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 Drinkwater 
 
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 Family. 
 
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 The 
 Drinkwater 
 
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 Family. 
 

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 E. E. PILLSBURY PRINTING CO, 
 Belfast, Maine. 
 
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Yl^e Drinkwatei' Fhn,ilY 
 
 The family of Drinkwater can trace its 
 history into the distant past botli in this 
 country and in Enaland. The present t,'en- 
 eration can trace its ancestry through two 
 separate lines, to the passen<rers of the 
 Mayflower, and before that time the Drink- 
 water or Derwentwater name was prominent 
 in England. James IJadcliff is referred to 
 as the last Earl of Derwentwater, showing 
 that the family was an old one in his day. 
 He was born in 1688, in Northumberland, 
 was educated in France, and on the death 
 of his father in 1705 he succeeded to the 
 title and the estates. In 1715 he, with the 
 Earl of Marr, whose estates were just over 
 the border in Scotland, headed the rebellion 
 for the purpose of placing James Edward, 
 generally known as '"the Pretender'' on the 
 throne of England. The attemi)t proved a 
 failure, and Kadcliff was taken prisoner in 
 battle, condemned on charge of high 
 
treason and beheaded on Tower Plill Feb. 
 24, 1716, when but 28 years of age. He was 
 a brave and skillful warrior, a courteous 
 and amiable gentleman, and his fate was 
 mourned by the people as a public calamity. 
 
 That the family is of even older date 
 than the time of Radcliff is shown by the 
 coat of arms granted to Hugh Drink- 
 water (or Der went water) of Aberdeen, 
 Scotland, in 1615. Copies of this coat of 
 arms, finely executed in oil, on parchment, 
 are in possession of descendants of Joseph 
 Drinkwater, who died in North Yarmouth, 
 Me., in 1784. 
 
 The Drinkwater family in this section 
 of Maine can trace its origin to a common 
 ancestor, Micajah Drinkwater, who came 
 from North Yarmouth and settled in North- 
 port on the farm now owned by his grand- 
 son, Mathew Drinkwater. Micajah's grand- 
 father, Thomas Drinkwater, was born in 
 England and came to America when a 
 young man, settling in Tatmton, Mass. He 
 married Elizabeth Haskell, a daughter of 
 John and Patience (Soule) Haskell. Pa- 
 tience Soule was a daughter of George 
 Soule who came over in the Mayflower in 
 
5 
 
 1020. Tlu>m;is i)iu.k\\utii cm d in 1710. 
 His son .luM'jih'niarriid .laiu' Lntliani (or 
 L<'i^'liton) and was one of tin- farl> hottUrs 
 of Xorth Yarnioutli. 
 
 From 107-') t«» 17l:i all tlu- coast ht-ttle- 
 ments of Maine sufTt'ii<l from tlu- Indian 
 wars, and X(»rth Yarmouth %va.>- aMandoncd. 
 It was ri'Sfttli'd in 1721-2, and .Joseph and 
 Jane Drinkwater were amou^' th<»8e w1k» 
 had the courage to setth- there. They 
 raised a family of nine sons and two 
 daughters, as fiijlows: 
 
 John, nu SiTsail' Staples. 
 
 Michael (Micajah) h. l*:. I", t.v (or 
 
 Eli/aheth) Bradford. 
 
 Thomas. 
 
 Phineas, m. Sweetser. 
 
 Samuel, ni. (Barbour. I / 
 
 David, m. lilichel $;o(ver.; 7 
 
 Daniel, m. Kehecca Fisher. 
 
 William. 
 
 Sarah, m. Sylvanus Voun^j. 
 
 Hannah, m. Caj-t Veter Weare. 
 
 Micajah Drinkwater, Kt»n t»f Joseph 
 and Janet Latham Drinkwater. was b«<rn 
 January 2'», 17-V.», in the (iarrison lioiise on 
 
6 
 
 the eastern end of Couseus' Island in Cas- 
 co Bay, then a part of North Yarmouth. 
 He married Elizabeth (or Betsy) Bradford, 
 a descendant of William Bradford, the 
 second Colonial Governor of Massachusetts, 
 and a fellow passenger on the Mayflower 
 with Micajah's ancestor, George Soule. 
 Elizabeth Bradford was a daughter of Wil- 
 liam Bradford, who was probably a son of 
 Lieutenant Governor William Bradford, 
 and a grandson of Governor William Brad- 
 ford. She was a lady of rare qualities of 
 both mind and heart, and was familiarly 
 known among the younger generations as 
 "Grandmother Bradford." 
 
 Micajah Drinkwater died about 1825 
 or '30, and his wife about the same time. 
 Their family was as follows: 
 Ammi, m. Hannah McKenny. 
 James, b. 1783, m. Miriam Stetson. 
 Micajah Jr., m. Amy Wymau, d. April 30, 
 1851. 
 
 Lemuel, m. Rebecca Veazie, d. December 
 27, 1849. 
 
 Josiah, b. November 17, 1770, m. Julia , 
 
 Eunice Wyman, Rachael Parker, d. July 
 3, 1858. 
 
.It'hii. (lii'il uninarriid. 
 
 Zenas, It. Novcinhrr U. lTt'»>. m. Cynthia A. 
 
 rendletun, d .lamiary 2S. ls.'):j. 
 
 Nancy, m. Solonmn Krohock. 
 
 William, ni. Liuy Williams. 
 
 Betsy, ni. .lolin Kin^ht. 
 
 , ni. .Itilin Clark. 
 
 , ni. Chase. 
 
 Tlu' towns of Noithjiort an<l Lintoln- 
 ville were formerly knt>wn as the I'laiita- 
 tions tif Diu'ktrajt and Canaan, and wtrt* 
 settled alunit 17S0. Mieajah Drinkwali-r. 
 his st)ns and sons-in-law settle<l on the 
 farms ah»n<j the shore hetween Saturday 
 Cove and Lincolnville Beaeh. Norlhport 
 was incorojtrated June 18. \1W, an<l Lin- 
 Cidnville in 1S02. Prior to 1T'.»S all thin sec- 
 tion was in Lincidn Ci»unty : in that year 
 Hancock County was fornuMl, ami in 1827. 
 Waldo County was set olT. Thus the 
 Drinkwater homestead has hem in three 
 counties; was first in a itroj»riftory jdan- 
 tation. and is now in (»ne of tlu- ohU-ht 
 towns in the State. Whrn Dticktrap was 
 first settled it was a i>art of thi- Wahh» Tal- 
 ent, and was »»wned hy General Samuel 
 Waldo. In 17i»2 it l>erame the i»r»»i>erty of 
 
8 
 
 General Heury Knox, and in 1802 of Thorn- 
 dike, Sears and Prescott. From these 
 various owners Micajah and his earlier de- 
 scendants bought their farms. 
 
 In the year 1800 the Governments of 
 the United States and France made a 
 treaty, one clause of which was that France 
 should pay to the United States the value 
 of all property of the United States or its 
 citizens which had been destroyed or taken 
 by French privatiers prior to that date. 
 The claims were all paid into the United 
 States Treasury soon after, but it was not 
 until 80 years later that our government 
 paid the amounts due to our own citizens. 
 These were known as the French Spoliation 
 claims. One of these claims, presented in 
 1819 by Jane Gardiner, administratrix, was 
 on account of the brig Ca Ira, taken by a 
 French privatier in 1797. The vessel was 
 owned by Joseph Drinkwater, and com- 
 manded by Captain Allen Drinkwater, 
 both of North Yarmouth. The full amount 
 allowed was $6,344, of which $3,434 was to 
 Joseph Drinkwater; $2,210 to Elisha Gard- 
 iner, another owner, and the remainder in 
 lots of $100 or $200 to the underwriters 
 
9 
 
 and others of Portland. The Diinkwaterg 
 here mentioned were probably brotliers of 
 Micajali. 
 
 It i« rehited of the nine sons of .Josepli 
 Drinkwater, the son of Thomas, that all 
 were masters of vessels, and all chanced Ut 
 arrive in Uostou the same day. The otH- 
 cer in command of the fort, learning that 
 so many vessels had ])assed in, all in com- 
 mand of men of the same name, feared 
 that some mischief was brewing aud went 
 up to the city to investigate the matter. 
 He was surprised to find that it was true, 
 and that the men were all brothers. He 
 invited them to supper with him, and the 
 event was long held in remembrance as 
 having been in "Good old P^nglish style." 
 
 West Drinkwater and Elizabeth Elwell 
 were married September 22, 1814, and the 
 next morning, after the bridegroom had 
 gone to his work, his young wife saw two 
 barges tilled with armed British soldiers 
 approaching the shore. She notitied tht- 
 first man she could li n d, Zachariali 
 Lawrence, and he went to the shore with 
 his musket and secreted himself. When 
 the boats ajtproached he began giving 
 
10 
 
 orders as to a force of i^oldiers, and to 
 increase the deception dodged from tree to 
 tree and fired at the boats from different 
 points. The boats withdrew for re-inforce- 
 ments, and while they were gone West 
 Drinkwater, Alban Elweil, Solomon 
 Frohock and David Alden collected a force 
 and prepared to meet them. The party 
 soon returned with re-inforcements, and 
 by use of a swivel gun on one of the boats 
 drove the defenders back. The British 
 plundered the store of Jones Shaw and 
 several houses, taking, among other things, 
 the dresses and other finery worn by th^ 
 ladies at the wedding the night before. 
 Capt. Amos Pendleton afterwards went to 
 Castine and recovered some of the property. 
 During the latter part of October, the 
 same year, a crew consisting of West 
 Drinkwater, Kingsbury Duncan, Jonathan 
 Clark, Samuel Duncan and John Duncan, 
 under command of Major Noah Miller, 
 went on a cruise in Penobscot bay for the 
 purpose of preventing supplies being car- 
 ried to Castine for the British. Nov. 1st, 
 they overhauled the British sloop Mary, 
 near Turtle Head, and after a chase and 
 
11 
 
 some trouble with lior crew, succeedetl in 
 capturing her. She had on board a valu- 
 able cargo consisting priucii«ally of satins, 
 laces, shawls, clothing, bales of cloth, etc. 
 for the British officers and their taniilies at 
 Castine. The sloop and cargo were sold 
 in Portland, the net proceeds being 
 >;66,426.34. One-half was paid into the 
 treasury of the United States and the other 
 half was divided among the men who made 
 the capture. Major Miller and Collector 
 Hook of the custom house each claimed 
 and received $14,100.58, and the men re- 
 ceived but 61000 each. The injustice thus 
 done the crew was remedied in 18o0, by 
 Congress voting to give to Drinkwater, 
 Clark and the three Duncans the half for- 
 merly taken by the Government, and the 
 amount, $22,213.17, was e(iually divided 
 among them or their heirs. 
 
 Col. Drinkwater, the English historian, 
 published a '' History of the Siege of Gib- 
 raltar," and in 1785, established the "Gar- 
 rison library " with 45,000 volumes and an 
 excellent reading room at Gibraltar. 
 
 One of the most i)opular authors ol 
 books for girls, Mrs. Jennie Maria Drink- 
 
12 
 
 water Conk 1 ill, died April 30, 1901. She 
 was born iu Portland in 1841, and was 
 married in 1880 to Rev. Nathaniel Conklin. 
 Among- her published works are "Tessa 
 Wadsworth's Discipline," "Miss Pru- 
 dence," " Fairfax Girls," and others. 
 
n 
 
 C\U}\0}\^. 
 
 Ill the latter part of Aui^ust, 1898, a 
 party met in a cottage at Xortlii)ort ( ainp- 
 groiiud, and one of the number remarked 
 tliat all present were of Drinkwater descent. 
 This led to arrangements for a reunion, 
 which was held on the Micajah Drinkwater 
 farm in Xorthport, September 2nd, the 
 same year. Notice was sent to such as 
 could be conveniently reached, and about 
 fifty i)eisons attended the meeting. A 
 clam bake was held and a very enjoyable 
 day was spent by all. It was then decided 
 to hold a reunion and form an association 
 the next year. 
 
 The second reunion was held at Tem- 
 l>le Heights, in Northport, August 25, 1809. 
 An Association was formed with the fol- 
 lowing officers: 
 
 President, Ansel Wadsworth. Vice 
 Presideuts, Mathew Drinkwater, North- 
 port; Allen L. Drinkwater, Northport; Mrs. 
 Aurlia S. Pendleton, Waltham, Mass.; 
 Mrs. Fannie E. Sylvester, Belfast; Arm* VV. 
 
14 
 
 Knight, Lincolnville ; Emery O. Pendleton. 
 Belfast; Mrs. Mary E. Ingalls, Belfast; Mrs. 
 Cordelia Drinkwater, Nortliport ; Mrs- 
 Orilla McGilvery Bean, Hallowell. 
 
 Secretary, John S. Fernald, Belfast. 
 
 Treasurer, Alban F. Elvvell, Northport. 
 
 The roll-book showed 94 persons 
 present and joining the Association. 
 
 The third reunion was held at Temple 
 Heights, August 7, 1900. The attendance 
 was larger than at the previous meeting, 
 but many were kept away by their duties 
 at home, it being in "Old Home Week." 
 Several members ^rere present from ^lass- 
 achusettsand otherStates. The otficers of 
 the previous 3'^ear were re-elected with the 
 exception of a few changes in the Vice 
 Presidents, which are as follows: Mathew 
 Drinkwater, Northport; Allen L. Drink- 
 water, Northport ; Mrs. Aurelia S. Pendleton 
 VTaltham, Mass. : Mrs*. Fannie E. Sylvester, 
 Belfast; Arno W. Knight, Lincolnville ; 
 Emery O. Pendleton, Belfast ; Thomas O. 
 D. Urquhart, Manchester, Mass.; Mrs. 
 Cordelia Drinkwater, Northport; Mrs. 
 Chas. T. Knight, Northport; Capt. John 
 W. McGlivery, Searsport. 
 
15 
 
 TO AM- DKINKWATKi: DKSCKN I> V VT> : 
 
 At the second reunion ut tlu- Drink- 
 water family, in 1S«M), I l)i'ij::ui Td .-■•lliM-t 
 data for a family history, thinking I iniLrht 
 have it in form to i)ul>lish in ten years or 
 less. I now have records, mon- or h-ss 
 complete of 2 05 families, indudinn oJmI 
 persons descendant of Mioajali Drinkwater, 
 but still lack a large amount of data. 
 
 This little ])amphlet is put fo\th in tlu- 
 hope o f awakening a renewi-d intrrest 
 among the descendants, by showing brietly 
 a few of the interesting points in relation 
 to our ancestry. 
 
 I would ask each one who is the head 
 of a family to furnish me with the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 Names of grandparents on Drink water 
 side; names of i>arents; nanu- of huslian«l 
 or wife ; names of children. 
 
 With date of birth ; to whom each wixn 
 married; date of death of each m«'mber; 
 so far as known. 
 
 Also the names of all who served in the 
 army or navy in any of the wars «»f the 
 United States, especially the Kevolutioii or 
 1812. 
 
 This will cost you but 2 cents in pi»>tauc 
 and a little troulde. a n d will materiall\ 
 hasten the ])ublication of the lii.^tory. 
 
 .TOHX S KKKN'.VLl). 
 Aug. ;n, litOl. Belfa.-t. Maine.