USA > Maine > The history of the state of Maine; from its first discovery, A. D. 1602, to the separation, A. D. 1820, inclusive, Vol. II > Part 18
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Accordingly the papers and proofs were transmitted to England, Measures with instructions to the provincial agent, to lay them before the remove him. adopted to Board of Trade. Dunbar, who was about this time in Boston, se- verely felt the force of the strictures, he was constrained to hear ; and being thwarted in his views, and resisted in his claims, he fell into a fit of passion, heaped illiberal reproaches upon the Governor, and was ready to denounce anathemas against the whole people of the Province. For he found the community at large disturbed and inclining strongly against him. Many believed, if the Prov- ince should be dismembered by his taking so large a share as the territory of Sagadahock, he might impose heavy duties upon lumber and fuel, or lay the trade in those articles under restric. tions ; in consequence of which, the people in seaport towns, especially the poor, would suffer long from his exactions or op- pression. The local sufferers themselves were exasperated ; and hundreds of others thought the Governor ought to remove the
* 14 Mass. Rec. p. 235, report entire.
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.A. D, 1731. oppressor, though it be by a military force. But he considered it imprudent to encounter a man armed with a royal commis- sion-yet was fully aware something must be done; and he issu- ed a proclamation, commanding the inhabitants of this devoted territory, Sagadahock, to continue their obedience to the govern- ment and laws of the Province,* and patiently wait instructions from England, in relation to the course to be pursued against Dunbar,
Petitions to the crown for his re- moval,
There were others who petitioned the King and Council about the same time for his removal, Samuel Waldo, a gentleman of good capacity, and great activity, having a large interest in the Muscongus, or Waldo Patent, was chosen agent by the proprie- tors, and sent to London upon the important errand, He was there joined by Sir Biby Lake, who was deputed by the claim- ants of lands between the Kennebeck and the Sheepscot, t to ap- pear before the committee of Council; and they united in the defence of their respective rights. Shem Drown of Boston, in behalf of the Pemaquid proprietors, preferred also his petition to the crown, in conjunction with others, praying that Dunbar might be displaced. §
Dunbar apr pointed Lt. Governor o N. Hạmp- shire,
About this time, Dunbar, principally through the influence of his friend Col. Braden, who bore no good-will to Gov. Belcher, was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of New-Hampshire ;|| and proceeding immediately to Portsmouth, entered upon the trust. The Governor perceived the advantage his enemies would derive, by placing such a man second to him in the executive department of that government ; and he made all the efforts in his power to effect his removal. But the numerous letters he sent home, writ- ten with great spirit and freedom, and representing the character of his adversary in the worst light, rather in effect, induced the
* Sullivan, p. 389. - 1 Doug. Summ. p. 385.
i 1 Doug. Summ. p. 371 .- He says it was the Sheepscot purchase, or " Nagwasack" or Nequasset, bought Nov. 1, 1639, and lying between Sag- adahock and Sheepscot.
# It seems, that one Christopher Lawson, left Exeter, N. H., with Rev, John Wheelwright, in 1643-4; that in 1649, he procured an Indian deed of lands, limited north, by the north line of the present Woolwich ; that in 1653, Lawson assigned a part or all of his purchase to Thomas Clark and Thomas Lake, (killed in 1676) ; and that his son, kindred, heir or assignee ; Sir Biby Lake, was still interested.
§ Commissioners' Report, A. D. 1811, p, 25. | 2 Belknap's N. H. p. $1,
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ministry to keep him in place, possibly as a check upon the Gov- A. D. 1731. ernor, and as the best means of preserving a balance of parties. Difficulties Joining the opposition, Dunbar had the pleasure of seeing a com- him and between plaint drawn up, July 10, against Belcher, and signed by fifteen Belcher. persons, alleging that his government was grievous, and arbitra- ry, and praying the king to remove him. This was counteracted by an address, subscribed by an hundred names; and in the sequel, they neutralized each other, and nothing was accom- plished.
The power and emoluments of Dunbar in New-Hampshire, Dunbar's were exceedingly limited ; for the Governor, though residing in conduct, his other Province, considered himself virtually present in New- Hampshire ; and therefore the Lieutenant-Governor had no right to the third part of the Governor's salary, as stipulated by law, when he was abroad or the chair vacant; nor had he any other authority or command, than by the Governor's orders. But Dun- bar had a salary of £200 sterling, as surveyor-general of the woods; and a moiety of the forfeitures and perquisites, usually amounting by the year, to £100; which sum was divided be- tween him and his deputies. He was a lover of money, and he needed it, for he was in debt on both sides of the Atlantic, By the statutes passed for the preservation of the royal woods, the surveyor was empowered to seize all logs cut from white pine trees without license ; and it rested on the claimant to prove his property in the court of Admiralty. Dunbar attended by his servants went to the saw-mills, where he seized and marked large quantities of lumber, and with airs of vainglory plumed by a little brief authority, he abused the people and threatened them with prosecutions for the penalties, they had incurred, But this class of men was not easily intimidated by high words ; nor would they very readily shrink from a 'trial by battle,' or by ' swamp- law,' which seemed to rest much upon the same principles, In this way, he sometimes suffered in his person ; yet he made his office on the whole a profitable one. Also the lease-hold schemes and other enterprizes still prosecuted by him in Sagadahock, brought him some money,
When the complaints, preferred against him, came with the Submission documents before the Board of Trade, they directed the agent of of the con, Massachusetts* to state in writing, the Claim of that Province, troversy,
* This was Francis Wilkes,
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A. D. 1731. which when done, was with the papers submitted to the considera- tion of the king's Attorney and Solicitor-Generals, in the form of these two queries ;-
1. " Whether the inhabitants of Massachusetts-bay, if they ever " had any right to the government of the tract of land lying be- " tween St. Croix and Kennebeck, have not, by their neglect " and even refusal to defend it, take care of it, and improve it, " forfeited their supposed right to the government; and what " claim they had under their charter, and now have to the lands.
2. " Whether by the tracts being conquered by the French, " and afterwards reconquered by Gen. Nicholson in the late " Queen's time, and yielded up by France to Great Britain by " the treaty of Utrecht, that part of the charter relating thereto, " became vacated ; and whether the government of that tract " and the lands thereof are not absolutely revested in the crown ; " and whether the crown has not thereby sufficient power to ap- " point Governors, and assign lands to such families as shall be " desirous to settle there."
Report of the king's attorney general. The learned referees heard council, both in behalf of the crown, and also of the province and the proprietors,-and, August 11th, and solicitor 1731, they made their REPORT :- That the territory, between the rivers Kennebeck and St. Croix, was granted to the inhabitants of Massachusetts-bay by a royal charter to them, and they had the sole right to govern it; that they have heretofore erected a fort there, which cost them £20,000 and have otherwise expended therein £80,000, yet have at no time so refused or neglected to defend it or its inhabitants, as to incur a forfeiture either of the soil* or the jurisdiction ; that the conquest by- the French, ac- cording to the laws of nations, only suspended, never annulled any rights of the crown, or of the Provincials-and upon its being reconquered by Nicholson, all the ancient rights, both of the Province and of individuals, being British subjects, immedi- ately revived and reverted to them by postliminy ; that the char- ter still remained in full force and validity in relation to that whole part of the Province ; and that the crown had not the power either to appoint a Governor over it, or to make assignments of any lands
· Yet it must be remembered, that " no grant of land within the territo- ry actually made by the General Court, could be valid, ' till approved by " the crown.'-Prov. charter, p. 34-5 .- 1 Doug. Summ. p. 383.
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within it .*- Yet this report, though accepted by the king in coun- A. D. 1731. cil, seems not to have been made the ground of any efficient measures towards the removal of Dunbar, till the next year.f
ries between
The subject of the boundary line, on both the northerly and A. D. 1732. southerly sides of New-Hampshire, being in itself of considera- 'The dis- · putes about ble importance, was seized upon by the political antagonists of the bounda- the day, and made to increase party heat to an uncommon de- N. Hamp- gree. It was not only under discussion before the Lords of shire and Maine res Trade, where the several claims were urged with great zeal and vived. spirit ; but the parties in the Provinces were on all occasions vilifying and abusing each other, in their language, in their measures, and in their letters to England. On the one side, Belcher incessant- ly represented Dunbar, as the fomenter of opposition, false, per- fidious, malicious and revengeful ; doing no service to the Crown nor to the Governor-a plague to the Provinces, and a deceiver of the people. Nor was he unsparing in his reflections towards any of his opposers .- On the other side, Belcher's foes repre- sented him as blind and unfriendly to the royal interest ; evading the settlement of the lines ; partial to Massachusetts, where his estate, valuable and large, was all situated ; and conniving at insub- ordination in the eastern Provinces, and the destruction of the king's timber.#
At the court of elections in 1732, the Governor in his speech June 1. presented another subject .- " I have lately, he stated, received " many messages from the several tribes of the eastern Indians, " desiring to see me in those parts-to renew and strengthen the " present friendship between this Province and them; and as " there will, sometime in July, be the greatest number of them " together, I shall be pleased with the company of gentlemen " from both Houses, when I shall visit them at Casco." The proposition was considered judicious; and the Legislature pro- vided for him a guard of sixty men, put £500 at his disposal, which, it was intended, should be distributed as presents among the tribes ; and afforded him every facility for his journey. At- tended thither by a large retinue, in which were gentlemen of the first respectability, he met a great number of the Indians, July July 20. 20th, on the peninsula, when he distributed presents, conferred
Governor's speech.
* See this Report entire,-1 vol. Jour. of the General Court, Jan 7, 1731 -2, p. 87-103.
t Sullivan, p. 391 .- 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 340.
1 2 Belk. N. H. p. 85.
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A. D. 1732. with the Sagamores, and received from them assurances of their He meets the Indians at Fal- mouth. wishes to see the treaty preserved inviolate. Happy in being able to inform them of a " Society for promoting christian knowl- edge," formed in Scotland, he told them, that three of their missionaries were intended for this Province ; and the General Court had voted to give each of them an annual salary of £100, provided, they would officiate as chaplains of the garrisons at Fort Richmond, the fort on St. George's river, and that at North- field, in Massachusetts,* and also become instructers to the tribes ; it being believed by many people, such a course would be pro- motive of mutual good-will and lasting friendship.
Nov. 21 His view of the eastern country.
After the close of the interview, the Governor visited the rivers St. Georges, Kennebeck, and Saco, and the intervening parts ; and in a subsequent address to the Legislature, he says,- It gave ' me surprising pleasure to see so large a part of this Province ' accommodated with fine rivers and harbors-islands and main "-capable of many and great improvements. The three rivers " mentioned are bordered with fine lands, full of timber and " woods ; and I cannot but think this country will in time, be ' equal in every thing to any part of New-England. Certainly it ' is well worthy of all the support and assistance, this government ' can possibly render, to bring forward the settlement thereof~ " The several forts,' he adds, 'at St. Georges, Kennebeck, and ' Winter-Harbor, are dropping down and ought to be rebuilt and ' enlarged-as good stone and lime are plenty in that country. ' Fort Richmond, it rendered defensible, is so situated as to com- ' mand the waters of the Kennebeck river ; and Saco fort, being ' quite limited, ought to be removed four or five miles up the river, ' and established at the Great Falls. Nay, if some ingenious ' surveyors were also employed to delineate a map of the Eastern ' Province, well describing the towns, rivers, and roads, I should ' think its cost, a judicious expense.'
Royal order for Dun- val. About this time, news arrived, that through the persevering ex- bar's remo- ertions of Mr. Wilkes, the agent of Massachusetts, and of Mr. Waldo, the "indefatigable agent" of the proprietors, as Douglass calls him, a Royal Instruction was obtained, August 10th, 1732, by which the commission and authority given to Dunbar, and the order to Governor Philips were revoked ; and the detach-
* 14 Mass. Rec. 254, 290.
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ment sent to keep a garrison at Fort Frederick, recalled .* This A. D. 1732. was highly gratifying to Governor Belcher and his friends ;- and no less to the inhabitants and land-proprietors within that terri- tory, all esteeming it a just occasion of mutual congratulation and triumph.
In April following, the Governor stated to the General Court, A. D. 1733. that Col. Dunbar, in conformity to his Majesty's orders, was about His depar- April 4. removing his effects from the fort and vicinity of Pemaquid ; ture. that the fort ought to be made defensible for the king's honor, and the safety of those parts,-in return for his great goodness shewn to the Province in effecting Dunbar's removal so speed- ily and entirely, according to the solicitations of the Legisla- ture, and interested individuals ; and that should any soldiers be ordered thither by us, they might be accommodated with house- room, even within the walls of the fort. The subject, he adds, is Protection important ; and it is the king's ' royal pleasure, as he has express- hock recom- of Sagada- ' ly declared, that the Province and every particular proprietor of mended. ' the lands there, should quietly enjoy their just and lawful rights ; ' there being a great number of his good subjects on those lands, ' in very difficult circumstances, through want of protection from ' the government, for which they have made earnest supplica- ' tion to me ; and I pray you to leave no longer the fort neglected, ' nor that people distressed and desolate.'
Listening with great interest and concern to these representa- August 25. tions, the General Court resolved, Aug. 25, that the people of setts re- Massachu- the Sagadahock territory, be protected and treated with the same diction of it. sumes juris- kindness and care, as if they were inhabitants within any other part of the Province ; also that the same law and justice be ad- ministered to them, through the medium of the Courts in York- shire, of which they were a constituent part. Afterwards, Nov. 6, fort Mary at Winter-Harbor, was dismantled by order of gov- ernment ; and the officers, soldiers, artillery and stores, removed to Fort Frederick, where a garrison was kept, about four years.t
To finish our memoirs of Dunbar :- It seems that he resided [mbar's at Pemaquid, or in that vicinity about two years, I after his juris- and busi- dictional authority within the territory was revoked. As Lieu- ness. tenant-Governor of New-Hampshire, under Belcher, he had no
* 1 Doug. Summ. p. 383-5 .- 2 Hutch. Hist. p. 340.
+ 14 Mass. Rec. p. 351, 399, 440. Į 2 Belk. N. H. p. 88. VOL. II. 23
habitation
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A. D. 1733. seat in the Council of that Province, no emoluments of office, few adherents, and little to do with the government. Therefore he preferred a residence, amidst friends introduced by him into that neighborhood, and at a place central and convenient for the discharge of his official trust as surveyor of the royal woods. Besides, he was the possessor of lands in that vicinity, either by purchase, or by appropriating them to himself, before the recall of his commission ; where he was making large improvements. Upon Belvidera-point, at the head of the bay in Walpole, he built a commodious dwellinghouse and a stable, and surrounded them with a farm and good accommodations ;- a habitation which he also beautified by a contiguous, well-cultivated and tasteful A. D. 1734. garden. These, when he removed to Portsmouth, in 1734, he He removes to Ports- mouth. left in the care of Rev. Mr. Rutherford ; and afterwards sold them to David Allen .* On his leaving Sagadahock, the prin- ciples of duty and truth require us to state, that though unpopu- lar, he was a man of activity, enterprize and spirit. He repaired the fort and built barracks, for which the General Court refused to make him the least remuneration ; and he was the means of introducing no small number of valuable inhabitants into this Province. Caressed in New-Hampshire by the party in oppo- sition to Belcher, and supposing after three years, he had friends and influence sufficient to obtain a commission for the government Returns to England. of that Province, he went, in 1737, to England. Here he was arrested by his old creditors and thrown into prison. Liberated, he renewed his suit for the office, and zealously urged it several years ; till at length despairing of success, he was prevailed upon, in 1743, for £2,000 sterling, to resign his surveyorship of the woods, when he was appointed by the East India Company, Gov- ernor of St. Helena.t
* Commissioners' Report, 1811, p. 153-8.
+ 2 Belk. N. H. p. 93-145.
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CHAPTER VI.
New settlements-The terms-Offers to soldiers-Four new town- ships granted-Narraganset No. 1, and 7, New Marblehead, and Phillipstown-Grants to individuals-Proprieties-Indians jeal- ous-Trespasses-Salary question put to rest-Paper money- Falmouth made a shire town-New valuation-Population of Maine-Throat distemper-New-Gloucester-Canada townships -Trade and Commerce-Views of rights to the woods-Natives complain of encroachments at the river St. Georges-Legislative measures against Waldo-Indians satisfied-Forts reduced- Brunswick incorporated-Duke of Hamilton's claim asserted- defeated-A great scarcity of provisions.
To settle a country with good inhabitants, is a work equally A. D. 1733. difficult and important. For while men of affluence and unblem- The first ished lives, seldom leave their homes for a wilderness, without towns. settlers of reluctance ; those in more disagreeable circumstances are not un- frequently influenced by other and stronger inducements to re- move ;- and primary qualities are oftentimes given to the char- acter of a town by the first settlers, which the current of an age will hardly change. So whether they be friends to education and virtue,-or the sons of idleness, ignorance and vice,-usually their descendents reflect their moral image, as they themselves naturally attract accessions from a like class, or a similar grade of people .- Among the men, who settle or go to dwell in new townships, there are those of industry and moral worth, emulous to make provision in early life for rising families and the infirmities of age ; likewise others who are subtle speculators, resolved in any event to improve their fortunes; while there are some, who being either culprits, or bankrupts, are mere fugitives from justice or from debts.
Fully sensible as the Province appeared to be, that when the New town- better classes lay the foundations and build the economy of so- ships. ciety, it more generally flourishes, and the whole community is thereby strengthened as well in war as peace, the government seized upon the occasion-professing strong intentions and wishes
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A. D. 1733. to favor settlements, begun and formed by such a people. For six years* it had been, at intervals, a subject of the legislative enquiry-what methods would be the best 'for planting several ' New Townships.' Hence the Governor, in view of the object, took notice of the profound peace 'abroad, and the settled tran- ' quillity of the Indian tribes at home, and recommended surveys ' and appropriations for settlers ;' while the Legislature, in reply, expressed belief, that many men of industry and virtuous habits, unable, since " the great increase of his Majesty's good subjects," to obtain lands on encouraging terms, had removed in 'large numbers' to other ' colonies ;'t and therefore resuming the sub- ject, April 20, they ordered a new township to be surveyed six miles square, and located on the easterly side of Salmon Fall river, above Berwick, agreeably to the committee's report the preceding year. The lots were ready for assignment in October; and the plantation was long known by its Indian name, Tow-woh, now Lebanon.Į
Tow-woh. [ Lebanor .]
General terms of settlement
In consequence of the frequent wars with the natives, the gov- ernment was sedulous to have all new settlements compact and defensible ; and as the GENERAL TERMS, conditions and require- ments, prescribed in the location of this town, form a leading case to which subsequent grants with a few alterations refer; the par- ticulars are here stated :- In general, about 60 lots of 100 acres, severally, were surveyed and offered to as many settlers,-each one engaging to take actual possession, and within three years, to clear from five to eight acres fit for mowing and tillage ; also to build a dwellinghouse at least 18 feet square, and 7 feet posts, Collectively, they were also required, within five, or six years, to build a meeting-house ; settle a learned orthodox [or Protestant] minister ; and make provision for his comfortable support. Like- wise in the allotments and appropriations of this and other new townships, there were usually reserved three lots for public uses, namely, the ministry, schools and the first settled minister ;- to which there was, at a subsequent period, added another reserva- tion of a lot for the future disposition of government. §.
* Ante, A. D. 1727. + 14 Mass. Rec. p. 367-8.
# Post, A. D. 1767 .- Lebanon was incorporated that year. It is a good township of land, and well situated for lumbering; as it bordered on the river several miles.
§ Compare the conditions prescribed, A. D. 1733,-in 14 Mass. Rec. p.
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Next the services and claims of the brave officers and sol- A. D. 1733. diers, so often mentioned, who had fought the battles of their Offers to old soldiers and heirs.
country, came before the General Court. There were 840 men, belonging to Massachusetts, who took arms in the ' Narraganset expedition,' as it was called, against king Philip's forces ; whose names and places of abode were reported by a legislative com- mittee ; distinguishing the few survivors from those deceased. To make distinctions would be an invidious, ungracious task ; therefore the General Court resolved to make equal provision for them all-or their heirs ; and ordered seven* new townships, six miles square, to be laid out and offered to them gratuitously for settlement. In the division, there would be 120 rights, or shares, of 175 acres each in every township, besides public lots. The bounties conferred and grants appropriated, were to be per- fected whenever associates, to the number of sixty, would unite and actually settle a township, according to the 'General Terms.' Five of these townships were laid out in Massachusetts, and two in Maine ;- one was called " Narraganset Number and seven, One," [now Buxton ]; the other, " Narraganset Number Seven," and Gor- or Buxton [now Gorham]. ham.
Encouraged by the liberality of the Legislature, numerous peti- A. D. 1734, tioners, the next year, applied for bestowments of the public boun- ty. The representatives from Marblehead, stated, that their towns- men were ' straightened in their accommodations,' and were de- sirous to settle a new town in Maine, if they could obtain a grant. Hence, a township of 25,600 acres was surveyed to them, the next spring, on the eastern bank of the river Presumpscot ; wherein 63 compact ten acre-lots were laid out to as many set- tlers, and subsequently to each one a lot of 120 acres. This New-Mar- plantation, called " New-Marblehead" [now Windham] had not Windham. blehead, or a rapid growth ; for five years elapsed before the inhabitants put mills in operation, or began a meeting-house. Being then dis- turbed by the Indians, they erected a large block-house, whither they and their families might retire for safety, and defend them- selves, with the aid of two swivels furnished them by the pro-
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