colony at its annual session in May, 1652.2
In the records of the colony, under date of May 31, 1652, this entry appears : "On perusal of our charter, it was this day voted by the whole court, that the extent of the [boundary] line is to be from the northermost part of the river Merrimack and three miles more north, where it is to be found, be it an hundred miles more or less from the sea, and thence upon a straight line east
1 For Mason's protest against Leader's possession, see Jenness' New Hampshire Documents, 38.
2 See Massachusetts Archives, 38, 70, 71.
364
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
and west to each sea; and this to be the true interpretation of the terms of the limit northward granted in the patent".1
It is not easy to follow the members of the general court in thus arriving at "an interpretation of the terms of the limit" of their territory northward. The charter gave the Bay colony "all those lands and hereditaments whatsoever, which lie and be within the space of three English miles to the northward of the said river, called Monomack alias Merrimack, or to the northward of any and every part thereof".2 If the language of the charter with reference to the northern boundary of the colony embraced these words only, the members of the general court would have found little if any basis for the interpretation they made and recorded. Their boundary line, as thus described, started on the Atlantic coast three miles north of the mouth of the Merrimac river, and followed the windings of the river, at the same distance from the river, to its source, or to a point three miles north of its source. But the charter description of the northern boundary of the colony does not end with the words now cited. Immediately following are added words that make the territory of the colony to include "all lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying within the limits aforesaid, north and south in latitude and breadth, and in length and longitude, of and within all the breadth aforesaid, throughout the main lands there, from the Atlantic and Western sea and ocean on the east part to the South sea on the west part".3 Those who wrote these words evidently attempted by them to indicate more definitely the northern boundary of the colony's territory ; but their knowledge of the country was exceedingly defective, and the words they used convey no clear meaning. Accordingly, as the words needed interpretation, the members of the general court, finding in the boundary designated such words as "length" and "breadth", "latitude" and "longitude", "north" and "south", "east part" and "west part", used them as helps to a
1 Records of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, III, 274.
2 Hazard, I, 243.
8 Ib., I, 243.
365
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS MAINE TERRITORY.
decision and evidently found in them the interpretation their perusal suggested, and which made the northern boundary of the colony a straight line east and west from a point three miles north of the source of the Merrimac river.
Before this time, evidently, Massachusetts had not given any particular attention to her northern boundary as described in her charter.1 In extending her jurisdiction over the New Hampshire communities north of the Merrimac she had not asserted charter rights. That movement was designed to meet certain needs fol- lowing the death of Mason, an event that left the territory between the Merrimac and the Piscataqua without governmental oversight and protection. But while such needs existed to a like extent, if not a greater, in the Maine provinces, other and more forceful reasons now influenced the general court in attempting a still far- ther advance up the coast. There had been a time, and that not far away, when royalist and Church of England designs had seri- ously threatened the Bay colony's existence. While for the most part these designs had their origin in the mother country, they were fostered by some of the more prominent settlers north of the Piscataqua, themselves royalists and members of the English church. But political conditions in England, as the result of the civil war, had not only allayed all fear of harmful assaults from across the sea, but at the same time had opened the way for such an advance into Maine territory as would strengthen and make dominant Puritan influences in New England. Indeed, it is not improbable that the members of the general court even before
1 In the earlier years of the colony there was no need of examining the charter with reference to boundary lines. Naturally the colonists devoted themselves to the work of establishing comfortable homes, and providing means of support. But, in 1652, prosperous settlements had been developed. Those who founded and established them had purposes that ripened fast and stopped short of nothing less than the building up of a New England, which should be neither feudal nor monarchical, but a democracy-"an incorporated group of individuals seeking in a new country a permanent home and an opportunity of worshipping God in their own way". C. M. Andrews, The Colonial Period, 66.
366
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
their perusal of their charter had reached clear and definite pur- poses with reference to their boundary claim, and these the char- ter strengthened. Men generally find what they seek. At all events in their perusal of the charter the Massachusetts magis- trates found what they desired to find, and their interpretation of their charter with reference to their northern boundary was an important aid in securing the accomplishment of their purposes.
In this advance into Maine territory ambition on the part of Massachusetts is not to be denied. But it was not a low, sordid ambition. It was an ambition that sought fairly and squarely the betterment1 of existing conditions, and aimed to give to Maine settlers the same measure of prosperity that the Bay colonists themselves enjoyed. Nearly a century ago a son of Maine, who had made its history a careful study, placed on record these words : "If Massachusetts were actuated by motives of ambition in this enlargement of her borders, and the adoption of these plantations, it must be acknowledged she guided her measures by maxims of prudence, and manifested great assiduity and zeal for the good of the inhabitants so eagerly adopted".2 Half a century later, another son of Maine, also deeply interested in the history of his native state, and receiving its highest honors for his educational, military and other services, in reviewing this action of Massachu- setts, justified that action on the ground of necessity. "It was necessary", he said, "that Massachusetts should control Maine". Such a necessity he found in the fact that this added territory was needed in order "to ward off her enemies, Churchmen, French- men, Indians".3 All this is true, but it is not the whole truth. Not only was it necessary that Massachusetts should provide for self-defence, but for growth and expansion. The planting of Massachusetts meant the planting of New England. In time the
1 "Massachusetts was never mean. She was square and bold. You could always see her coming ; and tell what she was after." J. L. Chamberlain, Maine : her Place in History, 59.
2 Williamson, History of the State of Maine, I, 356.
8 Maine : her Place in History, 58, 67.
367
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS MAINE TERRITORY.
colony was to become a commonwealth, a nation, and Maine was needed in the development already in progress.
Massachusetts lost no time in entering upon the undertaking "for the better discovery" of the north line of the colony's terri- tory ; and on the same day when her interpretation of the boun- daries of the charter was announced, the general court appointed Captain Simon Willard and Captain Edward Johnson commis- sioners, with "such artists and other associates" as they desired "to find out the most northerly part of Merrimack river". By their instructions they were required to use "their utmost skill and ability to take a true observation of the latitude of that place", and they were to make a return thereof at the next session of the court.1
As "artists and other assistants" in the task thus assigned to them, the Massachusetts commissioners selected "John Sherman, sergeant at Watertown, and Jonathan Ince, student at Harvard College", and they, with the commissioners, proceeded to the source of the Merrimac river. This they found at Aquedahian where the river "issues out of the Lake Winnapusseakit'' (Win- nipesaukee). Observation for the latitude was taken August 1, 1652, when according to the report made by Sherman and Ince October 19, 1652, it was found "that the latitude of the place was 43° 40' 12" besides those minutes which are to be allowed for the three miles more north which run into the lake".2
There is no evidence that George Cleeve, while in England, received any information concerning this action with reference to the northern boundary of the Bay colony. On landing in Boston in September, 1653, however, he was informed of it, and his study of the new boundary showed that it brought a part of the Province of Lygonia within the territory now claimed by Massachusetts. Cleeve, accordingly, addressed a letter to "the honored magis- trates and deputies" of the colony, asking for an explanation of this action. In this communication Cleeve called attention to the
1 Records of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, III, 278.
2 Records of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, III, 288.
368
THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
numerous commissions and other instruments, "as well from the crown, by the council of Plymouth as also several confirmations by the Parliament and council of State", in which the boundaries of the Province of Lygonia were stated. The territorial rights of Baron Rigby had now descended to his son, Edward Rigby, Esq., of Gray's Inn, who had directed Cleeve on his return to call an assembly of all the villages in the province from the Sagadahoc to the west side of Wells. This, he added, he had intended to do, but he had learned it was now claimed that the Province of Lygo- nia, or a great part of it, was within the jurisdiction of Massachu- setts. He asked the general court, therefore, to give him in writing a full statement of its intentions in order that he might report the facts "without any mistakings" and in the interest of "peace and love".1
To this courteous inquiry, the Massachusetts magistrates replied, insisting upon the rightfulness of their claim.2 About the same time the general court of Massachusetts appointed Samuel Andrew and Jonas Clarke of Cambridge ("both well skilled in the math- ematics, having had the command of ships upon several voy- ages"), to mark on the seacoast the northern boundary of the colony, and also to "run the line and mark trees forty poles into the woods east and west". This was done October 13, 1654, and in their report the parties employed stated that the line crossed the norther-most point of Upper Clapboard island, "about a quarter of a mile from the main in Casco bay, about four or five miles to the northward of Mr. Mackworth's house".8 There were few trees at the place, but four or five were marked, one of them with the letters M. B., and it was added that "at the seaside, where the line doth extend, there lies a grayish rock at high water mark cleft in the middle".4
1 In Massachusetts Archives, misplaced under 1662. The letter is printed in full in Baxter's George Cleeve, 161, 162.
2 Baxter, George Cleeve, Collateral Documents, 287.
8 The house was near the mouth of the Presumpscot.
4 Records of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, III, 361, 362.
369
MASSACHUSETTS CLAIMS MAINE TERRITORY.
Cleeve, in continuing to protest against this action of Massachu- setts, courteously called the attention of the general court to some propositions prepared by himself and others of the Province of Lygonia. In their reply, the members of the general court insisted that their "general claim hath been constantly from the first to three miles northward of the most northern part of the said [Merrimac] river, in length and longitude, through the main land, from the eastern sea to the sea on the west". Then fol- lowed a reference to the fairness manifested by Massachusetts in its attitude toward the Maine settlements.1 The weak point in this answer of the general court was in the statement that the present claim of Massachusetts as to her northern boundary had been the general claim of the Bay colony from the first. Of this no proof was furnished, and an examination of the records of the colony seems to warrant the opinion that no proof could be furnished.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.