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 52
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Settlements on the St. Croix. Settlements were now forming and extending upon both banks of the St. Croix, and the Islands in the bay of Passamaquoddy. For, as soon as the war closed, the Tories or Loyalists retired in great numbers to the country northward of the Bay of Fundy ; ince of New which was this year erected by the British crown into a Province The Prov- Brunswick formed. by the name of New-Brunswick,-Col. Thomas Carlton being appointed Governor. The people in St. Andrews, on the British side, and those upon Moose Island, 15 miles southerly, on the American side, becoming neighbors, were in ill temper to enjoy Conflicting mutual and immediate friendship. Conflicts as to jurisdictional claims. claim resulted in bitter complaints to their respective Governors, and threatened serious difficulties. The whole dispute arose from the question, which is the river St. Croix, as intended by the treaty ?- a question which had been agitated by Gov. Parr, of Nova Scotia, before the Province of New-Brunswick was estab- lished.
* Machias, (the 42d town of the State,) is noted for its salt and fresh meadows of 1,500 acres, and for its water privileges. The names of the 16 original associates were S. and S. Scott, T. D. and G. Libby, S. and J. Stone, D. and J. Hill, J. Foster, W. B. and J. Larrabee, and D. Fogg. In 1765, Morris O'Brien with his sons, and others, settled there, and built a double saw-mill on the south side of the west branch. B. and W. Foster, S. Scott, J. Seavy, D. Fogg, and J. Mansur, settled at the East Falls. Mr. Lyon, a native of Princeton, New-Jersey, was first settled at Onslow, Nova Scotia, in presbyterian orders ;- and died at Machias in Oct. 1794. His church, formed in 1781, was small. He was succeeded by Rev. Clark Brown, in May, 1795, who left in Sept. 1797, by mutual consent. Rev. Marshfield Steele was ordained, Oct. 1800,-with whom Rev. Abraham Jackson has been settled as a colleague .- There are five large bridges in Machias. The upper one over the west river is 300 feet, and that over Middle river is 240 feet in length, at the head of the tide. The upper bridge over the east branch is 300 feet,-the lower one is 5 rods. In 1822, there was built at the falls over the west river and Middle river, a few rods above their confluence, a bridge of half a mile in length. There is a meeting-house at West-Machias, built in 1794 ;- and there is another at East-Machias. In the west village, is a Court house, gaol and county- house :- In the east village, an Academy. Machias is a port of entry-and a shire-town. Hon. Stephen Jones settled in Machias in 1768. His father was killed at Minas, Nova Scotia, Jan. 30, 1747. His son was many years a Judge of the Com. Pleas, and Judge of Probate in Washington county.
511
CHAP. XIX.] OF MAINE.
To inquire into claims and aggressions, and report a statement A. D. 1784. of facts, Benjamin Lincoln, Henry Knox, and George Patridge Commis- sioners to were appointed Commissioners, June 9; who repaired to those enquire into parts, and, so far as they were able, investigated the merits of the of dispute. the causes controversy. Afterwards the evidence, documental and parol, was collected, which, with copies of the correspondence between the respective Governors, Hancock and Parr, were transmitted by the State of Massachusetts to her delegates in Congress, with directions-' to procure if possible such instructions to our Min- ' ister at London, as might prevent or remove encroachments.'
Yet the dispute did not abate, but rather increased. The next A. D. 1785. year (1785) Gov. Carlton wrote to Gov. Hancock-" That the The people " Great St. Croix, called " Schoodiack" by the Indians, was not ders of St. on the bor- " only considered by the Court of Great Britain to be the river contend. Croix, still " intended by the treaty, and to form a part of that boundary ; but " a numerous body of loyal refugees, immediately after the peace, " built the town of St. Andrews, on its eastern banks ; and in " fact, (added he,) it is the only river on that side of the Province, " either of such magnitude or extent as could have led to the " idea of proposing it as a limit, between the two large and spa- " cious countries ;- and he hoped the subject would be consider- " ed with temper and attention, essential to the preservation of " national peace and harmony." In short, to test the question, the Provincial Sheriff of Charlotte County required the inhab- itants of Moose Island " to send jurors to the County Court, on " penalty of forfeiting their estates, in case of refusal."-This, they disregarded. He then actually arrested, in December, Mr. Tuttle, Deputy-Collector of imposts and excise* at Moose Island, in an action of debt; and told him he must either find bail or be committed to gaol in St. Andrews. But Tuttle disavowed the officer's authority, and absolutely refused to submit. Hence the Sheriff, fully determined on doing his duty, to the extent of his jurisdiction, which he said included the Island, threatened, if he did not surrender, to send for assistance to an armed ship moored at Campobello; but, fortunately for the antagonists, the threat was not put in execution.
* The State passed an act in July, 1783, laying a duty of 5 per cent. ad valorum on imports ; Jonathan C. Chadbourne of Berwick, James Lunt, jr. of Falmouth, and Joseph North of Hallowell, being Collectors.
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THE HISTORY
[VOL. II.
The excise improved.
A. D. 1785. To facilitate and expedite the collection of the internal revenue, the county of Lincoln was divided into two districts, the Eastern and Western; and an act was passed, extending the excise to parchment commissions, law process, and legal instruments. Also, as goods, wares, and merchandize were in great demand, and the population of many places scattered, it was found necessary for the Legislature to provide against the frauds and impositions of pedlars in such articles, by the enactment of a statute highly The body of Statute penal against men so employed. Indeed, all the Legislative acts law revised. of the Provincial government underwent a thorough examination in 1784 and 5 ;- some being repealed-some modified-about 140 or 50 revised or re-enacted ; and the whole body of Statute Law, greatly improved and altogether adapted to the genius of a free government.
Expenses of the Penob- tion. Ungrateful as the mention of the Penobscot expedition always scot expedi- was, the expenses of it brought the subject frequently under discussion. It was undertaken by the immediate direction of Massachusetts, and most of the claims for services, losses, and disbursements had been liquidated, and some of them paid ;* yet it was insisted, that the enterprize was in fact a " national concern " and therefore ought to be a national debt." For " in the exi- " gencies of our affairs through the late arduous contest, (the " General Court say to their delegates in Congress,)t this State " on that and other occasions often thought it her duty, to seize " every advantage, which could advance the common cause ; to " part with her property and render her services cheerfully, rely- " ing on the goodness of her cause, the necessity of the measure, " and the assurances given by Congress, of a day of equal retri- " bution. The enemy," they add, " were advantageously posted " for the purpose of extending their depredations, by land ; and still " far better situated to annoy the commerce of the United States. " With a view to prevent those evils, this Commonwealth engaged " in the undertaking, which, it is believed, Congress would have " readily recommended, had their attention, at that time, not " been called to other more important scenes-especially the " operations of the enemy in the other States. As all were in-
* Though Governor Bowdoin says in his speech, as late as June 2, 1786, -" all the accounts relative to the Penobscot expedition have not yet " been settled." + Letter, A. D. 1784-vol. 5, Resolves, p. 76-7.
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OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
" terested in this expedition, Congress will not let the whole bur- A. D. 1785. " den of it fall an intolerable load on those, who generously en- " gaged in it, because in the chance of war it proved unfortu- " nate."-It seems, however, that the representations were trav- ersed, and the claims deferred by unreasonable postponements, till the delays of Congress to assume the expenses, and to repay the bounty money advanced from time to time, to the recruits of the American Army, awakened an uneasiness, which became truly fearful, before the claims were allowed.
Towards the close of the legislative session in March, 1785, Governor Governor Hancock, having fallen into a state of ill health, re- signs, and signed the office of Chief Magistrate ; and the executive chair Gov. Cush- was filled during the residue of the political year, by Lieutenant- ing takes the chair. Governor Cushing. This gentleman had been Speaker of the House, a Delegate in Congress, and was the first Lieutenant- Governor under the Constitution-an office which he filled ac- ceptably till his death, in Feb. 1788. He was a distinguished Whig and an able statesman,-yet a man of intrinsic worth, rather than of great popularity.
At the May election, JAMES BOWDOIN was chosen Governor Mr. Bow- by the Legislative branches ; no candidate having a majority of the votes given at the polls. He was aware of the uncommon responsibilities, which the office brought with it, at the present critical conjuncture .- In his first speech, he inveighed against the His first unrestrained importation and use of superfluities, which stifled speech. domestic manufactures, and drained the country of money. Pub- lic credit, said he, can be maintained only by retrenching un- necessary expenses ; by practising rigid economy ; by providing ways for lessening our debts, and paying the interest on them ; and by manifesting to creditors and the world, that in all our transactions, we are guided by principles of honor and a spirit of strict integrity. Taxes, he knew, were heavy ; yet all must know and feel, that public credit and pecuniary justice are matters of infinitely greater weight.
But there were no subjects which commanded more lively and Demand universal attention, than the settlement, the conditional grants, and lands. the timber of the eastern lands. As turned thither, the current of popular thought daily deepened and strengthened. There was a passion for obtaining settlers' lots, mill sites, and water
VOL. II. 65
Hancock re-
Lieutenant-
·doin Gover- nor.
for eastern
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[VOL. II.
A. D. 1785. privileges. Though the State Surveyor, Mr. Putnam, had laid out several townships in the south-eastern section of the District of Maine, which the Committee were ready to sell; the applica- tions for lands and surveys were so numerous, and the claims so various in character, that he was unable to acquit himself of all B. Dodge, assistant surveyor. the duties enjoined, and Barnabas Dodge was appointed his as- sistant.
Confirma- tion of 12 townships on each side of Union river.
The conditional grants in March, 1762, of the twelve eastern townships, were now presented to the consideration of the Legis- lature. Consequently, there were allowed to the several settlers, within those of the first class," between Penobscot and Union rivers, convenient lots of 100 acres, so surveyed as best to in- clude their respective improvements ; and after reserving 1,200 acres for public uses in each town, the residue was divided among the original grantees and their representatives, in proportion to their shares or rights in the primary divisions. The six town- ships of the second class,t on the eastern side of Union river, were confirmed to the original proprietors, and their representa- tives upon these conditions ; - that those of each town should pay to the government in 'Consolidated Notes' £1,200, and within six years, build sixty dwellinghouses, settle as many pro- testant families, erect a meeting-house, and ordain a learned and orthodox minister ; and that they should also quiet every inhab- itant upon a lot of 50 acres, who resided upon it before the peace.
Among the other numerous confirmations and grants, a few New-Shar- may be mentioned. One township was granted to the represen- on granted. tatives of Capt. William Tyng and his company, in consideration of their services and sufferings, during a dangerous pursuit of the Indian enemy, in the first winter of Queen Ann's war, A. D. 1734, upon snow-shoes ; ¿- being in lieu of one previously grant- ed, which they lost by a survey of the southerly line of New-
* See ante, A. D. 1762 .- These were the " David Marsh Townships ;"- the confirmation was now prayed for by Enoch Bartlett and others.
t Claim to township No. 1, [Trenton,] revived by Paul Thorndike and others; No. 2, [Sullivan,] by N. Preble and 4 others; No. 3, [Mt. Desert,] by J. Bernard ; No. 4, [Steuben,] by Edward Small and others; No. 5, [ Harrington,] by Josiah Sawyer and others; and No. 6, [Addison,] by N. Parker and others .- See Resolve, Nov. 17, 1786; for No. 3, " Major-big- waduce," in 1st Class. # Tyngstown, [New-Sharon,] post, A. D. 1794.
515
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
Hampshire. A part of Townsend in Middlesex county, Massa- A. D. 1785. chusetts, was taken from that State in the same way ; and there- fore the General Court granted the whole township of No. 3, Charlotte between Denny's river and Robbinston, [now Charlotte, ] to the appropria- sufferers, upon the payment of £870 ;- their loss being in this way ted. remunerated. The whole Island of Mount Desert, formerly the Mount Des- property of Governor Bernard, had been confiscated ; yet his son firmed. ert re-con- John, an inhabitant of Bath, having been an unchanging adherent to Whig politics, and being able to exhibit a character meritorious through the war, the government restored to him one half of the Island. There appeared not long afterwards for the rest or rather for the whole, a very ancient and unexpected claim. This was a patent of the Island from the French king, dated April, 1691, to la Motte Cadillac, which Mons. Gregorie and his wife presented in her right, as grand-daughter of the patentee .* It would seem to have been a claim too antiquated and obsolete to be regarded ; but the government was so highly disposed at this time "to cultivate mutual confidence and union, between the subjects of his most Christian Majesty and the citizens of this State ;" that the General Court were induced first to naturalize the petitioners and their family, and then quit-claim to them all the interest the Commonwealth had to the Island, reserving only to actual settlers, lots of 100 acres. General Thompson of Brunswick, was appointed to run the lines and give possession.
Jonathan Eddy and his companions had, during the war mani- Grant to J. fested so ardent and laudable an attachment to the American associates. Eddy and cause, that Congress, moved by their merits and sufferings, par- ticularly recommended their condition to the attention and hu- manity of Massachusetts. Hence the government granted to twenty of them, several lots of different sizes, making an aggre- gate of 9,000 acres,-to be located in one body ; which now con- stitute a part of Eddington.t
The Islands in Penobscot bay, were also surveyed; and the Provision
for the ben- settlers quieted upon them for very small considerations. Their efit of Isl- lots were in fact intended as mere gifts, in consequence of the anders and
* It is believed this is the only French territorial claim ever sustained to lands in Maine. The names of the petitioners were Batholomy de Grego- rie and his wife Maria Theresea .- See I Special Laws, Oct. 29, 1787, p. 170 ;- also E. Land Res. p. 70-72.
t See ante, A. D. 1776 ; and post, A. D. 1811-Eddington.
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THE HISTORY
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A. D. 1785. plunder, privations and abuses, suffered and sustained during the other set- tlers, late war from the enemy. In a word, no means were spared, which might promote the enterprize, interest and contentment of the inhabitants. For besides the reservation of lots in these grants for the use of common schools and a protestant ministry ; the General Court directed the Committee to employ a public religious teacher half the year, to preach unto the people in the destitute plantations of Lincoln County, and pay him out of the State-tax collected from the inhabitants.
Counter titles to lands.
The most formidable perplexities in relation to the eastern lands, appeared to spring from counter-claims to large tracts, the Brown, Tappan and Drowne rights ; the Plymouth and Waldo patents ; and at length, the Pejepscot purchase .* The antago- nists, who had rested in quiet and silence through the war, ex- pected a full measure of justice on the return of peace. Yet they found in many instances, it could not be administered, without the arbitrament of law, as the last resort. The Waldo patent was in a peculiar condition. Samuel Waldo, son of the General, died before the war ; and William and Sally Wetmore, were his administrators, she being his daughter. The shares belonging to Francis Waldo, his brother, and Mr. Fluker's wife, his sister, were confiscated and sold. General Knox, marrying her daughter, and standing high in the favor of government, made purchases to great advantage and amount, and saved a large estate from the wreck. Under these circumstances to administer exact justice to settlers, creditors and heirs, involved a variety of difficulties.t
The territorial claim of the Tarratine tribe of Indians deserved great regard. Their fidelity and friendship had not only merited protection, but the government had promised it. The Provincial Congress, June 21, 1775, had strictly forbidden all wastes and trespasses upon lands, called theirs, six miles in width on each side of Penobscot river, extending from the head of the tide, as far up the river as the tribe claimed. Therefore, Commissioners were appointed, in July, 1784, to enter into a negociation with their Chiefs, and if practicable, settle and fix their boundaries, and agree upon the price to be paid them for an extinguishment of their claim to the residue. To this trust, William Lithgow,
Lands claimed by the Tarra- tines.
* See ante, vol. I. (A. D. 1630,) p. 236, 240-1 : p. 329-30 : p. 574.
t Sec ante,-Note, (*) A. D. 1770.
517
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
jr., Thomas Rice, and Rufus Putnam, were appointed in March, A. D. 1785. 1785; and after, Benjamin Lincoln was substituted in the place of Mr. Lithgow, who declined the service, they entered into a treaty with the heads of the tribe, which was ratified October 11, 1786 ; and subsequently, the proper deeds were executed and exchanged.
By this agreement, the Indians released all claims to the lands Treaty with on the Penobscot, from the head of the tide to the mouth of the them. Piscataquis, on the western side, and to the Metawamkeag, on the eastern side ; reserving only to themselves, Old-town Island, and all the others in the river above it, to the extent mentioned .- In consideration of which the government engaged, that the tribe should enjoy in fee all the reserved Islands, and also White Island and Black Island, near Naskeag point, [opposite Sedgwick]; that all the lands on the waters of Penobscot river, above Piscat- aquis and Metawamkeag, " should lie as hunting grounds for the " Indians, and should not be laid out or settled by the State, or " engrossed by individuals ;" and that 350 blankets, 200 pounds of powder, with a suitable proportion of shot and flints, should be given them as a present.
Such corporate towns as had been deprived of their privileges, Towns and severally resumed them ; and plantations vacated were resettled. plantations For instance, the former inhabitants of 'Biguyduce, and other revived. places upon the Penobscot returned ; and those of Belfast, under a warrant, issued Feb. 24, 1785, by Capt. Jonathan Buck, ac- cording to the order of the General Court, were reorganized and resumed their municipal rights ; they having, the preceding year, repaired or rebuilt their habitations, and removed into them .*
Three towns were also incorporated this year ; SHAPLEIGH, 3 new towns March 5; PARSONSFIELD, March 9; and STANDISH, November ed. incorporat-
30 ;- all of which were plantations.
Shapleigh, hitherto called Hubbardstown, was named for Nicho- Shapleigh. las Shapleigh, Esq., formerly of Kittery, principal proprietor or claimant of the township. It has Salmon Falls river west, and Little Ossipee north. Its territory was a part of the original purchase obtained of the Sagamore Captain Sunday, by Francis Small, who conveyed an undivided moiety of the whole to Major Shapleigh. Small's original deed, unrecorded, was found in the year 1770, among the papers of the family, and the descendants
* See ante, A. D. 1779.
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THE HISTORY
[VOL. II.
A. D. 1785. of the two tenants in common made partition, August 5, 1771, when this township became the acknowledged property of the claimants under Shapleigh. In a short time afterwards, settle- ments were commenced and prosecuted with vigor, for eight or ten years. Discovering at length, that the original purchase of the Sagamore possibly might not embrace the whole township, and that the title to the lands was unsound, the inhabitants pro- cured from the State, an acquittance, Oct. 30, 1782, for which they paid £400 into the public treasury .*
Parsons- field.
Parsonsfield, previously Parsontown, its plantation name, was so called to keep in remembrance Thomas Parsons, Esq. a gen- tleman of reputation and a principal proprietor. This township is a part of the tract sold by Captain Sunday, previously men- tioned, of which Small and Shapleigh were joint owners.t In
* Shapleigh, (the 43d town,) contains 32,150 acres. In the town are two ponds, north or Square Pond, and south or Long Pond-which form the sources of the Mousum river. The soil is good except about 7,000 acres of sandy pitch-pine land, in the north-east part of the town. There are in town two parishes and two meeting-houses-both for congregationalists The first or west one is on the west side of the ponds. Here Rev. Joseph Brown was settled in January, 1796; in the second or eastern parish, was settled Elder Nehemiah Davis over a baptist society. Elder William Godin was settled in the 1st parish, 1806 ; and in 1818, Elder John Chad- bourn was ordained in 2d parish. There are in town 11 saw-mills ; 5 grist- mills ; 1 fulling-mill, and 2 carding machines. The town maintains one half of 5 bridges over Salmon Falls river; and one half of 5 others over Little Ossipee river. The town was first surveyed in 1776; first repre- sented in the General Court in 1788, by Jeremiah Emery ; and the first post office established in it, 1796. See note (a) " Parsonsfield."-MS. Letter from Shapleigh, 1820.
t Note (a) to avoid repetition, it may be well to state, in this place, that about A. D. 1661, Capt. Sunday, a Sagamore of Newichawannock, sold a large tract of land to Francis Small, embracing generally the territory between Great and Little Ossipee rivers. Small conveyed an undivided moiety to Nicholas Shapleigh, and went to Cape-Cod in the commence- ment of the Indian wars, where he died. The original Indian deed being found among Small's papers, in 1770, his heirs and those of Shapleigh made partition, Aug. 1, 1771, of the whole. The tract was supposed to embrace Parsonsfield, [Parsontown,] Shapleigh, [Hubbardston,] and a part of Lim- erick,-which were assigned to the Shapleigh claimants :- Also Newfield, [Washington,] most of Limington, [Ossipee,] and Cornish, [Francistown,]- which were assigned to the Small claimants. Doubts which occasioned dispute were afterwards raised, if there was an equal division; the Shap- leigh proprietors claiming one half of Newfield and Cornish.
519
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XIX.]
the partition, A. D. 1771, this fell to the claimants under Shap- A. D. 1785. leigh, who conveyed it, August 5, the same year, to Mr. Par- sons, above named, and 39 associates. Immediately the whole was surveyed into lots of 100 acres ; two of which were reserved to each proprietor, nine others for the use of the ministry and schools, and one for a mill privilege. According to the conditions of the grant, twelve families were settled in the township, A. D. 1772, increased within four years to 40; who, in 1780, erected a meeting-house .*
Standish was so named from respect to the courage and Standish. character of Miles Standish, one of the original founders of Plymouth Colony. It was originally granted by the General Court, in 1750, to Captains Pierson and Hobbs, and their re- spective military companies, whose services were eminent in the first siege of Louisbourg. Its plantation name was Piersontown and Hobbstown; situated between Sebago-pond or Lake, and the river Saco. A settlement was commenced in 1760. The first ordained minister of this place was Rev. John Thompson, in October, 1768, when a church of seven male members was organized, and when there were not exceeding thirty families in the plantation. His ministry was continued till 1783, when he removed and settled in South-Berwick. To this people there were great accessions during the revolutionary war ;- many re- tiring thither from the seaboard, to avoid the ravages of the en- emy.+
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