USA > Maine > Hancock County > Traditions and records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert island, Maine > Part 24
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Ezra Richardson's house is one of the old homes. Dr. Har- vey Deming, Dr. Googins and A. C. Fernald, Sr., have lived in it. Walter Fernald owned it and sold to Mr. Richardson. Harold
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Grindle lives in a house at the rear of this lot which was built by A. C. Fernald, Sr., some fifty or more years ago as a shop for his undertaking business.
The Somes House Garage was built as a stable in the days of horses and buckboard riding.
Mrs. Roy Leland owns and occupies the house which was built by her husband and Frank Leland built the next one. His widow sold it to Mrs. George A. Somes. Frank Caine lives in the house built by Benjamin Leland, who sold it to Charles Leland and he to Mrs. George A. Somes. It is now the property of Mrs. Somes' son, Frank Caine.
Pearl Smith built the house now owned by his son, Fred Smith. Bloomfield Smith's house was built by Timothy Mason, inherited by his son William, who sold to Mr. Smith.
Charles Brown built the next house and sold it to George Knox. He sold to Thurlow Hanna who occupies it. Mrs. Wil- liam Brown owns and occupies the next one.
Mrs. William Disston of Philadelphia owns two houses in this vicinity. The smaller one was built by Edwin Parker and "Brightside", the larger one, has had several owners since it was built by the Arnold family of Brookline, Mass.
Cynthia Clement owns a small house built by Shepard Rich- ardson. Hoyt Richards lives in the house which was built by Arthur Leland. The Brooking house has recently been pur- chased by John Nelson. James W. Tate built the house where he lives as did also Eugene Merchant.
Returning to the Somes House and taking the houses on the right side of the road leading north: below the Somes House toward the Sound on what is known as Somes Point is the site where Abraham Somes, first permanent settler on Mount Desert Island, built the log cabin to which he brought his wife and four little girls when he came from Gloucester, Mass., to found a new home in the Province of Maine in 1762.
Later he built a substantial frame house on the site of the Somes House and a part of that house is embodied in the present hotel. Some of the rooms at the back remain almost as they were at first. The house was built as a one-story building and later the walls were raised. Since then there have been many
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alterations and additions. George A. Somes finally inherited the property, developed the hotel business and built the two cottages toward the shore. His widow now owns it and conducts the hotel.
The house to the north of the Somes House was built by Nathan Salisbury, Jr., for James Branscom, whose granddaugh- ter, Mrs. Hollis Higgins, now owns it.
The first house on the adjoining lot was built about 1861 for Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin T. Atherton who lived there many years and part of the time conducted it as a hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Ath- erton were both school teachers of ability and they taught many terms of school in the different villages on Mount Desert Island. After their deaths the place was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Perry Rich who carried on the hotel business and from their family, Mrs. Alfred T. Baker of Princeton, N. J., purchased the prop- erty, took down the buildings and built the present cottage there as a summer home.
The first schoolhouse on the present school lot was built about 1866. In 1897-8 this building was sold to Bloomfield Smith, who moved it to his lot adjoining on the north side and uses it as a store. A two-story schoolhouse was built that year. This was adequate for educational purposes until 1929 when the house was remodeled and enlarged to its present style.
Dr. Mallory of Boston owns the house built by Henry Somes and uses it as a summer residence. Rev. and Mrs. John White- man of Greenfield, Mass., bought the Seavey place, took down the house, which stood where the tennis court now is (1937) and built their cottage near the shore. E. R. Bossange built his summer home about 1924.
The house across the bridge on the shore side was built by Miss Mary Lawson, whose brother, Thomas Lawson, used to spend some of his summers there. His daughter, Mrs. Marion Lord of Boston, inherited the place from her aunt.
Capt. Eben Babson came to Somesville in the early 1800's, married Judith, daughter of John and Judith Richardson Somes, and built a house on the eastern side of the arm of the sea that goes up to meet the waters of Kittredge Brook. His son Elliott inherited the place and about 1870 he raised the roof of the
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house and made other changes. His daughter Judith inherited the property from her father and after her death her heirs sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Walter Gilpatric of White Plains, New York, who later sold to Mr. and Mrs. Clement R. Wainwright of Phila- delphia, and they greatly enlarged and altered the house, but retained most of the old rooms in their original form.
Rev. Horace Leavitt, now of Honolulu, Hawaii, owns the next bungalow and the adjoining one was built by Dr. Leavitt's father, Rev. Horace Leavitt, Sr. The material for the cottage was brought from Japan where Dr. Leavitt had lived as a mis- sionary for some years. The place is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Walter Gilpatric who retain the Japanese name-Yama Ouchi.
The next cottage was built by Dr. Mary Leavitt of Boston and she sold to Dr. Thomas Chandler whose heirs still spend their summers there.
The first house on the left after crossing the bridge was built by Somes Babson and sold to Prof. Haldy Miller Crist of Swarthmore, Pa., whose summer home it is.
James Richardson who came from Gloucester, Mass., to Mount Desert soon after the coming of his neighbor, Abraham Somes, settled at the head of the Sound and built a mill on the brook on his property. His son George, born August 16, 1763, was the first white child born on Mount Desert Island of whom there is any authentic record. This son lived on his father's place, leaving it to his son Sibley and he to his son, Bloomfield Richardson, who, after the death of his wife leaving no children, gave the property to his nephew, Jones Tracy, for his mainte- nance during the remainder of his life.
James Richardson, the original owner, was a man of some education and was prominent in the affairs of the early days, serving as plantation clerk, clerk of the church and other public capacities. He was the son of Stephen and Jane Montgomery Richardson who came from Londonderry, Ireland, to Gloucester, Mass., in 1738. James was born about 1730 and was married March 19, 1752, at Gloucester by Rev. Benjamin Bradstreet to Rachel Gott. He died December 12, 1807, and she died March 22, 1814. They have many descendants on Mount Desert Island.
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David Richardson owned the place where the Bordeaux fam- ily now live. He had a small house on the place which was inherited by his daughter, who married Benjamin Bordeaux, a mariner who came to Mount Desert Island in a vessel from the Bay of Chaleur. Mr. Bordeaux built the present house which came at his death to his son Charles. Harry, son of Charles, has built a small bungalow near by and assists in carrying on the farm. Another son, Pearl Bordeaux, carries on a garage on the place and lives in a house on the left beyond the bridge which spans the deep ravine near the junction of the Northeast and Bar Harbor roads. This house was built by William Sargent.
Walter Blake built his house about forty-five years ago (1937).
There was a house at the head of the Sound, not far from the Bordeaux place, which was the home of Capt. George Sargent. This house burned and Capt. Sargent had the barn remodelled as a residence. Some years later this, also, was burned.
Dr. Kendal Kittredge came to Mount Desert in 1798 and pur- chased a lot of land on which he built a house. The next year he came with his family to make his home here. The house was burned after a few years and in the early part of the 1800's he built another house on the site of the burned one. This de- scended to his son William and then to William's son, Ernest R. Kittredge, who now (1937) lives there. The creek to the north of the place was called The Doctor's Creek and the brook flowing into it is Kittredge Brook. Dr. Kittredge was one of the promi- nent men in the early days and was clerk of the First Congrega- tional church for many years. The saddlebags which he carried on horseback in his trips to visit the sick all over Mount Desert and frequently to the mainland adjoining, are in the museum at Somesville with the crumbling pills and powders which he left in the bottles.
Timothy Mason built the house now owned by Bloomfield Smith and later sold it and built one on Mason's Point about 1857. It was this Timothy Mason who built a vessel in the yard of his home when he lived at Oak Hill and hauled it to Somes-
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ville with oxen for the launching. The house was inherited by his son, Harlan Mason, whose widow sold it to Donald Gilpin of Baltimore as a summer home.
The house owned by the Parker family was built by John H. Parker in 1845. Mr. Parker came to Mount Desert from Deer Isle with John M. Noyes. After a short time he returned to his native town, married Sarah Haskell Powers and brought his bride to Somesville. They lived for a few years in the house now owned by Bloomfield Smith and then Mr. Parker bought Parker Point and built his home there. The house was inherited by his son, George Parker, who left it to his son, Fred H. Parker, who now lives there. But few changes have ever been made in the house-a dormer window added and a few minor alterations.
Beech Hill settlement was a part of Somesville and in 1836 there were eleven houses in this order, beginning at the northern end of the settlement : Richard Richardson, Stephen Richardson, David Seavey, Nathaniel Richardson, Stephen Richardson, 2nd, John Richardson, William Atherton, David Wasgatt, Asa Was- gatt, John Clark and Reuben Billings. A schoolhouse stood near the northern part of the little village and there was a saw mill at the outlet of Denning's Pond (Echo Lake). About this time the first Methodist church on Mount Desert Island was built on "The Common" at the junction of the Pretty Marsh road with the one leading over Beech Hill. The history of this church is given in the chapter on churches.
At this time the road to the southern part of the island led over Beech Hill, coming into the present road at Norwood's Cove, Southwest Harbor near the junction of Fernald Road with the Main Road. There was a trail for those on foot or horse- back along the eastern side of Denning's Pond (Echo Lake) but it was not laid out as a road until 1838 and it was built the following year.
Asa Wasgatt of Beech Hill was a local Methodist preacher and John Clark was the father of Davis Wasgatt Clark who became Bishop of the Methodist church of Ohio.
Bar Island at the head of Somes Sound was given to Acadia National Park in memory of James W. Pryor and John B. Pine by Mrs. Pryor and Mrs. Pine. There are about six acres in the
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island, which is well wooded and has some of the oldest and finest trees to be found in the region. Mr. Pryor and his sister bought the island many years ago and built a log house on it.
Sheep Island at the head of the Sound is now the property of Dr. Virginia Sanderson (granddaughter of Thaddeus Somes), who has a small cottage on it where she spends her summers.
This is the history of the houses of Somesville-oldest set- tlement on Mount Desert Island. The names of the first four generations of early settlers have been carved for many years on the stones in beautiful Brookside Cemetery, but perhaps to a greater extent than in any of the other villages, their descendants live in the houses built by their ancestors and carry on the work of the community.
The brook, on its way to the sea, no longer is hampered by mill wheels, the old mill buildings have long since disappeared and the industries have changed.
No longer is Somesville the business center of the Island, but it remains as it always has been-the most beautiful and un- spoiled of any of the settlements. Many of the old houses con- tain fine handwork in their inside finish, and lovely heirlooms of rare pieces of furniture, silver and china that have been handed down from generation to generation. And the summer homes that have been built in Somesville have conformed in most cases to the Colonial style of architecture and blend well with the fine old places that carry their years with dignity as well as beauty.
Many of the sons and daughters of Somesville have gone far away in pursuit of their chosen occupations, but their home town has their love and loyalty and they can say with the poet,
"Oft I think of the beautiful town That is seated by the sea ; Often in thought go up and down The pleasant streets of that dear old town And my youth comes back to me."
BROOKSIDE CEMETERY, SOMESVILLE
Brookside Cemetery in the village of Somesville is one of the most beautiful resting places for the dead to be found anywhere.
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The brook on whose banks grow ferns and violets, cat tails and sedges, and in August the brilliant cardinal flower in abundance, the tall trees which surround it and the graceful curving road that leads to it are all lovely to behold. The circular wall of granite and cement that protects the trees on the border of the brook was built soon after 1890 by A. J. Whiting, who also made a generous contribution for the fence and the graceful wrought- iron gates which bear the name-Brookside Cemetery-in the arch above the entrance.
A society formed for the purpose keeps the place in perfect order, even unoccupied lots being mown and all walks gravelled and kept smooth. Nothing unsightly or unkempt mars the quiet beauty of the spot, which is surrounded by trees and shrubs and thus shut in from the sounds of the world outside.
The grave of Abraham Somes, first permanent settler of Mount Desert Island is near the center of the yard with those of his two wives, Hannah Herrick and Joanna Beal. Mr. Somes died Sept. 7, 1819, aged 87. Hannah, his wife, died in 1790 and Joanna, his second wife, lived until Dec. 7, 1831. Their graves are marked by slate stones as are most of the graves of those who died in the early days of the settlement.
Two other graves bear the name of Abraham Somes; one, the son of the pioneer who died July 12, 1845, at the age of 82 and whose wife, Rachel Babson, rests by his side, and Abraham, son of John and grandson of the pioneer, who died Aug. 25, 1868, aged 66. His wife, Adeline Freeman and several children lie near his grave.
The names of three children of John M. and Emily Somes Noyes are on one tall stone.
Here, too, is the last resting place of George W. Thompson, 1st Lieut. Co. C., 31st Maine Regiment, Veteran Volunteers, killed at the battle of Petersburg, July 30, 1864, at the age of twenty- seven. The Sons of Veterans Post which was organized some- time in the 1880's at Somesville was named for this young man whose promising life was so soon ended. The graves of his an- cestors-Cornelius Thompson, 1760-1835, and his wife Judith who died in 1792 and his second wife Margaret who died in 1817, are in this yard.
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John Somes, who died Feb. 9, 1849, aged 81, and his wife, Judith Richardson, who died March 25, 1850, at the age of 82, rest in a lot near the pioneer's grave. The name of Somes pre- dominates in the yard as the place was on Somes land and was a family burying ground at first. Nearly half of the stones in the yard bear the name of Somes.
A monument of granite bears the names of Dr. Kendal Kitt- redge who died in 1857 and Sarah Whiting, his wife, with their children Calvin, William, Jane and James. Dr. Kittredge had a tomb built on his land not far from his house and there his chil- dren were laid for many years. When the tomb began to crumble with age the bodies were removed to the cemetery and the monument erected.
A thin white marble shaft to the right of the entrance bears the inscription, "Harvey F. Deming, M.D. A graduate of Cas- tleton, Vt. Born in Cornish, N. H." Then follows a verse but the old stone is so sunken now that the words are hidden. Dr. Deming came to Somesville to practice on Mount Desert Island when age and infirmity made it impossible for Dr. Kittredge to attend to the calls of the sick over the wide area of his practice.
Dr. Robert L. Grindle, who practised medicine for many years on Mount Desert Island, making his home in Somesville and taking part in all good works, lies in the southern part of the yard with his wife Flora beside him.
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Whiting lie here with a tall shaft above them.
The beauty of the place has attracted several families from out of town, who have purchased lots in Brookside Cemetery. Among them is Henry A. Inman of Atlanta, Georgia, summer resident of Southwest Harbor for many years, whose wife, at her request, sleeps her last sleep in their lot close by the mur- muring brook.
Capt. Eben Babson and his wife have the thin slate stones to mark their graves and their descendants rest near them.
Other names which are connected with the history and de- velopment of the community from early times to the present day are Richardson, Mason, Reed, Higgins, Wasgatt, Leland, Ather- ton, Parker, Salisbury, Kenniston, Pray, Fennelly, Allen, Gray, Haynes, Brown, Hutchinson, Fernald and others.
THE CRANBERRY ISLES
The group of five islands lying off the southern shores of Mount Desert and originally incorporated with that island in 1789, separated in 1830 and became a separate municipality. The islands are Great Cranberry, Little Cranberry (Islesford), Sutton, Bear and Baker.
On all these islands grow quantities of the small, ruby cran- berries, known as "highland" or "upland" cranberries so the name of two of them has an obvious origin.
The first mention of these islands in documentary history is their description, though not by name in Cadillac's memoir of 1692 in which he describes the coasts of Arcadia for King Louis XIV.
He describes the Western Way, the Eastern Way, both to the north and the south of East Bunker's Ledge and the channel between West Bunker's Ledge and Great Cranberry, giving sail- ing directions and depth of water in the various channels leading into Southwest Harbor.
Abram Somes writes of these islands in 1816 as is recorded elsewhere in this volume, and Gov. Francis Bernard writes of them in his diary which he kept in 1762 when he made a voyage from Boston to Mount Desert Island to see what kind of Island it was that had been granted him by royal favor. This too, is mentioned elsewhere.
Records of about that time mention Jonathan Bunker and Benjamin Bunker living near Deadman's Point on Great Cran- berry and Job Stanwood on the lot at Islesford where the museum of History now stands.
Job Stanwood afterward moved to Duck Brook near Bar Harbor, but some of his descendants still live on the islands as well as descendants of the Bunkers.
Jonathan (John) Stanley and his wife, Margarita Le Croix Stanley, were living on the west shore of Little Cranberry in 1769. The cellar of their home is just visible, north of the Saw-
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telle summer home on "the Head." They had a large family and left many descendants.
William Gilley, who afterwards settled in Norwood's Cove on land now owned by the Country Club, was at Cranberry Isles as early as 1777. In that year he made a deposition which is on record, saying that he was taken aboard H. M. S. Scar- borough, Capt. Mowatt commanding, and asked if he could pilot the ship to Gouldsborough where Col. Jones had promised Mowatt fifty head of cattle. Gilley said that he was not a pilot and could not assume responsibility for taking the ship to Gouldsborough.
Mowatt then replied that he had come there to protect the people and he did not wish to offend them; but if they did not accede to his wishes he "would burn every house on the island."
This shows that there were several families living on the island in 1777.
This William Gilley was the first settler in Southwest Harbor and his son William, who married Hannah Lurvey, was the first settler on Baker's Island in 1806. A son of the Baker's Island William was the John Gilley of Sutton Island whose life was written by the late President Charles W. Eliot.
The first mention of Sutton's Island is when Abram Somes writes that he and Eben Sutton of Ipswich bought Greening and Sutton islands from the Indians and received birch bark deeds which they destroyed, not thinking them of any value. Although Eben Sutton never lived on his island, at least not long enough to have any record made of his residence, his name is attached to it. Joseph Lancaster of Sullivan and his wife, Nancy Rich, widow of Joseph Moore, and Isaac Richardson, son of James Richardson, the first town clerk of Mount Desert, were the first settlers on Sutton which was often spoken of as Lancaster's Island during their residence there. William Moore also lived there and kept sheep on Bear Island, moving later to Bear to live. William Moore was the first keeper of Bear Island light- house.
The first Stanley settler on Great Cranberry was Thomas Stanley, a nephew of Jonathan, the first permanent settler of Little Cranberry. Thomas was the son of Sans and Margaret
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Homan Stanley and his mother was the "widow Margaret Stan- ley" to whom a deed of one hundred acres of land was given by Mme. de Gregoire in 1792. This land was at Fish Point with part of Deadman's Point.
In the old Cadillac-Gregoire grants a large part of Little Cranberry was deeded in 1792 as follows: To Samuel Sewall, administrator of the estate of John Stanley deceased, 100 acres on the western end of the island; to Jonathan Stanley, son of John deceased, 100 acres in middle of the island; to William Nickels 100 acres on eastern end, Marsh Head.
On Great Cranberry Benjamin Spurling received 100 acres on northern end, Aaron Bunker 100 acres on southern end and "widow Margaret Stanley" as has been noted, approximately 100 acres.
Soon after Cadillac's granddaughter, Marie Therese de las Mothe Cadillac, known as Mme. de Gregoire, received the grant of the eastern half of Mount Desert Island, with adjoining islands, from the estate of her grandfather; she sold what had not been deeded to squatters to General Henry Jackson, who bought the lands for speculation. He soon sold his holdings to William Bingham of Philadelphia who thus came into possession of the whole of Baker's, Sutton's and Bear Islands, seventy-three of the three hundred and seventy-three acres on Little Cranberry and more than half of Great Cranberry, as well as most of the eastern half of Mount Desert and many thousands of acres on the mainland in Washington and Hancock counties. This Bing- ham estate is still paying taxes in the town of Cranberry Isles.
Names prominent on the Cranberry Islands are Gilley, Had- lock, Lancaster, Stanley, Bunker, Moore and Spurling.
The first board of selectmen of Cranberry Isles was composed of Samuel Hadlock, Enoch Spurling and Joseph Moore. This was in 1830.
In a paper written by Prof. William O. Sawtelle, the man who is responsible for the Islesford Museum and its valuable contents, he says : "Something should be said of two men, Enoch Spurling, son of Benjamin, the pioneer, and Samuel Hadlock who came with his father from Gloucester, Mass., in 1785 and settled at Northeast Harbor. The name of Samuel, the elder,
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is perpetuated in Upper and Lower Hadlock Ponds where exten- sive lumbering operations were carried on, while Hadlock Cove on Little Cranberry Island is named for Samuel, Jr., who re- moved thither in 1790.
Spurling's Point, on the northern end of Great Cranberry per- petuates the name of Benjamin Spurling.
Enoch Spurling
Enoch Spurling was the son of Benjamin and Fanny Guptill Spurling. He was a large landowner and held extensive in- terests in vessel property, being himself a master mariner, making voyages to Europe and to the West Indies. A large part of the present Seal Harbor was owned by him and Benjamin Spurling as old manuscript maps of Mount Desert will show. He was also storekeeper on Great Cranberry Island and some of his account books are still in existence. In the 1820's he brought to Philadelphia in the brig "Newtor" a considerable number of Irish emigrants. His passenger list of this trip is still in exis- tence.
Many vessels were built in the Mount Desert region by him and his associates ; many others were purchased in Massachusetts and brought to the Cranberry Isles, where, manned by skippers and crews from the town, they did an extensive carrying trade years before the Civil War.
Enoch Spurling was very active in politics and his advice and help were often sought by the political leaders in Maine. Nu- merous letters from Col. John Black of Ellsworth and others show how well known Enoch was.
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