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SETTLEMENT AND PROGRESS

OF THE TOWN OF

Bluehill, Maine.

AN

HISTORICAL ADDRESS
BY
R. G. F. CANDAGE.
Member of New England Historic-Genealogical Society,
AT
BLUEHILL FALLS, SEPJEMBER 7th, 1886.

SETTLEMENT AND PROGRESS

OF THE TOWN OF

Bluehill, Maine.

AN

HISTORICAL ADDRESS

R. G. F. CANDAGE.
Member of New England Historic-Genealogical Society,

BLUEHILL FALLS, SEPTEMBER 7th, 1886.

PUBLISHED AND FOR SALE BY
THE LADIES' SOCIAL LIBRARY,
BLUEHILL, MAINE.
1886.

PREFATORY NOTE.

The following address was prepared for, and delivered on Septem
ber 7th, 1886, at a clam-bake and reunion of upwards of three hun
dred citizens and friends upon Mill Island, at Bluehill Falls, where
the settlement of the town of Bluehill, Maine, was begun April 7th,
1762. In its preparation much time was expended, and many authorities
were consulted, that it might be made worthy of the occasion ; but
no thought was given to the subject of its publication. Those who
listened to it deemed it worthy of publication and preservation for
the benefit of the youth of the town and vicinity, as well as for
others interested in historical data ; the request was made and ac
ceded to, that the address should be printed by, and sold in aid of,
the Ladies' Social Library of Bluehill, thereby contributing whatever
might remain above the cost of publication to a needy and meritor
ious object.
The author acknowledges his indebtedness for facts mentioned in
the address to the Town Records ; the " Record " of Rev. Jonathan
Fisher ; the Church Records ; the address of B. W. Hinckley, Esq.,
at the Centennial Anniversary of the Town's Settlement ; the ad.
dress of Rev. Stephen Thurston, at the Centennial Anniversary of
the gathering of the Congregational Church ; the New England His
toric Genealogical Register ; W. B. Sprague's Annals of the Ameri
can Pulpit ; John F. Pratt, M. D. of Chelsea, Mass. ; contributions
to the Ellsworth American newspaper, from papers in the Massachu
setts Secretary of State's Office; Diary of Jonathan Darling, as

4 PREFATORY NOTE.
quoted by Rev. Mr. Fisher ; to Miss Abby L. Pierce, of Brookline,
Mass. ; to the late R. G. W. Dodge, Esq., of Bluehill ; and to various
other persons held in remembrance, but not mentioned here.
To the gentlemen who composed the Committee of Arrangements
for the reunion and clam-bake, and to whose endeavors the pleasure
and success of the occasion were largely due, the author confesses
his own indebtedness, and all who were present must acknowledge
theirs, and give them words of hearty commendation and praise for
the success of the undertaking.
And now for this pamphlet which the author has taken much in
terest in writing — while he claims for it no merit as a literary pro
duction — he asks a kindly reception by an indulgent public for the
facts it contains, and for the object in aid of which it is published.
R. G. F. Candage.
Brookline, Mass.,
October 21st, 1886.

Order of Exercises

DINNER.
BASKET PICNIC.
BAKED CLAMS. GREEN CORN.
COFFEE.
GROUP PHOTOGRAPHED. Ringing*
"AULD LANG SYNE."
By the Assembly, led by Charles C. Clough, Esq.
By R. G. F. Candage, Esq., of Brookline, Mass.
A Native of Bluehill.
Ringing*
"MY COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE."
By the Assembly.
^enttxittian.
By the Rev. L. S. Tripp.

COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.

Dr. Rufus P. Grindle,
Mr. Augustus C. Peters,
Mr. Augustus N. Osgood,
Mr. Alfred C. Osgood,
Mr. Thomas S. Osgood,
Mr. George Morse,
Mr. Charles C. Clough,
Mr. Wilford E. Grindle,
Mr. Brooks A. Gray,
Mr. David H. Allen,

Mr. Irving S. Candage,
Mr Roscoe Lord,
Mr. George R. Adams,
Mr. Eugene A. Stevens,
Mr. Austin Stevens,
Mr. Frank J. Dodge,
Mr. Seth K. Hinkley,
Mr. James H. Morse,
Mr. Jonathan Stover,
Mr. George Osgood.

ADDRESS.

Fellow Townsmen and Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen :
We have assembled here to-day to meet and greet
each other in social converse, to partake of the repast
which kind friends have provided for the occasion, and
to recount some of the events which have transpired
in the history of the town of Bluehill, the first settle
ment having been made upon this spot.
In the study of history there is much to be learned
which may be useful to us. From it we may draw les
sons of wisdom to aid and encourage us in well-doing ;
and from it we may learn lessons of warning, which, if
heeded, will point out to us the rocks and shoals upon
which our barque may be stranded on the voyage of
life. We are taught in the Book of books " To honor our
father and our mother, that our days may be long in
the land ; " and in what way can we give them higher
honor than by a study of the history of their lives, as
recorded in their acts, and by profiting by the good ex
amples they set for us to follow.

8 ADDRESS.
It has been with these purposes in view that I have
prepared this address, to which I invite your kind and
indulgent attention.
One hundred and twenty-four years ago last April a
small vessel entered the waters of Bluehill Bay, steered
for these shores, and made a landing upon the island
where we are now assembled. No friendly eye was
fixed upon her approach ; no hospitable hand was ex
tended to greet her adventurous crew as they landed.
The coast and country were covered with a dense
growth of forest trees, in which roamed wild beasts and
savage men. There was not a habitation for civilized
man to be found in this region ; the nearest being at
Bagaduce, now Castine, which could only be reached
by a long and circuitous route by water.
The crew of the little craft proved to be Joseph Wood
and John Roundy, good men and true, from Beverly,
Mass., who came here to make a home for themselves
and their families in the wilderness, and to lay the
foundations of a settlement, which, by their efforts, and
by the aid of those who followed their adventurous
lead, grew into this beautiful and prosperous town, as
we shall see, when we examine the records of the
settlement, the town, and the churches.
People wonder why this spot should have been chosen
for the first settlement. But the reason seems to me
to be plain, that they chose it because it was an island
and afforded better security from the intrusion of wild
beasts and wild men, than the main land.

ADDRESS. 9
Here the summer of 1762 was spent by Mr. Wood
and Mr. Roundy, in erecting log-houses, felling trees to
make a clearing, and in getting out staves with which
they loaded their little craft ; and also in forming plans
for the permanent settlement of the place.
In the autumn they returned to Beverly, and there
spent the winter. The next year, 1763, they brought
their families here ; each family consisting of husband,
wife, and six children.
Joseph Wood was in the full vigor of manhood, being
42 years of age, and his wife, Ruth Haskell, one year
younger. Their children were Israel, 19 years old ;
Mary, 15 ; Joseph, 12; Ruth, 10; Robert Haskell, 7;
and Joanna was 3.
John Roundy was six years younger than Mr Wood,
he being 36 years old, and his wife, Elizabeth Rea,
was 34. Their children were Mary, 15 ; Elizabeth, 12 ;
Hannah, 10 ; Charity, 8 ; Anne, 5 ; and Emma, the
baby, less than a year old.
These were the persons who planted the infant
settlement of the town, and who contributed largely
to the success it met with, up to, and even beyond,
the date of its incorporation. The descendants of
Mr. Wood, who bear his name, and also those who
bear other names, are numerous in the town to-day ;
while the name of Roundy, so far as I have been able
to ascertain, has become extinct here ; although there
are many descendants of his, bearing other names,
residents of the town and vicinity.

IO ADDRESS.

He who addresses you is a lineal descendant of
John Roundy, through Hannah, his daughter, who
married James Candage, Jr., (formerly Cavendish),
April 13, 1775; and through their son, Samuel
Roundy Candage, born Jan. 15, 1781, who was his
father. The third family of the new settlement was formed
by the marriage of Col. Nathan Parker, with Mary,
eldest daughter of Joseph Wood, on Dec. 20, 1765.
Col. Parker was from Andover, Mass., and was one of
the provincial troops at the siege and fall of Louisburg.
The fourth family was Mr. Samuel Foster's, of
Andover, who came in May, 1765. It is said they
did not remain long.
The fifth family was that of Nicholas Holt, from
Andover, who came May 27, 1765.
The sixth family was that of Jonathan Darling, also
from Andover, whose wife and one child came with her
father, Nicholas Holt, May 27, 1765. Mr. Darling's
second son, Jonathan, was the first English child born
in the town, Oct. 17, 1765. The Holt family lived in a
house which stood very nearly on the spot now oc
cupied by the house of Mr. Albert R. Conary.
The first white female child born in the town was
Edith, daughter of Joseph and Mary Wood, born Aug.
3, 1766. The Wood family moved from this island to
a house which was erected on the opposite side of the
road from where the school house now stands, at the
head of the cove.

ADDRESS. I I
The seventh family was that of Mr. Benjamin York.
It is recorded of them that they made but a short stay
in town. By the assignment of proprietary lots of
land, Benjamin York was assigned the lot of 80 acres
fronting the Falls, on the Neck side, which he is
recorded to have held in quiet possession and enjoy
ment, on Nov. I, 1769.
The eighth family was that of Mr. Ezekiel Osgood,
who came from Andover, Mass., Nov. 6, 1765. Just
where Mr. Osgood and family located I have not been
able to learn.
The ninth family was that of Mr. Thomas Coggins,
from Beverly, who came Dec. 27, 1765. The name
of " Coggin Hill" yonder, fixes the spot where they
located, and also fixes the family name in the town as
long as that hill shall last.
Others followed in 1 766, and among them was James
Candage and family, who settled on the Neck. He was
the ancestor of the Candages of this town and vicinity.
The following petition is important, in so far as
it fixes the date of the coming to town of the persons
named therein : Bluehill Bay, June 17th, 1784.
This is to certify that John Peters of the Town aforesaid
this day was chose by the Inhabitants of this Town to
represent the true State of the Proprietors and Settlers on
Said Township to the Committe chosen by the General Court
of the Massachusetts State to receive and examin the
Clames of Land In the County of Lincoln (&c. &c.)

12

ADDRESS.

Date of

Date oJ

Proprietors' Settlem't
Proprietors' Settlem't
Joseph Wood, .... 1762
Obed Johnson, . . .
1769
Nathan Parker,
1764
Jon'a Clay, ....
1769
Jonah Dodge, .
Elizabeth Brown, widow,
1770
Jonathan Darling,
1765
Peter Parker, . . .
1765
Peter Parker, jr.
1765
Joshua Parker, . . .
Nathan Parker, jr.
Joseph Parker, . . .
Ezekiel Osgood, jr.
1765
John Roundy, . . .
1762
Phineas Osgood,
1774
Jos'a Titcomb, . . .
1769
Joseph Wood, jr.
Joshua Titcomb, jr. .
1767
Joshua Horton, .
1768
Stephen Titcomb, . .
1765
Benj'n Friend, .
1774
David Carleton, . .
John Dodge,
1774
Moses Carleton, . .
Ezekiel Osgood,
Michael Carleton, . .
Robert Parker, .
Samuel Parker, . . .
Thomas Coggin,
1765
James Candige, . .
1766
Elisha Dodge, .
1774
John Peters, ....
1765
John Peters, jr. .
• , 1765
Nicholas Holt, . . .
Marble Parker, .
• 1764
John Osgood. . . .
Settled
Settled
Settlers in
Settlers
in
Israel Wood, . . . . 1776
Christopher Osgood, .
^774
Daniel Osgood, . .
1776
Ebene'r Hinkley, . .
Robert Haskell Wood
?
1776
Jon'a Darling, jr. . .
1776
James Candige, jr.
1766
Jon'a Day, ....
1766
John Candige, . .
1782
Mathias Vickery, . .
1776
John Randall, . .
1768
Susannah Hinkley, wid.
1766
Joseph Candige, .
1767
Henry Carter, . . .
1783
James Day, . . .
1766
James Carter, . . .
1781
Thomas Carter,
1776
Lydia Day, widow,.
1766
Nathan Osgood, .
1776
Nath'l Cushing, . .
1778
Nicholas Holt, . .
1775
Jedediah Holt, . . .
1778
John Roundy, jr..
1783
Joshua Horton, jr.
1782
Josiah Coggin, . .
1782
36 of the above — 7 of them, minors, all sons of Proprietors
who are on ye ground except Steph Titcomb, whose father
has done ye duty on his right.
ADDRESS. 13
No minor has his name.
Captain Joseph Wood & Sons and John Roundy came and
settled at Bluehill bay before the land was either granted or
layed out &c &c &c.
These early settlers were men and women, hardy and
robust by nature, who undertook to plant new homes,
rear and support families on the hard soil of this town,
far away from the social, educational, and Christian
privileges they had enjoyed in Massachusetts. I have
frequently been asked, as doubtless many of you have
been, why they came here to a climate so uninviting
and to a new country. My reply has been, they were
desirous of forming a new community, perhaps an ideal
one ; so they came to Maine, there being no Great
West then to go to. They saw the fine timber with
which the land was covered ; in that their Yankee
shrewdness discovered a profit, and having a realizing
sense of the beautiful, they saw what every one else
has seen who has visited this town, the charm of its
situation, its sparkling bay, its inlets, its shores, its
landscape of hill, dale, and plain ; they were pleased
with it, and the testimony of a century and a quarter is
" that the place is beautiful to look upon. " They were
the persons needed for the times and the place, and
right worthily and successfully did they exert their en
ergies to fulfill their mission. We are here to-day to
review, very briefly, the success they achieved, to ad
mire the persistency with which they subdued the

14 ADDRESS.
forest, converted the wilderness into fruitful fields, and
erected homes of comfort. They could not do this
without great hardships and privations. Their stock of
provisions failed them ; they subsisted upon clams,
fish and wild game. And when, by dint of hard labor,
they harvested a little Indian corn, they parched it
over the fire, pounded it into meal with pestle and
mortar, and baked it on boards in front of their wood-
fires. The tide-mill near by this spot was erected in
1765, three years after the families of Joseph Wood
and John Roundy came here. This I suppose was a
mill for sawing lumber ; in what year the grist-mill was
built I have found no exact data to determine, but
probably about the same time.
The first notification for a town meeting on record
was dated " Number five, Feb. ye 20, Anno Domeney,
1767, " and was signed by Joseph Wood, John Roundy,
and Nicholas Holt, and contained the following art
icles : —
Viz. I. To Chuse a moderator for said Meating.
" 2. To Chuse a Clarck for the year Insewing.
" 3. To see if they will agree to work one Day for a
fense in A Burying Place, and to act on aney
other afairs that May Be thought Proper.
The " Meating " was held " March ye 2, 1767, " and
chose Lieut. Nicholas Holt, Moderator, John Roundy,
Town Clerk, John Roundy, Jonathan Darling, and
Benjamin York, Com. (or Selectmen.)

ADDRESS.

15

Voted that the Township shall be called "Newport."
Voted to clear a Burying Place and fence it one Day. Voted
that if aney one Cut on aney ones Lott that is Laid Outt,
without leave, he shall lose his Labor and his stuff. Voted
that if aney Man shall find aney Lumber Cut on Their Lott,
they shall carry it of
The second " Meating" was held, " Newport Apriell
ye 6, 1767."
I. Lieut. Nicholas Holt Moderator.
2. Voted that they would have their Lots put on Record
and who they lay a Gainst.
3. Voted that they would Raise a Tax of Ten Shillings on
the Poles, to be paid into the hands of the Town
Clarck to Defray the Charge for the Year Ensuing.
4. Voted that they would have the time of their settling
on Record, and who was the first settlers and so on.
March ye 7, 1768. The Town met at the house of Ensign
Joseph Wood. Chose Lieut. Nicholas Holt, Moderator, John
Roundy, Town Clarck, John Roundy, Nathan Parker and
Jonathan Darling, Com. (or Selectmen.)
I. Voted that they would Rais Money for to hire a per
son to preach the Gospel to us and for to pay for his
Board.
In the notice for this " meating " they say " So that
we may not bring up our children like the Heathen. "
2. Voted to chuse a Comitte for to provide a Man for to
preach to us.
John Roundy
Nathan Parker VComt.
Jonathan Darling

1 6 ADDRESS.
3. Voted on the Poynt if we can get the house for Pub-
lick Worship.
4. Voted to clear a Rhode from here to Pronobscutt.
5. Voted to chuse a Comitte.
6. Voted to chuse five men for a Comitte.
Samuel Foster
Israel Wood
Robert Parker )¦ Comt.
Ensign Joseph Wood
AND John Roundy
At the Town meeting held " March ye 6th 1769,"
John Peters was chosen Town Clerk, and John Peters,
Jeremiah Cobburn and Benjamin York Com. or Selectmen.
Capt. Joshua Horton, Town Treasurer.
Voted to raise 150 [probably dollars] by subscription to De
fray the Charge of Preaching.
Voted to chuse a Committy to see that the Gospel is
Preached to us. Joshua Herrick, Ensign Joseph Wood and
Lieut. Nicholas Holt, Comt.
Voted to repare the old Meeting House for a place of Pub-
lick Worship for the Year Insuing.
Voted to chuse a Committy to lay out Roads where they
shall think proper to convean the Town on this side the Salt
Pond. Ensign Joseph Wood, Jonathan Darling and Robert
Parker, Comt.
Voted a Committy to lay out Roads where they think
proper on the Neck. Jonathan Darling, John Roundy and
Benjamin York, Comt.
Voted to except what was done, then ajourned till the 27th
of March. At the afourned meeting, March 27, John
Roundy was chosen to be the Surveyor of Lumber.

ADDRESS. 1 7
Another meating of the Town was held April 24,
1769. Voted the first Munday in may to repare the Meeting
House. Voted that Ensign Joseph Wood, Lieut. Nicholas Holt and
Mr. Joshua Herrick should be Collectors.
Voted that Jeremiah Coburn should be the man to see that
the Boards are procured for the Meeting House.
Voted that Ensign Joseph Wood should be the man to see
that the Glass and Nails are Provided for to repare the old
Meeting House.
Voted that they would clear a Road half way from the head
of the Bay to No. Six (Surry.)
Voted that Capt. Peter Parker, Ensign Joseph Wood and
Ensign John Roundy should be a Committy to Look out said
Road. Then follows a vote which shows that the men of
that day were ready to grapple with great questions.
Voted that they would fence in the Township !
Here follows a record of laying out lots of land on
the Neck, and assigning them to those in quiet and
peaceful possession and enjoyment. Newport, Nov. ist, 1769.
From the Neck of land in this Township, laid out into
Eighty Acres Lots, Beginning at the fore falls and running
from thence upon the shore Southward about 150 Rods to a
Spring, and from thence across the Neck, such a course as

1 8 ADDRESS.
shall Give eighty Acres upon the end of the Neck : — this Lot
of land then being in Quiet and Peaceable Possession and
Enjoyment of Benjamin York of said Town.
Secondly — beginning at said Spring and laying out seven
more lots on said Neck, each being Sixty Rods wide on the
front and running a Crost the Neck over to the Salt Pond,
such a course as shall give eighty Acres to Each Lot.
Mr. John Roundy then being in the Quiet and Peaceable
Possession and Enjoyment of the first of these Lots of Land
joining upon Mr. Benjamin York.
Mr. Jonathan Day was assigned the second of these Lots of
Land. Mr. James Cavendish, [the great grandfather of the
speaker], was assigned Lots three and four.
Mr. Ebenezer Hinckley was assigned Lot five.
Mr. James Day Lot six, and Mr. John York Lot seven.
I find no other assignment of lands to the settlers in
the first book of Records of the Town, which Record
ends Dec. 7, 1801.
At the meeting held March 5, 1770, John Peters was
chosen Town Clerk, Peter Parker, Dudley Carlton, and
Jonathan Day, Selectmen.
Voted to have 3 or 4 Months' Preaching for the Summer
Coming — to raise the Money to Defray the Charge of Preach
ing by Subscription — Peter Parker, Dudley Carlton and
Jeremiah Cobborn be the Committy men to Provide a Person
to Preach the Gospel to us and likewise to gether the Rates.
Voted that the course should be kept open at the Mill En
deavor, and that Peter Parker, Joseph Wood, and John
Roundy be the Committy to keep it clear.

ADDRESS.

19

Voted to work on the Burying Yard the 25th of April.
Voted that Capt. Joshua Horton should receive pay for
buying the Town Books.
Voted to build some thing of a Battery on Mill Point by
the first of May next.
Voted Ensign Dudley Carlton and Lieut. John Roundy.
Surveyors of Lumber.
Voted to go over to Long Island to begin to clear, the sec
ond Day of April.
Voted to Joyn with No. 4 People to hire a minister, if they
could agree upon it hereafter.
At the March meeting in 1771, John Peters was
chosen Clerk, and Ensg, Dudley Carlton, Mr. Jona
than Day and John Peters, Selectmen.
At the March meeting in 1772, Joseph Wood was
Moderator. John Peters was chosen Town Clerk, and
Joseph Wood, Robert Parker, and John Peters, Select
men. Voted to lay out a Road from Mr. Osgood's to Mr. H's,
and the meeting was then ajourned to first Monday in may
at three o'Clock in the afternoon.
The annual March meeting ajourned to may 4th, then
met, and
Voted that there should be no fish taken above the Mill
Called Carltons Mill ; and that no fish be taken at Carltons
Mill on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, for the year
Insuing. Voted that no Bevor be taken within this Township within
the term of six months from the Date hereof

20 ADDRESS.
Voted, if any man shall find any Trap upon any Pond or
Stream within this Township, and will bring it to the Town
Clerk, shall have a Dollar reward, and the Trap to his own.
Att a meating of the Inhabitants of the Town of New Port
when mett att the Meating hous March ye i, 1773,
I. Lieutt. Nicholas Holt Being Chosen Moderator.
They Ajourned the meating to the house of Capt.
Joseph Wood.
2. Voted that they would Chuse Town oficers by handey
vote.
3. Made Choyse of John Roundy as Town Clarck.
4. John Roundy, Joshua horton and Nathan Parker as
Select Men for the Year Ensuing.
5. James Candage, Thomas Coggen and Ezekiel Osgood
as Survaers of The high ways.
6. John Roundy, Joshua Horton Survaers of Lumber.
7. Ezekiel Osgood, Israel Wood and James Candage as
a Committe For to Provide a Man for to Preach to
us and Gether the Muney subscribed for to Pay him
when his Labour is Dun.
8. Voted for to send a Protition to see If they could
Gett the Town Incorporated.
9. The meating is A Journed untill the twelft Day of
Apriel Next att fore o'Clock in the After noon att
Capt. Joseph Woods hous In Said Town.
Apriel ye 12 Day 1773.
Anniuel March Meeting that was ajourned untill This Day
Is further A Journed Until the Tweney six Day of May Next
Insuing att 2 o'Clock in the After noon att the Meating
Hous in Sd Town.
May ye 20 Day 1773. When mett to Gether then made
Choyse of Mr. Ezekiel Osgood As a Seuar of the high ways

ADDRESS. 2 I
in Roome of Mr. Jonathan Darling for Bluehill Ward, the
Aniuel March Meating that was Ajourned Untill this Day Is
Desold. Att a Meating of the Inhabitants of When Mett of the
Town of Newport March ye 7 1774.
I. Made Choice of Lt. Nicholas Holt as Moderator.
2. Voted that they would chuse Town Ofisers By handey
vote.
3. Made choice of John Roundy as Town Clarck.
4. John Roundy, Joshua Horton and Nathan Parcker,
Selectmen.
5. John Roundy, Joshua Horton Souars of Lumber.
6. Snares of High Ways. Ebenezer Hinskley for Royal
Rode, ward ; Thomas Coggins for the Town Ward,
or District, and Zebediah Shattuck for Bluehill
Ward or District.
7. Voted that they would have the Gospel preached with
them.
8. Mr. Ezeekel Osgood is Chosen a Warden for the year
Insueing.
9. Mr. Jonathan Day, Mr. Joseph Wood juner and Dav^d
Carlton Corlectors for the Year Insuing.
10. Voted that they pay what they subscribe for the Year
Insuing on the 25 th Day of May.
II. The Meating is Ajourned untill the 28th Day of this
Instant March att 3 o'Clock in the After Noon att
Lieut. Holts, Inholders. Newport March ye 28 Day 1774.
I. The Annival March Meating is Untill 28th of March
when Mett.

22 ADDRESS.
2. Voted that the Commites Back from Year to Year
from the Beginning of the Commites att this Town
or Place Shall Bring in their Acompts to A Com-
mitey when they Shall Be Called for, In order for
a Setelment.
3. Voted that they would Clear the fish corse Through
Carltons Mill and Mr. Wood's and Titcomb's Dam,
for the Elwives to have a corse.
4. The Annieul March Meating Is A Jornd Untill the
Tenth Day of May Next Insuing att 10 oClock in the
Morning att Capt. Joseph Woods.
Newport May ye 10, 1774.
When Mett Ajourned the Meating Untill the 25 Day of
May Next Insuing. Newport ye 25 Day 1774.
When Mett By Vartey of a Vote of the Inhabitants of the
Town, Voted that they would Chuse a Committ For to Re
ceive the Acompts of the Committes when Brought In from
this Date Back to the Year 1769.
John Roundy j
.„ (A Committ.
and John Peters )
For to Meat on the 29th Day of June Next Insuing att
Eight O'clock in the Morning att Lieut. Nicholas Holts In-
holder In Said Town. Newport June 29 Day 1774.
When Mett and None of the Committes Apeared So we
Desolved the Anniual Meating. Newport March 6th 1775.
Made Choice of Capt Joseph Wood as Moderator, John
Peters as Town Clerk, Lieut. Nicholas Holt, Capt. Joseph

ADDRESS.

23

Wood, and John Peters as Selectmen. Capt. Joseph Wood,
Joshua Horton, Zebediah Shattuck Survairs of Lumber.
Capt. Peter Parker, Lieut. Nicholas Holt and Mr. Jona
than Day as Survairs of highways.
Voted to work two days on highways.
Made Choice of Mr. Thomas Coggins, Mr. Jonathan Day,
Juner, and Ezekiel Osgood, Juner, to provide a minister for
this season.
At the adjourned Meeting, April 3, 1775.
Made Choice of Joseph Wood, Nicholas Holt and Thomas
Coggins as a Committy to treat with Number four People
conserning hiring a minister together this Season.
Voted to ajourn to the house of Mr. David Carlton the
2d monday in may to see Something abought making the
hour Something better, the People are to meet at Eight
o'clock in the morning. The Disturbance Between Brittan
and America Prevented the meeting in According to Ajourn-
ment. Newport, July 17, 1775.
Att a Meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of
the Town aforesaid.
Voted that Lieut. Nicholas Holt, Joshua Horton and John
Peters be Delegates to meet Delegates of other Towns,
Islands and Districts, at the house of Mr. John Been's of
Frenchman's Bay, 20th inst., to Act on any thing they shall
think Proper on said Day.
But as to whether they met or acted upon anything
" Proper " or otherwise, the record is silent.
Lincoln S.S. To Joseph Wood, Sir Agreable to a
Resolve of the Great and General Court of the Colony of
Massachusetts Bay held at Water town febr. 15 1776,
this is to order and Direct you to warn a meeting of the In-

24 address.
habitants of Bluehill Bay to meet at the house of Joseph
Wood aforesaid on Thursday the Twenty Eight of March at
one oclock in the After Noon then and there to Chuse a Com
mitty of Inspection Correspondence and Safety agreable to
Said Resolve.
Given under my hand and Seal at Majebeguiduce this
Ninth Day of March Anno Domini 1776.
John Bakeman Justice Peace.
N.B. It is expected by the General Court that no Person will
be chosen into any office, but such as have ever been real
friend to the united Colonies. Pursuant to this warrant I do
notifie all the Inhabitants of Bluehill Bay to meet at the time
and Place above mentioned. Mach 28 1776.
Joseph Wood.
This is the first time Bluehill Bay is mentioned in the
Book of Records. After this Bluehill Bay is the name
by which the place is designated until October, 1 788,
when the Town
Voted to Desire the Court to Call the name of this Town
when Incorporated by the Name of Bluehill.
The meeting in accordance with John Bakeman's and
Joseph Wood's notice was held March 28, 1776, and
Chose Joseph Wood Moderator, Joshua Horton, Nathan
Parker and David Carlton a Committy of Correspondence.
John Peters, Zebediah Shattuck and John Roundy a Commit
ty of Safety.
At the Annual Meeting March 3, 1777, Joseph Wood was
chosen Moderater; John Peters, Town Clerk ; Joseph Wood,

address. 25
Peter Parker, and Zebediah Shattuck, Selectmen ; Joseph
Wood, Peter Parker and John Roundy, a Committy of Safety.
March 2, 1778, Joseph Wood chosen Moderater ; John
Peters, town Clerk ; Nicholas Holt, Zebediah Shattuck and
Robert Parker, Selectmen ; John Roundy, Nathan Parker and
John Peters, a Committy of Safety.
March i, 1779, Joseph Wood, Moderater, John Peters, Town
Clerk ; Joseph Wood, John Peters and Zebediah Shattuck,
Selectmen and Committy of Safety ; David Carlton, Nathan
Parker and James Candage, Surveyors of highways. Voted to
lay out a road from Mr. Hinckley's to No. 4 ; and another
over Beach Hill, where the Selectmen think most convenient.
The meeting then disolved.
Then this statement is entered upon the records :
By reason of the War we have had no Meetings from the
year 1779 to 1784.
This brings us to the end of the war of the Revolu
tion. At a meeting of the town held Oct. 9, 1788, John
Roundy, Moderator : —
Voted to send a Petition to Court to see if they will remit
our taxes, and to Desire the Court to Call the name of this
Town when incorporated by the name of Bluehill. "
On the 30th day of January, 1789, the town was in
corporated by act of the Massachusetts Legislature,
and received the name of Bluehill, which it has ever
since held. In the same year Sedgwick was incorpo
rated Jan. 12, the 59th town to be chartered in the

26 ADDRESS.
District of Maine, Islesboro the 6ist, Bluehill 62d,
Deer Isle 63d, Trenton 65th, Gouldsborough 66th,
Sullivan 67th, Mt. Desert 68th and Vinalhaven 71st.
All of the above were then within the County of Han
cock. At the March Meeting, 1789, John Roundy, Moder
ator; John Peters, Town Clerk; Jonathan Darling,
Joshua Horton and Phinehas Osgood, Selectmen ;
Edward Carlton, Robert Parker, John Roundy, Phine
has Osgood, and Jonathan Clay, Surveyors of High
ways ; Joseph Wood and Joshua Horton, Surveyors of
Lumber ; Phinehas Osgood and Joseph Wood, Sur
veyors of the Fish Course. These were the officers of
the town the first year of its incorporation.
Voted to give one days [work] towards clearing the fish
course round the West end of Mr. Carlton's Mill Dam, at
notice of the Surveyors.
Carlton's Mill was afterwards known as Allen's Mill.
Voted to go the fifth day of May to clear a road from Blue
hill to No. 6, (now Surry) : —
Having thus examined the Records from the first
settlement to the incorporation of the town, let us now
examine briefly its church history. The early settlers of
Bluehill had been reared in Massachusetts, under the
influence of the schools and religious institutions and
Puritan preachers of their time. They brought with
them a loving regard for the Bible, the Sabbath, the

ADDRESS. 27
Christian ministry, and their value in the training of
their families. So we find them early taking steps to
secure the preaching of the Gospel, " in order, " as they
phrased it, " that their children should not grow up like
the heathen. " Six years after the first landing, they
voted " to raise money to hire a person for to preach
the Gospel to us and for to pay his board. " Ten years
from the time the settlement began, October 7th, 1772,
the first church was gathered, consisting of fourteen
members. The March meeting of 1772 was notified to
assemble at the meeting house ; so it appears that they
had a place for public worship in the vicinity of the tide
mills at this early date. They were assisted in the ser
vice of the church by the Rev. Daniel Little, a mission
ary from Wells, Me.
The nearest church, at the time this was formed,
was at Phippsburg, and the next nearest at Bruns
wick. The Bluehill Church was the Twenty-fourth
Congregational Church in the District of Maine, but
whether there were any of other denominations I
have not been able to ascertain. The confession of
faith and covenant was signed by eight men, and the
wives of six of them were voted into the privileges and
under the watch of the church. From the founding of
the church in 1772 to the coming of Rev. Jonathan
Fisher in 1794, there were twelve different ministers
who preached and labored with them.
The house of worship at the Falls did not long meet
the wants of the church. In 1 790 the town passed a

28 ADDRESS.
vote in regard to the new meeting house. It will be
remembered that at that early day, the town was the
parish and the parish the town, hence the action taken
by the town in regard to matters of public worship. In
1 79 1 the former vote was reconsidered, and another
location chosen, and the size of the new house fixed
at 50 by 40 feet, and one hundred pounds voted for
building it. In 1792 another slight change was made
in the location, and a vote was passed dividing the
town into classes for building the house. At a meet
ing in 1792 " the Selectmen were empowered to
procure one barrel of rum, also molasses and sugar
enough for framing and raising the meeting house. "
It was said that every man, woman, and child in
town attended this raising. A wag was uncharitable
enough to suggest that the reason they were all there
was on account of that barrel of rum. At any rate
there has doubtless been a considerable change in the
temperance sentiment of the town since that time.
July 13, 1796, Rev. Jonathan Fisher was ordained,
and became the pastor of the Bluehill Congregational
Church. The meeting house was not finished at that
time, as the ordination services are said to have been
held in an open field, nearly opposite the present
Town Hall ; the Rev. Peter Powers, of Deer Isle,
preached the sermon.
The terms of Mr. Fisher's settlement were : a minis
ter's lot of three hundred acres of wild land, two hun
dred dollars in cash, and a barn 30 by 40 feet as a

ADDRESS.

29

settlement. His annual salary was two hundred dollars
in cash, the clearing of five acres of land, and cutting
and hauling fifteen cords of wood for the first ten years.
After that two hundred dollars, and thirty cords of wood
yearly, with a vacation of five Sabbaths each year.
The whole of his salary did not amount to more than
three hundred dollars, yet on this sum he lived com
fortably and reared a family. But he and his good wife
knew how to economize.
In 1797, the year after the pews were sold at
public auction, it is recorded that there was a great
revival in this place, and in the churches at Sedgwick,
Deer Isle, and Mt. Desert. The result at Bluehill
was that fifty-seven persons joined the church under
the pastoral care of the Rev. Jonathan Fisher. In
1804-5 a change came over some of the people of this
town and vicinity in regard to the ordinance of baptism.
The church at Sedgwick, then under the pastoral care
of the Rev. Daniel Merrill, an educated and devout
man, met with this change, and with their pastor were
baptised by immersion, and were formed into a Baptist
Church. The Rev. Mr. Merrill was reordained as its
pastor, and continued to preach in the same house and
to the same people.
In 1 805 twenty-eight members of Mr. Fisher's church
at Bluehill seceded, being dissatisfied with their bap
tism. February 13, 1806, seventeen of them were
formed into a Baptist Church, and held meetings by
themselves. Others followed, until forty-seven mem-

30 ADDRESS.
bers of Mr. Fisher's church withdrew and united with
the Baptist Church.
These are said to have been days of great trial to Mr.
Fisher, as nearly all of the seceding members had been
converted and brought into the church under his preach
ing. These were days when denominational feeling
was unyielding and rancorous ; but it is said, to the
honor of Mr. Fisher, that he was not known to express
an unkind word against, or reflection upon, any Chris
tian brother for the course he had taken ; and he was
known to pray fervently and devoutly for the blessing of
God on the new church which had sprung from among
his own people.
Let us all rejoice that at this day. Christians,
though differing in forms of church government, yet
holding to the essential points of the Gospel, may live
together in the same community in Christian charity
and love, and respect each other as brethren.
In 1816 there was another revival, many were con
verted, forty-seven were added to Mr. Fisher's church,
and a much larger number were gathered into the Bap
tist Church. In the year 1834 another revival was the
means of adding forty-two to the Congregational
Church, and also a large number to the Baptist Church.
In the year 1837, Mr. Fisher, being then advanced in
years, gave place to a younger man, Mr. Albert Cole,
to be the pastor, after a long and faithful service of over
forty years in the church. Mr. Fisher was a graduate
of Harvard College, came to Bluehill when the town

ADDRESS. 3 1
was small, labored forty-one years, and left upon the
people the stamp of his piety and individuality, which
aided greatly in making this an intelligent and intellec
tual community.
It may be a new and interesting fact to some present
to learn that Father Fisher was licensed to preach in
Brookline, Mass., the town where I reside, and that he
was a college friend of the Rev. John Pierce, D.D.,
who, for nearly fifty years, was the settled minister over
the first Parish of that town (Unitarian), and that be
tween them existed a life-long friendship.
Very largely through his influence, the Bluehill
Academy was incorporated in 1803, over which he
watched and labored to promote its prosperity and
usefulness as a seat of learning, not only for this
town, but for the vicinity. That it has done much
for the intellectual cultivation of the people, and
given to them a standing as a cultivated, intelligent
community, no one will deny who is conversant with
its history.
The church which was built in the last century, after
much planning and with much sacrifice by the early
settlers, was modeled after the Old South Church in
Boston, as I have been informed, having square pews,
a gallery round three sides, a high pulpit with flights of
steps leading up to it, and sounding board over it. In
summer, when the windows were open during service,
the wind would move the sounding-board, which was
suspended by a rope from the ceiling, and, as a boy, 1

32

ADDRESS.

have looked at it and wondered what would be the con
sequence if the rope should break, and the sounding-
board should fall upon the head of the then venerable
Father Fisher. Perhaps my mind ought to have been
occupied with other things, but I found that, as a boy,
my thoughts were not under proper control, as doubt
less many of more mature years have learned in their
experience. The sounding-board held its place, however, until
the first Sabbath of 184 1, nearly four years after the
pastoral care of the church had passed into the hands
of Rev. Albert Cole, when the building was totally
destroyed by fire. The present Congregational church
edifice was erected in 1843.
The Baptist Church in this town was formed Feb.
13th, 1806, consisting of thirty members (including
those who came from the Congregational Church,) at
its organization. In 1807 its members sent the follow
ing petition to the Massachusetts General Court : —
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court as
sembled ; — The Petition of the Subscribers, Inhabitants of
the Town of Blue Hill, humbly Show that we belong to the
denomination of Christians known by the name of Baptists,
and that we have for almost two years kept up and Supported
the Worship of God among ourselves, neither disturbing or
Interfering with others who do not believe as we do : and not
withstanding we do not, nor cannot Conscientiously attend on
the preaching of the Congregational Minister Settled in this

ADDRESS.

33

Town, we are Taxed and Compelled to pay towards his Stated
Salary, which we conceive to be a burden grievous to be
borne, and Contrary to the principle which ought to govern
all the professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
therefore wish (in order to be delivered from this burden and
that we may have our own money to Support such a preached
Gospel as we believe to be agreeable to the word of God) to
be incorporated into a Baptist Society, with all the privileges
with other Religious Incorporated Societies and as in duty
bound will ever pray. Signed

Jeremiah Stover
Joshua Parker
Spencer Treworgy
William Johnson
John Candage
Benjamin Friend
Amos Allen
Isaac Ingalls

Peter Parker, Jr.
Seth Kimball
Isaiah Hinkley
John Burnham
Benjamin Bunker
Phillip Hewins
John Roundy
Abraham Treworgy

Samuel Morse
Martha Friend
Henry Dority
John Osgood
Andrew Wood
Asa Clough
Ebenezer Hinkley

Bluehill, Dec 24, 1807.
What answer, if any, the General Court returned to
this petition I have not learned.
The first pastor of this church was John Roundy, the
son of John Roundy the first settler, and a younger
brother of the grandmother of him who now addresses
you. He held the pastoral care and charge of the church
from 1809 to March, 1821, when he was dismissed and
became pastor of the church in Penobscot ; later he was
employed as a missionary by the Maine Baptist Home
Missionary Society, and spent the remainder of his days
of usefulness in that service. He lived to a great age,
being 90 or upwards at the time of his death.

34 address.
The Bluehill Baptist Church had a steady and healthy
growth, numbering upon its records in 1816, ten years
after it was gathered, two hundred members that were
then, or had been connected with it.
The Baptist Church edifice, I am informed, was
erected in the year 181 7.
In August, 1825, a Baptist Church was formed on
Bluehill Neck, consisting of fourteen members who had
withdrawn from the church at Bluehill for that purpose.
The present church on the Neck is a Free Baptist
Church, organized some twenty-five years ago ; the
church founded in 1825 having been disorganized.
Some forty or more years ago — I do not have the
exact date — a Methodist Church was formed in the
town, which held regular meetings for a time, but it had
a short life, as it did not find the place an encouraging
field of labor.
A Baptist Church was formed at East Bluehill in
recent times, and they have a fine church edifice suffi
cient and suitable for their requirements.
The foregoing is a mere oudine of the church his
tory of the town, which, it is to be hoped, may be filled
in and enlarged upon at a future time.
The work of the churches, with the academy, has
exerted a great influence in forming the mental, moral,
and religious character and standing of the people of
the town.
But the work of the district schools should not be
omitted in mentioning the agencies that have been im-

address.

35

portant in moulding the character and in elevating the
condition of the people. The eariy settlers were aware
of the benefits to be derived from a system of training
their children in the elementary branches of education,
and so we find that early in the history of the town they
appropriated money to hire teachers, to build school
houses, and to firmly establish the common school sys
tem in the town. I, for one, have great respect for
their wisdom and forethought in this matter. The
work done in the ''little red school-houses" of the
town and of the country has never received that full
share of commendation to which it is entitled. I have
great respect for the " little red school-houses" — and I
am sorry to see that a change has been made in the
color of their paint in later years — for there was laid
for me the foundation of what little education I possess,
and through them, and by what I received from the
academy, I have been enabled to accomplish in life
whatever I have done worth accomplishing.
I bring to mind the days when Father Fisher was
one of the school committee, and I a boy in the school,
and how I was instructed to take off my hat and make
my manners to him when we met on the street. Yes,
and I bring to mind, too, the flogging I received from a
school teacher. You older persons present will re
member that flogging was deemed to be as necessary a
part of every well-regulated school as the course of
study, and perhaps more so. I then thought that the
punishment I received was unjust, and maturer years

36 address.
and judgment have failed to work in me an opposite
opinion. I mentally resolved that when I should be
large enough I would thrash him in return if a favorable
opportunity offered. In 1850, 1 drove one day from the
Falls to the village, and on the way overtook and in
vited my old teacher to ride with me, and he accepted.
When comfortably seated by my side, I asked if he
knew me ; he said he did not. I told him my name,
that I went to school to him, that he thrashed me as I
thought without just cause. The old man said he did
not remember anything about it, which I readily be
lieved, for he had flogged hundreds of boys and girls in
his day. I said to him, "I promised myself to thrash
you when I should be large enough to do it:" — the
old man grew uneasy in his seat. I said, " I am now
large and strong enough to flog a dozen men of your
age and infirmities, but don't be in the least alarmed, I
shall not harm a hair of your head." The old gentle
man felt at ease after that, and we had a pleasant chat
the rest of the way to the village, where we parted
never to meet again in this life.
He was a type of the old-time school-master, of whom
the boys and girls of the present day know nothing by
their own experience ; and it is well they do not, for it
was a hard and difficult task to flog intelligence into the
brains of the ordinary child of those days.
An incident was related to me some years ago, which
illustrated the character of the people of Bluehill a hun
dred years ago or less. At that time Hancock County

ADDRESS. -y
comprised not only its present territory, but what is
now Waldo and Penobscot Counties. A sheriff came
to Bluehill to arrest one of its inhabitants and lodge
him in jail for debt. The citizens learned what his
errand was, and gathered together to talk the matter
over. They discussed the matter, and agreed that to
have one of their townsmen arrested and put in jail for
debt would be a lasting disgrace to the town. The
result was that they raised among themselves the
amount of the debt, paid it over to the sheriff, and
saved the good name of their townsman, and preserved
the honor of the town. These men who exhibited such
a high regard for the honor and good name of their
town, were part of the eariy settlers, in whose honor we
are met to-day, and in whom we feel a just pride.
The early settlers and their descendants, notwith
standing their zealous care for church and state, did
not relax their energies in the direction of subduing
the forests, clearing and cultivating the soil, erecting
dwellings and barns from time to time as their needs
required, which brought the town to the prosperous
condition in which we behold it to-day. They not only
did that, but they did more ; they erected saw and
grist mills, built, manned, and freighted fleets of vessels,*
• It is recorded that on January 23, 1768, "Capt. Russ sailed for the
West Indies, being the first who ever sailed from this place for that part of
the world. " The cargo of his vessel was lumber, no doubt ; but what the
name of his vessel was, her size, rig, &c., and where she and Capt. Russ
hailed from, we do not know.

38 address.
opened up and worked quarries of granite, from which
have been taken stone to be erected into imposing
structures, that now beautify and adorn many of the
cities of our land ; built, fitted out, and manned fleets
of fishing vessels, and displayed an energy and perse
verance in these undertakings worthy of the success
they have achieved. We should expect the children of
such parentage to inherit the activities and tendencies
of their sires, and improve upon the foundations laid
for them, and we are not disappointed in that respect.
Of the mining interests of the town I am not prepared
to speak at this time ; they are too recent to take up
any part of our attention for to-day.
The sons and daughters of Bluehill, and of other
towns in Maine, have not only won for themselves hon
orable mention at home, but they are to be found as
citizens of different States,* from the Atlantic to the
Pacific and from the North Eastern boundary of Maine
to Texas, and, by their sturdy energies and their hon
esty of character, have helped to mold our modern civ
ilization and to build up our great country. They, like
the early settlers of this region, have sought for them
selves homes far removed from their ancestral hearth
stones, and have carried with them the principles which
were here taught them, and have exerted an influence

? W. Preston Wood, a descendant of Joseph Wood, of the fifth genera
tion, and Mabel (Candage) Wood, his wife, a descendant of John Roundy,
of the fifth generation, are now residents of Orange Park, Florida.

address.

39

for good which has not been lost to the country at
large. " A good name, " said Solomon, " is rather to be de
sired than great riches"; and the man, be he old or
young, who wins for himself a name for honest, moral
worth, and for upright Christian character, gains a noble
position for himself, and a large legacy for his posterity,
though he may possess very little of this worid's goods.
Not many of the descendants of this town have won
great distinction and honors among their fellow-men,
nor was it to be expected they would. It is the mass
that make a state, a country, and a nation. There are
few towering intellects and leaders in a community of
educated, intelligent people. But it is a great gain to
every community to be educated and intelligent. A
few, however, have acquired honors and distinction,
who are descended from the people of this town ; for in
stance, the present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
of this State, Hon. John A. Peters, whose father was
born here, and whose grandfather was a man of mark,
and highly respected among the first settlers. And
there are others who might be mentioned, if time would
permit. Our ancestors had respect for character, and so
should we ; and they could not have expressed it in a
stronger way than they did, when they voted " to hire
a person to preach the Gospel to us, in order that their
children should not grow up like the heathen. "
I am aware that there is a tendency among those

40 address.
claiming to represent Young America at the present
time, to characterize the teachings of our forefathers
as " old fogy ism." But it will be a sad day for this
country and for the world, when the teachings of the
Sermon on the Mount and of the Gospel are outgrown.
The citizens of Bluehill, among their other character
istics, have never been lacking in patriotism and in love
of country. Christopher Osgood, one of its first set
tlers, was a soldier in the Revolutionary army at the
battle of Bunker Hill, and another, Nehemiah Hinckley,
served through the war, and was honorably discharged
at West Point at its close. Col. Nathan Parker was an
officer in the Provincial army at the siege and fall of
Louisburg. A number were in the service during the
war with great Britain in 1812-15 ; and Mr. Crockett,
who formerly lived on the Neck, was impressed on
board a British man-of-war, where he was made to serve
against his will ; and it is to the credit of the town that
when there was likely to be a war with Great Britain,
respecting the North Eastern Boundary dispute, a large
number went to the Aroostook to defend the territory
of their State from invasion and spoliation.
John Arnold, a citizen of the town, was engaged in
the field during the Mexican war, and several were
engaged in the transport service in aid of that war.
In the great Civil War of 1861-65, the people of
Bluehill were loyal to the cause of the Union, and did
good service on land and sea in putting down the
Rebellion. A more honorable record than that of

address. 41
the citizens of this town was not made any where.
The Gazetteer of Maine states that Bluehill furnished
196 men in defence of the Union, and paid out in
bounties to the enlisted men some $18,000 in money !
I feel a just sense of pride in my native place as I
rehearse to you the honorable part her citizens have
taken to defend their country from the assaults of
foreign and domestic foes. And I feel a pride in her
people, who, by their energy and perseverance, caused
to be cut by a citizen of the town, from a native block
of granite, the beautiful and appropriate monument
which has been set up in yonder cemetery in memory
of those brave men from Bluehill, who laid down their
lives for their country ! I feel I ought to bare my
head as I pass it, out of respect for the men whose
death it commemorates, for the deeds of daring and of
valor performed by them and by their comrades still
living, of which it speaks to every beholder, in language
mute, but full of eloquence and pathos.
It is well we have gathered here to-day to study the
history of our town, and the lives and characters of our
townsmen, — what they did for us, what examples they
set us, and how we may profit by them.
It is well for us, and especially so for the young, to
be taught by a review of the historical events which we
have so briefly recounted, that service for others is hon
orable and elevating; that the greatest benefactors have
been those, who, without expectation of reward, have
performed the greatest service ; that honest toil, even

42 address.
when those who come after us shall reap its benefits, is
not degrading, but is manly, and will bring a sure re
ward. The centennial anniversary of the town's incorpora
tion will occur on the 30th of January, 1889, a little
more than two years hence, and it is to be hoped that
arrangements will early be effected to celebrate it in
an appropriate and becoming manner. I trust, too,
that measures will be taken to have a history of the
town published, for which there are abundant materials
and talent to carry forward the work ; but it requires
money to meet the expense of publication, which must
be raised in some way. I think I could name the per
son who would be willing to undertake its publication,
provided proper aid and support should be given him.
It is also to be hoped that the citizens will be aroused
to aid in the work, by the gathering together of family
histories and biographies, and other interesting mat
ter in regard to the early settlers, and the progress
made by the community, which, if neglected, would in
a few years be lost, but which can now be collected and
preserved. It would be a commendable undertaking for the per
sons gathered here to form themselves into the Bluehill
Historical Society, having for its purpose the collection
and preservation of all historical matter bearing upon
the settlement and progress of the town and vicinity,
and to provide a place of safe deposit for the same.

ADDRESS. 43
In furtherance of these suggestions, let me ask, why
an annual clam-bake, of which this may be called the
first, should not be held on this spot, at which the
citizens of Bluehill and vicinity may assemble, and
spend a day of profit and pleasure together.
And now, what has been to me a pleasing task is
finished. I regret for your sakes, however, that it did
not fall to the lot of one more able and better equipped
for the work.
Every one who has hacj experience in culling his
torical data for his use, has encountered difficulty in
deciding what to select and what to reject, and such
has been my case.
If, hpwever, this shall prove to be the means of
awakening you to a deeper interest in the matters
touched upon, I shall feel well paid for the time and
labor bestowed upon it.
Thanking you for the kind and considerate attention
you have accorded to me, I close with renewed
feeUngs of friendship for you all, with affection for my
native town, with great respect for the lives and char
acter of its founders, and with becoming pride in its
history and in its historical associations.

1... ft* ^
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