Robert Bayley, the First Schoolmaster in Falmouth (Portland) Maine and Some of His Descendants
196 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY
Robert Bayley, the First Schoolmas-
ter in Falmouth (Portland) Maine
and Some of His Descendants
By ARCHIE LEE TALBOT, LEWISTON, MAINE.
(Read before the Maine Historical Society, May 24, 1916)
Gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost. John VI:i2.
In the spirit of this command we have endeavored to gather tip
the fragments of records that remain which preserve all that is
known of a once active and useful life in the early days of what is
now Portland and adjoining towns. The story we have to present
might be truthfully given under the title, "A Week in Alfred," with
the thirty-five volumes of York Deeds, in the period when York
County embraced what is now the State of Maine.
We ask your patience while we examine the fragments of records
that remain, which have been gathered from all known sources.
Two days before the fire, in Portland, that destroyed the former
City Hall, we copied all that related to Robert Bayley, in the
original records of Old Falmouth, that were in the custody of the
city clerk, which were burned in that fire and forever lost.
Robert Bayley, a resident of Biddeford, Maine, was admitted
proprietor in Falmouth, August 17, I727, his name being the first
in a list of sixteen prominent persons admitted at that time. Con-
spicuous among them is the name of Colonel Thomas Westbrook,
of Portsmouth, N. H., who was in command of the military forces,
on the Eastern frontier, in I72I-23, now in the State of Maine,
a
and who established his residence at Stroudwater, where he built a
garrison house, and later a paper mill, and whose name is per-
petuated in that part of old Falmouth, that is now Westbrook.
The conditions of admission as proprietors in Falmouth were that
they each pay ten pounds, and settle on their lot in twelve month,,
and not alienate them until they had lived on the same seven years.
These conditions were faithfully complied with by the proprietors
named.
In February, 1728, a house lot was granted to Robert Bayley, On
the south side of Middle street, where Plum street has since been
laid out.
ROBERT BAYLEY, THE FIRST SCHOOLMASTER i97
Falmouth (formerly called Casco Bay) was incorporated in 1718.
As early as 1647, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony, made provision for schools in towns in the Colony.
In 1692 the following Act was passed by the Province of Massa-
chusetts Bay:
And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that every town
within this province, having the number of fifty householders or upwards,
shall be constantly provided of a school-master to teach children and youth
to read and write; and where any town or towns have the number of one
hundred families or householders, there shall also be a grammar school set
tip in every such town, and some discreet person of good conversation, well
instructed in the tongues, procured to keep such school, every such school-
master to be suitably encouraged and paid by the inhabitants; and the
selectmen and inhabitants of such towns respectively shall take effectual
care, and make due provision for the settlement and maintenance of such
school-master.
And if any town, qualified as before expressed, shall neglect the due
observance of this act, for the procuring and settling of such school-master,
as aforesaid, by the space of one year, every such defective town shall
incur the penalty of ten pounds for every conviction of such neglect, upon
complaint made unto their majesties' justices in quarter sessions for the
same county in which such town lieth.(1)
By vote of the town of Falmouth, September I5, 1729, "the
selectmen were requested to look out for a school-master to prevent
the town being presented."
Mr. Willis says: "It was not until 1726 that a number of families
brought the town within the lowest provisions of the statutes."'
The first record of the employment of a school-master is in
1733, when Robert Bayley was hired, at a salary of seventy pound,
a year, to keep, "Six months on the Neck, three months at Pur-
pooduck, and three on the north side of Back Cove." The next
year lie was requireed to keel) two months each on the Neck, at
Purpooduck, Stroudwater, Spurwink, New Casco, and Presump-
scot, and his salary was raised to seventy-five pounds. In I733,
Purpooduck was made a Second Parish, and in 1735 his services
were divided between the First and Second Parishes, seven months
in the First and five in the Second. In I736 he received six pounds
extra as Grammar School-master. He taught the four years of
1733, 1734, 1735, and 1736, in Falmouth, and the record that he
(1) Section 4, and part of Section 5, of Chapter XIII, Province Laws of
Massachusetts Bay, Published by the General Court i8i4, p. 245.
(2) History of Portland, Maine, by William Willis, i865: 365.
i98 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY
was "Grammar School-master" in I736, indicates that he taugt
the "tongues" as required by the law of the Province, which in
Colonial days was Greek and Latin. In the Colonial Laws of 1671,
is the following:
Whereas the law requires every town consisting of one hundred families
or upwards to set up a grammar school and appoint a master thereof, able
to instruct youth, so as to fit them for the college.'
It appears by the town records of Scarborough that it was voted
in 1737, "that Robert Bayley be school-master this year in the
town; that it be kept all the year on Black Point side and that Mr.
Bayley be paid seventy-five pounds in lumber for his services."
Mr. Southgate in his history of Scarborough, says: "Mr. Bayley
is the earliest school teacher in town of whom we have any account
" (4)
whatever.
Between February 8 and March 3, 174o, as appears by deeds of
land and family history, Mr. Bayley became a resident of North
Yarmouth in 1749. He was the town clerk in that town, and in
1750 he was employed there as school-master.
Robert Bayley was an extensive land owner in several townships
in Maine, as indicated by the county registry of deeds. The record
of these deeds have thus far escaped the ravages of time (Cum-
berland County deeds just escaped in the burning of City Hall.
where they were kept, and the York County deeds are in no safe--
place today), and in this record of land conveyance are preserved
many items of historical interest not elsewhere to be found. This
record clearly shows that this first school-master, in what is now
Portland, was an active business man of that day; it indicates his
residence at the time the deeds were made with absolute certainty,
and much condensed, is made a part of our story, viz:
Robert Bayley of Falmouth, conveyed to Samuel Proctor of Falmouth,
by deed. dated August 2, 1733, two tracts or parcels of land lying in town-
ship of Falmouth, one containing sixty-three acres on the south side of
Presumpscot River, the other tract or parcel of land containing ten acres on
southerly side of Presumpscot. Consideration sixty-three pounds.'
Robert Bayley of Falmouth, conveyed to Isaac Ilsley and John Waite,
both of Falmouth, by deed dated March, 1736-7 "in equal halves" a certain
tract or parcel of land lying in the township of Falmouth, containing
about three acres, be the same more or less, the same lying on the North-
Section 4, of Chapter LXXXVIII, Laws of Massachusetts
(3) Part of
I Bay Colony, Published by the General Court, 1814, P. 186.
(4) Collections of the Maine Historical Society, Vol. III: I68.
(5) York County Deeds, Book i6, Folio 43.
ROBERT BAYLEY, THE FIRST SCHOOLMASTER i99
west side of Back street, so called, together with the new dwelling house
and my part of the fence thereon standing. Consideration three hundred
and fifty pounds. Wife, Martha Bayley, releases dower.'
Robert Bayley of Falmouth, conveyed to Isaac Ilsley and John Waite,
both of Falmouth, by deed dated March I2, 1736-7 "in equal halves" seventy-
seven acres and a half of land in the Township of Falmouth, and at a
place called Back Cove in Falmouth, and the same is a thirty acre lot laid
out to me by -the Committee of Falmouth, aforesaid, and two ten acre lots
I purchased of my mother-in-law, Martha Millet of Falmouth, aforesaid
widow, and twenty acres and a half of land I purchased of one Joseph
Whitefoot of Salem. The two ten acre lots are bounded as follows:
Beginning at a white oak tree marked one knotch standing near the
,western corner of thirty acres of land laid out by the lot layers of Falmouth,
to Thomas Millet of Falmouth, at a place called the Back Cove. Consid-
eration three hundred and ninety pounds. Wife, Martha Bayley, releases
dower.'
Robert Bayley of Falmouth, conveyed to Andrew Libbee of Scarborough,
by deed dated August 31, 1737, six acres of land more or less in Township
of Scarborough. Consideration forty-two pounds.'
Robert Bayley of Falmouth, conveyed to Zachariah Frasher of Ports-
mouth, N. H., by deed dated March 1, 1736-7, ten acres of land yet to be
laid out in the common and undivided land in township of Falmouth, being
part of the right which was returned to the heirs and assigns of Francis
Jeffords, dec'd., by the proprietors of Falmouth, aforesaid, which land we
purchased "in equal halves" of our mother, Martha, Millet. Consideration
ten pounds.'
Thomas Ficket of Scarborough, conveyed to Robert Bayley of Falmouth,
by deed dated May ii, 1737, six acres of land more or less, lying in the
Township of Scarborough. Consideration eighty-five pounds."
Robert Bayley of Falmouth, conveyed to Thomas Ficket of Scarborough,
by deed dated June 8, 1737, one hundred and four acres of land in Falmouth
on Purpoorduck side on the southerly side of fore river near to a place
called Barran Hill, beginning at a stake in the corner of land that John
Bayley purchased. Consideration one hundred And fifty-six pounds.'
Robert Bayley of North Yarmouth, conveyed to Elisha Donharn of Scar-
borough, by deed dated March 3, 174o, one and one-half acres of land,
being two house lots granted by the town of Falmouth, on the southerly
side of Middle street. Consideration one hundred and sixty pounds.'
Robert Bayley of North Yarmouth, conveyed to Benjamin Sweetster of
Falmouth, by deed dated October i6, i74i, house and land in Falmouth,
(6) York County Deeds, Book i8, Folio i9o.
(7) Ibid., Book i8, Folio i91.
(8) Ibid., Book 19, Folio 326.
(9) Ibid., Book 20, Folio 42.
(10) [bid., Book 2o, Folio 104.
(11) Ibid., Book 22, Folio 4o.
(12) Ibid., Book 23, Folio 69.
2
200 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY
two and a half acres. Consideration four hundred pounds. Wife, Martha
Bayley, releases dower."
Robert Bayley of North Yarmouth conveyed to Benjamin Hartford of
Scarborough, by deed dated October 3, 1749, fifty acres of land in Scar-
borough. Consideration three hundred and fifty pounds."
Benjamin Hartford of Scarborough, conveyed to Robert Bayley of North
Yarmouth, by deed dated March 2o, 1750, fifty acres of land with a house
in said Scarborough. Consideration fifty pounds.",
Benjamin Sweetser of Falmouth, conveyed to Robert Bayley of North
Yarmouth, by deed dated October i6, 1741, twenty-one acres of land in
North Yarmouth, with house and barn. Consideration three hundred and
-seventy pounds."
Robert Bayley of North Yarmouth, conveyed to Jacob Royall of Boston,
by deed dated September 29, 1752, two hundred and forty acres of land
it, North Yarmouth, this being a conditional deed. Consideration three
hundred and twenty pounds."
Robert Bayley of North Yarmouth, conveyed to Jonathan Mitchell of
North Yarmouth, by deed dated September 15, 1753, twenty-one and a half
acres of land in North Yarmouth with buildings. Consideration one hun-
dred pounds."
Benjamin Hartford to Robert Bayley of North Yarmouth, by deed dated
September 15, 1754, twenty-five acres of land in Scarborough. Consideration
seventy-three pounds."
Robert Bayley of North Yarmouth, conveyed to Nathan Winslow of
Falmouth, by deed dated April i6, 1754, one half of sixty acres of land in
Falmouth. Consideration seventeen pounds."
Rev. Thomas Smith, the first Minister of the First Church in
Falmouth, writes:
The first male teacher employed was Robert Bayley from Newbury.'
Mr Willis in a foot note relating to Robert Bayley, writes:
He probably came from Newbury where the Bayley family settled about
1642. The ancestor was John who came from Chippenham, England, to
Salesbury, about 1639, with his son John, Jr., and died in Newbury in i651.
A John Bayley was admitted an inhabitant here December 14, 1727, and
Joseph in I728."
Rev. Thomas Smith and historian Willis were both in error about
Robert Bayley as coming from Newbury, Mass., for the town
(13) York County Deeds, Book 27, Folio 49.
(14 ) Ibid,, Book 27, Folio 264.
(15) Ibid., Book 29, Folio 62.
(16) Ibid., Book 29, Folio 94.
(17) Ibid., Book 31, Folio 49.
(18)[bid., Book 31, Folio 130.
(19) Ibid., Book 32, Folio 63.
(20) Ibid., Book 35, Folio I71.
(21) Smith and Deane's journals, i849: 70.
(22) History of Portland, Maine, by William Willis, i865:366.
ROBERT BAYLEY, THE FIRST SCHOOLMASTER 20i
records of North Yarmouth and the records of the First Church
it,. that town conclusively prove that he came from Biddeford.
Mr. Coffin in his history of Newbury, Mass., gives the names of
the children of Joseph and Priscilla Bayley, who settled in Arundel,
Maine, as follows:
Rebecca, b. Oct. 25, 1675; Priscilla, b. Oct. 31, 1676; John, b. Sept. i5,
1678; Joseph, b. Jan. 28, 168i; Hannah, b. Sept. 9, 1683; Daniel, b. June 10,
1686; Mary, b. June 9, 1688; Judith, b. Feb. ii, 169o; Lydia, b. Nov. 25,
1695; Sarah, b. Feb. 14, 1698.'
Mr. Bradbury in his history of Kennebunkport (Arundel
Maine, states that John Bayley came from Chippenham, Wiltshire,
England, and was cast away at Pemaquid, in 1639, on his passage
to this country, and died in 165i. His son John settled in New-
bury. Joseph, the fourth son of John, Jr., was born April 4,
1648. He bought land of Nicholas Morey in 1700, and resided in
Arundel till it was deserted in I703. He returned in 17I4, and
was one of the selectmen in i7i9, and was killed by the Indians,
October, I723, aged 75. His children were Noah, Daniel, and Anna
who married Joseph Lessel. There was a Joseph Bayley in Fal-
mouth, in 1742, who owned land in this town. He was probably
son of Joseph of Arundel."
Mr. Folsom in his history of Saco and Biddeford, gives the name
of John Baylie among the early settlers."
An item of interest relating to the Bailey family appeared in the
Deering News, which we quote:
Concerning Dea. John Bailey, whose first child was born in Newbury,
Mass., Oct. 30, 1722, and was admitted a citizen of Falmouth, Dec. 14, 1727,
and who died at Libby's Corner, I will say I have much material: the same
also concerning his brother, Joseph, whose first child was born at Newbury.
Nov. 5, 1727, and who came to Falmouth and died near Saccarappa.(26)
Robert Bayley was the first of the Bayleys in Falmouth, but no
record of his birth has been found, or anything to definitely indi-
cate the names of his parents. Strong circumstantial evidence
indicates that he was a descendant of John Bayley who came from
Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, in 1639, whose son, John, Jr.,
settled in Newbury, Mass. He was probably a grandson of Joseph
Bayley, who settled in Arundel (Kennebunkport), Maine, and war
killed by the Indians in I723. The history of Newbury gives the
23) History of Newbury, Mass., by Joshua Coffin, 1845:294.
History of Kennebunkport, Maine, by Charles Bradbury, 1827:226,
History of Saco and Biddeford, Maine, by George Folsom. 1830:33.
Deering News, July ii, 1893, L. B. Chapman, Editor.
2o2 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY
names of three of his sons, viz: John, Joseph, and Daniel, and
the history of Kermebunkport gives the names of two, Noah and
Daniel. Discovery of positive proof of the relationship of Robert
Bayley to the early settlers in Falmouth of the same family name,
has not yet rewarded a most diligent search.
Robert Bayley married Martha Millet, daughter of Thomas awl
Martha (Ingersol) Millet, of Falmouth. This is proved by Vic
will of Martha Millet of Falmouth, widow of Thomas Millet. The
first bequest in the will is:
I give and bequeath to my son, Thomas Millet, the house & land lying
in Falmouth, afores'd, the which his father purchased of Benjamin Larraby,
as may appear by ye Deed thereof, and the last item is: I do hereby ordain
& appoint my son-in-law, Robert Bayley of Falmouth, aforesd., to be my
sole Executor of this my Last Will and Testament.
The will dated November 12, 1734, was probated October 13,
27
27
174I .
The record of the original deed of house and land bequeathed in
the will of widow Martha Millet, to her son Thomas, is of Much
interest, and a portion of same is given as follows:
1, Benjamin Larraby, of ye Town of North Yarmouth, in ye County of
York, in ye Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, know ye that
1, ye sd Benjamin Larraby, for, and in consideration of, ye full and just
surn of thirty-three pounds ten shillings in band paid, have Given, Granted,
Sold, Conveyd, and Confirmed, Onto Thomas Millet, of ye Town of Gloces-
ter, in ye County of Essex, in ye Province, aforesaid, a certain house, and
tract or tracts 'of land or lands, lying and being in ye Township of Falmouth,
aforesaid, said house being between ye house of Thorns Comming and
Robert Williams wth one acre of land lying and adjoining on ye Westerly
side on ye land now in ye possession of ye said Thorns Cummings Land,
and ye land of Robert Williams, together wth a three acre lot and a thirty
acre lot according to ye town vote, said thirty acre lot being ye fourth lot
in number towards Brimhalls.
Deed dated May 3, 1722."
Thomas Millet of Gloucester, in ye County of Essex, bought of
Benjamin Ingersoll of Falmouth, fifty acres of land in Falmouth.
Deed dated May 5, 1722."(29)
Thomas Millet of Falmouth, in ye County of York, bought of
John Jeffards of Boxford, in ye County of Essex, one acre lot with
frame in first division; three acre lot in second division; thirty
Maine Wills, 164o-176o: 438.
York County Deeds, Book ii Folio 2o1.
Ibid., Book ii, Folio 200.
ROBERT BAYLEY, THE FIRST SCHOOLMASTER 203
acres in the third division, all in Falmouth, also his interest in the
common land in Falmouth. Deed dated February 22, 1724-5.(30)
Proof that Martha Bayley, the wife of Robert Bayley, was the
daughter of Thomas and Martha Millet, is found in the record of
several deeds, particularly a conveyance by Robert Bayley to Moses
Pearson, February 22, 1737, of all his rights to the common and
undivided lands in Falmouth, it being:
All the rights of Comonage of Lands yet undivided, which I have or
ever shall have by virtue of my being an Inhabitant and propr in said town,
which is one Common Right, and also one-half of a Common Right which
my father-in-law, Millet, bought of one Francis Jeffres, late of said Fal-
mouth, and left by my said father-in-law to my mother-in-law, Millet, the
which I purchased of her."
Rev. Thomas Smith, referring to Thomas Millet, says:
The early settlers of this name were Thomas and John, who were both
Proprietors in the common land. Thomas died January 2i, 173o, aged 59,
leaving a widow, Martha. Thomas Millet had taken a house lot on the
Neck previous to 1722, on Congress Street, which was confirmed to him in
1724; he was probably one of Major Moody's soldiers.
Under date of Sept- 3, 174I, he makes the following record in
his journal:
"I preached extempor at Mrs. Millet's; had great assistance and
preached a good sermon."
On Sept. 9, he writes:
"I was at the funeral of Mrs. Millet, who dropped away sud-
denly."
And Sept. io, he writes:
"I preached a funeral sermon on Mrs. Millet.""
The Province of Massachusetts Bay, in July, 1722, declared war
against the Indians, which has been called the "Abenaki War."
The Indian War raged destructively in Maine during this year.
Nine families were captured in Merrymeeting Bay, in June, and in
September, Brunswick and Georgetown were destroyed."
A careful search in the Archives of Massachusetts has failed to
discover any Muster Roll or Pay Roll of Major Moody's soldiers
that reinforced the garrisons in Falmouth in 1722.
From the record of the deed of the house and lands purchased by
I
Thomas Millet, of Benjamin Larraby, May 3, 1722, and of
Benjamin Ingersoll, May 5, 1722, it is known that said Millet was
York County Deeds, Book ii, Folio 201.
Ibid., Book 27, Folio 321.
Smith and Deane's Journals, 1849: 100.
Ibid., 41.
204 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY
then a resident of Gloucester, Mass. In a statement of the Millet
family, by Mr. Babson in his history of Gloucester, he refers to
Thomas Millet, who came from England to New England in 1635,
and to his grandsons, John and Thomas, the latter born in 1671,
married Martha Ingersoll in 1695, and had seven children. The
father and his son John, with their families, removed to Falmouth,
Maine, about 1724, where the former died Jan. 21, 1730.(34)
In a later statement Mr. Babson says:
In 1723, Thomas Millet sold to Joseph Allen, for 48i pounds sterling, his house and
land on the westerly side of the meetinghouse green and removed lo
Falmouth, Maine."
The earliest record of Thomas Millet, as a resident of Falmouth,
is the deed of the one acre lot with frame in first division; three
acre lot in the second division; thirty acres in third division, all in
Falmouth; also his interest in the common land in Falmouth,
February 23, 1794-5, as above stated.
The record clearly indicates that although Thomas Millet made
his first purchase of land and house in Falmouth early in May,
1722, that he was detained in Gloucester, Mass., to look after his
property there, that he did not sell until 1723, and did not remove
to Falmouth until February, 1724, as stated by historian Babson,
and indicated by the deed of land he bought of Francis Jefferds
before cited.
The large amount of land he purchased in Falmouth, the time
Ns land in Gloucester was sold, and the time he became a residest.
in Falmouth, strongly indicate that Parson Smith was in error in
thinking that Thomas Millet was probably one of Major Moody's
soldiers.
Several of the early settlers at Casco Bay and Falmouth, came
from Gloucester, Mass., and this no doubt had much to do with
the coming of Thomas Millet to Falmouth, Maine. Both Thomas
and John were proprietors in the common land in Falmouth.
Thomas Millett's wife, Martha, was the daughter of Joseph and
Sarah (Coe) Ingersoll, and granddaughter of Lieutenant George
Ingersoll, who was a land owner at Casco Bay in 1658," and was
in command of the military forces there in 1675, in King Phillip's
War.
(") History of the Town of Gloucester Cape Ann, by John J. Babson,
186o: 117.
Notes and Additions to the History of Gloucester, Mass., by John J.
Babson, 1876: 46.
(36) York County Deeds, Book 1, Part I, Folio I05.
ROBERT BAYLEY, THE FIRST SCHOOLMASTER 205
From an item in Rev. Thomas Smith's journal, above quoted, it
appears that in 174I, before the new meeting-house, erected on the
site of the First Parish lot on Congress street, was accepted,
religious services were held in the house of Mrs. Millet, widow of
Thomas Millet.
Robert Bayley, and Martha (Millet) Bayley, his wife, were
members of the First Parish Church in Falmouth (Portland),
organized in 1725. The records of said church show that Martha
Bayley became a member October 3, 1726, and Robert Bayley
bccame a member September, 1729.
A foot note in the second edition of Willis' History of Portland,
states that :
In 1745, Robert Bayley and his wife, Martha, were dismissed from the
Church in Falmouth to the Church in North Yarmouth .37
In the records of the old town of North Yarmouth, in the hand
writing of Robert Bayley, when town clerk in 1749, appears the
following record of his family, viz:
Children of Robert and Martha Bayley:
Bathsheba, born at Biddeford, March 14, 1727;
Judith, born at Falmouth, September 14, 1730; d. April 25, 173I;
Hannah, born at Falmouth, May 13, 1732;
Mary Clark, born at Falmouth, March io, 734;
Robert, Jr., born at Falmouth, June 15, 1736;
Martha, born at Falmouth, February 8, 1740;
Naomi, born at North Yarmouth, June 12, 1742; (Bapt. July 4, 1742, in
the First Church of Falmouth) ;
Achsah, born at North Yarmouth, April 5, 1748.
The place and date of birth of his eldest child in Biddeford,
March 14, 1727, show conclusively that Robert Bayley was married
and res'ded in Biddeford before he was admitted a proprietor in
Falmouth, August 17, 1727.
The name of Mrs. Martha Bayley does not appear in the old
book of records of the First Church in North Yarmouth. She
probably (lied soon after the birth of her daughter, Achsah, April
5, 1748. In the Manual of the First Church of North Yarmouth,
compiled by Rev. David Shipley, in 1848, the name of Robert
appears as received into membership on public confession, October
14, 1764; died June 17, 1772. Opposite his name is added: -"From
Biddeford."
This was probably Robert Bayley who was dismissed from the
First Church in Falmouth, to the First Church in North Yarmouth,
(37) History of Portland, Maine, by William Willis, 1865: 366.
206 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY
in 1745- Mrs. Bayley was probably deceased; the letter from the
Church in Falmouth lost or too old to be accepted, consequently
Mr. Bayley united with the church on a new confession. "From
Biddeford" indicates his native town, or town where-he resided in
early manhood, which is also shown by the record of the birth of
his eldest child born there March 14, 1727, before he was admitted
a proprietor in Falmouth, August 17, 1727.
Robert Bayley owned a large farm of two hundred and forty
acres in North Yarmouth, on which he lived. This land he bought
of Jacob Royall of Boston, in 1752, and is bounded as follows, viz:
Northerly in part by land of Benjamin Mitchell; partly by land of Jacob,
Brown & partly on land of the widow Wyer; easterly on Cussen's River,
so called; southerly on other land of Jacob Royall, Esqr., & westerly on
Royall's River, so called."
The trolley road from Portland to Brunswick runs through the
b
old Bayley farm, and the landing near the bridge over the eastern
branch of Cousin's River is called "Bayley's Wharf" to this day.
The granite quarry, known as "Bayley's Ledge," takes its name
from Robert Bayley, the owner in Colonial days.
Dr. Banks, in "Old Times,"" gives items of value relating to
Robert Bayley and his family, gathered from the records of the
town and First Church in North Yarmouth, viz:
Bayley, Robert,' wf. Martha (Clark?) ; ch. Bathsheba, (Biddeford),
March 14, 1727, in. Eliah Royall, Julie 17, 1746; Judith, b. Sept. 14, 1730 (Fal-
mouth), d. there Apr. 25, I731 ; Hannah, b. May 13, I732 (Fal) ; Mary
Clark, b. Mar. 10, 1734, (Fal), m. Ambrose Talbot, Nov. 28, I754: Robert,
b. Julie 15, 1736 (Fal), m. Mary Hammon, Dec. 21, 1758; Martha, b. Feb. 8,
I740 (Fal), d. June 14, 1814,(41) m. John Worthly, Oct. (Nov.?) 2, I758;(42)
Naomi, b. June 12, I742, bap. July 4, 1742.(43) M. Samuel Winthrop Royall,
May 22, 1759;(44) Achsah, b. April 5, I748; Robert (above), ch.; Robert, bap,..
July I3, 176o."
Naomi and Achsah, the last named children, were born in
North Yarmouth, according to the town record made by their
father when town clerk in 1749.
( 38 ) York County Deeds, Book 31, Folio 49. Charles E. Bank,.;, p. 907.
(39) Old Times in North Yarmouth, by Dr.
(40) 225 1st Ch. Oct. 14, 1764, from Biddeford?
(41 ) 294, Ist Ch
(42 ) pp., 660, 786.
(43) p. 6I3.
(44) pp. 579, 660.
(45) P. 667.
ROBERT BAYLEY.. THE FIRST SCHOOLMASTER 207
It will be noticed in the article of Dr. Banks, above referred to,
that an interrogation point is placed after the words "From Bidde-
ford?" relating to Robert Bayley. While he came from Falmouth
to North Yarmouth, he came from Biddeford to Falmouth, and
it was so stated in the records of the First Church in North Yar-
mouth to indicate his native town or town from whence he came
to Falmouth, made probably from his own statement. It will also
be noticed that the name (Clark?) is inserted in parenthesis, with
an interrogation point after the name of his wife, "Martha," as
indicating her family name. The name of "Clark" as the family
name of his wife, was no doubt suggested by the double name of
his daughter, "Mary Clark," but it is amply proved that the maiden
name of Robert Bayley's wife was Martha Millet. Why the name
"Clark" was added to the name of his daughter, Mary, when all
the other children had but one name, it not known, but it is known
that it was not the family name of her mother.
Two of the daughters of Robert and Martha (Millet) Bayley,
married into the prominent Royall family in North Yarmouth ill
Colonial days, Bathsheba and Naomi.
These sisters married brothers, viz: Bathsheba Bayley married
Eliah Royall, and Naomi Bayley married Samuel Winthrop Royal].
They were the sons of Samuel Royall, grandsons of William
Royall, Jr., and great grandson of William Royall who came
from England in 1696, and settled near the mouth of the river
then called "Wescustogo," now called Royall's River in his honor.
Thomas Gorges, Esq., Deputy Governor of the Province of
Maine, in behalf of Sr. Ferdinando Gorges, Knight, Lord proprie-
tor of said Province, for divers good causes and considerations,
made a grant of land to William Royall of Casco, it being:
the land whereon his house standeth, being bounded on the south with
the sea; also an island before his house, being by estimation twenty acres,
be it more or less; also land bounded on the south side with the river of
Westgustuggo; on the north side with the river of Chusquisacke, being by
estimation two hundred and fifty acres, be it more or less. Deed dated 27
March, 1643.(46)
This land conveyed to William Royall in 1643, is the larger part
of the identical land conveyed by Jacob Royall of Boston, Mass.,
a brother of Eliah Royall and Samuel Winthrop Royall, to Robert
Bayley, in 1752, and became the Robert Bayley homestead.
(46) York County Deeds, Book I Part II, Folio 23.
AINE HISTORY
2o8 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF M
Mary Clark Bayley, fourth child of Robert and Martha (Millet,,
Bayley, married Ambrose Talbot, November 28, 1754, and became
the mother of the first Talbot family in Maine of which there is
any record.
Ambrose Talbot, the son of Roger' and Hannah (Trarise)
Talbot of Boston, Mass., and grandson of Ambrose and Jane
(Metcalf ) Talbot, of London, England, in early manhood (about
1747) came from Dorchester, Mass., to North Yarmouth.
He bought of Jeremiah Powell, Esq.,' one hundred and fifty
acres of land in North Yarmouth within the County of York and
Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England. Said land
is located at a place then known as "Harraseeket," at Strout's
Point on Casco Bay, now in the town of Freeport, in the County
of Cumberland, and State of Maine. (First house west of the
former Casco Castle on the Trolley Road between Portland and
Brunswick) Deed dated March 3, 1759, but not recorded until
22 April, 1767." This farm has never passed from the Talbot
name. After a period of one hundred and fifty-seven years, in the
ownership of descendants, it is now (1916) owned and occupied by
Mr. Herbert S. Talbot, a lineal descendant of the first owner of the
family name.
Ambrose and Mark Clark (Bayley) Talbot had a good Colonial
family of eleven children, all born in the home stead in North
(47) Roger Talbot came to Boston, Mass., about 171i, and the time. with
other evidence, indicate -that the came in a government ship. He was a
grandson of Roger Talbot, Esquire, M. P. of Thornton, County of York,
England, and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Ambrose Pudsey, of Bolton
in Bolland County of York , England. His father's first cousin, Jane Pudsey,
was the wife of Sir Hovenden Walker, a rear-admiral in the British Navy,
who was sent to Boston in the summer of 1711, in command of a fleet for
an expedition against Quebec, via the St. Lawrence River, which terminated
disastrously. Roger Talbot probably came to New England in this expe-
dition, through his connection with Admiral Walker. He was the second
officer in command of the armed Sloop George, in the Colonial Navy of the
Province of Massachusetts Bay, in the Abenaki War in I722-23, and acting
Captain after the Captain was mortally wounded by the Indians, in passing
the mouth of the Kennebec River, when transporting troops and supplies to
forts on the coast of Maine.
(48) Honorable Jeremiah Powell, the former owner of this land was Rep-
resentative to the General Court eleven years, having been first chosen in
1766. He removed to Boston for a time and was President of the first
Senate under the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1780.
(49) Cumberland County Deeds, Book 3, p. 63, and on back of p. 64.
ROBERT BAYLEY, THE FIRST SCHOOLMASTER 209
Yarmouth, before that town was set off in 1789, and became
Freeport, viz:
Samuel, b. Aug. 25, 1755, m. Phebe Hallowell, Jan., 1782, (No children)
Hannah, b. Aug. i5, 1757, M. Jonathan Byram, Dec. 2i, 1780; Ambrose, Jr.,
Ord), b. Sept. 7, 176o, m. Olive Carter, July 19, I792; Joseph, b. Jan. i6,
I763, M. Sarah Patrick, Dec. 24, I795; Mary, b. Aug. II, 1765, d. Aug.
1766; Phebe, b. May 29, 1767, d. unm. Feb. 2, I814; Asa, b. Jan. 30, 1769,
in. Abigail Johnson, Sept. 27, I792; Simeon, b. Nov. 1, 177I, m. Dorcas
Fogg, Dec. 30, 18o2; Robert Bayley, b. March 14, 1774, m Joanna Thoits,
Jan. 13, 18O3; Sarah, b. Sept. 29, 1776, m. Edmund Pratt, Jan. 2o, 1797.
(One of the first deacons of the First Baptist Church in Freeport which
position he continued worthily to fill for fifty-seven years until his death)
Rachel, b. March 9, 1779, d. unm. April 17, i800.
Ambrose Talbot was a veteran of the French and Indian Wars,
as indicated in Muster Rolls and Pay Rolls in the Archives. of
Massachusetts. Both he and his three eldest sons were soldiers
of the American Revolution, his eldest son, Samuel, serving three
years in the Massachusetts line in the Continental Army. The
service of each appears in Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in
the War of the Revolution." A younger son (Simeon) was a
soldier of the War of 1812, and the record is in the Archives of
the State of Maine.
Ambrose Talbot was, more than all and everything, from his
youth and early manhood, distinctively, a churchman. He was a
member in Dorchester, of a society of young men mutually joined
together in the service of God. In 1742, he then an adult person,
became a member of the First Church in Dorchester, Mass. The
records of the First Church in North Yarmouth, show that he and
his wife, Mary dark (Bayley) Talbot, were members of that
Church thirty-four years. They were founders of the First Church
in Freeport. When the town of Freeport was taken from North
Yarmouth and incorporated, February 14, 1789, it was at the same
time made a distinct parish by the General Court of Massachusetts.
The First Church in Freeport was organized within the new
parish December 29, 1789, and it is recorded that Ambrose Talbot
was the first deacon, he being unanimously chosen, May I5, I790,
and continued to serve in that position for fourteen years, until his
death. There was at one time four legal voters in Freeport by
the name of Ambrose Talbot, and they were numbered according
to their ages, except the eldest, who was always known as "Deacon
Ambrose Talbot," and as such he will ever live in the records of
the town and of the First Church in Freeport, Maine.
210 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY
married
Robert Bayley had only one son, Robert Bayley, Jr., who
Mary Hammon, Dec. 21, 1756. He settled in New Gloucester,
Maine. From the article of Dr. Banks in "Old Times in North
Yarmouth," above quoted, the record of the First Church in North
Yarmouth, indicates that he had a son, Robert, baptized July 13,
176o.
Robert Bayley conveyed to his son, Robert Bayley, Jr., one entire
lot of land in New Gloucester, Maine, if being according to the
deed, "A whole right in said town, and numbered six in the first
division." Deed dated Dec. 4, 1767.(50)
Robert Bayley, Jr., was' an extensive land owner as Was his
father which his clearly shown by the record of deeds of land con-
veyance. He was Sergeant from New Gloucester, in Captain
Moses Merrill's company, in Colonel Edmund Phinney's regiment
(31st) in I775.(51)
No record of the service of Robert Bayley, Senior, as school-
master, appears after his employment in North Yarmouth, in I750
owing, probably, to his military service against the French and
Indians. He was Sentinel in active service in Captain William
Lithgow's company at Fort Richmond, on the Kennebec River.
from March 21, to Sept. 12, 1754.(52)
From a list of the first company of Militia in North Yarmouth,
dated May 18, 1757, it appears that Robert Bayley was Sentinel
it, Captain Solomon Mitchell's Train Band (His son-in-law,
Ambrose Talbot, was Sentinel in same company), in Colonel Ezekiel
Cushing's regiment. List dated May 18, 1757. (53)
It appears that Robert Bayley was a private from North Yarmouth
in Captain Samuel Cobb's Company, in Colonel Jedidiah
Preble's regiment raised by the Province of Massachusetts by
for the reduction of Canada. Service from April 8 to Nov. 20,
1758. (54)
Robert Bayley always spelled his name "Bayley," the old English
style. The entry in the record of the First Church in North
Yarmouth, that "Robert Bayley died June 17, 1772 is the only
Cumberland County Deeds, Book 3, Folio 157.
Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution, Vol,
1:883.
Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, Vol. 93:128.
Massachusetts Archives, Vol. 95:383.
Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, Vol. 97:58.
CEMETERY INSCRIPTIONS 2II
record of his death that has been found. No stone has been found
that marks his grave, or that of his wife, Martha, although diligent
search has been made in the old burial grounds in old Falmouth.
and in old North Yarmouth. As the date of his birth has not been
discovered, the years that he attained is not known for certainty,
but it is quite sure that he was at least twenty-one years of age
when he was admitted a proprietor in Falmouth, August 17, I727,
which would indicate that he was born as early as I706, and his
death in I772, would make his age at least sixty-six years. More
than this is not known.
From the written fragments that remain it is known that Robert
Bayley was an active business man, and leading citizen in Falmouth
and North Yarmouth, in Colonial days; the first school-master in
what is now Portland, Maine; the first in Cumberland County,
and one of the first in the State of Maine; a pioneer educator,
and patriot, whose memory should be revered and cherished, not
only by his descendants, but by the citizens of the whole State of
Maine.
Referring to the above paper the Portland Evening Express, in
its issue of May 25, i9i6, said:
The last paper of the series of 1915-19i6 was read yesterday afternoon
before a large and appreciative audience, including about 50 girl pupils from
the Portland High School, in the lecture room of the Maine Historical
Library, by Honorable Archie Lee Talbot of Lewiston. The subject of
Mr. Talbot's interesting paper was The First Schoolmaster in Falmouth
(Portland), Maine, and Some of His Descendants. Mr. Talbot's suggestion
at the close of his paper that a memorial tablet to Robert Bayley, Portland's
first Schoolmaster, be placed in the new High School, now building, was
received with applause.
(c) 1998
Courtesy of Tina Vickery of Somerset Co, Maine USGenWeb Project
& The Androscoggin Historical Society
*************************************************
* * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and
libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter
information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other
sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any
other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of
contents.
* * * *
The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the
information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information
must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is
always best to consult the original material for verification.