A Historical Sketch of the Town of Deer Isle

Introduction

For some decades past it has been my purpose to write a historical sketch of the town with notices of its settlers and early inhabitants.

NOTICES OF SETTLERS AND EARLY INHABITANTS.

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 permanent settlement here, and it was said to be in 1762. I have judged that his native place might have been Haverhill, 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 Wardwell, of that place, in 1742. I have been 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 captive by the Indians, and while in captivity she was compelled 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 Wardwell, 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 1818, 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 Wardwell, 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, 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 hereafter.

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. Benjamin 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. Francis 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 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 settled, 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 Sargentville, 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, 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 Messni. Timothy and Daniel Billings, afterward owned by Captain John Gray.

NATHAN CLOSSON

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 noticed. 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 daughters 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 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 respected, 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 afterward 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 lVlr. Joshua Chatto; of a Mr. Carter, in Bluehill 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 adjoining 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 perfectly fearless, was very active in what he undertook, and what he lacked in size he made up in what is generally termed" pluck." He was the owner of a considerable 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 Thompson 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, Cum berland County; Nathaniel Kennison, of Sedgwick; Colonel Edward Barnes, of Boston; and Mr. John Howard, Jr.

STAPLES

The occupant of the land adjoining that of Mr. Thompson on the southeast was a man named Staples. 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 1841, 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 Saunders. Their father was impressed on board of an English ship-of-war during the Revolution, 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 Spofford, 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 support. Mr. Tyler liv'ed 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 he first had his residence. The farm is now occupied by Mr. James Tyler, and upon it are large quantities of marble. 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 are large quantities of it in the vicinity.

JONATHAN TORREY.

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 belonging 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. Johnson, 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, who removed to Cape Elizabeth. Two of the daughters were afflicted with insanity - Mrs. Haskell and Mrs. Webster; 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 understood, from Dedham, Masschusetts, and was by trade a blacksmith. In those days that trade was employed in the manufacture of many articles that are now by machinery made a specialty. Axes, both broad and narrow, and other edge-tools, hoes, pitchforks, ox-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 settled 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. Foster; and two daughters: one the present wife of 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 Castine 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. McIntire, 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 seventy-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, according 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 Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The name of his wife was Mary Blunt. After the commencement of the Revolutionary War he wished to'renlain neutral, alleging that the struggle with such a power as Great Britain would be .vain,

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 probably during the latter part of the war, for the Greenlaws left in 1783, and it must have been prior to their leaving if he purclfased 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 1715, 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 first 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, who died in Dubuque, in the State of Iowa. Captain George Campbell was a resident of Newburyport, 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.

Captain Robert Campbell was for many years a mastermariner, 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 selected 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 convenient 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 established 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 Sabbath day, that they could not have the privilege of attending them as in the place they came from, and he answered that she might have it on the next Sabbath day, and accordingly 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 commission of a justice of the peace here, and in his day was considered a man of integrity, and had considerable influence. His sons were: Thomas, Samuel, William, and John. One of his daughters was the wife of l\ir. Thomas Robbins, Jr., and the mother of the late Mr. William G. Robbins, and the wives of the late Mr. Richard Greenlaw, 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. THOMAS STINSON, we will notice in another place.

SAMUEL STINSON

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 answer was made to fire, and while on duty one night he had occasion to challenge, and, instead of saying it three different 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 Ellsworth, 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 ~hey 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