90 ^?f CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY FROM Date Due i'R. iil'iSSii > ■!■ XI B S S !£ K, , l«r-o IjEIjLAN So CO. 1874 f\7HS/id COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION. J. O. A. HARMON, SAHUEL HANSON, MAKE P. EMERY, A. K P. MESEEVE, J. M. MAESHAXL. B. THURSTblf & COMPANY, PEDfTBRS, PORTLAND. PREFACE, A DUE regard to the claims of posterity has suggested the pro- priety of recording the inanner in which the people of Buxton commemorated the one hundredth birth-day of her incorporation ; to tell how the spirit of veneration was re-kindled and became a common impulse with the children near and distant; with what alacrity and harmony, all, who claimed kindred or birth-right among them, turned aside from the demands of business and haunts of pleasure, and, immolating every social and political dif- ference upon the altar of old affection, found new enjoyment in the fact, that men can think alike concerning the place of their nativity. Doubtless there are periods in every life, when the mind loves better than anything else, to go back over the scenes of childhood, to hold in memory the sweetness of its halcyon days, and gather about itself the mouldering relics that link together the pageant of the past; so let this at least pass to the credit of our own time, that the future antiquarian may pursue his researches even for the simple annals of this locality, with a degree of cer- tainty and satisfaction not to be obtained from the incoherent fragments which tradition alone may furnish. -^ It is the purpose of this little volume, not only to sketch in the history of a day what was done by the natives and residents of Buxton out of their common regard to this anniversary, in the preparation, proceedings, and occurrences thereat, but to preserve in material form for the contemporary, and to carry forward to the future reader a substantial part of the town's early history which the able historian has furnished; to perpetuate the words of trib- ute that fell from the lips of the orator and the other speakers of the daj-^; and add to them the glimpses of earlier life, and delinea- tion of character, as they have come down to us sketched and adorned by the poet's pen. J. M. M. Buxton, Dec. 24, 1872. CENTENNIAL EXERCISES. It may be said to have been the suggestion of the lament- ed Capt. William F. Goodwin, that the Buxton people should pay due reverence to their mother town at this ripe period of her years, and the inspiration, which the zeal of former resi- dents was creating, made it a duty all the more imperative and of certain consequence to the citizens themselves. At the annual town meeting in March, 1872, it was voted to observe the one hundredth anniversary of the date of the act of incorporation of the town, which would occur on the fourteenth of July, with exercises and ceremonies appropriate to the event. That day of the month of the present year occurring on Sunday, the time for celebration was not deter- mined at this meeting, and the whole matter of time, place, and character of the exercises was entrusted to a committee of the Selectmen and eleven other citizens, whose names are as follow: James O. A. Harmon, Moses G. Hill, Daniel Townsend, Selectmen ; Abram L. Came, George Carll, Sam- uel Hanson, Stephen H. Berry, Gerry Rounds, Jr., Samuel S. Milliken, Phineas Harmon, John Milliken, Richard Palm- er, Albion K. P. Meserve, and Jonathan Martin. J. M. Marshall was chosen Corresponding Secretary. This com- mittee met for the first time at the office in the Town House, on the afternoon of the 27th of April, and selected Buxton Lower Corner, for the place, and the fourteenth of August as the time, for celebrating the event. The order of exercises substantially as they were carried out was also then and there agreed upon, as follows : Cannon salute at sunrise, at noon, and at sunset ; assembling on the Common in front of the old Congregational Church, to form a procession, to have a free collation, and literary exercises b BTTXTON CENTEKNIAL. at a bower or tent, with instrumental and vocal music, and a parade of ancient militia men, if possible. This meeting was adjourned to the eleventh day of 'May, when it was decided to choose an executive committee of three to take special charge of the work and carry forward the general plan ; and James O. A. Harmon, Albion K. P. Meserve, and J. M. Marshall were chosen as such. Subscription books to procure funds were put in circula- tion, and the Secretary issued the following invitation card, which was sent to towns and cities in nearly every State in the Union, wherever a son or daughter resided, as well as to the homes of the citizens resident : — 1773. 1873. The present year marks the, lapse of a century from the time when Bux- ton became incorporated as a town, in the County of York, and District of Maine. The citizens, at their last annual meeting in March, voted to give due observance to the event of this anniversary, with appropriate gemansirathn, festival, md $ihmrg ^xermes, that this Centennial period and landmark in her history might not pass unnoticed. Therefore, the committee selected to act in this matter, in the name of the citizens of Buxton, hereby cordially invite all the sons and daughters and former residents of the town, to unite with them on BTJXTOIV IjOWJi:ii COI?,]NlEK, to take part in a social reunion— renew the bonds of friendship, and live over again the memories of bygone days. J. O. A. HARMON, MOSES G. HILL, DANIEL TOWNSEND, A. L. CAME, GEOKGE CAKLL, com[m:ittee. samltel hanson, stephen h. berry, gerky rounds, jk., s. s. milliken, phineas harmon, RICHARD PALMER, A. K. P. MESERVE, JOHN MILLIKEN, JONATHAN MARTIN, J. M. MARSHALL, COMJtMSPOSDlNG SISCMETAST. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 7 The call met with responses from various sections of the country, and many interesting letters were received, both from those accepting the invitation and from others regretting their inability to be present, but all giving assurance of their sympathy and happiest recollections of the old town. Among the latter were those from Hon. Isaac Emery, of Boston, Hon. John P. Hale, ex-Senator from New Hampshire, ex- Gov, Samuel Merrill, of Iowa, Charles R. Brewster, Esq., of Charleston, South Carolina, Nathan Elden, Esq., of Vine- land, New Jersey, &c., &c. Outside of the town the people had caught the spirit, and the coming event had created quite a lively interest. The Buxton-born residents of Saco and Biddeford held a meeting at the York counting-room, and resolved to furnish a band of music for the occasion, and attend in a body. The Mechanic Blues and Light Infantry — military compa- nies of Portland — upon an invitation of the committee, very generously gave their attendance in full uniform, to grace the occasion with parade and escort. In addition to the provisions purchased by the committee, contributions came in from many families in town, as well as from Hollis, in sufficient quantities to load twelve tables, each one hundred feet in length. On Monday, the 12th of August, the citizens from all parts of the town rallied to commence in earnest the work of erecting the bower. This was an immense frame, con- structed of joist and boards, two hundred feet in length and one hundred and twenty feet wide, and covered partly with sails and partly with boughs. The ladies, no less busy, were washing dishes and arranging them for the tables ; and not until late in the afternoon of the 13th was the bower com- pleted and the tables in order. O BtJXTON CENTENKIAL. THB DAY. The previous day had been damp and cloudy, and just before nightfall a heavy rain set in casting a gloom over the faces of the expectant citizens, already wearied vyith the efforts of the day. But the sun rose clear on the morn of the fourteenth, and the peal of the cannon, ringing out on the morning air, startled the sleepers with its foreign music and ushered in the festal day. From all parts of Buxton and the towns adjoining, people were gathering at an early hour. The 8.15 train on the Portland & Rochester R. R. came in with its cars filled with visitors, and the Portland Mechanic Blues, under the command of Capt. Leavitt, and the Light Infantry, under the command of Lieut. Todd, dis- embarked from the cars, formed into line at the depot, and, led by its drum corps and the Bar Mills bi'ass band, escorted the procession to the grounds, about one mile and a quarter distant from the depot. They arrived on the common in front of the church just as the Saco and Biddeford delega- tion, nearly two thousand in number, with some five hundred horses, in an unbroken column of over a mile in length, were entering the village, led by the full brass band of Dover. The meeting of these processions on the already crowded common was a spectacle long to be remembered. To the older portion of the assembly it mirrored back the muster scenes of a generation just passed, and revealed an era of new possibilities to the uprisen yeomanry of Buxton. The cordial welcome, the hearty hand-shaking by old friends meeting after long separation, the sudden appearance of familiar faces that had become almost forgotten, the rich martial music of the bands, and showy uniforms and polished muskets of the military, so thrilled that restless, buoyant mass as almost to baffle every attempt of the chief marshal to call them to order, form the procession, and thus inaugu- rate the programme of the day. At length, at half past nine, order reigned and the proces- BUXTON CENTENNIAX. 9 sion was formed. The chief marshal, Gerry Rounds, Jr., supported on either side by aids Capt. Joseph Davis and Capt, Stephen H. Berry, Thomas Tarbox, John B. Bradbury, and George H. Libby, with a platoon of sixteen citizen police, took up the line of march ; then followed the Dover cornet band with the Infantry and Mechanic Blues ; then the Bar Mills brass band leading the Buxton veterans of the late war under the command of Capt. Joseph F. Warren ; then the municipal officers of the town, with the historian, orator, and other speakers of the day, present and past clergymen of the town, members of the Biddeford Choral Union and other choirs, invited guests and former citizens, resident citi- zens and strangers generally. In this order the procession moved towards the " Coliseum " in the field of Mrs. Mary Ann Woodman, north-west of the Congregational (Church and the cemetery. Here at the main entrance was erected an arch, with its pillars entwined with bands of evergreen and flowers, surmounted at the top with evergreen having a border of crimson flowers, underneath which, and spanning the entire breadth of the arch was a semi-circular scroll of canvas with the inscription, — painted in plain large letters, — "Buxton Welcomes her Sons and Daughters." The military companies entered the field, opened to right and left, and the procession advanced to the " Coliseum." The first half of this formed the audience-room, and was provided with seats sufficient to accommodate four thousand ; in front of which was erected the speakers' stand or platform ; imme- diately behind this rose a tier of seats for the bands and the choirs. The rear half of the building was appropriated to the tables, which were loaded with substantial food, and free to all. Upon the platform were the chairman of the com- mittee, selectmen of the town, and several distinguished vis- itors, among whom was Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain, ex-Governor of Maine. The assembly was called to order by J. O. A. Harmon, 10 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. the president of the day, with a few appropriate remarks. The Biddeford Choral Union and other choirs, conducted by their skillful leader, R. M. Hobbs, of Biddeford, then sung " Home, Sweet Home," the bands accompanying in the chorus. The Rev. Joseph Bartlett, of South New Market, N. H., for twenty years pastor of the South Congregational church in Buxton, tlien pronounced the invocation : O Lord, we adore Thee as the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, King of kings and Lord of lords. Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Be- fore the mountains were brought forth or ever Thou hadst formed the earth, from everlasting to everlasting Thou art God. A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday, when it is past and as a watch in the night. We spend our years as a tale that is told — our life is a vapor that vanisheth away. But Thou, amid the changing years and generations, art ever the same. We, the children gathered beneath the shadow of the tem- ple where the fathers worshiped, near the resting-place where their dust is sleeping, ask Thy blessing ; may it rest upon the day and the occasion. We thank Thee that they open so auspiciously ; we thank Thee for these fair and dear scenes, for the remembrances and associations they awaken, for their friendly and affectionate greeting, for this great and joyful gathering of sons and daughters to the old home. Bless those who shall speak and those who shall hear ; may their words, recalling the labors, sacrifices, and achievements of the fathers, instruct us and stimulate to better and nobler lives. May every manly and womanly virtue, every labor of love for God and man, be an example for us, a lesson to be carried out in our own lives and character. May the Book which they reverenced, and which was the inspiration of whatever was right in them, be the Lamp to our feet and the Light to our path. May we all be the true disciples of our BTIXTON CENTENNIAL. 11 Lord Jesus Christ, by our personal acceptance of Him, our living faith in Him, our true repentance, ortr loving obedience. Cleanse us from our sins by His blood shed for their remis- sion. Bestow upon us the influence of the Holy Spirit to renew a right Spirit in us, to guide us into.all truth and duty, to right lives and peaceful deaths. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ; and what we ask for ourselves we ask for our brothers and sisters who stand not here with us to-day, but who are with us in spirit; make them sharers with us in the blessings and hopes of the Gospel, and bring them with us at last to the heavenly home. All which we ask for our Redeemer's sake. Amen. At the close of the prayer the choir sung the Star-spangled Banner, the bands accompanying. Miss Sarah Jose, of Brook- lyn, rendering a solo of the last verse with fine eflFect. The president of the day then introduced Joseph Dunnell, of Buxton, with the few following remarks : Sons and Daughters of Buxton: It aifords me infinite pleasure to meet you, who have gone out from the shadow of your old roof-trees, and made your homes in distant lands. Welcome back to the old parental homestead, to the joys, pleasures, and recollections of the hearth-stones of your younger days — place of your birth and land of your fathers. I will now introduce to you one, who, in more fitting terms and appropriate thoughts, will express to you the satisfaction' felt by all at your presence here, Joseph Dunnell, of Buxton. ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY JOSEPH DUNNELL. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, native and adopted Sons and Daughters of Buxton, Brothers and Sisters of a common parentage: We hail with peculiar pleasure your presence among us to-day, and in behalf of the residents of Buxton we bid you welcome, thrice welcome to our hearts, to the hospitalities of our liomes, and to the festivities and enjoyments of the day we celebrate. 12 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. From the time you went out from us to enter upon the sterner duties of mature manhood and womanhood until the present, it has afforded us great pleasure to hear from time to time of your success in the varied pursuits of life, and your honorable achievement in all that relates to human greatness. We have watched with maternal interest your onward march along the rugged paths to still higher positions of influence and power, to which, by patient continuance in well-doing, you were justly entitled, and now after a lapse of years we meet in one great brotherhood and sisterhood on this festal day, around this festive board, to exchange words of comfort and cheer, to inquire of each other's welfare, and to renew the acquaintances of our youthful days, and with becoming veneration to pay our devotions to the memory of our fathers and mothers, by whose hardships and privations, by whose toils and anxieties, and by whose prayers we were trained and disciplined for the varied responsibilities of after-life. I see before me one great family of sons and daughters, among whom are men and women of hoary hairs, cotemporaries with our fathers and mothers ; to you, this day is fraught with pe- culiar interest ; also, the men and women in the prime and" vigor of manhood and womanhood, upon whose shoulders rest the honors and emoluments of this busy life ; the young men and the maidens and the children too, Qod bless them; to each and all of you I say, welcome home, thrice welcome ; and I know I utter the common sentiment of all, when I say we are right glad to see you, and more than that, we thank you for your presence, and let us lay aside all unnecessary thought of the past or anxieties for the future, and blend our sympathies and our interests, and recognize the great frater- nity of which we are composed, compare notes with each other, talk of the future, and thus make this day an oasis in the pilgrimage of life. Aye, let gladness rule the hour, let joy be unconfined. At the close of the salutation the choir sung " The dearest BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 13 spot on earth to me is home, sweet home," after which the President introduced the Historian of the day, as follows : I now have the pleasure of introducing to you one who has acquired for himself honor and reputation in the old mother State, Hon. Cyrus Woodman, of Cambridge, Mass. TO THE READER. I would forewarn all persons who have not some special interest in the history of Buxton, that this discourse is not worth their reading. Indeed, so little is there of interest in it, that I feel like offering an apology for allowing it to go into print. Having, however, consented to deliver it, I can hardly refuse the request of the committee, who have asked it for publication. The want of interest will be found to be due partly to the writer, partly to the common-place events which he narrates, and partly to the fact that the actors in those events were none of them great or remarkable men. It is a somewhat difficult task to prepare an historical dis- course on so bald a subject, which will interest a popular audience, and at the same time be of any permanent value. In the delivery, I thought it best to incur the risk, the cer- tainty, I may say, of being tedious, rather than to fail of giving a clear idea of the course of events during the period under consideration. What will here be found is what I delivered, and more. In order to give to it all the value which the subject admits, I have so enlarged the address delivered as to make it, as it now reads, a careful summary of the history of Buxton prior to the incorporation of the town. Indeed, it is, substantially, the story of all that is known relating to the town before that time;^ and as such I submit it with diffidence to those who • p. S. I should qualify this remajrl: hy saying that I know nothing of the history of the grant of the " Seven Hundred acres " to " Hill and others." The facts in regard to this grant, which preceded the grant of the town to the Narraganset soldiers, can probably be ascertained by investigation. I should also say that in my discourse I do not undertake to 0ve the individual history of the early settlers. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 15 have an interest in the subject. Whoever would look more closely into the history of the period under review, can do so by consulting the Proprietors' Records, and the accompanying documents, edited by Capt. Goodwin, and to which I have referred as Goodwin's Narraganset.^ That book, so far as I know, is the most valuable one yet printed for those who would study the life of our New England towns, while yet in their infancy, and before arriving at that maturity which entitles them to enter upon the exercise of the functions bestowed by an act of incorporation. In the Appendix will be found notices of most of those families whose names I had occasion to mention in the course of my address. I have neither the time nor the patience necessary to extend similar notices to other families. In these notices many of the descendants of those named will find facts about their families of which they are ignorant. Ignorance of family history is general throughout the town. It is to be hoped that it will grow less in the future. Each family in town should know, and by print save and perpetuate its own history, at least that portion of it which belongs to Buxton. If what I have done, as shown in the appendix, shall promote this object, then the profitless and thankless labor which I have performed to this end will not be in vain. Both in my address and in the appendix I have taken great care to be accurate, but notwithstanding all my care, errors will doubtless be found, which, I trust, will be corrected by those who may follow me in this field of labor. Only those who have been engaged in similar work can appreciate the time and pains bestowed upon these few pages, and they are those who will most readily pardon my errors and forgive my shortcomings. 1 For copies of this volume apply to Miss Martlm E. Goodwin, of Concord, N. H., oi to the Tork Institute, Saco, Maine. 16 BUXTOK CENTBlirNIAI/. The good work which Capt. Goodwin began, by the vol- ume he prepared and had printed, would have been followed by the printing of the first volume of the Town Records, and other official papers of that period, if he had lived. He had already made some progress in the work when death inter- rupted it. It would have brought our history into the first years of the present century, and, from authentic documents, would have given us an account of the honorable part which this town took in the war of the revolution, and of the names of those who were engaged in it. I hope that some one will come forward to complete the work which he began. I do not propose to do it myself, but shall, so far as I can, gladly aid and encourage any person who is competent to the task. Cykus Woodman. Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 25, 1873. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Fellow Townsmen, Men and Women of Buxton : When, on the 21st of May last, the commmittee which has this day's celebration in charge requested me to deliver an historical address, I replied that I was about leaving for the west, and should not have time to prepare one worthy of this centennial anniversary ; and besides, that under the ex- pectation of listening to a brilliant oration from the distin- guished gentleman who honors us with his presence on this occasion, the audience would hardly care to listen to any poor words of mine. I said, however, that if, when the day should come, it should seem best to the committee to call upon me to address you, I should, as a loyal Buxtonian, feel obliged to obey the call so far as to make such remarks upon the early history of the town as the time and the circumstances might permit. Since receiving the invitation of the committee I have made two long journeys to the west ; so that for the first two months following the invitation I had no opportunity to make any preparation for this discourse. On returning home, I wrote to the committee, saying that in the short interval which still remained, I should find it impossible to prepare even a brief address which I could hope would be acceptable to you and wortliy of the occasion ; and that for this and other, and as it seemed to me valid rea- sons, which I gave, I asked to be excused from appearing before you to-day. The committee declined to excuse me. If, therefore, you shall find my address crude and bearing the marks of hasty 2 18 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. preparation, and if it shall fall in your estimation beneath what you have a right to expect and what the subject de- mands, I hope that the circumstances of which I have spoken will palliate, if they do not excuse, my shortcomings ; and that you will let the blame rest not alone upon my poor head, but partly, at least, upon the committee which has placed me in this undesired, though honorable, position. Under these circumstances I now appear before you, and must beg your kind indulgence while I recount some of the events of by-gone days. But, before doing so, I wish to express the deep sorrow I feel that death has deprived us of the presence of one who, of all men, was the best acquainted with the history of our town, and the most competent to hold the place which I now occupy. If he had lived he would have given you an his- torical address which would have been a model of its kind, and of which this town would have been proud. But though he is, alas ! not with us to-day, yet he lived to carry through the press a volume relating to the early history of Buxton, which will carry his name down to remote gen- erations, and which will be recognized by all competent judges as a monument of faithful and well directed labor for the preservation of our early history. I venture to say, that in this volume, and in the valuable historical map ^ published last year by your intelligent and worthy townsman, Mr. Daniel Dennett,^ which, though so little appreciated now that he has not sold a copy, is yet sure to cause his name to be remembered with honor : in this vol- ume and map, I say, and in the records of the church during the pastorate of Dr. CofBn, printed in 1868, a broader, surer, and more permanent foundation of printed material has been laid for the history of this town than has yet been laid by any other town in the United States. ' See Appendix BB. s See Appendix X. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 19 Capt. Goodwin enlisted when the late rebellion broke out, as a lieutenant in the regular array, and at the battle of Chickamauga fell by a severe wound, from the effect of which he never recovered. That battle-field drank the warm blood from his veins, and the wound which he received never failed to remind him of its existence ; but it pained him less, when, proud and happy, he received a commission as captain by brevet, for gallant and meritorious services in that bloody fight. Yet I doubt whether he had more pride and satisfaction in this testimonial of a grateful country to his valor than he had in the volume to which I have alluded. His death was a great loss to this town, for, much as he had already done for its history, without any hope of pecuni- ary reward, he would, had he lived, have done yet more to entitle himself to the honor and gratitude of the people of Buxton. Buxton owes its origin and settlement to the war with the Narraganset Indians, which, after great disasters to the col- onists, culminated in the destruction of the power of that tribe, by the bloody victory over them which was won in December, 1675. The troops which in that year were gathered to destrov, once for all, the power of the Narragansets, were promised by the government, on Dedham Plain, " that if they played the man, took the Fort & Drove the Enemy out of the Narragan- set Country, which was their great Seat, that they should have a gratuity in Land besides their Wages." The promise then made remained unftilfilled for more than fifty-seven years. After many vexatious delays, and after the greater part of those who were engaged in the fight had ceased to live, the act of April 26, 1733, was passed, bv virtue of which our town of Buxton became the property of Phile- NoTE. — The suggestion of this Centennial Anniversary was, I suppose, first made by Capt. Goodwin. He died at Concord, N, H., March 12, 1872. 20 BUXTON CBNTEinsnAIi. mon Dane of Ipswich, and of one hundred a,nd nineteen other persons. This act reads as follows : " Ordered " that " Major Chand- ler M' Edward Shove Coll : Tho' Tilestone M' John Hobson & M' Samuel Chandler (or any three of them) be a Comm'" fully authorized & impowered to Survey & lay out five more Tracts of Land for Townships, of the Contents of Six miles Square each, in some of the unappropriated Lands of this province & y' s* Lands (together with the two Towns before granted), be granted and disposed of to the Officers & Sol- diers who were in the Nari-aganset War, or to their lawful Represent""" as they are or have been allowed by this Court being Eight Hundred & forty in number in the whole, and is in full Satisfaction of the Grant formerly made them by the General Court as a reward for their publick Sei'vice ; and the Grantees shall be obliged to Assemble within a short Time as they can conveniently, not exceeding the Space of two months & proceed to the Choice of Comm'""' respectively to regulate Each Propriety or Township wh"'' is to be held & enjoyed by One Hundred & twenty of the Grantees each & in equal proportion who shall pass such Orders & Rules as shall effectually oblige them to Settle Sixty Families at least within each Township with a learned orthodox Minister within the space of Seven Years from the Date of this Grant, Pkoyided always that if the said Grantees shall not Effect- ually settle the s* Number of Families in Each Township & also lay out a Lot for y" fii-st Settled Minister one for the Ministry & one for the School in Each of the said Townships, they shall have no Advantage of, but forfeit their respective Grants, anything to the Contrary contained Notwithstandino' ■ the Charge of the Survey to be paid by the province." I have quoted nearly the whole of this act in order to show by what authority and under what conditions this town was settled. This act is the basis pn which rests the title of all BTTXTON CENTENNIAL. 21 land in this town, except that portion whicli was formerly known as the " seven hundred acre tract." In comphance with this act, a general lueetintr of the gran- tees of the seven townships, which had been granted to the Narraganset soldiers, was held in Boston, on Boston Common, it is said, on the sixth day of June, 1733. At this time com- mittees were appointed for regulating the affairs of the several townships, and " Philemon Dane i & others were appointed a Committee for regulating Ipswich Society &c so called," which society represented one hundred and twenty of the soldiers who were in the Narraganset war. The first meeting of this society was held " at the House of Capt Joseph Hale in Newbury falls " August 1, 1733. The townships for this society had not then been selected, but " at the above Said meeting Joseph Gerish Esq' John Hobson & John Gains was Chosen a Committee to vew Som of the unappropreated Lands of this Province in order to Pitch a place for one Township for the Said Soldiers " What action was taken by this committee does not appear ; but from the fact that on the plan of Nov. 23, 1733 (herein- after mentioned) a brook is marked " Gains is Brook," and from the fact that £4 was afterwards voted to Mr. John Gains for his service " in vewing the Narraganset Township Eastward of Saco River," it may well be inferred that he and also Mr. Jonathan Fellows, to whom a like sum was voted at the same time and for the same reason, were here on the business of this committee, say between August 1 and No- vember 1, 1733. It may also well be inferred that their re- port was favorable, and that it was adopted by the Society. Acting probably upon the recommendation or under the direction of the Ipswich Society, Edward Shove, Thomas Tileston, John Hobson, and Samuel Chandler, the committee 1 In Felt's History of Ipswich, the death o£ Doct. Philemon Dean is noted in 1717, and he is stated to have had a son Philemon. This son Philemon Bean and our PMl- mon Dane was the same person, as I learn, beyond reasonahle doubt. 22 BtrXTON CENTEinSITAI/. named in the act just recited, laid out two townships for the Narraganset soldiers between Saco river and Presumpscot river. They made a plat of these townships, and upon the plat wrote a report of their doings. I discovered a copy of this plat and report among the files of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. The original plat and report are not known to be in existence, and as no copy of either has ever been published, I beg leave to read the report, which is as follows : " This Plat describes' two Tracts of Land laid out for the Narraganset Soldiers between Saco River and Presumpscott River, containing the contents of Six Mile Square in each Plat with the Allowance of Seven Hundred acres formerly granted to Hill & others in that Township next Saco River & thirteen Hundred acres for Ponds, and in the Township joining to Presumpscott River there is allowance for five Hundred acres granted to Tyng & others and twelve Hun- dred acres for Ponds, and the s* Plans are bounded and de- scribed as followeth beginning at Saco River at the Head of Biddeford^ [Saco] & runs Northeast by the Needle twelve Miles by the head of Biddeford"' [Saco] & Scarborough & Falmouth till it comes to Presumpscott River & then bounded by Presumpscott River & runs up the same till it makes Seven Miles and one Quarter of a Mile on Straight Course North 33'' West and then runs 9 miles and 50 Rods South W-t by the Needle till it comes to Saco River & then bounds Southwesterly by Saco River till it [comes] to the Head of Biddeford afores'' and [the] line between the two Townships begins on the Line next the Head of the Townships Seven Miles and one Quarter of a mile to the Northeast of Saco River & s* Line runs North 33* West by the Needle extend- > The name Saco covered both sides o( the river until 1718. In that year the name Biddeford was given to both sides by an act of the General Court. In 1762 that part of Biddeford lying on the east side of Saco river was incorporated into a town iDy the name of Peppen'ell borough, in honor of Sir William Pepperrell; which name was changed to Saco in 1805. Committee." BtrXTON CENTENNIAL. 23 ing Seven MOes and one quarter of a mile and these two Townships was surveyed by Samuel Sewall and Benjamin Stone who were sworn for [the] work before Justice Gray. Dated 23* of Nov.' 1783. Edward Shovjk, Thomas Tileston, John Hobson, Samuel Chandler, In February, 1733-4, the above recited report of the com- mittee was read in the Council and' House of Representa- tives, and it was then ^" Ordered that these Plans be ac- cepted, & that the Lands set forth in the Plat Number One be and hereby are confirmed unto One hundred & twenty of the Original Grantees, their Heirs & assigns : viz, that So- ciety of them of which Philemon Dane & others were ap- pointed a Committee for regulating Ipswich Society &c so called at a General meeting of the Grantees in Boston, the Sixth of June last, as by the Grantees Votes & Orders may appear Provided the Plat contains no more than the Con- tents of Six miles Square of the unappropriated Land (ex- clusive of the former Grants & allowances within mentioned) & that it does not interfere with any former Grant." This act passed the House Feb. 9th, the Council Feb. 11th, and was consented to by Governor Belcher Feb. 22, 1733-4.^ From this last named day dates the separate legal existence of Narraganset No. 1, now Buxton. On that day Philemon Dane and his one hundred and nineteen associates became the legal proprietors of this town. Having thus acquired their title to this township, the first Note. — The surveyors abore named and the chalnmen, viz. : John Smith, John Bag- shaw, * John Smith, Joshua Hilton, and Lieut. John Staclipoie were sworn to a faith- ful discharge of their duties at Biddeford on the 20th of Nov.' 1733, before John Gray, Justice of the Peace. * This name is repeated. ^This is quoted from Got tween it and the copy f o 3 So the dates appear on the plat mentioned. 2 This is quoted from Goodwin's Narraganset, page 25. There are alight discrepancies between it and the copy found on the plan. 24 BTJXTOK CENTENNIAL. step taken by the proprietors thereafter was to cause a por- tion of it to be surveyed into lots ; and at a meeting held March 19, 1734-5, a committee " was Chosen & Impowared to Lay out one hundred & Twenty three Lots in Said Town- ship no Lot to Exceed Twenty acres." The committee then chosen seems not to have acted, for, on the 15th of October, 1735, a new committee was chosen for the purpose, namely, John Hobson, Samuel Chase, Phil- emon Dane, Capt. William Elsley, and Deacon James Chute. At a proprietors' meeting, held Nov. 17, 1735, a report signed by all the members of this committee except Capt. Elsley, together with a plan of the lots, was submitted and accepted, and the report recorded. This meeting was adjourned until the 24th of November, in the aforesaid year, 1735. On that day the lots so laid out by this committee were distributed among the proprietors by drawing therefor. On that day, therefore, the ownership of lands in this town by individuals began. The lot on which the meeting- house stands, being lot No. 2 of range E, was drawn by John Hobson, on the right of his father, John Hobson. These are, I presume, the ancestors of all the Hobsons who have lived in this town.-' This was the first of the four divisions into which the town was, at different times, surveyed, and the lots of this division were commonly called " Home Lots " by the early settlers. In this division, lot 28 ^ of range C was drawn for or as- signed to the first minister. It came into the possession of Rev. Paul Coffin, and was by him sold to Joshua Kimball in 1797, who sold it to Capt. Joel Marshall. 1 John HoTjson and hia wife Dorcas, of Rowley, on the 7th of Fehraary, 1738-9 sold to Samuel Bragdon, Jr., of York, one right or share in this town, " & is the same feight that was granted on the right of John Hobson, deceased." He owned other lands in this town. ' See Dennett's Map. s gee Appendix A. BUXTON CENTENNIAI,. 25 It is at Salmon Falls, and the house lately owned and occupied by Mr. William Milliken stands upon 'it. The lot assigned for the ministry or parsonage was No. 27 '■ in the same range, adjacent to the last mentioned, and lying between that and the lot on which Joel M. Marshall, Esq., and Mr. Came, now live. The Law required that a lot should be set apart « for the school," but this requirement seems to have been neglected by the proprietors, unless the three acres reserved for public use on home lots 1 and 2 of range D may be considered as a compliance with the law in this regard. Having obtained a title to their township, and having laid a part of it into lots, the next care of the proprietors was to get the town settled, so that the grant to them should not be forfeited. At a meeting held May 31, 1736, a bounty was voted " to Each propriator to the No of ten who shall now apear to buld a House of the Contents of Eighteen feet Square and Seven feet Stud on his Lot in Sd Township and finish the Same So as to make the Same Tennantable at or before two years be Ended next aftor the Date hereof & Clere four acres of Land fit for mowing within the Said two years." Stimulated by this bounty, ten men came forward and agreed to comply with the terms of the vote. The names of these ten men are recorded. None of them, I think, ever settled in this town, and whether they employed others to carry out their undertaking is unknown.^ At a meeting held May 30, 1737, it was " Voted that if any Persons to the No of thirty of Said Propriators will apear to give Eighty Pound bond Each to Cap William Els- ley Treasurer for Said Propriators or his Sucksessor in that ' See Dennett's Map. 'Their names are "Dea» Jonathan Fellows Samuel Ingals John Bartlit Timothy Cvirrier Joseph CofBn Timothy Sheapord M' Daniel Hale Benjamin Woodman Dea" James Chute Samuel Stlckney." 26 BUXTON CBNTBKNIAX. office that they will Settle their Lots in Said Township agree- able to the Conditions of the Grant made by the Great & General Court at or before Tow years be Ended next aftor the Date hereof: and when Each Settler hath bult his house & Cleared his Land according to Said grant and when Sd House is bult & finished fit to Dwell in then Such Settler Shall be Intitled to Receive Twenty Pounds out of Said Propriators money to be paid by Said propriators Treasurer & twenty pounds more when they have Cleared Said Lands ; & when Said House or Houses Shall be bult and Said Land fenced & Clered then the Said Settlers are to Settle a fameley in Each House who are to Continue there for & During the Space of Seven years next aftor the bulding Said House : " and it was required that " Such Settlement be made within Two years from the first of September next aftor the Date of this meeting." " Forty pounds 1 in bills of Publick Credet " (a largely depreciated paper currency) was voted as a bounty to each of the thirty who should comply with the terms of the vote, and it was further voted to raise XI, 200 in the same bills to enable the proprietors to pay the promised bounty. From the subsequent records it seems that thirty persons did agree to settle in compliance with the terms of the vote, but who they were is unknown. We know, however, from the records, that most of them were very backward in com- plying with their agreement. At the same meeting a mill privilege was voted to any of the thirty who should build a good saw-mill, which vote was so far modified at the next meeting, held July 19, 1738, as to direct that the mill, if built, should be placed on no other stream than Saco river. No mill, however, was built under this vote. The levy of £1,200 did not include those who iBy an act of tlie FrOTinoe passed March 31, 1750, £1 old tenor became equal to but 2s. 8d. lawful money or silver. At this rate the bounty of £40 would be equal to £5 63. 8d. lawful money. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 27 agreed to settle — that is, they were not required to pay any part of it. At this last named meeting the assessment was voted to " be made as soon as may be," and collectors and assessors were appointed. It was also voted that if any of the thirty who had agreed to give bonds to settle their lots should neglect to do so until after the tenth of August then next, the treasurer should then be at liberty to accept the bonds of such other proprie- tors as would agree to make settlements, who would then be entitled to the privileges which the others had forfeited. At the same meeting a committee was appointed to prose- cute trespassers. At a meeting held Sept. 5, 1738, it was voted to lay out 123 more lots of sixty acres each, it being a second division. Samuel Chase, Joseph Woodman, and John Brooks were appointed a committee for this purpose. This committee attended to this business and made a re- port under date of October 13, 1738, which was signed by all of them. Their report wa.s accepted and recorded. The drawings for these lots began on the 8th of November, 1738, at a meeting held on that day. Each proprietor, as he drew a lot, was to declare on whose original right he drew. These original rights to the soldiers or their legal representatives had generally been sold by them, and to prevent confusion and to keep the record straight, it was necessary to record the name of the original grantee as well as that of the then owner. This and the other divisions may be seen and understood by reference to Dennett's map. The names of those who drew can be found in Goodwin's Narraganset. At the next meeting, held April 11, 1739, it was voted to pay ^£30, old tenor, "unto Dea" Jonathen Fellows to help him to buld a Saw mill on the Twelft Lot in said Township in the first Devision of Lots Known by the Letter : D : " 28 BUXTOK CENTENNIAL. He failed to build the mill, but we shall hereafter see that the first saw-mill was actually built on the lot here named. It was at the same time voted to build a meeting-house ; and it was also voted that no grass growing on the undivided meadows should be cut by any person before the 20th of July then next. From these votes in regard to building a saw-mill and a meeting-house, and in regard to cutting the grass, we are, I think, well justified in drawing the inference that there were some settlers in town in 1739, though I do not know that any proof of the settlement exists. Somewhat confirmatory of the supposition that there were settlers as early as 1739, is an affidavit, which I possess, dated October 12, 1774, and signed by John Brooks,^ in which he swears that in 1739 he went at the request of Jo- seph Woodman to show him lot 3 of range A in the second division. On the other hand the fact that there was no meeting of the proprietors held in 1741, gives us some reason for sup- posing that no settlement had taken place at that time. The meeting of April 11, 1739, was adjourned till the 11th of June, when the previous vote in relation to building a meeting-house was rescinded and a new one was passed. As this vote of the 11th of June indicates the place where the first meeting-house stood, and as it was probably built in the style directed, I will recite the vote in full, so that you may, in imagination, behold the first house built by our fath- ers in this town for " the publick worship of God." The vote is as follows : " at Said meeting held the 11th day of June 1739 by adjoi-nment the two above votes Relat- ing to the meeting House was Reconsidored & made voide and it was voted that Cap' Nathanael Mighill m' Isaac Ap- pleton & m' Samuel Chase or the major part of them be a ^ Appendix E. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 29 Committee to agree with Som person or persons to Clere Som Land on the westerly End of the first or Second Lots Known by the Letter D in the first Devision in Said Town- ship to buld a meeting House on, for the Publick worship of God of the Contents of thirty feet Long & Twenty five feet wide & nine feet Stud of hune timber & the Roof to be horded & Short Shingled & the Said Committee are to have Said House well finished fit to preach in by the Last Day of September which will be in the year 1740." At the same time the money needed to build the meeting- house was voted; also ^15 to the committee " that went to State a place for a meeting house." The land on which it was voted to place the meeting-house was reserved for pub- lic use by the proprietors in accordance with the report of the committee which laid out the First Division lots in 1735. The reservation is in these words : "on tlie first & Second Lots on the Raing Known by the Letter D — there is Re- served one acre & [a] half at the westerly end of Each Lot with Liberty for the Second of Said Lots or the owner there- of to Com to the mane Road which three acres is for publick use for the benefit of the whole Propriaty." These lots were laid out to be twenty rods wide, so that the depth of the strip for public use would be twelve rods. I am informed by Mr. Daniel Dennett that the houses of Jos. G. Darrah, Ansel Merrill, Otis Dennett and son, and William F. Woodman now stand upon the strip of land so reserved for public use, it having long since become pri- vate property. At the next meeting, held June 18, 1740, a bounty was voted to Mr. Samuel Chase " to Inable him to buld a Sawmill in Said Township at a plase Called Gains is Brook." The name Gains's brook is not now in use, but upon the plan of the town returned to the General Court in 1733, as before mentioned, the brook now, and probably ^ for more than a iHaines'a Meadow is mentioned in the Proprietors' records in 1765. 30 BUXTON CENTENNTAi. hundred years, called Haines' Meadow Brook is marked " Gains is Brook." It was probably on this brook that he intended to build ; and we may conjecture that the site se- lected by him was near the house of Mr. Libby Palmer. He, however, did not carry out his intention, and the mill was not built. At the next meeting, held May 19, 1742, another committee was appointed to agree with some one to build a saw-mill " in a Convenient Place." At a meeting held about a month later, namely, June 15, 1742, the saw-mill question was again prominent, and a committee was chosen " to agree with Stephen myghill & others about Said Saw mill both on y terms of building & Sawing & when to Resign Said mill up to y" Proprietors again." Notwithstanding the great need there was for a saw-mill and the evident anxiety of the proprietors to have one built, yet we find, years after this date, that none had been built. And now, in this year 1742, we reach a period when we know that the settlement of this town had actually begun. Though tradition had informed us that a settlement was be- gun prior to 1750, and though it may be inferred from the proprietors' records, yet no positive written evidence of the fact was known to exist until I discovered, in the archives of Massachusetts, an original petition which I copied and sent to Capt. Goodwin, who caused it to be printed in the volume before mentioned, where it may be found on page 48.^ This petition settles an important fact in our history, and is in other respects so interesting that I beg your attention while I read it : To HIS Excellency William Shirley Esq ; Capt : Gen' & Governour in Chief, in & Over his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay — in New England, To the Hon' his Maj- 1 According to Capt. Goodwin tliere was one settler at least in Buxton as early as 1740 viz.; Samuel Rounds, near tlie Goriiam line, on the farm now or recently owned by Jerry Osbom. — Goodwin's Narraganset, p. 241. BTJXTOK CENTENNIAL. 31 esty's Council, & the Hon' House of Representatives in Gen' Court Assembled. May. 26. 1742. The Petion of Us the Subscribers, being Settlers of the Narrhagansett Grant Number One Humbly Shews That "Whereas the Township Number one of the Narrha- gansett Grants, Lying on the Back of Scarborough & Bid- deford & on the North East Side of Saco River, was granted to some of your Petitioners, & those whom y" Rest of us represent, together with a Number of Others, who were all equally with Us obliged to fulfill certain Terms & conditions of Settlement within the Term of Seven Years from the Date of Sd Grant ; as by a Copy thereof, hereto annexed may appear ; which Sd Term of Years, is long since expired. Yet none of y° Sd Grantees have fulfilled y» Sd Conditions of the Sd Grant, except Such of y° Pet" only as were Gran- tees & those whom the Rest of Us Represent — Who have by reason of the negligence, & Default of the Sd Delinquent Grantees, been put to very extraordinary Costs & Charges in Carrying on Our Settlements thus far, — have been obliged to live without any Settled Publick Worship of God among us — School For our Children — Publick Buildings or Neces- sary Fortifications ; Whereby Our own Lives & the Lives of our Families, with our Substance have been in continual Jeopardy, in this exposed Frontier ; & our Children under the Disadvantage of a Wilderness Education, which Y° Pet' should in no wise have Submitted to, had we not expected, that the Rest of the admitted Settlers would have been obliged to fulfill the Sd Terms of their Sd Grants ; Yet after our repeated invitations & Intreaties, Y" Pet' have not had the Happiness of Seeing any of our Sd Partners making any Improvements on, or attempt to comply with y'' Terms of their Sd Grants ; and they living mostly at a Distance, & having So long refused — Y° Pet' have no Reason to think 32 BUXTON CENTEinsnAIi. They will by any Means be compelled to it — and unless there be other Settlers admitted in their Room, "We shall be obliged to leave Our Habitations very Soon, & yield up our Im- provements to the wild Beasts, or Salvage Natives. Y° Pet" THEREFORE humbly pray j" Excellency & Hon- ours would take the Case of Y° Distressed Petit" under Y° Wise & Impartial Consideration, & Order the Lots of the Sd Delinquent Settlers to be declared forfeited — and that Others may be admitted in their Stead — who may be com- pelled to Settle, in as short a time as possible. Otherwise Grant Us Such Relief, as to Your Great Wisdom & Good- ness shall seem meet — & Y° Pet, (as in Duty bound) shall ever pray. Robert Brooks Nathan Whitney Magnes Redlen James Sands June" John ^ Davis Sn'' Joseph Woodman Nathanael Durel Samuel Ingalls John Brooks Samuel Chase Ichabod Austen On receiving this petition the General Court ordered the petitioners to serve the Clerk of the Proprietors with notice to show cause at the next fall session, if any they had, why the respective rights of the delinquent proprietors should not be declared void. This petition, it will be noticed, bears date May 26, and is signed by eleven men who declare themselves to be at that time " Settlers of the Narrhagansett Grant Number One." I also discovered at the same time and place, and communicated to Capt. Goodwin, another petition, of the same date, signed by Eliot Vaughan and many inhabit- ants of Scarborough and Biddeford (which latter town then included Saco), praying that the grantees of this town who had not complied with the conditions of the grant should be declared delinquent, their lots forfeited, and the petitioners admitted as settlers in their stead, under such conditions as BUXTON CENTENNIAi, 33 should effectually secure the speedy settlement of the town- ship. These ably written petitions, which bear the same date and are in the same hand-writing, had a common origin and design. They gave notice to the proprietors that it was dangerous longer to delay compliance with the conditions of the grant, and that those who had failed to comply with them were liable to have their rights declared forfeited by the government. These petitions were intended, and had the effect, to stir up the proprietors to more vigorous action. At the next meeting, held at Newbury on the 20th of Oc- tober, 1742, " Joseph Gerrish & John Greenleaf Esq' were Chosen & impowered, a Committee to Represent y" Proprie- tors of Said Township (at y° next Sitting of y" Great & Gen- eral Court or assembly of his majesties Province of the massa- chusetts bay in New England) and then and there to offer reasons in behalf of Said Proprietors, why the prayer of y° Petition Signed by Eliot Vaughan and others Relating to a Township Called no : one Lying on Saco River Dated may y« 26—1742 Should not be Granted." At the same time a committee was chosen to sell the lands of such proprietors as had neglected to pay their taxes, which said committee proceeded to do, and made report of thek sales. At the same time a vote was passed in relation to a meeting-house, which it seems, at this date, viz. ; Oct. 20, 1742, had not been built. The vote was as follows : " Whereas there was a Com" Chosen Some time Passed to build a meeting house at y° Township Laid to y" Narragan- sett Soldiers Called no : one and by reason of y" talk of a fi-ench war it is not yet built it is now voted that j° Said Com" Shall forthwith go on & fully build & Compleat said meeting house." The meeting-house, being the first one in town, was built between the 20th of October, 1742, and the iSth of April, 3 34 BTJXTON CENTENNIAIi. 1743. It was probably built as directed by the vote before mentioned, namely, " thirty feet Long & Twenty five feet wide & nine feet stud of hune timber & the Roof to be horded & Short Shingled." In December, 1742, the peti- tions of Eliot Vaughn and others, and of the eleven settlers before mentioned, came up for a hearing, and on the 16th of December, 1742, the General Court ordered them to "be refer'd to the second tuesday of the next May Session for further consideration," because " this Court is informed that there is a meeting appointed of the Grantees or Proprietors of the new Township mentioned in this Petition in order to their proceeding effectually to fulfill the Conditions of their Grant." Before the next May session of the General Court took place seven of the proprietors signed a written request to call a meeting, which request was as follows : Newbury Aprill y" 18 1743 — We the Subscribers think it highly Reasonable to have a Propri" meeting as Soon as may be. we therefore desire you Joseph Coffin as Clerk for s* Proprietors to notifie and warn the Proprietors of the narragansett Township no : one : that they assemble & meet together at Cap' Joseph Hale' inholder in newbury on tuesday y" thirty first day of may next Ensu- ing y° date hereof at nine of y° Clock in y° forenoon then & there to make Choice of assessors Collectors : and allso to raise money to defray y° Charges allready arisen in building a meeting house att Said Township, & to defrey any other Charges that Shall arise in bringing forward s* Township the year Ensuing and the delinquent Proprietors are hereby de- sired to bring & pay y" Remaining part of their taxes that was Levyed or assesed on Said Rights in j° year A : D : 1742 or their Rights will be Exposed to Sale on sd day as the Law directs : and allso to make choice of a Commi"' to treat with a Learned & an orthodox minister to preach at Said Town- ship y' year Ensuing & in order to Settle at Said Township, .& allso to pass votes in order to forward & Regulate any af- Joseph Coffin Prop' Clerk BUXTON CENTENNIAIi. 35 fair Respecting y= meadows in said township or any other part of sd township. & to impower y" Committee Chosen to take-in bonds Respecting y' Settlement of thirty Rights in sd Township to sue any or all of sd Bonds that are forfeited Respecting the Settlement aforesaid— given under our hands y' day & year aforesd. '^Samuel Chase Benjamin Moody Sam'-'' Morgaridge ■( Joseph Gerktsh Jd" Thomas Gage Stephen Myghill ^Richard Hale The nature and tone of this request and the action had at the meeting called in pursuance thereof evidently show that the fear of the General Court had aroused the proprietors. At that meeting, held May 31, 1743, a committee was ap- pointed " to agree with Some Suteable & Learned & orthodox Gentleman To preach to the Proprietors & Inhabitants of Said Plantation." A committee was at the same meeting appointed to prosecute the bonds of such persons as had agreed to settle and had not done so. An assessment of forty shillings, old tenor, was voted " to pay for building the meeting house at Said Township & to pay for Preaching, for Some time, at Said township." It was also at the same meeting " Voted that Thomas Gage & Stephen myghilP in Company which had undertook to build a Saw mill at Said Township & had given Bond to Perform the Same," be released from their obligation on refunding the money which they had received in part payment. These active measures prevented any further action by the General Court on the above mentioned petitions, and the petitioners ^ Gage and MygMU or MigWll were of Rowley. It was this Gage, probably, who held the commission of Captain, Major, and Lieut.-Col. in tlie Frencb war. Stephen MighiU was clerk of a military company in 1757, and was employed in town affairs. 36 BtrXTON CENTENNTAI,. made no further movements against the proprietors. In the archives of Massachusetts I also discovered an affidavit, which was doubtless presented to the General Court by the commit- tee which the proprietors had appointed to oppose the prayer of the petitioners before mentioned. The affidavit may be found in Goodwin's Narraganset, p. 51, and is as follows : " These are to sertify any person whom it may Concern that the subscriber was the week before last on the township which is laid out to the narrowgansit Soulders cauled number One lying on the East Syde of Soco River and I saw a saw- mill erected on sd township which the millrights informed me that they Desired to get it to go in three or fore Days and I saw five Houses erected and I was informed that there were several more Scattering a Bought in the township. Dated Rowley November IT"^ 1742. Nath'''' Mighill." Sworn to Nov. 18, 1742, before John Hobson, Justice of the Peace. It will be noticed that the affidavit says the millwrights desired to get the mill to go in three or four days, but does not say that they expected it to go within that or any other time. From this affidavit we learn that at the date thereof, Nov. 17, 1742, there were probably not more than eight or ten houses in town, and these must have been made of logs, as there was then no saw-mill. The whole population then did not, probably, vary much from forty to fifty in number. As the proprietors began to be relieved from anxiety on account of the proposed forfeiture of their grant, the appre- hension of a war between France and the mother country increased. On the 11th of November, 1743, the House of Representatives voted to expend £100, old tenor, in building a garrison in this town, and at a meeting held December 28, BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 37 1743, it was " Voted that the Proprietors will asist the in- habitants of the Township no : 1 : & take care that a Garri- son be kept in Said Township when built bj^ the Province." On the 30th of November, 1743, Gov. Shirley wrote to the committee appointed for the purpose by the General Court, and directed them "forthwith to repair to the County of York and to take effectual care that a Garrison " be erect- ed in "Newbury Narraganset" and the other towns and settlements named in his letter. Under this order the Pro- vincial Garrison in this town was erected, probably before December 31, 1743. At any rate the garrison was built prior to May 1, 1744, for in the petition for a meeting of that date one of the reasons for asking for a meeting was " To see if the Proprietors will Clear Round the Garrison according to the Great & General Courts Com'" Desire & order." Where was this Provincial Fort or Garrison situ- ated ? Tradition places it, and doubtless correctly, at Salmon Falls, on Lot 2 of Range D in the First Division, as stated on Dennett's map. It was doubtless of logs, and was probably near, and may have been adjacent to, the log meeting-house before men- tioned. The garrison and meeting-house were placed there partly because the land was reserved for public use, as before stated, and partly because at that time there was no more eligible spot for either, the settlers, probably, being mostly in that vicinity. The site pointed out by tradition is near to, and on the north-westerly side of, the house now owned and occupied by Otis Dennett. At a meeting held on the 14th of February, 1743-4, a committee was appointed to prosecute any persons who had not made a settlement according to their bonds, and a bounty was voted to Thomas Gage and Stephen Myghill " on their Keeping a Good Sawmill in said Township," and giving bond to do so. In order to show the condition of things in 38 BUXTON CENTEinsnCAi. this town on the first clay of May, 1744, I will read all the Articles in the Warrant for a meeting bearing that date. 1 To Grant money for and to appoint Some persons to Clear the highways in said Township — 2'^^ To take proper methods to obtain an high way through the Township of biddeford to said Narragansett Township 3*'^ To take Effectuall Care that there be a Saw mill on said Township for the Service of the inhabitants thereof 4'^'^ To appoint Proper Persons to run out and settle y° Bounds of our said Township — 6*'^ to take effectuall Care to glaze the meeting house e""^ To see if the Proprietors will Clear Round the Garri- son according to the Great & General Courts Com** Desire & order From these articles we learn that at that time little work had been done on the highways ; that there was then no road to Saco Falls ; that there was no saw-mill, notwithstanding the many votes on the subject ; that there was, probably, even at that early day, some uncertainty and trouble about the boundaries of the town ; that a meeting-house had been built, but was not glazed ; and that a garrison had been built, but that the woods about it had not been sufficiently cleared away. The time named in the warrant for the meeting was the last Wednesday in May. The meeting was held on that day, but no business was done. It was adjourned from time to time until Nov. 6th, when the only business transacted was to appoint a committee to run the town lines and mark the bounds, and also to view the land round the fort, and to see whether it was cleared accordingly to the General (court's desire. It is doubtful whether even these matters were at- tended to. Why was this meeting thus adjourned for months, and why BTTXTON CENTENTsTIAI.. 39 was 110 attention paid to the other matters named, and to whicli the attention of the meeting was called by the war- rant ? And why was it that between the 1st of May, 1744, and the 1st of June, 1749, a period of five years, only one meeting was called, and that merely to take means to pre- vent trespassing in the township? It was because the long-expected and long-dreaded war had broken out. France declared war against England March 15, 1744, and the proprietors had evidently heard of it before May 30, the day appointed for their meeting. The settlers here had also doubtless heard of it before the close of May. Under these circumstances what were they to do ? There were, probably, not more than fifteen or twenty men, probably not so many, capable of bearing arms, and these living somewhat apart and separated by woods, so that if attacked they might easily be cut off in detail before they could gather together for united defense. Even if they should have sufHcient notice of the attack to all reach the garrison, they would not be able long to hold out if a force of even thirty men should be brought against them. Their garrison of logs, even if surrounded by a stockade, would be but a poor and temporary defence against any well-organized attack. The garrison, I suppose, would have had neither guns nor ammunition, except what the settlers might bring to it. Provisions would be scarce, and, as we shall hereafter learn, worse than all, the garrison was destitute of water. In case of a war with France there was always danger of an attack from the Indian allies of the French, if not from the French as well. The settlers, if they should remain, would be obliged to work with their guns at their sides, and every unusual sound in the forest would be a cause of alarm by day and of terror by night. They would live in constant fear of the war whoop, the tomahawk, and the scalping knife. In this case discretion was evidently the better part of 40 BUXTON CENTENNIAIi. valor, and they probably all left town soon after hearing of the declaration of war. They had but just fairly begun, by cutting and burning, to make small clearings in the forest- covered town. Their houses were but rude log cabins, con- sisting generally, it is probable, of but one room ; and their household goods were so scanty that we can hardly believe, when told, how few they were. The settlers were all poor people, and it was an easy matter to take all. their personal property with them. But these rude homes made by their own hard labor were dear to them, and not without sorrow must they have left them behind. Here they had come with hopeful hearts, trusting that out of these woods they should, in time, carve for themselves pleasant and happy homes. These hopes were now blighted ; and if the hope of a return in a more peace- ful day still survived, it was but that hope deferred which maketh the heart sick. Of the names of those who left and of those who returned, are known with certainty, I think, only those of Joseph Woodman and John Brooks. There were, perhaps, others who returned, but the greater number, there is reason to be- lieve, never came back. As they left, the sound of the axe and the lowing of cattle and the voice of man and the sweet- er voice of woman and the merry laughter of children ceased to be heard. The wild beasts possessed their homes and the awful silence of the forest settled down upon them. We may suppose that the wandering settler occasionally ventured back to look upon his abandoned home, and the hunter and trapper to pursue his game, but we know that the trespasser, risking his scalp upon the result, sometimes ventured to make tlie woods resound as the ringino- axe, un- heard by the absent settler, brought low the lofty pine. These early trespassers have long since ceased from their labors, but it is said that an unbroken line of their successors, with a fine eye for the handsomest trees and the best logs, BXJXTON CENTENNIAL. 41 has existed on Saco river from that day almost to this. My venerable and esteemed friend, the Hon. Joshua Dunn/ here present, is my authority for saying that a man who, in former days, was a prominent and well-known citizen of this town and of Hollis, once sat upon the bank of the Saco and prayed God that the time might come when he should be willing to see logs go down river without wishing to steal them. But at length the war came to an end, as all wars must. Peace was proclaimed in Boston, May 10, 1749, to the great joy of the inhabitants, but trouble with the Indians continued for some months, and it was not until after a treaty was made with them Oct. 16, 1749, that peace was effectually estab- lished, and that those who had been looking forward to a re- turn to their old homes here, or who wished to make new ones, could do so with safety. The declaration of peace removed from the proprietors and settlers the weight of forced inactivity which for five years had rested upon them. In twenty-two days after the declaration of peace in Bos- ton, the clerk issued his warrants for a meeting to be held June 20, 1749. The meeting was held in Newbury on that day, when a committee was appointed to examine all de- mands against the township and make report at the next meeting, and also " to take Effectual Care that those Pro- prietors do forthwith fulfill their obligations," who to the number of thirty had bound themselves to settle or cause settlements to be made in this township. An agent to look after trespassers was also appointed. Under date of Biddeford, Aug. 21, 1749, the clerk was re- quested to call a meeting, by the persons below named, viz. : Robert Brooks, John Brooks, Jacob Davis, John Redlon, Thomas Bradbury, Joseph Woodman, Joshua Woodman, Amos Chase. iSee Appendix I. 42 BUXTON CBNTENOTAL. These persons were at this date doubtless all living in Biddeford and Saco, then all under the name of Biddeford. It shows pretty clearly that at this time the return of the settlers who left in 1744, had not yet begun. The meeting so called was held October 3, in Newbury, and committees were then appointed to run out and mark the boundaries of the town ; to settle with or prosecute non- proprietors who had trespassed by cutting grass from the meadows ; to treat with Mr. Stephen Myghill and Mr. Thomas Gage, respecting the sawmill which they had bound themselves to build, and if they would not build it imme- diately, to sue them on their bond. The call for this meeting and the votes above recited, show that in the summer of 1749, the proprietors were moving, and that the settlement of the town was asain to be under- taken ; a settlement that was destined to be permanent. I have thus sketched the history of the town from the very beginning until the close of the year 1749. The next year, 1750, is an important one in our annals. From it dates the permanent settlement and continuous his- tory of this town. Some of the old settlers came back and new ones with them ; and once more the woods rang with the sounds of civilized life. The first meeting in 1750 was held May 8th, in Eowley. The only business done was to vote that there should be preaching here forthwith, and to appoint a committee " to treat with m' timothy White i or Some other worthy Gen" man to Preach with the Inhabitants of the Narragansett township no : 1 : as Soon as may be so that the Said Inhabitants Shall not be Destitute of the Publick V\^orship of god in Said place : the Said Com" to agree with a preach' for Six months time." 1 Timothy WTiite waa one of the proprietors of thia town. This appears from Good- win's Narraganset, page 152, and from a deed to him, dated October 30, 1742, in wlilch he is described as of Sherburne, Clerk, the legal term for a clergyman. BUXTON CENTENNIAIi. 43 From a A'ote passed at the next meeting we learn that Mr. White was engaged under the vote just read. He* was the first minister employed by the proprietors to preach in this town. The vote above passed, and the engagement of Mr. White to preach shows that the re-settlement of the town was ac- tually in progress in the spring of 1750, and that the first care of the proprietors was to see that the inhabitants should not be without the stated preaching of the gospel. At the next meeting, held Oct. 10, 1750, a committee was employed " to treat with timothy White for his Continuance in the ministry with the Inhabitants," and if he should refuse, then obtain some other person. Another committee was appointed " to prefer a Petition to the Town of bidedford Desiring Said Town to clear & make a good Passable Cart Road from Biddeford up to the Narra- gansett Township no : 1 :" From this we learn that there was then no such road from here to Saco. Another committee was appointed " for bridging or Cause- ing over two Swamps in said Township one of them is called martins Swamp the other is near by." This Martin's swamp was probably the low ground be- tween the houses now occupied by Mr. Silas Elden and Mr. Wm. Boynton. A committee was also appointed "to lay before y" Generall Court of this Province as soon as may be the unhappy Circumstances the Proprietors of the Narragan- sett Township no : 1 : Labour under by Reason that we can- not get water by any means where the fort now Stands : we the Proprietors therefore Desire the aforesd Com" to Petition to the Honour" Court to grant Liberty to Remove said fort or Garrison to Some Convenient place for water." I suppose that on the liigh ground at Salmon Falls where the fort stood, wells could not be sunk except by blasting, and 44 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. that the proprietoi's were not inclined to enter upon the ex- penditure of an uncertain sum for that purpose. At the next meeting, held Jan. 1, 1750-51, the only busi- ness done was to appoint agents, with the promise of a hand some reward for their service " to take Particular Care that there be no timber Cutt nor Carried off from said Township unless Cutt by a Proprietor «fe that upon his own Right or Lott," with authority to prosecute the trespassers. From this we may well infer that some of the settlers were not particular to confine their cutting to land that they owned. Joseph Woodman,! Joshua Woodman,^ John Elden,= John Redlon,' John Brooks,^ Samuel Merrill,^ John Brooks, jr.,* Benjamin Bunnell,^ and William Hancock ' were all here on the 17th of May, 1761, as we learn by their signature of that date requesting Joseph Coffin, the clerk, to call a meeting. The meeting was held June 12, 1751, in Newbury, and committees were then appointed " to treat with Some Sutea- ble Gen'^man to preach " and " to Enquire into the afair Re- lating to a Grist mill ; " which means, I suppose, to see what could be done in relation to having one built. And at the same time it was voted to allow the inhabi- tants to cut grass equally on " the undivided meadows " "one as much as another." The next call for a meeting is dated Aug. 3, 1752, and as those who signed it were all doubtless living in town at that time, I will read their names. John Brooks, Benj. Durell,^ David Martin,^ Benj. Bunnell, Joshua Woodman, Saml. Rolfe,' Timothy Hasaltine, Job Roberts,' Saml. Merrill, William Hancock, Joseph Wood- man, John Elden, John Wilson.' 1 See Appendix B. " See Appendix C. ^ See Appendix D. » See Appendix B. » See Appendix F. » See Appendix &. ' See Appendix H. * See Appendix K. * See Appendix L. BtrXTOK CENTEKOTAL. 45 There were doubtless other men in town who did not sign this call. One of their requests was that the next meeting should be held here. They had heretofore all been held in Essex county, Mass., where most of the proprietors lived. Their request was granted, and for the first time a meet- ing of" the proprietors was warned to be held at the meeting- house, then at Salmon Falls. It was held October 12, 1752. At this meeting committees were appointed to finish the meeting-house ; to build a grist-mill and a saw-mill on the main river ; to sell lands for non-payment of taxes ; to en- treat the Great and General Court to give the town its full quantity of land, and to receive and pay out the money voted to be raised. Votes at the same time were passed to defray the ministerial charge ; to clear and mend the highways ; to raise money to enable the committee to build a grist-mill and a saw-mill on the main river, and to allow two shillings and eight pence for a day's work on the highways, and to pay Joseph Cofiin, the clerk, forty shillings for coming from New- bury to attend the meeting. From these votes we learn, among other things, that the log meeting-house which had been built nearly ten years pre- viously had not yet been finished, or at least needed repairs, and that the price of a day's labor in silver, was reckoned at two shillings and eight pence, equivalent to about sixty-five cents of our money in silver, which would buy then as much or more of the necessaries of life as perhaps |2 of our cur- rency will now. The grist-mill and saw-mill which it was voted to build on the main river were not built under this vote. The next meeting was held in Andover, Nov. 29, 1752, when a committee was appointed " to agree with a man or men to build & keep a Good Griest mill at Said Township, on the Great River near Sammon Falls (so called) or on any other Stream where the Proprietors have any undivided 46 BUXTON CENTENNIAIi. land : & upon the mill being built & keept the Proprietors at this meeting have Voted to the man or men that So builds & keeps the mill their Priveledge of the Stream & allso ten acres of Land adjoyning to it for the mill Priveledge & have impowr* the above Com"" to give a Conveyance to him or them." I have quoted this vote in full, for though under it no mill was built on the Great River, yet, years afterwards, mills were built under it on Little River, as we shall here- after see. In this vote the name Salmon Falls appears for the first time in the records of the proprietors. Committees were also appointed to perambulate the line between this town and Gorham, and to see if the town had the full quant- ity of land to which it was entitled ; to make sale of lands for non-payment of taxes ; to provide preaching, and to see that those who had given bonds to make settlements com- plied therewith. Votes were also passed to raise £66 13s 4d, lawful money to support preaching; £13 6s 8d, " to be Laid out in finish ing the meeting house if it be wanted all & m' William Han- cock is Chosen to See it done;" and £5 6s 8d, "to clear & mend High ways & to be laid out on the road' or way that leads to where we Judge Bidedford road will meet our road." A " Passable Cart Rode " to Saco was, it seems, not yet opened, but probably was made not long after. The next meeting was held in this town October 10, 1753. When committees were appointed to provide preaching ; to inquire into the state of the treasury ; to prefer a petition to the General Court for the appointment of a surveyor and chain men to run out the township ; to call those to account who were chosen to prosecute trespassers, and to treat with William Hancock and John Brooks relating to exchanging highways near them. £13 6s 8d was voted for highways and £3 to pay the expenses of the meeting, it being for the expenses of the journey of the clerk from Newbury, I sup- pose. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 47 The next meeting was called in compliance with the fol- lowing request : " Narragansett No : 1 : it is the Humble Petition of us the Subscribers to m' Joseph Coffin Proprietors Clerk that You call a meeting forthwith 1 to See if the Proprietors of Said Narragansett will build a fort at or near the Broad turn (So Calld) 2 and to See if the Proprietors will find men help to keep the Same in case there be a war which is much Expect* in as much as the Province fort is very ill Convenient for the Settlers on the northeasterly Side of martains Swamp & fur- ther there is not accommadations for all the inhabitants in s* fort So if we have not a fort according to Petition we must of necesity leave the place march y' 29"" 1754 William Hancock: Epharim Sands: Thomas Sands — Timothy Hasetine :^ Isaac Hancock : John Boynton : Sam- uel merrill : Job Roberts : Joseph Woodman John Elden & John Hancock — " In compliance with this request a meeting was held April 30, 1754, and it was then voted to build a fort forthwith and to raise money for this purpose. This vote was modified at the next meeting held May 29, 1754, when the following vote was passed : " Voted that m' William Hancock Shall have Eight Pounds paid him upon his building a fort or Garrison at the Township afores* Said fort or Garrison to be forty feet square bilt with Pillasaders or Stockades three feet & one half in the ground & ten feet above the Ground & Said Stockades to be Sett Double & a Good flanker or watch box at two opposite Corners of Said fort : & Said fort or Garrison to [be] built in twenty Days from y*' date hereof: & to be Sett where the inhabitants liv- ing on the northerly Side of the Swamp Shall See cause to »ThenameisHasaltinea3 Mr. Hasaltine ^himself speUed it. The clerk doubtlesa made the error in copying. 48 BtrXTON CENTENOTAl. Sett the Same the Expence to be paid by the Generall" [the proprietors] — The situation of this fort or garrison, as also of the Provin- cial fort before mentioned, was unknown to most of those liv- ing in the immediate vicinity even, until steps were taken by myself, within a few years, to ascertain the sites and preserve the memory of them. The site of the Provincial fort seems to have been accurately ascertained by Mr. Dennett, and the result of his inquiries may he found on his map, as before mentioned. Charles Coffin, Esq., in a manuscript which I have, says that the fort " was annexed to the house of Capt. Joseph Woodman." Mr. Woodman in 1754 owned and, from investigations which I have made, I have no doubt then lived on Lot 11 of Range B in the First Division, lying at Pleasant Point ; and here doubtless stood a fort. In tiddi- tion to this evidence I procured the testimony of the best and probably the only living witness as to the exact site of the fort. At my request, Mr. John Elden, late of Saco, a step- son of Hon. John Woodman, rode with me on the 80th day of August, 1867, from his house to Pleasant Point to show me the site of the fort. He took me to the highest part of the aforesaid Lot 11, and told me that there his step-father told him the fort stood. He remembered when two cellars were plainly visible where now only a slight, but yet evi- dent, depression marks the spot where they once existed. Nathan Woodman, the father of John, bought this very Lot 13, of his brother, Capt. Joseph, in 1757, when John was about seven years old. The Hon. John therefore knew this spot from childhood, and doubtless remembered the fort, which, after the purchase from the brother, stood adja- cent to the house of his father. The Hon. John Woodman settled on the adjacent farm, and his house was within forty rods of the site mentioned. Beyond any question he knew where the fort stood, and beyond any reasonable doubt he showed to his step-son, John Elden, who lived with him many BtJXTON CENTENNIAL. 49 years, the very spot as the site of the fort, which Mr. Elden showed to me.* The interest in the site of the fort at Pleasant Point is still further enhanced as the birth-place of Rebecca Woodman, daughter of Capt. Joseph Woodman, who, uniform tradition tells us, was the first child born in this town after the re-set- tlement.^ At that time her father owned and doubtless lived on Lot 11, the site of the fort, as above mentioned. Tradition con- firms known facts in pointing to this spot as her birth-place. She married Lieut. Moses Atkinson ° who lived many years at the Bar Mills, on the HoUis side, in a house that stood near, and, it is said, a little in front of the brick house now owned and occupied by Miss Anna Sawyer. She died Feb- ruarys, 1833, and was buried in the grave-yard on the high hill in Hollis where the Elder Hodgdon meeting-house form- erly stood. No stone marks her grave, and I suppose that to none of her numerous descendants is the spot now known. And here I may as well speak of the first saw-mill in town. By the extracts which I have read from the proprietors' rec- ords it appears that numerous votes were passed in regard to the building of a saw-mill between 1787 and 1750. After 1749 the records do not show that the proprietors were troubled for want of a saw-mill, and I infer from this that one was built in 1750, when the re-settlement began. We have already seen that on the 11th of April, 1739, the proprietors voted to help Dea. Jonathan Fellows to build a saw-mill on Lot 12, Range D, First Division. On this lot the first saw-mill was doubtless erected. At my request Mr. Daniel Dennett examined this lot and learned • See Appendix M. 2 In Williams' Centennial Address in 1850, she is said to have been bom " January 11, old style, 1751," which would make her birth to have been January 22, 1752, new style, which is probably erroneous. She was probably born January 11, 1750, old stylfe, which would be January 22, 1751, as we now reckon. s See Appendix N. 4 60 BtrXTOK CENTENNIAI,. that a saw-mill once stood on it. Prior to 1750 Gage and Myghill agreed to build a saw-mill, and on the 3d of October, 1749, as already stated, the proprietors voted to sue them if they did not forthwith comply with their bond and build the mill. Stimulated by this threat they built this saw-mill or caused it to be built soon after, for we hear of no further complaint for the want of one. As evidence that the first saw-mill was built on the said Lot 12, and on Stackpole's brook 1 (so named on the plan of 1733, a name which has come down, though faintly, to the present day), I will state the following facts : The mill was built by Joseph "Woodman under an engagement with Gage & Myghill ; for, at a meet- ing held Nov. 3, 1762, the proprietors voted to discharge them from the bond which they had given to build the mill, it " being proved at the meeting that Joseph Woodman had built and compleated Said mill according to the bonds Said Woodman gave to Gage & myghill." As confirmatory of this, I quote an extract from a letter to me by the late Robert Wentworth, dated April 15, 1856. He says: " It was on this brook that your great-grandfather, Capt. Joseph Woodman, built a saw-mill, the first one built in town. I have marked [on the map] the spot where the mill stood.^ It was thirty or forty rods from the road that leads from Salmon Falls to Saco, and on the left hand side of that road as you go from Salmon Falls to Saco." The chain of title to the lot is not perfect, but Joseph Woodman con- veyed it in 1753 to Elizabeth Wilson, and in 1767 Gage and Myghill conveyed it to John Kimball. The fact that Gage and Myghill " were not discharged from their bond until 1762 > DouMIess named for Ldeut. John Stackpole, who acted as one of the chainmen when Buxton was first run out in 1733, by a committee of the General Comi; as herein before mentioned. Let the name be perpetuated. * He marked it too low down on the brook, and, as one error begets another, It is wrongly marked on Dennett's map of 1852-3, just published. The site on this map should have been marked as in the rear of the house of J. Bichaxds. ' Gage and Myghill were of Eowley. I find nothing to show that they ever lived In this town. BTJXTON CENTENNIAL. 51 is no evidence that they had not complied with its terms in 1750, as I suppose the fact to have been. It does not appear of record from whom Gage and Myghill or Mr. Woodman derived title, but the fact that they deeded it shows that they had some interest in it ; an interest, at least, growing out of building the mill. The facts stated show, I think, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the first saw-mill stood on the lot named. The site is in the rear of the house now owned and occupied by Mr. Jonathan Richards, and but a few rods below the Brooks lot. The site was shown to me Oct. 4, 1871, by Mr. John Emery (son of Mr. Peter Emery), who recollects having seen in his boyhood a small portion of the dam still remaining. No vestige of the mill or dam is now to be seen. This, probably, was the only saw-mill in town until 1761, when not only a saw-mill, but the first grist-mill was built by John Elden, of this town, Jeremiah Hill,^ of Biddeford, and Joseph Leavitt,^ of York, on Little River, at the place where Mr. Daniel Leavitt's mills now are. The grist-mill remained and was used for grinding since my remembrance, Maj. Sam- uel Hill being then the owner of it. The deed to them which establishes these facts was found by me on record, and I communicated it to Capt. Goodwin. It will be found print- ed in the volume he edited. On the ten acres so conveyed there were two saw-mills on the 11th of May, 1762, as ap- pears by a deed of that date from Jeremiah Hill to Capt. Thomas Bradbury. One of these saw-mills was probably on the lower of the two mill sites which the ten acres covered ; for in a deed dated Feb. 17, 1767, from Capt, Bradbury to his son Wil- liam he conveys one-eighth interest in what he calls " the upper saw-mill * * * which stands by the side of the grist- mill." We thus see that as early as May 11th, 1762, if not » See Appendix P. ' See Appendix O. 52 BUXTOK CENTENNIAL. in 1761, there were two saw-mills on the ten acres above mentioned. I recollect the old saw-mill on the lower site. The use of it had not entirely ceased when I was a boy. The first saw-mill, on Lot 12, probably did but little business ever, and still less after the erection of the mills in 1761, on Little River ; for it is less than a mile in a direct line from where the mill stood to the head of the stream. We have already seen that peace was declared in Boston May 10, 1749, and that the next year the settlement of the town began again in good earnest. But in a few years the muttering of another contest between Great Britain and France reached even this distant place ; for in the petition for a meeting dated March 29, 1754, which I have already read, it is said that war was much expected, and the proprie- tors were requested to determine whether they would build a fort and find men to help man it. Thus in a very short time after the re-settlement of the town were the settlers, who were endeavoring by the hardest of labor to hew out for themselves a home in this wilderness, again disturbed by the rumors of war. Nor had they long to wait before these rumors became a fearful reality. In the spring of 1755 act- ual war began again between France and Great Britain. The settlers were more numerous than in 1744. For this reason, and probably for others, the danger of an attack from the Indians was not so great as it was in the earlier day, and the settlers concluded to stand by their homes ; though as they themselves say in a petition to the General Court " the Said Settlement being a Frontier [we] were under Continual Fears of the Indian Enemy and were obliged to keep Watch and Ward till the reduction of Quebeck in 1759." The men must have gone armed to their work, and the mother must have clasped her babe closer to her breast as she thought of the savage by day or dreamed of him bv night. This state of uncertainty and nervous anxiety must have continued for some years, and until the fall of Quebec BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 53 gave assurance that the power of the French in North America was substantially destroyed, and that the settlers might thenceforward safely follow the path of daily toil which was before them, and sleep securely in their humble homes, undisturbed by any sound more dreadful than the hoot of the owl or the howl of the wolf. No attack was ever made up- on them by the Indians. Charles Coffin, Esq., than whom there is no better author- ity, says in a manuscript which I possess, that " The inhabit- ants of Buxton, although a frontier town, during the French or seven years' war from 1754 to 1761 were never molested by the Indians, and were only once alarmed by the discovery of one or two Indians crossing the path near the garrison, which was annexed to the house of Capt. Joseph Woodman. What number of Indians were in the neighborhood at this time, or what was the design or object, has never been known. This alarm, as was natural, brought all the inhabitants to the garrison, who were aided and assisted on this occasion by the coolness and decision of Lieut. Samuel Merrill." During this war the first military company here was formed and Joseph Woodman was the captain — the first captain in this town. I discovered in the State House in Boston two muster rolls signed by him as captain in 1757. They may be found printed in Goodwin's Narraganset, pp. G5 and 66. He was, I suppose, not called into service out of town. John Lane and Daniel Lane, sons of Capt. John Lane, both enlisted in this war. John was lieutenant, and at his father's death, which happened in service on or about July 14, 1756, became captain. He was 22, and Daniel 16 years of age, about the time of their enlistment in 1756. Daniel was at the taking of Quebec. They and their brother Jabez were afterwards captains in the Revolutionary army. They set- tled in this town and each raised a numerous family.^ 1 See Appendix Q. 54 BUXTON CENTENNIAi. The next meeting was held June 17, 1755, and the only business done was to appoint a committee " to Treat with Some Suteable Gen'^ man to Preah to & with the inhabit" of the Narragansett Township as Soon as may be & for Such Time as Said Com" & the Gen'^ man Shall agree," " the Gen'" mans time being Expired who Last Preah'^ for us." At the next meeting held Dec. 1, 1756, the only business done was to raise £96 "toDefrey the ministerial! & other necessary Charge arisen in the year 1756." The next meeting was held Oct. 6, 1757, when assessors and collectors were chosen ; the stay of an execution against one Obadiah Johnson was ordered, and £66. 13s. 4d. voted for the ministerial, and £16 for other necessary charges. The next meeting was held Nov. 15, 1758, at " M's Scam- mons Innholder in Biddeford," when committees were ap- pointed to provide for preaching ; to prefer a petition to the General Court for the appointment of a surveyor to run out the township " agreeable to the Generall Courts Grant ; " to repair the meeting-house and to exchange roads. Isaac Han- cock^ and Samuel Merrill^ were chosen surveyors of roads. The former was directed to work on Beech plain, and the latter " Southward of the Swamp," and a day's labor was fixed at two shillings and eight pence. £20 was voted for the repair of the meeting-house, £26. 13s. 4d. for "mending the ways," £80 for ministerial and other necessary charges, and £2 to Joseph Coffin, the clerk, " for his Service in going down to Bideford & attending the meeting." This was Col. Joseph CoSin,' of Newbury, the father of Rev. Paul Coffin.' The sums above voted were in a depreciated paper curren- cy- The next meeting was held July 2, 1760, when commit- tees wei'e appointed to procure a preacher ; " to treat with the Generall Court Relating to running out the town line, > See Appendix H. ' See Appendix F. » See Appendix U. BtrXTOISr CENTENOTAL. 55 and to gett the line Settled, and see if we have our quantity of land according to grant." Samuel Merrill and Isaac Hancock were again chosen sur- veyors. At a meeting held July 2, 1760, it was voted to lay out £10 " on the road Called Pleasant point road;" XIO "in mending the road from the Patten [t] to Sm" merrills " [Sal- mon Falls to Saco] ; £4 " on the Beach Plain road so Call- ed,"^ and £3. 4s. "on the Road from the river unto the Seven Hundred acre land." It was also voted " that there be a meeting house built as soon as may be." Under this last vote the first frame meeting-house was built near the spot where we are now gathered, and is still remembered by some who hear me. It was torn down and the present one built in 1822. Another meeting was held shortly afterwards, viz. : on the 22d of said July, at which it was voted to raise 15s. on each right, to " Defrey the Charge for Runing out & Settling the bounds with the adjacent towns & to pay for Preaching ; " and to raise fifteen shillings on each Right " to be laid out in building a meeting house on or near the home lott Eight on the Letter G Said house to [be] forty five long & thirty 5 feet wide & off a Prop' Stud." Joseph Woodman, Joseph Leavitt, and Jeremiah Hill were chosen a committee to procure a site for a meeting- house, and to lay out the money in building it. Whether the meeting-house was raised in 1760 or 1761 is unknown, but probably in 1761, as the record speaks of it as being unglazed in November of that year. Amons the Rev. Dr. CofSn's sermons are two which ar& stitched together, having the same text, Phillipians. 4 : 6, and at the end is the following note in his hand-writing : " Nar"- rag: No. 1. Sept: 6. 1761. A et P.M. Ibid Aug: 16. 1 The Beecli Plain road is the one on wUoli Mr. Peter Emery now lives. 56 BUXTON CENTENNIAI,. 1762. the first sermons that were delivered in the Meeting House." As the meeting-house was unglazed in Nov., 1761, it is hardly probable that the first sermon in it was preached Sept. 6, 1761. Though Dr. Coffin's note does not leave the date quite free from doubt, yet I think we may consider it to be reasonably certain that the first public worship in the then new meeting-house and on the spot where the present meet- ing-house now stands was held Aug. 15, 1762 (which was Sunday), one hundred and ten years ago. The sermons make no allusion to the occasion. Committees were at the same time chosen to take care of the timber on the undivided lands, and to prosecute those trespassing thereon, and " to make amendment to those lotts on the letter C. that falls Short of measure : by Some Com- mon or undivided land in Said township Equevelent for qual- ity & make Report of their doings at our next meeting for Confirmation." Under date of Oct. 10, 1761, a meeting was requested by the following-named proprietors, all of whom were probably then living in this town, viz. : John Boynton,* John Lane, Samuel Merrill, Samuel Leavltt,^ Eleazer Kimball,^ Timothy Hasaltine, Nathan Woodman, Jonathan Clay, Humphrey Atkinson,^ John Nason,^ William Hancock, John Elden, Jo- seph Woodman, John Brooks, Stephen SafFord, Job Roberts, David Martin, John Cole, Richard Clay. As one of the requests by these persons for a meeting was to see whether the proprietors would " choose a Comm"' To Give m' Paul Coffin a Call for Settling as a Preacher of the Gospell in Said Township," the following addition was made to the petition : " We, being Non Propr' the Inhabitants of S* Township have Signed in favour of m' Paul Coffins Call." > See Appendix J. = See Appendix K. ' See Appendix A. * See Appendix N. ^ See Appendix O. sTlieBe names are found in Goodwin's Narraganset as spelled by the proprietors' cleric, and, proTjably, not in all cases as the writers themaelTes spelled them. I give ihere the spelling now in common use. BTTXTON CENTENNIAL. 57 John Dunnell, Ebenez' Redlon, Daniel Leavitt, Benj" Dun- nell, Richard Clay, jr., Jacob Redlon, The' Sands,* Sam' Rolfe, Joseph Leavitt, James Emery." The name of Rev. Paul Coffin is here mentioned for the first time in the proprietors' records. Before him the Rev. Timothy White preached six months in 1750, and perhaps longer. Rev. Joshua Tufts preached from March, 1756, to April 25, 1758. Charles Coffin, Esq., says that Mr. Tufts was followed hy a Mr. Thompson. There were, perhaps, others who preached for short periods before the coming of Mr. Coffin. They were not settled, but were hired tempora- rily and paid by the proprietors. The meeting In accordance with this request was held Nov. 12, and continued by adjournment to Nov. 16, 1761. It was doubtless held at the house of Capt. Woodman, as requested in the petition. It was then " Voted that the Propr' will give M' Paul Coffin fifty Pounds Sterling a Year & So Yearly if he See Cause to Settle with us in the work of the ministry " Voted also 100 £ Lawful money to be Given him as an Encouragm' to Settle with us in the work of the ministry. " Voted also in Case m' Coffin should Settle with us & Carry on the work of the ministry, we will make him reason- able additions, (Besides what we have already Raised for his Support in the ministry) as shall be Thojaght needful & Con- venient - " Voted & Chose Cap* Joseph Woodman William Han- cock & Timothy Hazeltlne as a Com'^" to Lay the above Votes before m' Paul Coffin & Pray his answer as Soon as may be Convenient." A committee was chosen to open, clear, and exchange roads, and fl20 was voted for this purpose, and £1, old ten- or, allowed for a day's work. A committee was chosen to > See Appendix V. ' See Appendix W. 58 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. take care that there be no timber cut on the common lands, and to prosecute trespassers. A request in the petition for this meeting was " To See if the Proprietors will hire a School master in S'' Township for Six monts." The record of the meeting does not show that any notice of this request was taken. This was the first time that the question of paying a school-master was brought to the atten- tion of the proprietors. It does not seem to have received their favorable consideration, but in this very year a school was kept in town by Mr., afterwards Rev., Silas Moody. He entered the town for this purpose Aug. 20, 1761, in company with Rev. Paul Coffin. We may well suppose that this was the first school, and Mr. Moody the first school-master.-' Charles Coffin, Esq., says that Mr. Moody was the first school-master employed by the settlers, and that " those who received the benefit of his instruction have uniformly borne the highest testimony to his ability and fidelity as a. teacher, and considered it sufficient praise to bestow on the most emi- nent of his successors that he was next to ' Parson Moody.' " Mr. Daniel Dennett, under date of Jan. 12, 1873, writes to me as follows : " I will give you David Dennett's state- ment about the old school-house in his own language. The first school-house at the lower end of the town, if not the first in town, stood_ in Joses Hopkinson's pasture, on the south-east side of the old Martin road, near Amos Kimball's land. I went to school there 70 years ago. David Coffin and the children from Beech Plain and Salmon Falls went. After they built the school-house at the Lower Corner they moved the school-house down on to Thomas Atkinson's land. I took the above from David in 1867. Stephen Atkinson, when married in 1811, took his wife to his father's to live. >Eev. Silaa Moody was born in Newbury, May 9, 1742, graduated at Harvard 1761, was settled at Arundel, now Kennebunkport, 1771. He married Mary, daughter of Rev. Daniel Little, of Kennebuni, Sept. 9, 1773. Died April 7, 1816, after a ministry of more than forty-five years. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 59 After living there four years the house became too small for so many women, and he moved into the school-house and lived there until he built him a small house, which in after years was a porch to a new house. When it became neces- sary to have a new school-house, the district sold this old house to Stephen Prescott. He moved it home and used it for a shop to make shingles. It took fire and burnt up." At the same meeting it was " Voted that the proprietors give to Samuel Merrill the old meeting house for said prop' meeting in Said merrills dwelling house on Lords days here- tofore." A committee was appointed to make up, out of the un- divided lands, all deficiences which were made by mistake in surveying the " home lotts." Also " Voted there be raised 200 £ Lawful money to Defrey the Charges that have arisen & not yet Paid towards building the meeting house & what shall remain to be Laid out in Glazing the meeting house " Voted & Chose Cap' Jeremiah Hill Cap' Joseph Wood- man & Lieu' Joshua Woodman as a Com*"' to Lay out the 200 .£ abovementioned for the purposes abovementioned & also to Groundpin Said meeting house" Voted to raise £60 for necessary charges. On the 11th of June, 1762, John Brooks and Joseph Woodman, as a committee of the proprietors, report that they had laid a triangular piece of land of about 104 acres into two lots, one for the first minister and the other for a parsonage lot. The lot thus laid out for the first minister be- came a part of the homestead farm of Rev. Paul Coffin. For report in full see Goodwin's Narraganset, page 186. By an act of the General Court passed Feb. 16, 1762, a committee was appointed " to run out the lines of the towns of Biddeford Scarborough & Falmouth & fix the bounds of the townships of Narragansett No. 7 — Narragansett No. 1 — 60 BTJXTON CENTENNIAL. & Pearson Town." This committee agreed to meet at Capt. Joshua Freeman's in Falmouth (now Portland), Sept. 1, 1762, and at a meeting of the proprietors held July 27, 1762, Joseph Gerrish, jr., Esq., was chosen to represent the interests of Narragansett No. 1, before said committee. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house Nov. 3, 1762. £50 sterling was voted to Mr. Coffin for preaching the year ensuing. £20 lawful money was voted " to defrey the charge of or- dination the Year Ensuing." It was voted that no pews be built this year. A committee was appointed to prosecute trespassers and another to lay out the undivided land, and Mr. John Brown" was appointed to assist them as surveyor. John Lane^ and Job Roberts^ reported to this meeting that they had made an exchange with Timothy Hasaltine, by which they have given to him the four-rod-way lying be- tween the " home lotts " 4 and 5 of Letter G, and had " laid out an high way of three rods wide on the Southerly Side of the Sixth lott on the Same letter G : from End to End there- of, which lott said Hasletine is now in Possession of." This three-rod-road was from where Mr. Nathan Wood- man now lives, passing the southerly side of the house then, probably, occupied by Mr. Hasaltine, and now by Mrs. Tris- tram Woodman. The record of the next meeting, held Feb. 10, 1763, in Newbury, is as follows : "Cap' George Jewett Thomas Gage Esq & Joseph Leavitt were Chose & Impowred as a Comm'*° To assist in Ordain- > See Appendix Q. 2 See Appendix L. 'John Brown, who, Isnppoae, was of Newbury, Mass., made the survey, and his map of it is now in the State House in Boston. It embraces parts of the present towns of Saco, Scarborough, and Westbrook, and all of the present towns of Buxton, Gor- ham, and Standish; the last named being then called Pearson Town. There is in Stan- dish a beautiful sheet of water called Watchet Pond. The true name is doubtless of Indian origin, but is utterly forgotten. On Brown's map it is called Sbwassuck. This long-lost name now comes again to light. I trust that the good people of Standish will now banish the corrupted name, re-establish the old one, and never let it fall again into oblivion. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 61 ing M' Paul Coffin as a minister of the Gospell, & Pastor of the Church that may be Gathered at said Narragansett, on the third Wednesday of March next." We have already seen that on the 16th of November, 1761, it was voted to give Mr. Paul Coffin a call to settle in the work of the ministry. Mr. XDoffin began to preach here as early as March 22, 1761, as appears by a memorandum on the first sermon he ever preached, and that sermon he preached here on that day. That very sermon I now hold in my hand. It was not only the first sermon he preached anywhere but probably the first one that he preached in this town.i He was then 23 years old. Though he received the call in November, 1761, he does not seem to have given a formal answer to the invitation until something more than a year afterwards, when he replied in writing as follows : To the Propr= of Narragansett Township No 1 — Gent"" Having Considered the Invitation you Gave me to Settle in this place in the Capacity of a Minister of the Gospell, & pastor of the Church to be Gathered here ; And having nev- er heard of any Uneasiness among the people here about my Doctrine or manner of life, I declare my self pleased with your Invitation, & ready to Settle as aboves'd, as Soon as may be Judged Convenient From Gentl" Your Friend & Narragansett N° 1 — Serv' in the Gospel — Jan'y 31 - 1763^ Paul Coffin- To Mess'' Will" Hancock Joseph Woodman & Timothy Hazeltine Com''° to be Communicated to y° propr' 'The memorandum at the end of this sermon is aa follows: "Narragansett No 1. March 22 1761. A et P. M." Since this address was delivered I have discovered that this was not the first sermon which he delivered here. He begins sermon No. 975 as follows: " I have now preached in this Town more than 47 years, i. c. from Feb. 8, 1761, to the present time," 1808. Feb. 8, 1761, was Sunday. The time when he began to preach here is thus fixed with certainty. 2 The answer of Mr. CoflSn as here copied is taken from the proprietors' records. In spelling and capital letters it is, probably, not an entirely correct transcript of the or- iginal. 62 BXrXTON CENTENNIAIi. This answer was communicated by the committee to the proprietors in the following words. "To the propr" of Narragansett Township No-1 — Gent" Being by You Chosen to wait on m' Paul Coffin with Your Invitation of him to Settle as a minister of the Gospel in this place, We have Accordingly Done so, & Received, & here send his answer in the Affirmative Inclosed; We Beg a Propr' meeting may be Immediately warned, to Chuse a Com"' to be here on the day of his Ordination to Give their Consent thereto — And to see if they will appoint the first, & if not that, the Second or third Wednesday of Next march for the day of said Ordination — And to See if the persons who offer to make the Entertainment, for that Occasion may be Intitled to the money Voted therefor Joseph Woodman ) p te Timothy Hazeltine j Narragansett No - 1 - 1763 Jan'y 31 — We the Com'°° of the Inhabitants do say amen to the above John Nason — Timothy Hazeltine Jacob Bradbury Ju' — Com''° The propr" at the Westward in Compliance to the above Desire have agreed & fix'd upon the third Wednesday of March next for the Day of M' Paul Coffins Ordination as above — In Behalf of said Propr' Joseph Coffin Cle'" The ordination took place March 6, 1763, and a record of it was made as follows by the Eev. Daniel Little, Scribe. " The Pastors & Delegates of the following Churches Con- vened in Council at Narragansett N° 1. For the Incorpora- tion of a Christian Church & the Ordination of m' Paul Cof- fin to the work of the Gospell ministry, & Pastoral office there - - (viz) The first & second Church in Wells The Church in Biddeford - The Church in Pepperelbo rough and a messenger from the Second Church in Scarborough BTJXTON OENTENOTAL. 63 The Rev* M' Moses Morrill Moderator The Rev* M' Daniel Little Scribe - prayers by the Mod- erator The Church Incorporated in the presence of the Councill Consisting of Seven members, Six of whom produced their Dismissions from the Respective Churches to which they be- longed, to the Satisfaction of the Councill. The Seventh viz Bradbury the Councill Voted to Receive into the number for Constituting the new Church, upon the Pre- sumption that his Request for a Dismission from the first Church in Scarborough was Granted, tho Seasonable Care had not been taken to Convey it to said Councill After the moderator in the name of the Councill had de- clared the new Church to be a Regular Congregational Church, every member had liberty to offer any thing to the Councill as matter of Dissatisfaction with respect to the Char- acter of Either of their Brethren, or the Constitution of the Church, but nothing was offered. — Upon which they were desired to Signify their Concurrence with the Proprietors in their Choice of m' Paul Coffin to be the minister of that place, & their own Choice of him, to be their particular pas- tor, which was done with perfect unanimity in the presence of said Councill — Mr Coffin their Elect pastor was then Called into the Councill & Declared his Confession of Faith, the Grounds of his hope as a Christian, & the Views with which he Entered, upon the Gospell ministry to the Satisfaction of the Councill, The Councill then Voted that their way was Clear to proceed to Ordination And the Publick Services were appointed to be performed as Follows viz. The Rev* m' Fairfield to Begin with prayer The Rev* m' Little to Preach The Rev* m' Morrill to give the Charge, & Conclude with prayer The Rev* m' Hemenway the Right hand of Fellowship - - The above Services Began at twelve O'Clock, Performed 64 BUXTON CENTBNNIAI;. with decency & Gravity Suitable to their Nature & Impor- tance - - The Congregation Dismissed a Quarter of an hour after two — A very Plentiful Entertainment^ for the Councill & Strangers, Provided at the Expence of the proprietors, whose Generous & Various Cares for the Felicity of the In- habitants of this place, in erecting a Spacious Meeting house, & in the Settlement of the Gospell ministry among them we take notice of with abundant Pleasure ; & Cordially wish both pastor & people may be happy in the Constant Presence & Blessing of God our Saviour . - - and that the Worthy Propr° may have long Occasion of Joy in the Fruits of their Zeal for the interest of Religion & Virtue among this People. Narragansett N° 1. March r 16*^ 1763. A True Copy Attest Daniel Little^ Scribe" Charles Coffin, Esq., says that " on the day previous to the ordination, the Rev. Messrs. Little and Hem.menway of Wells, with their delegates and other gentlfeaj^eii, commenced their march on snow shoes, west of the usually traveled road, through the present town of Lyman and Mollis, a dis- tance of less than twenty miles ; but mistaking their way they struck the Saco above the settlement in Buxton, and remained in the woods and snow one night, suffering from cold, hunger, and want of sleep ; but reached the settlement the next day in season to complete the ordination services, 1 In. Goodwin's Narraganset, page 212, is a noi:6 by him on tbis word as follows : Elder Peter Libby writes me that " Mr. James Emery, an early settler, used to say he ' toolt his dog and gun and went hunting and caught a moose and a minister.' By catching the moose he was enabled to supply the meat for the feast at the ordination of the Rev. Paul Cofi&n, as there was no other meat to be had." 2 The Rev. Daniel Little was born in Newburyport in 1723. He received the degree of A. M. from Harvard in 1766. Was settled over the 2d parish in Wells, now Kenne- bunk, March 17, 1751, and remained as pastor until his death, Oct. 5, 1801. His first wife was Mary, daughter of Rev. Joseph Emerson, of Maiden. She died June 2, 1758, aged 32. His second wife was Sarah, daughter of Col. Joseph Coffin, of Newbury, and sister of Rev. Paul CofBn. She died Deo. 19, 1804. He settled in that part of Wells, now Kennehuuk, known as " The Landing." He left there and removed to a place about a mile west of the village, where he died. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 65 having been joined by the Rev. Messrs. Morrill and Fairfield of Biddeford and Saco, with their delegates." " Thus," he continues, " was settled, for life, a young man born and educated in polished and literary society with less than thirty families in the town, most of whom were covered from the inclemency of the weather by log houses, without a single educated parishioner. An aflpectionate brother and classmate, present on the occasion, once said, ' I pitied broth- er Paul, whose education and social quahties fitted him to en- joy if not to adorn the most cultivated and polished society, that he should have his lot cast in that then forbidding field of labor ; for I knew that he would have given all that he then had or ever expected of this world's goods to have avoided it. But the settlers were unanimous for him to re- main with them, as were the proprietors that he should re- main, and the path of duty appeared plain, which, however rugged, he never refused to enter; for,' said he, ' brother Paul was a conscientious man.' " He was settled for life ; and here, through life, on a small and at times poorly paid salary, he remained and brought up a numerous family. During the eight years' war of the revo- lution he did not receive twenty dollars in specie. But for his farm and his own personal labor thereon he would at times not have been able to furnish wholesome food and de- cent clothing for his family. His sons, when old enough, assisted him upon the farm, and his daughters, besides per- forming the ordinary work of the household, had practical knowledge of carding, spinning, and weaving. In the year 1792, he was invited to succeed the learned and distinguished Dr. John Tucker of Newbury in his na- tive parish. " His parishioners a third time expressed their wishes for his continuance with them by their vote, and by adding to his salary, which being taken into consideration, he 5 66 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. concluded to spend his days with them, although to him no in- vitation could have been more gratifying." In May 1799, it was his distinguished privilege to preach the annual election sermon in Boston before " His Honor, Moses Gill, Esq., Lieutenant Governor, the Honorable the Council, Senate, and House of Representatives of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts." In 1812 the title of Doctor of Divinity was conferred up- on him by his Alma Mater, Harvard College. I again quote from his son Charles: " Dr. Coffin was a learned man, and was able to read the Scriptures in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, to which he added a knowledge of the French, which he wrote and read with ease. He was a student through life. As a preacher he was argumentative, accompanied with an earnest- ness and emphasis of manner which attracted and kept the attention of his hearers to the end of his discourse ; and he never gave them what cost him nothing, but every sermon was written after the subject-matter of it had been fully con- sidered. " With the most enlightened part of the community, as a preacher and a gentleman he was not only acceptable, but sought after and admired. No one in his vicinity during his whole ministry was more so. His cotemporaries in civil life, the Wingates, Pickerings, Pickmans, Parsons, Bradburys, Sewalls, Wells, Gorhams, and Longfellows sought his society, for they felt themselves refreshed by it, and his presence checked no decent joy. His most intimate acquaintances among the clergy were those who stood high for their learn- ing and piety ; such as Tucker, Webster, Balch, Symmes, Little, Hemmenway, Moody, Haven, Fairfield, Deane, Por- ter, Fessenden, and Belknap. "He measured men's minds with precision, and entered into their motives as one acquainted with the world. He was distinguished for hospitality and loved society, though his BtnXTON CENTENNIAL. 67 habits and situation did not allow him to enter it extensively ; but he received his friends and brethren cordially and con- versed as one happy to see them ; both to entertain them and refresh and invigorate himself. * * * From his pro- fession and retired situation Dr. Coffin communed more with himself than most men, even the most pious. He conversed with the past, for there his earthly pleasures were ; and en- tered into the future, for there were his hopes of heaven, which grew more serene as age stole upon him ; and from this state heaven released him without a pang in the eight}'- fourth year of his age. * * * From a wilderness when he came to Buxton, he hved to see it one of the most pleas- ant and beautiful towns in the State of Maine, containing nearly three thousand inhabitants ; and Maine, from a poor and distant province, he lived to see an independent State, and to aid and assist in the foundation of Bowdoin Colleffe."^ I make the following extract from his farewell sermon, preached in the fall of 1820, which perhaps some here present may remember to have heard as it fell from his lips : " Finally. One word to this assembly and I have done. Through the goodness of God, I have been in this place sixty years lacking about five months. Early in the year 1761 I came to this town, then called Narragansett No 1. The only preacher and pastor of this flock have I been till three years back God gave me a colleague,^ since which time he has been in effect the only laboring minister ; and now more truly so. Four grown persons whom I first knew are living. One of them has been a member of this church from its beginning. Viewing the length of time and a few other circumstances, I have had a peaceable day. Part of my time was such that I could not spend it all in the service of the parish. I yet attended all sick families. And I think, I never denied a requested pastoral visit. iHe was one o£ the first Board of Overseers. ^Rev. Levi Loring. 68 BUXTON CENTENNIAi. Few of the parish, if any, were my open enemies. Many were good and kind to the last. Their names are pleasant and precious. ***** While I live I shall pray for the peace and increase of this church, and I ask all chris- tians to pray for me, that I may see many, hitherto negligent and some of my own children among the rest, becoming pil- lars in this church. Pray, my brethren, not only for this society, but for the whole town, yes, and for the whole world, that God's kingdom may come in all the earth ; and remem- ber your aged friend ; pray that his last days may be his best days, and that his end may be peace. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with you."i " When informed by his physician that a few minutes would carry him to another world, he replied. ' I did not think I was going so soon ; but I believe I have that faith which will carry me to Abraham's bosom,' and immediately passed to a future life." He was born in Newbury, Jan. 16, 1737, old style, being January 27, 1738, as we now reckon. He died June 6, 1821. Well do I remember that calm June evening when, with my mother and other sorrowing relatives, in his pleas- ant chamber^ study, where so many studious hours had been spent, I stood by the bedside of the aged and dying pastor. ' Dr. CofBn in a manuscript note says, " This sermon may he called Valedictory dd : Oct. 22, 1820. It is quite unliuislied. It was mended a little In the delivery." It was printed after hie death. 2 His hovTse stood end to the road, about 100 feet, I thint, south of the house now occupied by his grandson, Mr. Charles L. Coffin. The end door opened directly upon an open lawn lying between the house and the road. After his death his son David built a new house, and the old one was sold and removed, to the great regret of many who would have preferred to have it remain where Dr. Coffin built it ; where he spent the greater part of his life ; where his children were born, and where he and his wife died. It is the house now occupied by Mr. Joseph Garland, and is probably the oldest two-story house in town. Dr. Coffin's study was the southwesterly room aa the house formerly stood, in the second story, and is the northwesterly room as the house now stands. In that room he died. BUXTON CENTEKNIAL. 69 Nor less well do I remember that other day, the 8th of June, serene and beautiful, when, followed by a long procession on foot of relatives, parishioners, and friends, he was borne on the shoulders of those who had known and honored him to his last resting place under the shadow of that old meeting- house which some present have not forgotten, and in which for so many years he had broken the bread of life. " Kemote from towns he ran his godly race, Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change, his place ; Unskillful he to fe,wn, or seek for power By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour ; Far other aims his heart had learned to prize, More bent to raise the wretched than to rise. " But in his duty, prompt at every call, He watch'd and wept, he prayed and felt for all ; And, as a bird each fond endearment tries To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies, He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way." I beg your pardon if I have dwelt too long on the life of Dr. CoflSn ; but my excuse, if any be needed, is that he be- longed to the period of which I am speaking ; that Buxton owes its name to him ;i that through a long life he was, by education and position, one of the foremost and most wide- ly known men here ; and that his long service in advancing the moral and religious condition of the people of this town should not be lightly passed over on this centennial occasion ; but that the memory of it, and of him, should be cherished by ourselves and handed down to our posterity. ■ Standing here where he was so long known and honored, where his venerable presence and the sound of his voice are not yet wholly forgotten, where he so long taught the im- ^ My mother told me that her father suggested the name of Buxton when the town waa incorporated. Why he selected it I do not know. It was not, as has been asserted, because his ancestors were from that town in England, for such is not the fact. My mother's statement is confirmed by others of his descendants. 70 BXTXTON CENTEiraiAL. portance of doing and of being good, and by his example bettered his instruction, and where, when his spirit ascended to heaven, his mortal body was committed to the earth ; standing here under the influence of thoughts like these, I could do no less than lay upon his grave this humble tribute to his life and character. By the kindness of Mr. John D. Coffin, his grandson, we fortunately have before us to-day a good likeness of his grave and reverend countenance. It is a copy by Mr. John Brews- ter from an original painted by himself. Let us now go back to the ordination. The " very Plenti- ful Entertainment for the Councill & Strangers " was " at the expence of the proprietors " and seems to have been provided by Mr. John Nason and Mr. Timothy Hasaltine, who on this day, or very shortly after, became the first deacons of the church. Where this entertainment was given we do not know ; but we do know that on the 9th of April, 1750, James Jewett of Newbury, conveyed to Timothy Hasaltine then of Haverhill, Mass., home lot No. 6, on letter G ; that on the 3d of Nov., 1762, Mr. Hasaltine was in possession of that lot; and that that lot is but a few feet distant from where we now are. We also know on the authority of Charles Coffin, Esq., that Mr. Hasaltine "settled within a few rods of the meeting-house," and we further know that on the 7th of July, 1783, he sold the said Lot 6, " with all the buildings thereon," to Thomas Cutts ; and we know that the house now owned by Mrs. Tristram Woodman, and standing on said lot, and for many years and until his death occupied by the worthy Samuel Cutts, Esq., is so old that no person now living knows when it was built. It is not im- probable that it was built by Mr. Hasaltine and that the or- BUXTON CENTEIOaAL. 71 dination entertainment was held in that very house, which we have but to. turn our heads to behold.^ No bill of particulars of that entertainment has come down to us. We only know that the Rev. Mr. Little says it was "plentiful." Our Gorham neighbors, more fortunate than ourselves, know that when their first minister was ordained in 1750, the ordination feast was supplied with two barrels of cider, two gallons of brandy, and four gallons of rum. Who will dare to say that our forefiithers were on this grand oc- casion less liberal than those of Gorham ? Rum was then an indispensable article on all joyful and all solemn and all sorrowful occasions ; and when on that 16th of March, 1763, our predecessors, after the solemn exercises of the day were finished, went from the house of God, through the snow, to the house of feasting, we can well im- agine that the rum was not forgotten, and that those who had spent the preceding night, without cover, in the woods and snow on the other side of the river, took theirs with especial zest and thankfulness. The meeting-house lot contains one acre and a half, being eight rods wide and thirty rods long. It was conveyed on the 8th of April, 1761, by Isaac Han- cock to Jeremiah Hill of Biddeford, Joseph Swett of York, and Joseph Woodman of Narraganset No. 1, as a committee of the proprietors. The lot covers part of the burying-ground and most of the common. Mr. Hancock received three acres in exchange. That deed from Mr. Hancock should be in the hands of the clerk of the Parish. As it is not, I now take pleasure ia presenting him with a copy of it. 1 The house is shown in one of the photographic views taken by Mr, Simon Towle on the Centennial Day. For these and many other views in Buxton the people of the town are under lasting obligations to him. A notice of Deacon Hasaltine and a copy of his will may be found in Goodwin's Narraganset, pages 217-219. In his last days he lived with his son William on the farm now owned and occupied by Isaac Woodman Eaton., He was biiried near and on the westerly side of Mr, Eaton's house in a grave now obliterated by the plough. 72 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. I must now take up again the regular order of my narra- tive, which I fear you may find somewhat prosaic and tedious. The next meeting was warned to be held at the meeting- house, and was held October 12, 1763. A committee was appointed " to make up the deficient sixty acre lots, if any." It was voted that the easterly half of the common and un- divided land, adjoining westerly the homestead of Rev. Paul Cofiin, should be laid out to him " for the Second Division of the ministerial Right he being the first Settled minister," and the westerly half of the same " to the Ministry or Parson- age." And if the lots so severally laid out for Mr. Coflin and for the parsonage should not hold out sixty acres to each, then the deficiency was to be made up to each out of some other common land. Fifty pounds were voted to defray the ministerial charge " the Present year which Year Began the Sixteenth of march Last." Sixty dollars was voted for highways, and the same sum for other necessary charges the year ensuing. On the 13th of October in this year the road, as now traveled from Mr. Peter Emery's to Mr. William Boynton's, was established by an agreement between the owners of the lots through which it ran and a committee of the proprietors. The agreement may be found In Goodwin's Narraganset, page 185. That road, we thus learn, has been traveled more than a hundred yeai's. The next meeting was warned to be held at the meeting-house, June 20, 1764, and it was held on that day. In the warrant for this meeting is an article " To See if they will have the Town Incorporated." It was not acted upon, but it thus appears that the question of incorporation was agitated eight years before it actually took place. At this meeting fifty pounds sterling were voted for the salary of Mr. Coffin. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 73 £27, old tenor (a depreciated paper currency), was voted to John Nason and £20 to Mr. Hasaltine "for providing for the Ordination more than was formerly voted." For these and other purposes £100, old tenor, was voted. It was voted to raise flOO for highways, of which f 60 was to be spent on the road " from merrills to the Pattent Land," that is, on the direct road from Salmon Falls to Saco, " & 40 dol- lars on Pleasant point road." From this it will be seen that the name " Pleasant Point " has been in use for more than one hundred years. £1, old tenor, was allowed for a day's work on the road, it being equal to 2s. 8d. sterling or about sixty-six cents in silver ; and the same for a yoke of oxen. A committee was chosen to settle with all former commit- tees and another to run out the town line. Oapt. Thomas Bradbury and Ensign John Elden were chosen surveyors of roads. It is proper that I should here say a word about Captain Bradbury, who was a prominent man in his day and belonged to this period of our history. He was born in 1699 and married Sarah Merrill, They were, I suppose, both natives of Salisbury, Massachusetts. In 1748 and 1749, he had command of what was sometimes called the Saco Block House and sometimes the "Saco Truck House," situated directly on the bank of Saco river on the Bean farm in Hollis,! about half a mile below Union Falls. This truck House was established especially as a post for the supply of the Indians with goods. The commander of the post always had a small military force under him, so that it was in effect what in those days was called a fort. It was built in 1730, three years before this town was granted by the General Court. I suppose that a commander and soldiers were constantly there until after the fall of Quebec. This fort, while it existed doubtless exercised a strong influence in promoting the safety of the inhabitants of 'Now Dayton. 74 BTJXTON CENTENNIAL. this town from an attack by the Indians. No vestige of it remains. A grave-yard immediately adjacent to the fort marks the spot. The home of Capt. Bradbury^ was for many years in Biddeford. On the 30th of June, 3749, while in command of the Block House, he bought of Amos Chase, of Newbury, " Home Lot" 1, of Range D, which lot at that date had a dwelling-house on it. This dweUing-house was probably built by Amos Chase, who was, as tradition and confirmatory facts inform us, one of the earliest settlers, and one of those who left town in 1744. In this house on Lot 1, was probably born his daughter Rebecca, the first white child, as tradition informs us, born in this town. Mr. Chase afterwards settled in Saco, became a deacon of the church there and otherwise a prominent man, and died when he was nearly an hundred years old. Rebecca was the first wife of Mr. Chase Parker. She died in Pepperellboro,' now Saco, May 8, 1773, aged 29 years, before Mr. Parker moved to this town. So says the church record of Rev. John Fair- field. This makes her birth to have been in 1744, which causes me to doubt the truth of the tradition that she was the first child born here. The fact that there were eleven men in town in May, 1742, and probably, most of them married, militates against the supposition that, in those prolific days, no child was born un- til 1744. Mr. Fairfield's record of her age may, however, not be correct. The lot No. 1, above mentioned was con- veyed by Capt. Bradbury, Nov. 22, 1753, to his son-in-law, Samuel Merrill, who lived and died upon it. Capt. Bradbury was living in Biddeford on the 9th of 1 Mr. Folsom in his history of Saco and Biddeford, page 248, says: " Capt. Bradbury, the commander of the Block House during the war, removed to Biddeford after its termination, having purchased a tract of land above the Falls, of which the estate of Mr. Dominicus Cutts now forma a part. He built a house with a garrison at that place, and a sawmill on the brook, but removed a few years after to Buxton." A list of his children may be found in the October number, 1868, of "The Historical Magazine," Henry B. Dawson, Editor. BTTXTON CENTENNIAL. 75 September, 1762. On that day he bought Lot 1, of Range A in the second Division, on which the house of William Scribner now stands. Here he probably lived and here I suppose he died about the year 1774 or 1775, nearly one hundred years ago. His name appears in 1764 for the first time as an inhabitant of this town. He conveyed this Lot 1, of Range A to his son William, who lived on it. The estate of Capt. Bradbury, if any, -was not administered upon. Mr. Scribner will show the site of the Bradbury house to any one who may wish to see it. In this year, 1764, a petition, without date, from the in- habitants of this town was before the General Court, which gives a lively impression of their trials and sufferings at this period. The petition is as follows : To his Excellency Francis Bernard Esq Commander in Chief in and over the Province of the massa" Bay, the Hon"' his majesty's Councill & House of Representatives in General Assembly Convened Humbly Shew The Subscribers Inhabitants of Narra- ganset N° one in the county of York, That the said Settle- ment being a Frontier were under Continual Fears of the Indian Enemy, and were obliged to keep Watch and Ward till the Reduction of Quebec in 1759-^That before the two late years of Drouth & Scarcity they were few in number and very Poor, being scarcely able with their utmost Dili- gence in the Improvement of such means as their Situation afforded to procure the Necessarys of Life^^That the two years of Scarcity, almost reduced them to Famine :^n ad- dition to which in the year 1762, a desolating Fire Ravaged their small Improvements, Burnt several of their Dwellings NOTE. — ^Persons seeking further information in regard to the Bradburya of Buxton will find it In Goodwin's Narraganset, and in the October number, 1868, of the " His- torical Magazine." 76 BUXTON CENTENNIAi. and much reduced the very little the Drouth had left 'em That these repeated calamitys obliged many of the then In- habitants for the preservation of Life to pluck up Stakes and leave the Settlement, and those that remained were Just pre- served from Perishing with Want, by the Relief afforded from some of the Neighboring Towns^-That your Excellency and Honors did lay a Tax on the said distressed Inhabitants in the year 1762, To the amout of Forty four Pounds seven Shillings & six pence which they are unable to pay, as many of the then Inhabitants are reduced to Penury by the calam- itys aforesaid, and removed to other places-^and those that remain are in a Condition but Little Better-^ Wherefore your Poor Petitioners Humbly pray your Ex- cellency & Honours to Compassionate their distressed Cir- cumstances & Remit to them the said Tax and Grant 'em such other relief in the Premises as your Wisdom shall di- rect & your Poor Petitioners as in duty Bound shall ever Pray &" Joseph Woodman John Nason Joseph Leavit Joshua Woodman John Brooks Samuel Leavit Nathan Woodman John Cole Umphery Atkason John Boynton Ephraim Sands Daniel Leavit Will Hancock Tim'y Hasaltine James Emery Job Roberts John Lane John Elden Benjamin Donel Samuel Roaf Samuel Merrill John Donel John Elden Amos Hood In the House of Representatives October 31" 1764 Read & Resolved that the prayer of this Petition be granted by remitting the Tax of Forty Four Pounds Seven ShOlings & sixpence laid on Narragansett Township number One in the Year 1762, and that the Treasurer be directed to stay the Execution gone forth against them therefor Sent up for concurrence S : White Spk' BtrXTON CENTENNIAL. Y7 In Council Nov. 1st 1764 — Read & Concurred Jn" Cotton D. Seery Consented to — Pea Bernaed. In this year a third division of lots was surveyed and a re- port made thereon by the committee which had been elected for this purpose, and also for running the line between this town and Gorham.^ The next meeting was held in Newbury, Feb. 26, 1765, when it was voted that the return of the committee which had laid out the " third Division of Land in said Township be accepted & Recorded," and that all the lots in said divis- ion should be drawn for by the last Tuesday of the following May, and that any lot not drawn for by that time by the proprietors, should be drawn by a person empowered for that purpose. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house June 19, 1765. Tristram Jordan of Biddeford was chosen clerk in place of Joseph Coffin of Newbury. Mr. Coffin had held the office of clerk for twenty-three years, and as he was now more than sixty-two years old, and as the time had come when it was desirable that future meetings hould be held here, he doubtless desired to be relieved from the necessity of riding on horseback eighty miles to attend them. He held the military title of colonel, and was the father of Rev. Paul Coffin. At this meeting a committee was appointed to sell lands for non-payment of taxes, and to give orders on the treasurer for the payment of the debts of the proprietors. A committee was appointed to make a deed for a gore of land to Samuel Leavit, adjoining the lot he lived on, and also to sell some other pieces or gores of land. 1 Tor report of this committee aee Goodwin's Nan-aganset, page 217. 78 BUXTON CENTEN2SriAL. Forty acres of land was confirmed to Samuel Merrill at Salmon Falls, it being " that forty acres of land which Lies by him and was Run out Last year as his Third Division ex- cepting out of Said Lot four acres of Land for a mill Privil- edge." The salary of £50 sterling was voted to Rev. Mr. Coffin. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house May 28, 1766. Lieut. Joshua Woodman was chosen moderator. The sal- ary of Mr. Coffin, £50 sterling, was voted and also £33. 6s 8d. for general purposes. The report of a committee was accepted which laid out the road, substantially as it now runs, from " a White Oak Tree Before y'^ Reverend m"^ Paul Coffins House" to Haines's Meadow. This road therefore has been opened for over one hundred years. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house October 22, 1766. It was voted to confirm the proceedings of the last meet- ing. Sam'l Merrill and Capt. John Lane were appointed a committee to open and exchange roads. It was also " Voted the Part of j" Floor around the wall of y* Meeting House Shou'^ be Laid out for Pew Ground also that Jeremiah Hill Esq'' [of Biddeford] Deacon Timothy Hazleton M' John Hopkinson^ Samuel Scammons [of Saco?] & John Kimbal^ be a Committee to Lay out S* Pew Ground & Sell as much of it as will underpin y" Meeting House or more in order to Build a Pulpit and finish y° House as they Shall See fit." The old bounds of the " home lots " as " Laid out and now Measured "' were confirmed. It was voted to assist Sam'l Leavit in his law suit " with the Trespassers at Scar- borough." This suit I suppose grew out of a conflict be- » See Appendix S. 2 gee Appendix A. BUXTON CENTENNIAIi. 79 tween this town and Scarborough, as to the line between them. The conflict continued through many years. What ■were the precise claims of each party I do not know. This is a point in our history which perhaps can be determined by patient and careful investigation. A committee was appointed to consider a request of Capt. Joseph Woodman. What this request was does not appear, but it was probably in regard to his claim to Lot 3 of Range A, 2d division, on which lot his son Capt. Joseph V/oodman afterward lived and died. Capt. Woodman, Sen., claimed to have drawn this lot and that the clerk failed to make a record of it. That claim is supported by an affidavit of John Brooks, which affidavit, now nearly a hundred years old, I hold in my hand. It bears the signature of John Brooks, which it may, perhaps, gratify some of his descendants, if he had any, to look upon. It was also voted to sell the grass on the meadows in the undivided lands at vendue. The right to cut it was sold to Capt. Joseph Woodman for $23. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house July 8, 1767. Money was voted to pay Mr. Coffin's salary, £50 sterling, and 53s 4d for advertising delinquent taxes and £20 for other necessary charges. A committee on accounts was chosen, and it was voted to send a petition to the General Court for an alteration of the law in regard to the sale of lands for taxes, and Jeremiah Hill, Esq., was appointed to prefer the petition. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house, June 22, 1768. The Rev. Mr. Coffin's salary of £50 sterling was voted, and £5 was voted to carry on lawsuits, in behalf of the pro- prietors, and a committee was chosen to attend to these law- suits, which, I suppose, involved the line between Scar- borough and this town. A committee was also appointed 80 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. to change and open I'oads, and another committee to sell the foui' rod road between the 9th and 10th home lots on letter B, and another to sell the grass. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house July 26, 1769. Mr. Coffin's salary, £50 sterhng was voted. A committee was chosen " to Try y° Proprietors Title in a Gore of Land, Adjacent to Scarbor" and to apply to y* Great and General Court of y° Province of y° massachusetts Bay for y° Confirmation of the Town Lines Between Narra- gansett No 1 Scarbor" & Gorham which was Settl* by y' General Courts Late Committee." £20 was voted for this purpose. A former committee for raising taxes and giving orders for the payment of the proprietors' debts and for sell- ing delinquent proprietors' lands for non-payment of taxes was continued. Voted to sell to the highest bidder the grass on the com- mon and undivided lands, and a committee was appointed for the purpose, and to spend the money received therefrom on the highways. The committee which was appointed Oct. 22, 1766, in re- gard to laying out the pew ground, etc., was directed to stand and to act conformably to that vote. One of the Articles in the warrant calling the meeting of July 26, 1769, was " To Chuse a Committee to Lay out y" Pew Ground of y' meeting [house] in S* Township and Sell y° Same to Such as will Buy in order to underpin the meet- ing House and Build a Pulpit and to finish the meeting House as far as y° money will Go." We thus see that some years after the building of the meeting-house, the minister was still without a pulpit and the people had no pews, but only benches, and that the house had no underpinning. It was voted to sell such lots in the third division as re- mained undrawn. BUXTOK CENTBNNIAI,. 81 Tlie committee for selling the 4 rod road between Lots 9 and 10 Letter B, 1st division, was reappointed. At the same meeting the following important vote was passed : " Voted to Deacon John Nason Capt. John Elden Isaiuh Brooks & Jabez Lane y" Privilege on Salmon Falls for a mill: to Build a Grist mill and S" mill to be built in Two years from y Date or S* Vote to be Void and to maintain a Grist mill there So Long as they Hold y" Priviledge." James Gray and Sam'l Dennett and Tristram Jordan dis- sented from this vote, but for what reason does not appear. The next meeting was held at the meeting-house July 25, 1770. £50 sterling was voted as the salary of Rev. Mr. Coffin. Committees were appointed to sell the grass, to make up the deficiency of the 1st and half of the 2d home lots on Letter E, if such deficiency should exist, and " to give a Deed of y' four acres of Land Reserv* for a mill Priviledge on Salmon Falls to Cap . John Elden Deacon John Nason Isaiah Brooks & Jabez Lane." The mill privilege at Salmon Falls had been granted to them the previous year, July 26, 1769. They probably built the dam before the close of that year, and doubtless had a grist-mill running before the vote was passed to give them a deed of the privilege. That they at the same time built a saw-mill is probable, but uncertain. At the same meeting it was voted to spend on the roads the money which they might obtain from the sale of grass. It was also voted to raise £13. 6s. 8d. "to assist Joseph Ilound[s]^ in Carrying on a Law Suit against Robert McDonald, now Depending." The next meeting was held at the meeting-house June 17, 1771. The salary of £50 sterling was voted to Rev. Mr. > For a notice of the Kounda family, see Goodwin's Nartaganset. 6 82 BUXTON CENTENOTAL. CofSn. It was voted to sell the " Common meadow Grass " and spend the proceeds on the roads, and a committee was appointed to attend to both of these objects. It was also " Voted that the Proprietors in a Saw mill Built on Salmon Falls in Narragansett N" 1, Shall have a Privilege for a Road" there. This establishes the fact that there was a saw-mill there on the 17th of June, 1771, and from a deed dated June 30, 1772 (but not recorded), I learn that there was then a double saw-mill standing there. It was voted that the widow of Joseph Rounds (he having died in 1770) shall have £i. lawful money, as part of the £13. 6s. 8d. which was voted to assist him in carrying on a law-suit against Robert McDonald. A committee was ap- pointed to open and exchange roads. The last meeting of the proprietors before the incorpora- tion of the town was held in the meeting-house on the 17th of June, 1772. Deacon Amos Chase of Saco was present and acted as moderator. The salary of £50 sterling was voted to Rev. Mr. Coffin. Six pounds was voted to Humphrey Atkinson^ to assist him in defending the title to his " home lot " against a suit brought by Winslow. A commission of four pence on the pound was voted to Samuel Scamman, treasurer, for collecting the proprietors' money. A committee was appointed to proportion the proprietors' taxes, and to advertise and sell lands for non-payment of taxes, and to draw orders on the treasurer for the proprietors' debts. Voted to sell the grass to the highest bidder and that the money arising therefrom should be paid to the treasurer, and a committee was appointed to attend to the matter. A committee was also appointed to settle with the treas- 1 See Appendix N. BTJXTON CENTENNIAL. 83 urer and with the committee appointed to sell lands belong- ing to delinquent proprietors. Having now reached the year when the town was incor- porated, let us endeavor to understand the state of things at that time. Twenty-two years had elapsed since the re-settlement. The fear of the savage Indian no longer existed, and labor was reaping a peaceful reward. A dense forest still covered the greater portion of the town, hut the cleainngs were now num- erous, and the fields, though encumbered by stumps, yielded from the virgin soil an abundance of the necessaries of life. Many of the roads traveled to-day had been opened, and, though rough, were passable for carts. Roads for pleasure travel were not needed, for not a chaise,^ I suppose, was then owned in town. Instead of the first poor, weak saw-mill on Stackpole's brook, two saw-mills on Little River and a double saw-mill at Salmon Falls were doubtless in vigorous opera- tion and constantly employed. Two grist-mills, one on Lit- tle River and one at Salmon Falls, ground the corn, the rye, and the wheat ; and no longer was it necessary that a poor settler should carry the meal on his back from Saco to his hungry family, as is said sometimes to have happened. Log houses were now giving place to frame ones, and the people were in this and all other respects daily bettering their material condition. Hospitality, as in all new and sparsely-settled countries, doubtless abounded ; and social ex- istence, if ruder than at present, was yet held together by a common sympathy, growing out of their equality and isola- tion and dependence one upon another, which made it more warm-hearted, tender and true than it is now. A schoolmaster they had as early as 1761, as we have al- ready seen, and doubtless by this time a school for a short period was annually maintained. » See Appendix T. 84 BtrXTON CENTENNIAL. A minister had for nine years been settled, and the people gathered together from Sabbath to Sabbath in the then new meeting-house ^ to join in the worship of Almighty God ; meeting on the very spot, within sound of my voice, where now for more than a century the gospel has been preached. Far different was now the situation from what it was thirty years before, when the eleven settlers in their prayer to the General Court say, what I have before recited, but may be permitted to repeat, that they have " been put to very ex- traordinary Costs & Charges in Carrying on Our Settlements thus far — have been obliged to live without any Settled Pub- lick Worship of God among us — School for our Children — Publick Buildings or Necessary Fortifications : Whereby our own Lives & the Lives of our Families, with our Sub- stance have been in continual Jeopardy in this exposed Fron- tier ; & our Children under the Disadvantage of a Wilder- ness Education." With strong hands and stout hearts they had met aad over- come the chief obstacles in their path ; and we may now re- gard them as being in the enjoyment of a moderate but hap- py prosperity. It was this prosperity which induced them to petition the General Court for incorporation. There were more than sixty families in town ; the majority of the proprietors were now living here and doubtless felt the need of municipal au- thority to levy taxes for schools, roads, bridges, and other lawful purposes ; and thus to compel all, and especially the unwilling, to contribute to the general welfare. The ambition for office, too, had, perhaps, some influence in inducing the more aspiring spirits to favor incorporation. The petition, after some opposition from the governor and from the council received favorable consideration, and hav- »That meeting-house was torn down and the present one erected in 1822. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 86 ing passed both houses received the signature of the famous Governor Hutchinson, one hundred years ago. It is fit and becoming that that act, so important in our history, and the passage of which is the cause of our meeting here to-day, should now be read in the presence of this large and patriotic assembly, which the interest in this anniversary has here brought together. "ANNO REGNI ^ "^ REGIS GEORGII SEAL TERTII DUODECIMO An act for incorporating the Plantation called Narragan- set number one in the County of York into a Town by the name of Buxton. Whereas it has been represented to this Court that the plantation called Narraganset number one lying on the East side of Saco River in the County of York is competently filled with Inhabitants who labor under great difficulties and discouragements by means of their not being Incorporated into a Town. Be it therefore Enacted by the Governor, Council, and House of Representatives That the said Narraganset number one bounded Southeasterly at the heads of Bideford and Scarborough, Southwesterly by Saco River, Northwest- erly by Pearson Town so called and northeasterly by Gor- ham, be and hereby is Incorporated into a Town by the name of Buxton and that the Inhabitants thereof be and hereby are invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities which the Inhabitants of other Towns in this Province by Law enjoy. And Be it further Enacted That Jeremiah Hill Esq' be and hereby is directed to issue his Warrant to some prin- 86 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. cipal Inhabitant of said Town requiring him to warn the In- habitants thereof to meet at such time and place as shall be therein set forth, to chuse all such Officers as Towns are by Law impowered to chuse in the month of March annually : at which said Meeting all the then present Inhabitants shall be admitted to Vote. July 9 1772 — Ibis Bill having been Read three several times in the House of Representatives — Passed to be Enacted Thomas Gushing Spk' July 9, 1772 — This Bill having been Read three several times in Council — passed to be Enacted Tho' Flucker Sec'^ July 14th - 1772-By the Governor I Consent to the Enacting of this Bill T. Hutchinson" Confining myself to the earliest period of our history, I have presented a full summary of the general course of pub- lic events from the very beginning down to the incorpora- tion of the town, so far as these events are known to me. I have followed closely the records of the proprietors and other official documents, most of which are accessible to you all in Goodwin's Narraganset, and have interwoven there- with such remarks of my . own as it seemed to me would throw light upon the text and serve to present this portion of our history in a shape more compact, and more easily under- stood by the cursory reader thaii it appears in the official documents. I regret my inability to do the subject better justice ; and I regret still more that there is so little left to throw light upon the period which has been under consideration ; and that, consequently, we know little of the life, character, BUXTON CENTENNIAIi. 87 manners, personal appearance, individual opinions, and modes of thought of our ancestors of that day. A veil of impenetrable obscurity covers much that it would interest us greatly to know. We know, however, that they were men and women with the same human nature that we have, and that therefore, ex- cept in outward circumstances, they differed little from our- selves. They had substantially the same hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, virtues and vices, and were consequently not much better or worse than their descendants. They were a poor, though not a spiritless people, and by daily toil earned their daily bread. There were few prominent and no great men among them, so that to most of us even their names are unknown. " Along the cool sequestered vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way." But the work which was before them they did faithfully and well. They entered the mighty forest which covered this town and subdued it ; they made the paths which we travel to-day, and they laid the foundations of the schools and the churches which have blessed the town from their day to our own. They labored not in vain, and not for them- selves alone, but with thoughtful care for the welfare of those who should follow them. Unwittingly it may be, but surely nevertheless, we to-day are reaping in many ways the benefit of their struggling toil and wise foresight ; and we should be ungrateful did we not recognize our obligations to them^ and do what we can to cherish their memory and preserve the slender memorials of them which are still left to us. And if most of them are forgotten and lie in unmarked graves, yet such is the fate which is in store for ourselves ,- for in the words of Sir Thomas Brown, " most of us must be content to be as though we had not been, to be found in the register of God, not in the record of man." 88 BUXTON CENTENinAIi. " Beneath those rugged elms, that yew tree's shade, "Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, Each in his narrow cell forever laid. The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. " The breezy call of incense-hreathing morn, The swallow twittering from the straw-built shed, The cock's shrill clarion or the echoing horn No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed. " For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn, Or busy housewife ply her evening care; No children run to lisp their sire's return, Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share. " Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield. Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke ; How jocund did they drive their team afield. How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke. " Let not ambition mock their useful toil, Their homely joys and destiny obscure; Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the poor." The plan of my address leaves me no time to speak of the men or the events of a later date than 1772. I leave a whole century untouched, and can make no men- tion of the honorable part which this town took in the Revo- lutionary war, nor of the four captains^ who were in it, — three, if not all, of whom sleep in the adjacent graveyard ; nor of other leading men and prominent events. This must be the task of the future historian of the town. My task is done. Ceasing now to contemplate the past of an hundred years ago, let us for a moment look forward and anticipate the glorious morning of an hundred years to come, when our children's children shall here be gathered to celebrate an- ' Capt. John Elden and Captains John, Daniel, and Jabez Lane. See Appendix C and Q. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 89 other centennial day. Then every drop of water in our loved and beautiful Saco on its way to the sea, will do service for the welfare of man as it contributes to move, with busy hum, the machinery of a great, varied, and beneficent in- dustry. The Buxton of to-day will then have given place to a Bux- ton which, we may hope, in population, in culture, and in all the arts and refinements which embellish and adorn civihzed life, will be vastly in advance of our position now. On that day will come, as on this day have come, the men and the women of Buxton ; the hoary-headed father and the aged mother, with feeble steps ; men and women in the ac- tive vigor of middle life, and the young men and the maid- ens, fair to behold. The children too will come, and then, as now, with ob- serving eye and attentive ear, treasuring up the events of the day, will transmit the story of it to generations yet unborn. And when on that second centennial day, he who shall then hold the place that I hold now, shall stand in the pres- ence of the vast and splendid audience which will then be gathered, may he be able to say of us, as we of those who have gone before, that though our names are forgotten and we sleep in unknown graves, yet that in the humble path al- lotted to us we too served our generation faithfully and well, and that the world was the better for our having lived. At the conclusion of the Historical Address, the choir sung a selection, "Ode on Science," the Bands accompanying; after which the President introduced the orator of the occas- ion, as follows : I now introduce to you, another son of Buxton who has made his home in the Far West, who has received honors from other people among whom he has cast his lot ; and now comes back to join with us in the reminiscences of other days, — Hon. Mark H. Dunnell, of Minnesota. ORATION Sons and Daughters of Buxton : We are here to-day, coming from near and from far, to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the incorpora- tion of our native town. We are here to rejoice in the present and recall the past. We shall here strike the dust from years long forgotten, and bring back scenes that till now lie buried in memory. We are here, many of us from our own motives, yet some have come, called hither by voices that come to us from the spirit land. Children are here be- cause parents, long since in dust, loved and cherished all the history of their native town. A journey of more than three thousand miles, in this season of dust and heat, calling for a neglect of personal interests, could not have been endured, however great the pleasure in store for me, but for my re- membrance that a father and mother, born and living here, loving profoundly the place of their birth and fondly cherish- ing all that clung to its history, would, if alive, have called me here to this gladsome gathering. While ere my return, their graves will demand a tear, this day shall be one of re- joicing, and with you, I will pluck every sweet which each hour of the day can give. Then let the mind go back ; let it follow along the track of life till it reach the very begin- ning, and returning, call into life again a thousand now forgotten scenes. The old home, the house, the rooms, the cellar where the apples dwelt in winter, the wood-house, the barn, the orchard, the field, the pasture with its cow- path, the rocks, the trees, the stumps, the brooks, the streams, the holes for fish, the spring, the swollen Saco, 92 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. the logs, the lost bridges, the teams in summer and in winter, the church, the school-house with its stern and kind master and mistress ; all these may come before us. Let them come ; let the bright and joyous alone linger ; let the dark and sad soon depart. Thus let us hail the day and make it the happy day of life, one whose memories, to those who shall still abide here and to those who have adopted homes in this and other States, shall be fragrant during the whole of life remaining. God has kept back the rain and given us this pleasant morning, that here, on this classic ground, we, the old and the young, may commemorate the work of our fathers, recall their sufferings and honor their heroism. I rejoice to wit- ness this vast concourse. Welcome all ! I am glad to see the young, but to the old we extend our full greetings. Here on my right I see our venerable friend, Mr. Tristram Eaton. He has come down to us from a past generation. Long may he yet live. On my left, I see the elder Gerry Rounds, who lives upon the farm which his patriotic father, in part, paid for with the money received by him for service in the war for Independence. In front of me, I see the aged Widow Cobb. Others my eyes rest upon, but I cannot stop to call them by name. We are here from early youth to hoary age. We are here to rejoice and be glad. " Breathes there a man with soul so dead. Who never to himself hath said, While wandering on a foreign strand, This is my own, my native land? " But a native land may be less dear than a native town, for the former is but our civil home. No matter how rugged, no matter even if it fail to hold us when manhood and womanhood come, yet the native town to every one who has spent the whole or the first half of his majority in it, can never fail to attract. It will have some, yea many bright spots ; there will be some dell amid its ruggedness ; it will in BUXTON CENTENNIAL 93 some way arouse the soul ; it will have incidents to which the memory will run back. Though the memory may tell the story of poverty and of struggle, of hard work and disap- pointment, yet it will_ bring up words of love, of kindly sym- pathy, scenes of noble conduct and of innocent pastime, which shall fill the soul with profound pleasure ; a pleasure akin to that which is felt when for the first time it vibrated with their touch. The home of our birth and our childhood is in our native town ; it is here that in childhood we heard the divine ac- cents of love ; it is here that the soul first knew of its exis- tence ; it is here that it first perceived the marvellous beauty of nature ; it is here, also, that many felt the power of an- otlier love that gave birth to other homes and filled them with scenes and emotions peculiar to themselves. Thus a native town is replete with the most delicate and primal emotions of young life in the soul, not blunted by sense, that will remain a perennial fragrance. This day will recall inci- dents which shall -tinge our thoughts for many a day to come. Who, then, cannot say ? " Wtere'er I roam, whatever realms to see, My heart, untraveled, fondly turns to thee." But the day must furnish lessons as well as pleasurable emotions. We must recall the history of the town. This has indeed, been most ably done by our learned historian to- day. We will cherish and preserve the results of his labors and we will keep a record of this day's work, not as a com- pliment to the participants, but that our children, an hun- dred years from to-day, may know what we said and did at the first centennial. They shall know that we spoke of the early and the later settlers of Buxton ; that we deemed it an honor as well as a duty to speak of their struggles. We will have it recorded that here the old and the young met ; that sons and daughters of Buxton came back from distant towns, 94 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. counties, and States ; that a vast tent was made ; that pro- cessions were formed ; that the music of instruments and of many voices was heard ; that bells were rung ; that the can- non joined with its loud voice ; that flowers plucked from the fields and woods of the good old town formed the letters which said to us as we neared our place of meeting, " Wel- come to the Sons and Daughters of Buxton ;" that orations, speeches, and poems were read ; that thousands listened ; that tables, groaning with food, were spread for us ; that all were happy, yea merry, and thanked God for the day and the hour. Every development of human society and government comes from effort and sacrifice. Privations and struggles are a part of the early settlement. This is true whether it be made in the wooded section where the spotted tree guides the way, or out on the prairie where no tree directs the course. Here will be instances of endurance and courage, that will furnish the best exhibitions of true heroism. Here the human character and spirit will not infrequently challenge our admiration. I hold in my hand the address of the late Rev. N. W. Williams, delivered Oct. 17, 1860, on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the settlement of the town. An incident in the history of Robert Martin is told as follows : " Mr. Martin became destitute of breadstuff, at a time when none could be purchased nearer than Saco, and re- solved to go and obtain some. Of his endeavor to procure relief, he relates the following story : ' In the morning I got up and milked my cow, and drank some of the milk for my breakfast. I then started on foot with bag to obtain a sup- ply of food. It was about the last of May. On my arrival at Colonel Cutts', in Saco, I related my destitute condition, when he promptly supplied me with as much as I could carry on my back. I received one bushel of corn, twenty-eight pounds of fish, one gallon of molasses, two pounds of coffee. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 95 and one pound of tobacco, and started for home with my load. When I reached Deep Brook I lay down my burden and drank of the stream and rested awhile. Again I went on with my load and reached as far as Captain Bradbury's, where I again unloaded, drank, and rested. Again shoulder- ing my treasure I started and soon reached my home, and took another draught of milk, which was the only food taken for the day. I then shouldered half of my corn, traveled two miles to the river, built a small raft, crossed over, got my grist ground at Ridlon's mill, and returned home with my meal. My journey and toil being ended, I sat down and waited while a cake could be baked, and suffered more than I did through the whole of the day, and felt as if I should die of fatigue and hunger.' " Such heroism as this honors our common humanity. The political organization of this town, obtained one hun- dred years ago, was an outgrowth of principles which for centuries had been struggling for a fuller and grander sway. This town, therefore, had a connection with the Revolution- ary period. It existed during that war, and indeed, had a part in the events which crowded on that great conflict. Right noble blood coursed the viens of many who had to do with our early history as a town. The mighty utterances of the Declaration of Independence found an echo here among our brave founders. The rights of the people and the usur- pation of King George were here discussed with intelligence and spirit. The grand doctrines of liberty had worshipers here in the then forest. They were training themselves for their part in the sublime vindication of their rights. When the time came, their courage failed not. Forty-five of our fathers marched to battle and some to death. The follow- jng is the record, the Roll of Honor : " The names of those who served in the Revolutionary war were John Lane, John J^ane, jr., Daniel Lane, Jabez Lane, Isaac Lane, William Merrill (who died at home on 96 BtrXTON CENTENNLAX. furlough), Thomas Bradbury, Elijah Bradbury, Winthrop Bradbury, William Hancock, Mr. Boynton (supposed to have died in the army), Ebenezer Ridlon, Ebenezer Ridlon, jr., David Ridlon, Samuel Woodsom, John Cole, Joseph Smith (taken by the Indians and never returned), Samuel Smith, John Elwell, Benjamin El well, Jeremiah Rolfe, Wil- liam Davis, Thomas Davis, William Smith, Lemuel Rounds, James Rounds, Thomas Harmon, John Woodman, Nathan Woodman, Ephraim Woodman, Samuel Woodman, Joshua Woodman, Moses Atkinson, Richard Clay, jr. (vs'ho died in the army), Mr. Jose (supposed to be the only man killed in the army from this town), John Hanscom, and Michael Rand. Some others were out at Cambridge. John Elden, jr., and Roger Plaisted were in the battle of Bunker Hill. Daniel Hill was a subaltern under his brother, Jeremiah Hill of Biddeford. Several others were in one winter campaign at New York, among whom were Nathaniel Hill, John Owen, and Asa Simpson." As Americans we never fear to go back to our national beginning. We boast our founders. They cherished prin- ciples which, in the fullness of time, demanded for their support and protection, a government securing a broader and more generous liberty than any which had gone before. The Revolutionary war did not alone seek to change the then ex- isting relations between the Colonies and Great Britain, but it sought for the recognition of new ideas of government. It was, indeed, a revolution of the relation between the govern- ing and the governed class. In fact, it reduced all to one class and then declared- the great truth that by permission and the voice of this single class, the right to govern should come. How simple and yet how grand ! A complete real- ization of so perfect a system of government could not be attained without the display of a heroism as sublime as the principles involved in the contest. What history is nobler than that which records the enduring patriotism of our Rev- BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 97 olutionary fathers ? How bold in their declarations ! Their action was not less bold. There are passages in that history which are more than Spartan in the devotion displayed. They showed devotion to great elemental principles and evinced an unselfishness which the world had never seen equaled. What national founders ever, before our own, pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor ? Where in history shall we find their equals ? They were not seeking personal glory nor dominion, but equal civil rights. What a moment was that, when the decision was made to seek those rights ! How much hung in the scale ! It was a moment when true courage was a vital element of success. Happily for our fathers and for us, it was not wanting. It ruled the hour. Patience had ceased to be a virtue. The great resolve was made, and then followed the bloody war. Says an eminent writer : " The ordinary occupations of life were abandoned ; the plow was staid in the unfinished fur- row ; wives gave up their husbands, and mothers gave up their sons, to the battles of a civil war. Death might come in honor on the field ; it might come in disgrace, on the scaffold, — for either and for both they were prepared." The following is a sample of the sentiments of the hour : " Bland- ishments will not fascinate us, nor will threats of a halter in- timidate ; for, under God, we are determined that whereso- ever, whensoever, or howsoever we shall be called to make our exit, we will die free men." Such was their courage at the outset. It increased as the struggle went on. Who can read our national history and not have his soul set on fire, when it drinks in the story of patient endurance exhibited at every step during the war of the Revolution ? At Valley Forge did that endurance have its most terrible test. These thrilling pages should be read and re-read often by every American youth. A noble patriot- ism will be fed by them. They would be as fountains from which shall flow the sweet waters of noble, civic conduct. 7 98 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. Fortunately for us and the cause of human liberty and free government, God gave to be rulers and leaders of the Revolutionary period, purer and better men than had ever before put their hands to human government. We owe this statement to general history. We can name but a few of the many. What will you say against such heroes as Washing- ton, Adams, Hancock, Henry, Lee, Putnam, and Warren ? These were the great leaders of that day. They grasped the greatness of the cause committed to them. Their souls were true to their action. Their lives, some short and others long, were full of true devotion to the public weal. To us the spot where the first great battle was fought, can never be other than sacred. Such was the feeling of Webster when he delivered the oration at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument on the 17th of June, 1825. He said : •' We come, as Americans, to mark the spot which must forever be dear to us and our posterity. We wish that whosoever in all coming time shall turn his eye hither, may behold that the place is not undistinguished where the first battle of the Revolution was fought. We wish that this structure may proclaim the magnitude and importance of that event to every class and every age. We wish that infancy may learn the purpose of its erection from maternal lips, and that weary and withei-ed age may behold it and be solaced by the recollections which it suggests. We wish that labor may look up here and be proud, in the midst of its toil. We wish that, in those days of disaster, which, as they come upon all nations, must be expected to come upon us also, desponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward and be assured that the foundations of our national power are still strong. We wish that the column, rising towards heaven among the pointed spires of so many temples dedicated to God, may contribute also to produce in all minds a pious feeling of de- pendence and gratitude. We wish, finally, that the last ob- ject to the sight of him who leaves his native shore and the BUXTON CBNTEKNIAL. 99 first to gladden his who revisits it, may be something which shall remind him of the liberty and the glory of his native country. Let it rise. Let it rise till it meet the sun in his coming ; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger and play upon its summit." Let us not at this moment longer dwell upon our Revolu- tionary fathers, but go still farther back in the track of his- tory, and find the real beginning of that line of events which culminated in the kind of government which we to-day en- joy, and the recognition of which we now so justly celebrate. When we do this, we shall find at this beginning the Pilgrim Fathers. They bore to these shores the germ of our civil liberty. They sought, indeed, for another liberty, the free- dom of the soul, the freedom of the mind. They did not look beyond this. They did not count for any other than the freedom of the soul, yet they are our founders, inasmuch as the freedom they sought could not long exist without the protection of a government which should recognize it. The germ then, I say, of our civil liberties was in the convictions of the Pilgrims. Governments come from a germ. They have it as much as the oak has it. A principle cherished by somebody and at some time, finally shows itself in the throes of society, and culminates in an organized government. Ef- fects follow causes. The Mayflower bore to the wild shores of New England the germ of our free institutions. It was not brought into being in that vessel ; it was in the hearts of its passengers. It was not born of them ; it had been the product of many generations. The time for its planting had come. They were the rough vessels in which it was borne to the wilds of America. It was to be and was planted here. Thank God that we can eat the delicious fruit which now hangs from every branch of the tree of civil and religious liberty. How full of interest ; yea, how big with the best hopes of the world was the Mayflower as seen from the 100 BtrXTOK CBNTEimiAL. frozen shores of New England. No eulogy can exceed the magnitude of the theme. In eulogy of that scarcely discerned speck upon the ocean, the great powers of Webster and Everett were almost year- ly engaged. These great men confessed their inability to do justice to the inspiring theme. They insisted that in that lone ship was the real and true germ from which sprung our national being and character. These men caught the true spirit of our national history. No vessel ever bore across any waters such a freight. It could not be estimated. Its value was beyond the power of computation. Of the value of the Mayflower's cargo Everett once said : " Within that poor, tempest-tossed vessel there lay on the eleventh of October, 1620, a moral treasure of value wholly inappreciable, faintly conceived of even now by us its immediate inheritors, after two hundred years' possession ; principles of social and moral growth and improvement, which, for ages to come, will not be developed in all their virtue and efficiency." There were in that vessel the elements of our democratic form of gov- ernment, for on that day the first written Constitution of a popular government was drawn up and signed by the people assembled in convention for that purpose. " Cycles of hu- man history may pass before events of equal importance to humanity shall recur." Who can compute the disaster had this vessel been lost ? She would have carried to the bottom of the sea a freightage more precious than silver and gold. The cause of freedom and of equal rights would have per- ished. We would not be here to-day. The history of the human family would be destitute of the pages we Americans have written therein during these two hundred years. To the eye of the true reader of American history the May- flower is radiant with glory. She seems instinct with life it- self, for the life of a future nation is so wrapped up in her safety. The storm raged through her shattered canvas, yet they could not draw her from her destined harbor. All na- BtrXTON CENTENNIAL. 101 ture seemed prepared for her defence. "We cannot forget the men and women within that beaten though protected vessel. These Pilgrims were too noble to be forgotten. They had many faults, and committed grave errors, but we must not forget that they were after all the chosen agents in the es- tablishment of a great Repubhc. They bore hither the true seed. In weary exile they planted it. Under the spacious branches of the tree of liberty we now recline. Let us never do injustice to the men who planted it, though we may regret the errors they committed. The good far outweighed the bad in them. They demanded soul freedom. This was enough. They were austere, but who shall say that they did not need their austerity. They were the appointed agents, and this should cause us to praise them. Of the Mayflower, her cargo, the Pilgrims, their princi- ples and character, thus spoke the eloquent Everett : " Methinks I see it now, that one solitary, adventurous vessel, the Mayflower of a forlorn hope, freighted with the prospects of a future state, and bound across the unknown sea. I behold it pursuing, with a thousand misgivings, the uncertain, the tedious voyage. Suns rise and set, and weeks and months pass, and winter surprises them on the deep, but brings them not the sight of the wished-for shore. I see them now scantily supplied with provisions, crowded almost to suf- focation in their ill-stored prison, delayed by calms, pursuing a circuit- ous route, and now driven in fury before the raging tempest on the high and giddy waves. The awful voice of the storm howls through the rigging ; the labor- ing masts seem straining from their base ; the dismal sound of the pump is heard; the ship leaps, as it were, madly from billow to billow ; the ocean breaks and settles with engulfing floods over the floating deck, and beats with deadening might against the staggered vessel. I see them, escaped from these perils, pursuing their all but desperate undertaking ; and landed at last, after a five months' passage, on the ice-clad rocks of Plymouth, weak and weary from the voyage, poorly armed, scantily provisioned, depending on the charity of their ship- master for a draught of beer on board, drinking nothing but water on shore, without shelter, without means, surrounded by hostile tribes. Shut now the volume of history and tell me, on any principle of hu- man probability, what shall be the fate of this handful of adventurers. Tell me, man of military science, in how many months were they all 102 BTJXTOK CENTENNIAL. swept off by the thirty savage tribes enumerated within the early lim- its of Kew England ? Tell me, politician, how long did this shadow of a colony, on which your conventions and treaties had not smiled, lan- guish on the distant coast? Student of history, compare for me the baffled projects, the deserted settlements, the abandoned adventures of other times, and find the parallel of this. Was it the winter's storm, beating upon the houseless heads of women and children, was it hard labor and spare meals, was it disease, was it the tomahawk, was it the deep malady of a blighted hope, a ruined enterprise, and a broken heart, aching in its last moments at the recollection of the loved and left beyond the sea; was it some, or all of these united, that hurried this forsaken company to their melan- choly fate ? And is it possible that neither of these causes, that not all combined, were able to blast this bud of hope? Is it possible that from a begin- ning so feeble, so frail, so worthy, not so much of admiration as of pity, there has gone forth a progress so steady, a growth so wonderful, a reality so important, a promise yet to be fulfilled, so glorious ? " These utterances of the gifted Everett force upon the mind a trne conception of the men and women who worked upon the very foundations in our temple of civil liberty. We who now dwell amid the beauties of the completed structure, should deal kindly with those who thus worked and suffered for our happiness and safety. Nor were these men blind to the future before them, and now our rich possession. They had broad views, high purposes, and sublime conceptions. But few American statesmen have studied our early history and the work of the Pilgrims with more thoroughness than did Daniel Webster. In an address, on the first settlement of New England, he causes our fathers when they landed upon the Plymouth Rock to use the following language : " If God prosper us, we shall here begin a work which shall last for ages ; we shall plant here a new society, in the principles of the fullest liberty and the purest religion ; we shall subdue this wilderness which is before us ; we shall fill this region of the great continent, which stretches almost from pole to pole, with civilization and Christianity ; the temples of the true God shall rise where now ascends the smoke of idolatrous sacrifice; fields and gardens, the flowers of summer and the BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 103 waving and golden harvest of autumn, shall spread over a thousand valleys, never yet, since the creation, reclaimed to the use of civilized man. We shall whiten this coast with the canvas of a prosperous commerce ; we shall stud the long and winding shore with a hundred cities. That which we sow in weakness shall be raised in strength. From our sincere, but houseless worship, there shall spring splendid temples to God's goodness ; from the simplicity of our social union, there shall arise wise and politic institutions of govern- ment, full of the liberty which we ourselves bring and breathe ; from our zeal for learning, institutions shall spring which shall scatter the light of knowledge throughout the land, and, in time, paying back where they have borrowed, shall contribute their part to the great aggregate of human knowledge ; and our descendants, through all generations, shall look back to this spot and to this hour, with unabated affection and regard." Let us again return. The war of tlie Revolution is over. Peace has been declared. The colonies are free and the great woik of national development begins. The career of the United States commences. The constitution is formed and adopted. The immortal Washington is made the first President. Now settlements begin anew. Commerce, agri- culture, and manufactures must be revived and augmented. The government was poor yet rich in hope and purpose. The settlements in Buxton now increased, and improvements met the eye on every side. The forests were felled, the land cleared and houses erected. We can easily see how im- mense the labor imposed upon the settlers. Mills must be erected, bridges built, and roads constructed. At no time in the history of the town has there been a wonderfully rapid growth, but rather, a steady and continuous prosperity. Churches and school-houses were early built. The culture of the heart and the mind was a controlling principle with our fathers. In this they rightly judged. When I mention 104 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. the word churches, my memory recalls the name of Rev. Paul Coffin, whose sainted ashes rest in yonder graveyard ; and whose spirit, I doubt not, hovers over us at this hour. I also see again the form of Rev. Abner Flanders and Rev. Levi Loring, who labored long and faithfully for the spiritual good of more than one generation. Sacred be their mem- ories. Who does not to-day with pleasure remember the venerable father Clay with his hoary locks ? He lives among the " countless millions " of whom he always spoke in the closing words of his prayers. The descendants of these men are among us to-day. I see them before me. Our historian is one of the number. Among the school-masters, I can mention. Moody, Morrisey, Sawyer, Smith, and Brown. Of Moody and Morrisey my father often spoke. Of Smith and Brown many present could speak. Some of us could speak feelingly, if it were proper to do so, seeing they have long since " slept the sleep that knows no waking." The war of 1812 brought to the settlers of Buxton many hardships and privations. Their patriotism, however, was equal to the occasion. It enabled them to endure their pri- vations without a murmur. The women of that day were noble women. They gloried in their self-denials. They cheerfully gave up husbands, sons, and lovers. I regret most profoundly that 1 am not able to read the Buxton Roll of Honor. It is in history, but not now in my possession. When the war of 1812 had closed, there began the steady and regular prosperity which it has been the good fortune of Buxton to enjoy till this day. The celebration of this day, the first centennial, in 1872, will bring to mind the many changes which one hundred years have wrought. In 1772, where we now behold well-cleared and fruitful farms, was the wilderness. Then, the log cabin and now the well-made and furnished house. Then, the spotted tree for the course of travel ; now, the well-built road. Then, the swollen stream to ford ; now, the safely constructed bridge. Then, an ab- BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 105 sence of the comforts and luxuries of life ; now, all these in abundance. Privations then, but freedom now. Thanks be to God, our goodly town has done well. When the second centennial occurs, let me now predict still greater prosperity and improvement. Other industries will spring up, other demands will be made and met. These will be followed by the fruits of well-directed effort. None of us will be here, yet let us hope that those who shall come, will be able, as we are, to thank God, and do good work for those who shall fol- low them. Buxton to-day has here her sons and daughters. Some have returned from distant homes and many are still resi- dents here. Many more have gone forever to the land of spirits. This town has sent good men to the great cities of the Union, — to Portland, to Boston, to New York, and to Chicago. They are there grappling with business or the re- sponsibilities of professional life. Many of them are pros- perous and hold honorable rank with the sons of other towns and cities. She has sent many sons to the army and navy, where they have nobly acted their part. One trod the deck of the gallant Kearsarge. Buxton has sent many a pioneer into the great West. They have there had their part in de- veloping and molding the capabilities and institutions which, in the generations to- come, shall flourish in the great valley of the Mississippi. These all, whether in the city or the country ; whether in near or distant States, will ever and anon send their minds back to this their dear old native town. They will often sigh for a sight of her lands, her woods, and her streams. They will, in mind, wander amid her burial grounds and find the places where sacred ashes rest. For my part, however much I love the pure atmosphere, the magnificent prairies, and the beautiful skies of my adopted State, never, never, can I forget the old town where first I saw the light of day and where now my fathers sleep. 106 BTTXTON CENTENNIAL. Buxton has sent not a few of her sons to the colleges of New England. The honors of Yale, of Harvard, of Dart- mouth, of Bowdoin, and of Waterville have been granted them. Our historian to-day went from the classic shades of Bowdoin to the great West, and I rejoice that his prosperity there was so much that he can now dwell and have otium cum dignitate under the shadows of old Harvard. Our poet was justly a sharer in the peculiar honors of Yale. We are right glad that he, a son of Buxton, has so honorable a place on the editorial staff of New England's favorite public journal. And now my friends, both old and young, what shall be my parting word ? Amid the genial festivities of this glad hour, how shall I bid you adieu ? I did not dare make a special preparation for this address. I preferred to let the occasion teach me what to say ; to draw inspiration from the happy faces that should surround me, and thus keep my mind free from the constraints of a written page. You must there- fore pardon the defects of such a mode of speaking. Let me say finally that we are bound, under heaven, to protect and preserve all the liberties and privileges which we now enjoy. Our fathers bequeath them to us. They come from the free government they fought to secure. How shall we do this? W'e may do it by cultivating a broad and generous patriot- ism, — a patriotism which shall reach deep down into the sources of our national character ; which shall drink its in- spiration from those pages in American history which true heroism has made radiant with the light of an unfading glory. A patriotism thus sought and fed lifts us far, far above mere partyism. Partyism is narrow and often selfish. Patriotism is broad and always unselfish. We should study our govern- ment, and in its mechanism discover the strength of its foun- dation, and the beauty of its superstructure. Thus shall we learn to love our country, love it as no Greek or Roman BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 10 T could love his ; and so loving, be ready to honor and defend. This admiration, this ardent attachment, should be cherished by the old and taught to the young. We are glad, then, to see here to-day the youth of the town, that they may look upon the nation's flag, hear the booming cannon, listen to the stirring and patriotic music of the band and the choir, as they send forth the inspiring notes of " Star Spangled Banner " and " America." These notes are to-day our property, our legacy. May they be such to our children and our children's children, down, down, to the remotest time. Let them strike the ear every Fourth of July and every month of every year. Let its institutions, its free education, its christian religion, be cherished and sustained with patriotic devotion, and God will continue them to us and to ours for all the generations to come. Then in 1972, when the second centennial sliall be cele- brated, though we shall all be gathered to our fathers, and the sons and daughters of Buxton come to this spot amid great rejoicing, they will leave for the day their houses furnished and surrounded as we caiinot now imagine, secured to them by all the devices of a good society and government. An- other cannon will stir our slumbering dust. Other voices than ours shall be heard in speech and song. Other strong hands shall erect the tent and spread the canvas. Other fair hands shall load the festal tables. Be this so, and may the participants in that day, as in this, thank God and feel that they are the inheritors of the most goodly land God ever carved out for mortals. At the close of the oration, the choirs and band gave, " coine all ye faithful." The President then introduced the Poet of the occasion, as follows : I now introduce to you a bright and shining star in the political and editorial circle of the Old Bay State ; who cele- brates with us the birthday of his native town : Charles G. Came, of Boston. POEM. Like one who, reverent but glad, in spite of weary days, As through his boyhood's home with returning foot he strays, Explores each wonted room with an eager, moistening eye, Greets each familiar thing with a smile or a sigh, — Surveys the towering clock that has ticked away a race, The glass that shows a careworn and not a childish face, And o'er the mantelpiece, almost as good as new, The rigid little profiles of Ethiopian hue, — Sees everything dehghted, yet is none the less aware That the best things of all are the hearts still beating there; So come we here to-day, so trace the century's record down Re-clothe the cherished past of our still more cherished town. This is, indeed, our home, whatever else we love to call By that endearing name; and brethren are we all. Though not a genealogist with all his lore could trace Any other tie among us, save that of Adam's race. Brethren are we all, though we never met before, And with the coming sundown shall part forevermore. Though the veteran is here, with his store of youthful scenes, And the little child that wonders what all this talking means ■ Though we hail from busy marts and the prairies of the West, From shop and mill and farm and gray old Ocean's crest, — Erom even "the Hub of the Universe " gladly hasting down, And up from the halls of Congress to celebrate the town, — A family re-united on this festal day we come To share the memories clustering about our common home. Who cares about the corner where our eyes first saw the light? Whether near this Lower Corner, the settlers' earUest site, Or in the other higher ones, if any such there be, Erom the straight line of Gorham to the slopes of Shadigee ; What matters if our bare feet, as brown as garden toads. 110 BtJXTON CBNTBNNIAIi. First trudged along the Eight Eod or down the Beach Plain roads ; Or we practiced at tue Bar, taking frolic for a fee, Or gazed on Bonny Eagle as a mighty inland sea; If first we swam the Saco, or slid down Dearborn's hill; Whose orchards we got into, or where we went to mill; Or which the school-house was whose birches made us wince, Whose lessons made us wiser than we ever have been since ; How oft we went to muster, or hurried trembling by The old brick powder-house that might blow us to the sky; Or " snatched a fearful joy" in warily treading where Tradition grimly whispered John Palmer shot the bear! Vain, ah, vain the task to unloose the swelling flow Of memories that bear us back to the long time ago, — That hear us up, indeed, in so many a wearied hour. And a blissful haven give when the clouds of trouble lower ; But who shall count them o'er V Too short this summer's day To mark the thronging visitants, the haunting scenes that play In the coldest heart among us. Neither are we here To celebrate ourselves, but this proud centennial year. This is our Fathers' home, — thank God! our Mothers,' too. Who both woman's rights and woman's duties knew. To them we give our homage first, for grave history has a knack Of glorifying mankind and keeping woman back, — As if the car of progress its " better half " did lack. Or, wheel-barrow like, left only a single track. Not so the honored Mothers of Buxton shall we treat, Who kept up their own end and made both ends meet. By them the somber web of the settler's varied lot With the golden threads of love was brightly overshot; Ne'er pausing in well-doing, till they took their final rest, Let us, their grateful children, rise up and call them blest. But all then worked together in the good old early days. Nor shall they sundered be e'en for purposes of praise; A hardy, stalwart race, frank, open-handed, free, A little quick in temper, quicker yet in charity; At raisings or at funerals, strong arm and tender heart Acted all the neighbor's, revealed the Christian's part. They never swore at all, unless exceeding wroth. They gave full measure, and they wore full cloth. No time had they for sentiment, kept clear of doleful dumps. BXJXTON CENTENNIAL. Ill Tor squatting where they might, they had to " stir their stumps." Their spelling might be faulty, but of rights they knew the worth. And they taught King George a lesson still sounding o'er the earth. Of such the worthies were, whose names have often stirred Our souls as with the charm of some treasured household word; The Hancocks and the Adamses, as true as those more famed, The Goodwins and the Eldens and the Merritts, rightly named; The Lanes that had no turning, the Roundses, always' " square," The Emerys and the Wentworths, the Smiths, too, everywhere; With Martin and with Marshall, McDonald known as Mack, They also had their Greenleafs, and of Berrys felt no lack. With the Bradburys and the Hobsons to build and run their mills. They were strengthened with, we trust, the everlasting Hills. With kindred bands of White, Gray, and Dunn Brown cords, They beat old Mother England with many a house of Lords. As for the race of Eaton, do you think their race is run? Just look at "Uncle Tut," wide awake at ninety-one! And yet the old town of vain-glory showed no trace, — She long kept a Coffin in her most conspicuous place ; And still she heeds the injunction of the apostolic pen. To let her Moderation be known unto all men. Not all things did our fathers, the simple truth to tell; The Woodmans, acting history, left sons to write it well. To cut and stitch the Hansons e'er showed a ready hand. But then they clothed not their thousands over all the land. The Merrills were not Governors then, except of team and plow; The.Dunnells were Selectmen, not Congressmen, as now. 'Twas_ a day, indeed, of small things, outside the heroic stock, A day of plain and simple things the sons will never mock. Our kickshaws of cookery had given them the cramp As they took their pork and porridge or bowl of wholesome samp. The shuttle and the spinning-wheel,— no living girl e'er sees,— Made music sweet as any thumped out of ivory keys. In the women's social calls early hours were no crime, They took their knitting with them and got home by milking time. Straight as arrows were they, too, with no bottle-spider curves. And they passed away their lives in sheer ignorance of nerves. No dandies were there then, though many a goodly romp. And the sprucest thing in town was old Spruce Swamp. 112 BUXTON CENTENNIAL This mighty age of wonders how far they were behind! With their mowers and their reapers of the two-legged kind ; No daily press in motion to keep the people bright, Ko machine to do their sewing, not even a match to light. A steamboat on the river! they would have shouted until hoarse; And what staring and what rearing at sight of the iron horse! But had they seen these wires flashing all the world's news, Verily, they would have thought the Evil One was loose! And yet they waxed and flourished, nor thought themselves so slow, — The young ones " rayther fast," indeed, A HUISTDEED TeAES AGO. I. With the town buried down 'neath a long winter's snows, And what scores of cold Fridays there's nobody knows. Hard, tough old times were those, A hundred years ago. II. With quiltings and vnth huskings and glorious training day, And always Marm Garland's so handy in the way. High, jolly old times had they, A hundred years ago. III. With baking and washing, tending crops, sowing seed. And kind words and high words, — ^life hardly up to creed, — Very much like these, indeed. The hundred years ago. IV. As down at Old Orchard they took their annual dip. And perchance felt the chill their vitals give a grip, Beluctantly they had a little flip, A hundred years ago. V. No Presidents were then; but ministers and kings. Instead of Grant and Greeley, took politicians' flings; Had they but other names for things, A hundred years ago ! BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 113 VI. "When o'er the rising troubles so earnestly they talked, As into Boston harbor the tea-chests were knocked, 'Twas the cradle of a nation that they rocked, A hundred years ago ! VII. May we our duties face as worthily to-day. That our children, a century hence, shall say: " Ah, queer old dear ones were they, A hundred years ago. And can it be, my brethren, that while our native town Is steadily going up, the breed is running down? 'Tis not for us to say, — to that solemn hour let us point, "When with treason's mad assault the times were out of joint; When tramp of mustering squadrons to the centre shook the land, And this Union of our love seemed but a rope of sand. Oh, how the shots struck these peaceful homes among! What hearts are bleeding yet by those awful memories wrung 1 But the Boys, — the Boys of old Buxton, — how stood they in the fight? As firm, as grand, I ween, as their Fathers on Bunker's height. Prompt wheeling into line with the mighty loyal host. They fought their battle through, nor stopped to count the cost. The fainting march, deadly trench, or whizzing shell, Pestiferous breath of hospital, or rebel prison's hell, Wounds, disease, or death, — they met them all to save An empire without a king, a land without a slave. So shall it ever be; though the blessed Flag advance. Till, welcomed o'er the Continent, its stars in glory glance. Our little town, a speck on the nation's boundless plains, With her single drop of blood coursing through the nation's veins, As vital as any other, as near the central heart. With the Union e'er shall stand, with that alone depart. So while the sun smiles upon her, or Saco rolls its waters down,. Through aU, all the coming ages, God bless the Tovtn! TOASTS At the close of the Poem, the President announced the collation and invited all to participate. A grand rush for the tables now seemed to take the place of the order of the day. After the tables were all filled and quiet restored, Rev. S. H. Merrill of Portland pronounced an Invocation. O Lord, Thou art God alone. Thou hast been the dwelling place of Thy people in all generations. We are here to give Thee thanks for the favor Thou didst show our fathers, who, amidst hardships and perils, entered the wilderness which then overspread this now thriv- ing and beautiful town. "We are here to acknowledge Thy hand in all its past history. We thank Thee that under these pleasant skies, amid this charming scenery, so many of us, natives of this town, are per- mitted to greet each other, and renew the acquaintances of childhood and youth, and through the magic power of association, to be young again to-day. Let us now enjoy with devout hearts these gifts of Thy band ; and let our future lives be wiser and better for the privilege of this occasion ; for the Redeemer's sake. After dinner the exercises were resumed. " Keller's American Hymn " was finely sung by Misses Alice and Anna Leavitt, of Buxton. Then followed a voluntary, " America," by the Choral Union and the Dover band. Dr. A. K. P. Meserve, of Buxton, acting Toast Master of the occasion, then called up several gentlemen to respond to toasts which were in sentiment as follows : The Town of Buxton: Her territory originally bestowed for a laudable purpose, she must have caught the infection of generosity and proved a cherishing mother ; since her children leave her with re- gret, and re-visit with pleasure their former home. BUXTON CENTENOTAL. 11-5 Responded to by Charles E. Jose, of Portland, as follows : Mr. President : There is an expression in the sentiment just read, that contains an important truth, and a hint at the broad and liberal policy adopted at the birth-day of our in- stitutions, in the distribution of the public domain, no where more manifest in its results than in this good old town, nor better illustrated than in this immense assemblage of Buxton- born, who have gathered here with the rare privilege of re- union, to exchange congratulations at this summit point in the cycle of a century. Whatever diversity of feeling or condition may attach to us as individuals, we are here to- day in the unity of thousands in one, to show our reverence for this our common inheritance. Aside from family ties and birthright attachment, we feel a general interest in the character of the soil and the general features of the town, which, I believe, enjoys the reputation of no waste land, bar- ren plains, nor malarial swamps, with their indigenous pro- ducts, Hoop-Poles and Shrub Oaks. Our ancestors were of the good old Puritan stock ; and the standard of that has been well maintained ; a resident population of recognized intelligence, and a fugitive family, scattered on all the highways of the country ; honoring them- selves and the place of their birth by an adherence to the same principles. And I congratulate myself on this oppor- tunity of coming back and mingling in fraternal union of hearts and hands, and, from this grand out-look, to contem- plate for the hour the memories of the past and the bright promises of the future of this, our own, our native town. The Pbesidbnt of thb UmTED States. Response by Hon. Joseph Hobson, of Saco, as follows : Mr. President — Ladies and Gentlemen: My language is inadequate to illustrate the character or the merits of the President of the United States. His success in crushing the late rebellion, his direction of our gallant army, by God's 116 BUXTON CBNTBITNIAL. will, has preserved this flag that floats so gracefully over our heads, — not a star blotted out, not a stain of national dis- honor upon its folds. His fresher laurels in civil administra- tion are equally well-earned, government administered with promptness and efficiency, our foreign relations harmonious, our public debt diminishing, our national character more re- spected ; he is a shining star in the cabinet as well as in the field. That trait in his character, his marvellous self-control when assailed by the calumnies of political foes, will stamp him as one of the philosophers or stoics of the present age. Should his future career be as successful as the past has been, he will be ranked among the greatest generals and the purest statesmen. The Sons and Daughters of Bdxton who beside elsewhebe: Their characters universally above reproach, we are proud to own them as our brethren, and rejoice to meet them again in our midst. Responded to by Lory B. Foss, of Boston, Mass., as fol- lows : Mr. President : T am here to thank you in behalf of the Sons and Daughtei'S of Buxton who reside elsewhere ; for your high appreciation of their character, for your cordial invitation, to join you on this glorious occasion, and for j^our generous provision for their entertainment. It proves. that family ties are not broken ; that our love of home, always strong and increasing with our years, finds its full comple- ment in your esteem ; how deeply we thank you for this, words can but feebly express. An invitation from the Czar of Russia to visit his court, and partake of his hospitality, could generate no sach thrill as this, our mother's call, " Come Home." The fathers and mothers of Buxton have always, as now, welcomed us with outstretched arms ; always, as now, re- ceived us with unstinted hospitality, thus proving their con- tinued interest in the welfare of their sons and daughters. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 117 If more than this be needed, let me point you to the schools they have always provided, affording to every child within her borders an education sufificient for all the ordinary busi- ness purposes of life. Measured by their incomes our fathers have made sacrifices of which no modern patriot can boast. If the whole country had contributed the same per centage and the same effort, the whole land, from Passamaquoddy Bay to Sitka, would have been one vast village of school- houses. It has been my fortune to spend some fifteen years of my later life on the road between Maine and Missouri, to visit and compare many communities, many families, many men, and, waiving all personal claims, I dare to say that no com- munity of its size in the United States, has sent from home a more industrious, more honest, more useful, or a better people, than the town of Buxton. A Buxton man is always industrious. It is his peculiar inheritance. At his first start in life, wherever he may be, his first object is to make for himself a home and never cease improving it. Find him where you may, in the logging-swamp, in the city, on 'change, on the prairies, in the gold mines, on the fron- tier, in the pulpit, in the halls of the Legislature, or fighting his country's battles in the wilderness, his characteristics are traceable in liis indomitable courage, in his persistency, in his love of justice aud equal rights, and in his inflexible de- termination to come out ahead, at any and all honorable cost. The dearest spot on earth to a Buxton man, is Buxton ; he honors the land of his birth ; to him it is always home ; no other land for him has such a place, no other language such a word. But, Mr. Chairman, whatever of honor, whatever of good, of noble purpose is accorded to the sons, must also be con- ceded to the daughters. 'Tis true, also, here as elsewhere, that the mothers and daughters mould the characters of the sons and brothers. This is, indeed, woman's greatest work, 118 BUXTON CENTEKNIAL. and in it there is glory witliout stint. Mr. Chairman, I claim that the sons and daughters of Buxton, wherever residing, deserve the eulogy you so gracefully accord them ; it is, in- deed, high praise, but the author is greater than his works, the maker of more account than what he makes ; so must our praises be written in a higher key to justly commend our fathers and mothers. We are glad to be home again, to breathe once more the pure air that invigorated our childhood, to grasp again the hands that in boyhood days encouragingly patted our heads, to look once more into the faces of the men and women who were middle aged when we were young, a little wrinkled but scarcely older than thirty years ago. Is it not true, Mr. Chairman, that those we love never grow old ? We are glad to meet each other ; it is a source of joy any- where, but most so here, where every field and grove and path has borne the impress of our own little bare feet. Every step in life leaves a track. Would that all were as innocent as those of our infancy. I must be pardoned, Mr. Chairman, for my deviation to this theme, as my thoughts revert to the pastimes, the sing- ing-schools, the huskings, the quiltings, the innumerable oc- casions that brought us together in the sweetheart days. To act the cavalier on a long journey to her home, and return with that elastic step which made one feel, in the language of Alexander Smith, " that he walked on thrones." These are golden links in memory's chain that bind us to our boy- hood home. Such, Mr. Chairman, are the pleasant thoughts woven in- to my memory of Buxton and its people. I love the old town as I do my father. Its sods cover my mother, my brother, and my child. Its name is a bond of union be- tween me and her children wherever dispersed. In conclusion, let me commend this spot as most appropri- ately chosen for this gathering, for yonder in peaceful slum- BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 119 ber are the hundreds who have passed before us ; we have come to them as well as to you, and may we not conceive their spirits hovering near, to rejoice with us that old Buxton has so well achieved her hundredth birthday ? The Ladies: First and foremost in every good cause and work, while they adorn our homes, mould our characters, soothe our sorrows, and exalt all our pleasures, may no privileges that will increase their happiness ever he denied them. Response by Hon. J. E. Butler, of Biddeford, as follows : The gentleman who has responded to " The Sons and Daughters of Buxton," is too gallant and too just, not to claim with me, for the wives, mothers, and daughters over all the land the same virtues and graces which we readily accord to those for whom he has spoken. You are right, Mr. Chairman, to include the ladies in your choicest sentiment ; there can be no worthy type of civilization, where woman is not honored and beloved, cherished and respected as the Priestess adorning the Inner Temple, where men worship the better angels of their nature. It is not ours to deny them their right or any of the privileges they claim. They know them and, knowing, deserve them ; and their prov- ince and their sphere of usefulness or of influence, be as- sured, Mr. Chairman, they fully appreciate now, and their natural acuteness will be their best compass, their natural ambition, their best pilot. All the dear creatures may not be angels, but the places of those who fail are not supplied by men ; nor will they be until we get to that heaven, whither all our hopes are tend- ing. And in this world, where we should all learn to hear and/brJear, let us realize that no one alone can quarrel, and that if the ladies sometimes find fault with us, or wound our sensibilities, very often we shall find that the blame is mu- tual. 120 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. The Farmers : May they truly appreciate their calling, and remem- ber that " He who causes two blades of gi-ass to grow where only one grew before is a public benefactor." Response by Mark P. Emery, of Portland, as follo-ws : Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : However much may be said, hinting at agricultural reform, to develop the highest culture consistent with the wealth of the soil, we cannot safely supplant manual labor with theories or fancies. The maxim of our great Benjamin Franklin is still true ; " He that by the plow would thrive, himself must either hold or drive." Practical farming has proved the most successful, as a natural result follows a natural cause. Not that men get rich in a day, or that great wealth is sure to follow the labor of even a lifetime ; but that, to no other pursuit more than that of the Farmer, is the assurance given, that " he that soweth shall also reap, and in kind with that which he has sown," and if his drafts upon the great warehouse are made in a reasonable manner, and in' business time, they will al- ways be honored. I offer you this sentiment to close. Farmers and farmers' wives of Buxton : The pillars and support of the town, as your bountifully spread tables abun- dantly prove. OuE Venerable Grandmothers : Whose crocheting was with the flax comb and whose piano was the spinning-wheel, always furnishing good homespuri linen and checked aprons. May we, their descendants, always find Our shirts as well starched, Our stockings as well mended, Our goose as well cooked, and Our babies as well tended. Responded to by Hon. Joshua Dunn, of Portland. Mr. President : This is my native town, and if ever I felt proud of old Buxton it is to-day, and now bordering on my fourscore years, I have been anxious to live to see t?ds day, BUXTON CEKTENNIAI;. 121 fearing that something might prevent my being present at the next centennial. I wanted to be here, to shake the friendly hand of old playmates and schoolmates if I could find them. I will not say what the boys used to speak from the Colum- bian Orator. "Or Where's the town go far or near That does not find a rival here ?" For I believe that old Buxton has no rival in this country for honest men and bonnie lasses. I thank the ladies for their presence here to-day ; I hope to catch inspiration from their cheerful faces that I may say something clever if not high-flown. But I am requested to reply to a sentiment for our venerable grandmothers, and cheerfully will I do so. I had one myself and a good one too, especially on the mater- nal side, who took care of me four years after my mother's death, at the old farm house. There, indeed, the music was the spinning wheel and the flying shuttle in the household loom. And when, in my fourteenth year, I left my grand- mother and started on foot to Portland to learn the saddler's trade in a homespun suit and felt hat, and received her part- ing blessing, I felt, sir, more than all your sentiment can ex- press. I had little or no learning, for I was sent to school only on rainy days, my ancestors fearing that too much application might cramp my genius. , I had no taste for mathematics, but it was acknowledged by all that my talents would be devel- oped in military tactics. I had heard of battles and longed to follow Gen. Scott or some other hero to the tented field ; and when the war of 1812 broke out, though a stripling of only eighteen years, I felt full of patriotism and enlisted for eight dollars a month and no bounty. The young blood frolicked through my veins when I thought of scaling the walls of Quebec or treading the streets of Montreal, and it might have been so had it not been for those plaguey Indians in the 122 BUXTON CENTENNIAL woods of " Shadagee " (Chateaugay). I served through the war, was at the battle of Plattsburg, and was honorably dis- charged when peace was declared. And now, sixty years later, I am still grateful to our government for the eight dol- lars a month which I am receiving, though rather small pay to go out and stop bullets for. And now,, fellow-townsmen, men and women of Buxton, I will offer the following sentiment. Our native town, may her motto be in the future as in the past, morality, frugality, industry, and honesty. Thk Sons or Buxton ln the Late Wab : Ever prompt to do their duty, may the time never again come when a like sacrifice shall be re- quired, may prosperity and peace continue henceforth. Responded to by Capt. Joseph F. Warren, of Buxton. Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Grentlemen : Though not a native of Buxton, yet I am proud to be her citizen, and es- pecially am I proud to-day to say a word in behalf of so many of her sons, who, in response to their country's call shrank not from the strife. They saw our great Republic struggling for existence, the old flag fluttering in danger, and, with determination and zeal, they said, " That flag must float over all this land," and girding on their armor, imperiled all and marched to final victory. But alas ! we would not forget the sacrifice. With sad hearts do we call to mind our com- rades who fell out on that long and weary march, but who served their country all the more, because they gave their all. Several years have passed since we laid aside our mili- tary and returned to civil life ; yet within our breasts burns the same patriotic flame, and should this flag again be as- sailed by any foe, foreign or domestic, with the same prompt- ness would we seize the musket and haversack and double- quick to the rescue. BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 123 The Day We Celebbatk : Filled with pleasure and rejoicing, yet hallowed by memories of the past, and of those who walk no more with us ; may we all so live and act, that when another hundred years shall have passed, and another generation shall fill our places, they may remember us with the same feelings of love and veneration which we feel for those who have gone before us. Responded to by George "W. Woodman, of New York. Ladies and Gentlemen: Were I prepared to make a fitting response to tlie toast which you have just heard read, I should feel restrained from so doing, for two sufficient rea- sons. First, because your time and patience have been already severely taxed by the interesting speeches and proceedings which we have all enjoyed to-day ; and Second, because the subject of the toast has been treated more fully and effectually by the gentlemen who have pre- ceded me, than I can expect to treat it in the brief time allotted to me. I do not know to whom we are indebted for the origination of this celebration, but for myself, and I think for all who are here present, I can most heartily say that it has proved an event of unalloyed pleasure and satisfaction. I have taken occasion to go among this large company to seek out relatives and old time acquaintances, and all the faces I have looked upon have seemed radiant with joy and happiness ; evidently thankful that they were able to be of this assembly, and to hear recounted the deeds and sacrifices of our progenitors, the first settlers of this town. We certainly could do no less, after the lapse of one hun- dred years, than to give a day to reminiscences of those who came into this then wilderness, to found homes for themselves and their children. They were men of nerve and energy, willing to undergo the hardships necessarily attendant, at that time, upon a pioneer life, and with ambition to become independent citi- 124 BUXTON CENTENNIAi. zens and owners of the soil. They brought with them civil and religious freedom and they were able, willing, and de- termined to maintain them. The early founding of the church, the organization of the town government, which we celebrate to-day, and the part they took in the war of the Revolution clearly show this. They have now all departed from this stage of existence and their forms and faces are known here no more. " Peace be to their ashes." May the remembrance of their good works continue to live after them and prove a stimulus to us, to follow them in whatever of good they attained or aimed at. The hundred years which we now look back upon have been full, to repletion, of progress for this country and the world at large. Millions of men have risen from serfdom to freedom ; from civil and religious darkness to the mental, moral, and spiritual activity of the present day. Within this hundred years science has become the handmaid of mankind. She has harnessed new forces to man's chariots and ships, and he travels over continents and oceans with more ease than the birds of the air. She aids him in the cul- tivation of the earth, in the preparation of his food and clothing, in the building of his homes and his marts of trade. She has chained the electric spark to his uses ; has brought the most distant parts of the earth to his fingers' ends, and has made " the world a vast whispering gallery." Had our forefathers been supplied with the aids and ap- pliances which we now possess, their hardships and sufferings would have been infinitely less. But while reviewing the past it is natural that we should turn our thoughts in the opposite direction, and endeavor to peer into the mysterious future, to the end of another hun- dred years. We ask ourselves, what will be the condition of this place then ? Who will occupy our places ? What changes of a so- cial, political, or intellectual nature will have occurred ? BtrXTOK CENTENNIAL. 125 We cannot make answer. Certain it is that no person now present can hope to stand here when another centennial shall have arrived. Material wealth and prosperity will have advanced, and we may believe that great progress will have been made in intellectural and moral culture. Our descend- ants will, in all likelihood assemble and commemorate the day we celebrate, and look back to us and to this day, as we are passing in review the century which has gone. I cannot conclude without saying, that to us, the sons and daughters of Buxton, who have come here after long years of absence," this day is one of peculiar pleasure. We miss, of course, the loved forms and faces of those who once lived in these homes, labored in these fields, and assembled in the churches, but we are made happy in meet- ing so many of their descendants, renewing old acquaintance- ships and in looking again upon the scenes of our childhood. Speaking for myself, and I am sure I may add for all the non-resident Buxtonians who are now present, I can say we feel grateful to you for remembering us and bidding us wel- come to this "feast of reason and flow of soul." We fully appreciate the labor and anxiety required from, and bestowed by you, to make this celebration a success, as it certainly is, and so far as our cordial thanks can recom- pense you or repay our obligations, they are sincerely yours. The Legal Peofession: Few in number yet strong in intellect, may they in the future as in the past always strive to promote peace and good will rather than to encourage litigation. Response by Hon. Chas. E. Weld, of Buxton. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: Though a resident of this town for more than a quarter of a century, yet when I look around me upon the assembled thousands of the sons and daughters of Buxton, many of them returned from distant homes to jom this great family reunion, with greetings and blessings, not only for the venerable mother upon her hun- 126 BUXTON OENTENKIAL. dredth birthday, but also for one another as brothers and sis- ters of the same family, I can but feel some embarrassment when I realize that I am only a member of the family by adoption, — that I am deprived of the honor and pleasure I would enjoy to-day, if I could truthfully boast that, " I too am a native of Buxton." Gathering confidence, however, jfrom the recollection of your past kindness and courtesy, I will proceed as best I can, to discharge the duty for which I have been called to appear before you. But what can I say in response to a sentiment so flatter- ing to the legal profession of the past ? If the lawyers of Buxton and its vicinity have heretofore commended themselves to the quiet, law abiding people of this good old town by a proper and judicious exercise of their professional duties, may we not deem that fact a happy au- gury for the future ? I am aware that lawyers are popularly supposed to love litigation, not perhaps, because they are supposed to love the strife and animosities sometimes engendered by it, but be- cause they are believed to derive a pecuniary benefit there- from. It is not unnatural that such a belief, to some extent at least, should prevail. The love of gain, in a greater or less degree, is common to all ; and doubtless is implanted in our natures for wise purposes, yet like all natural gifts or im- pulses, is liable by abuse to become debasing to manhood ; and it is not unreasonable to believe that lawyers, though be- longing to a profession whose earliest, continued, and latest teachings are truth, morality, and virtue, are not exempt more than others from the frailties of human nature. Like men of other professions and occupations some are good and some are bad. There may be some who disregard the high moral tenets of their profession, and forgetful of the solemn obligations they have assumed, become guilty of unprofess- ional conduct. Yet, even such persons are seldom influenced BUXTON CEKXENlSriAIi. 127 to promote strife by considerations of the pecuniary benefits to accrue to themselves from litigation alone. Every lawyer knows that the pecuniary interests of nearly all members of the profession, as well as the interests of their clients in a large proportion of disagreements which arise, are best pro- moted by adjustment without a resort to the decisions of courts of law. This then, if no higher motive than the love of gain actuates him, should lead him to discourage litigation. But the influence which a lawyer can exert over his clients is often much overestimated. It is true that his profession gives him frequent opportunities to allay sudden irritation, by calm and dispassionate council. This is his duty, and if he is a man of integrity and honor and faithful to his client's interest, this he will endeavor to do. All counsels of peace and forbearance are, however, usually lost upon unscrupu- lous, headstrong, or avaricious persons, more especially when angered by real or fancied wrongs, and such persons are those whose names oftenest appear as parties upon the rec- ords of the courts. With these and others, the thoughtless advice of meddlesome neighbors, or of false and pretended friends, is often far more potent in stirring up strife, than all the arts or suggestions of even an unprincipled lawyer could be. In leaving this subject, allow me to say, fellow-citizens of Buxton, that so long as you remain true to yourselves, so long as the same conscientiousness, intelligence, and mutual forbearance prevail as have prevailed in the past, you need have no fears that the spirit of litigation will not remain in abeyance. Our past history shows that the legal profession has not received great encouragement here. Of the lawyers who have entered upon professional business in this town, except those now remaining, all have left, after a short experiment, for more lucrative business elsewhere. How soon those now 128 BTJXTON CENTENOTAIi. here will, in this respect, follow the example of their prede- cessors, " Let time and chance determine." The lawyers remembered to have been in Buxton pre- vious to 1846 were Joseph Adams, S. P. S. Thatcher, Charles Coffin, Joseph Woodman, William T. Hilliard, Sam- uel V. Loring, Edwin W. Wedgwood, and Francis Bacon, all of whom, excepting Mr. Loring and Mr. Wedgwood, have been located at " Buxton Center " or at the " Lower Corner." Among these named were men well remembered by people here present, who reflected credit upon their pro- fession, and who were valued and highly respected citizens. One, the late Francis Bacon, we all remember, and we love to cherish his memory. He entered upon the practice of his profession here, where he continued until called by his fellow- citizens of York county to other and official duties. For sev- eral years he held important trusts in this county, and sub- sequently returned to professional practice in the town of Kittery, in which he continued successfully until his decease, a few months since. He, however, always retained a home in this town, to which he was peculiarly attached, and to which he was accustomed to return for seasons of rest from his laborious duties. We remember him as a kind neighbor, an earnest friend, a wise counsellor, a good citizen and an honest man. His mortal remains lie in the adjoining church- yard, a few steps only from the place we now occupy. No citizen of Buxton was ever more generally esteemed, or, after death more sincerely lamented. In 1866 our esteemed fellow-citizen, Joel M. Marshall, entered upon the practice of law in this town, where he still remains. We wish him success and a long and happy career of usefulness in his pro- fession. Besides those heretofore named, a part of whom were na- tives of the town, a number of the sons of Buxton have been educated for, and have entered the legal profession in other BUXTOK CENTENNTAI;. 129 states of the Union, where they have been highly respected and honored. Among these we are proud to claim the His- torian, the Poet, and the Orator of this occasion. Buxton may trulj- be said to be honored in her sons. Let us then rejoice in the present, and, while we permit ourselves with pardonable pride to look upon the past, let us not in- dulge in gloomy forebodings for the future. OtiR Chubch Edifices : Built by a former, and embellished by the present generation ; may they never be allowed to decay, but always stand as indices of our reverence and prosperity. Response by Rev. J. M. Burt, of Buxton, as follows : Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : It can hardly be supposed that so young a member of the Buxton family as myself (not yet seventeen months old), should know very much about the affairs of the family, outside of the nursery, the cradle, the-milkpan, and the kitchen; and surely, sir, " you'd scarce expect one of my age " (one so beardless) '' to speak in public on the stage." But then you must remem- ber that we live in a fast age of the world. We have fast horses, fast steamers, lightning trains, and fast young men ; and why should we not have precocious babies, and to this perchance our toastmaster had an eye when he requested the " new-comer " to make a two minutes' speech, and then sent him a wooden subject. Well, a wooden subject is not always dry. Some Buxtonites, " Lords " of the forest and the saw-mill, have found it quite juicy unless appearances are altogether deceitful. Nor is the woody part of the religious interest of Buxton by any means the least important or the least honorable part. Few towns in our Commonwealth in proportion to the num- ber of inhabitants, can speak more confidently or exultingly of their church edifices than Old Buxton. With a popula- tion of less than three thousand, she has nine churches and chapels and nearly two thousand sittings. - The first settlers 9 130 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. did nobly in erecting, at a very early date, a " House for God." It was a rude log house to be sure, but none the less honorable to the fathers. This noble stand taken by them has been defended, and the work carried forward by children and grandchildren. The church edifice at the Lower Corner is a substantial structure and in good order, having been recently repaired. That at Buxton Center has been thoroughly remodelled and beautified during the past year, and so completely had the work been done, that the Rev. A. K. P. Small, of Portland, said he came out there expecting to find a place where a little plaster and paint would do good ; but all he had to say to the people was " look for yourselves." All the other structures are in good condition. That at West Buxton being the largest in town, and the first to be surmounted by a bell. And all of them, save one, are open for religious exercises any Lord's day. While, therefore, on this centennial anniversary we may exultingly speak of the history of our church edifices and rejoice over the present, let us hope and pray that the future may be even more creditable than the past or the present ; with the following sentiment, Mr. President I will close : Buxton, a visible satellite of the " Star in the East," may advancing age increase her brilliancy. The Futueb of Buxton: Shall the sons and daughters, who go out from us and return at the end of another hundred years, be as distin- guished and respected as those we meet to-day. Response by Rev. C. H. Gates, of Somersville, Conn., as follows : Mr. Chairman : I come from the land of the Narragansets in Connecticut, yet to-day we hear no war-whoop or savage yell ; the fathers of Buxton fought and conquered those tribes, and from this fact Buxton's township was called Narragan- set No. 1. Think of the old township then, and of Buxton BUXTON CENTENNIAl.. 131 to-day. Think of the sound of the war-whoop, then of the church bell. Shall the future of Buxton be as bright as the present ? Shall her progress in all that makes a glorious his- tory, be as marked as it has been for the century past ? A century ! solemn thought ! not one of us then shall gather under the shadow of this ancient church to welcome friends and former townsmen. Old " Ohocorua " and her sister mountains will look down upon the coming century as she does to-day. The same sun will melt the snows of winter and ripen the fruits of autumn then as now. Old ocean will dash on yonder beach on the next centennial day as on this, " But all else how changed." The future of Buxton, what shall it be ? Shall patriotism and loyalty to country and to God then prevail ? Shall mor- ality and Christianity then animate all hearts? Shall the Bible and the constitution be upon the same table, or shall infidelity and despotism bear sway ? Shall the Sabbath then be honored, and the bell call the masses to worship ? I an- swer, yes, if under God we do our duty. Public sentiment, as well as the habits and character of a people, is formed in youth and childhood. We now sow the seed which a cen- tury later shall be reaped. Let us sow well. Men die, but their principles and the influence they exert live after them. Thus, to-day, we feel the influence not only of the " Pilgrim Fathers " but also of our Buxton Fathers. We can, then in part, at least, mould the distant future in the present. Let us honor God, love His words, keep His commandments and impress them upon our children as our fathers impressed them upon us ; then we shall not only mould the men of a century hence, but cause them to revere our memory. Let us do oui duty, trusting in God, and far more glorious than this, shall be the centennial of 1972. After the several toasts had been answered, the choirs sung " Auld Lang Syne " in which the audience heartily joined. 132 BITXTON CBNTENNIAIi. Rev. S. H. Merrill, of Portland, being called upon for some remarks replied as follows : Mr. President : How much there is here to-day to remind us of Auld Lang Syne. Many know full well what is meant when I say that we have an excruciating remembrance of being called before " Old Master Brown." Whatever may have been the merits of the case, we knew what would be the result, for the sharp logic of the good man seemed to be this, " If the boy does not deserve a flogging now, he has deserved it in the past or will in the future, and the infliction cannot possibly come amiss ; " so that we were not often called up before the sharp, stern old master, but we knew what it signified. But why I am called up before this vast assembly, without intimation by written resolution or verbal hint as to what is expected of me, is not so clear. Then, when the evil hour came, we had but to submit with what fortitude we could to the stinging application of the birch, and that was the end of it. But here, the thing does not end with the speech. I never attempted an impromptu speech on a great occasion, without omitting much which ought to have been said, and saying much which ought to have been left unsaid ; and I never was thus unfortunate without exposing myself to the infliction of a curtain lecture, provided my wife was within ear-shot, and, as she is right here, my words must be few. But in regard to our grandfathers, allow me a word concerning Capt. Thomas Bradbury, a patriarch of those olden times, who commanded the Block House on Saco River during Indian war time. He was the father of my great- grandmother. In any age, and in any place, he would have been a marked man. Strong of limb, strong of mind, strong of heart, and strong in his hold upon the hearts of his fellows, a noble specimen of a pioneer woodman and warrior of those troublous times. As a specimen of his rough manner of speech, this story is told of him. In a discussion which once BXJXTON CENTENNIAL. 133 arose with his wife, she charged him with a want of conjugal affection ; to which he replied, " What you say is not true. I love my wife as well as any man that lives, but I don't mean that you or anybody else shall ever know it." On another occasion, during the Indian troubles his busi- ness calling him away from home much of the time, he charged his wife to keep closely within doors ; but on his re- turn in the evening, learning that she had visited a neighbor, he administered a stern rebuke. Not receiving this with perfect submission, she finally asserted her " woman's rights," declaring that she should do so when she pleased ; that the men were often abroad and saw the neighbors, and that the women wished to see them as well as they. He replied : " That is true, you are all alike. Your great-grandmother. Eve, she would see the neighbors, and because there was no- body else to see, she went to see the devil." But I must close ; and with thanks to the people of this good town who have invited us here, to the committee whose arrangements have been so perfect, to the ladies whose pro- visions for the table have been so bountiful, we must here separate. May this review of the past make us all better ; and when another centennial shall be celebrated here, may we be remembered with the respect and affection with which we remember those of 1772. The President of the day having left the speaker's stand during the time the sentiments were being read, and the re- plies given, and not being at hand at the close, Dr. Meserve announced the close of the exercises as follows : Fellow Citizens : At the risk of being out of place, in the absence of the President, I cannot permit this assemblage to separate, without some expression of thanks from the citizens of the town and the committee, to those who have so largely contributed to the success of this celebration. Therefore, in the name of all the present inhabitants of Buxton, permit me to say to those who, from neighboring cities and towns in our own State, have come to join in the exercises and festivities of the day, we thank you ; and es- pecially would we extend thanks to the citizens of Saco and Biddeford, who have furnished this excellent band ; to the Choral Union and Mr. Hobbs, their leader, to the military companies for their fine display, to the superintendent of the Portland & Rochester Railroad, for courtesies shown, and to many from other places who have contributed material means to insure success. Permit me also, to extend the thanks of this whole au- dience to those who have come back to us from other States to assist in the literary exercises of the day, whether as Chaplain, Historian, Orator, or Poet ; and lastly in behalf of the executive committee I would thank all the citizens of this town and of Mollis, and especially the ladies who have con- tributed so largely to the good cheer of the occasion, and congratulate all present upon the interest exhibited, the BUXTOK CENTENNIAL. 135 pleasant memories awakened, and the good order maintained. Let us hope that the future of this town shall be as peace- ful and happy as the past, and that the memories of those who are here to-day shall be preserved, to come up at the end of another hundred years, and give to those of our de- scendants, who shall gather to celebrate another centennial epoch in the history of the town, the same pleasure which we have found to-day in recalling the memories of those long since gone to their reward. The regular exercises of the day are now closed. This called up Capt. Ira H. Foss, of Saco, a native of Buxton, who claimed that the thanks were due from the visi- tors on the contrary, to the resident citizens, for the satisfac- tory manner in which this event had been carried out by them, for the bountiful collation they had furnished, and the invitation they had given their brothers and sisters and friends, to return and enjoy again the hospitalities of their tables. And he felt all the more thankful himself, from the fact that some twenty-five years ago, he left his native town with a feeling of comparative indifference whether he ever came back to it again or not ; but he was now reanimated with a true filial affection, and enjoying a fuller sense of patriotism than ever before. This closed the exercises of the day. The choirs now- sung " Old Hundred," in which the audience heartily joined. It was now six o'clock, and an adjournment and separation was inevitable. The military companies after giving an ex- hibition of their attainment and dexterity in the manual of arms, for which they are so justly celebrated, had left the ground and marched to the depot at four o'clock. The whole company were soon filling the roads in all directions, and the 136 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. greatest assemblage that was ever witnessed in Buxton had dissolved.* To the residents of the old town it was indeed a bright day in their lives ; and the congratulations which they re- ceived from their old friends, gave assurance that it was no less so to them. Indeed, the spot and the scenery about it, had, to many of the returning children, peculiar attractions, which this visit had revived and nourished into all the fresh- ness and intensity of youth. The great throng of people had now withdrawn to their homes, the salute from cannon had announced that the day was done, when the rain came down in torrents, which seemed to have been a long time withheld, a circumstance sufficiently convincing to many that Providence had bestowed upon the occasion the sunshine of His approval. *M was estimated by good judges that the number of people was from six to eight thousand, and the number of horses fifteen hundred; but notwithstanding the number the general good order which prevailed was a topic of common remark. Only one accident was known to have occurred, that of Mrs. Chamberlain, the wife of Governor Chamberlam, who received an injury to her ankle by the crushing of a seat, but we were informed that the injury was not a permanent one. The committee and secretary received several letters which they intended to have read at the exercises, but were pre- vented for want of time. .They are published below. From Hon. Samuel Merrill, ex-governor of Iowa, a former resident of Buxton. Des Moines, Iowa, May 28, 1872. J. M. Mabshall, Esq., Cor. Secretary, Buxton, Maine. Dbab Sib :— Tour kind invitation to be present on the 14th of Au- gust, is received. I thank you for the invitation, and will accept it, and, if possible, be present to enjoy the celebration. It may be im- possible to make the trip at that time of the year, but I will leave no stone unturned to accomplish it. Very truly, Samuel Meeeill. From the Hon. John P. Hale, ex-senator from N. H., and ex-minister to Spain. Dovee, N. H., August 7, 1872. Beab Sie : — ^Tour letter of August 1st was duly received, and I assure you that it needed no apology. My recollections of Buxton date very far back, and the only regret connected with these reminiscences is the sad thought that there are few, very few left in your old town, who would remember me, or associate my name with the early scenes you mention. Your father's name is as familiar to me as my own ; and I was al- most a daily visitor at his house. Many pleasant recollections cluster around there in my memory. Did my health permit, nothing would afford me more pleasure than to revisit a place so full of agreeable memories as the town of Buxton. Especially would it be gratifying for me to be with you on an occasion so interesting as your centennial anniversary. But I must forego this privilege, and can be with you only in spirit. Begging you to accept my grateful thanks for your kind remem- brance, and sincere wishes for the continued prosperity of your pleas- ant town, I remain Very truly yours, JoHw P. Hale. To J. M. Maeshall, Esq. 138 BUXTON CENTENNIAIa A letter from Hon. Isaac Emery of Boston. Boston, Aug. 6, 1872. J. M. Mabshall — Bear Sir: — Your note of July the 18th was re- ceived with order of exercises for the 14th inst. I deeply regret that continued poor health will prevent me from being with you on the in- teresting occasion referred to. I have most earnestly desired to meet so many of the descendants of the early friends who will assemble on the 14th. Those of the Eev. Dr. Coffin, Jacob Bradbury, Deacon Leavitt, Mr. Sands and Cutts. The Lanes, the Ushers, Brooks, and Kimballs and a host of others whom I knew when only nine years old ; now nearly seventy years ago. I feel that no one would exper- ience greater pleasure in meeting and exchanging salutations with the numerous descendants, than myself. As it is, I can only wish you all God speed, and pray that when we exchange this world for the untiied scenes of the one to come, we may aU have homes of happiness in our " Father's house of many man- sions" forever and forever. God bless you all. Tour affectionate friend, Isaac Embky. Chaeleston, S. C, July 22, 1872. Messrs. J. O. A. Haemon, MosKs G-. Hill, and others. Committee of Centennial Anniversary of Buxton. Gentlemest: — Please accept my thanks for your cordial invitation, to unite with the citizens of Buxton in their celebration of its centen- nial anniversary. While I regret that I cannot avail myself of the pleasure of being personally present on the 14th of August, I shall join, in spirit, in this social reunion, and recall to mind many scenes of happy childhood and youth, awakening fond recollections which cluster around asso- ations with beloved relatives and friends, in the halcyon days of the springtime of life. It is on occasions like this, that we feel and realize the sentiment of Goldsmith : " Where'er I roam, whatever realms I see. My heart, untraveled, fondly turns to thee." Among the prominent memories of one's childhood, especially one of New England parentage, and during the early part of the present century, are those connected with the school-house and the meeting- house in his native town ; those places where the presence of youth, willing or unwilling, was required. I seem to see, now, that old school-house in Buxton ; the school assembled, the familiar faces of my schoolmates suddenly become de- BUXTON CENTENNIAL. 139 mure, except here and there the twinkle of a roguish eye, all conver- sation hushed, all laughter suppressed, for that great autocrat, tha mighty dictator, " Master Brown," has come, has entered, and the school " begun." To say that the venerable Mr. Asa Brown, was a faithful, earnest, and learned teacher of a town school, in his reign in the early portion of the present century, would feebly describe his powers. He was a " Napoleon " in the art and science of teaching and ruling boys. No scholars ever learned, before or since, as rapidly as his did ; none so well behaved. The little boys were confident in the belief that he had eyes in the back, as well as the front of his head, and could detect the least mischief going on, even when his back was turned, as he paced up and down the school-room in solemn and majestic mien. If de- tected, punishment was as sure to follow, as night to day, and he was specially energetic in bending the twig. I remember a childish thought which occurred to me once or twice while under his tuition, at six years of age. It was this, that, as years rolled by, over both of us, the time would surely come when I should attain an equal physical ability with my lord and master ; and then an opportunity would be found for settling old accounts. But the se- quel was pacific ; for in after years, I learned to appreciate and value all his labors for us. The old Meeting-House which stood upon, or near the site of the pre- sent one, I can just remember, and the excitement which prevailed when it was taken down and the new one was erected. I must also here, for a moment, refer to the venerated and learned pastor, the Kev. Paul Coffin, D. D., who was a pioneer "in the church of Christ in Bux- ton." I need not, if I could with delicacy and propriety, allude to the qualities of head and heart of my beloved grandfather, which he manifested to the congregation and people of his time, as a spiritual teacher for fifty-four years ; for the knowledge of his worth has de- scended from father to son for several generations. I shall, however, never forget my delight in listening, when a child, upon his knees, to the stories of his early struggles, as a minister of the gospel in a sparsely settled land, and the stirring adventures inci- dent to a hfe, as it were, in a wilderness. The State of Maine, like the other New England States, has lost, as residents, many of her sons and daughters ; gone to the South or West ; but, wherever we are, if unable to attend the appropriate exer- cises for the celebration of the day in person, we shall, I am sure, all of us, turn our thoughts with gladness to our native town and its present residents, and while thus joining them in their festivities, in 140 BUXTON CENTENNIAL. the " feast of reason and flow of soul," wish them, and their children and grandchildren in the century to come, all the blessings of this life. "And thus, as in memory's bark we shall glide. To visit the scenes of our boyhood anew. Though oft we may see, looking down on the tide, The wreck of full many a hope shining through, Yet still, as in fancy we point to the flowers, That once made a garden of aU the gay shore. Deceived for a moment, we'll think them still ours. And breathe the fresh air of life's memory once more." May a kind Providence watch over all of you, and those former resi- dents of Bnxton scattered about in the different States of this Union. May we all trust in the great Ruler of the Universe as our guide ; and let our future motto be, wherever we are, God and our Country, Liber- ty and Fraternity. With great respect, Your obt. servt., Charles E. Bbewster. APPENDIX. INTRODUCTION. Wb have seen that the Historical Discourse gave a summary of the events which followed the acceptance and location of the grant, sketching withal some of the obstacles and hard- ships which fell to the lot of the pioneers, through a brief space of time, which may properly be distinguished as the period of settlement. A period, however, not fully completed when the outline of a municipal organization had become distinct by the passage of an act of incorporation. It also appears that up to that remote period, a majority of the settlers, for reasons al- ready given, had confined themselves and their works to the southwestern part of the territory, and to that adjacent to the Saco river ; while the progress of that, quite the larger part of the town, being sparsely settled and unmarked by those build- ings which being fostered by the general court, and public in their nature, index the determination of the bona fide settler, remained comparatively unknown. But to extend the history over that part, craves the development of later times and pass- ing the date of the incorporation would have dealt largely with municipal transactions and dusty records, to the exclusion of those items of individual history which have a greater local importance, and yet more liable to escape the chronicler's pen. With these considerations, and with a view of leading some of the unwritten past into channels kept open by substantial record, it was decided to complement the historical part of this work with an appendix, having a fuller share of personal mat- ter, the identity of homes and names, and bringing into closer communion for our own reflection, the grand old authors with the works as we see them, believing that, " There is a history in all men's lives, Pig'riug the nature of the times deceased." — Ed. 142 APPENDIX. KIMBALL. John Kimball. In a deed dated Aug. 28, 1764, John Kim- ball is described as of Narraganset No. 1, periwig-maker, and in a later deed as barber. March 12, 1765, Daniel Kimball, Benja- min Hawkes, and Deborah, wife of said Hawkes, all of Marble- head, conveyed to the brothers, John Kimball, then of Narra- ganset No. 1, and Joshua, then of Marblehead, tanner, each one- half (Deborah doubtless being their sister, and Hawkes having no right except as her husband) of all the land in this town, " which our honoured Father Joshua Kimball purchased of one John Denison of Ipswich." This was the original right of John Denison. The deed from John Denison, of Ipswich, weaver, and his wife RebeccS, conveys to Joshua Kimball, of Marblehead (fa- ther of our John and Joshua), wig-maker, all his right in this town ; and under this deed John and Joshua acquired Lot 23 of Range E, 1st Division, and Denison's interest in the other divisions. Denison's deed to Bamball, senior, is dated Nov. 2, 1749. John bought Joshua's half of said Lot 23. John bought of Gage and Mighill in 1765, Lot 12 of Range D, on which the first saw-mill was buUt, and he owned Lot 16, one-half of 17, and all of 18, 19, and 20, in the same Range. John Kimball also owned on Letter E of first Division, Lots 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. Lots 12 and 13, he bought of Jacob Bradbury Oct. 30, 1765, who was the father, I suppose, of " Squire " Jacob Bradbury, to whom Mr. Kimball conveyed thein Sept. 1, 1770. When he bought and when he sold them there was a house and barn on Lot 12. Lots 20 and 21 .were conveyed Dec. 18, 1760, by Obadiah Johnson, of Andover, blacksmith, to Richard Clay, of Narra- ganset No. 1, yeoman. In this deed it is stated that " said lots were sold to Saml. Conner, of Exeter, then to John Fowle, jr., of Woburn, then purchased by me. The above two house-lots I sell to said Richard Clay for his doing the duty on the said APPENDIX. 143 Rights [being the original Rights of Robert Swan and of Ed- ward Colcord], No. 20 and 21, that I was obliged to do for set- tling the same." May 20, 1761, Clay sold these lots to Rish- worth Jordan, of Biddeford. There seems to be no deed on record from Jordan, but John Kimball bought them of Andrew Bradstreet and Benjamin Hooper, Aug. 8, 1765. On the 27th of July, 1765, Richard Clay, jr., conveyed to said Kimball about 20 acres on the Letter E, " whereon the said Richard now dwells." The lot is not named, but I make it out that it was, with scarcely a doubt. Lot 18, and so I have included it in his list of lots on E owned by John Kimball. It is probable that Clay's house stood on the southwesterly side of the road where Joshua Kimball and Moses Bradbury afterwards lived, as hereinafter mentioned, and where indica- tions of the site of a dwelling-house still exist. Mr. Daniel Dennett informs me that " the first two-story ^ house in town was on Beech Plain road, built by John and Joshua Kimball, with a cellar under the whole house. They moved from Marblehead, and each brought a slave. John's slave was a woman and Joshua had a man named Csesar. Josh- ua moved over to the 8 rod road, and built a two-story house which Pelatiah Came ^ bought and moved to Salmon Palls," where it was burnt November, 1866. This last named house, which stood on Lot 22, Range C, 1st Division, was not built by Mr. Kimball but by Joshua Woodman who first settled on this lot and owned adjacent lots, constituting his farm, which he lost by debt^ Joshua Kimball bought the house of John Garland by deed dated March 1.3, 1769, in which it is described as a "Double. House of two stories," and in the deed Garland says, " I took said house from Joshua Woodman by Execution." Mr. John Elden told Mr. Dennett in 1867, that this house "stood a little west of the 1 It may be that this was the first two-story hotise in town, but as John did not buy the lot on which it stood until Aug. 8, 1765, it cannot be much, if any, older than the two-story house built by Rev. Mr. Coffin, which is still standing. ' Should be William Foss. ^On losing this farm Joshua Woodman moved to Lot 2 of Bange F, 2d Diyision, and there died. 144 APPENDIX. spot now occupied by Amos Kimball's barn." Others say it stood in the barnyard, but Mr. Elden is the better authority. As he bought the house in 1769, he probably settled there at that time, or a little before, as he bought Lots 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 26 of Range C, 1st Division in April, 1768. Mr. Daniel Dennett writes in 1867 :j "I get the following from David Dennett. There was a grist mill on the north side of the eight-rod road owned by Joshua, Richard, John, and Job Kimball,^ and Isaiah and Jonathan Brooks. Job Kim- ball was miller. They sold the mill to Isaac Lane, and he moved the mill to Salmon Falls about 1800. He says he was sent to mill when a small boy with a grist before breakfast and did not get his grist ground till night." For the site of this grist mill , on Stackpole brook, see Den- nett's map 1870. Elbazee Kimball was a housewright in Biddeford in 1750 and 1753. He was living in Buxton March 28, 1763. He owned and perhaps lived on Lot 10, Range D, 2d Division, which he sold August 21, 1767. From a memorandum on one of Dr. Coffin s sermons it seems that he died here Nov. 11, 1767. Whether he was re- lated to John and Joshua I do not know. He married Eliza- beth Seavey Nov. 17, 1748. They had children baptized as follows : 1749-50, January 28, Elizabeth. 1751, March 31, Hannah. 1752, May 24, Lydia. 1753, August 11, Eleazer. 1758, March 25, Sarah. And perhaps others. - John- Kimball. Mr. Dennett, as above mentioned, says that the two-story house on Lot 21, Range E, was built by John and Joshua Kimball. This may mean John and his brother Joshua or John and his son Joshua. Joshua the brother nev- 1 Job, probably, was not one of the owners. APPENDIX. 145 er owned any part of Lot 21, or the adjacent lots so ^[ar as tlie records show, -which is prima facie evidence that he never owned any part of the house. The probability is that John, the first settler, brother of Joshua who married Martha Elden, and father of Joshua who married Abigail Earl, and who owned Lot 21, built the two-story house which stood upon it. John, jr., son of said John, lived on the opposite side of the road from his father and near the brook, and " built him a house on the land reserved for a road between Lots 19 and 20. The cellar is still visible." On Dennett's map, I think the name on Lot 21 would have been put down as John rather than Joshua, if Mr. Dennett had known the facts here stated. The house vi'as taken down and carried away by Benjamin Grant. John Kimball, senior, Avho came from Marblehead, had four sons and one daughter, viz.: Joshua married May 21, 1789, Abigail, daughter of Joshua Earl or HeairP who moved from Beech Plain road to Hollis. He, Joshua Kimball, lived for a time in a house which stood on the westerly side of the brook, between his brother John's house and Joshua Earl's house, and on the southerly side of the road. The site of the house is still visible (1872). It is not noted on Dennett's map. He sold this house to Moses, son of 'Squire Bradbury. When Joshua sold out to Bradbury he went to the two-story house of his father, where he and his wife died, as did also his father before him. This Moses Brad- bury was the grandfather of Capt. Wm. F. Goodwin. Joshua Earl married Sarah, a sister of 'Squire Bradbury. He lived near Thomas Emery, who bought Earl's house (when he moved to Hollis) and tore it down. See Dennett's map. Col. Isaac Emery thinks that Joshua Kimball died early in the present centuiy, as he remembers his death when he was a small boy.^ He does not remember John the fiither. By mis- take Capt. Goodwin puts down this Joshua as the son of Josh- ^I have his signature. He signed liimself Hcairl. 21 find that the estate of Josliua Kimball, jr., was adiniaistered upon in 1814, when Col. Emeiy was not a very small boy. 10 146 APPEKDIX. ua who lived on Lot 22 of Range C, 1st Division. See Good- win's Nari-aganset, page 292. Richard married Molly Boynton, April 4, 1796. Settled in Lisbon, Me. John, jr., married Susanna Patterson, of Saco, June 13, 1796. He moved to the eastward ; sold his house to Isaac Lord who, in moving it to Saco, had his leg so injured that it was amputated, and he died in the operation. 'It is now owned and occupied by his nephew Ivory and his mother, the widow of James Lord. Job waS'never married. He lived with his brother Richard, at Lisbon, and there died. Benjamin Grant was his guardian. He signed his name thus. Job Kimbll. Sally married Benjamin Grant. They were published Nov. 29, 1800. Mrs. Eliza, widow of William Woodman, now (1878) living at the Bar Mills, tells me that John Kimball, senior, married Sarah BurnTiam of Scarboro', a sister of her father, and that Mr. Kimball died deranged before her recollection, and his wife died when she was young. The following information in regard to this family, is fur- nished by Joel M. Marshall, Esq. JosHTTA Kimball married Martha,^ eldest daughter of Capt. John Elden, April 20, 1767. Their children were as follows : Daniel, born March 27, 1768 ; married Mary Bryant, March 2, 1790 ; died June 22, 1851, at Buxton. He lived at Kimball's corner. Martha, born Feb. 7, 1770 ; married Ephraim Bryant, May 30, 1787 ; lived at Lovell, Maine; died 1860. 'Mrs. Martha Kimball was remarkable for Iier fortitude aud decision of cbaracter. She possessed also, those sterling qualities, benevolence and kindness, which charac- terized the early mothers of Buxton ; and her sound judgment was a great aid to her husband in the management of his dbmestic affairs. It was related to me by " uncle John Merrill," son of Lieut. Merrill, tliat she killed the last wolf that was killed in Buxton, She discovered the wolf prowling about the edge of the woods near the house, about the middle of the afternoon, while her husband was away, aud fearing his dep- redation on their flock of sheep, she loaded the gun, went to the barn, approached him and shot him with her own hands. She died June 2G, 1820.— Ed. APPENDIX. 147 Deborah, born Nov. 12, 1771 ; married Joseph Smith of Hol- lis (now Dayton), Oct. 11, 1792; died in 1863. Joshua, jr., born Oct. 28, 1773 ; married Sarah Leavitt, oldest daughter of Dea. Daniel Leavitt, July 7, 1793 ; died in HoUis in 1859. Ruth, born Sept. 27, 1775 ; married Samuel Came, of Bux- ton, Sept. 4, 1796 ; died Sept. 13, 1846. Lydia, born Sept. 5, 1777 ; never married ; died in Buxton at the house of Amos Kimball, December, 1859. Mary, born Sept. 22, 1779; married Ebenezer Day, of Limer- ick, Aug. 2, 1812 ; died in 1856. Naomi, born Jan. 17, 1781 ; married Samuel Lane, Sept. 8, 1805; lived in Oldtown, Maine; died in 1856. Elizabeth, born January 2, 1784 ; married Capt. Joel Mar- shal], July 5, 1807 ; died April 18, 1833, in Buxton. Hannah, born January 21, 1787; married Joseph Gilfiatrick, of Limerick, Sept. 5, 1813 ; died in Alleghany Co., New York, 1851. Sarah, born Nov. 18, 1788 ; never married ; died in Saco, 1867. Amos, born Aug. 18, 1790 ; married Abigail Young, Novem- ber, 1815; she died June 3, 1827. His second wife was Mrs. Joanna Barnard, of Kennebunk. Amos Kimball died Sept. 23, 1863. Joshua Kimball, senior, died April 15, 1823, and was buried on Ms homestead in Buxton. B I suppose that the men who signed the call for a meeting, dated May 17, 1751, were all living here at that time. I add some notes in regard to each of them. WOODMAN. It is certain that Joseph Woodman was here in 1742. See Goodwin's Narraganset, page 50. He and his brother Joshua were both settled here in 1750, as appears from a deed dated August 6 of that year. 148 APPENDIX. Their brother Nathaa probably came a few years later. They were all bora in Newbury, Mass., and were sons of Ben- jamin Woodman of Byfield Parish, who married Elizabeth, daugbter of William Longfellow of the same parish, who, I suppose, is the ancestor of all the Longfellows in New England, if not of all in the United States. Benjamin Woodman was the grandson of Edward who came from England, and the son of Joshua, on whose gravestone at Byfield Parish one may still read that he was the " first man child borne in Newbury." The three Woodman brothers who settled here were cousins- german of Stephen Longfellow, the first of the name who set- tled in Portland. They all had large families and tlieir de- scendants are numerous. Of Joseph and Joshua, Charles Cofiin, Esq., says : " They were both leading men among the first settlers," as indeed is apparent from the proprietors' records. Joseph settled at Pleasant Point, and coutinuod there until he was an old man, when he moved to tlie Hollis side of the river, where he died June 4, 1796, in a house occupied by him and his step-son Edgecomb, which stood on the hill over against the falls in the rear of and but a few rods from the house now occupied by Almon E. Johnson. He was buried at Pleasant Point on land which, I suppose, was once a part of his farm, but the grave is not known. Of Joshua I have said something in Appendix A. He died in 1800, and was buried near the meeting-house at the Lower Corner. His grave is unknown to his descendants, except to one or two of them to whom I have shown it. Nathan was, apparently, not a prominent man like liis broth- ers. He lived many years at Pleasant Point, but died in Hollis at the house of his son Shubael in 1812, it is said. He was buried in the graveyard on the Hollis side not far above the Bar Mills, and near the river. His grave is unknown. I am preparing for the press a list of the descen dents of these three brothers down to and including their great grandchildren in which I shall incorporate such facts as I have learned in re- gard to them. I therefore do not speak of them here as fully as I otherwise should. APPENDIX. 149 c ELDEN. Some account of Jolin Elden and his descendants may be found in Goodwin's Narraganset, pages 359 and 360. By a deed dated October 12, 1750, we learn that he was then of N"an-aganset No. 1, and that he was then John Elden, jr. He was probably the son of John Elden of Saco, who married Martha Knight, daughter of Nathan Knight of Scarborough, and who died about 1746. He was married to Kuth Sands, Dec. 17, 1747. The deed above named conveyed to him Lot 9 of Range B, 1st Division, and on or near this lot tradition places his first residence in this town. I say near this lot, for I find that Mr. Dennett on his map places the site of the house on Lot 10. This is probably an error, for I do not find any evidence that he ever owned Lot 10. On Lot 9 he probably lived, and on this lot his son Nathan, Avho is said to have been the first male child born in the town, probably first saw the light, March 21, 1752.i On the 28th of Nov. 1760, John Elden bought Lot 4 of Range D, 1st Division, where he made his home until his death, which took place in May 1793. Charles Cofiin, Esq., says that he "was an active and enterprising man" and that he "com- manded a company at the siege of Boston, with reputation."^ Captain Elden's homestead has been owned and occupied by his descendants until this day, but none of them know where he was buried. He had a large family and his descendants are numerous. He was one of the three who built mills on Little River (Leavitt's Mills) in 1761. The proprietors' records show that both he and his son 'The Iiou3e stood oa the right-hand side of the road leading from Salmon Falls to Union Fall?, on land now owned by Edwin Turner. The cellar ia still plainly visible. His oldest son Nathan was born here and pro bably others .—Ed. '1 found a commission to him as captain among] the arohiyes of Maasachnsetts, in the State Houss, Boston. 150 APPENDIX. Nathan were prominent men in town, as was also Capt. Gibeon Elden at a somewhat later period. The last-named built the two-story house now standing on Lot 4, Range D, 1st Division, and there died, Oct. 7, 1841. Capt. Gibeon Elden's birth is erroneously stated in Good- win's Narraganset. Joel M. Marshall, Esq., informs me that it should stand June 2, 1761. I have the signature of John Elden under date of October 14, 1755. [The ancestry of this John Elden is by no means definitely known to his descendants here ; they claim that the Eldens came from Newbury, Mass., but the town clerk of Newbury states that the name of Elden does not appear on the town records before the year 1700, and he thinks it cannot be found since that time. We find John Elden in Biddeford in 1732, at which time he was elected highway surveyor there, he was either Capt. John or his father. The Eldens of Buxton are descendants of Capt. John, who came from Biddeford ; his children were — Martha, born Oct. 14, 1748. Mary, born May 17, 1750. Nathan, born March 21, 1752. John, jr., born April 10, 1754. Emma, born July 9, 1756. Elizabeth, born Oct. 5, 1759. Gibeon, born June 2, 1761. Ruth, born Dec. 9, 1763. Lydia, born Jan. 12, 1766. Hannah, born April 13, 1769. Children of Nathan Elden and his wife, Elizabeth Roberts : Martha, born Oct. 7, 1772. Nathan, born Nov. 29, 1774. Sarah, born March 9, 1779, died Dec. 6, 1801. Polly, born Jan. 5, 1781. John, born March 12, 1783. William, born July 5, 1785. APPENDIX. 151 Ruth, born Nov. 4, 1787. Olive, born May 15, 1790. Samuel, born Oct. 7, 1792. Emma, born Marcb 1, 1795. Children of John Elden, jr., and his wife, Dorcas Foss.: Dorcas, born May 13, 1778 ; married John Hanson, of Bux- ton. Ruth, born Nov. 23, 1781. Nathaniel, born May 21, 1783 ; died Sept. 17, 1805. Abigail, born Aug. 2, 1785 ; married Jacob Townsend, of Buxton. Narcissa, born Dec. 6, 1787 ; married Peletiah Came, of Bux- ton. James F., born Sept. 20, 1789. Mary, born Sept. 7, 1793 ; married Moses Davis, of Hollis. John, bom Oct. 1, 1797 ; married Harriet Dennett, of Bux- ton. Children of Capt. Gibeon Elden and his wife, Susanna Whitney. Moses, born Dec. 8, 1781. Silas, born Sept. 16, 1783. ' * Hannah, born June 8, 1785. Ruth, born Feb. 23, 1787. Nathaniel Hill, born Nov. 13, 1789. Louisa, born March 12, 1792. John, born March 29, 1794. Aphia, born May 10, 1798. Samuel, born Sept. 25, 1800. Susanna, born Aug. 10, 1802. Capt. Gibeon Elden died Oct. 7, 1841. Mrs. Susanna Elden died Jan. 19, 1832.]— Ed. 152 APPENDIX. D REDLON, EIDLON, RIDLEY. John Redlon's name is appended to a call for a proprietors' meeting, dated May 17, 1751, and he was then, presumably, living here. I do not know the genealogy of this John Redlon, but he manied Sarah Brooks, Oct. 9, 1749. They were then both of Biddeford, which included Saco. On the 26th of May, 1751, their son Robert was baptized. June 3, 1753, they had another child baptized at NaiTaganset No. 1, name not recorded. Feb. 1, 1756, their daughter Susanna was baptized. On the 1st of May, 1756, he bought Lot 24 of Range D of the 1st Division, and 20 acres of Lot 8 in Range D of the 2d Division, also one-half of the common and undivided lands belonging to the right of John Brown. These lands he owned at the time of his death, which occurred probably in 1761, as administration on his estate was granted in that year to Abra- ham Redlon of Biddeford. He was residing here at the time of his death. He was probably a son of Magnus Ridlon, as Magnus in his will dated Dec. 10, 1766, speaks of a son John deceased, as also of Magnus his grandson, son of John. Mag- nus Redlon died in 1772, M. 78. His will speaks of Matthias, Ebenezer, Daniel, Jeremiah, John (deceased), Jacob (deceased), Elizabeth, widow of his son Jacob, and Elizabeth her daughter, his granddaughter; and of Grandson Magnus, above mentioned. In regard to John Redlon, sec also Appendix E. It seems from the proprietors' records that Ebenezer Redlon and Jacob Redlon were inhabitants of this town in 1761. See Goodwin's Narraganset, page 181. Ebenezer Redlon married Sarah Young, Aug. 8, 1751. They were then both of Bidde- ford.i iFrom a memoraudum made by Capt. Daniel Lane, dated May 5, 1777, it seems that Ebenezer Kedlon died in the army. He enlisted in the company of said Lane and "was mustered into service March 11, 1777. APPEJSTDIX. 153 Feb. 29, 1756, tlicir two cliildi-en Anna and Ebenezer were baptized. Their son Jonathan was baptized April 17, 1757. In 1762, Ebenezer bought Lot 19 in Range D of the 1st Divis- ion, which he conveyed to John Kimball in 1768. Matthias Eedlon and Rachel Edgecomb were married Dec. 29, 1748, being then both of Biddeford. Those were their chil- dren. There may have been more. Their son Matthias was baptized July 8, 1750. Rachel was baptized Dec. 12, 1751. James « « June 16, 1754. Thomas « « May 9, 1756. Mary « " Aug. 20, 1758. John " " June 21, 1761. Jacob « " Aug. 17, 1766. Magnus " " April 22, 1770. Sarah " " Aug. 4, 1771. Matthias Redlon and his wife were here as early as June 21, 1761. His homestead farm consisted of Lots 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, on Range D of the first Division. He conveyed this, March 14, 1786, to Samuel Scamman of Saco, " with the Dwelling House and Barn thereon," having previously conveyed to his son Matthias, jr., thirty acres from the northeasterly part of said lots. Matthias Ridlon, jr., of Buxton, married Elizabeth Field of Saco, Sept. 6, 1772. Of Jacob Redlon whose name appears on the proprietors' records as above mentioned, I know nothing. I leave him to be hunted up by his relatives, if they have any interest in him.^ Magnus Redlon was here in 1742. It was probably he who died in Saco in 1772, aged 78 years. On the 10th of April, 1767, Mary, daughter of Matthias Red- lon of Narraganset No. 1, was burnt to death in the house of James Edgecomb, of Saco, at Edgecomb's meadow, so called, together with Reliance, daughter of said Edgecomb, and Eliza- beth, daughter of Samuel Fletcher. The following was fur- nished by Rev. G. T. Ridlon, of Amesbury, Mass.: >EeT. John Fairfield of Saco makes tlie following entiy; "1765, April 25, Jacob Ridlen drowned near his father's house, M 25." Magnus in his will above mentioned, speaks of a sou Jacob deceased. 154 APPENDIX. The family bearing the above names is one of very ancient origin ; they deduce their descent from Walgriniis, an Earl of Piragord in France, and relative of " Charles the Bold." From Walgrinus seven generations succeeded before the surname was adopted. The name Avas derived from Galfridus de Rydale, who was thus distinguished from a cousin bearing the same christian name. The name was soon changed to Hidell, thence to Ridel, thence to Middell, which last form was continued until they came to England in 1065, with William the Con- queror. They were gi-anted large lands in Northumberland- shire, England, and in Roxburgshire, Scotland ; and Gervasious was the first High Sheriff of the county last named, in the time of King David, with whom he was a great favorite, and from whom he received large grants of land by royal charter. From Kinglass, Scotland, came Magnus Riddell in 1690, and sailing to Amej'ican shores deserted the English naval vessel " Planter," and settled at " Saco Ferry." He married Massie Townsend, and reared a cabin near where Mr. Winfield Dennett now (1874) lives. By this union eight sons were born to them, viz., Matthias, Daniel, Ebenezer, Abraham, John, Jeremiah, Robert, and Jacob. Matthias settled in Buxton; thence to "Little Falls Plantation" in 1762; he reared a family of eleven chil- dren, and died when very old at the home of his son Jacob. Daniel, before named, lived in Saco and reared a large family ; but died in Limerick at the home of his son Daniel. Ebenezer settled in Buxton, had issue, Ebenezer, jr., David, Jeremiah, Anna, Sarah and Susan, and himself died in said town. Eben- ezer, jr., married Sarah Hansoom, resided in Buxton, and had issue twelve children, of whom two died in infancy. Among the children of Ebenezer, jr., were Isaac and Amos of Buxton, and Rev. Ebenezer Redlon, now resident at Pierceville, Ripley Co., Indiana. David, before named, married, settled in Buxton and had issue three children, Isaac, who married Deborah Han - son, Abigail and Elizabeth. His wife died when one of his children was small ; after which he went to the eastern part of Maine and changed his name to Ridley. Jeremiah, Anna, and Sarah were not married but lived together near "Haines' APPENDIX. 155 Meadow" until a good old age. From Ebenezer, sou of Mag- nus the original Scotch-American ancestor, are descended all of the Buxton branches ; and they have nearly all continued to spell the name JRedlon. Magnus changed Ms name from Rid- dell to Jiiddelon, thence reduced it to JRedlon ; which latter form nearly all of the first three generations adopted. The name, however, was changed by the branch which settled in Hollis, to Ridlon, and thence, by the descendants of Matthias who settled in Wayne, Maine, to Ridley ; hence, those three forms are now used in the native State. Two brothers, sons of Matthias, emigrated to Ohio in 1800, since when their descend- ants, of which there are hundreds scattered through the West, have spelled the name liidleji. There are families of Ridleys in Maine who have no American connection with the descend- ants of Magnus; descended from Marke Ridley who settled on Cape Cod about 1640. The original Magnus had three broth- ers and eight sisters in Scotland ; their descendants now live there, and are eminent men, some of them members of Parli- ament. There have been eight hundred and fifty descendants of Magnus born by the Ridlon, Redlon, or Ridley name ; and four of them have reached more than one hundred years of age; one died in Ohio in 1858, at the great age of one hundred and six years. There were 20 members of the descent in 1872 whose ages would average eighty years; and there are now liv- ing seven in one family, four brothers and three sisters, the youngest of whom is seventy-nhie; three of them above ninety. [See a Genealogical History of the entire race, comprising a pedigi-ee of a thousand years, and about six thousand names, published by Rev. G. T. Ridlon, Amesbury, Mass.J Jeremiah, Abraham, and Jacob, sons of Magnus the Scoich- man, lived and died at Saco. Robert, one of his younger sons, went to Damariscotta when a boy, learned the blacksmith ti'ade and reared several children ; one of whom, Magnus, came to Hollis and married Hannah Ridlon, daughter of Matthias; he died in Buxton. Two brothers of this Magnus, Nathaniel and John, settled, the former in Bath and the latter in Newcastle, Maine, where their descendants now reside. The Ridlons in Saco are nearly all descendants of Daniel, son of Magnus. 156 APPENDIX. John, son of Magnus, lived in Buxton ; but none of liis de- scendants are now living. Jacob was married, bad issue one daughter and was drowned in Saco, aged 25 years. Some other families lived in Buxton for a few years, at different times. Every person's name descended from Magnus will be found in the family history before-mentioned, with all collater- al branches in France, Scotland, England, Ireland, Canada, and United States. E BROOKS. We know that a John Brooks was in this town in 1739, and that he and Robert Brooks were settled here in 1742. I know nothing of their ancestors or their relationship to each other. John's name is prominent in the early history of the town. On the 19th of Feb., 1738, being then of Biddeford, he bought the half of one whole right in this town, it being one-half of the right of Richard Brier, and Dec. 13, 1751, being then of Narra- ganset No. 1, he sold the same to James Gray of Biddeford. In 1752, this John Brooks, then of this town, bought Lot 8 of Range B 1st Division, and in 1758, one-half of the adjoin- ing Lot 7. On the 29th of September, John Brooks " of the Block House on Saco river," conveyed the whole of these two lots to Joseph Woodman, who sold them to John Hopkinson in 1753. In the request of May 17, 1751, for a proprietors' meeting, we have the names of John Brooks and John Brooks, jr. In what relationship they stood to each other I do not know, but John junior was, probably, I think, the son of Robert and Sarah Brooks, hereinafter mentioned. APPENDIX. 157 *Robei-t Brooks' on the 20th of November, 1738, being then of Biddeford (which then included Snco), bought Lot 24 of Range C, 1st Division, and sold the same in 1741, — his wife Sarah signing the deed, — to Job Roberts, his wife's son by a former maniasre. By reference to my address under date of 1742, it will be seen that he was living here at that date. He was, perhaps, a brother of John Brooks who Avas here at the same time. I have in my possession an original deed signed by Sarah, the wife of Robert above-named. As it is of interest not only to this family, but also to the Redlons and Martins, I copy it in full. "Know all men, that I Sarah Brooks of Narraganset Town- ship Ko. 1, in the County of York widow to Robert Brooks late of Biddeford in the County aforesaid Gent, late Deceased For and Consideration of the Sum of One pound five shillings & Seven pence Lawful money to me in hand Secured to be paid by ray Son John Brooks of ISTarraganset afores'd Hus- bandman his heirs & assigns annually during my natural Life and the Sum of Twelve Shillings & nine pence half penny to me in hand secured to be paid annually During my Natural Life by John Ridlin of said Narraganset Hvisbandman and the sum of Twelve Shillings & nine pence half penny secured to be paid by David Martin of said Narraganset his heirs & as- signs during my Natural Life and the sum of Twelve Shillings & nine pence half penny Secured to be paid by my Son Isaiah Brooks of said Narraganset his heirs & assigns annual- ly during my Natural Life do for the foregoing considerations Give Grant & Convey to them the said John Brooks John *I bave in my poaseasion the commiaaion given to Robert Brooks, Gentleman, by Governor William Shirley, of Massachusetts Bay Province, to be Lieutenant of the company under the command of Captain Ammi Rahamah Cutter, in the regiment whereof Jeremiah Moulton, Esq., is Colonel, being part of the forces raised witliln this Province for an expedition against Cape Breton, of which forces, William Pepper- ell is appointed Commander-in-Cliief . Given under the hand and seal of said Governor, at Boston, in the eighteenth year of the reign of our then Sovereign Lord, King George the Second, Annoq Domini 1741. Cape Breton was then in the possession of the French.— Ed. "He was admitted to the church in Biddeford, July 10, 1743. 158 APPENDIX. Ridlin David Martin and Isaiah Brooks^ their Heirs and assigns forever all my Right of Thirds to the Real Estate of my said Deceased Husband to be Improved and Held to their heirs and assigns forever free from all Incumbrances whatever In "Witness whereof I have hereto Set my hand and Seal this Eighteenth day of February in this 29th year of his Magestys Reign Anhoq Domini 1746. Sarah Beooks [l. s.J Signed Sealed & Delivered In presence of Amos Chase Samuel White York ss March 16th, 1756. Then Sarah Brooks personally appearing acknowledged the within written Instrument to be her free Act & Deed. Before Jonathan" Bean,^ Jiist. Peace^ From what Mr. John Brooks, now living, says, as hereinafter quoted, it seems that David Martin married a daughter of Rob- ert Brooks, and from the deed it would seem probable that John Redlon also married a daughter, though Mr. Brooks does not know of any such relationshijD. A Mr. John Redlon died in Narraganset No. 1, probably in 1761, as administration was granted that year on his estate. This is probably the John Ridlin mentioned in the deed. These sons of Robert, viz., John and Isaiah settled in this town. They were both in the military company of Capt. Joseph Woodman in 1757; at least these names are on the roll. 'The grantees named in this deed conveyed the same premises Feb. 19, 1756, to Amos Cliase of Biddeford. Hannah signs the deed as the "wife of David Martin, Sarah as wife of John Ridlon. Isaiah Brooks was then under age, and his mother signs as his guardian. The land is described as lying in Biddeford, which then included Saco. It probably conveyed the farm in Saco, wliich was for so many years the homestead of the venerabl« Deacon Amos Chase ; for in a letter to me from John Brooks, dated at New Durham, N. H., Dec. 22, 1872, he says : " My grandfather was said to come from England, and married widow Koberts and settled in Saco about two [one ?] miles from the old meeting-house on the Ferry road, and on the same site where Deacon Samuel [Amos] Chase lived in after years." ^Oapt. Jonathan Bean of the " Saco Block House," born in or about 1G93. His son. Lieut. Jonathan, born in or about 1719, was the father of Jonathan (b. Oct. 9, 1768), Who married Phebe Brooks in 1783. APPENDIX. 159 On the 18th of Feb., 1756, Amos Chase, of Saco (then Bidde- ford), conveyed to John Brooks, Isaiah Brooks (record reads Josiah), and John Redlon land in this town as follows : To Isaiah Brooks Lot 10 on Range E of the 1st Division and twenty acres of Lot 5 on Range E of the 2d Division, together with one-half of all after divisions belonging to the right con- nected with these lots, namely, the right of John Baker. To John Brooks and John Redlon the deed conveyed forty acres, being the remainder of said Lot 5 of Range E, and one-half of all after divisions belonging to said Right. On the 1st of December, 1760, Isaiah Brooks bought the ad- jacent Lot 9 in Range E of the 1st Division. He afterwards bought of Jacob Bradbury the northeasterly half of Lot 10, Range D, 1st Division, adjoining the lots above-named. These lots, including also, I suppose. Lot 11 of Range E, constituted his homestead. See Dennett's map. I get the following information from John Brooks, of Farni- ington, E". H., a son of Isaiah. "I never knew of my father having but two sisters.^ One married David Martin [who had] one son by the name of John. The other married Thomas Pennell, they had three sons, Ephraim, James, and Thomas, and one girl that died about 18 years old by the bite of a mad fox." "Job Roberts was a half- brother to my father. He had a son Joseph who married Lydia Burnham, and a girl, Molly, who married Ezekiel Bragdon. All settled in HoUis." Concerning the first saw-mill at Salmon Falls, of which his father was one of the owners, he says that the dam was built about " 100 rods up river from where the mill now is. They built a short wing dam about thirty feet long and took the water by a flume, 750 feet long, to the mill which was built, you might say, on dry land." They hauled the plank for the flume " from Nonsuch mills in Dunstan, say six miles ; a part of 'Thomas Pennell and Hannab Brooks, tlien Ijotli of Biddeford (Saco ?),were man-led Maicli 28, 1743. Tills Is, perhaps, the sister of whom Mr. Brooks speaks, hut they do not sign the deed before mentioned to Amos Chase. Perhaps Pennell had died prior to the deed to Chase in 1750, and his widow may have martied David Martin. In 1770, Thomas Pennell and Lydia Sands, then both of this town, were married. 160 APPENDIX. them on a sled in the summer time." "They carried their boards to Saco, there had them taken for debt, tlien came a freshet and took mill, flume and all away." Mr. Brooks says that the first mill at Salmon Falls was built by his father, Joshua Woodman, and Lieut. Merrill. This is tradition and I have found no confirmation of the statement as regards the two last-named persons. After the mill was carried away he says, "then my father and many others built a dam across the river, the most of which remains to this day. In sixty days from the time when the dam was finished they got the saw to go up and down." "I am most eighty-one years old and never used any glasses." "I discovered an old cellar in my father's pasture. He said it was where old Deacon Nason settled." "My grandfather had two sons, John and Isaiah. Isaiah was born June 12, 1736, in Saco, and he was my father; moved when a young man to Buxton. lie died in 1819, 83 years old. My grandmother Brooks spent her last days with my father and died in Buxton." John Beooks, son of Robert. On the 25th of October, 1750, John Brooks, then styled junior, married Bethiah Brown. They were then both of Biddeford or Saco. On the 27th of September, 1758, Joseph Cofiin and Dr. Nathaniel CoSin deeded Lot 16, Range E, 1st Division to him " for and in Consideration of John Brooks, jr., of Narragansett No : 1 : in the County of York aforesaid in New England, Cordwainer truly and faithfully settling one Right or Proprie- tors share in said Narragansett No : 1 : viz, the originally Right laid to one Abiel Saidler as by Record may appear, and upon said Brooks fulfilling the Courts order to all intents and Purposes on said whom [home] lott." This deed shows un- doubtedly where he first settled. In 1762 he conveyed this lot, his wife Bethia joining in the deed, to Thomas Cutts, of Saco, who in 1763 conveyed it to Thomas Ilovey, of Boxford. In May, 1762, he is still styled junior. They had children : APPEIiTDIX. 161 Abigail, baptized in Biddeford, June 14, 1752 ; married John Edgerly, April 26, 1774. Robert, baptized in Biddeford, June 23, 1754, married Rebec- ca Hopkinson, Sept. 28, 1784. He settled in Buxton on the road leading from Daniel Appleton's to the Bar Mills. Bethia, born in Buxton, Dec. 9, 1756 ; mamed Nathl. Wood- man, Nov. 29, 1781 ; died probably in 1796. Sarah, born in Buxton, June 1, 1759. Samuel, born in Buxton, March 19, 1761; married Lucy Berry, Dec. 27, 1785; died in Porter. Phebe, born in Buxton, March 7, 1764 ; married Jonathan Bean, Sept. 4, 1783; died Oct. 10, 1829. Isaiah, died in infancy. Isaiah Beooks, son of Robert. Was born in Saco, June 12, 1736. He married Sarah Burn- ham, July 14, 1769. She was born in Scarboro'. His son John states that he died in Buxton, August, 1819. He joined the Congregational church, 1771. His wife died in New Durham, N. H., 1815. He lived on Beech Plain Road. See Dennett's map. In regard to his house, Mr. Peter Emery writes, that " Rev. Levi Loring bought it of John Brooks, son of Isaiah, and lived there two years. He then moved it over on the other road between Asa Brown's and Michael Hanson's house,^ where it now stands occupied by the widow of Edward P. Hanson and owned by her." I have his signature under date of May 5, 1791. His children were : Jonathan, bom August 4, 1771 ; married Abigail Owen, Oct. 25, 1795. He died June 3, 1829. She died Sept. 7, 1846. They had children, William, born July 12, 1801 ; Alexander, born Sept. 4, 1804; Ellen, Sarah, EUza, died Sept. 8, 1846; Olive, died April 26, 1837. Order of birth of the children not known to me. Isaiah, baptized April 25, 1773 ; married Olive Harmon, of Scarborough, Nov. 29, 1792. Settled in Hollis. His first wife iThe Michael Hanson house is one of the oldest houses in Buxton. It was built by Capt. John Lane, and stood where Mr. Nathan Woodman now lives, and where Mr. Tristram Eaton remembers to have seen it as a dilapidated house when he was a boy. He was 91 years old the 16th of December last. 11 162 APPENDIX. died April 20, 1806. His second wife was Anna Roberts. He died April 30, 1850. She died May 30, 1834. Children : Mary, born April 5, 1802 ; died AprU 4, 1852. Nathaniel, born July 13, 1807; died Feb. 14, 1828. Dorcas, born April 26, 1812; died Nov. 28, 1871. Charles, born Sept. 22, 1813. Ruth, born Jan. 2, 1819. Isaiah, born Sept. 16, 1825 ; died Sept. 25, 1866. Nathaniel, baptized May 28, 1775 ; died Dec. 25, 1803. Robert, bom April 20, 1778 ; died July 23, 1822. Married Margaret Randall, of Saco. She was born April 26, 1784, and died Nov. 15, 1863. Their children were Harriet, born Aug. 17, 1811 ; died Feb. 6, 1850. Nancy, born Jan. 22, 1815 ; died April 7, 1861. Margaret Ann, born Dec. 5, 1817. Robert set- tled on the opposite side of the road from his father and re- mained there until his death. Sarah, born Nov. 13, 1781; died April 27, 1782; baptized April 13, 1782. Hannah, baptized May 2, 1784. Sarah, bairtized Aug. 13, 1786. John, born April 2, 1792 ; baptized July 22, 1792 ; married Phebe Davis ; moved to New Durham, N. H., in 1818. By his first wife he had Catharine, born 1819 ; died unmarried in 1849 ; and a son, John, born in 1823. By his second wife, Eliza Pearl, he had two sons, Joseph and Charles. John Brooks died at New Durham, April 27, 1874, aged 82 years. Mr. John Brooks says that he had one sister named Sarah and two named Hannah, but the baptismal record is as above, and the town records the same. — Ed. The children of Robert Brooks, son of John and grandson of Robert. Born to Robert Brooks and Rebecca Hopkinson his wife, Benjamin, born Sept. 20, 1793. Moses and Aaron, born April 9, 1796. John, born August 10, 1798. Bethiah, born July 10, 1800. Sally, born June 27, 1804. Nathan, born Dec. 26, 1806. APPENDIX. 163 F MEKRILL. Lieut. Samuel Merrill was born in Salisbury, Mass., Aug. 4, 1728. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Thomas Brad- bury (of whom I made mention in my address), in 1747. He was an uncle of John Eaton, who came to this town from Salisbury, John's mother being his sister. He settled at Sal- mon Falls on Lot 1 of Range D. See Dennett's map. This lot was conveyed to him by his father-in-law, Nov. 22, 1753, and here he remained until his death. His farm, or a portion of it, is held by his descendants at this day. He was living in this town as early as May 17, 1751. He died Satur- day, May 4, 1822. His wife died January 18, 1820, and, it is said, in the 93d year of her age. He was a prominent man. His name appears often in the proprietors' records. Charles Coffin, Esq., says that he was " of a respectable fami- ly, was frequently a selectman of the town, and a lieutenant at the battle of Bunker's Hill in the company commanded by Jeremiah Hill, Esq." His name appears in 1748, as a soldier at the Block House below Union Palls, then under the command of Capt. Thomas Bradbury. He was buried in South Buxton Cemetery at the Lower Corner, but his grave is not known. The information which here follows in regard to his descend- ants is mainly on the authority of his great grandson, Mr. Ebenezer Wentworth of Portland. The children of Lieut. Merrill were : Abel, born June 6, 1748, in Salisbury. Humphrey, born June 27, 1750, in Salisbury. Jane, born July 12, 1752, in Biddeford (where her grand- father Bradbury then lived), and married Mr. Ebenezer Went- worth, of Buxton, May 14, 1772. Mr. "Wentworth built a two- 164 APPENDIX. Story house, facing south, on the site of the house now owned by his grandson Ebenezer, and there he and his wife remained until they died. He died Feb. 6, 1820 ; his wife died July 11, 1843. Samuel, born in Buxton 1754; married Anna Eaton, 1776; died in Buxton, 1838. Martha, born 1756 ; married Thomas Redlon, June 24, 1779. Elizabeth, born married Joses Hopkinson, May 8, 1777; died in Limington. William, born 1758; served in the army in the Revolutionary war; died in 1779; unmarried. Thomas, born died young ; unmarried. Mary, born " " Sarah, born March 1, 1765 ; married Daniel Bryant, May 28, 1782. John, born June 3, 1767. Ruth, born 1773; married Isaac Lane, April 6, 1794; died March 22, 1799. Mrs. Hannah, widow of the late Ellis B. Usher, Esq., is her daughter. Abel, the oldest son of Lieut. Merrill, married Elizabeth Page, July 1, 1773. He settled at what is now Buxton Centre on the farm afterwards owned and occupied by Nathan Elden, Esq. On the spot near where Capt. Joseph Davis now lives, he built " an old cellar-kitchen house." His son Thomas lived on the same spot and built the house now owned and occupied by Capt, Davis ; his father, Abel, then being old and living with him. Abel moved to Turner with his son Thomas where he died Dec. 8, 1828. The children of Abel and his wife Elizabeth were Thomas, born Aug. 19, 1774 ; married Mary Haskell, Nov. 22, 1801 ; died in Turner, March 20, 1862. Had no children. Samuel, born Aug. 29, 1776 ; married Mary Bradbury ; died in Biddeford, Aug. 2, 1845. He had two children, Samuel who married Mary Hooper, and Elizabeth who married Benjamin Mosher, of Gorham. Mary, born Oct, 19, 1781 ; married Zenas Payne, May 26, 1805 ; died Deo. 25, 1821. Left no children. APPENDIX. 165 Ruth, bom April 25, 1784 ; married Dr. Aaron Ayer ; was left a -widow with two children. Married 2d, John Woodman, of Minot. Abel, ji-., born May 26, 1785; married Abigail, daughter of Nathaniel Hill, June 25, 1809 ; died Feb. 13, 1859. He had four sons, viz.: Nathaniel Hill, Thomas, Jeremiah Hill, and Samuel; the last-named was recently governor of Iowa. Thomas and Jeremiah also reside in Iowa. He had four daugh- ters. Harriet, married Washington Haskell ; lives in Auburn. Mary, " Lothrop L. Files ; " Gorham. Martha, " Moses G. Hill ; « Buxton. Eliza, " James Rounds. She died in Buxton, Jan- uary, 1872. Abel, jr., settled in Turner but moved back to Buxton about 1840, and married the widow of Daniel Hill. HuMPHRBT, the 2d son of the Lieut., married Elizabeth Mc- Lucas, Jan. 19, 1775 ; died Sejrt. 27, 1828, in Buxton. " Set- tled the farm now occupied by his grandson, on the road lead- ing from Haines' Meadow to Moderation." He and his wife joined the church Oct. 27, 1793. She died Deo. 18, 1818. His children were : Sarah, born Jan. 10, 1776 ; married Isaac Boynton, Oct. 2, 1800. William, born Aug. 29, 1777 ; married Charity Davis ; set- tled and died in Brownfield. James, born April 13, 1779 ; settled on a part of his father's farm; married Martha Crockett, Aug. 3, 1800. She died young and his children were by Susan Whitney his second wife. Elizabeth, born May 21, 1781 ; married Wm. Wentworth, of Brownfield, Jan. 10, 1803. Lucy, born May 21, 1781 ; married John Tarbox, July 23, 1815, and her descendants live on the old homestead. John, born April 14, 1783; lived on the homestead. No children. Humphrey, born April 6, 1785 ; died June 16, 1808. 166 APPENDIX. Hannah, bora April 19, 1787 ; married Timothy Ayer, April 9, 1807. Settled in Otisfield. Samuel Bradbury, born March 26, 1789 ; settled and died in Cherryfield, Maine ; a physician. Joshua, born March 22, 1794; died March 22, 1797. Daniel, born Feb. 13, 1797; died July 16, 1816. Euth,born Dec. 4, 1800 ; married Dea. Wm. Leavitt. Samuel, 3d son of the Lieut., married Anna Eaton Nov. 5, 1776 ; settled on the homestead of his father at Salmon Falls, and died 1838. His wife died Jan. 30, 1821. His children were : William, born Dec. 10, 1778. Elizabeth, born Nov. 6, 1781. Samuel, born April 4, 1784. Hannah, April 26, 1786. John, bom Oct. 18, 1791. Ruth and Nancy, born April 15, 1794. William married Susanna Lane, they had nine children, five sons and four daughters. The sons were James, William John- son, Daniel, who was killed when about four years old, Daniel Lane, who still lives in Buxton, and Benjamin Jones; the daughters were Hannah, Nancy, Ruth, and Mary. William Merrill, senior, died April 1, 1828. Susanna his wife died March 14, 1867. Elizabeth, married James Sawyer and lived in Fryeburg, Me. Samuel, married Betsey Owen, June 24, 1804. Their chil- dren were Ann M., Ansel, and Ruth. The second wife was Dorcas Woodsum ; their children were Almira and Benja- min F. John, married Priscilla Milliken, of Scarborough, Dec. 22, 1810; had sons Wyman, Joseph, Mulberry M., Bradbury, Ben- jamin, and daughters Eunice, Ann, Cordelia, Mary J., and Ellen. Ruth and Nancy. Ruth married first James Banks ; their children were Hon. Esrefi H. Banks, of Biddeford, Clara, and Eliza A.; her second husband was William Foss, of Buxton, APPENDIX. 167 by whom she had one child, Jamea F. Foss, of Chicago, 111. She died in 1850, almost instantly, on the road from Saco to her house. Nancy manied Daniel Harmon and lived in Buxton. Their children were Samuel and William F. She died very sudden- ly and in much the same manner as her sister Ruth, at her home in Buxton on the 29th of March, 1854. JoHJsr Meeeill, sixth and youngest son of the Lieut. ; mar- ried Rebecca Lane, daughter of Capt. Daniel Lane, Jan. 28, 1790. Lived at Salmon Falls. Children, Mary or Polly, born Feb. 25, 1792 ; married William Owen, May 1, 1814; died April 5, 1818, leaving one son, the late Daniel M. Owen, of Saco. Isaac, born Dec. 19, 1793 ; married Lucy Merritt ; had four sons, Charles, John, Albion, and Roscoe G., and three daugh- ters, Mary, Rebecca, and Annettee. He was a prominent man in Hollis and held several offices, was a justice of the peace, merchant, and mill-owner. He died in May, 1862, in Buxton. Daniel, born Feb. 19, 1799 ; was drowned in Saco river, May 26, 1806. Mr. John Merrill died in Buxton, June 10, 1849. Rebecca, his wife, died in Saco at the residence of her grand- son, Daniel M. Owen, November 14, 1863. 168 APPENDIX. a DUNNELL. Benjamin Bunnell was here in 1751. On the 2d day of June, 1762, being then of this town he bought Lot 6 of Range A, 1st Division. In the Biddeford records are recorded the baptisms of three children of Benjamin and Mehitable Bunnell, viz. : Joseph, June 11, 1749. Benjamin, Oct. 7, 1750. Molly, baptized at Narraganset No. 1, June 3, 1753. The surname of his wife I do not know. He had a second wife, and in the Falmouth records (now Portland) is an intention of marriage under date of Nov. 1, 1755, between Benjamin Bunnell of Narraganset and Eliz. Hodgdon of Gorham. I suppose he settled and died in Buxton, but where his home was I do not know. Joseph, his son, is said to have been born Nov. 27, 1749, which must be an error, as the record shows that he was bap- tized the preceding June. He married Anna, daughter of Josh- ua "Woodman, Aug. 10, 1777, and died Sept. 22, 1834. She was born January 25, 1756, and died Sept. 9, 1824. He settled on the farm now owned by Capt. Peter Hill and lived in a two- story house which stood below and eastwardly of Capt. Hill's house. Capt. Hill married his granddaughter, so that the farm is still occupied by his descendants. They had seven children : Alice, born March 10, 1778 ; married John Billings, Nov. 17, 1799 ; married second, Thomas Atkinson, of Hollis. Mehitable, born October, 1780 ; married Saml. Sands, jr., Aug. 10, 1797. She died October 17, 1848. Samuel, born June 4, 1781; married Achsah Hill, Nov. 29, 1804; died Nov. 30, 1863. Joseph, born Sept. 11, 1784; married March 22, 1808, widow Mehitable Hanscom, daughter of Maj. Thomas Harmon. Anna, bom Feb. 2, 1788 ; married Samuel Hill, Nov. 17, 1811 . John, born Nov. 10, 1792 ; died April 23, 1805. APPENDIX. 169 Betsey, born May 10, 1794; married Stephen Hanson, Nov. 20, 1814. She died March 28, 1870. Benjamin, jr., the brother of Joseph, bought of Job Roberts on the 12th of October, 1774, Lot 4 of Range 0, 2d Division, on which be made his farm. He had previously, on the 10th of Nov., 1773, bought of Isaac Appleton, of Ipswich, an acre and a half of ground on Lot 3, on which he built his house and on which he lived until his death. He also owned Lot 25, Range B, 2d Division. He was next neighbor to Daniel Ap- pleton. He is called junior as late as June 12, 1789, so that his father, I suppose, was then living. He married Susanna Davis, of Pepperellborough, April 25, 1776. The two-story house in which he lived and which he built is still standing. From what I have shown above I suppose that he and not his father, Benjamin, senior, settled on and cleared up this farm. Major John D. Hill is probably in error in writing to me that his " grandfather Dunnell was born in Buxton near where Capt. Appleton lived," for he was baptized in Biddeford in 1749, when we have reason to believe that there were no in- habitants in Buxton. Major Hill in a letter to me says : " My grandfather, Joseph Dunnell, had one brother, who lived near Capt. Appleton and was the one that used to wear short clothes, that we, when boys, used to see. He lived on the old Dunnell place. They had one sister who married Joseph Rankins, 1777, Oct. 12. Her name was Mehi table." In saying that Benjamin, jr., "lived on the old Dunnell place" he intimates that his father lived there before him, which I doubt, because, from the deeds above mentioned, Benj., ji-., seems to have bought the house-lot in 1773, and the farm-lot in 1774, and I have no evidence that Benjamin, senior, ever owned any part of the farm. There seem to have been two daughters of Benjamin, senior. One, Molly, baptized in 1758, and Mehitable above mentioned. If there was but one then the name was changed after bap- tism. 170 APPENDIX. John Bunnell was living here in 1761. See Goodwin's Nar- raganset, page 181. On the 17th of September, 1763, being then of this town, he sold to Samuel Thompson Lot 13 of Range D, 2d Division. I learn from a note on one of Dr. Cof- fin's sermons that he died by the fall of a tree Feb. 11, 1767. I do not know his relationship to Benjamin, senior, and can only conjecture that he was a brother. John Dunnell and Hannah Murch, both then being of Bidde- ford, were married there April 2, 1752. Whether this is our Buxton John I do not know, nor do I know whether he had children. Under date of May 30, 1756, Joanna, daughter of John and Abigail Dunnell, was baptized in Biddeford. Much more can, perhaps, be ascertained in regard to the Dunnells by any one who will make the necessary investigations. Diadema, daughter of widow Abigail Dunnell was baptized March 1, 1767, in Buxton. In the records the name now spelled Dunnell was often spelt Donald and Donnell. I have the sig- nature of " Benja Donnell " as constable in 1783. APPENDIX. 171 H HANCOCK. Of William Hancock, Charles Coffin, Esq., says : " Mr. Han- cock was from Londonderry, Ireland : lie went first to Ports- mouth, New Hampshire, thence to Buxton. He settled on the right of the road leading from the Congregational meeting- house to Salmon Falls. He was a respectable man ; died in the meridian of life, and has left descendants in the town. He took the first newspaper that came into town, which was print- ed in Portsmouth, N. H." His name often appears in the pro- prietors' records. In a letter to me dated Dec. 2, 1870, Capt. Goodwin writes as follows : " Some two years since you asked me who WUliam Hancock^ mentioned in the records was. * * * William^ was a son of William, senior ; and Hancock's great and Uttle ponds, and Hancock's brook in Hiram, Me., were named in honor of his memory. He was a trapper, but disappeared sud- denly." * * * " Search was made for Hancock but he was not found. His camp and a spoon were found on the west side of Great Hancock Pond, but no trace of his body, gun or traps." William in his will (See Goodwin's Narraganset, page 169) speaks of but one son, Isaac. If there was another son he had probably died before the date of the will in 1769. Isaac lived in Buxton. For some account of him see Good- win's Narraganset, page 278. In that account Capt. Goodwin says that he was accidentally killed by the fall of a tree or a limb. This statement as to the mode of his death is more than doubtful. The late Mr. Moses Boynton told me that he died from the eflFect of drinking a large quantity of rum or brandy on a wager. ^My inquiry wag in regard to Jolin, mentioned in Goodwin's Narraganset, page 167, and I t. iiinfc that in the letter to me Capt. Goodwin carelessly spealis of William when he means John. 172 APPENDIX. As Mr. Boynton spent his life on the adjoining farm, and as the families of Hancock and Boynton were connected by marriage, and as Mr. Boynton knew Mrs. Garland (Isaac Hancock's wife) from her childhood until her death, his account is probably cor- rect. Mr. Tristram Eaton confirms Mr. Boynton's statement. I have heard it otherwise confirmed. Administration on his estate was granted March 29, 1764. William Hancock, senior, died in 1769. His farm and that of his son Isaac were adjoining, consisting of Lots 1, 2, and 3 of Range E, 1st Division, Lot 2, being divided between them lengthwise through the middle ; the father owning the Avester- ly and the son the easterly half The family burying-ground is on Lot 1, and though now in a pasture, graves are still visible, though unmarked. For the site of the burying-ground see Dennett's map. By a deed to William Hancock, dated October 14, 1749, by which he bought one full Right, being -ri^ part of the town, it seems that he was then of Haverhill, Mass. In another deed dated June 26, 1750, he is then said to be of Narraganset No. 1. Isaac bought his home-lot No. 3, Nov. 30, 1752, and in the deed he is said to be of Narraganset No. 1. Isaac Hancock was a Lieut, in 1755, in the company com- manded by Captain John Lane. The Hancocks of Buxton are descendants of Isaac. See Goodwin's Narraganset, page 278. [The following, from York County Probate Records, will show how little property in value our ancestors had, though then owning good and new farms and classed among the "well ofi."— Ed. NiEEAGAiirSET No. 1, November the 13tb, 1770. We the subscribers have, agreable to a warrant from the hon'ble Judge of Probates, appraised all and every part of the real, personal, & movable Estate of William Hancock late of said Narragansett in the County of York, deceased, that was exhibited to us by his executor in the following manner: APPENDIX. 173 20 acres given to Johu Lane's three sons at 70s. pr acre £70. 0. 10 acres given to John & "Wm. Hancock at 60s. pr acre 30. 0. The 12 home Lot on F given to said John & William 13. 6. 8 one Third division given to Mary Boyinton 26.13. 4 % a second division to John Boyinton Jun. 18. 6. 8 one undivided Right 1.12. 3 cows at 53s. 4d. pr cow £8, one two year old heifer 48s. 10. 8. oae yearUng ditto 32s., one Bed and Beding £5 6s. 8d. 6.18. 8 1 chest of Draws 14s. 4d., 1 chest 8s., 1 pine Table 6s. 1. 8. 4 1 horse 4s., 1 bell 6s., 1 old broad-ax 8s., 1 small Do. Is. 14. 1 old adze 3s., 1 mortising ax 3s., 2 Iron wedges 2s. 9d. 08.9^ 1 spade Is. 6d., 1 aulgar Is. 6d., 2 Tramels 10s. 8d., 1 shovel 2s. 8d. 16. 4 1 fiying pan 2s. 8d., 1 old saw broke 8d. 3. 4 1 pr. broken tongs 8d., 1 pr. handirons 8s. 8. 8 1 L-on pot 2s., 1 Iron kettle Is. 4d., 1 pr. steelyards 4s. 7. 4 1 peuter Platter 2s., 1 old baze gown 2s., 1 old coat 12s. 16. 8 peuter plates 6s., 1 pr. old plough irons 6s. 12. 7^ wt. of Peuter 4s. 2., 1 Coffee mill 6s., 2 earth ern platters Is. lOd. 12. 2 wooden Trays 8d., 1 Bowl 8d., 1 Platter 4d. Is. 8 Errors excepted, £178.13.9| Thomas Beadbuet, Samuel Meeeill. I DUNN. Extracts from a letter of Hon. Joshua Dunn, dated April 17, 1872. "My father, Nathaniel Dunn, son of Nathaniel Dunn, was born in Gorham near Scarborough line. He married Elizabeth Atkinson [born Nov. 21, 1768], daughter of Deacon Joseph Atkinson, of Buxton Gore, near Gorham line. My father soon 174 APPENDIX. after marriage bought the farm^ of old Capt. Eldredge adjoin- ing the farm of Mr. Frank Libby, father of Deacon Joseph Libby, my classmate in the town school. My father moved out to Salmon Palls on Buxton side and went into trade there. The store stood [near and] below the bridge. This was I think in ninety-six; brother Moses can inform you better than I can. I know I was very small ; sister Sarah a baby when father came after us in Dr. Brewster's chaise, and took mother, my- self, and Sarah into an old one-story house^ where the Gupper house now stands, near Samuel Game's. Moses lived with Col. Lane in the house' now Simon Davis's. Mrs. Usher's mother was then living and used to give me sweet-cake. " My father moved to Bar Mills on Hollis side and went into milling business with Joseph Atkinson. This was about 1800, for father sent me to the school near the old meeting-house, kept by Charles Coffin. I boarded at Mr. Billings'. Soon af- ter, I went back to live with my grandfather Atkinson. In my fourteenth year I went to Portland to learn the horse milliner's trade. When the war of 1812 broke out I enlisted. Father moved down on the Alfred road near Isaiah Brooks'^. There my mother died April, 1804. I then lived at grandfather's. Father built the mill and house at Union Falls and lived there until he purchased the farm* on which he lived, and where he died in 1855, in his 90th year. The house where we were all born is not now standing. Father showed me the old cellar many years ago. Our farm ran across the present railroad. My mother was buried on the farm you now own, once the farm of John Woodman, Esq. My grandmother was Olive Woodman, sister of your grandfather." iQn the 20fch of May, 1872, 1 rode witli Mr. Dunn to tlie farm where he wag born, now owned by Mr. Merrill a native of Falmouth. He showed to me lot 17 of Range D, 3d Division as his father's farm, and pointed out the site of his father's house as a little northwesterly from the south comer of the lot and near the road. ^The house to which he refers stood a little in the rear of the " Gupper house." Capt. John Lane afterwards lived in it and there died. It was probably built by Eze- kiel Barnes who, in 1794, bought of Job Eoberts 2 acres, 3 roods, and 3 rods in the N. W. corner of Lot 25, Eange C, Ist Division, where this house stood. ^In this house, Col. Lane's daughter Hannah, now Mrs4 Usher, was born. «In Hollis. APPENDIX. 175 BOYNTON. I find the following memorandum among the papers of the late Joshua CoflSn, of Newburyport. " William and John Boynton came to Rowley, Mass., with Rev. Ezekiel Rogers from Rowley, Yorkshire, England. "William was a tailor; was born in the year 1606, and with his wife Elizabeth lived in Rowley till 1657. He then bought land in Newbury of Dr. John Clark. He was in Ipswich in 1667, and in Rowley in 1684, and died in Ipswich Dec. 8, 1686, aged 80." There was a John Boynton born July 30, 1729, who perhaps, was the same John the Blacksmith, who went from Haver- hill to Narraganset No. 1. From Goodwin's NaiTaganset, p. 167, it would seem that John Boynton was here as early as March 29, 1754, and he probably was here at that time, for he bought real estate here in 1749, 1750, and 1752, but on the 3d of June, 1756, being then of Haverhill, blacksmith, he bought Lot 4 of Range E in the 1st Division, on which he settled. In 1758 his name again ap- pears on the proprietors' records, and he Avas probably living here at that time. In 1767, he conveyed to William Boynton Lot 11 of Range D, 2d Division, on which lot Wm. Boynton settled and built the house which is now standing. What relation John was to William I do not know but probably his father. William manied Mary McLucas Oct. 2, 1766. On the 18th of Decem- ber, 1768, John conveyed to Samuel Hovey of Cape Elizabeth, housewright, a piece six rods square out of the northwest cor- ner of his home lot. It is reasonable to suppose that Mr. Hovey bought this small piece for a house-lot. It was where the Chase house^ now stands at the Lower Corner. John Boyn- ton was living in Haverhill in 1749. •The rear part of the Chase house was, perhaps, built, at any rate was occupied by John Muchemore, who wove coverlids. Dr. Brewster also occupied the same house before he built his house. 176 APPENDIX. He died probably in 1777,* as administration on his estate was gi'anted in October of that year to his wife Mary. Wm . Boynton lives now on the same lot that John bought in 1756. This homestead has been, as far as I know, uninterruptedly in the Boynton family from that day to this. His descendants, doubtless, can be easily traced by any one Avho may be inter- ested to do it. His wife was the daughter of William Hancock. From the same will it seems that John Boynton had a son John. He lived on the homestead. For Hancock's will see Goodwin's Narraganset, page 169. Daniel Boynton was here as early as April 22, 1767. What relation he was to John the first settler I do not know. His name, as also that of the first settler, may be found in the proprietors' records. John Boynton, jr., married Hannah Elwell, of Pepperell- borough, July 18, 1771. Hannah Boynton married Samuel Hasaltine, Feb. 18, 1768. He probably died in 1776, and his widow married Capt. John Lane, Sept. 21, 1777. Wm. Boynton, jr., and Betty Whitney, of Standish, were published Nov. 10, 1792. Isaac Boynton and Sarah Merrill were married Oct. 2, 1800. John Boynton and Hannah Mason, married March 25, 1801. Moses Boynton and Ruth Elden, married March 24, 1803. James Boynton and Susanna Grant, published Feb. 18, 1804. Samuel Boynton and Phebe Blake, published March 10, 1804. The editor adds what follows in regard to this family. John Boynton, blacksmith, from Haverhill, by his wife, Mary Hancock, had four sons and two daughters, viz. : Daniel, born married Hannah Babb, July 11, 1793. Isaac, born who was drowned. William, born married Mary McLucas, Oct. 2, 1766. John, jr. (father of William of Buxton), bom mar- ried first Hannah Elwell, of Pepperellborough, July 18, 1775. *He died in the army, in a bam used as a Imxr&ck by the soldiers, Elisha Andrews, of Buxton, watclied by him the night he died.— Ed . APPBNX»IX. 177 Hannali maniecl Saml. Hasletine, Feb. 18, 1768, and after- ward Capt. John Lane. Mary never married. The children of Daniel I kno^7 nothing about. His name is not on the town records of Buxton. Isaac probably never married. The children of William were : William, jr., born Dec. 18, 1766. Hannah, born Feb. 15, 1769, married Daniel Leavitt, Aug. 23, 1792. Daniel, born March 12, 1771, married Mary Moor of Buxton, Dec. 6, 1792. Isaac, born June 5, 1773. Mary, born July 5, 1775. Moses, born Feb. 6, 1778. Samuel, bom July 27, 1780. Jane, born August 3, 1785. The children of John by his first wife, Hannah Elwell, were : James, born Oct. 14, 1771. Mary, bom Feb. 17, 1773. John, jr., born March 18, 1778. Hannah, born May 6, 1781. Daniel, bom March 31, 1783. Moses, bom July 12, 1785. By his second wife, Hannah Mason, he had : William, born, Aug. 31, 1801. Eliza, born Nov. 15, 1803. 12 178 APPEHDIX. K DURELL, MARTIN, ROLPE, WILSON. These names are signed to the call for a meeting of the pro- prietors, dated Aug. 3, 1752. Whether there are descendants of either of them in town I do not know. Nathaniel Durell and John Martin were here in March, 1743-4. See Goodwin's Narraganset, page 142. Benjamin Dnr- ell was here in 1752. In 1753, administration was granted to him on the estate of Moses Durell,^ of Biddeford. He was of Biddefordin 1749. David Martin was here in 1752. He owned and lived on Lot 2, Range B., 1st Division, and the road to Hopkinson's from this lot passed over what is known as Martin's gully, to this day. The road was closed a few years since. The birth of a son and daughter may be found recorded in the proprie- tors' records. See Goodwin's Narraganset, page 224. David Martin, probably this David, married Hannah Pennel], April 12, 1748, both of them then being of Biddeford. Mr. Dennett says : " We have Martin's brook, Martin's gully, Martin road, and Martin's swamp. He lived at one time where I have him on the map as I have been informed by my mother and the Hopkinson family." I mention Martin again under the name Brooks in this Appendix. Sam'l Rolfe. He was the first owner, resident here, of any part of Lot 25, Range C, 1st Division. He bought one-half of it June 29, 1757, and sold it the next month to Job Roberts who owned the greater part of it for years. In 1757, he bought Lot 8, Range D, 1st Division, together with a house which was lAt the bottom of page 97, of Goodwin's Narraganset is the name Moses Duress, It doubtless should be Durellj although it ig in the original as printed in the boolc. APPENDIX. 179 on said lot but had been removed from it. lie was living in this town as early as July 23, 1751. He is said to have been the first town pauper. He lived for a time on an island in Saco river, near Mr. Tristram Eaton's, and now known as Rolfe's Island. Mr. Tristram Eaton thinks that he died at the house of Dea- con Thomas Bradbury, where Mr. Rufus Emery now lives. AVhether he had children I do not know. Mr. Tristram Eaton told me that a Mr. Samuel (John ?) Rolfe lived close by Leavitt's mills, on the northeasterly side, and that John Davis afterwards lived in Rolfe's house, and that Rolfe moved further towards Gorham. By Dennett's map it seems that John Rolfe lived on Lot B, Range C, 3d Division. In 1795, he sold Lot 8, Range A, 3d Division, and some adjacent pieces to Nathaniel Hill. I have a receipt which reads as follows : "Rec'd Buxton 18th April 1785, from Jno. Woodman one pound Lawfull Money for the Conditions of a Lease of a Cow & her Encrease Given in favor of Jere'h Rolf for soldiering in y'e Cotinental Ai-my I say Rec'd pr me John Roffe." Nov. 3, 1776, Rev. Paul Coffin baptized Samuel, son of John Rolfe, and Joanna his wife, " members of the first church in Falmouth." Oct. 20, 1781, he baptized their son Enoch. In a deposition dated June 22, 1793, Samuel Rolfe calls himself 74 years of age. In the same deposition Stackpole's brook is mentioned. WiLSOJT. Charles Coifin, Esq., says that John Wilson settled on the Beech Plain road near where Jacob Bradbury, Esq., afterwards lived. He probably died in 1753, as administration was granted in that year to his wife Elizabeth, who after his death married Coolbroth. I find no deed to or from him. His name appears in the proprietors' records under date of August 3, 1752, 180 APPENDIX. ROBERTS. On the 20tli of November, 1738, Robert Brooks, then of Biddeford, bought one whole Right in this town, which Right included Lot 24, Range C, 1st Division. This Right, including said Lot, he conveyed to his step-son. Job Roberts, then of Bid- deford (Saco) by deed dated June 26, 1741. On the 10th of January 1750-51 Job Roberts, being then of this town, bought one whole Right, including Lot 7, on said Range C. This lot 7 he sold in 1764 to Sarah Brooks, spinster. Roberts doubtless settled here in 1750. In the Biddeford church records is recorded the marriage of Jacob Roberts and Sarah Tarbox, July 25, 1745. As Job's wife's name was Sarah, the name Jacob in the Records may, perhaps, be an error for Job. On the 12th\lay of April, 1805, Mr. Roberts made an affida- vit as follows : " I, Job Roberts of eighty -five years of age, testify and say that I have resided in the town of Buxton fifty-five years, and that I have known Saco river from Pleasant Point in said Bux- ton to be used andj improved by the Inhabitants for the pur- pose of rafting down lumber of various kinds, such as shingles, clapboards, small masts. Logs, &c., for sixty years past, and that for more than forty years past, the said Inhabitants has im- proved the said River as above mentioned for the purpose of rafting the boards that have been sawed by them : That any obstructions in the said River that would prevent the Inhabi- tants rafting and carrying down their lumber, boards in par- ticular, will operate as a great damage to the owners of lum- ber. APPEKDIX. 181 " How long since you have known boards to have been sawed at Salmon Falls in Buxton to be rafted down River ? " Answer by Deponent. Thirty-three years." This deposition was taken on account of the building of a dam and mill at Union Falls by Nath'l. Dunn and others. I have his signature under date of May 8, 1793. Job and Sarah his wife had children, baptized as follows : 1747, April 12, Abigail, died young, as there was a second one of this name. 1749, June 18, Sarah. 1751, September 15, Elizabeth; married Nathan Elden, May 12, 1772. 1754, October 20, Mary; married Ezekiel Bragdon, May 11, 1780. 1764, June 3, Abigail, never married. He had a son Joseph who married Lydia Burnham, Nov. 8, 1781, and lived in Hollis, as did Bragdon. He had a daughter Susanna who married Abiathar Woodsum, July 8, 1784. John Hearn, son of Abigail, born May 14, 1797. M FORT. Tradition does not point to any other places in town as the sites of forts or garrisons except those which I have mentioned. It will be noticed, however, that in the petition of March 29, 1754* it is said that "the Province fort is very ill Convenient •Historical Address, page 47. 182 APPENDIX. for the Settlers on the north easterly Side of martains Swamp," and that the fort or garrison which Mr. Hancock was to build under the vote of May 29, 1754, was " to be Sett where the inhabitants living on the northerly Side of the Swamp shall see cause to Set the Same." This " swamp " and " martains Swamp " must be I think the low land towards and about the head of Stackpole brook, which divided the settlers at Salmon Palls and Pleasant Point, from those at Beech Plain and those living not far from what was afterwards and is now known as the Lower Corner. As the site of the fort was to be left to the inhabitants on the northerly side of the swamp, it seems singular that they should fix it at Pleasant Point, which would be still more " ill convenient " for them than the former site. The spot indicated by "the Broad Turn so called" is not known, and consequently does not help us to fix the site. In his will, printed in Goodwin's Narraganset, Mr. William Han- cock speaks of his " Flanker House," and it is possible that the fort or garrison which he agreed to built was situated near or adjoining his house instead of at Pleasant Point. If so, there were three forts or garrisons ; for I hold the testimony of Charles Coffin, Esq., and of Mr. John Elden to be conclusive in regard to the existence of a fort or garrison at Pleasant Point. In 1750 the settlers petitioned for a removal of the Province fort (see Goodwin's Narraganset, page 152), and it is probable that the Province fort on Lot 2 of Range D was abandoned, and a new one built " annexed to the house of Capt. Joseph Woodman" on Lot 11 of Range B. But this would scarcely be of any service to the settlers on the northerly side of what I suppose was called Martin's swamp. It is reasonable to suppose that these settlers had a tort for their jDrotection on their own side of the swamp; and if so, it was probably adjoining the house of Mr. William Han- cock. There is, however, nothing certainly known as to the site of the fort, which was doubtless built by Mr. Hancock under the vote of May 29, 1754. APPENDIX. 183 N ATKINSON. Humphrey Atkinson was the first settler of that name in this town. His homestead was on Lot 1 of Range A in the 1st Division, which has remained the property of his descend- ants to the present day. He was a shipwright and came from Newbury, Mass. He bought one full right in the town, including said Lot 1, being yj^ part, by deeds dated January 26, 1757, and June 4, 1760. He did not move here until 1760, or soon after, as his son Theodore, born June 2, 1760, was, I suppose, bom in Newbury, and at the last-named date he is stated in the deed to be of Newbury. He was here in October, 1761. He was a descendant of John* Atkinson of Newbury, Mass., who was a son of Theodore Atkinson, of Bury, in Lancashire, England. John* was born in Boston in 1636, and married Sara Myrick, April 27, 1664. He lived on the southwesterly side of the " Upper Green," on the spot occupied by Stephen W. Little in 1852, in New- buryport. He had a son : John,^who married Sarah Woodman in 1693, and was the fa- ther of Thomas,' who was born March 16, 1694, and married Mary Pike, of Salisbury, Aug. 5, 1719. He was the father of Humphrey,^ who settled in Buxton, and who was born June 12, 1720. He married Sarah Hale May 25, 1743. They had children born in Newbury as follows : Sarah, born June 25, 1744; died July, 1744. Joseph, born Aug. 24, 1745, as recorded in the town records, 184 APPEKDIX. or accordiug to the statement of his grandson Charles, he "was born Oct. 6, 1745. Moses, born Nov. 17, 1747; married Rehecca Woodman, of Buxton, Sept. 13, 1770. Thomas, born Dec. 21, 1749. Eunice, born Nor. 16, 1757; married Samuel Woodsum, May 28, 1783. Theodore, born June 2, 1760 ; married Polly French, ISTov. 23, 1786. Mr. Dennett says : " Humphrey Atkinson had six boys, Thomas, John, and Theodore [and Joseph] settled here as I have them on the map. Humphrey did not marry but lived with his brother John. .John moved to Eaton, N. H., in 1814. There he and Humphrey died. They had three sisters. "Mary, married Abiathar Woodsum. "Eunice, married Dea. Samuel Woodsum, of Saco. " Sarah, married Jabez Bradbury." Mary was the first wife of Abiathar Woodsum. For his second wife he married Susanna Roberts, July 8, 1784. Mr. Humphrey Atkinson probably died in 1775, as administra- tion was granted on his estate in that year to his son Thomas. He and his wife were buried at Pleasant Point. On the 27th of July, 1769, he conveyed to his son Joseph, forty acres of Lot 2 of Range C, 8d Division, it being forty acres to be taken off from the northwest side of said lot in an equal width thereof from the northeast end to the southwest end. On the 13th of December, 1770, he conveyed forty acres to his son Moses, it being the other half of said lot. He bought the adjacent Lot 1 Nov. 22, 1770, and in 1771, he conveyed sixty acres thereof from the southeast side to his son Thomas ; the said sixty acres " to run lengthways North East and South West." The remainder of said Lot 1, it being twenty acres, he conveyed, Dec. 16, 1773, to Abiathar Woodsum, who con- veyed it in 1777 to the said Moses Atkinson. Thus these two lots were owned by the three brothers; Joseph owning the westerly forty acres of Lot 2, Moses the easterly forty acres of APPENDIX. 185 that lot and the westerly twenty of Lot 1, and Thomas the easterly sixty acres of Lot 1. Thomas sold his forty acres March 21, 1777, to John Haines, of Scarborough. To whom Moses conveyed I do not know; probably to Pelatiah Harmon . Joseph, son of Humphrey, settled on said Lot 2, and there remained until his death. If Moses and Thomas ever settled on the lands so given them by their fether, they remained there but a short time. Joseph married Olive, daughter of Capt. Joseph Woodman, Dec. 18, 1767. He was a deacon of the Baptist church. The farm descended to his son John, and from him to his son Charles, who sold it a few years since. Deacon Joseph died, Feb. 18, 1823, aged 77, and his son John Dec. 22, 1857. Olive wife of Joseph, died Jan. 26, 1828, and Pauline, wife of John, March 24, 1855. Charles now lives in Gorham and has two children. The children of Joseph and Olive were : Elizabeth, born ISTov. 21, 1768. Sarah, born Jan. 26, 1771. Mary, born Jan. 29, 1773. Abigail, born Feb. 22, 1775. Anne, born Aug. 14, 1777. John, born July 26, 1779. Samuel, born Dec. 23, 1781. Moses, born April 9, 1784. Susannah, born April 20, 1786. Joseph and Moses married sisters. There is a tradition that they swapped sweethearts after they were engaged, the one paying to the other a certain quantity of shingles as boot ! Moses, son of Humphrey, married Rebecca Woodman, Sept. 13, 1770. He resided at one time near the meeting-house. He sold* out his land there in 1784, to Elisha Andrews. The well where he and Mr. Andrews and afterwards Capt. John Lane lived for a time, in the rear of Spofford's blacksmith shop, is. still in use. Moses probably moved to Hollis at or about this time. He does not appear to have been a resident of Buxton in 1798. 186 APPENDIX. His children were : Joseph, married Anna Lane in 1790. Moses, " Betsey "Woodman, August 14, 1794. Thomas, " 1st Bethia Hopkinson, Nov. 14, 1797 ; 2d, ■widow AUce Billings, March 6, 1808. James, married Polly Barnes, daughter of Ezekiel Barnes. Anna, " Elihu Howard, Jan. 4, 1801. Olive, " Samuel Hodgdon. Polly, " J OSes Palmer, June 19, 1799. Col. Isaac Lane, who commanded a regiment in the v/ar of 1812, was a nephew, by marriage, of Moses Atkinson. Col. Daniel Lane, who was a major in the same regiment, and a brother of Col. Isaac, gives me the following account of the death of their uncle Moses : " Lieut. Atkinson left his home at the Bar Mills in 1813, un- beknown to his family, and worked his way along till he found my brother Isaac and myself with our regiment, about half way between Plattsburg and the river St. Lawrence. He wanted us to let him have a gun and equipments to go into the ranks of one of the companies, but we told him he was too old to stand the fatigue of marching and keeping up with young soldiers. But as he insisted upon it my brother named it to the Commanding General and told him all the circumstances,, The general said, indulge him, let him have a gun, etc., but look after and take care of him. He soon got tired of marching about with the soldiers and we kept him as near us as we could. "In November, 1813, the army started for winter quarters at Plattsburg, and we encamped one night somewhere about half way between the St. Lawrence and Plattsburg in a piece of woods near the main road. My brother and I had a large tent that answered for both of us. After pitching our tent we laid down, with a fire towards our feet. I lay in the middle between brother and Lieut. Atkinson. We saw that he was covered up with blankets and whatever we could spare. " Some time in the night I waked up and stirred the fire. I then turned to Lieut. Atkinson and saw that he lay just as he APPENDIX. 187 did when he first laid down. I then spoke to him but got no answer. I then took Iiold of him and shook him and then found he was stiff and cold. I spoke to my brother and told him I believed Uncle Atkinson was dead, and we found it was so. The conclusion wal" that he never moved after he laid down, and died without a struggle. We procured some rough boards and had a coffin made and a deep grave dug in the woods, some distance from the road, and there had him buried, and some stones put to the head and foot." Thomas Atkinson, son of Humphrey, married Anna Safford, Sept. 12, 1782. Their children were : Molly, born July 12, 1784. Stephen, born Sept. 7, 1786. Amos, born Nov. 23, 1788. Enoch, born July 14, 1791. Sarah, born June 22, 1793. ] These three sisters were liv- Susanna, born July 22, 1795. 5-ing on the homestead in Jan- Eunice, born March 4, 1798. ) nary, 1873. John, born March 31, 1800. Humphrey, born Oct. 21, 1802. Nancy, born March 28, 1805. On the 24th of September, 1787, by a deed not yet recorded, he bought of Capt. Jabez Lane and Capt. Joseph Woodman, jr.. Lot 2, adjoining the Lot 1 on which his father settled, and in the same year he bought 40 acres of Capt. Lane in the " seven hundred acres " adjoining said Lot 1, on the easterly side thereof. This deed is also unrecorded. Died Sept. 23, 1833, aged 84. John Atkinson, son of Humphrey, married Olive Plaley, Nov. 1, 1792 ; moved to Eaton, N. H., in 1814 and there died. Sarah Atkinson, married Jabez Bradbury, May 19, 1774. Humphrey Atkinson, jr., lived with his brother John and died in Eaton, N. H. Theodore Atkinson and John Atkinson settled near the Saco line, on the "seven hundred acres." See Dennett's map. 188 APPENDIX. Theodore bought his land there in 1786, and probably settled there about that time. Mr. Daniel Dennett in aletter to me, dated January 2, 1868, says: " Humphrey Atkinson built first on or near the line of Lot 1, Letter A, and the northwest line of the 700 acres. There are three of his grandchildren, all maidens [daughters of Thomas], living on the home lot ; the oldest 75, next 73, the youngest 70. They have a barn standing on the old house lot. Humphrey and -wife were buried at Pleasant Point. The grand children say they know it to be so." In another letter, dated Oct. 13, 1867, he says : " Humphrey Atkinson being one of the first settlers, I will give you the names of his children and where they settled. " Joseph settled on [near] the Gore. His son John lived on the old place, and John's son Charles lives there now. " Moses settled in Hollis. " Theodore on the south end of the 700 acres on Saco river. John on a lot adjoining. "Humphrey was a bachelor [baptized Sept. 8, 1765]. "Molly married Abiathar Woodsum; lived on the 8 rod road. [See Dennett's map, 1870.] "Eunice married Samuel Woodsum and lived in Saco. Sarah married Jabez Bradbury ; settled near Buxton Centre. " Thomas (I ought to have named next to Moses) lived on the homestead. He died instantly in a store at Union Falls, and two of his sons have died the same of late." In a letter dated Jan. 12, 1873, Mr. Dennett says : " I cannot tell you how many of Humphrey Atkinson's children were born in Buxton. They have no old family record, but the old women now living, say that their father, Thomas Atkinson, was thirteen years old when they moved into Buxton. From this statement it appears that Humphrey m oved into Buxton in 1762." APPENDIX. 189 o LEAVIT. On the 24tli of Nov., 1752, Joseph Leavit, of York, tanner, bought three full shares or rights in the new township, Narra- ganset, No. 1, being yf^ of the whole town. I suppose that he was at no time a resident here. He was one of the three persons who built- the mills in 1761, on Little River, as stated in my address. lie had three sons who settled in Buxton, Samuel, Daniel, and Joseph. Mr. Daniel Dennett, in letters to me, says : " My great grandfather, Joseph Leavitt, of York, came to Buxton in 1751, and purchased three lots for his sons. Joseph he settled on Little River ; Daniel on Beech Plain, and Samuel, my grand- father, near Union Falls. Samuel married Sarah Phinney, daughter of Capt. John Phinney, the first settler of Gorham. " She died April, 1793, aged 59 years. " Samuel died, 1797, aged 65 years." " Samuel Leavit and wife were buried on the river side of a small pine tree at Pleasant Point. This I have from the recollection of my mother." October 6, 1793, he married a second wife, Hannah Dearing, of Pepperrellborough. In 1756, Samttbl, son of Joseph, of York, then of this town, bought lots 7 and 8 of Range A^ 1st Division, and there settled. In 1766, he bought of a committee of the proiDiietors twenty-five acres, "more or less," adjacent to the Northwest side of said lot 8. Joseph Leavit, the father, died before March 28, 1768, for on that day Samuel and Daniel Leavit, of Narraganset No. 1, Jeremiah Leavit, of York, John Nowell and Thomas Nowell, 190 APPENDIX. of York, and their wives, Elizabeth and Sarah (who were daughters of Joseph), conveyed to Joseph Leavit, of Narra- gansett N"o. 1, "six seventh parts of one fourth part of a certain grist mill in said Narragansett which was our father's Joseph Leavit, late of York dec''- with y" appurtenances & y° land to y° said quarter of y' same mill which lys on the Eastern side of the Mill Brook, & is supposed to contain two acres & an half." In 1791, Samuel sold to his brother Joseph " all my right in the two saw-mills in Buxton, commonly called Leavit's mills." In the same year he sold to John Leavit, his son, one- half of his homestead and of the buildings thereon. By his wife, Sarah, he had four children. Elizabeth, baptized Nov. 4, 1764, married Wm. Hancock, Aug. 22, 1782. John, baptized May 3, 1767 ; married Molly DoUoff, Jan. 12, 1792. He moved from the old homestead to Hollis, and from there to Eaton, N". H., where ho died. Sarah, baptized Sept. 17,1769; married Phineas Towle, Nov. 8, 1778. He died Sept. 12, 1819. She died April 27, 1826. Mary, born July 14, 1769; man-ied Clement Dennett, Jan. 3, 1793. Daniel Leavit, son of Joseph, of York, in 1766 bought Lot 8, on Letter E, 1st Division, on which lot he settled. He bought of John Nason, Lot 8, of Range D, 1st Division. The deed is dated in 1745. Acknowledged, 1765. In 1777 he bought Lot 9, Range D, in the same Division. He sold the Southwesterly end of Lots 8 and 9 aforesaid in 1788, to Joshua Kimball, it being one-fourth of said lots, and on the same day bought of Kimball one-fourth of the adjacent lots 10 and 11, from the Northwesterly end thereof. He was a tanner. Was a deacon of the Congregational church for 48 years. Died June 21, 1829, aged 92 years and 2 months, which makes his birth to have been in 1737. He married Abigail Bradbury, May 5, 1763. They had a child, Abigail, baptized May 6, 1764. She probably died young, as there was a second Abigail. APPENDIX. 191 He married Oct. 29, 1765, Abigail Dennett, of Pepperrell- borough, daughter of Samuel Dennett. I learn from tradition that Deacon Leavit had two wives, and I know of no other Daniel Leavit then living here. Their children were : Daniel, jr., baptized May 24, 1767; married Hannah Boynton, Aug. 23, 1792. Daniel, jr., probably died in 1809, as the inventory of his estate is dated in that year. Therein he is said to be " late of Brownfield." The real estate is inventoried as follows : " The homestead farm of said deceased laying & being in the town of Buxton, with the buildings thereon, containing seven acres (now improved by and in the possession of Henry Harmon), amounting in the whole to $260." His father makes mention in his will of children of Daniel. Abigail, baptized Oct. 29, I'reO; married Moses Woodman, Dec. 8, 1791. Bethia, baptized April 19, 1772 ; married Zachariah Usher, Jan. 29, 1793. Sarah, baptized March 13, 1774 ; married Joshua Kimball, jr., 3d, July 7, 1793. Elizabeth, baptized June 30, 1776 ; married John Ewing, March 16, 1794, and afterwards married Gilpatrick. Hannah, baptized Sept. 25, 1778. By his will dated Dec. 18, 1816, her father gives her $50. Phehe, baptized June 24, 1781. Died young, as there was a second Phebe. Olive, baptized Oct. 3, 1784; married Michael Shute, July 14, 1805. Samuel, baptized July 8, 1787. Phebe, baptized Sept. 12, 1790 ; married Simon Woodman, who was the executor of her father's will. Joseph Leavit, son of Joseph, of York, in 1766, bought Lot 8, Range B, 3d Division, and in 1779 bought the adjoin- ing Lot 9, and in 1772 the adjoining Lot 7. He lived at Leavit's Mills on Little River. 192 APPENDIX. He died April 4, 1809, in the 70th year of his age. His first wife died in 1774. He bought f of J of the grist mill in 1768, as above stated, and probably owned a larger interest. I have his signature under date of June 22, 1786. He married Sarah Bradbury, Nov. 10, 1763, and by her he had Sarah, born April 8, 1764 ; married Daniel Hill. Joseph, bom Sept. 12, 1765. Thomas, born Jan. 14, 1767 ; married Martha Bradbury, of Buxton, Sept. 2, 1790. Died in Standish. Children — Jacob, born Jan. 16, 1791. Mary, born Oct. 27, 1793, married Enoch Boothby. Sarah, born Nov. 30, 1795, married Peter Payne, and died May 14, 1819. Eliza H., born Aug. 7, 1796. Catherine, born Sept. 11, 1798, married Joseph White, and died Dec. 11, 1822. Samuel, born Aug. 15, 1801. Joseph, born Oct. 29, 1803. Thomas, born Dee. 10, 1805. Martha, born Jan. 31, 1807. Lucy, born May 19, 1809, died Aug. 21, 1820. Stedman, born July 31, 1811, died Sept. 2, 1813. William, born June 16, 1768 ; married in 1795 Mary Cobb, of Gorham, died June 11, 1848. She died Aug. 15, 1850. Children — Hannah, born Sept. 17, 1797. , William, born March 23, 1800. Benjamin, born Sept. 14, 1802. Aaron, born Aug. 25, 1804. Nancy, born July 23, 1807, died Nov. 4, 1851. Samuel, born March 18, 1770; married, 1st, Hannah Garland, Jan. 24, 1793 ; 2d, widow Mary Ayer, in 1803: Children by first wife, John, born March 20, 1792. Joseph, bom Feb. 15, 1795. William, born May 27, 1797. By second wife, Eliza- beth, born Dec. 3, 1804; married Henry Dunnell. Jane, married John S. Dunnell. Alvah. Betsey, bom Jan. 25, 1772. Benjamin, born Nov. 25, 1774; married Susanna Bradbury, Jan. 29, 1795. Children — John, Susanna, Martha, Lucinda, Melinda, Sarah, Monroe. By second wife : Anna, bom Sept. 8, 1777, married Isaac Scamman, of Saco, in 1795. APPENDIX. 193 Bi-adbiii-y, bom Oct. 7, 1779 ; married Kancy or Ann, daugh- ter of Daniel Paul, of Gorliam, in 1806 ; died in Buxton, Dec. 23, 1824. Children— Daniel, born Feb. 5, 1808. William, born Jan. 30, 1811 ; died Aug. 6, 1844. Albert, born April 27, 1813, died . Henry, born Aug. 1816, died Aug. 22, 1825. James, born March 16, 1820, died Sept. 4, 1825. True, twin of Bradbury ; married -^vidow Wales, of Bridgton ; died 1826, in Bridgton. Mr. Daniel Leavit says that the Iiouse in which he now lives was built by his fathei-, Bradbury Leavit, and his twin brother True, but the big chimney that stood in the middle, has, I see, disappeared. P HILL. The Hills, " rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun," have from the first formed a large and very respectable part of the citizens of Buxton. The pioneer settler in this town was Nathaniel Hill, son of Jeremiah, of Biddeford, whose father was Eben- ezer Hill, son of Roger, son of Peter Hill. Peter Hill, a planter, was a member of the Assembly of Liconia, or Ligonia, in 1648. He probably settled in Biddeford, near the mouth of the Saco river, a few years previous to this date, with his son Roger, who was admitted a freeman in 1658. New Hampshire having sought admission into Massachusetts, was soon followed by these settlers of York County, who had become weary of the government of Thomas Gorges, and among them was Peter Hill, who apfjlied for admission in 1652. He died in 1667.^ Roger, son of Peter, married Sarah Cross, of Wells, and died in 1696. His children were Sarah, Hannah, John, Samuel, Joseph, Mercy, Benjamin, and Ebenezer. Ebenezer, son of Roger, was prisoner with his wife Abiel, in 1 Tills ia an extract from an article ty Dr. Usiier Parsons, on the Descendants of Peter Hill, of York County, Me., in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 12, p. 139. 13 194 APPENDIX. Canada, in 1704-5, having been taken by the Indians, from Biddeford, it is said, where he lived, near the head of "ferry- lane." They -were in Canada three years. He died in 1748, aged 69 years. He held many town and parish offices, and was deacon of the church. His children were Ebenezer, Dorothy, Susanna, Benjamin, Lydia, Joshua, and Jeremiah. His son Ebenezer was born in Canada, or while his parents were on the journey, and hence was familiarly called the " Frenchman." Jeremiah, son of Ebenezer, married Aug. 11, 1746, Mary, a daughter of Capt. Daniel Smith.^ He was a Justice of the Peace. He was one of the three persons who built the mills in 1761 on Little River. See Goodwin's Narmgansct, pages 161-2. One of his children was Nathaniel, who settled on the Southeasterly corner of the ten-acre lot, which was given by the proprietors to the three persons who built the mills above-mentioned. He then built a house in which he lived until his death, which occurred July 4, 1801. At the funeral Mr. Benjamin Elwell, father of Benja- min and Theodore, dropped dead. Mr. Hill married Martha Crockett, of Gorham, Dec. 30, 1773. She died April IB, 1824. Their children were Priscilla, born May 23, 1774 ; married Samuel, son of Capt. Jabez Lane, July 30, 1796; died May 25, 1815. Thomas, born Feb. 23, 1776; died March 19, 1776. John, born Feb. 28, 1778 ; married Polly, daughter of Capt. Jabez Lane, July 6, 1800. About 1800, he built the house lately the residence of Jona- than C. Lewis, at Buxton Centre. Mr. Hill used part of it as a residence, and part as a store. A Mr. Powers afterwards occupied it as a residence and store ; still later it was used as a store by the late Capt. Samuel Dunnell. 2 For some account of Capt. Smitli, see Folsom's History of Saoo and Biddeford, pp. 240, 242. APPENDIX. 195 John died Sept. 12, 1840. Susan, born May 26, 1780 ; died Feb. 20, 1807. Joseph, born May 1, 1782, studied law and practiced at Limington, and afterwards at Cherryfield, Me., where he died in 1844. Achsah, born July 2, 1784 ; married Samuel Bunnell, Nov. 29, 1804; died March 15, 1859. Samuel, born July 13, 1786; married Anna Bunnell, Nov. 17, 1811 ; died Oct. 9, 1859. He was a military major and deacon of the Congregational church. I make the following extracts from letters to me by the late Major John D. Hill, son of Maj. Samuel Hill: "Mother says, and I have heard my father say, and Uncle Samuel Bunnell has told me the same, that there was a Mr. Thompson who died, and they had no place to bury, and they tried to buy of Mr. Boynton a lot for a burying ground where the new ceme- tery now is, and he would not sell to them, and that my grandfather gave them the land, now the old cemetery,^ and the second one buried there was his oldest [?J child. " My grandfather, Nathaniel Hill, died in the year 1801, and my uncle, John Hill, being the oldest son, administered and took the property, intending to pay off the rest of the heira when they came of age ; but getting involved by building a mill on New river, so called, and losing it by a freshet, and in other ways got embarrassed and sold out to my father three- quarters of the grist-mill and one-eighth of the saw-mill below, by deed of 1811. Afterwards my father bought of Mr. Joseph Leavitt, and his son, Bradbury Leavitt, the rest of the grist- mill ; so says my mother, also Mrs. Smith, who was Bradbury Leavitt's widow. Two years after, in 1813, father bought uncle John all out in the farm, agreeing to take care of my grand- mother and paying off the heirs. « Mother says grandmother Hill has told her that my grand- father came up from Saco, built a house and lived there two or three years before she married him. That they lost their first or second child when he was in the army in the year 1776. He '■At LeaTitt'a Mills. 196 APPENDIX. -was out three or six months. Was out in the winter and quai-- tered in New York, and while he was gone this child died. His father was an owner of mills at Saco and considered quite wealthy at that time. The saw-mill was on the west side of the stream, and the grist-mill opposite. "I have heard it said by the old men that they sawed in this mill the boards and some of the timber for Salmon Falls mill. "Deacon Ebenezer Hill of Saco, who died in 1748, had a son Jeremiah. This son was my great-grandfather, and his son Jeremiah^ who was a prominent man in Biddeford was my great-uncle. He was older than my grandfather Nathaniel HilF who built the old house* where you and I used to play. " My grandfather, Nathaniel, had one brother, DanieP, who lived and died in Buxton. Married in 1780, April 6, to Sarah Leavitt. He was an ensign in the Revolution, in the company of his brother, Capt. Jeremiah Hill, of Biddeford." In 1792, Nathaniel Hill bought Lot 21 on Range C, 3d Divis- ion, and in 1795, he bought of John Rolfe " the following tracts or parcels of land, viz. : one tract or parcel laying between the mill privilege so called, and the southeast end of the eighth lot on the letter A and 3d Division, containing four acres and one hundred and fourteen rods; the other beginning at the southeast end of the aforesaid eighth lot on Letter A, and carry- ing the breadth of said lot northwesterly to contain six acres, and also one other lot laying in said Buxton, being the eighth lot on the Letter A, and third division of lands * * * con- taining fifty-four acres be the same more or less." January 7, 1786, he bought of his brother, Daniel Hill, part of Lot 9, Range B, 3d Division, and in 1788, another part of said lot, the two purchases probably covering the whole lot, though the descriptions do not make this certain. He also owned the greater part, if not the whole, of Lot 14, Range C, 3d Division. He and his wife joined the Congregational Church, Nov. 8, 1778. The baptism of their childi-en will be found in the 'Baptized Aug. 9, 1747. 'Baptized Marcli 20, 1749. "Baptized July 18, 1756. 'See Dennett's map, 1870. APPENDIX. 197 church records, printed in 1868. I have his autograph as Col- lector of Buxton m 1786. Abigail, born June 29, 1788; married Abel Merrill, jr., June 25, 1809. Nathaniel, born July 7, 1790; died at sea, Nov., 1809. Jeremiah, born June 9, 1793, clergyman; married in Indiana. Mary, born June 9, 1793 ; married John Hanscomb, jr., Sept. 29, 1816. Mark, born May 22, 1796 ; married Arvilla Buggies of Sut- ton, Vt. ; died in Sutton, Vt. Martha, born Jan. 12, 1801 ; married James Huntress ; died in Lyman. Daniel Hill, son of Jeremiah, of Biddeford, a brother of Na- thaniel, was born July 6, 1756; he settled on a branch of Little river on the west ride of the road leading from Spruce Swamp to Kimball's Corner; married Sarah Leavit, April 6, 1780. Their children were : Jeremiah, born June 6, 1781 ; married Abigail Webster. Elizabeth, born Nov. 14, 1782 ; never married. Thomas, born Aug. 80, 1784. Sarah, born June 13, 1786; married Thomas Paine. Daniel, born July 8, 1788; married Hannah Gage. Rebecca, born Sept. 19, 1790; married John Smith. Ebenezer,^ born Jan. 5, 1793 ; married Lydia Harmon. Joseph, born Nov. 5, 1794 ; died young. WilHam, born Feb. 16, 1796; married Sally Emery. Ruth, born May 20, 1798; married John Owen. Mrs. Sarah Hill died March 20, 1800. For a second wife, Daniel married Phebe Paine, of Gorham'; they were published Feb. 6, 1801. Their children were : Richard, born Jan. 14, 1802 ; married Adaline, daughter of Capt. Jabez Lane. Peter, born May, 1804; married Cynthia, daughter of Capt. Joseph Dunnell. lEbenezer still lirea on the old place and has hold many offices of trust in the town. —Ed. 198 APPENDIX. Joseph, born Nov. 5, 1807; married Rebecca Staples. Jeremiah and Mary Hill, father of Nathaniel, who settled in this town, had a daughter Anna, who was baptized March 13, 1763. Mr. Samuel A. Hill thinks it was she who married Daniel Whitmore, of Gorham, April 16, 1782. She was then of Buxton. Samuel Hill and Susanna his wife, who joined the church in Buxton in 1795, were of Saco, near the Buxton line. Ebenezer Hill, of Saco, died in Narraganset No. 1, of a fever, in August, 1767.^^ 'The Editor has re-written, ctianged and improved what I wrote in regard to this family. The opening sentences are by him, as also dates and other facts scattered through the article. c. w. Q LANES. I have no time to do justice here to the three brothers of this name who settled in this town, and were captains in the Revo- lution. It is the duty of some of their descendants to write an account of them. I merely put down here a few items which may, perhaps, assist any one who may attempt a biography and genealogy of them. On page 204 of Folsom's History of Saco and Biddeford, he says : "Capt. Lane was at this time [1717] the commander of Fort Mary, "Winter Harbor, where he died not long after. He was born in Limerick, Ireland, and emigrated to New England while a young man. Before his military appointment at this place he had settled in Hampton, N. H." In a note to this passage, Mr. Folsom adds, " Family tradi- tion. Col. I. Lane, of Hollis, is a great grandson of Capt. Lane." Part of the information so given by Mr. Folsom was doubt- less derived from Col. Isaac Lane. In the town records of Newbury, Mass., I find facts in regard APPENDIX. 199 to the progenitors of tlie Buxton Lanes whioii are unknown to any of their descendants. Mr. William Little, town clerk of Newbury, writes to me as follows : Newbuet, Sept. 25, 1873. Deae Sie: — Yours of the 19tli is before me, and in reply I send the following : "Mr. John Lane & Mrs.* Johannah Davinson boath of New- bury ware Married Novemb'r 1693. " Abigail ye daughter of Mr. John Lane & Mrs. Joannah his wife born August 15 [1693] John Lane ye son of Capt. John Lane & Joannah his wife was born at Hampton in ye pro- vince of New hampshire in Newingland March ye 1, 1701-2. " Living ye son of Capt. John Lane & Mrs. Joannah his wife borne Novemb'r 13 [1704]. Mary ye daught'r of Capt. John Lane & Mrs. Joannah his wife born Feb [1706] " The year in the above where it is enclosed in brackets is not found in the record of the births, but is taken from the head of the page. Very respectfully, William Little. Mr. Little, in a prior letter to me, says : " I do not think that implicit reliance can be placed upon the date of the mar- riage of John Lane, for upon reverting to the original record I notice that it was not recorded among other marriages of the time, but it is on a blank half page with one other dated 1712, and in the handwriting of some one who sometimes wrote in the town books, but I am confident was never town clerk." The record of the intention of their marriage is not found in the Newbury records. In the Newbury records, we thus find the names, Joannah and Living, which are to be found among the Buxton stock of Lanes to this day. These facts and the family tradition above- named, leave no reasonable doubt that the three captains, John, Daniel, and Jabez, who settled in Buxton, were the grand-chil- iMrs. in the original, tat it was not then unoommou to use tlie prefix liefore tlie names of tlioae wlio liad not been married. Slie was, perhaps, a daughter of Mr. Dan- iel Davison, then of Newbury. 200 APPENDIX. dren of John who married Johanna Davinson, and who in the Newbury records is styled Mr. and afterwards Captain, and who was commander of Fort Mary at the Pool. The only mention of Mr. John Lane in the records of Hamp- ton, N. H., is the following : "John the son of Mr. John Lane By Johanah his wife was Borne the first of March 170^" Mr. Joseph Dow who is at work on a history of Hampton says: "I am unable to trace any connection between this John Lane and the otlier Lane families living here. The fact that the title of Mr., then so sparingly used, is prefixed to his name in the above record, shows that he was a man of distinction. In looking over several pages of births of children, where this one is recorded (I looked at about 200), I find only two in- stances besides this in which this title is used ; one of the per- sons thus honored was a physician and the other belonged to a family of high standing." What we are sure of is that the father of the throe Buxton brothers was named John, and that he was also a military cap- tain, and that the family tradition, as above stated, is that their grandfather was Capt. John of Fort Mary. I found in the State House in Boston some petitions of John Lanc^, who, I suppose, was their father. These petitions I sent to Capt. Goodwin, and they will be found printed in his Narraganset No. 1, pages 375-378. Miss Hannah H. Dyer obtained the following list of his chil- dren from Mrs. Scamman (born Atkinson) of Saco, for me. It is probably correct. Family record of Capt. John and Mary Lane : John Lane, born July 4, 1734 ; baptized by Rogers; died July 14, 1822. Henry Lane, born Aug. 19, 1737; baptized by Rutherford; died December, 1787. ijohn Lane kept a public house in Narraganset No. 1, for we find in the records of the Court of Common Pleas, in the Xorlc County Records, " John Lane Licensed to keep Fublick House in Narragansett No. one, he principal, Samuel Warren and An- drew Bradstreet sureties July 1763." This is the first known record of a public house in the township. This is probably the same John Lane spoken of above. — Ed. APPENDIX. 201 Joanna Lane, bom Sept. 18, 1738; baptized by Jolinson; died Oct. 19, 1827. Daniel Laue, bom May 11, 1740 ; baptized by Johnson ; died Sept. 11, 1811. Jabez Lane, born Sept 21, 1743; baptized by Rutherford; died April 30, 1830. John Lane, the fatlier of the above-named children married Mary, daughter of Capt. Peter Nowell of York, Maine. We thus trace the three brothers, correctly, I think, to Capt. John of Fort Mary. It was probably Rev. Robert Rutherford, chaplain at the fort at St. Georges (which was situated close by where Gen. Knox afterwards built liis mansion in Thomaston), who baptized Henry and Jabez. On a muster roll now to be seen in the State house in Boston, Daniel is put down as having been born at Broad Bay, a term which then was probably applied some- what indefinitely to the country about Waldoborough and Thomaston. It is quite probable that John Lane, the father of the children above named, was for sometime employed at or in the vicinity of the fort at St. Georges. Indeed, he states in one of his petitions, above mentioned, " that he lived at St. Georges when this war began with the French," which was in 1744. On the 28th of April, 1756, John Wendell certifies, " I have past muster upon 40 men all to serve in the present expedition against Crown Point in Capt. John Lane's company of Bidde- ford. In the muster roll are the names of his sons, John Lane, jr., and Daniel Lane. On the 9th of December, 1743, " Capt. John Lane of St. Georges " was recommended to the governor by Wm. Pepper- ell, Jeremiah Moulton, and Samuel Waldo, as a suitable person for captain of one of the four companies then about to be raised in Maine, and it is probable that he soon thereafter re- ceived the appointment. He seems at one time to have had command at Fort Halifax on the Kennebec, for in a letter on file in the State House in Boston he speaks of "my company at Fort Hallifax." 202 APPENDIX. He died, as appears from a muster roll, on or aliout July 14, 1756, in the " expedition towards Crown Point." His son John, then lieutenant, assumed the command of the company. This company under the command of the son was mustered at " Camp at Fort William Henry Oct. 11, 1756, in Colonel Joseph Dwight's regiment in the Provincial Troops raised by the province of the Massachusetts Bay for Removing the French Encroachments at Crown Point," etc. Daniel Lane was then a private in the comi^any, aged 16 years and five months. His name also appears on a muster roll of his father's company in 1754 ; and in a muster roll of Capt. Lane, from Sept. 21, 1754, to April 18, 1755, appears the name of Jabez, "son under age", then between eleven and twelve years old. I get the following traditionary information from a letter of the late Hon. M. D. L. Lane to me, dated March 30, 1872. " What I know in relation to the original John Lane is what Capt. Stephen Lane, my uncle, related to StejDhen P. Lane, my brother, who wrote it down at the time uncle Stephen told him. The language used is this, ' John Lane, eldest son of John Lane of Limerick County, Ireland, an officer in the British ser- vice came to America and commanded the fort at the mouth of Saco river, near the Pool. The place of burial was shown Stephen Lane, son of Jabez, a great-grandson of said John Lane who died at the Pool. ' And John Lane, son of said John Lane who died at the Pool, was lieutenant under his father and was sent to command the fort at the mouth of Georges river, was born in the year 1700. He started from Georges river, Aveut to Boston, was taken sick, left his chest with all his papers in Boston, and proceeded to Lake George in the State of New York and there died af tlie age of 56 years. His son John was with him when ho died. His chest left in Boston could never be fouud. 'John Lane that died at Lake George was the father of Jabez Lane, who was born at the mouth of St. Georges river.' " Such is the statement made by Stephen Lane to Stephen P. as above mentioned, with some little additional matter that I think not worth copying." APPENDIX. 203 In another letter to me he says : " John was taken prisoner by the Indians and was among them several years. This I take it was before the revolutionary war. He was also in Dart- moor prison." This traditionary information is not worth much, except as a clue to facts or confirmatory of them. There are, I think, in- accuracies in the foregoing statement, and I doubt very much whether the grave of Capt. John Lane who died at the Pool was so preserved as to have been seen by his great grandson Stephen. He states that he saw the place where he was buried by which he may have meant the burial ground, near the Pool and near the river, on the road from Biddeford to the Pool which the winds have blown almost away. The Hon. M. D. L. Lane also says in the same letter, " Capt. Jabez Lane, my grandfather, while in the army during the revolutionary war fought a duel with an officer in the army from the South. " Col. Isaac Lane when on a visit to Washington learned from a gentleman whom he met there, that the gentleman's fa- ther fought a duel with one Lane from the East. This gentle- man stated that while the army was stationed at some point in the Sou.th, the officers gave a dinner at which his father and Capt. Lane were present; that becoming rather hilarious and boisterous over their wine, and somewhat excited, his father said something derogatory to the character of the Yankees, at which Capt. Lane slapped him in the face. A challenge and duel followed. The gentleman stated to Col. Isaac Lane that his father was wounded in the leg ; that the Capt. Lane was Avounded in the side, a flesh wound merely. " Col. Lane said he thought the matter over, and came to the conclusion that if it was either of the three brothers, John, Jabez, or Daniel, all three of whom were captains in the army, it must have been Jabez, for he was inclined to the belief that if it had been John or Daniel, they would have told of it, but that Jabez would be inclined to keep it to himself " Sometime after Col. Isaac Lane returned home from Wash- ington, one Saturday afternoon when a goodly number of the 204 APPENDIX. citizens were gathered in his store for the purpose of drinking rum and molasses, telling stories, swapping horses, etc., etc., among whom was Capt. Jabez Lane. Col. Isaac related what the gentleman told him in Vv^'ashington relating to the duel. " After he got through, Capt. Jabez unbuttoned his breeches and showed the crowd the wound he had received in his side in the duel, thus identifying himself as the Lane who fought it." As I have said above, these three brothers should, at the hands of their descendants, have more full biographical notices than I can give them here, and to their descendants I commend the work. Isaac, son of Capt. Daniel was with his father in the revolu- tionary army. He and his brother Daniel raised a regiment iu the war of 1812, the 33d regiment of infantry, and went into active ser- vice. Isaac was colonel, and Daniel ruajor and afterwards lieut. colonel. The Lanes may well be called the military family of Buxton. The three brothers, John, Daniel, and Jabez were all laid to rest in the graveyard by the meeting-house at the Lower Corner. Gravestones mark the graves of John and Jabez. Daniel and wife were buried near the spot where their son. Col. Isaac, Avas buried, but no stones mark their graves. Capt. Daniel left journals of the time when he was in the army. One of them was printed in the July number, 1872, of the N. E. Historical and Genealogical Register. The other journals, unprinted, are in the possession of the Maine Histori- cal Society. Two of his children are still living, January, 1873, viz : Olive, widow of Nathaniel Dunn, now residing in Holhs, Maine, and Col. Daniel, now residing with his son-in- law, Mr. Bingham, at Newtonville, Mass. Col. Daniel has furnished me with a written account of his military life. Neither Mrs. Dunn nor Col. Daniel knows anything about their grandfather. Capt. Daniel Lane married Molly Woodman, October 21, APPENDIX. 205 1762. He settled at the Lower Comer about forty rods from the meeting-house, near the present school-house. He made a a purchase there July 5, 1763, and he remained there until after the birth of his youngest child. His house there was burnt, and he afterwards lived in several different places. Died in Hollis. Capt. Jabez Lane settled on Lot 4,Range A, 2d Division, and there remained until his death. Capt. John Lane lived for a time ou the spot where Charles CoiEn, Esq., afterwards lived, and where Nathan H. Woodman now lives.i He lived in and probably built the two-story house which was moved from there to the spot opposite the present parsonage house, where it now stands. Mr. Tristram Eaton says that it Avas dilapidated as long ago as he can remember. The trees in front of Nathan Woodman's house were set out by him as uniform tradition tells us. At the time of his death he lived in a house built by Ezekiel Barnes, on the road to Pleasant Point. It stood behind what is called the Gupper Block. Joanna, their only sister, married Isaac Hancock, and, after his death, John Garland, who lived on the spot where Mr. Nathaniel Milliken now lives, and who for many years kept there the only tavern in this town. He was buried in the ex- treme southern corner of the graveyard at the Lower Corner, and his wife beside him. No stones mark the spot. She has been described to me as neat in person, straight, rosy cheeked, and handsome in her old age, and as bright, active, of a de- cided will, and much executive ability. She left numerous de- scendants. [The names of descendants of Capt. John Lane maybe found in Goodwin's Narraganset, page 376. Of Capt. Daniel Lane in the same, pages 296 and 297. Of Capt. Jabez Lane in the same, pages 286 and 288. — Ed.J yie bought this lot June 18, 1755, and is then described as of Narraganset No. 1, cordwainer. It was here, I suppose, that he kept tavern in 1762, as mentioned by the editor in a preceding note. 206 APPENDIX. B NASOK On the 28tli of March, 1760, John Nason, then of BiddeforcT or Saco, bought of Samuel Rolfe then of Narraganset IsTo. 1, Lots 8 and 10 of Range D, 1st Division, and other lands. This Lot 8 he afterwards sold to Daniel Leavitt. His wife was Mary, daughter of Robert Edgcomb who died about 1764, and granddaughter of Rachel Edgcomb who died about 1725, " seized of a part of Bonighton's and Lewis's pa- tent situate partly in Pepperrellborough and partly in Scar- borough." Jemima, a sister of Mary, married Bcnj. Nason. John and Mary were married June 6, 1751. They were, I suppose, the John and Mary Nason who had children baptized in Biddeford as follows : Charity, baptized July 19, 1752. John, " May 19, 1754. Margaret, " June 20, 1756. Joseph, " May 18, 1760. The first three names do not appear in the list of his children as made by Mr. ISTason in the town records of Buxton, in his own handwriting. They, perhaps, died young, or he omitted them because they were not born in Buxton. He had a sister Charity for whom his oldest child was perhaps named. In the town record of Buxton the list of his children, in his own hand wiiting, is as follows : It includes, perhaps, only those born in Buxton. John, born May 29, 1758. Joseph, born May 12, 1760. Sarah, born May 8, 1762. Edward, born March 31, 1764. Robert, born April 5, 1766. Moses, born April 17, 1768. Benjamin, born July 12, 1770. Samuel, born August 7, 1772. Nicholas, born March 21, 1776. The seven last named were baptized in Buxton by Rev. APPENDIX. 207 Paul Coffin, but in the baptismal register Edward stands as Ephraiin. The son John, then of Little Ossipee, now Limington, mar- ried Mary Fowl of Buxton, June 7, 1781, and Oct. 11 of the same year, Joseph of Little Ossipee married Hannah McLucas, of Buxton. Mr. Nason was one of the seven first members of the Con- gregational church in Buxton, and one of the first deacons. He ■was also the first town clerk. Charles Coffin, Esq., says : " Deacon Nason was annually re- elected town clerk till the year 1780, when he removed to Lim- ington. Plis cotemporaries uniformly spoke highly of him for his integiity, respectable abilities, and unsullied christian char- acter." Mr. John, son of Isaiah Brooks, in a communication to me in January, 1873, says : " I discovered an old cellar in my father's pasture ; he said it was where old Deacon Nason settled," This cellar may, perhaps, be found on Lot 10 of Range D, 2d Divis- ion. To whom he sold this lot on leaving Buxton I do not know ; perhaps to Mr. Brooks. S HOPKINSOISr. On the 4th of October, 1763, John Hopkinson, then of Bid- deford, bought Lots 7 and 8 in Range B, 1st Division, and on May 2, 1764, being then of Narraganset No. 1, bought of Amos Hood, taylor, of the same place, " Two Home Lots on the Range of Letter A, Numb'd three and four with the dwelling- house that is on it." On the same day he also bought of Sam- uel Plumer, of the same place, Lots 5 and 6 in the same Range, "also a Barn on the premises." His home was on Lot 6, and his descendants occupy it to this day. See Dennett's map. It seems from the letter of Nathan, his great grandson hereinafter quoted, that he had 208 APPENDIX. two wives. He probably died in 1784, as his will was proved that year. A copy of it may be found in Goodwin's Narragan- set, page 263. The late Nathan Hopkinson, of Saco, wrote a letter to me of which the following is a copy : "Feiend Woodman: — In answer to yonr request, I send you the following : "My grandfather, John Hopkinson, jr., was born in Bradford, Mass., in 1740, July 27th, and died January 24, 1817. Re- bekah Tenney, wife of John Hopkinson, born in Bradford, Mass., Sept. 20, 1741, and died April 16, 1807, in Buxton, on the homestead. The house is not standing. Jesse G. Harmon's house is over the cellar. They were both buried at Pleasant Point. " Children of John and Rebekah Hopkinson : Sarah, born January 5, 1761 ; died Dec. 25, 1847. Rebekah, born August 29, 1763. Nathan, born Nov. 25, 1765; married Dec. 8, 1793, to widow Elizabeth Andrews. He died in Saco, Dec. 2, 1813. His wife died in Saco, Sept. 6, 1798. Jonathan, born July 15, 1767; married Nov. 24, 1801, to Hannah Joss, and second marriage to Mrs. Alice Haley. He died Feb. 23, 1842. Second wife died Feb. 16, 1827. All in Hollis. « Stejahen, born Dec. 14, 1769 ; married Dec. 16, 1792, Martha Garland. He died Aug. 17, 1855, at Union Falls. His wife died April 25, 1847. Samuel, born Feb. 5, 1777; married June 7, 1801, to Eliza- beth Appleton; died Oct. 4, 1851. His wife died Sept. 15, 1856, in Buxton. Bethiah, born August 25, 1773 ; died in Hollis. Lydia, born Sept. 21, 1783, and died March 14, 1836, in Saco. " My grandfather, John Hopkinson, jr., was half brother to Caleb and Joses; three brothers only. Mrs. Bradbury, Mrs. Palmer of Hollis, and Mrs. Merrill, lived in Maine. [Sisters or half sisters of his grandfather. J Of the other daughters I know APPENDIX. 209 nothing. Of John Hopkinson, senior [liis great-grandfather], I do not know anything. "Caleb Hopkinson^ died in Limington,Feb.l8, 1841, aged 94 years and six months. He was a native of Bradford, Mass. He was among the first settlers of Buxton, and drove the first loaded team from Saco to Baxton. In the war of the revolu- tion he had a full share of hardships and suffering. He was one of Gen. Gates' body guard at the surrender of Burgoyne, and shared in that bloody conflict. " Nathan Hopkinson's children : James, died in Saco, in 1854, Feb. 18, aged 59 years. Nathan, born Sept. 30, 1796. Jonathan Hopkinson's children : Hannah J., born Feb. 13, 1808; died Feb. 7, 1833. Bethiah, born March €, 1810. William S., born May 3, 1812. Alice, born July 21, 1815; died Jan. 3, 1851. Eebekah, born May 17, 1818. " Stephen Hopkinson's children : Rebecca, born March 16, 1793 ; died Sept. 1, 1866. Hannah, born Nov. 1, 1794; died May 22, 1853. Elizabeth, born Jan. 1, 1799. Mary, born Dec. 9, 1801. John, born Oct. 28, 1805; died Doc, 1855. Lydia, born June 19, 1810. Stephen, bom Dec. 3, 1813. Hariet, born Feb. 19, 1817. " Samuel Hopkinson's children : Elizabeth, born Aug. 16, 1802 ; died April 20, 1830. Sarah, born Sept. 6, 1804 ; died Nov. 12, 1828. Rebekah, born Oct. 14, 1807; died March 11, 1827. Lydia, bora July 27, 1810 ; died Jan. 5, 1829. Deborah, bom Oct. 9, 1812. iCaleb Hopkinson married widow Sarah SafEord, Dec. 6, 17T0, and tlieir cliildreu Were as follows: Stephen, born Sept. 27, 1771. John, born Maroli 27, 1774, and died 1777. Moses, born March 27, 1779. Eachael, born January 5, 1784. Mary, born May 4, 1786. Moses died April 22, 1796.— Ed. 14 210 APPENDIX. Aolisah, born June 25, 1815 ; died May 28, 1842. Samuel, born July 14, 1817. Mary,.bom Aug. 6, 1819; died May 5, 1832." Mr. Daniel Dennett, in a letter to me, says : " Miss Deborah Hopkinson, who now [1868] lives on the old place where John Hopkinson, her grandfather, lived, told me that her great- grandfather, John Hopkinson, in his last days, lived with his son Joses, and died there, and was probably buried at Pleasant Point, but -she is not certain about it. But her grandfather, John Hopkinson, jr., and his wife were buried at Pleasant Point." T TRAVEL BY CHAISE. I have the iollowing statement in the handvv'riting of Charles Coffin, Esq. "In July, 1777, Stephen Gorham, Esq., late of Boston, with his wife, commenced a journey to Buxton to visit his sister CofBn. They traveled to Saco in a chaise, and here were ad- vised not to attempt to get to Buxton in a chaise, as no car- riage of the kind had ever passed on the road. But his wife being unaccustomed to riding on a pillion he made the attempt and was four hours on the road, walking himself to steady the chaise. Dr. Coffin, Mr. Gorham, and their wives being desir- ious to visit the late Judge William Gorham of Gorham, a rela- tive, ten miles distant,^ the females were compelled to ti-y the pillion, although a new mode of travel [to Mrs. Gorham]. This visit or journey was made in two days [one day going and one coming] with considerable fear and trepidation on the part of the wives." 'The road from the Lower Comer to Gorham then was by the way of Leavitt's mills, or hy what is now called Buxton Centre. Miss Elizabeth Gorham, daughter of Stephen Gorham, who w.as a brother oi the wife of EeT. Dr. Coffin says in a letter to me : " I remember to have heard my father say that when he and my mother went to Buxton soon (?) after your grandmother was mari'ied, to make a visit, that it was such a strange thing to see a horse and chaise, the children ran out of the bouses to look at them. The roads were almost impassable." This refers to the childr«n-aud the roads from Saco to Buxton. APPENDDC. 211 u COFFIN". A brief memoir of Dr. Coffin and some journals kept by him may be found in the 4th volume of the collections of the Maine Historical Society. What here follows is mainly due to the pens of the late Joshua Coffin, of Newbury, and the late Charles Coffin, Esq., of Buxton, excepting, however, the facts stated in the list of the children of Dr. Coffin, which have been mostly obtained by me. c. w. From Prince's Worthies of Devonshire, we learn that " the ancient family of this name (Coffin) was settled at Portledge by the seaside, in the Parish of Alwington, five miles from Bid- deford, and flourished there from the conquest; and from the time of King Henry the First unto the age of King Edward the Second, the space of 200 years, the heir of this family was al- ways called Richard. The present representative of this most ancient family is the Reverend John Pine Coffin of Portledge." Rev. Dr. Coffin was a descendant of Nicholas Coffin, of But- ler's Parish, Brixton, Devonshire, whose will was dated Sept. 12, 1603, and proved Nov. 3, 1603. His wife's given name was Joan ; children, Peter, Tristram, Nicholas, John and Anna. The will of Peter, son of Nicholas, was proved March 13, 1627. The name of his wife was Joan, and his children were Tristram his heir, Joan, Deborah, Eunice, Mary, and John. His will speaks of a child not then born. It directs that his son Tris- tram be "provided for according to his degree and calling." This Tristram is the first American ancestor of all the Coffins in this country. Pie married Dionis Stevens. In 1642, he came to America with his wife, mother, sisters Eunice and Mary, and five children, viz.: Peter, Tristram, Elizabeth, James and John. He had two children born in New England, Mary in Haverhill; Feb. 20, 1645, and Stephen in Newbury, May 11, 1652. He first went to Salisbury, and thence, the same year, to Haver- hill, and thence, about the year 1648, to Newbury. In 1654 or 1655 he removed from Newbury to Salisbury, where he signs his name "Tristram Coffyn, Commissioner of Salisbury." In 212 APrENDIX. 1659, a company was formed in Salisbury which purchased nine-tenths of Nantucket, whither he went in 1660, with his wife, mother, and four of his children, James, John, Stephen, and Mary. He is said to have been the first person who used a plough in Haverhill. Plis name is found there as a Avitness to the Indian deed of that town dated March 15, 1642. He always wrote his name Cofiyn. It is supposed that he was the only one of the early settlers of Newbury wlio left England on account of the success of Cromwell. lie was born in 1609, and died at Nantucket in 1681. His son, "Lieut. Deacon Tristram, 2d, esquire," was born in England in 1632. On the 2d of March, 1653, he married Judith Somerby, widow of Henry Somerby and daughter of Capt. Edmund Greenleaf. He lived in Newbury and about the year 1654 erected a house there, which, with some (now an- cient) additions, is still standing and has been constantly owned and occupied by his descendants from that day to this ; the j)resent occupant being Joshiia CofBn. He had ten cliil- dren, the youngest of whom was : " Hon. Nathaniel,^" born March 22, 1669 ; married Sarah Dole, March 29, 1693. He resided in Newbury, where he died Feb. 20, 1748. He had eight children, among whom was : " Col. Joseph, Esq.,*" born Dec. 20, 1702 ; married Margaret Morss. He resided in Newbury where he died. He had eight childred, viz.: Sarah, born Aug. 25, 1726, and married Rev. Daniel Little of Wells, June 6, 1759 ; died in Kennebunk. Enoch, born Aug. 9, 1728 ; died Sept. 30, 1728. Mary, born Dec. 8, 1729; died Nov. 11, 1735. Joshua, born Jan. 9, 1731 ; married Sarah Bartlett, Jan. 21, 1755, died in Newbury. Da- vid, born Feb. 27, 1733 ; married Mary Pike, Aug. 23, 1759. He Avas a sea captain and was lost at sea December, 1764. Su- sanna, born Feb. 6, 1735; married James Boyd, Aug. 11, 1757, died in Boston. Paul,^ the subject of this memoir, born Jan. 16, 1737^; married Mary Gorham, of Charlestown, Nov. 10, 1763; died June 6, 1821. Charles, born Aug. 17, 1741 ; married ^737, 0. S., it tieing 1738 as we now reckon. APPENDIX. 213 Hepsibah Carnes of Boston, July 1, 1773. He was a physician and lived at Newbury, where he died. Paul was the seventh child of Col. Joseph, and of the 5th generation from the first American ancestor. He was born at the old Cofiin homestead in Newbury in the house before men- tioned. The room in which it is supposed he first saw the light still remains in good preservation. His youth was spent at home in Newbury until he entered Harvard College, where he and his brother Charles graduated in " the glorious year '59," as he often said in allusion to the capture of Quebec that year by Wolfe. When he left college he was noticed and distinguished for his literary acquirements and correct deportment. During the years 1759 and 1760, he taught school in the towns of Kingston, N. H., and Wells and Biddeford, Maine. On the 10th of November, 1763, he married Mary, daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Gorham, a sea captain, of Charlestown, Mass. Mr. Cofiin became acquainted with his M'ife through her brother, John, who was a classmate in college. Another broth- er was the able and distinguished -Nathaniel Gorham, who was President of the Continental Congress in 1786, for several years Judge of the C. C. Pleas, was a member of the convention which formed the Federal Constitution, and " afterward exerted a powerful influence in securing the adoption of the Constitu- tion in the State Convention." She was born in Charlestown, Feb. 23, 1740, and died in Buxton Dec. 20, 1803. She was a woman of good sense and accomplished manners, and of early and constant piety. Though raised in ease, she willingly, for the sake of her beloved husband, made her home with him in the wilderness, and though previously unaccus- tomed to domestic cares and labors, soon became an exemplary housewife. Not neglecting the cultivation of mind and man- ners, she taught and exemplified the importance of a knowl- edge of household duties, and her daughters following her pre- cepts and example, all became accomplished in these duties, including the then important and necessary arts of carding, spinning, and weaving. 214 APPENDIX. By her, his only wife, Mr. CoflSn had fourteen children, viz. : Mary, born Oct. 24, 1764; died unmarried, at Buxton, Dec. 22, 1826. Elizabeth, born Jan. 26, 1766, and died March 24, 1766. Paul, born March 19, 1767. He built the two-story house near Mr. Joseph Garland's now owned by Mr. Charles Berry. He kept a little store at one time on the other side of the road from Charles L. Coffin's house, and at another time beyond his own house, northerly. He was licensed to retail spirit in 1794,' and it is to his shop that Mr. Williams alludes on page 28 of his Centennial Address, where he speaks of "the deadly draught," which was to be had by the door of the reverend pastor. One who knew Paul well at this period of his life says that he was a very clever man but a hard drinker. " He used to trouble the old gentleman very much, who frequently came to his store, where he traded a little and kept the Post Office (he was then post-master), and talk to him, but generally got little satisfaction. He told him once that rum was his greatest enemy. Paul stuttered, ' Well father, you tell us we should love our enemies.' He was a queer fellow. He would not drink every day, but about once in two or three weeks would have a real blow-out. " The family after a while got Paul off back into the country, where he became very temperate while there, but when he came down to see his folks he would get with his old comrades iTlie retailers of liquors in Buxton during the years below named were; 1792, Cadwallader Gray, Edmund Knight, Zachariah Usher. 1793, Ezekiel Barnes, James Scamman, Isaac Lane, Paul ColSn, jr., John Ewingi Edmund Knight. 1794, Paul CoiBn, jr., Jamos Scamman. 1796, James Seamman, Joseph Atkinson, Paul Coffin, jr. 1797, Nathaniel Dunn, James Scamman, Benjamin D. Bryant, Samuel Haynes. 1798, Biinj. D.Bryant, Paul Coffin, jr., James Scamman. 1799, Samuel Lewis, Zenas Payne, Benj. D. Bryant, James Scamman, Benj. War- ren, Joseph Woodman, Nathan Elden. John Garland was licensed as an innholder at various times during the years above named. He seems to have had one competitor in 1798, viz. : Zachariah Usher. In 1800 he and Ebenezer Wentworth were licensed as ianholders. APPENDIX. 215 and have a glorious drunk. He kept school up there and was very useful and maintained himself very well and left consid- erable property. " It was the custom in those days if an infant had the stomach ache, or anything of the kind, to give it a dose of toddy, and the old lady was very much in the faith, when her children were ill, that a little stimulus was necessary; and I have no doubt that in this way some of her children acquired a taste they never forgot." During my recollection of him he was a resident of Thorn- ton, N. H. (visiting Buxton occasionally). He died in Thornton, Jan. 20, 1841. He was never married. Elizabeth, born May 15, 1768 ; married Nathl. Gould of Gor- ham, where she died Oct. 2, 1794. John Gorham, born Nov. 14, 1760 ; married Elizabeth Rice, of Brookfield, Mass. He studied medicine in Newburyport. He settled in Boston, where he stood high as a man and physi- cian. Shortly before his death he went to Brookfield, Mass., and there died Jan. 22, 1829. Dorcas, born October 7, 1771 ; married Dr. lloyal Brewster, Nov. 20, 1795, who for many years, and until his death, was a physician in Buston. He built the house now the residence of Mr. John D. Coffin. Mrs. Brewster died March 23, 1852. Stephen, born June 14, 1773 ; married Sarah Reed, Sept. 30, 1815. Settled in Nobleborough, now Damariscotta, and traded on the opposite side of the river, in Newcastle. He died Sept. 80, 1848. Sarah, born Feb. 2, 1775 ; married Dr. Ezra Dean, then 'of Berwick, Nov. 25, 1801. Dr. Dean lived many j'ears in Bidde- ford, where she died August, 1811. Abigail, died aged about three years. David, born July 28, 1777; married Feb. 28, 1818, at Centre Harbor, N. H., the widow Eliza Little, whose maiden name was Boardman, a native of Exeter, N. H. He remained at home, and lived on the homestead until his death, which occuiTed Sept. 19, 1854. He built the house now owned by his only son, Charles. He was a captain of the Buxton and Hollis 216 APPENDIX. Light Infantry,! ^nd thereafter was always called by that title. His wife was born Jan. 16, 1781 ; died in Buxton March 9, 1863. Charles, born March 18, 1779. Graduated at Dartmouth College 1799, and was the first graduate of a college from this town. He studied law and settled in his native town. He built a two-story house which stood upon the site of Capt. John Lane's house, and where the house of Mr. Nathan Wood- man now stands. He removed from "Buxton some years before his death, and died at sea April 10^ 1851, on his way home from New Orleans where he had been to visit his sons, one of whom, John D., now lives in Buxton. He married Mary Daven- port of Newburyport. Rebecca, born March 31, 1781; married Pelatiah Harmon, Dec. 28, 1814. He was a trader at the Lower Corn^jr, where he did a large business for that day. He removed from Buxton to Portland, where his wife died March 23, 1885. Her grave is in the old burying-ground on Munjoy's Hill. Susanna, born Eeb. 20, 1783 ; married Joseph, son of Capt. Joseph Woodman, Oct. 25, 1813. He settled at Elden's Cor- ner, now Buxton Centre and began housekeeping in the Snell Wingate house, now owned by Mr. Adams. In 1823, he bought of Deacon Thomas Bradbury the farm now owned by Mr. Rufus Emery, where his wife died April 14, 1833. The house, now occupied by Mr. Emery, was built by the first Dea- con Thomas Bradbury, who died there Nov. 9, 1803. It is the oldest house now standing between Buxton Centre and the iMr. Peter Emery \vrite3 to me that " The Buxton and Hollis Light Infantry was or- ganized sometime between 1806 and 1811. The first officers were Samuel Watts, Cap- tain, William Waterman, Lieutenant, David Coiln, Ensign. The ladies of Buxton presented the Company with a heautiful standard of colors in 1811. The Company "was drawn up in front of Dr. Brewster's House. The standard was presented hy Re- becca Coffin. She addressed the Company in a very appropriate speech when she delivered it to her brother, he being the standard bearer. When he received it he made a very handsome reply in behalf of the Company, pledging themselves to the ladies that they would never see it tarnished, and would stand by it to the last extremi- ty in defence of their country's rights. Upon the whole, it was a grand affair. 1 be- lieve that there is but one man now living that then belonged to that Company, and that is Moses Dunn. The company Lin the war of 1812] was ordered to the Pool in Biddeford and there spent thirty days in defence of their country's rights." APPENDIX. 217 Lower Corner, except the one now occupied by Mr. Joseph Garland.^ Nathaniel, born in July and died in August, 1785. SANDS. There was a James Sands, jr., here in 1742, but I do not find his name again. He was, perhaps, the uncle of the James Sands who settled near the Gorham line, and who was born in 1746. The names of Ephraim and Thomas Sands first appear in the proprietor's records under date of March 29, 1754, and it ap- pears that they were then residents here. On the 9th of Feb., 1753, Thomas, then of Biddeford (Saco ?), bought Lot No. 3, on Range G of the 1st Division, and on the 27th of Sept., 1762, he bought Lot 1, of said Range, and on the 4th of Nov., in the last-named year, he sold these lots to Col. Joseph, father of Rev. Paul Coffin. It is not improbable that he lived on Lot 3. These two lots became a part of Rev. Paul Coffin's farm. His name appears as a signer to the paper in favor of calling Rev. Mr. Coffin, in 1761, and it disappears from our annals in 1762. I am informed by the wife of Mr. Peter Emery, that Thomas and her great-grandfather, Ephraim Sands, were brothers. Epheaim Sands. The first man of this name in this town was a carpenter and noted as a hewer. Specimens of his work may still be seen in the house of Rev. Paul Coffin, now occupied by Mr. Joseph Garland, and in the house of Mr. Peter Emery. An existing manuscript states that he "was born at Ipswich, Jan. 25, 1720, and died July 8, 1817, in the 98th year of his age." lie died of old age while sitting on a stick of wood at the door of his son James, near Spruce Swamp. iJIr. Garland bas .died since the above was written. His f atlier and grandfather were named John. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Joseph Woodman. 218 APPENDIX. His first purchase of land in this town seems to have been on the 13th of June, 1755, he being then of this place, -when he bought Lot 6, of Eange Q, 1st Division. This is I believe, a mistake for Lot 7, in the same Range. Deacon Hasaltine owned Lot 6, and there is no evidence that Mr. Sands ever owned Lot 6, except the above-mentioned deed, which came from William Hancock, who never owned Lot 6, but did own Lot 7. A subsequent' deed from Moses Atkinson shows that Lot 7 was meant. It was on this Lot 7, 1 suppose, that he settled. On the 23d of February, 1768, he bought of Daniel Lane and John Cole, " a small part, more or less, of the 8th Lot on the Letter G, adjoining to the land of Wm. Hancock, on the east- erly, and to the land of Ephraim Sands, on the northeast side, and lying by the road that goes by the land that John Lane^ now lives on." This small piece of Lot 8, is the westerly part thereof which is cut off from the easterly part by Range E, — about three acres. See Dennett's map. All of the land above mentioned he conveyed Oct. 7, 1779, to Moses Atkinson, who sold it in 1784: to Elisha Andrews. Until he sold to Atkinson he probably lived on Lot 7, by the well which may still be seen in the rear of the Spofford black- smith shop. In 1774, he bought the remainder of said Lot 8, namely that part of it which lies easterly of the meeting-house common. This easterly part of Lot 8 he conveyed, April 20, 1789, to his son, Ephraim, jr. On the same day that he sold his home at the Lower Corner to Atkinson, he bought Lot 19, of Range B, 2d Division. He previously owned a part of the adjacent Lot 18. He moved to this Lot 19, and had a house on it somewhere in the rear of Mr. Brice Boothby's house, as I am informed by his great-granddaughtei-, Mrs. Emery. He probably remained here until he left, to end his days with his son James. He joined the Congregational Church July 31, 1803, and his age at that time stands recorded in the church records as 84. iThis shows wliere Capt. John Lane was living in 1768. APPENDIX. 219 Lydia Sands, who married Thomas Pennell Nov. 15, 1770, was his daughter. Ephraim, jr., was a blacksmith. He lived ou the easterly part of Lot 8, which was conveyed to him in 1789, by his father, as above mentioned. His house stood on the site of the house built by Dr. Royal Brewster, and now owned by Mr. John D. Coffin. As Ephraim, sr., bought this lot in 1774, and as Ephraim, jr., was married the same year to Elizabeth Stone (Aug. 11), and as the son afterwards lived on it, it seems probable that the father bought it for the son, and that the son settled on it soon after his niarriage. He probably continued to reside there until he sold. He sold, it is said, to Dr. Brewster. In May, 1778, he bought Lot 4, Range E, 2d Division, and on the 21st of Jaly, 1790, he bought the adjacent Lot 5, where he settled after he sold out to Dr. Brewster, and built the house now owned by his grandson, J. Dunnell Sands, and there re- mained until his death. His blacksmith shop where he first worked was near the Spofford blacksmith shop. Afterwards he had a shop near his house on Lot 5. He married Elizabeth Stone, of Gorham, Aug. 11, 1774. Their children were : .Joseph, born May 3, 1775. Samuel, born Feb. 15, 1777; married Mehitable Dunnell. Ruth, married Simeon G., son of 'Squire Jacob Brad- bury, April 28, 1805. Ephraim,^ married Mary, daughter of 'Squire Jacob Bradbury, May 5, 1805. Benjamin, born Feb. 15, 1784. James, born Feb. 5, 1786 ; married Nancy Fenderson. Aphia, born Feb. 14, 1788. Elizabeth, born Feb. 10, 1790; married Asa Brown. iTn the record of his marriage lie is called Ephraim, 4th . His father and grandfather of the same name were then living. I have his signature. He then signed himself as the 4th. But who was Ephraim, 3d 7 220 APPENDIX. James Sands, the son of Epliraim Sands, senior, the carpen- ter, was born March 27, 1746, in Pepperrellborough, and mar- ried Lydia Fall, of Berwick, May 4, 1768. She was born April 30, 1745. On the 19th of Feb., 1768, being then of this town, he bought Lot 12 of Range D, in the 3d Division. Dennett on his map places him on that Lot, and there I suppose he settled and made his home. His children were : Elizabeth, bom May 6, 1769; married Theodore Thompson, Feb. 19, 1786; died in Standish, April 15, 1866. Lydia, born Dec. 8, 1770; died Feb. 11, 1772. James, born Sept. 1, 1772 ; died Oct. 30, 1786. Mary, born June 19, 1774; married Simeon Jordan, Jan. 26, 1792 ; died Feb. 30, 1835. Dorcas, born June 15, 1776; married Stephen Merrill, Feb. 23, 1812 ; died in New York. Abigail, born Oct. 24, 1778 ; married Benaiah Hanscomb, March 29, 1804; died in Buxton, Sept., 1866. Thomas, born Nov. 10, 1780 ; married Sarah Ilauscomb, Dec. 4, 1803; died in Buxton, April 19, 1866. Lydia, born June 21, 1783 ; died July 28, 1783. James, born Dec. 8, 1787; died Oct. 5, 1802. John, born 1789; married Anna Hanscomb, June 5, 1806; died in Boston, March, 1850. W EMERY. There was a man in this town by the name of James Emery as early as Nov. 9, 1759, for on that day, then being a resident here, he bought Lot 5 of Range B, 1st Division. This lot Capt. Jonathan Bean of the Block House (in Dayton) had bound himself to have settled. The adjoining Lot 6 he bought of Capt. Beau in 1757. He probably lived on these lots until July 9, 1765, when he sold them to James Gray of Pepperrell- borough. In his deed to Gray he conveys both lots " together with my APPENDIX. 221 dwelling-hoiise and barn, it being the same lot of land where I now dwell." This may have been substantially a mortgage and perhaps he lived there some years longer. Mr. Daniel Dennett says, " There is a knoll of about one acre in the swamp on the northeast side of the road we travel to Salmon Palls, that has the universal sign of being inhabited, a hole in the ground with apple trees about it. I could not find any one who could tell me who lived there." He also says, " The line between Lots 6 and 7 runs across the knoll. The snow being deej) on the ground I cannot tell on which lot the house stood, but I think it would be on Lot 6. I think there is an old cellar on Lot 5, on the old Martin road, near where Caleb Hopkinson lived. One or the other of these old cellars probably indicates the spot where James Emery lived." Whether he was a relative of Mr. Thomas Emery who after- wards settled on Beech Plain I do not know. This is probably the James Emery who was a soldier at the Block House in 1748, under Capt. Thomas Bradbury. Benjamin Emery and Benjamin, junior, were also in his company at the same time ; and all three were there in 1750, in the company of Capt. Jonathan Bean. A list of the children of the above-named James Emery and Mercy, his wife, as follows : "Mercy, born March 20, 1751; baptized July 5, 1752. « Daniel, born Nov. 30, 1752 ; baptized April 14, 1754. . « Elizabeth, born January, 1755 ; baf)tized July 18, 1756. " Benjamin, born October, 1761. "James, born 1763. " Charles, born June 9, 1766 ; baptized June 29, 1766. " Jerusha, born Jan. 7, 1768. "Joshua, born Sept. 7, 1771. "Mercy Emery died November, 1813. "James Emery died 1821, in Hollis." Aug. 24, 1751, were married James Emery and Mercy Bean, both of Biddeford. She was, I suppose, the daughter of Capt. Jonathan Bean of the Saco Block Plouse. 222 APPENDIX. Thomas Emery, of Biddeford, father of Thomas Emery of Buxton, bought land here as follows : 1759, March 17, then being styled junior, he bought Lot 14, Range D, 1st Division. 1769, Feb. 24, he bought i of the adjacent Lot 13, 1769, March 24, he bought the adjacent Lot 15. These two lots and a half he conveyed, Nov. 21, 1774, to his son Thomas, junior, then of Buxton, the whole containing fifty acres. 1762, March 12, he bought Lot 14, Range B, 2d Division, which he conveyed to his son Thomas, March 26, 1781. The first purchase by Thomas who settled on Beech Plain, was ten acres which he bought of John Boynton, jr., black- smith, July 20, 1772, and was the southwesterly end of a lot or lots in Range E of the 1st Division. The record of the deed says Lot 14, but according to Dennett's map, which places Thomas Emery's house on Lot 15, the deed ought to cover the southerly end of the last-named lot, for Mr. Peter Emery writes to me as follows : "My father always told me he bought the land and the buildings thereon where his house now stands, of John Boynton. My father lived in the house he bought of John Boynton several years, and then he moved them ofi" and built the house I occupy on the same spot." The deed fi:om Boynton to Emery conveys the land " with all the buildings thereon." The records do not show that Mr. Boynton ever owned Lot 15 or either of the adjacent lots, but the claim of title to many lots in Buxton is imperfect. Mr. Peter Era ery says that his father moved to Buxton May 28, 1774, but the purchase of Boynton was nearly two years earlier. His next purchase was of one-half of Lot 15 of Range E, 1st Division, Oct. 13, 1773. The other half, by the same deed was conveyed to Jacob Bradbury, jr., who on the 21st of June, 1777, conveyed it to Mr. Emery who thereafter owned the whole lot. On this lot he settled and built the gambrel-roofed house now owned and occupied by his son Peter. On the 6th of June, 1780, he bought the adjacent Lot 16, APPENDIX. 223 and on the 10th of November, 1791, he bought three acres from the southeast side of Lot 13, Eange D, 1st Division, one-half of -which lot had previously been conveyed to him by his fa- ther. Mr. Emery made his will May 9, 1781, and it was proved June 20 of the same year. His wife was then living and he gave to her one-third part of his personal estate. The only children mentioned in his will are James, Ebenezer, and Thom- as. The others had, doubtless, previously deceased. To James, afterwards deacon, he gave one-half of the lot of land bo\ight by him of Jordan, Pendexter, and Lewis lying in Biddeford, " being sixty rods in width and adjoining the south- west end of the land I formerly gave him." To Ebenezer he gave the other half of this lot and his homestead; also " one day in the lower saw-mill, so called, on Saco Falls, with all my stock, mechanical tools, and implements of husbandly." To his son Thomas, of Buxton, he gave ten shillings which "with what I have heretofore given him is his full share of my estate." James and Ebenezer were the executors of the will. Mr. Peter Emery writes to me as follows : " Thomas Emery, my father, was born in Biddeford, Septem- ber 10, 1752; married Hannah Harmon, Nov. 27, 1773, and moved into Buxton, May 28, 1774. He was a taylor. "My father had two brothers, James the deacon, and Eben- ezer who lived and died on the home filace. There was no sis- ter. We think our grandmother's name was Susan Hill." Col. Isaac Emery's knowledge of his grandfather's family is even less than that of his brother Peter. I will state some facts which may interest them. Their grandfather, Thomas Emery, is said to have been born about 1712, perhaps in Kittery where tradition places the fami- ly in the early settlement of the country. He married in 1731, Susanna, daughter of Deacon Ebenezer Hill. About the year 1780, he built a house next below the lower meeting-house in Biddeford, and in the vicinity of Church Point, where his Son Ebenezer afterwards lived, as above mentioned. 224 APPENDIX. They had children, as below named, and perhaps more. James, the deacon, born Nov. 22, 1738.* Jonah, (so saysFolsom, Hist. Saco and Biddeford). Joshua, baptized Feb. 19, 1743^. Ebenezer, baptized June 15, 1746. Lois, baptized May 14, 1749. Thomas, baptized March 15, 1752. His son Peter says that he -was born September 10, 1752, which would make his bap- tism before his birth. He settled in Buxton. Nathaniel, baptized July 20, 1755. Susanna, baptized March 12, 1759. Thomas^ who settled in Buxton died on his homestead Oct. 81, 1827. His wife was a sister of Maj. Thomas Harmon, who lived near Elden's Corner, now called Buxton Centre. She was born April 20, 1754, and died January 17, 1844. He was cousin german to Nathaniel Hill and Snell Wingate, who were also born in Biddeford but settled and died in Buxton. Mark, the twin of Peter, died Dec. 23, 1813, and the funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Coffin, Deo. 27, from the text to be found in the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses of the 8th Chap- ter of Job. James Emery, blacksmith, of Charlestowri, Mass., son of Nathaniel W. and grandson of Deacon James, of Biddeford, has a list of the children of his great-grandfather, Thomas, but it does not contain the name of Jonah, mentioned by Folsom, and it omits Susanna. His list omits the date of birth except in the case of his grandfather, James. He has a complete list of the children of his father and gi-andfather. James Emery, who, according to Dennett's map, settled on Lot 16, of Range A, 2d Division, was a nephew of Thomas, litis doubtless this James whose name appears in Capt. Joseph Woodman's niustet roll in 1757. See Goodwin's Narragansetj page 6C. 'Children of Thomas Emery and Hannah Harmon. Susanna Emery, Ijol-n Nov. 29) 1774. Nathaniel Emery, born Feb. 23, 1776. Thomas, jr., born Jan. 26, 1779. Hannah, bom Jttly 7, 1781, and died July, 1783. Susanna, 2d) born Jan. 22, 1784. Sally, born May 19, 1786. John, born Nov. 17, 1788. Joseph, born April 5, 1791. Isaac, born ■ March 31, 1793. Peter and Mai-k, twinS) born Feb. 24, 17S6. Dorcas, born June 5> 1799, and died June 10, 1799. Mark P. Emery, Esq^, of Portland, was named for the twins. The descendants of Thomas now number about three hundred and fifty.— Ed: APPENDIX. 225 above uanied, and a son of Deacon Jatnes of Biddeford. He was born March 31, 1772. lie married Catharine Freethy, and had children, Mary, Samuel, Alexander J., Jonas, Hannah, Thomas F., and James S. He was a deacon of the Congregational Church in Buxton, and died in 1840. [In regard to the flimlly of Daniel Emery, and his father, James Emery, Daniel C. Emery, Esq., of Gorham, wrote me, in February, 1874: " Daniel Emery, my grandfather, was a revolutionary soldier from Buxton, and was with the expedition that went to Ticon- deroga. As he died before the pension law was passed, his name does not appear on the pension list. " He was the son of James Emery, who came from Kittery to Biddeford, and from there came to Narraganset No. 1, and was one of the first settlers of the township. He took up a parcel of land on the southeast corner of the township near Narra- ganset No. 7, now Gorham, where he lived and brought up a large family. He died at the age of ninety years. "Daniel, when he came from the army, bought a farm and lived near his father." It is the farm now owned and occupied by his great grandson, Frederick D. Emery. The original farm of James Emery is now owned by Mr. William B. Merrill, op- posite the farm of Frederick D. Emery. "Daniel Emery and his wife were firm adherents of Rev. Paul Coffin's church, being many years " Holy Covenant " mem- bers. They taught their children and grandchildren to rever- ence him as almost divine. When the good old doctor made his annual or semi-annual visit, the little ones stood in as much awe of him, as they would if St. Paul had appeared." — Ed.J. Since writing the above I have received a letter from Rev. Peter Libby in regard to James Emery, which I copy in full. "BuxTOK Centee, May 11, 1874. To Cteus Woodman, Cambridge, Mass. I herewith send you all the information I have of the James Emery mentioned in your letter. He came from the Block House, as the garrison was then 15 226 APPENDIX. called, that was located about half a mile below Union Falls, on the west side of Saco river, then called Philipsburg, now Dayton. It was where the inhabitants in the vicinity used to live together to be safe from the ravages of the Indians. By some it was called Pisspocket. His wife was Mercy Bean. They came to Buxton between the years 1760 and 1780 as near as I can calculate, and settled on Lot 4, Range C, 3d Division of lots; had five sons, Daniel, Benjamin, James, Charles, and Joshua ; four daughters, Mercy) Betsey, Sally, and Dorcas. I never learned of his nativity or of his ancestors. I never understood that he was related to the family on Beech plain, or any other of that name in town. He lived with his son Joshua on that same lot until about the year 1816, they re- moved to Hollis about a mile above Barr Mills where he died. I do not know the date of his death. Of his grandchildren I do not think there is more than four of them living. There are quite a number of the fourth generation and some of the fifth now living. He was quite a famous hunter in those days, and it is proba- ble that he killed the moose while living at the Block House. He used to amuse us boys with his hunting stories and among others the ordination adventure. The story ran thus; that everything was ready for the ordination of Paul Cofiin except a supply of meat to complete the feast, and that be took his dogs and hunted a moose, and that supplied the meat and therefore the ordination took place. He, therefore, would say that he went a hunting and caught a moose and a minister. I have heard him repeat the story so often that I well remember it. After he was seventy years old he iised to Avalk to meeting, a distance of more than three miles, on Sunday. I have no dates to refer to for any of the above but write only from recol- lection. I do not know of anything else of importance con- cerning him. Yours, etc., Petee Libbt.'* APPENDIX. 227 X DENNETT. Mr. Daniel Dennett says : You have asked for a brief genealogy of the Dennett pio- neers of Buxton ; I herein send you an abridged list of my an- cestors, which I have copied from records made in some old books. One entitled, "The Saints Everlasting Rest. London. Printed for Francis Tyton and Jane Underbill, and are to bo sold at the Sign of the three Daggers in Fleet-Street and at the Anchor and Bible in Pauls Churchyard. 1662." This book and one entitled, "A Description of the New Born Christian," printed in a. d. 1620, together with a sword and other articles left with me by my father, were brought, says tradition, from England by John and Alexander Dennett to Portsmouth, N. H., where John was made a Freeman in . 1672, and died in 1710. Alexander died in 1698. Samuel Dennett, my great-grandfather was a blacksmith in Portsmouth, N. H., as appears from one of his account books which I now have. His children were : David, born March 15, 1727. Charles, born April 21, 1729. Lydia, born April 15, 1731. Hannah, born Aug. 2, 1733. Elizabeth, born Dec. 20, 1735. Moses, born Jan. 19, 1737. Lydia, born Feb. 23, 1738. Mary, born July 31, 1740. David Dennett, my grandfather, was a farmer. Married Dolly Downing of Newington, N. H. The following I copy from his da3'-book. It is in David's hand-writing. " Oct. the 3d, 1768, then we came from Ports- mouth ; and the 5th day we came into Scarborough." Also in the same book, and in the hand-writing of his son John. " Enlisted in the Provincial service the 18th of January, 1776." My father has told me that he saw him leave his home in Scarborough, on foot, for Boston ; carrying his gun. He never returned. 228 APPENDIX. Children of David and Dolly Dennett : Lydia, born April 25, 1753. Samuel and Ebenezer, born April 25, 1756, died in infancy. Elizabeth, born Jan. 17, 1758; died Aug. 16, 1775. John, born June 13, 1760 ; died in Buxton, Feb. 15, 1847. Clement, born Jan. 10, 1763; died in Buxton, Aug. 10, 1841. Sarah, born March 7, 1766; married Lemuel Nutter; died in Buxton, July 26, 1836. Mehitable, born Jan. 7, 1768 ; died May 2, 1847. John and Clement Dennett moved from Scarboro' into Bux- ton, Dec, 1786, and settled on the Seven Hundred Acres (so called j. Their mother came with them. She lived with Clement, and died in December, 1800. John Dennett married Betsey Gould of Saco, Feb. 16, 1784. She died Dec. 16, 1844. He died Feb. 5, 1847. Children : David, born March 2, 1785 ; married Betsey Nutter, of Bux- ton ; died Sept. 14, 1869. Sally, born Jan. 31, 1787; died March 31, 1853. Eunice, boi-n May 10, 1789; married Stephen Woodsura ; died Aug, 21, 1860. Samuel G., born Jan. 19, 1791 ; married Betsey Cleaves and Betsey Sweat; died June 27, 1850. Polly, born Sept. 27, 1792 ; married Josiah Butterfield ; died Sept. 8, 1840. Betsey, bom Sept. 12, 1794; married William H. Severs; died Feb. 12, 1857. Patience, born July 16, 1797 ; married Samuel Bryant ; died Feb. 12, 1853. Phebe, born May 8, 1799 ; married William Pike ; died July 3, 1871. Dolly, born Dec. 7, 1801 ; died August 21, 1807. Hariet, born Nov. 3, 1803; married John Elden, jr. Dorcas, born Sept. 27, 1805 ; married Daniel Libby. Clement Dennett, my father, married Mary, daughter of Samuel Leavitt of Buxton, Jan. 3, 1793. She died July 28, 1863, aged 94 years and 14 days. APPENDIX. 229 Children : Edmund Phinney, born May 19, 1796; married Ann Libby and Mary Leavitt, both of Saco ; died June 28, 1870, in Saco. Olive, born Nov. 3, 1799 ; died Feb. 25, 1821. John, born April 27, 1802 ; married Fidelia Fogg and Sophia Stevenson, both of Saco ; died Nov. 10, 1852. Alvan, born Oct. 3, 1804 ; married Hannah Haley of Hollis ; died in Porto Bello, S. A., July 29, 1838. Daniel, born May 81, 1807; married Abigail Gilpatric, of Biddeford. Oren, bom Jan. 4, 1811; married Olive Woodman, of Bux- ton. Stephen, born Oct. 23, 1813; died April 18, 1822. WENT WORTH Ebenezer Wentworth settled the Wentworth farm near Bux- ton Centre about 1771. He was born December 7, 1748, at Berwick, Maine, upon the homestead of his great-grandfather Timothy, son of Elder William Wentworth, who emigrated to this country from England, about 1639. When nineteen years of age Ebenezer came to Narraganset No. 1, and was employed by Rev. Paul Coffin and lived in his family. About 1771, he married Jane, daughter of Lieut. Samuel Meriill of Narragan- set No. 1, and commenced farming. His farm contained two hundred acre?, and extended from Haines' meadow to Thomas Bradbury's (now Rufus Emery's) farm. He was engaged in trade, kept a tavern and carried on the business of blacksmith, shoemaker, and manufacture of potash many years, and his ac- count books which are still in good state of preservation show that he had dealings with nearly all the settlers in town at that time. He also taught school in his own house and was a mem- ber of the first Board of School Committee in town, and con- tinued a member of the Board most of the time during the re- mainder of his life. He was town treasurer twenty-seven years in succession and held the office at the time of his death, which 230 APPENDIX. occurred February 6, 1820. His wife died July 11, 1843, aged 91 years. They united -witli the Congregational church in 1779, and his membership continued more than forty years, and hers about sixty- five years. Their children were Samuel, Betsey, William, Paul, Eben- ezer, Robert, Sarah, Thomas, Daniel, and Jane, and two others who died in infancy. Samuel was born July 26, 1772, married Anna Keay of Ber- wick, Maine, and settled in Brownfield, Maine. He was one of the selectmen of that town for several years. He died at Brownfield, 1845. His wife died 1833. Betsy, born 1779 ; married James Bickforcl, of Buxton, and settled near the Pottery at the head of Haines' meadow. He died 1844, and his wife 1822. William, born 1776; married Betsey, daughter of Humphrey Merrill, 1803, and settled in Greenwood, Me. He afterward removed to Brownfield, where he died in 1865, aged 90 years. He was for a long time town clerk and treasurer of Bi-ownfield, and deacon in the Congregational Church. His wife died 1853, aged 72 years. Paul, born 1779 ; married Sarah Field, of Hollis, and settled in Greenwood, Maine, where he was town clerk, selectman, justice of the peace, and represented the town in the State Legislature in 1829. He died Sept. 8, 1857. Ebeuezer, born June 16,1784; married Sarah L., daughter of Stephen Woodman, of Buxton, and lived in Biddeford, Maine. He died in New York City, 1853. His wife died there 1859. Robert, born Sept. 8, 1786 ; married 1816, Sally Harding of Buxton; June 27, 1832, Eunice Harding; 1850, widow Ann Folsom (daughter of Deacon Thomas Bradbury) ; and 1862, Hannah D. Knight, of Calais, Maine. He lived on a part of the homestead of his father, where he died, September, 1866. He was town treasurer twelve years, town clerk seventeen years, justice of the peace, and representative to the legislature. Sally, born Dec. 25, 1788; married Michael Hanson, of Som- ersworth, N. H., removed to Watervillc and finally to Palmyra, Maine, where he died 1849. His wife died in Bangor. Thomas, born 1791 ; married Rachael Townsend, of Hollis, APPEKDIX. 231 Maine. He reniovecT from Buxton in 1820, to Foxcroft, Maine, ■where he was one of the selectmen six years. In 1835 he moved to Antwerp, Paulding Co., Ohio, where he now resides and is the only surviving son. He has been county commis- sioner and justice of the peace, and was associate judge of the courts of Paulding County seven years. Daniel, born March 6, 1794; married Deborah Eldridge, Dec. 17, 1817, and lived on the homestead in Buxton, where his widow now resides. He was many years a surveyor of land, justice of the peace, selectman, and town treasurer. He died May 16, 1852. Jane was born Dec. 25, 1796, was the youngest of the fami- ly and is now the only surviving daughter. She married James Patten, of Kennebunkport, Maine, where she now lives. Z BRADBURY. The name of Bradbury appears very early on the records of the pioneers in Narraganset, and the descendants claim rela- tionship with the larger portion of the native-born population of Buxton, even to this day. The name has maintained a high average of respectability among the Buxton kindred, and, farther back than the settlers on this continent, has a character worthy of notice in a more extended sketch than is possible to write here. A brief account of the Bradbury manor at Wicken Bonanti in England, was communicated to the late Capt. "William P. Goodwin by England's distinguished genealogist, Miss Harriet Bainbridge, Kensington, London, England, and may be found on page 198, October No., 1868, of the " Historical Magazine." "Mathew Bradbury" bought it of Robert Chatterlow, and " died seized of it in 1587. It continued in the Bradbury fami- ly until a default of male issue in the early part of the eight- eenth century, when Dorinda, daughter of one Matthew Brad- bury, carried it in marriage to Joseph Sharpe, Esq. " The Bradbury brick house at Wicken Bonant was built by "William Bradbuay, who died in 1622, for his second son Wy- 232 APPENDIX. mon or "Wymond ; and continued in the second branch of the family till its extinction. Mr. Joseph Martin then owned it until about 1866. At his demise it went to his son-in-law, Mr. John Pollit, who now owns it and resides there. The Bradburys of this country, especially of those who set- tled in New England, may trace their family in the following manner : Robert Bradbury, of Derbyshire, England, had a son William, of Braughing, who had a son Robert, of Littlebury, whose son Matthew was Lord of Wioken. His son Wymond, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Whitgift, were the parents of Captain Thomas Bradbury known as "the emi- grant," who was born at Wioken Bonant, England, in 1610. He came to America as land agent and commissioner of Sir Ferdinando Gorges as early as 1634. He settled in Salisbury, Mass., in 1636, and married Marj', daughter of John Perkins, of Ipswich, Mass., by whom he had Wymond, born Feb. 1, 1637, who married Sarah Pike. Judith, who married Caleb Moody. Thomas, born 1640. Mary, who married John Stanyan. Jane, who married Henry True. Jacob, who died in 1669. William, who married Mrs. Rebecca Maverick. Elizabeth, who married John Buss. John, born 1654. Ann, born 1656; died 1659, and Jabez, born in 1658 and died in 1677. Capt. Thomas was made a freeman in 1640, and was ap- pointed first clerk of the writs in Salisbury in 1641. In 1648 he was appointed ensign of the train band at Salisbury, and in 1650, he was appointed commissioner to end small causes. In 1651, he was chosen deputy to the general court ; and again successively in 1652, 56, 57, 60, 61, and 66. In 1654, 56, 58, and 59, he was appointed on various committees to settle dif- ferences concerning lands, to fix boundaries and locate grants. Some of the earliest deeds recorded in York County, Maine, were made by him, acting as agent of Gorges.^ In May, 1657, 'An "Indenture" made the 5th day of May, 1636, between lilm and Edward John- son, may be seen in York County Records, Vol. 1, jjage 11, as follows; "Thom.i3 Bradbury, G-ent., now agent of Sir Ferdinando Gorges Knight, ooulirmed unto Ed- ward Johnson for the proper use o£ John Treworzy of Dartmouth merchant, the use of 500 aooors of land conditioned to pay annually 100 of Merchaudablo Codde drida and well conditioned, as an acknowledgment of the Koyaltie of Sir Ferdinando Gorges Knight, to Sir Ferdinando Gorges or his assigns at or uppon the Feast of St. Michaels ye Arch High Angel." APPENDIX. 233 the law providing commissioners to end small causes, having been repealed, Mr. Bradbury was commissioned to bind over offenders in criminal causes. The same year he was a commit- tee to inquire if ministers' widows and orphan children were properly provided for. In May, 1660, be was chosen to settle some difficulties at Portsmouth requiring the intervention of the General Court. In April, 1668, he was appointed one of the commissioners of customs for Norfolk county. In 1665, 6, 7, and 9, he appears as one of the associate judges of Norfolk. He died in 1695, March 16. His wife survived him until De- cember 20, 1700. During that mental epidemic, the witchcraft delusion, she was tried with twenty-one others and condemned ; but her exemplary character and life procured her acquittal, and years afterward the attainder was reversed.^ By the will of Capt. Bradbury made in 1693, he disposes of his property as follows: After giving small legacies to his daughters Jane True, Mary Stanyan, Judith Moody, and to his granddaughter Elizabeth Buss, he gives "all his lands and housing scituate lying and being within ye bounds of ye town- ship of Salisbury " to his grandsons Thomas and Jacob Brad- bury (these were the sons of his son William), to be by them equally divided, and kept by them, and not to be disposed of by selling or letting, or otherwise, subject to a condition ; that they were to free their brother William from all orders of court concerning their father's estate. The will of his wife Mary, made in 1695, bequeaths all her property to her daughters, Mary Stanyan and Jane True. In neither of these wills are the names of Wymond or his heirs, or Thomas mentioned. All tlie sons, with, perhaps, the excep- tion of Thomas, died in early life. Wymond at the age of thirty-two; Jacob at the age of twenty; William at twenty- nine; John at twenty-four, and Jabez at nineteen. The de- scendants of Thomas, if indeed there were any, are not known to us, neither is it known whom or when he married, if ever. It is probable, that like his brothers, he made his home on the sea, and settled in some other and more congenial land. Wy- 'See Mass. Archives, Vol. 133-169. 234 APPENDIX. mond married Sarah Pike, March 7, 1661, by whom he bad : Sarah, born Dec. 26, 1661 ; married Abel Merrill in 1686. Ann, born Sept. 22, 1666; married John All, 1686. Wymond, jr., born March 3, 1669. Wymond,^ senior, died in 1669, on the Isle of Moevis. His widow married John Storkman. And Elizabeth, a daughter by this marriage, was the mother of the two Buxton pioneers. Concerning the descendants of "Wymond Bradbury, the Hon. James W. Bradbury, of Augusta, ex-senator from Maine, wrote me as follows : "May 27, 1874 The Bradburys in this country are all de- scended from a common ancestor. Thomas Bradbury, who emigrated from England in 1634, and settled in Salisbury, Mass. His oldest son, Wymond, was born Feb. 1, 1637, and from him our branch of the family descended," as follows : "Wymond, 1st son of Thomas, born Feb. 1, 1637. Wymond, son of Wymond, born March 3, 1669. John, the third son of Wymond, jr., born Sept. 9, 1697. Cotton, son of Jolin, born Oct. 8, 1722. James, son of Cotton, born April 21, 1772, a physician. Dr. James, my father, settled in Parsonsfield about 1801, and practiced medicine there oyer forty years. Some twelve or fourteen students pursued their professional studies with him and several became eminent in their profession. Very respectfully yours, J. W. Bradbuey." Mr. Charles O. Clark, of York, informs me that the town records of that town, agree with the statement of James "W. Bradbury. John Bradbury, son of Wymond, married Abigail, daughter of Lieut. Joseph Young; their children were : Cotton B., born Oct. 8,1722. Lucy, born Jan. 18, 1724-5. Bethulah, born March 20, 1726. Maria, born April 5, 1729. Abigail, born Aug. 12, 1731. Elizabeth, born Jan. 5, 1733. John, jr., Sept. 18, 1736. Joseph, Oct. 23, 1740. Ann, born June 2, 1743. Wymond B. 'Ill a deed, made Oct. 7, 1729, iu York County records, Wymond Bradbury to liia " honored father, Wymond Bradbury." Jabez and John Bradbury are witnesses, and in another deed, Wymond, senior, conveys to his son Jabez, of Kichmond Fort. Wy- mond, jr., was a cooper. John was a joiner. APPENDIX. 235 married Phebe Young, June 20, 1728; children as follows: Susanna, born Jan. 26, 1729. Samuel, born March 26, 1731. By his second wife, Mary Donnell, he had : Mary, born April 30, 1734. Jacob and Thomas, twins, born at Brunswick Fort, May 8, 1736. Elizabeth, born July 6, 1738, and died the 30th of the same month. Cotton Bradbury, son of John, married Ruth Weare, and their children were as follows : Lucy, born June 20, 1754. Edward, born May 20, 1757. Daniel, born April 7, 1759. Betty, born Dec. 10, 1760. Abigail, born Dec. 16, 1765. Olive, born Jan. 3, 1768. Joseph, born May 1, 1770. James, born April 24, 1772. Ruth, born Oct. 19, 1774. Jacob, the third son of "Emigrant" Thomas, died at Barbadoes in 1669, aged 22, probably left no heirs. William, the fourth son of said Thomas, born July 15, 1649 ; married Mrs. Maverick, by whom he had three sons. William, born 1672; married Sarah Cotton; Thomas, born in 1674, and Jacob, born 1677; married Elizabeth Storkman. These three received by the will of their grandfather, Rev. John Wheelwright, a portion of his estate in Lincolnshire, England, as well as that in New Eng- land. These were the children spoken of in the will of Capt. Thomas. William, jr., married Sarah Cotton; their children were Samuel, and , twins, William, John, James, who married Elizabeth Sanders, Rebecca, Jacob, Joanna, Mary, born 1708, Sarah, born 1710, Crisp, born 1712, Benjamin, married Jemima True, and Barnabas. We have no record of the families of these last, with the exception of Crisp. He married Mary Payne, Dec. 22, 1737, lived in York, then moved to Biddeford, and from thence to Newbury, Mass., where he died in 1753. He was a carpenter by trade, dealt quite extensively in real es- tate during his residence in York and Biddeford, was one of the proprietors in the Narraganset township, and drew Lot 26, Range E of the 1st Division, and Lot 15, Range D of the 2d Division, both on the right of Richard Swan. He also bought in 1738, of Moses Hale, Master of Arts, of Newbury, Lot 4, Range E, 2d Division, drawn on the right of John Asa, a Nar- raganset soldier. In 1743, then living in Biddeford, he was, 236 .APPENDIX. with Josepli Woodman, a committee to prosecute trespassers, cutting wood and timber iu Narraganset township. He was not a settler here, in Buxton, at any time, and none of his chil- dren were known to have settled here. Thomas, the other grandson, who married Jemima True in 1700, had no children by his first wife, by Iiis second wife Mary, he had Jemima, born in 1703, another daughter, born in 1707, and, perhaps, others. He died March 10, 1718. Jacob, who married Eliza- beth Storkman, lived iu Salisbury. Their children were : Thomas, born in 1699. Ann, born 1701. Ann, 2d, born 1702 ; married William True. Elizabeth, born 1705; married John Stevens. Dorothy, born 1708. Jacob, born Oct. 6, 1710. Sarah, born 1713 ; married Elisha Allen. Moses, born 1715 ; married in 1737, Abigail Fogg; and Jane baptized August 31, 1718, a posthumous child provided for in the will of her father Avho died May 4, 1718. Thomas, the oldest son, married Sarah Merrill, of Salisbury, in 1724, and lived there until he came to Biddeford about the year 1744. He had command of the Block House on Saco river during the years 1748 and 49. From this he has been called " Capt. Thomas of the Block House." His two sons, Jacob and Moses, and his brother-in-law, Elisha Allen, and his son-in-law, Samuel Merrill, were in his company. At the close of the Indian war he moved from Biddeford to Narraganset No. 1, and settled on Lot 1, Range A, 2d Division, where his son William afterwards resided. I find by the records of York county that he purchased two lots of land of Amos Chase, of Newbury, for the sura of £600 old tenor. The first was the first lot on Letter D, 1st Division, the lot laid out on the right of Moses Chase, and this deed mentions a dwelling-house thereon, which was probably the first dwelling-house in the town worthy of the name. This lot he conveyed to his son-in- law, Lieut. Samuel Merrill and his wife Elizabeth, and is the lot of land now owned in part by his great-great-grandson, Ansel Merrill, near Salmon Falls. The second lot was the lot laid out on the right of henery Bodwell, being the 4th Lot upon the Rainge F, 2d Division, which he aftervrards conveyed to his son APPENDIX. 237 Moses,ancl which is the lot of land afterwards owned by Joseph Bradbury and now owned or occupied, in part, by Mr. Shirley Berry. He died about 1775. His children were: Elizabeth, who married Saml. Merrill, born 1727. Jacob, baptized in Salis- bury, Sept. 15, 1728. Moses, born February, 1730; married Mary Page. Samuel, born 1733. Thomas, born 1735. Wil- liam, born 1738. Sarah, born 1739 ; married in 1763, Joseph Leavitt of Buxton. Mary, baptized in Salisbury in 1744; married Samuel Sands of Buxton, Nov. 5, 1767. Benjamin, baptized in Biddeford, April, 1744; married Mary Eklen, of Buxton, July 9, 1767, resided near Bog Mills, Buxton, removed to Ohio about 1800, and settled near Cincinnati. Mercy, bap- tized in Biddeford in 1746 ; married John Appleton, of Bux- ton. Jabez, baptized in Biddeford in 1749. His sou Jacob, married Abigail Cole, of Biddeford, and their children were: Anna, born 1752. John, born 1753. Ammi R., born 1754. Betty, born 1756. Lucy, born 1758. Abigail, born 1759; married Jere. Page, of Fryeburg. Eunice, born T760. Ammi R., 2d, born 1762. Esther, born 1764 ; married Thomas Lord, of Freedom, N. H. Sarah, bora 1765 ; married Robert Page, of Fryeburg. Rebecca, born 1766. Jacob, born 1769 ; married Jane Piper, and died in Parsonsfield. Molly, born 1772 ; married Joshua Hutchinson, of Buxton. Thomas, born 1775. The above were baptized in Biddeford. There were also, Joseph, Charles, Susan, who married Harvey, of Buxton, Olive and two others, making in all twenty. The last six were born in Limerick, where their father died in 1801. He moved to Limerick about 1780, and was the first deacon of the church of that town. Thomas, the fourth son, married Ruth Page, of Salisbury, Mass. ; intention of marriage published June 5, 1762 ; settled in Buxton and lived on the Rufus Emery farm. The house stood a little to the right of the road leading to the farm-house of Mark P. Emery. He was a prominent man in the town and held town office a great part of the time. He served as lieu- tenant in the Revolutionary War, was in the expedition to Ti- conderoga and Crown Point as his diary kept by him will show. 238 APPENDIX. A part of a diary kept by Lieutenant Thomas Bradbury from Nov. 1, 1776, to January, 1777, while on the expedition to the Lakes under the command of Nov. 4. Adjatent arested by Corl. Roberts for Sasey talk. Nov. 5. Drew 1 pound of bread. Nov. 6. Mount on the new score guard. Nov. 7. Drew 1 Pound bread. Nov. 10. Sonday. Orders for Captains and Sub'l. to give in whether thay wold ingage in the servis again or not, which I did in the negative. Nov. 11. Mounted Picket guard.' Nov. 13. Mounted Main guard. Nov. 16. Went a hunting Down towards Crown Pint. Nov. 17. Drew 1 Pound of bread. Keturned from hunting Without catching anything. We Saw the mountings about 40 miles to the N. E. of ticonderoga, which apeared to have a foot or more of Snow. Nov. 18. Orders to hold ourselves in Col'n'l Wigglesworths Regm't in Kedeness to march to albany as soon as Bots ware Provided for us to Gary us over Lake george. Nov. 21. Orders from Coln'l James Eoberts for our Eegm't to march, but countermanded by Coln'l Wane we did not march to-day. Nov. 22. A stormy Day tho Not Vary Cold. Nov. 23. The whol Eigm't went three miles up the South Bay and brought 50 cords of wood, and at Son set imbarked on bord the boats, and at twelve O Clock at Nite landes at Skeensborough; had no other shelter than a Blacksmith Shop, Notwith standing it was a Rainy nite. Skeensborough Is 30 miles from ticonderoga. Nov. 25. Marched from Skeensborough fourteen miles and Put up at Fourt Ann. Nov. 26. Marched from fourt ann fourteen miles and Put up at Fourt Edward. Nov. 27. Marcht 8 miles to fort miler. Saw a Sawmil which had fourteen saws went in one Geear, an other Geear that had 2 saws which slabed both sides of a log at onoe. Marcht fi'om thence 8 miles to Sarytoga and put up. Nov. 28. Marched 13 miles and put up at Stillwater. Nov. 29. Marched 13 miles to New Seaty and put up. Nov. 30. Marched 12 miles to Albany and put up in Albany. Dec. 1, 1776. Marched 18 miles and put up at Canterhook. Dec. 2 Marched 24 miles through nobel town and put up at Eager-- emtown, too Rogalleys Sat sail from hear this afternoon mounted ten carige guns each, are gon to Jyne the fleet down the Lake. Took on bord 42 Ingens and 50 white men which are going a skouting down to Unyetf Kiver. ^Meaning, doubtless, Oniou river. APPENDIX. 239 Dec. 2d, 3d, 4tli, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th nothing important. Deo. 10. Eichardson belonging to Coln'l Bonds Eigm't was found dead a small distance from the fort. Was desired by the adjutant to go to the funeral of Capt. Raymond's wife which was atended by most of the Fifers of this Brigade. Deo. 13. heard a heavy cananading Down the Lake this morning and saw a smoke and about noon We had news by a hot from Crown Pint that our fleet was Ingaged and ware retreating. That our men had set Crown Pint on fire and had left it, and about one of the clock a Skooner arrived hear which escaped from the enemy Who Informed us that our fleet was torn to Peecis and But five had escaped who all arived here one after another by a little after Dark. We do not know how many men we have lost, 7 of our men wear on board but 2 of Them have returned with the Fleet. Dec. 14. A flag of truce come up hear from the enemy's fleet last nite which brought 104 Prisoners and Delivered them up, Amongst whome was 3 of our men, Sam'l Harris Thos. Shaperd and William Sabesten By name. Dec. 15. Webster Simpson and Jacob Row Returned to the camp from the fleet in health. Dec. 17. Thos. Shaperd William Sabesten and Sam'l Harris were dis- charged and set out for home. Dec. 19. A man named Lankester of our Rigm't was whipped Ten Lashes for Receiving some Chikens for Jineral Gates as a Present and selling of them. Dec. 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 of no interest to the reader. Dec. 27. Had newes of a late battle at new Tork, that the enemy come out against 2 of our Rigements with five to one. That the En- emy were Defected with the loss of 2 thousand, on receiving the news our army was ordered to man the lines and give three whasers. Dec. 28. this morning ware discovered seven sail of the enemys Fleet by our Guard boats an alarm was amediately Fired by 3 Canon in our Incampment, the whole ware called to armes and Lined the Brest Works, in about half an hour There appeared 3 sails one of which como within about a mile of one of our batterys. We flred six or Seven of Canon at her, one of which we thoat hit her and we heard sence by a Deserter From them that there was 2 killed on board. They amediately made off back again about one of the clock theor apeared eighteen boats within about 3 miles who went to the East shore wheth- er they landed or not is uncertain. Soon after thay come back. In the meantime the enemy ware landing on the west side and before Night thay all Disappeared. Dec. 29. Mounted Picket guard without the french line where we eu- campt the whole night. 240 APPENDIX. Dec. 30. A very hard frost Last night which froze the Ground hard. January 2, 1777. Mounted Main Guard at The Jersey Eadout. Jan. 3. By a scouting Party from our camp we are informed that the enemy have left Crown Pint and have gon Down the Lake. This is an old worn manuscnpt which was in the possession of his grandson, Thomas Bradbury, of Hollis. I have made a literal copy of it, and his consent to publish it herewith. He died in Buxton, Nov. 9, 1803. His children were Jabez and Daniel, dates of birth unknown. Elizabeth, born June 29, 1772. Thomas, born Oct. 7, 1778. Anna, born Aug. 13, 1785. William, the fifth son, married Susanna Hopkinson, lived in Buxton on his father's farm, being the one now owned by Mr. William Scribner. His children were: Samuel, Sarah, baptized Dec. 16, 1770, Susanna, Hannah, William, Betty, Lucy, Molly, and Dorcas, baptized Nov. 7, 1784. Jacob Bradbury, brother of Capt. Thomas of the Block House, married Abigail Eaton, of Salisbury ; lived in Bidde- ford and moved from there to Narraganset or Buxton about 1753. He settled on Beech Plain road on Lot 12, Range D, 1st Division, where his son " Squire Jacob," afterwards lived. He owned several of these lots in the township. Like his brother, Capt. Thomas, he was also prominent and ready in all matters relating to the development of the town. These two men with five others composed the first church in town. Dur- ing the latter part of his life, it is said that his mind became somewhat impaired, and in one of these spells of mental de- rangement he fell on the fire and was badly burned. He died soon after, in 1797, aged 87 years. His children were : Joseph, born in 1734. Moses, born in 1736 ; killed in the French and Indian war. Jacob, born in 1737; died young, we suppose, from the fact that another son was afterwards named the same. Elizabeth, born in 1738 ; married Stephen Palmer, of Buxton, in 1764. Abigail, born in 1741 ; married in 1763, Daniel Leavitt, of Buxton. Jacob, baptized in Biddeford, Maine, April 22, 1744. Hannah, baptized in 1746 ; married Joshua Heirl (Earl), of Berwick, who subsequently settled in Hollis, Maine. Joseph, baptized in 1748. Sarah, baptized in 1750 | married in 1770, John Owen, of Buxton. Jabez, baptized in APPENDIX. 241 1752. Mary, baptized in 1754; married Samuel Beard, of Scarborough, Maine. Elijah, baptized in 1757. Miriam, bap- tized in 1758; married Brice Boothby, of Buxton, in 1780, and Winthrop, born in 1763, the only one bom or baptized in Nar- raganset No. 1. Nine of these children were baptized in Bidde- ford, and probably were born there; the first four were proba- bly born in Salisbury. Of these children, Elizabeth and Abi- gail lived in Buxton. Jacob, known as « Squire Bradbury " lived on and occupied the homestead on Beech Plain road. He is still remembered by the old men of the town, Avho speak reverently and afiectionately of him. He was a noble speci- men of a man. Majestic and dignified in appearance, of sterl- ing integrity and sound judgment, and, at the time when the office sought the man, and not the man the office, was elected by the people the first representative from Buxton to the gen- eral court of Massachusetts, which office he filled for a number of years, giving universal satisfaction. Though difiering in political views from the majority of his townsmen, yet he was the object of universal confidence and trust by all classes. From the time of his arriving at the age of manhood, to the commencement of his last illness, more than thirty years, he was in constant employment of public business of some kind. He died in 1811. His whole tenor of conversation during his last illness was on the subject of religion. His last words, about two hours before he drew his last breath, were : " When I again awake, I shall wing my way to immortal bliss to re- ceive the crown of my rejoicing;" he then fell into a sound sleep from which he never awoke.^ His children by his first wife, Mary Goodwin, were : Moses, born April 12, 1767; mar- ried Mercy Garland. Martha, born March 8, 1769. Jacob, born Jan. 6, 1771. Edmund, born Jan. 31, 1773. Andrew, born Dec. 17, 1778. Simeon G., born Aug. 21, 1781. Molly, born July 27, 1782. By his second wife, Catharine Flint, he had William Flint, born Jan. 3, 1791. Joseph, married Patience, daughter of John Goodwin, of Kennebunkport ; settled and lived in Buxton, on the farm now >From an extract from the Portland Traascript, Nov. i, 1811. 16 242 APPENDIX. owned by Mr. Shirley Berry. Their children Avere : John, bom July 5, 1776; married Alice Tyler, and settled in Hollis. Joseph, born Dec. 29, 1777 ; married Ruth Libby. Winthrop, born Feb. 22, 1780; married Lucy McKenney. Jacob, 3d, born March 18, 1783. Martha, born Dec. 21, 1786; married Elias Libby. Mary, born June 24, 1788 ; married Amos Wood- man. Benjamin, born Aug. 1, 1791 ; married Jane Plaisted. Betsy, born Jan. 16, 1796 ; died an infant. Miriam, born Sept. 26, 1798. Brice, born Jan. 29, 1800. Joseph B., senior, died Sept. 7, 1819. Jabez, married first, Sarah Atkinson, of Buxton. Their chil- dren -were : Joseph, jr., born Nov. 11, 1775 ; married Susan Crockett, of Gorham. Abigail, born Nov. 10, 1780. Eunice, born March 27, 1783. Jabez, born Nov., 1784; married Eliza- beth Page. Mary, born March 27, 1787. Sally, born Dec. 17, 1791. Betsey, born Nov. 13, 1794. Nancy, born March 5, 1800. Sarah, the mother, died July 2, 1807. By his second wife, Mrs. Mary Billings, there were Enoch Billings, born Nov. 16, 1809. Caroline, born Nov. 20, 1811. Elijah married Sarah, daughter of Capt. John Lane, Dec. 16, 1779, lived in Buxton, on the farm now occupied by Mr. Stephen Watson. Their children were : Elizabeth, born Sept. 14, 1780 ; married James Palmer, of Hollis. Sarah, born April 5, 1782. Elijah, jr., born March 28, 1784. Abigail, born July 31, 1786. Isaac, born Jan. 11, 1787. Anna, born Jan. 2, 1789, and Jabez, born Sept. 22, 1790; married Anna Maria Knight, of Calais, Maine, in 1815; settled in Hollis. Jabez B. was an enterprising business man in that town for many years, and a member of the Legislature of Maine in 1834 and 1835, and Avas a member of the Governor's Council in 1836. He died of small-pox in 1836. Winthrop married Susanna Hazletine, Sept. 8, 1785. APPENDIX. 243 TWENTY-SEVEN. HOBSON. We take it for granted that the reader was introduced to John Hohson, of Rowley, Mass., in the Historial Discourse at the first part of this work. In the first division of Lots he drew on Range B, Lot 10, on the right of Thomas Brown and Lot 12, on the right of John Woodin. On Range E, he drew Lot No. 2, on the right of his fatlrer, John Hohson, a Narraganset soldier, and Lot 19, on the right of Joseph Rose. In the second divis- ion of lots he drew on Range A, Lot 9, on the right of John Woodin; and on Range D, Lot 8, on the right of John Hobson. But he does not appear to have ever been a settler here. Au- gust 9, 1738, he conveyed to Moses Eetor, of Newbury, Mass., Lot 10, Range B, 1st Division. Said Retor was conditioned in said deed to build a house on said IiOtt, 18 feet square, culti- vate four acres of land, and continue to dwell on the same 7 years ; but the land to be cleared within the space of one year. Moses Rittoo; by deed dated March 18, 1642, in consideration of 100 lbs., public currency, conveyed this lot to Jacob Davis, of Biddeford, and describes it as Lott No. 11. And this mis- take was the occasion of a long lawsuit, the result of which would require more space than we have to detail it. The same lot was soon after occupied and owned by Capt. John Elden, and is situated on the road from Salmon Falls to Union Falls, near Pleasant Point. No. 12 afterwards, I think, owned by Joseph Woodman, near Pleasant Point, now owned by his great-grandson, Cyrus Woodman, Esq. Lot 2, Range E, sit- uated near Buxton Lower Corner, now owned by Mr. Nathan- iel Milliken. No. 19 was on Beech Plain below Peter Emery's. Lot 9, 2d Division, Range A, now owned by heirs of the late Stephen Lane, of Buxton. The Hobsons who settled in Bux- ton, did not occupy either of these lots. Samuel settled, or lived, in 1800, about a mile down the river from West Buxton village, near the house of Mr. Benjamin Partridge. Joseph settled on Lot No. 1, Range D, second Division. The 244 APPENDIX. land is now owned, I think, by Charles Hobson, one of the grand children of Samuel. Rev. J. M. Bailey, of Saco, furnishes a genealogical sketch as follows : The first Hobson in this country of whom we have any authentic account, came over from England and settled in Rowley, Mass., about the middle of the seventeenth century. His name was William. He married Ann Reynor, by whom he had three sons : Humphrey, born 1655, John, born 1657, and William, born 1659. Second Generation. Humphrey married Elizabeth North- end, 1683, by whom he had one son, Humphrey, born 1684. The father died the same year, aged 29. John was a NaiTa- ganset soldier in 1675. He married Sarah Varnum 1679, and had one son, John, born 1680. John, senior, died in 1683, aged 25. TFtYKam, married Sarah Jewett in 1692. Their children were : William, born 1693, and died an infant. Sarah, born 1695. Mary, born 1699. William, born 1701, and died 1727. Martha, born 1708. Caleb, born 1705, and died 1706. Jeremiah, born 1707. William, senior, died 1725, aged 66. Third generation. Humphrey, married Mehitable Payson, 1712. Children: Humphrey, born 1718. Samuel, born 1728, and two daughters. John, of Narraganset fame, was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature twenty years, was committee of the Legislature on the Narraganset township, and was clerk of the Rowley company that settled it for ten years, was speaker of the House in 1741. He married, first, Dorcas Pearson, 1699. Their children were : Hepsabah, born 1700. Humphrey, born 1702, and died 1704. Moses, born 1704. John, born 1707, and died 1719. Losing his wife, " Hon. John Hobson, Esq., mar- ried Mrs. Mehitable Hidden" in 1757. He died in 1770, aged 90 years. He made his will the year before and speaks of himself as " old in years but of sound mind." Jeremiah married Jane Dresser, 1729. Children : William, born 1730. Ann, born 1732. Joseph, born 1734, and died an infant. Elizabeth, born 1736. Joseph, born 1738. Sarah, born 1740. Jeremiah, died 1741, aged 34. APPENDIX. 245 Fourth generation. The last family is the one in which we are more especially interested, as William, the oldest son, was the oldest settler of Buxton of that name. He married Hannah Johnson, 1753. Children: Jeremiah, born 1754. Hannah, born 1756. His wife dying in 1757, he married, secondly, Lydia Par- sons, 1759. Children : William, born 1760, and died. Joseph, born 1762. Samuel, born 1763. Andrew, born 1765. Lydia, born 1768. He lost his second wife and married again. His third wife died in Buxton before he did. In the French and Indian war William belonged to the first cavalry company of Kowley, and his brother Joseph to the second company of Foot. William enlisted again in the latter part of 1759, and Joseph re-enlisted for the total reduction of Canada in 1760. The war closed in 1763. Joseph was drowned 1768, aged 30. William was a soldier in the revolutionary war, was wounded and taken prisoner at King's Bridge by the British and earned into New York city, where he remained a prisoner of war for eleven months. But afterwards, he was at the surrender of Burgoyne and had the pleasure of marching into the city at its evacuation. He died in Buxton 1827, aged 97. His oldest son, Jeremiah, was in the battle of Bunker Hill. Fifth generation. Of the sons of William, Jeremiah settled in Amherst, N. H. Andrew. went to New York, and Joseph and Samuel settled in Buxton when young men, and became the progenitors of the two families of Hobsons in Buxton and vicinity. Joseph married Kebecca Sawyer of Buxton. Their children were : Joseph, born 1788. Jabez, born 1790. Lydia, born 1793. Andrew, born 1795. Jeremiah, born 1797. Re- becca, born 1800. James, born 1802. Joanna, born 1804. Adeline, born 1808. Joseph, senior, died 1830. Samuel married Rachel Lane, of Rowley, 1788. Children : Samuel, born 1789. Betsey, born 1792. Rachel, born 1793. William, born 1796. Amos, born 1799. Joseph, born. 1801. Nancy, born 1803. Thomas Mighil, born 1805. Alvan, born 1807. Enoch Billing, born 1807. This closes the family history portion of the appendix. 246 appendix;. There are some not reported and not sufficiently authentic for this purpose. The Rounds family, of early fame in town, ■will be found fully reported in Goodwin's Narraganset, pages 241, 242, and 243. To Cyras Woodman, Esq., belongs the credit of contributing the larger part of the foregoing sketches. He has been aided in the work very little by resident descendants of the jDioneers; some considerable by the papers of Capt. Goodwin, as he says, and by Daniel Dennett, and from -what records and local gleanings the editor had been able to gather. Rev. J. M. Bailey, of Saco, gave the genealogy of the Hobsons, and Mr. Eben Went-worth, of Portland, contributed the "Went- worths, and I ackno-wledge the aid of the papers of Capt. Goodwin in furnishing some data of the Bradbury family, through the kindness of Cyrus Woodman. It -will be noticed that Buxton -was settled mainly by de- scendants of English emigrants, who, induced by two such mo- tives to leave their native land, as the monarchical restraint imposed upon them at home by Charles the First, and the glowing reports they were constantly receiving of the new country, rallied with youthful enthusiasm to the standard of that liberal and philanthropic governor, and true Father of American Colonization, Ferdinando Gorges. And his extensive grant and benign policy opened up the long coast of New Eng- land to the worthy progenitors of our line. Very few, how- ever, of the descendants of the Narraganset soldiers settled in Buxton. The settlers were purchasers of their rights, and, though the majority of them were probably poor, a part of them it was said left homes of plenty and comparative ease, to strike out anew 'raid the dark forest of Maine, the homes loved and left, of the retreating Sokokis, near the banks where "The Saco forth from Hampshire's granite steeps KoUs down in chainless pride." APPENDIX. 247 AA SACO BLOCK HOUSE. Charles Coffin, Esq., says: "Tlie first settlers establisliecl themselves in the lower part of the town, not because the soil "was more productive, but because Saco was their only market, and because it placed them in the vicinity, and under the protection of the fort situated on the river in the town of HoUis, two miles below the Salmon Falls (for many years commanded by Capt. Thomas Bradbury), and because the conveyance and travel for many years by water was much easier than by land, as good roads at that time were not made in a day or year.'' In regard to this fort see Folsom's History of Saco and Biddeford, pages 222, 248, and also Goodwin's Narraganset, page 132. Mr. Lane in his letter to Capt. Goodwin, which will be found on said page 132, says that the cellar of the fort is "still to be seen" (1871). In this he erred. At the date of his letter neither cellar nor any vestige of the fort was visible as I know from personal inspection prior to the date of his let- ter. The site, as shown to me by Mr. Daniel Dennett, was northerly from and adjacent to the graveyard, but a little nearer to the river bank than the graveyard. This " fort " was commonly called the " Saco Truck House " or " Saco Block House." Mr. Folsom says, page 248 : " Capt. Jonathan Bean, of York, succeeded Bradbury in the command of the Block House ; his son was likewise lieutenant of the company stationed there. The establishment continued to be kept up until 1759, when the soldiers were disbanded, and the cannon, of which there were several small pieces, were transferred to Castle William in Boston harbor. The Block House was not designed for the defence of the inhabitants but as a storehouse for supplying the Indians with goods, at a fair price, in time of peace ; it was, however, used for the former purpose. The principal building was enclosed by a strong picket wall with flankers, leaving sufficient space within the premises for a house to contain the stores and for a parade ground. No remains of the buildings, except the foundation, are now (1830) visible." c. w. 248 APPENDIX. BB DENNETT'S MAPS. Dennett's map 1870 (published 1871) shows the lots into which Buxton was originally laid out. The original maps of the four different Divisions into which the town was surveyed are not to be found, except a part of the 2(5 Division map, which is in ray possession. Mr. Dennett's map, as he states, is based upon one made for the proprietors in 1793, which Avas found by him in Saco. It is now in the office of the selectmen and should be carefully preserved as the most authentic map now in existence, of the whole town, as originally surveyed. When Mr. Dennett published his map there were but few men in town who had ever seen a map showing the lots into which the town was originally divided, or who could tell upon what lot and range they lived. The early settlers were perfectly familiar with all these sub-divisions, but their knowledge of them came down to very few of the present generation. Even Mr. Den- nett, though for many years a surveyor, never knew how the whole town was sub-divided, until a few years since, for until then no map showing the lots had ever come under his eye. "Without such a map and without the proprietors' records one cannot intelligently trace back to the first owner the title of the land on which he lives. Now, thanks to the unrewarded labor of Capt. Goodwin and of Mr. Dennett, the proprietors' records and the map above mentioned have been 23rinted and so widely distributed that there is no longer any danger that the facts which they record will be lost. Mr. Dennett's map gives us not only a knowledge of how the town was sub-divided, but it shows us the sites of the residences of many of the early settlers whose houses no long- er exist, and whose names even were almost forgotten. This knowledge was obtained by Mr. Dennett by personal examina- tion and inquiry in all parts of the town, and is the result of long and patient effort on his part. The native of Buxton who is ignorant of this map is igno- rant of the history of his birth place. APPENDIX. 249 Since my address was delivered he has published another map, the result of his survey of the town in 1852-3. It shows the residence and gives the name of every head of a family then living in town. Few towns in New England can show maps which tell so much of their history as do these two maps of the history of Buxton. Though Mr. Dennett may fell to reap any pecuniary reward for the service which he has thus rendered his native town, yet he cannot fail of that better reward which comes from the consciousness of having done a good work well. His name will remain as a benefactor of his town, and his maps will be his monument long after his grave shall have been forgotten. The field notes of his survey in 1852-3, are more valuable than the map even, and the printer's art should be used to save them from the peril to which what is in manuscript only is ever subject. A few errors have been discovered in the maps, many less, however, than might reasonably be expected. It is proper to note them here. Map of 1870. A. L. Came, Esq., says: "Eli Cole by Bonny Eagle Pond should be Nat Cole, and on the road leading north between Ranges L and K, Joshua Hawkes and Dan Kimball should change places." It was not intended to put on this map the names of persons who settled after 1800, but Tristram Eaton settled in 1808, where he now lives, and Thomas Emery in 1802 on Lot 13 of Range B, 2d Division." Map of 1852-3. Mr. Dennett says: "Jabez Elwell living on the road from Buxton Lower Corner to Gorham is spelled on the map Jobez. On the road leading from Gen. "Waterman's to Phineas Harmon's, Elijah Owen's name is not on, but the house is on the map near Little River. Jonathan Coolbroth lived at the corner called Coolbroth's Corner, but not at the time I made the survey. Lemuel Merrill's name is not affixed to the house which is nearly opposite to C. Parker, near Kim- ball's Corner. The road leading by Charles Atkinson's at the 250 APPENDIX. Gore, should extend to the east corner of the town. Hill El den on Buxton road, near Nathaniel Hill Elden should be S. H. Elden ; Simon Hustin Elden, I suppose. He went by the name Hustin. I have looked the map over carefully and find no other errors." c. w. cc BRIDGE AT SALMON FALLS. A bridge across the Saco was begun at Salmon Falls in Sep- tember, 1791, and probably finished the same fall. It was built by subscription. The subscription list is before me and reads as follows : " Whereas among other important objects contemplated in society for the General utillity. The accommodating of Com- munity with convenient Ways & Bridges for passing from one Town or part of the Country to the other may Justly be es- teemed one of the greatest, — And Whereas the Local situation of the inhabitants of the Counties of York & Cumberland, to- gether with the connection of those Counties and that part of the Country more easterly & westerly, and from a Geograph- ical view of the situation of the Country. It very evidently appears that many inconveniences to travellers from the east- ward or westward might be remedied by Laying out & open- ing Roads from Waterborough through Cooks Right so Called in the Plantation of Little falls to Salmon falls mills on Saco River, and that if such measures was adopted to Carry the same into efiect it would be of General Utillity, and, therefore, of Great importance to the District of Maine. And, therefore, to Encourage such an undertaking and for the purpose of building a Bridge Over The s'd Saco River at or near the said Salmon falls Mills — We whose names are here- unto Subscribed do hereby promise to pay on demand to Major Samuel Jordan, Mess"- John Woodman, Cadwallader Gray APPENDIX. 251 & Isaac Lane or the Majoi- Part of them as a Committee or undertakers to Carry into Execution the building said Bridge such specific sums as is subjoined to our respective names, provided Sufficient sums shall be Subscribed and appro- priated therefor. Given under our hands and signed by us, &c. Buxton 25 of May, 1791. John Woodman Four Dolls cash and Five Galls N. E. Rum £2.04.0 Joseph Hobson Three days works on the Bridge 12.0 Richard Palmer Six Dollars in work 1.16. Paul Coffin jur. Six Gallons K E. Rum 1.04. William Bradbury eight Dollars in work on the Bridge 2,08. John Fenny Twelve shillings in Labor on the Bridge 12. Jabez Lane Four Dollars in Goods 1.04. Joshua Kimball in Goods and Labor 2.08. Thomas Atkinson Eight dollars in Labour 2.08. Isaac Lane £6 paide in Labour 6.00.0 Saml. Merrill jur. 4 pound in Labour 4.00.0 Chase Parker 8 shillings in Lab 0.08.0 Samuel Leavit four Days works myself and oxen 13.4 Isaiah Brooks Twenty shillings in Labour 1.00.0 Thomas Harmon Twelve shillings in Labour 0.12.0 James Woodman twenty shilling in Labour 1.00.0 Benja Bradbury Twelve shillings in Labour 0.12.0 Jacob Bradbury in work 1.04.0 William Cole Twenty shillings in Lumber 1.00.0 William Andrews Twelve shiling paid " 12.0 The form of subscription is in the handwriting of Hon. John Woodman, as is also an account of the work done on the bridge. The account of what seems to have been the first day's work is as follows : "1791. John Woodman 1 D. self 1 D. Boy 1 day ox 9.8 Sep'r 12. Thorn Atkinson 1 D. Tom 2 D. oxen 9.4 R. Palmer 1 D. self 2 D, oxen 9.4 252 APPENDIX. C. Gray 1 D. Rob. 1 D, oxen 6.8 Job Roberts 1 D. Boton 1 D. oxen 6.8 Jo. Jordan 1 D. self 1 D. Cutt, 1 D. oxen 9.8 Josb'a Kimball i D. ox 1 4 1.4 Capt. Woodman 2 Qta rum 2.6 Isaac Lane 1 Qt rum. 1.3 Nat Woodman ^ Day 2. Paul Woodman 9.8 Isaac Lane 1 Qt. rum 1.3" c. w. DO WILLIAMS' CENTENNIAL ADDRESS. The Rev. Nathaniel West Williams in 1850, delivered an address on the occasion of the First Centennial Celebration of the settlement of Buxton. Mr. Williams was not a native of the town nor familiar with its history. Under the circumstances his address is creditable. There are a few errors in it which may as well be corrected here. On page 12 he says : " But no settlement was attempted till 1740 or 1741, when Deacon Amos Chase, from Newbury, Joseph Simpson, Nathan Whitney, with Messrs. Gage and Bryant entered the plantation and began to fell the trees and build log cabins for shelter." As authority for this statement, he refers to the proprietors' records, where nothing is to be found to justify it. This was undoubtedly an accidental slip of his pen. Tradition was his authority. On page 14, he tells us, on the authority of Deacon Thomas Merrill, that seven persons, naming them, moved into town in the fall of 1750. Facts of record, combined with this tradi- tion, make it reasonably certain that all of the seven except John Wilson were here in 1750, and no fact militates against the tradition that he too. was here. These Avere not all that came in that year. APPENDIX. 253 In a deed dated Aug. 6, 1750, Joseph Woodman and his brother Joshua are both described as then of Narraganset No. 1. On the 13th line of page 14, is the name James Thomas. Putting a comma, as we should, between James and Thomas we have the following : "In the lapse of nine years after, James, Thomas, and Ephraim Sands with seven others moved into the settlement." The inference is that only ten persons or families settled in town during these nine years. I have found no evidence that James Sands was here during these nine years, but, leaving him out, Goodwin's Narraganset shows, within the nine years, the names of more than twenty men, besides the first seven, who claimed this town as their residence, and probably these were not all. On the same page, fifth line from the bottom, we have Deacon Merrill instead of Iiieut. Merrill, who, probably, was never a member of any church. On page 15 it is said that " it is a fact worthy of note that when the township was granted, above half of those to whom it was assigned, and who were in the Narraganset war fifty years before, were still living." This statement he doubtless obtained from a manuscript of Charles Coffin, Esq., now in my possession. Mr. CoflSn without doubt erred in making this statement. It is not credible, and I know no authority for it. On the same page, Rebecca Woodman is called the daughter of Capt. John Woodman. It should read CaTpt, Joseph. On page 17, " the first military commanders" are named, but the name of Joseph Woodman is omitted. He was the first military Captain. See Goodwin's Narraganset, page 65. On page 17, at the foot, for Proprietor's Records read Town Records. On page 19 for Joshua Leavitt, read Joseph. On the same page he speaks of the meeting-house which pre- ceded the present one at the Lower Corner as " the third meet- ing-house." For third read second. On page 20, before the word Saco insert the. 254 APPENDIX. On page 26 he says that " the first mills on Saco river above Salmon Falls were built at Moderation Falls in the year 1795, and the first at the Bar shortly afterward." I have written contemporaneous evidence showing that the dam at the Bar Mills was built in 1795, and that the first saw-mill there, on the Hollis side, was raised Sept. 10, 1795, and I have reason to believe that the first saw-mill there on the Buxton side was raised in the same year. There is one person now living (Jan- uary, 1873) who was present at the raising of the first mill (a saw-raill) at the Bar on the Hollis side, and that person is Mr. Tristram Eaton, who though feeble in body is sound in mind and with a remarkably clear and distinct memory. He confirms the statement that there was a saw-mill at Moderation before there was one at the Bar. It was erected by Nathan Elden and others. He says that there was a saw-mill near the mouth of Haines' Meadow Brook, near the house of D. Libby Palmer, before any were erected at Moderation or the Bar. On the same page is the traditionary statement that the first glass window in the plantation was procured by Rev. Mr. Cof- fin. The permanent settlement of the town had been in prog- ress more than ten years when he came here, at which time tradition says, and it is reasonable to believe, that there were thirty families in town. It is incredible that there was then not a glass window among them all. It is quite probable that he bought the glass as stated, but the story that there was none in town before is not worthy of belief. He speaks of the first school as having been kept in the winter of 1761-2. I have shown elsewhere that Mr. Moody entered town to teep school Aug. 20, 1761. On page 29, it is stated that " a person now living among us relates that the slave sufiered for want of suitable lodging and food, being obliged to sleep in the chimney corner in cold win- ter nights, and sometimes, impelled by hunger, he had to come to her father's shed and eat the crusts that were reserved for the swine." Who Mr. Williams' authority for this story was I do not know. Possibly the story is true, but it is not credible. APPENDIX. 255 and I do not believe it. There was probably food enough, such as it was, even in the hardest years, to prevent hunger ; and if the slave suffered for food, doubtless the white folks suf- fered too. Besides, there was never any such slavery in Buxton as to prevent a slave, if abused, from getting into families where he would not be abused. In that community where democratic equality was the rule, a sense of justice and equality would have prevented the abuse of a negro, at least that con- tinued abuse which the words I have quoted imply. Besides, if true, it is not to the credit of the narrator's family that they allowed a poor starving negro to eat the crusts from the swill- pail when food was plentiful enough to allow the crusts to be so disposed of. That the negro ate from the swill-pail is not improbable. He was probably not fastidious, and, like a child, would eat from home what he would not eat at home. As to sleeping in the chimney corner that was doubtless tlie place that suited the negro well. There are some still living that remember the chimneys which were large enough to allow several persons to sit inside the fireplace, on the side where the oven was, the mouth of which was on a line with the back of the fireplace. " The being obliged to sleep " in such a " chim- ney corner in cold winter nights " the negro would consider no hardship, but a godsend. The story is without any sub- stantial foundation. It doubtless refers to the slave C^sar, brought into town by Mr. Kimball. I have before me a letter from one who knew him. It shows that there was a time when Csesar neither lacked for a bed nor for money. It says : " If C»sar fared hard I must have fared so too, as I slept with him in preference to any other person, I being then very young. He was very kind to me. He used to have his purse full of change, and the way he got money was by making and selling staves to Paul Coffin, jr. He used to get me to go into the timber with him and assist him in sawing to make staves. 1 was so small that I could not pull the saw but only hold on to the handle to keep it from wiggling, which he said was much help to him. After he sold his staves he would give me gingerbread, raisins, and apples." 256 APPENDIX. Caesar had credit, gave his notes (after slavery was abol- ished), and like some white folks did not pay. He was alive August 9, 1796, for I have his note of that date on which he was sued. In the Note, page 31, for widow of the late John Eldcn read Nathan. c. w. EE PLEASANT POINT BURYING-GPtOUND. In the field in the rear of the old house still standing at Pleasant Point, which was built by the Hon. John "Woodman, is a little open space, on a knoll, surrounded by a fine grove of evergreen and deciduous trees. Southwesterly the ground falls oif sharply through the grove to the interval ; beyond which may be seen the Saco, here rest- ing tranquilly after its impetuous descent of sixty feet through one of the wildest and most romantic gorges which this beau- tiful river has made for itself on its way to the sea. To this sj)ot, in the pleasant days of the Indian Summer, one may well come to muse over the past history of the town and to think of those who were its living and active inhabi- tants a century ago. To many of them this was then familiar ground ; and, to the wanderer who comes with reverent spirit, the woods will still seem to echo to the tread of their feet and the sound of their voices ; while, through the hazy, dreamy at- mosphere, their shadowy forms will seem to rise from the earth where the dust of so many of them reposes. Rude stones from the field mark some of the graves, but time has effaced all visible signs of most of them. No letter tells us the names of those who here found their last resting place, and the names of most of them are probably forgotten. Of those remembered I shall give a list below. The origin of the graveyard, as I was told by Mrs. Noah Haley, the youngest daughter of Capt. Joseph Woodman, was this: APPENDIX. 257 A man named Sewall cleared up this spot for her father. Coming in to dinner, one day, he said that he had been clearing a good place for a burying-ground, and dying shortly after, his words were remembered and he was the first person buried there. LIST OF BURIALS, SO PAE AS KNOWX. Sewall, Mr. As above mentioned. "Woodman, Capt. Joseph, the first settler at Pleasant Point. Died in Hollis, June 4, 1796, and was brought here for burial. His last wife. Reliance, was also buried here, as I was informed by their daughter, Mrs. Noah Haley. The preceding wife of Capt. Woodman was probably buried here too, as he was liv- ing at Pleasant Point at the time of her death. Woodman, Olive, wife of Nathan Woodman who settled at Pleasant Point in 1757. Mrs. Paul Woodman told me that she died in the fall of 1774, and two young children of hers about the same time, named Polly (or Susan) and Sewall. Woodman, Nathan, jr., sailor, son of the above-mentioned Nathan. Died in a vessel at Saco, but was buried here. Woodman, Amos, another son of Nathan, died when a young man. Woodman, Mary, wife of Hon. John Woodman, a daughter of Lieut. Jonathan, and granddaughter of Capt. Jonathan Bean of the Block House, which stood on the west side of the river below Union Falls. Sh'S was born January 17, 1752; died June 1, 1800. Woodman, Mary, daughter of the last named; born 1782; died 1786. Woodman, Samuel, son of Moses and grandson of Nathan ; born 1792 ; died 1806. Woodman, Abigail, first wife of Moses Woodman and daughter of Deacon Daniel Leavitt. Woodman, Martha, second wife of said Moses; died 1823. Dunn, Elizabeth, wife of Nathaniel Dunn, daughter of Joseph Atkinson, and granddaughter of Capt. Joseph Woodman; born Nov. 21, 1768 ; died in Hollis in 1804, and was brought here for buriaL 17 258 APPENDIX. Leavitt, Samuel, soa of Joseph of York ; died Sept., 1797 aged 65 years. Leavitt, Sarah, wife of Samuel and daughter of Capt. John Phinney the first settler of Gorham. She died April, 1793, aged 59 years. Leavitt, Abigail, 2d wife of Deacon Daniel Leavitt and daughter of Samuel Dennett, of Saco. Hopkinson, John, jr., son of the first settler John j born July 27, 1740 ; died Jan. 24, 1817. His father and mother it is sup- posed were also buried here. Hopkinson, Rebekah, wife of John, jr., born Sej)t. 20, 1741 ; died April 16, 1807. Atkinson, Humphrey, one of the first settlers ; born in New- bury, June 12, 1720 ; died probably in 1775. Atkinson, Sarah, his wife. Gray, Cadwallader, son of James Gray, of Saco, graduated at Harvard, 1784 ; kept school in Buxton, also was a trader there. Gray, Joanna, his wife, daughter of John Garland. Prescott, Hannah, daughter of Stephen ; died probably as early as 1780. Barnes, Mary, wife of Ezekiel Barnes, trader, who lived on the Pleasant Point road, opposite the school-house and in the rear of the Gupper block, so called. His store is said to have stood where Mr. Game's shoe factory stands. He went to Eng- land and was never heard of afterwards. He married Mary, daughter of John and Hannah Scamman, of Saco, April 7, 1791. A daughter married James, son of Lieut. Moses Atkinson. Barnes, Laura, young daughter of the above-named. A daughter of theirs died in Saco, December, 1791, "2 months old, of Fits, unbaptized," but was not buried here. I have his signature under date of Nov. 22, 1794. Sands, John, son of Ephraim, of Saco, was found drowned in the river. It was suspected that he was murdered. Cole, Samuel, said to have been a brother of John Cole. A pine tree is said to have grown on his grave, and one now standing in the burial ground perhaps marks the spot. Gardner, John, came from Marblehead, lived with Joshua Kimball and died from the effect of a kick by a horse. APPENDIX. 259 Davis. A Mr. Davis was buried here witliiu the recollection of the late John Elden, jr., of Buxton. Davis, Ichabod, son of Daniel and Priscilla Davis, drowned near the bridge, aged about two years. Chase, Abner, came from Kittery. Went over Salmon Falls dam and was drowned. Merrill, Daniel, son of John and Rebecca, drowned when a boy. Lane, Thomas, son of Jabez and Betsey, drowned when a boy. Groves, two children of Dr. P. F., who lived at Salmon Falls in 1813. Mr. Gibeon E. Bradbury, gave me on the authority of his grandmother, the name of " Gibeon Elden and his wife Martha " as buried here. This is an error, but it leads me to suspect that Capt. John Elden, who died in 1793, and his wife were meant. In a letter to me dated April 20, 1867, the late Mr. John Elden, jr., of Buxton wrote that at Pleasant Point "there have been buried since my remembrance Nathaniel Dunn's wife, a man named Davis, Nathan Woodman, Moses Woodman's two wives and son Samuel, John Hopkinson and wife and two small children of Dr. Groves. That I think is all within sixty years. I have heard Judge Woodman say that his mother, brother, sis- ter, and wife, Joseph Woodman, and I think many more of the Woodman family were buried there ; also Joseph (Samuel it should be) Leavitt and wife." The facts in regard to the burials at Pleasant Point, have been communicated to me mostly by Mr. Daniel Dennett, Mr. Elden above-named, and Mr. Gibeon E. Bradbury who derived his information froih his grandmother. c. w. FF SCHOOLS. The older and fortuitous method of pioneer settlement has been supplanted by systematic colonization ; and a colony of to-day has no sooner pitched its tents and cooked the first meal, 260 APPENDIX. than it calls into exercise the paraphernalia of common schools ■which it has can-ied along with it, as a part of itself, and enters at once on the new life with the civil advantages of matured communities. The pioneers of Narraganset No. 1, like their ancestors in New England, abandoned country, home-comfort, society, and schools, when they made their entrance upon the new terri- tory. But this fact is worthy of notice, that as soon as, and even before, they had acquired the full title to the land, they took measures to reinstate themselves in the midst of these advantages. The wisdom, also, of the law-makers of early times, pondering the welfare of those who might succeed them, will be acknowledged, when a careful examination of recorded facts, reveal the humble though sturdy origin of these privileges. Pages 20, 25, 58, and 59 of the historical discourse herein will afford a glimpse of them. It will be seen that the act, conferring these township grants, imposed uj)on the set- tlers in each one the condition of settling within seven years, sixty families, with an Orthodox minister ; and reserving three lots of land, viz. : one for the minister, one for the ministry and one for schools. We know also, that these were fulfilled in this town ; but how soon after the settlement the first school was in operation, or where it was kept, is not known. Mr. Eben Wentworth, of Portland, Superintendent of the Maine State Reform School, who wrote a brief sketch of the school teachers of Buxton for this publication, and from which I make some extracts, gives an extract from Rev. Paul Coffin's journal, viz. : "May 20, 1761, Silas Moody going to keep school with me in NaiTaganset. Rode with me to Rev. Merrills, of Biddeford. Dined with him, and rode to Narra- ganset where we fovind all well." Mr. "W. continues : " The sons and daughters of the first settlers were the old men and women of my early days, and I think all who remember them will endorse the statement that they were well instructed in sUch branches as were taught in the schools of those times, and especially in matters relating to their duties as citizens and guardians of our free institutions. I have in my possession specimens of penmanship, written APPENDIX. 261 by the sons of Capt. Woodman, Capt. Thomas Bradbury, Jacob Bradbury, Lieut. Merrill, and Dr. Coffin, in settlement of ac- counts, execution of deeds, report of committees, etc., which will compare favorably with those of the present time." Our information concerning the schools of Buxton before the revolutionary war, is at best fragmentary ; we find only an oc- casional relic to sustain the failing fabric of tradition. It seems certain enough that Silas Moody taught the first school in the town, and that in 1761. He graduated from Harvard College in 1761. How long he continued here is not known. Mr. W. states that he was set- tled over a church in Arundel (now Kennebunk) in 1771, where he continued to preach until the time of his death in 1816, a period of fifty-five years, which, if so, would have left him in Buxton but a very short time. There were, doubtless, schools kept in the town some part of the year from this time forward; but the names of the teachers and the character and location of the school-houses are in obscurity. The first vote of the town, on the support of schools, which I have been able to find, was at the town meeting held March 25, 1777. It was on the question whether there should be a school or not, and the vote was carried to have a school, and " 30 Lbs. was voted to be raised for the purpose." " At a town meeting held May 29, 1778, it was voted not to raise money to hire a school." But it is presumed that the success which attended our arms in the cause of liberty the ensuing year, gave them better courage, for " At a town meeting, held March 16, 1779, It was voted to have a school, and 200 Lbs. was voted to hire a school master." Mr. Wentworth speaks of Barnabas Sawyer as a teacher here in 1785, when Mr. Tristram Eaton attended his school which was kept in Mr. Eidlon's (Ebenezer) house, which once stood near where the house of Capt. Lewis B. Goodwin now stands. I find on the town treasurer's account for 1785, a credit item to school class No. 3, viz. : " By Paid Mr. Sayer (Sawyer) for six months schooling £25 4s." I found on a fly 262 APPENDIX. leaf of the treasurer's book the following : " Take Notice, — that Class No. 1, iu the year 1783, are connected with class No. 2, as far as Beech Plain road extends, and also that Class No. 3 and No. 4 are connected including only those on the way from Haines's Meadow Bridge to Hovey's." This was written in the handwriting of Hon. John Woodman, who was then one of the selectmen of the town. In that year there were six school districts in the town. Their extent, No. of scholars, and comparative prosperity, may be better understood from a copy of some items from an old treasurer's account, viz. : « 1783. Town Dr. To class No. 1, including Beech Plain road, Capt. John Elden chairman £18, 2. 1 Class No. 2, Saml. Knight, chairman 16. 4.0^ « " 8, Snell Wingate « 18.18.1^ No. 4, Jas. Sands chairman 14. 6.2^ No. 5, Peter Ayer chairman 6. 1. No. 6, Joseph Atkinson chairman 6. 8.6f £80. 0.00 The appropriation for school in 1784, was 90 lbs., in 1786-7, 80 lbs., in 1788, 100 lbs., in 1789, 150 lbs. The limits of these districts we cannot give here; the locality we can. No. 1 was Pleasant Point and vicinity. No 2 was Beech Plain road and the Lower Corner. No. 3 from Capt. Jabez Lane's to Buxton Centre and vicinity. No. 4, after the union with No. 3, about Spruce Swamp, Rounds' neighborhood, and to the Gorham line. No. 5 that part in the 3d Division, near Standish. No. 6 that part called East Buxton. In District No. 1, Mr. Gay taught 4 months in 1784, and earned 17 lbs. 15s. He was succeeded by " Master Elliot " who taught in Districts Nos. 1 and 2, and boarded at Rev. Paul Coffin's and Thomas Emery's; John Woodman taught the same, three months in 1786, and Barna- bas Sayer (Sawyer) in 1788. Miss Hovey kept 14 weeks for 3 lbs, and 10 shillings in 1790. The school in these two dis- tricts from this time until Dec. 30, 1793, was taught by Mr. APPEKDIX. 263 Luther Kinsley. John Heai-n kept in this union District in 1794 ; part of the time the school was near Lower Corner and the rest of the time at a school-house near the house of Joses Hopldnson, near Pleasant Point. Mrs. Olive Dunn, now nine- ty-two years old, attended school at both places, and well re- members " Johnny Hearn " and several before him. Mr. Moses Dunn says he went to school in Cadwallader Gray's house, kept by Gray ; this was in the lower part of District No. 1 ; he says the school was afterwards taught by one Fuller, but does not recollect the year. The school at Lower Corner was kept by Saml. Cutts in 1787. By Miss Sands in 1790, and from that time until 1794, by a Mr. Huse. In District 'No. 3, Barnabas Sawyer seemed to have given very good satisfaction for he taught here a part of each year from 1785 to 1794, and perhaps longer. I judge that he " boarded round," for board bills were cashed by the treasurer ■for Brice Boothby, Humphrey Merrill, John Eaton, and others, from one to four weeks board, at an average of 7 shillings per week. It is almost certain, judging from the universal testimony of these old people, that the schools were frequently, and perhaps generally, kept in dwelling-houses, and in different parts of the same district. Timothy Ham succeeded Mr- Sawyer in this district for a short time. In District No. 4, Barnabas Sawyer taught part of the time in 1787. He was succeeded by one Grace in the same year, by Mr. Huse in 1791, by Phebe Payne in 1792, and by Hannah Myrick and Joseph Billings in 1793-4. In District No. 5, Barnabas Sawyer also taught a short time in 1788. He was succeeded by " School Master Bangs," by Mr. Grace and Mr. Kinsley, and in 1793, by Francis Morrissey. Some idea of the. extent of this district may be formed from the places, so remote from each other, where the teachers boarded ; at Jos. Rounds', Lt. Mark Rounds', Jas. Norton's, Clement Jordan's, Ensign John Smith's, Jas. Sands', and John Cresy's. In District No 6, Barnabas Sawyer taught a while in 1789, and again in 1794. Mr. Simeon Jordan also taught a while. 264 APPENDIX. District No. 7 was created in 1784, from a part of eacli of Districts 5 and 6; Joseph Atkinson, chairman. Barnabas Saw- yer also taught here a few weeks in each year for several years- He was succeeded by Samuel Cutts in 1792, and by Phebe Payne. The proportion of money in this district in these years was small. Mr. Wentworth says : "Francis Morrissey and John Heam came to this country from Ireland. Master Morrissey was em- ployed in teaching about fifteen years. A large part of the time in the old school-house midway between the Centre and Leavitt's Mills. A few of his pupils still live to relate the marvellous incidents connected with his school ; but most of them have long since passed away. Gen. Irish taught several terms in the Waterman District and was highly esteemed by his pupils. He resided in Gorhara, was a man of great activity and enterprise, and probably held more commissions, civil and military, than any other man in that town." "By an Act of the Massachusetts Legislature passed June 25, 1789, each town was required to maintain one school in which Greek and Latin and English Grammar could be taught free to all of suitable age. In compliance with this law, Bux- ton established two schools of this grade, the North Grammar school at the Centre, and the South Grammar at the Lower Corner, where masters of experience and ability, usually col- lege graduates, were employed, and liberal appropriations were made." Among the first grammar masters were Tappan "Wentworth and Zenas Payne at the North Grammar, and Charles Cofiin at the South Grammar. It was through the efforts of the lat- ter that a charter for an Academy in Buxton was obtained in 1830. A building was erected and a school opened; but the location was so near other academies that it was deemed ad- visable to discontinue the school. The building was, not long after, removed to near Bar Mills, on the road which formerly led across " Usher's Bridge" and now forms the main part of the dwelling house of Mr. Alvan Palmer. APPENDIX. 265 These schools were afterwards taught hj Master Smith, Elder Flanders, Dea. William Wentworth, Master Durgan, Joseph Hill and Rev. Mark Hill and Dea. Samuel Elden. Dea. Asa Brown kept at the Lower Corner several years. He has been referred to in a previous part of this work. As a disciplinarian he seemed ambitious to make his mark, and his pupils received impressions of the most lasting character of his peculiar method. Those of his scholars who survived his reign, speak of the alacrity with which they hastened to " down at his bidding," when visions of the Torquemada which his frown foreshadowed danced before their brain. The branches in which he was most proficient were sometimes knottij, and their adaptation to those of tender years and mild tempera- ment, were not fully enough appreciated to be at all times wel- come. He was the last representative of that class of teachers, who called into exercise their system of muscular Christianity, and whose cold, forbidding presence in a school-room festooned with penalties and prohibitions, shut out the sunlight of com- mon humanity from the rational system of education. He de- parted this life to receive his crown of righteousness, May 8, 1858. The following was contributed by Cyrus Woodman : THE FIEST SCnOOL-HOUSE IIT BUXTOIT. Mr. Dennett on his map published in 1871, tells us Avhere the first school-house stood. This he learned from tradition, and it is probably correct. The law of June 25, 1789, com- pelled towns to maintain schools, but gave no authority to levy taxes for building school-houses. Hence the necessity for building them by subscription. The late Mr. Jacob Bradbury, remembered a school-house which stood near Mr. John Boynton's, in which Samuel Cutts, Esq., (who was his first schoolmaster) kept school in his own house.^ The school-house was moved from Boynton's to Eph- 'Mrs. Olive Dunn confirms the statement of Mr. Bradbury in regard to the location of this school-house.— Ed. 266 APPENDIX. raim'Sands', and now, Mr. Bradbury says, constitutes that part of Mr. Bunnell Sands' slied -which is nearest to his barn.^ The first school-house at the Lower Corner stood, I suppose, where the present one stands, and was burned. In 1791, a subscription was started for the purpose of build- ing a school-house, a copy of which will be found below. It ' was drawn by Hon. John Woodman, and it resulted, in all probability, in the building of the school-house mentioned by Mr. Dennett. Indications of the site are still visible. It will be noticed that the subscribers lived at and between Salmon Falls and the Saco line, following the river road by the way of Pleasant Point. There was doubtless another similar subscrip- tion made by those who lived about Beech Plain and the meet- ing-house, if, as seems probable, this was the school-house for the south district of the two into which the town was at first divided. At any rate here came children to school from Beech Plain and from Rev. Paul Coffin's, as Mr. David Dennett stated of his own^knowledge. The subscription was as follows : " We the subscribers who compose the first school class in the Town of Buxton having fully considered the expediency of Building a School House for the Accommoding the youth in said Class in Common Literature usually taught in Reading, Writing & Cyphering, do hereby obligate ourselves by these presents to each other as a Society Composed & Constituted therefor that we^will severally bind ourselves]^,to to pay Joshua Ejmball and Thomas Atkinson members of said Class whom we have mutually chosen to Carry into effect the building the s'd School House such sums as may be in proportion to our Last valuation that the Taxes in this Town are assessed upon in such materials or other things as may [be] necessary to the building s'd School House, & that we will pay the same when demanded of the s'd KimbalPJ&^'Atkinson in as full an [d] 1 Mr. DunneU Sands^saya the etatement of Mr. Bradbury about this old school-house forming part of his shed or buildings, is not correct. But that the old^school-house re- ferred to used to sit on shoes, and was moved as often as once in two years ; first dOTfn to the lower end of the district, and then back^again near the lower corner; and that after another house was built, this one was used by his grandfather, Ephraim Sands, for a blacksmith shop, and stood near, or below,_where his house newsstands, and was taken down by his father, but not used in building the shed,— Ed. APPENDIX. 267 ample a manner as if bound by note of hand, which sums to be placed to our respective names by the Assessors of the Town now in office. Signed by us as follows Buxton 18th October 1791. JoHisr WooDMAK MosES Atkinson jun. John Hopkinson John Elden Samuel Meeeill jue Nathaniel Milikbn Thomas Atkinson John Meeeill Joshua Kimball Moses Woodman Nathl Woodman Theodoee Atkinson RicHAED Palmee John Atkinson GiBEON Elden John Dennet" TAXATION AND VALUATION. In 1761, the county tax of Narragansett No. 1, was £1 Os. Id. Whole tax £66. In 1762, £1 Os. Id., whole tax £66. In 1767, £1 8s. 2d., whole tax £125 In 1763, £6 10s. Id., " £370. In 1768, £0 IBs. Od., " £60 In 1764, £1 10s. Od., « £100. In 1769, £1 4s. 0., " £80 In 1765, £1 10s. Od., " £100. In 1770, £1 12s. 0., In 1766, £2 2s. 8d., " £140. In 1773, £2 16s. 6., The above is from York County Kecords of Court of Sessions. In 1784, the valuation from which the tax was made is as follows : "Dwellin houses 2 Story high, 8; Ditto 30 by 40 feet, 1 Story high 33 ; 40x20, 1 Story 7l, in all 112. Tan houses 1 : Pott ash houses, 1; Barns 116; 7 Grist and Saw Mills; 459 acres tillage land; 921 acres mowing; 120 acres fresh meadow; 604 acres pasture; 13861 acres unimproved; 617 acres unimprov- able, exclusive of Ponds & Hayths and undivided lands; 40 tunns vessells ; £235 stock in trade ; 91 horses ; Colts 2 yrs old 3; Colts 1 yr old 7; Oxen 4 yr 264; Neat cattle 3 yrs 70, 2 yrs 122, 1 yr 116; Cows 4 yrs 403; Sheep 551; Swine 292; Notes of hand 252 ; Money on hand 15 Lbs ; Polls rateable 212, not rateable 19. 268 APPENDIX. The following was contributed by Dr. Meserve, copied from an old dilapidated assessor's journal : According to a valuation of the Polls and Estates of the Proprietors and Inhabitants of the town of Buxton, returned to the General Court of Massachusetts in October, 1792, there were in town at that time, 59 rateable Polls between the ages of 16 and 21 and 246 above the age of 21 years. There were also 29 Polls not rateable, and one supported by the town. There were at the same time 91 Dwelling Houses and 66 buildings of the value of five pounds and upwards^; 156 Barnes, 10 shops, 2 Tan Houses, 3 Pot Ash Houses, 3 Grist Mills and 7 Saw Mills ; the amount of money taxed was only thirteen pounds, and the products of 1749 acres of tillage land were 1357 bush, of Wheat, 1349 of Rye, 521 of Oats, 5432 of Indian Corn, 45 of Barley, and 482 of Peas and Beans. The amount of English hay was 1442 tons, and of meadow hay 104 tons ; the whole stock in trade was 170 pounds ; there were 138 Horses, 392 Oxen, 692 Steers and Cows, and 307 Swine. a. k. p. m. ^A memorandum on the back of the copy ia as follows : N. B. We think it necessary to note that in oar return of Dwelling Houses there is but thirteen which is two Story high in Town & but five of them wholly Glazed & not but one that is half finished ; the seventy-eight which Kemains are Low, Small houses ; but few of them Glaized & not more than three of them finished, those included in buildings of £6 Vallue are mostly small houses used for Dwelling Houses without fin- ishing either out Side or the inside, therefore we could not from principals of Justice return them as Dwelling Houses. Our Bams also are in like Sittnation with the houses but few of them shingled or finished &c. Onr Mills Likewise but One Saw Mill & one Grist mill that is on the Main Eiyer the rest are on Small Streams which Does business but abont'one month in the Season &c. HH REVOLUTIONARY WAR. BUXTON ROLL OF HONOR. It is fitting that we should close this volume with one other view of our ancestors, wherein we behold them as in a vision, active agents and brave defenders of their newly acquired APPENDIX. 269 rights. We touch with reverent hand the slightest relic that bears the impress of their material connection with that world- wide important straggle, the mere mention of which strikes a chord of sympathy, that vibrates through the hearts of cheer- ful millions of living souls, and wherever one has learned to realize the priceless boon of civil liberty. The citizens of Buxton were no less sensitive to the abuse of foreign rule, than those of Massachusetts Bay, and the spirit with which they acted will be inferred from the following reso- lutions. Copy of Resolutions drawn up by the citizens of Buxton concerning the conduct of Great Britain towards the American Colonies. June 26, 1774. By order of the selectmen of the Town of Buxton, a War- rant hath Been Posted and the Inhabitants of said town have assembled the 20 of June 1774 and have Acted as followes to- wit 1. Chose Thomas Bradbury Juner Moderator. 2. John Elden Juner, John Lane, Samuel Merrill, Samuel hovey and John Nason, a committee to Pase som Resolves in behalf of the town. 3. this meeting held by adjournment to the 24 of this In- stant June, then to be opened at the meeting-house to See if the town will accept of the Resolves which the above commit- tee shall draw up. 1774. At a meeting held in Buxton June 20 at the meeting- house. Voted Thomas Bradbury Juner Moderator to Regulate said meeting and then Proseded to vote Capt. John Elden Capt. John Lane and messrs. Samuel raerrill Samuel hovey and John Nason to be a Commite to Draw up some Resolves in be- half of the town and in concurance with the commite of cor- espondance in Boaston and other of the neighboring towns so far as they abide by constutional Rights of ameraca. Resolve 1st that Self Preservation is the first Law of natonr and that taxation without Representation is subversive of our Libertyes. 270 APPENDIX. 2. "Wharas an act of the British Parlimente hath been passed for closing up the harbour of boston, we think this is uncon- stutional and under thease greavous and unheard of imposition^ ■we are to remain until an uureasonoble Demand is Complied with and we consider this atak upon us as utterly subversive of Ameracan Liberty for the same Power may at Pleasure De- stroy the trade and Shut up the Poarts of Every other Colony in its turn so that will be a total end of all Liberty and Prival- idg. 3. that this town aprove of the Constitutional Exertions and struggles made by opulant Colonies through the Continant for Preventing so fatal a Cattastrophe as is Implied in taxation without Representation, and that we are and always will be Redy in Every Constitutional way to give all asistance in our Power to Prevent so Dier a Calamity. 4. That a Dread of being enslaved ourselves and of trans- mitting the chains to our Posterity is the Prinsiple indusement to these measur'es. 5. that this town Do Return their Sinsear and hearty thanks to all the cities, towns and persons in ameraca and to Boston in particular who have at all times nobly exerted themselves in the cause of Liberty. Voted that the town Clerk transmit a true copy of these Re- solves to the Comitte of Coraspondance in Boston. Voted that these Resolves be Recorded in the town Book. a true Entry atest John Nason, Tcmn Clerk. It was asserted, on the authority of Nathaniel Gorhara,^ and has been reported by others, but on what authority I am not in- formed, that the town of Buxton, in proportion to the number of her inhabitants, furnished more soldiers to the Continental army than any other town under the government of Massachusetts Bay, I have not the data to show the comparison, or prove the truth of this ; but the following well authenticated facts will show the reasonableness and probable accuracy of his statement. • Nathaniel Gorham, toother of the wife of Kev. Paiil Coffin, was a prominent man daring the Revolutionary period— was a delegate to the Provincial Congress in 1774-15, and was chosen president of the Continental Congress in 1786. APPENDIX. 271 They did not all serve on the quota of Buxton, but the larger part of them on towns in the present limits of Massachusetts. In the winter of 1779, the Continental army had drawn so many men from Maine, that two or three companies from Machias, a volunteer company in Lincoln and another in York, were all that remained in service ; these were quite insuflacient for the defence of any point and served only to keep the tories in check.— Farney's History of Maine. The following affidavit is from the Court Records of Massa- chusetts, Vol. 34, 683 : « To Col. Tristram Jordan. " The Number of males in Buxton are 151 above sixteen years of age on Jenery last & the Names of these that have enlisted into the Continental army that belonged to Buxton are as follows : Jonathan Whitney Daniel Coolbroth Capt. Jabez Lane James Rounds Joseph Gooding Ebenezer Ridlon Nathan Woodman Nehemiah Gooding David Ridlen Nath'n Woodman jun Abijah Lewis Capt. Daniel Lane John Woodman Er&d Lewis Isaac Lane Saml. Woodman John Moore William Hancock Daniel Fields Saml. Smith John Cole Samuel Brooks Benjamin Elwell Saml. Cole Ezekiel Bragdon John Elwell John Cole jun'r James Coolbroth James Moody John Edgerly John Smith ^ Selectmen Thos. Bradbury V- of Saml. Knight ) Buxton YoEK ss. Buxton August 26, 1777. then Personally appeared John Smith, Thomas Bradbury and Samuel Knight, and Swore that the Number of Male In- habitants in said Buxton from Sixteen years old and upwards are one Hundred and fifby-one, out of which thirty are Inlisted into the Continental army. Before me John Nason town Clerk To Tristram Jordan Att Pepperhill." 272 APPENDIX. • We have not the means of furnishing the names of all the soldiers who served in the Continental army from Buxton ; still more difficult is it, at this distance of time, to class them in Companies, Eegiments, or Corps Divisions, to name the expeditions in -which they were a part, or the time through which they served. None of them now survive. Now and then a son or a daughter can be found, who can tell the story of their father's experience, and especially their suffering, and almost miraculous escape from death by famine, by contagious diseases, or by exposure in long marches in the winter season — sometimes through the wilderness, and sometimes through communities whoso sympa- thies were wholly with the Koyal cause. We have gathered something from this source, and find in it a refreshing similitude to the recorded transactions. We have also gathered from manuscripts, and books which have survived the raid of peddlers, and now, we trust, rescued from oblivion. As far as practicable, we will give below the names and companies, in the order of time. Some of them served short terms and re-enUsted for longer periods, and for this reason their names will appear more than once. CAPT. JEREMIAH HILL'S COMPANY. (The original list of names are from Capt. Goodwin's papers.) The men below enlisted from Buxton in the Revolutionary army, in the company of Capt. Jeremiah Hill.i of Biddeford, in the 30th Regt. of Foot, commanded by Col. James Scamman. Part of them were afterwards in the expedition to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, in Capt. Jabez Lane's company. Some of them served with Washington in New Jersey, and in the southern campaign. Samuel Merrill, Lieut., eulisted May 3, 1775. "Ward Eddy, Sergt., enlisted May 3, 1775. James Eedlon, enlisted May 3, 1775. Phineas Towle, Sergt., " " " " Ezekiel Bragdon, " " " " John Elden, Corpl., " " " " John Sands, " " " " Matthias Redlon, Corpl.," ' Micah Whitney, " " " " JohnCole,2 " " " " Jonathan Fields, " " " •' Nathan Woodman, " " " " Joseph Goodwin,' " " " " Samuel Merrill, Jr., " " " '• Samuel Woodsom, " " " " Robert Brooks, " " " " Nehemiah Goodwin, " " " " William Andros, " " " " Daniel Hill, Ensign, " " " " ^ Some of the men in Capt. Hill's company were drafted to go in the expedition with Arnold to Quebec, via the Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers, but we do not know the names of them ; probably there was a Buxton man among them, but cannot give his name. Capt, Hill returned at the expiration of one year, hav- ing resigned his commission. Part of the company Joined the regiment of Col. Joseph Vose, at West Point, and were at the surrender of Burgoyne. Capt. Hill, in 1779, was appointed Adjutant General of the forces sent by the State to Penobscot river. 2 John Cole was at the battle of Monmouth. ' Joseph Goodwin was with Washington when he crossed the Delaware. APPENDIX. 273 CAPT. DAKIEL LANE'S COMPANY. The original list is from Goodwin's Narraganset. The following are the names of Buxton men who were enlisted for the service of the United States of America, by Capt. Daniel Lane, of the late Col. lohabod Alden's Eegiment, for the State of Massachusetts Bay, for three years and during the war. The most of them were attached to the 7th Eegiment, Col. Brooks. They were in the Ticon- deroga expedition with the forces of Gen. Schuyler, and afterwards of Gen. Gates ; were present at the surrender of Burgoyne to Gen. Gates at Saratoga! and were in active service the most of their time. Col. Brooks' Eegiment was a while under Gen. Knox, who had command of the artillery on the Hudson river, and also at the battle of Stillwater. The dates of their enlistment and discharge, and to what towns accred- ited, are as below : Daniel Lane, Captain, enlisted Nov. 14, 177G ; discharged Jan. t, 1780. David Eedlon, from Mar. 20, 1777, to Dec. 31, 1780, accredited to Eowley, Mass. Bounty, £9. Ebcnezer Eedlon, from Peb. 28, 1777, to May 5, 1777, when he died. John Wilson, from March 5, 1777, to May 3, 1778, when he was killed ; accredited to Topsfield. Bounty, £24. John Woodman, Sergeant,*" from June 19, 1777, to Oct. 10, 1779; accredited to Hingham. Nathan Woodman, from Jan. 1, 1777, to Jan. 2, 1780, corporal; accredited to Topsfield. Nathan Woodman, jr., from Jan. 20, 1777, to Dec. 31, 1779. Samuel Cole, from Mar. 18, 1777, to Dec. 31, 1780; accredited to Braintree. Bounty, £24. Benjamin Elwell, from Feb. 13, 1777, to Feb. 13, 1780. John Elwell (son of Benj.), from Mar. 20, 1777, to Mar. 20, 1780; then re-enlisted for during the war. John Edgerly, from Jan. 20, 1777, to Dec. 31, 1779, when he was transferred to the Invalid Corps. Isaac Lane (son of Daniel), from Jan. 18, 1777, to Jan. 18, 1780. Fifer. John Cole, from Feb. 9, 1777, to Dec. 81, 1779, then discharged. John Cole, jr., from Jan. 20, 1777, to Dec. 31, 1779, when he was transferred to Capt. Derby's. William Hancock, from Jan. 20, 1777, to Feb. 20, 1780 ; accredited to Stoughtonham. Bounty, £24. Samuel Woodsom, and John Woodsom, and John Smith, all of Bux- ton, are in the pay-roll of Capt. Daniel Lane's Company, of Oct., 1778. 1 At tlie time of the surrender of Burgoyiie, C.ipt. Daniel Lane was a prisoner, and was released Sept. IG, 177T, by order of Lt. Gen. Burgoyne, on his parole to go home to his family. 2 John "Woodman waa atfcerwarda transferred to the Commissaiy Department. 18 274 APPENDIX. Capt. Jabez Lane served through the most of the Eevolutionary war. He was a captain of a company in the Mass. 6th Eegt., Col. Thomas Nixon, was with the army at Boston, Cambridge, Connecticut, Long Island, and with the Northern Department, at Ticonderoga, and West Point, in Gen. Alexander McBougall's corps. No muster-roll of his company has been found, but an account which he kept with the soldiers (probably of his company), I found in an old memorandum- booki with dates 1775, '76, '77, and give below an extract therefrom, containining the names of Buxton men ; also a few other items of interest in this : March 1, 1776, Benjamin Woodman Dr to 1 coat £1 14. 0. March 11, 1776, Phineas tole Dr to 1 pair Lather Briches 1 16. 0. " S, 1776, John Cole Dr to 1 great cot 1 16. 0. (No date) Lemuel Bounds Dr to 1 great cot 1 16. 0. Eobert Broox Dr " " great cot 1 16. 0. Elijah BradBury Dr " " Shurt 10. 6. John hancock Dr " " Jaccot 14. 0. William Andros Dr " 1 Shurt 10. 6. Ebenezer Eidley " 1 Shurt 10. 6. John Boynton " 2 Shurts 1 1-0. Daniel bointon " 1 great cot 1 16. 0. Ephraim Sands '= 1 Shurt 10. 6. Moses Atkinson " 1 Shurt 10. 6. Jeames Woodmon " 1 Shurt 10. 6. Stephen Whitney " 2 Shurts 1 1.0. Eichard clay " to cash 4. 0. Flood " to cash 4. 0. What I have stopt out of their wages. John Cole £0 14. 0. Eben'r Eidley £0 16. 0. Daniel Boynton 9. 0. Stephen Whitney 6. 0. Jeames Woodmon 10.0. Elijah Bradbury 14.0. Prosp't Hill,— John Lane Dr to cash 13. 0. To 1 Pare Stokens 1 0. 0. The following names in another place are probably in another com- pany: Abiathar Woodsom 1 Pt Eum 7. 6. Saml Woodsom 1 Qt Eum. Joshua Woodmon 1 Pt and i Eum 7. 6. Isaac Boynton Pint and ahalf— 7. 6. Bergamin Clay 1 Pare of Shoes £3 0. 0. In Goodwin's Narraganset, in the list of soldiers whom Capt. Jabez Lane had enlisted and paid bounty to, are the names of Samuel Brooks, enUsted March 14, 1777, and Ezekiel Bragdon, both from Buxton. iThis is an old leather covered boot, much worn, and tlie writing partly obliterated. It is owned by Miss Mehitable "W". Lane, of Buxton, his grand-daughter, by whom it was loaned to me. On the first page is the following : "Jabez Lane, Ins Book august 14, 1775, Cape An," Miss Lane has also his sword and dram cup which he used in that war. These, with other papers of her grandfather, she has preserved with commendable fidelity. APPENDIX. 275 CAPT. JOHN ELDEN'S COMPANY. "A company was raised Feb. 26, 1776, for a sliort term of service, from Buxton, Arundel, Biddeford, and Pepperrelboro, commanded by Capt. Jobn Eldeni of Buxton. Tlie company belonged to the regiment of militia, under Col. Lemuel Robinson. Althougb gone but two months, they assisted in the very important work of fortifying Dorch- ester Heights on the night of March 4th.2 I find the names of only fovir. These were furnished by Cyrus Woodman, Esq. They were James, Joseph, Benjamin, and John Woodman (a, sergeant), doubtless there were many others. CAPT. JOHN LANE'S COMPANY. John Lane raised a company in 1775, and was appointed captain of it. They were in Col. Foster's regiment eight months, and stationed at Cape Ann. At the expiration of this time they joined the regiment of Col. Varnum on Long Island, and were engaged in a battle there. Col. Varn\im's regiment was in the army of Washington at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777, '78. The Buxton men, as far as known to us, were John Lane Hancock, Elijah Bradbury, Joshua Woodman, Samuel Woodman,^ Abiathar Woodsum, Samuel Woodsum. Stephen Whitney, Abijah Lewis, and Theodore Eouuds, were in the company of Capt. (Hart) Lewis, of Gorham. They marched to Cam- bridge in 1775, and thence to Ticonderoga, in Col. Phinney's regiment. William Davis, Jonathan Whitney, and George Berry ? were in the company of Capt. Eichard Mabury, of Windham, 11th Mass. Eegt., Col. Benj. Tupper, were at Burgoyne's surrender, and at the battle of Monmouth. Samuel Eounds, Benj. Emery, and John Smith, enlisted in 1779, in Capt. Alexander McLellan's Company, Col. Jonathan Whitney's Eegt., and were in the Penobscot or Bagaduce (Biguyduce) expedition. Dan- iel Emery and Joseph Eounds were in Col. Phinney's regiment, and at Burgoyne's surrender. Thomas Harmon was an orderly in Washington's Life Guard. Caleb Hopkinson was one of Gen. Gates' body guard. Michael Eand served five years, was under Gen. Stark when he defeated Col. Baum, at Ben- ington, Aug. IG, 1777 ; and after that was under Gen. Green in the South ; fought at Cowpens, Guilford Court House, Eutaw Springs, and was at Yorktown at the surrender of Cornwallis, Oct. 19, 1781, was then dis- charged, and walked home. 1 Capt. John Elden, and John Elden, jr., were in the tattle of Bunker Hill. Capt. John commanded a company there. 2 From Fohom's History of Saco and Biddeford. s Samuel Woodman was one of Washington's Life Guard. 276 APPENDIX. Roger Plaisted and Joshua Woodmani -^rere in the navy. Ebenezer Smith, Gibeon Elden, Winthrop Bradbury, and John Wentworth served nine months.'^ The most of the soldiers in the Continental army enlisted for short terms in the first of the war, until Congress resolved to raise a stand- ing army of seventy-five thousand men, to serve three years, or during -the -^ax. EECAPITULATION" Alley Ephraim. Audrev7S Elisha. Andrevfs William.* Athinson Moses, Lt. Boynton John. Boynton Daniel. Bradbury Elijah. Bradbury Thomas, Lt. Bradbury Winthrop. Bradbury Jacob." Bragdon Ezekiel. Brooks Bobert. Brooks Isaiah.^ Btooks Samuel. Cole John. Cole John, 2d. Cole John, jr. Cole Samuel. Clay Eichard. Clay Benjamin. Coolbroth Daniel. Coolbroth James. Davis WiUiam. Davis Thomas. Eddy Ward. Edgerly John. Elden Capt. John. Elden John, jr. Elden Gibeon. Elwell Benjamin. Elwell John. Emery Benjamin. Emery Daniel. Emery Thomas. Fields Daniel. AND FULL LIST OP BETIGAL OEDER. Fields Jonathan. Flood Henry. Fogg Ehas. Goodwin Joseph, Goodwin Nehemiah. Hancock John L. Hancock William. Hanscomb John. Harmon Joel. Harmon Peltiah. Harmon Thomas. Hill Daniel, Ensign. Hill Nathaniel. Hopkinson Caleb. Jose John. Lane Daniel Capt. Lane Jabez Capt. Lane John Capt. Lane John, jr. Lane Isaac. J Lewis Abijah. i Lewis Esdras. Leavitt Joseph.^ Merrill Samuel, Lt. Merrill William. Merrill Samuel, jr. Moody James. Moore Hugh. Moore John. Owen John. Plaisted Eoger. Rand Michael. , Redlon Ebenezer. Redlori Ebenezer, jr. Redlon David. NAMES IN ALPHA- Redlon James. Redlon Matthias. Rolfe Jeremiah. Rounds James. Rounds Lemuel. Rounds Joseph. Rounds Samuel. Rounds Theodore. Sands Ephraim. Sands John. Simpson Asa. Smith John, Ensign. Smith Samuel. Smith Ebenezer. Smith WilUam.. Towle Phineas.* Whitney Jonathan. Whitney Stephen. Wentworth John. Wilson John. Woodman Ephraim. Woodman Benjamin. Woodman James. Woodman John. Woodman Joshua. Woodman Nathan. W'oodman Nathan, jr. Woodman Samuel. Woodsum Abiathar. Woodsum Michael, rep. Woodsum Samuel. Whitney Micah. And others — number unknown. 1 He was Imprisoned in JEU prison in England with several others, and tliey made their escape hy digging under the walls with an old iron hoop, and escaped to France. 2 At a Town meeting held Aug. 3d, 1780, Art. 4th, To see i£ the town will pay Eben'r Smith, Gibens Elden, "Winthrop Bradbury, and John "Wentworth, £120 per man, agreeable to a Resolve of this State of the 9th of June, 1779, as a bounty for 9 months service in the Continental anuy. — Buxton Town Records. s These names, with several others, who were known to have been in the Continental army, are attached to the remnant of an old tax-bill book which I found among the papers of Capt. Jabez Lane, in which is stated the time each served, amount of boun- ty, etc., calculated for the apportionment for Buxton's quota of the 1500 men called for from Massachusetts Bay, agi'eeably to resolve March 1, 1782. * Mr. Peter Emery relates a little anecdote which was told to him by Ephraim Sands, a Revolutionary soldier. At one time, when the company was called up at reveille, the captain (supposed to be Capt. Jabez Lane) announced to his company that he wanted ten volunteers to attend him in an attack involving great personal danger, and asked who would be first. A dead silence prevailed for a while ; at length Thineas Towle stepped forward and volunteered. He was soon followed by William Androa, and these two were marched to and fro in front of the company, to the great admira- tion of their comrades. This proved to be only a ruse of the captain to test the cour- age of his men. AprENDix. 277 EXTKACTS FKOM THE TOWN EECOEDS OF BUXTON. At a IcRal meeting held March 30, 1778, Capt. John Elden moderator, Voted £30 to suport the familys of those that have gone inbo the Con- tinental army. At a meeting March 16, 1779, Voted £100 for the familys of those men who are in the Continental army. At a meeting July 29, 1779. On the article To see what method should be taken to provide 22 pairs of Stockings and 22 pairs of Shoos agreable to resolve of Court and to see what the town will give for each of sd articles. The vote was to gite Shoos for twenty-five Dolars a Pare and Stoakings for sixteen Dolars a Pare and Shurts for 24 Dol- ars a Peace. Also voted to chuse a committee to proportion the fomer service of soldiers, to see how much each one has done, Sam'l Knight Eben Wentworth John Lane Jacob Bradbury and John Smith for such committee. Special town meeting Oct. 26, 1779, to see what method and how much money the town would vote to buy 11 blankets for the soldiers. It was voted 300 Dolars to buy Blankets for the Soldiers. At a Town meeting March 14, 1780, It was voted to allow Daniel Leavitt for three Poles that went into the army. At a town meeting held May 18, 1780, They voted negative on the article to see if the town will vote money to hire arms and accutre- ments for the soldiers that were sent to Falmouth unequipped. Congress made requisitions on the State of Massachusetts Bay for 2,200,240 lbs. of beef for the use of the Continental army, of which Bux- ton was called upon to furnish 4,560 lbs. At a town meeting held Oct. 16, 1780, the town voted 28,000 dollars paper currency to purchase beef. At a town meeting held August 3rd, 1780, 2nd Article was to see if the town would vote to git the Shoes and Stockings Shurts and Blan- kets required of the town by a resolve of the State 21st of April last. 3rd To see what the town will give to any person that will procure sd articles (4th on a preceding page see note). On these articles the town voted. On 2nd to procure the clothing for the soldiers. On 3rd Voted 110 dollars per pair for Shoes, 80 dollars apiece for Shurts, and SO dollars per pair for Stockings. Voted not to procure the Blankets. On the 4th article voted in the negative. Something of the private life and traits of character of these men are remembered by our older citizens ; but as these drop out, one by one, their peculiarities, anecdotes, and individual experiences of that war are fading from remembrance. We have swept past the period when the mind kindled with enthusiasm at their strange tales of ad- venture, and the halo has vanished from the plain record of the re- •278 APPENDIX. suit. Of our Buxton men, none Tvero soldiers by profession, tli ougli there were cases of decided military talent among them, and several of them held commissions. We do not claim that they were superior, but they certainly were not inferior, to their comrades in arms. In common with them, they felt, proved, and suffered the terrible reali- ties of that struggle. Among the first to rally at Freedom's call, they shared in its consecration on Bunker Hill, they trod with bleeding feet the snowy banks of the Schuylkill and the Hudson, they wrestled with despair and famine at Valley Forge, they stood with the remnant of the army of Washington, when on that memorable Christmas night, 1776, he trimmed his lamp of hope on the frozen shores of the Dele- ware, they shared in the battles of the northern campaign and wit- nessed the surrender of Burgoyne on the field of Saratoga, and in the Virginia and Carolina campaign they followed the fortunes of Greene until the surrender of Earl Cornwallis, at Yorktown, virtually closed the war. Of the magnificent results of that revolution they realized comparatively little. The country was poor, nearly bankrupt, and of doubtful permanence in its new regime, while they lived in the penumbra of its glory and died in ignorance of the rich heritage they had left us. Many of them sleep in unmarked graves, and the busy and prosper- ous present generation may now cleave the moss fi'om the tablets of their memory and search out " the deeply engraven lines of public gratitude." To the fellow-members of the committee on publication, who en- trasted to me this charge, while I render thanks for this manifestation of your confidence, I must say, in apology for the tardiness in complet- ing this volume, that I have been met, at every step, with obstacles which I forbear to mention, and which may have called out criticisms for this trespass on your patience. The time, however, not wholly lost, has afforded an opportunity for a candid review of the matter, which has been enlarged, revised, and mostly rewritten, and as a historical document has acquired a value not to be found in a hasty compilation. To Dr. A. K. P. Meserve, in particular, is due the praise for active exertions in this behalf, and his timely aid in completing arrangements for the printing and other preliminary matters, when a severe illness on my part compelled a suspension of the work, has merited an ex- pression of my personal gratitude. INDEX, Act granting land to Narragiuiset sol- diers 20 Act of Incorporation 85 Adams, Joseph 128 Address, Historical 17 to 89 " of "Welcome 11 ' ' Williams' Centennial. . 49, 94, 214 Affidavit of Nathaniel MigMll 36 Alden, Col. Ichahod 273 All, John 234 Allen, Elisha 236 Alley, Ephraim 276 Andrews, Elisha 1T6, 185, 213, 276 " Elizabeth 208 ' ' "William 251, 272, 274, 276 Appendix 141 A 142, B 147, C 149, D 162, E 156, F 163, G 168, H 171, 1 173, J 175, K 178, L, 180, M 181, N 183, O 189, P 193, Q 198, R 206, S 207, T 210, U 211, V 217, W 220, X 227, Y 229, Z 231, Twenty-seven 243, AA 247, BB 248, CC 250, DD 252, EE 266, FF 259, GG 267, HH 26S Appleton, Daniel 161, 109 " Elizabeth 208 " Isaac 28,169 " John ; 237 Appropriation for repairing meeting- house 54 Appro'n for mending highways 54, 55 " '* ministerial charges 54,55 " " settling bounds with adja- cent towns 55 Asa, John 235 Assessors, etc., chosen 54 Atkinson 183 Abigail 185 " Amos 187 " Anna 185, 18S " Charles 185, 188, 249 " Elizabeth 173, 185 ** Enoch 187 '• Eunice 184, 187, 183 " Humphrey 56, 76, 82, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 258 Atkinson, James 186, 258 John..l83, 184, 185, 187, 188, 267 '■ Joseph. . . .173, 174, 183, 184, 185 186, 183, 214, 262, 264 Atkinson, Mary .184, 185, 187, 188 " Moses. . .49, 96, 184, 185, 186, 188 218, 258, 267, 274, 276 Atkinson, Nancy 187 " Olive- ■• 185,186 " Pauline 185 " Polly 186 " Samuel 185 Sarah 183, 184, 185, 187, 250 " Stephen 58,187 Susamia 185,187 •' Theodore..l83, 184, 187, J88, 267 •' Thomas . . .58, 168, 183, 184, 185 186, 187, 188, 251, 266, 267 Austen, Ichabod, , , 32 Ayer, Dr. Aaron 165 ■' Mary 132 " Peter 262 " Timothy 1^6 Babb, Hannah. 376 Bacon, Francis, Esq 1^° Bagshaw, John 23 Baiubridgo, Hai'riet 231 Baker, John 159 Bands 8,9 Bangs, Master 263 Banks, Clara 106 " Eliza A 166 " E.H 106 " James 166 Barnard, Mrs. Joanna 147 Barnes, Ezekiel 174, 205, 214, 268 '* Laura.... 258 " Mary 258 " Polly 186 Bartlett, Kev. Joseph 10 Sarah 212 Bartlit, John 25 Baum, Col 275 Bean, Jonathan..l58, 161, 220, 221, 247,257 " Mercy 221, 226 Beard, Samuel , 241 Belcher, Gov 23 Bernard, Francis 76, 77 Berry, George 275 " Lucy 161 Bickford, James 230 Billings, John 168 " Joseph 263 Blake, Phebe 176 Block House 73, 74, 132, 163, 221, 225, 236, 247 Bodwell, Henry 236 Bond, Col 238 Boothby, Brice 218, 241, 263 " Enoch 192 Bounty to builders 25, 26, 29 Bower 7 Boyd, James 212 BOynton 175 Boynton, Daniel 176, 177, 274, 276 " Eliza 177 " Elizabeth 175 " Hannah 176,177,191 " Isaac 165, 176, 177, 274 " James 176, 177 " Jane 177 " John..47, 56, 76, 96, 173,175, 176 177, 222, 265, 274, 276 Boynton, Mollie 146, 173, 176, 177 " Moses 171, 176, 177 " Samuel 176, 177 "William 43, 175, 176, 177 Bradbury 231 Bradbury, Abigail 190, 234, 235, 237, 240, 242 Bradbury, Ammi R 237 " Andrew 241 " Ann 232,234,236 Anna 237,240,242 " Barnabas 235 Benjamin 231, 237, 242, 251 " Bethulah 234 " Betsey 242 Betty 235,237,240 " Brice 242 " Caroline 242 " Charles 237 " Cotton 234,235 Crisp 235 Daniel 235,240 " Dorcas 240 " Dorinda , 231 " Dorothy 236 280 INDEX. Bradbury, Edmund 241 " Edward 235 " Eliiah..96, 241, 242, 274, 275, 276 " Elizabeth 163, 232, 234, 235, 236, 237, 240, 241, 242 Bradbiuy, Enoch B 242 Esther 237 " Eonice 237,242 " Hannah 240 Isaac 242 '■ Jabez 184, 187, 232, 233, 234, 237, 240, 242 Bradbury, Jacob 62, 142, 159, 179, 219 222, 232, 233, 235, 236, 237, 240 241, 242, 251, 261, 265, 276, 277 Bradbury, James 234, 235 " James W 234 Jane 232,236 " Jemima 236 ' ' Joanna 235 ' ' John. .232, 233, 234, 235, 237, 242 " Joseph 234, 235, 237, 240, 241, 242 Bradbury, Judith 232 Lucy 234,235,237,240 " Maria 234 " Martha 192,241,242 ** Mary 164, 219, 232, 233, 235, 237, 241, 242 Bradburj', Matthew 231, 232 " Mercy 237 " Miriam 241,242 " Molly 237,240,241 " Moses 143, 145, 236, 237, 240, 241 " Nancy 242 " Olive 235, 237 " Robert 232 " Rebecca 235,237 Euth 235 Sally 242 •> Samuel 235,237,240 *' Sarah 192, 234, 235, 236, 237, 240, 242 Simeon G 219,241 " Susan 237 " Susanna 192, 235 " Capt. Thomas. .41, 51, 73, 74, 96 132, 163, 173, 232, 233, 234, 236, 247, 261 269, 271, 276 Bradbury, Thomas 179, 216, 229, 230, 235, 237, 240 Bradbury, Lieut. Thomas, journal of. .238 •' "William 51, 231, 232, 233, 235, 236, 237, 240, 251 Bradbury William F 241 "Winthrop 96,241,242,276 " ■Wymond 232, 233, 234 Bradstreet, Andrew 142, 20J Bragdon, Ezekiel 159, 181, 271, 272, 274, 276 Bragdon, Samuel 24 Brewster, Chas. R 7 " " letter from 138 " John 70 Dr. Royall. . . .174, 175, 215, 219 Brier Richard 156 Bridge at Salmon Falls 250 " " " " subs. for. . .251, 252 Broad turn 47 Brooks 156 Brooks, Aaron 162 " Abigail 161 " Alexander 161 " Benjamin 162 Bethia 160, 161,162 " Catharine 162 " Charles 162 " Col 273 " Dorcas 162 Brooks, Eliza 161 " Ellen 161 " Hannah 159, 162 " HaiTiet 162 " Isaiah. . ..81, 144, 157, 158, 159, 160 161, 162, 174, 207, 261. 276 Brooks, John, 27, 28, 33, 40, 41, 44, 46, 56, 59 76, 79, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 207 Brooks, Jonathan 144, 161 " Joseph 162 " Margaret Ann 163 " Mary 162 *' Moses 362 " Nancy 162 " Nathan 162 " Nathaniel 162 " Olive 161 Phebe 158, 161 Robert. . . .32, 41, 156, 157, 158, 160 161, 162, 180, 272, 274, 276 Brooks, Uuth 162 Sally 162 " Samuel 161, 271, 274, 276 " Sarah 152, 166, 157, 158, 161, 162, 180 Brooks, "William 161 Brown, Asa 104, 132, 139, 219, 265 John 00, 152 ' ' Thomas 243 Biyant 262 Bryant, Benjamin D 214 *' Ephraim 146 " Mary 146 " Samuel 228 Burgoyue, Gen 273, 275 Bm-nham, Lydia 169, 181 Sarah 146,161 Burt, Rev. J. M., Reply of 120 Buss, Elizabeth 233 " John 232 Butler, John E., Response of 119 Butterfield, Josiah 228 Bxixton, Act of incorporation of 85 Sons and Daughtei-s of, toast to. .110 Buxton, Sons of, in late war' 122 " The future of 130 Town of 114 Caesar 255, 2-56 Came, Charles G 108 "Poemby 109 " Felatiah 143, 151 " Samuel 147,174 Carnes, Hepsibah 213 Cart road to Saco 43, 46 Centennial Addi-ess, AVilliams' 252 " Exercises 5 Chamberlain, G-en. J. L 9 " Mrs. J. L 130 Chandler, Samuel 20, 21, 23 Chase, Abner 259 " Amos. . .41, 74, 82, 138, 159, 236, 252 " Moses 236 " Rebecca 74 ■ ' Samuel 24, 27, 28, 29, 32, 35 Cliatterlow, Robert 231 Church, Fii-st deacons of 70 " Edifices, Toaat to 129 " Records 18 Chute, Dea. James 24, 25 Clark, Charles 234 " Dr. John 175 Clay, Benjamin 274, 276 " Jonathan 56 " Richard. .66, 67, 96, 142, 143, 274, 276 Cleaves, Betsey 228 Clerk, used for clergyman 42 Cobb, Widow 92 " Mary 192 INDEX. 281 Coffin 211 Cofflu, Abigail 215 " Anua 211 " diaries 212, 213 " Charles, Esq. . .48, 58, 57, 68, 64, 66 70, 128, 148, 149, 163. 171, 174, 179, 182 205, 21)7, 210, 211, -ilS, 216, 247, 253, 264 Coflin, David 58, 212, 215, 216 " Deborah 211 " Elizabeth 214, 215 " Enoch 212 " Eunice 211 " James 211, 212 " Joan 211 " John 211, 212 " " D 70 " G 215 " " Pine 211 " Col. Joseph 25, 34, 35, 44, 45, 47 54, 62, 64, 77, 160, 212, 217 "Coflin, Joshua 175, 211,212 " Mary 211, 212, 214 " Nathaniel. 160, 212, 217 " Nicholas 211 " Kev. Pan!. . .18, 24, 54, 55, 50, 57. 58 59, 60, 61, 62, 63. 64, 66, 68, 69. 72, 77, 78 104, 143, 144, 179, 207, 210, 211, 212, 213 217, 226, 229, 254, 260, 261, 262, 206 Cofan, Eev. Paul, Ordination of 62, 63, 64, 70 Coffin, Paul, jr 214, 251, 265 " Peter 211 '^ Eebecca 216 " Sarah 212,215 " Susannah 212, 216 " Stephen 211, 212, 215 " Tristram 211, 212 Colcord, Edward 143 Cole, Abigail 237 " Eli 249 " John 56, 76, 96, 218, 258, 271, 272, 273, 274, 276 Cole, Nat 249 " Samuel 258, 271, 273, 276 " "William 251 Coli.'ieiim 9 Coolbroth, Daniel 271, 276 James 271,276 " Jonathan 249 Com. on building meeting house. ... 29, 59 Committee, Executive 6 " General on celebration... .5, 6 " of Ipswich Society. . 21, 22. 23 " on preaching. .46, 54, 55, 57, 59 *■ on publication 2 " on settling Paul Coffin, ... 56 " to lay out lots 24 " to fix town boundaries . . 59, 72 Conner, Samuel 142 Cotton, John 77 " Sarai 285 Cressy, John 263 Crockett, Martha 165, 194 " Susan 242 Cross, Sarah 193 Currency, depreciated 26 Currier, Timothy , 25 Gushing, Thomas 80 Cutter, Arami Rahamah 157 Cutting grass in meadows 28, 42, 44 Cutts, Samuel 70, 263, 265 " Thomas 70, 160 Dane, Philemon 10, 21, 23, 24 Davenport, Mary 216 Davis, Charity 165 " Daniel 259 " Ichabod 239 " Jacob 41, 243 •• John 179 I Davis, JohnM 32 " Phebe ." 162 " Priscilla 269 " Susannah 109 " Thomas 96, 276 " William 96, 275, 276 Davison, Johanna 199 Day, Ebenezer 1 17 Deane, Dr. Ezra 215 Bearing, Hannali 189 Dedham Plain 19 Delinquent Grantees 31. .33 Dennett 227 Dennett, Abigail 191 " Alexander 227 " Alvan 229 " lietsey 228 Charles 227 " Clement 100, 228 Daniel 18,24.48,49,68 ' ' David 58, 144, 22T, 228, 200 " Dolly 228 " Dorcas 228 " Ebenezer 228 EdmundP 229 Elizabeth 227, 228 " Eunice 228 " Hannah 227 " Harriet 228 " John 227, 228, 229, 207 " Lvdia 227, 228 " Mary 227 Mehitable 228 Moses 227 " Olive 229 " Orin 229 " Patience 228 " Phebe 228 Polly 228 Samuel 81, 191, 227, 228, 258 " " G 228. " Sarah 228 " Stephen 229 Dennett's Map. . . .18, 24, 25, 27, 48, 60, 144 145, 149, 159, 101, 103, 172, 170, 187, 207 218, 220, 222, 224, 248, 205 Dennison, John 142 Discourse, Historical 17 to 89 Dole, Sarah 212 DoUoff, Maiy 190 Donel, Benjamin 76 " John 76 " Jlary 235 Dow, Joseph 200 Downing, Dolly 227 Dresser, Jane 244 Drouth of 1762 75 Dunn., 173 Dunn, Elizabeth 257, 259 " Joshua 41, 173 " " Kesponse by 120 " Moses 174 " Nathaniel 178, 181,214,267 " Olive 204, 203, 265 " Sarah 174 Bunnell 168 Bunnell, Abigail 170 " Alice 168 " Anna 168,195 Benjamin 44, 57, 168, 169 " Betsey 1C9 ■' Cynthia 197 ** Biadema 170 " Heni-y 193 " Joanna 170 John 57, 168,170 " S 192 " Joseph 168, 169, 197 " Joseph, Address by 11 " JMarkH 90 282 INDEX. Dannell, Mark H., Oration by 91 " Mehitalale 168, 169, 219 " Molly 168, 169 " Samuel 1C8, 194, 195 Durgan, Master 265 Durrell 178 Durrell, Benjamin 44, 178 " Mosea 178 " Nathaniel 32, 178 Earle, Abigail 145 " Joshua 146, 240 Eaton, Abigail 240 " Anna 166 " John 163, 203 " Ti-istram 92, 161, 172, 179, 205, 249, 254, 261 Eddy, Ward 272, 276 Edgocomb 148 Edgecomb, James 153 " Jemima 206 " Rachel 153,206 " Reliance 153 " Robert 206 Edgerley, John 161, 271, 273, 276 Elden 149 Elden, Abigail 151 *' Apphia 151 '• Dorcas 151 " Elizabeth 150 " Emma 150, 101 " Gibeon 150, 151, 259, 207, 276 " Hannah 150, 151 " James F 151 " John, 44, 47, 48, 49, 51, 66, 73, 70, 81 88, 96, 143, 146, 149, 150, 151, 182, 228, 243 256, 259, 262, 267, 209, 272, 275, 276, 277 Elden, Louisa 151 " Lydia 150 " Martha 145, 146, 150, 259 " Mary 150,151,237 " Moses 151 ** Narctssa 151 " Nathan 7, 149, 150, 104, 181, 214, 254, 266 Elden, Nathaniel 151 H 151,250 " Olive 161 " Polly 150 " Ruth 150, 161,176 " Samuel 151, 205 " Sarah 150 Silas 151 " Simon H 260 " Susanna 151 ' ' William 150 Eldridge, Capt 174 " Deborah 231 Elliot, Master 262 Ellsley , Capt. William 24, 25 Elwell, Benjamin. . . .95, 194, 271, 273, 276 " Hannah 170 " Jabez 249 " John 96, 271, 273 " Theodore 194 Emerson, Rev. Jos 64 Emery 220 Emery, Alex. J 225 " Benjamin 221, 226, 275, 276 " Betsey 226 " Chailes 221, 226 Daniel 221, 225, 226, 275, 276 " Dorcas 224, 226 Ebenezer 213, 224 Elizabeth 221 " Hannah 224, 225 " Isaac 7,145, 223, 224 " Isaac, Letter from 138 " James 57, 64, 76, 220, 221, 223, 224, 225, 226 Emery, James S 225 *' Jeiiisha 221 " John 224 Jonah 224 " Jonas 225 Joshua 221, 224, 226 " Lois 224 " Mark 224 " Mark P.. Response of 120 Mary 225 " Mercy 221,226 " Nathaniel 224 " Peter. . . .216, 217, 222, 223, 224, 276 Sally 197,224,220 Samuel 225 " Susanna 224 " 'Xhomas 145, 221, 222, 223, 224, 249, 262, 276 Emery, Thomas F ii5 Everett, Edward, quoted 100, 101, 102 Ewing, John 191, 214 Exodus of fli-st settlers .39, 40 Pall, Lydia 220 Fairfield, Rev. John 63, 65, 74, 163 Farmers, Toast to 120 Fellows, Jonathan 21, 25, 27, 49 Fenderson, Nancy 219 Fenny, John 251 Fields, Daniel 276 *' Elizabeth 153 " Sarah 2.'j0 Fields. Jonathan 272, 276 Files, Lothrop L 165 Flanders. Rev. Abner 104, 265 Fletcher, Elizabeth 153 " Samuel 153 Flint, Catharine 241 Flood, Henry 274, 270 Flucker, Thomas 80 Fogg, Abigail 236 " Ellas 276 " Fidelia 229 Folsom, Ann 230 Folsom's History of Saco and Bidde- ford 74. 194. 198, 247, 275 Fort 37, 43, 47, 49, 73, 74, 181, 247 Foss, Dorcas 151 " Ira H., Remarks of 135 " James T 107 " Lory B., Response of 116 " AVilliam 160 Foster, Col 275 Fowle, John, jr Hi " Mary 207 Freeman, Capt. Joshua 60 Freethy, Catharine 225 French, Polly 181 French War 30, 30, 62, 63 Fuller 263 Gage, Hannah 197 " Thomas 35, 37, 43, 00, 253 " & Myghill 50, 51, 142 Gaines, John 21 Gaines' Brook 31, 29, 30 Gardner, John 25S Garland, Hannah .192 " John... 143,205,258 Joseph 08, 217 " Martha 208 " Mercy , 241 " Mrs 172 Garrison 36, 37, 38, 3D, 43, 47, 48 Garrison, clearing around 38 Gates, Rev. C. H., Response of 130 " General 239, 273, 275 Gay, Mr .262 Gerrish, Joseph 21, 33, 35, 60 Gill, Moses, Esi 60 INDEX. 283 Gilpatriclf, Abigail 229 " ^Josepli 147 Gooding, Joseph 271 " Nehemiali 271 Goodwin, John 2-11 " Joseph 272, 276 " Mary 241 " Nehemiah 272,276 " Patience 241 " Capt. Wm. F. . ..5, 15, 10, 18, 19 30, 32, 51, 145, 171, 231, 246, 248 Goodwin's Narragauaet. . .15, 18, 23, 27, 30 36, 42, 51, 53, 56, 59, 64, 71, 72, 75, 77, 81 86,146, 147, 149, 152, 170, 171, 172, 3 75 176, 178, 182, 194, 200, 205, 208, 224, 240 247, 263, 273, 274 Gorges, Ferdinando 232, 240 " Thomas 193 Gorham, Elizabeth 210 •' John 213 Maiy 212,213 " Nathaniel 213, 270 " Stephen 210 " William 210 Gould, Betsey 228 " Nathaniel 215 Grace 263 Grandmothers, Our venerable. Toast to 120 Grant, Benjamin 145, 14G " Susannah 176 Grantees, Property act of 20 Grass, Disposal of 42, 44, 79, 80, 81, 82 Gray, Cadwalader. . .214, 260, 252, 258, 263 " James 81, 160, 220, 258 " Joanna 258 " John, Esq 23 Green, Gen 275 Greenleaf, John, Esq S3 Grist Mill 44, 45, 51, 81, 83, 267, 2GS Groves, Dr. P. F 259 Haines, John '. 185 Haines' Meadow Brook 30,105, 254 Hale, Daniel 25 " JohnP 7 " John P., Letter from 137 " Capt. Joseph 21, 34 " Moses 235 " Kichard 35 " Sarah 183 Haley, Alice 208 " Hannah 229 •' Mrs. Noah 256, 257 " Olive 187 Ham, Timothy 203 Hancock 171 Hancock, Isaac. .47, 54, 55, 71, 171, 172, 205 " John 47, 171, 173, 274 " John Lane 275,276 " Mary 170 " William. .44,40,47,56, 57, 61, 76 96, 171, 172, 173, 176, 182, 190, 218, 271 273, 276 Hanscom, Anna 220 " Beniah 220 " John 90,197,270 " Mehltable 108 " Sarah 154 Hanson, John 161 " Michael 101, 230 Harding, Eunice 230 " Saily 230 Harmon, Daniel 107 " Hannah 223 " Jesse G 208 " Joel 276 " Lydia 197 " Olive 101 " Pelatiah 185, 210, 276 Ham\on, Phineas 249 " Samuel M 167 " Thomas..96,168,224,251,275,276 " WilliamF 167 HaiTis, Samuel 239 Harvey 237 Haskell, Mary 104 " Washington 165 Hawkes, Benjamin 142 " Deborah 142 " Joshua 249 Ilaynes, Samuel 214 Hazeltine, Samuel 176, 177 " Susanna 242 " Timothy 44, 47, 56, 57, 60, 61, 62, 70, 73, 76, 78, 218 Hearue, John 181, 263, 264 Hemmenway, Kev. Mr 63, 04 Hidden, Mehitable 244 Highways 38, 40, 72 HiR 193 Hill, Abiel 193 " Abigail 165, 197 " Achsah 168,195 " Anna 198 " Benjamin 193, 194 " Daniel. .90, 165, 192, 198, 197, 272, 276 " Dorothy 19-t " Ebenezer. .193, 194, 190, 197, 198, 223 " Elizabeth 197 " Hannah 193 " Jeremiah 51, 55, 59, 71, 78, 79, 85 96, 103, 193, 104, 190, 197, 198, 272 Hill, John 193, 194, 195 " JohnD 109,195 '• Joseph 193, 195, 197, 198, 265 '* Joshua 194 " Lydia 194 " Miark 197, 265 " Martha 197 " Mai-y 197, 198 " Mercy 193 " Moses G 165 " Nathaniel. . 96, 165, 179, 193, 194, 195 196, 197, 198, 224, 276 Hill, Peter 168, 193, 197 " Priscilla 194 " Rebecca 197 " Richard 197 " Roger 193 " Ruth 197 " Samuel 51, 168, 193, 195, 198 " Sarah 193, 197 " Susan 196, 223 " Susanna 194, 198, 223 " Thomas 194, 197 " AVilliam 197 I-Iilliard, William T 128 Hobson....- 243 Hobson, Adaline 245 Alvan 245 " Amos 245 " Andrew 245 " Ann 244 " Betsey 245 " Caleb 244 " Elizabeth 244 " Enoch B 245 " Hannah 245 " Hepsibah 244 " Humphrey 244 " Jabez 245 " James 245 " Jeremiah 244,245 « Joanna 245 " John..20,21,23,24,36,39,243,244 " Joseph 243, 244, 246, 251 " Joseph, Response of 115 << Lydia 245 " Martha 244 284 INDEX. Hobson, Mary 244 " M6ses 244 " Nancy 245 " Eachel 245 " Rebecca 245 " Samuel 243, 244, 245 " Sarah 244 " Thomas M 245 " William 244, 245 nodgdon, Kliza IfiS Hodgdon, Elder 49 Hood, Ainos 76, 207 Hooper, Benjamin 143 " Mary 184 Hopldnson 207 Uopkinson, Acsall 210 " Alice ••■• 209 " liethia 186,208,209 " Caleb. . .208, 209, 221, 275, 276 " Deborah 209,210 " Elizabeth 209 " HannahJ 209 " Harriett 209 " James 209 " John 78, 153, 207, 208, 209, 210, 268, 259, 267 Hopkiuson, Jonathan 208, 209 ' '- Joses. ... 58, 163, 208, 210, 263 " Lydia 208,209 " Mary 209, 210 " Moses 209 " Nathan 207,208,209 " Rachel 209 " Rebecca, 101, 162, 208, 209, 258 " Samuel 208,209,210 " Sarah 209 " Stephen 208,209 " Susanna 240 " "William S 209 Hovey, Miss 262 " Samuel 175, 269 " Thomas 160 Howard, Elihu 188 Huntress, James 197 Huse 263 Hutchinson, Gov 85, 86 " Joshua 237 incorporation of town first proposed. . 73 Indians seen in Narraganset 53 Ingals, Samuel 25, 32 Introduction to Address 14 " to Appendix 141 Invitation Card, 6 Invocation 10, 114 Ipswich Society, so called 21, 23 Irish, Gen. James 264 Jewett, Capt. George 60 " James 70 " Sarah 244 Johnson, Edward 233 *■ Hannah 245 " Obadiah 54,142 " Rev 201 Jordan, Clement 263 " Joseph 262 " Rishworth , 143 " Samuel 250 " Simeon 220, 263 " Tristram 77, 81, 271 Jose, C. E., Response of 115 " Hannah 208 " John 276 " Mr 90 " Sarah 11 Keay, Anna 230 Kimball 143 Kimball, Amos 58, 144, 147 Kimball, Daniel 142, 146, 249 " Deborah 147 " Eleazer 56,144 " Elizabeth 144, 147 " Hannah 144, 147 " Job 144,146 " John 50, 78, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 163 Kimball, Joshua 24, 142, 143, 144, 145 146, 147, 190, 191, 251, 262, 258, 266, 267 Kimball, Lydia 144, 147 " Martha, Anecdote of 146 " Mary 147 " Naomi 147 " Richard 144, 146 " Ruth 147 " Sarah 144, 146, 147 Kinsley, Luther 263 Knight, Ann M 242 '• Edmund 214 " Hannah D 230 " Martha 149 " Nathan 149 Samuel 262, 271, 277 ICnox,Gen 273 Labor, price per day 45 Labor on road, price per day 72 Ladies, Toast to 119 Lane 198 Lane, Abigail 199 ' ' Adaline 197 " Anna 186 " Betsey 269 " Daniel. 53, 88, 95, 152, 167, 186, 199 201, 202, 204, 205, 218, 271, 273, 276 Lane, Henry 200 " Isaac. .95, 144, 163, 174, 186, 198, 203 214, 251, 252, 271, 273, 276 Lane, Jabez. . . .63, 81, 88, 95, 187, 194, 197 199, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 251, 259, 202 271,273,274,276 Lane, Joanna 199, 201, 205 " John. . . .63, 66, 00, 76, 78, 83, 95, 161 173, 174, 176, 177, 185, 199, 200, 201, 202 203, 204, 205, 216, 218, 242, 209, 274, 275 276, 2VT Lane, Living 199 " Hon. M. D. L 202, 203 " Mary 199 '■ Polly 199 " Rachel "45 " Rebecca 167 " Samuel 147, 194 " Sarah 242 " Stephen 203 " Stephen V 202 " Susanna 166 " Thomas 259 Law suit, with Scarboro 78, 79 " " Rounds vs. McDonald. . ..81, 82 " " "Winslow vs. Atkinson 82 Lawyers of Buxton 128 Leavitt 1 89 Leavitt, Aaron 192 Abigail 190,191,257 " Albert 193 " Alice and Anna 114 " Alvah 193 " Anna 192 " Benjamin. . .; 192 " Bethia 191 Betsey 192 " Bradbury 193, 195 " Catharine 192 " Daniel. . . .57, 76, 147, 177, 189, 190 191. 193, 206, 240, 257, 277 Leavitt. Eliza H 192 " Elizabeth 190, 191, 192 " Hannah 191, 192 INDEX. 285 I^eavitt, Henry 193 " Jacob 192 " James 193 " Jane 192 " Jeremiali 189 John 190,192 " Joseph, .61, 65, 67, 60, 76, 189, 190 191, 192, 195, 237, 253, 258, 276 Leavitt, Lucinda 192 " Lucy 192 " Martha 192 Mary 190, 192,228,229 " Melinda 192 " Monroe 192 " Nancy 192 " Olive 191 Phebe 191 Samnel 56. 76, 77, 78, 189, 190 191, 192, 228, 261, 268, 259 Leavitt, Sarah 1«, 190, 191, 192. 196, 197, 258 Leavitt, Stedinan 192 " Snsanna 192 ' ' Thomas 192 " True 193 " "William 192, 193 Leavitt's Mills 61 Legal Profession, Toast to 125 Letters j 137 Letters, writers' names 7 Lewis, Abijah 271, 275, 276 " Esdr 271, 276 " Capt. Hart 275 " JonaC 194 " Samuel 214 .ibby, Ann •. . . .229 Daniel 228 Elias 242 Frank 174 Joseph ■ 174 Peter 64, 225 Enth 242 ,ittle, Rev. Daniel. ..68, 62, 63, 64, 71, 212 Eliza 215 Stephen W 183 William 199 Log Cabins 40 Log Meeting House 46 Log Stealing 41 Longfellow, Elizabeth 148 •' ■ Stephen 148 Lord, Isaac 146 " James 146 " Thomas 237 Loring, Rev. Levi 67, 104, 161 SamuelV 128 Lots, Drawing of 26, 27 First division of 24 Home 24, 78 Ministerial 72 Second division of 27 Third division of 77 Mabury , Capt. Eichard 275 MarshaU, Capt. Joel 24, 147 Martin 178 Martin, David 44, 56, 157, 168, 159, 178 " Hannah 158 '• John 159,178 " .Joseph 232 " Road. .'iS " Robert, Anecdote of 94 Martin's Road 58, 178 " Swamp 43,47,178,182 Mason, Hannah 176 Maverick, Rebecca 232, 235 McDonald, Robert 81, 82 McDougal, Gen. Alex 274 McKenney, Lucy 242 McLellan, Capt. Alex 275 MoLucas, Elizabeth 165 " Hannah 207 " Mary 176,176 Meeting House 28, 28, S3, 37, 88, 45, 54, 66, 59, 78, 80, 84 Meeting House, First site of 37 " " Lot 24,71 Merrill 163 MoiTill, Abel 163, 165, 197, 234 " Albion 167 " Almira 106 " AnnM 166 " Annette 167 " Ansel 166 " Benj.F 160 " Beui. J 166 " Betsey....? 230 " Bradbury 166 " Charles 167 •■ Daniel 166, 167, 259 " Daniel L 166 " Eliza 165 '■ Elizabeth 164, 165, 166»236 " Ellen 166 ** Plaunah 166 " Han-iet 165 " Humphrey 163, 165, 230, 263 " Isaac 167 " James 166, 166 " Jane 163,229 " Jeremiah H 166 " John. . ..146, 104, 165, 166, 167, 259 " Joseph 166 " Joshua 166 " Lemuel 249 " Lucy 166 " Martha 164, 165 " Mary .164, 165, 166, 107 " Miiry J 166 " Mulbeny M 166 " Kancy 1C6, 167 " Nathaniel H 165 " Rebecca 167, 269 " Roscoe G 167 " Ruth 164, 165. 166 " Samuel. . . .44, 47, 63, 64, 56, 56, 59 76, 78, 146, 160, 163, 164, 166, 173, 229 236, 237, 251, 267, 269, 272, 276 Merrill, Hon. Samuel 165 " Hon. Samuel, Letter from 137 " Samuel B 166 " Rev. S. H., Invocation by. ...114 " Rev. S.H., Remarks of 132 " Sarah 73, 164, 165, 176, 235 " Stephen 220 " Thomas 104, 165, 262 William 95, 164, 165, 166, 276 " Wyman 106 Merritt, Lucy 167 Meserve, Dr. A. K. P., Remarks of. . .134 Mighill, Capt. Nathaniel 28, 35 " Stephen 30, 35, 37, 42 Mill Privilege 26, 78, 81, 82 Milliken, Nathaniel 267 " Priscilla 166 " William 25 Military Companies 7,8 " Company, First 63 Moody, Benjamin • 35 " Caleb 232 " James 271, 276 " Judith 233 " Master 104 " Rev. Silas 68, 264,260,251 Moore, Hugh 276 " John 271,276 " Maiy 177 Morgaridge, Samuel 35 Morrill, Rev. Moses 63. 65, 260 Morrissey, Francis 104, 263, 264 286 INDEX. Morss, Margaret 212 Mosher, Benjamin 164 Moulton, Jeremiali 157j 201 Muchemore, John 175 Mnrch, Hannah 170 Myrick, Hannah 263 " Sarah 1S3 Nan-aganset Country 13 " Indians 19 " No. One..23, i2, 43, 59, 60, 61 62, 67, 71, 75, 76, 80, 82, 85, 130, 158 Narraganset, No. One, Act confirming survey of 23 Narraganset, No. One, Original sur- vey of 22, 23 Narraganset, No. One, Petition to General Court 31, 75 Narraganset, No. One, Petition for meeting 34, 47 Narraganset, No. One, Separate exist- ence of 23 Narraganset, No. One, Warrant for meeting 38 Nason 206 Nason, Benjamin 206 " Charity 206 Edward 206 John B6, 6i, 70, 73, 76, 81, 160 190, 206, 207, 269, 270, 271 Nason, Joseph 206, 20T " Margaret 206 " Moses 208 " Nicliolas 206 " Kobert 206 " Samuel 206 " Sarah 206 Newbury Narraganset 37 Nixon, Col. Thomas 274 Northend, Elizabeth 244 Noitou, James 268 Nowell, Elizabeth 190 " John 189 " Mary 201 " Capt. Peter 201 " Sarah 190 " Thomas 189 Nutter, Lemuel 228 Oration 91 to 107 Order of General Court on petition for forfeiture of delinquent proprietors.. 32 Our Church Edifices, Toast to 129 Owen, Abigail 161 " Betsey ■ 166 ' ' Daniel M 167 " Elijah 249 " John 96, 197, 240, 276 " AVilliam 167 P.age, Elizabeth 164, 242 " JeiTy 237 " Mary 237 " Robert 237 " Euth 237 Paine, Phebe 197, 263, 264 " Thomas 197 Palmer, James 242 " Joses 186 " Eichard 251, 267 " Stephen 240 Parker, Chase 74, 251 Pai-sons, Lydia 245 Patten, James 231 Patterson, Susanna 146 Paul, Nancy 193 Pavne, Maiy 235 " Peter 192 " Zenas 164, 214, 264 Payson, Mehitable 214 Peace Proclaimed 41 Pearl, Eliza 162 Pearson, Dorcas 244 Pennell, Ephraim 169 *' James 159 " Thomas 159,219 Peperell, Sir William 201 Perambulating town lines 46, 80 Perkins, John 232 " Maiy 232 Petition to General Coi^rt SI, 75 ' ' for forfeiture of rights 33, 35 Pews, First in Meeting House 80 Phinney, Col 275 " John 189,268 " Sarah 189 Photograpliic Views 71 Pike, Mary , 183, 212 " Sarah 232, 234 " William 228 Piper, Jane 237 Plaisted, Jane 242 " Roger'--' 90,276 Plan of Narraganset, Nos. One and Seven 22, 24 Pleasant Point. . . .49, 73, 148, 182, 184, 188 189, 208, 210, 243, 266, 258, 259, 266 Pleasant Point Bm-ying Ground 256 Plumer, Samuel 207 Poem 109 to 113 Pollit, John 232 Population in 1742 36 " in 1777 271 Prayer (Rev. J. Bartlett) 10 (Rev. S. H. Merrill) 114 Preface 3 Prescott, Hannah 258 " Stephen 59, 258 President of the day 9 '* of the day, Remarks by 10, 13, 90, 108 President of U. S., Toast to 115 Pi-oprietoi-s' Meetings 24, 25, 28, 29, 33 38, 41, 42, 43, 44,, 45, 46, 47, 54, 55, 57, 59 60, 72, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 Rand, Michael 96, 275, 276 Randall, Margaret 102 Rankins, Joseph 169 Raymond, Capt 239 Eedlon, Kidlon, Ridley 152 Redlon, Abigail 154 " Abraham 562,154, 155 " Amos 154 " Anna 153,154 " Daniel 152, 154 " David 273, 276 ' ' Ebenezer 57, 96, 152, 153, 154, 155, 201, 271, 273, 274, 276 Redlon, Elizabeth 152, 154 " Hannah 165 " Isaac 164 " Jacob. . . .57, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 " James 163, 272, 276 " Jeremiah 152, 154, 165 " John 41,44,162,163,154,155 156, 157, 158, 169 Redlon, Jonathan 153 " Magnus..32,162, 153, 154, 155, 166 " Mary 163 ' • Matthias .152, 153, 154, 155, 272, 276 " Nathaniel 1.55 " Rachel 153 " Robert 152, 154, 155 " Sarah 153, 154, 168 " Susanna 152, 164 « Thomas 163 Reed, Sarah 215 Resolutions of 1774 , 269 Retor, Moses 243 INDEX. 287 Eevolutionary War 268 " War, Resolutions con- cerning 2C9 Eevolutiouai-y AVar, Votes concern- „ing 277 Reyuor, Ann 244 nice, Elizabeth 215 Kichardson 239 Eidley, Mark '. ! . ! . 154 Kidlon, David 86, 154, 276 lJo-'?f \^ >^£ J- ■ -vit '^l-Jf 'Ar :«>i ;^'-< 5;,^ J "vvrKv tY>*- •1 A **- >-.*?y ^*^'l /• i.)/^'- A l\'Vi ;> -V'. ^^'%-l- A y