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A HISTORY
TOWN OF INDUSTRY,
FRANKLIN COUNTY, MAINE,
From the Earliest Settlement in 1787 down to the Present
Time, Embracing the Cessions of New Sharon,
New Vineyard, Anson, and Stark.
IN TWO PARTS,
Including the History and Genealogy of Mann of the Leading Families of the Town.
WILLI A M COLLI X S H A T C H
FARMINGTON, MAINE:
PRESS OF KNOWLTON, McLEARY & CO.
1893.
14
n i
ELIZABETH SHOREY PRICE,
WHO, BY HER GENEROUS BENEFICENCE AND KINDLY INTEREST IN THE
TOWN OF HER ADOPTION, HAS RENDERED HER NAME
DEAR TO EVERY CITIZEN OF INDUSTRY,
THIS HUMBLE WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY THE A L'THO K .
PREFACE.
The novice in the literary arena is prone to apologize for his work, but, for the nonce, he has no apology to offer. His work is to be weighed by a discriminating public ; should it be found wanting, of what avail will apology prove? In undertaking this work the author was actuated by a higher motive than mere love for sordid gain. Though not widely known. Industry is a town that has a history of which every citizen may justly be proud. Larger towns may claim the peerage in other directions, but when its part in furnishing the brain and brawn of the busy world is taken into account. Industry is entitled to high rank among her sister towns. To rescue the life-story of these noble men and women from oblivion has been the author's aim. How well he has succeeded let the intelligent reader decide. Many years ago the author conceived the idea of writing a history of his native town, but not until 1882 did he become actively engaged in the work. The results of his researches are embodied in the following pages.
Errors undoubtedly occur in this work, for surprising discrep- ancies often exist between family, town and church records. In some instances even town records contain conflicting dates. Again, memories are fallible, some of course to a greater degree than others. Hence, family records furnished the author from different sources sometimes disagree. To determine which is correct is often extremely difficult, if not an impossible task. In Part Second the author has conformed largely to peculiarities of each person in regard to the orthography of christian names.
Occasionally q. v. (meaning which see) will be found in the Genea- logical Notes without the corresponding record to which reference is
vi PREFACE.
made. These omissions are due to the fact that the author was compelled to condense the last half of Part Second in the manuscript even to the elimination of many family records.
The name of a neighboring town has been invariably spelled Stark. This the author believed was correct, as it is so spelled in the act of incorporation recorded in the record- of the town and also on the plan sent to the General Court with petition for incorporation. Recent developments, however, show that the name is spelled with a final s as recorded in the archives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The author would here acknowledge with a deep sense of gratitude the assistance and untiring interest of Dr. John F. and Mrs. Annie (Currier) Pratt, of Chelsea. Mass.. who have contributed in no small degree to the interest and completeness of this work. Great credit is also due the printers, Messrs. David H. Knowlton and Frank E. McLeary, for their constant personal attention to every detail of the work while the volume was passing through the press.
To those who, by their hearty co-operation and friendly counsel, have done much to lighten the cares of his onerous labor, the author would tender his heartfelt thanks, with the assurance that while life lasts he will ever cherish pleasing recollections of their kindness.
Finally, to one and all: If errors are discovered, as they usually can be in works of this description, will you oblige the author by not ( ailing his attention to them?
J wi \u\ 25. 1893.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY.
General Characteristics.— Boundaries.— Soil. — Productions.— ( )bjects of Interest.— Scenery, etc., .....•••••■• '.5
CHAPTER II.
LAND TITLES.
Early Attempts to Colonize New England.— King James's ('.rant.— The Kennebec Purchase. — The Appraising Commission, etc., etc -1 )
CHAPTER IIP
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. The Plymouth Patent.— The New Vineyard Core.— The Powell Strip.— North Industry. 4°
CHAPTER IV.
EVENTS FROM 1S00 TO 18 10.
Condition of the Settlers. — Plantation Organized. — Town Incorporated. — Roads. — Early Town < Ifficers. — The Embargo Act. — The Town Becomes a Part of Somerset < 'ounty, etc., etc., ......... 5°
CHAPTER Y.
THE JOURNAL OF WM. ALLEN, ESQ. Being a Full Account of the Emigration of his bather, ('apt. William Allen, from Martha's Vineyard to the District of Maine, together with an Interesting De- scription of their Pioneer Life, ........ 72
viii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI. SCHOOLS.
First School.— Incompetence of Early Teachers.— The Log School-House on the Gore.— Other School-Houses.— High Schools.— Free High Schools.— Wade's Graduating System. — Text-Books. — Statistical, 9°
CHAPTER VII.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF INDUSTRY. The Baptist Society. — The Methodists.— The Congregational Society. — The Free Will Baptists. — Protestant Methodists, etc., ' 'I
CHAPTER VIII.
THE MILITIA AND 1812 WAR.
Military Company Organized.— Flection of Officers. — Equipments Required by
Law. — First Training. — Muster at Farmington. — Money Raised to Buy Military
Stores. — Muster Roll of Capt. Daniel Beede's Company. — Cavalry Company
Organized. — Powder-House Built. — The Industry Rifle Grays, . . 156
CHAPTER IX.
MILLS AND MANUFACTURING. Water Powers of Industry.— First Grist-Mill Erected. — Capt. Peter West Frects Mills.— Cornforth's Grist-Mill. — FlishaM.umbert's Grist and Saw-Mills. — Cutler's MiHs —Davis's Mills.— (lower's Mills.— Capt. John Thompson Erects Mills near Stark Line.— West and Manter's Saw-Mill. — Clover Mill.— First Shingle Machine, — Daggett and Brown's Shingle Mill. — William Cornforth's Fulling-Mill. — James (lower's Fulling-Mill.— Allen & Co.'s Starch-Factory.— Deacon Emery's Bark Mill. — Other Tanneries.— Shovel Handles. — Rake Manufacturing. — Smith & Coughlin's Spool- Factory. — Oliver Bros.' Steam Pox- Factory. — RacklifPs < hair- Factory. — Mechanics, etc., ......... 166
CHAPTER X.
MERCHANTS. First Store in Town. — Esq. Peter West. — John West. — Johnson & Mitchell.— Geo. Cornforth.— Capt. Jeruel Butler. (has. Butler.— Col. Peter A. West.— (apt. Freeman liutler. — John Allen, Jr. — 'Thing & Allen. — James Davis. — John Mason. — Moses Tolman, Jr. — Esq. Samuel Shaw. — Israel Folsom. — Col. P.enj. Luce. Christopher Goodridge. — Cyrus X. Hutchins. — Willis & Allen. — Zachariah Withee. — John W. Dunn.— Supply B. Norton. — Rufus Jennings. — Enoch Hinkley. — Amos S. Hinkley. — Isaac Norton. — Warren X. Willis. — Boyden & Manter. — Maj. fames Cutts. — Franklin and Somerset Mercantile Association. — fohn Willis.— Willis & Clayton.— John & Benj. X. Willis.- Duley & Norcross. — lames M. & Alonzo Norton. — James M. Norton A Co. — Asa II. Patterson. — Caswell & Hilton. — Shaw & Hinkley. — Harrison Daggett, etc., . . 193
CONTENTS. i x
CHAPTER XI.
EVENTS FROM 1S10 TO 1830. Condition of the Settlers. — Expense of Transacting the Town Business. — Pounds ami Pound-Keepers. — Attempts to Establish a New County to Include Industry. — Cower's (now Allen's) Mills Becomes a Part of Industry. — "The Cold Fever" Epidemic. — The Thompson Burial Cround. — New Vineyard Gore Becomes a Part of Industry. — Great Gale of 181 5. — Question : " Shall Maine Become an Indepen- dent State?" Agitated. — Vote for Maine's first Governor. — Population Increases. — " Blind Fogg." — First Sunday-School. — Road Troubles. — First Eiquor License Issued. — The Residents of New Vineyard Gore Pass the Ordinance of Secession and Ask to be Made Citizens of Strong. — The Town Receives Additions from Stark and Anson. — Subject of Building a Town-House Discussed. — Great Drouth and Fire of 1825. — First Meeting- House in Town.— Meeting-House F.rected at the Centre of the Town. — The Industry North Meeting-House, . . 204
CHAPTER XII.
POST-OFFICES, REMINISCENCES OF JOHN MASON, AND CORRESPONDENCE OF CAPT. JERUEL BUTLER.
Lack of Postal Facilities. — High Rates of Postage. — First Post-Office Established. — Jonathan Goodridge Appointed Postmaster. — Mail Brought from Farmington. — Mail from Stark ( )nce a Week. — Mail Route Changed. — Mail Received via New Sharon. — lames Davis Appointed Postmaster. — Other Postmasters. — Industry Post-Office Changed to Allen's Mills. — Post-Office Established at West's Mills.— Esq. Peter West Appointed Postmaster. — Lower Rates of Postage. — Stamps First Used. — Era of Cheap Postage Begins. — Rates Fixed According to Weight Instead of Distance. — Other Postmasters at West's Mills. — Glass Call-Boxes First Introduced. — Mail Carriers. — Change of Time. — Industry Gets a Daily Mail from Farmington. — North Industry Post-Office, etc., .... 226
CHAPTER XIII.
TEMPERANCE MO CEMENTS. Prevalence of Rum Drinking.— The License Law. — Five Licenses Granted. — Town Votes "Not to License Retailers." — The Ministerial Association Passes Resolu- tions Against the Use of Spirituous Liquors. — First Temperance Society Formed. — Esq. West's Temperance Society. — The Washingtonian Movement. — The Allen's Mills Watch Club. — First Division Sons of Temperance Organized. — The " Union Peace Temperance Society." — The Sons of Temperance at Allen's Mills. — The Order of Good Templars in Industry. — Juvenile Temples.— The Iron Clad Club, 246
CHAPTER XIV.
REMINISCENCES. Religious Views of the Early Settlers. — Strict Observance of the Sabbath. — Destitute Circumstances. — Agricultural Implements. — Bread Baking. — Substitute for Cook-
CONTENTS.
ing Soda. — The Luxuries of Pioneer Life. — Methods of Starting a Fire. — Harvesting Grain. — Depredations of Hears.- A Good Bear Story.— Cows and Swine Allowed tu Roam at Will in the Woods.- Spinning and Weaving. — Domestic "Tow and Linen" Cloth. — Flax-Culture. — Wool-Growing in Industry. — The Tin Baker. — Introduction of Cooking Stoves. — First Thoroughbraced Wagon Brought to Town. — Shoe-Making. — First Threshing-Machine. — Sewing- Machine. — Mowing-Machines. — Air-Tight Cooking-Stoves. — Methods oi Measuring the Flight of Time. — The Hour-Class. — Sun Dials. — Clocks. — Nails. — Methods of Lighting the Settlers' Homes. — Tallow Dips. — Whale < HI.- -Burn- ing Fluid. — Kerosene. — Sugar-Making. — Intentions of Marriage. — Quill Pens. — Anecdotes, etc., . . . . . . . . . . .26]
. CHAPTER XV.
EVENTS FROM 1830 TO i860.
Condition of the Town. — Population. — Valuation. — Small-Pox Scare. — Attempts to Change the Centre Post-Office to Withee's Corner. — hirst Public House Opened.
— Fxtensive Land-Owners. — Large Stock-Owners. — Effect of the High Tariff on the Inhabitants of Industry. — Residents in the South Part of the Town Ask to l>e Made Citizens of New Sharon. — Remarkable Meteoric Shower. — " Temperance Hotel" Opened. — ( )ther Public Houses. — Financial Crisis of [837. — The Surplus Revenue Distributed. — Auroral Display. — Franklin County Incorporated. — Diffi- culties in Choice of Representative. — Prevalence of the Millerite Doctrine.- I ud of the World Predicted. — 7000 Acres Set off from New Vineyard and Annexed to Industry. — Vigorous Fight of the Former Town to Recover its Lost Territory.
— The Pioneers of Liberty. — Destructive Hail-storm. New County Roads Fstab- lished. — Subject of Erecting a Town-House Discussed. — A Grand Sunday-School Picnic. — The Free-Soil Party. — Efforts to Suppress Rumselling. — Town Liquor Agents. — The License Law. — General Prosperity of the Town. — One-half the New Vineyard (.ore Set off to Farmington. — South Part of the Town Set off to New Sharon, etc., ........... 273
CHAPTER XVI.
EVENTS FROM i860 TO 1866.
'olitical Excitement. — The John Brown Insurrection. — Diphtheria Epidemic. — Resi- dents of Allen's Mills Petition the Legislature for Annexation to Farmington. — War Meeting Held at West's Mills. — Patriotic Resolutions Passed. — Lively Times at Subsequent Meetings. — Muster and Celebration at West's Mills, July 4, [866. — Call for Troops. — A Comet Appears. — Greal Scarcity of Silver Money. — Methods Devised for Supplying the Defect.- The I". S. Fractional Currency. — Disheartening News from the War. Mason and Slidell Arrested. — Belligerent Attitude of England. — Total Failure of the Fruit Crop of 1866. — Militia En- rolled and Organized. — first Industry Soldiers' Lives Sacrificed. — Obsequies at the Centre Meeting-House. — More Soldiers Wanted. — Liberal Town Bounty Offered for Enlistments. — A Call for Nine-Months' Troops. — Draft Ordered. —
CONTENTS. xi
Generous Measures Adopted by the Town to Avoid a Draft. — A Stirring Mass Meeting for Raising Volunteers. — Provisions for Destitute Soldiers' Families. — News of the Emancipation Proclamation Reaches Industry. — The Conscription Act. — Anxieties of Those Liable to a Draft. — Disloyal Utterances in Other Towns. — Industry True to her Country. — Piratical Craft Reported off the Maine Coast. — Revenue Cutter "Caleb dishing " Captured in Portland Harbor, . 29S
CHAPTER XVII.
EVENTS FROM i860 TO 1866 CONTINUED.
General Lee Begins the March of an Invader. — Crosses the " Mason and Dixon Line." — Gloomy Prospects of the Federal Cause. — Numerous Desertions from the Union Army. — Organization of the Districts under the Provisions of the Con- scription Act. — First Conscripts from Industry. — The Non Compos Conscript. — "The Kingfield Riot." — Efforts of Drafted Men to Secure Town Bounty. — The Somerset and Franklin Wool-Growers' Association. — Call for More Troops. — #300 Town Bounty Offered for Volunteer Enlistments. — Stamp Act Passed. — Steamer " Chesapeake " Captured. — -Attempts Made to Raid Maine's Eastern Border. — Re-enlistments. — Furloughed Soldiers Tendered a Banquet. — $600 Offered for Volunteer Enlistments. — Second Draft Made. — Small-Pox Outbreak. — Aid to Soldiers in the Field. — -Inflated Prices. — Efforts of Men who Furnished Substitutes to Recover the Sum Paid for the Same. — Third Draft Made. — Close of the War. — Great Rejoicing. — Flag-raisings at Allen's and West's Mills. — Assassination of President Lincoln. — Memorial Services in Industry. — Cost of the War to the Town of Industry, . . . . . . . .312
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE BOYS IN BLUE.
Francis < >. bean. — Nelson O. Bean. — George W. Boyden. — Charles E. Burce. — James O. Burce. — John C. Burce. — William S. Burce. — George II. Butler. — John P. Butler. — Addison H. Chase. — Addison F. Collins. — Daniel S. Collins. — James W. Collins. — Daniel A. Conant. — John F. Daggett. — Hiram P. Durrell. — William II. Edwards. — John D. Elder. — Carlton P. Emery . — George C. Emery. — Zebulon M. Emery. — Calvin B. Fish. — Eben Fish. — Benjamin Follett. — William Q. Folsom. — William II. Frost. — John F.Gerry. — Bradford Gilmore. — Almore Haskell. — John M. Howes. — Adriance R. Johnson. — William G. Lewis. — Fiheld A. Luce. — John T. Luce. — Henry S. Maines. — Gilbert R. Merry. — Elias Miller. — Henry ( i. Mitchell. — Atwood Morse. — John M. Nash. — David M. Norton. — Oliver D. Nor- ton.— James Pinkham. — Samuel Pinkham. — Wellington Pinkham. — Wilder Pratt. — Charles S. Prince. — Albanus D. Quint. — William L. Quint. — Edwin A. R. Rackliff.— Elbridge H. Rackliff.— John O. Rackliff.— Samuel Rackliff.— William J. Rackliff. — Reuel H. Rogers. — Lyman M. Shorey. — Andrew J. Spinney. — John C. Spinney. — Benjamin Tibbetts.— Benjamin F. Tibbetts. — Clinton H. Webster^ — David C. Whitney. — Aaron E. Williams. — George F. Williams. — O. L. Young, ....."....... 327
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIX. EVENTS FROM 1866 TO 1893.
id Matters.— The Curtis Pinkham Road. — Stark Asks for a Better Road through Industry to Farmington. — Route to Madison Bridge Shortened and Improved. — Industry Votes on Amendment to Liquor Law. — "The- Gold Fever."— Unusual Snow-fall in the Winter of 1868-9. — Destructive Freshet of [869.— Heavy Thunder-storm. — Beautiful Display of Aurora Borealis. — A Heavy 1 iale. — The Great Earthquake of 1870. — Grasshopper Plague. — State Equalization Ponds. — Industry Farmers' and Mechanics' Club. — The Enterprise Cheese Manufacturing Company. — ( trders Forged on the Town of Industry. — Pri/.e L>eclamations at West's Mills. — Extensive Improvements on the Centre Meeting-House. — The Greenback Party in Industry. — Caterpillar Scourge. — Freshet of 1S7S. — Severe Drouth. — Cattle Show and Fair. — Independence Day Celebrated at West's Mills. — Destructive Fire. — A Bear Commits Many Depredations in Industry. — Red Sunsets. — Gale of November, [883. — Planets in Perihelion. — Town Votes to Buy a Poor-Farm. — Allen's Mills Union Agricultural Society. — A Maine Blizzard. — Potato Crop Ruined by Rust. — Industry's New Methodist Church. — A Maine Cyclone. — La Grippe. — Shorey Chapel Erected, etc., .... 385
CHAPTER XX.
MISCELLANY.
Physicians. — Tallest Soldier from Maine. — Table of Incidents. — Poem: "To the < >ld Church Bell." — Town Officers from the Incorporation of the Town to 1893. — County Commissioners. — Senators. — Representatives to the Legislature. — Marriages Solemnized by Esq. Cornelius Norton. — Examination Questions. — Statistical.— Town Officers' Bills. — Date of Ice Leaving Clear Water Pond. — Temperature Chart. — Industry's Gubernatorial Vote. — List of Voters in Industry. 1855, 434
GENEALOGICAL NOTES.
ALLEN,
Ambrose,
Ames,
Atkinson,
BAILEY,
Bean, Beede, . Benson, Boardman, Boyden, Bradbury, Brown, . Bryant, . Burgess, Burns, . Butler, .
CHESLEY,
Clark, . Coffin, . Collins, . Cornforth, Cottle, . Crompton, Cutler, . Cutts, .
DAGGETT,
Davis,
EDGEC< »MB Edwards,
Elder, . Ellis, . Emery, . Eveleth,
FISH, . Follett, Frost, Furbush,
GILMORE,
Goodridge,
47' 49S 500 501
507
5°9 5°9
512
5J3 5i6
S20 S2I
523 524 524 525
539
540
542 542 562
565 565 567 569
570 589
601 602
603 603 004 014
617 621 622 623
623 624
Goodwin, 626
Gower, 628
Graham, 630
Greenleaf, 631
Greenwood, 635
HAMMOND, 637
Harris, 637
Hatch, 638
Hayes, 642
Higgins, 647
Hildreth, 648
Hilton, 650
Hinkley, 651
Hobbs, 653
Howes, 655
Huston, 660
JEFFERS, . 661
Jennings, 662
Jewett, 663
Johnson, 663
KYES, 673
LOOK, . . 674
Luce, 675
MANTER, 719
Marshall 732
Mason, 732
Meatier, 734
Merrill, 738
Merry, 741
Moody, 745
NORCROSS 746
Norton, 751
OLIVER, 783
PATTERSON, 784
Pike, 791
RACKLIFF, 792
XIV
GENE. Ma hMCAL NOTES.
Remick, Roach, .
SHAW, Shorey,
Smith, . Spinney,
Stevens,
Swift, .
THING,
797 800
So 1 8« >8 Su 814 81 S 817
819
Thompson, 820
Tolman, 825
Trask, 827
True, 832
VII I'.S 834
WEST, 838
Willis, 840
Winslow, 844
Withee, 846
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Wm. C. Ha rCH, Frontispiece.
~ Residence i if < 'ait. John Thompsi in 44
' Christi ipher S. Luck, i ty
- M. E. Church at West's Mills, 140
' Wm. A. Merrill, 155
" Ira Emery, 181
~ Centre Meeting— House 219
' Wm. Harvey Edwards, 338
Lyman M. Shorey, 374
Shorey Chapel, 422
John Allen, [77
Asaph Boyden 516
Pi 1 i-.i; W. Hi tler 536
- Thomas C Collins, 551
Wm. Broderick Davis 598
I ra Em ery, 609
" Chas. R. Fish, 619
Nathan ( Ioodridge, 625
Stephen H. Hayes, 643
Edmund Hayes, 644
; Geo. W. Johnson, 666
Henry True Luce, 677
( !has. I.i<i 70S
( lEORGE MaNTER, J2<)
S. Hawks Norton, 71.11
Franklin W. P.vtterson, 788
Daniel Shaw, 801
Pelatiah Shorey 808
Eben G. Trask, s - 1
Zachariah Withee, 847
HISTORY OF INDUSTRY
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
General Characteristics. — Boundaries. — Soil. — Productions. — Objects of Lnterest. — Scenery, Etc.
( )N inspecting a topographical map of the town of Industry, the most striking feature which presents itself to the eye of the observer, is the extreme irregularity of its boundary lines and the peculiar distribution of the lands comprising it. These peculiarities are to be attributed, in a large measure, to the acquirement of lands from adjoining towns since its incorpora- tion. When incorporated, the town of Industry contained only about thirteen thousand acres, bounded as follows : On the west by Farmington and New Vineyard, on the north by New Vineyard, on the east by Stark, and on the south by unincorpo- rated lands of the Plymouth Company and New Sharon. Since then, the town has received additions from all the adjoining tow ns with the exception of Farmington. In 1813, it received from New Sharon its first addition, consisting of a tract of land containing two thousand acres, including the village of Allen's Mills and a portion of Clear Water Pond. In 181 5, that portion of New- Vineyard known as the Gore, containing fifteen hundred and sixty-four acres, was set off from that town and annexed to Industry. Then from Stark, in 1822, a tract of land con- taining four hundred acres was added, and a year later, two lots of three hundred and twenty acres from the town of Anson.
14 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
In 1844, that part of New Vineyard, since known as North Industry, containing seven thousand acres, was set off from that town and annexed to Industry. Thus it will be seen that by the various acquisitions up to this date (1892) over ten thou- sand acres have been added to the original acreage of the town. Since 1850, lands have been set off from Industry to the adjoining towns of Farmington and New Sharon to the amount of two thousand acres. First to Farmington in 1850, three farms on the western part of the Gore, containing in the aggre- gate, seven hundred and eighty-two acres, including the farms of Nathan Cutler, Alexander Hillman, Eunice Davis, and others. By this concession, Industry lost seven polls, and six thousand dollars from the valuation of the town. Next, in 1852, a tract of land embracing lots No. 43,* 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 6/, 68, and all that portion of lot No. 70, in Stark, which lay in Industry, likewise a portion of lots H and M, the whole of lots I, N, P, O and R, together with four small plots belonging to lots No. J2, j$, 74 and 75 in Stark, containing sixteen hundred and sixty-five acres, was set off from the south point of Industry and annexed to New Sharon. Industry lost by this concession fifteen polls, and sixteen thousand seven hundred dollars from its valuation, or over eleven hundred dol- lars for each poll. This tract of land embraced some of the best farms and wealthiest farmers in town, such as Asa H. Thompson, George Hobbs, Franklin Stone, and others. Thus
* Esq. Wm. Allen fails to mention this lot, in his history of the town, also lots numbered 46, 47 and 66, but adds 41, 42 and 51, as among those set of! to New Sharon. The following abstract from Acts and Resolves of the Maine Legislature for 1852, gives the boundaries of the niece set off as follows: "Commencing at the southeast corner of the town of Industry; thence running northwesterly on the dividing line between New Sharon and Industry till an east course will strike the southwest corner of lot number forty-five; thence on the south lines of forty-five, lot marked S, and lot number forty-one easterly to the southeast corner of number forty- one; thence or. such a course as in a direct line will strike the northwestern corner of lot marked 1'; thence easterly on the line of lot marked P to the west line of lot marked M ; thence easterly the same course until it strikes the town line of Starks; thence on the dividing line between Starks and [ndustry to the place of beginning." By a careful comparison of these bounds with Lemuel Perham's plan of the town, it will be seen that Mr. Allen was in error regarding the lots set oil from Industry.
INTRODUCTORY. 1 5
it will be seen at the present time ( 1892), that the town con- tains about twenty-one thousand acres, including water, there being a pond in the western part of the town containing fifteen hundred or two thousand acres.*
The surface of Industry is rough and uneven, and in some parts hill)' and mountainous. The soil consists of a yellowish loam mixed with sand and gravel, with a subsoil of clear gravel. Occasionally, however, the subsoil is found to be of blue clay, or a mixture of clay and gravel. In some places on the shores of Clear Water Pond, the whitest and nicest sand for plastering is found. This sand is of such a superior quality that builders have come long distances to procure it, and it is claimed that there is no other deposit in Franklin County which imparts such a beautiful whiteness to plastering as this.
In many parts of the town the soil is quite stony, as is usu- ally the case with upland, and the early settlers experienced much difficulty in subduing the soil and rendering it suitable for cultivation. But when once cleared, the land was found to pos- sess an unusual degree of fertility, and bountiful crops rewarded the farmer's toil. Observation has shown that crops are less affected by severe drouths in this than other towns where the soil is of a lighter and more sandy character. Some land was found to be too wet and cold for profitable tillage when first cleared, but was, nevertheless, excellent grass land.
The principal growth of wood is beech, birch and maple, of which, the last named variety predominates. Beside these varieties are to be found, red oak, cedar, hemlock, spruce and poplar, with scattering trees of other species. The point of land extending into Clear Water Pond, was originally covered with a heavy growth of pine timber; but "it was destroyed by fire at an early date, prior to the settlement of the town.
There is a range of mountains in the west part of the town, north of Clear Water Pond, a peak of which is the highest elevation of land within its limits. Boardman Mountain,! situ-
* Walter Wells's " Water Power of Maine."
t This mountain was so named in honor of Esquire Herbert Boardman, who settled at its base in 1795.
1 6 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
atcd in that part of Industry ceded by New Vineyard in 1844, was formerly regarded by the more superstitious and imagina- tive, as an extinct volcano, as some of the dwellers at its base aver to have heard, at times, mysterious rumblings within its rugged sides. This mountain, with slight exceptions, is still covered with woods, and from its southern aspect presents a very picturesque view.
ISannock Hill, in the southeast part of the town, is a noted eminence. It is said to have received its name from a survey- ing party under Judge Joseph North, who encamped near its summit in 1780, and baked there a bannock for their breakfast. Whether this was the source from which it received its christen- ing, or whether it received its name from subsequent settlers, owing to its shape, which closely resembles that of a huge old- fashioned loaf of its delectable namesake, there seems to be a diversity of opinion. From the summit of this hill a magnifi- cent view greets the eye of the beholder on every side. Look- ing west the blue placid surface of Clear Water Pond is to be seen almost at your feet, with Backus Mountain rising abruptly from its western shore. While old Mount Blue, towering in lofty grandeur, can be plainly seen in the distance. North of the pond lies the chain of mountains which separates Industry and New Vineyard; and rising above the top of this range the summit of Saddleback, Abraham and Bigelow mountains can be seen. Looking north, Boardman Mountain, situated wholly in the town of Industry, which forms an interesting feature of the New Vineyard chain, is seen just at hand. To the west, south and east, one gets a fine view of fertile fields, cozy farm- houses, interspersed, at frequent intervals, by large tracts of the forest primeval. Occasionally one gets a glimpse ol Sandy River, winding its sinuous course to mingle its waters with those of the Kennebec. The villages at New Sharon, Stark and Madison Bridge, can likewise be seen. This hill, which has an altitude of 1227 feet above the mean sea level, affords a more commanding view of the surrounding country than can be ob- tained from any point within a radius of twenty miles. The LJnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey, of 1866, found it a
INTRODUCTORY. 1/
desirable position for a signal station, as did also the Survey of
1891.*
( )n that portion of the town set off from Industry and an- nexed to Farmington, is located a beautiful cascade, where the water takes a sudden leap of seventy-five feet over a precipice. This is counted one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the State. From a favorable position, on a sunn}' da}-, the colors of the rainbow can be seen amid its foamy spray, hence it has been called Rainbow Cascade by many. A large number of tourists visit this attractive locality each year, with whom its popularity seems to increase rather than to diminish.
The waters forming this Cascade are derived from a small pond in the west part of Industry, known, probably on account of its diminutive size, as "The Little Fond." The stream from this pond flows in a southwesterly direction, and empties into Fairbanks Stream in the town of Farmington.
Clear Water Fond, in the west part of the town, is, as its name indicates, a sheet of remarkably clear water. Among the early settlers it was almost invariably known by the name of "Bull-Horse Fond"; but the manner in which this name was acquired is veiled in obscurity, f Esq. Win. Allen, in speaking of Judge North's surveying party, says: "On arriving at the pond they watered their pack-horses, and proposed the name of ' Horse Fond,' but put a prefix to it and called it ' Bull-Horse Fond.' " The writer recollects of hearing, in his boyhood days, some of the older people say that the pond received its name from the circumstance that a bull and a horse were accidentally drowned there, at an early date. This statement can hardly be regarded as worthy of credence, and those best qualified to judge give it but little weight. Perhaps the most reasonable of all traditions bearing on this subject, and one fully as worthy of credit, is that a Frenchman named Blois once resided on its
♦Through the courtesy of Hon. T. C. Mendenhall, Superintendent of this Survey, we learn that the geographical position of Bannock Hill is: Latitude 440, 44/, 01.70'', Longitude, 70°, 2', 23". 99, or 4 h. 40 m. 09.6 s. west of Greenwich.
t Since the above was written it has been discovered that, as early as 1803 — (Petition Inhabitants Northern Part of New Sharon) — this body of water was sometimes designated as Clear Water Pond.
l8 HISTORY OF WDUSTRY.
shores, spending his time in hunting and trapping. Tt is claimed that in tins way the lakelet acquired the name of Blois Pond. The advocates of this theory claim that Bull-Horse, or " Hoss," as it was almost invariably pronounced, was but a cor- ruption of the name Blois. True, it would require but a small amount of orthoepical license to effect this change, — not nearly as much as is sometimes taken with other words in the English language. This explanation, to say the least, has the merit of plausibility.
On the map of Franklin County, published in 1861, it was laid down as Clear Water Pond, by which name it is now generally known. Clear Water Pond has many interesting features. Its western shore rises abruptly, forming what is known as Backus Mountain, in Farmington, and near this shore the water is very deep. Several mills derive their motive power from this source, as the pond furnishes an abundant supply of water the year around. When the fact that it receives the waters from only two or three small brooks is taken into consideration, and that these, which are usually dry a large portion of the summer, at no time supply a large amount of water, it is evident that this pond is fed by abundant springs beneath its surface. Another fact which goes to establish the theory of this spring-supply, is the temperature : the water during the warmest weather being several degrees colder than that of similar bodies of water known to receive their supply from streams.
The principal farm crops of Industry are wheat, oats, corn and potatoes. Rye, in large quantities, was raised by the early settlers ; but it has almost entirely disappeared from the list of the farm products. The apple-tree seems to flourish well in the soil of Industry, and fruit-growing is a branch of husbandry that is steadily gaining ground. Maple syrup is also made to a considerable extent. The rock or sugar-maple (Acer sac- charinum) being indigenous to the soil, almost every farmer has at least a small sugar-orchard, from which he makes syrup for family use, while others engage more extensively, making from one to three hundred gallons each season.
INTRODUCTOR Y. 19
The hills, with their many springs of deliciously cool water, afford unequalled facilities for grazing. This has rendered sheep-husbandry a paying branch of agriculture, and prompted many farmers to engage therein. The breeding of neat stock and horses has also received considerable attention. The time has been when Industry was noted for its many yoke of fine, large oxen, ranking in this respect second to no other town in Franklin County. Of late years, horses have come into more general use on the farm, hence the lively competition which formerly existed in raising nice oxen has in a large measure subsided.
The scenery of Industry is by no means tame or uninterest- ing. Its mountains, covered with shady woods, the commanding views which their summits afford, the springs of pure cool water, issuing from their rugged sides, are all a source of con- stant admiration to the summer visitor. On the mill-stream, but a short distance from West's Mills, is a beautiful cascade," which, with its surrounding forest, forms, during the summer months, an interesting and attractive bit of scenery. Then, too, a body of water like Clear Water Pond would furnish a constant attraction for any summer resort. This is a favorite resort for fishermen and excursionists, and, during the summer months, parties frequently come here from adjoining towns to sail on its clear, placid waters, or to hold picnics on its cool, shady banks. The first attempt to make the carrying of pleasure parties on Clear Water Pond a business was made by Captain Reuben B. Jennings, a gentleman from Parmington, who, in the summer of 1868, put into its waters a sail-boat called the "Minnehaha." He likewise built a rude cabin, on the Backus Mountain shore, where he lived during the season, and where many parties landed for the purpose of holding picnics. So far as the writer has been able to learn, the season's work proved fairly remunerative. Since that time, excursionists have been dependent upon local resources for boats. At the present time, several very -nod ones are owned by parties residing at Allen's Mills. Probably
* This cascade was given the name of Sunderland Falls, in early times.
20 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
there is not another pond of equal size in the State which affords more natural attractions, and whose surroundings are better adapted for a summer resort, than this. It is situated within an hour's drive of railroad connections, and a daily stage brings the mail on the arrival of the evening train. Let a com- modious hotel be built at Allen's Mills for the accommodation of guests; let the same pains be taken to stock the waters of this pond with fish, as has already been taken with Rangeley Lake; and a good supply of serviceable boats kept read)- for use as occasion requires, and one of the most attractive inland summer resorts in Maine would be the result. Thus located, it would draw numerous visitors whose delicate health precludes even the thoughts of a journey to more remote and inaccessi- ble points. With the improvements mentioned, the clear brac- ing air, the fine scenery and perfect quiet, could but have a salutary influence in restoring invalids to a state of perfect health. The place would soon become popular, and eventually secure a patronage which could not prove otherwise than re- munerative to those interested in the enterprise.
The principal varieties of fish found in Clear Water Pond, are: Lake-trout (Salmo confinis) — commonly called togue — cusk, chivens,* suckers and perch, with innumerable swarms oi the smaller varieties. Of the edible kinds, the first named is the most valuable and eagerly sought. Probably the most success- ful fisherman in the waters of this pond was Isaac Webster, who died, at an advanced age, a few years since, in Taunton, Mass. He moved to Industry from Stark, and resided at Allen's Mills for many years. Though a shoemaker by trade, he was an ardent devotee oC Izaak Walton, and spent much
* tor some years the writer has been of the opinion that this name was of local origin ami incorrect. To settle the matter, a specimen, preserved in alcohol, was senl to the U. S. Fish Commissioner, lion. Marshall McDonald, Washington, D. C. The following letter was received in reply: "Dear Sir: The fish sent by you for identi- fication is the round white fish, shad waiter, or 'chivy' / Coregonsus quadrilateralis ) of ichthyologists. It is taken about this time of the year (April 16th) in some of the rivers and lakes of Maine. The species has a vcr\ wide range, including the whole width of country in your latitude and a large [-.art of British America and Alaska."
INTRODUCTORY. 21
time in luring the finny tribe with baited hook. Others may have caught larger specimens than he, but Mr. Webster un- questionably stands ahead of all competitors in point of num- ber and aggregate weight. The largest trout ever caught by him weighed seventeen and three-fourths pounds, with a great many weighing ten pounds and upward. Among those who have captured large fish from this pond are: John Daggett, 31 3-4 pounds; John Wesley Norton, 21 pounds; Samuel RacklifF, 20 1-4 pounds; James C. Luce, 16 pounds; Luther Luce, Sen., 21 1-2 pounds; Reuben Hatch, Sen., 16 pounds; Nelson W. Fish, 13 lbs. 14 ozs. ; John Atwell Daggett, 22 1-2 pounds; John F. Daggett, 16 pounds; Wm. R. Daggett, 161-2 pounds; Fred F. Backus, 153-4 pounds. In 1833, Truman Luce caught a fine specimen weighing ten pounds, and in 1857, Daniel Sanders Collins, one weighing 16 pounds. In July, 1890, Harry Pierce of Farmington, and John Richards of Boston, each caught a trout, weighing 10 1-4 and 1 1 1-2 respec- tively. Chas. F. Oliver, West's Mills, caught a large specimen, in the summer of 1885, which weighed 13 pounds; and in the spring of 1 891, John L. Sterry, Stark, while fishing through the ice, caught two trout weighing II and 12 pounds. But the greatest catch of late years, was made by George W. Dobbins, of Boston, in March, 1889, when he landed two splendid trout, weighing 16 and 20 pounds. Five were caught the next year, each weighing ten pounds or more, beside a large number of smaller ones.*
Some effort has been made to stock Clear Water Pond with black bass and salmon, in the past decade, but the results have not been wholly satisfactory. Herbert B. Luce, of Allen's Mills, after a protracted correspondence with State Fish Com- missioner, Henry O. Stanley, of Dixfield, induced that gentle- man to visit Industry, in the summer of 1883, to consider the feasibility of stocking this pond with black bass. Being well
* Since the foregoing was put in type, the writer learns that Chas. Augustus Allen, of Farmington, while a resident of his native town, Industry, caught a trout frum Clear Water Pond which, by actual weight, tipped the beam at 16 3-4 pounds; and afterward, another of equal weight.
22 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
pleased with the natural facilities it afforded, he forwarded to Mr. Luce, twenty-five small bass (Grystes nigricans, Agassiz), taken from a pond in Wilton, Me. These measured from five to ten inches in length, and were put into Clear Water Pond in the month of September. Since then specimens have been caught, occasionally ; but for the most part, have been returned to the water, and it is believed that in the course of a few years the pond will be well stocked with this valuable fish.*
It was not known for some years after the settlement of the town, that there were suckers in Clear W7ater Pond. The story of their discovery is as follows: Joseph Collins, Sr., then a mere boy, one day went down to the pond in company with a man named Otis Foster, to strip elm bark, which was much used in those early times to scare crows away from the corn- field. In the course of their rambles they came to the brook and found it full of fish. Not knowing what they were, young Collins went home and called his father, who, being an old sailor, was the authority of the settlement in all such matters. Air. Collins, after catching and examining one, pronounced them suckers. Since that time a great many have been caught each spring.
The first cusk ever taken from this pond, was caught by one of Josiah Butler's sons, about 1828, or perhaps later. This fish was also carried to Mr. Collins to be named.
Chivens were not known to exist in the pond till about 1835. As they are a fish which can be caught only through the ice, in shoal water, their discovery was the result of the merest accident. At the mouth of the sucker brook, the bank of the pond makes off very suddenly from shoal to deep water. Several sons of David M. Luce were in the habit of fishing for pond trout, in the deep water just off the mouth of this brook. By a miscalculation, the}' one day cut their fishing holes in the ice too near the .shore, and while angling through those holes, noticed numerous fish of an unknown species
* Since the above was written, black l>ass have been caught in large numbers, some specimens being of good size. Among the largest taken, was one caught by John Vehue, in 1889, weighing six and one-fourth pounds.
INTROD UCTOR i '. 2 3
gathering about their bait. As they could not be induced to take a baited hook, a method was devised by which they were easily captured. A gaff was made, by tying" a large hook to a slender pole, and while one would troll a large piece of pork in the water, another would watch with his gaff and dextrously hook any fish which came near the bait. Even Daniel Collins did not know the name of these fish, and they were for a time called dun-fish, etc., etc.
In June, 1886, while Fish Commissioner Henry O. Stanley was at Weld, Me., looking after the land-locked salmon there, it was suggested to him that Clear Water Pond, in Industry, possessed superior advantages for breeding and rearing salmon. Mr. Stanley, knowing something of its characteristics, at once agreed to put in a certain number of young salmon, providing some one would bear a portion of the necessary expenses. This Mr. D. W. Austin, of Farmington, volunteered to do, and under his immediate supervision, on the 1 7th of June, 5,000 young salmon were placed in the cool, limpid waters of this pond. Many argued that the black bass was an inveterate enemy of the salmon, and that it was absolutely impossible to breed them successfully in waters infested by the bass. Perhaps time may prove these views to have been erroneous ; but after the lapse of nearly six years, the result of Messrs. Stanley and Austin's experiment is still shrouded in doubt.
CHAPTER II. LAND TITLES.
Early Attempts to Colonize New England.— King James's Grant.— The Kennebec Purchase. — The Appraising Commission, Etc., Etc.
After the failure of Capt. John Smith to establish a colony in New England, in 1618, Sir Ferdinando Gorges turned his undivided attention to the formation of a new company, dis- tinct from that of the Virginia company, whose exclusive atten- tion should be devoted to the colonization of New England. A liberal charter was granted to this company, by the sole authority of the King, constituting them a corporation with perpetual succession, by the name of "The Council established at Plymouth in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering and governing of New England in America." The original grant reads as follows, to wit. :
"TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, Greeting: —
Whereas his Majesty King James the fust, for the advancement of a Colony and Plantation in New England, in America, by his Highness' betters Patent, under the great seal of England, hearing date, at West- minster, the third day of November, [1620], in the eighteenth year of his Highness' reign of England, etc., did grant unto the right Honora- ble Lodowick, late Lord Duke of Lenox, George, late Marquis of Rockingham, fames. Marquis of Hamilton, Thomas, Earl of Arundle, Robert, Earl of Warwick, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Viscount, and divers others, whose names are expressed in the said Letters Patent, and their successors, that they should he one body politic and corporate, per- petually, consisting of forty persons, that they should have perpetual succession and one common seal to serve for the said body ; and that they and their successors should be incorporated, called and known by
LAND TITLES. 2$
the name of the Council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering and governing New England in America. And further did also grant unto the said Vice-President and Council, and their successors forever, under the reservations in the said Letters Patent expressed, all that part and portion of the said country called New England in America, situate, lying and being in breadth from forty degrees of northerly latitude, from the equinoctial line, to forty-eight degrees of the said northerly latitude, inclusively, and in length of, and in all the breadth aforesaid, throughout the main lands, from sea to sea, together, also, with all the firm lands, soils, grounds, creeks, inlets, havens, ports, seas, rivers, islands, waters, fishings, mines, minerals, precious stones, quarries, and all and singular the commodities and jurisdictions, both within the said tract of land lying upon the main, as also within the said islands adjoining. To have, hold, possess and enjoy the same unto the said Council and their successors and assigns forever, &c."
This grant extended from New Jersey northward to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, and nearly half of it was comprised in a former grant to the Virginia Company. Objec- tions were made to it, at the outset, from that quarter. Not succeeding with the King and the Privy Council, the complain- ants carried the matter before the House of Commons, and Gorges appeared three several times at the bar of the House to answer objections. On the last occasion, he was attended by eminent legal counsel. The result was unfavorable, and the House, in presenting to the King the public grievances of the kingdom, included amongst them the patent of New England. The effect of this movement was at first prejudicial to the Com- pany, for it was the means of discouraging those who proposed to establish plantations in this quarter, as well as some of the Council. But James was not inclined to have the propriety of his own acts disputed, or denied on the floor of Parliament. So, instead of destroying the patent, as he had intended to do, he dismissed the Parliament and committed to the Tower and other prisons, the members who had been most forward in condemning the charter and most free in questioning the prerogative of the Crown.
Dr. Belknap well remarks, that " either from the jarring in-
26 HISTORY (>/■' INDUSTRY.
terests of the members, or their indistinct knowledge of the country, or their inattention to business, or some other cause which does not fully appear, their affairs were transacted in a confused manner from the beginning; and the grants which they made were so inaccurately described, and interfered so much with each other, as to occasion controversies, some of which are not yet ended." Xo part of New England has suffered more from this cause than Maine, even as at last to a complete denial of the title of its proprietary by a neighboring colony.
The first grant by the Council that included the lands of Industry, seems to have been the patent of Laconia, to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Capt. John Mason, in 1622. This comprised " all lands situated between the rivers Merrimack and Sagadahock,* extending back to the great lakes and the river of Canada." Both patentees acted under this patent, although man}- subsequent grants of the Council were made within the same limits. After seven years joint title, Capt. Mason, Nov. 7, 1629, took out a separate patent of that portion lying south and west of the Piscataqua River, to which he gave the name of New Hampshire. The remaining portion became the exclusive property of Gorges, who, however, had no separate title until 1635, when he gave the territory between the Piscata- qua and the Kennebec, the name of NEW SOMERSETSHIRE.
The next event of general interest in the history of the State, was the confirmation of the patent from the Council of Plymouth to Gorges, by a new charter from the Crown, in 1639, in which the territory is first styled the Province of Maine.
After the death of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, the Province of Maine fell, by heirship, to Ferdinando Gorges, Esq., son of John Gorges, and grandson of the old lord proprietor. In 1678, Mr. Gorges sold and conveyed by his deed of the date
* When the territory, now the State of Maine, was first known to the white peo- ple, the Kennebec River bore four different names. From its mouth to Merrymeeting Bay it was called Sagadahock ; from that bay to Skowhegan it bore the name of the Indian Chief Canabais, afterwards changed to Kennebec; from Skowhegan Falls to Norridgewock Falls at Madison, it was called Nansantsouak, afterwards called Norridgewock; the rest of the river to its source was called Orantsoak.
LAND TITLES. 2/
of March 13th, to "John Usher, of Boston in New England in America, merchant," all the lands comprising the Province or County of Maine, for £1250, or about six thousand dollars. Two days thereafter, Mr. Usher conveyed his purchase to the Massachusetts Bay Company.
After William and Mary ascended the throne of England, a new charter was received, uniting in one province the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, the Province of Maine and the territory east of it to the St. Croix River.
In 1661, the Colony of New Plymouth sold and conveyed a tract of land fifteen miles wide on each side of the Kennebec River and thirty miles in length from north to south, to Antipas Boies, Edward Tyng, Thomas Brattle and John Winslow, for £400, or "at a cost," as Wm. Allen states, " of about four cents and three mills per acre." These persons and their heirs held it for nearly a century without taking efficient means for its settlement. In 1749, however, they began to think of settling their lands, and in September of that year, a meeting of the proprietors was called, and new members were admitted. Four years later, Massachusetts passed an act permitting persons holding lands in common and undivided, to act as a corporation. In June, 1753, under this act, a corporation was formed by the name of the " Proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase, from the late colony of New Plymouth," which continued to be their legal title, though they are commonly known by the name of the Plymouth Company, and their lands as the Plymouth Patent. At the time of this incorporation, their claims were very ex- tensive, much exceeding the bounds already mentioned, — in fact, extending from Casco Bay eastward to Pemaquid, and north from the sea-coast to Carratunk Falls. Four adjoining companies claimed, however, large portions of this territory; whose claims, after tedious litigation, were finally settled, either by compromise or reference.
The early explorers of Sand)' River valley, supposing the land where they had decided to make clearings and establish their future homes, which was subsequently incorporated as the town of Farmington, belonged to the Plymouth Patent, en-
28 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
tered into negotiations with the proprietors for the purpose of obtaining a title to the land. Judge Joseph North was em- ployed to survey the township, in the spring of 1780, agreeable to these pending negotiations. The first duty of the surveyor was to establish the northwest corner of the Plymouth Patent, which, according to the proprietors' claims, would likewise fix the northwest corner of the township. This corner he made on a basswood tree marked " K. 15 M." — to denote that it was fifteen miles from the Kennebec River.*
Nine years later, after the close of the Revolutionary War, by a different construction of the grant, and by an agreement with the agents of the Commonwealth, dated June 26, 1789, Ephraim Ballard, f a surveyor agreed upon for the purpose, made the northwest corner of the patent eighty rods east of the northeast corner of Farmington. The boundary of the Plymouth claim thus being established near the western shore of what is now called Clear Water Pond. After the establish- ment of the northwest corner of the Plymouth Patent, in 1789, the Company obtained a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, of a strip of land one mile and a half wide and thirty miles long, on their northern boundary, to compensate them for lands given to settlers. This new acquisition extended the northern limits of their possessions in Industry to the south line of the township of New Vineyard, as given in ( )sgood Carleton's Map of Maine, published about 1795.
The meetings of the Company continued regularly, with the exception of the first year of the Revolutionary War, from 1749 till it finally sold the remnants of its possessions, at pub- lic auction, in 18 16, and dissolved by mutual consent.
* Butler's History of Farmington, p. 24. Allen says { History of Industry, p. j ) that the corner was marked " on a small beech tree." Mr. Butler quotes from the original plan of the survey, hence, his statement is to be accepted as indubitable testi- mony. Mr. Allen undoubtedly confounded this landmark with the small beech tree on the New Vineyard Core which marked central corners of the four quarter sections.
f Esquire William Allen states ( History of Industry, p. 3) that this boundary was established by Samuel Titcomb, a noted surveyor; but by the evidence adduced in the action Winthrop vs. Curtis ( Greenleaf 's 3 Me. Reports, p. 112) it was shown to be Mr. Ballard, as slated above.
LAND TITLES. 29
The lands of the Company were not surveyed and offered for sale as the advancement of the country demanded. At the close of the Revolutionary War, great numbers of the dis- banded soldiers, unlike those of Europe — the pest and scourge of society — came into the District of Maine to seek a per- manent home, and became industrious husbandmen. The Company having formerly taken such pains to extend the in- formation of their liberal offers of land to actual settlers, many came on to the patent and selected for their abode such lots as suited them, without inquiring whether these were designed for settlers or had been assigned to individual proprietors, or were yet among the unsurveyed lands of the proprietary; and in 1799, it was found that large portions of the unlocated lands of the Plymouth Patent were taken up by persons who had intruded themselves without permission. "If," says R. H. Gar- diner, "the Company had, even at this late hour, resumed their former policy and given to the settlers half of the land, if so much had been required, for each to have one hundred acres, or if they had offered to sell at very low prices to actual set- tlers, there can be little doubt that the remaining portions would have been of more value than the whole proved to be ; but what is of infinitely more importance than pecuniary value, peace and quietness would have been at once established, and the subsequent scenes of violence avoided."
The Company also found themselves deprived of disposing of their lands by dividing them among the proprietors ; for division presupposes surveys and allotment, and the settlers would not allow surveys unless they could previously know what would be the price of their lands. After trying various expedients in their endeavors to gain possession of their lands, without success, the Company petitioned the General Court, in 1802, to authorize the Governor and Council to appoint com- missioners, "who should determine the terms upon which the Company should quiet each of the settlers in possession of certain portions of land as may include their improvements, in such a manner and on such terms as the Commissioners may
30 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
think best." The following resolve was passed, in conformity with the prayer of these petitioners :
On the petition of Arodi Thayer, in behalf of the proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase, authorizing the company to quiet the settlers on said lauds, and empowering the Governor, with advice of the Council, to appoint Commissioners to adjust and settle all dis- putes between said proprietors and the settlers on said lands. February 19, 1802.
On the petition of Arodi Thayer, in behalf of the proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase, from the late colony of New Plymouth, praying for leave to sell and dispose of certain of their lands for the quieting of settlers ; and for the establishing commissioners to quiet all such settlers as shall agree to submit themselves to their authority, and to fix and determine on the terms upon which they shall be so quieted : And the legislature being desirous to promote the laudable and liberal applica- tion of the Plymouth Company, to bring to a peaceable and final clo§e, all matters not adjusted by its agent with the settlers on the undivided lands, by a submission of the same to three disinterested commissioners : Therefore,
Resolved, That the proprietors of the common and undivided lands belonging to the Plymouth Company, so called, be. and they here- by are authorized and empowered, by their agent or agents, duly ap- pointed and authorized for that purpose, at any legal meeting of said proprietors, to compromise and settle with such persons, or each or any of them, who may have entered upon any of said lands, and made im- provements thereon ; and by deed under the hand and seals of such agents, sell and convey to such person or persons, any portion or por- tions of said lands which they may think best, and on such terms as the parties may agree ; and after payment of all such taxes and charges as may be due from any proprietor, to divide «ml pay over to every pro- prietor his share of the residue of the money arising from such settle- ment and sale, according to his proportion of lands : And all such sales shall be as valid in law as if the deed thereof had been executed by every individual proprietor, or his or her legal representative :
And whereas it is conceived. That a final compromise and settle- ment of the claims of the said proprietors, with such persons as have intruded upon such common and undivided lands, will have a tendency to promote the peace ami quiet of that part of the State ; and the said proprietors having, on their part, assured the Commonwealth, that they
LAND TITLES. 31
are willing to submit the terms of compromise with such persons as have set down on their said lands, and shall not have settled with said Company or their agent, to such commissioners as shall be appointed under the authority of this government : Therefore,
It is further resolved, That the Governor with the consent of the Council, be, and he hereby is authorized and requested to nominate and commission three disinterested persons to adjust and settle all dis- putes between said proprietors and any such person or persons, their heirs or assigns, as have not settled with said proprietors or their agents : And the said commissioners, in settling the terms aforesaid for quieting any settler in the possession of one hundred acres of land, laid out so as to include his improvements, and be least injurious to adjoining lands, shall have reference to three descriptions of settlers, viz : Those settled before the war with Great-Britain, settlers during the war afore- said, and settlers since that period, or to any person whose possession has been transferred to claimants now in possession ; and award such compensation and terms of payment to the proprietors as shall appear just and equitable. And said commissioners shall repair to the land in dispute, and give due notice of the time of their meeting by the twen- tieth day of September next ; and thereupon proceed and complete the purposes of their commission as soon as may be, and make their report in writing, under their hands and seals, or under the hands and seals of a major part of them, into the office of the Secretary of this Commonwealth, who shall make out true and attested copies of the report, one for the said proprietors, and the other for the said settlers : And all reference by the settlers to the said commissioners shall be in writing, signed by the settlers, their agent or agents, representative or attorney, and by the agent of the proprietors, duly appointed and authorized for the purpose by a vote passed at a legal meeting of the said proprietors ; and the report of the said commissioners, made, exe- cuted and transmitted into the Secretary's office aforesaid, shall be final between the parties referring as aforesaid : And it shall be the duty of the agent for said proprietors to make and execute such deeds of conveyance upon performance of the conditions awarded, as may be necessary to give full effect to the report of said commissioners, which deed shall be as valid in law, as if the same was executed by every indi- vidual proprietor, or his agent, or legal representative, and all moneys received by said proprietors, or their agent, in virtue of said proceed- ings, shall be disposed of to the use of the several proprietors, in the same manner as is provided by this resolve in case of settlement by said proprietors, without submission to said commissioners :
32 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
Provided, That the parties interested in this resolve shall, on or before the rst day of November next, submit themselves to the refer- ence aforesaid, otherwise they shall not he entitled to any of the pro- vision, or benefit of this resolve.
And whereas the peace, happiness and prosperity of a large and promising territory seems greatly to depend on an amicable settlement of existing controversies and disputes, which tend to public discord and private animosity, a submission to the commissioners to be appointed as aforesaid is earnestly recommended to all settlers on the lands afore- said, and all others interested, who wish hereafter to be considered as friends to peace, good order and the government of the Commonwealth. And all expenses and incidental charges of the aforesaid commission shall be paid, one half by the Commonwealth, and the other half by the said proprietors.
The Commissioners appointed were, Hon. Peleg Coffin, State Treasurer, and a descendant of Sir Thomas Coffin, the original proprietor of the Island of Nantucket, whose descend- ants down to the time of the Revolutionary War exacted quit rents of all purchasers of real estate, out of the family line, of one hundred pounds of beef or pork or its equivalent, annually', with high aristocratic notions, was appointed chairman ; with Hon. Elijah Bridgham, a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and Col. Thomas Dwight, of Northampton, as associates. Although a recent writer claims that these men possessed the entire confidence of the public, yet Esquire William Allen says of them, "The selection of these Commissioners was very un- fortunate for the settlers ; they were all old-school Puritans of strict, unbending integrity of the patrician grade, with inflexible opinions as to the rights of freeholders, with no sympathy for trespassers or squatters as the settlers were called. They had no personal knowledge of the nature of the soil they were to appraise, and bad no conception of the hardships and priva- tions of the settlers by whose bard labor not only the lands they occupied, but all in the vicinity bad been made available and accessible by improvements and roads ; nor of the impos- sibility of raising money from the produce of the soil or from their labor, to pay the prices demanded by the proprietors."
LAND TITLES. 33
Many settlers, who had served their country faithfully dur- ing the Revolutionary War and had been turned off without the least compensation for their services, were forced, from actual necessity, to take possession of wild land, wherever they could find it unoccupied, in order to save themselves and families from starvation. This they were invited and allowed to do on wild lands belonging to the State. Some of the Proprietors of the Plymouth Patent were Englishmen; others were English sympathizers who had fled from the country, on the breaking out of the War, and had in a moral and equitable sense forfeited their estates by disloyalty to their country. Thus the early settlers in Industry believed, but the Courts thought differently. Others maintained that a title to their lots could be gained by possession, or at least for a small additional stipend.
The Commission was required to repair to Maine and ex- amine the lands claimed by the Company, allow the settlers a hearing, and then state the terms and fix the price to be paid by each person who had been in possession of the land one year or more, for the lot on which he was located. As a necessary preliminary measure, Lemuel Perham, Jr., of Earm- ington, was employed, in September, 1802, to make a survey of the lands in Industry.
This survey was made under the supervision of the Com- pany's agent, Isaac Pillsbury, of Hallowell, and by mutual agreement of the parties, Samuel Prescott, Esq., and Major Erancis Mayhew, of New Sharon, were selected as chainmen. The surveyor was directed to run out a lot for each settler, to include all his improvements, with as little damage as possible to the adjoining lands. Under these directions, lots were laid out and numbered from one to seventy;* the survey com- mencing at Thompson's corner and embracing a large portion of Company's land, afterwards incorporated as the town of In- dustry, and extended north to the Mile-and-a-half or Lowell Strip. In October, after the completion of the survey, the Commission
* Report of the Appraising Commission. Wra. Allen says (Hist, of Industry, p. 37 ) : " He [Mr. Perham] thus proceeded from day to day till he had laid out a lot for each settler, numbering them from one to sixty-four."
34 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
came to Augusta, and established themselves at Thomas's Tav- ern, on the east side of the Kennebec River, — giving notice to all persons interested, to appear and submit their cases to be heard. When, without seeing a single lot to be appraised, as appraisers on executions are required to do, they affixed a price ranging from one hundred and twenty-five to two hundred and twenty-five dollars for a lot of one hundred acres. This sum, with back interest, the settlers were required to pay in Boston, within a specified time, in specie or Boston bank bills.
As few of the settlers had ready funds sufficient to pay the expenses of a journey to Augusta to present their claims in person, Capt. William Allen and Nahum Baldwin were em- ployed by the settlers, as their lawful agents and attorneys. In compliance with this arrangement the following document was signed and executed :
Submission of Settlers on Plymouth Co.'s Land. Records of the Commonwealth, Vol. 3, page — . (In connection with Plans.)
Know all men by these presents, That We, the Inhabitants and Settlers in the Plantation of Industry, in the County of Kennebec, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, viz : (Here follows a list of the names which appear below as signers, but not in the same order. ) Do by these presents constitute and appoint Capt. William Allen and Nahum Baldwin of the Plantation of Industry aforesaid, to be our true and Lawful agents or attornies, and for us and for each of us cv in our names & behalf, to appear before the Commissioners Appointed by his Excellency the Covernor and Council, under a Resolve of the Legisla- ture of the Commonwealth aforesaid, passed the nineteenth day of Feby., One thousand eight hundred & two, to adjust & settle all disputes between the proprietors of the Kennebec purchase (so called) and the Settlers who have settled on the Undivided Lands oi said Proprietors as described in the Resolve aforesaid, and us their Constituents to represent before said Commissioners, for us and in our names to make, sign & Execute In Submission or Reference to the Commissioners aforesaid, the same to be good, valid & binding on us and each of us as tho. we were personally present, and had subscribed our names to such submission or Reference aforesaid to all intents, constructions & purposes whatever. In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our
LAND TITLES.
35
hands and seals this first day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and two.
Signed & scaled in presence of
(signed) Jonathan Williamson, Jr. Luther Burr. Levi Willard.
(signed) Cornelius Norton John Patterson.
John Thompson.
Elijah Butler. Rufus Sanderson. Atkins Ellis. James Johnson. Samuel Moody. Zoe Withee. Nathl. Davis. Jeremiah Bean. David Smith. Abijah Smith. Joshua Greenleaf. Samuel Hinckley. Daniel Ellet. John Lake. Sam Hill. Saml. Brown. John Thompson.
Joseph X Taylor.
mark
John Gower. John Webber. Nath'l Willard. Levi Greenleaf. Zachariah Norton. Clark Works. Joel Works. Daniel Burr. Eben'r Williamson. Abraham Johnson. Bartlett Allen.
Samuel Willard.
Jonathan Knowlton. James Thompson.
his
Joseph X Moody.
mark
Hugh Thompson. Levi Joy. Eleazer Crowell. Peter West, fames Winslow. William Baker Mann. James Heard. Isaac Young.
Nathaniel Chapman. Elijah Norton.
Peter Witham. Ebenezer Oakes. Samuel Leeman. Jacob Leeman. David Maxell. 1 >an'l Young.
Ebenezer Clark. John Coffin. Jacob Matthews. Thomas Johnson. Benjamin (Arnold ?] Ebenezer Stevens. Benja. Burges. John B. Stevens.
Zephaniah Luce.
his
Daniel X Emmery. John Young.
mark
Silas Perham. Lemuel Collins
his
Ambrose Arnold. Benjamin X Jewett. Archelaus Luce.
mark his
De'Have Norton. Jabez X Rollins. Joshua Pike.
mark
36 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
his
Freeman Allen. Ephraim X Moody. Samuel Stevens.
mark his
Shubael X Crowell. Elisha Luce.
mark
John Thompson, Jr. Benjamin Stevens.
Henry N. Chamberlain. William Ladd.
Seth Brooks. Alvan Howes.
Kennebec, ss. Industry Plantation, October the first. 1802. then the above named persons Personally appeared and acknowledged the above Instrument to be their free act and Deed, before me.
j\ ( • v ivt justice of
signed) Cornelius Norton J ,, t, & ' the Peace.
The names of Henry X. Chamberlain and Seth Brooks, were ack. on ( )ct. 5.
Money being almost wholly out of the question, the settlers paid Capt. Allen in grain, with the exception of one who gave him a silver dollar, which was all the cash he . got from them towards defraying the expenses of his journey. Their cases were presented in clue form by the agent, who labored assidu- ously to secure favorable terms for his employers, but with little avail.
The impartial reader can not fail to discern that the settlers of Industry were submitting their cause to a rigid tribunal, whose sympathies in the matter favored the proprietors. Not only was their able agent, Charles Vaughan, Esquire, in attend- ance at these hearings ; but likewise eminent legal counsel* and witnesses were subpoenaed to testify in behalf of the proprietors. On the other hand, settlers who were too poor to personally appear before the Commission in their own behalf, were in circumstances which precluded all thoughts of counsel to de- fend their rights, or witnesses to tell of the stubborn nature of the soil in Industry, or the abject poverty and want of its in- habitants. The proprietors' counsel availed themselves of the most trivial errors, making mountains of mole hills, in order to
♦These were Hon. James Bridge, an eminent counsellor of his day, and Reuel Williams, then a rising young lawyer.
LAND TITLES. 37
"•ain an advantage over the settlers, whom they seemed to regard rather as criminals to be convicted, than honest men presenting equitable claims for adjudication.
Forming an opinion from a few fertile spots on the beautiful Kennebec, and the glowing accounts of the Company's wit- nesses, the prices affixed to lots of land appraised was from seventy-five cents to one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, higher than equally as good land cost in adjoining towns.
"Thirty-one settlers,"* writes Win. Allen, "submitted their claims to the Commissioners, all of whom were greatly disap- pointed with the appraisal, and only eleven of this number, by the aid of friends, were able to make payment according to the appraisal, and not more than six from their own resources. Some of these had to sell every animal of stock the)' had, to do it. Ten others prevailed on friends to advance the money for them and take the deeds for their security and to give them time to purchase of them or redeem their mortgages. The other ten abandoned their possessions and left town. An age elapsed before the title of the proprietors or non-residents was extinguished."
" My lot," continues Esq. Allen, " cost me two hundred and seven dollars and forty-two cents, in 1804. I was able,
by selling my oxen and all my grain, and by appropriating my wages for teaching school, to raise the necessary sum within ten dollars, and Elijah Fairbanks, of YVinthrop, voluntarily lent me that sum to complete the payment. I then took a receipt and demanded my deed, but was refused for some time, till I paid the two dollars required by the agent and took a deed without warranty." Each claim adjusted required the execution of two sets of papers, one being a "submission," signed by the settler or his attorney, the other a written decision of the Commis- sioners, f The samples here given are verbatim copies of the originals.
* (Hist, of Industry, p. S.J The returns of the Commissioners show that forty- eight settlers submitted their claims.
f In the originals, the words in italics were in writing, the rest in printing.
vs HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
The Form used in the "Submission" or Reference, between the Kennebec Proprietors and mi Settlers in the Plantation of Industry, in 1S02.
Whereas the Legislature of this Commonwealth, l>y a resolution of the nineteenth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and two, made and provided for the quieting of settlers on the common and un- divided lands belonging to the proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase, from the late Colony of New Plymouth, and for establishing commis- sioners for that purpose, did Resolve as follows:
"That the Governor, with the consent of the Council, be, and he ■• hereby is authorized and requested to nominate and commission three "disinterested persons to adjust and settle all disputes between said " Proprietors and any such person or persons, their heirs and assigns. •' as have not settled with said proprietors or their Agents. — And the "said Commissioners, in settling the terms aforesaid, for quieting any "settler in the possession of one hundred acres of land laid out so as "to include his improvements, and be least injurious to adjoining lands. " shall have a reference to three discriptions of settlers, viz : those set- " tied before the war with Great Brittain, settlers during the war afore- "said, and settlers since that period, or to any person whose possession " has been transferred to claimants now in possession."
And whereas Janus Johnson, since the War with Great Brittain, to- wit, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety- six, was a settler on a lot of — No.jg, sixty-nine acres of land, situated in Industry Plantation, the bounds whereof shall be ascertained and set- tled by the said Commissioners in their report hereon, the same lot being part of the land held under the Proprietors of the said Kennebec Pun hase, James Johnson, a claimant now in possession thereof.
Now. in pursuance of the said Resolve and appointment, I. Charles Vaughan, Agent to the Proprietors aforesaid, and the said fames John- son, do refer and submit it to the said Commissioners, they, or the major part of them, to settle and declare the terms aforesaid, on which the said James Johnson, his heirs and assigns, shall be quieted in the possession of the said lot, the said Proprietors, by their Agent afore- said, and the said James Johnson, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, respective!) holden and bound by the report of said Com- missioners in the premises, when made into the Secretary's Office of said Commonwealth, as directed by said Resolve.
In Witness whereof We hereto set our hands this sixteenth day of
LAND TITLES. 39
October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
two.
(signed) Chas. Vaughan, Agent.
Signed in presence of (signed) Lemuel Perham. (signed)
James Johnson, by his attornies,
// 'in. Allen. Nahum Baldwin.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
This Sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and two, on the foregoing reference between the Proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase, by their Agent Charles Vaughan and James Johnson, for quieting the said James Johnson agreeably to the before mentioned Resolve, in the possession of the said lot of land, being lott number Thirty- nine on Plan No. 4, situated in the Plantation of Industry, containing sixty-nine acres,
As by the plan and description signed by Lemuel Perham surveyor, hereto annexed will appear, reference thereto being had.
We, the Commissioners before named, having met and heard the parties, do settle, declare, and report, that the said James Johnson be quieted in the possession of the above bounded premises — To have and to hold the same to the said James Johnson his heirs and assigns, to his and their use forever, on the terms following, namely ;
That the said Junes Johnson, his heirs, executors, or administrators, shall, on or before the first day of June which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and four, pay to Thomas Lindall Winthrop, esquire, Treasurer of the said Proprietors of the Kennebec- Purchase, or his successor in said office, the sum of ninety dollars, and fifty cents with interest, from the first day of April next, then the said Proprietors by their Agent, shall make or cause to be made to the said James Johnson his heirs or assigns, a deed of the above described premises, whereby he and they may hold the same in fee-simple for- ever.
(signed) Elijah Brigham.
Given under our hands and seals.
P. Coffin. Thomas Dwight.
CHAPTER III.
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.
The Plymouth Patent. — The New Vineyard Gore. — The Lowell Strip. — North Industry.
Who are the nobles of the earth,
The true aristocrats, Who need not how their heads to lords.
Nor doll to kings their hats? ******* Who are they, but the men of toil,
Who cleave the forest down, And plant, amid the wilderness,
The hamlet and the town?
Stewart.
AFTER the close of the Revolutionary War many \vh<> were in straitened circumstances were induced to come to Industry to settle, from the fact that this land had for the most part be- longed to Tories, or sympathizers with England, who, when the tocsin of war sounded, either clandestinely left the country or remained and used every means at their command to aid and abet the English soldier)'. Under these circumstances, the assumption was not an unreasonable one that by such disloyalty all right and title to their estates would be forfeited and their lands become the property of the United States. On the strength of this hypothesis, many who had served faithfully in the Revolutionary War, having no means to buy, came hither and took up wild land, which they hoped to hold by posses- sion, or by the payment of a nominal sum to the government in consideration of their faithful service. These were substan- tially the circumstances under which many came and settled on
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 4'
the Patent, appropriating land and erecting log cabins for their families wherever a desirable location could be found. '
The first settler within the limits of Industry, as the town was afterward incorporated, was Levi Greenleaf, who settled on lot No. 61, in 1787.1 Mr. Greenleaf was from Massachu- setts,! a native of Bolton, and a young man of character and energy. He married about the time of his removal to the wilds of Maine, and brought his wife and household goods here on a sled drawn by four large oxen. The farm cleared by him was in that part of the town set off to New Sharon in 1852, and is now known as the Daniel Collins farm.
Peter Witham, who came to Industry from the vicinity of Hallowell, in 1788, and settled north of Mr. Greenleaf, on Lot No. 6/,§ was the second settler on the Patent. He was coarse, vulgar and illiterate, and was not prosperous — possibly in con- sequence of intemperate habits.
No further settlements were made on the Patent until 1792, when Nathaniel Willard and sons came from Dunstable, Mass., and settled on lot No. 14, at Thompson's Corner. A portion of this lot, if not the whole, is included in the Thomas M. Oli- ver farm, just south of the school-house in George W. John- son's district. Three years later, Mr. Willard's son, Levi, took up lot No. 15, adjoining his father's on the north. Samuel,
* To the writer it seems a singular circumstance that the courts should invariably decide in favor of the disloyal proprietors when this matter was brought before them for adjudication some years later.
t Esq. Win. Allen says (Hist, of Industry, p. rj): "The first settlers in Industry on the patent were Joseph Taylor and Peter Witham in 1792, on that part set off to New Sharon, also about the same time Nathaniel Chapman, who was a Revolutionary soldier." Documentary evidence in the State-house in Massachusetts shows that Peter Witham came in 17SS, Taylor in 1799, eleven years later, and that Mr. Chap- man did nut settle in town until 1801. These same records show Levi Greenleaf to have been the first settler in town, as stated above.
% Jonathan Greenleaf, in his Genealogy of the Greenleaf Family (see p. 78), says Mr. Greenleaf came to Maine from Dunstable, N. IT, but the author has been unable to find a New Hampshire town of that name in any Gazetteer he has consulted.
* Although the Plymouth Patent was not surveyed until many settlers had become residents thereon, the writer has, for convenience, designated the lots as subsequently numbered when the survey was afterward made.
42 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
another son, settled on lot No. 62, in the south part of the town, in 1799, his lot joining that of Levi Greenleaf. Jonathan Knowlton settled on lot No. 18, north side of Bannock Hill, the same year as Mr. Willard. Mr. Knowlton was one of the original purchasers of the township of New Vineyard, and also owned the northwest section of the New Vineyard Gore. It is supposed that he occupied his lot but a short time. He was probably succeeded by Archelaus Luce, and in 1798 the lot reverted to Mr. Knowlton's son, Jonathan Knowlton, Jr., who lived there until after the town was incorporated and then sold his improvements to Dr. Aaron Stoyell, who obtained a title to the land from the proprietors' agent, and subsequently sold to Jacob Hayes, who came from Berwick, Me., about 1809. Mr. Hayes remained there a few years, and then exchanged farms with John Patterson and removed to the south side of the hill. Mr. Patterson and his son Samuel occupied this farm for many years. The land is now ( 1892) owned by George W. Johnson. A tew apple-trees which stood near the house, and traces of the cellar, are still to be seen. Mr. Luce, on giving possession to Knowlton, settled on lot No. 27, at Goodridge's Corner, where he remained until 1808, when he sold to James Davis and moved to George's River.* Mr. Luce was from Martha's Vine- yard, as was also Mr. Davis. The farm he occupied was owned for many years by the late Hovey Thomas.
John Thompson, Jr., and Jeremiah Beane, settled near Mr. Greenleaf, in 1793, on lots No. 64 and 66; but nothing has been learned concerning them. Mr. Beane is supposed to have left the settlement prior to the incorporation of the town. Mr. Thompson is not known to have been related to Capt. John Thompson, who figured prominently in the early history of the town. The following year saw quite an influx of immigrants among whom were James Thompson, Thomas Johnson and Zoe Withee. Mr. Thompson had resided in Norridgewock for some years previous to his settlement on the Patent, but was a native of New Hampshire. He settled on lot No. 2, a near neighbor
* Allen's History of Industry, p. ././.
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 43
to Nathaniel Willard. He was a man of energy and enterprise, cleared a good farm, built a commodious frame house, and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. He eventually sold his farm to Samuel Norton, of Edgartown, Mass., and moved to the State of New York. This farm is now owned by George W. Johnson, and among the older townspeople is known as the Albert George farm.
Thomas Johnson and sons, from Martha's Vineyard, came to Sandy River in 1793, and the following year began to clear land on lot No. 8 on the Patent, built a log cabin, and moved his family there in the autumn of the same year. His sons, Abraham and James, took up lots No. 13 and 39, adjoining their father's, in 1796. The land embraced in lots No. 8 and 39, is now owned by Augustus H. Swift, while No. 13 comprises the farm of McLaughlin Bros. Esq. Wm. Allen states that another son settled on lot No. }J ; but there is nothing to show when he settled there or how long he remained. In " quieting" the settlers upon their lots, agreeably to a resolve of the General Court, in 1802, this lot was claimed by Joseph Moody, and the record shows that he took possession in 1797.
Zoe VVithee settled at Withee's Corner, a near neighbor to Mr. Johnson. His lot, No. 38, is now (1892) owned and occupied by Alvin L. Chapman. Mr. VVithee was a soldier of the Revolution, and when he first came to Industry, intemperate in his habits. He was soundly converted, under the preaching of " Father John Thompson," and ever after lived an upright christian life. He came from Vienna, but was a native of New Hampshire. His farm in former years was regarded as one of the best in town.
John Thompson, also from Vienna, came to Industry in 1795, and settled on lot No. 16, adjoining that of his brother James on the east. Here he cleared land, erected a cabin and made his home for some years ; but subsequently, after the incorporation of the town, removed to lot No. 53, by Stark's line. John B. Stevens was the original settler on this lot in 1795, and had made some improvements thereon. On giving posses- sion to Mr. Thompson, he left town, and nothing of his subse-
44 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
quent history is known. Mr. Thompson cleared up a nice farm, erected mills on a small stream which flowed through his lot, and also a commodious two-story house, which still stands on the place. 1 le was largely instrumental in erecting the " Red Meeting-House," the first house of worship in town, and figured prominently in even' good work. The homestead fell by heir- ship to his son Robert, who spent his whole life thereon. It is now owned by the sons of Alvin L. Chapman. Joseph Badger settled on lot No. 51, at an early date, but made only a brief Stay. The next settler on this lot was Joshua Tike, who came from Salisbury, Mass., in 1795. He spent the whole of his active life on this lot, clearing and bringing into cultivation the farm now owned by Wm. J. Gilmore. Samuel Crompton, a blunt Englishman, from Staffordshire County, came to Industry and settled on lot No. 46,* in 1795, having commenced a clearing the previous year. I lis lot was located in that part of the town set off to New Sharon, and is now (1892) known as the John Yeaton farm. Mr. Crompton was an honest, hard-working- man, but rather poor when he first settled on the Patent. By diligence and perseverance, however, he made a good farm and acquired a comfortable competency. John Webber settled on lot No. 48, adjoining Mr. Crompton's lot, in 1796, and lived in town until after its incorporation. Further than this, nothing is known concerning him. Jonathan Bunker, a ropemaker, from Nantucket, Mass., settled on lot No. 5, on the east side of Ban- nock Hill, where he lived for fifteen years. He then sold to Henry Johnson, who came from Thomaston, Me., and removed to the State of New York. Samuel Moody and several of his sons, came to the settlement on the Patent in 1797. Of these, the father settled on lot No. 22, and Joseph, one of the sons, on lot No. 37, which is embraced in the farm now owned by Horatio A. P>. Keves. ( hie or two other sons lived in town; but all were very poor and eventually moved away. They were from Shapleigh.
Joseph Broadbent took up lot No. 7, lying to the south of
* Wm. Allen says ( Hist, of Industry, p. 37) that Mr. Crompton's lot was No. 47. which does not agree with the records of the Appraising Commission.
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 45
the Jacob Hayes farm, in 1798, but left the settlement before the incorporation of the town. Hugh Thompson, who may have been the father of James and John, settled on lot No. 17, lying north of the fo renamed John's lot. His name does not appear as a petitioner for incorporation of the town, or as one of the legal voters of 1803. The writer has been unable to ascertain anything in relation to his final destiny.
Capt. William Allen, father of the historian, commenced a clearing on lot No. 34, on what has since been known as Allen Hill, in October, 1796. The next year he cut more trees, built a log-house, and on the 30th day of April, 1798, moved his family to their new home on the Patent. William, his eldest son, commenced a clearing on lot No. 28, in the spring of 1801, and sowed two acres of wheat and one of rye that season. This lot was made into a productive farm by young Mr. Allen. It is now known as the Deacon Ira Emery farm, and is owned by Charles V. Look. Bartlett, another son of Capt. William, set- tled on the farm now owned by Francis S. Rogers. Capt. Allen was a clothier by trade, and worked at that business be- fore coming to Industry. He was a native of Chilmark, Mass. Atkins Ellis, a Revolutionary soldier, came to Industry from Harwich, Mass., and settled on lot No. 35, on New Sharon line, in 1798. He was the father of a large family who frequently suffered for the common comforts of life. Being unable to pay for his land, he moved to lot L, south of Pike's Corner, and later to Ripley, Me. His lot is now known as the Russell Macomber farm.
Alvin Howes commenced improvements on lot No. 44, in 1798. Being a single man, he boarded with James Johnson and others, until he finally married, in 1801. He was a practi- cal farmer, and labored incessantly to improve his farm and render it more valuable and productive. He was a native of Dennis, Mass., but came to the settlement on the Patent from Farmington. The farm on which he spent the whole of his active life is now owned by George W\ Bailey.
Lemuel Collins, a native of Massachusetts, settled in Indus- try on lot No. 50, the same year as did Mr. Howes who subse- quently married his eldest daughter, Mercy Collins. 6
46 HISTORY OF INDUS TR)'.
Isaac Young, Jr., and Benjamin Gray, also came to the Patent in 1798, and settled on lots No. 59 and 70, but both moved away prior to the incorporation of the town.
Samuel Brown made a settlement on lot No. 1 9, in 1799. He came from Farmington, his father and Nathaniel Davis hav- ing been the first permanent settlers in that town. His lot is now included in the Thomas Stevens farm, owned and occupied by David W. Merry.
Elisha Luce made a small clearing on lot No. $3, in 1799, burned his chopping and sowed an acre of wheat, which he hoed in, being too poor to hire a yoke of oxen. He afterward enlarged his clearing, built a log-house, and sold out to Jona- than Goodridge. This farm is now the property of Alvarez N. Goodridge. Ephraim Moody and Eleazer Crowell settled on lots 32 and 43 the same year as Mr. Luce, but neither remained long. William Ladd from Mt. Vernon settled in town in 1798, first on lot No. 22, where he remained three years and then moved to lot 21. His habits were bad, and he was always poor. He eventually removed to Stark.*
I'lll'. NEW VINEYARD GORE.
The first settlement within the present limits of the town of Industry was made on the New Vineyard Goref in 1 79 1 . l'h is tract of land was a remnant, of rectangular shape, left after the survey of the township of New Vineyard, its longest sides being from east to west. It was bounded on the north by the township of New Vineyard, on the west by Readstown (now Strong), on the south by Sandy River Plantation (now Farmington), and on the east by the Lowell or Mile-and-a-half Strip. In extent it was six hundred and three rods long, four hundred and fifteen rods wide, and contained one thousand five hundred and sixty-four acres. This tract of land was purchased
* More extender] sketches of many of these settlers may be round in tin- genea- logical portion of this work.
f The early surveyors in laying out townships invariably applied tin- term gore to any fragment ol land remaining after the survey, irrespective ol size or shape.
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 47
of the land agent of Massachusetts in 1790 by a company consisting of Jonathan Knowlton and Ebenezer Norton, Esq., of Farmington, Deacon Cornelius Norton, Abner Norton and Daniel Collins, of Martha's Vineyard, for forty-five pounds sterling, or a little less than fourteen cents per acre. Knowl- ton, Ebenezer and Cornelius Norton, each taking a quarter section, and Abner Norton and Daniel Collins each taking one-eighth of the tract. During the following winter these gentlemen proceeded to explore their purchase, and made a preliminary division of the same, so that those who wished could commence a clearing at once. They first divided their purchase into two equal parts by running a line, with a pocket compass, through the center from north to south. They then agreed to a proposition made by Esquire Ebenezer Norton, in consideration of the lots on the south half being more valua- ble on account of being nearer the settlement at Sandy River, to make those on the north half wider, and consented to run the line east and west from a beech-tree two rods south of the centre. They then proceeded to draw lots for the sections. The northwest section fell to Jonathan Knowlton, the northeast section to Deacon Cornelius Norton, the southwest section to Esquire Ebenezer Norton, and the southeast section to Abner Norton and Daniel Collins. It was said that after the division, Esquire Norton, who had designated the starting point for the east and west line, complained that Knowlton and Deacon Nor- ton had got too much of the land, their lots being four rods wider than the others, whereas he had intended that there should have been only two rods difference. Doubtless this was the intention of the gentleman, but not stopping to think, in the haste of the moment, that it would be necessary to move the line but one rod south of the centre to make the required two rods difference in the width of the two lots on the north, he made an error in his calculations. But as all the others were satisfied with the division, it was confirmed; and Esquire William Allen says: "To pacify the complainant, the others relinquished to him their right to purchase a fragment of good land adjoin- ing Clear Water Pond." Early in the spring of 1791, Abner
48 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
Norton and Daniel Collins commenced to make a clearing on their section of the Gore. They ran a line through the centre, from north to smith, and agreed that in the final survey, pro- vided any errors occurred in the first division, that the perma- nent line should be so varied as to give each one the benefits of his improvements, and at the same time give each his equal share of the land. After the division was made, Mr. Norton took the western and Mr. Collins the eastern portion. These tracts of land comprised the farms now owned and occupied by (. Simon Furbush and John Vehue, the latter having been diminished by the sale of a strip containing fifty acres from its eastern extremity. In order to make an opening sufficiently large to secure a good draft of wind and thus insure a good burn, Messrs. Norton and Collins made their first clearings adjoining each other. During the summer following they each built a substantial log-house. Mr. Collins's new house stood on a ridge of land near where John Venue's new house stands, at a turn in the road as it strikes the Farmington line. Mr. Nor- ton's was located on his clearing some rods further to the west. The walls of these houses were laid up of logs notched near the ends so as to fit each other snugly. The roof was covered with hemlock or spruce bark held in place by long poles withed down. The gables were also covered with bark, while the cracks between the logs were caulked with moss on the inside and plastered with clay on the outside. The chimneys were of stone laid in clay mortar and topped out with sticks. A path having been bushed out from their clearings on the Gore to the settlement at Sandy River, so that they could pass with a horse-sled before the snow became deep, Mr. Collins and Mr. Norton moved their families from Martha's Vineyard in Decem- ber, I 79 1, to their new homes in the then almost unbroken wilds of northern Maine. At that time Mr. Collins's family consisted of himself, his wife and eight children. This number included two pair of twins, the eldest two and youngest two being coup- lets. The oldest two were twelve years of age. while the young- est two had hardly completed their first year. During the journey to their new home, Mr. and Mrs. Collins rode on horse-
SETTLEMENT OE THE TOWN. 49
back, carrying the two infants in their arms, the other children riding on the horse-sled with the goods. Mr. Norton's family was not so large as Mr. Collins's, though he had several children.
A year later, in the fall of 1792, Capt. William Allen, also from Martha's Vineyard, settled in Farmington, within two miles of them, on the farm now occupied by Obed N. Collins, on a route from the River Settlement to the westerly part of the Gore. Captain Allen continued to live here until early in the spring of 1798, when he removed to land belonging to the Plymouth Company, east of Allen's Mills, and since known as Allen Hill.
Cornelius Norton, Jr., of Tisbury, Mass., commenced clear- ing land on the northern part of his father's section of the Gore, about the same time that Mr. Collins came, but as he was a single man he did not make his permanent home there until the summer of 1794, when he married Margaret J. Belcher, a daughter of Supply Belcher, Esq., of Farmington, and com- menced housekeeping in his log-house. His father, Deacon Cornelius Norton, moved with his family into a log-house on the southern half of his section, about the same time. This house stood but a little distance to the southeast from where Wesley N. Luce lived in 1885. A small orchard is standing near the spot, and the limpid waters still bubble up from the spring which furnished the household supply for Mr. Nor- ton's family.
John and Ebenezer Oakes, step-sons of Jonathan Knovvlton, commenced a clearing on his section of the Gore, just west of the road leading to the Wesley N. Luce farm, in 1792. These gentlemen built a convenient log-house, and, as both were un- married, spent the following winter there in single blessedness. About the same time, one hundred and twenty-five acres from the northeast corner of Mr. Knowlton's section was sold to Elisha Lombart.* This lot he afterward exchanged for one on the western part of Mr. Knowlton's section. A stream of suffi-
* This name is also spelled Lumbert, Lumber, etc., and is supposed to have originally been identical with the name now spelled Lambert.
50 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
cient size to run a mill flowed through Mr. Lombart's last men- tioned lot, and on this he built a grist and saw-mill. In 1794, Ansel Norton bought Jonathan Knowlton's possession of John Oakes, and lived there until his death, which occurred in 18 10. In 1795, Capt. David Davis became a permanent settler on the southwest section of the Gore, on the farm owned by the late Alexander Hillman. lie lived in a log-house until 1803, when he built a large convenient two-story house which, for more than three-fourths of a century, stood on the place.* He was a successful farmer, bore an excellent reputation and possessed considerable property. In 1803 he paid a money tax of $10.36, it being the highest tax paid by any individual on the (lore. In personal appearance Capt. Davis was of command- ing carriage, and extremely corpulent in his old age. It is claimed that he weighed nearly or quite 350 pounds. He died Aug. 27, 1837, aged 78 years.
THE LOWELL STRIP.
This tract of land in Industry was a portion of the grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (see />. 28), and had fallen by heirship or otherwise to Francis Cabot Lowell, a mer- chant residing in Boston. It extended the whole length of the township from east to west, and was a mile and a half wide. Like the lands of the Patent, it was settled without any pre- liminary survey. In 1802, nearly seven years after the first settlement, Esquire Cornelius Norton, Jr., made the survey, and numbered the lots from one to twenty-nine inclusive. Lots No. 1, 2 and 29 being in Stark and comprising that por- tion of the town set off and annexed to Industry in 1822 (see A rj).
As nearly as the writer can learn, Jabez Norton, Si\, was the first settler on the Lowell Strip. He settled in town in 1795, on the farm recently owned and occupied by Abel YV. Spauld- ing. His lot was originally the north half of No. 21, but the farm has since been greatly enlarged by purchasing portions of
* This house was destroyed by fire on Wednesday P. M., April iS, 1888.
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 51
adjoining lots. His son, Sprowel Norton, settled to the west of him on the north half of lot No. 20.
Abraham Page, from Farmington, commenced a clearing on the Lowell Strip, at the head of Clear Water Pond, probably about the same time as Mr. Norton. Though capable of per- forming a great deal of labor, he was of a roving disposition and remained on his land but a short time.
In the fall of 1 795, Tristram Daggett, having sold his lot and improvements to Esq. Herbert Boardman, bought Page's improvements on lot No. 1 1 , on the Lowell Strip, now known as " the Collins Luce farm." On the first day of January, 1796, Mr. Daggett obtained a deed from Calvin Boyd,* of Farming- ton, purporting to convey one hundred and fifty acres Qf land to include the above-mentioned improvements of Page, the consideration being thirty-two dollars. He built a log-cabin on his lot, in which he and his family lived for many years. This house stood on the west side of the sucker brook and nearer the pond than the present one on the farm. He sold to David M. Luce, of New Vineyard, and removed to an adjoining lot which he subsequently sold to James Bailey, who in turn sold to Benjamin R. Rackliff, of Georgetown. \
Daniel Luce, Sr., settled on lot No. 17, about 1796, and several of his sons and one son-in-law settled near him. Tru- man settled on lot No. 18, joining his father's lot on the east; Rowland on No. 19, still further to the east, on the farm now owned by James T. True. Daniel, Jr., married and settled on the western part of his father's lot, which is now ( 1892) owned by James Edgecomb, the eastern portion belonging to the heirs of Amos Stetson, Jr. Deacon Benjamin Cottle, a son-in-law of Mr. Luce, settled on lot No. 13, adjoining the New Vineyard Gore, where he lived until, in his old age, he went to live with his daughter, Mrs. David M. Luce.
Captain Peter West took possession of lot No. 28, embrac-
*The courts subsequently decided that the title of Mr. Boyd and others was illegal and that Francis Cabot Lowell was the legal owner.
t Throughout this work where no State is mentioned, the State of Maine is gen- erally to be understood.
52 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
ing the site of the village of West's Mills, which was named in honor of him. Capt. William Allen and Benjamin Manter commenced a clearing for him in 1797, and felled two acres of trees. He subsequently built a log-house and moved his fam- ily to Industry in 1798. He did not, however, obtain a deed of his land, as we learn from Allen's History (sec p. 6), until 1 803.
Peter Daggett was an early settler on lot No. 16, now owned by George Luce, but there is no means of learning the exact date of his settlement in town. Mr. Daggett purchased land in New Vineyard as early as 1793, and probably came to the District of Maine about that time.
Asa Conant settled on lot No. 15 and built his log-house on the top of the hill between George Luce's and Oliver D. Norton's. The exact date of his settlement is veiled in ob- scurity, but both his name and that of Mr. Daggett appear in the list of voters for 1803.
James Eveleth, Sr., came to Industry in 1800 or perhaps a year earlier, and settled on the Lowell Strip, on land now com- prising a portion of the farm owned and occupied by Davis Look. Some of the rose-bushes which grew near his log-house may still be seen.
John Marshall and sons came from Lewiston, in 1800, and probably settled on land now comprising a part of the Davis Look farm, formerly owned by Samuel Frost for man}- years. Mr. Marshall was a carpenter by trade, and in indigent cir- cumstances. After living in town a few years, they all moved away.
Ammiel Robbins also settled on the Lowell Strip, on lot No. 12, at the head of Clear Water Pond, and one of his sons on a part of the same lot. The orchards near their respective dwellings can still be seen, though the houses have long since gone to decay. Simeon Butler settled on a small tract of land lying to the south of lot No. 12, which afterwards, in [824, passed into the hands of Sanders Luce. Mr. Luce moved a house on to his land from the Pish place, situated in the edge of Farmington, in which he lived for ten years. Peter Tilton and Francis S. Rogers each lived in the house alter Mr. Luce
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN. 53
left, and it was finally bought by Joseph Collins, Sr., and moved to " Federal Row."
\()RTH INDUSTRY.
This part of the town was first settled as a portion of New Vineyard, and was set off from that town and annexed to In- dustry in 1844 (see p. 14). The first settler in this portion of the town was Tristram Daggett, who commenced a clearing on the west half of lot No. 7, in 1791.* This land now comprises a portion of the farm owned and occupied by Asa O. and Calvin B. Fish, additions having been made to it by Esquire Herbert Boardman, to whom Mr. Daggett sold his possession.
Capt. Jeruel Butler came from Martha's Vineyard to Farm- ington, July 26, 1793. The following year he purchased lot No. 9, in the first range of lots adjoining the Lowell Strip, and recently owned by the late John O. Rackliff. The same year he felled trees, made a clearing and built a log-house. After its completion, he removed his furniture and provisions to his new home and made everything ready for occupancy. Un- fortunately the house and its contents were destroyed by fire before Mrs. Butler ever saw it. A second dwelling was immedi- ately erected, by the assistance of his neighbors, on the site of the one burned, in which he and his family spent the winter of 1 794~5- About the same time that Captain Butler commenced his clearing, Henry Norton, of Fdgartown, Mass., obtained a title to 200 acres of land, it being a part of lot No. 3 in the first range, and is now owned by Eli N. Oliver. Here Mr. Norton made a clearing and built a grist-mill, which never proved of an\' service, owing to its faulty construction.
Ephraim Gould Butler, son of Benjamin and Sarah (Gould) Butler, of Martha's Vineyard, came with his family to the District of Maine in April, 1792. His family made a year's
* Win. Allen says (History of Industry, p. 12) that Mr. Daggett settled on lot No. 6, which he afterward sold to Charles Luce. This is erroneous. He settled on the west half of lot No. 7, and sold to Esq. Herbert Boardman, Sept. 5, 1795. Mr. Luce bought his land of John Oakes, July 17, 1795, as shown by a deed recorded in the Lincoln County Registry.
54 HISTORY <>/■' INDUSTRY.
sojourn in Sandy River township (Farmington), during which time he was probably engaged in making a clearing and erect- ing a log-cabin on his lot in New Vineyard township. This lot, to which he moved his family in the spring of 1793, was No. 1 in the first range, more recently known as the Henry Manter farm. It is now (1892) owned by the widow of the late William Lewis. Mr. Butler resided here till i So I, when he removed to another part of New Vineyard.
Charles Luce commenced a clearing on the east half of lot No. 7, subsequently known as the Jeremy Bean farm, in 1795. Here he made a good farm, on which he spent the remainder of his life and brought up a large family. James Manter settled on lot No. 5, where James D. Badger now lives, about the same time as Mr. Luce, and died of "cold fever" early in the follow- ing winter. His sons, with the aid and advice of their mother, conducted the farm for many years after the father's death.
Joseph Smith and sons settled on lot No. 3 in the second range, in 1795. He died in the following year, and the farm passed into the possession of his son, Joseph Warren Smith. There are no buildings standing on the place now, and the land is owned by Eli N. Oliver.
Asa Merry was an early settler on lot No. 1 in the second range of lots. Here he made an excellent farm, kept a large stock, especially of cows, and became in later years a noted cheese-maker. This farm is now owned by Charles F. Oliver.
Esquire Herbert Boardman, as has been previously stated, bought out Tristram Daggett, in September, 1795, and moved his household effects to his new home on an ox-sled in the month of December following. He was a man of some means, and greatly enlarged his farm by the purchase of adjacent lands. He lost heavily by the burning of his buildings and their contents on the night of January 22, 1S24. The house was rebuilt, and he continued to live on the farm up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1S3S.
John Daggett, Sr., came from Edgartown, Dukes County, Mass., and settled on lot No. 2 in the second range, about 1703—4. The deed of his lot, recorded in the Lincoln Count)-
SETTLEMENT OE THE TOWN. 5 5
Registry, bears the date of Feb. u, 1793. He died a few years after coming to the District of Maine, and his land was divided among his heirs. Mr. Daggett was a miller by occupa- tion, and tradition says, operated a wind-mill on the Vineyard. Being unused to the hardships of pioneer life, he was not able to withstand the exposure incident to his home on the very borders of civilization, hence his untimely death.
CHAPTER IV.
EVENTS FROM 1S00 TO 1810.
Condition of the Settlers. — Plantation ( (rganized. — Town Incorporated. — Roads. — Karly Town Officers. — The Embargo Act. — The Town becomes a part of Somerset County, Etc., Etc.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century a bird's-eye- view of what now comprises the town of Industry would have revealed a vast expanse of forest dotted here and there with "openings" made by the axe of the settler. In each of these might be seen an unpretentious log-cabin with the smoke curl- ing upward from its rude chimney — the home of the settler and his family. A rude hovel or cow-house would also be seen, provided the occupant of the cabin was not too poor to own a cow, which was not unfrequently the case. A closer acquaintance with these cabin homes and the families that oc- cupied them would have told a story of toil and want, of which but few have any conception. Clothing of the poorest quality and insufficient in quantity, children clothed in rags and bare- footed even in the coldest weather, food of the coarsest kind and sometimes none at all, were a few of the many privations and hardships incident to the pioneer life of the early settler and his family in Industry.
In 1800 and for several years thereafter, the population of the town increased very rapidly by reason of immigration. Ann nig man)- others who moved into town in 1800, was Benja- min Jewett and family, who came from Shapleigh, York County, Maine, in March of that year, and settled on lot No. 42 adjoin- ing Alvin Howes's lot on the east. His family and goods were
EVENTS FROM 1800 TO 1S10. 5/
drawn by a four-ox team, which crossed the Androscoggin River on the ice below Lewiston Falls. The only building in the cities of Lewiston and Auburn at that time, was a small mill on the Auburn side of the river. There were in fact no large settlements in the District of Maine at that time, save on the sea-coast.
James Winslow, from Farmington, formerly of Gardiner, now Pittston, was another settler who came the same year as Mr. Jewett.* He took up lot No. 45, containing one hundred acres, and here he spent the whole of his life. The excellent farm which he cleared was set off in part to New Sharon in 1852, and is now owned and occupied by his granddaughter, Mrs. Betsey W. Stone, relict of the late Franklin Stone of that town.
Zephaniah Luce, from Martha's Vineyard, settled on lot No. 31, in 1801, but being in indigent circumstances, did not gain a title to the land. He removed to Farmington, prior to the incorporation of the town, and resided for some years on the " Fish place " near Industry line. The lot on which he first settled is now owned by Charles S. Rackliff.
Lemuel Collins, Jr., married in December, 1800, and the following year took up lot No. 49, adjoining his father on the south. This land is now owned and occupied by William H. Manter of New Sharon, it having been included in Industry's cession to that town in 1852.
Nathaniel Chapman, whom Fsq. William Allen calls one of the earliest settlers in town, settled on a part of Joseph Taylor's lot, No. 6$, in 1 80 1. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and was granted a pension by the government. He died in Kingfield, to which town he removed after Industry was incorporated.
In 1802, David Maxwell, from Wells, Me., settled on lot No. 3, a near neighbor of Nathaniel Willard, Jonathan Bunker, James Thompson and others in that vicinity. Jacob Matthews, from Mt. Vernon, who settled on lot No. 9, adjoining Zoe
* Wm. Allen, Esq., (Hist, of Industry, p. J J ) gives the date of Mr. Winslow's settlement as 1799. The date here given is from the official report of the Appraising Commission.
5 8 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
Withee on the cast, also came in 1802. The following year he married a daughter of Mr. Withee, and in 1807 sold his pos- session to Moses Tolman, who came to Industry from New Sharon. This lot comprises the south part of the farm occu- pied by the late John Tolman. Benjamin Stevens was another settler who came in 1802, and took up lot No. 10, which he sold to Moses Tolman in 1807, but whither he went or whence he came the writer has been unable to learn.
Ebenezer Stevens was Benjamin's nearest neighbor on the north. He also came in 1802, and settled on lot No. 11. It is supposed that these two gentlemen were in some way related, as well as John B. Stevens, whose lot joined theirs on the east. Samuel Stevens, a cooper by trade, settled on lot No. 12, prior to the incorporation of the town. Like many of the early settlers, he had served in the Continental Army and was in straitened pecuniary circumstances. Being unable to pay for his land, he removed to lot R, by New Sharon line, and after- ward left town.
DeHave Norton, from Farmington, settled on lot No. 40, in
1802, lying south and west of Withee's Corner. He was a young man, the son of Zachariah and Hannah (Smith) Norton of Farmington, and although his name appears among the petitioners for incorporation of the town of Industry early in
1803, nothing further is known concerning his residence in Industry.
Aside from the arrival of new settlers, but little of impor- tance occurred in the history of the settlement until 1802, when a State tax of forty-four dollars, and a county tax of nearly an equal amount, was assessed on the inhabitants. The sheriff was directed to serve the warrants on some principal inhabitant who was able to pay the amount if he did not cause the tax to be duly assessed. After passing through both parts of the set- tlement and failing to find any such principal inhabitant, he decided to leave the warrants with William Allen, Jr., who had just attained his majority. Mr. Allen procured a warrant from a lustice of the Peace, for calling a plantation meeting, and a legal organization was thus secured. In extent, the plantation
EVENTS FROM 1800 TO 181 o. 59
embraced all the lands comprising the towns of Industry and Mercer as subsequently incorporated, together with a part of the town of Smithfield, and to the whole was given the name of Industry Plantation. The manner in which the plantation received its name, notwithstanding every effort of the author to settle the fact, is still a mooted question. William Allen states in his history of the town (see p. //), that "At a meeting for the choice of these [militia] officers [in the winter of 1799], my father proposed the name of Industry for the military territory, which was adopted by the company, and when the westerly portion of the territory was incorporated retained the name." There is also a tradition among the Winslows (see Hanson's History of Gardiner and Pittston, p. 66) that the plantation received its name from the wife of Capt. John Thompson, whose maiden name was Betsey Winslow. This tradition runs as follows: " When the town* was about being incorporated, Mr. Thompson said to his wife as he was leaving home, 'What shall we call the new town?' 'Name it for the character of the people,' she replied, 'call it Industry.' He proposed the name and it was accepted."
The inhabitants were warned to meet at the dwelling-house of Lieut. Ambrose Arnold, who lived in that part of the planta- tion subsequently incorporated as the town of Mercer. The organization was perfected by the election of the following officers: Clerk, Nahum Baldwin ; Assessors, Nahum Baldwin, Luther Burr and William Allen, Jr. All these with the excep- tion of Mr. Allen were chosen from the Mercer portion of the settlement, but the following year the voters from the back settlement, as the present town of Industry was then called, outnumbered the others, and consequently chose all the offi- cers from their own locality. The plantation also voted to raise a certain sum of money to buy powder for muster and to defray
* The writer is of the opinion that it was on the organization of the plantation, instead of the incorporation of the town, that is here meant. Osgood Carlton's Map of Maine, published prior t<> the incorporation of the town, gives this territory the name of Industry Plantation, hence Mr. Hanson must have been slightly in error as to time.
60 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
other necessary expenses ; and Samuel Hinkley was chosen treasurer.
The next event of importance in the history of the settle- ment was the survey of the township (see p. Jj) in the month of September, [802. No little excitement and anxiety prevailed among the settlers regarding this survey and the subsequent arbitration to which it was a preliminary measure. At that time, no person residing on the lands of the Plymouth Coin- pan}' had any title to his land, and the usage they would receive at the hands of the Commission (see p. 32) promised to be anything but favorable. When the commissioners met at Augusta, in October, after the completion of the survey, the worst fears of the settlers became a reality. Exorbitant prices were affixed to the lots of the settlers, which those who re- mained were compelled to pay, while many of the poorer class were forced to abandon their homes and improvements for want of the necessary funds to purchase.*
Hut little is known concerning the doings of the plantation at its second annual meeting, aside from the fact that all the officers were chosen from the back settlement, as has already been stated, and that James Thompson, Esq., was elected clerk. Probably William Allen, Jr., was re-elected as one of the asses- sors, but as the plantation records are not to be found, the fact cannot be established with absolute certainty.
Esquire Allen says: "At the plantation meeting on the first Monday of April, 1803, the inhabitants for the first time gave in their votes for governor, all for Caleb Strong, except three, who voted for Gerry (these voters not knowing the christian name of the candidate ), and were returned accord- ingly. The next year our Republicans, as the supporters of Mr. Gerry were called, were seasonably furnished with the Argus, which had then been established as a Republican paper, and
*The appraisal of the forty-eight lots in Industry was a surprise to all. Bui twelve l"ts "lit of this number were valued at less than one dollar per acre; tin- re- maining thirty-six ranging in price from one dollar to two dollars and twenty cents per acre.
EVENTS FROM 1800 TO 1810. 61
were then, as ever after, prepared to give in their votes accord- ing to order."
INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN.
Early in the year 1803, an effort was made to incorporate that portion of the Industry Plantation King west of Stark and commonly known as the back settlement, to distinguish it from the other portion of the plantation, which was called the river settlement. By a careful enumeration it was found that the back settlement contained more than fifty ratable polls, and that its valuation when compared with the river settlement was as twenty-four is to twenty, or six-elevenths of the entire planta- tion according to the valuation of 1800. At the earnest re- quest of James Thompson, the plantation clerk, and others, William Allen, Jr., prepared the following petition to the Gen- eral Court [Legislature] of Massachusetts, then in session at Boston :
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives, of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled in /any, 1803.
The petition of the subscribers, inhabitants of the north part of the Plantation of Industry, in the County of Kennebec, respectfully sheweth that they are debarred from many priviledges which they would enjoy if they were incorporated into a town, such as the want of schools, high- ways, etc.
That the said Plantation is in two distinct settlements which are in no way connected by roads and are not situated so as to form a town to commode the inhabitants as will appear by examining the map of the District of Maine, it being formed by two triangles, one to the west and the other to the south of the town of Starks.
That on account of their peculiar situation they are in a great measure detached from and suffer great inconveniences by being con- nected with the south part in attending Plantation meetings which are holden sometimes nine miles from some of your petitioners. That the north part of said Plantation bounded as follows : Beginning at the S. W. Cor. of Starks running south 1-2 mile to New Sharon, thence N. W. 1»\ said New Sharon 5 miles, thence N. 3 miles to the New Vineyard, thence E. by said New Vineyard 4 miles to the N. \Y. Cor. of Starks,
62
HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
thence south by the west line of Starks 6 miles to the first mentioned boundary, containing about 50 ratable polls whose inconveniences would be alleviated by being set off from the rest of the Plantation. And therefore your petitioners earnestly solicit the Hon. Legislature to take the premises into their wise consideration and by setting off the afore- said tract from the rest of the Plantation of Industry, incorporate the same into a town by the name of Industry vested with those legal rights and priviledges which are allowed to other towns in the Commonwealth. And as in duty bound will ever pray. [Signed.]
Levi Greenleaf.
John Thompson. DeHave Norton. Trueman Allen. Atkins Ellis. Thomas Johnson. Benj'n Burgess. 1 )aniel Luce. Lemuel Collins. James Heard. Lemuel Coslins. feremiah Bean. Ebraim Page, benjamin ( 'ottel. Rolin Luce. Jabez Norton. Jabez Norton. Jr. Rowlon lane.' Benjamin ( 'ottle.* Trustom 1 )ogit.* Abraham I 'age.* Archelaus Luce. Samuel Willard.
Jam'es Thompson. William Allen, Jr. Zoe Withee. Jacob Mathews. John Thompson.* Levi Willard. John B. Stevens. Eben'r Stevens. Bartlett Allen, benjamin Stevens. ] )avid Maxwell. Sam 'I Brown. William Ladd. Nathaniel Willard. John Thompson. Jr. Shubael Crowel. James Johnson. Joseph Moody. Ephraim Moody. I )aniel Moody. Will'm Allen. James Winslow. John Webber.
This petition having been duly presented, passed the House of Representatives on the [8th day of June, 1803, and on the 20th, having passed the Senate and received the signature of the governor, Caleb Strong, the town of Industry was declared legally incorporated.
* These, and perhaps other names, were added apparently to swell the petition.
EVENTS FROM 1S00 TO 1810. 63
When it was definitely known that the inhabitants of Indus- try Plantation were to petition the General Court for incorpora- tion, the settlers living in the northern part of New Sharon also prepared and forwarded a petition asking that the north part of that town be set off and incorporated as a part of the new town of Industry. This petition, which is still preserved in the archives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, reads as follows :
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the General Court to be holden at Boston, January, 1803.
We, your Petitioners, Inhabitants of the north part of the Town of New Sharon, in the County of Kennebec, humbly show :
That, whereas the remote situation of our habitations from the centre of sd. town, the unimproved state of a large tract of land lying between us and Sandy River, the badness of the road through sd. tract, in which we have to pass, and the intervention of sd. River, which we have to cross, to get to sd. centre render it inconvenient for us to remain in our present state, attached to sd. Town in respect to corporation.
And whereas the Inhabitants of the northwest part of a Plantation called Industry, situate in the northwest extremity of the Plymouth claim, and bounded eastward by Starks and the northward by New Vine- yard have petitioned the General Court that sd. northwest part of sd. Plantation be incorporated into a Town.
We therefore pray your Honors to detach from New Sharon sd. North part, bounded as follows, viz : Beginning at the southmost corner of Lot No. 65 in New Sharon aforesaid, on the line between sd. Town and Farmington. Thence north by sd. line about 4 miles and 64 rods, to Clear Water Pond. Thence southward and eastward by sd. Pond to the line between New Sharon and the Plymouth Claim. Thence south 45 degrees East by sd. line about 4 miles, 2S4 rods to the northmost corner of lot No. 17 in New Sharon being near the southmost point of that part of Industry before mentioned, which the inhabitants thereof have petitioned to be incorporated. Thence south 45 degrees, west between lots No. 17 and 25, 100 rods. Thence north 45 degrees, west between lots No. 24 and 25, 163 rods. Thence south 45 degrees, west between lots No. 24 and 23, 100 rods. Thence north 45 degrees, west 163 rods to the westmost corner of lot No. 32. Thence south 45 degrees, west 200 rods to the southmost corner of lot No. 40. Thence north 45 degrees, west 164 rods to the eastmost corner of lot No. 50.
64 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
Thence south 45 degrees, west 200 rods to the southmost corner of lot No. 49. Thence north 45 degrees, wesl [63 rods to the southmost corner of lot No. 59. Thence south 45 degrees, west 200 rods to the southmost corner of lot No. 57. Thence north 45 degrees, wesl 163 rods to the line of lot No. 65. Thence south 45 degrees, west ioo rods to the bounds first mentioned, bring nearly in a west direction from the southmost point of the northwest part of Industry above mentioned which is about 1 12 rods south of the southwest corner of Starks. And annex to and incorporate sd. north part of New Sharon with the inhabi- tants thereon with sd. northwest part of Industry into one Town. We your humble Petitioners as in duty bound ever pray.
Joshua Bullen. Oliver Willard.
Joseph Willard. John Goar.
Daniel Gould. Elijah Peeas.
John Rawlings. Jephah Coburn.
Ebenezer Weeks. John Winslow.
An attested excerpt from the plantation records accom- panied the petition, showing that the inhabitants of the pro- posed new town of Industry favored the measure. The petition was, as one would naturally infer, strongly opposed by the inhabitants of New Sharon not directly interested in the movement, consequently the legislative action was unfavorable for the petitioners.
The act of incorporation designated Samuel Prescott, Esq., of New Sharon, as the justice to issue the warrant for calling the first meeting of the inhabitants. This instrument bore the date of September 24, 1S03, and was directed to James Thomp- son, formerly plantation clerk. The inhabitants met agreeably to the call, at the dwelling-house of Capt. William Allen, on the 20th day of October, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, and pro- ceeded to perfect their organization by the choice of the follow- ing officers: Moderator, James Thompson; Clerk, William Allen, Sr. ; Selectmen, Assessors and Overseers of the Poor, William Allen, Jr., Peter West and Daniel Luce; Treasurer, James Thompson; Constable and Collector, Sprowel Norton. Five highway surveyors were elected, who were also constituted a school committee. Among other officers elected were two
EVENTS FROM 1S00 TO 1S10.
65
tithing-men, five hog-reeves, two field-drivers, pound-keeper, etc. After the election of officers, the meeting adjourned until November 14th, to meet at the dwelling-house of Joseph Moody. The following is the official list of voters for 1803, as prepared by the municipal officers of the town of Industry:
Allen, Bartlett. Allen, William. Allen, William, Jr. Bradbury, Paul. Brown, Joseph. Brown, Samuel. Bunker, Jonathan. Burgess, Benjamin. Chapman, Nathaniel. Coffin, John. Conant, Asa. Collins, Lemuel. Collins, Lemuel, }r. Cottle, Benjamin. Crompton, Samuel. Daggett, Peter. Daggett, Tristram. Ellis, Atkins. Eveleth, James. Greenleaf, Levi. Howes, Alvin. Huston. John. Jewett, Benjamin. Johnson, Abraham. Johnson, James. Johnson, Thomas. Knowlton, Jonathan. Ladd, William. Luee, Daniel. Luce, Daniel, Jr. Luce, Rowland.
In 1802 William Read from Waterville through the
Luce, Truman. Moody, Ephraim. Moody, Joseph. Marshall, John. Mathews. Joseph. Norton, Jabez. Norton, Jabez, Jr. Norton, Sprowel. Page, Abraham. Pike, Joshua. Bobbins. Ammiel. Robbins, Ammiel, Jr. Robbins, Elijah. Stevens, Ebenezer. Stevens, John. Stevens, Samuel. Thompson, James. Thompson, John. Thompson, John, 2d. Webber, John. West, Peter. West, Peter. Jr. Willard, Levi. Willard, Nathaniel. Willard, Samuel. Williamson, Ebenezer. Williamson, Jonathan. Withee, Zoe. Witham, Peter. Winslow, James.
[Total 61].
ROADS.
and others laid out a county road
centre-of Stark to Withee's Corner
66 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
in Industry; thence by Weeks's Mills to Farmington. A year later a branch road was laid out by them from Withee's Corner over the Allen hill and by Allen's Mills, to intersect the road from the New Vineyard Gore at the Rufus Allen place, now (1892) owned by John Furbush. Immediately after the in- corporation of the town, in 1803, the selectmen proceeded to lay out roads as follows: One from the corner to the west, from where Asa Q. and Calvin B, Fish now live, to Goodridge's Corner. One from the New Vineyard line southerly by West's Mills to Withee's Corner ; and a third from Thompson's Cor- ner westerly four hundred rods over Bannock Hill to intersect the road leading to Goodridge's Corner, near where Thomas F. Norton formerly lived. Also from the forementioned corner near Asa O. and Calvin B. Fish's in a southwesterly direction over a wing of the mountain to the Collins place, now owned and occupied by John Vehue.
On the 10th day of June, 1 804, a road or town-way was laid out by the selectmen, commencing near where William L. Rackliff now lives and running northerly by the residence of William D. Norton, to intersect the town road near "the Deacon Cottle Burying-Ground."
( )n the 30th day of March, I 805, a committee, consisting of William Allen, Jr., and Capt. John Thompson, laid out a road from the count)' road near James Winslow's and Samuel Cromp- ton's, in a northerly direction over Howes Hill, to intersect the branch county road near what is known as Goodridge's Corner.
In 1808, a road was laid out from the east line of the farm now owned by the heirs of Amos Stetson, Jr., southerly until it struck the town road at the burying-ground near the late resi- dence of Andrew Tibbetts. This, as well as the road over Ban- nock Hill, was extensively traveled for man}' years, but in the course of time the title of travel changed to other roads and both have since been discontinued.*
*The southern portion of this road was discontinued by a vote of the town March 2, 1868. At which time a private way previously laid out for the accommodation of G. Frank Woodcock, the only resident on the road at that time, was accepted. The remaining northern portion was discontinued March 5, 1877.
EVENTS FROM 1800 TO 1810. 67
There was also laid out, during the same year, a road be- ginning at the county road leading from Waterville to Farm- ington and running northerly parallel with Stark line to the residence of Capt. John Thompson; thence in such a direction as to strike the town road from West's Mills to Withee's Corner at a point where the Hayes Hill road intersects it, just south from where George W. Johnson now lives. That portion of the road lying between the dwelling of Captain Thompson and the Hayes Hill road was after some years discontinued.* An- other road was laid out the same year running easterly and southerly from James Thompson's corner to intersect the above mentioned road near the residence of Capt. John Thompson.
After the roads laid out by the selectmen in 1803 had been accepted, the town was divided into five highway districts, and William Allen, Sr., Benjamin Cottle, John Thompson, Abraham Johnson and Levi Greenleaf were elected surveyors. The selectmen were instructed by the town to petition the General Court to be allowed the privilege of appropriating the sum assessed on the town by the State, for the opening of these roads. At their annual meeting in 1804, the inhabitants voted to raise $800 for the opening and repair of these roads, and fixed the compensation of men and oxen at twelve and one- half cents per hour. A highway tax equal in amount to that of 1804, was raised the succeeding year.
The early settlers upon whom devolved "the duties of trans- acting the business of the town, though not having had the educational advantages which are now enjoyed, were neverthe- less men whose names were the very synonyms of honest}' and integrity. To these sterling qualities was largely due the eminently satisfactory and prudent manner in which the early affairs of the town were conducted. Plain and simple in their habits of life, their modes of expression were often novel and
* Although trees and bushes have long since obliterated the discontinued road, the bridge abutments on Thompson brook still remain. Many regard this stone- work as a part of the dam built by Capt. John Thompson, early in the present century, to augment the water supply of his mill. A careful inspection of the structure by any- one conversant with dam and bridge-building will convince at once of the incorrect- ness of the prevailing opinion.
68 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
unique. The following entry appears among the early records of the doings of the town: "Voted, that those who prayed for an abatement of tax, by Peter Daggett, be indulged a while longer." This would seem rather an unusual manner of abat- ing a tax to the average voter of to-day, and one which gave the residents of Mr. Daggett's district considerable liberty, yet the writer has sufficient reasons for believing that this liberty was not abused. The town, according to the records, voted "to "except" as well as accept roads laid out by the selectmen, and in one instance the clerk, in mentioning the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, makes the entry "the Commonwealth of Massa- cutist."
At the annual meeting in 1804, held at the house of John Patterson, William Allen, Jr., was re-elected chairman of the hoard of selectmen, but Captain West and Daniel Luce were dropped. Captain West, however, was elected treasurer, as a successor to James Thompson, and held the office for one year, and in 1806 he was elected chairman of the board. Rowland Luce was chosen constable and collector, and his compensation was fixed at nine cents on a dollar for collecting". The law specified that a settler, to be a legal voter for governor, must be "a freeholder or inhabitant of the town for the space of one year next preceding, having a freehold estate within said town of the annual income of ten dollars or any estate of the value of two hundred dollars."
Prior to 1808 the town meetings were held at the houses of divers inhabitants, but during the summer of 1807, a school- house having been erected near Goodridge's Corner, the inhabi- tants were warned to meet at that place on the 4th day of April, 1808, to give in their votes for governor, lieutenant- governor, senator, etc.
About this time the evil effects of the embargo,* which
* This was a retaliatory measure adopted by President [efferson in December, 1807. The immediate effect of this measure was to throw a large number ol sailors out of employment. Skillful navigators w ere glad to labor in the hayfield for the small sum ol S12 per month. Merchandise of all kinds became very dear, and none felt < ts more keenly than did those living on the borders ol' civilization. The act was repealed in February, [809.
EVENTS FROM 1S00 TO 1810. 69
completely suspended all commercial intercourse, begun to be heavily felt, even in Industry, and a special town meeting was called "to consider the expediency of petitioning the President of the United States to remove the embargo." The people met on the 5th day of August, 1 808, and after due deliberation, the proposition was deemed inexpedient.
Up to Feb. 20, 1799, the lands of Industry comprised a part of Lincoln Count)', but on that date it was included in the concession of Lincoln to form the new County of Kennebec. Later, when an effort was being made to establish the County of Somerset, the inhabitants were generally opposed to the measure, and the selectmen were instructed to petition the General Court, asking that Industry be allowed to remain in Kennebec County. Notwithstanding this, the town became a part of Somerset County, on its incorporation, March 1, 1809.
So much difference existed between the prices of various articles of household use and convenience in 1808 and at the present time [1892], that the author takes the liberty to pre- sent herewith a comparative price-current, which renders these differences apparent at a glance. The prices in the left-hand column were copied from an old day-book kept in 1808, and in nearly every instance the sales were made to parties residing in Industry. The sleeve links, of which but one pair were sold on credit during the year, were sold to Esquire Cornelius Norton, and it is doubtful if any one but a country squire could afford such ornaments in those early times. The calico was purchased by Joseph Collins who, as well as Squire Norton, lived on "the Gore." Among other purchasers were Samuel Mason, Abner Norton, Abner C. Ames, Isaac Norton, Zebulon Manter, etc. :
1892.
Molasses, per gallon, Salt, per bushel, Tobacco, per lb.. Souchong Tea, per lb.. Sugar, brown, per lb.,
loaf, Fish,
|
#0.75 |
$0.40 |
|
1.50 |
•55 |
|
■25 |
•5° |
|
1. 16 |
.60 |
|
.165 |
.04 |
|
•3° |
.06 |
|
•°5 |
.07 |
70 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
Honey, per lb.,
Nails, wrought, "
" cut, Allspice, "
Copperas, "
Butter-tubs, each. Eggs, per dozen, Vinegar, per gallon, Wool, per lb., Steelyards, per pair, Wheat, per bushel, Oats,
Pears, "
Yarn, per skein, Thread, per skein, Pins, per paper, Knitting Pins, set, Buttons, pearl, per dozen, Combs, each, Toweling, per yard, Muslin, Velvet,
Gingham, " Calico, "
Cambric, " Sleeve Links, per pair, Gloves, cotton, per pair, Hose, " "
Padlocks, each. Shoes, ladies',
New-England rum appeared to be a staple article with every merchant, at one dollar per gallon, and the large quantities sold seem to indicate its extensive use among the early settlers.
The first decade of the nineteenth century closed with promising prospects for the town and its inhabitants. In popu- lation the town was growing very rapidly. By industrious and frugal habits the settlers had begun to emerge from their poverty, and some were able to substitute comfortable frame- houses for their lo^-cabins. The soil had been brought under
|
So. 1 6 | |
So. 2 5 |
|
•i6i |
.07 |
|
none |
.04 |
|
.68 |
.40 |
|
.26 |
.10 |
|
•17 |
•5° |
|
•121 |
.12 |
|
.42 |
.20 |
|
■33l |
•25 |
|
I.50 |
1 .00 |
|
l.OO |
1.25 |
|
•42 |
•45 |
|
l-33h |
•75 |
|
.121 |
■l3 |
|
.02 |
.00 j |
|
.26 |
.08 |
|
.08 |
.04 |
|
•25 |
.20 |
|
•17 |
.10 |
|
-3 7 i |
■l5 |
|
1.0S |
.20 |
|
1. 00 |
•5° |
|
.60 |
.1 2 |
|
•45 |
.06 |
|
I.J21 |
■l5 |
|
.14 |
none |
|
.42 |
.16 |
|
.92 |
.40 |
|
•75 |
•3° |
|
2.00 |
1-25 |
EVENTS FROM 1800 TO 18 10. 7 1
a better state of cultivation, thereby rendering it more produc- tive. Roads had been laid out and opened, affording the settlers better facilities for marketing their produce. Schools had been established, and education had already begun to exert a salutary influence in the community.
According to the census of 1802, there were one hundred and seventy inhabitants in the town of Industry, and in 18 10 the number had increased to five hundred and sixty-two, being on an average a gain of forty-nine inhabitants per year.
CHAPTER V.
THE JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN, ESQ.
Being a Full Account of the Emigration of his Father, ('apt. William Allen, from Martha's Vineyard to the District of Maine, together with an Interesting Description of their Pioneer Life.
THROUGH the kindness of his son, Charles F. Allen, D. D., of Brunswick, Me., the writer has been permitted to publish that portion of William Allen's journal relating to the emigration of his father, Capt. William Allen, and family, from Martha's Vineyard to the District of Maine, together with an interesting account of the privations and hardships of their pioneer life in the early settlements of Farmington and Industry.
My father returned to Martha's Vineyard from Down bast. August, [792, and commenced preparations for removing. He engaged ('apt. Warren Hovvland to Lie at Lambert's Cove the first of September with his vessel, the Speedwell, to take his family and effects on board. I lis family then consisted of himself and my mother, each of them in the 37th year of their age ; William [the writer of this journal], aged 12 ; Bartlett, 1 1 ; Truman, 9 : Deborah, 7 ; Jane, 5 ; Love, 2 ; Harrison, a Italic of four months; an Indian apprentice, John Coombs, aged i;: and Rachel, his mother, an Indian woman, an assistant of my mother. From much sympathy, my grand parents, on account of the largeness of the family, proposed to take Bartlett and keep him until he was 14. and Jane till she was 1 X. which was agreed to. We then numbered bul nine, all told. Our stock consisted of a horse, a cow, a two-years-old heifer, a hog and six sheep, all of which were driven down to the harbor the first week in September, till the 11th day of the month, when the Speedwell hove in sight ; and the next day. all on hoard, we took our departure from the old Vineyard for the land of promise — Down East.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. 73
Other passengers were taken on board, making in all with the captain and crew, eighteen, to be quartered in a small sloop of forty tons. September 13th, we made sail and proceeded as far as the shoals, when the wind came round to the northeast directly ahead. The women and children were all sea-sick, occasioned by the rough head wind. As no progress could be made, and it not being safe to anchor on the shoals, we went back to Nantucket. On Friday, Sept. 14th, the wind being fair and the weather being moderate, in the afternoon we started again and got over the shoals before dark, but in the night the wind was again ahead.
Saturday, Sept. 15th, was stormy, and the wind so near ahead that we made little progress that day or the night following. On Sunday morning, Sept. 16th, we made Seguin directly in the wind's eye. and could make our course no nearer than Harpswell. We therefore run into Harpswell Bay before noon and commenced beating along the shore for the Kennebec River till dark, when a violent northeast storm set jnj — t}ie ]ine gale. When we reached within a mile of the river, we anchored in a dangerous place near the shore of ('ape Small Point, where the swell of the sea was frightful. An anchor watch was set, with directions if the cable parted to make sail and keep off the rocks it possible. The anchor held fast, and the violence of the storm abating as the daylight appeared, we joyfully made sail, entered the river and proceeded up as far as Jones's Eddy on Monday. The wind being ahead, we could go no farther that day. Some of us went on shore and visited the old fort at Arrowsick. We saw round the windows the marks of the bullets shot at the fort by the Indians in old times, and examined the ancient inscriptions on the grave stones in the cemetery. We spent the night at Jones's Eddy, thankful that our sloop had escaped the dangers of the sea and that we could rest securely.
Tuesday, Sept. iSth, wind still ahead, but when the tide favored, by beating and towing with the boat, we reached Bath before noon. I went up into the town and saw a company of boys in uniform go through a military drill, which was new sport to me. My father went to Col. Dummer Sewall's, bought a hundred pounds of hay for our stock, and bargained for land.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, beat up to Lovejoy's Narrows, and then landed our horse, on a projecting rock, when my mother, with me for an escort, took her child in her arms and started for Doctor Tupper's in Dresden, five miles further up the river, Mrs. Tupper being a relative and early- friend of my mother. We had proceeded but a short distance, when the horse stepped out of the path in quest of water, sank into the mire
74 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
and threw us all headlong into the mud. The child was covered with mire and almost suffocated ; hut no hones were broken, so I succeeded in getting the horse into the road. We all remounted, and arrived at the Doctor's about dark, where we were kindly received by Mrs. Tup- per. The Doctor was in Boston fitting out his famous timber ship, or rail, for England, which proved unmanageable and was abandoned, near Nova Scotia, a total loss. We remained in Dresden five days; during that time the Speedwell passed by and arrived at Hallowell.
Monday. Sept. 24th, we rode in a poor blind road to Hallowell. The horse refused to go into the ferry boat, and they had to plunge him into the riser by main force and tow him across. After a long time we all arrived safe at Hallowell. There were then two or three stores and as many houses in the village of Hallowell. Tuesday, the 25th, we remained at Hallowell. packing up and waiting for a team.
Wednesday, the 26th, all being in readiness, Seth Luce, of Read- field, was on hand with a cart and oxen to take a ton of furniture to Sandy River, our place of destination, fifty miles, on contract for twenty dollars. He had also procured a horse and saddle for our accommoda- tion. The cart was loaded and started in advance, then came our caravan, — the cow, heifer and sheep were driven by me, and the hog by Indian John. After we had passed out of the village, the hog refused to go, and escaped into the woods on a straight course for Martha's Vineyard. After a long chase, he was run down, conquered and sub- mitted to he led by John with a halter. The Indian made peace with him by obtaining a few ears of corn from a settler who was husking by the road, which he dealt out sparingly, and the hog followed quietly the whole distance, even wading the Sandy River. After the team and stock, my father came on horseback, with a bed in a sack across the saddle, a bundle of blankets behind him and a child two years old in his arms. Then my mother with a bed on the saddle, a daughter of five years behind her and an infant in her arms, — all making a train extending sometimes for the distance of a mile, moving at a slow pace, sometimes waiting tor the team to get out of a tight place where we could not pass. It was past noon when we arrived at Evans's in Read- field, eight miles, where we obtained some refreshment and some clover li,i\ lor the stock. I had never seen anything of the kind before; did not know what it was, but thought it was a kind of pea-vine. Our horse, being used only to line hay, would not eat it. After resting an hour, we drove on two miles further and put up for the night with Beniah Luce, where the railroad depot now is.
Thursday, the 27th. we went over Kent's Hill, where three families
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. 75
lived, Benjamin and Reuben Kent, in framed houses, and Nathaniel Thomas in a log-house. In going up the hill I saw a red squirrel for the first time. The road parted on the hill, one branch going to Liver- more, the other to our place of destination, which we found much worse than the other part, and some of our furniture was broken going- down the hill. We arrived at Robert blake's to a late dinner. Stopped an hour or more to rest. Father and mother rode on ahead to make some provision for us at the stopping place at Wyman's Plantation [Vienna], six miles distant. In the last five miles there was no house to be seen, and my sister, Deborah, tired of riding, chose to walk with me and the Indian woman. Rachel. A dreary long walk we found it, in a misty rain, but we all arrived at Judkins's Camp before dark. We there met two men trom Sandy River, who brought an evil report that all the corn on the intervales was destroyed by frost in August. Mr. Judkins was not provided with bread or accommodations for so great a multitude, there being ten of us. The house had two rooms, with a stone chimney, and oven between the rooms. The family lived in one room, and the other in which the oven was. was packed with unthreshed wheat. The old man told his boys to move back the wheat and blast the oven, as he had no bread for the travelers. The oven was blasted, and by ten o'clock, bread was baked sufficient for our supper and breakfast. The men found lodgings on the hay in the hovel. Father and mother spread their bed on the floor, some found room in the attic and all fared as well as they could.
Friday, Sept. 28th. We had now twelve miles to Sandy River and six more to our own camp. We started early, in the cold rain, by the way of the long ridge, six miles,— a better road than the day before. and stopped for dinner at hummer Sewall, Jr.'s, in Chester [now (lies- terville]. We found Mrs. Sewall a kind-hearted woman, who had much sympathy for my mother, knowing the hardships and privations she- would be exposed to in the desolate place where we were going in the outposts of the settlements on Sandy River. We had got so near our journey's end that we started off with good courage after dinner, arrived at Thomas Hiscock's before night, took a by-path across the river, and reached Solomon Adams's as the sun was setting. Here our company separated. Father, mother and the three children went down the river a mile to Esquire Titcomb's, where the family had an invitation to stop till the log-house was made habitable. We drove our stock about a mile up the river, where provision had been made at Esquire Norton's for keeping them. Mr. Luce went with the furniture another route, on
j6 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
the west side of the river a mile further on, and put up at Zaccheus Mayhew's. Our journey was now considered substantially at an end.
We were all alive and well, except tin- fatigue, having had a con- tinued series of difficulties during the autumnal equinox and the line gales for sixteen days. I have since, on two occasions, accomplished the distance by the aid of a team in twenty-seven hours. Mr. Luce, by depositing the most valuable portion of his load at the river, made out die rest to the camp on Saturday, driving through the woods in a road over which no cart had ever been before. There was constant danger of upsetting and destroying his load. He succeeded, however, and returned the same day to the river on his way home.
Saturday, Sept. 29TH, 1792. We boys, with Indian John to pilot us. went to see our new habitation in the woods, two miles beyond any other house or encampment.* We found it in a rude, forbidding, deso late looking place. The trees about the house and opening were mostly spruce and hemlock. They had been cut down on about five acres, a strip forty rods long and about twenty wide, on the first of July, and burned over. The whole surface was as black as a coal, the trees on the north side of the opening were burned to their tops, and the timber on the ground was burned black. A small bed of English tur- nips on a mellow knoll, sown soon after the fire, was the only green thing visible on the premises. A log-house forty feet long and twenty wide had been laid on the bank of a small brook. The building was formed of straight spruce logs about a foot in diameter, hewed a little on the inside. It was laid up seven feet high with hewed beams and a framed roof, covered with large sheets of spruce bark secured by long poles withed down. The gable ends were also rudely covered with bark. The house stood near the felled trees, there was neither door nor window, chimney nor floor, but a space had been cut out near the centre of the front side for a door. The building stood on uneven ground. The corner farthest from the brook was laid on a large log to bring the bottom logs to a level, leaving a space along that end nearly two feet from the ground. We thought it not a safe place to lodge in, as a bear or wolf could easily crawl in. We found our furniture in a pile on the ground. After viewing the premises, we returned to our lodgings at Esquire Norton's with no pleasant feelings in regard to our lonely dwelling place and future prospects.
October ist. We obtained a bushel of corn of Esquire Titcomb, which I carried on horseback to the Falls [Farmington], to mill ; and
* This lot now ( iSoj) comprises the farm of ( Ibed X. Collins in the northern part of Farmington. — //•'. ( '. //.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. 77
then I went by a blind path over bad sloughs to Harlock Smith's, in New Sharon, to get a box of maple sugar which had been bought of him. I found part of the way obstructed with fallen trees lying in all directions, over which I made the horse jump, and succeeded in getting home safe with my meal and sugar. Being provided with bread and other necessary articles, a carpenter was engaged, and the next day we took formal possession of the camp. The carpenter prepared plank by splitting basswood logs for the floor of one room and the entry ; a half a thousand feet of boards were procured for doors and partitions ; one wide board was laid for a floor in front of the hearth to sit on while they rocked the baby, and a few boards were laid as a chamber floor fur the boys to spread their beds on. The rest of the chamber floor was made of poles covered with basswood bark, on which the corn was spread to dry. Stones were collected by the boys on a hand-barrow for the jambs of a chimney and the foundation of an oven. In the course of the week the floor was laid, the doors were hung, the jambs of the chimney laid up, a hole was made in the roof for the smoke to escape, a rude entry partition was put up and six squares of glass in a sash were inserted in an opening for a window. Other spaces, opened to let in the light, could be closed with boards when necessary. In this condition, on the eighth of October, my mother, with the children, moved in, — not to enjoy the comforts of life, but to suffer all the hard- ships that pioneers must undergo in a hard battle with poverty, for more than five years, in that desolate place, without friends or neighbors.
Our first business was to harvest our frost-bitten corn, about fifty bushels, which grew in two places, six or seven miles distant. It was brought home in a large sack that would hold six bushels of ears, laid upon the horse's back, over mud and mire, to the annoyance of the driver. Indian John, who had often to go a mile to get help to reload his corn, when the horse was mired, laid down and threw off his load. After the snow came, a sled was used with better success. The corn being harvested, we proceeded to prepare our log-house for winter. The boys collected stones, an oven was built and the chimney carried up to the ridgepole with stones and topped out with sticks laid in clay. The cracks between the logs were caulked up with moss on the inside and plastered with clay on the outside. A hovel was built for the animals which was covered with boughs. The first snow fell in October, and it snowed every week till the first of January, without wind. After that time the snow was badly drifted, so there was but little traveling.
We explored the neighboring forests with our gun and found plenty of game, when the snow was not too deep. John, the Indian, was a
78 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
good sportsman. We kept account of the partridges killed, and found the number to be sixty-five killed during the first fall and the next spring. They disappeared when the snow was deep, and then we could sometimes kill a harmless rabbit. We had hard times during the win- ter, 1 792-3, but suffered more intensely the next summer, under our severe tasks and privations, and from the torment of Mack flies and mosquitoes. ( )ur camp was near a large swamp that swarmed with these pests, which tormented us day and night. We could scarcely see, our eyes were so swollen. Sometimes the boys had their necks bitten till there were raw sores with Hies imbedded in them. Our fare was coarse and scanty and our work hard. The land was hard to clear and unproductive when cleared, not one-eighth of it being fit for culti- vation, and that a mile from the house. Our clothes were worn out and torn to pieces going through the bushes ; our bare feet and ankles scratched, and our necks bleeding from the bites of flies and mosqui- toes. When we cleared the land and planted corn on the further end of our lot, the bears ate it up. and we seemed to be doomed to suffer- ing and poverty. When fourteen years old. I once carried corn on my back ten miles to mill, and often carried it five miles, for we were obliged to sell our horse the first year of our sojourn in the forest, and we carried our corn on our backs to mill, or went three or four miles to get a horse, often a poor, lame, stumbling beast — taking a whole day to go to mill — and then two days' work of a boy or one of a man to pay the hire. The longer we lived in that wretched place the harder we fared.
June 28TH, 1 793, we were visited with a most destructive hailstorm, accompanied with thunder and lightning. The hailstones — as large as hen's eggs — came through the bark roof of our camp by scores. My little sister was stunned by a hailstone that came through the roof and struck her on the forehead, causing the blood to flow freely. The storm was accompanied with such torrents of rain, beyond all concep- tion, with crashing peals of thunder and Hashes of lightning, that it seemed to me that the end of the world had come. I grasped the Bible, but not a word could be read, for the water had drenched every- thing in the house. The torrents lasted not more than two or three minutes ami ceased abruptly.
My father moved into his new log-house on land belonging to the Plymouth Company [some four miles from his first abode, on a hill to the east of Allen's Mills], tin- last day of April, 1798. The house was twenty-four by twenty feet, built of logs. The roof was boarded and shingled ; there was a good floor, with bed room, kitchen and
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. 79
buttery partitioned off; a ladder leading to the attic which had two sleeeping rooms for the children. We lived in this house till Decem- ber, 1802, making in all ten years of residence in log-houses. Eight acres of trees had been felled the year before and not burned. The ground had been cleared but a little about the house, and when the cut-down was burned there was great danger of the house ; we wet the house and the ground around, but, in spite of all our precaution, the house took fire ; we succeeded, however, in extinguishing the flames, not without danger of suffocation, before much damage was done. We raised a good crop of corn that year, about 200 bushels, and in the following years good crops of corn, wheat and rye were uniformly secured.
Still we suffered for many comforts of life, with no stock at first, but one hired cow which ran in the woods in the summer to pick up a living. We bought calves that year and soon raised up a good stock. Our prospects in our new establishment were quite encouraging com- pared with those in the forbidding and barren spot where we suffered so much for six years in first coming into the wilderness. Now we could look forward with good hope of better times from year to year. We had a good sugar-orchard on the lot, and the first year on our new farm I made nine hundred pounds of sugar with no assistance after the trees were tapped, except one day's work cutting wood, Bartlett my next younger brother being sick, and Truman had left the place to go to sea.
My father having raised a good crop of corn the first year that he lived in town [Industry], prepared a load of forty-five bushels for mar- ket to pay for leather for shoes and to procure necessaries, having bought one yoke of oxen, he procured another yoke on condition that he would pay at Winthrop, fifteen shillings in grain for the hire of them ; got all things in readiness on Saturday in January, 1 799, for an early start on Monday morning for a week's jaunt, and I was designated teamster.*
The boys were called up early and one sent two miles for the hired oxen, and before daylight appeared I started with my load. The roads being rough and the track narrow, my father went with me four miles to Col. Fairbanks's, near the Titcomb place in Farmington, to pry up the sled when it run off the track. We arrived at Col. Fairbanks's before sunrise, let the oxen rest and eat half an hour, re-laid the load on the sled and squared up and made all secure, I then proceeded alone ; the road being better, crossed the river opposite Farmington village f and
* Young Allen was then in his nineteenth year. — IV. C. II.
f Probably Farmington Falls is the village to which reference is here made. — IV. C.H.
8o HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
arrived at Lowell's in Chesterville soon alter noon, fed my oxen, eat my cold dinner, with a tumbler of cider to wash it down ; stopped an hour and started again, got to Perry's at sunset and put up, having driven nineteen miles. Bought a pint of milk and ate bread and milk for sup- per, (lot a warm breakfast and started again at sunrise, drove seventeen miles to Winthrop where I discharged ten bushels off from my load to pay the tanner for our winter stock of leather, tried to sell my load but no one would buy, and. had to go three miles further to leave another portion of my load for ox-hire. On a cross road I was directed wrong and found myself at the end of a wood road in the dark. Could find no suitable place to turn, but with much trouble I got my sled turned by taking my forward oxen, with the chain, to one corner of the sled and starting the sled off and then starting the oxen on the tongue, then first one yoke then the other a little at a time till I got turned ; after half an hour thus spent, I at length got on the right track and having traveled twenty miles arrived at Fairbanks, my place of deposit, stopped over night and as my team was beat out I accepted an invitation to stop a day to rest. On the fourth day I started early and drove to Hallowell by noon, carried hay and baited my oxen in the street, sold my corn for four shillings per bushel, got ten dollars in money and the rest in goods ; and»started for home without entering any building in the place except the stores. I drove to Carlton's by daylight, a distance of eight miles ; the next day to Lowell's twenty-two miles, and on the sixth day, in the afternoon, got home tired and hungry with about four dollars in money after paying expenses and ten dollars in necessary family stores, salt, etc., the proceeds of my load of corn after paying the tanner.
At a meeting for the organization of the militia, January, 1799, on what was then called the Plymouth Patent, my father proposed as a name for the place, Industry, which was adopted by vote and the name is still retained.* On the incorporation of the town he was chosen town clerk and held that office two years. On clearing up the land in Indus- try it was found productive. It was stony but bore good crops ; and we had bread enough and to spare. In 1799 a beginning was made on my lot | by cutting down five acres of trees, and three acres more the next year. So I had eight acres ready to be cleared when I arrived of age. I owned a good axe and had possession of a hundred acres of wild land, without a title ; but I had no whole suit of decent clothes. We all could make shingles, baskets and brooms to sell, and I made shoes for
* See page 59.
fThis was lot No. 28 of Lemuel Perham's survey and is now known as the Dea- con Ira Emery farm. — IV. C. II.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. 8 1
the family and sonic for others when I could find no better employment. In the winter of 1799 I was employed to teach a primary school for two months m Farmington for eight dollars a month. The next winter I worked with Knos Field, at North Yarmouth, making shoes at nine dollars a month. The next winter I had ten dollars a month for teach- ing in New Sharon, and in 1802 I had twelve dollars in a town school in Farmington ; but I was not qualified to teach English grammar. In the fall of that year I was persuaded by my friend. Joseph Titcomb, who had been one term at the Hallowell Academy, to join him and go for six weeks. Entering the Academy I was embarrassed with my defic- iencies and during the first week was thoroughly homesick. Preceptor Moody took pity on me — said that he was grieved that I was sick. With the encouragement of this judicious teacher I soon began to make progress in my studies in grammar, geometry and trigonometry. Han- nibal Shepard, one of the students, lent me books.
The preceptor employed me in his garden and charged nothing for tuition ; and at the end of six weeks, without solicitation, gave me a first-class certificate that I was well qualified to teach all the branches of study usually taught in public schools. My clothes were shabby when I left the Academy, November 5th, and started for home on foot; but before I reached home I had, ragged as I was, two applications to teach in the best schools in the county. The attendance at the Acad- emy was the foundation of my success in business in after life. Mr. Moody was a kind friend as long as he lived.
When he left the Academy he procured my appointment as assistant to his successor for two years. On my journey to Farmington I went out of my way to deliver a letter and message from Charles Vaughan, a land agent, to Captain [Lemuel] Perham, the surveyor, and was em- ployed by him two days in making plans, for which I received two dollars in money and more than ten dollars' worth of instruction in plot- ting lots of a given quantity, in various forms, bounded by a crooked river. I reached home with money in my pocket.
April i6th, 1S01. I left work for my father, who had then nearly completed his spring's work, and went to work for myself in good earnest.
My lot was a mile from my father's and I made a contract to board at home, my mother kindly consenting to do my cooking and other work, on my furnishing provisions. I soon found means to pay for a good cow, so the family were no longer stinted to a tea-cupful of milk at a meal.
I worked early and late burning off the logs ; and by rolling the logs
82 HISTORY OF rNDUSTRY.
two or three in a place I cleared by hand, without assistance, except one or two hours' work, three acres ready for sowing. I sowed two acres of wheat and one acre of rye. Had a yoke of oxen one day to harrow in the crop and had the seed in the ground within a month from the time I began 1 turning off the log. I spent a full day with a hoe cover- ing the grain around the stumps and other places where the harrow had not covered it. When it had grown I never saw a field of wheat that looked so well, — not a weed, bush or stump was to be seen, as the wheat was higher than the stumps, the heads large and hanging down with the weight of the grain.
I had forty-two bushels of choice wheat from the two bushels sown worth an extra price ; much of it was sold for seed. The rye was also very good. I estimated that there were thirty-three bushels from one sown. I burnt the limbs on the other five acres which yielded me one hundred and twenty-eight bushels of corn besides what the birds and squirrels carried off. The whole was a satisfactory result. The pro- ceeds of the year's work, including improvement on the farm, was more than two hundred dollars. Always after, when I cultivated land per- sonally, I had good crops.
In 1799 the inhabitants of the plantation, extending from New Vine- yard through Starks, Oak Hill and Mercer to Norridgewock, — a district reaching more than twenty miles from one extreme to the other, — were organized into a military company. The Captain [John Thompson] and Ensign [Jabez Norton, Jr.] were Methodists, and the Lieutenant [Ambrose Arnold] was a Baptist. I was chosen clerk and it became my duty to see that the men were all warned for training four times a year, to meet with them at trainings and general muster and to note their deficiencies. In May, 1799, there was no road direct from the north part of the district to the south part; and the snow was then so dee]) in the woods that we could not pass thro' the forest. I was first required to go three miles to see the captain and get his orders; then to travel through Farmington Village at the Falls, along the border of Chesterville to Cape Cod Hill, in New Sharon, to reach Lieutenant Arnolds's in what is now called Mercer, and receive the orders from him. The river could not be crossed in safety with a horse in a more direct course.
Tuesday, Man 5111, 1799, was the day designated [by law] for the training. The snow was so deep as to be impassable where there was no track except on snowshoes. Some went to the training on snow- shoes ; I followed the only track to get from home to the place of train- ing near Withee's Corner, by going north to Hinkley's Corner [near the
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. S3
Thomas F. Norton farm], then east to Thompson's Corner [near the old Thomas M. Oliver farm], and then south to the Withee's Corner, being four times the distance in a direct line, where there was no path. It is therefore not strange that I was soon tired of military honor, and escaped from it, as I could be excused. I did not aspire to any pro- motion in the service, and in due time resigned, having no wish for any office of more honor than profit. That spring of 1 799 was more back- ward than any I had ever known. The snow was more than a foot deep in the woods, and the Kennebec was passable on the ice at Norridge- wock, till the tenth of May.
In the spring ot 1S02 while I was at work on the farm, I was sur- prised by a visit from a deputy sheriff, who served a warrant on me requiring a State tax of forty-four dollars, which was to be assessed on the inhabitants of the plantation.
His directions required him to serve it on some "principal in- habitant, who would be able to pay the tax if he did not cause the same to be lawfully assessed. The deputy said he had been through the settlement and could not find any such person ; but that I had received enough money keeping school the previous winter to answer the purpose, and he therefore left the warrant with me. After enquiry and receiving directions how to avoid the penalty of neglect, I procured a warrant from Charles Vaughan, Esq., of Hallowell, for calling a meeting and the plantation was duly organized I was chosen one of the assessors and the tax was assessed and paid. A similar tax was assessed the next year. In the month of June, 1803, the west portion of the plantation was incorporated into a town by the name of Industry, and I was chosen one of the selectmen, with Capt. Peter West and Daniel Luce, Senior, for associates.
My new farm did not require all my time for several years. I had time to make shingles and build a grain barn the first summer. I also worked out in haying. In the fall I made shoes, and kept school in the winter, with increased compensation, for twelve years. I did not have to go from home to look up a school, but my success and with the recommendation of my worthy friend, Preceptor Moody, my name was favorably known in the community, it may be, beyond my deserts. I taught town school ten winters, and was an assistant in Hallowell Acad- emy nearly two years. I quit teaching on account of my health, and to cultivate my farm which needed my exclusive attention.
Tumultuous meetings were held in various places on the Plymouth Company's lands in Maine prior to 1802 by reason of the decisions of court which established the proprietors' title to large tracts of land on
84 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
the Kennebec, to which many believed they had no right ; and on which the settlers had entered with the expectation that they would be protected by the State ; and would have the land for a small price. When the Plymouth proprietors obtained judgment in their favor, and demanded hard terms, many of the settlers resisted payment, and great commotions leading to bloodshed in some places arose. The Legisla- ture interposed by appointing Peleg Coffin, Treasurer of State ; Hon. Elijah Brigham, Judge of the Court, and Colonel Thomas Dwight, all high-toned Federalists, who had no sympathy for men who, as they believed, were trespassers on the lands ; a committee to come and view the land and appraise for each settler a lot of one hundred acres, — a very unfortunate committee for the poor settlers. The committee came to Augusta in October, 1802, put up at Thomas's Tavern on the east side, where they fared sumptuously, and notified the settlers on the lands in dispute, to appear and enter into a submission to abide the decision the committee should make as to the conditions of holding the lands. The settlers came from all directions, some from a distance of forty miles. Being at school at Hallowell I waited a week for the crowd to subside. and then I found a schoolboy to ferry me over the river for nothing, and to watch for me when I came back, with his canoe. I went up to Augusta on the east side of the river, more than twice the distance of the road on the west side, to avoid paying toll over the bridge, not having money to pay the toll.
When I came to the tavern, I was obliged to wait some time for my turn, before I was admitted. Here I was confronted by Charles Vaughan, Ks<|., the agent of the proprietors, who was there with two attorneys. They disputed my claim to be heard, as I had not been of age a year, when the resolve was passed providing only for settlers who had been on the land a year ; though I had been in possession more than a year and had built a barn on the lot. After a full hearing the committee decided that 1 had a right to be heard, I signed the submission, and my time being exhausted, I had to leave without making any explanation of my case, and without any attorney to do it for me, while the proprietors had an efficient agent and the best lawyers in Augusta to manage for them.* I saw roast beef on the table, but could not eat of it. for 1 had no money to buy a dinner. I bought a good-sized cracker for a cent, and made a dinner of this, and walked back to Hallowell the same way that 1 came. The result of the appraisal was contrary to our expectations. Instead of adopting the juice of lands made by the State, they doomed us to
* See note, p. 36,
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. 85
pay more than double. The State price had been from twenty-five to fifty cents an acre, and the committee appraised the lots in Industry, from one to two dollars and a quarter an acre. My lot was put at one dollar and ninety cents an acre, with thirteen months' interest, two dollars for a deed, twenty-five cents for the award and seventeen cents for the acknowledgement of the deed, all to be paid in specie, in Boston, before the first day of June, 1804. By great exertion, selling my oxen and all the grain and corn I had, and borrowing of a friend in Winthrop ten dollars, I made the payment. I was obliged to pay two dollars to send the money to Boston. Thus my lot cost me two hundred and seven dollars, instead of fifty dollars which I expected to pay.
There were thirty settlers who entered into submission to have their lands appraised ; ten only could raise the money by their own resources ; ten others obtained assistance from friends who advanced the money and held the land for security ; and the other ten gave all up and aban- doned their possessions. These commissioners did not go to view any of our land as it was expected they would do.
They saw some fertile gardens near the beautiful Kennebec, received glowing descriptions of the settlers' lands from the proprietors' agents, and made up their prices accordingly. If they had come as far as In- dustry, and seen for themselves the land covered with stones, and roads so rude that no wheeled carriage could pass a mile in any place in town. and if they had seen the evidence of our poverty everywhere apparent, I am sure they would not have set the price of our land half as high as they did.
Being in Boston the summer of 1S04 on business I saw Thomas L. Winthrop, Esq., and tried to negotiate with him for the land on which my father lived. He treated me kindly, invited me to his house, paid a bill for taxes which I had against the proprietors ; but I could make no bargain about the land. I had paid him a high price for my own lot, twice as much as it was worth, but could get no redress.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
When we arrived at Sandy River in the autumn of 1 79 1 a powerful revival of religion was in progress on the west side of the river under the labors of Elder Benjamin Randall, the founder of the Free Will Baptist Society, assisted by Elder Edward Locke. I attended their meetings in the winter at the house of David Wentworth, five miles from home. The meeting was not conducted with much order. Some individuals were boisterous and there was much confusion. Elder Randall was a worthy christian minister and enjoyed the confidence of
86 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
the community. He did not remain long in the pla< :e ; but exercised a good influence, and laid the foundation of a flourishing society.
Mr. Locke was regarded from the first by the outsiders as an immoral man. He attempted to establish a community of goods for christians to have all things in common, when it was discovered that he was managing to get control of all the property. The church members left him, and he gave up preaching and abandoned his profession of piety. Notwithstanding the apostacy of one who had taken such a prominent part, a Free Will Baptist church was established containing a number of excellent persons, who sustained a good reputation tor piety through life. Francis Tufts became the leader of the society, and having lived to a great age died in Ohio.
In the autumn of 1793 the interest had mostly subsided : and in October. Rev. Jesse Lee. the fust Methodist preacher in Maine, visited this place in his first tour through the State. He had no one to intro- duce him or to give notice of his approach.
After a hard day's ride over bad roads, arriving near night at Star- ling's Tavern, at Sandy River, he made known his errand as a preacher. had notice given to the few who lived near, and preached in the evening at the tavern. A few hearers were present, and among the rest. Mrs. Eaton,* a worthy widow who perceived the speaker was a gentleman and an extraordinary preacher, and she thought he was entitled to better accommodations than the country tavern could afford, where he might be annoyed by noisy company, and took the preacher home with her and volunteered to find a better place of entertainment. The next morning she conducted him to Stephen Titcomb, Ksip's. the best place in town, where Mr. Lee was kindly received and treated with hospitality. The family were much interested in the preacher and his doctrines. A daughter of thirteen years experienced religion under his instructions, and they would gladly have persuaded him to remain longer; but his arrangements were made to travel through the interior of the State, and to return to Boston and Lynn before winter. He could therefore con sent only to stop a single day in a place. Esquire Titcomb gave him directions as to the most suitable houses to visit on his route, where he would be well received, and cordially invited him to come again. Mr. Lee then left for Esquire Read's, ten miles up the river. Esquire Read was a magistrate, respected for his integrity and hospitality, afterwards the proprietor of the township of Strong, Chief Justice of the Court of
♦This was undoubtedly Elizabeth (Thorn) Eaton, relict of Jacob Eaton, an early pioneer to tin- present town "I Earmington. — //'. C. II.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. $7
Sessions, Senator from the county, a worthy citizen, benevolent, pleasant and kind.* He received Mr. Lee joyfully, and became a leader of the Methodists in the town. The families of Mr. Read and of Mr. Tit- comb united subsequently with the Methodist Church.
Mr. Lee pursued his journey to New Vineyard, Anson, and so on to the eastern part of the State, attracting the attention of all classes wherever he went, by his personal appearance, social habits and gentlemanly christian deportment. He had traveled extensively from Virginia to Maine, and was well qualified to instruct and edify his hearers.
In June, 1794, he made a second visit to Sandy River, now incor- porated as Farmington. Notice was given that he would preach at Mr. Tutts'st barn. This was eight miles from where we lived. I re- ceived notice, and made my way to the meeting Sunday, but did not arrive till near the close of the forenoon services. I found a large assembly present. When the preacher took the stand in the afternoon, I listened attentively. I had never heard such preaching, and under his fervent appeals deep impressions were made on my mind, which were never lost. The swallows chirped in the barn, but nothing dis- turbed the preacher or diverted the attention of his hearers. Several who lived in the upper part of the town were converted at this visit of Mr. Lee, and were united in a class with William Gay as leader. An- other class was formed at the Falls. After meeting I was invited by Joseph Titcomb to go home with him to his father's to supper, as the preacher would be there. I went with him and was pleased with the preacher's conversation with the children.
MATRIMONIAL, ETC.
I married Hannah Titcomb, daughter of Stephen and Elizabeth Titcomb, born at Topsham, Nov. 15, 1780. She was of good parent- age, and her personal appearance, good sense, domestic qualifications and sincere piety were not excelled by any one within the range of my acquaintance. Though I had been acquainted with her for fifteen years, I did not dare to make proposals to her until I had acquired some reputation for industry and prudence, after I became of age. After our marriage, on the 28th of October, 1807, we moved into our
* The gentleman here referred to was William Read, of Strong. — IV. C. II. fThis was Francis Tufts, one of the wealthiest among the early settlers in Farmington. — W. C. II.
88 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
new unfinished house at Industry.* I had exhausted my funds in building too high and large, and could not finish it. I reserved a small sum of fifty dollars for winter stores and necessary articles to begin house-keeping, which was all spent in one month. I abhorred running in debt, and chose rather to leave home and teach school to raise funds. I took a school for three months, seven miles from home, at $20 per month, the highest wages then given, and board around. I hired my wife's brother to take care of the barn, get up wood and cedar for fences. The whole bill of cash expenses for support the first year was $128, besides the products of the farm and dairy consumed at home. We had four cows and six sheep. We made butter and cheese. My farm was productive, so that we ever after had bread and butter enough and to spare. We suffered some the first year from the cold house, and for want of some things. I had to work hard to subdue bushes and weeds, but succeeded, so that it was easier next year and ever afterwards, while my health was better than before. The people of the town were kind and attentive to us, and Divine Providence raised us up many friends.
At the annual meeting in 1808 I was chosen chairman of the board of selectmen with good associates. I was continued in office till my removal to Norridgewock. On the 2d of September, 1808, our first son, William, was born, who grew up and became our idol. He gradu- ated at Bowdoin College, was distinguished for literary attainments, and died in early manhood.
In 1809 I was appointed special Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and officiated one term. I did more business as Justice of the Peace than any other man in the county.
The farm was more productive from year to year. I employed one hand during haying, and did the most of the farm work myself. Our second son, Stephen, was born March 10, 18 10.
I taught school in Farmington in 1809, eight miles from home, walking home Saturdays and returning the following Monday morning. In 1 810 I taught the winter school in our own district, and in 181 1 at Norridgewock, having a horse to ride home on Saturdays and return on Monday, without price. I had to get up and start before day to go fifteen miles before school time, — which I did not fail to do for three months.
In November, 181 2, Mr. Jones, the Clerk of Courts, being sick,
* This house was a roomy two-story edifice, and the same subsequently occupied by I >eacon Ira Emery for many years. It was destroyed by fire, during a severe gale, on the evening of Feb. 25, 1887. — IV. C. I J.
JOURNAL OF WILLIAM ALLEN. 89
sent for me to help him. When I arrived he was confined to his bed. I was appointed by the Judge, Clerk pro tempore. I was entirely un- acquainted with the forms of procedure, but, with much embarrass- ment, and by the kind assistance of the Court, I succeeded quite well in the performance of my several duties.
George Jones* died January, 1813, and I was duly appointed his successor. On the first of April, we removed to Norridgewock, leaving the farm at Industry in the care of my brother Harrison and my sister Deborah.
* The author is of the opinion that this is erroneous. Hanson's History of Norridgewock (see p. 347), says that William Jones was Clerk of Courts in 1S12, and that William Allen was appointed his successor.
CHAPTER VI. SCHOOLS.
First School. — Incompetence of Early Teachers. — The Log School-House on the
(.cue. — < tther School-Houses. — High Schools. — Free High Schools. — Wade's Graduating System. — Text- Hooks. — Statistical.
'Tis education forms the common mind. — Pope.
SAYS William Allen in his History of Industry (see p. 25), "There were no schools of an}' note before the incorporation of the town. An old maiden lady* was employed occasionally, a short time, to teach children their letters and to spell out words. Her school was kept one month in my barn. She did what she could ' to teach the young idea how to shoot,' but was quite incompetent. I visited her school on one occasion and she had a small class advanced to words of three syllables in the spelling-book, and when they came to the word 'anecdote' she called it ' a-neck-dote,' and defined it to be 'food eaten between meals.'
"When the first town school was put in operation, the master was quite deficient in every way. When a boy hesi- tated at the word ' biscuit,' the master prompted him rashly — 'bee squit, you rascal.' But during the second year, a portion of the town united with a district in Farmington which extended
* Campmeeting John Allen, a younger brother of the historian, wrote the author some years prior to his death, as follows: "This was Miss Dependence Luce, daughter of Robert Luce, an early settler in Industry. She subsequently married Benjamin I largess." The Industry town records show Dependence to have been born Nov. 25, 1704. Robert Luce died in New Portland, in November, 1857, aged 92 years, hence he could hardly be counted as the father of Dependence, although he mav have been her brother.
SCHOOLS. 9 1
from the [New] Vineyard Gore to the Titcomb place, more than four miles. The school was kept in a log school-house, near where [William] Mosher lives, by Samuel Belcher, a com- petent teacher, and our boys made good progress. The master boarded with us a part of the time, two miles from the school- house. When the road was not broken out they had to get breakfast by candle-light, in order to be at school in season."
Probably the first school-house erected within the present limits of the town was one built on the New Vineyard Gore. The date of its erection is not known. This house, which was built of logs, stood on the south side of the brook running from the "Little Pond" and on the east side of the road, nearly opposite from where the Presson house used to stand, the site of which is still marked by a large English poplar. This house was burned, at an early date, and another built on the opposite side of the brook on the west side of the road. In the course of time this house, which was a framed one, was thoroughly remodeled and greatly improved.
One of the first teachers who taught school on the Gore was a Scotchman named Martin. For many years the school in this district was one of the largest in town, and its pupils ranked high for excellence in scholarship. Eventually the attendance grew less and less, until the school-house fell into disuse and was torn down and moved away about 1863.
The second school-house in town was built near Davis Cor- ner in 1807. It was located about one hundred rods north of the present school-house at Goodridge's Corner, near a large- granite boulder by the side of the road. Among those who taught here were William Allen, Jr., with several of his brothers and sisters, also Levi Young for three winter terms. Five years later a second house was erected at the corner on the site now (1892) occupied by the factory of the Enterprise Cheese Com- pany, and in 1818 the old one was torn down.' The second
* At the annual meeting, March 12, 1832, the town voted to set the inhabitant? of Allen's Mills off from the Centre District, to form a new school district. The brick school-house now standing in the village was built in the summer of 1839, or possibly a year later.
92 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
school-house was larger than the first, and had the then pre- vailing style of hip roof.* The principal text-book in those earl)- times was Noah Webster's Spelling-Book, which served the three-fold purpose of primer, elementary reader and spell- ing-book. Pupils more advanced used the American Preceptor, and later the Columbian ( )rator. The first mentioned reader was a great favorite with the scholars, as was also Lindley Murray's English Reader, the second Hallowell edition of which appeared in 1817. This Reader was used for a time con- temporaneously with the American Preceptor and Columbian Orator, f
Murray's Grammar, published in 1795, was for many years a standard work and the principal text-book in all schools where the science was taught. \ These, with Kinnie's Arith- metic and Morse's Geography, completed the curriculum of study in the best town schools.
A school-house was built near Butler's Corner, in Industry, about the same time as the one at Davis Corner. This house was used jointly by residents of Industry and New Vineyard. It was subsequently removed to near where the town pound was afterwards located. The exact date of its removal is not known, but it was standing on the last mentioned site as early as 1824. When it again became necessary to change the limits of the district the building was sold, and a new one, known as the Union school-house, erected. § This building was destroyed by fire, near the close of December, 1861, while a term of
* The present school-building in this district was erected in 186S, at a cost of $685.
tA book called the Art of Reading, was also used in town previous to or simultaneously with the Preceptor and Orator.
J Grammar was studied but little in the early town schools, so far as the writer has been able to ascertain. As a rule the pupils' parents were bitterly opposed to such an innovation, sedulously maintaining that the studies embraced in the allitera- tive trio, "reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic," were all their children required to fit them for an intelligent discharge of the high duties of American citizenship.
§This appellation was conferred upon the district in derision, not from the fact that several parts of districts were united in its formation, as main suppose. So many different opinions existed as to the most desirable location for the house, that outsiders applied the epithet " Union " to the district, in a spirit ol le\ ity.
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school was in progress. After this the schools were kept in private houses, and one term, at least, in Benjamin Tibbetts's shoe-shop. The house was rebuilt in 1864, by Mr. Tibbetts, on contract, at a cost of $359-77-
Ira Wilson taught a short term of school in a vacant log- house on the land of Moses Tolman, near Withee's Corner, in the winter of 1 808-9. He was a competent teacher, and the scholars made good progress. The next summer the district built a school-house, and the following winter they had nearly two months of school. The teacher boarded around, and wood was furnished by private subscription. Respecting the early schools in this district, which is known as the Withee's Corner district, Phineas Tolman writes: "They were usually taught by such teachers as could be hired for ten dollars per month, and were commonly those without any experience."
Among other schools in private houses, was an occasional term kept at the head of Clear Water Pond at the house of Ammiel Robbins, who lived on lot No. 12 on the Lowell Strip. The term of 181 3 was taught by Eleazer Robbins, a son of Ammiel, Sr.
A school-house was built near Daniel Luce's on the farm now owned by James Ldgecomb, in 1812. This house had an open fire-place and a stone chimney, which was afterward re- placed by a brick one. It was moved to the farm now owned by the heirs of Amos Stetson, Jr., in 1828, to better accommo- date the inhabitants of the district. Here, as well as on the Gore, a large number of scholars attended school, there being as many as 75 or 80 scholars in the district in its palmiest days. Some fifteen years later a number of the inhabitants, feeling that their accommodations were not the best, asked for a change in the boundaries of the district. F"or several years the town took no notice of their request, invariably voting " to pass by the article;" but at the annual meeting in 1847, it was voted to make the required changes. The following year the school- house was torn down, moved and erected on its present site near the residence of William D. Norton. It is much smaller now than when first built, having been cut down when last
94 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
moved. Formerly nearly sixty scholars attended school in this district, but for the year ending March I, 1 891, the average attendance was only five and one-half.
The first school-house erected for the accommodation of those living in the vicinity of West's Mills, stood about half or two-thirds of the way up the hill toward Esq. Daniel Shaw's.* The date of its erection is not known, but is thought to be 18 1 2. About the year 1 8 1 <S , Sophronia Mason, a daughter of Samuel Mason, came to Industry, and making her home in the family of Esquire Shaw, taught three terms of school in this house. f Her pupils were from the families of Esquire Shaw, Deacon Ira Emery, William Cornforth, Esquire Peter West, Gil- man Hilton, Samuel Pinkham, and occasionally the children of Jacob Hayes. This school was a large one, frequently number- ing seventy scholars during the winter terms.
On the 8th day of September, 1823, the town voted to divide this district, and the inhabitants of the village of West's Mills and as far south as Deacon Emery's south line, was con- stituted a new district. A wooden building was erected for a school-house on the southeast part of land now known as the old meeting-house lot. This house was burned in the winter of 1832-3, while Joshua S. Thompson was teaching the winter term. The succeeding fall the present brick edifice was built. The work was done on contract, by Christopher Sanborn Luce, who hired Elias L. Magoon, a Waterville College student, to do the mason work. When the house was finished the building committee refused to accept it, for the reason, as they claimed, that the foundation was not laid in a workmanlike manner. Matters were at last amicably settled by a board of referees, and after fifty-eight years the walls still stand, a substantial monument to the honest)- ami integrity of their builder.j
I his farm is now owned and occupied by Joseph II. Saver, t It was in this school-house that the first Sunday-School organized in town was wont to meet.
% The sum Mr. Luce received for this work is not known, but as a special tax 67. 1 1 was levied on the inhabitants of the district that year, it is supposed his compensation did not exceed this amount.
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During the time intervening between the burning of the old and the completion of the new school-house, the school was kept in Wm. Cornforth's shed chamber. There were two rooms in the new brick building, one for pupils under twelve years of age, the other for those above that age. After five or six years the partition was removed and the two departments of the school consolidated. Among the early teachers of note in this district were: Abraham Wendell,' of Farmington, Howard B. Abbott, who taught in the brick school-house in 1835, and Phineas Tolman. of Industry. The latter was a strict disci- plinarian, and woe to the luckless wight who disobeyed his rules. It is said that he sometimes whipped disobedient pupils unmercifully.! Henry Cushman, of Farmington, was an ex- cellent teacher, and very generally liked. He frequently taught in Industry, and many of the older citizens remember him pleasantly.
There was a school-house in the south part of the town near Esquire John Gower's. This school was largely attended for man}' years, and included some of the finest scholars in town. The school-house and most of the district were set ofi to New Sharon in 1S52.
After West's Mills was set off from the Esquire Shaw dis- trict, the school-house was moved to the south of the Esquire Daniel Shaw farm. At length, after many years' service, this building became so dilapidated that for some time prior to 1SS7, the schools were kept in a private house. In that year the district voted to move and repair the building, and chose Joseph H. Sayer, Nathan W. Johnson and David M. Foss, a
* Mr. Wendell hoarded at Deacon Ira Emery's while teaching, and studied medicine with Doctor John A. Barnard, who also hoarded at the Deacon's. He eventually went to South America, and became one of the most skillful physicians and surgeons of that country. He died in New York City, Sept. 16, 1872.
t A predominant idea with many of the early teachers seems to have been that a great amount of physical force was required to successfully govern a district school, and some were harsh and even cruel. Elihu Norton once taught school at West's Mills, and on one occasion pulled quite a large lock of hair from a pupil's head in cdWecting him. A female teacher in the same school once whipped a pupil till the blood ran down his back.
96 HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
committee to superintend the removal and repairs. As soon as the haying season was over the house was hauled to its present site, known as Thompson's Corner in early times, and repairs immediately begun. The roof was raised and the whole structure thoroughly remodeled and transformed into one of the most attractive and pleasant school-houses in town. These repairs necessitated the expenditure of over four hundred dol- lars, which was raised by a special tax. Among the early teachers in that school may be mentioned, Hezekiah Merrick, of Pittsfteld, George W. Luce and Daniel S. Johnson, of In- dustry.
HIGH SCHOOLS.
The first term of high school in town was opened at West's Mills, in the month of September, 1832, as nearly as the writer can learn. It was established mainly through the instrumentality of Deacon Ira Emery, a gentleman who had always manifested a deep interest in educational matters. The school was taught by Carlton Parker, a Waterville College stu- dent, and proved a decided success. Among those who gave it their support were the families of Esquire Peter West, Wil- liam Cornforth, Thomas Cutts, David, Daniel and Rowland Luce, David M. Luce, Esquire James Stanley, Esquire Daniel Shaw, Rev. Datus T. Allen, Jacob Hayes, James Eveleth, Jr., ,Obed Norton, the four Manter families, Esquire Samuel Shaw and others. Says Rev. Ira Emery: "That high school was one of the best ever taught, and I firmly believe it gave an impetus to the educational interests of the town that has not yet died out." Mr. Parker also preached for the Baptists occasionally while here. Two years later (1834) Hezekiah Merrick, of Pittsfield, opened a high school in the new brick school-house at West's Mills. Mr. Merrick was an excellent scholar and could teach algebra, but was not very successful as a teacher. The same year there was a term of high school at Goodridge's Corner, taught by Sylvanus Sargent, also a Waterville College student. He afterwards became a successful minister of the Baptist Church in this State, and in 1883 resided in Augusta,
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Maine. Mr. Sargent also taught a term of district school at the same place in 1836.
Moses J. Kelley, of New Sharon, another Waterville College student, taught a term of high school at Goodridge's Comer about 1 838. Others were taught in after years by Joshua S. and William Thompson, sons of James Thompson of Stark, who were likewise students at Waterville. John Dinsmore,* of Anson, a very excellent teacher, taught a term of high school at West's Mills, in the fall of 1844, and was so well liked that the district employed him for the succeeding winter and summer terms.
John W. Colcord, a student at Waterville College, from New Hampshire, taught a term of high school in Esquire Daniel Shaw's district in the fall of I 840. The term was a very pleas- ant and fairly profitable one, and the attendance large. Among other teachers of high schools in Industry, may be mentioned J. S. Houghton, J. Milford Merchant, of Belgrade, George Nickerson, son of Rev. Heman Nickerson, M. A. Cochrane, of Litchfield, Llewellyn Luce, of Readfield, and Charles Lawrence. David Church, afterward for seventeen years a successful minis- ter of the Methodist Conference, taught an eminently profitable term of high school at West's Mills, in the fall of 1853. A. FitzRoy Chase also taught a term of high school at the same place in the spring of 1865. Mr. Chase was an excellent teacher, and afterward became a professor in the Maine Wes- leyan Seminary and Female College at Kent's Hill, Maine. A term was taught in the fall of 1866, by Bradford F. Lancaster, of Anson. There was a large attendance, and the school proved fairly successful.