USA > Maine > Hancock County > Traditions and records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert island, Maine > Part 25
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It was he who took the census of the town in Jackson's ad- ministration when the funds of the United States Bank were distributed throughout the country when "Old Hickory" put that institution out of business. It was also he who received the money, brought down from Bangor by Major Strickland, and he kept an account of it which may still be read in documents found among his private papers a few years ago.
Much could be said about Enoch Spurling and a story of his life would be almost a history of the Mount Desert region dur- ing his active years. There were several brothers of Enoch-
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Benjamin, William, Samuel-all of whom were active, capable men, all occupied in a seafaring life. Sometimes they met with strange and stirring adventure, as for example, when in 1828 Capt. Samuel, master of the schooner Cashier, gave a pirate ship "all that she wanted", thus ridding the seas in the vicinity of Trinidad de Cuba of an annoying pestilence. For this brave and daring deed he was presented by the citizens of the place with a sword and a brace of pistols. When asked upon his return home as to how he did it, the only answer that anyone could get in regard to the pirates was that he "gave them a little bit of hell, Maine style."
Samuel Hadlock
As Enoch Spurling was the most prominent man of his time on Great Cranberry so was Samuel Hadlock on Little Cranberry.
An outstanding act of Hadlock took place in 1807 when he, in the schooner Ocean of 131 tons, took a cargo of fish, caught on the Grand Banks to Oporto, Spain, at a time when, because of the Napoleonic Wars, foodstuffs in neutral countries were scarce and high.
Hadlock did not wait to bring his fish home to cure, but split and dried them on the rocks at Labrador, cleared for Spain and made his port in spite of the English and French warships which were on the lookout to stop all American vessels which were engaged in the trans-Atlantic carrying trade.
Hadlock made his way back to Marblehead after selling his fish for a good round sum and obtaining a good return freight. The Custom House records of the time at Marblehead state that he paid duties of over $500 on what he brought back to this country in lemons, salt, etc.
With a portion of the proceeds of this voyage of the Ocean, Hadlock built a store at the head of the present coal wharf on Little Cranberry .- Here he carried on an extensive business, sometimes leasing the outfit to Symers and Eaton of Boston, who traded extensively in fish.
Many vessels were built by Hadlock, some of which were commanded by his sons. He had five boys and all but one, Edward, died or were lost at sea. His oldest son Samuel, master
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of the ill-fated Minerva, was lost with all hands "at the ice" in 1829. This was the Captain Samuel Hadlock who is the cen- tral figure in Rachel Field's book, "God's Pocket" published in 1934. Elijah, master of the brig Beaver, died on board of yellow fever the year before and Epps, master of the schooner Otter, was lost with all hands in the West Indies in 1831. His younger brother Gilbert was with him at the time.
In 1848, several years before Samuel, Sr., died, there was built on Little Cranberry Island the largest vessel ever con- structed in the Mount Desert region; the schooner Samuel Had- lock. This vessel was commanded by Edwin Hadlock, the only one of Samuel Hadlock's sons who was not lost or died at sea. And Edwin did not much more than escape a similar fate on a voyage from Tampico, Mexico, to New York in the spring of 1849. Space does not permit a recital of this memorable voyage, which took almost two months. Baffled by head winds and heavy seas, on a meager allowance of bread and water, with the men growing weaker and weaker as time went on with hope almost gone, Edwin could record in the log, "Still a head wind and heavy seas. On allowance of one quart of water and one pound of bread per man. And so ends the twenty-four hours on allowance and no tobacco. Providence doeth what seemeth right in His sight."
And so we might continue with story after story of the early days in the town of Cranberry Isles. A mass of documents relating to the town have, after much searching, been brought to light and are now carefully preserved in the new fireproof building at Islesford. But few people appreciate what it means to a community to save and protect such priceless records of a time that is past. They are of importance not only to those interested in local lore, but they form a no inconsiderable portion of original documents intimately related to the early history of Maine and of the Nation.
(The above is taken almost literally from records written by Prof. William O. Sawtelle.)
The outer shores of these islands have seen many shipwrecks and in 1878 a Life Saving Station was established on Little Cranberry Island. Capt. Gilbert Hadlock was the first keeper
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and the crew was Samuel Phippen, Tyler Stanley, Epps Stanley, Abram Stanley, Albert Gilley, George Henry Fernald.
The wreck of the Don Parsons was quite a remarkable event. It was the year when difficulties with miners and operators of coal mines had made coal scarce and expensive, and before the usual supply of fuel had been brought to Maine coast towns the shores were locked in the grip of a very cold winter and the harbors frozen. Wood prices were very high and people all along the coast were seriously inconvenienced if not actually suffering. The morning after the wreck of the Don Parsons, the citizens of Islesford found the eastern shore of the island three feet deep with coal brought up by the waves that had broken the ship in pieces. The news spread, channels were chopped through the ice in the harbors and boats came from many miles distant to gather some of the precious cargo. It was almost like the miracle of the manna. The coal was most welcome, but everybody regretted the loss of a noble ship.
Baker's Island was settled about 1806 by William Gilley and his wife, Hannah Lurvey Gilley. William was a son of the William who settled at Norwood's Cove; the first permanent set- tler in what is now the town of Southwest Harbor. They took possession of the island, built their house and raised a large family of children, some of whom made homes for themselves on the island, spent their lives there and were buried in the little burying ground with their kin. Raising cattle and sheep, clearing the forest and fishing kept the family busy, but gave them a good living.
When the lighthouse was built in 1828 William Gilley was made its first keeper at a salary of $350 per year, the use of the comfortable house built by the government for the use of the keeper, and all the sperm oil he could use in his household. There is a letter in existence written by a government official some years after Mr. Gilley's appointment, calling his attention to the quantity of oil used, saying that it was excessive and suggesting that he be more economical.
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When the Whig party came into power in 1849 a new keeper was appointed and Mr. Gilley, who had bought Great Duck Island in 1837 with the idea of raising cattle and sheep on a large scale, went to that island, built a house and lived there almost alone for many years. His wife remained at Baker's or lived with some of her children who had homes on Great Cran- berry, making occasional visits to her husband on his lonely island. Though she lived most of her life on Baker's she had never been reconciled to the lonely existence and she requested that when her time came to die, she should be laid to rest in the family burying ground on her father's farm by the side of her parents. This was done according to her wish and her grave is in the Lurvey burying ground on what is now the Worcester farm. William Gilley's grave is on Great Cranberry.
Enoch Lurvey, Sr., lived for some years on Great Duck Island. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Harding, an estimable couple born in England, owned the island and were living there in 1882 when the house burned one winter night and the family had to spend the night in the boathouse until they were rescued the next day.
The island has for many years been used for the purpose of raising sheep.
Many ships have been wrecked on the rocky shores and now a lighthouse sends its beams across the waters from the outer shore and a fog horn sends out its hoarse and warning cry when fog or snow obstruct the vision.
A negro lived for some time on Little Duck, refusing to talk or to tell how he came there. It is probably that he was put ashore or escaped from a passing ship. He became deranged and was taken to an asylum where he died.
There is a tiny schoolhouse near the lighthouse buildings where school was taught when the families of the keepers war- ranted it. There is also a cemetery where lie many victims of the numerous shipwrecks.
Little Duck was deeded in 1834 by Mrs. Katharine Van Rens- slaer to the National Association of Audobon Societies for the protection of wild birds and animals. Thousands of sea gulls live there and hatch their young every spring. It is a remark-
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able sight to see such numbers of these great birds, which are protected by law and who pay little attention to the presence of human beings.
The first mention in local history of the island now called Greening's, is in a letter written by Abram Somes of Mount Desert to Eben Parsons, Esq., of Boston, Mass., dated April 20, 1816, and now on file in the Barton Ticknor Collection in the Boston Public Library. The following copy was made from a copy in the possession of Mrs. John A. Somes, taken from the original by Anna E. Somes.
Sir: I mean now to give you a history of my discovering the Island of Mount Desert which took place a short time pre- vious to the war with Great Britain and France in this country, which took place in the year 1755 at which time the Indians were the only owners of the soil. I was in a Jebacco boat and one Eben Sutton of Ipswich in another, were in company, and in making discovery of the best places to carry on the fishing busi- ness steered our course to the Eastward we went into several harbors by sounding at length we arrive off Mount Desert we concluded to make an attempt to see if there was any suitable harbors in said Island and by sounding we run in and anchored in the South West harbour now called, soon after we had An- chored our boats we were boarded by a number of the Savages in their canoes and among them was the Governor of the Island who informed us that the Land looking and pointing all around was his We conceiving them to be friendly and very peace- able began to talk with them about purchasing land of the Gov- ernor. I asked the Governor how much (a word here I could not decipher-Occopy or Occossy-) I must give him for that Island which is a small island which lay between said harbour and the sound; he answered Oh a great deal, one whol gallon. Then the said Sutton asked the Chief how much for that island pointing to an island laying to the Eastward of the former island that I had bargained for the Governor said two quarts. We paid them the rum. He took a piece of birch bark and described the same to us but we not understanding neither the description nor the worth of the islands never attended to the subject not took
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care of the birch bark and left them to drink their Occossy (?) and to take the good of their bargain.
A. Somes
Mount Desert 20th April 1816
Eben Parsons Esq.
Had Mr. Somes kept the birch bark deed he would have held title to the island as these Indian deeds were accepted by the authorities. Eben Sutton gave his name to the island which he purchased for two quarts of Occopy though no trace of his occu- pation of his property remains.
The next mention of the island in history is when it was deeded to Philip Langley by Maria Therese de Gregoire in pay- ment for services to that lady. He could speak both French and English and he made two trips on foot to Quebec for Madame de Gregoire in the interests of her title to the island of Mount Desert and signed many papers as a witness including many of the deeds from the lady to the settlers.
Philip Langley married widow Margaret Welch Moore and she, with three of her four sons went to live on the island. After her death Philip married Esther Gott on September 18, 1818.
They had no children and when Philip died in the 1830's, Esther's brother Nathaniel and sister Jane came from Gott's Island to live with her. Later Jane married James Grennan. Esther brought up her orphaned nephew, William Blount Stan- ley and left her part of the island to him. James Grennan had acquired title to the other half and left it to his two daughters by a second marriage.
There is an open clearing in the thickly wooded part of the island which is called The Ballroom and it is where the sailors from the Russian warship Cimbria, used to gather for religious services and for athletic events and games when the ship was lying off the southern shore of the island in the summer of 1875.
In 1895 J. G. Thorp of Cambridge, Mass., bought land on the northern shore of the island and built a cottage and with the coming of the summer residents a new chapter of history began. Miss Henrietta Gardiner soon after built her cottage which was
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burned a few years ago and has been rebuilt, and later came Henry A. Dreer, the Philadelphia seedsman who built a summer home and S. W. Colton, also of Philadelphia. Houses have been built for different members of these families and now the whole island is owned by summer residents. The farmhouse is the property of the Thorp heirs.
The very small island near the head of Southwest Harbor has always been claimed by the heirs of James Robinson, as it lies off the shore of their property.
Cranberries and blueberries used to grow there in abundance and some use has been made of it as a place to dry fish. In the days when cattle were allowed to roam at freedom, they often used to stray onto the island at low tide, and being delayed by good feeding until the incoming tide had covered the bar, they would swim the stretch of water to the shore. It has been a favorite place for clambakes among the young people.
THE ISLESFORD COLLECTION
To Prof. William Otis Sawtelle of Haverford, Pa. and Isles- ford, belongs the entire credit for the Islesford collection of historical documents and articles and for raising the necessary funds with which to build the fine fireproof building which houses it.
Not long after Prof. Sawtelle began to come to the island for his summer vacation, the idea occurred to him to make a collection of historical articles and papers to be found in the homes, and such a collection was begun in an empty building on the shore. The collection grew as did also the interest of both native and summer residents until now the exhibit is priceless and the building one of the finest of its kind.
It is built of granite, brick and cement and is entirely fire- proof. The roof is of slate and the men who did the construc- tion work were all descendants of the earliest settlers. Ascend- ing the flight of steps to the entrance, the door admits one to the wide hall, the walls of which are hung with pictures of ships and steamboats of the early days. This room is entirely given over to transportation. The visitor is directed first to turn to the right to the French room as it is with the French occupation of the Mount Desert region that history begins.
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Here are pictures of kings and queens and statesmen of the Old World who were connected with the settlement or the attempts to settle, this part of the land. There are maps and letters and ancient deeds and there are glass cases containing bits of jewelry, silver and precious relics not to be handled. An ancient sofa is here and the first piano ever brought to Mount Desert Island stands in this room. The fireplace has a marble mantel in French style.
Across the hall is the English room with pictures of men and women of Great Britain whose names are forever connected with the beginnings of history in this region. Maps and letters, beau- tiful paintings of local scenery, a large library of books relating to Mount Desert and adjoining islands, cupboards filled with papers and documents and furniture attractively arranged, make this apartment very homelike and comfortable. The great fire- place will take a tremendous log and its warmth and cheer are very welcome on a foggy day.
At the end of the hall is the front door and door frame of the famous old Tinker Tavern of Ellsworth. Up a few cement steps and the visitor is in the old settlers' room where are collected a great number of articles used by those pioneers who first settled these rocky islands. Old looms on which the homespun cloth was woven, spinning wheels, flax wheels, furniture, a shoe- maker's bench, a closet filled with rare pieces of china, much of it brought from across the seas, rugs, swords that were carried in the different wars, photographs and pictures, samplers worked by childish fingers in the long ago, guns, the pewter measures used as a standard, more letters and a vast quantity of material relating to the genealogy of the island families. There are many figureheads of ships and a curious folding lad- der, handmade. There are bits of homespun coverlets woven a century and more ago. And above all, there is Prof. Sawtelle to tell the fascinating story of the history of the Mount Desert region from its discovery to the present day.
The collection is not complete and additions are frequently made. Old letters, old Bible records, genealogical material, ship models, old tools, are acceptable and when placed in the museum are safe from destruction by fire.
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And the story of these islands is a part and an important part of the history of the whole country and therefore interesting to all Americans.
LIGHTHOUSES ON THE SOUTHERN COAST OF MOUNT DESERT
BASS HARBOR HEAD LIGHT .- This light station is 56 feet above sea level and was built in 1858. There is one keeper. A dwelling house, bell tower, engine house and boat house are built on the reservation. The keeper at present (1938) is Joseph Gray.
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BEAR ISLAND LIGHT STATION .- This lighthouse was built in 1839 and last rebuilt in 1889. It has one keeper, who is also in charge of Bear Island lighthouse depot at which a great number of the buoys located in waters to the eastward of Bear Island are landed for repairs, cleaning and painting or to be fitted for replacement. This light is operated by acetylene gas. The gas is delivered to the station by our lighthouse tenders, com- monly called buoy boats, in a compressed form in cylinders and the cylinders are installed in the base of the lighthouse tower as needed, the gas running to the flasher in the lantern at the top of the tower through piping or tubing installed for the purpose. The keeper merely 'lights the light at sunset each night and, barring the fact that the burner becomes carbonned up, it oper- ates automatically until shut off in the morning at sunrise.
There is a mechanical bell fog signal at this station that is operated by weights which are required to be wound up by the keeper at intervals. The descent of the weights by gravity when the machine is operated starts a fog bell striking machine in operation, which, through a cog wheel installed thereon, sounds one stroke on the bell every fifteen seconds. Bear Island light is 991/2 feet above the sea level. William Moore was the first keeper.
The government has purchased the steamboat wharf at Southwest Harbor and the buoy depot is being transferred to that place.
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MOUNT DESERT ROCK LIGHT STATION .- This sta- tion was built in 1830 and last rebuilt in 1857. It is on Mount Desert Rock 20 miles south of Mount Desert Island and there are three keepers stationed there. There are three houses for the keepers and their families. The first keeper at Mount Desert Rock was Esaias Preble, and his son, William P. Preble, lighted the first lamp in the tower. This lamp must have given a feeble glow when compared with the lights of today. It was generated by a series of eight argand oil lamps. There was no lens in the tower, but instead behind each lamp was a metal reflector about twenty inches in diameter. The lens was installed in 1855. In 1888 a thousand pound fog bell was furnished the station only to be replaced by a steam fog signal the following year. In 1893 the old stone dwelling which had been erected 47 years before, was removed and a frame house built in its stead. Extensive repairs made in this year brought the station buildings to approximately their present state as far as outward appearance goes. Improvements continued to be made to the illuminating apparatus, the next change being to incandescent oil vapor, pro- ducing a very powerful light.
More efficient engines were installed for the operation of the fog signals. In 1931-2 a radio-beacon fog warning and bearing finding apparatus was installed and began operation February 1, 1932. Current is generated at the station by the use of the Kohler electric-generating plants similiar to those in use in many farmhouses in this State. The light is 75 feet above high water, of 70,000 candle power and visible 14 miles.
This light station is fartherest off shore of any light station in the First Lighthouse District which embraces the entire coasts of Maine and New Hampshire from the head of navigation on the St. Croix River to Hampton River, N. H.
The radio beacon transmits a code signal during the third fifteen minutes of each hour in clear weather, day and night, and operates continually in foggy weather, or periods of low visi- bility, transmitting one minute, remaining silent two, again the fourth minute, silent the next two and so on.
Lighthouse at Mount Desert Rock.
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The poet Whittier speaks of Mount Desert Rock in Mogg Magone when he writes in describing the Maine coast-
"And Desert Rock abrupt and bare Lifts its gray turrets in the air."
A lighted whistle buoy has been established in the waters between Mount Desert Island and Mount Desert Rock. It is moored in 288 feet of water and is of the large sea type. It shows a flashing white light visible nine miles and also has a hoarse whistle which is plainly heard at Southwest Harbor when the wind blows from that direction. This was established in 1931. Thus does Uncle Sam protect the shipping of the nation.
BAKER ISLAND LIGHT STATION .- This lighthouse was built in 1828 and last rebuilt in 1855. It is a one-man sta- tion at which there are quarters for the family of the keeper and it has an "IOV" light but no fog signal. It is known as a fixed and flashing white light. The fixed light is interrupted by a flash of five seconds duration every ninety seconds. The flash is of 24,000 candle power while the fixed light is of but 2900. The light is 105 feet above sea level, and was lighted for the first time on July 31, 1828, by William Gilley, who was the first keeper.
His salary was $350 per year with all the sperm oil necessary for use in his household. When this oil was used it was neces- sary to have a stove in a chamber below the lantern to keep the oil from congealing in cold weather.
GREAT DUCK ISLAND LIGHT STATION .- This light station was built in 1890 and three keepers are stationed there, all of whom have quarters for their families. This light is known as an "IOV" light; that is, kerosene or mineral oil is vaporized under pressure and burned in a gaseous state on a mantle in much the same manner as in some of the lamps used in rural communities before the extension of electric lines. The fog signal is an air Diaphone (a patent apparatus emitting a very penetrating sound ending in somewhat of a grunt) which is sup- plied with air by air compressors operated by internal combus- tion engines driven by fuel distillate, much akin to the fuel oil used for home heating. The light is 661/2 feet high.
Sarah C. Kittredge
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EARLY SETTLEMENTS ON MOUNT DESERT AT TOWN HILL NOW WEST EDEN
From Bangor Historical Magazine 1891
During the Revolutionary War, Joseph Mayo, Jesse Higgins and David Higgins moved from Cape Cod to the Island of Mount Desert.
Joseph Mayo settled near Old House Cove on land now (1891) occupied by Joseph Richardson. Jesse Higgins settled on land now owned and occupied by Mrs. C. Allen and Nathaniel Higgins.
These men all raised large families and although they did not settle on Town Hill themselves, their sons and daughters did as shown below.
In about 1790 Gideon Mayo married Esther Hadley and set- tled on the south side of Clark's Cove where Jesse H. Mayo now lives. . Prince Mayo married Priscilla Higgins in 1803 and set- tled on land now owned by Frank C. Wiggin.
In 1806 Thomas Mayo married Dezin Knowles and settled on the same lot that Prince Mayo occupied. James Mayo mar- ried Sarah Richardson in 1809 and settled on land now owned by O. B. Knowles. In 1810 Ephraim Higgins married Phebe At- wood and settled on the lot now owned by T. B. Knowles and others. David Higgins, in 1812 married Eleanor Wasgatt and settled on lot No. 2 of the town land.
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