USA > Maine > Lincoln County > Wiscasset > Wiscasset in Pownalborough; a history of the shire town and the salient historical features of the territory between the Sheepscot and Kennebec rivers > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
There is now no one in town by the name of Bradbury, but when, in 18II, the town provided for the laying out of a street beginning at High Street, and running southeasterly to Middle Street, it was given the name of the tavern-keeper of long ago and Bradbury Street is all that is now left to perpetuate his name.12
Whittier Tavern
In Wiscasset, as in other little towns, much of interest respecting its early settlers is found to center in the hostelries and ordinaries of the first century
12. Taken from the papers of W. D. Patterson.
[ 168 ]
Roads and Taverns
of its permanent occupation. The taverns were owned and run by the pio- neers from whom many of the present inhabitants of the town are descend- ed. As a social and political center of a community the inn of the old days was second in importance only to the meeting-house, and before the erection of the latter gathering place, all town meetings were assembled at an inn. The citizens who gathered there for discussion of affairs, whether religious, civil, or military, could be depended upon to influence the action of the town meeting.
The earliest meetings of several private organizations in this town were held at different houses of public entertainment, among which were those of Capt. John Sevey, Joseph Tinkham, Esq., Theophilus Dow, Nymphas Stacy and Jonas G. Brooks; but more famous than any of these was the old Whittier Tavern (then pronounced Whicher ), and its successor, the Hilton House. To the latter the name "Stage House" was sometimes applied, ow- ing to the fact that the stage-coach made this inn its headquarters, though the real stage house where the horses and coaches were housed was on the eastern side of Middle Street, just north of Main Street.
Ebenezer Whittier, the son of Joseph and Mary (Peaslee) Whittier,13 was born in Haverhill, in 1704, and died at Wiscasset Point, in 1776. He married Judith Willett, the daughter of Francis Willett and Elizabeth Lowell. Ebenezer Whittier, the son of Ebenezer and Judith Whittier, was born August 17, 1733, and married Elizabeth Merrill. For a time they resided in Amesbury, where at least two of their children were born. He returned to Haverhill, where he lived with his family in 1764 and 1765, purchasing in the latter year from Samuel Williamson of Pownalborough, for the consideration of four pounds, twelve shillings and eight pence, a certain parcel of land situated in this town and which was described as "con- taining one Quarter of an Acre."14
Midsummer of 1766 found Whittier with his family at Wiscasset Point, where, two months later, he had raised upon "Lot number forty-one" and partly covered the frame of one of the four two-story dwelling-houses then standing there.
At the fall term of His Majesty's Court of General Sessions of the Peace for this county, held in the year 1768, Ebenezer Whittier was admitted an
13. This couple were the grandparents of the poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. The Peaslees and Whittiers were Quakers.
14. Deed dated October 4, 1765.
[ 169 ]
Wiscasset in Pownalborough
inn-holder. The house may not have been fitted for the accommodation of the public until near that date, but the Whittier Tavern entertained trav- elers prior to 1767. In the deed mentioned, Whittier's occupation is stated as that of a joiner, and he is said to have built this house with his own hands. Houses, in those days, were built slowly and scrupulously, the wood being given time to season.
The Whittier Tavern stood upon the lot of land where the Hilton House was later built, so, by reason of its continuous occupancy by the descendants of Ebenezer Whittier, the history of both ordinaries can be given together. During Whittier's residence here and for nearly forty years afterward, the southern corner of the lot formed an acute angle, projecting further to the southward than it does now. In 1848, the town purchased a small triangular piece off of that corner for the purpose of widening Fort Hill Street. The Hilton House covered a portion of the exact spot upon which the Whittier Tavern stood. The old tavern is said to have been twenty feet longer than the Hilton House and it extended more to the eastward. This statement would indicate that an addition had been made to the original structure, the length of which is believed, by a record made by Ebenezer Whittier in 1 820, to have been 36 feet, and its width 18 feet, or about the size and pro- portion of the old Kingsbury house, which antedated the Whittier Tavern by but few years. It then stood on the opposite corner, but was moved to the corner of Washington and Federal Streets to make way for the Nickels house. The Whittier Tavern, like the Bradbury Inn, must have had a huge, central chimney, for a letter exists from a great-granddaughter of Ebenezer Whittier in which she writes: "I have often heard my father tell of sitting in the old tavern chimney and looking up at the stars."
Elizabeth L. Hilton, Whittier's granddaughter, stated that the old tav- ern closely resembled the Blythe house in all but the front door, which was quite different.15
The name of Ebenezer Whittier first appears on our town records under date of August, 1766, and for the next forty-four years he continued to be a resident of Wiscasset, during which time he held important offices in the government of town and parish. He was a public-spirited citizen and a man of affairs.
It has been said that the tavern pipe and punch bowl were the main-
15. The Blythe house was later known as the Cunningham house and is now owned by Charles E. Knight. Elizabeth, the daughter of Ebenezer Whittier, married Francis Blythe.
[ 170 ]
Roads and Taverns
springs of public opinion. That being the case, the inn-holder naturally ac- quired a position of eminence and influence. Whatever the impetus, Eben- ezer Whittier served the public long and faithfully both in town and tav- ern. He was chosen to represent the town in the General Court of Massa- chusetts, in the year 1787. He was the first postmaster of Wiscasset, where a post-office, said to have been the second post-office duly authorized by the federal government, within the limits of the territory of Maine, was estab- lished on February 16, 1790. Among his holdings was a part of an old saw- mill located on Mill Creek in the north part of the town on the site of the former Kincaide mill.
To the Whittier Tavern came the post-riders, John Sutton Foye and Samuel Sevey, both Wiscasset men, bearing the mail on their weekly trips from Portland to Warren and points further east.
The sign-board of a contemporaneous tavern in another Massachusetts town bore the assurance of: "Drink for the thirsty, Food for the hungry, Lodging for the weary and good Keeping for Horses"-to all of which Ebenezer Whittier added good cheer and a host's cordial welcome for his guests.
With all of his ramifying interests it is small wonder that his tavern, con- veniently located in the center of the town, was the loadstar which drew the village folk within its orbit, and that from it radiated those divers activities which became an integrant part of the town and county. There Manasseh Smith, progenitor of a race of lawyers, used to meet his clients when he lived on his farm situated near Mill Creek; there the Hon. Jonathan Bow- man sometimes held Probate Court and Judge Thwing of Woolwich and Squire Davis of Edgecomb, occasionally heard causes and trials.
On September 1, 1779, the convention chosen by towns to form "A Plan of Government for the State," met at Cambridge and after a protracted and laborious session finished their work, and the constitution was submitted to the people for their adoption or rejection. The constitution was adopted by the state. A second county convention was held at the house of Mr. Whicher16 in Wiscasset on the twentieth of June, to consult on matters re- lating to the county.17 Also to the Whittier Tavern with its warmth and cheer adjourned the town meeting from the meeting-house, on December
16. The death of this early inn-holder was recorded thus by Master Quimby, then town clerk: "Capt. Ebenezer Whittier, for many years a respectable citizen of the Town, died October 28th, 1810, aged 77 years."
17. Cushman, History of Ancient Sheepscot and Newcastle, p. 214.
[ 17] ]
Wiscasset in Pownalborough
II, 1787, the town being assembled to consider the question of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, when the east parish of Pownalborough, ever definite in its convictions and the expressions of them, voted, "unanimous not to accept of the plan for a new Constitution," and chose Thomas Rice and David Silvester as "Representatives in the House of Delegates to be convened at Boston on the second Wednesday of July next." In connection with this action of the town, it is interesting to note that, notwithstanding the unanimous opposition of their constituents, both of the representatives of this town in the convention at Boston voted for the adoption of the Con- stitution.
There at the tavern, entertainment was frequently furnished for the members of those two ancient institutions, Lincoln Lodge of Freemasons and the Wiscasset Fire Society; there, too, were deliberated the ambitious wharf and warehouse projects of the Proprietors of Wiscasset Union Wharf.
The Whittier Tavern was destroyed by fire on Sunday morning of July 16, 1843. The Wiscasset newspaper of that time printed the following account of the fire, a part of which is here quoted:
FIRE.
On Sabbath morning last, about half past two o'clock our village was alarmed by the cry of FIRE, which proceeded from the Tavern house of Ebenezer Hilton Esq., and which had made such progress as to defy all efforts to extinguish it. The spirited exer- tions of our Fire Department were very judiciously directed toward the surrounding buildings, which by seasonable precaution and well directed efforts and the calm state of the weather, escaped uninjured. This Fire was fortunately discovered in season to remove most of the furniture of the tavern uninjured, and even the window blinds and some of the windows. Indeed everything was saved that could be, by the usual ac- tivity of our citizens. . .
Col. Ebenezer Hilton, who had married Abigail, the widow of Henry Hoskins, and daughter of Ebenezer Whittier, caused a new house to be built that was known by his name. He was the only son of Moral and Lydia (Gould) (Grant) Hilton, and was born in Wiscasset February 17, 1784. The names of the Hiltons, father and son, are identified with the old stage- coaching days, they having been the proprietors of the through stage line of the early years of the last century.
Colonel Hilton was for many years a well-known citizen of Wiscasset, he having served in various public capacities. Like his father-in-law, he was for
[ 172 ]
The William Stacy House built in 1827, now the Wiscasset Inn. A part of the old Nymphas Stacy house on the right.
1
-
Wiscasset Point. Tinkham's Tavern at the left, burned 1913.
3
The Lee-Payson-Smith House, built in 1792 by Silas Lee. Purchased by Gov. Samuel E. Smith in 1836, and still in possession of the Smith family. Picture taken about 1878.
The old wood and hay market, Hilton House, Belle Haven and Dana's drug store.
Roads and Taverns
many years postmaster, during a part of which time the post-office was kept in the building then known as Lincoln Hall, which stood between the old Whittier Tavern and the Blythe house. He was selectman in 1823, 1833, and again in 1839 and 1842.
At the time of the reorganization of the east parish of Pownalborough when it became the first parish of Wiscasset, Ebenezer Hilton's name ap- pears on the roll. His death occurred September 8, 1843, and his widow, a woman of notable capabilities, maintained an interest in the house and re- sided there until her death at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Their daughter, Ann Brooks, married Lewis Hubbard, the youngest child of Sam- uel Hubbard of Berlin, Connecticut, and his wife, Phebe Wales Hatch, whose family came from Marshfield, Massachusetts. Mrs. Lewis Hubbard and her sisters, Miss Elizabeth and Miss Susan Hilton, survived their mother and ended their days in the Hilton House. As a tribute to these three old ladies, who for so many years took an active part in all of the undertakings of the village, the three stately and enduring elms in their garden were called "the three sisters."
Edward Hubbard, who died in 1875, was for several years the landlord of the Hilton House. He was succeeded by his younger brother, William Guild Hubbard, who was identified with the hostelry until the Hilton House burned to the ground on the afternoon of October 8, 1903.
One of the many amusing incidents which occurred in connection with this tavern took place in the late seventies, when one late, cold spring a traveling circus came to town intending to give a May-day performance in Wiscasset. On Walpurgis night-when the witches are said to hold high revelry-a belated snow-storm covered the ground with snow several inches in depth. The tents could not be pitched and the show had to be abandoned. The consequent lack of gate receipts left the troupe stranded, so the man- ager, by way of indemnification for the insolvent company's unsettled board bill, offered the inn-holder the unenviable choice between a baby elephant and a gilded circus chariot. Needless to state, prudence constrained the aubergist to renounce the pachyderm.
And so it came about that, when the next anniversary of Independence Day came around, Mr. Hubbard, with Joseph Hilton and eight other com- rades, celebrated the "Glorious Fourth," by appearing in all the pomp and splendor of a coach and four, and driving through this quaint little village to Alna, in that most incongruous of all conveyances, a circus chariot.
[ 173 ]
r
Wiscasset in Pownalborough
The Whittier Tavern and the Hilton House are now fading memories recalled by few, but the last inn-holder, under whose management the old- time prestige of that ordinary was maintained to a degree worthy of its traditions and in a manner seldom equalled in the recent history of any ancient tavern, will not soon be forgotten.
"Who e'er has traveled Life's dull round Where e'er his stages may have been May sigh to think he still has found His warmest welcome at an Inn."
Sevey Tavern
The name of Sevey has been identified with Wiscasset for so many years that one may look back of John Sevey for members of that family. The earliest record of the name found in this connection is the deposition of John Hincks, Esq., and Mr. William Sevey, taken at Newcastle, New Hampshire, May 21, 1719, at which date both deponents were "of sixty odd year's remembrance," and their testimony relates to the occupancy of land here at Wiscasset by George and William Davie before King Philip's War. That William Sevey does not appear to have acquired residence here. The earliest mention of a Sevey residing here is the testimony of Michael Sevey that he "came to live at Wiscasset in the year 1737." The name Michael appears in but one other branch of the family.
The pioneer in his country, William, was born in England in 1600, came to New England in 1631 and settled at Rye, New Hampshire. Michael of Wiscasset is said to have been a great-grandson of the pioneer, and was born in 1715. His first wife, the mother of his children, was Marcy Foye, of Kittery, Maine, whose brother, Robert, was the first of the Foyes to live here. He, as it appears by his testimony, settled here under his "Father William Groves," who, according to existing records, had married the Wid- ow Foye, mother of Robert and Marcy, and who in 1734 came to Wiscasset where he lived until his death many years later.
Michael probably married about 1739, for the first of his children whose births are recorded, was William, born June 28, 1740. In the following year he purchased of Abel Whitney a settler's interest in farm lot No. 10, and in 1748 he purchased of James Pierce, then of Salem, farm lot No. II, which lands became his homestead. They extended from Wiscasset Bay to
[ 174 ]
Roads and Taverns
Montsweag Brook and the title thereto, excepting the alienation in 1770 of the Pottle Cove lot, now occupied by the Lewis family, and one or more other small lots, including his mill lot at Montsweag Brook, he held until his conveyance to his grandson, Samuel Sevey. The last of the family to reside there was Mrs. Mary Smith Sevey, a daughter of Colonel Sevey, and she died there May 2, 1889. She was for many years a cripple and some remember her seated at one of the front windows in the southwest room of the Sevey house. She possessed a vigorous mind and vivid recollections of the people of Wiscasset as she knew them in her youthful days, and throughout a life here of more than ninety years. Less than six months before her decease Mrs. Sevey presented to Bowdoin College a painting on a metal panel. She stated that it was brought from England by a man named Stuart, and that it had been in the Sevey family since 1805. It was doubtless John Stuart, Esq., who was brought to this country by Capt. Josiah Goddard, in a hogshead when he was obliged to leave England for writing against Parliament. Stuart's wife and daughter came along as the wife and daughter of the captain. They were friends of Mrs. Sevey's father and settled here a few years before her birth.
Michael Sevey was one of the petitioners for the incorporation of a mu- nicipality here to be known as Whitehaven, March 22, 1749. As an officer in the Wiscasset militia he was known as Lieutenant Sevey; and when on June 25, 1760, pursuant to a warrant issued by Samuel Denny, one of His Maj- esty's justices of the peace, the inhabitants of this town qualified by law to vote in town meetings assembled at the garrison at Wiscasset, they chose John Fairfield, Jonathan Williamson, and Michael Sevey for their select- men-the first board of selectmen chosen in this town. At other times Sevey was elected to the same office, and when that unique and ancient bead roll entitled
A Return and true Representation of the East Side of the Town of Pownalboro' with Regard to the Number of Houses & Inhabitants &c. taken in pursuance of an Order of the General Court June 19, 1766.
was drawn up "according to the best evidence they could obtain by going to almost every house in said Town" it was on October 15, 1766, signed by Charles Cushing, sheriff of the county, and Jonathan Williamson, Thomas Rice and Michael Sevey, selectmen. And so having resided here from the period of the resettlement, through the chaotic times of Indian warfare and
[ 175 ]
Wiscasset in Pownalborough
the well-nigh futile efforts to obtain independent municipal existence, and the bitter, impoverishing years of the Revolutionary War, Michael Sevey may well be regarded as one of the founders of the town. His life was pro- longed to an advanced age, for his will, made in 1795, was not probated until 1799.
John Sevey married in 1766 Maria Bradbury, a daughter of Josiah and Anna (Wyman) Bradbury. Bradbury's house stood at the south end of Middle Street on the lot later occupied by the Frederic Lewis house, now demolished.18
It is not known when John Sevey's house was built, for the title to the land on which it stands was held by his father, Michael, who in his convey- ance thereof to John on April 1, 1786, stated that the land was that on which John's house and barn then stood and that the same was then in the peaceable possession of John. The land so conveyed comprised quarter-acre lots numbered 23 and 30. From statements of his granddaughter, Mrs. Mary Sevey it was apparently built prior to the Revolution. Certain it is that in 1767 John Sevey purchased of John Moore lot No. 24 situated at the corner of Main and Middle Streets, and that a part of that lot was occu- pied by John Sevey as a garden. He was as early as 1767 licensed by His Majesty's Court of Sessions as a retailer. He was later an inn-holder, and in the inventory of his goods and chattels, made after his decease, the apprais- ers included one house sign. That inventory shows that he was the owner of twelve parcels of real estate, all of which-his wife having predeceased him-passed to his two surviving sons and one daughter.
Captain Sevey deferred making his last will until January 5, 1796, two days before his decease. Drawn by a local scrivener who was unskilled in technicalities and who was a beneficiary thereunder, that will proved to be in such form that grave doubts were raised as to the intended disposition of possible reversions. Samuel Sevey, the younger son, carried the matter on appeal to the Supreme Court of Probate, but at the end of two years the heirs came to a satisfactory adjustment of their contentions, agreed upon the allowance of the will, and tied up the possible loose ends by conveyances duly recorded.
The heirs were Wyman Bradbury Sevey, born May 26, 1768; Samuel Stevens Sevey, born April 30, 1770; and Maria Sevey, born February 3,
18. It was bought by Fred Pendleton, December 10, 1925.
[ 176 ]
Roads and Taverns
1780. The daughter chose Silas Lee as her guardian, and from his accounts it is learned that she was sent to Boston to complete her education.
It may be interesting to know the location of some of the real estate which they inherited. First came the dwelling-house on Middle Street, of curious architecture, and in our town unique, for the front of the main house has but one window upon one side of the entrance, while we find upon the other side of the entrance two windows. One sees such an arrange- ment of windows in many old houses on Cape Cod. This was the dwelling- house of Capt. John Sevey, appurtenant to which were a barn and store and land extending to Main Street; the lot where Rundlett Block stands, then having upon it a store occupied by Henry Roby; the land opposite this tav- ern and between Middle and Water Streets, being the lot where Robert Light's widow and Betty Elmes then lived; a store, wharf and flats on the further side of Water Street, the site of the wharf being where the wharf of the late William P. Lennox was located; a lot of about three acres bounded on the westerly side by Fifth Street where the Congregational parsonage and other houses now stand; about five acres near the meeting- house and adjoining the county road; a tract of about one hundred fifty acres lying west of the county road.
Of the three heirs of Capt. John Sevey, the eldest, Wyman Bradbury Sevey, in 1796 married Sarah Spring of Dresden. He was one of the found- ers of the Wiscasset Fire Society, its clerk in 1804, and a member until his death, March 13, 1812. His place of residence is given as Water Street, where the lane or townway opposite the tavern, connecting Middle and Water Streets, was laid out on his land and called Sevey Lane. The name Big Foot Alley was more commonly used and it is said that it referred to Sevey's feet which were of generous proportions.
His house appears to have been near the head of his wharf.
Sevey held various official positions in the community, among them that of deputy United States marshal under Marshal Thornton for the District of Maine, at a time when, just before the War of 1812, many libels and informations were laid against ships and cargoes. He was survived by his wife and their only child, John, who became a lawyer, married his cousin, Mary Smith Sevey, by whom he had one son who died in infancy. He was of dissipated habits and died at a comparatively early age, survived by his wife who lived a widow for sixty years.
[ 177 ]
Wiscasset in Pownalborough
Samuel, the second son of John and Maria (Bradbury) Sevey, at the age of twenty-three years married Hannah, daughter of Manasseh Smith and his wife who was Hannah Emerson. They became the parents of eight sons and five daughters. Two of the daughters, Maria and Lucy, died young and unmarried. Hannah, the eldest, married Enoch Marshall; Mary became the wife of her cousin, John Sevey; and Julia married Dr. Benjamin F. Buxton, of Warren.
Samuel Sevey held public offices for many years, the most conspicuous of which was that of keeper of the jail in this county which position he held for thirteen years, and he was deputy-sheriff for a longer period. His title of colonel came from his service as lieutenant-colonel in the artillery branch of Massachusetts militia under Maj .- Gen. William King.
We have seen that the old Sevey farm was conveyed to him by his grand- father and there, after removing from Middle Street where he appears to have resided in his father's house, he made his home for many years, and it was during his occupancy of the farm that the old Sevey house was de- stroyed by fire, and the present two-story house erected about ninety years ago.
Samuel Sevey died there May 15, 1860, at the age of ninety years. His wife survived him less than three years, dying January 30, 1863, at the age of eighty-eight years.
Foye's Tavern
On the road to South Dresden just after Rumrill Road has been crossed is still to be found an ancient cellar hole, the erstwhile foundation of a hos- telry which was run by William Foye and his wife Anne Sutton before the Revolutionary War.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.