USA > Maine > Franklin County > Farmington > The history of Farmington, Franklin County, Maine, 1776-1885 > Part 50
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NEHEMIAH BLODGETT came to the township in 1780, and began improvements on front-lot No. 44, east side, a part of the same now owned by Hon. George Gower. Nothing is known of his ancestry, although it is quite probable that he came from Dunstable, Mass., where the families of Blodgett, in the latter part of the last century, were very numerous as well as very respectable. He may have joined in the first exodus from that old town to the Sandy River valley. At the first meeting of Reuben Colburn and his associates, held at Sandy River, Oct. 15, 1783, Mr. Blodgett was chosen clerk of the association. He built the third framed house in the township about 1787. The town records show that Jacob Blodgett, son of Nehemiah and Abi Blodgett, was born May 16, 1783, and consequently must have been the third child born in the township. Mr. Blodgett sold his farm to a Mr. Ditson, and he to Capt. Samuel Brown, who erected the house now occupied by Mr. Gower in 1801. Mr. Brown died at sea in 1811, and his widow, Mrs. Susanna Brown, died Sept. 18, 1846, aged 94 years. Mr. Blodgett removed from town, and his later history is unknown.
ELI BRAINERD settled in 1788 on back-lot No. 4, west side (formerly occupied by Leonard M. Hiscock), but soon removed to one of the Southern States, since when all knowledge of him is lost.
SAMUEL BRIGGS was the first settler, in 1786, on river- lot No. 28, west side, owned by LaForest and Melville P. Tufts. He sold in 1796 to Capt. Nathaniel Hersey, and removed to No. I, now Temple, but returned to this town, by which he was supported many years.
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HISTORY OF FARMINGTON.
JOSEPH BROWN and NATHANIEL DAVIS came to the township in April, 1781. Their families were the first who penetrated the wilderness this side of Readfield. The road at this time was only a path bushed out along the river, and full of dangers. The travellers made but slow progress, and as Mrs. Brown, who on account of lameness was on horseback, was riding down a steep descent, within a short distance of their journey's end, she was thrown over the horse's head and somewhat injured. Having made but little preparation for the accommodation of his family, Mr. Brown erected a temporary camp, where they passed the first night in what was to be the beautiful town of Farmington. Mr. Brown made his settlement on front-lot No. 18, east side, now owned by D. V. B. Ormsby and others. He erected a log- house on the interval, which was surrounded by water in the great freshet of Oct. 22, 1785, when his family, during the hours of midnight darkness, were compelled to make their escape in a canoe. He afterwards erected a framed house on the upland, in 1793, and built the first framed barn in the upper part of the town in 1787, fastening on the boards with pegs. The frost of Aug. 9, 1783, subjected him to serious loss in his crops. In 1796 he sold his farm to John Patter- son from Damariscotta, and removed to Industry, where his death occurred about 1810. Mr. Brown was born on the banks- of the Merrimac in Massachusetts, and served as a soldier in the French War, receiving a wound which partially crippled him. Mrs. Brown, whose maiden name was Mary Greeley, was a native of Haverhill, Mass.
JOSHUA BULLEN, the son of Samuel and Anna (Brown) Bullen, was born in Hallowell, March 17, 1766, and came to the township with his parents when a lad of sixteen. He afterwards became a settler on front-lot No. 34, east side, which he sold to Joseph Pease. This farm is now owned by Herman Corbett. Mr. Bullen removed to New Sharon, where he became an extensive farmer. He died at an advanced age.
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BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES.
ZACCHEUS CLOUGH was born in Ipswich, Mass., from whence he came to the Sandy River Lower Township in 1787 with a family, and settled on river lot No. 20, west side (long owned and occupied by Josiah B. Gordon). Here he resided until his death, which occurred early in the second quarter of the present century. At the time of his removal he brought with his family a negress by the name of Chloe Norway, who was a faithful domestic and continued in service until she was wooed and won (December, 1807) by a gentleman of African descent named Domas Harris. They went to reside in Portland, but Chloe, not finding the path- way in her new relation strewn with flowers, soon abandoned her husband and sought the protection and support of Mr. Clough. With him she remained until 1819, when she made the acquaintance of Henry Gardiner, another gentleman of color, and a fiddler who plied his profession upon various muster-fields during the autumn for the benefit of those who wished to regale themselves in the merry dance. Mr. Gardi- ner proposed, Mrs. Harris accepted, and they were united in January, 1820. They moved to Chesterville, where Mr. Gardiner died in September, 1825. She afterwards marricd York Hastings, and lived in Anson, where her death occurred at an advanced age.
CAPT. ENOCH COFFIN was the successor of Capt. Peter West upon the Tobey farm, where he is found in 1796 as a tavern-keeper. He was on board the privateer brig Gen. Arnold when she was cast away at Plymouth, and was one of the fifteen survivors out of one hundred and five persons on board that ill-fated vessel. Capt. Coffin caused to be painted, as an attractive feature of the tavern sign, a picture of the Gen. Arnold. . On one side she is represented with sails set and flags flying, sailing on a cruise; on the other she is represented in distress, with her masts cut away and the waves breaking over her deck. Capt. Coffin died in I798.
EPHRAIM COWAN of Dunstable, Mass., came to what is now the City of Augusta in 1763, and settled on the lot
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HISTORY OF FARMINGTON.
where the State House now stands. In 1787 he removed with his family to river-lot No. 7, cast side, in the township, now owned by Augustus H. Streeter and others. He served as a soldier in the French War, and was by trade a shoe- maker. For many years, in connection with other pursuits, he pushed the awl and waxed the thread in order to boot and shoe the children of the early settlers. Mr. Cowan was the first clerk of the "Sandy River Associates," and had taken an active part in the purchase and settlement of the town- ship previous to his removal thither. He died June 9, 1797. His son, David B. Cowan, is found a settler in 1787 upon lot No. 8, adjoining that of his father on the south ; but about 1800 he began to make improvements on a portion of . the State lot, where Hiram S. Davis now lives, and to which he removed with his family in 1805. His death occurred in 1830. From him Cowan's Hill derives its name.
HUGH Cox was a resident of the town at the date of its incorporation. He was a native of Bristol, and came to the township a single man in 1786. His improvements were made on front-lot No. 34, west side. During the last years of his life he became insane, and probably died in Gardiner, as he is found residing there with his family early in the present century.
PHILIP DAVENPORT was an early resident of the town- ship, having purchased river-lot No. 13, east side, in 1783. In December, 1787, he lost a child, which was interred in the "old burying-ground." He built a log-house near the river previous to 1793.
NATHANIEL DAVIS, as has been stated, came with his family to the Sandy River Valley in the spring of 1781. He chose for his farm river-lot No. 28, cast side, now " Little Blue," and soon erected a substantial log-house. His resi- dence there, however, was brief, for in 1793 he sold to Samuel Pool and removed to Phillips, where his wife died. He died in Temple several years later.
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JOSIAH EVERETT was probably born in Walpole, Mass., and was a twin brother of Mrs. Lucy Turner, wife of Reuben Turner. He was bred to the sea, and in the latter part of the Revolutionary War entered the privateer service under that renowned naval commander, Samuel Tucker, familiarly known as "Commodore " Tucker. Mr. Everett settled upon a part of front-lot No. 45, west side, in 1790, but subsequently removed to New Portland, where he died at an advanced age, leaving numerous descendants. The writer regrets that he has failed to obtain his family register.
SETH and JOSEPH GREELEY were natives of Haverhill, Mass., whence they removed to Hallowell with their father, Moses Greeley, where Seth and Moses are found, under date of Oct. 9, 1765, grantees by the Plymouth Company of two lots of land upon condition of performing certain settlers' duties. The father, Moses Greeley, was a native of England, and with his sons subsequently removed to Winthrop, about 1779, and thence to the Sandy River township in 1782. Joseph, having purchased of a Mr. Snow his improvements, settled upon the lot owned by the heirs of Hiram B. Stoyell and others, upon which a large part of the Center Village stands. He further improved the land by clearing and erecting buildings, among which was a framed barn built in 1788. He finally sold his farm to Zaccheus Mayhew, and removed to Washington Plantation, now Belgrade, where he died many years ago. Seth, his brother, settled upon lot No. 24 in 1782, and in 1790 sold to Supply Belcher and removed with his father to Phillips, where the latter died at an ad- vanced age. From Phillips he removed in 1818 to Mainville, O., where he died. He married Jane McCausland, a daughter of Henry McCausland of Hallowell. They were the parents of seventeen children, among whom were: Hannah, who married Isaac Davenport; Polly, who married Samuel Church; Moses, who was born Nov. 27, 1777, and married Sarah, daughter of Benjamin and Lydia (Blunt) Blackstone ; Jane and Mehitable, who married brothers, Josiah and Benj- amin Tufts; Henry, who married Sally Keen; Seth, who
So
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HISTORY OF FARMINGTON.
married Jane, daughter of Walter and Jane (Hillman) Board- man ; David, who married Betsey Penny; and Daniel, who married Nancy Brown.
OLIVER HARTWELL. The town records show that Oliver Hartwell was born Oct. 10, 1762, and Rachel his wife, July 12, 1768. In 1789 they were residents upon a portion of back-lot No. 6, east side, which upon their removal from town was sold to Israel Webster, and afterwards to Elijah and Rufus Smith from Martha's Vineyard.
JOSEPH HOLLAND'S first settlement was on front-lot No. 25, east side, in 1783, where that portion of the Center Village north of Broadway and Perham St. is located. This having passed into the hands of John Church in 1790, Mr. Holland made a settlement on front-lot No. 43, west side. He afterwards became one of the early pioneers of No. I, now Temple.
LEMUEL HOWES was the first settler, in 1787, upon a part of river-lot No. 48, east side, near the Falls village, where he died in the early part of this century.
JOHN HUSTON was a native of Dunstable, Mass., and the first settler, in 1783, on river-lot No. 17, east side, now owned by Charles F. Butler and others, where he made a clearing on the interval and built a log-house. In 1792 he made another clearing, and built another log-house near the location of the village at Backus Corner. He was succeeded by Solomon Butler of Martha's Vineyard, and spent the latter part of his life in Industry, supported by the town. Mr. Huston was born Sept. 14, 1738, and married for his second wife, Sept. 26, 1799, Nancy Eagle.
ROBERT JONES. Upon his removal to the township, Robert Jones purchased of Philip Davenport front-lot No. 13, east side, which included the privilege of the Fairbanks stream, upon which mills were built in 1794. Some four years later the mill property passed into the hands of Hart- son Cony, and Mr. Jones, having disposed of his real estate,
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left town. The writer in his researches has failed to find anything in regard to Mr. Jones' subsequent history.
WILLIAM KANNADY came from that part of Hallowell now Augusta, in company with Enoch Craig, in 1781. His first choice of land was front-lot No. 22, east side, known as the Heath farm, where he constructed a log-house on the first elevation above the interval. His next choice was front-lot No. 12, east side, where he is found in 1793 a petitioner for the incorporation of the town. Nothing is known of the ancestry of Mr. Kannady. He came to the township with a wife, who died in January, 1788, probably without children. She was the third adult who died in the township, and was buried in the "old burying-ground," sit- uated on the high land a little east of the present Center Bridge. Mr. Kannady afterwards married Sarah Smith. Mr. Craig accompanied the contracting parties to Hallowell, where the marriage was solemnized. After several removals, during which was a brief residence in Temple, Mr. Kannady again settled in Farmington, on the Jonathan Butler lot in the Holley neighborhood, where his death occurred in 1820.
THOMAS KINNEY came to Sandy River Lower Town- ship, from Hallowell, and in 1789 commenced improvements on river-lot No. 5, west side. He became discouraged by reason of a partial loss of his crops by frost, and previous to 1793 sold his improvements to Col. Moses Chandler, and returned to his native town, where he died.
SAMUEL LOVEJOY, from Methuen, Mass., was for a brief time a resident of the town, and occupied river-lot No. 42, west side, afterwards purchased by Dr. Stoyell and now owned by Charles E. Butler. Mr. Lovejoy was a selectman in 1805. His wife, whom he married Nov. 27, 1788, was Esther Morse. His children were: Nancy, born Aug. 21, 1789; Samuel, born Aug. 26, 1791 ; Thaddeus, born Feb. 27, 1794; Benjamin, born April 21, 1797; Abigail, born Dec. 25, 1799; William, born Jan. 28, 1803; James Sullivan, born April 12, 1808.
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HISTORY OF FARMINGTON.
ZACCHIEUS MAYHEW was a resident of Farmington in 1794, having come to the settlement three years before. He made improvements and built a large house upon the lot which he purchased of Joseph Grecley, and afterwards made a home on back-lot No. 22, east side. Mr. Mayhew com- menced the transportation of mails from Farmington to Hallowell about 1793, and was the first mail-carrier between those points. He married Pamela, daughter of Ebenezer and Jean (Marchant) Smith of Martha's Vineyard, for his first wife, and afterwards her sister Love. The latter part of his life was spent in Nobleborough, where he died.
ABRAHAM PAGE was the first settler on front-lot No. 29, west side, now owned by Melville P. Tufts and others. He was regarded as an industrious workman and capable of performing a vast amount of labor. No man in the region could use an axe or scythe to better advantage, and the highest wages were always paid him. He had, however, no faculty for working for himself, alleging that he was such a poor paymaster. Mr. Page's last years were spent in Indus- try. He married, in 1797, Mary Robbins, and had five children, born in Farmington: Bethiah, born April 23, 1798; Abigail, born March 26, 1800; Lydia, born March 4, 1802; Isaac, born May 5, 1805; Abraham, born Feb. 23, 1 806.
EZEKIEL and AMOS PAGE, father and son, were originally from Haverhill, Mass., but came to Augusta, then Cushnoc, in 1762. They subsequently removed to what is now Bel- grade, and thence to the township, where they were the first settlers, in 1782, on lots No. 31 and 32, east side, owned by Richard R. Norton and others. Their log-cabins were built below the ridge, near the interval. In 1790 they left the Sandy River valley, and nothing further in regard to their history has been learned.
ISAAC PAGE in 1787 cleared and cultivated the land now owned by Alfred Bradford and others -then known as front- lot No. 43, west side,-and became the first settler thereon,
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remaining, however, but a short time. He seems to have had no permanent abode, and his wanderings would be difficult to trace.
REUBEN PAGE was among the early inhabitants of the Sandy River Lower Township, but his residence must have been very brief, as he is succeeded by Ebenezer Sweet in 1782. While he remained he was located on front-lot No. 27, east side, the land upon which the southern portion of the Center Village now stands.
ISAAC PERKINS and his brother-in-law, Otis Foster, from Winthrop, were the first occupants of back-lots No. 14 and 15, east side, and were associated in making improvements and erecting buildings. Mr. Foster, however, soon left town - perhaps returning to Winthrop. He was the son of Timothy and Abigail (Allen) Foster, and was born May 8, 1773. He married Lucy Norris, and had a daughter, Phebe, born Sept. 18, 1800. Mr. Perkins subsequently removed to river-lot No. 6, east side, where the remainder of his life was spent. In religious faith he was a Free-Will Baptist, and a man of devoted piety, always contributing liberally to the support of religious institutions. His first wife was Eliz- abeth, daughter of Timothy Foster, and his second wife was Rebecca Johnson. His children were: Nabby, Isaac, Bet- scy, Timothy Foster, Mary Foster, Jonathan, Samuel Dalton, Sumner, Dennis, and George.
SAMUEL POOL, as has been stated, was the successor of Nathaniel Davis on lot No. 28, cast side, where he erected a tannery which was in successful operation for some years. Mr. Pool was a Revolutionary soldier, and a pensioner under the act of 1818. He removed to Mt. Vernon, where his death occurred. The town records give the births of his children as follows: Olive, born May 15, 1792; George, born May 18, 1794; Harriet, born Jan. 1, 1797, died June 17, 1799 ; Samuel, born Sept. 28, 1798; William, born May 28, 1800; Harriet, born Jan. 24, 1802; Benjamin, born Oct. 26, 1806; Thomas, born March 31, 1811. His wife was Abiah Pease.
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HISTORY OF FARMINGTON.
ISAAC POWERS. According to the plan of the town, Isaac Powers is found a resident upon river-lot No. 41, west side, in 1793. He afterwards purchased river-lot No. 34, west side, where he is said to have been the first permanent settler, although Hugh Cox had previously made a clearing upon it. Mr. Powers sold the first-named lot, now the farm of Capt. Alvan Currier, to Ezra Thomas previous to 1800; and the second lot, now the farm of Leander A. Daggett, to Ephraim G. Butler about 1806.
JOHN RICE in 1783 purchased the farm now owned by Jonathan S. Ellis, Jr., -and then known as river-lot No. 37, west side, - and in 1795 sold it to Capt. Jonathan Cushman of New Bedford, for six hundred dollars in specie. He afterwards removed to Hallowell.
SIMEON RUSS. Nothing is known of the ancestry and birthplace of Simeon Russ, who was a settler in 1783 on front-lot No. 15, east side (now owned by Benjamin Stanley), and made the first improvements above Joseph Brown's. He is next found on the farm now occupied by Elisha Brad- ford, and in 1793 on front-lot No. 32, west side ; thence he removed to the upper lot in town, known as the James Wellman farm. About 1820 he abandoned his family, upon the pretense of making a home in Canada, but it is believed that he went to Boston, where he is known to have resided in 1832, and where he probably died.
SAMUEL STOWERS was born in Worcester, Mass., Nov. 14, 1762, and married Mary Oaks, born in Milford, Mass., June 7, 1768. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and long enjoyed the bounty of the government in the receipt of a pension, which his wife, who survived him, received under one of the later pension acts of Congress. His farm com- prised a portion of back-lot No. 2, east side, upon which he settled in 1788, and where he died Dec. 16, 1843.
ABEL SWEET, the fourth son of Ebenezer Sweet below- mentioned, was an early settler on lot No. 26, adjoining that
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of his father on the north. He married, May 25, 1796, Irene Perley of Wilton, and died early in the present century, leaving a family of four daughters: Sarah Perley, born June 5, 1798; Desire Daggett, born Aug. 5, 1800; Naoma Daggett, born Aug. 7, 1804; Sophia Eaton, born Oct. 27, 1 806.
EBENEZER SWEET was born in Attleborough, Mass., Jan. 18, 1741. He came to the settlement in 1782, and succeeded Reuben Page as the owner of front-lot No. 27, east side, where he resided during his long life. His farm became valuable by reason of the growth of the Center Village. He was a tanner by trade, and in 1785 erected the first tannery in the township, and the only one nearer than Winthrop. This tannery was situated on the first elevation of land above the interval, near the steam-mill of J. F. Prescott and Co. Mr. Sweet was a man of industrious habits, and acquired a pecuniary independence. His first wife, who was Naoma Daggett, died in June, 1776. His second wife, Desire Daggett, was born in Attleborough, Sept. 17, 1745, and died in Farmington, Oct. 4, 1839. He died Nov. 4, 1838, at the advanced age of ninety-seven years and ten months. Seven children, natives of Attleborough: Cal- vin, born March 1, 1765; Arnold, born March 3, 1767; Elizabeth, born Oct. 2, 1768; Ellis, born Nov. 20, 1770; Abel, born Sept. 20, 1772; Ebenezer, born July 20, 1774; Naoma, born June 4, 1776. Col. Ellis Sweet, who became the owner of his father's farm about 1822, had previ- ously lived in Wayne, where he had owned and operated mills which were burned, thus entailing a heavy loss upon their proprietor. During the War of 1812 he commanded a regiment of militia, and was stationed at Bath and vicinity from Sept. 12 to 28, 1814. He married Mary Fuller, who was born in 1780, and died Jan. 2, 1854. His death occurred May 7, 1848. Col. Sweet was the father of Loring and Lorilla Sweet, who were former residents of the town, and are well remembered by the older citizens.
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HISTORY OF FARMINGTON.
JOSEPH SYLVESTER. Little is known of Joseph Sylvester beyond the fact that he settled on front-lot No. 23, east side (the Thomas Hunter lot), in 1785, and on lot No. 44, west side, in 1790, and that he was a resident of the town at the time of its incorporation.
ISAAC TEAGUE was the first settler on the land now owned by Peter P. Tufts and William M. Holley, but re- moved in 1790, as Francis Tufts, Jr., is found upon the lot at the date of incorporation. Mr. Teague was a native of Damariscotta, and came to the township in 1782. He had a brother, Ezra, who settled in Wilton, and another, Asa, who settled in New Sharon.
SYLVANUS TOWER is found a resident upon front-lot No. 24, west side, in 1790. This land is at present owned by P. H. and R. H. Smith. Mr. Tower was a native of New Bedford, Mass., and was bred to the sea, spending his early life in the whale-fishery, a pursuit in which he was very successful. He knew nothing of farming, and the occu- pation was repugnant to his tastes. He became despondent, and afterwards insane, and wandered away without the knowledge of his family. In 1808 the farm was sold to Capt. Samuel Smith of Martha's Vineyard. Mrs. Tower married, January, 1799, Elijah Heath, and died in Salem at an ad- vanced age.
JOHN TUFTS, son of Francis Tufts, was a native of Medford, Mass., and came to the settlement with his father in 1783. He was the first occupant of back-lot No. 13, east side, a portion of which is now owned by George B. Jennings. Previous to the year 1800, Nathaniel Backus of Falmouth, Mass., bought this farm, and Mr. Tufts removed to Tyngtown (Wilton), and in 1837 to Aurora, Ind., where he died July 2, 1849.
CAPT. PETER WEST, from Tisbury, Mass., made a clearing and erected buildings in 1791 on the Tobey farm-then
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river-lot No. 20, east side. He next removed to the farm in the Bailey neighborhood, owned by John B. Jones and others, and subsequently to Hallowell, where he built a small vessel which he christened the Bonaparte, in honor of the first Consul of France. Capt. West spent his last years in Indus- try, where he built the mills since known as West's Mills, and where his death occurred Feb. 25, 1828, at the age of eighty-two. Peter West, Jr., his son, was a prominent business man of Industry for many years. He was killed by a fall from his horse-cart, Oct. 4, 1839.
JAMES WINSLOW settled on river-lot No. 50, east side, in 1786, and was in town at the date of its incorporation, but early in the present century removed to Industry, where he passed the remainder of his days. He married, April 3, 1798, Betsey Willard of the Plymouth Patent.
SI
POEMS.
THE following poem might more appropriately have been inserted in the body of this work, under the temperance history of the town, but was not received in season :
A POEM CONTAINING ADDRESSES TO TEMPERANCE, AND TO VARIOUS OTHER CHARACTERS; DELIVERED IN FARMING- TON CENTRE MEETING-HOUSE, JULY 4, 1833. BY CAPT. LEMUEL PERHAM.
Fair Temp'rance, thou Goddess, unspeakable worth ; Angelic thy nature, celestial thy birth ; With prime adoration to Heaven's blest King Subordinate praises to thee will we bring, We'll pray to the Father for sake of his Son To prosper thy cause, for thy cause is his own, And hasten millennial glory and bliss, When Pagans and Jews and all nations are his : When Bacchus's worshippers will not molest, No drunken intruder disturbing our rest, No riotous tumult performed by thy foes, Nor nightly obtruder to break our repose. We 'll laud thee with sonnets inspired by the Muse, In thy celebration we 'Il symphony use ; Our hearts and glad voices volition devotes, While musical instruments warble the notes. Thy retinue 's tenderness, mildness and love, And harmlessness equal to that of the Dove, With wisdom and sanity, firmness and health,
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