SOURCES OF LAND TITLES IN THE KENNEBEC VALLEY. The Kennebec Valley S. H. Whitney 1887. Augusta: Sprague, Burleigh & Flynt, Printers to the State 1887 page 23-44 In 1493, the Pope issued a bull granting the New World, which Columbus had dis- covered the previous year, to the sovereigns of Spain and Portugal. It has been claimed that Spain, in the year 1566, took possession of the valley of the Kennebec and planted a colony at Pemaquid and built fortifications at the river, founding their claim upon the grant of Alexander VI, Pope of Rome. But the claim was abandoned before the end of the sixteenth century. As the territory in the Kennebec valley was settled by the English, we will present the reader a few of the most important links in the intricate historical chain. A papal bull at that age of the world was regarded as authority by Catholic nations. England becoming Protestant at that time questioned this claim of the Papacy, and in 1496, Henry VII, King of England, granted to John Cabot, a resident of Bristol, England, permission to go in search of unknown lands and to conquer and to settle them in the name of the King of England. A vessel was equipped and placed under the command of Sebastian Cabot, a son of John Cabot, to whom the patent bad been granted. Cabot sailed from England in the spring of 1497, upon a voyage of discovery. About the first of June, 1497, Cabot landed upon the continent of America and took possession of it in the name of the king; therefore, the claim of Great Britain to the territory drained by the Kennebec River was founded upon Cabot's discovery. More than a century passed away before any attempt was made by the English to plant colonies in the valley, of the Kennebec, yet, the claim which was founded upon Cabot's discovery bad been kept alive. In the spring of 16005, the Earl of Southampton and Lord Arundel equipped a ship called "The Archangel" and sent her to New England under the command of Captain George Weymouth. Weymouth sailed from the Downs on the last day of March, 1605, and about the middle of May he came to an island and anchored upon the north side. Weymouth went on shore and took possession of it in the name of James 1, King of England. Weymouth named the island St. George; it is now generally ad- mitted that this was Monhegan Island, which lies about thirty miles east of the Kennebec River. Weymouth stopped at this point two or three days, and then weighed anchor and entered a small bay which seemed to be an inviting harbor. Of this bay Rasier, the his- torian of the voyage, wrote, "It pleased God to. send us far beyond our expectations, in a safe berth, secluded from all winds, in an ex- cellent depth of water, for ships of any bur- den, and which was named Pentecost Harbor." [Abbott.] Captain Weymouth, with a well- armed party, explored the shores of the bay, taking possession of them in the name of the king. As the soil appeared to be rich they pre- pared a small piece of ground and planted a few seeds, which, in sixteen days, grew to the height of eight inches. This was the first attempt made by Europeans to cultivate the soil of the Kennebec valley. About the first of July Captain Weymouth entered the Kennebec. The historian of the voyage thus describes the river: "The river as it runneth. up into the main very nigh forty miles towards the mountains, beareth in breadth a mile, sometimes three-quarters, and a half at the narrowest. And you shall never have under four or five fathoms of water bard by the shore, and on both sides very gallant coves." [Abbott.] It would appear by the foregoing descrip- tion that Captain Weymouth explored the Kennebec River as far up as Merry-Meeting Bay. While Weymouth was in this region, the Indians were friendly in their intercourse with the English; but, on the other hand, Weymouth lured into captivity some of the unsuspecting natives and took them to Eng- land. It seems hard to have to record that the first English explorer of this beautiful val- ley should allow himself to so depart from the Golden Rule as to carry captive to a foreign land five of the natives who had never before looked upon an English vessel and her crew. Had Weymouth intended to kindle the spark: of hatred that dwelt in the red man's breast, he could have taken no better course. In the autumn of the same year, Captain Weymouth returned to England. The report of his voyage excited the leading minds of the kingdom. It was perceived that although the Kennebec valley was destitute of the gold and silver mines of Mexico and Peru, yet it was rich in the superior resources of natural fertility, inexhaustive fisheries, fine harbors and heathful and convenient localities for colonization and trade. Speedily an association of English gentle- men was formed; having for its object the carrying into effect such measures as would cause the Kennebec valley to become popu- lated, as it is today, by a frugal and indus- trious people. This association took the name of the "Plymouth Colony," and was the germ of the Plymouth Council which was organized in 1620, in Plymouth, England. Prominent among the members of the Ply- mouth Colony was Lord John Popham, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Raleigh Gilbert and George Popham. In the spring of 1607, this association sent two ships to the mouth of the Kennebec River for the purpose of planting a colony upon the territory that had been explored by Cap- tain Weymouth. The colonists landed upon the western shore of the Kennebec in the southern part of the town of Phipsburg. The colonists, remained until the following spring, when they returned to England. Their return excited the surprise and deep regret of the "Plymouth Colony." The col- onists gave a most discouraging report of the valley and its inhabitants, saying that it was a frozen shore, the soil was unproductive and the natives were the very outcasts of creation. Soon after the return of this band of dis- heartened men to England, Sir John Popham, the leading member of the association, died. During the next twenty-five years the "Ply- mouth Council" made no attempt to plant col- onies in the Kennebec valley. In 1620 the Plymouth Council received from King James their charter. They were known as "the council estab- lished at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for planting, ruling and governing New Eng- land in America." In 1628 there were eighty-four families re- siding at the mouth of the Kennebec River; if those persons received any title t ' o their land it was obtained from the Indians who were the true owners of the rich lands in the valley. In 1629 William Bradford, who was at that time governor of the Puritan colony at Ply- mouth, received from the "Plymouth Council" a grant of a large tract of land in the Ken- nebec valley. It was called the "Kennebec Patent, " and read as follows: "And whereas this Pilgrim Colony at Ply- mouth had no convenient place within their realms, for fishing or trading, * * * * The said Council granted and assigned unto Wil- liam Bradford, his heirs, associates and as- signs, all that tract of land or part of New England in America which lieth within, be- tween and extendeth itself from the utmost limits of the Cobbossecontee which adjoineth the river Kennebec, toward the western ocean and a place called the falls at Negamkike in America, and the space of fifteen English miles on each side of the said river, com- monly called Kennebec River, and the said river that lies within the said limits eastward, westward, northward or southward, last above mentioned, and all lands, grounds, soils, riv- ers, waters, fishings, situate, lying and being, arising, happening, and accruing, in or within the said limits and bounds or either of them, together with all rights and jurisdictions thereof the Admiralty Jurisdiction excepted, in as free, large and beneficial manner, to all constructions and purposes, whatsoever, as the said Council by virtue of His Majesty's letters patents might or could grant. TO HAVE AND TO HOLD said tract and tracts of lands, and all and singular the privileges above mentioned to be granted with their and every of their appurtenances, to the said William Bradford, his heirs, as- sociates and assigns forever, to the only proper and absolute use; and unto our said SOVEREIGN LORD the KING, his heirs, and successors forever, one-fifth part of the ore of the mines of gold and silver, and one- fifth part thereof to the President and Coun- cil which shall be bad, possessed and obtained within the precincts aforesaid, for all services whatsoever as in said charter may more fully appear." By the foregoing grant, the Kennebec val- ley was divided into two sections; that por- tion lying between the ocean and the southern line of the town of Anson was nearly all in- cluded within the given boundaries. This left a vast region north of the 11 Kennebec Patent," which we will call the Upper Ken- nebec. About the year 1630, the Pilgrims at Ply- mouth erected a trading house at the mouth of the river, and another above Merry-Meet- ing Bay, and quite an extensive trade was carried on with the natives. On the 25th of April, 1635, the "Plymouth Council" held its last meeting.. In surrey- deraign their charter to the king, the follow- in record was placed upon their books: ,'We have been bereaved of friends, op- pressed with losses, expenses, and troubles, assailed before the privy council with ground- less charges, and weakened, by the French and other foes without and within the realm. What remains is only a breathless carcass. We now, therefore, resign the patent to the King, first reserving all grants by us made, and all vested rights." [Abbott.] Among the grants that had been made by the "Plymouth Council" was the "Kennebec Patent" to William Bradford. About the time that the 11 Plymouth Council" surren- dered their charter to the king, Bradford as- signed to the Pilgrim Colony at Plymouth his claim in the valley up the Kennebec. The colony at Plymouth in 1661, sold the Brad- ford claim to Antipas Boyes, Edward Twing, Thomas Brattle and John Winslow, for the sum of two thousand dollars. This claim afterward passed into the bands of a com- pany called "The Proprietors of the Kenne- bec Purchase." King Charles, upon receiving the charter from the "Plymouth Council," wherein they were authorized to govern New England, ap- pointed Sir Ferdinando Gorges as governor of all New England. It -will be remembered that Gorges was a member of the "Plymouth Colony" that was formed in 1606. Sir Fer- dinando Gorges bad ever, from the time that he and Popham sent the colony to the mouth of the Kennebec River, taken a deep interest in the settlement of the valley. He had planted a colony in the western part of the valley at his own expense, and after receiving the appointment as governor of New Eng- land, we learn that be always bad an especial care for the early settlers in the beautiful valley of the Kennebec. King Charles, perceiving the interest that Governor Gorges took in the early settle- ments in this section, April 3, 1639, issued a provincial charter to him, conferring upon him extensive territory and the jurisdiction thereof, in the valley of the Kennebec. The province was bounded by the Kenne- bec River upon the east, Dead River upon the north, the Canadian border and New Hamp- shire line formed the western boundary, and the Atlantic coast from the mouth of the Piscataquis River to the mouth of the Ken- nebec River was the boundary on the south. This region was called the "Province of Maine." Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his heirs were lord proprietors of this vast domain, only being required to take the oath of allegiance to the king. Governor Gorges appointed his nephew, William Gorges, as deputy gov- ernor of the province. There were at this time several small settle- ments in the western part of the province. About the middle of the seventeenth century, Sir Ferdinando Gorges died, and the "Prov- ince of Maine" was left at the disposal of the Gorges heirs. In 1677, the heirs sold the "Province of Maine" to Massachusetts Bay Colony, with all royalties and jurisdictions within the purchase. In the royal charter of the "Province of Maine," Dead River was the northern boundary of the claim, but in the title that the Gorges heirs gave to Mass- achusetts Bay Colony, the Canadian line was made the northern boundary, and the east branch of the Kennebec River from the forks of the river to Moose Head Lake, and a straight line extending from the foot of the lake to the St. John's River was the eastern border. It will be observed by a glance at a map of Maine that the title which was given by the Gorges heirs embraced considerable more territory than was included within the charter of King Charles. Thus the whole territory which is embraced within the limits of Maine upon the western bank of the Kennebec River has been canvassed; and now, with the permission of the reader, we will notice the sources from which flowed the land titles upon the eastern bank of the river. In 1629, the "Kennebec Patent" was issued by the "Plymouth Council" to William Brad- ford. It will be remembered that his, patent embraced a strip of land fifteen miles in width, upon the eastern bank of the Kenne- bec River. Bradford claimed that the ocean was the southern boundary of his claim. About the year 1630, the "Plymouth Council" granted to Elbridge and Aldsworth a tract of land adjoining Bradford's claim upon the east, which was called the "Pemaquid Patent." As early as 1665, King Charles granted to his brother all that territory lying between the Atlantic Ocean and St. John's River, and in breadth extending from the mouth of the Kennebec to the St. Croix River. This sec- tion was known as "The Territory of Saga- dahoc. It was an encroachment upon the Pemaquid and Kennebec patents. In 1691, the Puritan Colony of Plymouth, the Province of Maine, the Territory of Sag- adahoe and the Massachusetts Bay Colony were. all incorporated into the Royal Province of Massachusetts Bay, under the charter of William and Mary. Massachusetts at that time claimed the right of government in this region and in- corporated it into a county called Yorkshire. In 1760, the counties of Cumberland and Lincoln were taken from York County, and separately incorporated. In 1776, a war be- gan between England and America, and in 1783, it closed by a treaty of peace with Eng- land, whereby she relinquished her claim to the territory in ' the Kennebec valley, and it was afterwards claimed by Massachusetts. In 1790, the State of Massachusetts was divided into three sections or districts; the counties of York, Cumberland and Lincoln formed the northern division or the district of Maine, as it became known, which name it retained until its separation from Massachusetts in 1820, when it became an independent State. Having traced the claim of England from the date of Cabot's discovery to the time where she was compelled to acknowledge the independence of the American colonies; also to the time when Massachusetts surrendered her charter whereby she claimed the territory drained by the Kennebec River, we will notice the different counties into which the State of Maine is divided. The first court held within the limits of Maine was organ- ized by the nephew of Sir Ferdinando Gor- ges within what was afterward called "The Province of Maine" by King Charles. Pre- vious to the year when the charter of the province was issued it was called "New Somersetshire." The Gorges were supreme rulers of this province until 1677, when it was sold to Massachusetts and went under the jurisdic- tion of that State. In 1692, the first royal Governor of Mas- sachusetts was appointed. At that time the original county of York was incorporated, embracing within its jurisdiction the whole of the present State of Maine. It held jurisdiction over this vast domain until 1760, a period of one hundred and thirty-one years. Cumberland County. The territory em- braced within this county was taken from York County in 1760. This county origi- nally embraced Androscoggin, Franklin, and parts of Oxford, Kennebec and Somerset counties. Lincoln County. Taken from York County, and incorporated in 1760. At that time it embraced all the territory lying east of Cum- berland County, within the District of Maine. The counties of Hancock, Oxford, Somer- set, Kennebec, Washington and Penobscot were incorporated within the District of Maine previous to 1820, the date of the separation from Massachusetts. Since that time, Waldo, Franklin, Piscataquis, Aroostook, Andro- scoggin, Sagadahoc and Knox counties have been incorporated, making sixteen in all. We will now notice a few of the most im- portant sales of land that were made by the Indians before they were driven from the val- ley. When the English first entered and laid claim to the Kennebec valley, it was occupied by a race of beings known as the Kennebec Indians. Each member of this great tribe owned an undivided part of the territory; the sachems alone had power to convey to other persons whatever portions of the land belong- ing to the tribe they might wish, only with this proviso: that no sachem bad a right to the soil beyond his natural life, and that whatever lands he might dispose of must at his death revert to the tribe again. Not so with the English; whenever they framed a deed it was a title to the land bought for- ever. This led to many disputes between the English and the Indian. The red man claimed all transfers of land to have been only dur- ing the life. of the grantor, while the pur- chaser held that his title to the land was per- petual, and boastfully pointed to his deed; his bayonets bristled behind it, and silent obedi- ence on the part of the Indian followed necessity. And though an Indian sachem was made drunk, and for a mere trifle sold a rich township holding beneath its turf the graves of a thousand years; yet, might made right, and the strong arm conquered. Who could blame the Indian if he had said, White man, there is continual war be- tween me and thee; thou shalt build and I will burn, until the English or the Indian shall be driven from the valley. Much of the land in the lower part of the Kennebec valley was purchased of the Indians, and some of it several times over. In 1625, John Brown bought of an Indian sachem the territory embraced within the town of Bristol. In 1648, James Smith bought of Robin- hood a large tract of land upon the eastern bank of the Kennebec River. In 1655, Richard Wharton bought of the Indians about five thousand acres of land lying west of the Kennebec River. This was known as the "Pejepscot Purchase." In 1667, Humphrey Davie bought of Abbi- gadassett, an Indian sachem who dwelt in Bowdoinham, the island that had been the home of the ruler of the Kennebec tribe for ages, namely, Swan Island, in the Kennebec River, at the bead of Merry-Meeting Bay. Little by little, step by step, bad the Indian been driven from his land, until, by the mid- dle of the eighteenth century, there were but few to be found in the valley of the Kenne- bec. But, to return for a moment to the Brad- ford claim, which was first known as the "Kennebec Patent." About the time that Cumberland County was incorporated, the heirs of Boyes, Brattle, Twing and Wins- low held a meeting, and new proprietors were added, and a company formed, called "The Proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase." As the boundaries as given in the grant of the Plymouth Council were rather indefinite, a new survey was had and, after much litiga- tion, they were established as follows: "The Kennebec Patent," according to the decision of several eminent men, included all the land fifteen miles wide upon each bank of the Kennebec River, from the north line of the town of Woolwich to the south line of the town of Anson. The question as to the boundaries of the Plymouth Grant having been settled, the proprietors at once took measures to settle this portion of the Kennebec valley. They offered to give to any person a lot of land containing one or two hundred acres, pro- viding that the person to whom the grant was made should agree to live upon the lot a term of years, and make certain improvements upon the lot granted. Those who desired grants were obliged to present a petition to the company, like the following: "To the Proprietors of the KENNEBEC PUR- CHASE, from the late Colony of NEW PLY- MOUTH. " "I , the subscriber, _____ _____ of _____, in the county of _____ being desirous of settling within your Purchase, pray you would make a grant to me and my heirs of the lot num- bered _____, containing _____ acres, situated in _____, within your said Purchase. And I hereby agree for myself and heirs that the conditions of the said grant shall be per- formed, namely: that a dwelling-house shall be built on the said lot not less than eighteen feet square, that five acres of said lot shall be cleared and made ready for tillage within three years from the date of the grant, and that I will dwell thereon personally if living, or, in case of my death, that my heirs or some person under them shall dwell on said prem- ises during said term; and for the term of seven years more by myself or substitute; and as soon as said grant shall be made out and ready to be delivered to me, I hereby promise to pay seven shillings lawful money, toward defraying your expenses for survey- in." Thus the early settlers along the banks of the Kennebec River, below Anson, secured their titles to the land that they settled upon from the Proprietors of the Kennebec Pur- chase, of the Colony at New Plymouth, to whom Bradford assigned it in 1635, be re- ceiving it by grant of "The Plymouth Coun- cil" in 1629. Thus we have carefully traced the titles to the land in the lower Kennebec valley from their source to individual claims, and here we beg leave to stop, and to briefly notice the sources from which individuals procured their titles, who live in the upper part of the valley. We have stated that the grandson of Sir Ferdinando Gorges sold to Massachusetts the Gorges claim west of the Kennebec River. When that colony received its royal charter, in 1691, the whole territory in the northern part of the Kennebec valley passed under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. That State needing money in 1786, sold a large tract of land in the northern part of the valley to William Bingham. It was divided into two lots, containing one million acres each. The western lot was bounded as fol- lows: The southern line of the Bingham Pur- chase was twelve miles -north of the northern line of the Bradford claim; or, in other words ' it was the same as the southern line of the town of Bingham. It extended east from the Kennebec River, following the southern line of the town of Bingham, to the western line of the town of Wellington; thence north to the northern line of Range Seven; thence west to the eastern line of Franklin County; thence southerly to the southwestern angle of Mt. Abram Township; thence east to the river again, meeting the southern line of Bingham. This was a part of the Bingham Purchase, which was sold to William Bingham by Mas- sachusetts, in 1787. That portion of this territory lying upon the western bank of the Kennebec-River, and south of Dead River, was embraced within the Province of Maine, which was granted to Sir Ferdinando Gorges by King Charles, in 1639, and sold by the Gorges heirs to Mas- sachusetts, in 147. The part of the pur- chase lying upon the eastern bank of the river was within the Sagadahoc territory, which was granted by King Charles to his brother, who was at that time Duke of York, and, upon the death of Charles, succeeded him as King of England. That part of the Bingham Purchase which lay north of Dead River, and the whole territory lying between it and Canada line, was taken possession of by the heirs of Sir Ferdinando Gorges and deeded to Massachusetts Bay Colony with the original Province of Maine. When the Sagadahoc territory was united with the Province of Maine in 1691, Massa- chusetts extended her jurisdiction over the whole territory, and so retained it until 1820, when the District of Maine became a State. In conclusion we will say that several of the townships in the upper part of the valley were purchased of Massachusetts prior to 1820, by different individuals, but when Maine became an independent State, Massachusetts relinquished her claim upon the territory in the Kennebec valley, and many of the settlers in the northern part of the valley received a title to their land from the State Government. (c) 1998 Courtesy of the Me GenWeb Kennebec County Site ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. 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