'i""%4 Ancient Cii]] of iorgcana AND JlODIiKN TOWN OF YORK (MAINE) FKOM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO TiiE riiESENT TIME. ALSO ITS BEACHES AND SUMMER RESORTS. Written, Compiled, and Typographically Comji^dvj't- Uiir-/: -^^^ By GEO. ALEX. EMEKY. yV' _ ,!_ BOSTON:-:] ^•-^_:^-.-- ' 1873. Entered according to Act of Congrest, in the year 1873, by GEORGE ALEX. EMERY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. All Rights reserved. Stereotyped at the BOSTOiT STEEEOTiTE FOU>T)BT, 19 Spring Lane. PREFACE- The history of most of the towns of New En- gland possesses principally a local interest, and perhaps there is nothing sufficiently distinctive in the records of the locality of which we have treated in this little volume to make the work _^ of more importance to the general reader. Yet, ' *, as York was one of the earliest settled of the seaports north of the Massachusetts Colony, and for a considerable time had a reputation among the better known of the towns planted upon the coast, there are events connected with it that afford material of value in a historical aspect, and which may entitle it more than many other places to be regarded as illustrating the manners, the customs of living, and the general characteristics of the towns of its class for many years after its original settlement. VI Preface. While the town had been stationary, if not nearly retrograding, for many years up to a recent date, its advantages as a watering-place have since then attracted increasing attention, and have given a new impulse to its growth, the effect of which is palpably apparent. It is now widely known as one of the most eligibly situated and altogether desirable of sea-side resorts. The efforts made to improve the natural attractions of the place, by providing for the comfort and fur- nishing facilities for the enjoyment of those who visit it, have greatly added to its popularity. It has entered upon a new stage in its career, and before this is completed the town is likely to have a national fame. Its position invites this, and the intelligent efforts of those who had the sagacity to appreciate its resources as a watering- place have improved and utilized what nature has done in this respect. It is with a view to interest not alone the inhabitants of the vicinity, but the thousands who will be brought to know it through its associations as a place of summer residence, that this brief record of its history has been prepared. INDEX. Agamenticus, Mount, Agamenticus, or York river, Ancient Plantations, . Anecdote of Rev. John Brock, Apple-tree, old, Aspinquid, Saint, Attempts to enslave Savages, Baptist Churches, Barren, Jonathan Sayward, . Barren, Nathaniel, . Barren's Mill, - • Bartering for Fish, Furs, and Oil, Booker, Esther, and Betty Totter, Boon Island, Bowden House, Brick making, . Brock, Rev. John, . Brooks, Solomon, Burdet, Rev. Mr., . . 17 , 16 . 13 , 66 . • • 64 . 88 , , 39 . 159, ICO . « • 51 , 51 , . 51 > • * 37 . 149- -151 . 118- -120 . 176 . 175 , , . 66 . 161 171 • • 43 VIII Index, Burroughs, George, . Cane Hephzibah and Polly Austin, Cape Xeddock House, Carlisle John, .... Census of York, early. Census of York, late, . Cider Hill, . . . . * City of Gorgeana, .... Clams, enormous. Clerical Imbroglio, at Shoals, Coasting and Fisliing, Cochranites, ..... Colby, Dr. Benjamin, Cold Weather, .... Congregational Church, . Court-house, Cruelty to Children, . Danfortli, Thomas, Dark Days, .... Davis, Isaac, and his wife CUloe, . Deed of York, .... Dennett, Mark, .... Devil's Invention, Dow, Lorenzo, .... Dow, Rev. Moses, Ducking-stool, .... Dummer, Rev. Shubael, . Earthquakes, .... Index. i^ CO Eastman, Dr. Caleb, °^ Emerson, Edward A., • • • • ' Fernald, Elder Mark, ^^^ Ferry, first one in York, . . • • Freshet in Western States, . . • • ^^ Garde, Roger, 29' ^0 Garrison Houses, 40 Gibson, Rev. Richard, . . . • '^^ Gilman, Dr. Josiab, Godfrey, Edward, 1^' 21 Goodwin, Rev. Charles E., . • • • ^^^ Gorgeana, City of, o^ Gorges, Capt. William, Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, . . • • 26 27 Gorges, Thomas, * Gosnold, Capt., . . • • • ' yt Grant, Charles A., ^^^ Grist-mill, * i"n Haunted House, . . • » • 1^7, loO Howard, Josephus, Hubbard, Elizabeth, . • • * ^ ' ^^ Huckleberry Islands, . . . • 174, 186 Indians, Appetite for Fire-water, . . -HO Indians, Negroes, and Slaves, proscribed, . 107 Indians sold for Slaves, ^^ Indian War, ^^^ Infant School, J 1^^ Irish Emigrants, . . • • 162-164 ^ Index, Isles of Shoals, . . . , Jacobs, Mary, .... Jail, the Old, Kiiuball, Rev. Reuel, . Langton, Rev. Samuel, . Limits and extent of York, Lnnt, Samuel, • . . . Lyman, Dr. Job, Lyman, Rev. Isaac, Lyman, Theodore, and Timothy, Matfitt, Rev. John N., IMaine, Charter and Legislature of, M'Intire, Major Alexander, MTntire, Micum, . . , ^ MTntire, Colonel Jeremiah, Marshall, George A., . •Marshall House, Marshall, Nathaniel G., Medoc or Mugg Indians, . Methodist Church, Military Training, or Muster, . Miracle of Rev. John Brock, Moody, Madam, .... Moody, Rev. Samuel, . Moody, Howard, Nasson, Mary, Negroes and Indians, Negro Music, Index. XI Norton and Leavitt, Ordination Expenses, Paris, Rev. Mr. . Pliillis, Black, Physicians, Pond, Rev. Benjamin W., Preble Abraham, Primitive School, . Prince, Dinah, . Putnam, Dr. Jeremiah S., . Quarrel, Ecclesiastical, Raid on Lord Proprietor's Property, Raynes, Misses Betsey and Eleanor, Revolution at the Shoals, Rollins, Dinah, Savage, Capt. Thomas, . Sayward, Elder Jonathan, and Joseph, Scalawags, Schools and Schoolhouses, Schools, early, Scituate, , Sea Cottage, .... Sewall's Bridge, .... Sewall, Capt. Joseph, . Sewall, David, Sewall, Judge David, . Sewall, Major Samuel, Sham Eight, . 175 . 121 95 . 143 82 . 74 G4 . 170 . 140 . 173 43 . 27 . 145 . 43 . 14G . IGl 51 . 1G5 152 . IIG . 1G7 . 17G 122-125 . 124 . 162 . 65 . 123 114, 115 XII Index, Shower of Meteors, . . . ^ Shipwreck at Boon Island, . Short Sands and Beach, . Simpson, Henry, and Benjamin, . Slave, a Parish, Smith, Capt. John, Snow, Snow-shoes, and Snow-storms, Spirits, Stacey, William, . . . . * Stage Neck, Stevens, Charles, .... Talpey, Cassar, Temperance Customs, Tetherly, William, Vessels formerly built here. Ward, Cffisar, and his wife Tamar, Ward, Rosanna Frances Bassett, Webber, Samuel, Wilcox, Capt. David, Witchcraft, Witches, and Wizards, Women, Goats, and Swine not permitted Isles of Shoals, .... Wreck on Stage Neck, .... York assailed, . ' • • • • York, Productions of, . York Records, . York, settlement of, ... . Young, Elder Peter, .... * 172- . 188 18G 85, %Q 77 . 34 58 . 127 132 . 49 138 . 16G 83 . 132 . 16, 177 . 1G6 1G6 . 92 . IGO . 89 at 46 . 180 100-107 . 133 49 . 19 . 160 Intimt Citw of 6otgca«a AND MODERN TOWN OF YORK. The ancient maritime town of York, on the Atlantic coast, located in lat. 43° 10' north, long. 70° 40' west, is bounded south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, north-east by Wells, north-west by South Berwick, and south- west by Kittery, settlement* of which, according to Edward Godfrey and others, * The first settlement in Maine was at Kittery, in 1623. Kittery, Saco, Wells, York, are often spoken of, by writers ancient and modern, as the " Ancient Plantations." According to Wil- liamson's History of Maine, Agamenticus settle- ment was incorporated A.D. 1639, containing one hundred and fifty souls. The Isles of Shoals con- tained, the same year, two hundred inhabitants. U Ancient City of Gorgeana. began a few years after the landing of the Pilgrims in the Mayflower, at Plymouth (1620), and was then called Agamenticus, or Accomenticus — signifpng in the Indian tongue "o?i the other side of the river.^'' This was the name of a mountain six hun- dred and eighty feet high, consisting of three elevations, situated in the north part of the town, about five miles from the sea. It is not steep, rocky, or broken, but is covered with woods and shrubs, interspersed with small patches of pasture, and large crowning rocks which form its summit. It is a noted landmark for mariners, and is the first height seen by them from the sea on the coast northward and eastward of Portsmouth. This mountain is supposed to have been the land first discovered by Capt. Gosnold, the English navigator, in 1602. He is thought to have made a landing at the Nubble, near York " Long Beach," and called it Savage Rock. The village part of York is situated ninety- Modern Toivn of York* 15 nine miles south-west from Augusta, forty- five miles south-west by south from Portland, twenty-two miles south-south-east from Al- fred, and nine miles north by east from Portsmouth, N. H. The population of this town in early times amounted to only a few hundreds. At this time Indian tribes were scattered throughout the neighborhood and all around the suburbs, keeping the settlers in constant fear and jeopardy of their lives, they being at the mercy of these cruel barbarians, more especially in winter, who came on snow- shoes, often surprising the unwary and almost defenceless inhabitants in the severest weather and on the darkest nights. The principal harbor is formed by York river, with water sufficient for vessels of two or three hundred tons burthen. The entrance, however, which is directly in fhe rear of the Marshall House, is difficult, being narrow and crooked. 16 A7icient City of Gorgeana, Adventurers and searchers after fossils have asserted that clams have been dug on the borders of this river, north of the site of the Barrell Mill-dam, measuring over a foot in diameter. Agamenticus, or York river, receives no considerable supply from its short fresh watei stream above the head of the tide, and con- quently is indebted to the ocean for its existence. Its length of flood-tide is seven miles. Much shipping was formerly carried on here. Warehouses and wharves were numerous Many vessels, several of them ships, were built on this river. The other harbor is Cape Neddock, about four miles north-east of the former. The latter is navigable for about a mile jfrom the sea at full tides only, it having a sand-bar at its mouth sufficient to prevent vessels of any considerable draft from pass- ing at low-tide. Four miles distant easterly from York Moderti Toivn of YorJc, 17 harbor, a part of which is a most beauti- ful beach of white sand, is Cape Ncddock river, a stream flowing from the foot of Mount Agamenticus. It receives its waters from the sea, has a sand-bar at its mouth, and is so small of itself as to be fordable at half-tide. It is never navigable more til an a mile from the ocean at high- water. On the south-west of the river, and at the upper end of " Long-sands-bay," is the " Nubble," which is nothing more than a small-sized hillock. This Nubble is the nearest land to Boon Island, which is about seven miles distant. In view of what this town is at present and what it ought to have been, the follow- ing, from the pen of the Hon. Nathaniel G. Marshall, describes it, in quite a dolorous strain : " The whole province now called the State of Maine was granted, prior to lGo9, by King Charles I. to Ferdinando Gorges, who 18 Ancient City of Gorgeana, sent his nephew, Thomas Gorges, here to select a site for the centre of his operations. He selected this place, and was so pleased with the locality as to bestow upon us the honor of being denizens of the first European City on the American Continent.^ Of this we should be and are proud, although clothed now in a garb of the lowest humility. We were sold out to a rival company, as it were, for ' thirty pieces of silver,' and crucified on the altar of the ambition of the Massachusetts Bay Company ; and, after enjoying our city charter for a brief period, became a town in 1653. For a while we continued a town of * Great discrepancies exist in both Gazetteers and Histories regarding dates. It is claimed for St. Augustine, Florida, to be " the oldest city [?] in tlie United States, having been settled by the Spaniards forty-three years earlier [1565] than Jamestown, Virginia, by the EngHsh." And for the latter place : " This is the oldest English settlement in the United States, having been made in 1G08." Modern Toivti of York, 19 much note, this place being the seat of jus- tice for the whole province of Maine for a long period. But we commenced to dwindle by degrees, until now we are comparatively isolated from the rest of mankind. Our young men, who possess little ambition, go from among us, and, for want of facilities to visit the place of their birth, stay away. Occasionally, a few, attracted by old associa- tions, stray towards their natal place, feel a kind of sorrowful interest for it, and are anx- ious to learn the state of affairs existing at the time. To such an extent have we fallen in our own and the estimation of other neighboring places, that we hardly have a heart to relate our sorrowful condition." ETTLEMENT OF YORK. This town was foraied from a portion of the territory granted by the Plymouth Coun- cil, in 1622, to Gorges and Mason. In 1629 they divided their interest: Mason taking 20 Ancient City of Gorgeana* that part of the grant west of the Piscataqua river, and Gorges the eastern portion. In 1635, the Pl5'mouth Council resigned this patent and took a new one, which they divided into twelvg portions. The third and fourth portions comprised the territory be- tween [the Kennebec and Piscataqua rivers, sixty miles wide, and extending one hundred and twenty miles north from the sea-coast, which was granted to Gorges. Charles I. revoked the charter to the Council, and granted the same territory to Gorges, April 3, 1G39. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, standing high in royal favor, had almost absolute powers granted him in his charter from the king. He was ambitious to found a state . that would rival Massachusetts ; and being pleased with a description of the place, which he had previously obtained, he selected Agamenticus, as the first settle- ment was here named, for the seat of his government. Modeini Town of Yorh, 21 " The officers whom Gorges appointed by liis commission of March 10, 1639, were William Gorges * who lived at Accomenticus, Richard Vines of Saco, Henry Jossylyn of Black Point, Francis Champernoon of Pis- cataqua, now Kittery ; Richard Benython of Saco, who was his nephew ; William Hook of York, and Edward Godfrey of Kittery." These men were councillors for the due exe- cution of the government, according to an ordinance annexed to the authority delegated in the commission. He intrusted the imme- diate management of it to Capt. William Gorges, a young gentleman of rank and am- bition, and to Francis Norton, who, having by his own merits risen from a common soldier to a lieutenant-colonel, was desirous to advance his fortune. Ferdinando Gorges was born at Ashton * The house in which William Gorges lived was situated on the north-easterly bank of York river, a few rods above Rice's bridge. The cellar can etill be seen. 22 Ancient City of Gorgeana, Phillips, in the year 1573, of an ancient but not opulent family. He was devoted to the episcopacy, and wished to promulgate this with all those under his government, or within his control. This did not suit the views of a majority of the liberal-minded colonists. Being thus divided in sentiment, they soon became unfriendly to each other ; and the popular principles held by Massa- chusetts were too inviting to allow them to resist the opportunity to emigrate there. Gorges, who had been an officer in the British navy, and governor of Plymouth in England,^ was urged by the poverty of his situation, as compared with others of his rank, to undertake some adventure that might increase his rent-roll in order to swell his coffers. His expectations were very great from this American enterprise ; but, as will be seen, his hopes were not realized. He sowed the wind and reaped the whirl- Modern Town of York, 23 wind, and he finally complained of having obtained for his toil only vexation and dis- appointment. When Sir Ferdinando Gorges was sixty years of age, he was given a commission of Governor General over the whole of New England. A man of war was in prepara- tion to bring him hither, which was to remain here for the defence of the country. But in launching she keeled over on her side and was broken, the enterprise failed, and Sir Ferdinando never saw America. The death of Capt. John Mason was clironicled soon after. ^ Sir Ferdinando Gorges was a very ambi- tious and a very unfortunate man in his enter- prises. His aim was to accumulate a fortune, achieve a character, and establish himself as a ruler of as large a tract of territory and over as many people as possible. In order to perpetuate his reputation as lord proprie- 24 Ancient City of Gorgeana, tor, he gave to the plantations of York the name of Gorgeana. The earliest grant of lands in York is by a deed from Sir Ferdi- nando to his nephew,^- Thomas Gorges, of five thousand acres, of land on the York river (then called Organug), and the lands embraced within the Hmits then termed J^a- merdicus. This deed was granted in the seventeenth year (1641) of the reign of Charles I., and by his sanction ; and seizin and possession was given in 1642. From the year 1642 to 16o.3, the grant of lands in York by the agents of Sir Ferdinando were very frequent and numerous. ^ The home government, jealously thinking his progress and power in advance of their ideas, and not calculated to benefit them, * Williamson styles Thomas Gorges both grand- son and nephew of Sir Ferdinando, and Sullivan terms him nephew. In Sir Ferdinando's charter, or grant, he calls him his " cosen." Modern Town of York' 25 undertook to check liim by accusing him of converting to his own uses that which should be made to enhance their interests, if not to swell their own coffers. His defence was able, but was not considered satisfactory, viz. : that he had never transcended their rights, and no monopoly had been engaged in or enjoyed to the detriment of the colony or home government. Sir Ferdinando, through his agents sent to America, being zealous to establish his name and power as lord proprietor, and also to further the other objects of his inciting, undertook more than could be accomplished in the ordinary lifetime of any mortal, even under the most favorable auspices. The Isles of Shoals were also included in his dominions. A company of emigrants which were fii'st sent out by him consisted of artificers and laborers, and as he had learned the wants of settlers in a new country, they were provided with implements, machinery, oxen, &c., with 20 Ancient City of Gorgeana. which to clear away the forests, build ships, manufacture lumber, and cultivate the ground. A settlement was accordingly com- menced on the eastern side of the river, near the sea, south of the present mill-site and pond ; and afterwards no other plantation of Gorges' so constantly and so fully received bis patronage and favor. FOUNDATION OF THE CITY OF GOEGEANA. King Charles L, in the patent granted to Ferdinando Gorges, prior to the year 1639, endowed him with more power than had ever been conceded by a sovereign to a subject. He enjoined in particular the establishment of the Episcopal religion. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, meeting with dis- appointment and much opposition in the general system of American affairs, deter- mined to plant a small colony at his own expense. He had been previously informed of a short salt-water river, admitting vessels Modern Totvn of TorJc. 27 to a safe harbor and good anchorage, at and above its mouth, called Agamentiais (York) ; its situation being nearly equidistant from a mountain of that name and the river Piscat- aqua. An extract from Gov. Winthrop's journal contains the following: -In the summer of 1640, Thomas Gorges arrived, accompanied by the Lord Proprietor as his deputy gover- nor of the Province. His instructions were, to consult and counsel with the magistrates of Massachusetts as to the general course of administration most expedient to be pursued; and such were his own resolutions, that he determined to discharge the duties of his office with fidelity and promptitude." At Agamenticus he found affairs, both private Tnd public, in lamentable disorder. The lord proprietor's buildings, which had cost him such large sums of money, were in a state of great dilapidation ; his own mansion was hardly habitable, and was stripped of everything, as expressed by one of his suite, ^^ Ancient City of Gorgcana. v destitute of furniture, refresl.ments, rum, candles, or milk ; his personal property was squandered ; notliing of his household stuff remaining but an old pot, a pair of tongs, and a couple of andirons. Gorges, elevated by a partial success, and actuated by those generous designs, deter- mined to erect the borough and land adja- cent into a - city ;" and accordingly executed another and more perfect charter, dated March 1, 1640, by which he incorporated a territory of twenty-one square miles and the inhabitants upon it into a body politic, which lie, evidently in compliment to his own name, called " Gorgeai^a." The whole lay m the form of a parallelogram, with the York river for its south-westerly boundary, extend- ing up seven miles from its mouth, and three miles upon the sea-shore. Its limits were three miles each way, radiating from the "Church Chapel or Oratory" of the plan- Modern Totvn of Yorh, 29 tation, and situated on the east of York river. The inhabitants had the power to elect a mayor and eight aldermen, annually, hold estate to any amount, and do many other things; and, furthermore, were authorized to hold courts, erect fortifications, and govern themselves as any other body politic. But no particular obedience was paid to Gorges' authority, and the inhabitants governed themselves, as did the patriarchs of old : by associations. In fact, they viewed his as- sumed power as a very weak kind of aris- tocracy, likely to be of short duration. This was the first grant of incorporation for a city in America, viz. : an English city charter, dated in 1G40. Thomas Gorges was mayor, with the following list of aldermen : Edward Godfrey, Roger Garde, George Pud- dington, Bartholomew Barnett, Edward John- son, Arthur Bragdon, Ilcnry Simpson, John 30 Ancient City of Gorgeana. Rogers. Mr. Garde was also appointed re- corder. Descendants of some of this board are still residents of the town. " The police consisted of a mayor, twelve aldermen, twenty-four common coimcilmen, and a recorder, annually elected in March, by the citizens and freeholders. The mayor and aldermen were ex-officio justices, and had the appointment of four sergeants, whose badge was a luhite rod, and whose duty it was to serve all judicial precepts." In 1644, a woman was tried in the mayor's court for the murder of her husband, and con- demned and executed. The officers of the province, by invitation of the mayor, assisted at the trial. "The form of public worship. was to be Episcopalian. Thomas Gorges returned to England in 1643, and Eoger Garde became mayor in his stead. "While Sir Ferdinando's province was Modern Toivn of YorJc. 31 deeply involved in difficulties, he died in England, in 1647, aged seventy-four years — about two years before the execution of Charles I., his royal master, who was be- headed January 30, 1649. Seldom is a sub- ject more firmly attached to his monarch! On hearing of the proprietor's death, and being left to themselves, a convention was called by the people of Gorgeana, and after discussing their rights, duties, and difficul- ties, the inhabitants of Gorgeana, Kittery, Wells, and the Isles of Shoals formed them- selves into a confederacy for mutual protec- tion and the just administration of govern- ment." * * An old account, copied from a MS. letter of Hon. M. Dennett, reads tlius : '■^Kittery is the first and oldest iown in the state — Gorgeana being a city corporate, not a ioivn. The Navy Yard, Badger's, Trefethen's, Clark's, Cutts's, and Ger- rish's Islands belong to Kittery. The town records begin March 19, 1G4S. The town was 32 Ancient City of Gorgeana, In the courts held under Gorges, there was no division of the judicial, executive, or legis- lative powers, but the general courts made laws and tried cases, and by their own mem- bers caused their sentences to be executed. The same method prevailed when his govern- ment had lost its power, and the people had entoered into associations for civil purposes. Their records were filled with cases which at this day would be considered in the light of literary curiosities : — singular laws, whimsi- cally arranged in the books. For instance : in the same paragraph, perhaps, will be found a law for the encouragement of killing wolves, and another for the baptism of children. Civil actions and criminal were alike decided by the General Court, and all this in a style and manner that could hardly fail to excite divided; Berwick was incorporated June 9, 1713, and Eliot, March 1, 1810. The town produces annually one thousand barrels of cider, but no wheat." Modern Toivn of Tork. 33 ridicule rather than command respect, such was the mode in which they were mixed to- gether. The following is a specimen of them : " Nov. 22, 1652. — The commissioners held their court and the inhabitants appeared, and after some tyme spent in debatements, and many questions answered, and objections re- moved, with full and joint consent, acknowl- edged themselves subject to the government of the Massachusetts in New England ; only Mr. Godfrey did forbeare, untill the voate was past by the rest, and then immediately he did by word and voate express his consent. Mr. Nicholas Davis was chosen and sworne constable. Mr. Edward Rishworth was chosen recorder, and desired to exercize the place of clarke of the writts. Mr. Henry Norton was chosen marshall there. John Davis was licenced to keep an ordinary and to sell wine and stronge Avater, and for one yere he is to pay but twenty shillings the butt. Phillip Babb of Hogg Hand was 34 Ancient City of Gorcjeana. appointed constable for all the Hands of Shoales, Starre Hand excepted." In 1652, Massachusetts assumed control of this colony ; the city charter was revoked, the name changed to York, and an incor- poration as a town granted, with limits enlarged, probably, nearly to those now existing. In 1834 a small part of York was added to South Berwick, since which there have been no changes in boundary. CAPT. JOHN SMITH. This celebrated man has so much connec- tion withf this history as to deserve some par- ticular notice. He was born in Willoughby, England, A. D. 1579. In 1596, when he was seventeen years of age, he made the tour of Europe ; killed three Moslem champions in single combat, was honored with a tri- umphal procession, and was for some time Modern Town of Tor 7c, 35 held a prisoner in Turkey. During his sub- sequent remarkable adventures in this coun- try, his life was saved by the celebrated Indian princess, Pocahontas. He died in London, A. D. 1631, aged fifty-two years. lie was bold and magnanimous in disposi- tion, and in talents, integrity, and persever- ance, by no means inferior to Sir Ferdinando Gorges himself. Though at the time of our narrative only about thirty-five years of age, he had been a great traveller, was a very conspicuous adventurer in Virginia, and in 1608 was made prisoner by the Colonial Council. So far had his virtues and adven- turous spirit given his name celebrity among his countrymen, especially the English mer- chants trading in America, that, on his leaving America, they readily took him into their own service, for the triple purposes of discovery, settlement, and trafiic. With an outfit of two vessels, a ship and bark, carrying forty-five men, he sailed 36 Ancient City of Gorgeana. from London, March 8, 1614, having instruc- tions from the government to remain in the northern country and found a colonial settle- ment, or at least keep possession. This was characteristic of orders given by King James I. to all expeditions sent out, viz., " to hinder any foreigner from settling there upon any pretence whatever." Smith shaped his course for the Sagadahock river, and says : "I was to have staid there with only sixteen men." He arrived at Monhegan the last of April, and immediately entered upon the business of his voyage, by taking possession, at the mouth of Sagadahock river, of all the neighboring land and water. He constructed seven boats, in some of which himself and eight men explored the coast, east and west, to Penobscot river and Cape Cod, trading with the natives for beaver and other furs, and making observations on the capes, harbors, islands, rivers, and shores. His men employed themselves, also, in taking Modern Toivn of Yor1c» 37 whales found in these waters, by pursuing which they lost the best part of the fishing season ; nor were they, when caught, of the kind expected, " which yields furs and oil." Still more futile was the visionary story reported about gold and copper mines abounding on this coast, it being ascer- tained, on inquiry, to be a baseless fabric of fiction. Nevertheless, the fruits of this voyage were of great value and variety. The party obtained, in exchange for mere trifles, six- teen thousand beaver, one hundred martin, and as many otter skins ; they also took and cured forty thousand dry fish and seven thou- sand cod-fish, corned or in pickle. The net value realized by those interested was about one thousand pounds sterling ($5,000). From the same vicinity that year (1614) twenty-five thousand skins were sent to France. Further eastward European com- modities were not so much esteemed by the 38 Ancient City of Gorgeana, natives, because the French traders bartered then- articles on better terms. Captain Smith, on exploring the borders of the coast between Cape Cod and the Penobscot river, says he saw upon the land *' forty several habitations," or " Indian vil- lages," and enumerates twelve differcTnt tribes by name, residing east of the Piscataqua. One of the most numerous seemed to be the Medoc or ^hi^g tribe, supposed to be the ancestors of those troublesome savages now located in and around the "Lava Beds" of California. Smith mentions the fact that these Indians did not differ in fashion, gov- ernment, or language, on the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, and as far south as Naumkeag (Salem, Massachusetts) ; but from the latter place to Cape Cod, he found they differed somewhat in condition, custom, and language. He had only one skirmish with them, and in this some of the Indians were killed. Smith sailed for England July Modern Toivn of York, 39 6, 1615, while his companion, Capt. Thomas Hunt, purposely tarried behind to monopo- lize the trade and steal savages. W'hen he afterwards sailed from Plymouth for Spain, he seized twenty-four Indians, carried them to Malaga, and sold them to the Spaniards for one hundred dollars apiece. Some of these captives were named Squanto or Tis- quantmuy Wanope or Wanawet, and Samoset, the latter of whom said, in 1621, after his return, he was a Sagamore about Monhegan. At Gibraltar, the convent friars took those that were unsold for the purpose of christian- izing them. About the time Captain Smith was sur- veying the New England coast, a most destructive war broke out among the savage tribes, which continued two or three years. Gorges despatched an expedition in the sum- mer of this year to Sagadahock, with the artful Indian Epenoiv^ and other natives, for the purpose of learning more of the reported 40 Ancient City of Gorgeana, gold mines, and of adding new facts to his stock of knowledge. Epenow escaped by jumping overboard not far from Martha's Vineyard, and with him vanished the Englishman's glittering visions of gold. Then came famine, pestilence, and war, fol- lowing each other in rapid succession, and the mortality was the greatest known there since the settlement of the country. It was a prevailing sin of these early times to treat the aborigines of this country as if they were designed only to gratify the cupidity and passions of their civilized con- temporaries, although the British king had given instructions to every expedition sent out by himself, in 1622, not to improperly interfere with the trade or pursuits of the natives, never to sell them fire-arms, nor in any instance to intermeddle with the woods or freeholds of the planters without license from the Plymouth Council or crown. He also threatened the wrong doers with confis- 3Iodern Town of York, 41 cation ; but tliey took little heed of either his menace, or commands. THE m'iNTIKES ECCLESIASTICAL. The following is Judge Say ward's narra- tion : "In the time of the civil war in 1641, between Charles I. and the British Parlia- ment, Oliver Cromwell gained a victory over the Scotch troops which had assembled under the royal standard, in the north of England, and sent them to America. Among them were the Donalds or Donnels, the Max- wells, the M'lntires,*"'* the Tuckers, &;c., and * All the M'lntires descended from one Micuni M'Intire, who emigrated from Scotland in Oliver Cromwell's time. Those well known in York were : Alexander M'Intire, called by the title of " Squire," who died some twenty-five years ago; Eufus, a member of Congress, and Major William, brother to Alexander, a very large and stout man, lived in Scotland parish, near the upper bridge. 4:2 Anciefit City of Gorgeana, these came to Gorges's government because he was a royaUst, and settled in what is now the second parish in York, from which cir- cumstance the place was named Scotland. Rev. Joseph Moody, son of the Rev. Father Moody, was the first minister. His imme- diate successor was Rev. Samuel Langton, who continued with this society for many years afterwards." During the government of Gorges, we do not find that they ever had a preacher in on the old homestead, and has been dead about fifteen years. He left two sons, one of whom lives in old York, the other in New York city. Jere- miah M'Intire was also a prominent man. He was at first a Colonel, then General, and finally a Major-general of the State militia. He belonged to another branch of the family of the above- named ; was born in the M'Intire garrison house, was married to Elizabeth Lunt, daughter of Sam- uel Lunt, Esq., deceased. He bought, lived, and died upon the same spot where his sou Jeremiah now lives. — iV. G. Marshall Modern Town of York. 43 York. In IGGO, one Burdet, who had been expelled from Exeter, in New Hampshh-e, for misdemeanors, became a preacher to those who chose to hear him ; but he was punished for lewdness by the civil authority, and soon after ceased to act in the capacity of a public teacher. CLEKICAL IMBROGLIO ATTEMPT TO KEVO- LUTIONIZE THE SHOALS. About the year 1642 a personal contro- versy arose between two clergymen, which caused great popular disturbance. The Rev. Mr. Langton, of Dover, New Hampshire, delivered a discourse against hirelings, which was evidently aimed at Kev. Richard Gibson, of Maine, and gave him great umbrage. The latter was an Episcopalian, and highly esteemed as a Gospel minister, especially by the fishermen at the Isles of Shoals, among whom he had been for some time 44 Ancient City of Gorgeana. preaching. He retorted upon Langton, and likewise accused Massachusetts of usurpa- tion in her endeavors to rule over the Isles of Shoals. In this state uf irritation, the Islanders were provoked to a general revolt against the authority of that State, with the idea of submission to Gorges's government, several of the cluster being his by charter. But he was glad, at last, to escape the indig- nation of that colony by making a humble acknowledgment, and perhaps promising that the Islanders should be urged by him to return to their allegiance. The controversy was completely quieted by his submission. Pending this so-called revolt, an attempt was made by some of the liberal minded to found a government among themselves, as then: numbers then amounted to several hundreds. " A constitution was drafted and made by the principal leaders, then styled ' knowing ones,' and after being amended, revised, rewritten, lengthened, and shortened. 3Iodern Town of YorJc^ 45 was submitted to a committee for their exam- ination and opinion, before being put to a direct vote, and it is astonishing with what disfavor it was received ! Some said it was too long, others said it was too short ; one did n't like it ; another liked the old [r] one better ; one attempted to read it upside down, and declared he ' never, in all my born days, ever saw such a ricketty, crabbed hand in all my life ; ' and a loud speaker showed his utter contempt for it by * throwing a quid of tobacco in the very face and eyes of it I In fact, it went back to the makers in such a befouled, crumpled, dirty, and soiled con- dition, that it was not fit to be seen." Although many attempts were afterwards made to build up a self-governed confed- eracy on this and other bases, they did not succeed, and all of them died natural deaths. 40 Ancient City of Gorgeana. WOMEN PROHIBITED PROM LIYI>-G AT THE SHOALS. A curious memorial presented to the Court this year (1642) reflects some light upon the ideas and habits of those early times : " The humble petition of Richard Cutts and John Cutting showeth, that, contrary to an order or act of court, which says, 'No icoman shall live on the Isles of ShoaW John Reynolds has brought his wife thither with an inten- tion to live here and abide. He hath also brought upon Hog Island a great stock of goats and swine, which, by destroying much fish, do great damage to your petitioners and others; and also spoil the spring of water upon that island, rendering it unfit for any manner of use ; which afi^ords the only relief and supply to all the rest of the islands. Your petitioners therefore pray that the act of court may be put in execution for the re- moval of all women, also the goats and Modern Town of YorTc, 47 swine." In accordance with this request, the court ordered Ileynolds to remove his goats and swine from Hog Island, within twenty days, and also from such other islands as are inhabited by fishermen. But as to the " removal of his wife," it is " thought fit by the court," that " if no further complaint come against her, sUe may enjoy the com- pany of her husband." The reason for this prohibition has been wondered at ; but there was one, and it is mentioned in Williamson's History of Maine, namely, that " the women were owned by the men in as many shares as a boat." STUMBLING-BLOCKS TO TROGRESS. The arbitrary laws made for and held over those who attempted anything like progress emanated from the jealous mind of Charles II. ; for anything done here, right or wrong, without first consulting him, through his 48 Ancient City of Gorgeana. numerous agents and rulers, was looked upon in the light of treason, and not to be tolerated, even for a moment, by those who held power, or second-hand official authori- zation, from the home government. This abridgment of freedom resulted as an almost effectual stumbling-block to advancement, progress, or civilization in an infant colony. The crown, through its lord proprietors, kept the people in complete submission. Those in power rode rough-shod over their destinies, and the possession of even their very existence. The restoration of the royal government in England placed the supreme authority in the hands of men far less favor- ably disposed towards New England than the administration under the protectorate of Cromwell. Chaj-les II., dissolute and unprin- cipled, disliked extremely the strict religious principles of most of the people here. Fur- ther, it appeared he even resented, as an invasion of his prerogative, the establishment Modern Town of YorU, 49 of a mint in Boston, where were coined three-pences, six-pences, and shillings. He was jealous of the spirit of liberty prevalent among the New Englanders, and wished to see them reduced to a complete depend- ence on the crown. YORK RECORDS. The oldest records of York contain little other than the assignment and settlement of tracts of land to citizens and others wishing to become such. We extract a few that embrace tlie greatest variety. '* 1652. — At a town meeting, ordered, that William Hilton have use of ferry*" for twenty-one years to carry strangers over for * The overland route from the wilds of Maine to Massaclmsetts was close to the ocean, the better to avoid the Indians, and also to be among the set- tlers, fording creeks emptying into it, and directly across Stage Neck, where the Marshall House stands, thence across this ferry through Kittery. 60 Ancient City of Gorgeana. two pence, and for swimming over horses or other beasts four pence ; or that one swum over by strangers themselves, he or his ser- vants being ready to attend ; and one penny for every townsman. If time and tides be favorable, he is to pass persons over to and from Stage Island ; if not, to provide a canoe to lye ready on his own side to transport people without danger. "1701, March 21. — Petitions and offer of Capt. John Pickering, to erect a grist-mill, to grinde the corne of the town, and put up a dam, and take timber from any man's land near by. Will do it if the town will give him the monopoly of it ; but shall have to lay out one hundred and fifty pounds ; for all the toll of grinding the town's corn will not pay a man wages this seven years. Voted, to grant him the permission to build, take creek, lumber, stream, trees, &c. The mill to be built where Glengom (?) and Gale had theirs. Modern Tmvn of York, 51 " 1720, Aug. 81. — Voted at town meet- ing, to garrison the house built for the min- ister, and occupied by Mr. Samuel Moody, at the town's charge ; and that Joseph Say- ward * and Benjamin Stone be a committee to carry on the garrisoning the above house, with square timber, of hemlock, oak, or pine, of ten inches width, as soon as possi- ble ; fifty-six feet one way, and fifty-two the other. And the committee are directed * Elder Jonathan Sayward built and owned the dwelling-house known as the " Barrcll Mansion," which is situated on the hill at the lower end of the mill-dam, where formerly Jonathan Sayward Barren's grist-mill stood, and the house is still occupied by the Barrell heirs. Elder Sayward was at one time the most extensive land owner in York. During the Revolutionary war he was suspected of adherence to tlie king; but it was as- certained, on examination, to be otherwise. Jon- than S. Barren's fjither was Nathaniel Barrell, an Englishman, who sympathized with the cause of the king. This Nathaniel married a daughter of Elder Sayward. — N. G. Marshall Records. 52 Ancient City of Gorgeana, to inform the inhabitants in getting the tim- ber, and setting up the same ; and each per- son or persons that shall deliver any timber suitable for said work shall be allowed nine shillings per ton; and laborers to be paid according as they are workmen; and the work to be finished at or before the tenth of September the present year. " 1724, March. -— A bounty of four pounds was paid for each grown wolf killed. *' 1724-5. — Samuel Johnston put by from voting. Swine allowed to go at Common. "1725, March 8. — Voted, that Sewell Banks (Joseph) be requested to sit in the fore seat below ; and his wife, as becomes a wife, in the woman's fore seat. Voted, that the wife of Philip Adams, being somewhat thick of hearing, have liberty to move forward in the meeting-house. " 1727, May 8. — Men appointed to pre- vent trespassing on Stage Neck. " 1732, June 30. — Common land divided Modern Toivn of YorJc. 53 by vote, how many shares of eight each one should have. Elder Joseph Sayward was granted land in consideration of his eminent usefulness. " 1733, Dec. 5. — Voted, to build town- house,^'* at an expense of one hundred pounds. "1733, Dec. 30. — Dimensions of Court House : thirty-five feet long, twenty-eight feet wide, twenty feet stud, lower story ; eight and one half feet upper story, pitch roof, both rooms plastered. "1737, March 14. — Swine may go at liberty if yoked and ringed. "1737, March 18. — Voted, to build a workhouse for beggars. * This, probably, was the old dwelling-house which formerly stood on the corner of the road opposite the cemetery, near the present Congre- gational Church, and for many years occupied by one Josephus Howard, as a dwelling, saddlery and harness shop. 54 Ancient City of Gorgeana, "1747. — Voted, that the school-house near the meeting-house be used as a work- house. Samuel Sewall, Jr., warder. *' 1754. — Bill in regard to private use of spirituous liquors, opposed. *' 1773. — Voted, to procure an c^er for a woman's iUness [?], at the cheapest rate. " 1775, April 2. — Voted, to have a night- watch, at the mouth of the harbor — two on each side, under command of the colonel of alarm men (militia). *' 1775 — Voted, that the selectmen pur- chase corn, and deal it out as they think proper. *' 1775, July 19. — Daniel Bragdon, David Sewall, Edward Emerson, went to Assembly at Watertown [Mass. ?]. "1776, March 12. — Voted, to sell one cannon for militia use. "1776, June 5. — Voted, to agree with Congress of the decision to declare them- selves free and independent colonies. 3Io(lern Town of York. 55 ''1776, Aug. 5. — Twelve dollars bounty offered. [Probably for military recruits.] " 1776, Dec. — Bounty increased to four pounds ten shillings. Prices paid : for pork, threepence a pound; oxen, six shillings a yoke ; horses, seven shillings apiece. '' 1777, Aug. 18. — Bounty six pounds. " 1777, Nov. — Three hundred and sixty- eight pounds for ammunition, arms, and men raised. "1778, May. — Sixty pounds bounty. "1780. — John Hancock had sixty-six votes for governor. t' 1781. — John Hancock had thirty votes. " 1781, June. — Daniel Emery appointed constable. "1782, April. — John Hancock received forty-three votes ; whole number cast, fifty- one votes." 66 Ancient City of Gorgeana. EARTHQUAKES — COLD WEATHER ~ SNOW- STORMS. The first day of the month of June, 1G38, is memorable on account of tlie first great earthquake which occurred after the settle- ment of the country. The course was from west to east, its duration about four minutes, and the earth was unquiet for twenty days.' The noise was like that of a multitude of carriages driven swiftly over pavements.. Many chimneys were thrown down, the waters greatly agitated, and the vessels in the harbors and at the wharves violently shaken. In 1727 occurred the second great earth- quake that New England experienced. It happened in the evening of October 29, at about ten o'clock, The atmosphere was calm, the sky cloudless, and the moon walk- ing in her brightness. The shock extended over a tract of some hundred miles in extent. Modern Toivn of York, 57 shaking the buildings, oversetting chimneys, and making in some places clefts and fissures in the earth. No lives were ascertained to have been lost. This event excited serious reflection in many a breast, and was followed, in some of the towns, by an improvement in morals, an increase of piety, and considera- ble accessions to the churches. The thu'd great earthquake experienced in New England occurred a little before day- break on the morning of November 18, 1755, after a clear and serene night. The shock was heavy, and of considerable duration. Suddenly arousing the people from the peace- ful slumbers of the night, it excited great alarm. It threw down the tops of one hun- dred chimneys in Boston, and shook the country from Virginia to Nova Scotia, an extent of a thousand miles. Another earthquake happened on the night of April 12, 1761, which was succeeded by still another the following autumn. The 68 Ancient City of Gorgeana, summer of this and that of the following year were each of them remarkable for a great and distressing drought, which ren- dered necessary the importation of large quantities of the necessaries of life from abroad. Other casualties are recorded as occurring at the time of the earthquake, or following it. There were very severe winters, of long duration, and excessively hot summers. Some of the snows were so deep that it was not unusual for two-story houses to be two- thirds buried up, and neighbors to visit each other, on snow-shoes, through the chamber windows of their houses ; in fact, no other communication could be had. This may seem to find its parallel in the great freshets in the Western States, where families have been rescued from a watery grave by being taken from the third story of their dwellings on board a steamboat coming alongside the house ! Modern Town of York, An unusual occuiTence marked the spring of 1658, in a sudden prevalence, when the apple and other trees were in full blossom, of cold so insupportable, that out of the crew of a York fishing vessel, then happening to be at sea, one man died of the cold before the boat could make the land, another was so chilled that he died soon after, and a third lost his feet. This was in the latter part of May. There have been frequent instances of the occurrence of snow on the ground and blossoms on the trees, but no occasion since of so intense a cold so late in the season. One of the most destructive frosts recorded in the annals of Maine, or even New England, occurred in May 17, 1794. The season was unusually early, the young apples were formed, and the rye headed, when one fatal night blasted the hopes of the husbandman, and destroyed almost entirely the fruit and English gi'ain. A famine seemed inevitable. CO Ancient City of Gorgeana, but an All-wise Providence averted such a calamity, and the next year was one of great plenty. Cold Tuesday, as January 31, 1815, was designated, was remarkable for being intensely cold. The year is well remembered as the cold season, and is often termed in familiar conversation the poverty year. The mean 'temperature, as observed in many places in Maine remote from each other, was forty- three degrees. Snow fell in the southern part of the State June 9 ; and August was t]ie only month of the year exempt from frost. Early autumnal frosts almost destroyed the crop of Indian corn. Ice formed in wells sunk in elevated ground at some distance from York river, and was not dissolved till the latter part of July. Farmers came to the conclusion that it was folly to think of raising their bread on the cold hills of Maine, and that they must hasten to the remote West, where they fondly hoped to 3Iodern Totvn of York. 61 find an almost perpetual sunshine and unfail- ing plenty. Never was the passion for emigration, then familiarly called the " Oliio Fever,'' at a greater height. But though the unusual aspect of the season deprived many towns of a portion of their inhabitants by inducing removals, it had a moral influence highly salutary in reminding man of his dependence on his Creator. In February 20, 1717, occurred the great- est fall of snow recorded in the annals of New England, almost burying under the frozen mass the small log and other houses of the new plantations. So effectually were even the most frequently travelled roads blocked up, that the magistrates and minis- ters of Boston, who had come out of the town on the first day of the storm to attend the funeral of the Rev. Mr. Brattle, at Cambridge, were unable to return for several days. In some portions of the streets of Boston, and other large towns, the snow was six feet in 62 Ancient City of Gorgeana. depth ; and on the thousand hills of Maine and New Hampshire it lay in immense bodies. In February, 1803, a snow fell in New England of great depth and density, a large part of it consisting of minute particles, resembling hail. Had it fallen in a light, fleecy form, as is usual in deep snows, it was thought its depth would have exceeded the great snow-storm of 1717. GARRISON-HOUSES OLD APPLE-TEEE. There are but two garrison-houses now standing in town : the M'Intire and Junkins. They are located just above the third, or Swing bridge, on the north-easterly side, and near the bank of York river. The M'Intire house has been occupied as a dwelling for years, and untD. quite recently by Mr. John M'Intire, one of the wealthiest men in town. It was built by his ancestors, who were early settlers (1640-45) in this part of the town, Modern Toivn of York, G3 and, as the name indicates, were emigrants from Scotland, as were many of their neigh- bors. The Junkins house is much out of repair, and fast going to decay. These garrison-houses, when built, resem- bled in their exterior appearance a modern dwelling. They were massive and strong, and made of hewn timber dove-tailed and dowelled together, with their seams caulked, so as to be nearly, if not quite,'^ water-tight. Loop-holes for musketry were provided in the sides ; and from a loft, over which a good floor was laid, there were draws from which watch could be kept on an approaching enemy. The M'Intire house is in a good state of preservation, and if cared for will remain, for hundreds of years t*o come, as a monument of the past. The apple-tree flourishes well, and bears bountifully in this town ; so much so, that Cider-Hill has long been a name applied to a section in the northerly portion of the 64 Ancient City of Gorgeana, town. Here is still thriving an apple-tree, which is said to have been brought from England, in a little tub or box, by one of the early settlers, more than two hundred and forty years ago. It has borne fruit up to the present time. Since the forests have disappeared, agriculture has been the lead- ing pursuit, and corn, hay, and potatoes are the principal crops. COUNTY COUETS AND OFFICERS JAIL. The Isles of Shoals, and all the territory northward of the Piscataqua river belonging to Massachusetts, were erected into a county by the name of Yorkshire. A county court was established, to be holden alternately at Kittery and Agamenticus, at appointed times, twice a year. In 1654, Abraham Preble*^' * Tliis name appears on the York records very frequently, in connection with both the convey- ancing of real estate and town affairs. His chi- rography on these records is beautifully faultless. Modern Toivn of York. G5 was county treasurer for Yorkshire. The name of York was probably taken from the county and town of that name in England. The name of Agamenticus, or Gorgcana, was probably dropped, and that of York substi- tuted, in order to avoid the city charter and Gorges's right. It was the seat of govern- ment before Gorges, and the land titles are derived through him. This town was tlie residence of Edward Johnson, Col. Jeremiah Moulton, Hon. David Sewall, and other emi- nent men of the present and past genera- tions. Probably Gorgcana enjoyed its city privileges until it was made a town in 1652. The first town commissioners appointed in York were Abraham Preble, Edward God- frey, Edward Johnson, and Edward Rish- worth. Henry Norton was first appointed marshal or sheriff of the town. In 1653 the jail was built, and a county tax was laid to defray the expense of it. An addition was made to it some time after, — 66 Ancient City of Goryeanti. no record being in existence to date from, — but all of the original gambrel-roofed struc- ture stiU remains. KEVOLUTION IN MAINE MIKACLES AT THE SHOALS. The Isles of Shoals, attached partly to Maine and partly to New Hampshire, were, in 16G0, inhabited by forty families. Being places of note and great resort, the General Court, in May, 1661, incorporated them into a town by the name Appledore, and invested it with the powers and privileges of other towns. Rev. John Brock was a minister among these islanders for twelve years, subsequent to 1650. He came t;o New England when a youth, and graduated at Harvard College in 1646. A couple of authentic anecdotes will show some of his peculiarities. " A fisher- man of generous disposition, whose boat had been of great use in helping the people from Modern Town of York, G7 other islands to his church, on the Sabbath, had the misfortune to lose it in a storm. While regretting his loss, the preacher said to him: "(7o home contented^ good sir ; I'll mention the matter to the Lord; to-morrow you may expect to find your boat." Consid- ering its particular service to the poor, he made it a subject of earnest prayer; and, sure enough, the next day it was brought up from the bottom of the sea by the flukes of an anchor, and restored to its owner ! One Arnold's child, six years old, lay extremely sick, if not really dead. Mr. Brock, who was present, thinking he perceived some possible signs of life, arose, and with his usual faith and fervor prayed for its restoration, using these remarkable words towards the close : " Lord, be pleased to give some token ^ before we leave prayer, that thou wilt spare the child's life. Until it be granted, we cannot leave thee.'" Immediately the child sneezed, and afterwards recovered. Elder Brock died C8 Ancient City of Gorgeana. at Reading, Massachusetts, in 1688, aged sixty- eight years. The symptoms of political revolution in Maine at this time (1662) appeared every- where strong. Although the towns, includ- ing Appledore, might send some ten or eleven deputies to the General Court, not one was returned in the spring of this year. *' Liberty of speech and of the press," if they had any, was limited by the operation of a gag-law. For examples, a fine was imposed on Robert Ford, for saying, " John Cotton was a liar, and had gone to hell;" and Robert Booth was indicted by the grand jury for saying of the Bay magistrates, " They are a company of hypocritical rogues ; they fear neither God nor the king." In 1665, at the July term in Wells, the Court ordered " any town to take care that there be in it a pair of stocks, a cage, and couching [ducking] stool, to be erected be- tween this and the next court." The last Modern Toivn of YorJc, GO mentioned was the old instrument for the jiimishment of common scolds. This stool consisted of a long beam, moving like a well- sweep upon a fulcrum, one end of which could be extended over a pond and let down into it at the will of the operator ; on this a seat was fixed, upon which the culprit was placed, and then immersed in the water. EEPRESENTATIVES SOLDIEKS. The following are the names of deputies or representatives to the General Court from York, with their term of service, while the province was under the Colony charter : Edward Rish worth, 1653, thirteen years, and for Wells one year. Peter Wyer, 1665, two years. Samuel Wheelwright, 1677, one year, and for Wells and York one year. The following are some of the first repre- sentatives to the " Great and General Court," — probably held at Boston, Massachusetts : Lieutenant Abraham Preble, 1699 and 1709; 70 Ancient City of Gorgcana, Samuel Donncll, 1 700 ; James Plaisted, 1701; Captain Lewis Bane, 1705 and 1711 ; Lieu- tenant Samuel Came, 1816. In King Philip's war, in 1675, York, fur- nished eighty soldiers. CONGEEGATIONAL CHURCH. The first Congregational Church of York is presumed to have been organized as early as 1672, by Rev. Shubael Dummer. From fragmentary records it is ascertained that his ministry with the people of York began in 1662. He preached his own ordination ser- mon, from the passage, " Return^ Lord, and visit this vine.'' * Mr. Dummer was born at Newbury, Massachusetts, February 17, 1736, and graduated at Harvard Col- lege, in 1656. He married a Miss Rish- worth, daughter of the celebrated Edward * As if the Lord had departed, and this text was an invitation for his return. — Ud. Modern Toivn of York. 71 Rishworth. His ministry continued till Jan- uary 25, 1692, when he was killed at his own door, while mounting his horse, to make a pastoral visit, by Indians in ambush. He was shot through the back, and fell dead upon his face. His wife was taken captive at the same time, with many other inhabi- tants, and the settlement was nearly de- stroyed. He lived near the sea-side, on a neck of land, near what is called lloaring Rock. For the six following years the remaining settlors had little if any preaching. Mr. Dummer's immediate successor was Rev. Samuel Moody, the "Father Moody" of whom so many eccentricities are related. He ^vas born in Newbury, Massachusetts, Jan. 4, 1675, and graduated at Harvard College in 1697. He came to York, May 16, 1698, and preached as a candidate till his ordination, Dec. 20, 1700. The people had not recovered from their losses by the 72 Ancient City of Govfjeana. French and Indians, in 1692, and were so poor that Mr. Moody applied to the General Court of Massachusetts for aid, " askin<^ such allowance as to your wisdom and justice shall seem fit." That body allowed him £12 sterling (860.) Mr. Moody had declined a settlement upon a stipulated salary, choosing rather to live through faith, dependent upon his Divine Master and the voluntary contributions of the people. He continued in the ministry forty-seven years, and died Xov. 13, 1747, aged seventy-two years, much lamented and greatly endeared to his charge, and highly respected by his country. An ingenious epitaph on his grave-stone, near his meetino-- o house, show^s where he is buried. In 1749 he was succeeded by Rev. Isaac Lyman, a graduate at Yale College, in 1747, who died in 1810. ;Mr. Moody's ministry was marked by the perils and agitations incident to wars with 3Iodern Town of YorJc 73 the French and Indians, but the church pros- pered. He received visits from Whitefield, the great revivalist, upon both occasions of his coming to America. On his last visit, in Oct., 1744, Father Moody welcomed him jthus : " Sir, you are first welcome to America ; secondly, to New England ; thirdly, to all the faithful ministers of New England ; fourthly, to all the good people of New England ; fifthly, to all the good people of York ; and sixthly and lastly, to me, dear sir, less than the least of all." His sympa- thies were quickly touched by the distress of others, and his power to relieve only limited by the scantiness of his purse. Mr. Moody's influence was such, that, " At church, with meek and unaffected grace, His looks adorned the venerable place ; Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, And fools who came to scoff remained to pray." His character is happily drawn thus : " He loved the world that frowned on him ; the tear That dropped upon his Bible was sincere ; 74 Ancient City of Gorgeana. Assailed by scandal and the tongue of strife, His only answer was a blameless life." His successors were Rev. Isaac Lyman, Roswell Messenger, Moses Dow, Eber Car- penter, John Haven, John L. Ashby, William J. Newman, John Smith, William A. Patten, William W. Parker, Rufus M. Sawyer, John Parsons. The present pastor is Rev. Benja- min W. Pond, who commenced his ministry in May, 1870. Who the first deacons were is not known. John Harmon is spoken of as deacon in 1731, and Joseph Holt in 1739. The parsonage was burned in 1742, and the records were lost with it, so that only an im- perfect account is preserved prior to that year. Seventeen years before Mr. Moody's death he had the pleasure of seeing another church and society formed in the north-west sec- tion of York, and of assisting, in 1732, at the ordination of his son, the Rev. Joseph Moody. This son graduated at the age of eighteen, and lived in his native town four- teen years, where he held the offices of town Modern Town of York, clerk, county register of deeds, and a judge of the Common Pleas Court, before he was ordained. After six years he fell into a gloomy state of mind, and died in March, 1753. His successors were, in 1742, Rev. Samuel Chandler, and in 1754, Rev. Samuel Langton, who died in 1794. This, the second parish in York, was settled in Oliver Cromwell's time, by Scotch people, and has since been called Scotland. Cromwell, the Protector, as he was then called, having obtained a victory over a body of Scottish royalists, thought transportation to be the best disposition he could make of the prisoners, and therefore banished them to America. Their sympathies being with Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who had taken up arms in the civil wars on the same side, they set- tled upon a section of his patent. It may be proper here to speak of the parish and its relation to the church. In the early settlement of the country, lands were granted and laid out in the different towns 76 Ancient City of Go7*ge-€(na, for the support of a minister. Tlrose lands M'cre controlled by the town till the incorpo- ration of a parish, when they passed under the control of a body thus organized, called a parish society. The w^aiTant to hold a meet- ing for the purpose of organizing was issued March 5, 1731, by William Pepperell, jus- tice of the peace ; and the parish meeting was held March 27, 1731, at which John Harmon was moderator, and Jeremiah Moul- ton parish clerk. It now assumed the re- sponsibility of providing for the minister's salary, and the care of the parish property. Some of its action in this direction may not be uninteresting. In 1732, this society voted to purchase a slave to be employed for Rev. Samuel Moody, and appointed Samuel Came, Esq., Richard Millbury, and Joseph Holt, agents, to make such purchase. At the same time, it was voted to hire a man to live with Mr. Moody Modern Toivn of YorTc. 77 till a slave could be purchased. In 1734, it was again voted to hire a man or buy a slave for that year, and one hundred and twenty pounds ($600), ordered to be raised for that purpose. The parish assessors were in- structed to buy the slave, and deliver him into the hands of Mr. IMoody, to be employed in his service during the pleasure of the parish. In 1735, the assessor was ordered to take care of the negro until the next parish meeting. At that meeting, in March, 1736, he was empowered to dispose of the negro to the best advantage, and, as far as the records show, this ended the dealings of the parish in slaves. In 1742, five hundred pounds ($2500) was voted to be raised to build a new parsonage, on or near the spot where the other one stood. The old meeting-house was ordered to be taken down, and such materials as were suitable, to be used in the construction of the 78 Ancient City of Gorgeatia. new house. The pews were to be appor- tioned upon a valuation of five thousand pounds (old tenor). The Rev. Samuel Moody's funeral expenses, amounting to one hundred and five pounds, eighteen shil- lings, six pence, were paid also ; with forty pounds to Mrs. Moody, to enable her to go into mourning ; fifteen pounds to Rev. Joseph Moody, the son ; and ten pounds to Mrs. Emerson, of Maiden, the daughter of Mr. Moody, " in addition to what they have been allowed, to put themselves in mourning at their discretion." Also the physicians' bills of Drs. John Swett, John Whitney, and Dr. Sargent, for medicine and attendance during the last illness of Mr. Moody, amounting to twenty-six pounds, seven shillings, were ordered to be paid by the parish. Madam Moody, the relict of Rev. Samuel Moody, had provision made for her support yearly, but, in view of her advanced age, she was Modej'ii Totvn of York, 79 allowed, from 1761 to 1764, five pounds additional each year. In 1769 "singing was permitted to the lower floor, if persons occupying the desig- nated pews fit tiiem up at their own ex- pense." In regard to licenses : permission of the parish committee, with the consent of Rev. Mr. Lyman, was given Moses Saf- ford, barber, and Eliakim Grover, tailor, to erect shops upon parsonage land, for their occupations ; they must be of same size, and six or eight feet apart. During the war the cost of living and prices for all commodities were very much enhanced, and the currency greatly depre- ciated. To meet this change in valuations, the parish made grants from year to year over and above the minister's stated salary, till 1790. A lightning-rod on the church was first recommended and ordered to be put up in 1792. When or by whom the first bell was procui-ed, the records do not mention. 80 Aticient City of Gorgeana, la 1798, after being incorporated, Edward Emerson, Col. Esaias Preble, and Daniel Sewell were the first trustees of parish fund. Edward Emerson, Jr., Judge David Sewell, and Samuel Sewell, were chosen trustees of fund in 1803, for five years ensuing. The parish paid the funeral expenses of Rev. Isaac Lyman, in 1810, and set his grave- stones. The old court-house, built and occupied before the recollection of any of the inhab- itants then living, had fallen into decay, and become unfit for use. In 1811 a new one was built, on parish land, to be leased to the county during the time it should be used as a court-house, after which time the building should revert to the parish. The use of the jail, built on parish land, was granted to the county in 1812, for one hundred years, or longer, if needed. In 1825, the State was leased a lot for the erec- tion of a gun-house. Modern Town of York, 81 LORENZO DOW PHYSICIANS. An itinerant preacher by this name, cele- brated for his eccentricity of manners, and who, contrary to the fashion in those days, wore a very long and full beard, bearing a marked resemblance to the Wandering Jew, preached once in the Congregational Church, and it was his invariable prac- tice, as soon as his sermon was finished, to jump out of the " pulpit window," and disappear. He did so in this instance. His notoriety or popularity always attracted large audiences, and his reason for making an exit in so summary a manner was to escape the importunities and questionings of a gaping crowd. He was born in Coventry, Conn., October 16, 1777. It is said that during the thirty-eight years of his ministry he travelled in this and foreign countries two hundred thousand miles. He commenced preaching when he was nineteen 82 Ancient City of Gorgeana, years of age. Before his death, he published 'a book of his travels and miraculous adven- tures ; and since that time, additions have been made to it by his widow, Peggy Dow. Lorenzo died at Georgetown, D. C, Feb. 2, 1834, aged fifty-seven. He was no relative of Rev. Moses Dow, as many have supposed. Next to ministers, physicians occupy a large portion of the regard of communities. Among those mentioned first in town, were Doctors Joseph Swett, Bennett, Job Lyman (brother of the preacher), Josiah Oilman,* Caleb Eastman, J. S. Putnam, and Baker. * Dr. Gilinan died in the year 1830. The name in York is now extinct. The writer, when a child, knew him well. He married the daughter of Rev. Isaac Lyman, who was the immediate successor of Rev. Father Moody. liis wife was also the sister of Timothy Lyman, Esq., of York, and of Theodore Lyman, Esq., who lived in Wal- tham, Mass. This Theodore Lyman was father of Theodore Lyman, of Boston, who was the Modern Totvn of York, 83 TEMPEKANCE CUSTOMS NOW EXTINCT. In early times rum was a common bever- age, and was considered a necessary auxiliary at all ship-launcliings, in the proportion of one barrel for the men, a barrel of wine being provided for the ladies. At huskings, loggings, raftings, and raisings, its presence was thought indispensable. Into even more solemn assemblies it was admitted. In a bill of expenses incurred at an ordination, is a charge for " eight quarts of rum and two quarts of brandy for the clergy and council" ; and at a funeral was a charge for " five gallons of rum, ten pounds of sugar, and half a pound of allspice for the mourners " ! This is a reminder of the ill-assorted couplet of Lord Byron : originator of the Industrial School for Girls in Massachusetts. Dr. Gilman had two sous : Lyman and George. 84 Ancient City of Gorgeana* *• There 's naught so much the spirit cheers, As rum and true religion.' ' INDIAN RAID AT CAPE NEDDICK. In 1676, the Indians assaulted the settle- ment of Cape Neddock, where they killed and carried away all the inhabitants, amount- ing to about forty persons, and unusual cru- elties were practised upon the people. MAINE SOLD TO MASSACHUSETTS. King Charles II., in 1676, confirmed tne right of the heirs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges " both as to soil and government," and they relinquished to Massachusetts all those rights and titles to the Pro'\-ince of Maine, for one thousand two hundred and fifty pounds. This ofiended the king, who claimed the first right to purchase ; but Massachusetts refused to comply with their wishes, and assumed complete jurisdiction over it. A court was Modern Totvn of York, 85 established, the first one held under Massa- chusetts, March 17, 1680, at York, and Thomas Danforth appointed president. At the commencement of the session of 1683, Rev. Shubael Dummer preached the election sermon, as it was called. YORK VETERANS. Benjamin Simpson, of this town, assisted in the destruction of the tea in Boston har- bor, December, 1773. He was then an apprentice to a bricklayer, and nineteen years of age. He was also a soldier in the Bevolutionary war. York, according to Wil- liamson's History, and other authorities, had the honor of putting the first soldiers into the field from Maine. In the Provincial Congress, in session 1774-5, Daniel Bragdon was chosen delegate from York. The select- men, at the commencement of the war, were Dr. John Swett, Edmund Grow, Joseph Grant, Samuel Harris, and Jeremiah Weare. 8(j A^icient City of Gorgeana. CRIMI>rAL COURT DEVIL's IXVENTIOX. At a court held in York, July, 1679, the following criminal case was tried : James Adams, of York, became affronted with one of his neighbors, Henry Simpson, and deter- mined to avenge himself upon two of Simp- son's children, whose ages were six and nine years. His contrivance and crime were as satanical as they were deliberate. In a soli- tary place, four or five miles from the dwell- ing-houses of the inhabitants, he built of logs beside a ledge of perpendicular rocks a pen or pound, several feet in height, with walls inclined inward from bottom to top. After he had built this, he decoyed the children into the woods under a pretence of searching for birds' nests, and caused them to enter wdthin the pound, where he left them con- fined, to perish of famine. The place has since been called the Devil's Invention. The children were soon missed, and the Modern Town of York. 87 alarmed inhabitants searched for them more than forty-eight hours. The boys, when aware of their wretched situation, made various attempts to get out, and at length, by digging away with their hands the surface of the earth underneath one of the bottom logs, effected their escape. They wandered in the woods three days, being at last attracted to the sea-shore by the noise of the surf, where they were found. The depraved criminal was condemned to have thirty stripes well laid on ; to pay the father of the children five pounds, the treasurer ten pounds, besides fees and charges of the prison, and remain a close prisoner during the court's pleasure, or till further order. The same month he recognized before two of the Associates, " conditioned to send him, Avithin twenty-one days, out of the juris- diction." 88 Ancient City of Gorgeana, SAINT ASPINQUID. This is the name of the saint or hero thus held in profound veneration by the aboriginal inhabitants throughout Maine, who are known to have been Indians, both in a reli- gious and warlike distinction. His sanctity was well established among them ; yet who he was, or why he deserved these honors, is a profound mystery. Some deny that he ever existed, and reduce his effigy to a mere symbol of victory or conquest ; but even of what that is, the answer itself would become a doubtful solution of doubtful doubts ! Indian tradition, transmitted from age to age, and from tribe to tribe, informs us this patron saint of theirs lived and died on Mount Agamenticus, in 1682, and that his funeral was celebrated by the Indians with a sacrifice of six thousand five hundred and eleven wild animals. Modern Town of Yorlc. 89 WITCHES AND WITCHCEAFT. We have no record of a conviction for w^itchcraft in this town, although in a few instances slight symptoms of the infection of that age that afflicted Salem, Massachusetts, were manifested, but oozed out into religious creeds and schisms. A colony ordinance was passed against witchcraft in 1646, but old women, who were the principal victims, did not appear to heed it. Wizards were in a small minority. Only one case is recorded in Maine : that of George Burroughs, who preached in Falmouth, now Portland, be- tween 1685 and 1690, and sometimes at Wells and other places. Very little is known of him ; but he was born somewhere in Essex County, Mass. What his education was, or where he acquired it, is not now known. Governor Hutchinson's account of him is, " that he was sometimes a preacher in Wells ; " and, according to other authori- 90 Ancient City of Gorgeana, ties, perhaps there is no doubt of it. The cellar of his house was seen after the year 1770, south of Rev. Dr. Dean's church. When Falmouth was attacked and sacked by the Indians, in 1690, Burroughs made his escape and fled to Danvers, where he resided in 1692. He was a man of bad character, and of a cruel disposition. In the year last mentioned, he was indicted for witchcraft, and tried at Salem, before Judges Sewall and Hawthorne. A synopsis of the indictment, against him for which he sufl'ered the penalty of his life is as follows : On the 9th day of May, in the fourth year of the reign of Wil- liam and Mary, he practised certain detest- able arts, called witchcrafts and sorceries, upon Mary Walkot, of Salem, Mass., whereby she was afflicted, pinched, tortured, and tormented, and became consumed, pined, and wasted, against the statutes and peace of the sovereign lord and lady the King and Queen of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Modern Town of Yorlc. 91 On the trial, two witnesses testified thus : " Wishing Burroughs's presence in Dover, N. H. [to preach, probably], we called at his home, and found him engaged in building a Virginia fence of huge logs, which he han- dled to our astonishment. He wished to complete a certain amount that day, and requested us to wait for him to do it, and then he would go off witli us ; and this exhi- bition of his strength confirmed it in our minds that he was heiuitched ! After Bur- roughs had finished his work we went into the house, and Burroughs took down from over the chimney-piece a queen's arm [an old-fashioned flint-lock musket, about seven feet long, weighing over sixteen pounds], put his finger into the muzzle, and held it out straight ; and, though he said an Indian did the same, none of us could recollect an Indian was present, and we supposed the being must have been the black man or the 92 Ancient City of Gorgeana. devil, who they swore they had no doubt looks like the devil. *' He was placed on a horse, with a man on horseback each side of him. The three, •both men and horses, on starting, seemed to leave terra finna^ and mount and 'go through the air with the greatest of case,' amid a ter- rific tempest of rain and wind, accompanied by lightning and thunder, and did not touch the earth again until the neighborhood of Cocheco river, near Dover, N. H., was reached." He was also charged with carrying a bar- rel of cider from a canoe to the shore, raising it with his hands to a level with his face, and drinking out of the bung-hole ; and with cruelty to his wives. Samuel Webber affirmed, " that about seven or eight years before that time, he lived at Casco Bay. George Burroughs was then minister there, and having heard much of his great strength and remarkable feats, 3Iodern Toivn of Yorlc. 93 and the said Burroughs came to his house and told me he had just put his fingers into a barrel filled with molasses, and lifted it up, and carried it round him, and set it down again." Susannah Sheldon testified that " Bur- roughs took me up on a high mountain and showed me all the kingdoms of the earth, and offered to give them to me if I would write in his book, and said he would throw me down and break my neck if I would not ; and told me he kept the devil as a servant in his service." Three other bills were found against him by the grand jury, one of which was for practising upon one Ann Putnam, who testi- fied as follows : " On the 8th of May, 1692, I saw the apparition of Burroughs, who had grievously tortured me, and had urged me to write in his book, which I refused. Then he told me (hat his two wives would presently appear 04 Ancient City of Gorgeana, to mc, and tell me a great many lies, but I must not believe them. Then immediately appeared to me the forms of two women in winding-sheets, and napkins about their heads, at which I was greatly affrighted. They turned their faces towards Burroughs, and looked very red and angry, and told him that he had been very cruel to them, and that their blood cried for vengeance against him ; and also told him that they should be clothed with white robes in heaven, when he should be cast down into hell, and he immediately vanished away. As soon as he was gone the two women turned their faces towards me and looked as pale as a white wall, and said they were Burroughs's first wives, and that he had murdered them. And one told me she was his first wife, and he stabbed her under the left breast, and put a piece of seal- ing-wax in the wound, and she pulled aside her winding-sheet and showed me the place ; and also said she was in the house where Modern Towfi of York, 95 Mr. Paris '*' then lived when it was done, rhe other woman told me that Burroughs md a wife he had now, killed her in the ves- sel as she was coming to see her friends from the eastward, because they would have one another ; and they both charged me to tell these things to the magistrates, before Bur- roughs' s face, and if he did not own them, they did not know but that they should appear. This morning Mrs. Lawson and her daughter told me that Burroughs murdered them ; and about the same time another woman appeared to me in a winding-sheet, and told me she was Goodman Fuller's first wife, and that Burroughs killed her because there was a difference between her husband and him. Also on the 9th of May, during the time of his examination, he did most grievously torment Mary Walkot, Mercy * This was Rev. Mr. Paris, of Danvers, Mass., who first set on foot the matter of prosecuting for witchcraft. 96 Anciejit City of Goi'geana, Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, and Abigail Williams, by choking, pricking, and punch- ing them." There was some other evidence to cor- roborate this. Burroughs was found guilty on all the indictments, and was executed in Salem, Mass. This extraordinary delusion was not con- fined to the old Colony of Massachusetts at that time, but was felt in Europe. In both countries many innocent people suf- fered an ignominious death, and there can be no doubt but that the people who appeared to be tortured were possessed by evil spirits of some kind or other ; nor have we any reason to question that there was some extraordinary cause, from the state of the atmosphere or something else, which operated on the imagination and nerves of the judges, and on the people at large, depri\'ing them in a great measure of their rational faculties. Modern Toivn of Yorlc. 97 If Burroughs had remained at his home in Maine, he might have fallen a victim to the savag€S ; but it is thought he never would have been executed for witchcraft, and the reason assigned at the time was : " Because there never was a prosecution for that crime eastward of the Piscataqua river." DEED OF YOKK. In 1684, Thomas Danforth, in behalf of the Governor and Council of Massachusetts, deeded to Major John Davis, Edward Rish- worth, Captain Job Alcock, and Lieut. Abra- ham Preble, trustees in behalf of the town, all land in town granted to it by Sir Ferdi- nando Gorges, thus giving the town the right to dispose of the commons or ungranted lands in the manner it saw fit. The consid- eration was, that each family was to pay two or three shillings annually to Massachusetts. 98 Ancient City of Gorgeana, CHARTER OF MAINE. The celebrated charter of "William and Mary, dated Oct. 7, 1691, was brought from England by Sir William Phips, the first royal governor, and went into operation May 14, 1692. It embraced the whole of the ter- ritory of the State of Maine, in two great divisions : one, extending from the Piscataqua to the Kennebec rivers, was called the Prov- ince of Maine ; the other, including all between the Kennebec and St. Croix rivers, was usually denominated Sagadahock. York was in the first division. This charter also included the five northerly Isles of Shoals, as embraced in Gorges' s charter, viz. : Apple- dore or Hog, Cedar, Duck, Haley's or Smutty-Xose, and Malaga Islands. LEGISLATURE OF MAINE. The legislative power was vested in two distinct branches, each having a negative Mode7*n Town of YorJc. 99 upon the other. The upper house was called the Council or Board of Assistants, consist- ing of twenty-eight members ; the other was the House of Representatives. The councillors from York, were Job Alcot or Alcock, and Samuel Donnell, both of whom were afterwards justices of the Su- perior or Common Pleas Court. Mr. Alcot was one of the most ancient, substantial, and wealthy inhabitants of the town, and had been commander of the militia company twenty years before ; but being somewhat advanced in years, he was never rechosen to the council. Mr. Donnell was elected the next year, and once subsequently. He also represented the town two years in the House. In 1692; Jeremiah Moulton and M. Turfrey were the members returned from York. In 1694, William Screven, and from York and Wells united, Ezekiel Rogers, Jr. In 1698, Abraham Preble, from York. 100 Ancient City of Gorgeana, YORK ASSAILED. Early in the morning of February 5, 1692, at a signal of a gun fired, the town was furiously assaulted at different places by a body of two or three hundred Indians, led on and emboldened by several Canadian Frenchmen, all of them having taken up their march on snow-shoes. The surprise of the town was altogether unexpected and amazing, and consequently the more fatal. A scene of horrid carnage ensued, and in one half hour more than one hundred and sixty of the inhabitants were expiring victims or trembling suppliants at the feet of their enraged enemies. The rest took refuge in garrisoned fortifications. About half of the inhabitants, it has been supposed, were slain or carried away captive.^* * This account is abridged from Williamson's History of Maine, but occurred, according to Sul- livan, in his History of Maine, in " January, 1692, Modern Town of York. 101 The massacre in York and the burning of the town were the more deeply and ex- tensively lamented, because of the antiquity and preeminence of the place, and especially of the excellent character of the people. Several of the captives taken at York were afterwards recovered, in the course of the spring, by a vessel sent for the purpose, to Sagadahock. These calamities were so desolating and discouraging, that those remaining had thoughts of abandoning the place altogether ; but a few remained, though suffering under severe privations from the destruction of almost everything that could give them shelter or sustenance. There were four houses which had been garrisoned, and held out for some time. To the missionaries, probably French, belongs the responsibility of awakening the ani- and the town was entirely destroyed, fifty killed, and one hundred carried into captivity." 102 Ancient City of Gorgeana. mosity of the Indians, by telling them the English had invaded their rights in occupy- ing their lands, and in establishing new set- tlements, mills, and especially forts. What at the same time helped to fan and feed the fire, was a rumor that there were apprehen- sions of a war between England and France. In 1700, an alarm was circulated that this and the adjoining towns were to be visited by neighboring hostile Indians, and prepara- tions for defence were speedily made. Town watches were also required, by statute, to be kept, from nine o'clock in the evening till morning. The citizens being once disturbed by this panic, nothing could fully allay their fears. They thought, though without cause, that the frontiers were actually infested by these hostile barbarians. Thirty soldiers were posted at York, fifteen at Kittery, fifteen at Wells, and the Legislature allowed j to twelve or thirteen men in the county of York one hundred and thirty-seven pounds Modern Toivn of Yoric, 103 ('*^685) for their indefatigable services during the late alarm. The York massacre was memorialized in the following lines : "They marched for two and twenty dales, All through the deepest snow ; And on a dreadful winter morn They struck the cruel blow. Hundreds were murthered in their beddes, Without shame or remorse ; And soon the floors and roads were strewed With many a bleeding corse. The village soon began to blaze, To heighten misery's woe ; But 0, I scarce can bear to tell Tlie issue of that blow! They threw the infants on the fire ; The men they did not spare ; But killed all which they could find, Though aged, or though fair." 104 Ancient City of Gorgeana, No disturbance took place for some years, but in 1 703 a party led on by one Sampson, an overgrown savage, slew the family of Arthur Bragdon, consisting of his wife and five children, and carried Mrs. Hannah Par- sons, a widow woman, and her young daugh- ter, into captivity. This daughter is sup- posed to be the girl whom the savages, on their march, in 1706, being short of provis- ions, and unsuccessful in hunting, prepared " a fire to roast, when a dog, falling in their M-ay, supplied the child's place." After- wards another party made their appearance in town, and slew Matthew Austin, near the garrison at Cape Neddick, and not being able to do any more mischief, visited Ber- wick, and, after torturing, burned Joseph Ring at the stake. Four men riding in company with a Mrs. Littlefield, on the road between York and Wells, were waylaid, August 10, 1703, and all slain except one, who hardly escaped the Modern Totvn of Yor7c, 105 fate of the others. Mrs. Littlefield had money to the amount of two hundred dollars about her person, of which she was plundered by the same bloody hands. October 15, 1705, a party of eighteen Indians rushed from the woods and seized four children of Mr. Stover, near the same garrison. One, being too young to travel, they instantly killed, and shortly afterwards tortured another to death, out of retaliatory revenge, according to savage usage, because one of their assailants was shot on his re- treat. Other cruelties were practised, such as biting off the children's fingers, and to prevent their bleeding searing them with red-hot tobacco-pipes. Early in the spring of 1710, they killed Benjamin Preble, of York. The year 1712 was very calamitous all over the State, about twenty-six being killed, wounded, and taken captive in York, Kittery, and Wells. The enemy first ap- 106 Aticieiit City of Gorgeana. peared at York, and in April or May shot Samuel Webber, near Cape Neddick. Every motion and movement of the inhabitants seemed to be under the inspection of these lurking malignant foes. A negro was taken captive, but he soon escaped, probably by the Indians' consent, for they had a mortal aversion to negroes. The government offered bounties for every Indian scalp ; a regular soldier was paid ten pounds; a volunteer, without pay, twenty pounds, and without being furnished with rations or supplies, fifty pounds. For every | Indian scalped, killed, or taken, it is said to have cost the Province over one thousand pounds. There was not much injury done during the three years' war. The sea defended it on one side, Kittery on another. Wells on the third, and Berwick by that time had become a considerable plantation, with sev- eral forts and fortified houses, extending Modern Toivn of Yor7c» 107 itself above York towards the wilderness. But a house stood where the parsonage house has since stood, which had a picketed fort and bastions round it, in the year 1750, and the people used to attend public worship with fire-arms in their hands as late as the year 174G. But a war lasting three years is as much as an Indian can bear, even if success attends it. Unsuccessful as they were, their spirit drooped, and they made overtures of peace to the whites. The government sent Mr. Lewis Bane, of York, to Sagadahock, with authority to make arrangements for negotiating a treaty. PROSCRIPTION OF NEGROES, SLAVES, AND INDIANS. The want of efficient civil authority within the territory naturally enticed and introduced from other States scallawags, vagabonds, lewd and disorderly persons, and fugitives from justice. 108 Ancient City of Gorgeana, Colored people increasing in numbers all over the State, in York they had become exceedingly obnoxious and despicable. A duty of four pounds ($20), therefore, was exacted and required to be paid for every negro imported ; and so depraved, ignorant, and shiftless were the slaves, that not one of them, even in this age of freedom and equality, might be manumitted, unless secu- rity was first given for his maintenance. All negroes and mulattoes were expressly ex- cluded from watches and military duty, as well in war as in peace ; and whoever pre- sumed to join one of them in marriage with a white person incurred a heavy penalty. Equally great was the general antipathy against Indians. They were cruel, degraded heathens, ignorant, lazy, lousy, and revenge- ful ; the authors of accumulated evils to all places cursed with their presence. By law, it was strictly forbidden to bring into the Province any of these races, either as slaves Modern Town of York* 109 or servants. Yet the town was completely overrun with them. For security, parties of men constantly scoured the woods in quest of the enemy, but with no great success. In common with the rest of New England, the settlements in Maine were filled with alarm ; even business was at a stand ; the people, deserting their own habitations, collected themselves to- gether in the larger houses, which they forti- fied as well as they could. They scarcely dared go into the fields, nor ever stepped out of doors but at the peril of life. The French, by bidding a price for every scalp, continually excited the savage to the work of blood and ruin. They taught him to regard them as the only genuine friends of Christianity ; the English as heretics, and trespassers on their soil, whom to kill was not only lawfid, but meritorious. A curious specimen of the kind of Christianity they imparted to the Indians, and the fruits it 110 Ancient City of Gorgeana, yielded, is exemplified in the following inci- dent. " The noted Thevouet, or Kevouet, an Indian Sachem, died at Montreal. The French gave him burial in a pompous man- ner ; the Catholic priest who attended him at his death having declared that he died a true Christian ; ' For,' said he, * while I explained to him the passion of our Saviour, whom the Jews *^ crucified, he cried out : 0, liad I been therc^ I would have avenged his deaths and brougJit away their scalps ! ' " The inordinate thirst of Indians for ardent spirits has been attributed " to their per- petual traverse of the woods, and their con- stant use of fresh water f and unsalted meat. * This is an error, but lias been handed down to us for ages, and incorporated into our education as such, ever since the event occurred. Crucifix- ion was practised by the Romans, and not by the Jews, as a mode of punishment. t This item is copied from Williamson's History of Maine. If it be true, the " foes of temperancft Modern Totvn of York,, 111 They will drink strong liquor unmixed, until they can swallow no more. They are then to a frightful degree violent and destructive. Their firearms and knives must then be taken from them to prevent murder." THE MILITIA OF MAINE. In 1693 a statute was passed to revise and regulate the militia of Maine, which directed all the male inhabitants between the ages of sixteen and sixty years, except those exempted, to be enrolled and to do military duty four days in a year ; and to be well armed and equipped with a firelock and its appendages, furnished at their own expense. The exempts were many, extending not only to all members of the Legislature, clergymen, deacons, and all judicial and executive offi- cers, but to masters of arts, herdsmen, and and its friends ahke " have recommended a wrong Bubstitute, unless this beverage acts by contraiies ! 112 Ancient City of Gorgeana, sea-captains. These musters were to take place triennially. In the recollection of the writer, during the years 1829-33 a "Muster" for inspection and review of the district took place in his native town and lasted one day, in each year, and for confusion, revelry, and tumult, it compared favorably with the accounts for- merly published of fairs once held in Donny- brook in Ireland, or the din and clangor of half a dozen Fourth of July celebrations combined in one. An Old York Muster, as it was then termed, in times past, will never be forgotten by a beholder, much less by a participant. The military display on that occasion was of itself a curious spectable ; — fantastic com- panies, in rag-tag-and-bob-tail uniforms {!), — no two alike, — with arquebuses, blun- derbusses, firelocks, guns, muskets, and queen's-arms of every conceivable shape and form, except the right one ; and not one in a Moderni Toivn of York, 113 hundred would be of the least practical use, except as bludgeons or shillalaj^s in a single- combat or hand-to-hand fight. Bands with untuned and untunable instruments (of tor- ture, not music), emitted most diabolical sounds, reminding you of the unearthly cha- otic jargon of the condemned, emanating from the bottomless abyss — unless you were an Universalist ! Leaving out debauches, gaming, riots, tumults, and the like, there were exhibitions of buffoonery, wax-work, Jim Crow dancing, destroying each other's booth, tent, or stock in trade (no police or keepers of the peace in vogue at that time), the sale of confec- tionery and molasses gingerbread, — which cheapens as the day wanes, for the reason that dealers in these commodities had rather sacrifice their M'ares, and depart empty- handed than otherwise. A not uncommon scene, toward night, would be beaux and belles, with soiled vesture, and a weary gait, 114 Ancient City of Gorgeana. suflfcring the fatigues from a full season of enjoyment, departing for their homes, laden with the spoils only vouchsafed them once a year, viz. : a dozen or two sheets of molasses gingerbread tied up in a red silk bandanna handkerchief. Among the numerous divertisements of the day we may make mention of a sham fight, then thought to be a necessary adjunct to the completion of a full performance on a training day. The battle was only to be feigned, yet preparations were made by the ambulance corps to take care of the killed and wounded. It was necessary in the first place to select a number of men to play the parts of dying and dead ; and, to prevent mistakes and confusion, each one was fur- nished with a ticket setting forth the nature and severity of his injuries. The two lines then approached each other, the mimic com- bat began, and soon the ground was thickly covered with the victims of war's fell rage. Modern Town of York, 115 The ambulance men advanced, and began to pick up the sufferers. The wounds of each one, as indicated by the ticket attached to the body, were carefully examined, and the proper remedies were promptly administered. One soldier, however, received instructions which justified him, as he thought, in giving up the ghost. Those who were taking care of the wounded were surprised at finding that he gave no sign of life, and immediately called an officer for consultation. The" officer asked the man what ailed him, but received no reply. A physician was then called, under whose direction water was thrown in the wounded man's face, but without the desired result. Finally, the signal for the close of the exercises sounded, whereupon the dead man jumped up as well as ever. In reply to the questions which were put to him, he said that he had done nothing but what it seemed to him the severity of his wounds required him to do. IIG Ancient City of Gorgeana. But such exhibitions and displays are not now seen or heard of, and scarcely are they remembered except by a few of the present inhabitants of the town. In 1843 the State militia was abolished. EARLY SCHOOLS. The first recorded action taken in regard to schools was in 1761, when Nathaniel Freeman was employed by the selectmen for eight pounds per year, with three pence per week for teaching reading, and four pence per week for writing and ciphering. His year began May 5. The next year (1762) he was engaged for ten pounds, with the same price for other branches as he had the previous year. In the year 1709-10, the selectmen were instructed by vote of the town to hire a schoolmaster for seven years, to teach all in the town to read, write, and cipher. The 3Io(lern Town of York. 117 next year (1711) Nathaniel Freeman was engaged for the term of seven years. He was to teach from eight o'clock to twelve in the forenoon, and from one o'clock to five in the afternoon, for thirty pounds per year, paid quarterly ; one-third in provisions, and the balance in money of New England. In addition, the town was to build him a house twenty-two by eighteen feet, with a Irick chimney ! The school was to be free to all from five years old and upwards. In 1717 a vote was passed for the employ- ment of a grand schoolmaster for one year, to instruct the children in the learned things, who was to be paid and maintained at the expense of the town. Kindred action was taken from time to time, showing the inhab- itants were not indifferent to the benefits of an education. At the present time the num- ber of school districts in York is fifteen. 118 Ancient City of Gorgeana, BOON ISLAND SIIIPWRECK. This is an island or lodge of rocks about seven miles distant south-east from Cape Neddick, which is the nearest land, and is one-fourth of a mile in length. About one league distant, cast from it, is Boon Island ledge, which is very dangerous. This island, on which is the light-house, is so low and small that often in gales and storms the waters drive the residents from their dwell- ing to the second story of the light-house. On December 11, 1710, the Nottingham Galley, a vessel of one hundi-ed and twenty tons burden, with ten guns and fourteen men, under John Dean, master, bound to Boston from London, was driven by a tre- mendous gale, accompanied with hail, rain, and snow, upon Boon Island. It was in total darkness when their sufferings com- menced there, they being cold, fatigued, hungry, and wet, without food, light, or Modern Town of YorTc, 119 shelter. In so dreadful a night some of them very soon died. The next day, they endeavored, but ineffectually, to make some signal to be noticed from the nearest shore ; and after a few days spent here, two of them attempted to get to York on a raft, but they were drowned. The only food these forlorn sufferers could obtain were shreds of raw hide and a few muscles and rockweed. In a few days they prayed to Heaven for succor and relief, and treated each other with kind- ness and condolence. But, through extreme famine and distress, they bethought them- selves of the duty of preserving their lives, if possible, by eating some of the flesh of one of their comrades who had perished from starvation, and whose body lay lifeless before them. At first they deliberated and sighed, but at last chose this as a less evil than death ; yet having no fire, their only alterna- tive was to swallow it, loathsome as it was, raw. Their dispositions immediately seemed 120 Ancient City of Gorgeana, to undergo a total change ; quarrels and pro- fanity ensued ; they condemned themselves together of their Maker, and prayed to him no more. In this unhappy plight were these wretched objects of despair, when they were discovered and taken off, January 3, 1811, after twenty-three days' sojourn, emaciated to mere skeletons, and unable to walk. Upon this island is a dwelling-house and a light-house. The latter was built of stone, by the United States government, in 1811, and cost two thousand five hundred and ninety dollars, and the next year the island was ceded to the government. The pay of the keeper, previous to 1832, was four hun- dred and fifty dollars per annum. He has a fine opportunity to obtain abundance of sea- fowl, which furnishes him with food and feathers. It has at present three keepers : the salary of the first is six hundred dollars a year ; the assistants, three hundred dollars each. Mode?*n Town of Y'orlc 121 EXPENSE OF AN OKDINATION. We copy the following list of supplies fur- nished at an ordination in I7o0, in order to compare them with prices of the same com- modities at the present day : 1 barrel flour, 3 bushels apples, 2 barrels cider, 2 gallons brandy, 1 bottle vinegar, 54^ lbs. pork. Id. lb. 1 11 8 fowls, 6 candles, 1 ounce nutmegs, 29 pounds sugar, 1 teapot, 1 pound tea, 2 4 gallons rum, 2 bushels cranberries, 2 1 pound ginger, 4 ounces pepper, 2 cheeses, Qd. per lb.* 6 gallons molasses, 2s. Sd. gallon. £14 7s. 6d. 871.87 2 8 12.00 9 45.00 5 25.00 5 1.25 . 1 11 H 7.94 1 17 9.25 1 .25 8 14 43.50 a, 2 10.00 5 4 2G.00 ^s,2 10.00 2 .50 6 .12^ 122 Ancient City of Gorgeana, sewall's bridge. The first action ever taken in relation to this bridge was at a parish meeting, holden Jan. 20, 1742, where it was "Voted, that this parish is willing there should be a bridge built across York river, at or near where Capt. Samuel Sewall keeps a ferry, and that a Committee be chosen to take subscriptions for the building the same, and the said committee are directed to prepare materials for to build said bridge as soon as may be." " Capt. Nathaniel -Donnell, Samuel Sewall, Joseph Holt, Samuel Bragdon, Jr., Samuel Milberry, and Thomas Donnell, were voted the committee to take subscriptions and pre- pare materials," etc. They were a long time in obtaining subscriptions, but suc- ceeded, and the bridge was built, in the inter- est of the old Parish, as many of the wor- shippers lived on the south side of the river, were desirous to have part of the tax raised for preaching expended in that locality, Modern Totvn of York. 123 because of the trouble of ferrying to the other side. Capt. Sewall, Mr. Holt, and Samuel Bragdon, tliree of the committee, lived on this side of the river, and were very prominent men. Thomas DonneM, of this committee, lived in a house near the spot where George A. Marshall's store now is. This was the first pier bridge said to have been built on this continent, certainly in the United States, and owes its construction to Major Samuel Sewall, a great architect in his day. At the present day each pile is driven singly. The method employed in construct- ing this bridge would now be considered behind the age, and was as follows : The piles or posts were of different length ; the length being determined by probing the bottom of the river or mud with a pointed iron affixed to a long pole, and having ascer- tained the various depths of the mud in a section, a whole section, containing five piles or posts (Williamson says four), was framed, 124 Ancient City of Gorgeana, well braced, and the cap sill fastened on. At still tide it was floated to its place, and, by dint of labor, set upright and guyed. Large and heavy oak logs, the tops or lighter ends of which being secured inland, were then made use of, and the butts raised by tackles to a proper height, and by the striking of a detent or latch, the ropes were released, the logs fell with great force upon the caps, and by their impetus this section was driven to the depth desired. A diagram of the bed of the river, showing the depth of the water at different places, drawn and painted in colors, by Major Sewall, is in the possession of Capt. Joseph Sewall, grandson of the original constructor, — who now occupies the homestead of his ancestors on the hill, — and is by no means an inferior production. The building of this bridge caused quite a sensation in the architectural world at the time, and Major Sewell was engaged soon after Modern Toivn of York, 125 to build a similar one between Boston and Charlestown. From this first bridge the idea of building pier or pile bridges came in vogue. This bridge has been repaired from time to time. About twenty years ago it was almost wholly rebuilt. Nearly all the old original piles were cut off, near low-water mark, and their tops can be seen at low- tide. York river has its source north-westerly, and is navigable for six or seven miles from its mouth. In a house which formerly stood on the hill directly opposite the easterly end of this bridge once lived the captain of a coasting chebacco-boat or pink-stern fishing- smack, which he usually manned all alone between York and Boston, and it is said that once in a fit of uncontrollable rage, he killed his wife by cruelly beating her to death with a salt-fish I This story may be apocryphal in some of its details, but it has credence suf- ficient to be perpetuated from one generation t J auother. 126 Ancient City of Gorgeana, CENSUS OVEK A CENTUEY AGO. The census of the inhabitants, as taken, was neither very thorough or correct. There were many who were not without their scru- ples of its being equally presumptuous in the present age as in the days of the Israelites. By the census returned, and by estimation^ the w^hole population of Maine was, in 1764, about twenty-four thousand. York was cal- culated to contain two thousand two hundred and seventy-seven white inhabitants, and fifty-six negroes, comprised in three hundred and ninety-seven families, and to have two hundred and seventy-two houses. In 1850, two thousand nine hundred and fifty ; Isles of Shoals, twenty-nine. The census of 1873, by actual calculation, gives two thousand eight hundred and fifty- four inhabitants. This town, it will be thus seen, was nearly stationary in population from the period in one century to a point Modern Totvri of YorJc, 127 somewhat beyond a similar date in another. The recent impetus given to the place is, however, likely to considerably increase the number of its inhabitants in the future. SPIEITS HAUNTED HOUSE. Near the south-west corner of the old burying-ground is a grave, with head and foot stones, between which and lying on the grave is a large flat rock, as large as the grave itself. The inscription reads thus : — " Mary Nasson, wife of Samuel Nasson, died August 24, 1774, aged 29 years." No one, at least in this town, seems to know anything about her origin, death, or even of the sin- gular looking grave. No other occupant of a grave bearing this cognomen can be found in this cemetery, and the name is unknown in the to\vn. A great many surmises and conjectures have been advanced in regard to this matter, in order arrive at the facts, 128 Ancient City of Gorgeana* if there be any, and to clear up the dark affair, but nothing definite has ever come out of the effort. The writer of this, when a youth, living in York, was given to under- stand that this stone was placed there to keep down a witch that was buried beneath it. But this could hardly be true, for numerous reasons : — she died too young to entitle her to that appellation ; she had been married, and witches seldom or never marry ; besides, grave-stones abounding in praises of the de- ceased would not have been permitted, in those times ; and last, but not least, it would have been very doubtful, indeed, if the powers that were would have allowed, or even suffered, her burial in this grave-yard. If a vj'dcli, she would have been interred in *' the rough sands of the sea, at low-water mark, where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours," or on a highway, at the junction of three roads. An old overgrown two-storied dwelling- 3Todern Totvn of YorJc, 129 house formerly occupying the site of the present one, now on the corner next south- east of the court-house, prior to the year 1829, was said to have been haunted, or at least infested with one evil spirit (not ma- terial), who was incarcerated in a designated apartment in this house.*' After a certain period of years, this spirit was, in the par- lance of those days, to be " laid," and per- mitted to depart, when it would proceed to walk thrice around this burying-yard, and evoke the denizen of this grave to join it. After this, both were condemned to perform a penance by travelling a thousand years on the face of this mundane sphere, before departing to the realms beyond time into eternity. But this spirit, in the mean time, * As tliis hundred years will expire August 28, 1874, a great event may be expected ; such an one, probably, if it takes place, as the inhabitants of neither this nor any other place will believe, if they witness it. 130 Ancient City of Gorgeana. having become turbulent and troublesome, it was deemed advisable to anticipate the hundred years' period that had not then expired for the " allaying," and proceed to perform that ceremony, which was accord- ingly done. This may be the veritable Jeuf Errant, who, when seen, is always repre- sented as being alone, walking around the earth to employ his time, to be in readiness for a companion whose bonds to the grave are soon to be loosed. The grave has not been disturbed within the knowledge of any now living, but is in a state of great dilapidation. The grounds all around it are of a wet and springy nature ; the tooth of time and the weather has per- ceptibly lessened the dimensions of this rock ; and the grave-stones have sunken into and lay almost horizontal with mother earth. 3Iodern Toivn of York, 131 DARK DAYS. One of the most memorable dark days of the last century took place May 19, 1780. In this town it commenced to darken at about nine o'clock in the morning, and was past twilight before half past ten o'clock. Throughout the New England States and some adjacent tracts of New York and Canada, such was the obscuration that in many places people could not sec to read a line at mid-day without artificial light. For hours it continued to impart to surrounding objects a tinge of yellow, and awakened in many a breast apprehensions of some im- pending calamity. All was wrapped in gloom ; the birds became silent, domestic fowls retired to their perches, and cocks crowed as at break of day. The darkness of the following night was so intense that many who were benighted and but a little way from home, on well-known roads, could 132 Ancient City of Gorgeana, not, without extreme difficulty, retrace their way to their crwn dwellings. The author, in his boyhood, has often conversed with many of the oldest inhabitants, — among them were Messrs. John Carlisle, William Stacey, Wil- liam Tetherly, — all of whom were Revolu- tionary pensioners, and they well remem- bered the occurrence, and exemplified the dense blackness of that night by saying " that an object held up near the face could no more be seen than a piece of the blackest velvet put in close contact with the eyes." No astronomical or meteorological cause has ever been assigned for this singular phe- nomenon. Another dark day occurred May 13, 1830, but this was caused by an eclipse of the sun, at mid-day. Modern Toivn of York. 133 DESCRIPTION OF YORK TRODUCTIONS. A traveller through the State of Maine, in 1781, after returning to London, published the following sketch of what he learned and saw while in York, and as some of the information contained in it is new to those now living here, it is highly probable that his ideas extended beyond the limits of the town, or even the State. " The various fruits are in greater perfec- tion than in England. The apple, peach, and pear are more beautiful, large, and lus- cious ; one thousand peaches are often pro- duced from one tree, five or six barrels of cidcfi- from the fruit of one apple-tree, and two or three barrels of perry from that of a pear-tree. Cider is the common drink at table. The inhabitants have a method of purifying cider by frost, and separating the -watery part from the spirit, which, being secured in proper vessels, and colored by 134 Ancient City of Gorgeana. Indian corn, becomes in three months so much like ]\Iadeira wine, that Europeans drink it without perceiving the difference. [This was undoubtedly champagne, in its infancy.] " They also make peachy and perry ; grape, cherry, currant, and many other wines, and good beer of bran of wheat, molas- ses, pumpkins, spruce, and malt. The spruce is the leaves and limbs of the fir-tree ; * their malt is made of chets, barley, maize, oats, rye, and wheat. *' The pumpkin, or pompion, is one of the greatest blessings, and held very sacred. It is a native of America. From one seed often grow forty pumpkins, each weighing from forty to sixty pounds, and when ripe of the color of a marigold. Each pumpkin con- tains five hundred seeds, which, being boiled to a jelly, is the Indian infallible cure for the * The fir and spruce are here confounded : the first is a genus, the other a species. Modern Town of YorJc. 135 strangury. Of its meat are made custards, beer, bread, molasses, sauce, vinegar, and on Than]j:sgiving days pies, as a substitute for what the Blue-laws in Connecticut would brand unchristian, or minced pies. Its shell or skin serves to cut the hair of the head by, which established the term and style called pumpkin-shell fashion ! and very useful lanterns. " There arc no fruits, grains, or trees growing in England but are growing in New England. The English oak has been thought superior to the American, but such is not the case, at least in regard to our white oak, which is close, elastic, tough, and hard as the whalebone dried. The chestnut, and black and red oak, are, indeed, much inferior to the white oak. The ash, beech, butternut, chestnut, elm, hazel, maple, sassa- fras, sumach, w^alnut,*'' are the chief timber * In enumerating the trees of Maine, no men- tion is here made of the pine, which always flour- 136 Ancient City of Gorgeana, trees, and grow to an amazing bulk. The butternut derives its name from a nut it pro- duces, of the shape and size of a pullet's e^^^ and contains a meat much larger than an English walnut, and tastes like fresh butter. It also makes an excellent pickle. The wood of this tree produces fine but tender boards ; its bark is used for dyeing black, and curing cutaneous disorders. In February this tree yields a sap, of which molasses, sugar, vine- gar, etc., are made.^^ The upland maple tree also affords a sap equally good, and both saps make a pleasant beverage without boil- ing, and the best punch ever drank in the State of Maine. ished to such an extent, that the appellation of Pine Tree State has always been appropriate. * This traveller and writer was not a very acute observer; else the trees differed in their nature from those of the present day. Xo grapes have ever been gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles. Modern Town of York. 137 " Here are plenty of sheep ; their wool is as fine and good as the English. A common sheep weighs sixty pounds, and sells for a dollar, or four and six pence. The horned cattle are not so large as the English, yet some have been known to weigh, at six years old, one thousand nine hundred pounds each, and fat hogs five or six hundred pounds. i " The whapperknocker is somewhat larger than a weazel, and of a beautiful brown red color. He lies in the woods, and subsists on birds and worms ; is so wild that no man can tame him, and as he never leaves his home in the day-time, is only to be taken in traps in the night. The skins of these ani- mals, being very fine, are much sought after for making muff's, which are worth from thirty to forty guineas apiece ; and ladies are very vain in the possession of this small ap- purtenance of female habiliment." 138 Ancient City of Gorgeana, THE STEVENS CHILD MURDER. Some time in the year 1824, Charles Ste- vens was tried, in this town, for the murder of his son. Murders in those days were more rare than at the present time. Such an assemblage in York as was present at this trial has scarcely been equalled since, so great was the interest felt in this crime of child-murder. The court-house not being spacious enough, the trial took place in the Congregational church. So large was the attendance, it was necessary to shore up the galleries with upright joists to prevent their breaking down ; and the building was filled to suffocation day after day, through- out the trial. The body of the boy was found floating either at sea or in Portsmouth harbor, nailed up in a box quite too small to contain it ; but was forced in by doubling up the legs, and tying them with a cord round Modern Toivn of YorJc, 139 the neck. It was said the death-blow was struck with a pair of kitchen tongs. After a protracted trial, the evidence was considered insufficient to convict Stevens. After his release he left York for Kittery, and went south, and committed some crime, for which he was sentenced to a States- prison, in which he died before the expira- tion of that period. MUEPIIY, THE WIFE MURDERER. The next murder following that of Stevens, in this neighborhood, did not occur in York, but created quite as much sensation in the town as thougli it had happened there. It was of a man named Murphy, living at Kennebunkport, who killed his wife in a drunken fit, she being beastly drunk at the time, and afterwards burned her to death on the hearth of his house. (Stoves were hardly in vogue at that time.) He was 140 Ancient City of Gorgeana, tri^d, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged on a given day. Before the time had arrived for his execution the then Governor of the State died, and there being no one authorized to sign the death-warrant, he lay in jail a long time, was finally reprieved, and his sen- tence was commuted to imprisonment for life in the State-prison. But subsequently he fell and broke his neck, which should have been done for him by the hangman. BLACK DINAH PEINCE. On the surface of a rock on the hill over- looking the mill-dam, and at the intersection of three roads, formerly lived an old negress called Dinah, in a one-story hut, who was thought by some, at that time, — as negroes were not so plenty as they now are, — to be a very mysterious personage, although noth- ing ever occurred during her lifetime, either to herself or anybody else, to warrant this Modern Totvn of York. 141 belief. Many rumors of mysterious occur- rences were circulated about her, but nothing had happened, to the knowledge of either the oldest or youngest inhabitant, except that, soon after she was first known in York, a young child, supposed to be hers, died, and that she buried it in two bread- trays, in her garden. By some she was held in supersti- tious dread, and was called a witch and sor- cerer, who could foretell events. It was said she was in possession of a weather-pan, which, on being hung over her fire, brought frightful hurricanes, storms, tempests, whirl- winds, and sometimes earthquakes. In regard to this, we may well say, " What the mind imagines has often more reality for it than what it believes." She never wished to be introduced to or become acquainted with strangers. Chil- dren, unaccustomed to black people, being scared on seeing her, she would fly into a violent passion ; and although very sensitive in 142 Ancient City of Gorgeana. regard to being called or thought black, she often uttered the expression : " I 'se so brack I shame' go nowhere." Whether from bash- fulness or fear, her custom was to close the door, and peep through the cracks and crevices — and these were not few — in the door and walls, on the approach of passers- by, as though fearing they were coming to see her, instead of looking out of the window — the architect had vouchsafed her two — or the open door. Her hut or shanty consisted merely of a structure composed of boards, black as Time could paint them ; entirely devoid of clap- boards without, or a particle of lath or plas- tering within. This not being at all tenant- able in rainy weather, her time was then spent in visiting white acquaintances whom she took a fancy to. During the winter months she resided on the south side of the river, with the family of Mr. Nathaniel Raynes. It is not known whether Dinah was a rela- Modern Toivn of York, 143 tive of black Phillis, who also lived with a family named Raynes. Being of a morose and sullen disposition, easily vexed, very sensitive, and suspicious of strangers, her circle of acquaintances was rather circumscribed. Young people, and particularly children not ♦ afraid of her, she would entertain and amuse in a pleasing manner. In common with most colored people, she had the gift of song, which she frequently exercised with great fervor. One of her songs, chanted with especial unction, M'as — m 'Tobacco is an Indian weed; grow up at morn, cut down at ebe, But an elder brother, knowing she adapted the words to suit herself, told her she didn't sing it right; for "tobacco grew, and negroes chewed it, in Guinea, but they didn't like to be told of it; for negroes also came from that 144 Ancient City of Gorgeana, place, and were the first to bring it here." He told her the right way to sing it was *' Tobacco is a Guinea weed; It was the Devil that sowed the seed." And the reason they were saved the trouble of plantipg it , themselves was, that the negroes — whether in Guinea or America — were too lazy to do it for themselves, and his Satanic majesty performed the task for them, thereby saving them both toil and trouble. Dinah's abhorrence of a toad or frog was well known, and amounted almost to a frenzy. "When absent from home, school- boys, knowing her weakness in that respect, would contrive in some way to squeeze them, without killing, under her door or through crevices and knot-holes — and these were abundant — into her abode, and on returning her fears knew no bounds. While Dinah, in the waning of her days, lived with the Misses Raynes, she seldom Modern Toivn of TorJc* 145 went abroad, and was so rarely seen or heard of by those among whom she used to live in the town, that it was thought she had gone to her long home, from which no trav- eller ever returns ; but the knowledge that she had not departed this life was ascer- tained by a tax-collector, while performing the functions of his office, some time between the years 1836 and 1838. He says, "I called on the Misses Raynes, for their taxes, and was ushered into a dark, large, and low kitchen, and while awaiting their return a long time from another room, where they had gone to get the money, I spoke aloud, that ' I wished they would hurry up,' as the ' shades of night were falling fast,' and my road out to the highway a very blind one, w]ien, to my surprise and astonishment, a voice, picked and squeaking, answered, ' Dey will be out presently.' I looked around the room for the owner of the voice, and all I could then discern in the dimmed expanse 14G Ancient City of Gorgeana. was what appeared to my vision to be a white night-cap hanging on a chair-post. The Misses Raynes soon appeared, and by their light I saw it was Dinah's cap on Dinah's head, and the voice belonged to Dinah, who was sitting beside an old James's cooking-stove, which was about the same color as her face." Tradition says : " Some years before her death, and about the time she gave up living alone on the hill, she disposed of all the paraphernalia appertaining to a sorcerer and money-digger. In her younger days, the islands in York river and the harbor, and ofif Portsmouth, particularly the Isles of Shoals, were said to contain buried money ; and an old negro has often been seen by sailors wandering along the shores, but who she was, or how she got to or from the islands, remains to this day a mystery." Before Black Dinah Rollins, who was a plebeian devotee of St. John's Church, Modern Town of York. 117 Portsmouth, jNT. H., died, which was about the year 1808, she bequeathed to a brother of the writer of this, who had been kind to her, an *' indicator," "to indicate the location, and a " divining-rod," to designate the exact spot where the precious metals lie concealed that may once have belonged to the York Dinah. The indicator consisted of a small quantity of metallic mercury, sewed up in sections in a piece of black velvet ; and the use made of, was, to hold it in a horizontal position near the ground supposed to contain the treasure, and if any was present agitation took place, and the location of the mercury became changed. However, the wife of the donee, unaware of its immense value and im- portance, unwittingly consigned it to the flames. The rod resembled a common walk- ing-cane, only much longer, with a ferrule ^at least one quarter of its whole length, pointed at the extremity, and made of metal resembling silver in appearance. The use us Ancient City of Gorgeana, made of this was to stick it into the ground, and if either silver or gold were present, a peculiar sound was produced and a sensation felt by the operator, when they came in contact. Dinah Prince, as before mentioned, was fond of children, and to her the writer of this is indebted for the first sight of the military, or a company of soldiers dressed in uniform. He also heard at the same time martial music, especially drums, which he detested then, and ever since has held in utter abhor- rence, as an invention of the arch-fiend. This old negro took him in her arms and carried him about midway of M'Intire's large field, to a wall which then divided it, and sat down on it, remarking that she meant to keep at a " safe distance " from the booming cannon of the artillery, and discharge of guns from the infantry ; and ever and anon he slid from the wall and ensconced himself behind it when the firing became continuous, Modern Town of York, 149 supposing, that the more noise the greater the danger. The pomp, pride, and ceremony of this military display, and the noise produced on that day, affected the nerves of Dinah for at least a month afterwards. According to her expression : " Couldn't sleep in her bed ; Buzzy, buzzy, in her head ! " At one time she received a pension from the United States government ; but subse- quently had taken refuge in the York alms- house, and died there about the year 1840, at a very advanced age. Many events that occurred during the Revolution she well remembered, as if of recent occurrence. BETTY POTTER ESTHER BOOKER. On the dividing line between York and Kittery, this being marked by a stone wall extending north-west and south-east, far 150 Ancient City of Gorgeana. from any highway, and near a dense forest, lived, prior to the year 1832, two women, one of whom bore a striking resemblance to the description in the Bible of Lucinda, the witch of En-dor, who, at Saul's bidding, raised up Samuel from his grave. These old women, who were called Betty Potter and Easter Booker, inhabited a house of which the air-line dividing these two towns passed directly lengthwise through the centre, con- sequently, when Ipng in bed their heads were in York and their feet in Kittery. Taxes are reckoned j^er cajjita, and by that rule they were citizens of York ; but as neither one possessed goods or chattels, and their dwelling, too, was scarce worth even a name, they were exempt from excises. They gained a precarious livelihood by cultivating a small patch of land, on which they raised a few vegetables, and the pick- ing and sale of berries, and raising hens. A party of boys once rambling in the Modern Town of York, 151 woods, being overtaken by a shower, sought shelter in this domicile, and, on observing a hole in the roof, where the rain was pouring in, and the inmates busily engaged in boring holes in order to let the water run down into the cellar as fast as it came through the opening in the roof, the following colloquy ensued : Writer. — Why don't you repair that hole in the roof. Miss Potter ? Mhs Potter. — Can't do it ; it rains so. W. — Why don't you do it when it doesn't rain ? Miss P. — No need of it then. Youthful as we were, this struck us as the quintessence of shiftlessness. Betty died some time ago, and Esther, soon after, got tired of living alone and disappeared, and ere this, has doubtless joined her once earthly companion " In the realms beyond the stars, Past the gate which Death unbars." 152 Ancient City of Gorgeana. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLHOUSES. The house where we graduated stood on the same spot now occupied by one of more modern architecture, situated just behind the Court-house and Congregational church. It was a small one-storied, clapboarded, wooden structure, rather dilapidated, with a chimney in one end nearly overtopping the door. A fire-place, wherein was burned whole cord- ^yood, was employed in lieu of stoves or other heating appliances. Two rows of long benches, with desks to match, filled up all the space, except what was occupied by the teacher and his desk, and a strip across the room for classes to recite in. In the winter of 1838 this schoolhouse was burned down, and the present one was built on the same spot, and on about the same plane of architecture, the following year. This old-fashioned " district school " has, within the memory of very many persons Modern Toivn of York. 153 now living, been the prevailing type of schoolhouse and paraphernalia, and, indeed, abundance of specimens of this may yet be found. There is no wall-map, no globe, no apparatus of any kind, unless an unpainted water-pail accompanied by a tin dipper may be called such for illustrating hydraulics and hygienics at once. As for a school library or any real appurtenances, as well expect to find a gTand piano growing in the woods. Each pupil had an arithmetic, a slate, a grammar, a spelling-book, and possibly an atlas and geography ; and very likely there was a ferule, a rattan, or even a cowhide, within reach of the pedagogue's hand. During the past period in the history of common schools, some of the questions pro- pounded and mixed up with what was then called instruction would seem now perfectly absurd. An example may show the differ- ence. A teacher, who taught little else, once asked a class in grammar, " What is 7iou- loi Ancient City of Gorgeana, se?ise?" and the answer given was, "Bolting the door with a boiled carrot." The same teacher gave out for parsing and analyzation, *' The superfluity of the sugar superanimates the tea, and renders it altogether obnoxious to my taste." The answers to these pro- found and ambiguous queries were not defi- nite enough to be remembered. Just before the close of a term, particularly if a change of teachers was contemplated, it was customary to have an examination in order to record the progress made since the last term ; and at this, in order to diversify or add zest to the occasion, it was required of a portion of the scholars that were supposed to have made any advancement at all in their studies to either "speak a piece" on some subject the teacher might suggest, furnish a sample or specimen of chirography, or write a " composition " on any topic the scholar chose, for the inspection of a prudential committee who were to be present on the Modern Town of Yo7'k. 155 occasion, to judge for themselves whether the cause of education was gaining or losing ground, and thereby determine in their minds whether a change of teacher was expedient. The following will show what a *' composition " is, but whether its intent is to exemplify logic or rhetoric, or what was the plot, scheme, theme, or even intent, we sub- mit it to others to determine. It appeared at the closing of a fall term in 1831. — "The elaboration of conception is the surest per- ambulation to the recognition of cognition, which being perfectly delineated by perme- ating the realms of futurity ; therefore, it becomes necessary to resort to indiscriminate transcendentalism." METHODIST CHURCH. Previous to 1828, Methodist preachers had filled appointments in York. The celebrated Rev. John Newland Maffitt was instrumental 156 Ancient City of Gorgeana, in efforts to found a church in this town. In January, 1829, a class was formed, con- sisting of seventy-three members, by the preachers on the circuit. Revs. J. Spalding, Gershom F. Cox, Bannister, Adkins, Fenno, and Hills, were among the first preachers. Meetings were held sometimes at school- houses, and at others at dwelling-houses in the neighborhood. February 28, 1831, the people were incorporated into a legal society. As they grew in strength, efforts were made towards building a church. A proposition to lease a piece of ground of the Congrega- tional, or First Parish, was made to that society, but was rejected. The Judicial Court was removed from York in 1833,-^ and the use of the Court-house reverted to the First Parish. * York was made a shire town in 1716, although ISIaine did not become a State till 1820, but all the County courts, since 1833, have been held in Alfred. 3Iodern Totvn of York, 157 At a parish meeting, in 1833, the use of the Court-house was granted to the Metho- dists on the Sabbath for four months, pro- vided " they do not disturb the peace or interrupt any other religious meetings;" the temperance society having the privilege of holding meetings there Sabbath evenings whenever they may order or direct. A piece of land was finally purchased, and the church building raised August 30-31, 1833. Octo- ber 15, 1834, it \vas dedicated by Rev. Ger- shom F. Cox. He preached from the text, Daniel ii. 44 : ^^And in the days of these Mngs shall the God of heaven set up a king- dom, which shall never he destroyed ; and the hingdoni shall not he left to other people, hut it shall hreah in pieces and consume all these kingdoms^ and it shall stand forever.'" From that time to the present Methodist services have been sustained here. Rev. Reuel Kimball is the pastor at the present time (1873). They have a neat church 158 Ancient City of Gorgeana» building and a comfortable parsonage. The estimated value of both is four thousand nine hundred dollars. A Methodist society was formed at Cape Neddock school-house, May 18, 1822, con- sisting of Moses Brewster, Hannah Clark, George Norton, John Norton, Oliver Preble, George Phillips, Timothy Ramsdell, Obadiah Stone, Henry Talpey, Jonathan Talpey, Rich- ard Talpey, and Samuel Welsh, and a cer- tificate served on the clerk of the First Parish of the above-named fact, in order to exempt from payment of ministerial tax to said par- ish ; but there is no record that this society w^re ever embodied in a church, or had any existence as a distinct society any great length of time. They united with the Bap- tists in building their church in 1823, and in the differences that arose as to the control of it, they probably went to pieces, and some of their members united with the Baptists. The Methodist Society at Scotland was Modern Toivn of Yorh. 159 gathered about the year 1830. In this year the ConfercLce sent Rev. George Webber to preach there, and meetings were held in the school-house, and some religious interest was aroused. Their meeting-house was built in 1833. Owing to the weakness of the society, preaching has not been continuously sus- tained. Their last minister was Rev. B. F. Pease. During 1872 they were without preaching; present membership, about thirty. A comfortable parsonage belongs to the society. BAPTIST CHURCHES. There is a Calvinist Baptist society at Cape Neddock. There is also a Freewill Baptist church and society on the road to Scotland, about a mile from the post-office. Not long since its name was changed, and it is now called a " Christian Society." It is an offshoot. ino Ancient City of Gorgeana, or infringement, or improvement on the old-fashioned Freewill Baptist form of wor- ship. Polders Peter Young and Mark Fer- nald formerly preached here, though they were always identified with the P'reewill Baptists. The present pastor is Rev. Charles Goodwin. The original building, which was built sixty or seventy years ago, is still in good order, and the society is well sustained. Elder George Moore Payne and Dr. Benja- min Colby were both connected with the Freewill Baptist and Christian Churches. OTHER SECTS AND RELIGIONS. In contradistinction from the principal denominations were a few others ; and some of the names associated Avith them are still remembered by their survivors. Capt. David Wilcox, who kept the only public house in York village, for many years, opposite the Court-house, was a Unitarian in belief; Capt. Modern Totvn of York. 161 Thomas Savage and Squire Alexander M'ln- tire, Universalists. Solomon Brooks, Esq., and other prominent men of the time, also figured conspicuously in these movements. The sect called Cochranites, were the fol- lowers of one John Cochran, a crack-brained fellow, of low degree, who taught that mira- cles could be wrought, devils cast out, the sick healed by the laying on of hands, the lame caused to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, etc. ; and who, after practising all kinds of vicious conduct, was indicted and tried for his crimes, among a portion of his admirers. In York a few meetings were held with a view to found a sect, but failed for want of support, as the novelty of the scheme soon ceased to be considered any thing but presumption. The town has gen- erally been quite conservative on religious topics, the " new lights " in belief having failed to penetrate to any considerable extent into this region. 162 Ancient City of Gorgeana, FIRST IRISH IX YORK. The first time the writer ever saw Irish people was in the summer of 1830. The party consisted of about twenty individuals of both sexes, who came here in a vessel, and one of their number, a man, was sick, and died a few days after they landed. They established their household in an old boat or sail house, which was hastily fitted up for their occupancy, and was situated then close to the south-westerly end of Sewall's bridge, and on the opposite side of the road where David Sewall's sash and blind factory now is. Our people were amazed at their singular appearance, and their costume and language excited great laughter among crowds of men and boys who were continually at their heels, for they invariably sallied forth in squads and parties. They landed at Emerson's wharf, and, after moving their luggage away and estab- Modern Toivn of YorJc. 1G3 lisliing quarters for their sick companion and themselves, they came back to the wharf — it being high tide — and commenced fishing in a very novel manner, without the aid of either bait or hooks. Their method was in this wise : — a common two or three ounce phial, tied to the end of a string, was lowered into and dangled and jerked through the water, to a greater or less depth, and if any one was so lucky as to inveigle or cap- ture a one or two inch minnow into this receptacle and land it on the wharf, the whole party would set up a shout, intermin- gled with their inexplicably confused jargon, that out-Babeled Babylon. This result, to them, seemed as astonishing and extraordi- nary as though it had been a ten thousand pound whale. Another act of theirs completely amazed those of our Protestant towns-people who witnessed it. The sick man died, and, to carry out the fashion of their creed, the corpse 164 Ancient City of Gorgeann. lay in state nearly one whole day and night. In the centre of the room in which he died a catafalque or throne was improvised of old barrels and boxes, with which the apartment abounded, and after being covered with the remnants of sails, upon this the deceased M-as placed, with face and feet exposed to the gaze of all who could see him, by the light that entered the open door, as all the win- dows, if there were any, had been darkened, to give full effect to the lighted candles that were burning at the head and feet of the corpse. Clay pipes, pieces of tobacco, and open papers of snuff, were lying on both sides of the body. Xo drinking, waking, or carousing took place, nor extreme paroxysms of grief were manifested, as in later years is indulged in on similar occasions by the same class of people. This exhibition continued a nine days' wonder, no one living here ever having before witnessed the like. Modern Totvn of YorJc, ig5 ANCIENT AND MODERN SCALAWAGS. Isaac Davis, better known as Black Isaac, the fiddler, was once a slave in Virginia,' according to his own account of himself, and escaped from his master. He came from a place called Eaton's Neck, on Long Island, New York, and wandered into Maine, and then became acquainted with his lovely spouse, Chloe Ward, and married her. They had fourteen ebony piccaninnies. Isaac and Chloe are both dead, and the fourteen cheru- bim have left this world and become as many cherubs in another sphere, or, in other words, are dead also, and the family name and every thing connected with it have become extinct. He invariably attended York mili- tary trainings with his fiddle, and although his skill in music was limited to a few tunes, he was in demand all day, at three cents I dance. His favorite theme, which he both sang and played with great vehemence, was. ICC Aticient City of Gorgeana. -When I am (load and gone to roost." He lived and died in a small house about half a mile west of Cape Ncddock viUage. A mulatto, named Tamar Ward, and her sister, Chloe Ward, were daughters of Caesar Ward, who was once a slave, and known as C^sar Talpey, he once belonging to a Mr. Talpey. The mother of both Chloe and Tamar was also a slave, and owned by a Weare famUy at Cape Neddock. Tamar, though never married, had a daughter who was called Rosanna Frances Basset Ward. Tamar took great pride in adorning the person of her daughter in habiliments of white, with a great array of variegated rib- bons, and when she appeared abroad her whole contour bespoke her the observed of all observers. Both Tamar and Chloe died, not long since, in the York alms-house. Two grim-visaged and dark-complexioned ^ individuals, as dusky-faced as even Vulcan himself, and apparently as inseparable as the Modern Toivn of YorJc. 1G7 Siamese twins, but not so sallow and mum- mefied in their faces, were often seen to- gether, especially in summer, shuffling along through the streets of the village part of York, each bearing a huge pack or bundle on her back, which at the present day might be mistaken for Grecian-bend. In a season of snow, they employed a small hand-sled, on which to transport their goods and lug- gage. These two celebrities, Hephzibah Cane and Mary or Polly Austin, were said to be of the " feminine gender, or persuasion." Hephzibah was born in Kittery, Maine. Her sister Dorcas married a man named Austin, who lived in the woods near Scit- uate,* in York, and these were the parents of her companion Polly. Hephzibah, and, for aught all that is known, Polly also, were said to have deal- ings with familiar spirits, and, consequently, * This comprises School District No. 12. 168 Ancient City of Gorgeana. were feared and shunned by those who knew no better than to think so ; at any rate, very few people desired their company, whether this were true or otherwise. On this account, many a time the younger portion of the community were superstitiously alarmed on their appearance, although they never were known to molest any one. But no sooner were they supposed to be out of hearing, than the shout went up, " There goes Hip. Cane and Poll Ostin ! " Unluckily, once they Avere within hearing distance of this announcement, and, seeing Hephzibah drop her bundle and run towards us, the children fled for refuge into the schoolhouse. She, to their horror, followed, came to the door, and inquired for the teacher, to whom she related her grievances and solicited re- dress, which she obtained by the teacher reprimanding them in her presence, after being ordered to their seats, although the limits of their meridian intermission had Modern Town of York* 169 not fully expired. This admonition they supposed was the finale or denouement of the whole affair, but they were mistaken. Miss Cane planted her gambadoed and brogued pedal extremities firmly on the threshold of the inner door, and facing us, both hands grasping the door-case, after asking the teacher if she could give her " a chaw of backey" (tobacco), uttered the fol- lowing: "Scribes, Pharisees, and Hypo- crites, I could keep a better school than this!" and immediately joined her compan- ion who was waiting for her at the door, and both went on their way. Her meaning was, undoubtedly, that she herself in keeping would maintain a better discipline, and dis- pense etiquette among scholars in order to teach them to practise civility even to scala- wags moving in her sphere. Hephzibah and her sister Dorcas always resided together. The former has been dead a long time ; Polly, about six years. 170 Ancient City of Gorgeana, PRIMITIVE AND INFANT SCHOOLS. Somewhere about the years 1827-9, Miss Mary Jacobs had a school at her house on the hill at the north-easterly end of Sewall's bridge. The school was kept in summer in the kitchen, where, while in the same room learning was being dispensed, her sister was performing the functions of laundress, or, as dinner-time approached, the culinary art was in full blast. In cold weather, her parlor was used, which contained the teacher's bed- ridden mother, who was awaiting the call to a quieter, if not a better place than where she breathed her last. Nothing of an ornamental nature was attempted, the branches were sim- ply arithmetic., reading, spelling, and writing. The tuition fee was, when paid in cash, six cents per week ; but coffee, sugar, tea, or any article of food or the necessaries of life, were taken in barter, and were just as accept- able as cash, and on as favorable terms. 3Iodern Totvn of Yorh, 171 An Infant School was instituted, as a sort of experiment, under the auspices of Solomon Brooks, Esq.,* and others, previous to the year 1831. Miss Maria Champncy, of New Ipswich, N. H., was the instructor; Miss Elizabeth Clark, assistant ; the writer was assistant, and also chorister of the vocal department, of which this was a very promi- nent portion of the school. This mode of instruction was similar to the Kindergarten method, but on a very limited scale, viz. : by the use of object-teaching aids, with astronomical, arithmetical, geographical, geo- metrical, and other apparatus, which brought in use an abacus or numerical frame, a globe, hanging maps, and an orrery (of antique con- struction, hung up by a string), all of which were new and novel, in this town, as was also the mode of teaching. The following are some of the instruc- tors of the Common Schools since the year 1824 : William Harris, Edgar M'Intu-e, Mas- 172 Ancient City of Gorgeana. ter Cape, Howard Moody, Misses Elizabeth Lunt and Lydia Smith. SHOWER OF METEORS. Near the close of the year 1833, in No- vember, occurred a phenomenon never before witnessed in this quarter. Soon after mid- night on the morning of the thirteenth, the meteors, called falling stars, were observed to be unusually frequent, and after four o'clock the heavens presented one of the most sublime and extraordinary appearances that cen be conceived. Imagination can hardly picture anything to exceed, or even equal it. Small bodies of surpassing bril- liancy, apparently as numberless as the stars in the firoiament, were seen flying in all directions through a clear, unclouded sky, leaving long, luminous trains behind. Often, one larger and more brilliant than the rest would sweep across the heavens, nearly from 3Iodern Toivn of YorJc* 173 horizon to horizon, producing a light similar to a flash of lightning ; at the same time mil- lions were diverging from the zenith, and scintillating through their descent, until lost below the horizon. In whatever direction the eye was turned, the scene could not be compared more aptly to anything than a shower of fixe falling to the earth. Thou- sands of individuals, scattered over the vast portion of North America stretching from Nova Scotia to Mexico, witnessed the sub- lime spectacle. As daylight advanced, the meteors were less frequent and began to disappear ; but some were seen as long as the stars were visible. CENSUS OF YOEK. The census of York, at the present time, according to statistics furnished by Jeremiah S. Putnam, M. D., is about two thousand eight hundred and fifty-four inhabitants. 174 Ancient City of Gorgeana. The sexes are about equally divided — there being only a slight predominance in favor of the female sex. About six hundred and fifty males over twenty-one years of age are enti- tled to vote. There is only one colored per- son — a negress, in her teens. The town contains five hundred houses, and two hun- dred and forty farms. York, although lying largely upon the sea- coast, with a good harbor, is more of an agricultural than a commercial place. A few small craft are employed in fishing, and in summer about a dozen small schooners in coasting and freighting brick, hay, wood, &c. The principal export is hay, of which from one to two thousand tons are sent away yearly. Huckleberries, which were always abundant in former times, have become a specialty in their season. The area is about fifty square miles, geo- graphically divided into fifteen school dis- tricts, viz.: 1. Centre; 2. Raynes' Neck; Modern Town of York. 175 3. South Side; 4. Scotland; 5. Brixham ; 6. Beech Ridge ; 7. (United with 5) ; 8. North Village ; 9. Ground Root Hill, West ; 10. Ground Root Hill, East; 11. Cape Ned- dock, East; 12. Scituate ; 13. Cider Hill; 14. Pine Hill; 15. Cape Neddock. MANUFACTURES. The manufactures in York are very limited, and have never to any great extent occupied the attention of the people. Messrs. J. Chase & Son's woollen mill, at the outlet of Chase's Pond, manufactures a limited amount of flannel and fulled cloth, principally for producers, who furnish their own wool and yarn. Numerous saw and shingle mills cut considerable quantities of lumber. Messrs. Norton & Lcavitt, on York river, between the two bridges, manufacture an excellent quality of brick, which finds a ready sale in Boston and elsewhere. They 176 Aticient City of Gorgeana. have commenced an extensive business, erected a large steam engine, and built a commodious wharf. The same firm have purchased the Barrell mill-pond, containing about twenty acres, and intend to rebuild the dam, in order to exclude the salt water, and engage in the production and shipping of ice. Vessels can be laden with great facility at the side of this dam. Should the contemplated railroad be built in the right place, and no endeavor be made to shun that portion of the town from which it would derive the most business, the trade with Boston and Portland now carried on by coasting vessels might be diverted to it. With such facilities of connection no doubt manufactories would also be established. Adding such advantages to the beauties nature has bestowed upon it, York might resume its place among the most thriving towns in New England. 3Iodern Toivn of YorJc, 177 Henry Moulton & Company manufacture all kinds of ladders, steps, revolving clothes- dryers, etc. David Sewall, at the end of Se wall's bridge, manufactures doors, blinds, etc. SEA-SIDE KESOKTS. Beyond the Long Sands Beach is a prom- ontory, at the extreme end of which is the York Nubble, before alluded to. Near but beyond this beach, on this high cape, is the Bowden House, of moderate dimensions, and several private summer cottages, affording a good sea view. Midway of the Long Sands Head is the Sea Cottage, kept by Mr. Charles A. Grant. The beach here for riding and driving is not excelled anywhere ; and although the view to the east is obstructed by the Nubble, and that to the west by the eastern point form- 178 Ancient City of Gorgeana, ing York harbor, yet it is a beautiful place, affording a fine view of the ocean and Boon Island, Under the management of ^Ir. Grant, who is kind, genial, and large- hearted, the Sea Cottage will long be consid- ered a favorite resort. Here the Atlantic Ocean may be seen in its grandest phases and in all its fitful moods ; and here the toil-worn invalid inhales fresh vitality and strength, with every breath, from the invigorating sea-breeze, which cools the ardor of the hottest summer sun. There is also the Cape Xeddock House, a place long known, kept by M. C. Freeman, which, although not a sea-side resort, de- serves especial mention. Let the traveller on his way from Portsmouth to Portland once stop there, and he will ever after " time it" so as to stop again and again. Modern Toivn of York, 179 SHIPPING COASTING VESSELS. Some forty years ago, the shipping to and from this port was considerable. Edward A. Emerson, Esq., had a ship-yard on the declivity at the end of the " Grow" house, near the wharf still bearing his name. At one time a vessel of larger dimensions than was usually built there, was constructed under Shipbuilder Graves, of Kittery; and on being launched, was christened, by dashing a bottle of wine against its bows, as it slid into the water, and calling it " Agamenticus." Coasting at that time between Boston and Portsmouth was quite extensive. As rail- roads were unknown and stage-fares expen- sive, advantage was taken of this mode of conveyance by almost all travellers, especially servants, going from or returning home on a visit, as this was the only means within the scope of their purse. They were expected to provide their own subsistence ; and many a voyager, alas ! after laying in his or her stock 180 Ancient City of Gorgeana, of more, even, than was thought requisite, has found the vessel, by stress of weather or adverse winds, diverted from her course, and the voyage occupying more days than it should have occupied hours, in reaching its desti- nation. In such an emergency, access was obtained to the skipper's larder, to prevent suffering and avert starvation. SLOOP-WRECK CAUSE — VERDICT. On the highest point of Stage Neck, which extends into the sea, a temporary light was sometimes hoisted on an upright pole, about fifteen feet high. One dark night a sloop ran on these rocks, and was wrecked. A sur- vivor, on being questioned about the catas- trophe, said, "The vessel struck, turned over on her side, and the skipper and another barrel of whiskey rolled overboard." " Verdict. — We find that the deceased fell from mast-head, and was killed; he rolled overboard, and was drowned ; he floated ashore, and froze to death, and the rats eat him up aUve." THE MARSHALL HOUSE. " When waves come roiling to the shore : One more, one more, one more, one more ! And never ceasing is the roar, When waves come rolling to the shore." AT YORK BEACH AND HARBOR. — ^O^'^^iE^^O'^ — The Marshall House, which was first opened in 1871, and has sinco been very much enlarged, is now in successful opera- tion. This edifice is located on the south- westerly promontory at York Harbor, Maine, at its very mouth, on an elevated point of land, commanding an ocean and inland scenery unsurpassed on the Atlantic sea- board. It comprises two fronts of one hun- dred feet each, four stories high, with a base- ment and large addition in the rear, and a veranda, twelve feet wide, encircling the whole building. It has upwards of one hun- 184 Modern Town of York, dred rooms, with all modern conveniences and improvements, and it is substantially built in every respect. It stands on a high cape or peninsula, which might almost be termed an island, being connected with the main land by a narrow beach, which, in vio- lent south-east storms, is entirely submerged. The house itself possesses every improve- ment incident to a first-class hotel : spacious parlors, a large, cool dining-room, reception and reading rooms, while the suites and single rooms are each perfect in themselves, carpeted, and furnished tastefully. Every- thing is fresh and new. A post-office is attached to the house, a telegraph office is within a convenient distance. A livery stable is in proximity, where stylish and safe teams can be obtained, with abundant~j*oom for the accommodation of horses and car- riages belonging to either permanent board- ers or transient guests. The bathing facili- Marshall House. 185 ties are excellent, this beach being one of the safest in the world. Across this beach and island was once the great thoroughfare from the wilds of Maine to Massachusetts. The house stands directly midway the highway travelled by the big- wigs and nabobs of the seventeenth century. Could they return to this locality, in their then simplicity, and see this noble structure astride their path, what would they say, or what would be their emotions ! The location of this house is near the cen- tre of the island, on its highest elevation, and a biscuit can be tossed from the piazza on each of its opposite sides into deep navi- gable waters. York river, available for all useful purposes of navigation, flows in the rear, and partially in front of the house at high tide. There are some half a dozen or more islands in this river near its mouth. 186 Modern Town of York. which produce abundance of huckleberries, and are resorted to from far and near. An ancient savan writes of them : " They are inhabited by the people that live there." But no one at the present day remembers of their ever being inhabited at all. The scenery inland is really of the finest known. Seaward, the Atlantic Ocean can be seen for the distance of many miles. The " Short Sands," a firm, hard beach, lie immediately in front of the house, so sheltered by projecting points that the heavy sea-swells never interfere with bathing or boating, yet the waves are of sufficient mag- nitude to send up the " Ceaseless murmuring of the distant sea, "With all its spirit-stirring minstrelsy. Upon the winding shore." Boulders and ledges are scattered about upon Marshall Mouse* 187 the shores in inextricable confusion, creating a picturesqueness delightful to the eye of the beholder. In close proximity is a magnifi- cent grove, where the lover of solitude can drink his fill, and excursionists and picnic parties find enjoyment amid the cool shades and sequestered nooks. Near this grove is Roaring Rock, one of those strange formations that the coast of Maine alone presents. The musical reverberations from this rock fall at all times with a pleasant rhythm on the air, while in storms the "roaring" is terrific. An enthusiastic admirer of the beautiful, who spent a portion of the second season at this house, could compare its pleasures to naught else than Montegue's " Mansion of Happiness on the Island of Tranquil De- lights." From the spacious cupola an unlimited sea-stretch can be obtained, reaching from 188 Modern Town of York. Brodboat * and Kittery harbors on the south to Cape Porpoise on the north-east, while Cape Ann, the Isles of Shoals, — a great summer resort, nearly twelve miles distant south-east, — Boon Island (on which is built a light-house at great cost, and w^hich is due east, nine miles), York ledge, and other points of interest are plainly visible, and make up the immediate offing. An agreeable drive or walk takes the pleasure-seeker to Long Beach, two miles in length, pronounced by tourists to be the *The origin and also the orthography of this name or word is uncertain. In books and records it is spelled Braboat, Broadboat, Braveboat, and many reasons are given. The latter is undoubt- edly the most significant, and the local pronun- ciation is as if spelled Bra'hoat. It is open to the sea, and requires a brave boat to cross it in stormy weather. The king's ferry, in early times, crossed it near the ocean. Marshall House, 189 finest beach on the Atlantic coast. Near this beach is York Nubble, and three miles east- ward is Baldhead Cliff, composed of two noted headlands, reaching far into the sea, with an unobstructed perpendicular height of over one hundred feet. Indeed the scenery is grand and delightful : hill, lake, mountain, and valley, vieing with each other to lend additional charms to the beauty of the land- scape. Oftentimes upwards of three hun- dred sail of vessels can be counted, proceed- ing up or down the coast. The facilities for fishing and gunning can- not be excelled. From the rocks that line the shores one can angle for the cod and haddock, or by taking a boat, scores of which are in constant attendance, add to the enjoyment of the epicures and amateur dis- ciples of Izaak Walton, and the pleasures of the sail. Sea-fowl cover the shores and marshes, or if the sportsman desires forest 190 3Iodern Torvn of Toric, game, a short ride will take him to the woods, where birds of all descriptions may be found in profusion. The temperature of this island is never uncomfortable or violently hot, even during the " heated term." The thermometer for the last two summers has averaged from seventy-two to seventy-five degrees, not being higher except for about an hour or two for only a few days, when it indicated eighty- two degrees. On the north-easterly promontory — oppo- site that on v,-hich the Marshall House is built — are a few old wooden houses, which were built more than a hundred years ago, and are still occupied. A curious fact was witnessed in one of them, not many years since, in the dimness of the light which was emitted through the glass of the win- dows. The information received in regard to Marshall House, 191 the cause was that the continued action of the sand blown against it caused this opacity, and in attempting to discern objects outside, we were reminded of the allusion " seeing through a glass darkly," or of " seeing by faith f and not by sight. ^^ York Village is a beautiful place, with cool and shady streets, pleasant and tasteful dwellings, and an intelligent community. There are three churches ; and as this was the ancient city of Gorgeana, many objects of interest to the antiquarian are to be found on every hand, while the history of this locality is filled with legend and tradition. The means of access are easy. A new omnibus connects with the morning train at the Portsmouth depot, and returns upon the arrival of the 2 : 30 afternoon train from Boston ; and as York is but a comparatively short distance from Boston, gentlemen are 192 Modem Town of YovJc, able to arrange to transact their business in Boston during the day and be with their families at night. A sure connection with all trains is a desideratum at once appreciated. Here are attractions for those in search of health or pleasure, either permanent, tran- sient, or for the season, which compare favorably with those at Cape May or Long Branch. The opportunities afforded for fishing, bathing, hunting, and sight-seeing are such as will fully meet the most sanguine expectations of any visitor. The increasing popularity of the place with each added year affords the amplest evidence on this point. A contemplated railroad is being surveyed, which, when built, according to the present location, will leave passengers considerably less than a mile distant from the Marshall House. • I'lOi a- NHi ONGBESS ^.';fi ■..I, ( •■• "..','.'';.":;,,