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AN 
 
 HISTORICSL SKETCH 
 
 TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE, 
 
 WITH NOTICES OF ITS SETTLERS AND 
 EARLY INHABITANTS. 
 
 BV <-' 
 
 GEORGE L. HOSMER. 
 
 BOSTON : 
 
 PRESS OK STANLEY AND USHER, 
 
 171 Devonshire Street. 
 
 1886. 
 
-f^^^ 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter I 5 
 
 Introduction. — Discovery. — Settlements. — Mills. — Mar- 
 riages. 
 
 Chapter II 25 
 
 First Settlers. — The Revolution. — Land-titles. — Incorpora- 
 tion. 
 
 Chapter III 41 
 
 Notices of Settlers and Early Inhabitants. — Physicians. — 
 Men and Vessels Lost at Sea. — A List of Aged Persons. 
 
 Chapter IV 220 
 
 Municipal and Miscellaneous, 1789-1882. — Ecclesiastical. — 
 Origin of the Names of the Different Localities in the Town. 
 — Conclusion. 
 
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 TOWN OF DEER ISLE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introduction. — Discovery. — Settlements. — Mills. — Marriages. 
 
 For some years past it has been my purpose to write an 
 historical sketch of this town, with notices of its settlers 
 and early inhabitants. When I came here a young man, 
 nearly half a century ago, there were but few of the early 
 settlers remaining, the last of whom, Mr. Joseph Sellers, 
 died in 1844 at the age of ninety-two years. My informa- 
 tion has been derived from those who were contemporary 
 with them, and they in their turn have passed away. 
 Although the means I have had for such a work were 
 scanty, yet it was all. that could be obtained, as I had 
 nothing but verbal information : but I may reasonably 
 judge that it is in the main correct. I have thought it 
 best to preserve it, in order that those who are now 
 living, and those who may come hereafter, may have 
 some knowledge of the hardships endured by their 
 ancestors. The history of the early settlement of any 
 country is a history of toil, privations, and suffering, 
 and of these the persons noticed here have had their full 
 share. It was with them a hard struggle for a subsistence, 
 and had it not been for the sea-fowl, sea and shell fish, it 
 
6 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 could not have been obtained by them, and had those 
 means been wanting elsewhere, the seacoast could never 
 have been settled where it was in this State. I have 
 hopes that what is here written may prove of inter- 
 est to the descendants of those whose notices are here 
 recorded. It is, or should be, a matter of interest to 
 every one, to have some knowledge of the history of his 
 native place, or of the town in which he resides. In too 
 many cases it is not felt until the sources from which such 
 information might have been obtained no longer exist, and 
 I wish to improve this opportunity for its preservation, for 
 otherwise it will soon have passed from memory and be 
 lost beyond recovery. 
 
 DISCOVERY. 
 
 We have no authentic information by whom, and at 
 what time, the islands on which this town is situated, were 
 discovered. It has been stated that, in 1556, Andre The- 
 vit, a Catholic priest, sailed in a French ship along the 
 entire coast ; that he entered Penobscot Bay, where he 
 spent five days and had numerous conferences with the 
 natives. The first Englishman who visited this locality 
 was Martin Pring, who sailed from Bristol in 1603, and 
 visited Penobscot Bay and islands. Seeing some foxes on 
 the shore of one island, he named it Fox Island, and that 
 was the name by which those islands, on which the towns 
 of North Haven and Vinalhaven are situated, were 
 formerly known ; one as the North, and the other as 
 the South, Fox Island. He was well pleased with the 
 scenery of the bay, with the excellence of the fisheries, 
 and with what animals were seen by them. When he 
 returned to England, he carried an Indian canoe with 
 him, but while here saw but few inhabitants. It is prob- 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 7 
 
 able that he sailed up the bay lying between the towns of 
 Deer Isle and Isle au Haut on the one side, and the towns 
 of North Haven and Vinalhaven on the other, and from 
 its height the Isle au Haut would have been a prominent 
 landmark, as it can be seen about thirty-five miles at sea, 
 and it is the outermost island of any considerable size in 
 this vicinity ; and, if he sailed up the bay, as we have 
 supposed, he must have seen Deer Island. We may 
 regard him as the first Englishman who saw it, if not the 
 first European, for if Thevit had seen the bay and pub- 
 lished his discovery, it seems reasonable to us that he 
 would have been followed by others of his countrymen 
 and possession taken. 
 
 In 1604 Champlain visited this region and is said to 
 have landed upon its shores, but there is little informa- 
 tion respecting him. In 1605 the bay and islands were 
 visited by James Rozier, and it has been stated that he 
 sailed up the passage between Deer Isle on the one side^ 
 and the towns of Brooklin, Sedgwick, and Brooksville on 
 the other, and it is now known as Eggemoggin Reach ; 
 and that he anchored near the cape lying at the south- 
 western extremity of the town of Brooksville, which bears 
 his name. If this account be correct, he must have 
 passed very near Deer Island, as the passage is in its 
 narrowest part not more than half a mile in width. In 
 the same year Weymouth visited the bay and river in June, 
 but from the account given us, we believe that he sailed up 
 the western side, between the towns of Islesborough and 
 Camden, and he anchored opposite the hills now known as 
 Camden Hills, where a party went on shore and afterward 
 in a pinnace went farther up the bay and visited that part 
 which, according to the description given us, must have 
 been near where the city of Belfast is now situated. 
 
8 ^iV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 From the account given us, they appeared to have been as 
 well pleased with what they saw, as was Pring two years 
 earlier. The intercourse of Weymouth with the natives 
 was at first friendly, but, unfortunately for his reputation, 
 he kidnapped five of them and carried them to England, 
 three of whom he delivered to Sir Ferdinand Georges, 
 who kept them in his family three years, and in 1639 
 the Province of Maine was chartered to him. 
 
 It is not probable that Weymouth visited that part of 
 the bay in which this town is situated, or, if he did, 
 nothing is said about it, and as the accounts given of the 
 discoveries by those early voyagers are very brief, conjec- 
 ture must supply the vacancy ; but we must come to the 
 conclusion that, at least, Pring and Rozier must have seen 
 Deer Island. In 1614 Captain John Smith, of Virginia, 
 visited this region and reported a settlement as having 
 been made, but he must have referred to that made by the 
 French on the island of Mount Desert, as it is said that 
 it was occupied by them as early as 1604. Others came 
 there in 1609, and Madame De Guerchville's colony was 
 there in [613, a year before Smith visited these regions. 
 No English settlement is reported to have been made any- 
 where in this vicinity until 1626, under the direction of 
 the Plymouth Colony, by Isaac Allerton, on the peninsula 
 on which the town of Castine now stands, for the purposes 
 of trade, which was continued till 1635, when it was taken 
 possession of by the French. It was retaken in 1654 and 
 retained till 1670, when it was surrendered to the French, 
 and by them retained most of the time until 1704, when 
 it was captured by Captain Church of the Plymouth 
 Colony ; and no other settlement anywhere in this 
 vicinity was made by the English, which was permanent, 
 until about the year 1760, which was the date of the 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.lfXE. g 
 
 settlement of Castine. We have no account who gave 
 this island its name or when it was given, but it has been 
 said that deer were found upon it in abundance, and that 
 circumstance caused the name to be given it — which is 
 very probable, as those animals could easily visit it in the 
 winter by crossing the reach upon the ice ; and that they 
 have been known to cross the passage by swimming. 
 It has been said that upon one occasion one was seen 
 swimming over, by the members of one family, who then 
 resided near the shore in the early years of the settlement 
 here, and on its landing it was killed by them, which was 
 a providential circumstance, as at the time they were 
 suffering from hunger. Several have been killed since I 
 have resided here, and within twenty years past I saw an 
 old one and her young near the highway about half a mile 
 from the Northwest Harbor. 
 
 SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 When the first settlers came here, the island was an 
 unbroken wilderness. No evidences were found indicat- 
 ing that it had ever been occupied by white men, and 
 probably but few had ever landed upon its shores. The 
 Indians had made some parts of it places of occupancy, 
 at certain seasons of the year, for the purpose of obtain- 
 ing a supply of food from the clam-flats, and evidences of 
 their occupancy were to be found where those shell- 
 fish were in great abundance, and the depth of the shells 
 in the ground shows that they must have been centuries 
 in accumulating, and they also cover, in many places, con- 
 siderable space. When the land was plowed, the spots 
 occupied by their wigwams were easily discernible, and it 
 is probable that the times of their visitation were at such 
 times when other food was not so easily obtainable. Occa- 
 
lO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 sionally skeletons have been found, and at one time two 
 were discovered under the roots of a large hard-wood tree ; 
 it had grown to a large size and was in a state of decay, 
 when it was blown over during a storm. One was that of 
 a person of ordinary size, the other of one who was at 
 least eight feet in height, and between the ribs of the larger 
 one was found the head of a dart made of copper. They 
 lay nearly side by side, and had been probably engaged in 
 mortal conflict, the larger one mortally wounded by the 
 smaller, and the smaller probably fell by the hands of the 
 larger. This conflict must have happened a long time 
 before discovery, as they must have lain upon the ground, 
 and the tree which grew over them must have been a long 
 time in attaining its growth. They were found nearly sixty 
 years ago, and a medical man then residing in the town 
 gathered up the skeleton of the larger one and preserved 
 it; upon putting the bones together, he stated that the 
 height of the man was what is above stated. 
 
 When the settler came, his first care was to provide a 
 shelter for his family. A hut, the sides of which were 
 built of logs, and the roof of bark, unless he had boards, 
 which he probably had not, as then there were no sawmills 
 anywhere in the vicinity ; a wall of stones laid up for a 
 fireplace and a hole in the roof to let out the smoke and 
 let in the light and air, and the floor, if any it had except 
 the ground, was made of small trees sided with an axe. 
 The walls were plastered with clay or mud in the spaces 
 between the logs, or caulked with moss to keep out the 
 cold. His first habitation was near the shore, as it was 
 more convenient than farther back from it, as it caused 
 less distance for the transportation of the articles of food. 
 In the months of May, June, July, and a part of August, 
 the bark used for roofing could be peeled from the trees ; 
 
TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, ALILVE. I i 
 
 at Other times it was fast to them and could not be 
 obtained for the purpose. When he had opportunity, a 
 house was built of logs of more convenient size, and if 
 boards could be had, they could be used for roofs and 
 floors. The chimney of rocks was carried farther up and 
 topped out with sticks and clay, and a few squares of glass 
 might be obtained to admit light into his dwelling ; and 
 this second class was a great improvement upon the first. 
 In time these kind of houses gave way to framed ones as 
 there was opportunity to procure lumber, as sawmills had 
 been erected here, and they in their turn were succeeded 
 by better ones. In such rude dwellings, as I have in the 
 first and second places described, were many of their 
 children born and families reared. A very few of the 
 second class were standing fifty years ago, but none now 
 remain, as boards have taken the place of logs in their 
 erection. A large portion of the dwelling-houses that 
 were standing when I first came here, are not now, and a 
 great improvement in that direction has taken place. We 
 who live in dwellings so convenient, roomy, and elegant, 
 can hardly conceive, many of us, how they could have lived 
 in such places as they did, and on such fare as they had ; but a 
 more healthy and robust generation was produced in those 
 times, than is now with us. Many of them were remark- 
 able for their physical strength and powers of endurance. 
 His next task was to clear his land so that crops might 
 be raised, and if he arrived in the month of June, it was 
 the proper time to fell the trees, as that month is the most 
 suitable for the purpose, and a few acres could be cut 
 down the first summer, and when the trees were down the 
 limbs could be lopped, as it is termed, so that the brush 
 could be near the ground. In the first of the fall, when 
 dry, fires could be set and the limbs burnt. After that 
 
12 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the trunks were cut into pieces of proper length, to be 
 moved into piles and burnt. They were set on fire before 
 the fall rains came, and about all consumed except the 
 stumps, and the next year he was ready to put in his seed 
 for such crops as he wished to raise. Usually corn was 
 planted at first, as it could be conveniently grown, and in 
 fair seasons it grew bountifully, as the land was new and 
 the ashes a powerful stimulant. In those days but few 
 potatoes were raised, as they were not so highly esteemed 
 as at present. If grain were sown it had to be stacked, 
 and afterward it was threshed. No gristmills were here, 
 until some years after the first settlers came. Corn then 
 was the favorite crop, as it could be prepared for food 
 by pounding in what was called a samp-mortar, made of 
 a hard-wood log, the end of which was hollowed out and 
 pounded with a heavy pestle, into the bottom of which 
 nails were thickly driven to enable it to break up the corn 
 more thoroughly. This was then termed samp, and, 
 when prepared for boiling, formed a valuable addition to 
 their other food. It was also a favorite article of food with 
 the Indians, who raised corn, and thus prepared it, and 
 oftentimes cooked it with green beans, which dish was 
 called succotash. 
 
 It was a work of years to clear the land for the plow, 
 as it took a long time for the stumps to rot so that they 
 could be taken out ; but usually when they were dried 
 sufBciently, they were set on fire, and the roots, when 
 rotten, could be dug up. As soon as fodder could be 
 raised, cattle were procured, and a cow was a valuable 
 animal to them. Sheep were kept as soon as they could 
 be by them, as their wool was necessary for purposes of 
 manufacture for clothing, and flax was also raised for the 
 same purpose, and the cloth was durable if not fine. The 
 
TOlViV OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 1 3 
 
 implements used in its manufacture are now nearly obso- 
 lete ; the flax-wheel and hand-card are no longer in use, 
 and' the spinning-wheel and hand-loom are soon destined 
 to follow. 
 
 As years passed along, his circumstances improved ; 
 more land was cleared and greater crops raised ; he was 
 enabled to increase his stock and, consequently, his means 
 of living. In a few years mills were built, and his corn 
 and grain ground. Upon every lot of land were logs suit- 
 able for lumber which could be drawn out by oxen to the 
 shore and towed to the sawmill for manufacture. Cord- 
 wood could be sold to be carried to Boston or other places 
 in Massachusetts, and the proceeds exchanged for articles 
 of necessity. At first, before he was enabled to keep 
 oxen, it was cut in places convenient to the landings and 
 drawn on hand-sleds. This was a slow and toilsome 
 process, but it was better than to waste it by burning 
 upon the ground, for the little he was paid for it was a 
 help to him. After he could keep a team, he could choj) 
 and draw it out in the winter in considerable quantities. 
 Although the price was small, sometimes not exceeding 
 one dollar per cord for the best hard wood, yet it was 
 better than nothing. I recollect hearing an old gentleman 
 saying that once he was obliged to sell such wood at the 
 small price of fifty cents per cord upon the landing, and at 
 the same time cloth then known as India cotton was fifty 
 cents a yard. In these times perhaps sixty yards of 
 much better cloth might be purchased with the proceeds 
 of one cord of such wood. 
 
 In those days there were no roads ; the inhabitants lived 
 near the shore, and in order to visit each other, they must 
 follow the shore or go in boats. There were footpaths 
 through the woods in such places where the shore could 
 
14 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 not be used as a road, and they were by trees spotted to 
 guide the traveler. It was about twenty-six years after 
 the town was settled, before it was incorporated, and until 
 that time every person, if he needed a road, was obliged 
 to make it himself. If a person had a grist to carry to 
 mill, if he could not go by water, he was obliged to -carry 
 it upon his shoulder. I once heard one who was here 
 quite early say that he had at one time three bushels of 
 corn, and he was obliged to carry it to the Northwest 
 Harbor to mill, which was six miles from his house. He 
 put it into two bags and, starting with one, carried it until 
 he was tired, laid it down, walked back to the place where 
 the other was left, took that up and carried it till he was 
 tired, then rested and started with the other : and in that 
 way transported his corn to, and his meal from, the mill. 
 He was a perfectly reliable man, and I have no doubt of 
 the truth of his statement, for he was of large size and 
 great strength. These little incidents show us what hard- 
 ships were endured by those who were before us. The 
 chief article of food upon which they relied at first were 
 the clams which were then very abundant in the flats in 
 front of the lots occupied by them, and the seacoast of 
 New England has abounded with them. It was at times 
 the chief reliance of the Pilgrims who settled at Plymouth, 
 without which they would doubtless have perished by 
 starvation. Although it is not a very nourishing kind of 
 food, when confined to, nor so palatable as some other 
 kinds, still there was no fear of the supply being exhausted. 
 It was considered of so much consequence that in 1641 
 the Colony of Massachusetts passed an ordinance that, 
 whatever right the owner of land had to the fiats left bare 
 at low water in front of his land, he had no exclusive 
 right to the shellfish that might be taken from them ; nor 
 
TOIVjV of dee A' ISLE, MAINE. 15 
 
 had he a right to prevent any one from taking fowl, these 
 being considered a right which others had in common with 
 the owners of the land, and this is the law of our State. 
 It has since been a business of considerable importance, 
 the taking of them for bait for the cod-fisheries ; and the 
 amount that has been dug from the flats in this town 
 within the last fifty years has amounted to many thousand 
 barrels, furnishing employment for many, and at this time 
 they are put up in cans by the packing companies in their 
 factories in the town. 
 
 It needed but little time to enable the settler to procure 
 what he needed from day to day, as the supply must be 
 taken at the time of their use, for if kept very long they 
 became unwholesome. During the months of May, June, 
 July, and August they were not so suitable for food as at 
 other times, but in the winter and early spring, when the 
 ice covered the shores, it had to be cut through to dig 
 them, which made the labor severe. The seafish at that 
 time were very abundant ; one man could load a small boat 
 in one day, at times. Their boats were made of a large 
 log of wood hewn into proper shape, and dug out, and were 
 termed "log canoes." They have long since gone out of 
 use, and their places supplied by boats of a better kind and 
 much more convenient. A few of the former kind were 
 to be seen sixty years ago, but it is a long time since I 
 have seen one. The fish were at that time much nearer 
 the shore than at present, and it was but little labor to row 
 out where they were and take what was wanted. The 
 chief difficulty was in obtaining salt. There was no place 
 of trade nearer than Fort Point, which was the only place, 
 until the British took possession of Bagaduce in 1779, 
 where a market was opened for what they had to sell and 
 such goods as they needed could be purchased. Salt was 
 
1 6 ^-A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 manufactured here by boiling sea-water, of which two per 
 cent, only is salt. In order to manufacture it, large kettles 
 or iron pans were set by the shore, the water was pumped 
 up at high water and led into them by spouts and boiled 
 down. The wood used for fuel was conveniently near in 
 abundance, but it was a slow process, as about four hun- 
 dred gallons of water were necessary to produce one bushel 
 of salt weighing sixty pounds — but it was an article they 
 must have. One man, Mr. Jonathan Eaton, was for sev- 
 eral years engaged in the business, and what he made 
 during the summer he carried up to the towns above New- 
 buryport, on the Merrimack River, the locality whence he 
 came, and sold or exchanged it for produce. The price 
 here was never less than one dollar per bushel, and its 
 quality was about equal to the Liverpool salt at present. 
 
 Other kinds of fish were taken, the herring in weirs 
 made by enclosing the mouth of a creek or cove by brush 
 woven between stakes set or driven into the flats above 
 low-water mark. The top of the hedge was low enough 
 to admit them at high water, but upon the ebb of the tide 
 below the top of it they were detained, and were taken 
 when the fiats were bare ; they were salted, the larger ones 
 in casks, the smaller cured by smoking. In the winter 
 the frost fish, as they were termed, were taken in consid- 
 erable quantities at the mouths of brooks, and they were 
 acceptable, as it was not the season of fresh fish of other 
 kinds. The smelts could be taken in considerable quanti- 
 ties in the same way in the spring, and when lightly salted 
 and cured by drying made a very palatable article of food. 
 
 The other source of supply upon which they relied was 
 the seafowl, particularly of the duck kind ; they were 
 taken by shooting, netting, and driving. Every one who 
 could procure a gun and ammunition did so, as it enabled 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA /.YE. I 7 
 
 him to procure a supply, as they were in the waters sur- 
 rounding the island in abundance. The practice of net- 
 ting was by setting large nets on the flats, fastened to 
 stakes, in such a manner as to float and rise with the tide 
 horizontally upon the surface, and when spread cover- 
 ing considerable space ; when the fowl swam near the 
 shore, as is their practice, and, diving, came up under 
 the nets, they became entangled, and could be taken. 
 Large quantities were taken in this way, and when dressed 
 those not wanted for a present supply were salted for 
 future use. The feathers were valuable for beds, and were 
 salable, and si.x full-grown ones furnished one pound of 
 them. The other method was styled duck-driving, and as 
 it has not been practised within the memory of any but 
 the very oldest of our inhabitants, it will be proper to give 
 a description of the manner in which they were taken. 
 For a very few days in the month of August they could not 
 fly, as they were then shedding their quills, or larger feathers. 
 The time was well known to the inhabitants in the places 
 around, in other settlements, and all who could come did so 
 from Penobscot River, from Penobscot, and around the bay 
 in boats. P'irst a circle of boats was formed so as partially 
 to surround them, and boats also were stationed to prevent 
 their taking a wrong direction. Duck Harbor, on the 
 southwestern part of Isle au I laut, was the place selected to 
 drive them into, as it was well suited for the purpose, being 
 narrow and extending half a mile or more into the land. 
 They were driven, anil as the drive went on, others were 
 overtaken, and by the time they reached the place of destina- 
 tion a large number were included in the drive, lieginning 
 at the upper part of the bay, below I^agle Island, they 
 drove several miles down, narrowing the Hock as they went 
 along, when thev were driven into the mouth of the harbor 
 
1 8 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and up to the head of it, and when the fowls reached the 
 shore they were taken and killed, and every one engaged 
 could have all he needed. The water, and not the land, 
 is their element. They can swim quite rapidly, but when 
 on landing they attempted to walk they could easily be 
 taken. At one time a very large drive was made, and many, 
 attempting to walk over the land from the head of the 
 harbor to the southern shore of the island, perished in the 
 woods, and their remains were seen for a long time. Such 
 wholesale destruction soon had its effect, as they decreased 
 or sought other places where they could be free from such 
 a molestation. No drive has been made for perhaps 
 eighty years or more. My informant, the late Captain 
 David Thurlow, a man well known here in his day, was 
 present at several of the "drives," and from him I obtained 
 the information given above. He died in 1857, at the age 
 of eighty-two years, and " drives " were all the rage when he 
 was young. From an account given me many years ago, 
 I judge that wild fowls, when they escape from danger, 
 often shun the place afterward. Among the early years of 
 the settlement here the wild geese, going on their flights 
 toward the north, frequently halted and landed upon a par- 
 ticular part of the island, near what is now called " Dun- 
 ham's Point," the locality of the silver mine now being 
 operated upon, and they also did so on their return in the 
 fall. After it became known persons lay in wait for a 
 chance to shoot at them, and after it was done a few times 
 they landed no longer there ; and for years after when they 
 passed over the spot they would rise higher than usual 
 before they reached it, so as to be out of the reach of the 
 shot, and after they had passed would go down to their 
 usual level. 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 1 9 
 
 MILLS. 
 
 I have no means of ascertaining the date of the erec- 
 tion of the first mill here, but I am inclined to think that 
 it was by Mr. Nathaniel Kent, of Boston, on the site of the 
 mills afterward occupied by Stephen Holt and Richard 
 Warren. Messrs. Mark Haskell & Sons also put up a 
 saw and grist mill at the Northwest Harbor. They pur- 
 chased the land they occupied there in 1772 of Ezekiel 
 Marshall, who was here before them ; but they did not 
 come until a few years after, and from what information I 
 have been able to obtain they did not come till 1778. In 
 the notice of them I shall state more fully about them. 
 Jonathan Greenlaw, who came as early as 1762 or 1763, 
 one of the family of that name who came shortly after, 
 and, next to William Eaton, the first settler, gave a deed 
 to Kent of a tract of land containing a mile square, in 
 consideration of the erection and maintenance of a grist- 
 mill. The date of the deed I have never learned, but, if 
 it ever was put on record, it must have been done in the 
 records of the county of Lincoln, in which county we then 
 were, as Hancock County was not incorporated till 1789. 
 Greenlaw had, of course, no title to the land he conveyed, 
 as the title then was in Massachusetts. The mill was 
 afterward occupied by Joseph Tyler, Esq., a native of Ded- 
 ham, Massachusetts, who came during the latter part of 
 the Revolutionary War. A sawmill was built, whether by 
 Kent or Tyler I do not know. It stood for some years, 
 occupied by ICsquire Tyler, and manufactured boards and 
 other lumber from the logs which were then standing in 
 that vicinity. After Tyler moved into another part of the 
 town, the place was occupied by Ste])hen Holt, who rebuilt 
 the gristmill and run it till 1842. After his removal the 
 
20 --i-y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 late Hon. Richard Warren built mills there, which were 
 destroyed by fire. The "Kent Claim," as it was called, 
 was a subject of litigation for several years. It covered 
 the land settled by Mr. Joseph Colby, who came here not 
 far from 1766, and the lawsuit was prolonged for several 
 years in the courts of Lincoln County. jMr. Colby had 
 frequently to attend court, and, as the practice was then, 
 the jurors were chosen and could serve as often as they 
 were returned, and he was, while his case was in court, a 
 juryman, as it enabled him to meet his expenses of travel 
 to and from the shire-town, which was Pownalborough 
 near the town of Dresden near Wiscasset. He at length 
 prevailed, and the Kent Claim was reduced to 200 acres, 
 the lots occupied by Messrs. Joseph and Belcher Tyler. 
 It afterward passed into the ownership of Mr. Nathaniel 
 Bishop, of Medford, Massachusetts, and some time not far 
 from 1820 he contracted to sell the land to Mr. Stephen 
 Holt, of Andover, Massachusetts, who occupied it till 1842, 
 when he was ousted by Mr. Bishop for non-payment for the 
 land, and it afterward passed into the hands of the late 
 Richard Warren. The saw and gristmill at the Northwest 
 Harbor stood till about i860. A gristmill was built at the 
 reach shore in 1837 by Captain John Torrey which has been 
 discontinued some ten years or more, and there is now no 
 saw or grist mill in the town ; but one of the latter is 
 much needed, for if there were one a considerable amount 
 of grain would be raised in the town ; but as it has to be 
 carried out of the town to be ground, the farmers have 
 nearly discontinued its production. It can be as easily 
 raised here as in the towns in the vicinity, and might be 
 with profit. Other sawmills were built : one on Thurlow 
 Island as early as 1800, or before, by Joseph Colby, Jr., and 
 David Thurlow, which manufactured considerable lumber 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2 1 
 
 in its day. It was destroyed by being blown down in a 
 violent squall in the early part of the year 1839. Another 
 was maintained several years, known as "Crockett's Mill," 
 till about thirty years ago. Another was formerly stand- 
 ing on Stinson's Neck near the residence of Mr. Josiah C. 
 Webb, and another on what was known as the Emersons' 
 Mill Pond, not far from the house of Captain Benjamin 
 J. Sylvester. It was built not far from the year 1790, and 
 went down in 1807. 
 
 The first framed dwelling-house in the town was built 
 by Mr. Ezekiel Morey, who came in 1767. I made inqui- 
 ries of the oldest people, and they all stated that it was 
 standing when they could first remember. The eldest son 
 of the builder, Mr. Elias Morey, who was born in 1761, 
 informed me that he was ten years of age when it was 
 built. That would fix the date at 177 1. It was standing 
 less than twenty years ago on the spot at present occupied 
 by the house of Mr. James Jordan, and was known as the 
 Hallet house. The next now standing is the ell part of 
 the house formerly occupied by the late Joseph Raynes, 
 which was put up prior to 1790. It has been repaired 
 within a few years. The next is the house built and occu- 
 pied by the late Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and is still in a 
 good state of preservation. It was built some time about 
 the years 1793 or 1794, and is now owned and occupied 
 by his granddaughter, Mrs. Rebecca Haskell. The houses 
 occupied by Mr. Levi Greenlaw and the late Mr. Nathan 
 Eaton arc the ne.xt oldest. 
 
 M.\KRI.\GES. 
 
 The marriages solemnized between the parties residing 
 in the place must have been at the fort, on what is now 
 known as Fort Point, by the chaplain of the garrison, Dr. 
 
2 2 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 William Crawford, until the residence of a minister of the 
 gospel here in 1773. He was the nearest person by whom 
 the ceremony could be performed, and is said to have been 
 the first one who married couples according to Protestant 
 forms on Penobscot River. The fort was named Fort 
 Pownal, and was built in 1759. He was a surgeon as well 
 as chaplain, and served in both capacities under General 
 Wolfe at Quebec. It was some ten years after the settle- 
 ment was commenced here till the establishment of a 
 church and the employment of a minister, and during the 
 occupation of Bagaduce by the British those intending 
 marriage from this place went there for the purpose, as 
 there was a chaplain there. At that time there were no 
 justices of the peace here, for there was no authority to 
 appoint them, as Massachusetts had no governor during 
 the war of the Revolution. Afterward the war appoint- 
 ments were made, and the first ones here were Messrs. 
 Joseph Tyler, Thomas Stinson, and Ignatius Haskell, 
 Esquires. 
 
 The first child born of white parents here was Mr. 
 Timothy Billings, in May, 1764. He was born near the 
 shore, on the lot formerly owned by the late Captain 
 Jonathan Torrey, and by his descendants at the present 
 time. His father removed here in 1763, but did not remain 
 long. It has been claimed by some that Mr. John Closson 
 was the first, but it is a mistake. His mother, prior to his 
 birth, went over to the other side of the Reach, and he was 
 born in what is now the town of Sedgwick, March 5, 1764. 
 The first child born at the Northwest Harbor, according 
 to the best information I have, was Joseph Eaton, who set- 
 tled in Sedgwick, and died there. He was the son of Mr. 
 Jonathan Eaton, and was born in the latter part of the 
 year 1767. Near the Southeast Harbor Mr. Thomas 
 
TOirX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 23 
 
 Colby was the first white child born, in April, 1768, and at 
 the Southwest Harbor Thomas Small was born about the 
 same time. 
 
 It is worthy of note that the first children born of Eng- 
 lish parents in this and the two nearest towns as originally 
 incorporated lived to a great age. Mr. Billings died in 
 1854, aged ninety; Mr. Reuben Gray, born in Penobscot, 
 in the present town of Castine, near the place now occu- 
 pied by the stores in that place, in May, 1763, died in 
 1859, aged ninety-si.\ ; and Elizabeth Black, born in that 
 part of Sedgwick now Brooklin, about 1760, died at the 
 age of nearly one hundred years, and at the time of her 
 death she was Mrs. Frcethy. 
 
 In another part of this work will be found a record of 
 all the persons who have lived to the age of ninety years 
 and upward, since I came here, in 1835. The oldest died 
 in 1879, aged ninety-seven, and there is evidence that only 
 one other person arrived to so great an age before 1835 — 
 Mrs. Colby, the wife of Mr. Joseph Colby, in 1833. She 
 will be further noticed, as she carried the news of the sur- 
 render of Lord Cornwallis to Bagaduce, which was the 
 first information the officers of the army stationed there 
 had of the event. 
 
 PVom what has been written we can have some idea of 
 the condition of those who first came here, and it required 
 courage to face what they did, and resolution to go through 
 it. We who talk of poverty now should compare our sur- 
 roundings with theirs. The poorest among us at this day 
 have means to procure what to them would have been 
 luxuries. Their food at best was coarse and often scanty, 
 their clothing would now be considered insufficient to pro- 
 tect the wearer from the cold. We little consider that we 
 arc enjoying the fruits of their labors, for their hands 
 
24 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 cleared the fields we cultivate, and the foundation of our 
 privileges v^ras laid by them. We can show them no grat- 
 itude, but we can respect their memories. The worth of 
 too many is not appreciated until they are gone. There 
 are many things in life which can not be understood unless 
 they come within our experience, and if understood at all 
 are but imperfectly. This makes it difficult for one who 
 lives in other times to correctly write the histories of the 
 past. 
 
 I come now to the period of the Revolution, and in 
 another chapter will give the names of such male inhab- 
 itants as were here, according to the best information I 
 have been able to acquire. It will be a list of such as were 
 at that time twenty years of age, or nearly, and upward, 
 and the date of their coming, as near as I am able from 
 what information I have acquired. 
 
TOIVJV OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 25 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 F"iRST SKrri.EKS. — The Revolution. — Land-itti.es. — lNCORPOR,\riON. 
 
 TMI'^ year 1775 brought the Revolution, and found 
 the Island with a number of settlers. The first 
 permanent settlement was made in 1762 by William 
 Eaton, although he was not the first who began one. 
 In my notice of them I shall more fully treat upon those 
 matters. The list of such persons as are referred to in 
 the close of the former chapter is as follows : — 
 
 William Eaton, came in 1762. Robert Nason. 
 Jonathan Greenlaw, about the same Ezekiel Morey, 1767. 
 
 time or a little later. John Hooper, 1767. 
 
 Charles Greenlaw. John Pressey, 1765. 
 
 Ale.xander Greenlaw. John Pressey, Jr., 1765. 
 
 Ebenezer Greenlaw. Chase Pressey, 1765. 
 
 William Greenlaw. Lot Curtis. 
 
 John Billings, 1763. Zebulon Tuttle. 
 
 Nathan Closson, 1763. Thomas Saunders, 177 1. 
 
 Thomas Thompson, 1765. Jonathan Eaton, 1767. 
 
 Robert Linn, 1765. Elijah Dunham, 1766. 
 
 Jonathan Torrey, 1763 or '64. Elijah Dunham, Jr., 1766. 
 
 David Torrey, 1763 or '64. Joseph Dunham, 1766. 
 
 Joshua Staples, 1764. Samuel Trundy, 1765. 
 
 Moses Staples, 1764. John Raynes, 1772. 
 
 Thomas Stinson, 1765. John Raynes, Jr., 1772. 
 
 Peter Hardy, Sr., uncertain. Samuel Raynes. 
 
 Jeremiah Eaton, son of Wm., 1762. James Raynes. 
 
 Eliakim Eaton, son of Wm., 1762. Thomas Small, 1767. 
 
 Wm. Eaton, Jr., .son of Wm., 1762. Job Small, 1768. 
 
 Nathan Dow, 1767. Charles Sellers, 1772. 
 
 John Dow. 1767. Joseph Sellers, 1772. 
 
26 '4X HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Theophilus Eaton. 176S. Thomas Robbins, 1775. 
 
 Levi Carman, 1768. William Babbidge, 1766. 
 
 Mark Haskell, Sr. Joseph Colby, 1766 or '67. 
 
 Francis Haskell, 1770. 1 John Freeze. 
 
 Jonathan Haskell, 1770. Courtney Babbidge, Sr., 1773. 
 
 Abijah Haskell, 1770. Samuel Webb. 
 
 Ezekiel Marshall, 1768. Josiah Crockett, 1768. 
 
 Ephraim Marshall, 1768. William Richards. 
 
 Ezra Howard, date uncertain. Thomas Stinson, Jr., 1765. 
 
 John Howard, his son. George Freeze, 1764. 
 
 Ambrose Colby. Benjamin Weed. 
 
 Nathaniel Bray, Sr. Joseph Whitmore. 
 
 Benjamin Cole, Sr. Seth Webb. 
 
 — Sixty-nine in all. 
 
 Most of the persons above named were friendly to the 
 American cause, but a few were loyalists, or, as they were 
 then termed, "Tories." Three from this place entered 
 the army, for which they obtained a pension under the 
 first act providing one for the soldiers of the Revolutionary 
 army. Their names were Joseph Whitmore, Samuel Stin- 
 son, and Courtney Babbidge, Jr. Mr. Whitmore died in 
 1 841, aged eighty-six; Mr. Stinson in 1847, aged eighty- 
 eight, and Mr. Babbidge not far from the year 1833, in the 
 town of Vinal Haven, over seventy years of age. After the 
 war, Mr. Solomon Barbour, Mr. George Gross, and Mr. 
 James Gibson moved here, where they remained till their 
 deaths ; and later, two others came, Mr. John Harvey, who 
 died in 1837, aged eighty-six, and Mr. Judah Coville, who 
 died in 1843, aged eighty-nine years. Mr. Barbour lived, 
 while he resided here, upon what has been known as the 
 " Barbour Farm," owned by Ignatius Haskell, Esq., a part 
 of which has since been owned and occupied by Mr. 
 Edwin P. Cole. In 1784 came Mr. Micajah Lunt from 
 Newburyport, who was in the naval service ; he died in 
 1827 or 1828, and I believe Mr. Barbour died not far from 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 27 
 
 that time. The wives of all, except Mrs. Harvey, survived 
 their husbands, and some received pensions. Only one 
 person, of whom I have had knowled^i;e, ever resided here, 
 who was in what is known as the " Old French War." 
 Mr. Benjamin Weed was among the first who came, 
 and he was engaged in the siege of Louisburg, on the 
 Island of Cape Breton, the second time an expedition was 
 fitted out from New England to take it from the French. 
 It was not far from the time that Quebec was taken. 
 
 In 1779 the British took possession of the peninsula of 
 Bagaduce, on which the village of Castine now stands, and 
 commenced the erection of a fort. All the inhabitants 
 within their reach were required to perform labor upon it 
 for a certain number of days, which number I never 
 heard, nor did I ever hear that any compensation was 
 paid for it. It was called "working out their tour." In 
 my younger days I u.sed frequently to hear it spoken of 
 by those who were contemporaries with those of that day. 
 It was not safe for any one to refuse, unless a reasonable 
 excuse could be made. The work was hurried on, as the 
 Americans fitted out an expedition for the purpose of re- 
 taking it, the fleet composing it arriving in about five 
 weeks after possession was taken, which was in the month 
 of June. It failed of its object, but it is not within the 
 scope of this work to give the reasons of its failure or a 
 history of the expedition. Any one who wishes, may read 
 the History of Castine, by Dr. Wheeler, which gives an 
 account, at considerable length. They also required the 
 inhabitants of the settlements around them, and those on 
 the Penobscot River, to take an oath of allegiance or of 
 neutrality. In most cases this was compulsory, and it 
 might be by some regarded as not morally binding. It 
 was not safe for any to refuse this oath, as it would be 
 
28 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 likely to render the person refusing an object of suspicion, 
 if not of persecution or arrest. There were some in other 
 settlements who, rather than take it, abandoned their 
 homes and moved away, some of whom returned after the 
 peace, as did William Eaton, the first permanent settler 
 here ; but that was not always so easy to do, for all the 
 settlers had was here, and they did, no doubt, the best 
 thing they could under the circumstances. One man 
 named Page, who lived in what is now the town of Brewer, 
 was notified to come and take the oath. He refused, and 
 sent an answer to their summons accordingly, and word 
 was sent him that if he did not come a file of soldiers 
 would be sent to burn his house. To this he replied : 
 " Come on, for I have two loaded guns in my house, and 
 two at least who come will never go back again." He 
 was not molested. 
 
 Those persons who were loyalists paid frequent visits to 
 Castine and were suspected of giving information relative 
 to the other settlers, who might be considered friendly to 
 the American cause, who felt the need of exercising great 
 caution in all their conduct. To be an object of suspicion 
 was too often a cause for arrest, and when arrested, might 
 be subjected to the cruel punishments that were inflicted ; 
 although they were assured by the olificers, if they gave 
 no cause for suspicion, they would not be molested. I do 
 not remember of hearing of any person in this place being 
 arrested, but some were in other places and suffered most 
 severely by whipping. One was a Mr. Williams, of Isles- 
 borough ; another, Mr. Nathaniel Carson, who lived on 
 Cape Rozier. Mr. Jonathan Eaton, of Sedgwick, a son 
 of Mr. Theophilus Eaton, of this place, was informed 
 against by a Tory and was arrested by a file of soldiers in 
 the evening, who were guided by the one who gave the 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 29 
 
 information. They started to carry him to Castine, and 
 on their way the road led near the top of a high bank by 
 the shore, which was thickly covered with trees, and on 
 their arrival there, he, being a powerful man, shook off 
 those who were on each side of him, jumped down the 
 bank and in the darkness escaped. In a few minutes he 
 returned to his house, took a few things, and, starting, 
 went to Isle au Haut, which was then a wilderness, 
 and remained there all the season, not returning until 
 the danger was over. 
 
 Such punishments as were inflicted might well have 
 been dreaded. The prisoner was tied up and lashes laid 
 upon his bare back, sometimes by hundreds, with a whip 
 styled a " cat-o'-nine-tails," which had nine lashes and in 
 each lash nine knots. When inflicted in the open air, the 
 screams of the victims might, in calm weather, be heard 
 a long distance, for their sufferings were terrible ; often a 
 bullet or something like it was put into their mouths to 
 prevent them from chewing their tongues in their agony. 
 A surgeon stood by when such severe punishments were 
 inflicted, to pronounce when it was unsafe to carry it any 
 further ; and, if the whole number had not been laid on, 
 he must, after his wounds were healed, receive the 
 remainder. We now would not suffer such cruel punish- 
 ments to be inflicted, but that was the manner in which 
 their soldiers were punished for some offences, and such 
 was what Williams and Carson endured. It would have 
 been more merciful to have shot them at once, for their 
 pain would have been short. At most, it would have been 
 murder, but such whippings were worse than murder. 
 The subjects of such punishments ever after felt the con- 
 sequences ; the sense of manhood was crushed out of 
 them, and they became dispirited and morose. 
 
30 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 I recollect, some twenty-five years ago or more, making 
 the acquaintance of an old gentleman who then resided on 
 the coast of York County near Wood Island, who had 
 served many years in the capacity of sailmaker in the 
 British navy. He was on board the NortJmmbcrlaiid, the 
 ship which conveyed Napoleon to St. Helena, and he gave 
 me a description of his personal appearance, which corre- 
 sponded with what has been written concerning it. He 
 was the coxswain of the barge which carried him from the 
 ship to the shore. I asked him concerning the punish- 
 ments by whipping, which were said to have been practised 
 then on board their ships-of-war, and how was it possible 
 that any one could come out of them in some cases alive. 
 He informed me that he once witnessed a punishment of 
 five hundred lashes, inflicted for desertion, which was a 
 crime most severely punished. The prisoner was sen- 
 tenced to be flogged "through the fleet," and the manner 
 of its infliction was thus : A large boat was used upon 
 which a platform was laid, and the frame raised to which 
 the prisoner was lashed. The number of lashes was 
 divided by the number of ships in the fleet that were 
 there at the time, and he was rowed from ship to ship and 
 the boatswain's mate of each administered its quota of 
 lashes. He also informed me that when any one on board 
 was to be whipped, the sailors supplied him with brandy 
 in abundance, with which gunpowder was mixed, so that 
 when the time arrived for the punishment, he was so far 
 intoxicated as to be hardly able to stand, and the opera- 
 tion of what was administered to him enabled him to go 
 through with it with comparatively little pain to what it 
 would have been had he been sober. What has been 
 written above may be deemed a digression, but may well 
 be worth remembering, and it shows us what those who 
 were here had to fear if they were subjects of arrest. 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIAE. 31 
 
 In 1 78 1 CornwalHs surrendered, which virtually ended 
 the war, and the news of his surrender was carried to 
 Castine by a lady of this place, the wife of Mr. Joseph 
 Colby, to whom allusion has been made. A neighbor of 
 hers, Mr. Seth Webb, who had settled on Kimball's Island 
 in the present town of Isle au Haut, and who also had 
 a residence here a part of the time, sometimes his 
 family being at one and sometimes at the other place, 
 happened to be at Isle au Haut when an American vessel 
 anchored in the harbor, the captain of which had a number 
 of handbills which were printed for distribution, which 
 announced the event in its details, one of which he gave 
 him and he gave it to Mrs. Colby. The inhabitants here 
 then were in the practice of going to Castine to trade, as 
 while the British were there it became a place of consider- 
 able importance, and the merchants there had, for those 
 times, trade to a considerable amount. Happening to go 
 the ne.xt day, she carried the handbill with her, starting 
 in the night, as the weather was favorable, with her two 
 sons to row her up in a boat so as to enable her to reach 
 that place early in the day, the distance from her residence 
 by water being about twenty-five miles. Upon her land- 
 ing, she was very politely accosted by an officer with : 
 " Well, madam, what news this morning ^ " Her reply was : 
 " Not much, only there is a rumor that my Lord Cornwal- 
 Hs has surrendered." He instantly checked her, saying, 
 " It will not do to bring such news here." Asking her 
 for her authority, she instantly drew out her paper, handed 
 it to him ; after reading it, he requested her to loan it 
 to him for an hour, promising to return it ; and soon a 
 messenger was sent to request the lady who brought it to 
 go with him before the officers who, after they had read, 
 said : " We fear the news is too true." 
 
32 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 One great cause of annoyance was the practice that 
 there was of plundering the inhabitants on the seacoast in 
 this vicinity, by persons who went about for that purpose 
 in boats which were then styled "shaving-mills." They 
 committed their depredations in places where they were 
 not known. They would land upon the shore, visit the 
 houses of the inhabitants, and steal whatever they could 
 lay their hands on, which was a cause of distress to the 
 persons plundered, as they had but little and that little 
 they wanted themselves. It was useless to make any 
 complaint, as there was then no redress to be had. The 
 British, it is true, held possession here, but it was military 
 possession. If any one in their service committed such 
 acts, he was severely punished by whipping, upon proof 
 sufficient to procure conviction, for to their honor it must 
 be said that their officers strictly prohibited plunder of the 
 inhabitants, and any one who was detected well knew 
 what were the consequences. It was done by lawless 
 persons from other places. I recollect hearing an old 
 gentleman, who, during that period, was a child, say that 
 upon one time such a boat landed near the house of 
 his father, and upon the entering of the house by the 
 persons who came in it, they saw his father's gun standing 
 near the fireplace, which they took and carried away. His 
 mother was alone in the house, with the exception of her 
 little children. Upon his father's return, when he found 
 his gun was gone, he was enraged, saying that he had 
 rather parted with a cow, as a gun was necessary for the 
 procuring a living by shooting fowl and game. The prac- 
 tice was not confined to the seacoast, for I heard another 
 old gentleman say that during the war his father was 
 visited by such people led by a Tory in the vicinity, who 
 took his oxen from him and drove them away, and the next 
 
TOirX OF DEER fS/.E, M.i/A'E. -> -> 
 
 spring he had to dig up his ground with his hoe to put in 
 the seed. This took place in what is now Brooksville, near 
 Walker's Pond. 
 
 In 1783 peace was proclaimed, and the l^ritish troops 
 abandoned Castine, and those who were loyalists here went 
 with them. They left behind the fruits of twenty years' 
 toil, which to them was labor lost. Only two, the sons of 
 one of them, returned, who remained here till death. 
 They doubtless feared that the results of the prejudice 
 existing against them here might be to their annoyance if 
 not to their injury ; but perhaps had they remained and 
 accepted the situation under the new order of things, it 
 would have gradually worn away. In a few years they 
 would have acquired a title to their lands, which were as 
 valuable for farming purposes as any in the town. Many 
 other Tories from other parts of the country abandoned 
 their estates and went into the Provinces. Their posses- 
 sions, in some cases large, were confiscated, and they lost 
 all. They were then styled refugees, and many of the 
 present inhabitants of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia 
 are their descendants. They were rewarded for their loy- 
 alty by grants of land, but it was in the wilderness of New 
 Brunswick and among the rocks of Nova Scotia. They 
 carried with them an intense hatred of the government 
 here, which has in some degree been transmitted to their 
 posterity. During the war for the suppression of the great 
 rebellion there was no place where more sympathy for the 
 South was manifested, and in some places and at sonie 
 times it was not safe for any one to avow Union senti- 
 ments. 
 
 I have sometimes thought that sufficient charity was not 
 exercised toward the Tories, for there can be no doubt as to 
 their sincerity, and we must consiiler that there are always 
 
34 ^'^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 two sides to a question. Loyalty was to them a sacred 
 principle — one in which they had been early educated, and 
 it grew up with them. The injunction of St. Peter, to 
 " honor the king," coupled as it is with that to "fear God," 
 had to them great significance, for if the one was binding, 
 as we must all admit, why was not the other .'* We can afford 
 to be charitable and just in the matter, even if we do not 
 indorse their principles, for there was another light in 
 which it might have been viewed, and it is entitled to con- 
 sideration. The British government had, within the mem- 
 ory of the oldest among them, crushed out two rebellions 
 with great severity, and when the Revolution commenced 
 they might well consider that there was no reasonable 
 prospect of its success. In their opinion it was a contest 
 between weakness and power, and in the event of its failure 
 they would have been on the safe side, and what could 
 those on the other hope for .-* Had it failed, could we have 
 reasonably expected that such men as John Hancock and 
 Samuel Adams would have been permitted to die in their 
 beds, should the British government have obtained pos- 
 session of them .'' Although there were acts of violence 
 between the Whigs and Tories in other places, I never 
 learned of any here, for there was too great a dispropor- 
 tion between them ; for the Tories were but few in com- 
 parison to their opponents, and all they could do w^as to 
 carry information to the ofificers at Castine ; and the 
 others were kept in awe in consequence of the fears enter- 
 tained of the troops there, who would speedily retaliate, if 
 any injury were inflicted upon their loyal friends. Only 
 one act of injury ever came to my knowledge, which was 
 that of the crew of an American privateer upon one of the 
 Tories here, a member of that family which moved away 
 at the close of the war, who was either carried or enticed 
 
TOW?/ OF DEER /S/.E, MAIXE. 35 
 
 on board of the vessel, while she la}- at anchor not far 
 from his place of residence. He was forced to go into the 
 main-top, where he was fired at with the intention not to 
 kill, but to see how near the bullets could go and not hit 
 him. His terror while it was being- done was so great as 
 to cause insanity. It was an act of cruelty and cowardice. 
 
 LAND-TITLES. 
 
 When the settlers first came here it was not altogether 
 certain to whom the territory belonged. The first grant 
 made of it was by James I, as it was included within 
 its description. It was in 1620, to the Plymouth Com- 
 pany in England, and that embraced all between the 
 40th and 48th parallels of latitude. Afterward the Earl 
 of Sterling had a grant of all the State as far west as Pem- 
 aquid, now in the town of Bristol. It was surrendered in 
 1686 to the Province of Massachusetts, and in a few years 
 after conferred to her. In 1783, some twenty years after 
 settlements were begun here, it was secured to her by the 
 treaty of that year, and that fully established the owner- 
 ship. Not far from the year 1788 the General Court of 
 Massachusetts passed a resolve granting one hundred 
 acres of land to each of the persons who had settled on 
 Deer Island and Sheep, now Jordan's, Island, previous to 
 the first day of January, 1784; and Messrs. Joseph Tyler 
 and George Tyler, Esquires, were appointed a committee to 
 cause said lots of land to be surveyed and allotted to the 
 several persons entitled to receive them, and were em- 
 powered to give deeds of the same, which lots were to 
 include the improvements made by each settler, and the 
 sum of thirty shillings was required to be paid by each to 
 defray the e.xpense of the survey ; and those persons who 
 had purchased the right of such as would have been 
 
36 ^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 entitled to said lots were included in the allotments. The 
 deeds of the Messrs. Tyler that I have seen bear date 
 January i, 1789. The survey was made by William 
 Tupper, and the lots were laid out large, actually contain- 
 ing more than one hundred acres each. Most of the 
 persons named in the list before made received their 
 allotments, excepting some who had sold their rights, and 
 their assigns received them, and some others who had 
 moved in since 1775, and others who had become of age 
 and taken up lots. Those persons who were above 
 described were styled "proprietors," and in speaking of 
 them it will be meant them and their assigns. Another 
 class who had lands allotted to them, who had settled after 
 the first day of January, 1784, and before a certain date, 
 were called "young settlers," and had one hundred acres 
 each upon the payment of one dollar per acre. The 
 Messrs. Tyler obtained a grant of the remainder of the 
 island, which gave great dissatisfaction, as the settlers had 
 had a meeting and chose a committee to go to the General 
 Court at Boston for the purpose of purchasing the land 
 remaining, after the settlers' lots had been set off ; the 
 committee appointed were Messrs. Joseph Tyler and 
 Thomas Thompson. They being unable to attend, Messrs. 
 George Tyler and Levi Carman were appointed in their 
 stead, but the latter, being at the time master of a vessel, 
 was also unable to attend, and he committed the business 
 to George Tyler, Esq., who, instead of acting for the set- 
 tlers, obtained a grant in the name of himself and his 
 brother, as above stated. The price was small for the 
 quantity of land, which price I am unable now to ascertain 
 without some trouble ; but they failed to pay according to 
 the contract in the grant, and the proprietors afterward 
 purchased it. They caused a survey of the most valuable 
 
TOW A' OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 37 
 
 lots and sold them ; the balance, amounting to thirty-four 
 acres for each proprietor, was afterward surveyed in lots of 
 nineteen and fifteen acres, and each one drew one of each 
 quantity. The first survey of proprietors' lands was made 
 by Mr. William Young, not long after the year 1800, and 
 the second by a surveyor named Flye in about 181 5 ; but 
 previous to this, in 1798, a survey of the settlers' lots was 
 made the second time by Mr. John Peters, Jr., of Bluehill, 
 who cut down each settler's lot to one hundred acres 
 exactly, which was a deduction from the amount allotted 
 in the survey made by Tupper, by order of the Messrs. 
 Tyler, as a committee, as named before. In the grant to 
 the Tylers the " Kent Claim "was made valid, but before 
 the proprietors obtained theirs, the case of Kent vs. Colby 
 had been decided in favor of Mr. Colby, the defendant. 
 
 INCORPORATION. 
 
 In January, 1789, the town was incorporated, and the 
 act of incorporation included " Great Deer Island, Little 
 Deer Island, Isle au Haut, and Sheep Island," but between 
 Great Deer Island and Isle au Haut were several islands, 
 some of which had been settled prior to that time. Mer- 
 chant's Island had been settled in 1772 by Mr. Anthony 
 Merchant, who came from York in the State of Maine, 
 then Massachusetts ; Kimball's Island was settled as early 
 as the Revolutionary War by Mr. Seth Webb, whom we 
 shall notice ; but Isle au Haut was not settled till 1792 by 
 Mr. Peletiah Barter, who came from Ba.xter's Island in the 
 present town of Boothlxiy ; Wreck Island was occupied i)y 
 Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr., and Thurlow's Island by Mr. David 
 Thurlow prior to 1800. The inhabitants of all lying 
 between Deer Island and Isle au Haut had all the privi- 
 leges of citizens liere : their schools were maintained by 
 
38 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the town and were considered as gaining a legal settle- 
 ment in the town after five years' residence, and such 
 persons as fell into distress in other towns, by residence 
 upon those islands were considered as chargeable to this 
 town, and no question was ever raised, notwithstanding 
 they were not included in the act of incorporation, until 
 after the late war, when the burdens of taxation were 
 heavy, in consequence of the large expense incurred. 
 They then, after substitutes had been put into the army 
 and the quota of men furnished by the town for their 
 benefit as well as that of others, attempted to resist the 
 payment of their share of taxes on the ground of not 
 being included in the act of incorporation, when the 
 amount paid by them for war purposes was small in pro- 
 portion to their numbers in comparison with that paid by 
 the town at large ; and none of them ever entered into 
 the service of the United States, which they would have 
 been obliged to do, if drafted, as they would have received 
 no town bounty, which was not less than one hundred 
 dollars, — and at the last call for troops in 1864, it was 
 three hundred, — had they not been considered as belong- 
 ing in the town. 
 
 In order to prevent any litigation, the selectmen drew 
 up a petition to the Legislature, and it was acted upon in 
 1868, and the territorial limits of the town were estab- 
 lished, embracing those islands and legalizing the assess- 
 ment and collection of all taxes otherwise legally assessed 
 upon their inhabitants. The limits of the town as then 
 established were as follows : " Beginning at the middle of 
 the Reach opposite the northwestern end of Little Deer 
 Island ; thence southeasterly by the middle of said passage 
 to the southeastern end of same, including Conary's, 
 York's, or White, Islands, and Gibson's Island ; thence 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, M.l/.VE. 39 
 
 southwesterly SO as to include Great Spoon Island ; thence 
 to the southwestern extremity of Isle au Haut ; thence up 
 the Ship Channel northerly to the western end of Great 
 Deer Island, and thence northerly to the place begun at, 
 excluding Pickering's, Eaton's, and Pumpkin Islands." 
 In 1874 the town of Isle au Haut was incorporated, 
 which included all islands within the above limits with 
 Merchant's and all islands lying southerly of it. 
 
 The grant to the settlers provided that four hundred 
 acres of land should be reserved for ministerial, and the 
 same quantity for school, purposes ; and when the proprie- 
 tors had their survey made by John Peters, Jr., the "par- 
 sonage lot," so called, was set off in one body near the 
 Northwest Harbor, of which the first settled minister was 
 to have one hundred ; and the lands allotted for the use of 
 schools were in separate lots in different places. The first 
 census taken after incorporation in 1790 found the town 
 containing 682 inhabitants ; the numbers for 1800, 1810, 
 and 1820, I have never seen ; in 1830 there were 2,217 '■> •" 
 1840, 2,841; in 1850, 3,037; in i860, 3,592; in 1870, 
 3,414; and the number for 1880, 3,268, besides Isle au 
 Haut, 270. I have, in what has been written, given some 
 idea of what was the condition of the settlers here up to 
 1789. With them things had improved from 1762 till that 
 time, and they have been going on in that direction since, 
 and in no other jjarticular so great as in the means of 
 transportation and communication ; for, instead of the slow 
 sailing-vessels of those times, which sailed occasionally 
 from here, we now have some five or si.\ steamers touch- 
 ing here at least twice each week on their passages each 
 way. One can start at noon on one day and be in Boston 
 the next morning, while under the state of things since 
 my remembrance, it was sometimes a passage of ten days 
 
40 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 in a "wood coaster." We can now send by mail for two 
 cents what in former days cost twenty-five, and in ten 
 days, or less, it can be carried from Maine to California ; 
 and we now have the telegraph here. Although the 
 improvement has been so great in almost ever}'thing, still 
 we perhaps do not enjoy life better than they did. An 
 increase of means brings with it one of wants, and as our 
 incomes increase so do our expenses. 
 
TOIV.V OF DEEK ISLE, M.ILVE. 41 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Notices ok Skttlf.rs and Early Inhahitants. 
 
 MICHAEL CARNEY. He was said to have been 
 the first white man who attempted a settlement in 
 the town. He was a native of Ireland, and was here as 
 early as 1762 at least. He made his settlement on what is 
 now the farm of George C. Hardy, on the northern shore 
 of the island ; the place where his habitation stood is 
 still known, and it was shown me by Mr. Hardy a few 
 years ago. How long he remained here is not known, as 
 very few seem to have heard anything about him, and 
 what little is known is through tradition. How long he 
 came before Mr. William Eaton is not known, but in all 
 probability it was not long, perhaps the same year. He 
 moved from the place of his settlement to an island lying 
 between Great and Little Deer Islands, which to this day 
 bears his name ; and from that place he removed, and all 
 traces of him have been lost. Whether he had a family 
 or not is not known. 
 
 William Eaton was the first man who made a perma- 
 nent settlement here, and it was said to be in 1762. I 
 have judged that his native place might have been Haver- 
 hill, Massachusetts, or that vicinity, as he was a cousin 
 to Theophilus and Jonathan Eaton, who were born there, 
 and he was about the age of the first named. He was 
 married in York, Maine, to a member of the family of Mr. 
 Eliakim Wardwcll, of that place, in 1742. I have been 
 
42 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 told that her maiden name was Ruth, but the records 
 of that town show that the marriage was between Mr. 
 William Eaton and Miss Meribah Wardwell. There is a 
 tradition that before her birth her mother was taken cap- 
 tive by the Indians, and while in captivity she was com- 
 pelled to become the wife of one of the chiefs, and that 
 Mrs. Eaton was the fruit of their union. Some of her 
 descendants seem to show the probability of such an 
 origin. Her. husband was described to me by one of his 
 granddaughters as a man of a light complexion. My 
 informant was born in 1776, and well remembered him. 
 On the return of peace between the tribe by which she 
 was held in captivity and the white people, Mrs. Wardwell 
 was delivered up to her husband with her child. She 
 afterward had children, the youngest of whom, Mr. Daniel 
 Wardwell, settled in the town of Penobscot, where he died 
 in 1803. He was the father of Colonel Jeremiah Ward- 
 well, a man of note there, who died in 1825. A sister of 
 Mrs. Eaton was the mother of Captain Joseph Perkins, 
 one of the settlers in Castine, and he was there in 1779, 
 when the British took possession of the place. He was 
 one of the most prominent men of that town till his death 
 in 18 1 8, and was, with Colonel Wardwell, one of the first 
 board of selectmen in the town of Penobscot, in 1787. 
 The father of Eliakim Wardwell was Mr. Samuel Ward- 
 well, who suffered death during the delusion of witchcraft, 
 and was a resident of Andover, Massachusetts. His 
 father was the first of the family who came from England, 
 and his name was Thomas Wardwell. Mr. Eaton, or, 
 as he was called, Major Eaton, settled on what is now the 
 Scott farm, near the steamboat landing. He resided 
 there several years, when he sold out his possession to Mr. 
 Nathaniel Scott, of what was then the town of Ward, 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 43 
 
 now Auburn, in the county of Worcester, Massachusetts. 
 He was the ancestor of all of that name here. His son, 
 Mr. John Scott, occupied the farm after him. A daughter, 
 Martha Scott, was the wife of Mr. Asa Green, who came 
 here from Worcester County, who will be noticed here- 
 after. 
 
 After the sale of his right to Mr. Scott, Major Eaton 
 moved to Little Deer Island, where he occupied the farm 
 that was owned by Mr. Peter Hardy, Jr., at the time of his 
 death in 1859. What time he moved there, I never knew, 
 nor do I know the time of his death. His farm there, 
 after his death, passed into the possession of Mr. Benja- 
 min Weed, his son-in-law. Major Eaton left four sons and 
 two daughters : one, Eliakim, settled on Little Deer Island 
 and died there ; Jeremiah, who settled on the farm since 
 owned and occupied by the late Captain Amos Howard 
 and now by his widow ; William, who settled on the lot 
 now owned and occupied by Mr. William E. Powers and 
 Mr. Erancis M. Holden : he died not far from the year 
 1841 ; and Samuel, whose descendants live in the town of 
 Brooklin. His daughters were the wives of Mr. Jonathan 
 Torrey and 'Mr. Benjamin Weed. 
 
 Greenlaw. — The next persons who came were five by 
 the name of Greenlaw. They settled on Campbell's Neck, 
 and the farm of Mr. Samuel W. Campbell, and that of Mr. 
 William Foster's heirs — in all about five hundred acres. 
 Their names were Jonathan, Charles, Alexander, Ebenezer, 
 and William, and whether they were all brothers or not I 
 do not know. They were natives of Scotland, and had 
 emigrated from that country not long before, and were 
 endeavoring to find a place to settle upon with which they 
 might be suited. The places they took up did so, and 
 they commenced settlements. After the occupation of 
 
44 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Bagaduce by the British in 1779, they made frequent visits 
 there, as they were zealous loyalists, and were suspected 
 of carrying information — a cause of displeasure to their 
 neighbors, who almost all were friendly to the American 
 cause. They were the persons before spoken of as going 
 with the British in 1783 to the Provinces, where they set- 
 tled, and their descendants still reside there. Some time 
 after, two of the sons of Mr. Jonathan Greenlaw, Messrs. 
 William and Richard Greenlaw, came back and remained 
 till their deaths. They were brought back by the 
 brothers-in-law of Mr. William Greenlaw, — Messrs. Joseph 
 Whitmore and Captain Seth Hatch, — who went after them 
 in a vessel. 
 
 John Billings. — He was the person who settled the 
 lot lying southeasterly of, and adjoining, that of Mr. Eaton, 
 on the shore of the Reach. He came here from Boston in 
 1763, and was the father of Mr. Timothy Billings, noticed 
 as the first child born of white parentage in the town. 
 How many years he resided here is not known, but it 
 could not have been many, as his name does not appear 
 among those who were styled proprietors. Whom he sold 
 his right to we do not know, but at the time of Peters's 
 survey, in 1798, Mr. Josiah Closson held it. Whether the 
 precise spot occupied by him can be now pointed out is to 
 us unknown. From what information we have we should 
 judge that he removed to Sedgwick. His sons were: 
 Benjamin, who lived in that town, at what is called Sar- 
 gentville, on the farm since occupied by his son, Mr. 
 Nathan Billings ; Abel, who lived and died in Sedgwick ; 
 Isaac and Solomon, both deacons of the Baptist Church, 
 who lived and died in Brooksville : the former on the place 
 now occupied by Frederick Billings, Esq., his son, the 
 latter on the northwest side of Walker's Pond ; Timothy, 
 
rOir.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 45 
 
 who occupied the northwestern lot on Little Deer Island, 
 now owned by Mr. Michael D. Snowman ; and Daniel, his 
 youngest son, lived on the land now occupied by his son, 
 Mr. -Edward C. Billings. There was another son, John 
 Billings, who died a young man, and a daughter was the 
 wife of Mr. Samuel Howard, who took up the farm lying 
 between those of Messrs. Timothy and Daniel Billings, 
 afterward owned by Captain John Gray. 
 
 Nathan Clossox. — He settled upon the lot of land 
 adjoining that of Mr. Billings, on the southeast. He 
 came, as has been understood, from Connecticut in 1763. 
 He died not many years after that, but the date is to us 
 unknown. His widow was entitled to a settler's right, 
 which was occupied by her son, Mr. John Closson. Their 
 children were : John, Josiah, and Nehemiah, who will be no- 
 ticed. One of the daughters was the wife of Mr. Benjamin 
 Billings, of Sedgwick, and another was the mother of the 
 late Mr. Joel Long, who lived in East Bluehill, and 
 owned a sawmill there, and another was the wife of Mr. 
 John Carter, of Sedgwick. 
 
 It was the family of Mr. Closson who captured the deer 
 which was seen swimming across the Reach, of which an 
 account has been before given. His son, Mr. John Closson, 
 whose first wife was a Miss Tobin, and his second a Miss 
 Snow, remained upon the place until his death in March, 
 1854, aged ninety years. His sons by the former were : 
 Captain John Closson, who lived in Bluehill and died there, 
 and Mr. Isaac Closson, who resided in Searsport ; and by 
 his last wife the present Franklin Closson, Esq. His daugh- 
 ters were the wives of Mr. Ephraim Crockett, Captain 
 Jonathan Bray, Mr. John Saunders, and Mr. Isaac Bray, 
 and another married in Boston. They are all now dead, 
 with the exception of the last, who was living a few years 
 
46 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ago. Mr. Josiah Closson remained here some years, and 
 his wife was a sister of the first wife of Mr. John Closson. 
 He sold his farm to Captain Jonathan Torrey and removed 
 to Sedgwick, where he died. One of his sons was Mr. 
 Ephraim Closson, who traded near the meeting-house in 
 North Sedgwick, where he died several years ago. The 
 youngest son of Mr. Nathan Closson was Deacon Nehemiah 
 Closson, who filled that office for many years in the First 
 Congregational Church here. He was a man much re- 
 spected, and was considered a true Christian. By trade he 
 was a blacksmith, and many years ago had a shop situated 
 between the place now occupied by the house of Mr. William 
 H. H. Spofford and the Masonic Building, which was after- 
 ward removed and placed near his house, which is now 
 standing near that of Dr. F. B. Ferguson, where he died, 
 not far from thirty years ago. His wife was Miss Sophia 
 Johnson, who survived him several years, dying at the age 
 of ninety-one years, as did the wife of Mr. John Closson, 
 who died in 1862 at the same age. The son of Deacon 
 Closson was Mr. George C. Closson, who removed from 
 this town to the town of Fairfield, Somerset County, in 
 this State, nearly forty years ago. His daughters were 
 the wives of Mr. Joshua Chatto ; of a Mr. Carter, in Blue- 
 hill or Brooklin ; of Captain John C. Bray, and afterward 
 of Mr. Samuel Candage, of Bluehill ; and the youngest, of 
 Mr. Carruth, of Boston. 
 
 Thomas Thompson. — He settled upon the land adjoin- 
 ing that of Mr. Closson on the southeast. He removed 
 here from Massachusetts not far from the year 1765- He 
 was a man of a great deal of energy and in his time was 
 one of the most prominent and enterprising citizens of 
 the town and was one of its selectmen. He was of small 
 stature, but he possessed a great share of courage, being 
 
7^0 WA' OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 47 
 
 perfectly fearless, was very active in what he undertook, 
 and what he lacked in size he made up in what is gen- 
 erally termed "pluck." He was the owner of a consider- 
 able amount of land — about three hundred acres, as 
 appears by the plan of Peters's survey, and his death took 
 place not far from the year 1824, aged upward of eighty 
 years. His wife, a very worthy woman, was the sister of 
 Mr. William Foster, who, it will be noticed, died in the year 
 1836 at the age of ninety-one years. Their sons were: 
 Adam, the father of the late Messrs. John, Solomon, and 
 Edward B. Thompson, and the late Adam, Jr., Captain 
 Dudley, and Hiram Thompson, and others deceased. His 
 family consisted of nine sons and five daughters, who all 
 lived to grow up. Another son of Mr. Thomas Thomp- 
 son was Captain John Thompson, who was in his day an 
 enterprising master-mariner, who died in Philadelphia ; 
 and another named Thomas, who died when a young man. 
 The daughters were the wives of Major Nathan Low ; 
 Mr. Joseph Sellers ; a Mr. Hazen, who lived in Bridgton, 
 Cumberland County ; Nathaniel Kennison, of Sedgwick ; 
 Colonel Edward Barnes, of Boston ; and Mr. John How- 
 ard, Jr. 
 
 Staples. — The occupant of the land adjoining that of 
 Mr. Thompson on the southeast was a man named Sta- 
 ples. His widow, Mrs. Mercy Staples, with Joshua and 
 Moses Staples, seems to have been here very early, not far 
 from 1764. In all probability the sons above named were 
 then quite young. There was another brother, who must 
 at that time have arrived at manhood, who was the father 
 of Mr. Samuel Staples, who died at Green's Landing, in 
 1 84 1, aged seventy-three years. Samuel had one brother 
 younger, named William, and two sisters, one, the wife of 
 Mr. Stephen Babbidge, the other, that of Mr. Timothy 
 
48 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Saunders. Their father was impressed on board of an 
 English ship-of-war during the Revokition, when that 
 iniquity was practised. He was never heard of after that, 
 and probably died while in the service. Afterward Mrs. 
 Staples married a Mr. Hutchinson, of Sedgwick, by whom 
 she had two sons and one daughter. The sons were Rev. 
 David Hutchinson, a presiding elder in the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, in the western part of the State, and 
 Mr. Timothy Hutchinson, who lived here many years and 
 died on Little Deer Island ; and the daughter was Susan, 
 the wife of Captain Benjamin Gray, of Penobscot. Mr. 
 Staples moved to Swan's Island, where he died in 1845, 
 aged over ninety years. The other son, Joshua, in whose 
 name the lot appears on the plan, married the daughter 
 of Mr. John Raynes, Sr., who had one daughter, Jane 
 Staples, who married Mr. Elias Morey, Jr., who lived and 
 died on Swan's Island. 
 
 The mother, Mercy Staples, also had a settler's right, 
 and it was known as the " Granny Lot," as she was known 
 as "Granny Staples." She had a deed from the Tylers, 
 and it passed from her to her son-in-law, Mr. Thomas 
 Conary, by whom it was conveyed to the late Pearl Spof- 
 ford, Esq., and is now held by his heirs. The lot set off 
 to Joshua Staples afterward became the property of Major 
 Nathan Low, and is now held by his heirs. 
 
 Robert Linn was the occupant of the lot adjoining the 
 Staples lot on the south. Of him we know comparatively 
 little, for he left no descendants here. He came in 1765 
 and probably lived a number of years on his lot, and he 
 conveyed his property to Joseph Tyler, Esq., for his sup- 
 port. Mr. Tyler lived many years upon it and died there ; 
 and it will be stated more particularly, when we notice 
 him among the inhabitants of that part of the town where 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISf.E, MAfXE. 49 
 
 he first had his residence. The farm is now occupied bv 
 Mr. James Tyler, and upon it are large quantities of mar- 
 ble. The Marble Company some years ago purchased the 
 right on the property of Mr. Tyler and erected a large 
 building upon the premises and put in machinery, but it 
 proved a failure and was abandoned after some two or 
 three years' operations. Whether it is of value or not we 
 can not say, but there arc large quantities of it in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 Jonathan Torrev. — He was the settler nearest to Mr. 
 Linn on the southeast, but not on the adjoining lot, for 
 that was afterward the property of Mr. Thompson. Mr. 
 Torrey lived about three fourths of a mile from Mr. Linn. 
 He came from Falmouth, Maine, which then embraced 
 the city of Portland and the present towns of Deering, 
 Westbrook, and Falmouth, and in the town of Deering 
 there are persons of that name now. He came in about 
 the year 1763, and in 1767 married a daughter of Mr. 
 William Eaton, and after her death he married a Mrs. 
 Robinson, a daughter of the Mrs. Mercy Staples before 
 spoken of. Another person, named David Torrey, was here, 
 who had a settler's right, but did not stop many years, as 
 no separate lot was assigned him ; and he was perhaps a 
 brother of the subject of this sketch. In all probability 
 he assigned his right to Jonathan Torrey, as he had a two- 
 hundred-acre lot. Mr. Jonathan Torrey lost his life by the 
 capsizing of a boat near Cape Rozier, when returning 
 home from Castine. His oldest son, David Torrey, was in 
 the boat, and, being more vigorous, was able to keep upon 
 its bottom, and for a while kept his father upon it with 
 him ; but as the water was cold he soon became chilled 
 and fell off and was drowned, but David was soon after 
 rescued. It has been stated that a certain man belontrins: 
 
50 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 to the town, who is now dead, passed them when they 
 were both upon the bottom of the boat and made no effort 
 to save them and afterward admitted that he saw them. 
 By his first wife Mr. Torrey had five sons : David, born in 
 1768 ; William, who was the first husband of her who 
 afterward married Mr. Amos Gordon, and the father of 
 Mr. Hezekiah Torrey, who was the representative from 
 the town in 1822, and of Mr. William Torrey, formerly 
 well known here, who died on his passage to California 
 around Cape Horn, and of the first wife of John P. John- 
 son, Esq. Another son was the late Captain Jonathan 
 Torrey, born in 1774, who died of smallpox in 1847, and 
 the father of the present Mr. David, Captains William 
 and Belcher T. Torrey. Another son was Mr. David 
 Torrey, who was the father of the late Captains Samuel, 
 Daniel S., George W., and Davis H. Torrey, and the 
 present Captain Francis H. Torrey and Mr. John Torrey, 
 who lived and died on Newbury Neck in Surry. One of 
 his daughters is the widow of the late Captain Jeremiah 
 Hatch and formerly the wife of Mr. Johnson. The fifth 
 brother was the late Captain John Torrey, who left no 
 children ; nor did Mr. David Torrey, whose widow died in 
 1879, aged ninety-seven years. By his second marriage 
 Mr. Torrey had four sons : James, the father of Messrs. 
 Amos and James, and the late Charles S. and Henry 
 Torrey ; and his only daughter was the former wife of Mr. 
 George C. Hardy. Another son was Mr. Levi Torrey, 
 who lived and died on Swan's Island; Deacon Asa Torrey, 
 who died in Ellsworth, and the late Captain Ebenezer 
 Torrey, the father of Mr. Nelson Torrey, and the wife of 
 Franklin Closson, Esq. By the first marriage there were 
 three daughters, who were the wives of Nathan Haskell, 
 Esq., Mr. Jonathan Eaton, and Mr. Nathaniel Webster, 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, M.ILVE. 5 I 
 
 who removed to Cape Elizabeth. Two of the daughters 
 were afflicted with insanity — Mrs. Haskell and Mrs. Web- 
 ster ; and what was very singular, the one was rational 
 while the other was insane, and a part of the time one 
 would be afflicted ; and, when she recovered, the other 
 would be taken insane. The real estate of Mr. Torrey is 
 still owned and occupied by his descendants ; the larger 
 part was owned by the late Captain Daniel S. Torrey and 
 is now owned by his widow. 
 
 William Foster was the nearest settler to Mr. 
 Torrey on the southeast. He came, as we have under- 
 stood, from Dedham, Masschusetts, and was by trade a 
 blacksmith. In those days that trade was employed in the 
 manufacture of many articles that arc now by machinery 
 made a specialty. Axes, both broad and narrow, and other 
 edge-tools, hoes, pitchforks, o.\-chains, and plow-irons, for 
 those were the days of the clumsy wooden plows, which 
 have long since gone out of use, and other articles which 
 were rudely manufactured in comparison with those of our 
 day. Of him Deacon Nehemiah Closson learned his trade, 
 which he wrought at almost all his days. Mr. Foster set- 
 tled upon a part of the land formerly occupied by the 
 Greenlaw family, but whether he came here before they 
 left or not is not known to us, but as he had a two-hundred- 
 acre lot it is probable that he purchased the rights of one 
 of them at least, which with his own would entitle him to 
 that quantity. Both he and his wife died here many years 
 ago, leaving a large family, for they were the parents of 
 thirteen children, as I have understood. Only two of his 
 sons remained, who both died here, Messrs. William and 
 Samuel H. Foster, the former the father of Mr. George 
 Foster, and the latter that of Mr. William H. and Charles 
 H. S. F"oster ; and two daughters : one the present wife of 
 
52 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Mr. Admiral G. Sawyer, and the other a Mrs. Smith, now 
 residing in Boston. Mr. Foster, Sr., had one daughter, 
 who was the wife of Captain John Howard, Jr., who died 
 about fifty years ago of a cancer. Another was the wife 
 of Mr. David J. Waters, who published a newspaper in Cas- 
 tine about the year 1800, and after his death married a 
 Mr. Stephen Kidder, not a resident here, and after his death 
 she became the wife of Mr. Samuel Obear, of Sedgwick. 
 After the death of Mr. Kidder she removed to this town, 
 and for many years kept a boarding-house in the house near 
 that formerly occupied by the late Mr. William S. Green, 
 known as the " Aaron Haskell " house. After her marriage 
 with Mr. Obear she went to Lowell, Massachusetts, to reside, 
 where she had a daughter, Mrs. Mclntire, and there she 
 died. The real estate of Mr. Foster is now only in part 
 occupied by his descendants. 
 
 John Campbell. — He was the occupant of the lot 
 adjoining that of Mr. Foster on the south. He was a 
 large landed proprietor, owning one lot of two hundred 
 acres, another known as the Campbell's Neck lot of seven- 
 ty-seven, and the island near known as Campbell's Island, 
 of eighty-eight acres, and it is probable that he purchased 
 the rights of some of the Greenlaw family, as he would of 
 his own right be entitled to but one hundred acres. He 
 was a native of Argyleshire in Scotland, and born, accord- 
 ing to the inscription on his gravestone, about the year 
 1730, as he died in 1820 aged ninety years, as is there 
 stated. He served for several years on board an English 
 ship-of-war, but before his coming here resided in Ports- 
 mouth, New Hampshire. The name of his wife was 
 Mary Blunt. After the commencement of the Revolu- 
 tionary War he wished to remain neutral, alleging that the 
 struggle with such a power as Great Britain would be vain. 
 
TOlViV OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 53 
 
 as the Americans were too weak to be successful in the 
 contest with her : but those were times when neutrality 
 was not tolerated, and as he became an object of suspicion 
 from such a desire he prudently removed from that place, 
 but whether he came here directly after leaving there is to 
 us unknown — nor is the time of his coming, but it was prob- 
 ably during the latter part of the war, for the Greenlaws 
 left in 1783, and it must have been prior to their leaving 
 if he purchased the rights of any of them, and he remained 
 till his death. There has been some doubt as to his age, 
 some considering that he was over one hundred years of 
 age from his stating that he had known of two rebellions 
 in his time, one of which was in 1745 ; but if he meant 
 the other, which was in 171 5, he must have been much 
 older than ninety years, but it is probable that one 
 that he styled a rebellion was the Revolution. It is 
 to be presumed that his family knew more than others 
 about the matter, and that the date of his birth was what 
 is above stated. He left three sons, Messrs. Robert^ 
 George, and James Campbell, and two daughters ; one was 
 the wife of Captain Peter Hardy, Jr., and the other was 
 finst the wife of Mr. Dudley Carlton, of Sedgwick, and 
 afterward that of Mr. Frederick Carman. Mr. Robert 
 Campbell was the occupant of the larger part of his 
 father's estate, and he died in 1866, aged ninety-two years. 
 He was the father of the present Mr. Samuel W. Campbell 
 and a daughter, Mrs. Mary Foss, vvho died in Dubuque, in 
 the State of Iowa. Captain George Campbell was a resi- 
 dent of Nevvburyport, Massachusetts, at the time of his 
 death, in 1828, at the age of forty-eight years, and the time 
 of the death of Mr. James Campbell is to us unknown. 
 Mrs. Hardy died not far from 1841, and Mrs. Carman in 
 1874, aged ninety years. 
 
54 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Captain Robert Campbell was for many years a master- 
 mariner, and, we believe, sailed from Newburyport, where 
 he married his wife. He made several voyages to the 
 West Indies, and after he quit the business resided the 
 remainder of his life upon his farm. There were not many 
 years' difference in the death of himself and that of his 
 wife, and she was over eighty years of age at her death. 
 They had another son, Captain Robert Campbell, Jr., who 
 resided near New York, who died many years ago. 
 Mr. Samuel W. Campbell now owns and occupies his 
 real estate. 
 
 Thomas Stinson, Esq. was the first settler on what is 
 known as Stinson's Neck. He came from Woolwich, 
 Maine, in 1765. He used to say that he might have se- 
 lected a far more valuable place than the one he did, for 
 the most valuable part afterward of the island was not 
 then taken up ; but the place he selected was very con- 
 venient for the procuring of sea-fowl and fish, both sea 
 and shell, much more so than on some other parts. That 
 was a great object with them, for the time required to put 
 the land in order to obtain crops was too long, and in the 
 meantime a supply must be had which could be procured 
 as it was needed. In the vicinity of his residence was 
 a very convenient place to take fowl by netting, the process 
 of which has before been explained ; the method was 
 far preferable to the taking them by shooting, for when 
 shot at many times they became more shy and avoided 
 the place where it was done. He was a man of piety, and 
 was one of the deacons of the church, when first estab- 
 lished here in 1773, and it has been said of him that he 
 held the first religious meeting that was ever in the town. 
 Its occasion was the regret of his wife, expressed one Sab- 
 bath day, that they could not have the privilege of attend- 
 
TOW.Y OF DEER ISLE, M.i/XE. 55 
 
 ing them as in the place they came from, and he answered 
 that she might have it on the next Sabbath day, and ac- 
 cordingly when the day came he took his wife and family 
 with him to the place where a large tree stood near his 
 house, and under its shade he performed the services usual 
 on such occasions, reading a sermon. He was one of the 
 first persons, as before mentioned, who held the commis- 
 sion of a justice of the peace here, and in his day was 
 considered a man of integrity, and had considerable influ- 
 ence. His sons were : Thomas, Samuel, William, and 
 John. One of his daughters was the wife of Mr. Thomas 
 Robbins, Jr., and the mother of the late Mr. William 
 G, Robbins, and the wives of the late Mr. Richard Green- 
 law, 2d, and Captain Asa Richardson, who is now, in 1881, 
 living at the age of eighty-six years. Another daughter 
 was the wife of Mr. George Adams, and the mother of the 
 wife of Mr. Henry W. Hallett, who died here nearly forty 
 years ago, and also that of the present Mrs. Saunders, the 
 widow of the late Mr. Asa Saunders. The real estate of 
 Mr. Stinson passed into the hands of his son, the late Mr. 
 John Stinson, and it is now the property of Mr. Hardy 
 Lane. 
 
 His son, Mr. Tiioma.s Siixsox, we will notice in another 
 place. 
 
 Samukl Stinsox settled upon the lot adjoining that 
 of his father, and his birth took place not far from the 
 year 1758. He enlisted in the military service during 
 the war of the Revolution. It has been said of him that 
 when at one time he was placed as a sentry he was ordered, 
 if he heard or saw anything that was suspicious, to challenge 
 by saying, "Who goes there .^ " three times, and if no an- 
 swer was made to fire, and while on duty one night he had 
 occasion to challenge, and, instead of saying it three different 
 
56 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 times, he said, "Who goes there three times ?" and upon 
 receiving no answer fired. After his term of service had 
 expired he returned home, married Miss Hannah Babbidge, 
 and settled upon the lot he occupied till his death, which 
 took place not far from the year 1847. He was an upright 
 and reliable man, and for fifty years a church member. His 
 sons were : James, Thomas, Samuel, Aaron, and Simon. 
 All, with the exception of Thomas, remained here. His 
 daughters were the wives of Mr. George Freeze, of Ells- 
 worth, of Mr. Solomon Crockett, of Prospect, and Mr. 
 Josiah Barbour, of this town. 
 
 William Stinson took up a lot of land lying south 
 of that of his brother Samuel, and occupied it till his death, 
 in 1848, or about that time. His first wife was a Miss 
 York, by whom he had his family, and after her death he 
 married a Miss Polly Calef, and after her death he married 
 the widow of Mr. William Webb. He was one of the 
 deacons of the Congregational Church for many years, and 
 when I first came here he, with his colleague. Deacon 
 Closson, used to occupy the deacon's seat, as it was called, 
 in front of, and below, the high, old-fashioned pulpit in the 
 meeting-house, which was burnt down, which stood on the 
 spot now occupied by the present one. He was a man of 
 dignified appearance, and had a good share of what is called 
 "commonsense," the most valuable of all kinds of sense. 
 He represented the town in 1825 in the Legislature at 
 Portland, and through all his long life was much respected. 
 The men of those days were more rigid than men are now 
 in doctrinal matters, but as a general thing they were as 
 much so in their integrity. The sons of Mr. Stinson were 
 the late Benjamin Stinson, Esq., of Swan's Island, and the 
 present Mr. William Stinson. The daughters were the 
 former wife of Mr. Josiah Barbour ; of the late Captain 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. ^J 
 
 John Toothaker; of Mr. John Buckminster, afterward that 
 of Mr. Mo.ses S. Finney ; of Captain Jeremiah Hooper, of 
 North Haven ; of Mr. Solomon York, of Brooklin, and of 
 Mr. Seth Whitmore, of Trenton. The real estate of Mr. 
 Stinson is now owned and occupied by Mr. Johnson 
 Billings. 
 
 John Stinson was the youngest son, and his wife 
 was Miss Isabel Dyer, of Castine, now Brooksville, on Cape 
 Rozier. After her death he married the widow of Mr. 
 Thomas Trundy. He lived on his father's farm until 
 about thirty years ago, when it was sold to Mr. Lane, the 
 present occupant. Mr. Stinson died in Rockland, where 
 he removed after the sale of the place. He was a man of 
 good reputation, and was more communicative than either 
 of his brothers, who were rather taciturn, particularly Mr. 
 William Stinson. He was for many years a church mem- 
 ber and took much interest in that direction. His sons 
 were John, Thomas, David, and George W., all of whom 
 removed from this town. The daughters were the wives 
 of Messrs. James and Ebenezer Joyce and Alexander 
 Staples, all of Swan's Island. Mrs. Staples afterward 
 became the wife of Mr. Joseph Small. By his second 
 marriage he had a son, now living near Boston, and at the 
 time of his birth his father was about seventy-si.x years 
 of age. 
 
 Thomas Conarv was the first settler of what is known 
 as Black Island, lying in the Reach, or, as it is sometimes 
 called, Conary's Island, and, as before stated, was included 
 within the limits of the town by the act of the Legisla- 
 ture of 1868. As has been understood, Mr. Conary was 
 a native of Ireland. He was a very witty person, and 
 in former years I used to hear of many of his witty and 
 comical expressions. His first wife was the daughter of 
 
58 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the ancestor of the Limeburner family, now living in 
 Brooksville, by adoption. Mr. Limeburner emigrated 
 from Scotland before the Revolutionary War, and with 
 him came, besides his own family, two children, a son and 
 a daughter adopted by him. The son was Cunningham 
 Limeburner, who died at an advanced age, not far from 
 1825, in Brooksville, and the daughter, Mrs. Conary, was, 
 I believe, a sister by birth to him. After her death he 
 married a daughter of Mercy Staples, and a sister of 
 Messrs. Joshua and Moses Staples, and by both marriages 
 had ten sons, one of whom made this town his permanent 
 residence — Mr. Thomas Conary, Jr., who died at an ad- 
 vanced age. His other sons settled in towns in this 
 vicinity, and all of the name in this and other towns near 
 us are the descendants of Mr. Conary, Sr. He had three 
 daughters of whom I have had knowledge. One was the 
 wife of Mr. Robinson Crockett, Jr., who lived in this town 
 many years, afterward removing to Brooksville, where he 
 died ; another was the wife of Mr. Ebenezer Marks, of 
 Brooksville ; another of the late Mr. Amaziah Roberts, of 
 Sedgwick. 
 
 Benjamin York was the person who settled the island 
 now in the limits of the town, known as White, or York's, 
 Island, in the Reach. There is another island known as 
 York's Island lying easterly of, and near, Isle au Haut, 
 and within the limits of that town. About Captain York, 
 as he was called, but little is known by us, or whence he 
 came. A son of his was the father of the late Mr. Rufus 
 York, who was drowned in Crockett's Cove, in the spring 
 of 1844. He was on board a vessel loaded with wood to 
 be carried to Rockland, which took fire from the funnel 
 above the fireplace in the night, and when discovered the 
 deck load was on fire, and the flames swept everything on 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 59 
 
 the deck. With him were his son Samuel S. York and 
 Mr. Benjamin Cole. His son was the first who discovered 
 the fire and first on deck. He was delayed in helping his 
 father up the gangway and was badly burned, as were 
 they all. Mr. York was lame, and when they jumped 
 overboard to swim on shore, which was but a short dis- 
 tance from the vessel, Mr. York became chilled and sank, 
 and the other two gained the shore. Samuel was unable 
 to walk, but as his father's house was near, crept to it and 
 went in, but lived but a day or two. Mr. Cole was not so 
 badly injured as to be unable to walk, and helped Samuel 
 to reach his house, but his injuries were so severe as to 
 impair his health so that he lived but two or three years. 
 The body of Mr. York was found and buried a few days 
 after the occurrence. Another brother of the family was 
 Mr. Benjamin York, who left town nearly fifty years ago. 
 One of the sisters was the wife of Mr. Richard Crockett, 
 the mother of the present Captain Levi B. Crockett ; 
 another was the wife of Mr. Ephraim Crockett, a brother 
 to her sister's husband. Captain York, the subject of 
 this notice, had other sons, whose descendants reside at 
 Naskeag Point, in the town of Brooklin, and all of the 
 name in this vicinity are descendants of his. A daughter 
 of him was the wife of Deacon William Stinson, before 
 noticed, but of his family little is known. Captain York, 
 for his last wife, married the widow of a Mr. Richardson, 
 of Falmouth, Maine, who was the father of Captain Asa 
 Richardson, now living here at the age of eighty-four 
 years. She must have been much younger than her last 
 husband. 
 
 Thomas Rohiuns, 2d, was the settler upon the point 
 of Greenlaw's Neck, from which the bar runs to Stinson's 
 Neck. He was the son of another person of the same 
 
6o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 name, who will be noticed ; and in the notice of Thomas 
 Stinson, Esq., his wife and children are there named. 
 Of him but little is known, and but one of his sons 
 remained here — Mr. William G. Robbins, who sold his 
 property to the present occupant, Mr. William Smith, not 
 long after i860, and removed to the town of Addison, 
 Maine, where he died. Another brother, Mr. James 
 Robbins, removed East when a young man, and of him 
 nothing is known. 
 
 Thomas Warren settled on what is known as Warren's, 
 or Freeze's, Island, now owned and occupied by the widow 
 of Mr. Billings R Hardy. It appears, from what informa- 
 tion that we have had, that he claimed a " settler's right," 
 but that it was disputed on the ground, doubtless, that 
 he had not made a settlement in season to be entitled 
 to one. His wife was the daughter of Mr. George 
 Freeze, and by her he had three children : one was the- 
 late Hon. Richard Warren, well known to us all, who died 
 in 1865, at the age of seventy-nine. He represented the 
 town in the Legislature in 1823 and in 1835 ; he was State 
 Senator in 1844 and 1845 ; was several times one of the 
 selectmen, and was for many years engaged in trade and in 
 the fishing business. His wife, a most excellent woman, 
 died in 1861, much lamented. She was the daughter of Mr. 
 Samuel Trundy, Sr. Another brother was William War- 
 ren, who died when a young man ; a sister, Mary Warren, 
 the wife of a Mr. Spencer, who lived in one of the towns 
 on Penobscot River, above Bangor. Mr. Thomas Warren 
 was drowned by falling out of a log canoe, and after his 
 death his widow married Mr. William Ring, who occupied 
 the island on which Mr. Warren settled and the land nearest 
 to it, on Greenlaw's Neck, which is still known as " Ring 
 Town," now owned by the heirs of the late Pearl Spof- 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 6 I 
 
 ford, Esq. Mr. Ring afterward removed to the town of 
 Ellsworth, where both he and his wife died. 
 
 Elijah Toothaker settled on the lot still known as the 
 "Toothaker Place," and he was one of those known as 
 "young settlers," and the lot was surveyed to him as 
 appears by Peters's plan] made in 1798. Where he came 
 from I never knew, but he had a brother who lived in the 
 town of Phillips, in Franklin County, named John Tooth- 
 aker, whose descendants now live there ; and another by 
 the name of Joseph, who lived for some time on Swan's 
 Island. The wife of Mr. Toothaker was named Elizabeth 
 Daggett. He was drowned not far from 18 10, while com- 
 ing from the main land, accidently falling overboard. His 
 oldest son, the late Captain John Toothaker, was with 
 him, aged about sixteen years, and came home with the 
 boat. Mr. Toothaker left four sons : John, for many 
 years a master-mariner, dying in 1841, aged forty-eight 
 years; Elijah, who was lost at sea, being knocked over- 
 board by the main boom of the schooner Charles of Cas- 
 tine ; P^benezer, who lived in the town of Holden, at 
 Gilmore's Corner, a blacksmith by trade, and Captain 
 Thomas D. Toothaker, who removed to Belfast and was 
 lost at sea. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Isaac 
 Harding, of Sedgwick ; Mr. l^enjamin Smith, of Swan's 
 Island ; 'Mr. William G. Robbins, of this town, and a Mr. 
 Full, who resided in some town near Bangor. After the 
 death of Mr. Toothaker, his widow married Captain 
 Belcher Tyler. She was five times a widow. Her third 
 husband was Mr. Thomas Stinson, 2d ; the fourth was 
 Mr. Samuel Jordan, of Sedgwick; the fifth was Mr. 
 Dominicus Carman, of this town, — having as many hus- 
 bands as the woman of Samaria. 
 
 Wii-LiAM Greenlaw was the first settler near what is 
 
62 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 called " Fish Creek." He was the son of Mr. Jonathan 
 Greenlaw, mentioned before, who went with the British to 
 New Brunswick in 1783. As before stated, the subject of 
 this sketch returned with his brother Richard. The wife 
 of Mr. Greenlaw was Miss Rebecca Babbidge, a daughter 
 of Mr. William Babbidge ; and at the time of their mar- 
 riage there was no person qualified to solemnize marriages 
 nearer than Bagaduce, where the chaplain to the garrison 
 officiated. The person who performed the duties of 
 chaplain, as well as surgeon, was Dr. John Calef, a refugee 
 from Massachusetts, in which State he was born, in 
 Ipswich ; and when the troops evacuated the place, he 
 went with them into the Province of New Brunswick, 
 where he lived the remainder of his days. Mr. Greenlaw 
 was married in 1780, and he and Mr. Joseph Whitmore, 
 with their intended wives, who were sisters, went there 
 for the purpose, and they were both joined in marriage on 
 the same day. Mr. Greenlaw and wife were the parents 
 of ten sons and one daughter, who lived to manhood 
 and womanhood. The eldest of the sons was William, 
 who was lost at sea on a whaling voyage, when a young 
 man. The second son was the late Captain John Green- 
 law, who was a capable and intelligent master-mariner, who 
 died in 1870, at the age of eighty-seven years, after hav- 
 ing lived with his wife in wedlock sixty-six yeirs. He 
 was the father of the present Captain Jeremiah H., Eben- 
 ezer, and William Greenlaw. Another son was Mr. James 
 Greenlaw, who was drowned not far from 1830, leaving a 
 family. Another was Captain Jonathan Greenlaw, who 
 removed to Eastport, out of which place he sailed many 
 years. Another was the late Captain Richard Greenlaw, 
 the father of the present Mr. Thomas R. Greenlaw, 
 Another was Thomas Greenlaw, who was drowned when 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 63 
 
 a young man. Another was Mr. Ebenezer Greenlaw, the 
 father of the present Mr. Eben Greenlaw, 2cl. Another 
 was the late Captain Walter Greenlaw, well known in his 
 day, who died at sea in about the year 1847. Another is 
 the present Levi Greenlaw, the sole survivor, at the age 
 of seventy-nine years in 1882. And the other was the 
 late Mr. William Greenlaw. The daughter was the wife 
 of Mr. Daniel G. Copp, who removed from this place to 
 Castine, who was by trade a ship carpenter and joiner, 
 and from Castine he removed to the city of Ellsworth, 
 where he died. 
 
 About this family there was one singularity ; of the 
 ten sons there were five who could use no food or drink in 
 which there was anything sweet, operating upon them as 
 an emetic ; while upon the remaining five it had no such 
 effect. Mr. Greenlaw was one of whom every one who 
 knew him spoke in praise, as a quiet, honest, and upright 
 man. The land occupied by him was not a part of that 
 taken up by his father and uncles, as that passed into 
 other hands ; but as he was here so early, he was entitled 
 to a settler's right, and the place is still the property of 
 his descendants. 
 
 Nath.vniel Scott was the person who purchased the 
 settler's right of Major William Eaton, and, as I have 
 understood, Mr. Eaton left the place while the British had 
 possession of Bagaduce, in order that he might escape 
 the necessity of taking the oath of allegiance or neutrality. 
 He went to the town of York, the place from which he 
 came here, and after peace was jiroclaimed returned, and 
 it was probably not many years after that he sold his 
 right to Mr. Scott, who came here with a family. His 
 son, John Scott, was married before he came, as was 
 his daujrhter Martha to Mr. Asa Green. There was a son 
 
64 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of the name of William Scott, who purchased the lot at 
 the Northwest Harbor, on which the house known as 
 the " Green House " now stands, and erected a house 
 upon it. It has since been much enlarged, and is now a 
 large and elegant house. The house that was standing 
 fifty years ago was built by William Scott, after which he 
 died, and Mr. Green and wife came here from Worcester 
 County, Massachusetts, and occupied it till their death. 
 Ignatius Haskell, Esq., had a claim upon it which he sold 
 to Mr. Asa Green, and afterward it was transferred to his 
 son, the late William S. Green. The time of Mr. Green's 
 removal I do not know exactly, but it was prior to 1800, 
 as the land was sold to William Scott previous to Peters's 
 survey, and not long after his purchase he died. Mr, 
 Nathaniel Scott died not long after 1790, and Mr. John 
 Scott occupied the farm till his death, which took place 
 not far from 1830. Mr. John Scott and wife were the 
 parents of eight sons and three daughters. The sons were : 
 John, who died a young man ; James, who died a young 
 man also ; Clark, about whom I never knew anything ; 
 Enos, who, with his brother Eben, removed to Lubec ; 
 William, who resided in Boston some years ago ; the pres- 
 ent Mr. Levi Scott and the late Mr. Leonard Scott. The 
 daughters were the wives of Mr. Joseph Clifton and Cap- 
 tain Enoch P. Hazen, and one, Lucinda, died unmarried. 
 The estate is now occupied by the widow of Mr. Leonard 
 Scott, and by Captain William Torrey, John Weed, and 
 William P. Scott. Whether Mr. William Scott is still 
 living is not to us known. Mrs. Hazen, with her husband, 
 removed to Brooklin, where he died, and after his death 
 she went to reside with one of her daughters in Massa- 
 chusetts. Mrs. Clifton lived to be very aged, leaving three 
 daughters : one, the wife of Captain William Torrey ; 
 
TO J FA' OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 65 
 
 another the wife of Mr. Thomas Lowe, and another 
 married, living in Massachusetts. 
 
 Asa Greex, the son-in-law of Mr. Nathaniel Scott, 
 died in 1838, aged over eighty years, and his wife survived 
 him. He was for many years elected constable, and was 
 in former years a deputy sheriff. He was elected in 18 19, 
 with Ignatius Haskell, Esq., a delegate to frame the Con- 
 stitution of the State. Their children were John, a mas- 
 ter-mariner, who was, with his brother Asa Green, Fred- 
 erick Spofford, Esq., Abner Babbidge, and Amos Angell, 
 a son of Dr. David Angell, wrecked on the Green Islands 
 in February, 181 8, in the schooner Shakespeare, returning 
 from Boston, and all perished. Another son was the late 
 Captain William S. Green, who was well known to us for 
 many years. He was in 1842, 1859, ^^^^ i" 1863, a repre- 
 sentative to the State Legislature, and died in 1870 at 
 the age of sixty-five years, leaving a widow who is still 
 living (1882) ; three sons : Martin, now dead, Thomas 11, 
 and John W., and a daughter, Mrs. Kettletas. Another 
 son of Mr, Asa Green was Thomas Green, the father of 
 the present Mr. Asa Green. The daughters of the 
 family were Frances, the wife of Mr. Joseph Small ; Mary, 
 the wife of Mr. Thomas Haskell, and afterward the wife 
 of Mr. Thomas Dow, Jr. ; another was Roxanna, the wife 
 of Captain Francis Haskell, who was lost in the schooner 
 Counnodorc Perry (on board of which was his son and son- 
 in-law), on Long Ledge, off Mount Desert, November 26, 
 1S45 ; and another daughter was first the wife of John R. 
 Haskell, and mother oi the present Captain Sylvanus G. 
 Haskell, and afterward the wife of Moses C. Angell, who 
 removed to Boston, where he died a few years ago, and 
 where his widow still resides. The property of Captain 
 William S. Green was, after his death, occupied by 
 
66 ^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Martin V. B. Green, and is now by Mrs. Kettletas, with 
 whom her mother resides. 
 
 Peter Hardy was the settler upon the lot adjoining 
 that of William Eaton, on the southwest. He was a 
 native of the county of Worcester, Massachusetts. His 
 wife was a daughter of Deacon Francis Haskell, but 
 whether they were married here or before they came here 
 is to me unknown. His son Peter Hardy, the eldest of 
 the family, was born in February, 1770, and it is probable 
 that the marriage was before they came here, as his father- 
 in-law did not come till 1770, according to the best in- 
 formation that we have. The land he settled upon was 
 the place of the occupancy of Michael Carney, but Carney 
 had gone before Mr. Hardy came. He was for several 
 years a coroner, and both he and his wife died upon the 
 same day, in 183 1, and were buried in one grave, 
 having lived together in wedlock over sixty years. There 
 have been but three other instances that have come to my 
 knowledge where both husband and wife occupied the 
 same grave. One was in 1826, of Mr. Jeremiah Pressey 
 and wife ; another in 1832-33, of Mr. James Babbidge 
 and wife, who were drowned in attempting to pass through 
 the flood-gates at Holt's milldam, and the other was that 
 of Captain Joseph Raynes and wife, in 1859. 
 
 Mr. Hardy and wife were the parents of three sons : the 
 late Captain Peter Hardy, who died in 1863 at the age of 
 ninety-three years ; Mr. Jonathan Hardy, who lived and 
 died upon Little Deer Island, and another named Silas, 
 who, when a young man, was lost at sea. The daughters 
 of the family were the wives of a Mr. Wooster, and she 
 was the mother of five children at two births, and the last 
 was but thirteen months after the first. Another daughter 
 was the wife of Mr. Adams, in Massachusetts. Another 
 
TOiyjV OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 67 
 
 was the wife of Captain Jonathan Haskell, 2d, and another 
 that of Captain Jonathan Haskell, 3d, who was known as 
 " Long Metre," as he was a very tall man ; and the young- 
 est was the wife of Mr. Oliver Lane, Jr. Captain Jona- 
 than Haskell, 2d, died in 1873, aged ninety-four years, and 
 Mr. Lane was the father of the present Mr. Hardy Lane. 
 
 Captain Peter Hardy, Jr.'s wife was Miss Sarah Camp- 
 bell, daughter of Mr. John Campbell. They had the fol- 
 lowing-named sons : Peter, who lived and died on Little 
 Deer Island, in 1859, aged sixty-one years; Silas, who 
 formerly traded on Swan's Island. He was a master- 
 mariner, and died in Australia a number of years ago. 
 John, who lived in Newburyport, and is now dead. 
 Francis, who formerly was a master-mariner, but who now 
 resides in Massachusetts. George C. Hardy, a well- 
 known citizen, who has been one of the selectmen in 
 former years, and who owns and occupies the farm occu- 
 pied by his grandfather ; and another, now dead. There 
 was one daughter, now the widow of Mr. John Thompson. 
 Captain Hardy was for many years a master-mariner. 
 He was a man of enterprise and accumulated quite a 
 property for those days ; was a member of the Legislature 
 in 1834 and in 1839, and was for some years one of the 
 selectmen. 
 
 The family of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, whose wife was a 
 Miss Putnam, of Newburyport, was Silas L., who lived 
 and died on Little Deer Island not far from 1861 ; Jona- 
 than, who lived there many years, and afterward removed 
 to Winterport, where he died a few years ago ; Joseph P., 
 who moved to Winterport, where he was well known for 
 several years, and afterward removed to the State of 
 Illinois, where he is probably now living ; Billings P., who 
 moved to Frankfort, and afterward returned here, pur- 
 
68 ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 chased Freeze's Island, where he resided till his death. 
 Another son was Captain Abijah W. Hardy, who resides 
 in Winterport. The daughters were the wives of Major 
 Nathan Low, Joshua Haskell, and Mr. Henry Harris. 
 
 Jeremiah Eaton was the first settler upon the farm 
 adjoining that of Mr. Hardy upon the southwest. He 
 was the son of Major William Eaton, and his wife was a 
 daughter of Captain Mark and a sister of Ignatius Haskell, 
 Esq. She survived him, and her second marriage 
 was with Mr. John Howard, who will b§^ noticed. She 
 had no children, and Mr. Eaton adopted two brothers, the 
 children of Eleanor Bray, afterward the wife of Mr. 
 Perry and the mother of the present Mr. Eli Perry. The 
 children took his name, and were known as Mr. Asa B. 
 Eaton and Edward Eaton. He bequeathed his property 
 after his wife's decease to them, but they did not receive 
 it. It became the property of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
 and afterward that of Thomas Adams, Esq., of Castine, 
 by whom it was sold to the late Captain Amos Howard, 
 and it is now occupied by his widow. Asa B. Eaton, one 
 of the adopted sons, married Miss Mercy Raynes, daughter 
 of William and sister of the late Captain Johnson Raynes. 
 Three of their children only lived to grow up. One, the 
 present Captain William R. Eaton, who resided for many 
 years here, and in 1867 removed to Wakefield, Massachu- 
 setts, and now resides in Newburyport. He has been for 
 many years an enterprising master-mariner. Another 
 brother was the late Mr. Nathan H. Eaton, and a sister now 
 dead was the wife of a Mr. Dexter, in Boston. Mr. Eaton 
 died at sea in 185 1, and his wife survived him not many 
 years. The other brother, Mr. Edward Eaton, married a 
 daughter of Mr. Chase Pressey, by whom he had one son, 
 Hiram Eaton, who went from here about forty years ago, 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 69 
 
 and two daughters, one of whom married in Boston, and 
 both are now dead. Both Edward Eaton and his wife 
 died more than fifty years ago. 
 
 John Howard was the settler upon the lot southwest- 
 erly of that of Mr. Jeremiah Eaton, though not adjoining, 
 as the land now occupied by Mr. Albion K. Haskell 
 lies between, which was first purchased by Mr. John Scott, 
 Jr., and afterward by the late Captain Ignatius Haskell, 
 Jr. Mr. Howard was three times married. His first wife 
 was a daughter of Mr, John Pressey, Jr., and their chil- 
 dren were John, Joshua C, Michael, Thomas, and Amos 
 Howard, none of whom is now living. His daughters 
 by his first wife were the wives of Captain William Eaton, 
 the son of William Eaton, 2d, and was afterward the wife 
 of Mr. Nathaniel Ingalls ; the others were the wives of the 
 late Mr. Samuel H. Foster, Pepperell Tyler, and Andrew 
 Tyler, and all, with the exception of the present widow of 
 the last named, are now dead. Mrs. Foster died the pres- 
 ent year, 1881, nearly eighty-nine years of age. Mr. How- 
 ard for his second wife married the widow of Mr. Jeremiah 
 Eaton, and after her death married Mrs. Mary C. Small, 
 of Newburyport, Massachusetts, who was many years 
 younger than himself, and by her had one daughter, Mary 
 A., who was the wife of Captain Edmund S, Raynes, of 
 this town, now residing in Newburyport. She is now 
 dead. Mr. John Howard, Jr. married first a daughter of 
 Mr. Thomas Thompson, and by her had one son. Captain 
 Thomas Howard, now a resident of Newburyport. After 
 her death he married Susan, the daughter of Mr. William 
 h'oster, by whom he had six sons and two daughters. 
 One of the sons only remained here, the late Mr. Stephen 
 K. Howard. Three, William, Charles, and John, died 
 when young men. Oliver now resides in Gloucester, 
 
JO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Massachusetts, and the place of residence of the other, 
 Darius, is to us unknown. Of the daughters, one was the 
 wife of Mr. Rufus H. Moulton, a master ship-carpenter, 
 who lived for many years in Brooklin, and afterward 
 removed to Massachusetts ; the other was the wife of a 
 Mr. Pettingill, in Newburyport. Captain Joshua C. How- 
 ard, the second son, married Lydia, the daughter of Jo- 
 seph Tyler, Esq., by whom he had two sons, one of whom 
 was drowned when a child. The other, Mr. Joseph T. 
 Howard, lived in Newburyport, where he died not many 
 years ago. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Michael 
 H. Pressey, of this town ; a Mr. Short, in Newburyport ; 
 and the youngest was the wife of Captain John J. Raynes, 
 now of Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Captain Howard was 
 very skilful as a pilot, and served in that capacity on 
 board one of the first steamers that navigated the waters 
 in this vicinity, in 1827, and afterward was pilot of the 
 revenue-boat Veto at Castine, and came to his death by 
 the effects of arsenic. While serving on board the Veto, a 
 revenue-cutter whose duty was inspection, he went to Cas- 
 tine and procured the services of Captain Howard as pilot 
 to Bangor. Her captain being a harsh man, a conspiracy 
 was formed by the cook and others to poison him, and 
 while at Bangor arsenic was procured, with which the cap- 
 tain and those who sat at the table with him were poisoned. 
 The dose was so large that it operated speedily ; death 
 did not immediately take place, but all died not long after. 
 Captain Howard survived them all, living some six 
 months after the occurrence, which took place in the year 
 1832. The next brother, Michael Howard, married a 
 daughter of Mr. Chase Pressey, and they are now dead. 
 They occupied the house near that of Mr. Samuel Picker- 
 ing, and of the family but two remain : Charles, who went 
 
TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 7 I 
 
 into Massachusetts, and a daughter who now occupies the 
 house of her father. The other brothers, Messrs. Thomas 
 and Amos Howard, died but few years ago, and were well 
 known to us here. 
 
 WiLLi.VM Eatox, 2d, settled the lot adjoining that' 
 of Mr. Howard on the southwest, and his wife was a 
 daughter of Deacon Francis Haskell. Their sons were 
 William, Jeremiah, and Samuel, all now dead. The daugh- 
 ters were the wives of Dr. Moody Powers ; Mr. Amasa 
 Holden, who came from Mendon, Massachusetts, and was 
 for many years a school-teacher ; a Mr. Knight, of New- 
 buryport ; Mr. John Short, of the same place, who 
 removed from here to Castine, and afterward to Bangor, 
 where he died ; Captain Ignatius Haskell, Jr. Another 
 was first the wife of Mr. Avery Small, and after that of 
 Mr. William Greenlaw ; and one, Esther, died unmarried. 
 They all, with the exception of Mrs. Greenlaw, are now 
 dead. The farm of Mr. Eaton is now owned by two of 
 his grandsons, Mr. William E. Powers and Mr. Francis 
 M. Holden. The wife of Mr. Eaton died in 1836, and he 
 died not far from the year 1841. Captain William Eaton, 
 Jr., his son, married Abigail Howard, the daughter of Mr.. 
 John Howard. Their son, the present William Eaton, is 
 a pilot in the revenue-service, and resides in Portland. 
 The daughters were the wives of Captain Daniel S. Torrey, 
 Mr. William Low, Captain Francis H. Torrey, and Mr. John 
 Weed, two of whom, the Mrs. Torreys, are living. Captain 
 ICaton was lost in the latter part of the year 1830, on board 
 the sloop Huntress of Castine, Captain John Greenlaw, Jr. 
 He acted as pilot on a trip from that place to New York, 
 and on their return was lost. Besides the two above 
 named there were on board Mr. William Buckminster and 
 Joseph Conary, who acted as cook. Mr. Jeremiah Eaton, 
 
72 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the next brother, married and Hved near the bar on Little 
 Deer Island. He was drowned in 1834, leaving a widow 
 and family, of whom but three are now living. The other 
 brother, Samuel Eaton, was lost at sea when a young man. 
 Abijah Haskell, a son of Deacon Francis Haskell, 
 settled the lot adjoining that of Mr. Eaton on the south- 
 west, and his wife was a daughter of Mr. Benjamin 
 Cole, Sr. Their sons were Jonathan Haskell, 2d, Abijah, 
 Francis, and Joshua Haskell. One of the daughters was 
 first the wife of Captain Benjamin S. Haskell, who was 
 lost in the schooner Lingiin, about 1822. She afterward 
 became the wife of Doctor Abiel Reed, by whom she had 
 one son, the present Captain William H. Reed, now resid- 
 ing in Portland, and a daughter, who was the wife of Mr. 
 Levi Marshall, Jr. Another was the wife of Mr. Ezekiel 
 Marshall, and another that of Mr. Thomas Dow. Captain 
 Jonathan Haskell, 2d, married a daughter of Mr. Peter 
 Hardy, by whom he had two daughters : one the widow of 
 the late Edward Y. Haskell, and the mother of the present 
 Captain Caleb W., George D., Albert L., and Edwin L. 
 Haskell ; the other is the widow of the late Captain Dud- 
 ley Thompson. Captain Haskell died in 1873, aged ninety- 
 four years. Mr. Abijah Haskell, the next eldest brother, 
 married a sister of Mrs. Jonathan Haskell ; he lived on 
 Little Deer Island, where he died at the age of ninety-one 
 years. His wife survived him not long, and they lived 
 together in wedlock sixty-five years. Captain Francis 
 Haskell, the next brother, was lost, as has been stated, 
 in 1845, on board the schooner Commodore Perry. Joshua, 
 the youngest, died about two years ago. The estate of 
 Mr. Abijah Haskell is still owned and occupied by his 
 descendants. 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 73 
 
 Nathan Haskell, Esq. settled the lot lying south- 
 westerly of the land of Mr. Abijah Haskell, though not 
 adjoining it, and he came here, I judge, prior to 1784, or 
 about that year. He first married a daughter of Captain 
 Mark Haskell, by whom he had one daughter, who became 
 the wife of Rev. Wigglesworth Dale. After her death he 
 married Miss Lucy Torrey, daughter of Mr. Jonathan Tor- 
 rey. She was the mother of the late Mr. Edward Y. Has- 
 kell, and of the wife of Mr. Peter Powers, and the mother 
 of Nathan H. Powers, now of Orland. He died, leaving a 
 widow, who survived him several years. He was a man 
 of intelligence, was for many years a justice of the peace, 
 and filled offices in the town, and was also a deacon in the 
 Congregational Church. His real estate was, after his 
 death, owned and occupied by his son, and now by his 
 widow. 
 
 Caleb Haskell, a brother of Nathan Haskell, occupied 
 the lot adjoining that of the last-named on the southwest. 
 His wife was not a native of this town, and none of his 
 family after his death remained here, except a daughter, 
 who was the first wife of Mr. Jesse Niles, a carpenter, who 
 came not long after 1800, from New Hampshire, who 
 occupied the farm for many years. It was sold about in 
 the year 1840, and is now owned and occupied by Mr. Will- 
 iam H. Thompson. None of the family of Mr. Niles by 
 his first wife is now living, but after her death, which took 
 place in 1835, he married a daughter of Mr. Naylor Small, 
 by whom he had a family. 
 
 Nathan Dow settled on the lot of land adjoining that 
 of Mr. Caleb Haskell on the southwest, and a part of his 
 farm bordered upon the Northwest Harbor, and embraced 
 what is now known as Dow's Point, on the northeast side 
 of the entrance to the harbor. He was the second person 
 
74 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 who permanently settled in that part of the island, Mr. 
 John Pressey having taken up a lot on the southwest side 
 of the entrance, opposite the land occupied by Mr. Dow. 
 He came in the fall of 1767, and, I presume, came from 
 the town of Brunswick, Maine, or that vicinity, as he was 
 a neighbor of Mr. Theophilus Eaton, who came here from 
 that place, then better known as New Meadows River, 
 which runs up into that town. He died here, leaving two 
 sons, John and Nathan Dow, and two daughters, who were 
 married. The elder, Diana, was the wife of Mr. Jonathan 
 Eaton, who will be noticed, and who came with Mr. Dow. 
 The other was the wife of Mr. Josiah Crockett, who was 
 well known here in his time. Mr. John Dow, his son, 
 married a daughter of Mr. Thomas Saunders, and was the 
 father of the late Mr. Thomas Dow ; Mr. Stephen Dow, 
 who was drowned over fifty years ago ; Mr. Samuel Dow, 
 who settled on Mount Desert Island ; Ephraim Dow, who 
 removed there about forty years ago ; and Mr. William T. 
 Dow, who removed from here to Tinker's Island. The 
 daughters were the wives of Mr. William Staples, a son of 
 a man of the same name who was said to have been 
 impressed on board a British ship-of-war during the Rev- 
 olution. Another was the wife of the late Joseph C. 
 Stinson, Esq. ; another married Captain John Kempton, 
 of Isle au Haut, and another Captain Jacob Carlton, who 
 for many years resided in the same place, and afterward 
 removed to Winterport, where he died. Captain Carlton 
 represented this town in the Legislature in 1838. Of 
 Nathan Dow, 2d, I knew but little. He left three 
 sons : one, the present Mr. Nathan Dow, who is now 
 (1881) aged eighty-nine years; Joshua and Ephraim Dow, 
 who have been dead some years. The land of Mr. Nathan 
 Dow was mostly occupied by his son Nathan after his 
 
roirx OF DEER ISLE, MALVE. 75 
 
 decease, and after the decease of his son his three sons 
 above named came into possession, but a part of it is now 
 owned by the heirs of the late Martin V. B. Green, and 
 the residue by the descendants of the original owner. 
 
 Theoi'HILUS Eaton settled upon the lot of land adjoin- 
 ing that of Mr. Dow on the southeast, and bordered by 
 the waters of the Northwest Harbor. He was a cousin 
 of Major William r^aton, the first permanent settler, and 
 was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the year 1720, 
 and came here in 1768. From Haverhill he removed to 
 the town of Sandown, New Hampshire, and from that 
 place to Brunswick, and from the latter place here. The 
 occasion of his coming was this : A daughter of his, Judith 
 Eaton, married Mr. Edward Howard, who afterward lived 
 and died in Brooksville. Mr. Howard came here and com- 
 menced a settlement. His wife was taken sick, and he 
 went to Brunswick to bring her mother here to take care 
 of her daughter during her sickness. Mrs. Howard died, 
 and after that Mr. Eaton came here in a boat to take his 
 wife home. This was in 1767. Mr. Howard, after the 
 death of his wife, gave his mother-in-law all his rights to 
 land here, as a compensation for her services. Mr. Eaton 
 was pleased with the location, and the next spring, 1768, 
 moved with his family, where he remained till his death in 
 I 793. The wife of Mr. Eaton was Miss Abigail Fellows, 
 who died in 1824, aged one hundred and two years and 
 eight months, at the residence of her son, James Eaton, 
 in the town of Prospect. His sons were : Moses, who 
 lived on what is now the place occupied as a village, in 
 the town of Sedgwick ; Jonathan, whom wo have noticed 
 as making his escape when arrested to be carried to 
 Bagaduce ; Ebenezer, who was for many years a minister 
 of the gospel on the island of Mount Desert ; and James, 
 
76 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 who occupied his father's place after his death, and to 
 whom the lot was laid out on Peters's plan, who afterward 
 sold to Captain Jonathan Haskell. The daughters who 
 survived him were, one, the wife of Mr. Harding, in 
 Sedgwick ; another was the wife of Mr. Solomon Billings, 
 who lived on the northwest side of what is known as 
 Walker's Pond, in Brooksville ; and another was the wife 
 of Captain John Raynes, of this place. She died in 1850, 
 at the age of ninety-one years. Mr. Eaton was one of the 
 earlier selectmen of the town, and was a man much re- 
 spected. The farm occupied by Mr. Eaton was after- 
 ward in part occupied by the late Captain John Torrey, 
 and a part of his possession is the property of his adopted 
 daughter, the widow of the late Mr. Joshua Pressey, 2d. 
 
 Levi Carman was the person who settled on the 
 lot lying on the southeast of that of Mr. Eaton. He 
 came, as appears by the best information now to be had, 
 in, or about, the year 1768, but from what place is not 
 known. He was a master-mariner and was engaged in 
 the coasting trade. From the fact that he was chosen 
 one of the committee to obtain a grant of the lands 
 remaining on the island, after the settlers had had their 
 lots assigned them, it must have been that he was a man 
 of intelligence and character. The time of his death was 
 before 1798, as on Peters's plan the lot he occupied, contain- 
 ing two hundred acres, was assigned to the " Widow Car- 
 man;" but of him but little has been learned. His widow 
 died in 1835, aged ninety-one years. Their children were: 
 Mr. Dominicus Carman, who lived near what is known as 
 Carman's Rock, a large granite bowlder by the side of the 
 highway leading to the steamboat-landing, about one mile 
 from the Northwest Harbor. He was considered a skilful 
 doctor of cattle, to which he paid considerable attention. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 77 
 
 Another brother was Mr. John Carman, who died many- 
 years ago. One of the daughters was the wife of Captain 
 Francis Marshall and mother of the late Levi Marshall, 
 and the other, that of Mr. Naylor Small. The wife of Mr. 
 Dominicus Carman was a daughter of Mr. Ezra Howard, 
 who will be noticed. They had one son who lived to man- 
 hood, the late Mr. Thomas Carman, the father of Michael 
 P., Edwin, and Abner P. Carman. One of the daughters 
 married Mr. Samuel Saunders ; one married Mr. James 
 Jarvis; another married Mr. P'rancis Haskell; and there 
 was another who went from here many years ago. After 
 the death of his wife, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Jordan, 
 the lady before noticed, who was five times a widow. He 
 was born in 1766 and died not far from 1850. 
 
 The wife of Mr. John Carman was a Miss Choatc, a 
 sister of Mr. George G. Choate, who was a native of Esse.x 
 County, Massachusetts, who lived here many years and is 
 well remembered by the older people among us for his 
 wit. He removed to Bluehill, where he died. Mr. John 
 Carman and wife were the parents of three sons and si.x 
 daughters. The sons were the present Mr. Levi Carman 
 and Mr. Frederick Carman, and John Carman, who died 
 when a young man. The daughters were the wives of 
 ]\Ir. John Ferguson, who, at the time of his marriage, lived 
 in Massachusetts ; of the late Mr. Solomon Haskell, of 
 this town ; of the late Jonathan P2. Webb., Esq. ; of Mr. 
 James Clough, of Bluehill ; of Dr. Charles N. Briggs, a 
 dentist, a native of Rhode Island ; and of a Mr. Trow- 
 bridge ; with one or two exceptions they arc now 
 dead. The widow of Mr. Carman married Mr. Jeremiah 
 Stover, who came here from Penobscot, whom she sur- 
 vived, and died not far from 1852, at an advanced age. 
 The land occupied by Mr. Levi Carman is still mostly 
 
78 
 
 AiV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 occupied by his descendants; that of Dominicus Carman, 
 by his grandson, Mr. Tristram Haskell, to whom descended 
 his grandfather's skill as a cattle-doctor. 
 
 Mark Haskell was the first settler who occupied the 
 lot adjoining that of Mr. Carman on the southeast. He 
 came when quite advanced in years, not far from the year 
 1768, from what was then known as Sandy Bay, in the 
 town of Rockport, Massachusetts, and some of his sons 
 came at the same time and occupied the premises with 
 him. He was the father of Captain Mark and Deacon 
 Francis Haskell, who afterward came. He resided here 
 several years, but prior to his death he made a contract 
 with Ignatius Haskell, Esq., his grandson, for his support, 
 and in consideration conveyed to him his right as a set- 
 tler. Not long after he went on a visit to his friends in 
 Massachusetts, where he died ; and his right, by virtue of 
 his own and some of his son's occupancy, became, upon a 
 division of the land, the property of his grandson, by 
 whom it was owned at the time of his death. The lot 
 contained two hundred and fifty acres, running about two 
 miles, in a northeast direction, from the Northwest Har- 
 bor, and a part of it is known as the " Rye Field" lot. 
 
 Francis Haskell, a son of the person before named, 
 was the settler upon the land adjoining on the southeast. 
 He came from Newburyport in 1770 with his family, and 
 but few of his children were born after he came here. 
 When the church was organized, in 1773, he was one of 
 the deacons. The time of his death is unknown to us, 
 but it was prior to the survey of the island, as his lot was 
 assigned to his two sons, Jonathan and Tristram Haskell 
 (two hundred acres). He left four sons, namely : Francis, 
 who removed to South Thomaston and lived on what is 
 known as Ash Point, and died there not far from 1841, 
 
rOlVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 79 
 
 over ninety years of age ; Jonathan, who lived here till 
 his death ; Abijah, before noticed ; and Tristram. Of the 
 daughters, one was the wife of Mr. Peter Hardy, Sr. ; one, 
 of Mr. William Eaton, 2d ; another married Captain 
 Ephraim Marshall ; another was the wife of Deacon Joshua 
 Haskell ; another, of Mr. Prescott Powers, and the other, 
 that of Captain Francis Marshall. His land was owned 
 and occupied by his two sons during their lives, and is 
 now chiefly owned by their descendants. 
 
 EzEKiEL Marshall was the settler upon the lot of 
 land adjoining that of Mr. Francis Haskell on the south- 
 east. He came about the year 1768. He was a con- 
 nection of the Haskell family, as I have understood, by 
 marriage. There appears to have been an Ephraim Mar- 
 shall, also, who came about the same time (probably a 
 brother), who did not remain ; and as';Mr. Ephraim had a 
 two-hundred-acre lot, it is probable that one hundred acres 
 was, by virtue of the right of Ephraim, probably assigned 
 to him. His lot took in what has since become the most 
 valuable land in that vicinity; and in 1772 he sold Mark 
 Haskell, 2d, and his sons, Ignatius and Solomon, what 
 has been since known as Haskell's Point, on which the 
 stores stand at the Northwest Harbor, and which remained 
 the property of Ignatius Haskell till his death. This sale 
 was seventeen years prior to the allotment of the land in 
 the town by the Tylers, and till that time no individual 
 had a title. The purchase was some years before Messrs. 
 Mark Haskell & Sons removed here and commenced 
 business. Mr. Marshall must have died prior to the sur- 
 vey, as the lot is described as belonging to the " Heirs of 
 Ezekiel Marshall." His sons were Ephraim, Solomon, 
 Joshua, and Francis ; and one of the daughters was the 
 wife of Mr. Aaron S. Haskell. 
 
8o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Jonathan Haskell, the son of Francis, remained here 
 till his death in 1830, at the age of seventy-five years. 
 His wife was Miss Dorothy Shute, a daughter of the man 
 of that name who settled upon Sandy Point, now in the 
 town of Stockton. She survived him about twenty years, 
 when his real estate was divided among his heirs. Their 
 children were Benjamin S., Jonathan, known as " Long 
 Metre," Thomas, Francis, and David, — and all are now 
 dead. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Daniel Tor- 
 rey, John Torrey, Levi Marshall, and Chase Pressey, — 
 and they are all dead also. Captain Haskell was for many 
 years an enterprising master -mariner and accumulated 
 considerable property. His sons also followed the sea for 
 many years. 
 
 His son, the late Captain David Haskell, resided on, and 
 occupied, his father's premises till the death of his mother, 
 and after a division of the property, retained the buildings 
 and land around them till his death in 1878. They are 
 now occupied by his son and youngest daughter. 
 
 Tristram Haskell, the youngest son of Francis Has- 
 kell, remained upon the lot he was entitled to, as heir of 
 his father (which was assigned to him), till his death, 
 which took place not far from the year i860, when he was 
 about ninety years of age. His first wife was Miss Martha 
 Merchant, a daughter of Mr. Anthony Merchant, who set- 
 tled Merchant's Island, in 1772, now within the limits of 
 the town of Isle au Haut, by whom he had six sons and 
 two daughters. The sons were : Francis, who was drowned 
 in Boston Harbor, in 1838, the father of the present 
 Messrs. Tristram and Davis Haskell ; Davis, who lived 
 on the road leading from the Northwest Harbor to the 
 steamboat - landing, about two miles from the harbor ; 
 Tristram, who lived on what is known as Beech Hill, 
 
rOlV.V OF DEE A' ISLE, MAINE. 8 I 
 
 about one mile from the harbor ; Peter, who lived on Little 
 Deer Isle ; John R., the father of the present Captain Syl- 
 vanus G. Haskell ; and Joshua P., who died in 1880, aged 
 seventy-seven years. The last named was for some 
 time in the British navy, and was present at the battle of 
 Navarino, in 1824, in which a complete victory was 
 obtained by the British fleet over the Turks, in the war 
 which secured the independence of the Greeks. For 
 many years he resided in Liverpool, England. Of 
 the daughters, one was the wife of the late Mr. James 
 Stinson ; the other married in Massachusetts. His first 
 wife died in 1803, and Captain Haskell married Miss Bet- 
 sey Barton, by whom he had four sons and four daughters. 
 The sons were the late Captain William Haskell, George 
 W., and John, and one who died in childhood. The daugh- 
 ters were the wives of Captain Adam Thompson, Jr., Mr. 
 Frederick S. Pressey, Mr. P>ederick Eaton, and Mr. Edwin 
 B. Spofford. Of the above none of the first family is 
 now living, and of the last, Captain John Haskell and the 
 four sisters. After the death of his second wif^ in 1835 
 Captain Haskell married his third wife, a Mrs. Tuttle, a 
 daughter of ]\Ir. Ik-njamin Weed, and in about the year 
 i860 died, aged about ninety years. For many years he 
 was a master-mariner, but, being troubled with deafness, 
 was obliged to abandon the sea. 
 
 Ei'HK.MM Marshall was the eldest of the sons of Mr. 
 Ezekiel Marshall, who has been mentioned, and his wife 
 was a daughter of Mr. Francis Haskell, by whom he had 
 two sons, Ephraim and Ezekiel, and four daughters, — and 
 all are now dead. He lived on the southern side of the 
 road leading toward the Reach, not far from the place 
 occupied by the house — now burnt down — built and occu- 
 pied by Captain David P. Marshall, who removed from 
 
82 ^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 this place a few years ago. Another son of the Marshall 
 family was Joshua, the father of the present Mr. Ezekiel 
 Marshall, the oldest man now among us, born in 1790. 
 Another was Mr. Solomon Marshall, who lived on the 
 southwest side of the Northwest Harbor, who left one 
 son, Mark Marshall, and two daughters, Mrs. Hanson and 
 Mrs. Murray, all of whom are now dead. Captain Francis 
 Marshall was the youngest son. His first wife was, as we 
 have mentioned, a daughter of Mr. Levi Carman, who 
 lived with him but a few years. He afterward married 
 Miss Abigail Haskell, the daughter of Deacon Francis 
 Haskell, by whom he had two sons, Elias D. and the late 
 Francis Marshall, who survived him, and three daughters, 
 one of whom was the wife of Thomas Lamson, Esq., of 
 Boston. The present Hon. Edwin D. Lamson, of Rich- 
 mond, Maine, is a son of hers. Another daughter 
 remained unmarried, Hannah, who lived here, and the 
 other, Mrs. Joy, who resided in Boston. Of the family 
 only one, Elias D. Marshall, is now living. 
 
 Mark Haskell, the second of the name, came here 
 with his family in 1778, having some six years before pur- 
 chased the land they occupied of Ezekiel Marshall. He 
 was a native of what was then known as Sandy Bay, in 
 the present town of Rockport, Massachusetts, but after- 
 ward removed to Newburyport, from which place he 
 came here, and commenced business with his two sons, 
 Ignatius and Solomon. He was born in 1723, and his 
 wife was Miss Abigail Bray, a sister of the first man of 
 the name who came here. They had quite a large family, 
 some of whom died in childhood. The survivors were 
 Ignatius, Solomon, Joshua, and Edward, and three daugh- 
 ters : one the wife of Mr. Jeremiah Eaton, another that 
 of Nathan Haskell, Esq., — both of whom have been 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 83 
 
 noticed, — and another that of Mr. Elijah Dunham. 
 They built a saw and grist mill, which was a great 
 convenience to the inhabitants, and the sawmill of profit 
 to the owners, as there were then logs in abundance to be 
 manufactured into lumber ; they also built houses and a 
 store. The saw and grist mills stood until about twenty- 
 five years ago, and then were the property of John P. John- 
 son, Esq. Mr. Haskell took his two eldest sons, Ignatius 
 and Solomon, into partnership, and the firm was known as 
 "Messrs. Mark Haskell & Sons." They built several ves- 
 sels. One was a ship of about four hundred tons, a large 
 one for those days, besides brigs and schooners, and they 
 accumulated, for the times, a large property, owning at one 
 time more than one thousand acres of land. Solomon, the 
 junior copartner, removed to Newburyport, and did busi- 
 ness many years, in which his father and brother had an 
 interest. After the death of their father, which took place 
 in 1 8 10, the copartnership was dissolved, and he (Solomon) 
 remained there till his death in 1828, but had a consider- 
 able interest in the real estate here with his brother, and 
 at the time of his death was a deacon in the church, of 
 which the then well-known Rev. Mr. Milton was pastor. 
 
 Ig.vatius H.\ski:ll, M^q., after the death of his father, 
 did the business here, and for the times and locality it 
 was quite extensive, in trading and building vessels, for 
 several years. He was a man who had a large share of 
 business capacity, and for a long time was the foremost 
 man in the community, and had great influence, own- 
 ing a large property and taking great interest in the 
 affairs of the town and church. He built a meeting-house 
 not far from the year 1800 at his own expense, selling 
 the pews to those who were disposed to purchase. He 
 was one of the earliest justices of the peace here, was often 
 
84 ^-^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 one of the selectmen, and was in 1819 a delegate to Port- 
 land with Asa Green, before named, to the convention to 
 frame the State Constitution. Till the time of his death 
 in 1842, at the age of ninety-one years, he retained his 
 faculties in a remarkable degree. His wife was Miss 
 Mary Stickney, of Newburyport, by whom he had four 
 sons and five daughters. The sons were Aaron S., Mark, 
 Ignatius, Jr., and Solomon, all of whom are still well 
 remembered. The daughters were the wives of Mr. John 
 Foster, Dr. David Angell, Mr. Jonathan L. Stevens, of 
 Castine, Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., who resided here many 
 years, afterward removing to Castine and after some years 
 returned ; and the youngest was the wife of Dr. Theophi- 
 lus Doe, of Brewer. After the death of his wife, the 
 subject of this sketch married the widow of Mr. Moses 
 Gross, whose maiden name was Martha Pritchard, born in 
 Boston, in 1773. At the time of his death he left the 
 largest property of any one in the town, a large portion of 
 which was real estate, most of which has now passed into 
 other hands. His house, which he built not far from the 
 year 1790, is now the property of his granddaughter, the 
 widow of the late Captain William Haskell. 
 
 Ezra Howard was the settler upon the lot of land 
 adjoining that of Mr. Ezekiel Marshall and that purchased 
 of him by Mark Haskell on the southeast. He came here 
 early, but the exact year is to us unknown, nor have we 
 ever known from what place he removed here. He had 
 three sons and four daughters, of whom we have had 
 knowledge : one was the Mr. John Howard we have 
 already noticed ; another was Mr. Michael Howard, who 
 lived and died at what is known as " Fish Creek," the 
 father of the late Mr. Samuel and the present Mr. Thomas 
 V. Howard ; and one named Benjamin, who removed from 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 85 
 
 here to Newburyport in 181 2, where he died. One 
 daughter was the wife of Mr. Chase Pressey ; another 
 was the wife of Mr. Paul Pressey ; another, that of Mr. 
 Dominicus Carman ; and the other, of Mr. James Parker, 
 who formerly resided here, and was the father of John H. 
 Parker, Esq., who formerly resided in the town of Mt. 
 Desert. After the death of his wife, Mr. Howard married 
 a Mrs. Johnson ; and her two daughters by her former 
 husband were the wives of Deacon Nehemiah Closson 
 and the first wife of Mr. George G. Choate. The year of 
 the death of Mr. Howard is not to us known, and his estate 
 passed by purchase of his heirs to Ignatius Haskell, Esq.; 
 with the exception of a house-lot none of it was owned 
 by his descendants after his death. 
 
 Ambrose Colby was the occupant of the lot lying 
 on the southeast of that of Mr. Howard. He came from 
 the vicinity of Newburyport not far from 1768, and after 
 he came he married a daughter of Mr. John Pressey. He 
 died not far from the year 1800, and his wife survived him 
 till 1844, and was at the time of her death aged ninety-two 
 years. He built a large house opposite the present Con- 
 gregational Church, upon the site now occupied by the 
 house of Mr. Frederick H. Gross, and it was for many 
 years occupied by Mr. Amos Gordon, who married a 
 daughter of Mr. Colby. He left two sons, Messrs. Heze- 
 kiah and Ambrose Colby, and the daughter referred to, 
 who was first the wife of Mr. William Torrey, by whom 
 she had two sons, Hezekiah and William Torrey, and a 
 daughter, the first wife of John P. Johnson, Esq. Heze- 
 kiah Torrey was, in 1822, the representative of this town 
 to the Legislature, and afterward removed to Belfast, where 
 he died in 1824, much esteemed. The other son, Mr. 
 William Torrey, died on his passage to California, not far 
 
86 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 from the year 1850, and was at the time of his death over 
 fifty years of age. By her second marriage she had two 
 sons and two daughters who survived her : Mr. Ambrose 
 C. Gordon, who died in 1880; Captain John Gordon, who 
 died in Bluehill, to which place he had removed. The 
 two daughters were the wives of Mr. Levi Carman and 
 Captain Joseph W. Pressey, and they both are now dead. 
 Mr. Gordon, the husband of the daughter of Mr. Colby, 
 came here from Biddeford, Maine, where his relatives still 
 reside. He died several years ago, and none of that name 
 are left in the town. 
 
 The lot of land adjoining that of Mr. Colby on the 
 southeast was what is still known as the "parsonage." It 
 contained originally four hundred acres, and was granted 
 by the General Court of Massachusetts to the first religious 
 society and the first settled minister. Rev. Peter Powers, 
 the first settled minister, became proprietor of that part 
 of the land, and settled upon the southeastern side of the 
 lot, and after his death, in 1800, it passed into the hands of 
 his son, Mr. Prescott Powers, and the farm of Mr. Levi 
 Greenlaw is a part of it. More will be said of the Rev, 
 Mr. Powers in the part of this work in which the religious 
 societies in the town are noticed. 
 
 Nathaniel Bray and Robert Nason were the settlers 
 upon the lot of land containing, according to Peters's plan 
 of the town, over two hundred and fifty acres, which 
 adjoined the parsonage lot on the southeast. They both 
 came here not far from 1768, and were, we believe, con- 
 nected by marriage. Mr. Bray settled upon the western 
 part of the lot ; he was a brother of the wife of Captain 
 Mark Haskell. Mr. Bray was the father of Nathaniel and 
 William Bray, and his daughters were the wives of Mr. 
 Benjamin Cole, who occupied the lot of land adjoining 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 87 
 
 that of Deacon Joshua Haskell ; of Mr. Willaby Nason ; 
 of Mr. Edward Howard, of Brooksville ; of Mr. Peter 
 Perry, and of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, 2d. 
 
 Mr, Nason occupied the eastern part of the lot, and it 
 was the farm since owned by Mr. Ezekiel Marshall. Of 
 him but little is known. One of his sons, Mr. Willaby 
 Nason, lived here a number of years, and afterward 
 removed to the town of Knox, in Waldo County, where 
 he died. A daughter of Mr. Nason, Sr. was the wife 
 of Mr. Nathaniel Bray, Jr., and mother of Messrs. Robert, 
 Jonathan, Nathaniel, John N., Daniel, Willaby N., and 
 Isaac Bray. The daughters were the wives of Jeremiah 
 and Andrew Gray, and Mr. David Campbell, who removed 
 to the British provinces. Mrs. Bray died several years 
 ago, and all her children are now dead. Four of her sons 
 died very suddenly, and so have some of her grandchildren. 
 
 On the western side of the Northwest Harbor the first 
 settlement was made not long after the first made in the 
 town, by Mr. John Pressey, as early perhaps as 1765. 
 He came from Salisbury, Massachusetts, or some place in 
 that vicinity, as that was the residence of his wife, whose 
 maiden name was Chase — one of the "Chase heirs" 
 about whom much was said not far from the year 1845. 
 He must been past middle age at the time of his coming, 
 and the time of his death is not to us known. His 
 house was near the shore, and his remains lie not far 
 from the edge of the bank. His sons were John, Jr., 
 Chase, and Paul Pressey. One of his daughters was the 
 Mrs. Colby before mentioned, and another was the wife 
 of Mr. Nathan Johnson and mother of the present John 
 P. Johnson, Esq., who is now (i8<Si) eighty-four years 
 of age. The name was originally " Percy," as appeared 
 from what was known as a coat-of-arms which was kept 
 in the family many years. 
 
88 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 John Pressey, Jr. settled upon the lot of land adjoin- 
 ing that of his father upon the southwest, and we should 
 judge had a family at the time of his removal. His death 
 was caused by a tree falling upon him while chopping, but 
 the time of its occurrence is not to us known. His chil- 
 dren were : John Pressey, 3d, the father of Mr. Henry 
 Pressey, who was lost in 1849 or 1850, in the schooner 
 Tamerlane, Captain John G. Green, master. His daugh- 
 ters were the wives of Mr. John Howard, before noticed ; 
 Mr. Joseph Webster, of North Haven, and Mr. Michael 
 Howard, the son of Mr. Ezra Howard ; another was never 
 married, whose name was Mercy Pressey. She for many 
 years resided with Mr. Nathan Crockett, as housekeeper, 
 who at his decease made provision for her support. 
 
 The farm of Mr. John Pressey, Jr. was divided, and one 
 part of it is now the property of Mr. Aaron D. Pickering 
 and the remainder was that of Mr. Jonathan Pressey at 
 the time of his death. 
 
 Thomas Saunders, who came here from Amesbury 
 in the State of Massachusetts, settled upon the lot of land 
 lying westerly of, and adjoining, that of Mr. John Pressey, 
 Jr. His wife was Miss Hephzibah Chase, of Salisbury, 
 Massachusetts, and they were married in Hampton, New 
 Hampshire, in 1755; in 1757 they moved to Amesbury, 
 .and came here in 1771. His wife and that of Mr. John 
 Pressey were sisters. Mr. Saunders was drowned near 
 the mouth of the Northwest Harbor in June, 1786, while 
 •engaged in towing some logs which were to be manufac- 
 tured into pumps for the purpose of pumping salt water 
 for the manufacture of salt. He left two sons, Messrs. 
 James and Timothy Saunders, and two daughters, one the 
 wife of Mr. John Dow ; another, that of Mr. Thomas 
 Small, Jr. His farm passed into the hands of his sons, 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 89 
 
 who occupied it till they died. It now is the property 
 of their descendants. The wife of Mr. James Saunders 
 was Susan Webb, a daughter of Mr. Seth Webb, one 
 of the early settlers ; that of Mr. Timothy Saunders was 
 Ann Staples, the daughter of the person of that name 
 before noticed as having been impressed into the British 
 service during the war of the Revolution. 
 
 The children of Mr. James Saunders were Thomas and 
 James, the sons ; and the daughters were the wives of 
 Messrs. Crowell H. Sylvester, Joseph Whitmore, and 
 afterward of Dr. Robert Young, a practitioner of medi- 
 cine, who made the treatment of cancers a specialty. 
 After his death she was that of Jonah Dodge, of Brook- 
 lin, Maine, and lastly, that of Mr. Sylvester, the husband 
 of her sister, and she was four times a widow. Another 
 was that of Mr. John Averill, of Castine, and afterward 
 that of Mr. Josiah B. Woods, of the same place. Another 
 was that of Captain Henry Lufkin, Jr.; another, that of 
 Captain Joseph R. Lufkin ; and another, that of Mr. Ben- 
 jamin Lufkin, — all of whom are now dead, with the 
 exception of the widow of Captain J. R. Lufkin, who is 
 now (1882) eighty-one years of age. 
 
 The children of Mr. Timothy Saunders were Samuel, 
 John, Asa, and Timothy, sons ; the daughters were the 
 wives of Messrs. Thomas, Ezra, and Joshua Pressey, and 
 Captain David Haskell ; all the family are now dead. 
 
 JoN.\TiL\N Eaton, a native of Haverhill, Massachu- 
 setts, was the settler upon the lot of land adjoining that 
 of Mr. Saunders on the west. He was the youngest 
 brother, of Mr. Theophilus Eaton and was born in 1746. 
 His father dying in his childhood, he was brought up by 
 his eldest brother Theophilus. His wife was Miss Diana 
 Dow, a daughter of Mr. Nathan Dow, with whom he came 
 
90 
 
 A.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 here in 1767, having previously married ; and in the year 
 of his removal his eldest son was born here. He was a 
 man of enterprise and, as it has been stated, was engaged 
 in the business of boiling salt. He died in 1805, at the 
 age of fifty-nine years. His children were : Joseph, who 
 lived and died in Sedgwick ; Jonathan ; John, who was 
 drowned in 18 14, while engaged with Mr. Joseph Whit- 
 more, Jr. and a Mr. Brown, of Vinal Haven, in taking a 
 cow across the bay to Vinal Haven in a boat. Their bodies 
 were never found, but that of the cow came ashore on 
 what is called Sellers's Point. Another son was the late 
 Mr. Nathan Eaton, who occupied the homestead of his 
 father. Another was James Eaton, who removed to the 
 town of Prospect, where he lived till his death. The 
 daughters were the wives of Mr. Joseph Weed, Mr. 
 William Weed, and Mr. Samuel Webb. The house 
 built by Mr. Eaton is still standing and has recently 
 been thoroughly repaired ; it is now more than ninety 
 years old. 
 
 Elijah Dunham, Sr., with his sons Elijah and Joseph 
 Dunham occupied the lot westerly of that of Mr. Eaton, 
 on what is still known as Dunham's Point, upon which is 
 located the silver-mine, which is being operated. Mr. 
 Dunham was twice married, and by his first wife he had 
 the two sons mentioned and a daughter, the wife of Mr. 
 Samuel Pickering and the mother of the late Captain 
 Samuel and Mr. Daniel Pickering. Mr. Pickering settled 
 what is known as Pickering's Island, lying northwesterly 
 of Deer Island, which is not included within the territorial 
 limits of the town. By his last wife Mr. Dunham had 
 one son, the late Mr. Elisha H. Dunham, and two daugh- 
 ters. He did not remain long on the lot taken up by him, 
 and it came into the possession of Messrs. Mark Haskell 
 
TO IVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. g I 
 
 & Sons, and was the property of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
 at his death. Mr, Dunham lived upon several other lots 
 of land. He died in this town at an advanced age. His 
 son Elijah Dunham, Jr. was three times married : first, to 
 the daughter of Captain Mark Haskell, by whom he had 
 one son and three daughters ; his second wife was the 
 mother of Mr. George G. Choate ; his last wife was Miss 
 Polly Morey, a daughter of Mr. Elias Morey. He died in 
 1852, at the age of ninety years. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Dunham married the widow of Mr. Charles 
 Chatto, and died not long after the year 1830. The lot 
 taken up by them is now owned principally by Mr. Ebene- 
 zer J. Eaton. 
 
 Chase Pressev, a son of Mr. John Pressey, Sr., settled 
 the lot of land adjoining that of his father upon the south- 
 east. His wife was the daughter of Mr. Ezra Howard, 
 who was one of the early settlers near the Northwest 
 Harbor. Mr. Pressey died not far from the year 1830, 
 and his widow in 1841. His sons were Thomas, Jonathan, 
 Ezra, Joshua, and Jeremiah. His daughters were the 
 wives of Messrs. Michael Ready, Nathan Eaton, Edward 
 B. Eaton, and Michael Howard, 2d. His farm, as also 
 that of his father, is principally owned and occupied by 
 his descendants. 
 
 Paul Pkessev, a brother of the last-named settler, 
 occupied the lot adjoining on the southeast. It was taken 
 up early by Mr. Lot Curtis, and his right was acquired by 
 Mr. Pressey. His wife was a daughter of Mr. Ezra How- 
 ard, and their children were Pearl S., Elbridge G., Calvin, 
 the wife of Mr. David Sawyer, Jr., and a sister who resided 
 in Boston. The sons remained here, with the exception 
 of Elbridge, who removed to Castine, where he was living 
 a few years since. He is the sole survivor of the family. 
 
92 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 His real estate passed into the hands of the late Pearl 
 Spofford, Esq., principally, and a large portion is now- 
 owned by Hon. C. A. Spofford. It is still known as the 
 Paul Pressey lot. 
 
 John Hooper was the settler who occupied the lot 
 adjoining that of Paul Pressey on the southeast, but it 
 stands in the name of William Hooper upon Peters's plan, 
 who probably acquired a right to the lot through John 
 Hooper. William Hooper was known as Captain Hooper, 
 and he removed to the town of Brooklin, where his de- 
 scendants still reside, but none of that name remain here. 
 A part of his farm passed into the possession of Mr. 
 Nathan Johnson, who was here prior to 1784, and it was 
 the estate occupied by his son, the late Mr. Daniel John- 
 son, and now by his son and daughter. The other part of 
 the Hooper lot was purchased by Mr. John Whitmore, 
 and by him sold to Captain Richard Greenlaw. It is now 
 owned and occupied by Captain Thomas R. Greenlaw. 
 
 Nathan Johnson came here, as has been stated, prior 
 to 1784, but there seems to have been no settler's right 
 assigned him, probably because he had not taken up a lot. 
 He was for many years a school-teacher, and was known 
 as "Master Johnson." His wife was the youngest daugh- 
 ter of Mr. John Pressey, Sr. Their children were Dan- 
 iel and John P., sons. The daughters were the wives 
 of Captain Joseph Raynes and Mr. Ebenezer Greenlaw, 
 formerly the wife of Mr. Abner Babbidge, who was lost 
 in the schooner Shakespeare, Captain John Green, master, 
 in 1 8 18. Another daughter, Lucy, married quite late in 
 life, and another, Mary Johnson, died unmarried. Mr. 
 Johnson died soon after 1800, and his widow survived him 
 not many years. 
 
TOW.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 93 
 
 EzEKiEL MoREY was One of the very early settlers. 
 He came not far from 1787, from New Meadows River, 
 in the vicinity of Brunswick, Maine. From what infor- 
 mation I have been able to gain, he built the first frame- 
 house in the town. Mr. Morey was twice married, had a 
 large family, thirteen children surviving him ; the time 
 of his death I have not learned. After his death the prin- 
 cipal part of his farm, a large and valuable one, passed into 
 the hands of the late Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., by purchase 
 of his heirs, who built a house upon it, which was after- 
 ward purchased by the late Joseph Sellers, 3d, and now is 
 the estate of his two deceased sons, George W. and Mark 
 H. Sellers, and the lot they own contains some six acres. 
 The residue Mr. Rowell sold to various persons, who have 
 built upon their respective lots. His sons who survived 
 him were Elias, Ezekiel, Isaac, Joseph, and James. The 
 daughters were the wives of Mr. Charles Sellers, of this 
 town ; a Mr. Calderwood, of Vinal Haven ; two were the 
 wives of a Mr. Wooster, of the same place ; one of a Mr. 
 Edson ; one of a Mr. Sweet ; one of a Mr. Day, who resided 
 on the island of Mount Desert ; and the youngest of the 
 late Mr. Joseph Noyes, of this town, a native of Atkinson, 
 New Hampshire, who came in 1804, and died not far from 
 1850. Mrs. Noyes survived her husband a few years. She 
 was a lady held in much respect, a sincere Christian, 
 and beloved by all who knew her. All of the above sons 
 and daughters, except Mr. Elias Morey and Mrs. Sellers 
 and Mrs. Noyes removed from this place : Ezekiel and 
 Isaac to the town of Hope, Maine, and afterward to the 
 State of Ohio ; Joseph lived and died in Castine, and 
 James lived in the town of Levant, not far from Bangor. 
 Mr. Elias Morey died not far from the year 1844; Mrs. 
 Sellers in 1832, aged eighty-three. The children of Mr. 
 
94 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Noyes, with one exception, have removed from this town, 
 and the land and buildings he occupied are now owned by- 
 Mr. William C. Gray. Mr. Morey, the father, was a man 
 very tall of stature, being nearly seven feet in height, and 
 was a very worthy man, 
 
 William Babbidge was the first settler upon the lot of 
 land adjoining that of Mr. Morey on the east. He came 
 very early — prior to 1770; and was a brother to Mr. 
 Courtney Babbidge, who came some years after, and re- 
 sided near the Southeast Harbor. Mr. William Babbidge 
 sold out his right to Mr. Joshua Haskell, a brother of 
 Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and took up another lot of land, 
 on what is known as Babbidge's Neck, which was a few 
 years ago occupied by Mr. Seth Hatch and the late Cap- 
 tain John Greenlaw. The farm of Mr. Hatch was after 
 his death occupied by his son, the late Captain Jeremiah 
 Hatch. Mr. Babbidge left no son, but five daughters, who 
 were the wives of Mr. William Greenlaw, Mr. Samuel 
 Stinson, Mr. Joseph Whitmore, Mr. Seth Hatch, and Mr. 
 Samuel Staples. After the death of her husband Mrs. 
 Babbidge became the wife of Mr. Thomas Robbins, Sr. 
 
 Joshua Haskell, the resident of the land taken up by 
 Mr. Babbidge, came when a young man not twenty years 
 old with his father, Captain Mark Haskell. His wife was 
 a daughter of Deacon Francis Haskell, before noticed. 
 He was for many years a deacon in the Congregational 
 Church, and was known as "Deacon Joshua." His sons 
 were : Joshua, who for many years tended the gristmill at 
 the Northwest Harbor ; Thomas, a master ship-carpenter ; 
 Mark, who died when a young man ; Edward, who died 
 not far from the year 1862; and Ignatius, the father of 
 the present Captain George C. Haskell. The daughters 
 were the wives of Mr. Jonathan Webster, who removed to 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 95 
 
 Castine, where she died not far from 1824; another, that 
 of Mr. Samuel Noyes, who was a brother of Mr. Joseph 
 Noyes, and came with him here. He was a noted ship- 
 wright for many years, and was well known as " Master 
 Noyes." He lived for many years, and died in Castine. 
 Another was the wife of Mr. Joseph Sellers, 3d, who died 
 here, and the youngest was that of John Turner, Esq., of 
 Isle au Haut, who is still living. The others are all now 
 dead. Deacon Haskell, at the time of his death, which 
 took place not long after the year 1830, owned a large and 
 valuable farm, which came into the possession of his heirs. 
 He was a man much respected by all who knew him, 
 being considered an upright man. His widow survived 
 him till 1842. 
 
 Benjamin Cole was the settler upon the lot of land 
 adjoining that of Joshua Haskell. He came early, 
 between the years 1767 and 1770. About him but little 
 is known, nor do we know from what place he came here. 
 He had one son, who occupied the lot of land taken up 
 by him, of the same name, Benjamin, who came with him. 
 They both had settlers' rights, and one of them was 
 located near P^ish Creek, and the farm now occupied by 
 Mr. Joseph S. Greenlaw is a part of it ; the remainder is 
 now occupied by Mr. Benjamin Cole, the great-grandson 
 of the first named. The time of the death of Mr. Cole is 
 not to us known. His daughter was the wife of Mr. 
 Abijah Haskell, a son of Deacon Francis Haskell, and we 
 have no knowledge of any more of the family, if any 
 there were. His son Benjamin married a daughter of 
 Nathaniel Bray, Sr., and their sons were : Benjamin, the 
 father of the present Mr. Enos Cole ; Joseph, who lived 
 near the Town House ; Willard, who lived at Fish Creek, 
 on the farm now occupied by his son Benjamin ; Nathaniel ; 
 
96 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and one who died many years ago, of the name of Jona- 
 than. The daughters were : one, the wife of the late 
 Captain Samuel Pickering ; another, that of Mr. Willard 
 Bray. None of the family now remains. Mr. Benja- 
 min Cole, Jr. was for many years sexton of the first parish 
 in the town, and after his death, Mr. William Morey offici- 
 ated in that capacity till the time of his death. The farm 
 of Mr. Cole is in part now owned by his descendants. 
 
 Joshua Emerson, a native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, 
 was the first settler upon the lot of land lying south of 
 that taken up by Elijah Dunham, on what is known as 
 Dunham's Point. He came some time prior to the year 
 1790, but probably was not here in season to be considered 
 as entitled to a right by settlement, — prior to 1784, — and 
 he was one of the class styled "young settlers." He 
 built a sawmill at the outlet of the cove, near the property 
 now occupied by Captain Benjamin J. Sylvester, and it is 
 still known as "Emerson's Mill Pond." He resided on 
 the lot taken up by him, which was afterward occupied by 
 the late Mr. Crowell H. Sylvester, and upon which he (Mr. 
 Sylvester) lived till his death in 1863. Mr. Emerson con- 
 veyed his property to Major David Coffin, of Newbury- 
 port, Massachusetts, who lived several years in Castine, 
 where he died in 1838. In 1807 Mr. Emerson left his farm 
 and moved on to a fifty-acre lot, which, in 1795, he had pur- 
 chased of Ephraim Packard, of Beverly, Massachusetts, 
 and is now occupied by Mr. Samuel Dunham, where he 
 died in 18 10. His wife was Hannah, the daughter of Mr. 
 Seth Webb, who will be noticed, who occupied the farm 
 till her death in 1838. Their children were: Seth, who 
 died in 1827 ; Joshua, who died in 1842 ; Samuel, who died 
 not many years ago, in Islesborough ; and William, a 
 young man, whose death was caused by lockjaw, about 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 97 
 
 the year 1821. The daughters were the wives of Mr. 
 Daniel Allen, Samuel Allen, Jr., and a Mr. Cummings, of 
 Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, who left her a widow. 
 She afterward married a Mr. Edward Alexander. But 
 one only of the family, the wife of Captain Samuel Allen, 
 is now living. 
 
 Samuel Trundy was the occupant of the lot of land 
 lying on the south side of Emerson's Mill Pond and at the 
 head of the Southwest Harbor. He was a native of Cape 
 Elizabeth, Maine, and came here in 1765 — the first per- 
 son who made a settlement upon the west side of the 
 island and southwesterly of the Northwest Harbor, except 
 Mr. John Pressey and his son John Pressey, Jr. A former 
 neighbor of his, Mr. Thomas Small, came east intending 
 to settle in the present town of Bluehill, and on his way 
 anchored in the Northwest Harbor, came over to see 
 him, and was by him persuaded to remain ; this was in 
 1767, and at that time Mr. Pressey had made his settle- 
 ment. Mr. Trundy's mother came with him and was his 
 housekeeper for a few years, when her other son, Mr. 
 George Trundy, came and removed her to his home. 
 Their father was a native of Holland and died when a 
 young man, leaving two sons. The wife of Mr. Samuel 
 Trundy was Miss Ann Carey, and they were the parents 
 of fourteen children and grandparents of one hundred 
 and twenty. Eleven of their children had families. Eive 
 of them had twelve children each ; two had eleven each ; 
 three, ten each; and one, eight. Mr. Trundy died in 1805. 
 His widow became the wife of Mr. James Jordan, who 
 died in 181 8; she afterward married Mr. Jeremiah 
 Stover, who outlived her, she dying in 1826. The 
 children of Mr. Trundy were : Daniel, who died in 1835, 
 in Dover, Maine ; Samuel, who died in Newburyport ; 
 
98 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Thomas, who died in 1846; and John, in 1859, i^^ Rock- 
 land. The daughters were the wives of Messrs. Peletiah 
 Barter, Abner Lane, David Thurlow, Daniel Crockett, 
 Jonathan Pressey, John Whitmore, and Hon. Richard 
 Warren, — all of whom are now dead. 
 
 John Rayxes, Sr. and his sons John, Johnson, and 
 William Raynes settled the lot of land lying south of that 
 of Mr. Trundy. They were natives of York, Maine, and 
 came here in 1772, in company with two of the same 
 name, Messrs. Samuel and James Raynes, who were rela- 
 tives of theirs. Mr. John Raynes, Sr. lived not many 
 years after he came here. His wife was also a native of 
 York, and her name before marriage was Abigail Harmon. 
 Their children were the three sons who came with him. 
 One of the daughters was the wife of Mr. Anthony 
 Merchant, the person who settled what is known as Mer- 
 chant's Island, now included in the limits of the town of 
 Isle au Haut, who came about the same time. One 
 daughter was Mrs. Mary Kingsley, who remained in York. 
 Another was the wife of Mr. Joshua Staples ; another 
 whose name was Miriam, remained unmarried. The ances- 
 tor of Mr. Raynes was Francis Raynes, one of the earlier 
 inhabitants of York, as his name is found in Williamson's 
 History of Maine as one of the persons residing there in 
 1653, when the town was incorporated. His son, John 
 Raynes, 2d, was born in 1753, and he was a master-mari- 
 ner for several years. His wife was Sarah, daughter of 
 Mr. Theophilus Eaton, and they lived as husband and wife 
 sixty years to a day, being married December 25, 1777, 
 and he dying the same day in 1837, ^t the age of eighty- 
 four years. He was at Bagaduce at the time of the attack 
 by the Americans upon the British in 1779. His sons 
 were : William, who died in 1869, at the age of ninety-one 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 99 
 
 years ; John, who removed to Newburyport but returned 
 here a few years before his death in 1862; Joseph, who 
 died in 1S59; Benjamin, who died in 1861 ; and one named 
 Ebenezer, who died in 18 19, in the West Indies, at the 
 age of twenty-two years. One of the daughters was the 
 wife of Mr. Daniel Lufkin ; another, that of Mr. Stephen 
 Babbidge, and afterward that of Mr. Otis Oliver ; and 
 there were two who remained unmarried. The wife of 
 Captain John Raynes survived him till 1850, dying at the 
 age of ninety-one years, retaining her mind and memory 
 in a remarkable degree. From her I learned much 
 about the earlier settlers. Two days before her death I 
 saw her, and her health was then very good for a person 
 of her age. Her death took place in the month of Feb- 
 ruary, during very cold weather, which is often the cause 
 of death to persons of great age. And at that time she 
 was the oldest member of the Congregational Church in 
 the town. 
 
 Johnson Ravnes, before mentioned, was never mar- 
 ried. His house stood on land now owned by Captain 
 H. T. Lufkin, about thirty rods west of the town road, 
 in the field. His unmarried sister, Miriam, resided with 
 him till her death. He was said to be a man of superior 
 intelligence, was a great reader, and had a great deal 
 of understanding. His brother, William Raynes, married 
 Miriam Robinson, a sister to the mother of the late Cap- 
 tain Henry Lufkin, who died very suddenly, in 1868. 
 Their children were Edward and Johnson Raynes, the 
 latter of whom died in 1S73. One of the daughters was 
 the wife of Mr. Asa B. Eaton, and mother of Captain 
 William R. Eaton, who formerly resided here, and now in 
 Newburyport. Another was the former wife of Mr. Asa 
 Saunders, and mother of Captain Ebenezer Saunders, of 
 
lOO AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 this town. Another was that of Mr. William Atherton, 
 of Mount Desert ; another married Mr. Jonathan Pressey, 
 Jr. ; and another, named Joanna, remained unmarried. 
 None of the family is now living except Mrs. Atherton. 
 Mr. William Raynes, some time about the year 1790, sold 
 a part of his land to a Mr. Lufkin, of Gloucester, Massa- 
 chusetts, who died. After his death, which occurred 
 soon after the purchase, it came into the possession of 
 his brother, Mr. Benjamin Lufkin, who removed here 
 from Gloucester with his family, and built a house near 
 that now occupied by Mr. John T. Brown, where he resided 
 till his death. Both himself and his wife were members 
 of the church in Gloucester of which the celebrated Uni- 
 versalist preacher, John Murray, was pastor, it being the 
 first church of that denomination in New England. The 
 children of Mr. Lufkin were : Benjamin, who lived and died 
 in Sedgwick ; Henry, the father of the present Captain 
 Mark H. Lufkin; and Daniel, who died in 1871. The 
 daughters were the wives of Mr. Abraham Babson, who 
 lived near Naskeag Point, now in the town of Brooklin ; 
 Mr. Jonah Dodge, of the same town ; a Mr. McMullen, 
 of Vinal Haven ; and Mr. Edward Raynes, the eldest son 
 of Mr. William Raynes. Mr. Lufkin was by trade a 
 shoemaker, and before he came here in 1790 had a shop 
 in Gloucester which stood near the site now occupied by 
 the Gloucester House. Those of the same name in that 
 place at present are relatives of his descendants. 
 
 Samuel Raynes, a nephew of John Raynes, Sr., settled 
 upon the lot adjoining that of Captain John Raynes on the 
 south. He did not remain many years upon it, but moved 
 back to York. His land passed into the hands of Ignatius 
 Haskell, Esq., by whom it was sold to the late Captain 
 William Raynes, not long after the year 1800, who a few 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. lOl 
 
 years after built a house upon it, which is still standing, 
 in which he resided till his death. The property was sold 
 to his son, the late A. B. Raynes, who died in Norwich, 
 Connecticut, in the year 1881. It is now the property 
 of his son, Mr. Charles H. Raynes, of that place. We 
 have no knowledge of the time of the death of Samuel 
 Raynes, nor of his history after his removal to York. 
 
 James Raynes, a brother of the subject of the preced- 
 ing sketch, settled upon the lot of land adjoining that of 
 Samuel Raynes on the south. He died not many years 
 after he came here, and the property fell into the hands 
 of his sister, Anna Raynes, who conveyed it to Mr. 
 Ebenezer Webster, a native of Cape Elizabeth, whose 
 wife was a sister to the wife of Mr. Job Small. They 
 were the parents of Andrew, Joseph, John, and Ebenezer 
 Webster, and Mrs. Anna Small, the wife of Captain Eben- 
 ezer Small, and another sister, who removed from here. 
 Mr. Andrew Webster lived and died in Brooksville. Joseph 
 lived in North Haven. John was lost at sea in about 
 1815. He was a master-mariner, and at the time of his 
 death the son of Mr. Nathaniel Bray, noticed before, 
 named Daniel, was one of the crew of the vessel of which 
 Cajitain Webster was master. Captain Ebenezer Web- 
 ster, Jr. was an enterprising ship-master, and sailed for 
 many years in the employ of William Bartlett, Esq., of 
 Ncwburyport, a wealthy siiip-owner, in the early part of 
 the present century, and after retiring from the sea 
 resided in Cape Elizabeth, where his father resided with 
 him till his death. I\Ir. Webster sold the land to Mr. 
 Job Small, Jr., and from him it was sold to his brother, 
 Michael Small, Esq., and by him, in 18 17, to Mr. Charles 
 Sellers, one of the early settlers, whom we shall notice, 
 who resided upon it till his death ; after that it came 
 
I02 -'i^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 into the possession of his son, the late Mr. Joseph Sellers, 
 2d, and is now owned and occupied by his sons and widow. 
 Thomas Small, who came here in 1767 from Cape 
 Elizabeth, settled upon the lot of land adjoining that of 
 Mr. James Raynes on the south, and did so, as has been 
 stated, at the solicitation of Mr. Trundy, as there was no 
 other person in the near vicinity at the time : and as Mr. 
 Small was an old acquaintance, he was the more desirous 
 of having him as a neighbor. A settlement had been 
 attempted upon the lot by a man of the name of Martin, 
 who had abandoned it, or was about to do so. The land 
 taken up by Mr. Small was one of the most valuable lots 
 in the town for farming purposes, there being but very 
 little waste-land upon it. He first settled near the bar, 
 which was across the mouth of what is now known as 
 Small's Cove, and it is on the land now occupied by his 
 great-grandson, Mr. Enoch Small. He lived upon the lot 
 about sixty years, dying in the year 1827, and his wife died 
 about the same time, having lived in wedlock about sixty- 
 four years. His eldest child, the late Mrs. Mary Lunt, 
 was in her fourth year at the time of her parents' removal 
 here, and had a very distinct memory respecting it. She 
 lived till 1859, dying at the great age of ninety-five years, 
 and till her death retained her mind and memory, and 
 was one of those who gave me much information respect- 
 ing the early settlement of the town ; and in my opinion 
 I never found any person of her age who retained her 
 mental faculties so clearly. She was the wife of Mr. 
 Micajah Lunt, of Newburyport, and the mother of the 
 widow of Mr. Avery Fifield, a native of Haverhill, New 
 Hampshire, who came here in 1803, or thereabouts, and 
 died in the year 1845. He was well known, and took a 
 prominent part in affairs here, and had many friends. Mrs. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. IO3 
 
 Fifiekl (lied in 1.S82, at the age of ninety-six years, having 
 been born February 6, 1786. Mrs. Lunt was an earnest 
 Christian, and in early life united with the church at the 
 Northwest Harbor. The other children of Air. Small 
 were Thomas, Ebenezer, Benjamin, William, Joseph, Mrs. 
 Lunt, before noticed, and the wives of Mr. William 
 Sellers, Mr. Joseph Randall, the second son of Mr. George 
 G. Choate, Mr. Simon Smith, and of a Mr. Small in Cape 
 Elizabeth. After the decease of Mr. Small his property 
 was owned by his son Ebenezer, and others of the family, 
 and is now in the possession of Mr. Joseph C. Judkins, 
 Captain H. F. Cole, Enoch Small, and Captain H. F. 
 Lufkin. His son, Thomas Small, Jr., settled upon the 
 lot adjoining on the south, as a young settler, and his 
 wife was Miss Anna Saunders, the daughter of Mr. 
 Thomas Saunders, who has been mentioned. Their 
 children were : Thomas, who lived and died in Newbury- 
 port ; James, who formerly resided on Plum Island, near 
 that place; Reuben, who came to his death by burning, in 
 1827; William ; and Joel, who now lives in Islesborough. 
 The daughters were the wives of Mr. Jesse Stinson, 
 Mr. Charles Barbour, Mr. Hale Powers, and Mr. John 
 G. Small, who now resides in Belfast ; the two last- 
 named daughters, with Joel Small, are now living. Mr. 
 Small, the father, died in 1846, at the age of seventy- 
 eight years. 
 
 The second son of Mr. Thomas Small, Sr. was Captain 
 Ebenezer Small, a master-mariner, who died in 1827 or 
 1828; his wife was Miss Ann Webster, the daughter of 
 Mr, Ebenezer Webster ; they were the parents of twelve 
 children, namely : Ebenezer, John W., Edward, Ben- 
 jamin, Avery, ICnoch, and Joseph W., none of whom is 
 now living. The daughters were the wives of Captain 
 
I04 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 William B. Hatch, formerly of Pembroke, Maine ; Mr. 
 Edward Richardson ; Thomas Tyler, who removed to 
 Winterport, and died there ; William Tyler, who removed 
 to the same place, and was lost at sea ; and the wife of 
 Mr. Paul Thurlow, the only one of the family who remains 
 here. The wife of Captain Small survived him several 
 years. 
 
 The third son of the family of Mr. Thomas Small, Sr. 
 was Benjamin Small, who died in 1827, and at the time 
 resided at Burnt Cove, on the place afterward owned by 
 Mr. Avery Fifield, Jr. His wife was Miss Mary Lunt, of 
 Newburyport, to which place she removed with her family 
 after the death of her husband. 
 
 The fourth son of the family was William Small, whose 
 wife was Lydia, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr. 
 His death was caused by a person who represented him- 
 self a Thompsonian doctor, not far from the year 1814. 
 He was not in good health and consented to put himself 
 in the care of this person, going through the process of 
 steaming practised by that class of persons ; and the suc- 
 ceeding operation was the pouring of cold water over him 
 to such an extent that he died in an hour after. The 
 doctor, finding what was the result of his practice with 
 him, immediately made his escape and had but time barely 
 to get away from the island, being followed by the two 
 brothers of the deceased, who would perhaps have dealt 
 violently with him had they overtaken him, being much 
 enraged. 
 
 The only child of Mr. William Small was Lydia, who 
 afterward was the wife of Mr. Avery Fifield, Jr. The 
 widow married Mr. Israel Dorr, of Frankfort, and they 
 remained here till about 1844, when they removed to 
 Bucksport. The last son of Mr. Thomas Small's family 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.ILVE. 1 05 
 
 was Joseph Small, who, when a young man, removed to 
 Newburyport, where he followed the sea, married, had one 
 son, and in 1807 died; his widow afterward became the 
 wife of Mr. John Howard, and afterward, that of Mr. 
 Samuel Small, after whose death she removed to New- 
 buryport. 
 
 Job Small, a brother of Mr. Thomas Small, settled in 
 1768 upon the lot of land on the south side of Small's 
 Cove not far from the land of his brother. His wife was 
 Miss Mercy Wescott, a daughter of the ancestor of all of 
 the name in the towns of Castine, Penobscot, and Bluehill, 
 and his name was William. A son of his of the same 
 name was the grandfather of the present Captain Joseph 
 Wescott now residing in Castine, who was for many years 
 known as a ship-master, and who resides upon the land 
 taken up by his grandfather, who was one of the early 
 settlers there prior to the war of the Revolution. Mr. 
 Small died early in the present century, and his widow 
 died in 1835 at the age of ninety-six years — the oldest 
 person in the town at the time. There are but two 
 instances of greater longevity among us. The children of 
 Mr. Small were: Andrew, who died in 1848, aged eighty- 
 four ; Samuel, who died in 1854, aged eighty-six ; Job, who 
 lived and died in the town of Stockton, aged nearly eighty 
 years; Edward, who died in 1864, aged ninety-four years ; 
 Naylor, who died in 1863, aged ninety-one years ; Michael, 
 who died in 1837 at the age of fifty-eight years. There 
 was but one daughter in the family — Alice, who was the 
 wife of Captain John Webster, mentioned before ; she 
 died in Portland. The farm of Mr. Small was conveyed 
 by him to his son Michael Small, and it is now the prop- 
 erty of his son, who resides upon it. 
 
 Cn.\RLES Sellers settled upon the lot of land adjoin- 
 
I06 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ing that of Mr. Job Small on the west. He was a native 
 of the town of York, Maine. His father followed the sea 
 and died when a young man. His widow, with two of her 
 sons, Charles and Joseph, came here in 1772. Another 
 brother, William, older than the ones we have mentioned, 
 remained there for some years, when he came, but not in 
 season to be entitled to a lot of land as a settler. Mr. 
 Charles Sellers was born in 1750, and his wife was Jerusha, 
 the eldest daughter of Mr. Ezekiel Morey. He lived upon 
 the farm taken up by him till 1817, when he purchased 
 the one taken up by James Raynes, of Michael Small, 
 Esq., the then owner, who purchased that which Mr. 
 Sellers occupied, it joining his ; and at his death he 
 bequeathed it to his two youngest sons. It is now the 
 property of Mr. Thomas S. Powers and of the heirs of 
 the late Charles T. Powers. Mr. Sellers lived upon the 
 place purchased by him till his death in 1834; his wife 
 dying in 1832. Their children were : John, who lived and 
 died in Vinal Haven ; Charles, who resided in the Province 
 of New Brunswick, near the St. Croix River between 
 Eastport and Calais ; and Joseph, the youngest son, who 
 remained with him and lived upon the place during his 
 lifetime, after his removal to it, dying in 1865 at the age 
 of seventy-two years ; Martha, the wife of Mr. David 
 Torrey, who died in 1879 ^^ the age of ninety-seven years ; 
 Susan, the wife of Captain James Torrey, who died in 
 1875, aged ninety-one years ; Sarah, the wife of Mr. Seth 
 Emerson ; and two were unmarried. 
 
 Joseph Sellers, the brother of the subject of the last 
 notice, took up the lot of land adjoining that of his 
 brother on the south. He was born in 1752, and at the 
 time of his removal here he was twenty years of age. 
 His mother lived with him till age and infirmity disquali- 
 
TOJViV OF DEER ISLE, MALVE. lO/ 
 
 fied her, as a housekeeper, when he married the daughter 
 of Thomas Thompson, when he was forty-eight years of 
 age. They had nine children ; three sons : Joseph, known 
 as Joseph Sellers, 3d, who traded at the Northwest Harbor 
 for many years, was interested in navigation, and occupied 
 the house in that vicinity known as the Sellers house ; 
 he died not far from 1850. Another son was Thomas 
 and another William — both of whom are dead. None 
 of the daughters remained here ; the youngest married 
 Captain Thomas D. Toothaker, who removed to Belfast 
 and died at sea. Mr. Sellers died in 1844, at the age of 
 ninety-two years ; his farm passed into the hands of his 
 eldest son, by whose heirs it was sold. It was the property 
 of Mr. Charles T. Powers, at the time of his death in 
 1880. Mr. Sellers was for many years one of the board 
 of selectmen and was one of the first chosen in 1789. 
 
 JosiAH Crockett was the settler upon the lot of land 
 adjoining that of Mr. Joseph Sellers on the east, and the 
 body of water adjoining the lot on the east is known as 
 Crockett's Cove. He removed here from Portland, then 
 known as I'almouth, or that vicinity, not far from 1768. 
 His wife was a daughter of Mr. Nathan Dow and a sister 
 to the wife of Mr. Jonathan Eaton. He was a singular 
 man, and the date of his death is not to us known. He 
 took up a lot, and when the survey of the town was made, 
 one of two hundred and twelve acres was assigned him. 
 Why he had one so large is not known to us. He had 
 claimed other lots, but no other was run out to him. He 
 sold one hundred acres to Mr. Ephraim Packard, of Bev- 
 erly, Massachusetts, who in 1795, as we have stated, sold 
 fifty acres to Mr. Joshua Emerson ; the balance is still 
 known as the Packard Lot. It was sold for non-payment 
 of taxes in 1833 and became the property of Mr. Joseph 
 
I08 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Sellers, 3d, and is now owned by Captain Stephen B. 
 Morey. The land owned by Mr. Crockett at the time of 
 his death came into the possession of his son, Mr. Nathan 
 Crockett, and it is now owned by the heirs of the late Mr. 
 Edmund S. Stinson. The children of Mr. Crockett were : 
 Nathan, Ephraim, and Sarah — the last of whom became 
 the wife of Mr. William Webb, and afterward, that of 
 Deacon William Stinson before noticed. 
 
 Captain Robinson Crockett, a brother of the person 
 last noticed, came here in 1785 with a family, and remained 
 here till his death. He was not entitled to a lot of land 
 as one of the early settlers, but must have been one styled 
 as "young settlers." He took up a lot lying east of, and 
 adjoining, the lot of Mr. Samuel Trundy, and the home- 
 stead of Captain Mark H. Lufkin is a part of it, as also 
 that owned by the late Captain James Saunders. The 
 time of his death is unknown to us. His children were : 
 Samuel, who the latter part of his life resided in the town 
 of Prospect, and died there, and whose wife was the widow 
 of Mr. Thomas Robbins, Jr., who resided near the bar 
 leading to Stinson's Neck. Another was Mr. Robinson 
 Crockett, whose wife was a daughter of Mr. Thomas Con- 
 ary, and who for many years resided on Stinson's Neck, 
 and tended a sawmill of which he was part owner ; after 
 that he removed to Little Deer Island ; thence to 
 Brooksville, where he died not far from 1850, aged over 
 eighty years. Another was Joseph, whose wife was a 
 sister of the wives of Mr. Elias Morey, William Raynes, 
 and Captain Henry Lufkin, and who removed to St. 
 Andrews, in the Province of New Brunswick. Another 
 was Richard, the father of the present Captain L. B. 
 Crockett, who for many years tended a sawmill near 
 what is known as the " Barbour farm," a part of which 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 1 09 
 
 he was owner. The other son was the late Mr. Eph- 
 raim Crockett, who for many years lived on Stinson's 
 Neck, on the farm now owned by Mr. Josiah C. Webb, 
 and who afterward removed to Rockport, Maine, — a part 
 of the town of Camden, — where he died. The daughters 
 were the wives of Messrs. Andrew Small, Samuel Small, 
 David Sawyer, and William Morey, and the last was the 
 mother of the present Mr. Levi B. Morey. Captain 
 Crockett, the subject of this sketch, was, before he came 
 here, a master-mariner sailing from Falmouth. 
 
 James Jordan came to this town, from what I have 
 been able to learn, some time prior to 1790, but not in 
 season to have a settler's lot laid out to him ; the place 
 of his birth is not known to us. He resided for many 
 years on Sable Island, lying east of the Province of Nova 
 Scotia, in the employ of the government of Great Britain. 
 He was there for the purpose of aiding crews of vessels 
 who were wrecked upon the shoals around it, as in those 
 days it was considered a dangerous place, as it is a long, 
 low island, not discernible at a great distance, and there 
 are two dangerous bars, one at the eastern, and the other 
 at the western, end, upon which a vessel would strike 
 when at considerable distance from the island. It is 
 in the track of vessels bound from Europe to Halifa.x, and 
 to the ports lying adjacent to the Bay of Fundy. There 
 were huts erected for the accommodation of such persons 
 as might be wrecked, and there were horses kept upon 
 the island, which subsisted upon a sort of grass growing 
 there. It was his duty while there to ride each day 
 from end to end of the island, to ascertain whether any 
 one needed assistance. For their subsistence the island 
 was visited from time to time, by persons in the employ 
 of the government, and supplies left there for such as 
 
no AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 might need them. How long he remained there we do 
 not know, but he removed to some place in this State 
 before he came here. His eldest daughter was the wife 
 of a Mr. Grover, who lived and died in the town of Bow- 
 doinham, in Sagadahoc County. He for many years re- 
 sided on what was known as Sheep Island, or is now 
 known as Jordan's Island, which was a part of the settlers' 
 rights of Messrs. James and Timothy Saunders, of whom 
 it was purchased ; afterward he removed to a lot of 
 land he purchased of Mr. Samuel Trundy, whose widow 
 he afterward married. He died in 1818, at the age of 
 eighty-six years, of a cancer on his lip. His sons were 
 Ebenezer Jordan, who died in 1839, ^^^1 Mr. Samuel 
 Jordan, who lived in Sedgwick. The daughters were the 
 Mrs. Grover, above mentioned, and the wives of Messrs. 
 Daniel Trundy, James Eaton, the son of Theophilus, and 
 Richard Greenlaw. The island occupied by Mr. Jordan 
 was afterward the property of Mr. Ebenezer Jordan, and 
 after his death it became that of his heirs, but it is now 
 uninhabited, as no one has resided there since the death 
 of the widow of Mr. Ebenezer Jordan, 2d, which took place 
 in 1879. 
 
 The wife of Mr. Ebenezer Jordan was Olive, the daugh- 
 ter of Mr. William Sellers, a brother of Charles and Joseph 
 Sellers, and who was the father of Mr. William Sellers, 
 the father of the present Mr. Amos Sellers. The chil- 
 dren of the family were : Benjamin Jordan, who went away 
 when a young man and never returned, nor had his parents 
 knowledge of his residence, if he were living ; Ebenezer 
 Jordan, 2d, who died in 1852, at the age of forty-seven 
 years ; Sarah, the wife of Mr. Thomas Saunders ; Hannah, 
 the wife of Mr. John S. Trott, of Castine ; Olive, the wife 
 of Mr. Richard Brown ; Mehitable, the wife of Captain 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. \ \ \ 
 
 Richard Greenlaw ; and Nancy, that of the present '\\x. 
 Aaron D. Pickering, — the last of whom only is living. 
 
 Andrew Small, the eldest son of Mr. Job Small, took 
 up the lot adjoining that of his father on the east as a 
 young settler. He was born in 1764, and his wife was 
 Hannah, the daughter of Mr. Robinson Crockett. He 
 was by trade a ship-carpenter. He was a very active, 
 energetic man, and a good citizen. His sons were : the 
 late Mr. Joseph Small, who died a few years ago, over 
 eighty years of age ; Captain Benjamin Small, who died 
 when a young man ; and Lemuel, who was drowned when 
 a young man also. The daughters were : Alice, the wife 
 of Larkin Snow, Esq., of Rockland ; Mercy, the wife of 
 Mr. Jeremiah Pressey, who died the same time her hus- 
 band did, and was buried in the same grave with him ; 
 Hannah, the wife of the late Captain John Trundy ; Susan, 
 the wife of Mr. David Conary ; and Rebecca, the wife of 
 Joel Whitten, who removed to Rockland not far from 
 1850. The wife of Mr. Small died in 1836, and he after- 
 ward married the widow of Mr. James Greenlaw, who sur- 
 vived him. The farm he occupied is now the property of 
 Mrs. Eliza Small, who resides upon it. 
 
 Samuel Small settled upon the lot of land lying south- 
 easterly of, and adjoining, that of the subject of the pre- 
 ceding notice, and he purchased the right in it which 
 belonged to Mr. Cornelius Brimhall, who claimed to own 
 it by prior settlement. The wife of Mr. Small was Sarah, 
 the daughter of Captain Robinson Crockett. Their chil- 
 dren were: the present Mr. Samuel Small, now in his 
 eighty-fifth year ; and the wife of Mr. Rufus York, who 
 was drowned in 1844, in endeavoring to escape from his 
 vessel which took fire in the night, while lying loaded with 
 wood in Crockett's Cove. His wife died in 1823, and he 
 
112 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 afterward married the widow of Mr. John Howard, who 
 survived him. Mr. Small was a very worthy and sensible 
 man and was much respected ; and for his advantages he 
 had acquired a good deal of information. A few years 
 before his death his mind failed him, and he died in 1854, 
 aged eighty-six years. His farm passed into the hands of 
 his son. It is now owned principally by Mr. Josiah C. 
 Stinson. 
 
 MicAjAH LuNT, a native of Newburyport, came here 
 not far from the year 1784, but no lot of land was assigned 
 to him, nor have we knowledge that he ever owned one. 
 His wife was the Mrs. Mary Lunt before noticed, and his 
 daughter was the widow of the late Mr. Avery Fifield. 
 Mr. Lunt was in the naval service of the United States 
 during the war of the Revolution, and some years after 
 his death, which took place not far from 1828, his widow 
 received a pension. 
 
 The land lying south of what is known as Long Cove 
 was first settled by three brothers named Abraham, John, 
 and Isaac Freeze — neither of whom remained here for 
 many years. The descendants of the last named still 
 reside in the city of Ellsworth and in some of the towns 
 north of it, on the Union River, and now spell their names 
 Frazier, which perhaps might have been the name origi- 
 nally. The descendants of Abraham Freeze moved up the 
 Penobscot River and reside in the towns north of the city 
 of Bangor, and they retain the name Freeze. The wife 
 of John had no children, and when the late Hon. Richard 
 Warren was when young left an orphan (he was a grand- 
 son of a brother of her husband), she took care of him 
 till he became able to do something for his own support. 
 After his marriage he took her to his own home and 
 provided for her during her life, showing a commendable 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. \ 13 
 
 gratitude, which is pleasant to remember. The Messrs. 
 Freeze sold out their rights to Messrs. Mark Haskell & 
 Sons, who had their rights alloted as settlers adjoining, 
 and at the time of Peters's survey had a lot of five hun- 
 dred acres there in one body ; of that quantity about ninety 
 acres were sold to Mr. David Sawyer and is now occupied 
 by Mr. Samuel G. Barbour ; about one hundred and fifty 
 acres were set off to Deacon Solomon Haskell, one of the 
 firm, and the remainder, two hundred and sixty acres, was 
 at the time of the death of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., his 
 property, and a part of it is still known as the Barbour 
 farm. 
 
 Nathaniel Robbins settled the lot of land lying south 
 of, and adjoining, the before-mentioned lot. He came 
 here from Boston with his father about the year 1775. 
 His wife was Miss Betsey Colby, a daughter of Mr. Joseph 
 Colby. Their sons were Tristram T., Thomas, Nathaniel, 
 and James Robbins ; the two last are still living. The 
 daughters were the wives of the late Mr. Nathaniel 
 Thurston, and she is still living, aged over ninety years ; 
 of a Mr. Ackley, of the town of Cutler; and the other is 
 now the widow of the late Mr. Leonard Judkins. The 
 time of the death of Mr. Robbins we do not know ; his 
 widow died not far from the year 1850, over eighty years 
 of age. The farm of Mr. Robbins is still owned and 
 occupied by his descendants. 
 
 Courtney Babbidge, Sr. and his two sons settled the 
 lots adjoining that of Mr. Robbins on the south. They 
 came here from Windham, Maine, in 1773. Mr. Babbidge 
 does not seem to have had a settler's right assigned to 
 him, and probably at the time the survey was made he 
 might not have been living, or had removed from here. 
 He was three times married, and was the father of Messrs. 
 
114 "^'^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Stephen, Courtney, James, and William Babbidge. The 
 two former will be noticed. James removed to Vinal 
 Haven, where he lived and died, and William removed to 
 Windham. The daughters were the two wives of Mr. 
 Oliver Lane and that of Captain Hezekiah Colby, a son 
 of Mr. Ambrose Colby, Sr. The widow of Mr. Babbidge, 
 whose maiden name was Staples, married Mr. James 
 Joyce, who lived here for some time, and afterward re- 
 moved to Swan's Island, where he died, and was the 
 ancestor of all of the name there and in this town. Mr. 
 Babbidge was a brother of the Mr. William Babbidge who 
 has been noticed. 
 
 Stephen Babbidge, his eldest son, settled upon the 
 southern side of the lot taken up by them, and had his 
 right assigned him there. His wife was Miss Hannah 
 Staples, a daughter of the man who has been mentioned 
 as having been impressed by the British. His sons were : 
 Courtney, who lived for some years near the mouth of 
 Union River, in the city of Ellsworth, and died there ; 
 Stephen, the father of the present Mr. William Babbidge ; 
 Levi, a master-mariner ; John, who died very suddenly, in 
 1826; Aaron, and the late Mr. William Babbidge; and 
 James, who in 1833 was drowned, with his wife and child, 
 in passing through the flood-gates into the millpond, at 
 the Southeast Plarbor. The daughters were the wives 
 of Mr. William Barter, of Isle au Haut, and Mr. Nathaniel 
 Robbins, Jr., and all are now dead. Mr. Babbidge died in 
 1 84 1, aged eighty-two years. He was for many years an 
 invalid, was much respected, and in his day had consider- 
 able influence here, and he acquired considerable property. 
 After the death of his wife he married her sister, Mrs. 
 Saunders, and afterward, in 1835, married the widow of 
 Mr. Stephen Dow, a daughter of Mr. William Sellers. 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. \ 15 
 
 Courtney Barbidge, 2d, settled upon the northern part 
 of the lot, where his right was assigned him. He was a 
 soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was, I believe, 
 at the taking of Cornwallis. He was fortunate enough 
 to keep his written discharge from the army, signed by 
 General Knox, which enabled him to prove his claim for 
 a pension. From the difificulty of proof of service, required 
 by the Act of Congress, maniy were prevented from 
 receiving pensions who were entitled to them. His wife 
 was a daughter of Mr. Hezekiah Lane, and his sons were 
 Courtney, Calvin, Abner, Winthrop, Dudley, Stephen, 
 and Bester, by his first wife ; by his second, Walter 
 and Benjamin K. None of them settled here, and all, 
 with the exception of Bester, who resides in Winterport, 
 and Benjamin, residing in New York, — both of whom are 
 are master-mariners, — are now dead. The daughters were 
 the wives of Messrs. Thomas, Edward, and Ignatius Has- 
 kell, 3d, three brothers, sons of Deacon Joshua Haskell. 
 One was the wife of Mr. William Davis, a master 
 ship-carpenter, who removed to the Province of New 
 Brunswick. They all are dead. After the death of his 
 wife Mr. Babbidge married the widow of Mr. Ephraim 
 Stinson, of Vinal Haven, who had been married twice 
 before, and who was formerly well known here ; hav- 
 ing sold his farm to his brother Stephen, he removed to 
 an island at the eastern entrance of what is known as Fox 
 Island thoroughfare, where he lived till his death in 1834, 
 and the island is still known as Babbidgc's Island. He 
 was a man of decided political opinions, as well as was 
 his brother Stephen, but they were of different opinions 
 politically. 
 
 George Freeze, a brother of the persons noticed of 
 the same name, settled upon the lot cast of that of the 
 
Il6 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Messrs. Babbidge, and where they came from is not known 
 to us ; he came about the same time as did the others, 
 which was quite early, and of him but little is now known. 
 His children removed from here, and nearly all of their 
 descendants reside in the towns north of Bangor, on the 
 river. The only one of his grandchildren who remained 
 was the late Hon. Richard Warren, a son of the Mr. 
 Thomas Warren before noticed, and he was born on what 
 is now known as Freeze's Island, in 1786 ; he died in 
 1865, and has been before noticed. Mr. Warren purchased 
 the farm occupied by Mr. Freeze, upon which he resided 
 till his death, and it is now owned and occupied by his 
 son-in-law. Captain Gideon Hatch. 
 
 Joseph Tyler, Esq. settled upon the lot south of that 
 of the lands of Messrs. Babbidge and Freeze, and it was 
 included within the limits of the "Kent Claim." As the 
 deed to Kent by Greenlaw was made valid by a resolve of 
 the General Court of Massachusetts, Mr. Tyler could not 
 hold it as a settler. He was the son of a Congregational 
 minister in Dedham, Massachusetts, and his mother was a 
 niece of Sir William Pepperell, and he was born in 1749. 
 His brothers Messrs. Belcher and George Tyler came with 
 him, and the year of their coming is not known, but it 
 was prior to 1784. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 army, and his wife was Miss Phebe Fowles. I think I 
 have understood he contracted to purchase the claim of 
 Mr. Kent and rebuilt the mills upon it and was for many 
 years engaged in sawing lumber. He was a man of a 
 good education for those times, and the first, or one of the 
 first, person holding a commission as a justice of the 
 peace in the town, which was in those days considered an 
 office of dignity. He, with his brother George, was 
 appointed a committee to lay out the island into lots to 
 
TO WN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. i i 7 
 
 the settlers who were by a resolve of the General Court 
 entitled to them. A history of the grant made of the 
 remainder of the land to him and his brother has been 
 given. After a number of years' residence on the land, 
 he left it, and the sawmill became of little value, as the 
 best of the lumber had been cut off in the vicinity. He 
 then moved to the Reach, upon the farm of Mr. Robert 
 Linn, where he remained till his death in 1835, ^^ the age 
 of eighty-six years. His wife survived him, dying in 
 1857, at the age of ninety-three years. They had twelve 
 children ; the sons were : Joseph, Pepperell, Andrew, 
 David, Peter P., James, Thomas, and William — all of 
 whom, except James, are now dead. He is about eighty 
 years of age. The daughters were : Lydia, the wife of 
 the Captain Joshua C. Howard mentioned before, whose 
 death was in consequence of poison on board a revenue- 
 cutter ; Sarah, the first wife of Mr. Richard Brown and 
 mother of Mr. Samuel Brown, now of Newburyport ; 
 Phebe, the wife of Mr. John Raymond, then of Boston, 
 who died in Gloucester ; and INIary, who died unmarried, 
 when a young woman. 
 
 George Tvler, Esq. came early and was entitled to a 
 settler's lot, if he had complied with the requirements, 
 but I never heard of his occupying one ; his residence 
 was with his brother, and he was engaged with him in 
 business. He was also a justice of the peace and a man 
 of education and very capable. His occupation before 
 he came here was that of a silversmith ; he was tiie 
 first person who represented the town in the General 
 Court at Boston. He was never married and for some 
 years resided in Castine and was once postmaster there. 
 He afterward removed to Boston, where he died many 
 years ago. In hi.s day he was well known here and in the 
 towns around. 
 
Il8 --^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Captain Belcher Tyler, a brother of the two last- 
 named persons, settled upon the lot lying south of the 
 millpond, which was also within the claim of Mr. Kent. 
 He was a master-mariner, we suppose, as he was styled 
 Captain Tyler. His wife was not a resident here before 
 marriage, and after her death he married Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Toothaker, the person noticed who was a widow five 
 times, and he removed to the farm occupied by her former 
 husband. He resided there till his death, in 1827. None 
 of his sons remained here, but they removed to the eastern 
 part of the State, where their descendants still reside. 
 Only one of his daughters remained, who was the wife of 
 Captain Jonathan Torrey, and mother of Messrs. David, 
 William, and Belcher T. Torrey ; she died a few years 
 ago at the age of eighty-six years. Another daughter was 
 the wife of Mr. Carr Thurlow, who resided several years 
 on the farm of Mr. Aaron Babbidge, and afterward removed 
 to the town of Cutler, in Washington County. Captain 
 Tyler was a man of information, and for those times had 
 a good education. 
 
 Joseph Colby was the settler upon the lot of land lying 
 south of, and adjoining, that of Captain Tyler. He had 
 a two-hundred-acre lot set off to him, which was within 
 the limits of the Kent Claim, about which mention has 
 been made. In the suit at law referred to in the former 
 part of this work I have understood that he claimed, in 
 addition to his right as an early settler, that Kent had 
 contracted to sell him the land, and in payment he was to 
 perform a certain amount of labor upon the mill built by 
 Kent, and upon the dam, which he had performed ; but 
 upon what ground he held the land we do not know. He 
 was a native of Newbury, or some place in that vicinity, 
 in Massachusetts, and was born in 1744. When but 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. \ 19 
 
 eighteen years of age entered into an agreement of 
 marriage with Miss Sarah Thurlow, who was eight years 
 his senior ; she purchased his " time," as it was called, 
 of his father or master, and they were married. He came 
 here very early — not far from 1766 ; and his son Thomas, 
 born in 1768, was the first child born of white parents in 
 that part of the town. Mr. Colby was a pious and exem- 
 plary man, and died in 1828, at the age of eighty-four 
 years. His wife survived him till 1833, dying at the age 
 of ninety-seven years. His son Thomas is well remem- 
 bered by the older persons among us, from* his peculiar 
 manner of talking, having been what is termed tongue-tied. 
 He was a master-mariner, and died in 1837, aged sixty- 
 nine years. Mr. Colby's wife was the one referred to, 
 who carried the news of the surrender of Cornwallis to 
 Bagaduce. Their children were : Joseph and Thomas ; 
 Eunice, the wife of Mr.Thomas Stinson, Jr. ; Betsey, that 
 of Mr. Nathaniel Robbins ; Hannah, wife of Mr. Edward 
 Small ; and Sarah, the wife of Mr. Leonard Judkins, who 
 came here a year or more prior to 1800, from Salisbury, 
 New Hampshire, to which place they removed, and after 
 a few years returned. When at Salisbury Mrs. Judkins 
 well knew the father of Daniel Webster, and remembered 
 Daniel when a young man. The first wife of Captain 
 Thomas Colby was Miss Patience Norton, and after her 
 death he married Miss Betsey Thurlow, of Newbury, and 
 afterward married Mrs. Merchant, widow of Nathaniel 
 Merchant. His children were : Joseph, Tristram, Thomas 
 J., Anthony, Noah, and the wife of Mr. Daniel Lufkin, and 
 another, a Mrs. Deering, now living in Winterport. She 
 is in receipt of a pension for the services of her husband 
 in the War of 18 12, and is the only one of the family now 
 living. The wife of Joseph Colby, Jr., who settled the lot 
 
I20 ^'^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 adjoining that of his father on the south, was Miss Eunice 
 Thurlow, of Newbury, Massachusetts, and a sister of the 
 late Captain David Thurlow, who will be noticed. He, 
 Mr. Colby, was what was termed a young settler. He was 
 a man large of stature and of great physical strength, but, 
 like many persons who possess it, often overtaxed it, and 
 was worn out sooner in life than many men much weaker 
 physically, who are sensible of their deficiency and take 
 better care to preserve what they do have. They were 
 the parents of twelve children. The sons were Abner, 
 David T., Stephen, and William R. The daughters were 
 the wives of the Mr. William Small who died, as before 
 mentioned, under the practice of a Thompsonian doctor, 
 and Mr. Samuel Stinson, Jr., Mr. Nathaniel Ware, Henry 
 Keller, and William Thompson. All the family, with the 
 exception of Mr. Stephen Colby, are now dead. Mr. Colby 
 died in 1833, and his wife survived him several years. 
 
 Thomas Stinson, Jr. settled the lot of land adjoining 
 that of Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr., on the south, and was a 
 child when he came with his father to Stinson's Neck, in 
 1765. His wife, as we have stated, was a daughter of Mr. 
 Joseph Colby; she was born in 1763. Their children 
 were: Joseph C, known as Esquire Stinson, born in 1782 
 and died in 1849 or 1850; Thomas, who was for many 
 years a deacon in the Baptist Church ; Jesse, who 
 removed to Camden and died there or returned just before 
 his death — the father of the present Mr. Jesse Stinson ; 
 Lydia, the wife of Mr. Jedediah Darling, of Bluehill ; she 
 lived till 1880, and died aged ninety-two years. She was 
 the mother of those of that name there. Another was 
 the wife of Mr. Gideon Candage, of the same place ; 
 another, that of a Mr. Wright, of Machias ; and the 
 others v/ere the wives of Mr. Joseph C. Small and Mr. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 2 I 
 
 loliii Judkins, of this town. All of the family are now 
 dead. After the death of his wife, Mr. Stinson married 
 the widow of Mr. Abner Lane, and after her decease he 
 married the widow of Captain Belcher Tyler. 
 
 Edward Small settled the lot lying south of that of 
 Mr. Stinson ; he was the son of Mr. Job Small and was 
 born in 1770 ; his wife was Hannah, the daughter of Mr. 
 Joseph Colby, with whom he lived in wedlock sixty-six 
 years. She many years ago practised as midwife, had 
 a great deal of experience, was very successful and quite 
 skilful in many kinds of diseases in those days, when 
 the services of a physician were not as readily obtained 
 as now; she died in 1859, ^^ the age of eighty-seven 
 years, her death being caused by a fall upon the ice near 
 her door. Her husband survived her till 1864, and he 
 was, until he lost his sight a few years before his death, 
 able to perform labor upon his farm, retaining his mental 
 faculties remarkably ; with but one exception I have 
 considered him the most active man I ever knew for 
 one of his great age. He was for some years a mem- 
 ber of the board of selectmen of the town and was a 
 man of excellent judgment. They were the parents of 
 nine sons — four of whom removed from here; one, Mr. 
 Samuel Small, of Machiasport, is still living ; two of 
 the others, Messrs. Ignatius and William Small, reside 
 here; three others, Messrs. Joseph E., Thomas, and 
 George W. Small, are now dead ; the latter perished by 
 drowning in 1840. There was one daughter, the wife of 
 Mr. Alexander Drew, a resident of Machias, who became 
 a widow and is now dead. The sons of Mr. Small, Igna- 
 tius and William, have several times been on the board 
 of selectmen. The property of Mr. Small is now that of 
 the last named, who resides upon it. 
 
122 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Samuel Webb came here with his son, Mr. Seth Webb, 
 from Windham, Maine, not far from 1765. He was born 
 near the city of London in 1695, and his father was 
 a captain in the service of Queen Anne. His father 
 dying when he was quite young made it necessary for him 
 to seek some permanent employment, and when a boy he 
 was apprenticed to a ship-master, as was then the custom 
 there, and while on a voyage to this country his master 
 died at some place in what is now the State of Rhode 
 Island, when he was but seventeen years of age. He 
 then apprenticed himself to a blacksmith and learned the 
 trade. He was twice married and was the father of ten 
 sons ; many of that name in that State, and in the 
 vicinity of Salem, Massachusetts, and in the town of 
 Windham, in this State, and other places, are his descend- 
 ants. He is said to have taught the first school within 
 the limits of the town of Windham, and upon the removal 
 of his son, Mr, Seth Webb, came with him with his last 
 wife. For many years previous to his death he was 
 subject to what is known as the " shaking palsy," and he 
 died in 1788 at the age of ninety-three years ; his 
 remains, with those of his wife, were buried in the grave- 
 yard on the land formerly owned by the late Samuel 
 Whitmore, Esq., who, some years ago, pointed out to me 
 the place of their burial. 
 
 Seth Webb, the son of the subject of the preceding 
 notice, settled upon what is now known as " Babbidge 
 Neck," on the lot of land afterward the property of ]\Ir. 
 Joseph Whitmore, who, when a boy, resided and came here 
 with him. His wife was Miss Hannah Winship, of Wind- 
 ham, a daughter of the man of that name mentioned in 
 Williamson's History of Maine, who was, when away from 
 his house, scalped by the Indians, and recovered. He 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 123 
 
 was at the time in company with a man of the name of 
 Brown, who was killed by them, but Mr. Winship escaped 
 death in consequence of the savages' becoming alarmed 
 and fleeing, not stopping to strike him upon the head with 
 a hatchet, as often was their practice, fracturing the skull. 
 After the scalping he remained for some time insensible, 
 and upon becoming conscious found himself unable to 
 return home. As it happened, he was lying down by the 
 edge of a bog upon which cranberries grew plentifully. 
 It was the time of the year when they were ripe, and, 
 as there happened to be no rain while he remained, he 
 was able to creep upon his hands and knees to procure 
 them to appease his hunger and thirst, and at the end of 
 two weeks returned to his home, much to the surprise of 
 his family, who had given him up for dead ; and as the 
 weather proved moderate, he was enabled to recover. A 
 physician in the neighborhood informed him that cran- 
 berries were beneficial to the blood and caused his wound 
 to heal. He lived for many years, and afterward married 
 the widow of the Mr. Brown who was with him. 
 
 After Mr. Webb resided upon the first land taken up 
 by him, he gave up his claim to Mr. Whitmore and took 
 up a lot near what is now known as Webb's Cove ; he 
 also, a part of the time, resided upon Kimball's Island, 
 now in the town of Isle au Haut, and he was there 
 during the war of the Revolution. When ho left Wind- 
 ham he owned considerable property, but having a fond- 
 ness for hunting, he came East and was considerable of 
 his time engaged in that pursuit with the Indians, with 
 whom he was on good terms, and frequently those with 
 whom he was engaged when about here made his house 
 their home. Among others who did so was a noted man 
 among them, a chief who was named Orono, said to be a 
 
124 ^^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 natural son of one of the sons of Baron De Castine. 
 Orono lived to a very great age, and was said to be one 
 hundred and ten years old at the time of his death. I have 
 often heard his last surviving daughter speak of his being 
 at her father's house frequently. Mr. Webb often hunted 
 upon Union River and its tributaries, and in all probabil- 
 ity, the pond near it, now known as Webb's Pond, and 
 the brook leading out of it were named for him. The 
 year before his death he discovered a lead-mine on the 
 banks of that river at a time when the water was low, and 
 he traced it across it, and I have understood that it was 
 not far from its mouth. He brought home a piece weigh- 
 ing several pounds, and at the time of taking it he 
 marked the place with his hatchet so as to enable him to 
 find it on his next visit. He sent a part of it to Boston 
 and it was pronounced a good specimen of lead ore, in 
 which was some silver, and it was probably a continuation 
 of one of the veins of that metal lately discovered in the 
 towns east of the city of Ellsworth. His daughter, 
 before referred to, informed me that the family had it for 
 several years, and the piece of ore was as large as a man's 
 two fists. His death took place in 1785, and was caused 
 by accidental shooting ; at the time he was on Kimball's 
 Island and his family on this island, and either in launch- 
 ing his canoe, or in drawing her ashore if she was afloat, 
 his loaded gun was discharged as it lay in the bow of the 
 canoe, killing him instantly : his body being found upon 
 the shore. At the time of his death he was fifty-three 
 years of age. His wife survived him till 18 15, and she 
 lies buried in what is known as the " old burying-ground," 
 not far from the Town House, and hers is the only 
 gravestone in the yard as now enclosed. Their children 
 were Mr. Samuel Webb, who died in 1837, much re- 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 25 
 
 spected, at the age of sixty-five years, and William, who 
 died more than fifty years ago. One of the daughters 
 was the wife of I\Ir. James Saunders ; another the wife of 
 Mr. Francis Kimball, who removed to Waterville, where 
 his descendants still reside. Another was the wife of 
 Mr. Joshua Emerson ; another, the last survivor, was the 
 wife of Mr. John Eaton. She died in i860, and another 
 removed to Portland, remaining unmarried, and another 
 was the wife of Mr. Daniel Moore, of Castine. The wife 
 of Mr. Samuel Webb was Miss Hannah Eaton, and they 
 were the parents of the late Jonathan E. Webb, Esq., 
 the present Mr. W'illiam Webb, and Mr. James L. Webb. 
 Mr. Samuel Webb represented this town in the Legisla- 
 ture in 1 83 1, and he resided upon the land taken up by 
 his father near Webb's Cove. After the death of Mr. 
 Seth Webb, his widow attempted to procure a title to 
 Kimball's Island, but the agent to whom she entrusted 
 her business did not procure it for her, but did so for 
 himself, as has been stated by the family. 
 
 Captain Edmund Sylvester, a native of Marshfield, 
 Massachusetts, came here in 1788, and settled upon the 
 lot of land lying south of that of Mr. Webb, and previous 
 to his removal here was a master-mariner. His wife was 
 Miss Deborah Cushman, a grandaughter of Josiah Wins- 
 low, who died about 1774. He was a lineal descendant 
 of John Winslow, one of the first governors of the Ply- 
 mouth Colony, and was himself, I believe, one of the co- 
 lonial governors of Massachusetts, and was the owner of 
 the farm owned and occupied by Daniel Webster at Marsh- 
 field at the time of his death ; the ancestors of Mrs. 
 Sylvester were among the Pilgrims who came over to 
 Plymouth in 1620. After her marriage she persuaded 
 her husband to leave the sea, stating that she was willing 
 
126 ^A' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 to live anywhere if he would but remain at home, and he 
 came here and purchased the land settled upon by him. 
 He was one of the selectmen of the town a few years, and 
 was an intelligent and honorable man, and very decided 
 in his opinions ; was from the time of the establishment 
 of the Baptist Church here a member till his death in 1828, 
 his wife preceding him about one month. There were 
 many deaths during that year from a distemper not then 
 fully understood, which will be noticed in another place. 
 I have been informed that about sixty persons died of it 
 that year, and but few who were attacked recovered. At 
 the time of his death he was sixty-eight, and his wife 
 sixty-four, years of age. Their children were the late 
 Mr. Crowell H. Sylvester, Joseph Sylvester, Abiel, and 
 Edmund, the sons ; Ruth, the wife of Captain William 
 Raynes, and Salome, the widow of the late Mr. Joseph 
 Sellers, 2d. The two youngest sons removed to Newbury- 
 port and died there. Mr. Crowell Sylvester died in 1863, 
 aged seventy-eight years ; Joseph in 1847, aged fifty-six; 
 Mrs. Raynes in 1852, aged sixty-three years, and Mrs. 
 Sellers still survives at the present time (1882), aged 
 eighty-one years. The farm of Captain Sylvester was in 
 1842 sold to Mr. Robert Knowlton, whose heirs still own 
 it, and most of his children now living reside upon it. 
 
 George Gross settled a lot of land lying north and 
 east of Webb's Cove, and easterly of the land of Mr. 
 Thomas Stinson. He was not one of the first class of 
 settlers who were here prior to 1784, but must have been 
 one of those styled young settlers. The place and date 
 of his birth is to us unknown, but he came from the town 
 of Harpswell, in this State, of which place his wife was 
 a native. Her maiden name was Alexander, and she was 
 a sister of the late Mr. Ezekiel Alexander, and of the 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA/XE. I 27 
 
 wife of I\Ir. Solomon Marshall. He was known as " Citi- 
 zen Gross." The origin of his receiving that appellation 
 was this : He at one time lost his house by fire, and 
 applied to George Tyler, Esq., to write a subscription- 
 paper for the purpose of circulation for his relief, and the 
 paper was headed thus : " Whereas, Citizen George Gross, 
 of this town, has lost his house by fire," etc., and ever 
 afterward he was known thus. He died in 1828, and his 
 wife survived him a few years. Their children were : 
 Charles, born in 1782 ; James and Nathaniel, born in 1789 ; 
 Betsey, the wife of Mr. David Smith, of Swan's Island, and 
 mother of the present Mr. William Smith, residing in this 
 town ; Lucy, the wife of Mr. David Smith, Jr. ; Abigail, the 
 first wife of the late Mr. Elisha H. Dunham ; Jane and 
 Polly, who never married ; and Dorothy, the widow of the 
 late Captain Jeremiah Thurlow. We believe she is the 
 only survivor of the family. Mr. Gross, at the time of his 
 death, was in the receipt of a pension for his Revolutionary 
 services. 
 
 Thomas Buckminster settled upon a lot of land Iving 
 on the east side of Webb's Cove. He took up a lot of 
 fifty acres. He was a young settler, and came here not 
 far from the year 1790. He was born in the town of At- 
 kinson, New Hampshire, or in that vicinity, and when 
 young lived in the family of the father of Mr. Jonathan 
 Webster, who came from that place here in 1804. Mr. 
 Buckminster married Miss Rhoda, the daughter of Mr. 
 Thomas Robbins. He was a very worthy man, and left 
 a good name behind him. He lived upon the lot taken 
 up by iiim till his deatli, which took place not long after 
 1850, aged over eighty years. They had a large familv. 
 The sons were John. Tiiomas, ICbcnezer, Moody, and Will- 
 iam. The daughters were the wives of Messrs. Robert 
 
128 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Knowlton, Swansey Gross, Joseph Knowlton, John Jud- 
 kins, and Thomas Harvey, and one, named Mary, who 
 never married. Of the family Ebenezer, Moody, and 
 Mary now remain. Some of the sons were remarkable 
 for their stature, Thomas being six feet and six and a half 
 inches in height, and John six feet and six inches. The 
 property of Mr. Buckminster is now that of his son, Mr. 
 Ebenezer Buckminster, with whom his sister Mary resides. 
 
 Thomas Robbtns settled on the lot of land lying easterly 
 of the land of Mr. Buckminster. He came from Boston, 
 or some place in the near vicinity, in 1775, with his family, 
 and in the early years of the town he was a man of con- 
 siderable influence, and for many years held the office of 
 coroner, and was well known as "Coroner Robbins." He 
 was twice married. His last wife was the widow of the 
 Mr. William Babbidge before noticed, who resided near 
 him. The date of his death is not to us known, and two 
 of his sons who resided here were the Messrs. Nathaniel 
 and Thomas Robbins, Jr., who have been noticed. One of 
 his daughters was the wife of Mr. Buckminster, and the 
 other that of Mr. Thomas Stinson, 3d, known as Deacon 
 Thomas Stinson. The farm of Mr. Robbins came into the 
 possession of Mr. John Buckminster, by whom it was 
 occupied till his death, and now is the property of his son, 
 Mr. William S. Buckminster. 
 
 Joseph Whitmore resided upon the northeastern lot 
 on what is known as Babbidge's Neck, and it was laid out 
 to him in the survey of the island. On this lot 
 Mr. Seth lived a few years after he came. The birth- 
 place of Mr. Whitmore is not to us known, but as he came 
 when a boy in the family of Mr. Seth Webb from Wind- 
 ham, that place was probably his native town. He was 
 born in 1755, and his wife was Abigail, the daughter of 
 
TOir.V OF DEER ISLE, MALXE. I 29 
 
 Mr. William Babbidge. They went to Bagaduce for the 
 purpose of having the marriage ceremony performed, which 
 was done by the chaplain in the l^ritish service there, in 
 1780, or about that time. Mr. Whitmore was a soldier in 
 the war of the Revolution, for which he received a ))ension. 
 He died in 1 841, at the age of eighty-six years, after having 
 lived in wedlock more than sixty years. His wife survived 
 him nearly ten years. Their sons were : John, who died in 
 the town of Lincolnville ; Joseph, who was drowned in 
 1 814; William, who was drowned when going from Isle au 
 Haut to Deer Island ; Lemuel, who was drowned in Egge- 
 moggin Reach ; Daniel, who lived in the county of Aroos- 
 took ; Samuel, who lived and died here ; James, who lived in 
 the town of Tremont ; and Seth, who lived in the town of 
 Trenton, near the shore and near the line of the city of Ells- 
 worth. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Abel Staples, 
 of Swan's Island ; Mr. Jonathan Eaton, of Sedgwick, the 
 father of the late Theophilus Eaton, of Searsport ; another 
 was the wife of Mr. George York, of Brooklin ; and 
 another that of Alfred Raynes. The only one of the 
 family who made this town his permanent residence was 
 the late Samuel Whitmore, Esq., who was engaged in trade, 
 doing quite a large business for many years. Owning con- 
 siderable navigation, most of which was engaged in the 
 fishing business, he acquired considerable property, owning 
 the real estate of his father. His place of business is now 
 occupied by C. H. S. Webb, ICsq. He was, in 1840, the 
 representative from this town, and for many years had con- 
 siderable influence. Before his death, in 1862 or 1863, he 
 gave up his business to his sons, who for a few years 
 carried it on. At this time but one of his sons, Mr. Seth 
 Whitmore, resides here. His widow, a daughter of Mr. 
 James Joyce, survived him a few years, and the house 
 
130 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 occupied by them is now the property of Mr. Lemuel 
 Joyce, a son-in-law of theirs. 
 
 WiLLiAiM Richards took up the lot adjoining that of 
 Mr. Whitmore on the w^est, and it was assigned to him. 
 He came in the early years of the settlement of the town, 
 not far from 1765. How long he remained is not known, 
 as he removed from here and none of that name remained 
 after him. He sold out his title to the land, and it fell into 
 the possession of Mr. Oliver Lane, who came here with his 
 father in 1784. The wife of Mr. Lane was the eldest 
 daughter of Mr. Courtney Babbidge, Sr., and the sister of 
 Messrs. Stephen and Courtney Babbidge, 2d, and by her 
 he had a family. The sons were : Oliver, the father of 
 the present Mr. Hardy Lane ; Stephen B., who removed 
 to Hampden not far from 1845 ; and Paul T., who 
 remained till his death. The daughters were the wives of 
 Mr. Samuel McClintock, who came here from Portsmouth, 
 New Hampshire ; he was a school-teacher, and was styled 
 " Master McClintock " ; another was the wife of Captain 
 Abram Colby and afterward of Mr. Timothy Saunders ; 
 another was that of Mr. Job Small, who was the son 
 of Edward Small and moved to Machias, where he died ; 
 and the other was that of Mr, James Duncan, Jr. All of 
 the family are now dead. After the death of his wife, 
 Mr. Lane married another daughter of Mr. Babbidge by 
 his third wife ; he died not far from the year 1840, his 
 wife surviving him. 
 
 Hezekiah Lane, the father of the subject of the last 
 notice, came here from what was then known as Sandy 
 Bay, now in the town of Rockport, Massachusetts, with 
 his family and took up a lot of land adjoining that of Mr. 
 Richards on the southwest. His sons were Messrs. 
 Oliver, John, Abner, and Benjamin Lane ; the latter was 
 
TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MALVE. 131 
 
 afflicted with insanity for several years. One of his daugh- 
 ters was the wife of Mr. Courtney Babbidge, 2d, and 
 another was the wife of Mr. Robert Douglass, of Isle au 
 Haut ; she was killed by being struck with a fragment of 
 rock which her husband was blasting; further particulars 
 will be given in the notice of Mr. Douglass. After the 
 death of his wife, Mr. Lane married the widow of Mr. 
 Abram Thurlow, of Newburyport, the mother of the late 
 Captain David Thurlow and of the wife of Mr. Joseph 
 Colby, Jr. 
 
 C.vPTAiN Benjamin Stockbridge settled upon the lot of 
 land lying west of that of Mr. Richards, but he was not 
 of the class who were here prior to 1784. He came from 
 Gloucester, Massachusetts, and was a ship-master and in 
 good circumstances. It was said that he commanded the 
 ship which first carried the American flag up the Darda- 
 nelles. The exact time of his coming is to us unknown, 
 but it was prior to the survey of the town by John Peters, 
 Esq., as his name appears as the occupant of a lot on his 
 plan. His death took place not far from 1S30, at an 
 advanced age. He was a member of the Baptist Church 
 here, and when some difficulty occurred between him and 
 some of his neighbors — members of the same church — 
 and an examination was made before the church, Captain 
 Stockbridge read the thirtieth chapter of the book of Job, 
 beginning with : " But now they that are younger than I 
 have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained 
 to have set with the dogs of my flock." His family con- 
 sisted of two sons — Mr. John Stockbridge, who removed 
 to Swan's Island, and Benjamin, who was lost at sea when 
 a young man. Mr, John Stockbridge died several years 
 ago and was the ancestor of all of that name there. C^ne 
 of his daughters was the wife of Mr. lames Duncan, who 
 
132 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 came here as early as 1800. Another was the wife of 
 Captain John Greenlaw, who died in 1870, at the age of 
 eighty-seven years, after having lived with his wife, who 
 survived him, sixty-six years. Another was the wife of 
 Mr. Benjamin Lane before mentioned. Another was the 
 wife of Mr. James Greenlaw, a brother of Captain John 
 Greenlaw. Another was that of Captain William Grover, 
 of Isle au Haut, who removed to Islesborough, and 
 another was the wife of Mr. George Grover. Captain 
 Stockbridge became before his removal here somewhat 
 reduced in circumstances, and when young was a man of 
 capacity and energy. 
 
 John Thurston came here in 1784 from the same 
 place as did Captain Stockbridge, but earlier ; they were 
 relatives ; of him but little is known, as he died many 
 years ago. His sons were John Thurston, Jr., Amos 
 Thurston, and Solomon Thurston — the latter of whom 
 removed from here ; a daughter was the wife of Mr. David 
 Smith, of Swan's Island. Mr. Amos Thurston resided 
 here till his death, and his wife. Miss Mary Gott, a sister 
 of the late Captain Isaac Gott, of Tremont, survived him, 
 dying in 1866, at the age of ninety-one years. They were 
 the parents of the present Mr. Ambrose Thurston, the 
 late Mr. Amos Thurston, Jr., the widow of the late Mr. 
 John W. Small, and the wife of Mr. Jesse Stinson ; the 
 others of the family are now dead. Mr. Solomon Thurs- 
 ton resided while here upon the land now occupied by Mr. 
 Thomas Gross, who inherited it from his father, the late 
 Mr. Swansey Gross, and when he went from here, it was to 
 the town of Vinal Haven. Mrs. Smith was the mother of 
 David, Benjamin, George, and Asa Smith — all of whom 
 resided upon Swan's Island. One of her daughters was 
 the wife of the late Benjamin Stinson, Esq., and mother 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 133 
 
 of the present Rev. Benjamin F. Stinson. Another of 
 the daughters was the wife of the late Mr. Anthony Mer- 
 chant ; and another was the wife of Mr. Benjamin Kent, 
 and afterward that of Mr. John Beal, who died' here not 
 many years since. Another sister of the family of Mr. 
 John Thurston was the wife of a Mr. Gott, and afterward 
 that of Mr. David Harding, of Sedgwick. Another was 
 the wife of a Mr. Hooper and mother of Captain Jeremiah 
 Hooper, of North Haven. The children of Mr. John 
 Thurston, Jr. were the late Mr. Nathaniel Thurston and 
 the wives of the late Captain Isaac Gott, of Tremont, and 
 a Mr. Putnam, who resided here and removed many years 
 ago. 
 
 Captain Seth Hatch, a native of Marshfield, Massa- 
 chusetts, settled upon the lot assigned to Mr. William 
 Babbidge, who, as has been stated, took up his settlement 
 upon the land afterward assigned to Deacon Joshua Has- 
 kell and removed to the neck which was named for him. 
 On the plan made by John Peters, Jr., the lot on which 
 Captain Hatch settled was laid out to him. Captain 
 Hatch was born not far from 1760 and came here a young 
 man, but not in season to become a proprietor by settle- 
 ment prior to 1784. He occupied the western part of the 
 one hundred acres laid out to Mr. Babbidge, whose daugh- 
 ter he married, and he lived upon the place till his death, 
 in 1844. His wife survived him. Their children were: 
 Captain William B. Hatch, a master-mariner, who resided 
 in Pembroke in Washington County ; Seth, who removed 
 to the same place ; he was in the same vessel with his 
 brother William, who was master, when they were lost at 
 sea, never being heard from. Another son was the late 
 Captain Jeremiah Hatch, and another the present Captain 
 Gideon Hatch, who resides upon the farm of the late 
 
134 ''^-^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Hon. Richard Warren. The daughters were the wives of 
 Mr. Tristram T. Robbins, Mr. Simon Stinson, Mr. William 
 Greenlaw, 2d, and the late Captain William Warren, who 
 still survives, the other sisters being dead. The farm of 
 Captain Hatch became the property of his son Jeremiah, 
 with whom he resided at the time of his death. 
 
 Samuel Staples resided upon the eastern half of the 
 land of Mr. Babbidge, whose daughter he married, for 
 several years. Some time not far from the year 1814, he 
 removed to the town of Charleston in the county of 
 Penobscot, or in its vicinity. The cold season of 1816, 
 which was long remembered, obliged him to remove from 
 that place, and in a few years he returned here and took 
 up a lot near Burnt Cove — the one since occupied by the 
 late Captain Joseph Fifield — and built a house upon it, 
 which is now occupied by Mr. John Horton ; afterward 
 he removed to a lot of land near the thoroughfare now 
 occupied by Mr. Paul Thurlow, where he died in 1841, 
 aged seventy-three years. His wife survived him several 
 years and at the time of her death resided with a daugh- 
 ter, the present Mrs. Walter Greenlaw, a widow. Mr. 
 Staples and wife were the parents of the following chil- 
 dren : Samuel, who went away when a young man, never 
 returned, and no tidings were had of him ; Thomas, who 
 followed the sea for many years, visited many parts of the 
 world, returned in 1845, and died a few years after; 
 David H., who was for many years a pilot of one of 
 the steamers running from Bangor to Boston, died in 
 Belfast. One of the daughters was first the wife of Mr. 
 Joseph Sylvester and afterward the wife of the present 
 Mr. Nathaniel Robbins. She died a few years ago, aged 
 eighty-six years. Another was the wife of Mr. Aaron 
 Stinson. Another was the wife of Captain Walter Green- 
 
TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 1 35 
 
 law. Another was the wife of Mr. Joshua Emerson ; 
 afterward, that of Mr. Elisha H. Dunham. Another was 
 the wife of Mr. William Barbour, of Verona, and the 
 youngest was tlie wife of Captain Thomas D. Toothaker, 
 who lost his brig in the great gale in 1839, in the harbor 
 of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Mrs. Toothaker attempt- 
 ing to reach the shore was drowned, while the crew nar- 
 rowly escaped, the vessel becoming a complete wreck. 
 The members of the family who survive are Mrs. Green- 
 law and Mrs. Barbour. The farm Mr. Staples occupied 
 on Babbidge's Neck became the property of the late Cap- 
 tain John Greenlaw, upon which he lived till his death. 
 
 Benjamin Weed came here among the first settlers not 
 far from the year 1763 ; but he did not settle upon Great 
 Ueer Island and of course had no right to a lot of land 
 upon it, when the allotment was made by Joseph and 
 George Tyler, as their authority extended to no other 
 parts of the town than Great Deer and Sheep Islands. 
 Mr. Weed made his settleuTent upon Little Deer Island 
 and continued to reside there for many years, but after- 
 wartl exchanged his land for a lot lying near Campbell's 
 Neck with Captain Peter Hardy, then the junior of that 
 name, and upon the plan of the island the lot purported 
 to be that of Mr. Hardy. He removed to it, where he 
 lived till his death. His wife was the daughter of William 
 Eaton, and his family were Joseph, William, Jeremiah, and 
 John Weed. One of the daughters was the wife of Mr. 
 Josiah Gray ; another, that of a Mr. Tuttlc, and after she 
 became a widow, married Mr. Gray, who had lost his wife. 
 After his death she became the third wife of Captain 
 Tristram Haskell. Another daughter was the wife of a 
 Mr. F'errill, who was a resident of Mt. Desert. Mr. Weed 
 has been mentioned as having been engaged in the siege 
 
136 ^/^" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of Louisburg, but what place he came from here is not 
 known. After his death the premises occupied by him 
 became the property of Mr. Gray, who continued to reside 
 there till his death ; it was afterward that of Mr. Silas H. 
 Gray. 
 
 Joseph Weed, the son of the subject of the last notice, 
 settled upon the farm adjoining that of Nathan Haskell, 
 Esq., on the east. He was a very industrious and prudent 
 man and a good citizen. He was for many years a col- 
 lector of taxes. His wife was Miss Judith, daughter of 
 Mr. Jonathan Eaton, and their children were : John, who 
 died when a young man ; Joseph, now living ; Nathan E., 
 now dead, and who was for many years a collector of 
 taxes ; and Caleb, who was drowned when a young man in 
 the millpond at the Northwest Harbor. He had shot 
 some seafowl that were in the pond and in going to pick 
 them up in a small leaky float, which either filled or cap- 
 sized, he sunk before he could reach the shore. The 
 daughters of Mr. Weed were the wives of Mr. Nathan 
 Dow, now living at the age of ninety years. Captain Davis 
 Haskell, Mr. David Dow, Mr. Amos Weed, and Mr. Daniel 
 Weed. One died unmarried. Before the death of Mr. 
 Weed the town obtained possession of his farm, and the 
 premises were used as a poor-farm until a few years since. 
 Mr. Weed and his wife both lived to be over eighty years 
 of age, living in wedlock more than sixty years. 
 
 William Weed first settled upon a part of the lot of 
 land taken up by Mr. John Pressey, Jr. In 1822 he 
 exchanged his farm with Ignatius Haskell, Esq., for a tract 
 of land on the south part of the island near what is now 
 known as Green's Landing, which he occupied during the 
 remainder of his life. His wife was Mary, the daughter of 
 Mr. Jonathan Eaton, and their children were Amos, Daniel, 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.l/XE. 1 37 
 
 and Levi Weed, and a daughter Eunice, who became the 
 wife of Mr. Joseph Weed, Jr. ; they are all now dead. 
 Mr. Weed died in 1844 ^t the age of seventy-two years. 
 He was an honest man and a good citizen. His wife 
 lived till about the year 1850, and she was respected by all 
 who knew her. None of his descendants now own the 
 real estate left by him, and it is the property of Sullivan 
 Green, Esq. and Mr. Stephen B. liarbour. The buildings 
 that were upon it are now taken down. 
 
 Jeremiah Weed settled upon Little Deer Island on a 
 lot of land adjoining that of his father. His wife was 
 Miss Althea Joyce, a daughter of Mr. James Joyce, and 
 they had a large family, the sons being Jeremiah, James J., 
 Ebenezer J., Randolph, who lives in Winterport, and one 
 son who died young ; of the above Randolph is now, in 
 1882, living. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Benja- 
 min H. Eaton, Captain Joseph H. Gray, Mr. Samuel 
 Eaton, Mr. Nelson Haskell, Captain Jonathan Gray, and 
 Mr. William Eaton, of Little Deer Isle, and one married 
 in Boston ; the four first named are now dead. Mr. Weed 
 died several years before his wife. She died a few years 
 ago. 
 
 John Weed was the youngest brother of the family, 
 born in 1786, and his wife was Miss Betsey Harris, the 
 daughter of Mr. Joseph Harris. Their children were 
 Henry, John, Davis H., Charles, and Dyer D. ; and the 
 daughters were the wives of Captain Benjamin Thompson, 
 and two were those of Mr. Samuel Torrey ; of the family 
 at this time John and Mrs. Torrey — now Mrs. Manches- 
 ter, of North Haven — are now living. Mrs. Weed died 
 about the year 1879, '^^^^ ^^^ husband died several years 
 a^o. 
 
138 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 JosiAH Gray, who occupied the premises of Mr. Benja- 
 min Weed, was a native of what is now the town of Brooks- 
 ville and a brother of the Mr. Christopher Gray who died 
 in that town in 1866 at the age of one hundred and three 
 years. They were grandsons of the person of that name 
 who in 1760 made the first permanent settlement in what 
 is now Castine, and ancestors of almost all of that name in 
 the towns in this vicinity. Mr. Gray and his wife were 
 the parents of thirteen children, — seven of whom were 
 sons, — one of whom was Captain James Gray, a ship- 
 master, who resided in Boston. Another was Mr. Josiah 
 Gray, a master ship-builder, who died in Bluehill. Two 
 removed to Vinal Haven ; one went away to sea and 
 never returned; and one resides here — the present Mr. 
 Solomon Gray. Of the daughters two only remain here : 
 one, the late wife of Mr. Silas H. Gray ; the other, the 
 widow of Mr. Joshua Pressey, 2d ; she was the adopted 
 daughter of the late Captain John Torrey and came into 
 possession of his homestead, upon which she now resides. 
 
 Another man of the name of Gray resided here for 
 many years and died here — Mr. Jeremiah Gray, whose 
 wife was Hannah, the daughter of Mr. Nathaniel Bray, 2d, 
 and granddaughter of the first of the name who came here. 
 They were the parents of eleven sons and one daughter, 
 who was the wife of Mr. Enos Cole. One of the sons 
 died at sea ; another moved to New Brunswick, and 
 another now lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The 
 rest remained here : one of whom — Mr. Solomon Gray — 
 died at New Orleans while in the military service of the 
 United States. There are but two remaining here at 
 present. Mr. Gray died several years ago ; also his wife, 
 a worthy Christian woman, much respected. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 1 39 
 
 Rev. Peter Powers came here not far from the year 
 1785, from Newbury, in the State of Vermont — now 
 Hanover, New Hampshire. He was a minister of the 
 Congregational denomination and was the first settled 
 pastor of the church here, although the church had been 
 established several years. He was a zealous patriot in the 
 Revolutionary times, and for his political opinions incurred 
 the illwill of the Tories in that vicinity, and because of a 
 sermon he preached from the text found in the book of 
 Judges, fifth chapter, twenty-third verse, he was so perse- 
 cuted by them that he left that place and came here, where 
 he was pastor of the church till his death in 1800, at the 
 age of seventy-two years. He was entitled to a grant of 
 land as the first settled minister here, and his farm was on 
 the eastern side of what is known as the Parsonage Lot 
 of four hundred acres. The town or parish built a house 
 upon it, and he resided there during his lifetime. He 
 had several sons, one of whom was the Rev. Jonathan 
 Powers, the first settled minister in the town of Penobscot 
 in the year 1796, where he died in 1807. Another son 
 was Hale Powers, who built a sawmill in the present town 
 of l^rooksville on what is known as Horseshoe Creek. 
 Another was Mr. Prescott Powers, who resided here many 
 years, whose wife was a daughter of Deacon Francis 
 Haskell. He came into possession of the land of his 
 father, and after residing upon it for several years, 
 removed to Pond Island, near Swan's Island, and after- 
 ward he removed to Bluehill, where he died. Only one of 
 his family remained here — the wife of the late Mr. Daniel 
 Johnson. Mr. Powers was for several years the clerk of 
 this town and was considered one of the most honorable 
 and upright of men. His wife died not far from i860, 
 aged about eighty-seven years. 
 
140 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Dr. Moody Powers was the youngest son of Rev. 
 Peter Powers ; he remained here till his death, and 
 was a practising physician. His wife was Miss Betsey 
 Eaton, a daughter of William Eaton, 2d, and they had a 
 large family. The sons were : the present Mr. Hale 
 Powers ; Mr. Jonathan Powers, who removed to the State of 
 Vermont ; Peter, who removed to Winterport ; William E., 
 who resides here, as does his brother, Mr. Samuel E. ; and 
 the other. Moody, now lives in the State of Kansas. One 
 of the daughters was the wife of Captain Amos Howard ; 
 another was the wife of Mr. David Tyler, who died very 
 suddenly in 1836, or about that time; she afterward 
 removed to Vermont and married there ; another was the 
 wife of John H. Parker, Esq., of Mount Desert, and the 
 other was that of the late Mr. Henry Weed, as his first 
 wife. Dr. Powers died not far from 1850, and his wife in 
 1 87 1, at the age of ninety-one years. 
 
 There were other children in the family of Rev. Peter 
 Powers, but they did not live here, or if they did, they did 
 not remain. The farm he occupied is now owned and 
 occupied in part by Mr. Levi Greenlaw, but whether the 
 house now upon it was built for Mr. Powers, or not, we do 
 not know: but it is probable, as it is very old — one of 
 the oldest in the town. 
 
 Solomon Barbour for many years occupied the farm 
 lying south of Long Cove, and he was ancestor of all of 
 the name in the town. He was a native of Massachusetts. 
 The maiden name of his wife, of Braintree in that State, 
 was Deborah Faxon, who when young for some years 
 resided in the family of John Adams, President of the 
 United States. She once told me that while she was 
 in his family, John Quincy Adams was an infant, and that 
 she had many a time rocked him in his cradle. Mr. Bar- 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, M.UXE. 141 
 
 hour came here not far from 1793 with a family, and with 
 him came Miss Betty Bryant, very well known here sixty 
 years ago and more. She was for many years a school- 
 teacher and lived to a great age. Mr. Barbour did not own 
 the farm but occupied it under Ignatius Haskell, Esq., the 
 owner, and it is still known as the Barbour Farm ; he 
 resided upon it till his death. He was by trade a baker 
 and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and received 
 a pension till his death, the exact time of which we do not 
 know, but it was a few years prior to 1830. His widow 
 received a pension under the act granting pensions to 
 widows of Revolutionary soldiers, and she lived till 1852, 
 dying at the age of ninety-two years. Their children 
 were : Mr. John Barbour, born in 1777 ; his wife was Miss 
 Jane Gibson, who died before him ; he lived to the age 
 of eighty-seven years. He was the father of the late 
 Deacon George Barbour. Mr. John Barbour lived on 
 what is known as Beach Hill. His other sons are the 
 present Islx. Samuel G. Barbour, still residing in this town ; 
 Mr, Solomon Barbour, of Swan's Island, and Mr. John 
 Barbour, Jr., who a few years since moved to Massachu- 
 setts. Another of the sons of Mr. Solomon Barbour was 
 Captain Benjamin Barbour, who removed to Newburyport, 
 sailing out of that port for many years. Another was the 
 late Mr. Josiah Barbour. Another was Mr. Charles Bar- 
 bour, and another was Mr. Isaiah Barbour, who removed 
 to Isle au Haut and from there about forty-five years ago- 
 removed to Camden, where he died in 1880, or about that 
 time. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Adam 
 Thompson and Deacon Stephen Babbidge, known as 
 Stephen Babbidge, Jr., who after her death married her 
 sister, the widow Thompson. 
 
142 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 James Gibson was another Revolutionary soldier who 
 came here from Massachusetts prior to the year 1800. It 
 seems probable that he might at one time have occupied 
 an island north of, and near, Stinson's Neck, which is still 
 known as Gibson's Island, but he resided for some time on 
 this island, where he died many years ago ; but a very 
 few now know anything about him. He had two sons, 
 Samuel and James, who died at sea when young men. 
 Two of the daughters married here ; one, the wife of Mr. 
 John Barbour ; the other, the wife of Captain Nathaniel 
 Bray, Jr. and the mother of the present Captain James G. 
 Bray. Mr. Gibson was engaged in the battle of Bunker 
 Hill, and before they came here they resided not far from 
 Newburyport. I perfectly recollect his widow, who was 
 blind for many years. She once informed me that when 
 General Washington was on his tour North, he and his 
 escort passed them while going from Newburyport to 
 Portsmouth. He was recognized by Mr. Gibson, who had 
 served under him and who spoke to, and saluted, him. 
 The salute was returned and the General, finding that he 
 was one of his soldiers, stopped his company, shook hands, 
 and conversed with him, seeming pleased to have found 
 one of his fellow-soldiers. She said that General Washing- 
 ton was one of the most noble appearing men she ever 
 happened to see. 
 
 Richard Greenlaw was the youngest son of Mr. Jona- 
 than Greenlaw, who settled here shortly after William 
 Eaton and went when a child to New Brunswick with his 
 father in 1783, but returned with his brother William. He 
 was not the owner of any real estate, we think, but resided 
 upon the farm of his son during the later years of his life. 
 His wife was Miss Mary Jordan, a daughter of Mr. James 
 Jordan, and he was by trade a ship-carpenter. Their sons 
 
TOirX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 143 
 
 were : Richard, who removed to the town of Kilmarnock, 
 Maine, which is now called Medford. Another was the 
 late Mr. James J. Greenlaw. Another was the present Mr. 
 Joseph S. Greenlaw. Another was Mr. Samuel J. Green- 
 law. Another was Mr. William L. Greenlaw, who resides in 
 Newburyport. Another was Mr. John C. J. Greenlaw, 
 who died many years ago. The daughters were the wives 
 of Mr. George Barbour and Mr. Thomas V. Howard ; and 
 two live in Massachusetts. 
 
 William Bray was the youngest son of Mr. Nathaniel 
 Bray, Sr. and lived on the farm now owned by Mr. Joshua 
 Marshall. He was not one of those who settled prior to 
 1784, but must have been a young settler. His wife was 
 the daughter of I\Ir. Samuel Pickering, who lived on 
 Pickering's Island, and a sister of the late Captain Samuel 
 Pickering, who lived near the Town House. They had 
 two sons — John and Willard ; and the daughters were 
 the wives of Mr. Benjamin Cole, the father of the present 
 Mr. Enos Cole ; and of the late Mr. Joshua Haskell, the 
 father of the present Messrs. Mark, Guildford D., and 
 Joshua Haskell. Mr. Bray died not far from the year 
 1835, and his wife survived him. His real estate passed 
 into the hands of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and was sold to 
 Mr. Ezekiel Marshall, the father of the present owner. 
 
 Nathan Low came here from the county of Worcester, 
 Massachusetts, prior to 1800, and he became owner of the 
 land laid out to Joshua Staples ; he afterward was owner 
 of one of the lots laid out to Mr. Thomas Thompson near 
 Thompson's Cove and other lands in that vicinitv. He 
 was by trade a tanner, which business he carried on for 
 many years arid was probably one of the most skilful 
 farmers that was ever in the town, engaging e.xten.sively 
 in that pursuit. His wife was the daughter of Mr. Thomas 
 
144 
 
 AM HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Thompson. She died in 1836. He afterward married 
 Hannah, the daughter of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, some forty 
 years younger than himself, and she died in a few years 
 after her marriage. By his former wife he had three 
 sons: Mr. Thomas T. Low, now dead; Nathan Low, Jr., 
 who died a few years ago in consequence of the vessel of 
 which he was then master having been run into by a 
 steamer on the route from Portland easterly. Captain 
 Low was thrown into the water, and being then nearly 
 seventy years of age, the exposure caused his death shortly 
 after. He was brought home, but lived only a few days. 
 Another and the sole surviving son is the present Mr. 
 William Low. None of the daughters remained here, and 
 whether any of them are living is not known to us. Mr. 
 Low was a major in the regiment of the militia to which 
 the companies in this town belonged, and was known as 
 Major Low. He was one of the selectmen of the town 
 and was an influential citizen. He died in 1859, ^.t the 
 age of ninety-four years. A brother of his in Massa- 
 chusetts lived to be about one hundred years old. He 
 acquried considerable property and settled his sons upon 
 farms of which he was owner. He was a large, portly 
 man, and as an officer in the militia must have made a 
 fine appearance. I have been told by one who had seen 
 both that he very much resembled the father of Daniel 
 Webster. 
 
 Amasa Holden came here as early as the year 1800, 
 if not before. He was a native of the town of Mendon, 
 Massachusetts, and was born in the year 1775. His wife 
 was Abigail, the daughter of Mr. William Eaton, 2d. 
 She was born in 1783. His profession was a school- 
 teacher, which he practised till he was more than seventy 
 years of age, a greater term of years than was ever prac- 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISI.E, MAfXE. 145 
 
 tiscd by any other person in this vicinity. He used to 
 say that he had taught three generations, as he had for 
 scholars during his later years the grandchildren of those 
 who were his pupils in his earlier years. His family con- 
 sisted of eleven children ; the sons were : Prescott P., 
 a blockmaker by trade, now residing in Bangor ; William 
 E., now a resident of the town of Tremont ; the late 
 Samuel E., for many years a school-teacher ; the present 
 Mr. Francis M. Holden ; and one son, who died young. 
 One of the daughters was the wife of IMr. Willaby \ason, 
 Jr., who removed to Belfast ; Hannah, who died un- 
 married ; Mary, the wife of Mr. Thomas Howard, and now 
 dead ; Charlotte, the wife of Mr. Stephen K. Howard, 
 now dead ; and two married in Massachusetts. Mr. 
 Holden occupied the farm and house now owned by his 
 son, Mr. F"rancis M. Holden, the only survivor of the 
 family here, and he died in 1853, at the age of seventy- 
 eight years. His wife survived him. 
 
 Peter Williams, a man of color, came here early. 
 He was born in Virginia, a slave, and resided in the 
 family of Mr. Mark Haskell. He married a woman of 
 color, who was purchased when an infant by Mrs. Haskell. 
 She was born in 1752, brought up in the family, and 
 treated as one of the children. Her name was Phillis. 
 Her first husband was a native of the State of Rhode 
 Island, and he was named " Newport Rhodeisland." Wy 
 that marriage she was the mother of one son. named 
 " Reuben Rhodeisland," who was an enterprising man, 
 and acquired considerable property. He was the former 
 owner of the land and house now occupied by Mr. Eben 
 F. Haskell, and he died in 1827. unmarried. His mother 
 married Mr. Williams, by whom she had children. They 
 were the owners of the real estate now occupied by Mr. 
 
146 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Oliver van Meter, formerly of Bangor, a son of the well- 
 known Mr. Henry van Meter, who lived to a very great 
 age. The son of Mrs. Williams, by her last marriage, 
 died when a young man, and her daughter Phillis, in i8.?8, 
 married Mr. Sydney Russell, whose daughter became the 
 wife of Mr. Van Meter. Mr. Williams died many years 
 ago, and his wife in 1835, aged eighty-four years. All his 
 life Mr. Williams professed great attachment for Old 
 Virginia, the State of his birth. 
 
 John Foster, a native of Massachusetts, came here 
 prior to the year 1800, and the lot of land lying south of 
 that laid out to Jonathan Torrey was once occupied by 
 him, and on the plan of the island it was allotted to him, 
 but he must have purchased it as a "young settler." He 
 was by trade a hatter, and for several years carried on 
 that business at the Northwest Harbor, near the spot 
 occupied by the shop of Mr. Israel B. Higgins. Mr. 
 Foster married Mary, the eldest daughter of Ignatius 
 Haskell, Esq., and they had one son — Mr. Eben B. Fos- 
 ter — who removed to Boston, and was for several years 
 one of the proprietors of The Boston Courier. Neither of 
 their two daughters was married, nor did they remain 
 here. Mr. Foster died in Boston when a very old man. 
 
 James Joyce resided for many years on what is still 
 known as the Joyce lot, lying north of the farm of Cap- 
 tain Peter Hardy, Jr., now the property of Mr. John 
 Thompson, but he was probably never its owner, as the 
 lot purports on the plan to be that of Mr. Thomas Thomp- 
 son. Mr. Joyce came here early and married the widow 
 of Mr. Courtney Babbidge, Sr. Mr. Joyce came from the 
 town of Marshfield, Massachusetts, or that vicinity, and 
 by her second marriage, Mrs. Joyce had seven children.. 
 The sons were Messrs. James, Ebenezer, and William 
 
TOJKV OF DEER ISLE, MA/.VE. 147 
 
 Joyce, and the daughters were the wives of Mr. Jeremiah 
 Weed, Captain Levi Torrey, Mr. John Stockbridge, and 
 Captain Samuel Whitmore, and of the family Mrs. Torrey 
 now survives. The sons removed to Swan's Island, and 
 the two oldest remained there till their deaths. The other 
 removed here in 1848. Of the daughters, Mrs. Weed and 
 Mrs. Whitmore remained here. Mrs. Babbidge died in 
 Ellsworth, and Mrs. Stockbridge on Swan's Island. 
 
 Jesse Niles came here not far from the year 1800, 
 from the State of New Hampshire. He was by trade a 
 house-carpenter. His wife was a daughter of Deacon 
 Caleb Haskell. After the removal of Deacon Haskell, 
 Mr. Niles occupied his farm till a few years prior to 
 his death, and after the death of his wife, in 1835, he 
 married Miss Edna, the daughter of Mr. Naylor Small. 
 By his first marriage he had four sons and two daughters ; 
 none of them is now living. One of his sons, Mr. 
 Mark A. H. Niles, was a minister ; first a Congrega- 
 tionalist and afterward a Unitarian, and was for a short 
 time pastor of the church of the latter denomination in 
 Belfast, and died about the year 1840, at that place, a 
 short time after he removed there. The other sons were 
 John, Jesse, and Arthur ; the daughters married in 
 Massachusetts. None of the family remained here. By 
 his second marriage Mr. Niles had two sons, one now 
 dead ; the other went from here. The two daughters 
 remained and married here. After the death of her hus- 
 band Mrs. Niles became the wife of Mr. Levi Greenlaw. 
 
 Pearl Spofford, Esq. came here not long after the 
 year 1800, in company with Mr. Samuel G. Town, with 
 whom he formed a copartnership in trade. He was a 
 native of the town of Pelham, New Hampshire, and his 
 father's residence was not far from the line of the State 
 
148 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of Massachusetts. It was his intention when he came 
 East to stop at Fox Island Thoroughfare ; but when he 
 came, early in the spring, that passage was closed with 
 ice, and he came to this place, stopping in the Southwest 
 Harbor. Finding that this town might be a profitable 
 place for trade, he concluded to remain, and had his goods 
 hauled to the Northwest Harbor, and for some time occu- 
 pied a part of the house of Aaron S. Haskell as a store, 
 boarding in his family. After some time he dissolved 
 his connection with Mr. Town, who removed from here. 
 He afterward formed a copartnership with his brother, 
 Mr. Frederick Spofford, who was lost in the schooner 
 S/iakespeare, in 18 18. They did a considerable business 
 for the times, built vessels, and at one time owned con- 
 siderable navigation. After the death of the junior 
 member of the firm the subject of this notice continued 
 the business alone for many years, and the last vessel of 
 his building was in the year 1835 — a brig named the 
 Frederick Pearl. His wife was Miss Sarah Averill, a 
 native of Massachusetts, a very worthy lady, esteemed by 
 all who knew her. She died in 1858. Their children 
 were : the late Frederick P. Spofford, Esq., who died in 
 1870; the present Hon. Charles A. Spofford; Edwin B. ; 
 George W., who has been for several years a member 
 of the board of selectmen ; and William H. Spofford, 
 who has been for several years a deputy sheriff. 
 The daughters were : Sarah, the wife of Dr. Amos A. 
 Herrick, of Sedgwick, Maine, who practised medicine 
 here. Some years afterward he removed to Sedgwick, 
 where he died, and his widow is now dead. The other 
 daughter was the wife of Dr. William F. Collins, who 
 died in 1858, near the time of the death of Mrs. Spofford. 
 She afterward became the wife of Hon. George Tolman, 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 149 
 
 who resided here ; and there were other children, who 
 died when young. Mr. Spofford died in 1865, aged about 
 eighty-seven years. He was for many years the most 
 prominent man in the town, filling several town offices, 
 was several times representative to the General Court at 
 Boston, and was the representative, in 1821, to the Legis- 
 lature of this State, and nearly all his life he took an 
 active part in politics. He was in former times a Fed- 
 eralist, afterward a Whig, and, after that party disbanded, 
 became a Republican. He was postmaster from the first 
 establishment of one here till 1838, when he was removed 
 on political grounds. In 1841 he was reinstated and 
 held the office till 1845. By the loss of the Shakespeare 
 he suffered pecuniarily to quite a large amount, as he was 
 the chief owner of the vessel and her cargo, which 
 consisted of merchandise to be used in trade here. 
 At hi.s death he was possessor of considerable property, 
 chiefly in real estate, some of which was quite valuable, 
 and next to Ignatius Haskell, Esq. was the largest owner 
 of that kind of property in the town. He was an edu- 
 cated man and very intelligent, and had a very large share 
 of natural capacity. Had he chosen the law for a profes- 
 sion he would have taken a high rank among others in 
 this part of the State, and for a long time he had a good 
 deal of influence here. He ever took a great interest in 
 education and was liberal in the support of the gospel, 
 though not a professor of religion. He was one of those 
 men who, when they took hold of any matter, did so 
 in earnest. The house he occupied is now owned by 
 two of his sons, Messrs. C. A. and George W. Spofford. 
 The store occupied by him is now taken down ; it was 
 standing near the sail-loft of Mr. S. B. Haskell. The 
 chief part, or nearly all, of the estate he left is now the 
 property of his children. 
 
I50 
 
 J.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Dr. David Angell came here as early as 1800, if not 
 a little before. He was a native of the State of Rhode 
 Island, and was born in 1770. His wife was Miss Abigail, 
 the daughter of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., and they had two 
 sons — Amos, who was lost in the schooner SJiakespeare, 
 and Moses C. Angell, whose wife was a daughter of Mr. 
 Asa Green. She was then the widow of Mr. John R. 
 Haskell, and the mother of the present Sylvanus G. 
 Haskell, Esq. By the second marriage she had several 
 children. The family removed to Hyde Park near Boston 
 several years ago, where he died in 1876. The wife of 
 Dr. Angell was for many years insane but very quiet. 
 The loss of her son affected her very much, as it did her 
 husband, for he was a young man of promise. Dr. Angell 
 had for many years quite an extensive practice, in which 
 he was very successful. He had a good education and 
 much natural ability and was a great wit ; his observa- 
 tions were often very appropriate. He was very well 
 informed upon almost every subject and capable of im- 
 parting a good deal of information ; and, when he chose, 
 his conversation would be very instructive and pleasing. 
 In the latter part of his life his practice was very limited, 
 but upon some occasions, when a serious case occurred, his 
 advice and assistance were sought, as he had had a large 
 share of experience. In some cases, no doubt, his aid 
 saved the life of the patient, or at least such was the opin- 
 ion of those who might be presumed to know. During 
 the administrations of Presidents Jefferson and Madison, 
 he was an ofificer of the customs here, as his political 
 opinions were those of the then Republican party. In 
 religion he was rather inclined to be skeptical. He died 
 in 1843, aged seventy-three years; his wife died a short 
 time before him. 
 
TO WN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 5 I 
 
 Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., a native of Salem, New 
 Hampshire, came here in the spring of 1804, in company 
 with Messrs. Jonathan Webster and Joseph and Samuel 
 Noyes, who were of that vicinity. Mr. Rowell was by 
 trade a blacksmith, but he did not work at the business 
 here. His wife was Sarah, the daughter of Ignatius 
 Haskell, Esq. She was born in 1789, or about that year. 
 They had two sons, one dying in infancy ; the other, Mr. 
 Philip R. Rowell, has for many years resided in Mas- 
 sachusetts. None of the family remained here. Mr. 
 Rowell was for many years a justice of the peace and was 
 for some time in trade here, occupying as a store the 
 lower part of the house now owned by Mr. Levi Scott, and 
 he accumulated considerable property. After the death 
 of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, he purchased his farm of his heirs, 
 which was one of the most valuable ones in the town, and 
 built a house upon it, which is now the property of the 
 heirs of Mr. Joseph Sellers, 3d. The land was sold to dif- 
 ferent individuals, and there are upon the lot of land which 
 was the property of Mr. Morey more dwelling-houses than 
 upon the lot of any other of the early settlers. He was a 
 Representative to the General Court at Boston, at least 
 twice prior to 1820. He removed from this town to 
 Castine, where he resided several years ; afterward he 
 returned, remaining till about 1824, when he returned to 
 that place and for several years was in trade there and was 
 once on the board of selectmen there. In about 1844 he 
 returned here, lived a few years, and then removed to 
 Hampden in this State, where he was a member of the 
 family of one of his daughters, who resided there, and in 
 that place he died. 
 
 Aaron S. Haskell was the eldest son of Ignatius 
 Haskell, Esq., and in the notice there was but little said of 
 
152 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 his family. As the sons were men of prominence in their 
 day, it is proper to notice them. The one whose name 
 heads this sketch lived here from the time of the removal 
 of the family here in 1778, when he was but three years 
 of age, till his death in 1864, at the age of eighty-nine 
 years. He was by trade a tanner. The name of his 
 first wife was Hannah Marshall, a daughter of Mr. Ezekiel 
 Marshall, one of the early settlers, whom we have noticed. 
 She had no children and died many years ago. In 1836 he 
 married a widow who came here from the island of Cape 
 Breton ; her place of residence there was the town known 
 as Arachat not far from Louisburg. She was nearly forty 
 years his junior in age, and they had a family. Only one 
 of her sons by her marriage with Mr. Haskell now remains 
 here, and one by her former marriage — the present Cap- 
 tain Dennis Haskell, as he is called. They are both ener- 
 getic and capable master-mariners. The house built by 
 Mr. Haskell near the Northwest Harbor is still known as 
 the Aaron Haskell house, and it is now the property of 
 Captain John W. Green. After the death of his father, 
 he had, as a part of his share of his real estate, the land 
 and house formerly occupied by Dr. John Phillips. He 
 resided there with his family after his marriage till his 
 death ; his wife dying a few years before him. 
 
 Mark Haskell was the second son in the family, and 
 was born in 1785. His wife was Miss Hannah Beck 
 Cross, of Newburyport ; she died in 1882, at the age of 
 ninety-three years, and her bodily and mental powers were 
 very remarkable for one of her extreme age. Mr. Haskell 
 went into trade at Castine, in company with his brother-in- 
 law, Mr. Jonathan L. Stevens, but afterward returned here. 
 While his health permitted, he was in trade here in the 
 store owned by him, opposite the Green House. He was 
 
rOlV.V OF DEE A' ISLE, MAIXE. 153 
 
 an honest and capable man and was much respected. He 
 had no family and died not far from the year 1847. His 
 wife came into possession of his property, a part of which 
 was the house owned and occupied by his father, after- 
 ward sold to the late Captain William Haskell and now 
 the property of his widow. Some years after the death of 
 her husband, Mrs. Haskell married a Mr. Porter, of Lyme, 
 New Hampshire, now dead. After his death she returned 
 here and resided with a daughter of her sister Mrs. 
 Raynes. 
 
 Ignatius Haskell, Jr., the third son of the family, 
 resided at the northern part of the island ; first, upon the 
 farm afterward the property of Captain Amos Howard, and 
 afterward upon that now occupied by his son Mr. Albion 
 K. Haskell. His wife was Sarah, the daughter of Mr. 
 William Eaton, 2d, by whom he had one son and several 
 daughters — one of whom was a deaf-mute. One of them 
 was the wife of the late Mr. A, C. Gordon ; the other, that 
 of Captain Oliver Howard, now of Gloucester, Massachu- 
 setts, — the last of whom only is now living. Mrs. Gordon 
 died in 1878, aged fifty-eight years. Mr. Haskell was, 
 during the War of 18 12, in command of a company of 
 the militia ; by trade he was a house-carpenter. He died 
 not many years before 1850; his wife died in 1876, aged 
 eighty-four years. 
 
 Solomon Haskell, the youngest son of the family, 
 was born in 1794 and was the first child born- in the Has- 
 kell house, not long after his parents moved into it. His 
 wife was Miss Joanna Carman, the daughter of Mr. John 
 Carman, and sister of the present Mr. Levi Carman. 
 They had four sons and five daughters, the former being 
 Messrs. Hezckiah R., Charles S., and Eben F. Haskell ; 
 the other, Philip R., died not far from 1864. The daugh- 
 
154 ^^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ters were the wives of Mr. Nathan E. Weed, at present 
 the widow of Captain William Haskell. Another was the 
 wife of the late Captain David E. Adams, lost at sea. 
 Another was that of Mr. Samuel E. Powers. Another 
 was that of Mr. William Bell. The other died unmarried. 
 Of the above, Mrs. Powers is not living, and Mrs. Haskell, 
 only, resides here. Mr. Haskell was twice representative 
 to the State Legislature, in 1826 and 1848. He was for 
 several years one of the selectmen. He was a prominent 
 man and was in trade many years formerly, in company 
 with the late Benjamin F. Fergerson, Esq.. and after a 
 dissolution of the copartnership, he was in trade alone. 
 He died in 1867, or about that time, and his widow sur- 
 vived him some ten years. His son, Mr. Eben F. Haskell, 
 occupies the house and homestead of his father and is 
 proprietor of the tanyard which was his father's property, 
 in which in former years a considerable business was done. 
 Joseph Noyes, mentioned as coming in 1804 with Mr. 
 Hezekiah Rowell, resided here till his death, in 1850, or 
 about that time. He was a native of Atkinson, New 
 Hampshire, and was by trade a house and ship joiner and 
 a very skilful workman. His wife, as we have stated, was 
 the daughter of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, and she survived her 
 husband. Their sons were : Mr. John M. Noyes, who 
 removed to Mount Desert, where he lived many years ; 
 Alexander N., who removed to Castine, and thence to 
 Massachusetts ; Henry A., who removed to Massachusetts ; 
 Joseph, now in Castine ; and Albert O., now in the Terri- 
 tory of Arizona. Of the daughters, one only remains 
 here — the wife of Mr. Hezekiah R. Haskell. Another 
 was the wife of Mr. Joshua E. Haskell, a son of Mr. 
 Edward Haskell, who removed to Fairfield in this State, 
 where he was accidentally killed. The others married in 
 
TOWiV OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. I 55 
 
 Other places. Mr. Noyes was a very sensible, capable man, 
 and he filled several town offices. His homestead is now 
 the property of Mr. William E. Gray, 
 
 Rev. Joseph Brown came here in 1804, or about that 
 time, and was settled as pastor over the church here as the 
 immediate successor of Rev. Peter Powers, and he resided 
 in the house known as the Parsonage House, now the 
 property of Rev. Hiram Houston. He was educated by 
 the well-known Lady Huntington at the same place of 
 instruction, and, I think, at about the same time, as Rev. 
 Mr. Milton, of Newburyport, who in his day was quite cel- 
 ebrated as a preacher. He was born in England, in 1760, 
 or about that year, and continued here till his death. He 
 was said to have been a preacher of ability and was a man 
 of education. He brought a family, among whom were 
 the late Rev. Charles M. Brown, well known in this 
 vicinity a few years ago. He was settled in Tremont, 
 Maine, and resided there several years, but a large part of 
 his later years he made this town his home, as his wife 
 was dead. In his former years he followed the sea, and 
 later became a good preacher ; he was a very singular 
 man. Another son was Philemon. Another was Amer- 
 icus. Another was Joseph. None of them made this 
 town his home. A daughter was a Mrs. Davenport, 
 of Newburyport, and about the family, except Rev. Charles 
 M. Brown, but little is known. In the time of the War of 
 181 2 the sympathies of the subject of this sketch were 
 very strongly in favor of Great Britain, and he carried 
 them into the pulpit : a practice to be condemned, as it is 
 of no benefit to a cause and productive of much injury 
 to religion. This made him many enemies, and many in 
 the southern part of the town, members of the church and 
 congregation, dissolved their connection with the church 
 
156 ^A" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and abandoned the place of worship. The result was the 
 formation of a church of the Baptist order, in what is 
 known now as South Deer Isle. This affected him to a 
 great degree and had an effect upon his mind injurious to 
 himself. At last his church and parish dissolved their 
 connection with him, which so harrowed him that he died 
 shortly after, in 18 19. His remains lie in the burying- 
 ground near the Town House, over which a stone was 
 placed, but it was removed by his son several years ago, 
 and where it is now we do not know. 
 
 Samuel Pickering settled what is known as Picker- 
 ing's Island, not included in our territorial limits, but as 
 he was in his day well known here, it seems proper to 
 notice him. Whether he ever resided in the town we do 
 not know, but all his family known to us, with but one 
 exception, did so, and died here. His wife was a daughter 
 of Mr. Elijah Dunham, Sr., and sister to Mr. Elijah 
 Dunham, who died in 1842. His sons were Mr. Daniel 
 Pickering, the father of the late Mr, Richard Pickering ; 
 the present Mr. Thomas Pickering ; and another lived 
 in Orland. The daughters were the wives of Mr. John 
 Bray, son of Mr. William Bray ; of the late Mr. Willard 
 Cole, and of Mr. Nathan Ball. His wife was Miss Mary 
 Hayden, of a family who then resided here, but of whom 
 nothing is now known to us. Mr. Daniel Pickering 
 resided on Greenlaw's Neck, near the place now occupied 
 by his son. He died not far from the year 1850 ; his wife 
 dying a few years earlier. 
 
 Captain Samuel Pickering was another son of the 
 family of the subject of this sketch. His wife was a 
 daughter of Mr. Benjamin Cole, the second of the name, 
 upon whose land Captain Pickering settled. His former 
 place of residence is now the property of the widow of the 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 57 
 
 late Mr. Mark H. Bray, and the house occupied by him at 
 the time of his death is now the property of Mr. Geor^^e 
 W. Bray. It is near the Town House. Captain Pickering 
 was a master-mariner, a very active man, and accumulated 
 property. He died several years ago. His wife survived 
 him for several years, dying in i860 or about that time. 
 Their family consisted of two sons and seven daughters ; 
 the sons being the present Messrs. Aaron D. and Timothy 
 B. Pickering. The latter is a man of property, owns con- 
 siderable navigation, and has been in trade many years. 
 The daughters were the wives of Mr. Willaby N. Bray ; 
 Mr. William Torrey, before referred to, who died on a 
 passage to California ; Mr. Nathan W. Sawyer ; Captain 
 Robert Kelsey ; a Mr. Wilkinson, of Massachusetts ; Mr. 
 David Torrey, 2d ; and Captain Dudley Pressey, the latter 
 of whom only now resides here. The others, with the 
 exception of Mrs. Wilkinson, are dead. 
 
 The daughters of Mr. Samuel Pickering, Sr. were the 
 wives of Mr. William Bray and of a Mr. Davis. The 
 latter did not reside here. The time of the death of Mr. 
 Pickering we do not know. 
 
 David Sawyer came here not far from the year 1800, 
 from some place in the vicinity of Newburyport. He was 
 born on the day of the Declaration of Independence, July 
 4, 1776, and was by trade a house and ship joiner. In the 
 latter business he had a good deal of practice and was a 
 very good workman. His wife was Miss Rebecca Crock- 
 ett, the daughter of Mr. Robinson Crockett. Their sons 
 were Nathan W., Admiral G., Mark H., David, and Abel 
 Sawyer, the first and last of whom are now dead. David 
 Sawyer, Jr. has for some thirty years resided in Castine, 
 and Abel, before his death, lived in the town of Sedgwick. 
 The daughters were the wives of Mr. Ezekiel Marshall, 
 
158 ^^'V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Mr. Samuel G. Barbour, Captain James G. Bray, and the 
 late Mr. Mark H. Bray, all of whom except Mrs. Marshall 
 are now (1882) living. The wife of Mr. Sawyer died 
 not far from the year 1838, and he survived her twenty 
 years or more. By the death of a brother in Groveland, 
 Massachusetts, he came into possession of about ten 
 thousand dollars, and at his death it was divided among 
 his children. Mr. Sawyer was one of the most singular 
 men I ever saw. He possessed an extraordinary memory, 
 was a great reader, and, of course, possessed a great deal 
 of information, for he retained what he read. A good 
 mechanic, an honest man in his dealings, his word was 
 good, for whatever he promised he performed. 
 
 Avery Fifield, a native of Haverhill, New Hampshire, 
 came here not long after 1800, and was at the time an 
 apprentice to Mr. Jesse Niles, who has been noticed. For 
 several years after the end of his term as an apprentice 
 he worked at the trade of a house-carpenter. His wife 
 was Miss Sarah, the daughter of Micajah Lunt. She was 
 born February 6, 1786, and is now dead. They had a 
 family of twelve children, all but one of whom lived to man- 
 hood and womanhood. The sons were : the late Captain 
 Joseph Fifield, who died in 1874; Avery, in 1869; Eben- 
 ezer S. ; Thomas S. ; George, a deaf-mute ; and John J. 
 The daughters were the wives of Messrs. William Sweet- 
 sir ; Thomas Small, a son of Mr. Edward Small ; Silvious 
 Simpson ; Captain Stephen B. Morey ; and Captain Jere- 
 miah H. Greenlaw; all of whom, with the exception of Mrs. 
 Simpson, are now living. Mr. Fifield formerly lived near 
 Small's Cove, but afterward purchased a lot of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres lying on the south side of Burnt 
 Cove. He removed there not far from 1812 ; at which 
 time there was not a settlement in that part of the 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 159 
 
 town south of the residence of Mr. Samuel Small. His 
 first house stood not far from the spot upon which 
 the house of Captain Morey now stands. He afterward 
 removed to the place now occupied by Mr. Thomas F. 
 Fifield, upon which he built the house now standing. 
 After a few years he went into the fishing business, 
 owning several vessels, and continuing in it till the time 
 cf his death, which took place in September, 1845, at the 
 age of si.xty-two years. He was a representative to the 
 Legislature in 1836 and 1844, and had considerable 
 influence, especially with those of his own political party. 
 He was a warm-hearted man, ready to relieve those who 
 might be in distress, and was one of those men who meant 
 what they said. 
 
 Captain David Thurlow was a native of Newbury, 
 in the State of Massachusetts, and was born in the year 
 1775 ; he well remembered the "dark day" in 1780. His 
 father, ^Ir. Abram Thurlow, was suffocated by going 
 into a deep well, which had been long disused and 
 covered up, when the subject of this notice was but a 
 boy ; and he, with a brother of his wife, a Mr. Boynton, 
 were soldiers in what is known as the Old French War, 
 and were at the second attack upon Louisburg. His son 
 David came here, where he had an aunt, the wife of Mr. 
 Joseph Colby, Sr., and afterward resided in the family of 
 Mr, Joseph Colby, Jr., whose wife was his sister. Mr. 
 Colby for some time resided upon what is known as Thur- 
 low's Island. He and the subject of this sketch built a 
 sawmill. There was an excellent privilege on that island 
 which did considerable business in the sawing of lumber, 
 as there were in that vicinity logs in abundance con- 
 veniently near. After a few years Mr. Colby removed, 
 and Captain Thurlow carried on the business alone, pur- 
 
l6o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 chasing the interest of Mr. Colby in the island and the mill. 
 He built several vessels on the island, about seventeen in 
 all, I believe : one brig of one hundred and forty tons, 
 two or more coasting-schooners and fishing-vessels, and 
 at one time owned quite a number. Some of them 
 were of large size for those days and did a good deal of 
 business for the times, employing many men. He accu- 
 mulated considerable property and at one time was one of 
 the most wealthy men in the town, but in the latter part 
 of his life became somewhat reduced. His wife was 
 Mercy, the daughter of Samuel Trundy, and they were the 
 parents of twelve children. The sons were Jeremiah, 
 David, Caleb S., Moody, and Paul Thurlow ; the last two 
 only are now living. The daughters were the wives of 
 Captain Levi Babbidge, Mr. Aaron Babbidge, Captain 
 Peter P. Tyler, Captain Nathan Raynes, and afterward 
 that of Mr. Charles Collier, of Charlestown, Massachu- 
 setts, and the present wife of Sullivan Green, Esq. 
 Three of them are now living. He was a captain in the 
 militia at the time that station was considered an 
 honor, and from that circumstance he was always styled 
 Captain Thurlow. He died in 1857, at the age of eighty- 
 two years. He and his wife, who died in i860, were very 
 charitable, and in the days of their prosperity they 
 remembered the poor, for which their names are still 
 respected. He was a very observing and sensible man, 
 although he had but little education, possessed a sound 
 judgment, was one of the selectmen of the town, and in 
 1829 represented the town in the Legislature. 
 
 Rev. Samuel Allen came here not far from 18 10. 
 He was a native of the town of Columbia, in the county of 
 Washington ; and was, we believe, the first or one of the 
 first pastors of the Baptist Church here, continuing in 
 
TOIVX Of DEER IS/.E, MAIXE. i6l 
 
 that capacity for several years, often preach ini,^ on Isle 
 au Haut and at other places in this vicinity. He was for 
 a time quite popular and had many friends, but for some 
 reason many became dissatisfied, and he ceased to be their 
 pastor, and for many years he did not preach. He was 
 born in 1778. His wife was Miss Lois Look. They 
 had four sons — George, Daniel, Samuel, and William. 
 George died at sea, and Daniel married his widow for his 
 second wife and afterward removed to Levant, near Ban- 
 gor, where he purchased a farm, and sailed as master of a 
 vessel out of Bangor. Samuel died some ten years ago. 
 William a few years since moved to Portland. The 
 daughters were : Hannah, the wife of Mr. Isaac Crockett, 
 and afterward of Mr. Samuel W. Emerson ; Ann, the wife 
 of Mr. Reuben Small, whom we mentioned as being- 
 burned to death in 1827: afterward she became the wife 
 of Mr. W'ard, of Addison, Maine ; Louisa, the wife of 
 Mr. Thomas Crockett, who moved to St. Andrew's, New- 
 Brunswick ; and Sarah, the wife of Mr. Levi Scott, — only 
 the last of whom resides here. Mr. Allen died in 1833, 
 at Levant, at the age of fifty-five years, his wife surviving 
 him more than thirty years. He was a man of much 
 natural talent, and for many years was a successful 
 preacher although his education was limited, antl if he 
 had had advantages might have taken a comparativelv 
 high rank in his profession. He lived at what is known 
 as Allen's Cove, near Green's Landing. 
 
 J.VMES DuNCAX came here as earl)' as 1800, or not long 
 after. He was a native of Massachusetts, and was born in 
 1779. His wife was the eldest daughter of Captain Ben- 
 jamin Stockbridge, whom we have noticed, and he settled 
 at what is now known as Green's Landing. There had 
 been but one person who had lived there, who was named 
 
l62 --^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Grover, who left shortly after Mr. Duncan went there, so 
 that we may consider the latter as its first permanent 
 settler, although Thurlow's Island near there was 
 occupied before that time ; and, from the south side of 
 Crockett's Cove by the southern shore of the island as far 
 as Webb's Cove, his was the only dwelling-house for some 
 time. He was engaged for a while in the manufacture 
 of salt from sea-water, the process of which has been 
 described, and was engaged in chopping wood and proba- 
 bly did more of that than any other man in the town ever 
 did. He took up quite an extensive tract of land and 
 afterward built another house about two hundred rods 
 from the shore, where he spent nearly all the rest of his 
 life. His wife dying, he, after her death, resided with his 
 children, and died in the family of his son in Rockland, 
 when nearly ninety years of age. The children of the 
 family were,: James, the son just referred to, now dead ; 
 Mary, the wife of Mr. Robert Barter, who resided on what 
 is known as Wreck Island, within the limits of the town 
 as established in 1868 ; Elizabeth, the wife of Captain 
 John Barter, of Isle au Haut ; Abigail, who was first the 
 wife of Mr. John Sellers, who was lost in Chaleur Bay 
 with Captain David Colby, in the schooner Georgiaiia of 
 Castine, in 1S39: afterward she was the wife of Mr. 
 Stephen Colby ; and Sarah, the wife of Mr. Levi Weed, 
 who several years ago removed to Rockland, and afterward 
 to South Thomaston, where he died not many years ago. 
 All the daughters are living except the wife of Mr. Colby. 
 Mr. Duncan was for several years before his death afflicted 
 with shaking palsy and was always a hard-working man. 
 Moses Gross came here not long after 1800 from 
 Boston, and was by trade a mason. He was known as 
 Mason Gross, to distinguish him from Mr. George Gross, 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 163 
 
 who, as has been statetl, was known as Citizen Gross : but 
 they were not relatives. He at one time did considerable 
 business at his trade in Boston, but becoming somewhat 
 reduced in circumstances, he moved from that place here. 
 He was for much of the time employed at his trade 
 here, doing nearly all the work in his line. He died in 
 1822, at Castine, while employed upon a block of brick 
 stores there. His wife was a native of Boston, and was 
 born in 1773, about the time of the destruction of the tea 
 in Boston Harbor ; she died here in the family of her 
 daughter, Mrs. Pressey, in 1862, at the age of eighty-nine 
 years. After the death of her first husband, she, in 1830, 
 or about that time, became the wife of Ignatius Haskell, 
 Esq. Her children were Samuel P., James, Isaac, the late 
 Mr. Frederick A. Gross, and Margaret, the wife of Mr. 
 John Leman, of Boston. After her death he married her 
 sister Martha. Mary was the first wife of Captain Jere- 
 miah Thurlow, and Harriet is the wife of Mr. Sylvanus G. 
 Pressey. Another daughter never married. Of the family 
 Mrs. Pressey is the sole survivor. Her son, Mr. Samuel 
 P. Gross, followed the occupation of his father. James 
 was a master-mariner and died after a very short illness in 
 1828. Mr. Frederick A. Gross died in 18S1. 
 
 JoxATii.xN ToKREV, 2d. — In noticing the family of Mr. 
 Jonathan Torrey, I briefly noticed his sons. One of them 
 was the subject of this sketch, who in his lifetime was as 
 well known as any other person in the town. He was one 
 with whom I was very well acquainted. He was born here 
 in 1774, and his wife was Miss Prudence, daughter of 
 Captain Belcher Tyler. He followed the sea for many 
 years, and for nineteen consecutive years he was master of 
 a vessel employed in the Labrador cod-fishery, the last 
 year being 1824, as the fisheries then had failed to 
 
164 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 that extent that it was no longer a profitable business. 
 He continued to follow the sea, sometimes in the fishing 
 and sometimes in the coasting business, till 1832 or 1833, 
 when he abandoned it and turned his attention to his 
 farm, which, as we have stated, was the one occupied by 
 Mr. John Billings, adjoining that of William Eaton on 
 the Reach shore. He was a man of integrity and enter- 
 prise, and the time and cause of his death have been stated 
 in the notice of his father, and his sons mentioned. His 
 widow outlived him about twenty-five years. The real 
 estate owned by him is now in the possession of his heirs. 
 
 David Torrey was the eldest brother in the family, 
 and lived for many years near the road leading from the 
 Northwest Harbor toward the Reach. He was a very 
 eccentric man, and died in 1858 at the age of ninety years. 
 His wife was Mrs. Martha Robbins, a daughter of Mr. 
 Charles Sellers, and they had no children. She had three 
 by her former husband, none of whom remained here. 
 She has been noticed in the sketch of the family of her 
 father as dying in 1879, at' the great age of ninety-seven 
 years. 
 
 Captain John Torrey was another of the sons of Mr. 
 Jonathan Torrey, and he was for many years a master- 
 mariner, and made several voyages in the Labrador fish- 
 ing. He was a capable and intelligent man. His wife 
 was Miss Dorothy, a daughter of Captain Jonathan Has- 
 kell, and a sister to the wife of his brother Mr. David 
 Torrey. They had no children, but adopted a daughter of 
 Mr. Josiah Gray when she was very young, who took their 
 name and was afterward the wife of Mr. Joshua Pressy, 
 2d. She is now a widow, and occupies the homestead 
 of her adopted father. The other members of the family 
 of Mr. Jonathan Torrey have been dead, with the excep- 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 1 5c 
 
 tion of Mrs. Eaton, for several years, and have been quite 
 extensively noticed. The limits of this work would pre- 
 clude any further sketches, as the persons who would be 
 the subjects of most of them have passed out of the 
 memory of most of the persons now living here. 
 
 William Raynes, 2d, the son of Captain John Raynes, 
 was in his day very well known, not only here, but in 
 other places, as he for many years was a master-mariner, 
 and throughout his long life maintained an unblemished 
 reputation, which was well known wherever he was 
 acquainted. He was born in September, 1778. His wife 
 was Miss Ruth, the daughter of Captain Edmund Sylves- 
 ter. He followed the sea until sixty years of age, and 
 resided upon the farm first taken up by Mr. Samuel 
 Raynes, which was purchased by Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
 of whom it was purchased by the subject of this sketch 
 not long after 1800. He built a house upon the lot, which 
 is now in a state of decay. The children of the marriage 
 were: William, who died in 1832, aged twenty-three 
 years ; Edward S., whose first wife was Mary A., the 
 daughter of Mr. John Howard, and the second a Miss 
 Small, of Ncwburyport, in which place he now resides ; 
 George, who died in 1836, in New York; Abiel who 
 was shipwrecked on Martha's Vineyard, in 1846, being 
 one of the crew of the brig Li/ico/n of this town. He 
 died shortly after reaching the shore, and was there 
 buried. He married Susan, the daughter of Captain 
 Henry Lufkin, Jr., a sister of the present Captain H. T. 
 Lufkin. She afterward became the wife of Mr. Robert 
 Clark, of Castine, where she is now living. Another 
 brother was the late Mr. Aaron B. Raynes, whose wife 
 was Miss Mary M., a daughter of the late Mr. Thomas 
 Sellers, of Bangor, a son of Mr. William, and brother to 
 
1 66 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the present Mr. Amos Sellers. Mr. A. B. Raynes was 
 formerly one of the selectmen, and- represented this town 
 in the year 1871 in the Legislature. In that year he 
 removed from this place to the State of Missouri. He 
 afterward came East and resided in Norwich, Connecticut, 
 where he died in 1881, at the age of fifty-nine years. 
 Another son is the present Captain Eben E. Raynes, 
 whose wife was Miss Elizabeth, daughter of the late 
 Benjamin F. Ferguson, Esq. He is the only member of 
 the family now residing here. The youngest son was Mr. 
 Benjamin Raynes, who went from here in 1854 to Cali- 
 fornia, afterward returning, and now resides in Gloucester, 
 Massachusetts. The daughters were : Susan, the wife of 
 George L. Hosmer ; she died in 1868. Elizabeth, the wife 
 of Mr. Charles S. Torrey ; she died in 1853. Caroline, the 
 wife of Mr. Jason Webb ; she died in Gloucester, Massa- 
 chusetts, in 1857. Of the family of twelve children but 
 three are now living. Captain Edmund S. Raynes the 
 second son, was for many years an active master-mariner, 
 making several voyages to the East Indies. The date of 
 the death of Captain Raynes has been stated and also 
 his age. His wife died in 1852. 
 
 The second son of the family was Captain John Raynes, 
 who, as we have mentioned, moved to Newburyport. We 
 have before given a brief notice of him, and, as he was for 
 the most part of his life a resident of that place, we do 
 not deem it necessary to notice him any further, except 
 to state that he returned to this place a few years prior to 
 his death, which took place in 1862, at the age of seventy- 
 eight years. He was twice married, but left no children. 
 
 Joseph Raynes was the third son in the family, and 
 his wife was Betsey, the daughter of Mr. Nathan Johnson. 
 Two of their sons, Captain John J. and Horatio G. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, .VALVE. 167 
 
 Raynes, now reside in Hyde Park, Massachusetts, and one, 
 Nathan Raynes, resides here. One married daughter, 
 Mrs. Lucas, is a resident of Methuen, Massachusetts, and 
 one is a resident of Hyde Park, the wife of B. B. Haskell. 
 One is single, who makes the house of her deceased father 
 her residence in the summer, while the rest of the time 
 she lives in Boston. Captain Raynes followed the sea and 
 the fishing business many years. Both he and his wife 
 died within forty-eight hours of each other, in April, 1859, 
 and their remains occupy one grave. 
 
 Benjamin Raynes was the remaining son, and his wife 
 was Miss Sabrina, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Whitmore, 
 Jr., who, as has been stated, lost his life in 18 14, by 
 drowning, at the same time with Mr. John Eaton. Of 
 the family two now remain. The eldest daughter was first 
 the wife of Captain Henry I. Lufkin, who was master of 
 the brig Baron De Castiue of Castine, and died on board 
 her on the coast of Africa, in i860. She afterward was 
 the wife of Mr. Israel B. Grindle, of Penobscot. She 
 died in May, 1881. Another was the wife of Mr. Edward 
 P. Haskell, and is now dead. The others reside in Auburn, 
 Maine. One is the wife of Mr. Alvin B. Saunders ; the 
 other is unmarried. In 1846 Captain Raynes, then master 
 of the brig Lincoln of this town, was wrecked on Martha's 
 Vineyard. The brig being heavily loaded with lumber, 
 with spars on deck, was knocked down, righting after the 
 masts were cut away, and for four days in the latter jiart 
 of November the crew were on deck without food or 
 water, drenched with sea-water. Two of the crew, 
 William Adams and Richard Brown, died before the vessel 
 went on shore ; and soon after she struck, the mate, Mr. 
 Benjamin J. Saunders, in attempting to reach the shore, 
 was drowned, leaving three on board, who, when the tide 
 
1 68 A^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 had ebbed, reached the land — one of whom, Mr. Abiel 
 S. Raynes, soon after laid down and died. He had lost 
 his hat when the brig was knocked down and was more 
 drenched than the others with salt water. The two 
 remaining, Captain Raynes and Mr. Charles H. Saun- 
 ders, attempted to reach a house at about half a mile's 
 distance from the shore, but they were seen and assistance 
 was rendered. The exposure and suffering caused Cap- 
 tain Raynes to become prematurely old, and he died at 
 sea in 1861, at the age of fifty-eight years, his wife dying 
 in 1859. He was for several years engaged in the Banks 
 fishery and was master of vessels from Castine in that 
 pursuit, but for several years prior to his death he was 
 engaged in the coasting business. 
 
 Captain Henry Lufkin was a son of the Mr. Benja- 
 min Lufkin mentioned, who came here from Gloucester, 
 and he was at the time of the removal about fifteen years 
 of age. He resided here the remainder of his life, and 
 was master of a vessel in the coasting business many 
 years. He purchased a farm of Ignatius Haskell, Esq., 
 which was a part of the land formerly occupied by Mr. 
 Robinson Crockett, and he resided upon it till his death. 
 His first wife was Miss Betsey Robinson, and by her he 
 had two sons — the late Captain Henry Lufkin, who died 
 in 1868, and Captain Joseph R. Lufkin, who died in 1851 
 — and two daughters. One was the wife of Mr. Timothy 
 Saunders, and the other was the wife of Captain Ebenezer 
 Beardsley, then of Boston, but a native of Damariscotta, 
 Maine. Both of the daughters are now dead. The 
 second wife of Captain Lufkin, the subject of this notice, 
 was Miss Betsey Raynes, and by her he had two sons and 
 two daughters. One son is the present Captain Mark H. 
 Lufkin, and the other died when a young man in the West 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. I 69 
 
 Indies. One of the daughters was the wife of the late 
 Johnson Raynes ; the other died unmarried, and of the 
 family Captain M. H. Lufkin is the sole survivor. The 
 death of Captain Lufkin took place in 1839, at the age of 
 sixty-four years, and that of his wife in 1858, at the age of 
 seventy-eight years. His real estate is now the property 
 of his son, who occupies it. 
 
 Daniel Lufkin was a brother of the subject of the 
 preceding notice. He was born in 1785. His first wife 
 was Sarah, the daughter of Captain John Raynes. Of 
 their family three now remain : Mr. Benjamin Lufkin, 
 who resides here ; Mr. Theophilus Lufkin, of Castine ; 
 and a daughter is now the wife of Mr. Miles Gardiner, of 
 that town. One son, Mr. Daniel Lufkin, Jr., was drowned 
 by stepping off a wharf in Bangor several years ago, 
 leaving a family. Two other sons died when young men, 
 unmarried. The wife of Mr. Lufkin died in 1828. For 
 his second wife he married Mrs. Patience Snow, the 
 daughter of Mr. Thomas Colby, by whom he had three 
 sons and one daughter. One son was drowned ; another 
 removed from here, and one, the present Mr. Henry F. 
 Lufkin, and the daughter, the wife of Mr. Edwin Tyler, 
 reside here. Mr. Lufkin died in 1871, at the age of 
 eighty-six years. His wife died a year or two after. 
 
 EzEKiEL Alexander came here many years ago from 
 Harpswell, Maine. He was well known here. Two of his 
 sisters resided here — one the wife of Mr. George Gross ; 
 the other that of Mr. Solomon Marshall. The wife of 
 Mr. Alexander was Polly Eaton, a daughter of Mr. Elia- 
 kim Eaton, the oldest son of Major William Eaton. She 
 was born in 1776. After her marriage she had two daugh- 
 ters, one of whom married in Massachusetts. The other 
 is the well known Avis Alexander. He died not far from 
 
lyo ^^" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1850, and was not far from ninety years of age. His wife 
 was well known as a wandering character, gathering herbs, 
 etc., while she remained able. She afterward became an 
 inmate of the poorhouse, and died in 1869, at the age of 
 ninety-three years. 
 
 Joseph Clifton came here many years ago and was 
 well known. He was born in Medford, Massachusetts, 
 according to his own account, in 1771. His wife was a 
 daughter of Mr. John Scott and the widow of Mr. Ebene- 
 zer Ball. By Mr. Clifton she had three daughters : one is 
 the present wife of Mr. Thomas Low ; another, that of 
 Captain William Torrey, who died in 1881 ; the other 
 married in Massachusetts. He was a very singular man 
 and for many years did not live with his family, preferring 
 to roam about, not remaining long in any one place. He 
 spent considerable time in Winterport and in that vicinity. 
 By trade he was a shoemaker. When, by reason of age, 
 he became incapable of labor, he returned here, where he 
 spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1865, at the age 
 of ninety-four. His wife died not far from 1870, aged 
 eighty-five years. 
 
 Simon Smith came here not far from 1800. He was 
 the son of Mr. Abiatha Smith, one of the early settlers of 
 Isle au Haut, and he was born in Thomaston. His wife 
 was Miss Lydia, the youngest daughter of Mr. Thomas 
 Small, Sr., and they had a family of twelve children. Of 
 the sons the eldest, Simon Smith, died on Isle au Haut, in 
 1835, of smallpox. The next in age. Captain Benjamin 
 Smith, was lost at sea while master of a vessel belonging 
 to Winterport, at which place he resided. The next in 
 age was the late Mr. Samuel Smith, who represented this 
 town in the Legislature in 1854. Another is the present 
 Mr. John Smith. One, Chase Smith, died when a young 
 
TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. IJI 
 
 man. The daughters were the wives of Messrs. William 
 Webb, James Saunders, 2d, Alexander N. Noyes, Henry 
 A. Noyes, Paul T. Lane ; all of this town. Another was 
 the wife of a Mr. Foote and afterward of Mr. Joshua 
 Fuller, Esq., of Thomaston. The other was that of Mr. 
 James Babbidge, 2d, of North Haven, but now a resident 
 of Falmouth, Maine. Mr. Smith died a few years prior to 
 i860, and his wife did not long survive him. The farm 
 owned by him was sold by his heirs and is now the prop- 
 erty of Captain H. T. Lufkin. 
 
 William Sellers was a native of York, Maine, and 
 was born in 1775. He came here early with his father, 
 Mr. William Sellers, a brother of Messrs. Charles and 
 Joseph Sellers, but he did not acquire a settler's right. 
 The subject of this notice, with the rest of the family, 
 remained here till their deaths, with the exception of their 
 father, who removed to York and died there. The wife 
 of Mr. Sellers was Miss Abigail, daughter of Mr. Thomas 
 Small, Sr., and their children were: (i) Mr. William 
 Sellers, Jr., who lived not far from Burnt Cove ; (2) Mr. 
 David Sellers, who lived on Stinson's Neck ; (3) Mr. 
 Thomas Sellers, who died of the cholera in 1849, in Ban- 
 gor ; (4) Mr. John Sellers, who was lost in Chaleur Bay, 
 in 1 839, — one of the crew of the schooner Georgiana 
 of Castine, Captain David Colby, master ; (5 and 6) the 
 present Messrs. Ebenezer S. and Amos Sellers. Of the 
 two daughters, one was the wife of Mr. John Conary, 
 and the other that of Mr. William Fife, who formerly 
 resided on Swan's Island. Of the family two only now 
 are living. The dates of the deaths of Mr. Sellers and 
 his wife were not far from 1850. His property is now 
 owned and occupied by his son, Mr. Amos Sellers. The 
 brother of Mr. Sellers removed to Brooklin, Maine, many 
 
172 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 years ago. The sisters were the wives of Mr. Thomas 
 Conary, 2d, Mr. Ebenezer Jordan, Mr. Stephen Dow, and 
 she was the third wife of Mr. Stephen Babbidge. The 
 other was the first wife of Captain James Torrey. 
 
 Elias Morey was the eldest son of Mr. Ezekiel Morey, 
 who came among the earhest settlers. He was born in 
 1 76 1 and remained here till his death, which took place 
 not far from the year 1845. His wife was a Miss Robin- 
 son, and she was sister to the wives of William Raynes, 
 senior of the name here, and of Captain Henry Lufkin, 
 and they had a family of thirteen children. The sons 
 were : the late Mr. William Morey, the father of the 
 present Mr. Levi B. Morey, and whose wife was a daugh- 
 ter of Mr. Robinson Crockett. Another was the late Mr. 
 Elias Morey, Jr., who died on Swan's Island. Another 
 was Charles Morey, who went away and died when a 
 young man. Another was Mr. Ezekiel Morey, who died 
 many years ago. The other was Mr. Joseph Morey, the 
 father of the man now in this town of the same name. 
 They all are dead. The daughters were the wives of 
 Mr. Joseph Cole, Hezekiah Robbins, Elijah Dunham, Mark 
 Robbins, and Abram Holbrook — all of this town ; and 
 there were others who were married in other places. For 
 some years Mr. Morey resided upon a part of his father's 
 farm, and his right was purchased by Deacon Joshua 
 Haskell ; after that he resided the most of the time on 
 Greenlaw's Neck, where he died a few years after his 
 wife's death. 
 
 Naylor Small has been mentioned as one of the sons 
 of Mr. Job Small. He was born in 1772. His wife was 
 the daughter of Mr. Levi Carman, the early settler of that 
 name. Of his family there was one son, the late Mr, 
 Calvin Small. The daughters were the wives of Captain 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 73 
 
 Tristram Haskell, Jr. and Mr. Charles Walton, of Spruce 
 Head Island, both of whom are now dead. Another was 
 the wife of Mr. Jesse Niles, and the present wife of Mr, 
 Levi Greenlaw. Another, the wife of the late Mr. Fred- 
 erick A. Gross. One died unmarried. Mr. Small died in 
 1863, at the age of ninety-one years ; his wife died a few 
 years before. His property passed into the hands of his 
 son, by whom it was occupied till his death. 
 
 Michael Small, Esq. was the youngest son of Mr. 
 Job Small. He was born in 1779. His wife was Miss 
 Deborah Perkins, of Castine. They had a large family, 
 most of whom died young. Three sons : the present Mr. 
 Michael Small ; the late Mr. Frederick Small ; and Mr. 
 Robert P. Small, who removed to Gloucester, Massachu- 
 setts, and is now dead. Two daughters : one is the 
 wife of Mr. William Small ; the other died, unmarried, not 
 long after the death of her father, which took place in 
 1837, after a most distressing illness. His wife survived 
 him about twenty years, residing with her son, Mr. Michael 
 Small, who owns and occupies a part of the property left 
 by his father. Mr. Small was for many years a justice 
 of the peace, an enterprising farmer, and accumulated 
 considerable property. 
 
 Charles Chatto, Michael Ready, and John Fixney 
 came here about the beginning of the present century. 
 The first was a native of Scotland, the other two of 
 Ireland. They were in the military service of Great 
 Britain, from which they deserted at the time of their 
 coming here. They were stationed near the river St. 
 Croix, and either by swimming or in a boat, came along- 
 side a vessel belonging here, the master of which was 
 Captain Ephraim Marshall, who landed them here, where 
 they remained — two of them — and married : Mr, Chatto 
 
174 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 a Miss Staples ; and they were the parents of Mr. Joshua 
 S. Chatto, who has resided here and is well known. Mr. 
 Ready married Lydia, the daughter of Mr. Chase Pressey. 
 They were the parents of Messrs. Thomas and Jeremiah 
 Ready ; the former of whom resided here until a few 
 years ago ; the latter went to Boston when a young man. 
 Mr. Finney married the daughter of Mr. Moses Staples, 
 of Swan's Island. They were the parents of the late Mr. 
 Moses S. Finney, who came here as early as 1838, from 
 that place, and remained till his death, a few years prior to 
 i860. Mr. Finney, or, as he was generally called. Jack 
 Finney, was a man of small stature, and very excitable. 
 If he deemed himself insulted, was ever ready for a com- 
 bat, however great the disadvantages to himself might 
 seem. 
 
 George G. Choate came, not far from the beginning 
 of the present century, from some place in the county of 
 Essex, in the State of Massachusetts. By trade he was 
 a house-carpenter. He first married a Miss Johnson, a 
 daughter of the last wife of Mr. Ezra Howard, and by 
 her had three daughters, one of whom was the wife of 
 Mr. Samuel Hall, of this place, but who, many years ago, 
 removed to Long Island in the town of Bluehill. An- 
 other was the wife of Mr. Thomas Haskell, son of Deacon 
 Joshua Haskell, a master ship-carpenter, who lived here 
 until a few years ago, and then removed to Boston, where 
 he died not long after his removal. He had been married 
 before, and had a family of eight children. His first wife 
 was a daughter of Courtney Babbidge. The remaining 
 daughter of Mr. Choate by his first marriage was Miss 
 Mary Choate, who now resides in Boston. The second 
 wife of Mr. Choate was Miss Betsey, daughter of Mr. 
 Thomas Small, Sr. They had two sons. One was the 
 
TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I 75 
 
 late Mr. Thomas S. Choate who resided here, and died 
 several years ago. The other was Mr. John Choate, who, 
 when quite a young man, left this place and went to New 
 Orleans, and before the Rebellion commanded a steamer 
 on the Mississippi River. Of the daughters we know 
 nothing, as they did not remain here. Mr. Choate for- 
 merly resided in a house near the Town House, which, 
 after his removal from here, was purchased by Jonathan 
 E. W'ebb, Esq., and removed to the Northwest Harbor. 
 It is now the property of Captain John W. Green. Not 
 far from 1830 Mr. Choate removed to Bluehill, where he 
 resided till his death, which took place not far from i860. 
 He was a great wit, and many of his expressions are well 
 remembered both in this place and in Bluehill. 
 
 We have given quite an extended sketch and notices of 
 the settlers and early inhabitants, among whom were 
 many who were not descendants of the early settlers, 
 but who came here and were prominent in their 
 day in that part of the town known as Great Deer 
 Island, and wc will now notice those persons who were 
 the early settlers of Little Deer Island. As has been 
 stated, the authority of Messrs. Joseph and George 
 Tyler to allot lands to settlers did not extend to Little 
 Deer Island, but was confined to Great Deer and Sheep 
 Islands, or, as the latter is known, Jordan's Island. 
 Whether those persons who were there as settlers prior to 
 1784 were entitled to their lots of land, or not, we do not 
 know ; but as the same rule was observed in Township 
 Number Three, which embraced the present towns of 
 Penobscot, Castine, and a large part of Brooksville, as was 
 on Great Deer Island, we may judge that it was estab- 
 lished by resolve of the General Court of Massachusetts 
 
176 ^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 in Other towns in this vicinity. The proprietors of that 
 island were residents of Massachusetts. Hon. Thomas 
 L. Winthrop, once lieutenant-governor of the State, was 
 one of the principal proprietors, if not the only one, 
 from whom the titles of occupants were derived. It was 
 surveyed in 1802 by James Peters, of Bluehill, a brother 
 of John Peters, Jr., by whom the second survey of Great 
 Deer Island was made, in 179S. At the time of the 
 survey most of the land was occupied. 
 
 Eliakim Eaton, the oldest son of William Eaton, set- 
 tled on the lot upon the southeast end of the island. 
 His settlement embraced what is known as Stave Island, 
 now occupied by his grandson, Mr. Benjamin H. Eaton. 
 His wife was Miss Mary Bunker. She was a daughter of 
 a man of that name who, as has been stated, lived to the 
 extraordinary age of one hundred and ten years : but such 
 a statement must be received with a great deal of caution, 
 as there is generally a disposition in such cases to exag- 
 gerate. If the statement be correct, there has been but 
 one case in this part of the State of such extraordinary 
 longevity : that of Mr. Laughlan McDonald, who died in 
 Belfast, in 1821, said to be of the same age, but it was 
 generally believed from the statements made by him of 
 persons seen by him, who had been dead more than one 
 hundred years. The children of their marriage who 
 remained here were : the late Mr. Solomon Eaton, who 
 died about the year i860, at an advanced age. Another 
 was Mr. Isaac Eaton, who marrried a daughter of Mr. 
 Peter Hardy, Sr. He died when a young man. His 
 widow became the wife of Captain Jonathan Haskell, who 
 died in 1873. Another son is the present Mr. Peter H. 
 Eaton, who is about ninety years of age. Of the daugh- 
 ters, one was the wife of Mr. Ezekiel Alexander, whom 
 
TOIVX or DEEK ISLE, MA EVE. I'JJ 
 
 \vc ha\e before noticed. A son of hers, before her mar- 
 riage with him, who went by the name of Kzekiel A. 
 Clark, was found .dead under very suspicious circum- 
 stances in Boston, in 1849. -^^ he was known to 
 have had several hundred dollars in money, none of 
 which was found upon his person, it was presumed that he 
 had been robbed and murdered. Another daughter was 
 the wife of Mr. Jeremiah Eaton. She was the mother of 
 the present Mr. Alfred Eaton. After the death of her 
 husband, who was drowned in 1834, she became the wife 
 of Mr. John Gray, in Brooksville. Another daughter was 
 known as Phebe Eaton. She was the mother of the late 
 Captain Rufus Benson, who removed to Camden, and was 
 the master of a barque belonging to that place, which was 
 seized by the Spanish authorities about the year 1850, 
 about which considerable w^as said at the time, it being 
 the subject of correspondence between the government of 
 this country and that of Spain at the time that Hon. 
 Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. Captain Benson 
 was brought up by Mr. Amos Thurston, of this town, who, 
 when Rufus was a little child, was in his boat fishing near 
 Isle au Haut, and being near a ledge, heard a child 
 crying upon it. He landed there and found him, and he 
 remained in his family till he was twenty-one years of age. 
 After that he removed to Camden and became an active 
 master-mariner. He is now dead. His mother, late in 
 life, became the wife of Mr. Christopher Gray, of Brooks- 
 ville, the man who lived to be one hundred and three 
 years of age, but we believe she had been married before. 
 Another daughter manied in Ilarpswcll, Maine. Nothing 
 is known about her. Mr. Eaton died not far from the 
 year 1800. His widow married Mr. Charles Stewart, who 
 was well known in Sedgwick and Brooksville. She died 
 
178 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 between the years 1840 and 1845, at the age of one hun- 
 dred years, as was supposed. The real estate of Mr. 
 Eaton afterward was purchased, with the exception of the 
 widow's dower, by the late Mr. Abijah Haskell, who 
 resided upon it till his death, in 1872. 
 
 Solomon Eaton, son of the subject of the preceding 
 notice, lived and died on the island on which he was 
 born not long after the year 1770. His first wife was a 
 daughter of Mr. Benjamin Howard, of what is now 
 Brooksville, and their sons were : the present Messrs. 
 Benjamin H. and Mark Eaton ; the late Solomon Eaton, 
 Jr., of this town, who died in 1849; ^'^d Mr. John Eaton, 
 of Sedgwick, now dead. The only daughter who remained 
 here was the wife of Mr. Peter H. Haskell, who is now 
 dead. The second wife of Mr. Eaton was the daughter of 
 Mr. Daniel Billings, who was some twenty-five years 
 younger than himself, and they had three sons : one was 
 Mr. Isaac B. Eaton, of Isle au Haut ; Mr. Amos Eaton ; 
 Hardy Eaton. They all are dead. After the death 
 of his second wife, he married a sister of his first wife, 
 Mrs. Martha Tibbetts, of Brooksville, and they both died 
 near each other, not far from the year i860. The settle- 
 ment of Mr. Eaton was upon the southwest side of the 
 island, and his place afterward became the property of the 
 late Silas L. Hardy, Esq. 
 
 Jephtha Benson was the first settler upon the land 
 adjoining that of Mr. Eliakim Eaton on the northwest. 
 He came here not far from the year 1800, from one of the 
 towns in the vicinity of Paris, in the county of Oxford, in 
 this State, and his descendants still reside there. He was 
 a Revolutionary soldier, and was born about the year 1757. 
 He resided several years upon the land he settled, 
 and then removed to Marshall's Island, lying west of 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. lyg 
 
 Swan's Island. He married a ]\Irs. Ross, who was a 
 daughter of Mr. Thomas Kench, who many years ago 
 lived near Buck's Harbor, in Brooksville. !Mr. Kench was 
 also a Revolutionary soldier, and was one of those who 
 accompanied Benedict Arnold up the Kennebec River and 
 across the wilderness to Quebec in 1775, and was engaged 
 in the attempt to capture that city under General Mont- 
 gomery. It is said that he was one of the few who 
 reached the top of the wall, but was obliged to jump down 
 to save his life. By his wife Mr. Benson had a family, but 
 none of them ever resided here, but were on Swan's 
 Island a few years ago. He was dispossessed of Mar- 
 shall's Island, in 1835, by Rufus B. Allyn, of Belfast, and 
 afterward removed to Brooksville, where he died, at the 
 age of ninety-eight years. His land on Little Deer 
 Island afterward became the property of the late Silas L. 
 Hardy, Esq., by whom it was occupied till his death, in 
 1859. It is now the property of his sons. 
 
 Jonathan Hardy, before noticed, was the occupant of 
 the lot of land lying northwest of that of Mr. Benson, and 
 he occupied it till his death. Some years before that time 
 he sold a part of it to his son, Mr. Jonathan Hardy, Jr., 
 who removed to Winterport, and it was by him sold to 
 Mr. James E. Parker, who is now the occupant. The 
 remainder of the lot is the property of the sons of Silas 
 L. Hardy. His second wife, a Miss Susan Jones, of Cas- 
 tine, after his death became the wife of Mr. Timothy 
 Saunders. She had one daughter after her marriage with 
 Mr. Hardy, who became the wife of Mr. John Hardy, and 
 she died in the year 1854, on the voyage with her husband 
 to Washington Territory. Her husband remained there 
 some time, and afterward returned, sometimes residing 
 here and sometimes in other places. 
 
l8o AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Isaac Gray settled the lot of land northwest of that 
 of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, Jr., but not till some years after 
 1800, on which he resided several years. His wife was 
 the oldest daughter of Mr. Joseph Harris, and they were 
 the parents of the late Mr. Joseph H. Gray and Messrs. 
 Silas H. and Oliver B. Gray. One daughter became the 
 second wife of Mr. George C. Closson, and the other, that 
 of the late Captain Timothy Parker, of Winterport. Mr. 
 Gray removed there several years ago and died in that 
 place. His wife returned and died here in 1876, at the 
 age of eighty-seven years. The real estate of Mr. Gray 
 is now the property of his heirs, and is unoccuiaied. 
 
 Joseph Harris was a native of the British Provinces, 
 and came here very early. His wife was a daughter of 
 Mr. James Gray, who lived near Walker's Pond, in Brooks- 
 ville. She was a sister to Mr. Christopher Gray, men- 
 tioned before, and to Mr. Josiah Gray, who has been 
 noticed. We do not know the exact date of his coming, 
 but as his oldest daughter was born in 1789, if he 
 lived there at that time, he was one of the early settlers. 
 His lot was that adjoining the one taken up by Mr. Isaac 
 Gray on the northwest. They had one son, the present 
 Mr, Henry Harris. The daughters were the wives of Mr, 
 Isaac Gray ; Mr. John Weed ; Mr. Samuel Pittee, who came 
 here from North Yarmouth, Maine ; Mr. John Hutchin- 
 son, who died here not many years ago ; the youngest was 
 first the wife of Mr. Samuel Hutchinson, and afterward 
 that of Mr. Ebenezer Spinney, who came here in 1837 
 from the town of Elliott, Maine. Mrs. Spinney is the 
 only one of the daughters remaining, and is now at the 
 age of eighty years. Mr. Harris died in 1 841, at the age 
 of eighty-six years ; his wife died in 1854, at the age of 
 eighty-nine years. He was well known in former years. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. l8l 
 
 Daniel Billixgs was the settler upon the lot of land 
 lying northwest of that of Mr. Harris. He was a brother 
 of Mr. Timothy Billings, and was born in this town not 
 far from the year 1768. His wife was Miss Carter, a 
 sister of Rev. Edward Carter, a Baptist elder, who many 
 years ago preached on Cape Rozier, in Brooksville, near 
 what was known as Bakman's Mills. A sister of the 
 family was the wife of Mr. Thomas Wasson, a well-known 
 citizen in Brooksville for many years, who died more than 
 forty years ago. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and 
 grandfather to Thaddeus Shepardson, Esq., of that town. 
 Mr. Billings and wife had three sons who arrived to man- 
 hood and one who died young. They were Daniel Bill- 
 ings, Esq., who many years lived in Monroe, Waldo 
 County, and practised law. A few years ago he came 
 here and purchased what is known as the " Swain Place." 
 He was afterward appointed a trial justice, for which 
 position he was well qualified. He died not many years 
 since after a short sickness. Another son was the late 
 Mr. Peter H. Billings, who also resided in Monroe. He 
 was by trade a millwright, and was a very skilful and 
 ingenious mechanic. He died not far from the year 1850, 
 not quite forty years of age. The other is the present 
 Mr. Edward C. Billings, who occupies and owns the home- 
 stead of his father. The daughters were the wives of 
 the late Mr. Peter Hardy, Jr., who died in 1859; ^Ir. 
 Samuel Howard, of Brooksville ; Mr. Solomon Eaton, who 
 has been noticed ; Mr. Peter H. Eaton ; Mr. Samuel 
 Gray, of Sedgwick ; and Mr. George Swain. The first 
 four are now dead. Mr. Billings died at an advanced age 
 several years ago, his wife dying before him. He left a 
 good reputation. Mr. Samuel Howard, one of the family 
 in Brooksville of that name, settled upon the land adjoin- 
 
1 82 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ing the lot of Mr. Billings upon the northwest. His wife 
 was a sister of Mr. Billings. He lived for several years 
 upon it, and afterward removed to the town of Montville. 
 His farm was purchased by Otis Little, Esq., of Castine, 
 who acquired land adjoining it, and had in all about four 
 hundred acres, which, a little before 1830, he sold to 
 Captain John Gray, of Sedgwick, who lived upon it about 
 thirty-five years, and then removed to the town of Brooks- 
 ville, where he died. He had previously sold a part of 
 his land to Mr. Shadrach Black, who occupied it till his 
 death, not long after 1870. He went there in 1836. His 
 wife was a daughter of Mrs. Gray by a former husband. 
 Another portion of his land he sold to his son, the present 
 Mr. Jonathan D. Gray, who, a few years ago, sold it to 
 Mr. John Douglass, who now occupies it. At the time of 
 the removal of Captain Gray he sold the remainder of his 
 land to his son Jonathan, who occupies it at present. 
 Mr. Black's land is now occupied by his son. 
 
 Timothy Billings, who, as we have stated, was the first 
 child of white parents born in the town, settled the farm 
 on the northwestern end of the island. His wife was a 
 Miss Wells, a relative doubtless of those of that name 
 who lived in what is now the town of Brooklin. She died 
 many years before him, leaving a family of three sons, of 
 whom we have had knowledge, and two daughters. The 
 sons were Captain John Billings and Amaziah Billings, 
 who lived in Sedgwick. Of the daughters, one was the 
 wife of Mr. James Gray, of Brooksville, and the other 
 that of Captain Robinson Crockett, Jr., a son of the man 
 of that name, who lived at one time on Stinson's Neck. 
 The remaining son, Mr. Jeremiah Billings, occupied the 
 farm of his father. He died very suddenly, in 1840. 
 After his death his widow married Mr. John L. Lawry, 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 183 
 
 who came here in 1841 from some town in the county of 
 Waldo, in whose family Mr. Billings, the subject of this 
 notice, resided till his death, after which the farm w. s 
 sold, and the family removed to Winterport, where Mr. 
 Lawry died. It is now the property of Mr. Michael D. 
 Snowman, who removed there from Brooksville ; and of 
 Mr. Billings the same might be said as was said of his 
 brother. 
 
 William Swain was the first settler upon the lot of 
 land adjoining that of Captain Gray on the southeast, on 
 the southwest side of the island. He was a native of 
 Scotland, and came with the British army to Bagaduce in 
 1779. He was a master-mariner, and in former years a 
 man of enterprise. He was at one time worth considera- 
 ble property. His wife was a daughter of Mr. Samuel 
 Matthews, of what is now Castine, whose farm, a valuable 
 one, was afterward owned by Mr. Jonathan Hatch, and 
 occupied by him at the time of his death. The exact time 
 of his coming here is not known, and a cove, on the 
 shores of which his place lies, is known as Swain's Cove. 
 He did not pay for his property, but the proprietors never 
 molested him. After his death his son, Mr. George Swain, 
 made a contract to purchase it, but failed to pay for it and 
 did not acquire a title. After the removal of Mr. George 
 Swain, ]\Ir. Horatio N. Haskell contracted with the owners 
 for its purchase, but he also failed to meet his payments. 
 Afterward it was purchased by Daniel Billings, Esq., who 
 resided upon it till his death, a few years ago. It is now 
 owned and occupied by his widow. The time of the death 
 of the wife of Mr. Swain is not known ; he died not 
 far from 1835. In the family there were, to our knowl- 
 edge, four sons, namely, William, Samuel, Walter, and 
 George Swain. All are now dead. Mr. George Swain 
 
184 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 removed to Winterport, where his widow and descendants 
 resided till the last of our knowledge of them. 
 
 Noah Blaster was the first settler upon the land 
 adjoining that of Mr. Swain upon the southeast. Of him 
 but very little is known either of the place he came from 
 or the time of his death. He left one son and one daugh- 
 ter, but of the latter we know nothing. His son was the 
 late Mr. Samuel Blaster, who died in i860, at the age of 
 eighty-three, having been born in 1777. His wife was the 
 daughter of Mr. Christopher Gray, of Brooksville, and at 
 the time of her marriage with him she was the widow of 
 Mr. James Hendrick, by whom she had two sons, Christo- 
 pher, now dead, and the present Mr. Stillman Hendrick, 
 who resides on Little Deer Island. The daughter was the 
 wife of Mr. Solomon Eaton, Jr., who died in 1849, ^'^^ she 
 is now dead. She was the mother of Mr. Isaiah V. Eaton, 
 who died a soldier in the Union army during the war for 
 the suppression of the Rebellion. By his wife Mr. Blaster 
 had one son, the present I\Ir. William Blaster, and several 
 daughters. Mrs. Blaster died several years before her 
 husband. 
 
 Richard Banks settled upon the lot of land lying- 
 southeast of that of Mr. Blaster. He came here from the 
 town of Hartford, in Oxford County. He brought a part 
 of his family and, we believe, married the daughter of Mr. 
 Blaster after he came here. One of his sons whom he 
 left behind was the late well-known Silas Banks, who fell 
 into distress in that town, and, after his father gained a 
 settlement here, this town was hoklen for his support, and 
 was obliged to provide for and remove him. He was a 
 pauper till his death in 1872, or not far from that year. 
 He was a very witty non compos person, and in some 
 things possessed a good deal of shrewdness. None of the 
 
rOlV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 185 
 
 Other chiltlrcn of Mr. lianks resided here, and in 1835 he 
 removed to the town of Mount Desert, where he died. 
 
 The lot on the southern end of the island is the one 
 which was occupied by Mr. Benjamin Weed, whom, with 
 his family, we have noticed. After his exchange with 
 Captain Peter Hardy, Captain Hardy moved upon the lot, 
 and resided there several years. It was a valuable farm. 
 When he moved from it, it was occupied by his son, who 
 was known as Peter Hardy, 3d, and after the death of his 
 grandfather, in 1 831, as Peter Hardy, Jr. He remained 
 there till his death, in 1859, ^^ the age of sixty-one years. 
 His wife was Miss Joan Billings, the eldest daughter of 
 Mr. Daniel Billings ; she died in 1876, at the age of eighty- 
 two years. Before his death Mr. Hardy bequeathed his 
 farm to his son, Mr. George W. Hardy. His mother 
 resided with him till his death, after which she removed 
 to Babbidge's Neck and resided with her daughter, — now 
 the wife of Mr. Hiram Gross, — where she remained till 
 her death. After the death of Mr. George W. Hardy his 
 widow and children occupied the farm a few years. She 
 then married and moved away. It is now the property 
 of Mr. William Blaster. 
 
 AnijAii Haskell has been named as the person who 
 occupied the property of Mr. Eliakim Eaton after his 
 death. He was a resident of the island over sixty years. 
 He was a son of Mr. Abijah Haskell, who was a son of 
 Deacon Francis Haskell. They both have been noticed. 
 He was born in 1781. His wife was Miss Susannah Hardy, 
 a daughter of Mr. Peter Hardy, Sr. By their marriage 
 they had one son and three daughters. The son is Mr. 
 Abijah W. Haskell, who now resides in the town of 
 Sedgwick. The daughters were the wives of three 
 brothers of the family of Mr. Jonathan Hardy, — Silas L., 
 
1 86 ^^" HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 who died in 1849 on the island ; she is now dead. Another 
 was Mr. Jonathan Hardy, Jr., who removed to Winterport, 
 where he died a few years ago. The other is Mr. Peter 
 Hardy, who now resides in that place. Mr. Haskell died 
 in 1872, at the age of ninety-one years, and his wife in 
 1874, at the age of eighty-five. They lived together in 
 wedlock about sixty-five years. 
 
 We have noticed the settlers on Little Deer Island, and 
 will now take up a sketch of the settlements in that part 
 of the town which was set off and incorporated as the 
 town of Isle au Haut, in 1874. The first was made in 
 1772 on what is known as Merchant's Island. We will 
 state first what is known about the titles of the lands in 
 that town, and the islands lying south of Great Deer 
 Island, now included within the limits of this town. But 
 few of the settlers on the islands acquired titles to the 
 land occupied by them until after the separation of the 
 State of Maine, when both States had a joint ownership 
 in the public lands in this State, and not long after sales of 
 the most of them were made at a very reasonable rate. 
 Thurlow's Island was purchased before the separation by 
 Joseph Colby, Jr. and David Thurlow, and we think that 
 Merchant's Island was bought by the occupant, or his son, 
 Anthony Merchant, Jr. Kimball's Island was purchased 
 not long after the death of Mr. Seth Webb, in 1785, by 
 Mr. Solomon Kimball. We think that many of the settlers 
 on Isle au Haut had also acquired titles. In 1802 a survey 
 was made of the island by Mr. Lathrop Lewis, and it was 
 most of it divided into lots ; but a large one of over thirteen 
 hundred acres lying west of the pond on the island was left 
 in one body, which was sold after the separation to the late 
 George Kimball, Esq. Another of three hundred and 
 
TOJVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 187 
 
 thirty-nine acres, lying near the southwestern point of the 
 island, was purchased by David Thurlow and parties in 
 Castine. We have understood that, before the separation, 
 the late Peletiah Barter was appointed as an agent by 
 the residents who had taken up lots, to go to Boston and 
 take measures for the acquirement of titles, and from the 
 fact that the j^ersons who were in possession of lots at the 
 time of the sales made by the land agents of both States 
 were not disturbed, we judge that they had acquired titles 
 to their lands. Some of the occupants of islands between 
 Great Deer Island and Isle au Ilaut neglected to purchase, 
 and others bought them, and after the larger part of them 
 were sold, there remained a number of smaller ones which 
 were sold to the late Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., as also was 
 the island known as Hard Head near Eagle Island. He 
 at one time owned quite an amount of that kind of prop- 
 erty, and many of the present owners derived their titles 
 from him or his grantees. 
 
 Among others we would name what is now known as 
 Fog Island, which was formerly known as Cutter's Island, 
 lying east of the northern part of Isle au I laut, which was 
 occupied by a man named Cutter, who was drowned in 
 attempting to land some cattle from a gondola some eighty 
 years ago or more. With him were a Mr. Sheldon with 
 his wife, two sons, a daughter, and a colored man named 
 Hall — none of whom escaped. Mr. Sheldon left one 
 daughter who became the wife of Mr. John Pressey, 3d, 
 the son of Mr. John Pressey, Jr., who has been noticed. 
 Her name was Mary, and by his marriage he had one son 
 and one daughter of whom we have had knowledge. The 
 son was Mr. Henry Pressey, who was, in the winter of 
 1849 '^"f^ i^^SO, lost with Captain John G. Green in the 
 schooner Tamerlane, bound to this place from Boston. 
 
1 88 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The daughter was the wife of the late Mr. Samuel Howard. 
 After the death of Mr. Pressey, she married Mr. Nathaniel 
 Merchant, who then lived on Camp Island, on the southern 
 side of Deer Island thoroughfare, upon which he died a 
 few years prior to 1830. After that she became the third 
 wife of Mr. Thomas Colby, who died in 1837, and after 
 his death she married Mr. Thomas Cooper, of North 
 Haven. After that she remained here supported by that 
 town till her death, which was about the year 1859, ^^ ^^e 
 age of eighty-nine years. The island then called Fog 
 Island, by which name it at present is known, was, prior to 
 1830, occupied by Mr. John Crockett, not a relative of the 
 families of that name here, but a half-brother to the 
 first wife of Mr. John Closson, Not far from the year 
 mentioned he was drowned between that island and Isle 
 au Haut in the sight of his family. His widow afterward 
 became the wife of Mr. John Gross. 
 
 A number of those islands were inhabited. The one 
 known as Saddle Back over sixty years ago was occupied 
 by Mr. Edward Howard, whom we have mentioned as a 
 son-in-law of Mr. Theophilus Eaton. Not far from 1820, 
 when he became a very old man, he removed to Brooks- 
 ville, where he had children, who took care of him, and he 
 died there. Worthy's Island was occupied for some time 
 by Mr. Charles Gross, who failed to pay for it to the 
 owner, H. Rowell, Esq., and in 1839 ^e removed from it, 
 and it was purchased by Sullivan Green, Esq. Russ 
 Island was the residence of Mr. George Harvey, a soldier 
 of the War of 1812, for many years. He died there, and 
 the island is now the property of Captain Stephen B. 
 Morey. Mr. John Coombs occupied what is known as 
 Devil Island, and in 1836 he sold it to Mr. Avery Fifield 
 and moved to the town of Islesborough. Mr. John Har- 
 
TOJF.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 189 
 
 vey, a soldier in the war of the Revolution, occupied Bear 
 Island for some time, and it was afterward the property of 
 Captain David Thurlow, who also owned several other 
 islands by purchase from the land agents, and Camp 
 Island, which was sold him by Robert Merchant. On the 
 one known as Round Island Mr. Hezekiah Robbins 
 resided for several years. Afterward he removed to a 
 small island at the head of Webb's Cove connected with 
 Deer Island by a bar. It is near the property of Mr. Jack 
 Stinson, upon which he died. Wreck Island was many 
 years ago occupied by Mr. Joseph Colby, Jr. for some 
 time, and for the last thirty years or more it has been 
 occupied by Mr. Robert Barter and by his family since his 
 decease. The island known as Burnt Island, near Isle au 
 Haut, was for several years occupied by Mr. Henry Barter, 
 and York's Island was occupied by Mr. Robert Knowlton, 
 who in 1842 removed to Deer Island and purchased the 
 Sylvester farm near Webb's Cove. The two latter islands 
 are within the territorial limits of the town of Isle au 
 Haut, and the former ones mentioned are within those of 
 Deer Isle. 
 
 Although there were many disadvantages in a residence 
 upon those islands, still there were advantages which were 
 of value to the occupants, whose chief business was fish- 
 ing, digging clam-bait, and in later years the taking of 
 lobsters — the last of which has been a lucrative employ- 
 ment to those engaged in it. For those pursuits they 
 were very convenient, but social and educational advan- 
 tages must of course be limited. The male inhabitants 
 were skilful in the management of small boats, and they 
 felt as safe in one as others do in carriages upon the main- 
 land, and it is surprising to one who has not that skill how 
 safely a boat can be managed by a person who has experi- 
 
190 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ence in the matter. Those islands were valuable for 
 keeping sheep, and with but little expense they can be 
 kept the year round, if one is present to take care of them. 
 The occupants, when but one is upon an island, have no 
 expense of maintaining line fences, which is a serious 
 matter of expense to such as have to incur it, and such 
 stock can with great profit be kept upon them. Upon 
 Kimball's Island the late George Kimball, Esq. at one time 
 kept about four hundred, and upon Isle au Haut the late 
 Mr. Asa Turner kept about as many. In both cases the 
 expense of wintering was very small, which made it a very 
 profitable business. The only drawback was the danger 
 from thieves, who could go to one of the small islands 
 where sheep were kept, and upon which no person resided, 
 and obtain both wool and mutton without paying for them. 
 I recollect hearing of an instance where a small vessel from 
 some place up the bay or river, anchoring in a small 
 harbor on the southwestern end of Kimball's Island, which 
 lay at some distance from the house, and undiscovered by 
 any one else, drove up, butchered, and carried off several. 
 Upon the islands lying between Deer Isle and Isle au 
 Haut oftentimes such depredations are committed upon 
 those having no inhabitants, by a worthless class who 
 have opportunities for plunder, and were it not for that, 
 those islands would be of more value than they now are. 
 
 SETTLERS. 
 
 Anthony Merchant, who came from the town of 
 York, Maine, was the first person who settled within the 
 limits of the present town of Isle au Haut, and, as has 
 been understood, he came the same year that his father-in- 
 law did to Deer Island. It must have been in 1772, and 
 the island he settled upon has been ever since known as 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. I9I 
 
 Merchant's Island. His wife was Miss Abigail Raynes, 
 and was a daughter of Mr. John Raynes, Sr., the father 
 of Messrs. John, Johnson, and William Raynes. Mr. 
 Merchant was a master-mariner and made voyages to the 
 West Indies. They had three sons and five daughters. 
 The sons were : Nathaniel, who, as has been stated, resided 
 upon Camp Island ; John, who removed to Vinal Haven ; 
 and Anthony Merchant, Jr., who lived and died upon the 
 island settled by his father. Of the daughters one, Abi- 
 gail, was the wife of Mr. Joseph Arey, of Vinal Haven. 
 Another, Eleanor, was the wife of Mr. John Smith, of that 
 town, who lived near what is known as Smith's Harbor, on 
 the eastern side of the island, and both her husband and 
 herself lived to a good old age. Another, Miriam, was the 
 wife of Mr. Henry Barter, who will be noticed. Another, 
 Martha, was the first wife of Captain Tristram Haskell, of 
 this town, who has been noticed. One, Susan, died 
 unmarried. Mrs. Haskell died not far from the year 1803, 
 but the others, with the exception of Susan, lived to be 
 very old. Mr. Merchant was a very quiet man and a good 
 citizen. The year of his death is not known to us. His 
 wife died not far from 1833, and was at the time consider- 
 ably over eighty years of age. 
 
 Nathaniel Merchant was the eldest son of the 
 family. He married in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and 
 had two sons and two or more daughters. The sons were 
 the late Mr. Nathaniel Merchant, who died, we believe, in 
 1879, on Isle au Haut, and Mr. Robert Merchant, who 
 resided after the death of his father on Camp Island, 
 which was for many years the residence of his father. In 
 1845 he sold it to the late Captain David Thurlow, and 
 since that time he hns been here only a part of the time, 
 as his wife abandoned him. His present place of resi- 
 
192 ^JV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 dence we do not know. One of the daughters of the 
 family was the wife of Mr. John Gott, Jr., who formerly- 
 resided on Swan's Island. About the rest of the family 
 we have no knowledge. Mr. Merchant, the subject of this 
 notice, for his second wife, married the widow of Mr. John 
 Pressey, Jr., the daughter of the Mr. Sheldon before 
 referred to, who was drowned near Fog Island. For many 
 years they resided on Camp Island, where he died not far 
 from the year 1830, as before stated. His widow has 
 been noticed. 
 
 Anthony Merchant, Jr. was the youngest son of the 
 family and was born in the year 1790, or about that time. 
 His wife was Miss Eunice Smith, a daughter of Mr. David 
 Smith, of Swan's Island, who was well known here many 
 years ago. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
 By his first marriage Mr. Merchant had one son, the late 
 Mr. David S. Merchant, and one daughter, who became 
 the wife of Mr. Willard Matthews, who at that time 
 resided upon Merchant's Island. After his marriage he 
 soon removed to Belfast, out of which place he sailed as a 
 master-mariner. He is now dead. After the death of his 
 wife Mr. Merchant married Mrs. Maria Gross, by whom he 
 had a family, of which there now remain two sons. One 
 of the sons, Mr. John Merchant, was drowned a few years 
 since, having been knocked overboard from a small vessel 
 while sailing down the bay. The remaining sons have 
 removed from the town. One of the daughters is the wife 
 of Mr. James Childs, who has ever since his marriage 
 lived on the island. The other, the wife of Mr. John 
 Cross, is now dead. Mr. Merchant was for many years a 
 collector of taxes in what was then known as the Isle au 
 Haut collection district, and was a faithful and efificient 
 officer. He died not far from the year 1865. His widow 
 married a Mr. Clark, of the town of Brewer, Maine. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 193 
 
 Jacob Gross was also a resident of Merchant's Island, 
 and lived upon the western end of it. He was a brother 
 of the Mr. George Gross before noticed, but from what 
 place he came here or what year he removed here is not to 
 us known, nor do we know the year of his death. He left 
 a widow, four sons, and one daughter. The sons were 
 Messrs. David, Swansey, John, and James Gross. Mr. 
 David Gross died in 1853, and his wife was Miss Parizanda 
 Merithew, and she died in 1880. They were the parents 
 of the i^resent Messrs. David and William Gross. Mr. 
 Swansey Gross married a daughter of Mr. Thomas Buck- 
 minster, and they are both dead. They were the parents 
 of Messrs. William B., Hiram, and Thomas B. Gross. 
 The latter resides upon the homestead of his father. Mr. 
 John Gross was the third son of the family, and his wife 
 was a daughter of Mr. James Robertson, who abandoned 
 him. He afterward married the widow of the Mr. John 
 Crockett whom we have mentioned as residing- on Yoz 
 Island and being drowned near there. By that marriage 
 he had two sons. One was Jacob Gross, who was one of 
 the crew of the schooner SaraJi which was lost in 1851 
 in the great gale in Chaleur Bay with all on board. 
 The other son is the present Mr. Edwin Gross. The 
 other son, Mr. James Gross, never married, and for some 
 years before his death was totally blind. The daughter, 
 Mary Gross, was the wife of Mr. William Matthews, 
 who removed to Merchant's Island from the town of 
 Boothbay, Maine. He died in the family of his son Mr. 
 Stinson Matthews in this town, his widow surviving him a 
 few years. 
 
 The next settlement made in the present town of Isle 
 au Haut was, as has been stated, by Mr. Scth Webb, 
 whom we have noticed ; but the exact date is not to us 
 
194 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 known. It has been said that during the very severe 
 winter of 1780 he went to the top of the mountain on Isle 
 au Haut, and from that eminence could see no water for 
 ice out seaward. If that account be correct, it must have 
 been the most severe winter ever experienced here since 
 the first settlement of the town, as but few winters within 
 the past fifty years has the ice made to that degree as to 
 be sufficiently strong to pass over from Deer Island to Isle 
 au Haut. After the death of Mr. Webb, Mr. Solomon 
 Kimball purchased the island now known as Kimball's 
 Island, the one settled by Mr. Webb, and resided upon it. 
 Afterward it came into the possession of his son, the late 
 George Kimball, Esq., who occupied it till his death in 
 1839. The wife of the latter was Miss Lucretia Amazene, 
 of Newcastle, New Hampshire, and she died not long after 
 i860. Mr. Kimball was a man who sustained a good 
 reputation, and he was active and enterprising. He 
 did considerable business, owning vessels, and was in 
 possession of considerable property. Besides the island 
 he occupied, he owned over thirteen hundred acres of land 
 in one body on Isle au Haut, lying westerly of the pond 
 on that island. He was in 1826 representative from this 
 town to the Legislature, and was for many years a justice 
 of the peace. The sons in the family were George 
 Kimball, Jr., Esq., who removed to Winterport, and in 
 1850 removed to California, having organized a company 
 which built a ship of si.x hundred tons, as we believe, in 
 the town of Cutler, Maine. With a number of others 
 interested in the ship he emigrated, and at the last 
 accounts was living. Another son was Solomon and 
 another William Kimball — both of whom, we believe, 
 went to California at the same time. The latter is now 
 dead. Another son was Mr. Benjamin A. Kimball, who 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 195 
 
 died in 1842, or about that time, at home. The daughters 
 of the family were the wives of Mr. Isaiah Barbour, who 
 removed to Camden ; of Mr. Willard Clark, a school- 
 teacher ; of the late Captain Benjamin S. Smith, a son of 
 ]Mr. Simon Smith, who removed to Winterport and was lost 
 at sea. His widow resides at the present time on the 
 homestead of her father with her two sons. The other 
 dauo^hter of the family now living is the wife of Captain 
 Seth Webb, of this town. Two of the daughters died 
 unmarried. 
 
 Peletiah Barter was the person by whom the first 
 settlement was made on Great Isle au Haut, and it was in 
 1792. He was a native of the town of Boothbay, Maine, 
 and resided on what is known as Barter's Island in that 
 town. He was born in the year 1772. His wife was Miss 
 Mary Trundy, the eldest daughter of Mr. Samuel Trundy, 
 of this town, and they were the parents of ten children. 
 Two of the sons grew to manhood : the late Mr. Peletiah 
 Barter, Jr. and the present Mr. John Barter, who now 
 resides there. His wife was a daughter of Mr. James 
 Duncan, who has been noticed. One of the daughters 
 was the wife of Mr. David Collins. Another was the wife 
 of Mr. William Dorr, of Winterport. Another was the 
 wife of Mr. John S. Merrill, of the same place. Another 
 was that of Mr. Thomas Littlefield, of Winterport, and 
 after his death she was the wife of a Mr. Raymond, and 
 afterward, of Mr. Bcnajia Merithevv, of Islesborough. 
 The other was first the wife of Mr. Paoli Hews, Jr., of 
 Belfast; second, of Mr. Ivlijah Toothaker ; and third, 
 of the present Mr. Abncr Bray. All of the family, 
 with the exception of Mr. John Barter, are now dead. 
 The wife of Mr. Barter died many years ago, and he 
 never remarried, and died not far from the year 1852. 
 
196 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 He at one time was in possession of a considerable 
 amount of real estate, none of which is now owned by his 
 descendants. 
 
 Henry Barter came not long after his brother, the 
 subject of the last notice, and settled upon the lot north- 
 east of that occupied by him. His wife was Miss Miriam 
 Merchant, a daughter of Mr. Anthony Merchant. They 
 had one son, the late Mr. Robert Barter, who for some 
 years resided on what is known as Wreck Island. He 
 died there not many years ago. One of the daughters 
 was the wife of the present Mr. Francis Coombs. Another 
 was that of Mr. Peletiah Barter, Jr. One died unmar- 
 ried. Mr. Barter and his wife lived together for many 
 years, and he had the reputation of being an upright man. 
 He removed from the land first occupied by him to what 
 is known as Burnt Island, now the property of Mr. James 
 Turner, 2d, and both he and his wife died there. After 
 the death of his parents Mr. Robert Barter, their son, sold 
 it to Mr. Turner and removed to Wreck Island, which was 
 included in the purchase made by Hezekiah Rowell, Esq., 
 before referred to. 
 
 William Barter, a younger brother of the subjects of 
 the two preceding notices, settled upon the southern part 
 of the land taken up by Mr. Peletiah Barter. His wife 
 was Miss Sarah, the daughter of Mr. Stephen Babbidge, 
 of this town. Their sons were : Mr. William Barter, Jr., 
 who removed to Vinal Haven and died there ; the late 
 Stephen Barter, who resided in Isle au Haut ; Thomas 
 Barter, who died many years ago ; and the present Mr. 
 Amos Barter. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Joab 
 Black, who did not reside there ; the late Captain Jona- 
 than Rich ; Daniel L. and Ebenezer D. Carlton ; Davis 
 Collins ; and one married in Winterport. At the present 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 19^ 
 
 time no one of the family, except Mr. Amos Barter, 
 resides there. Mr. Barter was for many years engaged in 
 trade, owned and built vessels, and carried on the fishing 
 business and owned considerable property. Both he and 
 his wife died many years ago. 
 
 Captain Samuel Turner was the occupant of the 
 land lying southerly of that of Mr. Barter. He was the 
 son of the wife of Mr. Charles Kempton by a former 
 marriage. He perished at sea upon the wreck of a vessel 
 of which he was master, which was engaged in the freight- 
 ing business, an occupation he followed for many years, in 
 the year 1839. Of the crew but one, Mr. James Hender- 
 son, survived. He was very well and favorably known in 
 this vicinity for many years, and at the time of his death 
 was about fifty-five years of age. He left a widow and 
 a family. The sons were the present Captain James 
 Turner, John K. Turner, and Captain William G. Turner. 
 Two of the daughters resided in Searsport, and one was 
 the wife of the late Captain Ezra Turner, of Isle au Haut. 
 
 Ebenezer Sawyer was one of the early settlers there. 
 He came, we believe, from Boothbay or from that vicinity, 
 and was engaged in the fishing business, as were most of 
 the settlers there. Both he and his wife died in the win- 
 ter of 1839 and 1840, at an advanced age. The land he 
 occupied was that adjoining the lot of Captain Turner on 
 the south. Their sons were : Mr. Paul Sawyer, who 
 removed to what is now the town of North Haven ; 
 Nathaniel, a master ship-carpenter, who removed to Isles- 
 borough ; and Ebenezer, who not long after the year 1840 
 went to the town of Searsport ; and one died a young 
 man. One of the daughters was the wife of Captain 
 William Yeaton. Another was that of Mr. William Bab- 
 bidge. Another was that of Mr. Bickmore, of St. George. 
 
198 A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Other was that of Mr. George Allen, and after his 
 death she became the wife of his brother, Mr. Daniel 
 Allen, who removed to Levant, Maine. We believe that 
 all of the family are now dead. The property occupied 
 by Mr. Sawyer is now that of Captain James D. Barter. 
 
 William Yeaton was the occupant of the lot lying 
 south of that of Mr. Sawyer, whose daughter he married. 
 He came here when young and for some time resided in 
 the family of George Kimball, Esq. He came from Ports- 
 mouth," New Hampshire, or that vicinity. He and his 
 wife were the parents of four sons and eight daughters. 
 Of the family but one now resides there, the wife of Mr. 
 Spencer Robertson. In 1842, or about that time, Mr. 
 Yeaton purchased a farm in Northport, Maine, and 
 removed there, where both he and his wife died. He was 
 by occupation a fisherman and was very active and suc- 
 cessful^in his employment. 
 
 Charles Kempton was an early settler and came from 
 what is the present town of Winterport. He there resided 
 near what is known as Stubb's Point. The maiden name 
 of his wife|was Stinson, of a family of that name in what 
 was then'the town of Prospect. At the time of his mar- 
 riage she was a Mrs. Turner, and, as we have stated, was 
 the mother of Captain Samuel Turner. The family was 
 the late Captain John Kempton, who died on Isle au Haut 
 a few years since. One daughter was the wife of Mr. 
 Ebenezer^Sawyer, Jr. Another was that of Captain The- 
 ophilus Eaton, who is now dead, and their widows now 
 reside in Searsport. Another died unmarried. The lot 
 taken up^^by Mr. Kempton is near what is now known as 
 Moore's Harbor, named from a Mr. John Moore, of Cas- 
 tine, who was a fisherman and who frequently anchored 
 his vessel there during the time of the Revolution and 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 
 
 199 
 
 afterward. Mr. Kempton died not far from the year 1839, 
 and his wife survived him a few years. 
 
 Chauncev Holmes, who was in his day well known, 
 was for many years a resident of the island near Morse's 
 Harbor. From what place he came, or the time of his 
 coming, is not known to us. His wife was a Mrs. Crock- 
 ett, whose maiden name was Rendell, of a family who 
 resided in Prospect. Her first husband was Mr. Isaac 
 Crockett, a brother of the Mr. John Crockett mentioned 
 before, and they formerly lived in Vinal Haven. She had 
 a family by her first marriage, but none by that with Vix. 
 Holmes. He was a singular man and had a good share of 
 wit. About the year 1843 they, with others on the island, 
 became converts to Mormonism and removed to Nauvoo, 
 Illinois, and when the Mormons left that place for the Salt 
 Lake, Mr. Holmes and his wife and ]\Ir. Robert Douglass, 
 who will be noticed, went in the company. He, being 
 very old and infirm, perished on the journey from starva- 
 tion and fatigue. 
 
 Ebenezer Lelaxo, we have understood, was the per- 
 son who made a settlement on the island next after that of 
 Mr. Pelctiah Barter. They came from the town of Eden, 
 Maine, and settled near Duck Harbor, mentioned in the 
 account given of duck-driving. From what I have learned, 
 I am inclined to the opinion that it was used for that pur- 
 pose by the Indians before the whites settled this part of 
 the country, as it was from them that the settlers here 
 learned of that method of taking ducks. Mr. Leland, not 
 long after the Revolutionary War, lived in what is now the 
 town of Brooksville. Whether they came from that 
 place, or not, to Isle au Ilaut is not known, but he was 
 originally an inhabitant of Eden, of which place his 
 father was one of the early settlers. In the war of the 
 
200 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Revolution he was a lieutenant in the regular army, and 
 after his discharge happened to be at Bagaduce while the 
 British were there and was arrested as a spy. Had he 
 not been able to produce his written discharge, he might 
 have suffered death. His wife was a Miss Dyer, of Steu- 
 ben, near a place known as Dyer's Bay. Of the family 
 we have knowledge of three sons and three daughters. 
 The sons were : the late Mr. Ebenezer Leland, Jr., who 
 died in this town some twenty-five years ago ; Jesse 
 Leland, a iioii compos person ; and one who died when a 
 young man. The daughters were Ursula, the wife of a 
 Mr. Higgins, of Eden, and mother of Captain Eben L. 
 Higgins, of that place ; she was afterward the wife of a 
 Mr. Salisbury. Another was Nancy Leland, who was 
 never married, and Hannah, first the wife of Mr. John 
 Harvey, Jr., a soldier of the War of 1812, and afterward 
 that of a Mr. Daniel Getchell. She died, as was supposed, 
 in consequence of violence at his hands, not far from 1868. 
 Mr. Leland died many years ago ; his wife died about the 
 year 1837. 
 
 Abiathar Smith went to Isle au Haut from the town 
 of Thomaston, Maine, not far from the year 1800. He 
 settled near what is now known as Head Harbor. He 
 had three sons and one daughter, of whom we have had 
 information. The sons were : Mr. George Smith, who 
 will be noticed ; Mr. Simon Smith, whom we have men- 
 tioned ; and another, named Abiathar Smith, who removed 
 from here, and of whom we have no knowledge. The 
 daughter was the wife of Mr. Elisha Holbrook. The 
 property of Mr. Smith is now that of Mr. George Smith, 
 Jr., who is the present occupant. It is one of the most 
 valuable places on the island. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, ^L4LVE. 20I 
 
 Calvin Turner came early with his family, and he 
 settled near the northern end of the pond. He formerly 
 resided in what is now the town of Orland. It has been 
 stated that he built the first saw and grist mills in that 
 town, in 1773. The exact time of his coming is not known 
 to us. His wife was a Miss Stinson, a sister of the wife 
 of Mr. Charles Kempton before noticed. The sons of the 
 family were : the late Captain Asa Turner, who lived and 
 died on Isle au Haut ; James Turner, who lived in Bucks- 
 port ; John Turner, who removed to the town of Brooklin, 
 where he died. Another, whose name, we believe, was 
 Calvin, was lost at sea, and was at the time master of the 
 vessel on wliich he was lost. Of the daughters we 
 know nothing, as none of them remained here. Mr. Tur- 
 ner died in 1838, at the age of ninety years. The land he 
 lived on was afterward occupied by his son, Captain Asa 
 Turner, who was a man much respected. His wife was 
 ?*Iiss Abigail Smith, of Prospect, and they had a family of 
 six sons and four daughters. The sons were the present 
 John Turner, Esq., Ezra, James, 2d, and Isaiah B. Turner 
 — all of whom, except Ezra, are now living on the island. 
 One son, Mr. Thomas Turner, was drowned several years 
 ago near the mouth of Union River, and one died when 
 young. The daughters were the wives of Mr. Jacob 
 Wilson, who removed to Massachusetts ; of ]\Ir. Patrick 
 Conley; of Mr. John K. Turner; and of Mr. John Doane, 
 of the town of Newburg, Maine. Of the daughters but 
 one, Mrs. Conley, now remains here. A few years ago 
 Captain Turner removed to the western side of the island 
 near the thoroughfare, and his property on the eastern 
 side of the island is now that of a Mr. Sprowl, formerly of 
 Bucksport, who is now the owner of a large tract of land 
 on that side of the island, which is used for pasturage. 
 
202 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 He is also the owner of Fog Island. The house of Mr. 
 Turner is now occupied by Mr. Noah Page, formerly of 
 Bucksport, who is in the employ of Mr. Sprowl. In 1843 
 Mr. Turner represented this town in the Legislature. 
 
 Elisha Holbrook was the occupant of the lot of land 
 lying north of that of Captain Turner. He came from 
 Cape Cod, not far from 1800, and married a daughter of 
 Mr. Abiathar Smith. Their children were : the present 
 Mr. Abram Holbrook, who resides here ; one of the name 
 of Simon, who went away many years ago ; and another, 
 Daniel Holbrook, who removed to Vinal Haven. He was 
 killed by falling from a derrick used in hoisting stone, 
 up which he had gone for the purpose of fixing a 
 tackle or something of the kind. The daughters were the 
 wives of Mr. Joseph Morey, and afterward of Mr. Hum- 
 phrey Webster ; of Mr. Samuel Black ; of a Mr. Hall, 
 from some place near Belfast ; and another, who was 
 brought up in the family of Captain Samuel Turner. 
 What became of her is not to us known. The wife of Mr. 
 Holbrook died nearly sixty years ago, and the family was 
 broken up. During the latter part of his life he was a 
 public charge. 
 
 Daniel Gilbert, a native of Massachusetts, settled 
 upon the lot north of that occupied by Mr. Holbrook, 
 which he afterward purchased. His wife was Miss Sarah 
 Reed, of Boothbay, by whom he had no children. They 
 adopted a child named Francis Merithew, who was 
 drowned about the time of the death of Mrs. Gilbert, in 
 1839. In 1840 Mr. Gilbert, when fifty-five years of age, 
 married a Miss Lois Ellis, who was then sixteen years of 
 age, by whom he had a family. About the year 1850 he 
 removed to the western side of the island and purchased a 
 lot of land which was formerly the property of Mr. Pele- 
 
rOlFX OF DEER ISLE, MALXE. 203 
 
 tiah Barter, and built a house upon it, residing there till 
 his removal to the town of Bristol, Maine, where he died 
 in 1876, at the age of ninety-one years. 
 
 George Smith, a son of Mr. Abiathar Smith, settled 
 upon the lot north of that of Mr. Gilbert. He was born 
 in 1780, and his wife was Miss Judith Knowlton, a daugh- 
 ter of Mr. Benjamin Knowlton. Their children were the 
 present Mr. George Smith, of Head Harbor, who alone of 
 the family now resides here. Another son was Abiathar 
 Smith, and the other was Joseph Smith — both of whom 
 removed from here many years ago. One daughter was 
 the wife of Mr. George Curtis, who went there from the 
 town of Surry, and afterward returned, where he lived 
 the last we knew of him. Another was the wife of Mr. 
 Samuel Coffin, who came here from Kennebec County, 
 or the eastern part of Oxford County, returning after 
 a few years' residence on the island. Another was the 
 wife of ]\Ir. Aaron Merithew, Jr., who went to Vinal 
 Haven. Another was the wife of Mr. Benjamin Meri- 
 thew, Jr., who removed to Searsport. The youngest was 
 the wife of Mr. Isaac B. Eaton, who resided upon the 
 homestead of Mr. Smith. He is now dead, his wife dying 
 before him. Mr. Smith died not far from the year i860, 
 aged over eighty years, and his wife about ten years after. 
 
 Thomas Tyler, a brother of Messrs. Joseph and 
 George Tyler, settled upon the lot adjoining that of Mr. 
 Smith on the north. He was for many years a school- 
 teacher and was known as Master Tyler. After he 
 became advanced in years he married Miss Betsey Bagley, 
 of Ncwl)uryport. He died not far from the year 1830. 
 Afterward his wife returned to Xewburyport, where she 
 had relatives. He formerly lived on Merchant's Island. 
 A matter of dispute arose between Mr. Merchant and Mr. 
 
204 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Gross, relating to the ownership of a small island near 
 Merchant's Island, and it was referred by them to Master 
 Tyler. He divided it into three equal portions, assigning 
 that on the eastern end to Mr. Merchant, that on the 
 western part to Mr. Gross, reserving the middle part to 
 himself, giving as a reason that it was proper that their 
 lands there should not join, and if he had the middle part, 
 it would keep peace between them. Both parties acqui- 
 esced in his decision. The lot he occupied on Isle au 
 Haut he had no title to, as he had never purchased it of 
 the State. Afterward it was acquired by Mr. Hiram 
 Small, who resided upon it until his death a few 
 years ago. 
 
 Robert Douglass was the occupant of the lot adjoin- 
 ing that of Mr. Tyler upon the north. He was an early 
 occupant, but what place he came from, or what time he 
 came, we do not know. He was a brother of Captain 
 James Douglass, who, fifty years ago, or more, was captain 
 of the revenue-boat at Belfast. His sisters were the 
 wives of Messrs. Thomas and James Cooper and Benja- 
 min Burrage, Esq., of North Haven. By his first wife Mr. 
 Douglass had two sons : Alexander, who removed to some 
 town in Penobscot County, and Robert, a ship-carpenter, 
 who remained on Isle au Haut till about 1850, when he 
 became interested in the ship referred to in the notice of 
 George Kimball, Jr., Esq., and was in the company of 
 emigrants who removed to California. We do not know 
 whether he is now living, but probably he is not. If 
 living, he is a very old man. The lot and buildings he 
 occupied are now the property of Mr. Francis Coombs, 
 who resides upon them. One of the daughters of Mr. 
 Robert Douglass, the subject of this notice, was the wife 
 of Mr. John Rich, and the other was that of Mr. Asa 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 205 
 
 Collins, who was lost in a gale in 1841, in the schooner 
 Fo7'est of Gloucester, of which Captain Stephen Rich 
 was master. After the death of his wife Mr. Douglass 
 married Miss Lydia Lane, a daughter of Mr. Hezekiah 
 Lane, and a sister of Mr. Oliver Lane, by whom he 
 had one son, Mr. Abner Douglass. His last wife was 
 accidentally killed, about the year 1832, by being struck on 
 the head with a piece of stone, which her husband was 
 blasting. At the time of the Mormon excitement he, with 
 Mr. tlolmes and wife, and others from the towns of Vinal 
 Haven and North Haven, joined that sect. As has been 
 stated, he perished upon the journey to the Great Salt 
 Lake. The property owned by Mr. Douglass is now that 
 of his grandson, Mr. Stillman Rich, and it is near what is 
 known as Douglass's Cove. He was a very decided man, 
 and, when his mind was made up, it remained so. A few 
 years after the death of his last wife he journeyed to the 
 Southern and Western States, and on his return expressed 
 the opinion that the people in the Northern States enjoyed 
 life more than those of the other sections of the country, 
 and notwithstanding the greater fertility and natural 
 advantages of the other States, still in New England 
 better living was to be found and more of the real com- 
 forts of life. 
 
 JoHX Rich occupied the lot of land northerly of that 
 of Mr. Douglass, and his wife was the daughter of Mr. 
 i3ouglass. She was of a prepossessing appearance. 
 The children of the family were : Captain Stephen Rich, 
 who removed to Gloucester, Massachusetts, out of which 
 place he sailed as master in the fishing business several 
 years. He was an active and enterprising man, and, as 
 has been stated, was lost with all his crew in the year 1841. 
 Another son was Mr. Jonathan Rich, who was an invalid 
 
206 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 for many years, and died not far from the year 1864. 
 Another was Mr. Thomas Rich, who was drowned in 
 1839 ; and two remaining sons are Mr. Perez Rich, who 
 removed to Islesborough, and the Mr. Stillman Rich 
 named before as the occupant of the property of Mr. 
 Douglass. There was one daughter in the family, who 
 was first the wife of Mr. Josiah Pierce, of Vinal Haven, 
 and they became converts to Mormonism and removed to 
 Nauvoo, Illinois, and while there she became disgusted 
 with it and made her escape. With but little means she 
 returned to her friends here and was divorced from her 
 husband, and afterward became the wife of Mr. Noah 
 Barter. She was the mother of one daughter, and died a 
 few years ago. The exact time of Mr. Rich's coming 
 here we do not know, but it was before 18 10. He died 
 not long before i860, his wife surviving him a few years. 
 Benjamin Knowlton was for many years a resident of 
 Isle au Haut. He was a relative of those of that name 
 in the town of Northport and in the county of Waldo, 
 and, we believe, was a native of Massachusetts. When a 
 young man he went to Nova Scotia, and there married 
 a Miss Smith. He was there a part of the time, at least, 
 if not all of the Revolutionary period, and some time 
 after his return took up his residence on Isle au Haut. 
 His sons were the late Mr. Robert Knowlton, of this 
 town, and Mr. Joseph Knowlton, who removed to Isles- 
 borough. One daughter was the wife of a Mr. Hamil- 
 ton. She was the mother of the present Mr. Solomon 
 Hamilton, now nearly ninety years of age. Another was 
 the wife of Mr. George Smith, and another was that of 
 Mr. Aaron Merithew. We believe there was another. 
 Mr. Knowlton died many years ago, but the date is 
 unknown to us ; his wife died in 1842, at the age of 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 207 
 
 eighty-nine years. Some years before her death a brother 
 in Nova Scotia, by his will, left her the income of $6,000, 
 which she received till her death, and after that the prin- 
 cipal was divided among her children. She resided in the 
 family of her son, Mr. Robert Knowlton, and removed to 
 Deer Isle with him a short time before her death. Mr. 
 Robert Knowlton died in 1876 ; his wife died a few years 
 before him. 
 
 Benjamin Meritiiew settled upon a lot of land on the 
 south part of the island, between Duck and Head Harbors. 
 His first wife was Miss Frances Atwood, by whom he had 
 three sons : Mr. Reuben Merithew, who removed to Isles- 
 borough ; Benjamin, who removed to Searsport ; and 
 Francis, the adopted son of Mr. Daniel Gilbert, who, as 
 has been stated in the notice of him, was drowned. The 
 second wife of Mr. Merithew was a Miss Sarah Coombs, 
 of Vinal Haven, by whom he had a family. At this time 
 one only of the family resides here — the wife of Mr. 
 Stinson Matthews. Mr. Merithew was a son of Mr. 
 Roger Merithew, who many years ago resided upon, and 
 owned, what is now known as Babbidge's Island in the 
 town of North Haven. Both he and his wife are now 
 dead. 
 
 Aaron Merithew made a settlement near IMoore's 
 Harbor, where he resided till his death, in 1844, by drown- 
 ing. None of his family remained here, and his property 
 was afterward purchased by the late Mr. Eli Eaton. 
 
 Henrv Wilson, Esq. removed to Isle au Haut from 
 Gloucester, Massachusetts, not far from the year 1820, 
 and was in trade there several years. He was successful 
 in his business and accumulated considerable property. 
 He built a house and store and wharves, and for several 
 years was an inspector of fish, at which business he did 
 
208 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 considerable. He was one of the selectmen of the town, 
 and in 1833 was the representative from this town in the 
 Legislature. He was a man of ability and intelligence. 
 In 1836 he removed to Ipswich in the State of Massachu- 
 setts, with his family, and in a few years removed to 
 Gloucester. His real estate was purchased by John Tur- 
 ner, Esq., by whom it is at present occupied. 
 
 John Collins was for many years a resident of the 
 place, and his wife was a member of the Lanpher family. 
 Her father, Stephen Lanpher, was one of the early set- 
 tlers of the town of Bucksport, and his widow died in 
 1833, at Castine, aged about one hundred years. A 
 daughter, a Mrs. Gross, died in Orland some years ago, at 
 as great an age. The family of Mr. Collins were : David, 
 who died on Isle au Haut, not far from 1863 ; Asa, who 
 was lost, as has been stated, in 1841 ; James, who removed 
 to Bluehill, and afterward to Castine, where he died ; John, 
 who now lives in Castine ; and Otis Collins, who moved to 
 Bluehill, with whom his mother resided. Mr. Collins was 
 by trade a tailor and was born on the island of Mount 
 Desert. During the latter part of the last century and the 
 earlier part of the present century he resided in Castine. 
 His death was caused by freezing on a very cold day not 
 long before the year 1830. He was returning to his home 
 from the thoroughfare, and sitting down to rest on the 
 way, was overcome by the cold and perished. 
 
 Captain Jacob Carlton, a native of Frankfort, Maine, 
 was for a long time a resident. He was a man of energy 
 and was engaged in trade, and while there built one 
 barque and two large schooners, a gristmill, a large store, 
 and a brick house — the only one in the two towns. In 
 1838 he was representative to the Legislature. His wife 
 was Miss Elizabeth Dow, a daughter of Mr. John Dow, 
 
TOWX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2O9 
 
 who has been noticed. Their sons were Messrs. Daniel 
 L. Carlton, who was in trade for several years and removed 
 to Rockland, and Ebenezer D. ; the other was Mr. 
 Jacob T. Carlton. There were two daughters, one of 
 whom is now the wife of Captain Bestcr Babbidge, 
 of Winterport. In 1839 Captain Carlton removed to 
 Winterport and purchased a large and valuable farm on 
 which he lived till his death. At tiie last accounts his 
 widow was living, but none of the family now resides here. 
 
 James Robertson was formerly a resident and went 
 there many years ago. He was a native of Scotland and 
 was, when a young man, in the British navy, being present 
 when the Danish fleet was taken in 1802 by the British 
 under Lord Nelson, we believe, who was the commander 
 there. He came shortly afterward to this country and 
 married a Miss Hopkins, and for some time resided in 
 Castine and afterward went to Isle au Haut. By her he 
 had one son, the present Mr. Spencer Robertson, and two 
 daughters : one the wife of Mr. John Gross, and afterward 
 that of Mr. Anthony Merchant ; the other married in 
 Massachusetts. For his second wife he married a sister 
 of Mr. Hezekiah Robbins, now deceased, and had a family, 
 one only of which resides here — the present Mr. James 
 Robertson. Not far from the year 1830 Mr. Robertson 
 removed from here, and for some time lived in Belfast, 
 and in his day was well known. 
 
 John Hakvev resided for some time upon an island 
 between Great Deer Isle and Isle au Haut, but whether 
 he lived on Isle au Haut, or not, is not known to us. He 
 was a Revolutionary soldier, a native of South Carolina, 
 and was born in 1750. In the war he was in the Pennsyl- 
 vania line under the command of a Colonel Brodhead. 
 After the war he came to this State, and for several years 
 
2 10 ^N HISTOEICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 resided in Northport, where he married a Miss Knowlton, 
 in 1789, and afterward came here, but returned. In 1836, 
 when very old and poor, he was chargeable to this town, 
 and was removed here with his wife. He was unable to 
 procure a pension for his services, from the difficulty of 
 proof, as all who were his comrades were probably dead, 
 and he was unable to establish his claim. After his death 
 in 1837 an agent succeeded in procuring it for his heirs; 
 but, as was charged, he kept it himself. Whether the 
 charge were true, or not, we have no knowledge. Mr. Har- 
 vey left two sons, who have resided here, and one daugh- 
 ter. The sons were the late Mr. George Harvey, who 
 lived on Russ Island, and Mr. John Harvey, who lived 
 at Duck Harbor, where he - resided many years, but 
 removed to the State of New York, and after some time 
 returned and died here. They both were soldiers in the 
 War of 18 1 2. The daughter was first the wife of Mr. 
 Daniel Hamilton ; second, that of Elisha Grant, Esq., and 
 third, that of Mr. Nathan W. Sawyer, of this town, and 
 died, we believe, in 1879, at the age of seventy years. 
 
 Elisha Grant, Esq. removed to Isle au Haut not long 
 after 1840, and resided at Head Harbor not far from thirty 
 years. *His death was caused by a cancer. For several 
 years he was a deputy sheriff in the county of Penobscot, 
 and was a man of intelligence and capacity. He was 
 three times married, his last wife being Mrs. Nancy Ham- 
 ilton. By his first marriage he had three sons. One was 
 Mr. Hiram Grant, of Hampden. Another was the present 
 Mr. David Grant, who resides on the premises occupied by 
 his father, and the other was Franklin Grant, who died a 
 young man several years ago. He died about the year 
 1870, and his remains were by his request taken to Hamp- 
 den and laid by the side of those of his first wife. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2 I I 
 
 We have now given a sketch of the settlement of the 
 towns of Deer Isle and Isle au Haut, and noticed the 
 earlier settlers and those of a later date, with such inci- 
 dents as we have judged worth the notices that have been 
 given them. With the exception of that which has been 
 written respecting the discovery, and from the information 
 gained from a list of the settlers prior to 1784, found 
 among the proprietors' papers which were in the custody 
 of the late Solomon Haskell, Esq., which were previously 
 in that of his father, Ignatius Haskell, Esq. (accompany- 
 ing which list were the dates of their coming here and 
 also a copy of a memorial drawn up by a committee of 
 the settlers, setting forth the manner in which a grant of 
 the lands remaining after the settlers had had their lots 
 assigned them, was obtained, as has been previously 
 stated), the residue has been written entirely from memory. 
 From the circumstances it must be of course imperfect 
 in a greater or less degree, yet we hope that what has 
 been written may prove of interest and of satisfaction to 
 have so much knowledge as has been obtained respecting 
 them. I have in my lifetime gathered much information 
 with regard to them, the result of which has been previ- 
 ously written. It has been to me a matter of fear lest, 
 when the task was undertaken, my memory might fail me 
 so that I should be able to do but little, but I feel confi- 
 dent that the foregoing is, as was stated on the first page, 
 in the main correct, and had it not been undertaken by 
 me, perhaps it would not have been by any one, and 
 of course lost. In my notices of individuals I have 
 endeavored to treat the memories of those of whom I 
 have written with candor, not intending to withhold any- 
 thing to be said in their favor which was justly due, nor to 
 ascribe praise undeserved. 
 
2 12 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The town, as incorporated in 1789, was of great 
 extent, and, of course, inconvenient to the inhabitants 
 living at the extreme parts of its territory, especially 
 those on Isle au Haut, as they lived at a distance from 
 the place where the town meetings and elections were 
 held, and, in order to transact business with the officers of 
 the town, were obliged to cross a distance of five miles by 
 water besides the travel by land from the south part of 
 the island, some six miles. From the northern extreme to 
 the southern was about twenty miles in a direct line. 
 The length of Little Deer Island is about three miles 
 from the northwestern to the southeastern extremities. 
 Great Deer Island is not far from nine miles in length in 
 a direct line from the northern end to the southern at the 
 thoroughfare. Isle au Haut is about five miles in length, 
 besides being five miles from the nearest part of Great 
 Deer Island, and the incorporation of Isle au Haut into a 
 town made it far more convenient for its inhabitants. 
 
 After the establishment of the territorial limits of the 
 town in 1868, it contained about twenty-six thousand 
 acres, of which the town of Isle au Haut after its incor- 
 poration contained nearly seven thousand acres, having 
 now within the limits of the town not far from nineteen 
 thousand. The town of Isle au Haut contains but little 
 land capable of cultivation, and its value consists in its 
 pasturage. It was settled by fishermen because of its 
 convenience for their purpose, as at that time fish were 
 more abundant there than now and could be taken nearer 
 the shores. With them agriculture was not a considera- 
 tion, for, had it been, it would never have been settled. 
 The town of Deer Isle contains a large proportion of land 
 that can never be cultivated, especially in the southern 
 part ; and most of the early settlers depended upon fishing, 
 
TO ivy OF DEEK ISLE, MAIXE. 213 
 
 in that part of the town. It has been their chief employ- 
 ment for a large part of the time since, and in past 
 years it has been carried on quite extensively. For the 
 twenty years prior to 1840 Captain David Thurlow was 
 engaged in it, owning several vessels and employing many 
 men. He was engaged in the Labrador shore and mack- 
 erel fisheries. From 1830 till 1845 the late Hon. Richard 
 Warren was also engaged and did considerable in the 
 business. From 1830 till i860 the late Samuel Whitmore, 
 Esq. was quite largely engaged in it. From 1830 till 
 1844 the late Mr. Avery Fifield did considerable in the 
 business, as also did others till a later date. The most 
 business carried on in the town at any time was by the 
 Messrs. Warren, and Warren & Tolman, in fitting out 
 vessels, inspecting mackerel, and owning vessels employed 
 in the business, also in furnishing employment to a large 
 number of men. It was commenced by them in 1845 ^"cl 
 carried on till a few years after 1877. At present most of 
 the mackerel-fishing is carried on by the Messrs. Webb, 
 but since 1870 the business has declined to almost noth- 
 ing, and the many young men who make it an employment 
 sail out of other places — principally out of Gloucester. 
 In i860 there were owned by inhabitants of this town 
 about ten thousand tons of vessels, a very large part of 
 which was employed in the fisheries. 
 
 The northern part of the island is better adapted to 
 agriculture than the southern, as the proportion of land 
 incapable of being cultivated is smaller. Still there is a 
 large proportion of it which can never be made profitable 
 for the purpose, and in former years more attention was 
 paid to that pursuit. The soil originally produced large 
 crops, and had the early settlers been more judicious in 
 the use of fire in clearing their lands, the soil would have 
 
214 "^-^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 retained its fertility much longer. It was by them an 
 object to have the ground as dry as possible when fire was 
 used, so as to clear it up more effectually; but the conse- 
 quence was that with the wood the vegetable matter upon 
 the top of the soil was destroyed, which was necessary to 
 the durability of its fertility. After the benefit of the 
 ashes was gone, the soil soon became less fertile and 
 required heavy manuring. The same mistake was made 
 elsewhere as well as here, and, had the ground been in 
 such a state as to prevent too deep a burning, our farms 
 would have been far more valuable. I recollect hearing 
 it stated by one that a small farm of a few acres was 
 cleared without burning the wood upon the ground, and 
 its fertility was retained much longer than that of the 
 lands around it. By this we may learn that although fire 
 is necessary for the clearing of lands, its use should be 
 prudent and at suitable times. 
 
 The chief products of the farms here were, as in other 
 towns in this vicinity, hay, grain, and potatoes ; the latter 
 to quite an extent, especially prior to 1845, when the 
 potato-rot first made its appearance. By the statistics 
 procured by the person who took the census here in 1840, 
 over thirty-six thousand bushels were returned, but since 
 the rot commenced the crop has very much decreased. 
 Now it has another enemy — the potato-bug, which came 
 in 1880. From these two causes the crop will not receive 
 the attention it otherwise would. The crop of grain has 
 fallen short very much in comparison with the yield in 
 former years, from the cause stated in the first part of the 
 work, but should a gristmill be erected and maintained 
 here, it would probably increase. 
 
 The chief pursuit of the inhabitants in the northern 
 part of the town is that of following the sea in coasting 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 215 
 
 and on foreign voyages, but comparatively few as fishermen. 
 Although it is profitable as a general thing, yet its effects 
 are visible in the large proportion of widows, many of 
 whom are those of mariners. At this time, March, 1882, 
 there are about one hundred out of a population of about 
 thirty-three hundred. From the nature of their employ- 
 ment many lives are lost at sea. I have annexed a list 
 of what vessels have been lost since 18 18, and of the 
 persons on board who have been preserved in my memor\'. 
 
 In 1818 the schooner Shakespeare, owned by Messrs. P. 
 & F. Spofford, was lost, bound from Boston to Deer 
 Isle; Captain John Green, master ; Frederick Spofford, 
 Esq., passenger ; crew, Asa Green, Jr., Abner Babbidge, 
 and Amos Angell. 
 
 In 1822, or about that year, schooner Lingaii of Castine, 
 Captain Benjamin S. Haskell, master, with his son, and 
 David Perry, of this town. 
 
 In 1830 sloop Hiuitress of Castine, bound from New 
 York to Castine ; captain, John Greenlaw, Jr. ; Captain 
 William Eaton, pilot ; crew, William Buckminster and 
 Joseph Conary. 
 
 In 1839 Captain Samuel Turner, of Isle au Haut, and 
 his crew, with the exception of Mr. James Henderson, 
 who survived and was taken off the wreck. The same 
 year in a gale in Chaleur Bay, schooner Gcorgiaiia of Cas- 
 tine ; David Colby, master ; crew, John Sellers, Henry 
 Kellar, Thomas J. Colby, Mial Sylvester, Israel Dorr, Jr., 
 and Joseph Dorr. 
 
 In 1845 schooner Comviodorc Pcny, William D. Haskell, 
 master ; Moses Haskell and Francis Haskell, 2d, who 
 belonged here, and Miss Jane Cole, of this place, a pa.ssen- 
 ger, on Long Ledge, near Mount Desert. 
 
 In 1846 brig Lincoln, with four men, before referred to, 
 from Calais with lumber. 
 
2l6 AiV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 In 1849 schooner Tamerlane of this place; John G. 
 Green, master ; crew, Henry Pressey, Ebenezer Ball, 
 Joseph H. Davis, and Joseph Haskell, all belonging here. 
 
 In 1851, in Chaleur Bay, schooner Sarah of this place; 
 Captain Levi Knight, master ; crew belonging here, Will- 
 iam Knight, James Sellers, Amos Babbidge, Stinson 
 Colby, Albion P. York, and Ephraim Crockett. 
 
 The same year the schooner Lion of Castine ; Captain 
 Enos Pressey, of this town, master ; and of the crew 
 belonging here, George Pressey and Henry McClintock, 
 lost, Joshua Pressey, 2d, saved. 
 
 Also the same year schooner Mary Monltoji ; Captain 
 Joseph Emerson and his brother, Samuel Emerson, both 
 of this place ; the crew all lost. 
 
 In 1875 schooner R. S. Warren, Captain Frederick T. 
 Pickering, master ; crew belonging here, George Picker- 
 ing, Lewis K. Gray, William E. Thompson, Amazene 
 Stinson, John H. Morey, and a son of the captain. 
 
 In 1879 Captain William Richardson in a vessel owned 
 by himself ; with him were his son and Herbert Greenlaw. 
 
 The same year brig Anna D. Torrey, Captain John H. 
 Bray, master ; James Bray, mate. 
 
 In 1 88 1 Captain William C. Emerson and his step-son 
 when bound to Boston in a vessel loaded with stone. 
 
 Several years ago — the exact date to us unknown — 
 there were lost on Fire Island near Long Island, New 
 York, four of the crew of a brig commanded by Captain 
 William H. Reed, of this town, in attempting to land. 
 They were : Cummings M. Torrey, mate ; Alfred Simpson, 
 Warren F. Scott, and Gardiner Weed, seamen. 
 
 Of the crew of the schooner yulietta Tilden, lost in 1867, 
 in Chaleur Bay, were the captain, Benjamin H. Sylvester, 
 and Everett F. Saunders, residents here. There have 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 217 
 
 been several persons lost sailing out of other ports at 
 different times who belonged here. 
 
 W'e have noticed two of the early physicians who prac- 
 tised here, and it would be proper to extend our notices to 
 those who came after. About the year 1824 Dr. Abiel 
 Reed, a native of Newcastle, Maine, came and remained 
 till his death, which took place not far from the year 1870. 
 He married the widow of Captain Benjamin S. Haskell, 
 and they had two children : the son was Captain William 
 H. Reed, who moved to Portland a few years ago ; and 
 the daughter first married a Mr. Austin, of some town 
 near Bangor, and afterward she became the wife of Mr. 
 Levi IMarshall, Jr. She is now^ dead. Dr. Reed was a 
 man of education, very well informed, and was said to be 
 well read in his profession ; but he did not have much 
 success in his practice. 
 
 After him came a Dr. Abbot, who did not remain long ; 
 but from what place he came, or went to from here, is 
 not known to us. His leaving town was prior to 1830. 
 
 In the year 1830, or about that time, came Dr. John 
 Phillips from the town of Dixmont, Maine. He was a 
 native of Massachusetts and remained about ten years, 
 and while here he had considerable practice. 
 
 In 1838, or about that time. Dr. Amos A. Herrick, of 
 Sedgwick, came and practised till about the year 1845. 
 He was quite successful in his practice, and married Miss 
 Sarah, daughter of Pearl Spofford, Esq. He removed to 
 his native place and died in a few years after. 
 
 In 1845 came Dr. Joel Richardson, a native of the 
 town of Eden, Maine ; he remained about four vears, then 
 removed to Rockland, where he practised till a few years 
 ago, removing to the State of Wisconsin. He was a 
 diligent student and became skilful in his profession. 
 
2l8 A.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 In 1849 D^- William F. Collins succeeded Dr. Richard- 
 son and remained till his death in 1858. He had an 
 extensive practice, and all who knew him had a favorable 
 opinion of him as a physician ; his death was much 
 regretted here. He married Miss Eliza A. Spofford, the 
 youngest daughter of Pearl Spofford, Esq. 
 
 The general health of the inhabitants of this town has 
 been as good as that of other towns in this vicinity. In 
 1828 a disease prevailed here which was very fatal, and, 
 as has been understood, about sixty persons in the town 
 died of it. What its exact nature was is now unknown, 
 but, as has been stated, of those who were attacked every 
 one who was bled (as then was the practice in most 
 diseases) died, and but few recovered* 
 
 The longevity in the town will perhaps compare with 
 that in other towns in the county. The number of per- 
 sons between 90 and 100 years is 3 ; those over 80 
 and under 90 years, 23 ; those over 70 and under 80 
 years, 84, — in all, no over 70 years, or about i m 30 
 persons. 
 
 We will now give a list of those persons, with their 
 ages, who have since 1833 attained the age of ninety 
 years and upward, and died in this town : — 
 
 In 1833, Mrs. Colby, widow of Joseph Colby, aged 97. 
 ,, 1835, Mrs. Small, widow of Job Small, aged 96. 
 ,, 1835, Mrs. Carman, widow of Levi Carman, aged 91. 
 ,, 1836, Mrs. Thompson, widow of Thomas Thompson, aged 91. 
 ,, 1838, Mr. Calvin Turner, aged 90. 
 ,, 1842, Ignatius Haskell, Esq., aged 91. 
 ,, 1842, Mr. Elijah Dunham, aged 90. 
 ,, 1844, Mr. Joseph Sellers, aged 92. 
 ,, 1844, Mrs. Colby, widow of Ambrose Colby, aged 92. 
 ,, 1850, Mrs. Raynes, widow of John Raynes, aged 91. 
 ,, 1852, Mrs. Barbour, widow of Solomon Barbour, aged 92. 
 
TOJV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 219 
 
 In 1S54, Timotliy Hillings, aged 90. 
 1854, John Closson, aged 90. 
 
 1557, Mrs. Tyler, widow of Joseph Tyler, Esq., aged 93. 
 1859, Major Nathan Low, aged 94. 
 i860, Francis Marsliall, aged 92. 
 1863, Peter Hardy, aged 93. 
 1863, Naylor Small, aged 91. 
 1863, or about that time, Mrs. Closson, widow of John Closson, 
 
 aged 91. 
 Mrs. Closson, widow of Xehemiah Closson, aged 91. 
 1866, Robert Campbell, aged 93. 
 
 1865, Joseph Clifton, aged 94. 
 
 1866, Mrs. Thurston, widow of Amos Thurston, aged 91. 
 1859, Mrs. Lunt, widow of Micajah Lunt, aged 95. 
 1S64, Edward Small, aged 94. 
 
 1558, David Torrey, aged 90. 
 1869, William Raynes, aged 91, 
 1869, Mrs. Alexander, widow of Ezekiel Alexander, aged 93. 
 
 187 1, Mrs. Powers, widow of Dr. Moody Powers, aged 91. 
 
 1872, Abijah Haskell, aged 91. 
 1S73, Jonathan Haskell, aged 94. 
 1875, Mrs. Torrey, widow of James Torrey, aged 91. 
 1875. Mrs. Carman, wife of Frederick Carman, aged 90. 
 1879, •^^■'s- Torrey, widow of David Torrey, aged 97. 
 1 882, Mrs. Porter, jvidow of William Porter, of Lyme, New Hamp- 
 shire, aged 93. 
 
 ,, 1882, .Mrs. Sarah Fifield, aged 96. 
 — In all, thirty-si.x persons. 
 
2 20 ^^'\' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MUNICIPAL AND MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 THE act of incorporation was passed January 30, 
 1789, and was approved by John Hancock, as 
 governor. By the act Gabriel Johonnot, Esq., who then 
 resided in tliat part of the town of Penobscot now 
 included in the town of Castine, was authorized to issue 
 his warrant to some principal inhabitant, directing him to 
 notify the inhabitants of this town to meet at such time 
 and place as he might appoint, for the choice of town 
 officers; and his warrant was issued March 17, 1789, to 
 George Tyler, Esq., who issued his notice to the inhabi- 
 tants to meet at the meeting-house — which then stood 
 where the Town House now stands — on Monday, April 6, 
 at nine of the clock in the forenoon, for the choice of 
 town officers, and to act upon such other business as 
 might be necessary, and also to give in their votes 
 for a Governor, Lieutenant-governor, a State Senator, 
 and a Registrar of Deeds. 
 
 Pursuant to said notice the inhabitants met at the time 
 and place appointed and chose Thomas Stinson, Esq., 
 Moderator, Rev. Peter Powers, Town Clerk, and five 
 Selectmen, to wit : Thomas Stinson, Esq., Captain Thomas 
 Robbins, Mr. William Foster, Mr. Nathan Haskell, and 
 Mr. Joseph Sellers ; and Captain Ignatius Haskell, Treas- 
 urer, besides other officers. The Rev. Mr. Powers during 
 the year resigned the office of Town Clerk, and Nathan 
 Haskell, Esq. was chosen, who was elected to said office 
 till the year 1S03. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 221 
 
 There was the sum of one huncU-cd pounds voted as sal- 
 ary to the minister, according to contract, which contract 
 was made by the inhabitants when the call to Mr. Powers 
 was made August 23, 1785. There then was an agree- 
 ment to build him a house thirty-six by twenty feet, of one 
 story, and it was to be finished in the same manner that 
 houses commonly are in country towns. 
 
 Also there was the sum of si.xty pounds voted to be laid 
 out upon the roads, and for a man's labor the sum of four 
 shillings was to be allowed, and three shillings for oxen per 
 day. George Tyler, Esq. was chosen representative to the 
 General Court. 
 
 1790. 
 
 The following-named persons were chosen selectmen : 
 Thomas Robbins, William Foster, Joseph Sellers, Theoph- 
 ilus Eaton, and Thomas Stinson. There was also voted 
 the same sum as was the year previous for the support of 
 the minister, and the sum of eighty pounds for the pur- 
 pose of defraying town charges, and eightpence on the 
 pound as the collector's commission. Also the sum of 
 twelve shillings to Mr. Benjamin Cole for sweeping and 
 taking care of the meeting-house. At a meeting held 
 May 6th it was voted not to choose a representative, and 
 this and the previous year the controversy respecting the 
 lands in the town between the settlers and Messrs. Joseph 
 and George Tyler were often acted upon in the town 
 meetings. This year the town treasurer was instructed to 
 repair the meeting-house, to furnish it with glass so that it 
 might be comfortable, and charge the cost to the town's 
 account. 
 
 1791. 
 
 This year Messrs. W'illiam Foster, Caleb Haskell, and 
 Joseph Sellers were chosen selectmen. It was voted not 
 
2 22 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 to choose a representative, and it was also voted to divide 
 the town into five school districts. At the same meeting 
 it was agreed that one school should be kept at the school- 
 house on Webster's land (now occupied by William R. and 
 Albert N. Sellers) ; one at or near the mill at the North- 
 west Harbor ; one at or near Joseph Colby's at Southeast 
 Harbor ; one at or near John Howard's, near the house at 
 present occupied by Mr. William E. Knight, and the other 
 near Jonathan Torrey's, near the corner of the road lead- 
 ing from the Reach to the Northwest Harbor. It was also 
 voted that the inhabitants upon Stinson's Neck should be 
 exempted from taxation for the support of schools, and 
 the sum of thirty-six pounds was raised for the support of 
 schools. If any district should neglect keeping a school 
 for the time according to its proportion of the money 
 raised for one year, such district should forfeit its pro- 
 portion for the use of the town. The town accepted the 
 house built for the Rev. Mr. Powers, and voted that it be 
 made a town charge. 
 
 1792. 
 
 Messrs. Caleb Haskell, Joseph Sellers, and William 
 Foster were chosen selectmen, and the sum of forty 
 pounds was voted for the support of schools. It was also 
 voted to raise no money for town charges. At a town 
 meeting held on the seventh day o^ May, it was voted not 
 to choose a representative, and at the same time it was 
 voted that all future town meetings be warned by posting 
 up three notifications, to wit : one at the meeting-house, 
 one at Haskell's gristmill, and one at Tyler's gristmill. 
 It was also voted to lay out a new burying-ground, and the 
 committee chosen for the purpose were Mr. Ezekiel Morey, 
 Captain John Hooper, and Captain Ignatius Haskell. 
 
TO ivy OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 223 
 
 1793- 
 Messrs. William Foster, Caleb Haskell, and Joseph Sel- 
 lers were elected selectmen, and the sum of fifty pounds 
 was raised for the support of schools. The sum of fifty 
 pounds was raised for repair of highways, and thirty 
 pounds for payment of town charges. In May it was 
 voted not to choose a representative. 
 
 1794. 
 
 The town chose as selectmen the persons who were 
 elected the previous year, and voted to raise one hundred 
 pounds for the support of schools ; also, that Babbidge's 
 Neck be the sixth school district, and that Little Deer 
 Island be the seventh. In May it was voted not to choose 
 a representative. At a meeting held September 30, it was 
 voted to give the men who should voluntarily enlist, a sum 
 in addition to their monthly pay, to make up their wages 
 — eight dollars per month — for the time they should be 
 called into actual service, until they were discharged ; three 
 shillings per day in case they should be called to form a 
 detachment. 
 
 1795- 
 
 Messrs. Job Small, Nathan Haskell, and Thomas 
 Thompson were chosen selectmen. The sum of one hun- 
 dred pounds was raised for the support of schools, the 
 same amount for repair of roads, and the sum of thirty- 
 five pounds to defray town charges. It was also agreed to 
 consider some proper method to build a meeting-house, 
 and one hundred pounds was raised to be appropriated for 
 the purpose and a committee of three, to wit, Messrs. 
 Ignatius Haskell, Thomas Thompson, and Thomas Small, 
 was chosen to expend the said sum in providing suitable 
 timber and other materials for building. No representa- 
 tive was chosen this year. 
 
2 24 ^^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1796. 
 
 Messrs. Edmund Sylvester, Joseph Sellers, and Thomas 
 Thompson were chosen selectmen. It was voted to release 
 the inhabitants of Little Deer Island from working on the 
 highways ; also, to build a pound near the Carying place, 
 and stocks near the meeting-house. The sum of one hun- 
 dred dollars was voted for the purpose; $333.34 was 
 raised for the repairing of highways ; also, $166.67 for the 
 support of schools. No representative was chosen this 
 year. 
 
 1797. 
 
 Messrs. Edmund Sylvester, Joseph Sellers, and Nsfthan 
 Haskell were chosen selectmen, and there was voted the 
 sum of $100 for town charges; $333.67 for schools, and 
 the same amount for repairing highways. No representa- 
 tive was chosen this year. It was voted that no person 
 not an inhabitant of the town should dig or carry off any 
 clams from any bank or flats within the limits of the town ; 
 that the sum of fifty cents for each bushel so taken should 
 be the penalty, one half to the use of the town and the 
 remainder to the prosecutor. A committee of fourteen 
 was chosen to see that the said vote should be put into 
 execution. 
 
 1798. 
 
 Messrs. Joseph Sellers, Edmund Sylvester, and Nathan 
 Haskell were chosen selectmen, and no money was voted 
 for the support of schools. One hundred pounds was 
 voted for the repairing of highways and $100 for the pay- 
 ment of town charges. This year Captain Ignatius Has- 
 kell was chosen representative to the General Court. In 
 November a town meeting was held for the purpose of 
 agreeing upon some suitable method of supplying the 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 
 
 --D 
 
 preaching for the coming winter, as the Rev. Mr. Powers 
 was unable to supply the desk through infirmity and sick- 
 ness. A committee was chosen, and it was instructed 
 to apply to Mr. Ebenezer Eaton, if he could be obtained. 
 
 1799. 
 
 At the annual meeting in April the persons who were 
 elected the previous year were chosen selectmen. The 
 sum of three hundred dollars was raised for the support of 
 preaching. A committee was chosen for the purpose of 
 providing for the pulpit, and a committee of one from each 
 school district to provide teachers for the several school 
 districts. Three hundred dollars was raised for repair of 
 highways, one hundred dollars for the payment of town 
 charges, and the same sum for the purchase of military 
 stores. At the meeting in May it was voted not to send 
 a representative, which vote was reconsidered at a meet- 
 ing on the twenty-seventh day of the month. The town 
 agreed to send one on the condition: "That he should 
 bring no additional expense on the town, and procure two 
 bondsmen for that purpose." Messrs. Joseph Tyler and 
 Peter Hardy offered themselves as such for any person 
 whom the town should chose. They were accepted by the 
 town. George Tyler, Esq. was elected representative. 
 
 This year there was a controversy between the town 
 and Mr. Josiah Crockett, who claimed a lot of land sold 
 by the town to Mr. Ebenezer Webster, for the support of 
 a pauper. Mr. Crockett had recovered the land at an 
 action-in-law, and after considerable expense the matter 
 was settled with the occupant of the land under Mr. 
 Webster, of whom he had purchased it. The sum paid by 
 the town was six hundred dollars. 
 
2 26 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1800. 
 
 This year Messrs. Joseph Tyler, Prescott Powers, and 
 Edmund Sylvester were chosen selectmen. It was also 
 voted that when any vote should be called for which was 
 of importance, it should be by written ballot, and after 
 such a vote should be declared, it should not be disputed. 
 This was to apply to all future meetings. The committee 
 formerly chosen to supply the pulpit was instructed to 
 engage the Rev. Mr. Page, if he could be obtained. The 
 sum of $333 was raised for the support of preaching ; 
 $250 for the support of schools ; $333.33 for repairing 
 highways ; and $100 for the payment of town charges was 
 voted. The selectmen were directed to take measures to 
 prevent the setting of fires in dry times, and the carrying 
 firebrands about so as to expose the property of individ- 
 uals, by drafting some orders, and to annex fines and 
 penalties for the breach thereof, and to procure the appro- 
 bation of the Court of Sessions to the same, that it might 
 become a town law. In May it was not voted to send a 
 representative; there being 17 votes in favor of, and }i6 
 against, sending one. 
 
 1801. 
 
 This year Messrs. Joseph Tyler, Jonathan Haskell, and 
 Prescott Powers were chosen selectmen. The following 
 sums were voted : $300 for the support of preaching, and 
 $100 to pay town expenses. There appears not to have 
 been any sum raised for the repair of highways, only the 
 town was to furnish two thousand feet of two and one-half 
 inch plank for the use of the bridge over Tyler's Mill- 
 stream. It was also voted that each district should 
 raise its own money to keep its schools and pay its 
 teachers ; also, that a new valuation be taken, and that 
 
TOWX OF DEER IS/.E, MA LYE. 22 7 
 
 " no person should use firelight in taking fish within the 
 limits of the town, under the penalty of thirty dollars for 
 each barrel so taken." Joseph Tyler, Esq. was this year 
 chosen representative. At the same meeting, which was 
 held in May, the sum of two hundred pounds was voted for 
 the purpose of the repairs of highways. In December a 
 meeting was held, and it was voted that the treasurer 
 should call on Mr. George Tyler's bondsmen to refund the 
 money which said Mr. George Tyler took out of the treas- 
 ury at Boston, with which the town was taxed as "repre- 
 sentative's pay," agreeably to a vote of that meeting at 
 which he was chosen. By reference to the doings of the 
 meeting in May, 1799, the matter will be understood. 
 
 1S02. 
 
 This year Messrs. William Foster, Jonathan Eaton, and 
 Ignatius Haskell were chosen selectmen, and Messrs. 
 Edmund Sylvester, Caleb Haskell, and David Angell, 
 assessors. The following sums were voted : $330 for the 
 support of preaching, 3330 for the support of schools, 
 Si 50 to defray town charges, $600.67 for repairs of high- 
 ways ; that one half of these sums should be paid in six 
 months, and the remainder in one year. At the meeting 
 in May it was voted not to choose a representative. 
 
 1803. 
 
 This year Messrs. Joseph Tyler, Chase Prcssey, and 
 Jonathan Haskell were chosen selectmen, and Mr. Pres- 
 cott Powers, town clerk. The following sums were 
 raised : $333.33 for the support of schools, S666.66 for 
 repairs of highways. At the meeting in May it was voted 
 not to send a representative. At the same time the sum 
 of Sioo "was raised for the support of the gospel, S200 
 for town use, and Si 50 to provide a town stock of powder, 
 
228 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 lead, flints, kettles, etc.," and it was voted that no man 
 should carry a firebrand off his own land between sunset 
 and sunrise, on penalty of five dollars. In July of the 
 same year the sum of $ioo was raised for the support of 
 the gospel, and $50 in addition for contingent expenses. 
 The sum of $50 was taken from that which had pre- 
 viously been raised to procure a stock of powder. At a 
 meeting held in October it was voted to give Rev. 
 Joseph Brown a call to settle over them in the ministry 
 and to pay him $400 yearly as salary. He was to have 
 the use of the parsonage lot, and the expenses of moving 
 his family and furniture were to be paid, also to furnish 
 him a residence until a parsonage house was built. In 
 November it was voted to build a parsonage house, and a 
 barn of the dimensions of thirty by forty feet, said build- 
 ing to be finished by the first day of November, 1804. 
 
 1804. 
 
 This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Chase Pressey, and 
 Joseph Tyler were chosen selectmen. Fifty dollars was 
 raised for the support of the poor, $300 for town charges, 
 $421 to pay the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown and arrear- 
 ages, $1,000 for the purpose of building the parsonage 
 house and barn, $600 for repair of highways ; and that 
 each district vote and raise its own school-money. At 
 the meeting in May it was voted not to send a representa- 
 tive. In November the sum of $300 was raised for the 
 purpose of repairs of Long Cove Bridge. On August 14, 
 Rev. Joseph Brown was ordained over the church here. 
 
 1805. 
 
 This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Chase Pressey, 
 and Prescott Powers were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
 lowing sums were raised : $700 for town charges, $200 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIAE. 229 
 
 for support of schools, $50 for payment of frame of the 
 parish barn, and $600 for repairs of highways and bridges. 
 In May, $160 was raised for the purpose of finishing 
 the parsonage barn and $75 for digging a well near the 
 house on the parsonage. A new valuation was voted to 
 be taken by one of the assessors. It was voted not to 
 send a representative to the General Court. 
 
 1806. 
 This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, 
 and Chase Pressey were chosen selectmen. There were 
 voted, in addition to the sum raised for the salary of the 
 Rev. Mr. Brown, the following sums : $250 to pay up 
 arrearages, $100 to lay out on the parsonage house, $300 
 for town charges, $400 for schools, and $600 for repairs 
 of highways ; and although the warrant contained an 
 article- for the choice of a representative, nothing is 
 shown by the records that action was taken upon the 
 subject. 
 
 1807. 
 
 Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, and David 
 Angell were chosen selectmen. It was voted that there 
 should be but one constable, and that William Young be 
 constable. The following sums were raised : $400 for 
 the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, $150 for town charges, 
 S400 for support of schools, and the vote upon the sum 
 to be raised for repairs of highways was postponed till 
 the meeting in May ; 380 was raised for the support of 
 the poor. At the meeting in May it was voted not to 
 send a representative, and it was voted to give a bounty 
 to destroy crows ; the sum of $700 was raised for the 
 purpose of repairs of highways and bridges. At a sub- 
 sequent meeting, held on the twenty-eighth of the same 
 
230 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 month, the sum of $300 was voted, in addition to the 
 sum before raised, for repairs of highways, and also $50 
 additional for town charges. 
 
 1808. 
 
 This year Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, 
 and Pearl Spofford were chosen selectmen. Besides the 
 salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, the following sums were 
 raised : $50 for the support of the poor, $200 for the 
 support of schools, $800 for highways and bridges, and 
 $250 for town charges. It was voted that the taxes 
 be paid into the treasury in quarterly payments ; also, 
 to pass over the petition of James Eaton and others, pray- 
 ing to be excused from paying the minister's salary. In 
 May it was voted not to send a representative. This 
 year Messrs. Hezekiah Lane, James Eaton, and others 
 petitioned the General Court that they might be incor- 
 porated into a religious society, by the name of the First 
 Baptist Society of Deer Isle ; and at a meeting held on 
 the twenty-sixth of December the town voted to remon- 
 strate to the General Court against it, and a committee of 
 three was appointed to draft the remonstrance. 
 
 1809. 
 
 On January 17 it was voted at a town meeting that the 
 town disapproves the Embargo laws then in force, and a 
 petition was voted to be made to the General Court for 
 relief under the said law, for the distressed and embar- 
 rassed situation of the people here. At the annual meet- 
 ing Messrs. Nathan Haskell, Pearl Spofford, and David 
 Thurlow were chosen selectmen. It was voted to release 
 James Eaton and fifteen others from paying their money 
 toward a minister tax. The usual sum was raised for 
 
TOWy OF DEER ISLE, iMAIXE. 23 I 
 
 the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, $200 for town charges, 
 $250 for schools, and S800 for highways and bridges. 
 This year Captain Pearl Spofford was chosen representa- 
 tive. 
 
 1810. 
 
 This year Messrs. Nathan Haskell, Pearl Spofford, and 
 Chase Pressey were chosen selectmen. The salary of the 
 Rev. Mr. Brown was raised, $300 for support of schools, 
 Sioo for arrearages on account of poor, $^6 for expense 
 on the account of poor for this year, $60 to purchase a 
 stock of powder, $110 due Captain Ignatius Haskell on 
 account of interest money, $100 for town expenses, and 
 S500 for highways and bridges. It was also voted to tax 
 the Baptists with others for minister tax, and allow those 
 who belonged to that society to receive their part of the 
 same, to appropriate to their own religious use. Pearl 
 Spofford, Esq. was chosen representative at the meeting in 
 May. 
 
 1811. 
 
 Messrs. Jonathan Haskell, Nathan Haskell, and Pearl 
 Spofford were chosen selectmen this year. The following 
 sums were raised : S420 for salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown 
 and the Baptist brethren, $600 for highways, $130 for sup- 
 port of the poor, $400 for schools, 5200 for town charges, 
 and $40 to complete the town's military magazine and to 
 replace ammunition that might be drawn out on muster 
 days. In May two representatives were chosen, namely 
 Captain Ignatius Haskell and Pearl Spofford, Esq., and an 
 additional sum of '^2j6 was raised toward defraying town 
 charges. A vote was at the same time passed adverse to 
 setting off the District of Maine into a separate State. 
 The representatives from this town were instructed to 
 oppose it. 
 
232 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 I8l2. 
 
 This year Messrs. Nathan Haskell, Pearl Spofford, and 
 Joshua Haskell were chosen selectmen. In addition to 
 the salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown, the following sums were 
 raised : $400 for schools, $500 for highways and bridges, 
 $200 for a bridge over Tyler's Millpond. The other votes 
 relative to the raising of money were deferred till another 
 meeting, at which the sum of $250 was voted to defray 
 the expense of the poor and town charges. Pearl Spofford 
 and Prescott Powers, Esquires, were chosen representatives. 
 At a meeting held on the eighteenth of July, it was voted 
 that the selectmen be authorized to petition the govern- 
 ment of the United States, or some suitable officer of the 
 United States Army, for one or more companies of United 
 States soldiers, to be stationed on Deer Isle for defence of 
 the same. Also that the selectmen be authorized to peti- 
 tion the Governor and Council of this Commonwealth for 
 the loan of sixty muskets and four four-pound guns for the 
 defence of the town, and that the late detachment from 
 the militia may not be taken away from the town. This 
 same year at a town meeting held on the fifteenth day of 
 August, resolutions were passed reflecting strongly upon 
 the then present administration, and the declaration of 
 war ; but at that time party feelings ran high and led to 
 acts of indiscretion and violence of language. 
 
 1813. 
 The board of selectmen elected the former year was 
 reelected, and $500 was raised for the repair of highways 
 and bridges, $400 for support of schools, and the usual sum 
 .as salary of the Rev. Mr. Brown. At a meeting in April 
 .several amounts were voted for town purposes. Messrs. 
 Prescott Powers and Pearl Spofford were chosen represen- 
 
TOJV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 233 
 
 tatives, and the vote raising $400 for support of schools 
 was reconsidered, and no sum was raised for the purpose 
 at the meeting. A remonstrance was voted against 
 removing the courts from Castine to Buckstown, now 
 Hucksport. 
 
 1814. 
 
 At a meeting held on the thirty-first of January, reso- 
 lutions were passed relative to the late Embargo law, 
 and it was then voted that they be presented to the 
 General Court. At the annual meeting the board of 
 selectmen for 1813 was reelected, and the following sums 
 were voted : $400 for minister's salary, and the same 
 amount for support of schools. At a meeting on the 
 fourth of April the sum of $100 was voted for town ex- 
 penses, and it was voted to build a pound. In May Nathan 
 Haskell and Frederick Spofford, Esquires, were elected 
 representatives. In November a meeting was held, and it 
 was then voted to make a new assessment of all town 
 ta.xes before assessed, leaving out the state tax ; also to 
 indemnify the assessors and collector from all costs and 
 damages that might hereafter arise on account of not 
 assessing the county tax and not collecting the state 
 and county taxes. The town ordered the assessors not to 
 assess the county tax for 18 14. 
 
 In August, this year, the United States frigate Adams 
 ran upon a ledge near Isle au Haut and the guns on 
 board with other articles were landed. A tent was erected 
 for the accommodation of some of her crew who were 
 sick of the scurvy. She had several prisoners-of-war on 
 board. Her captain employed the late Mr. Robert Knowl- 
 ton and his brother, who had a small vessel that was em- 
 ployed in fishing, to carry their prisoners to Thomaston, 
 the part of which is now Rockland. While on their pas- 
 
234 ■'^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 sage there they made an attempt to take the vessel, but 
 Mr. Knowlton and his brother were very resolute and 
 gave them to understand that it would not be safe for 
 them to undertake it. They then became quiet and were 
 carried to their place of destination. The ship was got 
 off the ledge and went up the river to Hampden, where, a 
 short time after, she was blown up by her captain — Morris 
 — in order to prevent her falling into the hands of the 
 British, who took possession of Castine shortly after she 
 was taken up the river. 
 
 During the latter part of this year, or in the earlier part 
 of 1815, an English brig loaded with beef, pork, and 
 salmon, and a deckload of lumber, sailed from Castine for 
 the West Indies. Her mate was a resident of this town. 
 While sailing down the bay she was intercepted by an 
 American privateer, who gave chase to and fired upon her. 
 Finding escape impossible the brig ran into Small's Cove, 
 and went aground upon the bar that is at its mouth, the 
 privateer following and continuing firing, which was an- 
 swered by the brig. After the brig grounded, the privateer 
 anchored as near as was safe and, by firing, disabled her. 
 The noise of the guns attracted many people to the spot, 
 and soon quite a large crowd was gathered. One of their 
 number, having a gun, fired at the lieutenant of the priva- 
 teer, who had gone aloft to look out. The brig was taken 
 possession of by the officers of the privateer, and they 
 gave the inhabitants permission to take what lumber or 
 other articles of which her load was composed, and a 
 prize-master was put on board. During the night a num- 
 ber of persons assembled with the intention of retaking 
 the brig and carrying her back to Castine. The prize- 
 master escaped to the shore and was lost in the woods, 
 and in the morning went to the house of an inhabitant 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 235 
 
 who did not sympathize with the enemy, and was carried 
 to a place of safety. The lieutenant of the privateer was 
 on board the brig and would have fired into the mob, as 
 it certainly was, had not some one of the inhabitants 
 taken what jjowder there was to be found on board her, as 
 she had guns on board, which, if loaded and discharged 
 into the crowd, might have done much damage, and at the 
 time it was fortunate that the powder was carried off. He 
 heard the names of the persons assembled called over, 
 and learned by whom they were headed, but the attempt 
 to retake her was unsuccessful. The next day the brig 
 was taken off. The captain of the privateer, armed, came 
 on shore and took the mate, who was among others assem- 
 bled there, and by threats compelled him to go with him 
 on board the privateer, which took the prize to Wiscasset, 
 where she was condemned. Not long after the prize- 
 master was taken over to Thomaston, but the inhabitants 
 here were cautious, for fear that what they did might be 
 the cause of trouble to them from the enemy. The British 
 at Castine did not thank their sympathizers here for what 
 they did, as they said " they were able to fight their own 
 battles." It was said that the captain of the privateer 
 intended to retaliate upon the persons in the company 
 whose names he heard called over, by raising a company 
 of persons engaged in the business of privateering, and 
 coming here and doing to the individuals whatever damage 
 he was able, but as peace was soon proclaimed, it was not 
 done. With all the charity we have, we can see no excuse 
 for the act of attempt to retake. It was one of the cases 
 in which political feelings vent themselves in acts not to 
 be justified, as the practice of j:)rivateering was allowed 
 by all nations at the time. If it had been attempted in 
 the case of a prize taken by a United States armed vessel. 
 
236 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 it must, of course, have been treason, as it would have fallen 
 within the limits of its definition given in the Constitu- 
 tion. The act was long remembered to the prejudice of 
 those engaged in it. Thirty years afterward one of their 
 number was a candidate for an office of respectability, 
 when the charge was brought up. He was interrogated 
 about it in the public town meeting and admitted it, while 
 his competitor was one of those who enlisted and served 
 through the War of 1812, and was honorably discharged. 
 This shows us that if any one comes before the people as 
 a candidate for their suffrages, there is always some one 
 who remembers his wrongdoings. 
 
 1815. 
 The board of selectmen for 18 14 was reelected. It was 
 then voted that the state and county taxes for the year 
 18 14 be assessed and committed forthwith. By the records 
 of that year we find they were not assessed, and we are 
 at a loss to discover why. Six hundred dollars were raised 
 for the highways and to complete the town pound, ^400 
 for the Rev. Mr. Brown, and the same amount for schools. 
 It was also voted that " no swine should be allowed to go at 
 large upon the commons or highways in the town with or 
 without yokes and rings." In May Messrs. Nathan Haskell 
 and Pearl Spofford, Esquires, were elected representatives. 
 At a meeting on the third day of April the sum of $300 
 additional was voted for the support of the poor and for 
 town charges. At a meeting on the tenth of June it was 
 voted to choose sixteen men as a committee to assist the 
 tithingmen of the town to enforce the due observance of 
 the Sabbath, and suppression of intemperance, in said 
 town. The committee was : Messrs. Deacon Joshua 
 Haskell, William Foster, Benjamin Cole, John Howard, 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MALXE. 237 
 
 James Jordan, Chase Pressey, Courtney Babbid^^e, Nathan 
 Low, Peter Hardy, Jr., William Greenlaw, William Stin- 
 son, John Scott, Peletiah Barter, Elijah Dunham, Thomas 
 Robbins, and Joseph Whitmore. 
 
 1816. 
 
 This year the previous board of selectmen was chosen. 
 The sum of S300 was voted to defray town charges and 
 support the poor, ;5400 for repair of highways and to 
 finish the pound, S400 for support of schools. In May 
 Messrs. Pearl Spofford and Prescott Powers, Esquires, 
 were elected representatives. For a choice of a delegate 
 to attend a convention to be held at Brunswick in the 
 month of September, a meeting was held in August, and 
 Pearl Spofford was chosen. On the question of a separa- 
 tion of the District of Maine from Massachusetts there 
 were given : For the separation, none ; against it, one 
 hundred and sixty votes. This year there appears to have 
 been no salary for the Rev. Mr. Brown. 
 
 1 817. 
 
 This year Messrs. Ignatius liaskell, Jonathan Haskell 
 and Frederick Spofford were elected selectmen. It was 
 voted " that the overseers expose for sale at public auction 
 the poor of the town to the lowest bidder, on the day of 
 the next annual April meeting." Four hundred dollars was 
 voted for highways and bridges, and $600 for support of 
 schools. In May Messrs. Frederick Spofford and Nathan 
 Haskell, Esquires, were elected representatives, and the 
 sum of $500 was voted to pay town charges and support 
 the poor. The vote for the sale of the poor was amended 
 so as to allow the overseers to dispose of them, and apply 
 town moneys for their support at their own discretion. 
 
238 ^^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1818. 
 
 This year the board of selectmen for the previous 
 year was elected. Three hundred dollars were voted for 
 repairs of highways and bridges, and $400 for schools. 
 At a meeting in April the sum of $400 was raised for 
 town charges and for the poor. In May Messrs. Pearl 
 Spofford and Hezekiah Rowell, Esquires, were elected 
 representatives, and the latter was chosen to fill the 
 vacancy in the board of selectmen, occasioned by the 
 death of Frederick Spofford, Esq., and Mr. Benjamin 
 Cole was chosen sexton. 
 
 18 19. 
 
 This year Messrs. Ignatius Haskell, Jonathan Haskell, 
 and Joseph Noyes were elected selectmen. The sum of 
 ^400 was raised for the support of schools, and $600 for 
 repair of highways and bridges. In May the sum of $900 
 was voted for town expenses and support of poor, $200 to 
 pay the Rev. Mr. Brown for betterments on the parsonage, 
 and the article for raising money for the support of the 
 gospel was passed over. Messrs. Pearl Spofford and 
 Hezekiah Rowell, Esquires, were elected representatives- 
 In July the question of a separation of Maine from Massa- 
 chusetts was acted upon, and there were given in the 
 affirmative twenty, and in the negative eighty-eight, votes. 
 In September a meeting was held for the choice of dele- 
 gates to attend the convention for the purpose of forming 
 a State Constitution. Messrs. Ignatius Haskell and Asa 
 Green were chosen, and the Constitution was voted upon 
 at a meeting in December. The number of votes in 
 favor was twenty-two, and in the negative one vote. 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 239 
 
 1820. 
 
 This year Messrs. Ignatius Haskell, Nathan Haskell, 
 and Joseph Noyes were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $400 was voted for the support of schools, $600 for high- 
 ways, and $400 for the support of the poor and the pay- 
 ment of town charges. At the meeting a committee was 
 chosen " to prevent non-residents from digging clams in 
 the town." It was also voted that the selectmen and clerk 
 prepare and forward a petition to the First Legislature 
 praying in behalf of the town, " that the Circuit Courts 
 of Common Pleas may be abolished, and such courts 
 established as a substitute in each town, and such exten- 
 sion of power given to justices of the peace, as the Legis- 
 lature shall think fit and proper." Pearl Spofford, Esq. 
 was elected representative to the Legislature of Maine, 
 and the votes -were as follows: For Pearl Spofford, 92 
 votes ; for Asa Green, 70 ; Ignatius Haskell, 7 ; and 
 Samuel Allen, 6. 
 
 1821. 
 
 This year Messrs. Pearl Spofford, Stephen Babbidge, 
 and Richard Warren were elected selectmen. The sum 
 of S200 was raised for town charges and $600 for the same 
 purpose for the year previous ; $400 for the support of 
 the poor ; $300 for support of schools, and $500 for repair 
 of highways and bridges. It was also voted to sell the 
 poor at auction, and there follows a list of such unfortu- 
 nate persons as were disposed of under this vote. At the 
 annual election in September Hezekiah Torrey was elected 
 representative, having si.xty votes to fifty-four for Asa 
 Green, two for Solomon Haskell, and one for Hezekiah 
 Rowell, Esq., and in the February following five persons 
 were licensed as retailers of sjMrits under the law then in 
 force. 
 
240 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1822. 
 
 The board of selectmen for the year previous was 
 chosen. The sum of $450 was voted for town expenses 
 and support of poor; $736.80 for schools, and $800 for 
 highways and bridges. For representative, Richard War- 
 ren was elected, having sixty-eight votes. Ignatius 
 Haskell, Esq. had sixty-five votes, and Mark Haskell 
 one. 
 
 1823. 
 
 This year Messrs. Pearl Spofford, Richard Warren, and 
 George Kimball, Esquires, were chosen selectmen. The 
 sum of $750 was raised to defray town charges ; $736.80 
 for schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. At the 
 annual election in September, Solomon Haskell, Esq. 
 was chosen representative, having ninety-six votes to 
 fifty-one for Hezekiah Torrey, Esq. 
 
 1824. 
 
 This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Stephen Babbidge, 
 and Peter Hardy, Jr. were chosen selectmen. The sum 
 of $350 was voted for town charges, $736.80 for schools, 
 and $1,000 for highways and bridges. It was voted that 
 the expense of assessing and collecting taxes, together 
 with the fees of the treasurer, be taken out of the school- 
 money. It was also voted to defend the law case of the 
 town with the town of St. George on account of the Welch 
 family. At the election in September Deacon William 
 Stinson was elected representative, having sixty-nine 
 votes to forty for Stephen Babbidge, sixteen for George 
 Kimball, Esq., two for John Foster, and one for Asa 
 Green. 
 
toivjV of deek isle, maixe. 241 
 
 1825. 
 
 This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Peter Hardy, 2d, 
 and Samuel Webb were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $400 was voted for town charges, $736.80 for schools, and 
 $1,000 for highways and bridges. It was voted to provide 
 rations for soldiers on the days of inspection and review. 
 George Kimball, Esq. was elected representative, having 
 one hundred and six votes. No other person was voted 
 for, as appears by the records. 
 
 1826. 
 
 This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Samuel Webb, and 
 Joseph C. Stinson were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $5 50 was voted for town charges and support of the poor, 
 S736.80 for schools, and S 1,000 for highways and bridges. 
 It was voted to pay each soldier twenty cents in cash 
 instead of rations otherwise provided by law. At the 
 election in September William Webb was elected repre- 
 sentative, having fifty-five votes to thirty-two for David 
 Thurlow, seven for Stephen Babbidge, and two for 
 Edward Haskell, Jr. 
 
 1827. 
 
 This year Messrs. Joseph C. Stinson, Jonathan E. Webb, 
 and Stephen Babbidge, Jr. were chosen selectmen. The 
 following sums were voted : S736.80 for schools, $750 for 
 town charges and support of poor, and S 1,000 for high- 
 ways and bridges. It was voted not to impose a tax on 
 dogs, and twenty cents to soldiers on duty once a year. 
 At the election in September Rev. Abijah Wines was 
 elected representative, having sixty-two votes to eleven 
 for Joseph C. Stinson, seven for Stephen Babbidge, seven 
 for David Thurlow, and one each for Stephen Babbidge, 
 
242 --^-V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Jr. and Peter Hardy, Jr. There was an article in the 
 warrant for a town meeting on the same day, to see if the 
 town would pay a bounty on foxes, which did not pass. 
 
 1828. 
 
 This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Stephen Babbidge, 
 and Nathan Low were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $700 was voted for town charges and support of poor, 
 $1,000 for highways and bridges, and $736.80 for schools. 
 Captain David Thurlow was elected representative, having 
 fifty-four votes to four for Nathan Low and two for 
 Stephen Babbidge. 
 
 1829. 
 
 This year Messrs. Nathan Low, Daniel Johnson, and 
 William Babbidge were chosen selectmen, and the follow- 
 ing sums were voted : $500 for town charges and support 
 of the poor, $1,000 for highways and bridges, $736.80 for 
 schools. It was voted to pass over the article respecting 
 militia rations, and to have the town orders on interest 
 taken up by the treasurer. At the annual election in 
 September John P. Johnson, Esq. was elected representa- 
 tive upon the fourth ballot, having fifty-three votes to 
 forty-four for Michael Small. 
 
 1830. 
 
 This year the board of selectmen for the previous year 
 was reelected, and it was voted that the treasurer issue 
 warrants against all collectors of taxes prior to 1829, from 
 whom there were any moneys due, after giving them sixty 
 days' notice. The collectors for 1829 were to have three 
 months after they were ordered by the assessors to pay it in, 
 after which the treasurer was instructed to issue his warrant 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 243 
 
 for the payment of what was then due, and that of the tax 
 for this year one half was to be paid in six months and the 
 remainder in one year from the date of the bills. The 
 sum of $600 was raised for town charges, S 1,000 for high- 
 ways, ^Tyb.^Q for schools, and it was voted that the over- 
 seers of the poor sell the poor at auction if they see fit. 
 I\Ir. Samuel Webb was elected representative, having 
 one hundred and twenty votes to fifty for Mr. Joseph 
 Noyes, thirty-seven for Solomon Haskell, seven for Jona- 
 than Pressey, and three for other persons who were 
 ineligible. 
 
 1831. 
 
 This year Messrs. Stephen Babbidge, Jr., William Bab- 
 bidge, and Asa Turner were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
 lowing sums were voted : $1,300 for town charges and 
 support of the poor, $2,000 for highways and bridges, and 
 $900 for schools. It was voted that the selectmen do not 
 draw any orders until first knowing that the money was 
 collected by the collectors and in the treasury, and that 
 the collectors pay in one fourth of their collection in three 
 months, one half in six months, and the remainder on or 
 before the next April ; if not, a warrant was to be issued 
 by the treasurer. Mr. Stephen Babbidge, Jr. was chosen 
 representative, having eighty-four votes, Mr. Joseph 
 Noyes thirty-five, Avery Fifield twenty-two, Peter Hardy 
 ten, and Edward Haskell and Mark Haskell one vote each. 
 It was voted that the annual meetings be held on the first 
 Monday in March after that time. 
 
 This year the celebrated riot took place at the North- 
 west Harbor, and it is proper that a history of its cause 
 and consequences should be given. For some two years 
 previous there had been in progress a radical reform in 
 the minds of a large part of the community all over the 
 
244 ^^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 country with regard to the use of ardent spirits, as it had 
 grown to be an alarming evil ; and to those who do not 
 remember those days it would now seem very surprising 
 that the habit was then so prevalent, involving conse- 
 quences so serious. Almost every man at that time 
 made use of spirituous liquors ; drinking was the rule, 
 abstinence the exception. The evils so often portrayed 
 respecting the degradation, poverty, crime, and distress 
 caused by it have not been exaggerated, and we all know 
 that it has been a most fruitful theme. In 1829 public 
 opinion had become so thoroughly awakened with regard 
 to it that a movement was begun for its suppression. 
 Societies for the promotion of temperance were formed 
 all over the country, and the members were by their 
 opponents styled "cold water men." No one who used 
 liquor would admit that he made an immoderate use ; 
 neither was he a drunkard, but only a " moderate drinker," 
 and so freely was it then used on almost all occasions, 
 that, had the liquor then been so injurious as it now 
 is, a great addition would have been made to the number 
 of deaths in the community yearly. The practice was 
 indulged in by the clergy as well as the people, and no 
 class was exempt from it. No doubt a great deal of mis- 
 directed zeal was put into the work, but it was of such 
 proportions that it called for the efforts of every one who 
 had the welfare of the community at heart. Many who 
 had been in the habit of its use abandoned it and became 
 temperance people for a while at least, and although some 
 returned to its practice, many held out ever after. Com- 
 paring the state of public opinion of the present day with 
 that of those times, a great change has been wrought, as 
 is visible to those whose recollection enables them to have 
 a knowledge of those days. Previous to that time the 
 
TOll^iV OF DEER ISLE, MA LYE. 245 
 
 laws of this State empowered the selectmen, clerks, and 
 treasurers of towns, to grant licenses to such persons as 
 they judged proper for the retailing of liquor. The sum 
 paid for such licenses was put into the town treasury. 
 The selectmen also had power, if in their judgment any 
 person was intemperate, to make out a list of such and 
 post it up in the shops of all persons engaged in retailing 
 liquor, forbidding the sale of it to the persons named. If 
 the order was disregarded, the seller laid himself liable to 
 a fine, and his license to be taken from him. The prac- 
 tice was styled " posting," and it was considered by those 
 subjected to it a great disgrace. Within my own recol- 
 lection I have seen several of such lists put up in such 
 places. After the change in public opinion the law of 
 licenses was repealed and many abandoned the traffic, but 
 some still kept on, and it was several years before it 
 ceased entirely in this town. This year a complaint was 
 made to a justice of the peace against two persons for 
 illegal sale, a warrant was granted and arrests made in 
 each case, and when the day of trial came, a large crowd 
 of those whose sympathies were upon the side of liquor 
 gathered ; a drum was beaten and a swivel was fired 
 during the time of the trial, which resulted in the convic- 
 tion of the persons complained of, who paid their fines 
 with the costs accrued. After the close of the trial the 
 complainant and his friends left the place where it was 
 held (the store of Pearl Spofford, Esq.), and when he went 
 into the street he was knocked down by one of the rioters, 
 but his friends surrounded him and conveyed him to a 
 place of safety, where he remained till night, when he was 
 escorted home. A warrant was afterward procured for 
 the arrest of three persons, including one of the j^orsons 
 convicted of illegal sales, for a participation in the riot, 
 
246 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and they were carried to Castine, where an examination 
 was had. They were bound over to the court, and at its 
 term the grand jury failed to find a bill, which might not 
 have been the case had the occurrence happened a few 
 years later. For many years the complainant, who 
 was a very worthy man, was the subject of a very strong 
 prejudice on the part of those who were not friendly to 
 temperance. 
 
 1832. 
 
 This year a meeting was held on the sixth day of Feb- 
 ruary, at which a committee was chosen to remonstrate to 
 the Legislature against the removal of the courts from 
 Castine to Ellsworth, and John P. Johnson, David Angell, 
 and Solomon Haskell were chosen, by whom a remon- 
 strance was drafted. At the annual meeting Messrs. 
 William Webb, Robert Campbell, and Asa Turner were 
 chosen selectmen. The following sums were voted : 
 $1,300 for town charges, $1,000 for highways and bridges, 
 and $900 for support of schools ; and a vote was passed, 
 authorizing the selectmen to grant licenses for the sale of 
 liquors, and also one for the limits of the company com- 
 manded by Captain Ignatius Haskell, 3d. At the election 
 in September, on the third ballot, Henry Wilson, Esq. 
 was elected representative, having 63 votes to 49 for 
 Robert Campbell and 7 for Asa Turner. 
 
 1833- 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, Peter Hardy, and 
 Henry Wilson were chosen selectmen. The following 
 sums were raised : $600 for town charges and support of 
 the poor, $900 for support of schools, and $1,000 for 
 repairs of highways and bridges. At the election in 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 247 
 
 September Captain Peter Hardy was elected representa- 
 tive, having y6 votes to 54 for Jonathan Pressey and 
 5 for M. Wilson. 
 
 1834. 
 
 The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
 elected; S 1,000 was the sum voted for town charges and 
 support of poor, $900 for support of schools, and S 1,000 
 for highways and bridges. At the election in September, 
 on the fifth ballot, Richard Warren, Esq. was elected 
 representative, having 105 votes to 45 for Mr. Andrew 
 Small. 
 
 1835- 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, Joshua Pressey, and 
 Edward Small were chosen selectmen, and S 1,000 was 
 voted for payment of town charges and support of poor, 
 $900 for schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. 
 Avery Fifield, Esq. was elected representative, having j6 
 votes to 48 for Richard Warren, Esq., 6 for Jonathan 
 E. Webb, Esq., 2 for John Turner, Esq., and i for Mr. 
 Samuel Small, Jr. 
 
 1836. 
 
 The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
 chosen; S 1,000 was the sum voted for town charges and 
 support of poor, $900 for schools, and $1,500 for highways 
 and bridges. The town voted against the sale of ardent 
 spirits. Joseph C. Stinson, Esq. was chosen representa- 
 tive, having 84 votes ; William S. Green, 40 ; Samuel 
 Small, Jr., 13 ; Joi-fithan E. Webb, Esq., 16; Peter Hardy, 
 2, and J. Sellers, 3d, i vote. Upon the question of the 
 shire town which was before the meeting, there were 
 given for Castine 145 votes, and for Bluehill i. 
 
248 ^N HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1837- 
 This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Peter Hardy, and 
 Richard Warren were chosen selectmen. The follow- 
 ing sums were voted : ^800 for town charges, ^900 for 
 schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. This year 
 the surplus revenue was divided among the towns in the 
 State by the Legislature, and it was voted to receive this 
 town's share. Captain Peter Hardy was chosen to 
 receive it from the treasurer of the State, and to conform 
 to all the requirements of the act which shall be obliga- 
 tory upon the town ; and he was also required to give 
 bonds for the faithful discharge of his trust. It was also 
 voted to choose five trustees to manage the said money, 
 and Messrs. Edward Small, Avery Fifield, Stephen Bab- 
 bidge. Pearl Spofford, and Robert Campbell were chosen, 
 who were not to loan more than the sum of $300 to any 
 one person ; and the town was authorized to borrow a sum 
 not over $1,000 nor less than $700, to be applied for the 
 payment of the debts of the town, and pay interest on 
 same, and the interest on said moneys was to be appro- 
 priated for the support of schools. In May two persons 
 were chosen trustees in the places of Messrs. Stephen 
 Babbidge and Robert Campbell, who had declined, and 
 Messrs. Peter Hardy and Samuel Whitmore were chosen. 
 At the election in September, upon the third ballot. Cap- 
 tain Jacob Carlton was elected representative, having 
 130 votes to 98 for Jonathan E. Webb, Esq., and 16 for 
 Mr. William S. Green. 
 
 1838. 
 
 This year Messrs. John P. Johnson, Joseph C. Stinson, 
 and John Turner, 2d, were chosen selectmen, and $500 
 was voted for town charges and support of poor, $900 for 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAIXE. 249 
 
 schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges ; also the 
 sum of $872.76 for the money borrowed from the surplus 
 fund, and said fund was voted " to be divided among the 
 inhabitants of the town per capita.'' At the annual elec- 
 tion Captain Peter Hardy was elected representative, 
 having 200 votes to 186 for Solomon Haskell, Esq., and 
 4 for Jonathan E. Webb, Esq. ; and at a town meeting 
 held upon the same day, on the proposition to set off 
 what is now the town of Isle au tlaut into a separate 
 town, it was passed by a unanimous vote. 
 
 1839. 
 This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Richard Warren, 
 and Joshua Pressey were chosen selectmen, and the sum 
 of $800 was voted for town charges and support of poor, 
 $900 for schools, and $1,400 for highways and bridges. 
 Samuel Whitmore, Esq. was elected representative upon 
 the second ballot, having 158 votes to 137 for Jonathan 
 E. Webb, Esq. 
 
 1840. 
 
 This year the board of selectmen for the previous year 
 was elected, and $800 was voted for town charges and sup- 
 port of the poor, $900 for schools, and $1,000 for highways 
 and bridges. It was voted to pass a by-law to prevent 
 any persons from playing ball in the highways. It 
 was also voted to hold the persons who took the census 
 for the distribution of the surplus fund accountable for all 
 omissions in their respective lists. At the election in 
 September, Captain William Webb was elected represen- 
 tative, having 235 votes to 198 for Captain David Haskell. 
 
 1 84 1 . 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, William Babbidge, 
 and George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen ; the sum 
 
250 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of $1,250 was voted for town charges, $1,100 for schools, 
 and $1,000 for highways and bridges. At the election in 
 September, William S. Green, Esq. was elected represen- 
 tative, having 173 votes to 128 for S. G. Pressey, David 
 Haskell, 20, A. A. Herrick, 4, and Samuel Small, i. 
 Upon the question of reducing the number of represen- 
 tatives to 151, it was voted Yes. At a town meeting upon 
 the same day, it was voted that the town meetings should 
 be held at the meeting-house near the house of Richard 
 Warren, Esq., by 138 in the affirmative to 103 in the 
 
 negative. 
 
 1842. 
 
 This year Messrs. Ignatius Small, George L. Hosmer, 
 and Charles Eaton were chosen selectmen. It was 
 voted that the selectmen might hire a suitable man to 
 assess the taxes. The sum of $1,200 was voted for town 
 charges and support of the poor, 31,140 for schools, and 
 $2,500 for highways, etc. It was also voted that the over- 
 seers of the poor be instructed to contract with some 
 suitable person, or persons, for the maintenance of the 
 poor, for a reasonable compensation for any term of years 
 not exceeding five, and require bonds for the same. In 
 conformity with the said vote, said overseers made a con- 
 tract with Mr. Edward Small for said support for five 
 years, for the sum of S485 yearly, he paying no expense of 
 paupers out of the town and none until their delivery to 
 him. This year an attempt was made, in consequence of 
 some alleged mistake in the copy of the warrant for the 
 meeting, to choose the officers that were by law required 
 to be chosen at the annual meeting, and in the place of 
 such as had been chosen at the said meeting. A number 
 of persons assembled at the time and place named for the 
 purpose, under a warrant from a justice of the peace, the 
 
TOWN 01^ DEER ISLE, MAINE. 25 I 
 
 selectmen having refused to call said meeting. Officers 
 were then and there chosen, but said officers did not 
 attempt to act. At the election in September Captain 
 Asa Turner was elected representative, having 162 votes 
 to 83 for Jonathan E. Webb, Esq. ; Joseph Weed, Jr., 3 ; 
 John Turner, i ; William S. Green, 2 ; James Saunders, 2, 
 and 3 were blanks. 
 
 1843. 
 This year Messrs. Richard Warren, William Webb, and 
 George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen, and $1,140 was 
 the sum voted for schools; $1,000 for town expenses; 
 $350 for payment of surplus fund, and $1,400 for high- 
 ways. Avery Fifield was elected representative, having 
 91 votes, besides 29 on Isle au Haut, which was organ- 
 ized so to have the privilege of voting separately for state 
 and county officers and Members of Congress. Samuel 
 Small, Jr. had 34 ; David Haskell, 38 ; Michael H. Pres- 
 sey, 2 ; and Crowell H. Sylvester, i vote. 
 
 1844. 
 This year Messrs. Joseph Sellers, 3d, Amos A. Herrick, 
 and Abijah Haskell were elected selectmen; $1,140 was 
 voted for schools ; $1,000 for current expenses; S264 for 
 payment of money borrowed of the surplus-revenue fund ; 
 and S 1,000 for highways and bridges. It was also voted 
 that the future meetings be held at the Northwest Harbor. 
 In April a town meeting was held for the purpose of tak- 
 ing into consideration the building of a Town House. It 
 was voted to build one, and the sum of S400 was raised 
 toward the purpose. The next annual election was held 
 in said house. In September Cai)tain John Gray was 
 elected representative, having 257 votes to 190 for 
 John Torrey. 
 
252 ^^V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1845. 
 
 This year Messrs. Peter Hardy, Jr., Levi Weed, and 
 George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen; $1,140 was 
 raised for schools ; $1,200 for town expenses; and $1,200 
 for highways, $75 to be used for the repair of the bridge 
 over Tyler's Milldam. Mr. William Babbidge was elected 
 representative, having 1 19 votes, 83 for Mr. Joseph Sellers, 
 2d, Hale Powers, 11, and Peter Hardy, Jr. and M. H. 
 Pressey i each. 
 
 1846. 
 
 This year Messrs. Henry A. Noyes, Michael H. Pressey, 
 and George L. Hosmer were elected selectmen; $1,140 
 was the sum voted for schools; $1,200, for current 
 expenses; $1,500 for highways and bridges; and $150 
 for the Town House. Mr. Samuel Small, Jr. was elected 
 representative, he having upon the fourth balloting 133 
 votes to 50 for Franklin Closson, Esq. ; 42 for William 
 Haskell ; 9 for Ambrose C. Gordon ; 5 for William Stinson, 
 Jr., and i for William S. Green. At a town meeting on 
 the same day it was voted to choose a new board of trustees 
 for the surplus-revenue fund, and George L. Hosmer, 
 Samuel Whitmore, Benjamin F. Ferguson, Edward Small, 
 and Michael H. Pressey were chosen. 
 
 1847. 
 ' This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Benjamin F. 
 Ferguson, and Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen ; 
 $1,140 was the sum voted for schools, $1,300 for current 
 expenses, $1,500 for highways and bridges, and $100 to be 
 expended upon the Town House. William S. Green was 
 chosen as a member of the board of trustees of the sur- 
 plus-revenue fund in place of Michael H. Pressey, who 
 
TOIVJV OF DEEK ISLE, MA LYE. 253 
 
 declined. Solomon Haskell, Esq. was elected representa- 
 tive, having 83 votes to 79 for John Thompson, and 3 
 for William E. Powers. 
 
 1848. 
 
 This year Messrs. Samuel Small, Jr., Benjamin F. Fer- 
 guson, and Gideon Hatch were elected selectmen ; $1,500 
 was raised for town charges and support of the poor, the 
 same amount for highways and bridges, and '$1,140 for 
 schools. In September Charles A. Spofford, Esq. was 
 elected representative, having 136 votes to 113 for Benja- 
 min Raynes and 15 for Hale Powers. At a meeting held 
 the same day a committee of three, to wit, Messrs. 
 Thomas Saunders, Solomon Haskell, and Pearl Spofford, 
 Esq., was chosen to settle with John P. Johnson for a 
 right of way through his sawmill, and that the town make 
 all necessary repairs in order to make said way safe for 
 travel. 
 
 1849. 
 
 This year Messrs. Solomon Haskell, Levi Babbidge, and 
 Franklin Closson were chosen selectmen; $1,600 was 
 voted for current e.xpenses, $1,140 for schools, and $1,200 
 for highways and bridges. The wages of men for labor 
 on the roads was fixed at I2>^ cents per hour; for boys in 
 proportion, according to what it was worth ; for o.xen 
 from 8 to 12 cents, and plows from 33 cents to $1 per day. 
 The selectmen were to designate the several school dis- 
 tricts by numbers, as they had before been known by local 
 names, and the selectmen were authorized to sell lands 
 that had become forfeited to the town for non-payment of 
 taxes. John Turner, Esq. was elected representative, 
 having 115 votes; Henry Lufkin, 90; Samuel E. Powers, 
 21, and N. W. Sawyer, 2. On the question of changing the 
 time of meeting of the Legislature from May to January, 
 
254 ^-^' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 there were 134 votes in the affirmative to 39 in the 
 negative. 
 
 1S50. 
 
 This year Messrs. Franklin Closson, George L. Hosmer, 
 and Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 32,000 was voted for current expenses, $1,140 for schools, 
 and $1,200 for highways and bridges. Henry A. Xoyes, 
 Esq. was elected representative, having 114 votes to 
 82 for John Thompson ; Samuel E. Powers, 9 ; William 
 S. Green, 4, and Albion Haskell, Ignatius Haskell, 
 William H. H. Spofford, and Nathan W. Sawyer, i each. 
 
 1S51. 
 This year Messrs. Samuel Small, Franklin Closson, and 
 Aaron B. Raynes were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $1,700 was voted for current expenses, $1,221 for schools, 
 and $1,200 for highways and bridges. It was voted to 
 give the surveyors of highways warrants of distress, and 
 the selectmen were instructed to prosecute, in behalf of 
 the inhabitants of the town, for the sale of intoxicating 
 liquors contrary to law. This year no representative was 
 elected, as no election was held in September. 
 
 1852. 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, F. P. Spofford, and 
 Aaron B. Raynes were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $1,700 was voted for current expenses, 81,215 for schools, 
 and $1,000 for highways, which last sum was to be 
 separately assessed, and in case any person did not work 
 out or pay his tax during the municipal year the same 
 was to be committed to the collector. It was also voted 
 to instruct the assessors to tax personal property that had 
 been conveved as collateral security and held in other 
 
TOIVN OF DEER IS/.E, MAINE. 255 
 
 towns, namely, owners of interests in vessels who have the 
 control and earnings of the same, although they have no 
 bill of sale. William Webb was elected representativ^e, 
 having 113 votes to 63 for F. A. S. Colby, 17 for William 
 E. Powers, 14 for A. C. Gordon, 2 for Franklin Closson, 
 and I each for Thomas Dow and John Thompson. 
 
 1853- 
 
 This year Messrs. F. P. Spofford, A. B. Raynes, and 
 Seth Whitmore were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $1,215 '^^'^s voted for schools, 81,700 for current expenses, 
 and $1,000 for highways and bridges. Samuel Smith was 
 elected representative, having 79 votes, William F. Collins 
 74, Thomas T. Low 32, William Stinson, 14, William Bab- 
 bidge, I. At a town meeting held on the same day of the 
 annual election, an article was acted upon relative to the 
 v'ote passed the year previous in regard to vessel property, 
 but the town instructed the assessors to adhere to the vote 
 of the previous year. 
 
 1854. 
 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, F. P. Spofford, and 
 Aaron Babbidge were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $1,700 was raised for current expenses, $1,525 for the 
 support of schools, and $1,500 for highways and bridges. 
 It was voted that the selectmen contract with some person 
 to vaccinate the inhabitants of the town for the purpose 
 of protection from the smallpox, and the sum of $25 
 was voted for the purpose. Captain Benjamin Raynes 
 was elected rejiresentative, having 131 votes to 92 for 
 Benjamin S. Wood, and 31 for Nathan Low, Jr. 
 
 1855. 
 This year Messrs. Henry A. Noyes, Jeremiah Hatch, 
 Jr., and Amos Howard were chosen selectmen. The sum 
 
256 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of ^1,700 was raised for current expenses, $1,525 for the 
 support of schools, and $1,000 for repairs of highways and 
 bridges. It was voted that the poor be kept in the house 
 on the Weed Farm, now owned by the town, and that the 
 overseers of the poor be vested with the requisite author- 
 ity to carry the same into effect. Benjamin F. Stinson, 
 of Swan's Island, was elected representative, having 162 
 votes to 134 for Solomon Barbour, and i for David 
 Pressey. 
 
 1856. 
 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, Frederick P. Spofford, 
 and Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $1,525 was voted for schools, $2,800 for current expenses 
 and support of the poor, and $1,200 for repair of highways 
 and bridges. It was voted that if any damage should 
 happen on the highway in consequence of the negligence 
 of the surveyors, the selectmen were instructed to proceed 
 with them according to law. It was also voted to instruct 
 the overseers of the poor to make sufficient accommoda- 
 tions at the poorhouse for the paupers, and to bind out all 
 paupers that they have a chance to. Charles A. Spofford, 
 Esq. was elected representative, having 207 votes to 176 
 for James Turner, 2d, and 17 for Joshua H. Sellers. 
 
 1857. 
 This year Messrs. Franklin Closson, Thomas Warren, 
 and Benjamin S. Wood were chosen selectmen. The 
 following sums were voted : $2,500 for current expenses, 
 $1,525 for schools, $1,200 for repairs of highways and 
 bridges, and $100 of the sum raised for current expenses 
 was to be appropriated for the road leading to Babbidge's 
 Neck, which road was changed to its present location. 
 Mr. William Babbidge was elected representative, but the 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MA/XE. 257 
 
 records do not show how many votes were cast for the 
 several candidates. 
 
 1858. 
 
 The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
 reelected. The following sums were voted : $1,809 ^or 
 support of schools, $2,500 for current expenses, and 
 $1,200 for highways and bridges. It was voted to finish a 
 room in the Town House for the use of the selectmen, etc. 
 In June there was a meeting to act upon the license law 
 of 1856. In its favor were 11, and against it 51, votes. 
 At the election in September William S. Green, Esq. 
 was elected representative, having 225 votes to 171 for 
 T. B. Pickering. 
 
 1859. 
 
 This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Levi B. Crockett, 
 and George C. Hardy were chosen selectmen. The 
 following sums were voted : $1,809 ^^^ schools, $2,500 for 
 current expenses, and $1,200 for highways and bridges, 
 besides $50 in cash to be expended upon the road from 
 near the house of William E. Knight to Nathan Low's 
 house, and $100 for the road leading from land of Samuel 
 Small toward Green's Landing. At the election in Sep- 
 tember, Mr. Ebenezer Joyce, of Swan's Island, was 
 elected representative, having 135 votes to 134 for 
 Franklin Closson, Esq. It was voted to accept the 
 bridge leading on to Babbidge's Neck, which had been 
 built about thirteen years by individuals, the greater part 
 by Samuel Whitmore, Esq., as a public way, and the sum 
 of SJ-5 ^vas voted for repairs of same. 
 
 i860. 
 The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
 chosen. The following sums were voted : $2,500 for 
 
258 ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 current expenses, $1,820 for schools, $1,200 for highways 
 and bridges, $100 for the purchase of two iron safes for 
 the use of the selectmen and treasurer, and $25 in cash 
 for repair of a road. The use of the town landing on Isle 
 au Haut was granted to Captain John Kempton. It was 
 also voted that no abatement of taxes be made to any 
 person who might neglect to bring in a list of his property 
 to the assessors according to law, unless he was unable 
 to do so by absence. Mr. Ignatius Small was elected 
 representative, having 243 votes to 176 for F. M. Holden, 
 and ij for A. C. Gordon. 
 
 1861. 
 
 This year Messrs. Henry A. Noyes, Ambrose C. Gor- 
 don and David T. Warren, were elected selectmen. The 
 sum of $2,154 was voted for schools, $2,500 for current 
 expenses, and $1,500 for highways and bridges. On the 
 eighteenth of May a meeting was held at which it was 
 voted that the selectmen and treasurer be instructed to 
 furnish reasonable and necessary assistance to the families 
 of such of the volunteers from the town in the service of 
 the United States as may need it ; that they be author- 
 ized to borrow upon the credit of the town a sum neces- 
 sary for the purpose not exceeding $2,000, and that a sum 
 not exceeding $2.50 per month be allowed for each mem- 
 ber of the families, to commence at the date of the enlist- 
 ment. In September Thomas Warren, Esq. was elected 
 representative, having 227 votes to 3 for other persons. 
 
 1862. 
 
 This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Ambrose C. 
 Gordon; and John Robbins were elected selectmen. The 
 following sums were voted : $2,500 for current expenses, 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 
 
 259 
 
 $1,500 for schools, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. 
 It was voted that the vote of the previous year respecting 
 aid to families of volunteers, to furnish aid to such as in 
 the judgment of the selectmen needed the same, be passed, 
 and that the sum so furnished to any one family should not 
 exceed $10 per month. It was provided further that the 
 volunteer whose family applies for assistance shall, when 
 practicable, send to his family the sum of $10 monthly, 
 and that the town orders for such aid be payable in eight 
 months from their dates. At a meeting held July 26, it 
 was voted to pay a bounty of $100 to each volunteer who 
 might be accepted by the United States, and that the 
 treasurer be instructed to borrow, upon the credit of the 
 town, a sum sufficient for such purpose and interest ; that 
 any person who might loan money for the purpose, if such 
 sum should exceed his tax, the excess should be paid with 
 interest, and a receipt from the treasurer should be 
 evidence of the sum loaned. On the 30th of August the 
 town voted that the sum of $100 be paid to each person 
 who entered the service as a drafted person, or as a sub- 
 stitute for any person drafted. The selectmen were 
 instructed to borrow, upon the credit of the town, a sum 
 sufficient, with interest, for the purpose ; and a committee 
 of three, namely, Charles A. Spofford, Thomas Warren, 
 and F. M. Holden, was chosen to negotiate for, and pro- 
 vide, volunteers ; also, that the selectmen be instructed 
 to provide them with means for the purpose. This year 
 William S. Green, Esq. was elected representative, having 
 132 votes to 81 for Seth Webb, and i vote each for William 
 Webb and Henry A. Noyes. At a town meeting on the 
 day of the September election, the sum of $1,000 was 
 voted for the payment of expenses incurred for support 
 of families of volunteers up to the i8th of March, 1S62, 
 
26o ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 and that all orders drawn for said support after said 
 date be made payable in six months, interest after. The 
 sum of $2,000 was voted for payment of supplies of the 
 latter class ; also, that the said sums be assessed and 
 committed to the collectors of taxes and to be paid 
 before the first day of March, 1863. 
 
 1863. 
 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, A. C. Gordon, and 
 Ignatius Small were chosen selectmen. The following 
 sums were voted : $2,500 for current expenses, $2,156 for 
 schools, $2,000 for the support of families of volunteers, 
 $2,000 for the purpose of payment of bounties to volun- 
 teers and substitutes. The selectmen were instructed to 
 borrow of citizens of the town a sum in addition, to pay 
 the money due, borrowed out of town, with interest, and 
 one year's interest of what was borrowed in the town ; 
 that the sum now raised be assessed as a tax separate from 
 the state, county, and town taxes. The sum of $1,000 
 was raised for highways and bridges. At the election in 
 September SuUivan Green, Esq. was elected representa- 
 tive, having 322 votes to 147 for Daniel L. Carlton. 
 At a town meeting it was voted to pay $100 to every 
 drafted man who might be accepted by the United States. 
 On the 28th of November a vote was passed to pay a 
 bounty to each volunteer or drafted man who might 
 procure a substitute, who should be credited to the 
 town, or those who might enter the naval service and 
 be so credited ; that the selectmen be authorized to 
 borrow upon the credit of the town on the most favor- 
 able terms that they might be able ; that said bounty 
 be paid when the person receiving it entered the service 
 and was placed to the credit of the town. The selectmen 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 26 I 
 
 were instructed to call a meeting when they should 
 ascertain what the exigencies of the case might require. 
 At a town meeting by request of the citizens of the 
 town, on the thirtieth day of December, it was voted 
 to instruct the treasurer of the town to borrow, on the 
 most favorable terms as to time of payment and interest^ 
 the sum necessary to pay the bounties referred to in the 
 vote at the last town meeting, on the same conditions of 
 entering the service and being placed to the credit of the 
 town. The number was not to exceed the number 
 required of the town under the last call. A committee 
 of three was chosen, to wit, Messrs. Sylvanus G. Haskell, 
 town treasurer, A. C. Gordon, and F. M. Holden, to pro- 
 cure volunteers or substitutes, and the last named were 
 instructed to borrow money (in case the treasurer should 
 neglect to do so) in order to carry out the instructions 
 given said treasurer, and that the town be bound to abide 
 by their doings in the matter. Also the sum of $50 was 
 voted to each person not an inhabitant of the town who 
 shall enlist and be credited to this town. A vote was 
 passed giving each drafted man or his substitute, or volun- 
 teer, under the last call for three hundred thousand men, 
 who should be placed to the quota of the town either in 
 the land or naval service, the sum of $300, not to exceed 
 the number of said quota. The treasurer was instructed 
 to borrow a sum sufficient for the purpose. At a meeting 
 in January, 1864, the milldam was purchased of John P. 
 Johnson, as a town road, for the sum of S475. It was 
 voted to build a bridge across the place where the mill 
 formerly stood. The committee for the purpose was 
 Messrs. M. H. Lufkin, David Haskell, Nathan Low, 
 H. T. Lufkin, and A. J. Beck. They were to make a plan 
 of a permanent bridge, to let the job out to some 
 
262 ^A^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 responsible person, or persons, by contract, and in the 
 meantime to cause a temporary bridge to be put up. 
 
 1864. 
 
 This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Charles A. Spof- 
 ford, and William Torrey were elected selectmen. The 
 following sums were voted : $2,800 for current expenses, 
 $2,156 for schools, $1,500 for aid to families of volunteers 
 and drafted men, $2,500 for interest and for payment of 
 the town debt, and $1,000 for highways and bridges. A 
 new valuation was directed to be taken, and there was a 
 vote directing the selectmen to sell the mill privilege, 
 remove the stone, and sell the building at auction. A vote 
 was also passed forbidding the sale of firecrackers, and 
 for the payment of Daniel W. Low and Mark T. Low 
 $100 each as a compensation for having put each a substi- 
 tute into the army for three years, and the same were 
 credited to the quota of the town. On the twentieth day 
 of August a meeting was held ; it was voted to pay $25 
 for the expense of recruiting each person entering the 
 land or naval service, and placed to the credit of the town, 
 or for each volunteer so entering. The selectmen were to 
 act as agents in filling the quota, and, if necessary, to 
 appoint assistants. Benjamin F. Ferguson, Esq. was 
 elected representative, having 218 votes to 121 for M. H. 
 Lufkin. On the sixth day of October a town meeting 
 was held. It was voted to pay to each person entering 
 the service of the United States, toward filling the 
 quota of the town under the last call of the President 
 for troops, the sum of $300, and that notes for said sum 
 be issued by the selectmen, payable in one year with 
 interest. On the eighth day of November, it was voted 
 to instruct the treasurer to hire such a sum of money as 
 
TOIVN OF DEER ISLE, MA EYE. 263 
 
 might be necessary to pay the notes that had become due, 
 upon demand of the holders, upon the most favorable 
 terms as to time and interest. It was also voted to in- 
 struct the selectmen not to give any person a note for a 
 larger sum than was paid for a substitute. 
 
 1865. 
 
 The board of selectmen for the previous year was 
 chosen ; $3,600 was the sum raised for current expenses, 
 $2,157 for schools, $1,000 for highways and bridges, and 
 $750 for payment of enlisting-fees ; $100 was voted to 
 Joel H. Powers and the same to Charles H. Martin for 
 entering the service as drafted men in 1863. It was 
 voted to instruct the selectmen and treasurer to issue 
 bonds for the sum of $300 to each person entitled to the 
 same, with interest redeemable in fifteen years, with cou- 
 pons for interest semi-annually at six per cent. Said 
 bonds were issued in sums of $300 and $100 for those 
 persons who entered the service under the call in July, 
 1864, for five hundred thousand men, and the call in 
 December for three hundred thousand men. In conform- 
 ity with said vote the selectmen and treasurer issued 
 bonds to the amount of $30,000, which were paid to the 
 persons entitled to receive them. The treasurer "was 
 instructed to borrow a sufficient sum to pay the notes 
 given to those entering service by themselves as volun- 
 teers, or drafted men, or by their substitutes," which 
 notes were given up by the holders upon the receipt of 
 the bonds in exchange. 
 
 This year closed the war. The total expense of the 
 town for war purposes was $59,128, or about one fifth of 
 the value of the property as by the valuation of the 
 assessors, and one sixth as fixed by the state valuation ; 
 
264 ^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 perhaps nearly as much more was paid by private individ- 
 uals for substitutes ; in some cases under the last calls 
 $600 was paid. It left us with a heavy debt in proportion 
 to our valuation, which was small in proportion to our 
 population. By the census of i860 the population was 
 3,592 — a much larger proportion, compared with our 
 property, than most other towns in the county. Quite a 
 large proportion of the debt was paid by exchange of 
 state for town bonds. The amount received from the 
 State was $22,400. The whole number of men credited 
 to the town was 314 at a cost of $208 for each recruit. 
 The following-named persons, residents here, were either 
 killed or died in the service : — 
 
 John S. Gray. John L. Harris. 
 
 Charles Gray. Caleb Harris. 
 
 Solomon Gray. Isaiah V. Eaton. 
 
 George Spaulding. William S. Toothaker. 
 
 Alva Emerson. Farnham Haskell. 
 
 Harlan P. Powers. Nathaniel Robbins, 2d. 
 
 Albion P. Stinson. Otis S. Greenlaw. 
 
 Solomon Stinson. Alexander Henderson. 
 
 Alfred M. Robbins. John Henderson. 
 Hezekiah H. Robbins. 
 
 In all, nineteen persons. Several others returned with 
 constitutions seriously impaired. 
 
 At a meeting, April 12, an additional sum of $539 was 
 voted for support of schools, and at one held June 18 it 
 was voted to issue bonds to such persons who procured 
 substitutes up to March 5. Another matter was acted 
 upon which is proper here to explain. During the early 
 part of the present year some persons contributed the 
 sum of $28 each to raise a fund to procure substitutes, 
 and among them were some who did not pass examination 
 
TOlViV OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 265 
 
 with the surgeon, while others went into the service or 
 put in substitutes. Those who were rejected by the sur- 
 geon applied to the town for repayment on that ground, 
 and the town at said meeting voted to pay said sum to 
 such persons who put into the service substitutes or vol- 
 unteers and had not received the sum they paid back 
 again. Thus they rejected the claims of those who did 
 not pass examination, as it was not in conformity with any 
 vote of the town that the sum was raised by the persons, 
 but was on their part a voluntary act. Any one was for- 
 tunate who escaped with no greater loss ; but as usual in 
 such cases, the persons who were thus relieved of liability 
 to service could not view it in such a light. At the elec- 
 tion in September Mr. Ambrose C. Gordon was elected 
 representative, having 139 votes to 91 for H. T. Carman, 
 and at a meeting on the same day the sum of $1,800 
 was raised for payment of interest on bonds. 
 
 1866. 
 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, Thomas S. Fifield, and 
 John Thompson were chosen selectmen. The sum by law 
 required was voted for schools, being seventy-five cents 
 per inhabitant ; 56,ooo was voted for current expenses and 
 interest on bonds, $1,700 was raised for the drafted men 
 who furnished substitutes or entered the service them- 
 selves, the sum of $25 each to those persons who had not 
 received such sum under a former vote for enlistment ex- 
 penses, provided that each person had received a town note 
 for $300, and it was not to be paid until said note was 
 exchanged for a town bond. The same was voted to pay 
 such persons as had paid commutation-money, and $775 
 was raised for the purpose. At the election in Septem- 
 ber Captain Levi B. Crockett was elected representative, 
 having 182 votes to 1 14 votes for Joseph Saunders. 
 
266 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 1867. 
 
 This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Ignatius Small, 
 and John Thompson were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
 lowing sums were voted : $8,000 for current expenses 
 and interest, $2,696 for schools, for the repair of highways 
 and bridges the sum of $1,500 in labor and $500 in cash. 
 At a meeting on June 3, a vote was had upon the act for 
 the suppression of " drinking-houses and tippling-shops." 
 Thirty-nine votes were in favor and two in the negative- 
 Mr. John Stockbridge, of Swan's Island, was elected rep- 
 resentative, having 152 votes to 74 for William H. Reed. 
 
 This year Messrs. George L. Hosmer, Ignatius Small, 
 and A. C. Gordon were chosen selectmen. The follow- 
 ing sums were voted : $4,500 for current expenses, $1,000 
 toward the town debt, $2,000 for interest, $1,500 in labor 
 on highways, $100 for purchase of material for bridges, 
 and $2,696 for schools, and to all persons who paid their 
 tax before the first day of August, six per cent, discount, 
 and nothing after that date. George L. Hosmer was 
 elected representative, having 351 votes to 184 for Stephen 
 D. Higgins. Upon the amendment to the Constitution 
 authorizing " a limited reimbursement of war expenses by 
 loaning the credit of the State," there were 536 votes in 
 the affirmative to none in the negative. 
 
 1869. 
 
 This year Messrs. William Webb, Henry A. Noyes, and 
 Richard Warren were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $4,000 was voted for support of the poor and payment of 
 town charges, $2,000 for interest, $3,595 for schools, 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 267 
 
 $1,500 for highways and bridges, also $1,000 toward pay- 
 ment of the town debt. It was also voted to purchase the 
 Town Hall in the Masonic building for a town house and 
 selectmen's office, and sell in exchange, as far as it would 
 go, the present Town House, provided the same could be 
 done on fair and equitable terms. This vote was not 
 carried into effect. At the election in September Mr. 
 Samuel W. Campbell was elected representative, having 
 140 votes to 52 for James Turner, 2d, 6^ for Stephen D. 
 Higgins, and 20 for Jonathan Eaton. At a meeting 
 upon the day of the annual election, the vote respecting 
 the purchase of a part of the Masonic Hall was before it, 
 and was passed over. 
 
 1870. 
 
 This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, William Small, 
 and George C. Hardy, were chosen selectmen. The 
 following sums were voted : $5,000 for current expenses, 
 $3,592 for schools, $1,200 for interest, $[,000 to be paid 
 upon the town debt, $200 in cash on a road from Aaron 
 Babbidge's to William Dunham's, $175 for shingling the 
 Town House, and $1,500 for highways, but such persons 
 who might work out their taxes before July 4, it should be 
 credited to them on the tax, and the balance was to be 
 paid in money. The treasurer was instructed to obtain 
 the state bonds and exchange them, according to a pre- 
 vious vote. Mr. Aaron B. Raynes was elected representa- 
 tive, having 168 votes to 98 for F. M. Holden, 16 for 
 John Smith, 2 for Oliver van Meter, and i for C. H. S 
 Webb. 
 
 1S71. 
 
 This year the board of selectmen for 1S70 was chosen. 
 The sum of $3,500 was voted for current expenses, 
 $3,417 for schools, $1,500 in cash for hi^rhwavs. to be 
 
268 ^^y HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 expended under the supervision of commissioners to be 
 appointed by the selectmen, and $500 for interest ; besides, 
 there was the sum of $200 voted to pay damage to Mr. 
 Aaron Babbidge, William Dunham, and Serena M. Thurs- 
 ton, for the road leading from Burnt Cove over their lands 
 to the Southeast Harbor, and $25 for road damage to 
 Clara A. Williams at Green's Landing. Mr. Ebenezer 
 S. Fifield was elected representative, having 165 votes 
 to 84 for Captain Caleb W. Haskell. 
 
 1872. 
 
 This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, A. C. Gordon, 
 and Samuel Judkins were chosen selectmen. The fol- 
 lowing sums were voted : $4,000 for current expenses, 
 ;^4,ooo for schools, $1,000 for interest, and $1,500 for 
 highways, to be expended by the following-named persons 
 as commissioners : William P. Scott, Andrew S. Trundy, 
 and Eben Eaton. It was voted to tax dogs one dollar per 
 head. Mr. John Robbins was elected representative, 
 having 290 votes to 153 for Mr. William Stinson. 
 
 1873. 
 This year Messrs. William Small, Joseph C. Judkins, 
 and F. B. Ferguson were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 ;^3,ooo was voted for current expenses, and the sum re- 
 quired by law for support of schools, $1,000 for interest, 
 and $1,500 in labor on the highways. It was voted to 
 empower the selectmen to investigate the sales of lands 
 belonging to the town and see if any conveyance had been 
 fraudulently made. The sum of $200 was raised to be 
 expended on the new road from the granite quarry of 
 R. Warren & Company, to the main road, and $50 to be 
 expended in filling up the channel on the bar leading to 
 
TOJVX or DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 269 
 
 Little Deer Island. Air. William Babbidge was elected 
 representative, having 1 1 1 votes to 54 for Mr. Hardy 
 Lane. 
 
 1874- 
 This year Messrs. Joseph Saunders, Levi B. Crockett, 
 and John Robbins were chosen selectmen. Mr. Saunders 
 afterward resigned, and his place was filled by Mr. George 
 W. Spofford. The sum of $2,000 was voted for current 
 expenses, $2,800 for schools, $1,000 for interest, and 
 $3,000 in labor for highways, $500 to be reserved for clear- 
 ing them of snow, and $50 for a road leading from near 
 the house of John McDonald to the house of Job Goss, 2d. 
 On the question of building a new jail at Ellsworth the 
 vote was : Yes, none ; No, 148. It was also voted to estab- 
 lish two high schools, and the sum of $500 was raised for 
 the purpose. George Tolman, Esq. was elected represen- 
 tative, having 226 votes to 61 for Samuel Smith, and 26 for 
 George L. Hosmer. 
 
 1875. 
 
 This year Messrs. Levi B. Crockett, John Robbins, and 
 George L. Hosmer were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 $3,000 was voted for current expenses, $2,550 for schools, 
 5500 for high schools, $3,000 in labor on highways, and 
 the same sum as the previous year reserved for clearing 
 the roads of snow, $1,000 for interest, $25 for a road near 
 Mr. Samuel W. Campbell's, and $50 for filling up the chan 
 nel on the bar leading to Little Deer Island. Sylvanus 
 G. Haskell, Esq. was elected representative, having 296 
 votes to Si for David T. Warren, I^sq. 
 
 1876. 
 This year Messrs. William Torrey, William Small, and 
 Martin \\ B. Green were chosen selectmen. The sum of 
 
270 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ;^3,ooo was raised for current expenses, $2,500 for schools, 
 $500 for a high school, $1,200 for interest, and $1,800 for 
 highways and bridges, and the sums remaining due on the 
 first day of November were to be committed to the collec- 
 tors of taxes to be collected the present year. It was 
 voted to exempt the wharf owned by the Bangor and 
 Machias Steamboat Company from taxation for ten years. 
 Mr. Martin V. Babbidge, of Swan's Island, was elected 
 representative, having 268 votes to 173 for A. O. Gross. 
 
 1877. 
 
 This year the board of selectmen for the previous year 
 was elected. The following sums were voted : $2,000 
 for current expenses, $2,500 for schools, $1,300 for inter- 
 est, and $1,800 for highways, and for men's labor twenty 
 cents per hour was voted. It was also voted to allow the 
 deaf-mutes to draw their school-money for their benefit, to 
 be educated at Hartford, Connecticut. Captain Seth 
 Webb was elected representative, having 178 votes to 
 121 for George M. Warren and 29 for Charles S. Torrey. 
 Upon the amendment to the Constitution providing that 
 no person should vote unless he had paid a tax within two 
 years preceding the election in which he proposes to vote : 
 the vote stood : Yes, 36 ; No, in; and with regard to the 
 provision limiting municipal debts the vote was : Yes, 147. 
 
 1878. 
 
 This year Messrs. Martin V. B. Green, A. C. Gordon, 
 and Moses S. Joyce were chosen selectmen. The follow- 
 ing sums were voted : $1,000 for current expenses, $2,500 
 for schools, $1,500 for interest, $1,500 in labor on high- 
 ways and bridges. Charles A. Russ, Esq. was elected 
 representative, having 168 votes to 157 for Captain 
 Benjamin G. Barbour. » 
 
TO WN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2 ~ I 
 
 1879- 
 
 This year the selectmen for the previous year were 
 chosen. The following sums were voted : $2,500, or 
 what the law requires, for schools, $1,500 for current 
 expenses, $1,200 for interest, and $1,500 for labor on high- 
 ways. It was voted to instruct the treasurer to ascertain 
 on what terms he might be able to fund the town debt, 
 and report at a meeting in September ; also, what part of 
 the same would be taken in this town. One hundred and 
 fifty dollars were voted as compensation to INIrs. Thomas 
 Small for injuries received upon the highway ; that in taking 
 the valuation for the present year, all persons were to be 
 put under oath. Charles H. S. Webb, Esq. was elected rep- 
 resentative, having 221 votes to 169 for Rodney K. Wither- 
 spoon. Upon the question of biennial sessions of the 
 Legislature the vote stood 93 yeas to 4 in the negative. 
 
 1880. 
 This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, Edwin P. Cole, 
 and A. C. Gordon were elected selectmen. The sum of 
 $2,000 was raised for current expenses, $2,500 for schools, 
 $1,000 toward payment of the town debt, $1,200 for 
 interest, and $2,000 in labor on the highways and bridges. 
 Upon the question of the debt of the town, as the time 
 for the payment of the principal upon the bonds issued in 
 1865 had arrived, it was voted to issue new bonds with 
 coupons, payable semi-annually, not to exceed five per 
 cent for interest. Said bonds were to be of the denomi- 
 nation of one hundred dollars, payable in ten years from 
 March 6, 1880, and were to be exchanged for those out- 
 standing ; or, if sold, not to be under their par value. The 
 sum of $100 was voted to be expended upon the Ocean- 
 ville bridge ; it was also voted to enact a code of by-laws 
 
272 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 concerning truants and children between the ages of six 
 and seventeen years not attending school ; also, ;^50 was 
 voted to be expended toward filling up the channel at the 
 northern end of the bar leading on to Little Deer Island. 
 Captain Seth Webb was elected representative, having 
 343 votes to 193 for Moses S. Joyce and one for Martin V. 
 Warren. Upon the question of the election of governor 
 by a plurality vote, there were in the affirmative 125 to 
 184 in the negative. Upon the amendment changing the 
 terms of office of senators and representatives, there were 
 129 in the affirmative to 168 in the negative. 
 
 This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, George H. How- 
 ard and George W. Redman were chosen selectmen. The 
 sum of $2,500 was voted for current expenses, ^2,613 for 
 schools $1,300 for interest, $200 for repair of the Ocean- 
 ville bridge, and $30 for repairs of the road on Greenlaw's 
 Neck. This year no election was held in September, as 
 the Constitution had been changed. 
 
 1882. 
 
 This year Messrs. George W. Spofford, George H. 
 Howard, and W. B. Thurlow were chosen selectmen. 
 The sum of $2,000 was voted for current expenses, $2,613 
 for schools, $900 for interest, $140 for damages and 
 expenses of building a road laid out by the county com- 
 missioners at Green's Landing, $29 to compensate Roswell 
 P. Davis for damage to his horse by a defect in the town 
 road, and $2,000 in labor on highways. It was also voted 
 to exempt Preston J. Tarr from taxation upon a gristmill, 
 to be built by him at the Northwest Harbor, for ten years. 
 Said Tarr had the previous year purchased the mill privi- 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 
 
 / 3 
 
 lege and dam on condition of the erection and mainte- 
 nance of a gristmill, the town retaining the right of 
 way and the liability of keeping it in repair for such 
 purpose. 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 
 Many of the early settlers here were religious people 
 and several were members of churches in the places 
 whence they came. They felt the deprivation of their 
 accustomed privileges very sensibly, and as soon as a suffi- 
 cient number could be gathered together, measures were 
 taken for the organization of a church. In 1773, upon the 
 first day of August, according to the early records of the 
 church, it was gathered by Rev. Oliver Noble. The 
 church then chose Mr. Thomas Stinson to be their mode- 
 rator to call the church together and moderate till another 
 be chosen by the brethren. This record was attested by 
 Oliver Noble, moderator. 
 
 At a church meeting August 20, 1773, it was unani- 
 mously voted that Francis Haskell and Thomas Stinson 
 should serve as deacons in the newly erected church on 
 Deer Island as occasion shall serve. Nothing more is 
 stated in the records with regard to the doings of the 
 church, nor have we any knowledge whether they had a 
 pastor, or not, until 1785, when a call was given to Rev. 
 Peter Powers, dated August 23 of the said year. Accord- 
 ing to a vote of the church, the said call and answer 
 thereto were recorded in the records of the town. The 
 vote referred to was passed October 20, 1791, and the call 
 was as follows : — 
 
2 74 ^-^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 "We, the inhabitants of Deer Island, in the county of 
 Lincoln and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having been 
 a number of years destitute of the ordinary means of 
 grace, are sensible of the supineness, ignorance, etc. 
 which prevail among us, and would therefore view it our 
 indispensable duty to God, ourselves, and our children, 
 cheerfully and willingly to contribute toward the settle- 
 ment and support of a gospel minister among us. And 
 as we are well satisfied with the qualifications of the Rev. 
 Peter Powers, his wisdom, prudence, etc., we, therefore, 
 the said inhabitants, do earnestly call and invite him to 
 settle with us in the ofhce of the ministry ; to take upon 
 him the care of our souls ; to be our guide in the way of 
 the gospel truth ; and to be our pastor and teacher in the 
 Lord. And in consequence promise that honor and obedi- 
 ence enjoined us in the gospel to them who are set over 
 us in the Lord. And as it is consistent with the divine 
 institution that those who labor in the gospel should live 
 of it, we, therefore, the said inhabitants, hereby covenant 
 and agree with the Rev. Peter Powers, on his accepting 
 this our call, and becoming our teacher, then to give 
 to him, his heirs, and assigns forever one hundred acres 
 of land on said island, beginning at the easterly line of 
 that land called the 'parsonage' and running across half 
 the front ; then running back in concurrence with the 
 other lines until one hundred acres be included. Also, 
 to build him a dwelling-house twenty by thirty-four feet, 
 one-story, and finish the same in such manner as such 
 buildings are commonly finished in country towns. And 
 for yearly salary one hundred pounds, namely, eighty 
 pounds in specie at the market price of this place and 
 twenty pounds in cash. In witness whereof we have 
 hereunto set our hands this twenty-third day of August, 
 
TOWN OF DEER fSLE, MAINE. 
 
 in the year of our 
 eighty-five. 
 
 Francis Haskell. 
 Thomas Stinson. 
 Mark Haskell. 
 George Frees. 
 John Frees. 
 Belcher Tyler. 
 Job Small. 
 John Pressey. 
 John Hooper. 
 Nathaniel Robbins. 
 John Frees, Jr. 
 Joseph Colby. 
 John Pressey, Jr. 
 Hezekiah Lane. 
 Stephen Babbidge. 
 Ignatius Haskell. 
 Seth Webb. 
 Thomas Warren. 
 Elijah Dunham. 
 Benjamin Cole. 
 Thomas Haskell. 
 Joshua Haskell. 
 Jeremiah Eaton. 
 Andrew Small. 
 Benjamin Small. 
 Job Small. Jr. 
 Samuel Stinson. 
 William Stinson. 
 Thomas Small. 
 Thomas Small, Jr. 
 Joseph Whitmore. 
 Joseph Dunham. 
 Tristram Haskell. 
 Ambrose Colby. 
 William Greenlaw. 
 Elijah Dunliam, Jr. 
 Peter Hardy. 
 James Saunders. 
 
 Lord one thousand seven hundred and 
 
 Benjamin Rea. 
 John Closson. 
 William Raynes. 
 Josiah Clos.son. 
 Johnson Raynes. 
 John Raynes. 
 William Babbidge. 
 Joseph Colby, Jr. 
 Thomas Colby. 
 Ezekiel Marshall. 
 Ezekiel Marshall, Jr. 
 Solomon Marshall. 
 Joshua Marshall. 
 Ezra Howard. 
 Joseph Cole. 
 Edward Haskell. 
 Timothy Saunders. 
 Nathaniel Merchant. 
 Rolf Annis. 
 Benjamin Annis. 
 Simon Annis. 
 Samuel Trundy. 
 Nathaniel Hamblen. 
 William Eaton. 
 John Thurston. 
 Nathan Closson. 
 Charles Sellers. 
 Lot Curtis. 
 Micajah Lunt. 
 William Whitmore. 
 John Howard. 
 Samuel Pickering. 
 Abijah Haskell. 
 Courtney Babbidge. 
 Francis Haskell, Jr. 
 Jonatlian Haskell. 
 Ephraim .Marshall. 
 Nathan Haskell. 
 
276 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 [answer.] 
 
 Deer Island, September 17, 1785. 
 To i/ie ChiircJi of Christ, on Deer Island : — 
 
 Dearly Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, — You having in- 
 vited and called me to the pastoral oversight of you in the Lord, and 
 it appearing to be of God, after mature deliberation and prayer, I now 
 publicly return you my answer in the affirmative. I ask a daily interest 
 in your prayers for the gracious fulfilment of that great promise : " Lo, 
 I am with you even to the end of the world." Amen. 
 
 To the inhabitants and good people who have concurred with the 
 church in the call and liberally offered for my support, I thankfully 
 accept it, and promise through the grace of God to serve you all, the 
 poor as well as the rich, according to my poor ability. You will, I 
 trust, strive together with me in your prayers to God for me that I may 
 be enabled to be faithful unto the death, and present you and your dear 
 children faultless before the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his 
 coming, with unspeakable joy. Finally, brethren, be perfect, be of 
 good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and 
 peace shall be with you. So prays your pastor-elect, 
 
 PETER POWERS. 
 
 The land described in the foregoing offer became the 
 property of the Rev. Mr. Powers, who occupied it 
 till his death. It was afterward the property of Mr. 
 Prescott Powers, and a part of it is now in possession of 
 Mr. Levi Greenlaw, who occupies the house built for Mr. 
 Powers. It is the oldest house now standing in the town. 
 
 A church covenant and confession of faith were drawn 
 up and subscribed to by the members of the church, and 
 it shows that a large proportion of the adult population 
 were members. 
 
 May 18, 1786. It was voted that a tax of one shilling 
 on each communicant be paid for support of the Lord's 
 table, and that the Sacrament of the supper be on the 
 third Sabbaths in March, May, July, September, and 
 November. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAIME. 277 
 
 October 20, 1791. It was voted that there be a number 
 of persons chosen as elders to assist the pastor and church 
 in church-watch for one year. At a meeting on the third 
 day of November, Deacon Francis Haskell, Deacon Thomas 
 Stinson, and brethren James Jordan, Ezekiel Marshall, 
 Thomas Small, George Frees, John Frees, and Nathan 
 Haskell were chosen. At the same time Messrs. Caleb 
 Haskell and Nathan Haskell were chosen deacons. 
 
 January 8, 1793. At a meeting of the church the fol- 
 lowing-named persons were chosen as elders : Thomas 
 Stinson, Caleb Haskell, Nathan Haskell, Ezekiel Marshall, 
 George Freeze, James Jordan, Joshua Haskell, and Thomas 
 Thompson. It was also voted that Caleb Haskell should 
 assist the pastor in keeping the 'church records. 
 
 Previous to this time there had been difficulties in the 
 church respecting the immoral conduct of members, and 
 but little satisfaction was obtained from the persons impli- 
 cated, after the church had done its duty toward them, 
 which shows us that then, even as now, the practice of 
 members was not always consistent with their profession. 
 Several pages of the records are occupied with the history 
 of the dealings of the church toward them, from which we 
 incline to the opinion that the church and pastor faith- 
 fully performed their duties upon the several occasions. 
 We do not deem it advisable to go into a further e.xamina- 
 tion of the matter, as it would at this day be productive of 
 no good, but would be a cause of sorrow to the descend- 
 ants of the persons dealt with. It may serve as an 
 admonition to all to endeavor to walk worthily as far as 
 we may be able, so as to bring no scandal upon the 
 profession. 
 
 November 25, 1794. It was voted that the church 
 would not receive anv members to communion from other 
 
278 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 churches, but such churches as were known to be sound 
 in the faith without examination. On the tenth of June, 
 1795, it was voted to hold their members bound to attend 
 public worship in ordinary cases when there was no 
 preaching. At the same time it was voted that this 
 church do not allow its members to go to law one with 
 another until their case is laid before the church and 
 brought to judgment in the church. It was also voted 
 to assist in gathering a church in Penobscot, and that 
 the Rev. Mr. Powers assist, and Messrs. Joshua Haskell 
 and Nathan Haskell were chosen delegates. 
 
 November 22, 1798. At a town meeting it was in con- 
 sideration to see if the town would agree upon some suit- 
 able method for supplying the town with preaching the 
 ensuing winter, as the Rev. Mr. Powers was unable to 
 supply the desk through infirmity and sickness. It was 
 voted to hire some person for sixteen Sabbaths. A com- 
 mittee of three was chosen, which was instructed to apply 
 to Mr. Ebenezer Eaton, if he could be obtained for the 
 above term, and as reasonably as it could. Messrs. 
 Thomas Stinson, Ignatius Haskell, and Edmund Sylvester 
 were the members of said committee. 
 
 In April, 1799, at the annual meeting, the sum of $300 
 was voted for supplying the pulpit for the ensuing year. 
 A committee was chosen for the purpose, to wit : Messrs. 
 Thomas Stinson, Joseph Tyler, and Caleb Haskell. At a 
 meeting held on the fourth of November, said committee 
 was instructed to apply to Mr. Ebenezer Eaton to preach 
 through the winter season, unless it could obtain some 
 other gentleman who may be as agreeable to the unani- 
 mous wish of the people. It was also voted to choose a 
 committee of three to wait upon the Rev. Mr. Powers and 
 inform him of the wishes of the town, and see if the same 
 
TOIVA' OF DEER ESLE, M.UNE. 279 
 
 may be agreeable to his desires, and that if Mr. Eaton 
 may be obtained, he may minister to the people and be on 
 amicable terms with Mr. Powers and not be a means of 
 disagreement in the association. The committee were 
 Messrs. Joseph Colby, Courtney Babbidge, and Nathan 
 Haskell. 
 
 In 1800 the Rev. Mr. Powers died. A notice of him 
 has already been given in a former part of this work.. 
 From what we can learn he was a faithful minister, and,, 
 for those days, liberal in his views and charitable toward 
 others whose opinions were not in exact unison with 
 his own. 
 
 During the preceding years the place of public worship 
 was in the old meeting-house, as it was called, but at what 
 time and by whom it was built we have not been able to 
 learn. It was standing at the time of the incorporation 
 of the town in 1789, as the first town meeting was held 
 there. It was used for that purpose for many years, or 
 until the one was built which occupied the site of the 
 present one. Neither the town nor church records throw 
 any light upon the matter, and but very few people now 
 among us can remember it. It stood upon the spot now 
 occupied by the Town House and was sometimes used as 
 a schoolhouse, and for several years it was in contempla- 
 tion to build another. At a meeting held on the second 
 Monday of May it was voted that a new one be built 
 as near the present one as shall be convenient. At 
 a meeting held March 16, 1793, the former vote respecting 
 the site of the house was reconsidered. It was also voted 
 that it should be built on Mr. Ambrose Colby's hill, which 
 was the spot occupied by it till its destruction by fire. At 
 a town meeting held April 6, 1795, it was voted to con- 
 sider some proper method to build the house, and the sum 
 
2 So ^^^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of one hundred pounds was voted for the purpose and a 
 committee of three, to wit, Messrs. Ignatius Haskell, 
 Thomas Thompson, and Thomas Small, was chosen to 
 expend the above-named sum in providing suitable timber 
 and other materials for building. At a meeting held 
 October 8th, the same year, the building committee laid a 
 plan before it, providing that the dimensions of the house 
 should be fifty-four by forty-eight feet, which was accepted, 
 and Messrs. Thomas Robbins and Jonathan Eaton were 
 added to the committee. As the location formerly agreed 
 upon was not satisfactory to some of the people, the mat- 
 ter was acted upon, and there was a majority in favor of 
 adhering to the vote of March i6, 1793. At the annual 
 meeting in March, 1796, it was voted that the committee 
 be renewed and empowered to go on with the building. 
 
 In August of the same year it was voted to accept 
 the proceedings of the committee procuring the frame 
 and raising it. It was also voted to give the frame, as it 
 then stood, to any one who had or might subscribe to 
 finish the same. The records of the town show us no 
 further in the matter. It was built chiefly by Ignatius 
 Haskell, Esq. He was the grantor in the deeds by which 
 the pews were conveyed to purchasers, one of which is on 
 record in the town records, dated April 18, 1803. He 
 was a large proprietor. At his death, in 1841, he owned 
 several pews. 
 
 After the death of the Rev. Mr. Powers the church had 
 no settled pastor for several years, and at a town meeting 
 held February 4, 1800, it was voted that the committee 
 for supplying the pulpit wait on the Rev. Mr. Page and 
 present the thanks of the town for his past services, and 
 request that he preach five Sabbaths more, as it seems 
 that he had been employed instead of Mr. Eaton. At a 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 2S1 
 
 town meeting held on April 6, 1801, it was voted to raise 
 money for the support of preaching. It seems that a Mr. 
 Johnson had been preaching to them, and in May at 
 another meeting, it was voted that the committee should 
 apply to him to preach a few Sabbaths more, or until they 
 could procure another candidate. At the annual meeting 
 held on April 5, 1802, it was voted to give the Rev, Phin- 
 eas Randall a call to settle with them in the ministry, and 
 a committee was chosen to make out one and to present 
 it to him. The committee were Messrs. Caleb, Joshua, 
 and Nathan Haskell, and instructions were given them to 
 insert in the call an offer to pay $600 for settlement, to be 
 paid in two years, and a salary of $330 yearly, with the 
 use of the parsonage land as long as he should continue 
 to be their minister, in which call the church united. 
 
 At a meeting of the church. May 10, 1802, it was voted 
 to follow the rules of discipline laid down by Christ in 
 Matthew xviii, 15, 16, and 17, and that they understood 
 said passage as expounded by the Apostle Paul in I Co- 
 rinthians V, II, namely, to keep no company with the ex- 
 communicated persons, so much as to eat at common table 
 with them. It was also voted to observe the rules laid 
 down in II Thessalonians iii, 14, that if any brother 
 refuse to observe the rules as laid down in the sixth 
 verse, in not complying with tiie rules of the church, 
 to note that brother and keep no company with him. 
 According to the record, those votes were unanimous, but 
 it seems that at a meeting on the twentieth of October, 
 1803, the two votes referred to were recalled. At the 
 same meeting it was voted that the church give Rev. 
 Joseph Brown a call to settle with them in the ministry. 
 The deacons were in.structed to make out a call, (^n 
 the thirty-first of the same month the town voted to 
 
282 ^A' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 give him a call, and to give him a yearly salary of ^400 
 while he supplied the pulpit, payable quarterly, namely, 
 $100 at the end of every three months. He was also 
 to have the use of the parsonage lot during said term, 
 to be provided with a comfortable house or part of one 
 till the town should build a parsonage house and barn, 
 and to defray the charges of bringing his family and 
 furniture to the town. Messrs. Thomas Stinson, Caleb 
 Haskell, and Nathan Haskell constituted a committee 
 for the purpose of waiting upon him and obtaining an 
 answer. The committee for the supply of the pulpit 
 was to provide a place of residence until a parsonage 
 house was built, which was not long after. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Brown appears to have been earnest and 
 industrious in his calling ; but from causes named in the 
 sketch noticing him, there seems to have been much dis- 
 satisfaction on the part of several members of the church 
 — particularly in the southern part of the town — whose 
 political views did not correspond with those he advocated, 
 as was charged in the pulpit. Upon one occasion one 
 of the members of the church was brought before the 
 church for " accusing the minister of not preaching the 
 gospel," which he acknowledged ; but not showing repent- 
 ance for the assertion, he was suspended. Afterward he 
 was restored. In 1812 two members, one of whom was 
 the person suspended, were excommunicated for signing a 
 paper purporting a withdrawal from the church with 
 intention to form another society in the town. This was 
 the first step taken with a view of the formation of a 
 Baptist Church in the town. 
 
 In 18 1 8 Mr. William Stinson was elected a deacon of 
 the church, which office he retained till his death, in 1848. 
 In 1 8 19 the death of the Rev. Mr. Brown took place, and 
 the family removed from the town. 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 283 
 
 After the death of the Rev. Mr. Brown the pulpit 
 wa.s supplied by Rev. Abijah Wines for several years. 
 The first notice of him, in the records of the church, is 
 June 3, 1824, when he, with his wife, was received into 
 the church by letters ; but probably he had preached here 
 some time before. In 1829 the question of temperance 
 began to be agitated, and Mr. Wines took a very 
 active part. In November of that year the matter was 
 brought up at a meeting of the church, and the obliga- 
 tions of members in respect of joining the societies 
 organized for the suppression of intemperance. Not long 
 after, Mr. Wines's connection with the church as pastor 
 was dissolved, as his mind had become impaired in 
 consequence of his earnestness in the movement, and he 
 removed from town. His death took place not long after. 
 He was a man of learning, and we believe at one time a 
 professor in the Theological Seminary at Bangor. 
 
 In 1832 Rev. Jonathan Adams, a native of Booth- 
 bay, Maine, moved here from the town of Woolwich, 
 Maine, and became pastor of the church. He continued 
 as such about twenty years, at a salary of four hundred 
 dollars and the use of the parsonage farm. In 1838 an 
 extensive revival of religion took place, and on August 12 
 fifty-seven persons were admitted to the church ; on Sep- 
 tember 9 twenty-eight were added, and on November 4 
 twenty-seven were added. On November 18 twenty-nine 
 also were added — in all, one hundred and forty-one per- 
 sons. On February 10, 1839, complaints were made 
 against three members for imbibing sentiments different 
 from those of the church and for refusing to make appli- 
 cation to the church for counsel. Having been cited to 
 appear before the church, they did so on the twentieth of 
 the same month, and, as their remarks were not satisfac- 
 
284 '^^"^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 tory to the church, they were suspended for six months. 
 They afterward united with the Methodist Church, which 
 was organized a few years after. 
 
 In 1852 the Rev. Mr. Adams ceased to be pastor of the 
 church, and removed to Boothbay, where he preached for 
 some time. Before his death, which took place a few 
 years after he removed from that place, we believe he 
 resided with his son. Rev. Jonathan E. Adams, now secre- 
 tary of the Maine Missionary Society. The year of his 
 death is unknown to us. He was an able preacher and 
 had many friends here. Of his sons only one now 
 remains, the one alluded to above. In 1846 his son Will- 
 iam perished at sea on board the brig Lincoln. Two 
 others, Captain David E. Adams and Charles Adams, 
 were lost at sea together in one vessel, and another — 
 Samuel — died at some place in the Western States. The 
 first three died several years before their father, and, we 
 believe, the latter a few years after them. 
 
 Mr. Adams was succeeded in the pastoral office by 
 Rev. William V. Jordan, who did not long remain. After 
 him Rev. William A. Merrill supplied the pulpit for a 
 few years. During his ministry the present house of 
 worship was built and dedicated, in 1858. Mr. Merrill 
 afterward removed to North Deer Isle and was the first 
 pastor of the church there. He built a house, which is now 
 occupied by the family of Mr. George W. Holden. He 
 afterward went from here. The last knowledge we had 
 of him he resided in the town of Sherman, in the county 
 of Aroostook. After Mr. Merrill, Rev. Simeon Waters 
 came here from Iowa, and preached a year or more. The 
 next person who was pastor of the church was Rev. 
 Samuel S. Drake, who preached here till 1867. He also 
 was pastor of the church at North Deer Isle about one 
 year, and afterward removed to Kittery, Maine. 
 
TOIV.V OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 285 
 
 In 1868 Rev. Hiram Houston became pastor of the 
 church. He had previously preached in Stockton and in 
 Orland, and continued as pastor here till 1881. In 18S2 
 he had the misfortune to lose his companion, and at 
 present is absent from the town. He purchased the house 
 and land set off to the Rev. Mr. Drake on execution in 
 an action against the parish, and made extensive repairs 
 on the house, which was the one occupied by Mr. Brown 
 and those who succeeded him as pastors of the church. 
 It was built not long after Mr. Brown became pastor. 
 The church has now no settled minister, nor do we know 
 the number of its members. It was formerly one of the 
 largest in point of membership in the county. Since the 
 revival mentioned in 1838 there have been two, one in 
 1858 and one in 1867, in both of which numerous additions 
 were made to the church. 
 
 THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 
 
 Allusion has been made to the dissatisfaction felt 
 toward the Rev. Mr. Brown. As a result many members 
 left the Congregational Church, and some time not far 
 from the year 181 3 a Baptist Church was organized, a 
 branch of which extended to Isle au Haut. We think 
 that Rev. Samuel Allen was its first pastor, or became so 
 shortly after its establishment. There was at one time 
 not long after a revival, and an addition was made to its 
 members. We have no records of the church, nor do we 
 know of any, nor in whose custody they may be, if any 
 there are. Mr. Allen preached several years, both here 
 and at Isle au Haut ; but dissatisfaction was felt toward 
 him on moral grounds, which was, if any cause really 
 existed, in part due to exaggeration, as is usual in such 
 cases. While he was pastor quite an extensive reforma- 
 
2 86 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 tion took place, and many became church members. After 
 some years his connection as pastor was dissolved, and he 
 ceased to preach. A Mr. Bedell preached for some time, 
 principally on Isle au Haut, and after him, Elder Samuel 
 Macomber. As the church and society were small, a suffi- 
 cient support could not be procured for the preacher, and 
 for several years there was no preaching, except occa- 
 sionally, until about 1844, when Rev. Leonard Mayo 
 became the pastor. He was pastor for some two or three 
 years, when he removed from this town. At the last 
 accounts he was residing in the town of Hodgdon, in 
 Aroostook County. The deacons of the church were 
 Messrs. Stephen Babbidge, Jr. and Thomas Stinson. A 
 house of worship was commenced but not finished, which 
 stood near the site of the present Methodist Church. 
 Some years after a house of worship was built on Bab- 
 bidge's Neck, a large proportion of the cost of which was 
 borne by the late Samuel Whitmore, Esq. Occasionally 
 the pulpit is supplied, but at present the church has 
 few members. 
 
 METHODIST CHURCH. 
 
 The Methodist Society and Church were established in 
 1842. That year Rev. Hezekiah C. Tilton, an energetic 
 young man, was sent here by the Methodist Conference, 
 and he soon succeeded in establishing a church, which was 
 joined by many persons the first year, as considerable 
 interest was manifested. The building occupied by the 
 Baptist Church was occupied by them until 1843, or 1844. 
 when the Methodist Meeting-house was built. Mr. Tilton 
 remained till 1844, when he was succeeded by Rev. 
 Charles Andrews, who made a favorable impression while 
 here. After him came Rev. E. H. Small, another very 
 
TOIVX OF DEER ISLE, MA EVE. 28/ 
 
 worthy man, who made many friends while here. He 
 resided here in 1845 and 1846 and, we think, in 1847, 
 After his removal he preached in other places until, 
 through infirmity, he became unable to preach, except 
 occasionally. For several of the latter years of his life he 
 resided in Winterport. Some years after a house was 
 built for the use of the ministers, standing near the house 
 of the late Mr. Lemuel Small. The society and church 
 have retrograded, as not mucli int<?rest has been taken for 
 a few years, and the house of worship bears marks of 
 dilapidation. 
 
 CHURCH AT NORTH DEER ISLE. 
 
 Not far from the year 1858 a Congregational Church 
 was established at North Deer Isle, as the members of 
 that church found it inconvenient to go to the church at 
 Northwest Harbor on account of the distance. A house 
 of worship was built and dedicated, and in our notice of 
 Mr. Merrill it was stated that he was the first pastor. In 
 that of Mr. Drake, that he also was for a year or more 
 pastor there, but as the society is small it is unable to 
 support preaching. There has been some assistance from 
 the Maine Missionary Society. A Mr. Closson preached 
 there, sent by it, and later a Rev. I\Ir. Hart, but at jDresent 
 there is no preaching there. 
 
 FREE-WILL li.M'TIST CHURCH. 
 
 At West Deer Isle a church of that denomination was 
 established a few years since, but the society is small and 
 unable to support preaching. A house of worship has 
 been built, and most of the time Mr. Lafayette Collins, a 
 lay preacher, has supplied the pulpit. At present the 
 society and church are in a low condition, as no interest is 
 manifested except by very few. 
 
288 -4iV HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 There are no other religious societies in the town, and 
 occasionally preachers of the denomination known as 
 " Adventists " have preached here, more particularly in 
 that part of the town known as Stinson's Neck. A few 
 years ago there were a number of persons who seemed to 
 adhere to their principles, but at this time little or noth- 
 ing is heard respecting that faith. There are at present 
 five houses of worship, which have been dedicated to the 
 service of God, but at this time in but two of them is there 
 public worship maintained, to wit, at the church at the 
 Northwest Harbor, occupied by the first Congregational 
 Society and the Methodist House at South Deer Isle. 
 There is a house of worship in process of erection at 
 Green's Landing, but in all probability it will be a Union 
 Church, as no one denomination in that vicinity is able 
 to support preaching. At the present time (1884) Rev. 
 Charles H. Gates officiates at the Congregational Church 
 and Rev. Israel Hathaway at the Methodist Church. 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT LOCALITIES IN 
 THE TOWN. 
 
 It may be of interest to the reader to know how the 
 different parts of the town came by the names assigned 
 to them, — as we all know the different parts by the 
 names which have been given them, — but very few have 
 knowledge how they came by them. On Little Deer 
 Island there is a very convenient and safe harbor on the 
 southwestern side known as Swain's Cove, and the farm of 
 the late Daniel Billings, Esq. adjoins it. It was so named 
 from Captain William Swain, whom we have noticed as an 
 early occupant of the land in its vicinity. On Great 
 Deer Island, about one mile south of its northern 
 
TOWN OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 289 
 
 extremity, the harbor known as Thompson's Cove derived 
 its name from Mr. Thomas Thompson, who was the 
 owner of the lands adjoining, and lived near it. 
 
 The tract of land known as Campbell's Neck and the 
 island near by, known as Campbell's Island, derived their 
 names from Mr. John Campbell, who was their owner, 
 with other lands in the vicinity, and who resided where 
 the present Mr. Samuel W. Campbell, his grandson, 
 now lives. 
 
 The island known as York's Island was named from 
 Captain Benjamin York, its first settler and owner. The 
 island known as Conary's Island was named from Mr. 
 Thomas Conary, whom we have noticed, and who resided 
 upon it. 
 
 The cove or the creek known as Fish Creek derived 
 its name from the abundance of fish of the herring 
 species which were taken in weirs by the early settlers 
 in the vicinity. 
 
 The island know as Gibson's Island was named from 
 Mr. James Gibson, whom we have noticed as a soldier in 
 the war of the Revolution, who made the island his resi- 
 dence for some time. 
 
 The part of the town known as Greenlaw's Neck was 
 probably named from Mr. William Greenlaw, who was an 
 early settler in that vicinity ; but we have no knowledge 
 of his ever having resided ujion the Neck, which we 
 think was first settled by Mr. Nathaniel Bray. 
 
 That part of the town known as Stinson's Neck was 
 named from its first settler, of whom mention has often 
 been made — Thomas Stinson, Esq. Several of his 
 descendants now reside there. That part of the island 
 from Camiibell's Neck to the steamboat-landing is known 
 as the Reach shore, as it borders on the passage known as 
 
290 
 
 J.V HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Eggemoggin Reach, which lies between it and the towns 
 of Sedgwick and BrookHn. 
 
 The land known as Babbidge's Neck was named from 
 Mr. William Babbidge, who settled upon the southern 
 part, but was not the first person who lived there. The 
 earliest was Mr. Seth Webb, who lived upon the land 
 afterward occupied by Mr. Joseph Whitmore. 
 
 That body of water known as Webb's Cove was named 
 from Mr. Webb, before mentioned, who lived near it after 
 he left the Neck. 
 
 The tract of land lying between Webb's Cove and 
 Burnt Cove was for many years known as the " Burnt 
 land," and the origin of the name, as we have been 
 informed, was derived from its having been burnt over by 
 a fire set by Mr. Joseph Colby, the early settler of that 
 name. When he came the trees standing upon the tract 
 had been blown down during a violent gale of wind. 
 It was said that not many years before a fire had been set 
 by some person who landed during a very dry time upon 
 the shore, and, as it was not extinguished, it spread, and, 
 remaining in the soil, weakened the hold of the roots of 
 the trees as it spread so as to render them liable to be 
 blown down. As Mr. Colby was obliged to turn his cattle 
 into the woods for pasturage, the trees were so entangled 
 that it was v-ery difficult for him to find them to drive 
 home, and he set the fire for the purpose of clearing the 
 obstructions. It spread over all the surface between the 
 limits as before named, but since that time a large amount 
 of wood and timber has grown upon it. That locality is 
 now known as Green's Landing, named from Sullivan 
 Green, Esq., the oldest resident now there. 
 
 The island now known as Thurlovv's Island was named 
 from the late Captain David Thurlow, who resided there 
 sixty years or more before his death, in 1857. 
 
TOIFJV OF DEER ISLE, MAINE. 
 
 291 
 
 The harbor known as Allen's Cove was named from 
 Rev. Samuel Allen, who resided near it for many years. 
 
 The harbor known as Burnt Cove derived its name 
 from the fire before named. The late Mr. Avery Fifield 
 resided near it for many years prior to his death, and was 
 for some time the only settler there. 
 
 The harbor known as Crockett's Cove derived its name 
 from Mr. Josiah Crockett, who has been mentioned. He 
 was for many years a resident there. 
 
 Small's Cove was named from the two brothers of that 
 name who settled near it. Mr. Thomas Small lived on 
 the northern, and Mr. Job Small on the southern, side. 
 
 The point known as Dunham's Point, the western 
 extremity of the island, — where mining operations have 
 been made to a considerable extent, — was named from 
 Mr. Elijah Dunham, its earliest settler. The point of 
 land on the southwestern side of the entrance to the 
 Northwest Harbor is known as Pressey's Point, named 
 from Mr. John Pressey, the earliest settler, who lived near 
 it. Dow's Point, on the northeastern entrance, was 
 named from Mr. Nathan Dow, who settled there in 1767. 
 
 In the town of Isle au Haut, the island known as Mer- 
 chant's Island was named from Mr. Anthony Merchant, 
 the first settler in that town. He resided upon it till his 
 death. 
 
 Kimball Island was named from Mr. Solomon Kimball, 
 who was the purchaser from the State of Massachusetts. 
 He occupied it after the removal of the family of Mr. 
 Seth Webb, who died in 1785. 
 
 Cutter's Island, or, as it is now known. Fog Island, 
 was named from a person by the name of Cutter, who 
 lived upon it for many years. 
 
 The harbor known as Dougflass's Cove was named from 
 
292 
 
 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 Mr. Robert Douglass, who settled near it and occupied it 
 till he went from thence to Nauvoo, in the State of 
 Illinois, as a convert to Mormonism. 
 
 Head Harbor was named from the Eastern Head, 
 the southeastern extremity of the island.^ 1 1 have, in 
 the description of the mode of " duck driving,"|stated the 
 origin of the na;me given to Duck Harbor. 
 
 Moore's Harbor, on the western side of the island, was 
 so named from Captain John Moore, one of the early- 
 settlers of the town of Castine, whose business in part 
 was fishing in a small vessel in that vicinity and who 
 frequently made that harbor an anchoring-place. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I have now finished this work, and I think I have 
 recorded everything of consequence, that has come to my 
 knowledge, which has transpired here. It has taken a 
 wider range than was anticipated when I commenced it, 
 and, from the causes named in the commencement, it can 
 not be expected to be in all instances exactly correct ; but 
 I have given the reader the information I have received. 
 I hope it may be of interest to us who are now here and 
 those whose birthplace was in this town, but who are not 
 now residents. Here have I passed the active part of my 
 life, and increasing years admonish me that I must soon 
 follow those who have gone before. To my fellow-citizens 
 of the town who have so many times bestowed upon me 
 marks of their confidence, I tender my sincere thanks, 
 and to them I dedicate this work. 
 
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